Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I don't care," eight year old zaynan said. "I ain't never gone be on drugs."
"What about sellin' them ?" seven year old amoury asked.
"Easy money," six year old killion observed.
"Nigga all i know is i ain't neva' lettin' nobody beat me upside my head with no bat over some money i owed them." zaynan asserted.
The three boys , already numb to the chaos that surrounded them , knew that staying out of trouble was a lot harder than just talking about it.
"Ain't it's pass y'all bedtime ?"a drug dealer who they called snoop asked. Zaynan mean mugged the sixteen year old boy , "ain't it's time for that dna test on that third or forth child ?" he snapped back.
The older boy looked shook but laughed it off. "Y'all thirsty ? I'm finna head to mook's corner sto'."
"Alright." zaynan said stepping down from the porch step. Killion got up and followed.
"We ain't got no money , man." amoury reminded them.
"It's coo' ," snoop stepped in, "i got y'all."
The younger boys followed the older boy.
Sitting near the front of the store were a few neighborhood bums , always begging for a quarter to help with their next high.
Inside , the store smelled of candy and baloney and wine. Zaynan loved this little store , and the owner , mook , a slight large black women , who would often give them 'readings' as she called it , but that was only when she was in a good mood.
Tonight , however , the women seemed in a very bad mood. The four boys entered the store , silently.
Snoop , looking around and checking behind him as if they were being followed.
"Get what y'all want , but stuff it in ya' pocket or sum , so nobody won't snatch it" snoop whispered.
Amoury the smartest one of the two younger boys , already knew what snoop was doing , But for some odd reason his mouth stayed shut.
Zaynan went further back to the store and grabbed a pack of sour patch kids and stuffed it in his pants.
Killion grabbed a pack of gum and automatically unwrapped the pack from the thin layer.
Amoury stood and waited at the front of the store.
Walking slowly and awkwardly , snoop moved toward the door with the three boys following behind him , sure that snoop had paid.
Just as they reached the door , amoury felt a thick hand on the back of his t-shirt. He looked back and saw mookie , large and looming and very angry , grab killion as well.
"Let them go !" zaynan shouted
Snoop , who was suppose to have the smaller boys back , saw mookie get a hold of the boys and ran out the store , disappearing down the street in an instant.
Mookie , screaming and shouting in a creepy language , dragged amoury and killion from the front door , where escape had been only seconds away.
Zaynan followed behind mookie pulling at her baggy pants. Amoury screamed , "i ain't touch nothing , let me go !"
Mookie ignored him and continued to drag the two boys through a storage room and out the backdoor , to an area that the boys never seen before.
Mookie headed straight for a shed , that was tall and broken down almost. She unlocked the lock with a snap of her finger , which made zaynan back up.
Not wanting to leave his friends , he just stood there.
She swung open the leaning door , pushing amoury and killion in , than slamming the door shut and locking it.
The store owner turned around and walked past zaynan , who ran to the shed pulling at the lock.
"Zaynan !" Amoury shouted from the other side of the door , banging on it.
Zaynan looked around for somewhere to escape , but for some reason it looked more dark outside than when they first arrived.
"You want to steal from me ? Kundu !" Mookie yelled.
Instantly , the banging from the inside of the shed stopped with two loud thuds right after.
"Hellooo," Jayur called out from inside the shop , he had to hurry back home before his mom got on him and his sister who waited outside with her boyfriend.
Jayur went through the storage room , looking for mookie to pay for the carton of milk.
"Mookie , you here ?" Jayur's small voice called out.
He followed through the next door which led him to where the three younger boys where.
"Kundu all thee hearts and may nkasa nugle."
"Mookie ca-" Jayur stopped his sentance once he seen zaynan's small body hovering.
Mookie opend her eyes causing the small , weakless body to drop to the ground. She snapped her neck towards jayur , who dropped the carton of milk and turned to the exit.
"Rujee !" Mookie shouted clapping her hands. Jayur's body jerked back , "Ny'jae !" jayur screamed out his sister's name.
Mookie grabbed jayur's leg , dragging him to zaynan's unconscious body.
"Kundu all thee hearts and may nkasa nungle , may you ruin other lives. Connect thy hearts and if one goes to the grave , may all thee rest go to the grave , feel each others pain , physically and mentally. If one breaks away from thee batch than all must pay hell. May you cause trouble for all who enters your life and for the world , yes , forever until your last breath."
