Spirits and Demons

Bar Fight

                                                                 Part Thirteen

  Being grounded turned out to not be true, especially when all the kids were left alone while all the adults went bar hopping for the night. The big city came alive after midnight, looking out of the 6th floor apartment window, kids could be seen playing in the streets. Jimmy Don and Chip were still pretty messed up on the drugs they'd purchased at the park. They hollered at the kids gathered in the middle of the street, asking them what was going on down there. Someone hollered back that they were racing custom built toy cars so Jimmy Don, Chip, James Michael, Ricky, and Ronny took off down the stairs to join the crowd. The street had a high incline, perfect for racing toy cars when traffic had dwindled from the hectic daily pace. It wasn't long before Jimmy Don and Chip had gotten into a fight with some of the street thugs and after a few punches were thrown, everyone ran back up the stairs to the apartment to get away from the gang. The door was beaten on by some of the street thugs until the neighbors called the police. After the police left, the street thugs hollered up to the 6th floor window at Jimmy Don and Chip. They hollered threats of all kinds, saying they'd wait all night if that's what it would take to catch Jimmy Don and Chip and that they were going to beat them up. This went on all night until finally the drunk adults made it home. Louis stretched his body out of the window, firing several shots from his pistol until the street thugs moved on down the street.

  Sometime after twelve o'clock the next day, Chip woke all the kids up and said he wanted to go shoot some pool. No one wanted to go with him so James Michael decided he'd enjoy shooting some pool also. Walking down 113th street for about seven or eight blocks, Chip found a bar and said this is the one. Minimum age allowed was 18 yet Chip and James Michael walked in to no one's protest. Chip even ordered a couple of beers for himself and James Michael and they began shooting pool on a table in the backroom. A while had passed and they were on their second beer apiece when a couple of guys in the front room began arguing real loud over their pool game. Chip and James Michael were told by the bartender that they'd better leave before the police were called. As soon as they started heading for the door a gunshot went off and everyone in the bar hit the floor. A few minutes later some guys in the front room were speaking about how the victim had lost the pool game and owed the other guy yet refused to pay him. Instead of paying the winner, he'd pulled a knife on him and the guy that had won the game pulled out a pistol and shot the guy in self defense. James Michael and Chip were both visibly shaken as they were leaving, having to step over the dead guy who'd just been shot. James Michael sensed somehow that all the violence and death he'd seen since only being in Kansas City a couple of days just couldn't be real. Everything had become surreal since he'd left his small country home of West Monroe. He thought more and more how he wished he were still there back home near Cheniere Lake and the Ouachita River where life is much slower paced. 

  Leaving the bar, Chip and James Michael headed to Kress's five and dime so Chip could steal some things he wanted. James Michael wouldn't go in the store with him and rode the escalators for a couple of hours trying to get his head back on straight from being so near death once again. Finally Chip came along and right behind him was the store security guard chasing him. Chip ran down the escalators, tripping and falling down as he ran. He got up and continued running to get away from the security guard who was trying to catch him with stolen goods. James Michael met Chip outside and they both ran several blocks until they got away from the guard. Heading back home, Chip told James Michael that they had to stop at the store to get some lemons for his dad. Inside the store were some of the gang members from the other night. Upon recognizing Chip, they went outside and waited for Chip to exit the store. Another fight broke out, gang members came from everywhere and chased Chip and James Michael for a mile or so through the city. Turning into a dead end alley, they knew there was no escaping. Several of the gang members hit Chip with sticks and boards and cut him with a knife. They said to give them all his money and all Chip had was twelve cents and the bag of lemons. James Michael was forced to turn his pockets inside out, he was fortunate and wasn't hit on or cut, maybe because he was only nine years of age. The gang took Chip's change and bag of lemons and told him every time they found him on their turf that they would take everything he has. Chip was beat up and bloody all over when they were let go to go home. Once they were home, Chip told his dad Billy Ray that he and James Michael had been robbed. Billy Ray was drunk and angry so he beat up on Chip since he wanted the lemons to go with the alcohol he was drinking. James Michael went to another room and made himself into a ball near the wall he slept by.