CJ’s crew and I moved through the urban blocks like hyenas craving our next meal. Younger kids and their parents eyed us as we flooded the streets seven deep in search of our prey. If I were on the outside looking in, only one thought would cross my mind:

Them boys ain’t nothin’ to play with.

CJ was surprised I came with them, but on the real, this affiliation ain’t sit right with me. I didn’t wanna be seen as a violent person, nor was it in my blood to hurt anyone despite having the power to.

We passed by a pizza shop and some rundown houses until we turned a corner and spotted Miguel talking to two thugs outside a front yard. We halted and watched from a distance as they made illegal exchanges. Both parties soon separated with Miguel walking inside the home and the thugs hopping inside a car before driving off.

“They trappin’ out that house,” CJ acknowledged. “I say we catch’em off guard and lay’em out.”

“Why don’t we call the police?” I asked. “We could get their whole spot raided.”

“Nah, that ain’t enough. They need to get what’s comin’ to them.”

Jasmine was right; this guy’s stupid as hell.

“Ain’t no comin’ back from this,” I told him. “And you know they gonna retaliate, right?”

“Then let’s make sure they don’t.”

CJ revealed the gun in his hoodie, much to the dismay of my mental state. Even his crew looked hesitant at the sight of the weapon.

“Damn, I ain’t know we were killin’ dudes,” one of them said. “I’m wit’chu, bro, but’cha beef ain’t worth life in prison.”

“My beef?” CJ raised his voice, but not enough to attract attention. “This ‘bout all of us. The Cogs been causin’ problems ‘round here since we were in junior high. If we’re gonna graduate and leave this place behind us, let’s leave it better than we found it. You feel me?”

Hyping his squad up for action reminded me why CJ was the captain of the football team, but this wasn’t a game. Somebody was gonna get shot, or worse.

He uttered one last phrase before the ambush: “Kill or be killed.”

CJ and his crew rushed toward the house and jumped the fence with me following behind nervously. We crept our way to the back door, only to be intercepted by a gang member who was probably the lookout.

“Yo, what the—”

CJ’s crew manhandled the guy before he could say another word, but the ruckus alerted the other gang members inside.

This was it: the confrontation we all should’ve been afraid of.

The gang members stepped out of the house with language as foul as the stench of drugs coming from their clothes. A brawl ensued between the two groups, and though I couldn’t detect the presence of an evil entity, the hate and agony around me was just as unbearable.

Why couldn’t we make peace? Stop the petty beef and move on with our lives?

Unfortunately, my thoughts of wanting serenity left me blindsided by the dangers around me, as a hard strike to the back of my head caused my body to fall face-first to the ground. With the taste of dirt on my lips, the sight of grass overcame my vision before I turned on my back and saw the assailant: Miguel. If that wasn’t bad enough, the headphones on my neck were knocked off due to his attack.

Without them, what was I gonna do?

“You thought I wouldn’t recognize you?” he questioned while pointing his gun at me. My throat tightened as I looked up at him in fear. “Yeah, you that punk who caught my homies off guard the other night. Yo ass would be dead if one of your soft ass friends didn’t whack me in the back of the head like a punk.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I glanced over at my headphones on the ground in hopes of saving myself, but that only ended up being a mistake. Miguel caught a glimpse of my eye movement and walked over to them—laughing just before doing the unthinkable.

“You won’t need these anymore.”

He stomped repeatedly on the headphones until they were broken beyond repair. The rage and desperation in me wanted to charge at him, but the gun pointed directly at me forced my hesitation.

I couldn’t do anything. Not without getting myself killed.

Looking around, CJ and his boys were getting pummeled. Not only that, but we were clearly outnumbered. This confrontation was worse than expected.

Miguel glared and bit his bottom lip, aiming the gun at my face. “You’re dead.”

And just when I thought his words were true, he was knocked to the ground by a tackle from someone.

That someone was Tory.

“You good, bro?” he mouthed with heavy breaths, helping me to stand.

“Yea, I’m good. I’m good.” My eyes landed on Miguel’s gun in the grass that was knocked out of his hand from the impact. “Get the gun.”

CJ must’ve heard my shout, because he separated from tussling with a gang member and raced with Miguel to grab the gun. Unfortunately for us, the opposition retrieved the weapon.

Miguel knocked CJ upside the head with the handle of the gun, leaving him dazed and open for more pistol-whipping until he fell to the ground, unconscious. Both Tory and I tried to run to his aid but were immediately held down by two large gang members. We could do nothing as Miguel let off two rounds at CJ’s arm.

The same arm he used for throwing a football.

My body stiffened with overbearing, twisted thoughts in my head. It was hard to concentrate on anything but breathing, but I could hear Miguel saying, “That boy future is done.” He laughed and continued, “Now for the rest of these fools.”

He shot one of CJ’s friends in the chest, increasing my anguish. The Shadows now made their presence known to me, but without my power, there was nothing I could do about them.

All hope seemed lost.

“Hol’ up a sec,” Miguel said, approaching me and Tory as we tried to escape the grasps of the much bigger gang members. “Yeah, the one who hit me that night… It was you, wasn’t it?”

My eyes widened at the stomach-turning sight of Miguel raising the gun to Tory’s head. “No, it wasn’t him,” I hollered, struggling even more to release myself. “No, please. No. It wasn’t him that night.”

“Nah, don’t give me that. He’s your best friend, ain’t he? He saved you today, and he saved you then. Give it to me straight before I blow your head off first.”

I cried, pleading for Tory’s innocence and for us to be set free. Tears rolled down his cheek as well, but his face was of anger and frustration.

“Go on and do it,” Tory sneered, surprising Miguel. “I’m tired of livin’ in fear and being surrounded with so much hate. Look at how we treat each other, and people like you who gang up with others to do this type of stuff are the problem. You took my mom and dad away… You’re slowly takin’ my brother away. All I ever wanted to do was play video games, but if I had one wish, it would be to get rid of demons like you.”

His words meant nothing to Miguel, who showed no remorse and ordered the gang member holding Tory to throw him to the ground. I tried even harder to break free from the firm grip keeping me in place after seeing my best friend at the mercy of this heartless human being.

No, human being was the wrong term. Miguel was a monster.

“Lights out,” he muttered to Tory, who was on his knees. The image alone disrupted my senses so much that the sound of Miguel pulling the trigger didn’t even register in my mind. All I knew was that it happened—he shot someone—just as he would normally do.

Only this time, the outcome was anything but ordinary.

The bullet didn’t hit Tory, but the foot of the gang member who was behind him. Believe it or not, Tory was standing a few feet away, unharmed and astonished.

Miguel shouted, “What the hell?” over the wailing of the gang member who got shot. He fired at Tory once more and missed his target again due to Tory dashing away in the blink of an eye. This action was repeated until Miguel ran out of bullets, and I couldn’t believe my eyes for one second.

Tory was moving at the speed of sound. Something straight out of a video game.

The hold around my neck and arm was released before the gang member behind me declared, “I’ll get him.” He then rushed toward Tory, who looked petrified despite being the last person out here in danger.

Instead of moving, Tory planted his feet on the ground as if he were waiting to counter the bull of a man. To his and everyone else’s surprise, Tory’s arm raised in the direction of the charging gang member just before his fist released a shot of blue energy. Actual freakin’ energy. The blast was so powerful, it sent the gang member flying backwards in the air, crashing into the window of the trap house.

Bruh. What the hell?

The wide eyes and silence of everyone in the yard told a voiceless story of true fear and shock. The sirens of police cars added to the anxiety and tension of the tale. Everyone fled the scene, including Miguel, whose angry, vengeful expression assured us we haven’t seen the last of him.

“What about CJ?” I yelled out to Tory, who had already started running.

“The cops will take care of him, bro. C’mon, let’s go. Let’s go.”

I glanced at CJ’s seemingly lifeless body on the ground before scampering off with Tory. As expected, the worst of the worst happened today, and I had a feeling the nightmare would only continue from here on out.