Alexander Stevens

[Slayer†]

Posted by: Slayer Jun 17 2006, 07:45 AM
If there was one place Alexander "Blade" Stevens found dull above all others, it was Bathurst High school. Endless hours of people doing nothing but talk at him, that's all that happened there. He couldn't even bully the teachers into letting him skip class to watch the SOTF Act in the lounge anymore, as that game had reached its conclusion. He didn't even need to be here for education really, except for official recognition (his mother didn't like him skipping school, but never really did anything about it. She knew he was trying to help the family income in his own way, and that his last name made him duty-bound to lead the Hellbirds.), he had one of the smarter members of the Hellbirds tutor him in times where they could slack off and let down their guard. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to keep an eye on the gang known as the "Bloody Fists" that had popped up as school bullies, he'd probably never show up. He'd much rather go north of his turf with some other Hellbirds and bash up some Jackals, or south to tangle with the Prophets (a Christian gang that dressed in priest robes and shaved their heads, they killed anyone who wasn't Christian or did anything they considered "ungodly". They mainly used knives and guns, but the biggest member of the gang-appropriately nicknamed Goliath by his fellow Prophets, as he was over seven feet tall and all muscle- often used a bike chain as a weapon, and it wasn't unheard of for them to agree to a simple fistfight, as had happened about a year prior in a territory dispute. Rather than engage in a bloody war, the two gangs agreed there would be a one on one fight between a member of the Prophets and a member of the Hellbirds. Though he could've done it himself, Alex had sent out Thomas Diftre to fight the massive "Goliath" fighting for the Prophets. Thomas knocked Goliath out cold after a grueling ten minute brawl.), maybe all the way to Staten Island to stir shit up with the Musashis, the Royals or the Spartans. But no, he couldn't trust those upstarts, declaring themselves a separate gang and causing trouble in his territory. He should've agreed to set them straight the minute he heard of them, but he had wanted to avoid a confrontation at the time, and decided to watch them instead. The time to take action seemed to be drawing nearer.

Thus, Alexander found himself walking to the school, fully aware that he was very late but also aware the teachers would be reluctant to do anything about it. Placing his right hand into his pocket, he fingered the switchblade he always carried with him, running the tips of his index and middle fingers over the silver colored handle with an engraving of a phoenix on it, his ring finger finding the switch itself that would turn it from harmless object to deadly weapon. It's not that he had always liked the lifestyle of a criminal, he had been born into it. His father was the previous leader of the Hellbirds, so he was a member at birth. The instant he was old enough (his father believed this was at about four) he was taught how to use a knife and a gun (he was now very well known on the streets for his skill with the former), along with pick-pocketing, breaking and entering, how to properly mug a civilian, and all the other tools of the outlaw trade. Since his father was leader this also included negotiations and executive decisions. When his father was assassinated by members of the Jackals about three years before present day, Alex was forced into leadership. After the bloody war of revenge that ended in the deaths of one third of all the Jackals' members (the police didn't care if the gangs killed each other, they saw it as the lawn mowing itself, so to speak, so they let them do whatever they wanted to each other as long as no law-abiding citizens were hurt) and the deaths of quite a few Hellbirds as well, Alex had found his gang ruling a good part of the central portion of Denton, New Jersey, and with that new turf came new recruits. It was there that his train of thought was interrupted, as he found himself in front of the school, and very close to two students. One he recognized as Jenna Cassidy while the other he didn't know. They seemed to be walking together. Deciding to crash the party as he usually did on days like this, he changed course and headed for them.
"Hey Jenna, you decided to show up too?" he said when he was close enough to not have to yell, wincing as he heard the animal get hit by a car. He didn't know the boy, but there was nothing to do, and he didn't feel like going to Raymond's House of Beer (fancy term for a bar really. Ray had thought it a good idea at the time. It was a main Hellbirds hangout, but it didn't harm business too much as most normal patrons had a nack for showing up almost only when the Hellbirds weren't around.) to hang around and play pool or get drunk, so he thought he could at least have a conversation with a fellow member. Seeing as he had no idea where Diftre had gone to, talking to Jenna was really his main choice, whether the new guy liked it or not.  

Posted by: Lien Jun 18 2006, 02:52 AM
She let her hips sway as she walked, one of the last feminine traits she displayed openly when she was shooting the shit with anyone. But with the boy's inquiry she showed a little less feminimity and a little more of a caustic snap as she halted for a moment.

"Fuckin' can't enjoy a moment can ya? I don't have anything in mind quite yet, just as long as it's far away from this damned piece of--"

Jenna stopped short of where the withering school lawn met with the walkway to the school, for in the corner of her eye she caught the familiar figure of Alex Stevens approaching quickly. Her body shifted towards him and waited for the gang leader to strike up some sort of conversation, rather she hoped he would. She kept on the face of a girl who couldn't care less about people, and often tried to play the oddball card while she was around others that weren't involved with the Hellbirds, but truth be told, Jenna was a conformist in the very essence of the word. Which is why, when he finally noticed her and spoke, she was eager to drop anything going on with Richard in order to accomodate Alex.

"I guess so," she answered simply, letting the words flow, simple and short, so as not to babble towards her mentor, "But no one else put in any effort, and it's easy to see why."

Her thumb jerked in the general direction of the school, the relaxed expression on her face contradicting her perplexed feeling of nervousness at possibly saying the wrong thing, and her lips formed a smirk that mirrored some of the other members of the Hellbirds. The smirk was the one where they found it amusing, like setting fire to ants with a microscope. Like her peers were really just insects set on the world to be pitied but ridiculed.

"Mariavel and some other drama going on, she fell down like a ton of bricks after trying to take me on."  

Posted by: Slayer Jun 18 2006, 03:22 AM
Jenna had proved quickly responsive the instant he struck up conversation, just as usual. Of all the 100+ members of the Hellbirds, Jenna was one of the few Alex knew truly respected him, something he appreciated. With most of the old members thinking he had manipulated the events leading to his father's death in order to claim power, he needed all the loyalty the new generation could give him. He recognized the smirk on her face as she voiced the disgust towards Bathurst shared by most of the gang (the only one he knew of that enjoyed going was "Einstein", one of the gang's youngest members. He had been aquired in a bargain with a store owner who had been unable to pay protection money. In exchange for allowing him a bit more time to get the money, they'd accept his son into the Hellbirds. He never was sure what Einstein, of course that was merely his nickname, thought of it, but he seemed to have gotten used to the life), the last time he had seen that grin was after one of the new members had mugged an old man, the grin of vicious amusement. Alex wore a visible grimace, however, when Jenna mentioned Mariavel. He had not wanted open confrontation with the Bloody Fists yet, but it seemed that could no longer be avoided.
"You know they're going to try and pay us back for that, Jenna. I don't know about Rischio but Mattlock and Kingston will definitely be at our throats for it." he said simply, taking his hand out of his pocket, where it had subconsciously been gripping the switchblade in there (he had let go of it, of course). Looking over at the new boy, he decided to speak up again.
"Do you mind, kid? This conversation is none of your business." those were the only words he'd afford the kid before looking back to Jenna and taking note of the cut on her arm.
"I take it she didn't fight fair?"  

Posted by: Lien Jun 18 2006, 04:13 AM
She didn't know exactly how Alex would react, she wasn't a mind reader, or all that intelligent anymore, but when he spoke to her his words stung of that tone that her parents never spoke to her without. Disappointment.
"You know they're going to try and pay us back for that, Jenna. I don't know about Rischio but Mattlock and Kingston will definitely be at our throats for it."

Deciding on the fly that showing the fact that she was rather confused at the leader not enjoying the obvious strength the gang had other this new one, she let her mind focus on the question he asked after the comment about the fight. Jenna rolled her eyes to express her disgust with the previous situation involving the blonde, and pulled her hands out of her pockets as she folded them across her chest, nodding towards the school again before she started her tale of the event.

"She comes into the bathroom to fight me, and I couldn't say no. I'm sorry," she apologized, though not completely sincerely, more as if she was using it to excuse herself, " But I had her, and she pulled a knife. It was a fist fight, and she pulled a knife on me!"

Jenna slipped off her jacket sleeve to show the cut that the bitch had left on her, shrugging like it hadn't done much to her at all. The cut still hurt like hell.

"If she's a reflection on the whole gang, it doesn't look like it's even something to worry about."  

Posted by: Genzu Jun 20 2006, 09:35 PM
Richard looked at the other boy with a nod and walked a little ahead minding his own buisness. It more the fact Richard simply didnt care that made him agree with the other kids wishes. He also notaced the boy had something in his pockets. the outline of his hand showed and there was still something of a buldge in his pockets. He was in a gang, so logicoly thinking, he was carring a knife or something like such with him. He wondered if the other kids where in a gang and he was the only one that wasnt. He didnt want to partake in this action. To him it just seemed plain wrong. It was also rather clear to him that this "Jenna" didnt show much interest towards him. He figured this out because she had not introduced him. He sat down on a bench and waited. He watched the too as he waited. He couldnt get rid of the sinking feeling he would be ditched by this girl. She only seemed to be that kind of person. Of course Richard would say nothing of this. After a while he pulled out his bass and strummed it a bit. he began to play songs he has thought up himself with it. He hummed the lyrics as well.

They seemed to have been speaking of gang matters so it was of no interest to Richard. He would once in a while switch to a new song, now he would be doing songs he listended to on the radio. If these two where to speak for much longer, he may have gone crazy of bordem.  

Posted by: ZigZaggerty Jun 30 2006, 05:48 AM
((Continued from: http://z10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...showtopic=913))

John stepped out through the double doors, turning his gaze to three people standing near the steps. He turned away and jumped over the other side of the stairs. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pack of cigarettes along with a smooth metal lighter.

The flame brought itself into life with a flick of John's finger and it lit the cigarette now dangling from his mouth. John breathed the smoke into his lungs and a soothing feeling began to wash through him. He needed to calm his nerves, he could feel his anger rising

I'll get you your pills tommorow John. One day won't hurt you...

The words of his aunt rang through his head, today was one of those days. Monday always was one of those days. He could feel his anger building up inside him as he thought of Mariavel slapping that guy and those guys who wanted to fight.

god damn motherfuckers kill kill fuckers gonna kill them shit fuckers...

John clenched his eyes, he could feel the blood running through his veins, the sound of his heart pumping in his ears, he could feel the veins in his neck beginning to bulge, he tried to calm down and focus on other things, namely the people on the other side of the stairs. Gang members is what he gathered from what they were talking about. Gangs made this area a living hell sometimes, it made him enraged.

i should bust their faces in those fuckers gonna kill them with their own god damn chains and shit...

This was getting to be too much, he could feel his eyes going slightly bloodshot, it was a strange tingly feeling. His teeth clenched along with his hands, nails digging into skin which begin to draw blood. Pittering as it fell to the pavement his mind receded into itself. He was beginning to have the flashback.

It was the living room on the hot summers day, sweltering heat pent up in the old house. The air was changing with the heat, taking it's own hallucegenic qualities. Fire rose from the kitchen as screams of terror flew from within it. The sounds taking their own shape into the air. Her face in agony as it vanished in the air. The heat grew more, fire rising as it hit the carpet.

They were like pillars of hatred trying to consume him and make him do the things he swore he would never do again. The face of it was all he saw in the flickering chaos, his father sneering as the room filled up with more smoke and fire. The screams grew louder, but the sound that hit him most was skin against something hot. That horrid sound of flesh sizzling away, peeling from the skin. Screams and fire, screams and fire...

John took another drag from the cigarette. Once again filling his lungs with the soothing smoke. Calming himself down to a more suitable level. He chuckled as he continued to listen to the people on the other side. He let the cigarette fall from his mouth and stepped on it with his right foot. He felt calmed now, but was compelled to listen more to the people on the other side of the stairs.  

Posted by: Slayer Jul 2 2006, 05:18 AM
Alex had waited for the new arrival to leave before responding to Jenna, who told him about the fight while the newcomer sat on a nearby bench just out of earshot. According to her, Mariavel had challenged her, and then pulled a knife. Not at all a proper way to rumble. Jenna had never lied to him, she seemed to respect him too much, so he saw no reason not to believe her. Of course, it wasn't that he wasn't proud of the obvious power the Hellbirds seemed to have over the Bloody Fists, it was more a matter of reputation for him. Tough was always a word that came to mind talking about the Hellbirds, but the school had always been a sort of "truce area", where students were for the most part (naturally being teenagers there were always some problems) allowed to go about their business peacefully no matter where they were from or what their affiliations were. How long would it be until the rumor spread of that tradition being broken, before people starting believing they couldn't go to Bathurst without risking being assaulted by the Hellbirds? It was something he had to consider, had to worry about.
"I understand," he finally said, "She challenged you, you had to accept. I'll talk to Seth about it. Just because one of his whores doesn't fight fair doesn't mean he can't listen to reason. Maybe something can be arranged." When he finished saying this, another student came out of the school, being seen out of the corner of Alex's eye, turning his head to look, he saw the kid light a cigarrette and go behind the stairs, which were within earshot.
Is he trying to listen in? What's he pulling? Is he an informant, a spy, just some random kid? What if he's a cop? I hear they've been getting desperate enough to hire kids. he thought, taking a moment to clear his head of the temporary paranoia with a shake. A gang leader always had to be on his guard, always looking behind his shoulder and monitoring every situation for traps. He never knew when the cops would try to arrest him, or a rival gang would attack, or if one of his members would just attempt a coup. Such stress was natural under those conditions. Not minding it, he again gestured towards Jenna's cut.
"You sure you don't want to get that looked at?"  

Posted by: Lien Jul 12 2006, 03:14 AM
Jenna nodded eagerly when Alex repeated what she had said, a sense of excitement building in her stomach at his understanding and agreement. Though it was of her own motivation to beat the living shit out of Mariavel, Alex's approval made this a moment where she was flying high. She licked her bottom lip and let her gaze wander for a moment, thinking about what she was going to do now that Alex was around to shoot the shit with. Her eyes darted back when his head turned towards the school, Jenna barely catching the figure near the stairs. She certainly had no clue who was there, but the fact that he was catching Alex's attention made her edgy.

"Want me to tell him to fuck off?" She asked as her eyes went from Alex, to the figure near the stairs. When he seemed to bring his attention back to their conversation, Jenna left her gaze for a moment longer at the figure, narrowed her eyes, then returned her focus back onto Alex.

"I might later," she barely took her eyes away to check on her arm, which was clotting in a dark and thick line from the blood being allowed to flow from the wound. A few droplets made the cut look theatrical in a sense.

"Rather not have to go back into that school, not unless you want some company in the hallways," she finished before awaiting his answer.



Posted by: Slayer Jul 25 2006, 02:24 AM
"No, that's alright. He's minding his own business, so we can leave him alone." Alex said to Jenna's question on whether to get rid of the smoker or not. He didn't appear to be doing anything, so Alex didn't want to cause trouble. "But we'll know who to go after if we lose any guys in a police raid within this week." a week was reasonable. If nothing happened within a week then it meant the guy wasn't a rat, seeing as the police seemed to act quickly if anyone ratted out Hellbirds activity. Pausing to examine the cut, he found himself in agreement with Jenna. It seemed to be healing already, though he'd still need to talk to Seth about it. When she asked her next question, he stopped to think for a bit, subconsciously fingering his switchblade again. After a few minutes of thought, he heard the bell for the next period ring, and made up his mind.
"That won't be needed. I don't think I'll show up this period. I never had a taste for Art class." he said, grinding his teeth a bit. It was true, he didn't really like Art class. It was one of the three classes he shared with him. Alex was not in the mood to be in the proximity of Walter Smith.
That fucking psycho. I wish his dad had never agreed to my offer. he thought, glaring and almost pulling out the switchblade before stopping himself. He could barely surpress his hatred at the memory of what Smith had tried to do, what he had done.

Alex could still remember what it was like helping Nicole to her feet, having to listen to her crying and trying to cover herself while going into the Stevens' apartment, wanting to hug her, just to show he cared, but knowing the last thing she needed was any man, even her little brother, that close to her after what happened. Thus, he was forced to simply hold her hand, patting her on the back occasionally, and then letting her go into her room to get changed. Soon after one of the Hellbirds came in, telling him what he already expected. Johnny "Ponyboy" Walker (Alex had jokingly suggested this nickname to him when he found out his favorite book was The Outsiders.), the Hellbird who had been uneasy about becoming the Smith family's permanent ally, and who had been caught in the throat during the drunken Walter's surprisingly fierce but futile attempts at fighting back, had died. Alex had actually been rather fond of Walker, who had had a bit of a crush on Alex's older sister (and had even spoken to Alex about it. To this day Alex was sure Johnny had been surprised at Alex's approval.), and (or at least he believed) unlike the other Hellbirds who fought him because Alex did, Johnny had seemed to want to stop Walter from hurting Nicole any more than he had, and had attacked with fervor nearing Alex's.

He'd gotten a full strength (though drunken) haymaker to the trachea for his trouble. The last words he'd gasped out, cliche though they may have been, were to Daniel "Viper" Hedderman, asking him to ask Nicole if he (Johnny) had ever stood a chance. This didn't exactly brighten his sister's mood, knowing that someone had gotten killed trying to help you never was the kind of thing to do that (Daniel had relayed this to Nicole in private, so Alex never knew what she had answered, and had never asked). Walter was still lying unconscious on the floor of the complex's lobby at the time, and Alex had already decided on what to do, but he paused on the stairway, looking down on Johnny's corpse.
The nineteen year old boy didn't bear much resemblance if any to the basis of his nickname. He was about 5'4, being moderately well built (not as much as Alex himself or Thomas Diftre, but still respectable) and wearing a white t-shirt and black sweatpants. He'd been wearing black sandals that day for some reason. He had a bit of acne below the right eye, a small cut under the left and the bottom tip of his right earlobe was missing, but otherwise he had a rather plain face some females might call roughly attractive. Said face was darkened a bit now due to the fact that his last moments had been spent gasping for air. His short yellow-brown hair was parted to the left, but otherwise wasn't worth mentioning, and his green eyes were closed. If it weren't for his suddenly darker face and the obvious indentation in his throat, it would look like he had just fallen asleep. Noting how much he wished that were so, Alex crouched down and after some effort (in life the boy had weighed about 170 pounds, all of that dead weight now) lifted the boy onto his shoulder, carrying him outside behind the others who had Walter and putting the two in the same place; in the back seat of an SUV. They had not known who Johnny's parents were, or where they lived or anything like that, so after they deposited Walter on his own porch with a note pinned to his shirt, they had regretfully found a nearby building scheduled for demolition and snuck the corpse inside, where it would be destroyed with the building.
Alex came out of his reverie about a minute after it started, suddenly coming to a start. The past was in the past, and though he could be angry about it he couldn't change it. Shaking his head, he spoke again.

"Sorry about that, Jenna. How about we get away from this trash heap? I don't know about you but I just don't want anything to do with Bathurst right now."  

Posted by: Lien Jul 28 2006, 05:54 PM
If Jenna had been near anyone else, you could've bet she would have said some smart remark to Alex's blank stare. Instead, she waited patiently, her facial expression possibly mirroring his own vacant gaze, with the exception of her nose twitching slightly.

She returned his question with a smirk, quickly replaced by at frown at the realization that she needed to return to the hallways for the thing she had wanted in the first place, but was happily side-tracked from.

Jenna lost a bet with one of the other members, which meant she needed money from her locker to pay them. She had a fair amount saved up for something she noticed in a shop window, but in the plan to double it, lost half.

"Uh, just give me one second," she backed away slowly, " One second!"

Her feet pounded the ground in a full on sprint up the stairs and into the hallway, the echo softening as she slowed down and turned right, on the way to her locker.

((Continued in: http://z10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...howtopic=1132))  

Posted by: ZigZaggerty Jul 28 2006, 06:02 PM
John got up off the bench dusting off his backside as he did so. They really needed to clean up the school yard around here. He was finally calm and began to think to himself about how he overreacted, his face scrunched up as he began thinking hard if he should skip class or be late.

On one hand his Aunt wouldn't mind and there was nothing important going on today. But, on the other hand noone could care less.

"I'm gonna skip class today" John said to himself as hopped up the stone steps and went inside the school. Closely behind Jenna.

((Continued in: http://z10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...howtopic=1132))  

Posted by: Lien Sep 21 2006, 09:43 PM
((Coming from Skipping Class))

Jenna nearly tripped as she tried to strut away from the fading figure of John, hoping that he hadn't caught the loud slamming sound she made when her hand hit a locker. She shifted her eyes from side to side to make sure no one else had seen, then jogged quickly to the front where she had been standing with Alex moments before.