Dubious Arrangement: Day 10

Word Count: 60,011

Summary of Events:
After waking up at noon — being as he didn't get to sleep until 6:30 in the morning — Greyson watched Hanna have her kittens, five boys and two girls, and then named them Samuel, Robbie, Sofia, Emily, Ivan, Selma, Anna, and Charlotte before texting Shelli the news and again contemplating the termination of their relationship. Later Greyson was exploring and decided to see if the gangsters had found their SUV, they had, and the younger one, JL, demanded that Greyson take it joyriding, which Greyson refused to do . . .

Excerpt of the Day:
"JL stepped toward Greyson, raising the knife. "When you are given orders, you are expected to obey them."
"No," Greyson said firmly.
"Take it for a joyride!" JL shouted, lunging toward Greyson.
At the same instant Greyson took off, making for the hay shed. He heard feet pounding after him, but he kept running. He ran past the hay shed and vaulted over the gate, making for the river as fast as he could.
Bursting into the trees, Greyson kept running, as fast and as hard as he could. He had to get away, he couldn't let JL stab him, and he had a feeling that going for a joyride in that SUV at the gangster's order would not end well. Some way or another they planned on killing him, even if they had to ravage their own SUV to do so.
After awhile Greyson stopped, his sides heaving. He needed rest. There was the sound of crashing through the bush. He had a feeling that was JL, chasing after him, seeking his blood.
Greyson tried to stay still and rest longer, but eventually panic overtook him and he leapt up, running. Gunshots rang out. Greyson kept running; he zigzagged through the trees, trying to lose his pursuers.
He doubled back, he turned hard, he did every sort of evasion technique he could think of except backtracking — being as he was pretty sure he wouldn't be exact, and he knew he couldn't run backwards.
More shots rang out, some bark splintered on a tree about five feet ahead of him. A shot kicked up the soil to his right. Greyson kept running. He heard shouting as he started down a slope. Another shot sounded.
Greyson felt something connect with his foot, his balance was disrupted and he tumbled down the slope haphazardly before his shoulder connected with a tree and reduced his momentum enough for him to brace his arms and stop himself.
Four shots rang out and then there was the sound of another tumbling object. Greyson leapt out of the way, but the tumbling stopped a ways away. Greyson looked up. JL lay on the slope in an uncomfortable position, his eyes wide open and eerily blank.
Slowly Greyson made his way up the slope and found JL was bleeding, three shots down the length of his spine, and one blossoming from the base of his skull, just like the tan-clad gangster Greyson had seen shot before.
Why had Odie shot JL? Had JL messed something up and ticked Odie off? Greyson was confused.
"JL!" he heard a hoarse shout.
Greyson looked up. Moments later Odie, the murderer, appeared. He stood at the top of the slope and looked down, there was horror in his expression. Then his eyes slowly moved until his black-eyed gaze was locked on Greyson; the darkness of his gaze was like a black hole, the rage was potent.
Those four shots JL had taken had been meant for him."