A Proscriptive Relationship

:A Proscriptive Relationship: 57-2

A shiver wracked through my body as I stood in the freezing air, my jacket doing little to stop the cold from permeating throughout my body. Shawn stood a few feet away from me, his hands shoved into his pockets. He rocked on the balls of his feet, whistling quietly to himself. Off a little ways was Mikey, looking incredibly bored and just as cold as I felt. One more other person was standing near Mikey- the driver of the car. He was a large, burly man with a shaved head. He caught me staring at him and he grinned. Immediately I turned my attention to the building we were standing by. Or rather, what was left of the building.

From what I could tell, it was the skeleton of a two-floor country house. However, the place looked like it had been through hell and back. The wood that was still standing was completely black and had some weird type of moss growing on it. Two sides of the house were still standing, also covered in the weird moss. Vines grew up one side of it, all the way up to the caved in roof.

Surrounding the decimated house was thick, dense forest. It disturbingly reminded me of the old warehouse we were at only a little more than a week before. A sudden gust of wind whipped my hair around my face, blocking my vision. As I raised my hand to push it away, the sound of an engine roaring came from the distance. My head turned in the direction the sound was coming from, and a moment later Mr. Heywood's car entered my vision.

"Finally," Shawn complained loudly. "I was beginning to think he wouldn't show. Eh, Holly?"

I glared at him for a moment before returning my attention back to Mr. Heywood's car, which was now coming to a stop near Shawn's vehicle. I started for the car, but Shawn gruffly grabbed my elbow, pulling me efficiently to a stop. Once more I turned my narrowed eyes to him. He held me fast as Mr. Heywood climbed out of the car, not even bothering to shut the door behind him.

"Good to see you!" Shawn chirped, using his free hand to wave at him. "How was the drive?"

As soon as Mr. Heywood got close enough to reach me, he grabbed my arm, forcing it out of Shawn's grasp. In a blink of an eye Mr. Heywood's fist was in Shawn's face. A startled gasp escaped my lips as Mr. Heywood brought his fist back and punched Shawn again, this time knocking him to the ground. Shawn smirked up at Mr. Heywood, wiping the edge of his mouth, which already had blood on it. Mr. Heywood struck him again, using as much force as he could.

"Three," Shawn stated, not even bothering to defend himself. "Keep them coming, Chris."

"What the hell are you counting for?" Mr. Heywood demanded, pausing in his assault.

Shawn's smirk grew wider. "Why don't you let Mikey show you?"

My eyes flew open when I felt a fist connect with my jaw. I stumbled to the side, turning to gawk at Mikey, who was approaching me menacingly. I staggered backwards, bringing a hand up to rub my sore jaw.

"Holly!" Mr. Heywood shouted, taking a step towards me. Shawn quickly clamped his hands around Mr. Heywood's ankles.

"One," he commented in a casual tone, keeping a vice-like grip on Mr. Heywood.

Mikey swung towards me again. This time I ducked to avoid his fist, but he brought his other hand up, smashing it into my gut. I doubled over, gasping in surprise. Before I had the chance to straighten myself, I once again felt a blow to my face, this time sending me sprawling into the dirt.

"Three," Shawn counted off.

"Holly!" Mr. Heywood shouted again, trying to break free from Shawn's grasp.

I stayed on the ground, sucking in as much oxygen as I could. Having the wind knocked out of me twice in one day definitely wasn't good. I waited for Mikey to hit me again, but nothing came.