Ray Ray was all alone. The rain was pouring on his head, soaking his long thick hair as he walked aimlessly. Just an hour ago he'd had friends, something close to a family . . . since his real one was gone. He hadn't felt this desperately alone since the day both his parents died.
He sneezed and wondered if the police were on his tail. He had stopped running for a while now. It was so cold and he was so soaked, any other six year old would have been crying. He grimaced feeling the sting of the lashes he would have normally received for crying.
"Come on Ray Ray. You're a man. Crying is for little boys." He mumbled to himself remembering what The Sergeant would have said to him at this moment. He longed to hear that gruff voice again even if the man insisted on harsh punishments for any showing of weakness. He wondered if his best friend Justin was still alive or if he got shot in the fray. It saddened him to think that he'd never see him or any of the people he'd become fond of again.
He suddenly stood a little straighter, knowing that he couldn't allow himself to be a wimp anymore. He was trained to survive. And that was exactly what he was going to do. First of all he'd need shelter out of this rain. He could already feel himself coming down with a cold. He scanned his immediate surroundings. There were houses and some little shops but they all seemed to be abandoned.
A light caught his eye at the end of the street though, and all he could think of was getting warm. He started heading in the direction of the light hoping the house it was coming from would welcome a cold looking six year old boy. It was a day after New Years and it was freezing even though there was no snow in Los Angeles.
A loud noise made him pause. Someone was crying loudly, off to his right. He wanted to walk away and ignore it but it became louder as he walked past. It sounded like a brat. Ray Ray turned and squinted in the darkness seeing the outline of a little boy.
"What's wrong with you?" Ray Ray yelled grabbing the boy by the shoulder and bringing him out closer to where there was light available.
The boy had cornrows going back on his head and his eyes were wet. He was just a little chubby and looked like about three. "Mommy and Daddy not there no more!" He said loudly.
"And is that any reason to be making so much noise?" Ray Ray snapped irritably. This kid was definitely a brat.
"Mommy and Daddy not there no more." The boy wept again.
Ray Ray groaned and looked to the heavens for patience. "Well where did they go? Huh?"
"They go! They go and they say to stay." The boy continued to cry.
Ray Ray groaned. He wondered if the boy's parents abandoned him or if they were coming back. "So they just left you here? They're not coming back?" He asked a little more tenderly.
The boy shook his head sadly.
Ray Ray's heart wasn't going to allow him to leave a defenseless child out by himself. "Come on whatever your name is. You're coming with me."
He held onto the boy's shoulder as he continued to head to the house with the light.
Ray Ray knocked loudly at the door of the big house that they had stopped at. It was bigger than the other houses that were abandoned but it wasn't very attractive from what he could see with the glow coming from it.
It took a while for someone to answer. A little girl with curly hair and a bright smile opened up the door a crack. She was shorter than Ray Ray was but slightly taller than the boy he was with. "Hi." The girl said in a high pitched voice.
Ray Ray wondered what kind of parents would let their little girl open the door at this time of night. He tilted his head. "Um hi . . . I'm Ray Ray and me and my little buddy here were wondering if we could come in and warm up a little?" He asked in his most sincere voice. "Well I mean if you're parents say it's okay . . ."
