Chapter 1 Left For Dead
Chapter 1
Left For Dead
The boy is running for his life.
In hot pursuit are three members of La 18 street gang.
The city of Cujotepeque, El Salvador has a population of 50,000 people.
It is located near Lake Ilopango on the Carretera Panamericana Highway.
Eighty five percent of the population lives in urban areas that surround the city.
The chase began just outside the Calle A Canton neighborhood.
The boy is running into the jungle on a primitive dirt road.
He knows it is dangerous to leave the limits of the city and run into the jungle where help will be harder to find, but the gangsters are closing in on him.
The road is lined with deep, dense jungle.
The urge to dip into the thick vegetation is strong.
The boy chances a glance over his shoulder.
Running is his only option, they are almost upon him.
___________
The leader of the three gangster’s is called Cada.
The English word for cada is face.
He is called Cada due to a terrible scar that has left the right side of his profile disfigured and with only one eye ball.
Cada and his companions are from La 18 street gang.
They are a violent and terrible criminal organization that originally started in Los Angeles, California USA.
There, the gang is referred to as 18th Street.
Cada is a lieutenant in La 18.
Cada and his organization are at war.
There is a desperate struggle happening all over the Central American triangle.
MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha.
The only gang that can rival in numbers as well as notoriety has been making huge efforts to cease control of the drug trafficking routes through the Triangle.
Both gangs pay homage to one of the most powerful and deadly criminal organization in the world, the Mexican Mafia.
These two gangs have turned the Central American northern triangle into the area with the most homicides in the world.
Cada buried his own brother three days prior.
His body was discovered in a mass grave.
There were fifteen others in the grave alongside Cada’s brother.
Their hands were bound with zip ties and they had been shot at point blank range execution style.
Cada vowed that someone was going to pay for his brothers murder.
Cada’s blood is boiling with hatred.
Vengeance for La 18, as well for the death of his own flesh and blood, is at hand.
The gangster’s rage is terrible and gives him a burst of speed.
His field of vision turns the color of blood.
Cada has murder in his heart.
___________
The canopy of vegetation high above the jungle floor chokes out the last of the fading sun.
The boy feels a hand grab the back of his t-shirt.
He tries to wrench free but it is useless.
The grip is too strong and he is immediately knocked to the ground as his pursuer kicks at his legs.
The fall knocks the wind out of him.
The three seasoned gang members surround the boy and begin kicking him and stomping him.
The boy curls into a ball and tries to protect himself by wrapping his hands around his head.
As the assailants kick at the pathetic figure the blows to his head are catching on his fingers causing them to break and point out in odd angles.
Cada motions for a stop to the stomping.
They are winded from the chase but the thrill of the pursuit and the anticipation of violence has the gangsters in a state of euphoria.
The only sound that can be heard in the darkness of the jungle is the heavy breathing of the attackers and the whimpers of pain coming from their victim.
Head lights can be seen coming from far off down the dirt road.
Cada barks out an order, “Chistoso, grab his legs, Loco, take his arms, someone is coming.”
Chistoso and Loco follow their leader to a clearing out of sight of the road.
The boy is made to stand in front of Cada, each thug has an arm.
He knows it will only be worse for him if he struggles.
The man with the missing eye and terrible scar is relentlessly searching the exposed flesh of their captive for any sign of gang affiliated tattoo’s.
None are visible.
Cada produces a pocket knife, the butterfly type.
Fear and intimidation are the man’s business.
He expertly works the knife in an impressive flash of movement, the blade is wicked and looks very sharp.
As Cada waves the blade around in the boys face he asks, “What do they call you, I’ve never seen you before you piece of shit MS?”
The boy is terrified, he is visibly shaking, and his fear is palpable; this only serves to feed the gangsters enjoyment.
Cada reaches out with the blade and with a whip of his wrist the boys earlobe is lopped off and falls to the jungle floor.
The boy screams out in pain; his tormentors are doubled over in fits of laughter.
When Cada is able to re-gain his composure he puts his mouth to his captives ear and whispers, “Can you hear me now? If you don’t answer my question I am going to assume your ears don’t work. That means I can take them as trophies, you don’t need them!”
As Cada is reaching out with the knife to secure his trophy the terrified boy squeaks out, “I’m not MS, my name is Denny, and I was just taking a short cut home.”
The boy’s answer stills the blade halfway to his ear as Cada registers his words.
A look of frustration overcomes the disfigured face of the gangster.
Denny thinks he sees doubt creep into the mans conscious.
The boy is wrong, Cada shrugs his shoulders and proceeds to sever Denny’s entire ear.
Blood runs in rivulets from the spot where his ear used to be.
The boys screams are terrible.
It matters not, the jungle is empty, and there is no one else to hear.
____________
The gangsters are overcome with laughter.
Cada holds up Denny’s ear for him to see.
The boy can not believe he is standing there looking at his own ear.
Cada holds the severed appendage close to his mouth and yells into it, “You are a liar! When I find your fucking MS tattoo’s I am going to take them as trophies as well!”
The ear is unceremoniously tossed amongst the debris of the jungle floor.
Cada rips open Denny’s shirt to reveal the upper portion of the boy’s body.
Finding not one tattoo on Denny’s upper half Cada rips the wicked blade down the waist of Denny’s pants.
The boy is left standing in only his underwear.
Cada can not find one tattoo on any portion of the young mans flesh.
He works the butterfly knife and it disappears back into his pocket.
The gangsters frustration and anger boil over and is released in a fit of rage.
Cada unleashes a flurry of punches at the boy’s face.
A blow lands square on Denny’s nose and a spray of blood fans out over the jungle.
Cada lands a punch on Denny’s left eye, it swells shut immediately.
Denny feels a tooth get knocked out, it hits the back of his throat, and he inadvertently swallows it.
The attack stops as Cada bends over with his hands on his knees to catch his breathe.
Chistoso and Loco manage to keep the boy on his feet as he struggles to stay conscious.
Cada is breathing heavy as he produces a length of nylon rope from his pocket.
Denny begins to struggle from the grip of the thugs holding his arms.
It is useless, they are simply too strong.
The rope is being dangled in front of Denny’s vision, Cada is tormenting his captive and thoroughly enjoying every moment of it.
Cada says, “Tell me you are MS and we will let you go.”
Denny stops struggling as his befuddled and battered brain registers Cada’s words.
The boy knows that it is a trick, these men mean to kill him, all Denny could think to do is plead for his life, ”Please, I took a short cut home, I’m not MS, I don’t belong to a gang, please believe me.”
Cada and the other two gangsters only laugh at Denny’s pleas.
The evil man with the leathery empty eye socket walks around so that he is behind Denny.
Cada says, “You and your filthy kind killed my brother and buried him in a hole like he was trash. I know you are lying to me and now it is your turn to feel the wrath of La 18!”
Denny feels the length of nylon rope being placed around his neck.
The boy tries to plead for his life again, but before he can issue one word the rope tightens and chokes off his air supply.
Cada’s strangle hold completely lifts the boys feet off the jungle floor.
Chistoso and Loco release their captives arms as Cada takes on all of his victims weight.
Cada is screaming out as he strains to choke the life out of Denny, “You fucking MS scum, I will not stop until I kill every single one of you!”
The offensive length of nylon is cutting into the soft flesh of Denny’s neck.
The boy is fumbling with his damaged and broken fingers trying to gain some sort of purchase under the rope for some relief.
The effort is a waste, Cada has too much leverage and is way too strong.
The boys vision goes dark.
Denny begins to fade, the gangster is choking the life out of him.
All that could be heard is the straining of the scarred gangster and the laughter of his demented minions.
Denny’s body goes limp.
Darkness overtakes him, his last thought is that of his mother.
