Challenge Book

Slinking through the shadows, I move seamlessly. I’m silent as the night air that surrounds me. My adrenaline is racing as I inch through the alleyway. Don’t let them catch you. The thought has become my mantra the last few hours. Finally reaching the end of the alley, I heave a sigh of relief as I round the corner to find a mostly empty street knowing I’ll be able to put even more space between myself and the men from the club. Keeping my head down, I forge ahead and think back over the past couple days trying to figure out how exactly I ended up on the run from one of the most notorious club owners in the city.

Two nights ago, it was my friend Kelly’s birthday. A group of us went to Lynx, one of the newest clubs, to celebrate. I decided to let lose a bit more than usual. I’ve been working myself to the bone for months trying to make ends meet and get my bills paid on time. With the overtime I worked this last pay period, I had a small cushion and knew I should probably blow off some steam. And perhaps, I blew off a little too much steam as there are chunks of my memories from that night missing. What I do remember is ending up becoming well acquainted with the dumpster as I heaved the contents of my stomach up. Then, next thing I know, it’s tomorrow and I’m waking up in my bed severely hungover.

Everything seemed to be pretty average. I moped about my apartment most of the day, feeling too sick to really do anything. Eventually though, I garnered the energy to go out and fetch some take out for dinner and that’s when I found it. Carelessly discarded on top of my shoes, right next to my front door, was a bag. A bag that was clearly not mine. It was your average black duffel bag. I connect a few dots and come to the conclusion that I must have found it in the alley, because it definitely had the remnants of (what I’m hoping is my) puke on the bottom of it.

Grabbing an old towel to protect my counter with, I settle on a kitchen stool to investigate the mysterious bag. The moment my eyes settled onto the bag a pit of dread twisted in my gut. The uncertainty of the bag casts a foreboding unease through my apartment. My hand grasps the zipper and as the teeth unlink, I feel my nerves ratchet up. Finally, I peel the two halves apart to see green and a lot of it. Money. I have a bag full of money. Carefully, I start to unpack to take full inventory of the contents.

Money like this could change my life. I wouldn’t have to work so much. I could reimburse my emergency funds, that are dangerously low. But it’s not mine. As I continue to pull out stack after stack of money, I internally curse out yesterday me for grabbing this bag. Drunk me has always had good intentions with horrible execution. But this, by far, takes the cake for worst situation hungover me has had to deal with. At last, I finish unpacking the money and pull a small black notebook from the bottom of the bag. Opening it, I find a note. “Complete the tasks in order and the money is yours. Or put everything back and hide the bag somewhere else. We are watching. Choose wisely.” Flipping the page, I find five tasks laid out.

1. Go to Lynx. Ask for Mo at the bar and order a Fairy’s Death Shot. Take the shot.

2. Find Tye.

3. Lose the girl.

4. Protect yourself.

5. Shoot the gun.

Hastily, I scan the rest of the pages and find the rest of the journal is blank. Counting the money, I realize I have $20,000 on my counter. A logical part of me was screaming to just go to the authorities and turn in the money. Or even, go to the club and turn it in. But there was a piece of me that was intrigued and wanted this chance at adventure (and $20,000). So, I did what any logical person would do and packed all of it up and stuffed it in my closet to pretend it doesn’t exist.

The next day, when I got home from work, there was a note taped to my front door. “Return the bag.” That’s it. Three words and I was reminded (after not being able to think about anything else all day) that I was a part of some nefarious and illicit game. A game I decided I was going to play. I quickly got changed, slipped the black notebook into my purse, and went to Lynx.

Task one was easy. Done within minutes of arriving to the bar. I assumed task two would be more difficult. But after asking Mo if Tye was around, he pointed me to a man in a dark corner who sure enough had a woman draped over his lap.

“Tye?” I questioned, as I approached the booth. Just to double check I was bothering the correct guy.

“Who wants to know?” He barks out, while his arm candy sends me some major side eye.

“Oh… uhh…” I hadn’t thought this far ahead. “I was in here a few nights ago and I came across something. I was hoping to talk to you alone for a minute.” That’s right just keep working on the tasks.

“What’d ya come across?”

I nervously scanned the area, realizing I didn’t actually know what part Tye played in all this. But I needed his trust and trust is earned, so I decided to tell him, and by proxy his woman.

“Well, it’s a journal and it had a list of tasks in it and one of them was to find you.”

“A journal…?” He raises a quizzical eyebrow at me. “Well, you found me. Now what?”

“It says to lose the girl.” I reply, staring plainly at the woman on his lap. She sneers at me in response.

“Well, sorry to disappoint, but I’m not going anywhere.” She flashes a malicious smirk my way.

I try not to grimace and decide to appeal to Tye again. “Please. I just need a minute with you alone.” I do my best to avoid whining, but that definitely came across very desperate. He makes a tsking noise through his teeth then promptly stands knocking the woman to the floor. He grabs my arm and pulls me across the bar and out through the side door into the alley I ended my night in when I was out with my friends.

“What now?” He spits the words at me.

“Now I need to protect myself?” I question and look around for any impending threats.

“I’d say running is a good start for wasting my time.” While finishing his reply, he pulls a gun from the waistband of his pants. I don’t even second guess it as I take off down the alley. And that’s how I ended up here now. Slipping through shadows and running under the cover of night.

I startle as a car pulls up beside me. “Get in,” a man calls out the rolled down window. Chancing a look behind, I scan the street one more time and decide now is not the time to start making safe decisions. I climb into the car. “I have to say none of us thought you would go through with it.” He speaks matter-of-factly.

“What?” I croak out. My mind not keeping up with the scenes around me.

“You found our book. We never thought a girl would complete our tasks.”

“I haven’t completed them. Not yet.”

“You’re close enough. Five is actually the easiest. You’ll be done in no time.” He smiles at me, and it’s warm. I find that I like his smile. It’s reassuring and comforting. He’s a stranger. My pesky mind is always intrusive at the wrong times.

The stranger pulls into a parking garage and parks on one of the upper levels. He reaches into the backseat and hands me a gun. A pistol.

“I just have to shoot it?” I stare dumbly at the weapon in my lap, waiting for more answers that never come. My driver just points aimlessly towards the side of the garage and nods his head encouraging me to get out of the car.

Boldly, I walk across the garage. I cut a straight path to where my guide pointed me. Reaching the side, I look out over the city laid out in front of me. The easiest task? Just fire a gun. I raise both arms in front of me. Gun held firmly in my hands. I hesitate, and glance behind me, back at my stranger. But he isn’t paying attention to me. His focus firmly fixed on the cellphone in his hands. I shake out my shoulders trying to ease my tension and concentrate at the task at hand. My final task. My finger pulls the trigger, and the gun goes off. A bullet tears through the air, out over the sleeping city.

I hear tires screech behind me, and whirl around to see I’ve been abandoned in the garage. Alone to make my way home. Alone, but $20,000 richer. I dump the gun in the trash can and take the stairs down content to head home and leave this strange night behind me.