Chapter 1: Dreams And Nightmares
Gunshots ring out outside in the building, startling you, dad and darien. However, panic doesnt surface. You have been through enough to know what to do. You detach yourself from the hospital bed and ease yourself off. Your dad, startled, tries to stop you.
“Ari! Where the hell are you--”
“Dad.” You look into his eyes. “I got this”. He looks reluctant, but he nods. You grab your pistol from darien, and ease your way over behind a table , very close to the door.
“Darien. Dad. As soon as they enter, ill remain quiet and shoot at their legs. You guys pop out and finish them off. Got it?”
Both of them nod, and take up their hiding positions. You can hear leroy’s voice in the distance outside.
Theyre here somewhere. I can smell them. All 3 of them die TODAY!
You take deep breaths as you prepare for the first gunman to enter.
He enters, gun drawn. You wait for the right moment, and then..
POW POW! You fire into the back of his legs as he collapses his knees, screeching. Your dad and darien pull out, and unload bullets into him. His body collapses like a pile of bricks.
You let out a huge sigh of relief. You see your wound continue to bleed through your clothes because of the walking, but you ignore it.
“Ahhh..” You wince as your wound pains you. Your dad runs over and checks on you.
“Ari are you ok?”
“Yeah im fine, lets get out of here first before we deal with the wound”. You get up, clutching the bloodied wound on your side. You begin to struggle to breathe, the loss of blood taking a huge toll.
“Darien, take this bulletproof vest, lead the way. Ill protect my daughter in behind, and fight off any unwanted company”.
“But Mr niasse--”
“Darien, my dad’s a cop, remember?, he can handle this. Ill be fine i promise.” Your dad helps you up, as darien follows instructions. Darien throws on the bulletproof vest, and looks at you with a worried expression. He comes over and gives you a kiss on the forehead.you kiss him back on the lips and grip his face, refusing to let go. Your dad looks at both of you.
“Ok lovebirds we will have time for kissing later, but for now we have to focus on the task at hand.” You let go and begin to giggle.
“Be safe out there troublemaker.” You say as you full back into dads arms.
“You too” he smiles and nods, and gestures for you and dad to follow him. You all tiptoe down the hallway, which is smeered with blood, bodies, broken tables and broken lights. You try to look away, in horror.
Suddenly, leroy steps around the corner, and he points the gun right at your head! Darien and your father point back at him!
“This bitch deserves to die. She sold me and my crew out to the feds, and D, you siding with her?mafter all these years dawg?!” He points the gun at darien, who refuses to back down. Your dad’s face reels with anger, his finger on the trigger.
“You utter one more word about my daughter again, and ill shove every last round of these bullets down your throat”. Your dad says as he clicks his gun, prepares to fire.
“I nearly killed your bitch ass back at the station, but your lying whore of a daughter just had to get in the way didnt she? Just as she did when you disappeared the first time we murdered your facist minions”. He points at dad, but you have had enough. Anger is searing throughout your entire body, you walk out of your dads grip and snatch the gun out his hand, and advance towards leroy. You limp and cock the gun, and point it rigt at leroy’s head!
“Mention another word and the next time you speak is going to be with the devil himself”. Your dad and darien attempt to hold you back, but you are too angry to hear to there objections.
“ARI! What are you doing! Get back!” Darien yells
“Ari dont do this you been shot once and im not gonna let it happen again”. Your dad grabs you by the shoulder.
Now both you and leroy are in an armed standoff, both of you having fingers on the trigger.
“Aww, look at that, the little girl is all grown up. So sad she wont be alive long enough to celebrate”. He prepares to shoot...
He shoots...you close your eyes and prepare to feel the bullets hit you in your chest, but you opem your eyes and see your dad on the ground, clutching a bloodied wound. Leroy takes off, but both you and darien look at your father, in absolute shock.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” You run over to your dad...whos bleeding out fast.
“A--ari.....” Your dad looks up at you in your teary eyes. “I--ill be ok i promise...”
“Dad dont go you are not going anywhere!!” You begin to cry, as you yell for help, darien runs for a nearby first aid kit. You tear a piece of your shirt off and pressure on your dad’s wound
“Ari, sit your dad up and endure theres enough pressure on the wound. Ill get the antisthetic and begin treatment. Your dad will be ok..” He places a hand on your shoulder as you press down on the wound.
Darien begins to fish for the bullet, and pours rubbing alcahol over the wound, causing your dad to wince in agony.
“Dad....why did you do that?!....Whyyyy??” You collapse your head into his shoulder, unable to control your emotions
“--you--did it for me......back in the station.....i only felt....i could return....the favour...” He coughs.
“You didnt have to......you shouldve let him kill me--”
“Ari stop talking like that! I will never let anything bad happen to you, ever!” Your dad begins to burst into tears, while darien finishes his treatment.
“Youre all good now pops” darien says, as the both of you help him to his feet.
“Now lets get out of here before we all get shot this time”.
You all make it to the carpark, where your dad directs you both to his police car. He gestures for darien to drive. You hop in the back with your dad, while darien takes the driver seat.
“Take us home”. You say, and soon enough, you all are speeding down the highway, back to crown heights.
Soon enough....
You pull up outside your house, and darien quickly hops out to help you and your dad into the house. While darien and your dad are on the couch, you head upstairs for a quick shower.
In the shower, you cant help but recite the events that took place last night and this morning. As you wash, you see the blood from the wound spill into the bathtub. Flashbacks of you getting shot constantly hit your mind, like a nightmare.
You quickly dry yourself, and put on some clothes and head downstairs, where you notice darien and your father arguing.
You stand there and take in the argument from far, without them noticing you.
“You’re a convicted criminal! You shouldnt be anywhere near my daughter! You have her killing people? Do you know what she is going through right now? If i had no mercy i would dhoot you dead right now!“.
“You wouldnt hurt a damn fly, and I, Shouldnt be anywhere near your daughter! If it wasnt for ari training with us to fire a gun, or worse yet, jumping infront of a bullet, you would be DEAD! If it wasnt for me saving your damned life back at the hospital, YOU WOULD BE DEAD! Have you ever thought about that?”
“Im her father, she should not have been anywhere near your crooked gang of thieves. Look what it turned her into! Look at what it made her into! She will never be the same again! Shes become the total oppposite, of good! A monster! Thanks to you! Her mother is turning in her grave!“. But before he continues, you make yourself present, to the absolute surprise of them both.
“Wow....and here i thought you two would be getting along after all we have been through....i guess i was so wrong...” You shake your head, trying to hold back tears. You turn and look to run upstairs, when your dad jumps up.
“Oh ari! i didnt notice--”
“Of course you didnt, because if you did you wouldnt be arguing and telling my boyfriend that im a monster behind my back...” You turn away as tears stream out your eyes.
“B-but sweetheart i didnt mean--”
“Yes you did, i saw the expression and everything. And you know whats so sad?” You turn to look your father in the face.
“...i took a bullet for you last night in the midst of complete danger and certaim death, because if its the last thing i wanted to do before i die was to show you how much i loved...you despite all the shit i did...i told darien id take a thousand bullets for you if that would keep you alive..and you know what...i didnt even get a thank you...”
“Ari thats not--”
"Shut up dad im speaking. Its about time you hear my point of view, for once in your damn life!” Your expression turns to one of anger as you wipe away your tears. Your dad steps back, in shock.
“You jumped a bullet for me this morning...for what? So that you could come back here and tell everyone how much of a monster i am? And that moms turning in the grave because of me huh?!” Your voice begins to tremble as it raises.
“You shoulda just let them kill me!” You turn away and run upstairs into your bedroom and slam the door. Your dad, in shock, tries to run after you, he calls out your name twice, but you ignore. He looks at darien, who shakes his head at him.
"So much for being a father huh.” He shoves past your dad as he walks up the stairs towards your room.
You slouch down infront the door, taking in all that your father said to darien.
(Shes the total opposit of good!.............Shes a monster.........She wil never be the same.............)
You take your pistol out your back pocket, and with hands trembling, point it at your head...
You walk up to the mirror and look at yourself in the reflection. And you see a cold, scared, little girl, whos just about had enough of the life she chose to live. Your eyes, cold ss tears stram down your face The guilt has overwhelmed you to the point of no return, and the one person you would jump infront of ten thousand bullets for after taking one for him last night, for thinks you are a monster.
“I dont deserve to live and breathe oxygen in the same place as they do, not after what i done”
You are just about to pull the trigger, when darien barges in, overhearing your voice. He immidiately runs to tackle you to the ground, as he tries to wrestle the gun out of your hand.
“Ari stop!” He yells as the two of you grapple and struggle on the ground, when suddenly...
BANG!
The gun goes off, for a second you stop to see where it hit, and you notice a bullet hole in the side of your bed.
You continue to grapple and fight.
“Let me go!” You say as you try to point the gun st your head, but Darien’s big, muscular hands are too overpowering. There is so much adrenaline that you dont even notice your wounds bleeding. The wound in your leg continues to leak as well. In the middle of the commotion, your dad runs up to the doorway, watching with hands on his head
“No ari, ill never let you go, ill never do that to you”. You continue to grapple and fight, but eventually, you give in. You collapse into his srms and let out all the tears you have left.
“...It hurts so...bad....it hurts too much the shit that i did...i dont recognise myself anymore...” You say in the middle of wailing.
“I know, i know..” Darien says, trying to comfort you.
Your dad steps in.
“What the hell happened?!” He says kneeling down beside darien.
“She tried to kill herself”. Darien says, looking back at your father with a sharp, angry look in his eyes.
Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, you are tucked into bed by darien, and soon enough,you drift off to sleep. Your dad and darien, looking at you sleep.
“Maybe as the ever so loving father of your daughter, you should stick by her in this time of struggle, rather than demean her character even more. Shes going through alot, not like you would know that though. He watches your dad with a icey stare one last time, before he heads downstairs to the couch. Your father, sits down on the ground beside your bed, and shuts his eyes, with tears pouring out.
You, your father, and darien have been through alot over the past few days. Now officially turning against the Crown Heights Monarchy Gang, you and Darien are officially public enemy number one on the streets. But how will it affect you, as you head back to school tomorow, can you lay low long nough to keep out of Leroy and his gang’s peering eyes? And who is the mysterious boy thst talked to you after your fight with Nancy? Will the school suspend you, after being away for so long? And does the neighbourhood know that you were part of a gang? Find out in the next episode!
END OF CHAPTER ONE.
