Another Last Chance

by Tristan Walker

  “Yeah. Steve still in hospital and Sean called last night. He say to tell you he in south, and to call him as soon as you get a chance.”

  “How he sounding?”

  “Normal, he didn’t talk much, but he leave a number that you could get him on. I put it under the phone book.”

  Kevin looked to the kitchen counter where the phone book was resting next to the house phone. It was where they’d normally leave any important message for the other person if they were about to leave the apartment.

  “Okay, I would call him a little later. What about Wendell? You hear from him?”

  “No, I eh hear anything from Wendell since.”

  “Oh, okay.” Kevin was a bit disappointed. Besides Steve, Wendell also lived in Enterprise and even if he couldn’t call to check up on him, at least he could’ve come across to find out if everything was okay. Kevin dismissed the thought, choosing to enjoy the moment.

  Shantel was quiet again. He could tell that she was still trying to come to terms with everything that he’d just told her.

  He held her around the waist and brought her closer to him.

  “Babe, you don’t have anything to worry about, okay,” he said, hoping that his words would comfort her mind. She looked straight into his eyes.

  “Yeah, I know. I just wish none of this madness did ever happen in the first place.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  They remained there for a while and then he stood up. He was very tired since he hadn’t slept for the night and his eyes were taking him in and out of darkness.

  “I feeling weak,” he said.

  Shantel nodded. “Go and rest.”

  Kevin went into the bedroom and threw himself on the bed and slept for most of the day. Shantel stayed in the living room, relaxing on the couch.

  During the night he woke up feeling a lot better. Shantel was asleep beside him. He got up quietly and secured the memory card and the other items and then went to the phone book to retrieve the contact number that Sean had given to Shantel. The number looked familiar, but he couldn’t place who it belonged to. He thought about how the conversation should go and then picked up the phone and dialed the number. A woman answered on the fourth ring. He recognized her voice.

  “Who is this, Keisha?”

  There was a short pause before the person answered.

  “Who is this? And who you trying to reach?”

  “Keisha, is Kevin. Steve leave this number for me to call him. He around?”

  “Hmm, Kevin. That is not the way to answer a phone eh. Yeah, he right in the next room, hold on.”

  Keisha was Sean’s eldest cousin. She was a registered nurse from a hospital in south and she lived in Rio Claro with her mother and his other cousins. Kevin had been there a few times helping out with some renovations.

  He heard noise coming from a radio or tv and then heard persons laughing and talking before it was quiet again.

  “Sean,” he heard her say. “Kevin on the phone,” she said in a lower voice and Sean answered a few seconds after.

  “Kevin, what going on with you boy? Shantel tell me you suppose to reach home since last night.”

  “Yeah, I did tell she that but last night was crazy.”

  “What you mean?” Kevin could hear the concern in his voice. He walked to the bedroom to make sure Shantel was still asleep and then walked to the furthest part of the kitchen where he’d still see her. He lowered his voice.

  “Boy I get tie up with some police.”

  “What you mean you get tie up?”

  “I can’t tell you everything now, cause I still trying to figure it out, but after that whole scene with Biggs I end up running into some police who in to some illegal shit.” Sean was quiet but Kevin could hear him breathing into the phone so he knew he was still there.

  “What kind of illegal stuff we talking about here?”

  “Boy, cocaine or some other kind of white drugs. I see a video with the people processing it and the police even shoot and kill somebody in that video.”

  “You serious?”

  “Yes boy. I telling you exactly what I see with my own two eyes.”

  “Hmm.” Sean paused as if he needed a moment to think. “And where the video now?” he asked. Kevin thought about whether or not to mention it over the phone and realized that he had already said too much. He had seen movies where police would trace and monitor phone conversations, but he’d never heard it being done in Trinidad. Regardless of their technology, he would rather discuss everything else when they met in person.

  “I have it somewhere. We go talk nah.” Sean understood the code. “What you doing in south anyway?”

  “Boy, I pick up one on my hand.”

  “What?”

  Kevin noticed Shantel turning on the bed. He placed the phone to his chest while observing her and when she found a comfortable position she was normal again.

  “It bad?”

  “Nah. It went straight through, but it didn’t hit any bone, otherwise I would’ve have to be right next to Steve.”

  Kevin remained quiet hoping that Sean would get to the part where he’d decided to go to his cousins.

  “After the shooting I notice Steve, Marcus and two other persons on the ground. My hand was bleeding but it wasn’t hurting that much, so I manage to take up their guns and I hide in the bush and call my cousin who living Chaguanas to come and pick me up.”

  “So you take up everybody gun?”

  “No, just Marcus and Steve own. I wasn’t studying all that. But, if the police get their guns that would be good, because it would look like ah ambush.”

  “Oh, okay.” Kevin didn’t know what to think or what else to say. He was shaken up on hearing Sean relive the experience. He could feel a tightness moving up his spine to the back of his head.

  “Okay, so what you saying? You have the guns with you now?”

  “No. I leave them in the bush, but don’t worry I wipe off any prints so even if the police find it, it wouldn’t be useful.”

  Kevin’s mind went on Marcus again and he was thinking about the pain he must’ve gone through before he had died.

  “So Marcus was dead all that time?”

  “No. He and Steve was breathing when I was picking up the guns. Steve wanted to come with me but his foot was damaged bad. I was next to Marcus and he ask me how it was looking and I tell him everything would be okay. While I was talking to him I see people coming and that was when I went in the bush. I would’ve stayed with them, but remember I eh clear up that warrant thing yet.”

  It was only then that Kevin remembered Sean had a warrant out for not attending court for procession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. He had been transporting it for Steve and it was the first and last time he had ever done something like that.

  “Imagine getting shot and yuh best friend dying on yuh birthday.” Sean said. “Some life eh?”

  Kevin understood how Sean would be feeling. He was not shot but he compared being shot to everything that he’d been through and he could feel the pain of losing a best friend.

  “It real hard, I know.”

  “Yeah.”

  Kevin gave Sean a moment to overcome his emotions. He listened to his breathing and when the silence was becoming lengthy he asked when he was planning to come back home.

  “I not sure. Once nothing eh come out of the shooting I would come back down. Maybe next week or the week after.”

  “Okay, cool.”

  “Yeah. You call Wendell?” Sean asked.

  “I try calling him earlier but he didn’t answer. I will try back later tonight or in the morning.”

  “Okay. I would continue calling him from this end too. Once I get him I will let you know.”

  “Okay, good.”

  “Later, be safe up there. And don’t forget to watch yuh back.”

  “Yeah, later.” Kevin waited for him to hang up and he kept the phone in his hand recapping the emotional part of the conversation.
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  The following morning he prepared breakfast before waking Shantel up. He had done some thinking and asked her to spend some time at her parents’ place until everything cleared up. She was a bit skeptical at first but after his, “keeping his family safe” speech, she agreed.

  When they had finished their breakfast he helped her get her stuff together and then took her to her parents’ house in Gasparillo. He remained in the car to avoid any questions that they would surely ask if they saw his battered face.

  Her parents were more than excited to see her, so a reason for her surprise visit was the least of their worries.

  Kevin got back home just after five and without any second thoughts he headed straight for the couch to rest his eyes.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  It was seven o’clock and the evening news had just started. Kevin sat up and turned up the volume on the tv. His alarm had gone off twice within the last fifteen minutes; he had put the clock on this setting to ensure he didn’t miss any news updates on the nightclub shooting.

  The house was in darkness as he hoped to mislead his neighbours into thinking that no one was at home.

  “Good evening Trinidad and Tobago I am Jennifer Corbett-Smith and I’ll be bringing you the seven o’clock news.” Ms. Smith was pretty and fashionable and looked like she had never met the kind of young man who made the headlines she read out every night. “Two young men were shot and killed in separate incidents in Port-of-Spain and central Trinidad within the early hours of the morning. Public servants continue their rally for better working conditions. And the government is said to be looking into new ways to prevent road traffic accidents,” she continued.

  Kevin sat through the entire broadcast, including the weather report, but there wasn’t anything about the shooting or the incident that had taken place in Brasso Seco. He got up and attempted to call Wendell again. He had been trying him every hour for the past few hours, but all his calls went unanswered. He took a shower, put on a T-shirt and sweat pants and left the house through the back door, hoping that he would catch Wendell at home or his mother would help by at least giving some information about his whereabouts.

  At 8:45 p.m. Kevin was walking through Wendell’s neighbourhood. It was a very lively area of Enterprise, with a lot of young idle men liming on the street corners. At certain corners a strong scent of weed filled the air and on other corners there were men gambling under the streetlights and drinking alcohol. Had a stranger been walking by, some of these young men would have robbed him without hesitation, but Kevin was known to them, at least by face.

  He made his way through a dark alley and arrived at Wendell’s house. The lights were on and he also recognized the light coming from the television screen, which was playing loudly. He removed the chain and entered the yard like he usually did and went to the front door where he knocked a few times and waited. After one minute had passed with no response, he knocked again, but much harder.

  The television was muted.

  “Who is that?” a voice said. It sounded like Wendell’s younger sister.

  “Kevin!” he answered.

  “Kevin? Hold on.”

  She came to the door with a surprised look on her face, which changed to concern as she saw his bruised and swollen face. “Kevin!” She hugged him for a brief moment and then pulled him inside. “You alright? How you feeling?”

  “Hey, Karen. Yeah… well, I feeling a lot better than I was feeling a few days ago. I know you hear what went on, so I just trying to cope with everything.”

  “Yeah, I know. I could imagine what you went through. It so good to see you, though.”

  “Yeah, thanks. You too. Wendell home? I try calling him whole day but I only getting voice mail.”

  “Yeah, he in he room. He now finish bathing.”

  “Okay…”

  “I will tell him you here.”

  Karen went to the back and he could hear her call out to Wendell. She came back and said that he would be coming in a short while.

  Their mother and brother had left for church, so Karen and Wendell were the only two at home. She tried asking him about what had taken place but he told her that he was still a bit shaken up and would rather not talk about it.

  A short while after Wendell came out of his room and signaled Kevin. Kevin got up and they went back into the bedroom and closed the door. Wendell was observing Kevin’s bruises. Wendell, on the other hand, had no visible marks or wounds. Kevin found this strange, but he didn’t say anything.

  “What going on?” Wendell said.

  “Nothing much, what going on with you?”

  “Well, I just here, holding on.”

  “Okay, I trying to call you whole day.”

  “I lose my phone that same night in the scuffle. Might go and buy another one sometime tomorrow.” He walked to his bed and sat down.

  “Okay.” Kevin watched Wendell intently, and Wendell shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

  “What?” he said.

  “You look okay,” said Kevin.

  Wendell nodded. “Yeah.”

  “You didn’t end up in the fight?”

  “Sort of, but not entirely.” He was looking straight at Kevin. “Remember, I didn’t have nothing on me. I wasn’t going to play no hero.”

  “So, what went on then?”

  “I do what anybody else woulda do. Run.”

  Kevin shook his head. “I could imagine,” he said dryly.

  “If it was you, you would’ve done the same thing.”

  “I highly doubt it.”

  Wendell laughed. “Yeah, well knowing the hero that you is. If it was you, you wouldn’t be here today. So count yuh blessings.”

  “Okay pardner. I hear you.”

  “I hope so.”

  Dogs suddenly started barking outside; Kevin looked out the window. Wendell’s neighbour had just pulled up in his car and was opening his gate to drive in. Kevin closed the curtains and turned back to Wendell.

  “You know,” Kevin said. “The funny thing is how we can’t see into the future. Otherwise, none of this would’ve happened.”

  “Well don’t beat up yourself because nobody could. Plus, this wasn’t your fault. If we didn’t take them stuff from Biggs, none of this would’ve happen.”

  Kevin thought about it.

  “Yeah, true. Is like one thing would keep leading to another until we go right back to the day we met.”

  Wendell shook his head and laughed.

  “Yeah, you have a point there.”

  Kevin was looking straight at Wendell but his mind was reliving his memories of the past. He couldn’t help but think of how good his life would’ve been if he hadn’t met either one of them.

  An awkward silence fell between them. After a minute, Wendell stood up.

  “Look, Kevin, I really sorry for whatever you went through.”

  “Okay.”

  “I could see it was rough. But, with all that happen it good to know that you alive and that is something you should be thankful for.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Kevin cleared his throat. “I actually feeling like I living another life.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Kevin looked at him with a serious face but he was looking directly in front of him, as if he was also thinking about what had happened that night. The way he had run to his freedom while everyone else was either being beaten, shot at or murdered. Kevin shook off that thought before he did or said something he would regret.

  “You went and check Steve yet?” Kevin said.

  Wendell shook his head. “You crazy? It have police guarding him. I waiting for this whole thing to calm down first.”

  “Okay. What about Marcus?”

  “Marcus? Kev! Marcus dead,” Wendell said with a concerned look on his face, as if Kevin hadn’t already got that news.

  Kevin’s face changed as reality surfaced. He sighed and looked away in an attempt to hide his emotions.

  Out of the five of them, Kevin, Marcus and
Sean had been the closest. They’d known each other as far back as primary school. They had even gone to the same high school and been through the worst together. They’d only met Steve on a job site about two years ago and then they’d met Wendell four months after when he had moved into the neighbourhood from Tobago. Nevertheless, they had all been inseparable.

  “I know he dead. But I asking if you went and show respect to his family yet?”

  “No.” Wendell said and sat back down on the bed and sank his face into his palms.

  “Kev, to be honest with you.” He was speaking in a soft voice. “Since after the shooting, I eh leave the house. I kind of waiting for everything to calm down before doing anything.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Kevin said, in a soft but angry voice.

  Wendell lifted his head and looked up at him.

  “What you mean I can’t be serious?” he said.

  “Because one of our friends dead and the other one in hospital in a critical condition. So you can’t be fucking serious about hiding away until everything calm down,” Kevin answered.

  Wendell looked at the scars on Kevin’s face. He shook his head and laughed, bitterly.

  “Yeah, you right. I guess everybody went through a lot, and, everything happened so fast. I couldn’t believe all that would’ve take place. From the shootout to people getting killed and then you went missing. I just thought this thing was too serious. Is like, for the first time in my life I was so scared.” Kevin understood what he was saying. For him it had become like a natural reflex. There were so many times he was scared for his life over the weekend. It wasn’t a good feeling at all, but it was what had helped him survive. There were things he’d done that he would’ve never done if he hadn’t become so afraid of dying and was willing to do anything and everything to survive.

  Wendell looked as though his mind was becoming distant. He was in deep thoughts.

  Kevin remembered the moment before it all started. The way Christine was acting and looking around while in the car park. He was beginning to feel like such a fool for not suspecting that she was up to something. His best friend was dead and she was the person responsible. And, worst of all, Kevin knew it was partly his fault.