GNARLY BASTARD

CHAPTER 1

I turn the corner, running after him almost out of breath, only for us to reach a dead end. Then we make eye contact, both of us gasping for air. We both knew there was no escaping the predicament now. I reach for the glock on the side of my hip.

"Brandon, you know I have to I don't have a option?" I proclaim. His body begins to tremble as I slowly raise my arm to aim.

"Please," he pleads slowly while stepping backwards, "Malik, you don't have to do this. Isn't there something else we can agree on?" his voice is quavery and I can see the fear in his eyes.

Slowly, I cock the gun. There's no going back now, I'm in far too deep. I can't just walk away any more. "I'm sorry." I apologize wholeheartedly, my voice remorseful as I squeeze my eyes shut nervously. My hands still quivering, I exerted force on the trigger. A loud bang rings through the atmosphere as the gun drops to the ground. When I open my eyes, his body's collapsing to the floor. Panic and shock floods his face while he grips his leaking abdomen.

He soon hits the concrete, watching the warm blood cascade across him, drenching his shirt. He wails out in pain causing me to frown. Sadly, the jobs not done yet. With my hands still quaking, I retrieve the firearm from the floor.

"No, no. Please, I'll give you whatever you want, just help me!" he cries and pleas while scooting backwards, his body now pressed against the wall. Another shot resounds through the silent night. His eyelids dropping immediately as he lets out one last exhale, his body then convulses before going eerily motionless.

I release the weapon once again as I begin to shudder, tears leaking from my eyes. I feel sick and a foul stench fills the air, causing me to heave. I can't keep my composure anymore and begin to regurgitate. I stand up once I'm done, silent for a few seconds afterwards. Nothing else to do but just pick my head up and wipe my mouth. A blank expression falls upon my face and an emptiness engulfs my mind as I stare at the wall in front of me. Losing track of time, at least a minute or two pass before I pick up the glock and shell cases, tuck them and walk out the lengthy alleyway I chased him down.

As I reach the entry of the alleyway, I slowly exhale, unsure of how to feel or what to do. I walk away staggered as if I were a drunk, clueless of how long I had before cops arrive. Slowly but surely, I make my way towards the house, starring at the starry sky while I walk as all types of thoughts cloud my mind. I look down at the road and I can see the house in the distance. A silence falls over the normally chaotic house as I walk through the door.

"It's okay, you did what needed to be done." I hear someone say.

"He caused too much trouble, he had to go." I hear a second voice assure but I stay silent while I walk to the bathroom. Then, I start cleaning my hands over and over. "Your hands are clean, you can stop now. There's nothing on you." A few of them tell me.

"But they're not," I mumble to myself. I can still see the blood in my head as I frantically scrub my hands. Every time I close my eyes, I see his lifeless body slumped against the wall. I didn't sleep at all that night. A few hours after sunrise, now my eyes grow heavy but before I can close them, I hear the TV in the distance. "Today, another fatal murder has taken place,"

'19 year old wanted fugitive found dead,' the title reads.

The television trails off but I dont listen in, I know the details. Memories of last night flood my mind and I begin to panic internally. Everyone in the house asks me if I'm okay. I simply meet their gazes and give them a firm head nod before leaving the room.

Now, I'm supposed to just pretend nothing happened, I think to myself as I walk out the front door. Out the corner of my eye, I see a figure approaching, "Hey, Malik!" a high pitched voice yells at me. I turn my head to see Aaliyah motioning me over to her. I take a deep breath, put on a believable fake smile, and start to walk over towards her.