by Harper W.
“Damnit!” Sam cried, listening to faded chuckles of his shooters under their gunfire. A rookie cop stuck with no bullets in the enemy territory with no backup in sight — Sam was sure this was his end.
“Sammy!” there was a familiar warmth in that voice. Sam’s cold ear could feel it, and how good it felt.
“Sammy, are you okay there?” the voice called for him again. Sam was not shaking uncontrollably anymore. But was it real, or he was hallucinating just before dying?
“STOP SHOOTING Y’ALL!” the voice screamed with a authoritative tone. It was a long silence after that order. The gunshots actually stopped.
For Same it was like seeing the Sun shining through the clouds on a rainy afternoon. He knew it was going to burn him afterwards, but also too tempting at the same time. “Goddamn Sammy! You better be alive out there.” the voice jolted Sam out of his trance.
“Yeah, I am alright!” Sam cried back, with his voice devoid of any emotion or gratitude. “Oh thank heavens!” Ron replied back, “You can come out now. Its safe buddy.”
Sam peeked from the corner and saw Ron standing in the hall. Tall, strong dark shoulders and hands that could turn teeth into powder; Ron smiled on seeing Sam.
“Ron! You can’t let him go.” Dave tried to put his foot down. Suddenly, Ron’s smile disappeared and he walked upstairs, “Dave, come with me. And nobody will shoot.” he ordered the man as Dave followed him.
Walking over the dead-bodies, Ron entered the stash room and saw the body of the first man Sam dropped. Dave came from behind. “You saw what he did? We cannot let him go.”
“Take all the dope and clear the building.” Ron said calmly.
“You must be joking, Ron!” Dave yelled.
Ron grabbed Dave’s corner and pushed him against the wall. He then walked upto him and looked him in his eyes, “I am telling you one final time. Take all the dope.. clear the building and get the fuck out of here! Understand?”
Looking into his eyes, Dave was not able to talk back to Ron. One last question came into his mind, “What about the Big Boss?”
“I will take care of it. None of it will be on you guys.” Ron said convincingly walking out of the door, “Just get out of here.”
Ron came down in the hall, followed by Dave. Sam was still hiding behind the cover.
“Pickup up all the stuff and leave the building.” Dave ordered.
The men looked at each other for a second, dumbfounded. “What the fuck are you looking at?” Dave screamed.
The man quickly run upstairs dropping everything. Now it was just Sam and Ron.
“Sammy, I am coming in, and I don’t have any gun. Okay?” Ron said while walking slowly towards the wall.
But before Ron could reach the wall, Sam came out. Both of them stood still looking at each other.
Chapter 4 : My Best Friend
“Punch him Matt!” the little boy cried as a fat boy named Matt towered over a small Sam with bloody nose. 12 years old, Sam still hasn’t hit his growth spurt and resembles a girl of 8-9 years. “Yeah, punch him.” Matt’s other minions cried with joy. The sadistic pleasure of seeing Sam beaten to a pulp was keeping them warm in this snowy afternoon.
SMACK! Another punch landed on Sam’s face, making him black out for 3 seconds. Matt pulled his fist back to his ears to land another punch when he sees Sam trying to resist. “No!” Sam cried while pushing Matt away with his nimble hands.
“Stay down, turd!” Matt landed another heavy fist on Sam’s face, making him lose track of this world. His head laid down on the dumpster he was pressed against with his neck without any tension or strength to support his skull.
“Good one Matt!” one minion cried, “that will teach him.” the alley was filled with sadistic laughter of little kids.
“Next time you refuse to give me your money,” Matt reminded Sam of why this was happening, “remember THIS.” he pulled his hand back, this time a little further.
Sam’s eyes could see another devastating attack coming at him. His brain was able to process and predict the amount of pain he was going to feel, but his body was unable to move, despite his strong urge to push the bully and run away. He lied there, watching his imminent destruction about to rain upon him.
“Hey thickness!” The alley rumbled with a strong voice.
Sam could see a blurry figure standing behind Matt at a distance. All he could make out was a tall black kid in a red jacket and worn out denim.
“I am going to break your arms and neck for this.” the blurry figure rushed towards Matt.
“Ron!” Sam exclaimed, being able to recognize him. The minions see Ron coming in like a freight train and jumped back.
Matt dropped Sam, shifting his attention at Ron who was still not upto his height.
But Ron went into Matt’s centre mass like a harpoon, slamming him into the trash bags beside the dumpster.
“He is my brother you fat fuck!” Sam landed a punch on Matt’s face. The minions saw this and escaped before Sam could blink his eyes.
Matt grabbed Ron and pushed him away. He got into a fighting stance, looking like a trained boxer. Ron also assumed a stance.
Matt threw a punch at Ron who ducked him. Matt pulled his punch back but Ron was nowhere to be found. Surprised, he looked left and right. “I am here you fucker!”
As Matt turned back, Ron delivered a tight punch on his nose. A spurt of blood came out of his nose, spilling over his hands as Matt covered his face. A shriek comes out his mouth.
“Its not over yet.” Ron jumped at Matt and kicked him to the ground. He then sat over his big chest, blocking his elbows with his knees and minced his face with his strong rugged fists. “He is my brother!”
Sam saw this while gaining the strength to control his body again. He walked to Ron who was punching Matt like a gattling gun.
“Ron! Stop.” Sam pulled him away.
“Nobody touches my brother.” Ron yelled at Matt who now must have been feeling like Sam, “Nobody!” Ron yelled again.
“Come on, lets go home.” Sam urged Ron to escape the scene. “Wait.” Ron freed his arm from Sam and ran back to Matt. “Dont hit him. He will die.” Sam yelled.
“Relax!” Ron replied while going through Matt’s pockets, “I am not gonna hit him.” He found something in Matt’s pocket. His hand comes out with a bundle of cash and some chewing gums.
“This belongs to me now, fatty!” Ron informed Matt before leaving him. He joined Sam as they both walked out of the alley, “How much he took?” Ron asked.
“10.” Sam replied. Ron handed Sam three bills of 10, “Here, take this.”
Sam kept only one and returned the rest to Ron, “Nope. I am not taking his dirty money.”
“You are in idiot.” Ron chuckled.
“No! I am weak.” Sam said without flinching or feeling sad. He was in his comfort zone now where he could admit to all his weakness and flaws before his brother.
Sitting in an alley Ron was checking up Sam’s face. His white skin was red both with blood and bruises. “That fat fucker got you good.”
“When would you teach me to fight?” Sam asked, “I don’t want you keep defending me all the time.”
Ron chuckled, “Why? I will always be here to save you.” They both looked at the sky, “Besides, your body is not strong yet.”
“So I will never learn to fight?” Sam asked with apprehensions. “No dummy! You will, but only after you gain some strength.” Ron explained, “You see, to fight, one must be able to take down a beating.” The day you will take down beating like a champ, I will teach you to fight.
“Promise?” Sam asked.
“Promise.” Ron replied smilingly, “Now, come, lets get home.”
Both of them dust their clothes and walk away.
Chapter 5 : Farewell
Ron entered the kitchen first, looking around. Seeing the coast is clear, he signalled Sam who entered after him. Quickly, he went to the bathroom and locked the door behind him, whil
e keeping a watch.
“Clear?” Ron asked after some time. “Yup.” sam replied from inside. The door opened and Same came back. His face was cleaned off his blood, but the bruises were still there.
“No again!” a female voice startled both of them. Mrs Jones was standing with her laundry basket, looking at Sam, “Who was this time?” she came to look at Sam after putting her basket down.
“It was that fatty Matty.” Ron told Mrs Jones as she examined little Sam. “Oh poor child! That kid needs to be taught a lesson.” she said.
Ron and Sam looked at each other an a small smile appeared on their faces.
“Sit, I will take care of it.” Mr Jones went into the bathroom. Sam looked at Ron, worried.
“Oh looks like you were in there, Sammy.” Jones came out with some cotton drenched in blood. “This bad? That kids’ parents need to send him off to a boarding school.” She was firm.
Something took over Mrs Jones mind and she dropped the cotton in the trash can. From angry to sad, her face worried the boys. “What is it Ma?” Ron asked.
“Sit down, I need to talk you boys about something.” Mrs Jones said in a disconsolate tone.
Ron and Sam settled before Mrs Jones.
“Listen up boys,” she said, “Its time for you two to go to a new home. You won’t be staying with us.”
Ron and Sam were in for a shock, “But why?” Sam asked.
“The bank might foreclose this house and we don’t have much money to pay it off. Hence, we might need to move out and settle somewhere else. Child services will not let up keep children until we have a house that is stable and secured.”
“This is bullshit!” Ron yelled. “They can’t make us leave you.”
“Calm down Ron.” Mrs Jones held his hand. “You are not my kids legally. Else there was no power in the world that could make them take you away from his house. But times are bad and what did your Pa teach you when caught in bad times?”
She looked at the kids with an answer. Ron and Sam looked at each other, dejected, “Stay strong and wait for when the time is right.” Ron replied.
Mrs Jones nodded with wet eyes “I promise as soon as we get a good house, we will try everything to get you boys back.”
Ron and Sam didn’t say anything, they knew nothing they say or do will matter. “So when do we leave?” Sam asked.
“Next week. They will come to pick you up.” Mrs Jones tried to make the boys feel better, “But I will bring you back. Just give me some time.”
She held the boys’ hands and looked into their eyes as if pleading for their forgiveness. The boys saw her eyes and got up. They all were hugging each other.
Week later, the lady from the social services was standing in the kitchen. “Are you boys ready?” she asked Ron and Sam who showed her their suitcases. There whole world inside two suitcases.
“Very well then, lets go.” She opened the door for them. The boys got out and placed their luggage in the car.
“Boys!” Mrs Jones cried. She came upto them and sat on her knees to look into Sam’s eyes. “Here, keep this.” she handed something in Sam’s hand. While Sam checked what it was, she did the same to Ron as well. It was some cash she handed out to those kids.
“What are you doing Ma? You need this money.” Sam cried giving the money back to her. “Don’t you give me my money back, boy.” Mrs Jones tried to bring out her strict mother voice, over her teary eyes. “My kids will not leave this home empty handed.”
She pulled the kids to her and hid them in her chest. They all remained like that for almost a minute.
“Its time Mrs Jones. We should be going.” The lady was trying to be polite, but her irritation to this delay was obvious.
“Be good my boys.” Mrs Jones wiped her tears and her boys’. “We will, Ma.” Sam cried, “We will.”
They both sat in the car and drove away, seeing their mother breaking down in front of their house.
“Where are we going Mam?” Ron asked the lady. She checked her charts and replied without even looking back, “You, Master Sam are going to Springfield, while Master Ron will be living in a house in Riverville.”
The boys were shocked, “We will be living in different homes?” Sam asked hoping it was a mistake that he could correct by asking again.
“Yes, in different cities.” the lady replied.
Ron and Sam looked at each other. They knew probably this was the last time they were together.
The car drove speedily on the highway.
A Reunion of Brothers
Chapter 1 : The Separation
“Matt, you fat fuck. I am going to kill you!” Ron screamed as he ran into the alley. There he saw Sam screaming for help lying underneath Matt who was pulping his face with his fists. “Nobody is going to save you now. You are all alone, runt.” Matt laughed with each new punch.
“You are dead, Matt.” Ron was almost there when Matt’s minions suddenly appeared before him. “No way Ron! You can’t help him now.” One minion said blocking his way. “Yeah! Punch him Matt, kill him!” another kid yelled at Matt with his big eyes and dirty teeth shining with pleasure. Matt continued.
Like an army of little gnomes the kids swarmed Ron, clinging on his body. “Let me go!” he cried, kicking and punching. But these minions were persistent. Soon, one of them was over Ron’s shoulder, covering his eyes with his hands, “Hehehehe!” he laughed like an evil spirit, in a mischievous mood.
“Get off me!” Ron yelled finally pushing the minions away from him. But to his shock and fright, Sam and Matt were not there in the alley anymore. Only some marks of blood that he knew once pumped in Sam’s heart. “Where is my brother?” Ron was red with rage. He grabbed one minion and punched him in his little face, “Where did he go?”
Spurting blood out of his nose and mouth, the minion looked at Ron, “Springfield. You know where he went.”
“It was your fault, Ron. You couldn’t save him. They took him away and you just watched, mister.” another minion seemed disappointed in Ron.
“No.” The last one got to Ron. He dropped the minion from his hand and stepped back. Ron’s head felt really heavy and dizzy. He tried to sit down, but his legs lost all their strength and he collapsed in the snow.
In the thick layer of fog in the sky, he was trying to look for the Sun when he heard that female voice, “The system doesn’t work this way, Ron. You and Sam have been assigned to different families. I not upto me to keep you guys together.”
“But we are brothers.” Ron cried, mumbling into the sky. “We are brothers.”
Suddenly, the face of the child services lady appeared before Ron between him and the sky, “Crying is not going to change anything, Ron. You and Sam are not going to see each other. Ever again!”
Ron could not speak anything. Tears come out of his eyes, rolling down his cheek.
“Hey, kid! Get up!” a harsh male voice was heard. “In this house we get up early.”
Ron opened his eyes and realized his pillow was wet near his face. Uncle Bob was standing before his bunkbed. After making sure that Ron was up, Bob shook the other bunkbed, “Get up you lazy bastards. Its late.”
Ron looked at the clock and it was 7AM.
Ron could see two kids waking up in the bunk bed next to him — Dwayne and Jason were their names as told by them last night when he arrived in this house. They both looked at Ron and then got out of their beds.
“Yo, you are gonna keep sitting there?” a voice came from under Ron’s bunk. He looked down and saw a boy of almost Sam’s age. “Your name is Ron, right?” he looked at Ron with a smile.
Ron didn’t say or do anything, but stare, “My name is David, but you can call me Dave.” the boy said smiling all ears. “Will you be my friend?”
Chapter 2 : New House New Rules
“We get breakfast here at 8. I like breakfast. In my previous home, we didn’t get any breakfast. So I like it here.” Dave was talking while finishing his breakfast. Going by the speed a
nd ferocity of his eating, he seemed to really love breakfast.
“Hey! Shut up, Runt!” Dwayne barked from the other side of the table. ‘Runt’ made Ron remember something. “Sammy!” he murmured. “Who is Sammy?” Dave asked without paying any heed to Dwayne’s orders, “Was he your friend? What happened to him?” Ron looked at Dave. He didn’t want to answer any of these questions and so he decided to get up and leave. He wasn’t hungry anyways.
“Where are you going, boy?” Uncle Bob called Ron. As he turned, he saw Bob properly, an middle aged man with an appearance that could make anybody confuse him with a homeless. Wearing a dirty apron, he was holding a sauce pan in one hand with a cigarette in between his lips, “We don’t leave the table until we finish our food. So sit down and finish your food.” There was a command in Bob’s tone that made Ron follow his order without any question. He sat back beside Dave and stared into his plate. “You are not hungry?”
Dave chipped. Ron nodded in a ‘No’. Dave thought for a second and looked at Ron, “Can I have your plate then?”
Dave was sitting outside his new home, watching the streets. Kids yelling and running all around, cars with loud rap music coming and going. Mean looking men lurking in the corners. Ron had seen places like this only in the movies.
“Hey!” Dwayne called Ron from behind. “You wanna play with us?” He was with Dave and Jason, holding a basketball. Ron liked the idea of playing some game and nodded affirmatively.
The kids were playing on a concrete court where some other kids from the neighbourhood watched. At his previous home, Ron was the champion of Basketball, but these kids here were so fast. “Hey, are you here to play or just move around the court, dummy?” Jason chuckled while dodging Ron. Ron knew these kids were better than him at this sport.
