by April Nicole
“I must admit, Miss Kairo, I never thought I would see this day. The look on your face when you’re this happy,” Shepard said, gazing up at the sun that was beaming down on their skin. He held the door open as Kairo walked through with both car seats.
“To be honest, me neither.”
“This is one beautiful day. I hope you and the girls enjoy this day together.”
“We will, we have you here with us.”
“That’s right, come on, let’s get you girls out this heat,” said Shepard, taking one of the pink Minnie Mouse car seats and assisting Kairo with the twins inside. It had been weeks since Kairo had seen or been to her home. The smell of poison lingered through the walls, and this made Kairo increasingly upset.
“Do you know if the Voodoo queen is here?”
“Hell, I been with you the whole entire time. She might be out there. You can go see if you wish. I’m just going to sit the girls up in the kitchen in their swings while I start dinner. Also, while they are still napping, you might want to go relax.”
“Yea, I will do just that, but first I need to make a visit.” Kairo made a stop in the kitchen to grab a chef’s knife before she went outside towards the Voodoo queen’s garden. She held the knife in her hand, making sure not to disguise it so she could see what was coming. It was no way in hell Kairo was going to let her get away with cursing her. Kairo waited five minutes before she approached the Voodoo queen. She stood there and watched the Voodoo queen mix and match together some potions while quickly planning how she was going to slit her throat.
“What’s the meaning of this visit? You coming to kill me? You still have a contract to fulfill with me, don’t you?” the Voodoo queen said, quickly turning around, as if she was in a swivel chair. She could feel Kairo creeping up from behind and also knew what her true intentions were.
“What? I don’t owe you shit,” Kairo said with attitude, dismissing the thought of giving her babies over to her. Then she hid the knife behind her back, but the Voodoo queen already knew what was behind her back.
“Well if it was nothing, then why you hiding that kitchen knife behind your back? I know you did not come for small talk. So, cut it out. It’s nothing you can say or do to take back the fact them babies belong to me,” she spoke rudely, turning her back around to finish doing her potion.
“Yea, I know, but—”
“Bet you too scared to stick that knife in me while I’m standing here,” she challenged Kairo. She knew exactly what she was doing and had little interest listening to her or hearing what Kairo had to say.
“What?” She was now fed up with the shit they’d been going through. Now this woman was gon’ sit up here and challenge her integrity. “You and I both know it takes nothing to do so, but I had enough torture in a lifetime to keep going through this!” Kairo said before plunging the knife deep into the Voodoo queen’s throat, which took her by surprise because she did not expect Kairo to go through with it after all. The more she tried to resist, the deeper the knife went into her throat. Kairo sliced her throat open like she was gutting a fish. “Bitch, don’t you ever challenge me! Ever!”
Meanwhile, back at the house, Shepard was busy chopping up bell peppers and onions. He could sense something was wrong when he saw his hair thinning and starting to turn grey. He immediately ran out to the Voodoo queen’s garden, but it was too late, old age caught up with him. The more he ran, the more his legs grew fragile and weak, twisting and bending at the ankles like he was made out of rubber.
“Kairo, no!!! You’re killing me too!” Shepard said in a weak, frail voice. She was unaware that the Voodoo queen connected her lifeline to Shepard’s. So, if she were to die, so was Shepard. For she put a spell over him that lasted over 400 years. Soon as he reached the beginning of the garden, just a little past the black vine gate, both of his feet broke due to the pressure from running, causing him to trip over his rubber feet and die.
Just as Kairo was still lodging the knife in the Voodoo queen’s throat, she watched as the Voodoo queen let out a long laugh with blood spilling from the sides of her mouth. She just knew Kairo was clueless as to what was taking place. That potion she was cooking up, was to protect her from this very moment. Her throat and skin began to heal rapidly, and Kairo dropped the knife once she realized this old bitch was cleaver enough to protect herself.
“You bitch!”
“Ha-ha, you thought you was gon’ march your little self up in here and kill me? You thought this would solve all your problems? Oh honey, you’re cursed for life, and you didn’t kill me, you killed Shepard!” she said before disappearing right into thin air. Kairo’s jaw dropped right along with the bloody kitchen knife onto the floor, and she ran back to the house screaming Shepard’s name. The sun disappeared and turned to dark, gloomy and grey clouds. The rain began to pour hard, blinding Kairo as she ran. Finally, she reached the black vine gate and discovered Shepard’s dead, shriveled body. He laid there a black corpse, as if he was burned alive.
“SHEPARD! SHEPARD!” she screamed. “Oh my god!” She got on her knees and held Shepard’s corpse in the cold rain. “NOOO!!! Bring him back!” she cried. She had grown attached to this man as if he was her grandfather. The sound of the babies’ cries traveled through the house and she could hear them in the distance. “Oh, I’m sorry girls, here I come.” Kairo got up and ran into the house to find the babies screaming at the top of their lungs. She rushed to pick both the babies up. “Shhh, shhh, Mommy is here.” She cradled the girls in her arms, rocking them back and forth.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Kairo heard loud banging on the front door, and slowly she got up to answer. It was 8 pm and nobody should be knocking this late. “Who is it?” she asked, looking through the peep hole but was unable to make out their faces.
“The police,” they answered. Kairo gasped and thought to herself, the police, what could they possibly want? She figured she had nothing to hide, so she opened the door anyway. “Kairo Elease Harris, you are under arrest for the murder for Shepard Lewis, and child neglect, you have the right to remain silent.” The police forcefully grabbed Kairo, slapping handcuffs tightly around her wrists while reading her Miranda rights.
“Wait a minute, what? I didn’t kill him. What about my babies!” she cried as she tried to run and get the twins, but the other police already grabbed them and carried them outside. “Release me right now!” she demanded, trying to figure out how the hell they were gone charge her with murder without an investigation first. As she was escorted by two female police officers in handcuffs to the car, she spotted the Voodoo queen dressed in normal clothes holding both the babies, flashing a wicked smile. It was that moment when Kairo realized, the Voodoo queen set this whole scenario up. From Shepard’s body being discovered, to the police knocking on the door. The Voodoo queen set it all up. “Please get her away from my babies!!” Kairo yelled, kicking her feet wildly, trying to avoid getting inside the police car.
“Ma’am, calm down before we taze you!” the policewoman that went by the last name Gaines said, finally getting her to calm down and get inside the car.
“Ain’t this about a bitch!” Kairo said as they slammed the door in her face. She was feeling so furious as she sat there in silence watching in the distance while the police continued to search the property. She looked away and found a screwdriver on the floor of the police car. Somehow, she got this brilliant idea to escape, and go on the run. “Ahh, fuck!” she screamed lowly, as she used all the strength she had to break free from the handcuffs. Dislocating her wrist in the process, both hands were finally free from the tight restraint. Next, she kicked the back window, making a shattering noise, catching the police’s attention. Kairo wasted no time climbing in the front seat, scraping her skin on the shards of glass trying to make a run for it. She saw the police running towards the car to check on her, and she jammed the screwdriver in the ignition to start the car. Soon as the ignition turned, she pressed down on the gas as hard as she could,
pulling off with dust in her rearview.
“Ma’am!!” one police lady screamed while running after the squad car, but Kairo was already halfway down the road. She sped up, looking back in the rearview mirror with tears in her eyes. She knew she just failed as a parent, abandoning her girls, but she could not risk doing life in prison. Five miles in, she ditched the car and decided to travel by foot. The hot sun was beaming down on her skin after it stormed, making the air muggy. The temperature was a scorching 110 degrees, and it felt like she was walking in a dry ass desert. Kairo was parched, so she decided to take a rest to catch her breath.
“FUUCK!!” she yelled, wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead with the same wrist that was in a lot of pain. She ripped her t-shirt, creating a bandage, and wrapped it around to lessen the pain. She finally sat down on a black boulder nearby and started to sob. She had no idea how she was going to get back north on foot. Just when she was about to give up all hope, she a spotted a red car driving up the road. “Oh, thank God!” Kairo said, sticking herself with the screwdriver and ripping her shirt more before she went in the middle of the road to play like a damsel in distress. Soon as the car grew nearer, Kairo pretended to faint in the middle of the road, causing the little red car to swerve. SCCCUUUURRRTTTT!!! The red car came to a screeching halt to avoid hitting Kairo, who was lying in a fetal position.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” A Caucasian lady in her mid-50s got out her car to run to Kairo’s rescue. She was traveling alone and on her way to visit some family when she noticed this woman was in need. Little did she know, this was all just a setup to highjack her for her car. “Ma’am, are yo—”
“Give me your fucking car!” Kairo yelled, striking the screwdriver into the lady’s throat. She did not even give the woman a chance to respond no, before she just killed her on the spot. Kairo removed the screwdriver from the woman’s throat, and she began choking on her own blood, reaching out to Kairo for help, but Kairo just looked at her. “Sorry this has to be this way,” she said and walked away. She got inside the car and dumped the woman’s purse out of the window after finding $3,000 worth of cash and a small handgun along with her driver’s license. “Cheryl, why you have to be so nice?” Kairo whispered to herself, tossing the ID out and keeping the cash. She checked the gas and shifted the car in drive for the long drive ahead of her. She passed Cheryl’s dead body and did not look back.
After driving from New Orleans to Detroit within 14 hours, Kairo stopped again at the Sunoco gas station on Linwood and Davison. She refilled her gas tank and grabbed a pair of sunglasses to disguise her look. Once she reached the counter, the clerk looked at her like she was strange. He had observed her since she walked in the door but could not stop staring at her.
“Do you have a fucking staring problem?” she asked, offended, forgetting she was looking like a runaway slave.
“No, it’s just you are so beautiful but out here dressed in rags. Are you alright?” he replied, ringing her up for the items she came to purchase.
“Mind your business,” she snapped, snatching the bags off the counter and walking out to pump her gas. It did not occur to her that she would need a place to stay for the night. Then she thought about the crib she and Delano legally shared over in the Boston Edison area. Soon as she put the nozzle back into the pump, the clerk boy came out to ask her for her number. She looked him up and down and said, “Boy, you better run. I’ma killer.” When Kairo saw the boy didn’t flinch, he just stood there like she was joking, she reached into the glove department for the small handgun she found earlier. “Does this convince you otherwise?” she said, pointing the gun in the man’s face.
“Damn lil’ mama!” he yelled with both hands in the air.
“You better leave me the fuck alone!” She scowled at him. He finally got the message she was not interested, and he backed off. Kairo turned the ignition and pulled off into traffic towards their house. It took her about 15 minutes to arrive, and she parked her stolen vehicle inside the garage next to the red Camaro. The house was dark and looked like it was abandoned for years. She did not give a damn about the upkeep, she just needed a place to lay her head for the night. Walking up to the house, Kairo prayed the back-up key was in the place they discussed would be their go to. She searched the flowerpot, dumping the soil onto the ground, and the key appeared. “Bing-fucking-go!” she said, jumping up to go enter her home.
Upon entry, she flicked the light on and saw the house was exactly the same since she left a while ago. Kairo went into the basement, grabbed her a bottle of Carlo Rossi sweet wine, and ran her a hot bubble bath. She walked into the room to discover her clothes were all packed up in boxes. “Fucking Delano!” she cried as she took a sip of her wine, settling down into the warm water. She still was not done grieving over her husband.
Kairo scrubbed her skin, getting the dried blood off her, while sobbing about her life and what she’d become. She was a cold-blooded killer, killing motherfuckers left and right, but she had to. Living in the streets of Detroit, it was either you get them or they get you, and Kairo was not taking any chances. Five minutes into relaxing in the tub, Kairo heard glass shattering downstairs. She hurriedly got out the tub, wrapping the oversized towel around her body. She then grabbed the bat that was in the linen closet and tipped downstairs in the dark. Now this was her house, so she had the advantage of knowing her house walking in the dark.
Glass continued to shatter coming from the kitchen, and she slowly approached. Kairo was on the run, no telling who the Voodoo queen used to follow her up to Detroit. She was very cautions and once she reached the kitchen, the perpetrator was halfway in the house and Kairo took the bat and swung.
Bat Shit Crazy 2
“Get the fuck out of my house!!” Kairo screamed as she swung the bat, striking the perpetrator numerous times. He finally fell onto the floor, shielding himself from the bat beating him.
“Kairo!” Malachi screamed.
“Malachi?” Kairo said and stopped beating him. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I came to see if I could get the red Camaro and saw the back-up key was not in the spot. I just assumed the soil that was on the ground was from the wind knocking over the flowerpot.”
“Oh my goodness, boy you scared the fuck out of me! And what happened to your yellow whip?” Kairo said, helping Malachi off the floor. She was relieved it was just her stepson and nobody else, but she had every reason to believe he was a burglar dressed in all black. “Why are you dressed in all black? That’s why I couldn’t tell who you were.”
“I certainly wasn’t expecting you to be here in the city. Besides, I’m running from Johnny and the police took my car. Wait a minute, wasn’t you pregnant?” he asked, changing the conversation.
“I thought I killed that motherfucker! And yes, but that evil ass Voodoo queen cursed me and took them from me. Now I’m on the run from the damn law.”
“Cursed? And you are on the run from the law? What happened since I left?”
“That is a long story,” she said, avoiding eye contact with him.
“I’m here, all night.”
“I need to get him for once and for all!” Kairo said with fire in her eyes, ignoring the fact that Malachi wanted to hear why she was running from the law. She did not have a plan, she just thought as she moved. She was tired of this bullshit ass game that Johnny was playing, him not dying. To her, she felt like he was immortal or some shit.
“I’m not sure how we are going to do that, but we could start by setting his warehouse on fire.”
“We did that before, and it still didn’t kill him. Well, the only difference was he wasn’t inside the warehouse. Where is it?”
“It’s on Vandyke,” Malachi said.
“Ok, we will go there first thing in the am,” she said, heading up the stairs.
“Alright,” Malachi said and headed upstairs also. They both ended up spending the night in the same place, as if they never left. Kairo climbed into her bed
and stared up into the sky while silent tears ran down her face.
The next morning, Kairo rounded up 15 gallons of gas before heading over to Johnny’s warehouse on Vandyke. She wasn’t about to go out like no punk, so she walked around the place with the gasoline, making a lap around the warehouse twice.
“Ok, here is the plan,” Malachi said to Kairo as they talked about how they were going to go on the inside to burn the place down. “I am going to create a distraction because I know how this works. I know who all is on shift and where they are stationed. It’s innocent people in there that don’t deserve to die.”
“What the hell is going on in there?”
“It’s how he runs his drug operation.”
“Ok, listen to my plan,” Kairo said as she thought of her plan. “Let’s get as many of his guards trapped into one room and burn their asses along with the warehouse. I’m going to be the distraction by blowing up all their cars.”
“Wait, you going to do what?” Malachi questioned. He knew she did not just say what the hell he think she just said. “How do you think you gon’ do that?”
“Just watch,” Kairo said and threw a match towards their cars. BLAZE!!! The cars engulfed in flames right before their eyes. Alarms went off, creating the distraction just as Kairo imagined. “Soon they will be running out to put the fires out while we slide inside.”
Soon as Kairo mentioned their plan, the door swung open and all of Johnny’s guards ran towards their cars, except for Azul. He was screaming for them to back up, for he knew burning cars would soon explode. Not knowing how long the cars was burning for, they ran to get water and still approached the burning cars.
BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!