The night owl

Ethan heard a rustling in the tree and looked up, panicked. The night whispered cool sentiments, but the silence was now deafening, even eerie. He waited a moment, eyes adjusting to the darkness when suddenly a screeching noise shocked him back into reality. His heart pounded as he caught his breath, and his throat tightened. After a moment, he recognized the sound, realising with overwhelming relief, it was only a barn owl. Ethan calmed himself. There was nobody here. He was safe, for now.

He returned to the urgent task at hand. The body remained slumped and motionless, in an unnatural position in the boot of the car. It didn’t matter, he wouldn’t feel it anyway, he was already dead. Ethan slammed the boot shut as a sigh of relief escaped him. He was still shocked. How was this happening to him? He had no idea it would end like this. A simple transaction, sure, but murder? He couldn’t believe Mike had left him to clean up his mess. The ramifications of this one act were irreversible, and he knew a violent street war was coming. His chances of leaving the club were long gone. He needed help, now.

Ethan stood in the darkness and moved silently to the front of the car. As he climbed into the front seat, he realized this was going to be a long night. The sense of dread rose into his throat as he took out his phone and dialled a number.

The shrill of his mobile awoke Jarrod, startling him from a deep sleep. He’d been dreaming about the curvy girl he’d seen in the local tavern earlier that night. Her petite frame and long, brunette hair reminded him of his fiancé, Jessica. His heart sank thinking of Jessica and ached with that familiar sorrow.

He searched for his phone and saw the name, highlighted in the darkness. It was his brother-in-law, Ethan. Why on earth was he calling at 2 am? He knew it wouldn’t be good. Ethan was still involved with the Bandidos bikie club, and Jarrod had tried to get him out of that life.

“Ethan, why the hell are you calling me at this time of the morning?” There was silence, but Jarrod could hear his labored breathing. “Ethan, what is it, what’s wrong?” Ethan spoke in a chilled manner. “He’s dead. Mike killed him. I need your help now!”

Jarrod’s blood curdled as a chill went down his spine. He had instinctively known this day would come when Ethan would make a call like this. He knew that things were escalating, and he had hoped Ethan would leave before it ever came to this. Jarrod had to decide, right then, at 2 am. Should he help Ethan? Or was he going to hang him out to dry and save himself? He had left this life, but Ethan was family.

“Ok,” he responded, already regretting his decision as soon as the words escaped his mouth. “Where are you?”

Jessica and Jarrod had seemed idealistic. Their life was on track, the envy of many friends, and she was going to be his wife. He’d never felt so happy the day he proposed. Many times, throughout his life, he had never pictured himself being married. He thought that wasn’t something possible in his life for someone like him. Jarrod grew up in the foster system after his parents died from a drug overdose. He doesn’t remember much about his upbringing as he was only three years old. Jarrod did, however, recall the smell of the mouldy and cold apartment they lived in and that he was always hungry. That memory would never go away. He had multiple foster parents throughout his childhood. One was ok, another was not and the final one just wanted the cheque and was bearable if he stayed out of their way. He had ended up joining the Bandidos club, being the lost soul that he was.

That’s where he had met Ethan. He had immediately bonded with the younger Ethan, and their brotherhood grew over time. The first time he met Jessica at Ethan’s BBQ, he knew she was the one, and this would be his family.

Jarrod stayed for many years but finally left that world behind and had opened his mechanic business. A strong move, but one he never regretted, and he and the club left each other alone.

Unfortunately, as Jarrod had been getting out of the club, Ethan was neck deep and involved with some serious illegal activities. He ended up in prison on drug trafficking charges. After his release, he swore he would stay clean and away from the club, but unfortunately, trouble always seemed to find him.

When Jessica suddenly disappeared a year ago, Ethan spiralled out of control and turned to drugs once again. Jarrod was also grieving the loss of his beautiful fiancé as the leads had dried up to her whereabouts. He knew in his gut she hadn’t left him, and he’d always suspected the club was involved but could never prove anything. He felt obligated to help Ethan and support him through these troubled times. He was family after all. He knew Ethan would come out the other side if only he could keep him away from the club. But things had now taken a turn for the worse.

He jumped out of bed, threw on a pair of black jeans, sneakers and a dark hoodie and bolted downstairs to the car.

Ethan was relieved Jarrod was coming. He knew he could never repay him for something like this and knew he should have never involved him. Mike was more dangerous than he realized.

Ethan had been to the club again that morning. He reminded Mike, this was his last deal, and he was leaving the club, for good. He seemed ok. The plan had been since his release, to make enough money to set himself up again and get out of that life, once and for all. He was going to work for Jarrod. It was all set up. It had been so difficult coming out of prison without money and having nothing to fall back on in life. It had only been a few days after his release when Mike reached out and invited him to the club BBQ. He knew it had been a mistake, and now he realized that more than ever. It was probably his biggest mistake in life.

Ethan and Mike had made the deal with the Hells Angels dealer. They’d had a truce between the clubs, so he knew this should go to plan. Ethan was relieved he was leaving this life, forever. Mike was behind him as they moved towards the car when he heard the shot. Ethan spun around in disbelief, as their rival gang dealer fell to the ground, dead. The blood drained from his face. Mike turned to him with murder in his hardened eyes. “You’re not leaving us, Ethan. Now clean this up!”. Mike jumped in the car and sped off, leaving Ethan standing there, panicked, unable to breathe.

As Ethan sat in the car, reliving the night’s events, he saw headlights in the distance slowly moving in his direction. There were only two roads into this area. It must be Jarrod he thought with relief. Or was it? He instantly started to panic. There were a couple of farms nearby. What if someone had heard the shot? He got out of the car, moved slowly to the nearby trees and waited in silence.

The headlights stopped at the far side of the field, and someone got out with a flashlight. It briefly shone towards their car and Ethan realized in horror, it was the Sheriff! Someone must have heard the shot and called the Sheriff!

Ethan held his breath and was hoping, praying the Sheriff would move on without spotting him or the car. He had a body in the boot, fingerprints everywhere. His life was seriously collapsing by the minute.

Sheriff Connor started walking through the field, searching the area for anything unusual. He’d received the call about a gunshot and thought it was probably nothing, just a hyper-vigilant neighbour. But the night had been uneventful, so he’d decided to investigate.

He walked on further, but everything seemed quiet. The trip was going to be a waste of time. Turning to the car, he suddenly heard this dreaded screech, piercing the silence.

He spun around and focused his flashlight on where the noise had originated. It sounded like a barn owl. That damn owl nearly gave him a heart attack! His curiosity got the better of him as he moved toward the area. He could see something just out of his vision, beyond the trees and realized as his heart sank it was a car. His instincts kicked in as he moved towards it.

Ethan watched from the nearby tree, barely breathing, and not moving a muscle as the Sheriff slowly walked towards his location. That damn owl had alerted him. He could have made a run for it! But now it was too late. A feeling of dread filled Ethan as the blood drained out of his face. It was clear to him in that one pivotal moment that his time was up, his life was crumbling, and it would never be the same again, as the flashlight spun around and suddenly shone directly onto his face.