The Main Street Riots - WritingForums.com - Writing Forums, Writing Challenges, Critiques and Help for Writers

Crash_Tomas · 06-21-2006, 01:07 PM

I wrote this, but got stuck at what to do, after a short while of writing it...

The Main Street Riots
Chapter One

The streets are silent at night, much more so than in the day time. Guns aren’t fired across the street at unsuspecting citizens and none of us has seen a day where a line of bullets doesn’t cover a door. I live in a modernizing city, Hubert Junction. I am a local taxi driver and each day I pick up some pretty odd characters, one day I got taken on the greatest adventure of my life. I have never been the same.

It started with a wave of a hand on a street corner, I was behind the wheel of course and pulled over to pick up a man in a black coat and brown top hat. He had a cigarette in his mouth and seemed to be in a hurry. I didn’t see his face at first and once I did I paid no attention to his missing right ear.

“Just drive.” he ordered, and I did since I had nothing else better to do. His voice was scratchy and mean, his eyes a dark brown. His hair was slicked back underneath his hat and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and let out the smoke. I began to drive my taxi and passed by buildings still being built.

“So where you headed?” I asked, trying to make small talk. The man sat in the back of the taxi with his body leaned towards the center of the seat. He glanced up at me and I saw some sort of fear in his eyes.

“The train station on third and sixth.” he answered. I looked back in the rear view mirror at him and he stared back at me. My eyes were wide and my heart was racing in fear of being robbed or something.

“Do you have a name?” I asked cautiously.

“Yeah,” he answered in his scratchy tone. “friends call me Cheeks, enemies call me dead.” he laughed and I pretended as if it was funny and humored him. “Yourself?” he asked.

“Elliot.” I answered.

“Well Elliot, we both have somethin’ in common.” he said and I stared at him in confusion.

“Yeah, and what’s that?” I asked staring back up into the mirror.

He waited a few seconds and glanced behind us, then said with a smile “We’re both being chased by the pigs.”

After Cheeks finished speaking he grinned and dropped down onto the seat. I punched the gas and swerved around the corner onto the main drag. People here have a saying when you’re in trouble, its called being in between a rock and hard place. Let me to tell you, it’s not a fun place to be.

My taxi sped down the drag, passed by a few of the juice-joints, and a couple smooching on a bench. I glanced in my mirror and saw the pigs lights flashing and heard the siren blazing. It all drove me to drive even faster. I took a quick left and the taxi jerked and came close to riding up on the sidewalk.

Cheeks sat up and through my rear mirror I saw a chopper in his hands. He rolled down the window, leaned out and began to fire. His arms jerked back a little as bullets flew towards the pigs car.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled back at him. Through the sounds of bullets firing, sirens blazing and the roar of my engine, I was drowned out and pretty sure that Cheeks didn’t hear me. I shifted into third gear and took a right down an alley. The pig was beginning to turn when I took a sharp left and turned off the car. Cheeks slid back in my taxi and leaned back onto the seat. I slid down and tucked my head towards the steering wheel. The sirens blazed past us and in a few seconds faded out into silence.
“Nice driving there Elliot.” Cheeks said with a grin, “ I change my mind, take me to Mike’s Speakeasy.”

I sat up straight, turned the key to my cab and said. “Sure thing, Cheeks.” I put the car in reverse, and backed up back into the alley and onto the drag.

Saint Dane · 06-27-2006, 01:24 PM

Good Begining!!!! You should continue this!! I have never read this one. You should post it on Pen, and continue it.

tomo_the_third · 07-02-2006, 01:27 PM

'Tis a good beginning except I don't understand why Elliot, who seems to be a normal taxi driver, decides to break the law. Unless it's because Cheeks has a gun - but its not made clear he's threatening Elliot with it.

This has loads of potential though, I read it to the end - and that means I want to read on!

Crash_Tomas · 07-02-2006, 03:38 PM

I guess I could keep going... elliot drives cos he is told to, and that is his job... he is sort of intimidated by the guy, i just never got out around to saying that cos of its shortness... all well, this will be a project for next year then~

thanks for the input!