by Wilde, Ora
“How the fuck did he manage to shut down the power supply?”
“Am gonna fuck that leva up so bad that his own mother won’t recognize his fucking corpse!”
“Three bullets in the head... nothin’ more, nothin’ less!”
“Give the motherfucker some credit. He was brave enough to come for us.”
“What if he isn’t alone? What if that fuckin’ leva brought some backup?”
Backup? What kind of backup could Nash possibly bring? The police? He said so himself. That wasn’t an option. The authorities would apprehend the gang members, but they would also have to take him in. And there was also the matter of the Russian mob who would want to guarantee his death. Even if Nash was in prison, they won’t stop until they take his life... and that may mean endangering us, as well... me, my baby, my stepmom, my dad...
Nash wouldn’t want that. He always avoided that. He tried his best to stay away from us, to spare us from such perils. I know him, so much so that I know he’d rather die than see us harmed.
Just like his dad...
I closed my eyes for a bit and tried my best to concentrate. If the bond we shared was strong, our thoughts would connect even across massive distances... he’d know what I was thinking and I’d know what was on his mind... just like in books, just like in the movies. Desperation started to sink in when I we started to descend the first flight of stairs and I almost fell were it not for Travis’ strong arm pulling me up. It was then when I was reminded that what was happening... what was about to happen... everything was real. Nash was in danger. I was in danger. My baby was in danger.
The fear I had only intensified as soon as we reached the lobby. The space was filled with old, dusty and broken furniture at every corner, but the middle area was barren. The General went to the center and his men surrounded him. He began to bark out his instructions.
“Four of you, take the west side,” he said, “four flank the right. The rest stay with me.”
“H’bout the skank?” Jerome asked.
“She stays with my group,” the General answered.
“Oh, good. Me and the crab bitch can have some fun times while we be waitin’ for the leva,” the latino guy said. He began to approach me with a wicked smile on his face.
Travis cut him off.
“She’ll be staying with me,” he said.
“What? You’re not sharin’ that leva’s whippin’ girl?” the latino guy confronted Travis.
“She’ll be staying with me!” Travis repeated sternly. “Stop thinking with your dick for once. We have a job to do.”
The latino guy gave him one last look of contempt before walking away to join the men who were asked to secure the right flank.
A few seconds later and I heard gunshots in rapid succession. There were screams from the gang members though I didn’t understand what they were yelling. The four people around me and Travis started to take cover. The general ordered us to do the same.
“Fucking deserter,” the General cursed, “where did he get his backup?”
“A rival gang, boss, am’a sure of it!” Jerome shouted. “The motherfucker left our crew to hook up with the Crips or maybe the Bloods. Am’a gonna kill that bitch leva! Am’a gonna kill him, boss!”
“The Crips aren’t armed,” the General calmly uttered. “The Bloods here don’t accept whites. That deserter probably called the cops.”
My heart stopped beating the moment I heard those words. I didn’t know what to feel. Should I have felt relieved because Nash managed to call the police, and surely, they’d know how to handle the situation? Or should I have felt a sense of trepidation, knowing that by calling the authorities, Nash would’ve given away a life of freedom?
Suddenly, one of their members ran back to the lobby.
“Boss!” he called out, panting. “He got us cornered! Shot down Leon and Marty!”
“Fuck!” the General cussed. “Who did the deserter bring with him?”
The gang member just gave him a puzzled look.
“Who did he bring with him?” the General asked again. “Damn it! Answer me quickly! We don’t have time here!”
“Uhhh.... no one, boss,” the gang member answered. “He... he was all alone...”
The General lost it.
He grabbed the gang member’s revolver and shoved him away. Then he pointed the gun upwards and started to fire. Instinctively, I sat on the floor and covered my ears. Still, I heard four shots, one after another.
“Come to me, you motherfucking deserter!” the General started screaming like a madman. “Let’s finish this, you quitter! Prove to me that you’ve got balls! I’m right here! I’m waiting for you!”
Beside me, Travis drew his gun and cocked it. He was ready to shoot at the first sight of his target.
I wanted to ask him to rethink his position. I wanted to appeal to his heart, as I’ve seen a glimpse of kindness there. I wanted to beg him to spare Nash’s life, for me and the baby I was carrying.
My lips began to part, and the first word was about to escape my mouth...
But Travis suddenly fell to the ground, struck by a mighty blow from what looked like a blunt object.
I looked at his assailant and...
And...
There he stood... my stepbrother... my lover... my savior... the father of my child. He hovered over his fallen friend. He looked at me intently but with a certain level of gentleness, expressing his concern but reminding me that we’re in a very dire predicament and we should move fast. His white shirt had streaks of mud. He was holding a baseball bat, which he quickly but quietly laid on the ground upon seeing me. He placed his finger over his lips, gesturing me to keep quiet.
But it was too late.
Jerome saw us and he immediately alerted his companions.
“Shit, boss! The fucking leva’s here!” he yelled. “Boss, the fucking leva’s here! The bitch used the fire exit! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
The General turned around and found us. He pointed his gun towards our direction and started to fire.
Three shots.
Chipping the wall behind us.
We ducked and ran towards the backdoor from where Nash came from. He held my hand and led me to the exit. I went out first and he quickly followed. He closed the door and pulled the bolt that locked it. I heard them punching and kicking at the metal panel from the other side, screaming and cussing and threatening him with the most hideous acts of vengeance imaginable.
He grabbed my hand once more and we started to dash towards another flight of stairs going down to what seemed like the basement. No. It was the parking lot. Once we reached it, I was surprised to discover that it was empty. Not a single vehicle was in sight. I began to worry about how we were going to escape the premises.
Then he hugged me tightly, tighter than his tightest embrace from before.
“Are you alright?” he asked, the worry in his voice was very much apparent.
I just nodded. I couldn’t speak... because of overpowering fear and because my mouth was pushed hard against his sturdy chest.
“It’s not over yet,” he said. “We have to get out of here.”
I jerked myself out of his clasp and confronted him.
“Travis said that this will only end if you die,” I told him as my eyes began to swell once more. “Tell me that’s not true, Nash.”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he looked around to see if the coast was clear. Then he prompted me to move and keep pace with him.
“At the other end, there is an entryway,” he said. “It will lead us to the banks of Eltoncrest River. Once we get there, I want you to run... just run... northwards to Lincoln, okay? Whatever happens, just run, Andrea... just run!”
I was hesitant to say yes because it would’ve meant that I’d leave him behind if things went wrong... something that I didn’t want to do. But time wasn’t on our side so I just nodded.
We rushed across the parking lot and saw the entranceway he talked about. It l
ooked like a garage door. He pulled what looked like a lever, and the metal divider opened. It made a loud sound... too loud that it could’ve alerted anyone nearby.
As soon as the metal door pulled up and the cold air from the outside swept into us, my fears were confirmed.
There they were, Nash’s former brothers, waiting for us, with their guns ready to fire. In the middle of the group was the General, with a wicked grin on his face.
“Finally, a reunion with the deserter,” he mockingly said with scorn.
“Drop your fuckin’ nine, leva,” the latino guy ordered.
Nash did as he commanded. He drew his revolver, which was tucked in the seams of his pants, and threw it on the ground.
“Your problem is with me,” he told them. “Leave her out of this.”
“You know how we work,” the General responded. “We don’t hurt people if they don’t have any business with us. But she... she witnessed everything. She knows a lot.”
“She won’t say anything, I can guarantee that,” Nash replied, with surprising serenity. “I know her. She won’t talk. You have my word.”
“A dying man’s word,” the General interjected. “Indeed, that means a lot. But she has seen enough. I want her to see more.”
“What do you mean?” Nash asked with a tone of worry.
“Well, she’s seen this much,” the General added, “might as well let her witness the very end.”
Oh my God.
Did he mean that they’d kill Nash and they... they wanted me to watch?
Nash tightened his grip on my arm, as if he was telling me to keep calm.
No, that wasn’t it.
The way he rubbed my fingers with his... the way he tried to savor my touch, my feel... the was his hand shivered even if it was clutched... the look of resignation on his face...
It was as if he was saying goodbye...
Travis stepped forward, still groggy from the blow that Nash dealt him. He grabbed my arm and tried to bring me towards their group. Nash cut him off and shoved him. Then, Travis punched him on the face. Nash’s knees buckled, and he was left kneeling on the ground. I tried to scream, out of distress and horror and helplessness, but no sound came out of my mouth. Just air... empty air filled with forbearance and fright.
“An eye for an eye,” Travis uttered in ridicule.
“Travis... please... keep her safe...” Nash struggled to plead. “For the sake of everything we’ve been through... you were my frie...”
Travis didn’t allow him to finish. He kicked Nash’s face, causing the father of my child to collapse on the soil.
Two gang members went to where he was and picked him up. Nash could barely stand, as his captors had to carry his weight with their arms.
“Bring that fucking traitor to me,” the General ordered.
The two men did as they were told. Soon enough, Nash - beaten and barely conscious - found himself face-to-face with the leader he once followed and admired.
The General mocked him with a hysterical laugh. Then he slapped him repeatedly. Hard slaps. In rapid succession. Each slap produced a thumping sound that echoed around the abandoned space behind the condemned building.
I begged him to stop. But the General just gave me a scorned look before continuing with Nash’s humiliation.
He ended his barrage of slaps with a strong punch to Nash’s gut.
Nash crumpled, but the men lifted him up. He then started to spit out some blood.
“You chose to leave us?” the General angrily asked him. “You fucking chose to leave us? We treated you well. We gave you what you needed. We accepted you like family. And you had the fucking audacity to leave us?”
Nash didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He was too beaten and weak.
Then the General pointed his gun straight at Nash’s forehead. He cocked it and seemed like he was about to fire.
“No... please... no,” I begged, sobbing and desperate for him to spare his life.
“Shut up, crab bitch!” the latino guy screamed.
Jerome approached me with his gun in hand, holding it by its barrel, ready to strike me with its handle. Travis swiftly came between us. He pushed Jerome away and they snarled at each other.
“She’ll watch him die,” Travis said. “Isn’t that enough suffering for her?”
Jerome gave him a middle finger again before walking away.
“Bring this traitor by the river,” the General ordered the two men who were carrying Nash.
“Why not just pop a cap in his head right here, boss?” the latino male asked.
“It’s a little past ten,” the General answered. “The dam has just been opened. Let the currents carry his corpse to the next state.”
The latino guy nodded in agreement.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” the General irately questioned. “Get his ass by the river so we can put a bullet in his head already!”
The gang members started to march towards the river which was just at the end of the empty lot. Travis dragged me with him. I tried to escape his grasp, but his grip was strong. I tried begging for Nash’s life, but the only word that I managed to say was please, please, please... repeatedly, stammeringly, desperately.
He didn’t listen.
As soon as we arrived by the riverside, I saw the two men bring Nash towards the edge of the concrete bank that separated water from land. Just as the General has said, the currents were strong. They were always strong that time of the evening, as Phillux Dam was opened to supply water to the cities east of Placerville.
The two gang members extended Nash’s arms apart. He looked like he was crucified against the cold, damp air. The General approached him, still carrying his gun. He pointed his barrel on the bridge of Nash’s nose.
“Any last words to the brothers you abandoned, traitor?” the General scoffingly asked.
“No...” Nash struggled to say. “Not to them.”
The General looked like he was taken aback by Nash’s response.
“Then who would you want to receive your last words, traitor?” the General queried.
“Him...” Nash replied, looking straight at Travis.
Travis released my arm and pushed me towards one of the men who quickly held me. He walked towards Nash with deliberate steps, as if he was taking his time, as if... as if... as if he was thinking...
A glimmer of hope...
It was at that moment when I figured it out. Travis and Nash were friends. They joined the gang together, and they’ve been friends even before that. They have been friends for years. They have surely discussed this kind of a scenario before... and they have made plans for it. Travis was just putting up a facade of blind loyalty to their group so that they won’t suspect anything. But he and Nash... they have an endgame in mind. Travis would help Nash escape... and in so doing... would help me and my baby escape as well.
Travis had to.
He was his friend.
He is his friend.
He stood in front of Nash. Nash gave him a smile, and Travis didn’t seem to reciprocate his warm gesture. Nash whispered something to him... something which I failed to hear. They were too far away. I couldn’t even read his lips.
Perhaps it was their plan...
Maybe Nash gave him the go signal to begin their escape...
They had a strategy to get out of there... it’s how it should be... it’s how it should work...
A great weight crushed my heart when I saw what happened next.
Travis got mad... really mad... at what Nash told him. He punched him on the face. And then he... he...
He drew his gun and fired on Nash’s chest.
It was quick. Without warning. No one saw it coming. Not Nash. Not the gang members who surrounded them. Not the General who started cursing.
I saw the life escape from my brother’s face. Every ounce of strength left his body, and the two men who were holding him suddenly found it difficult to keep him up. I saw blood trickle from the side of his
mouth. I saw his eyes surrender to his inescapable fate...
But before they fully closed, he looked at me... longingly... lovingly... sadly, as if he was apologizing for failing me, for failing to raise our baby with me, for failing to witness how our child would grow up...
One last look...
One last look that I would never, ever forget...
Travis grabbed Nash’s collar and screamed at him... furiously... as if he hated him for something so deep and tortuous.