Show Me ↝ Black Panther

15

N'Deke could not sleep that night. He tossed and turned, changed positions, readjusted his pillow to no avail. Every time he felt drowsiness overcome him, the sight of that dead man woke him right up. And when he finally did manage to fall asleep, he had the most awful nightmare. The man rose from his awkward position on the asphalt ground. His limbs were twisted at odd angles, and his voice was haunting as he yelled at N'Deke over and over, telling him he was just as bad as the rest of them for not helping him.

"No!" He shot up. His forehead and pillow were damp from sweat, and his hands were shaky.

The door to the bedroom swung open and the light came on. Erik appeared disgruntled from being woken at such an ungodly hour. "The hell's wrong with you? There are folks trynna sleep in here." He stood there, watching N'Deke clutch his chest. "Yo, you think you can keep it down or should I throw you outside tonight?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. It won't happen again." He covered his face with a heavy sigh.

Erik left, and for a second N'Deke thought he'd gotten on the man's nerves for good. When he returned however, he wasn't holding a weapon, but rather a glass of water and a small, orange bottle. He handed them to N'Deke. "Take one pill. 'T should make you shut up."

N'Deke turned the bottle around. Was it safe to accept this from a man such as Erik?

"If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be here right now," Erik said

He had a point. N'Deke popped one of the small pills in his mouth and gulped down the glass of water. He returned the bottle to Erik who simply shook his head. "Keep it. You need it more than I do."

"Thank you."

"Just go to sleep." Erik shut the door behind him, leaving N'Deke alone once more.

As he waited for the pill to take effect, N'Deke bowed his head and began praying for the dead man, for his family and the ones he'd left behind. He prayed for his soul to find peace, and prayed that T'Challa, Okoye, Nakia, and Ross were safe. Most importantly he prayed that Akina and Jeniba were all right, and that they were reunited soon.

Not long after that, he drifted into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

• • •

The following morning Erik woke him up bright and early. "We got places to be. Get moving."

He'd lent N'Deke a pair of slacks and a shirt that was a size too big for him, but that was the least of their worries. Once they'd had breakfast they made their way out the apartment with a couple of bags. N'Deke had the bottle of pills secured in one pocket and his audio enhancers in the other.

The van from the day before was stationed in the parking lot, waiting for them. Erik opened the back doors and got in, greeting the driver, his girlfriend and Klaue. N'Deke took the spot he'd occupied previously when they'd first gotten to the apartment complex.

"You don't got manners?" Erik asked.

N'Deke glanced around at the small crowd waiting on him. "Good morning."

"You got him to speak." The woman chuckled.

"It wasn't that hard."

The van started up and pulled away from the apartment buildings. N'Deke watched them gradually disappear from view.

"I still believe we could trade him for some more vibranium," Klaue said.