No Limit

Chapter 1

December 12, 2013

Brittany Gates was running, as though she was trying to outdo Usain Bolt, through the terminal of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport with her son Jarvis in tow. She was moving swiftly and Jarvis was keeping up with her as if she were a Kardashian not missing a beat. She could overhear on the airport's intercom, as she got closer to the gate, "C19, last call for flight 5743 to Phoenix," being dispatched for the third time. Brittany was so disgusted with herself that she had sat at the wrong gate for over an hour and a half. She was clinging to their boarding pass as if it was their last supper. When she finally made it to the correct destination, the entire area was empty. There were no patrons waiting to board the next plane. This was unusual. Once an airplane had been boarded and the area was clear; a group of new people would flock to the area to await their time for the next plane that would soon be approaching. All she knew and could remember was her mother telling her that the gate closed ten minutes before the flight departed. The workers need to prepare for take-off. She was there with four minutes to spare. With the entire city looking for her, she knew she couldn't stay in St. Louis one second longer. Missing this flight was not an option for her. When she arrived at gate C19 she immediately handed off each boarding pass to be scanned. 

Breathing heavily, Brittany looked down at her son, "Jarvis, you are going to be a track star, just like I was when I was in school, I see!"

She pulled her red St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap tightly over her eyes and looked down at Jarvis as they began to walk through the jet bridge to board the aircraft. Jarvis tugged at his mother shirt to get her attention. She briefly turned around and caught a glimpse of her picture plastered on the television that was hoisted on the wall, near the Chili's restaurant which was directly across from her boarding gate. The airline worker who had just scanned her boarding pass took a glimpse at Brittany and turned her attention back towards the television.

A strange noise abruptly interrupted the dream that Brittany was having. The strange noise startled her. She laid in her bed as though she was paralyzed staring at the ceiling. An odd screeching sound similar to someone's fingernails scratching a chalkboard over and over again, made her turn her head towards her bedroom window. She rose from her stuffed resting position and begin looking at her bedroom door. In the darkness of the room, she felt a slight chill. A small unwanted light from the outside crept into her bedroom through the opened portion of the curtains.

Brittany had to gather herself and her thoughts, she was trying to remember where she was at during that faint moment. In just a few seconds, she realized her whereabouts. She instantly hopped up and ran to Jarvis's bedroom. She stood over Jarvis watching him as he slept peacefully. Not really knowing what her next move would have been if he had not been where she had last seen him, she was just relieved to see her son fast asleep. Then she heard the screeching sound again. Brittany look to the sky and whispered, "Thank you!" She went back to her bedroom walking past her bed and straight towards the bay window. She eased the green satin cover over just enough so that she could peek out.

Brittany giggled to herself as she saw the young girl kneeled down on the side of the gray Impala. She witnessed her married neighbor's side chic keying his car. She had keyed bitch across the hood and swirling loops on the side of which Brittany could see. It was the third time this week she had come by and caused some sort of damage to his car. First, it was all the windows. She even cracked both rear-view mirrors on each side of the car. Second, it was the tires. They were on four flats. When her neighbor, Sean went to have his tires repaired, the guy at the shop let him know there was no physical damage. The air had only been let out each tire.

Brittany chuckled thinking about how time-consuming that was just letting the air out of four tires. She headed towards her nightstand to grab her cell phone. The other day she stood outside with the wife as they were trying to figure out why and who had put all four tires on a flat. She was about to get some evidence of who this car damaging culprit was. Just as she was making her way back to the window with her phone in hand she could hear someone mumbling. She moved slowly wondering with butterflies dancing in her stomach, had Danitra finally caught this chic in the act, she thought. Danitra told Brittany she was going to kill that hoe when she saw her. Danitra didn't seem as though she was mad at the fact her husband was cheating. She was more upset about being embarrassed in front of her neighbors. Mrs. Harris who stayed in the house between Danitra and Brittany had away with looking at you with such disgust. Her evil demonic looks could break down the hardest of the hard. Mrs. Harris would stand on her porch with parched lips and one eyebrow raised high impersonating the St. Louis Arch. You didn't have to wonder about what she was thinking because the intense look let you know what it was. Even if nothing was really wrong, Mrs. Harris had a look that cut like a knife. Her looks were the only thing intimidating but her heart was gold. She was the sweetest and generous person you could have ever met.

Brittany swung the curtain back not caring if she was seen and quickly enough that it may have caught the attention of the two who were outside. She realized that was not a good career move. One tear slowly fell from her left eye as she seen the small frame of the female who was just tagging the Impala fall to the ground on the side of the car.

Brittany stood looking out of her bedroom window in disbelief. Her very own right hand covered mouth as tears began to escape from her hazel eyes and pour down her face. The street light from the lamppost directly across the street had the scene clear as daylight. She could see the blood flowing from the young girl's head. The young girl was now in the darkness of early mid-morning laying in the puddle of her own blood with her eyes wide open. The young girl was gazing as though she was watching her murder's next move and it was nothing she could do to stop him. Her life had been stolen from her and it was nothing she could to do about it to change it. She went from being alone to having being accompanied by an individual who came to seek and destroy. He had accomplished his mission.

Brittany could see the shock that embodied the young girl. Brittany watched as the dread head guy picked the body up and stuffed it in the trunk of her neighbor's gray Impala. Brittany could see the trunk was waiting for this young girl's dead body. It was a clear large piece of plastic covering the entire area. The light from the lamppost gave her a clear view. She didn't have to try to make out what was in the trunk because it could be seen clear as day. As the guy closed the trunk he began to look around. Brittany dropped to her knees and withered on the floor as if she was some sort snaked filled with venom, only her venom was fear. She looked up and noticed her curtain was swaying back and forth. She turned her body back around to reach out to grab it gently so it could stop moving.

Brittany lay on the floor thinking about her aunt saying how she despise when it was hot out. The heat brought the niggas out like dog feces brought flies. Niggas and flies I despise would shortly follow as her aunt talked about summertime. What she had just witnessed had Brittany despising the cold weather. Her street was like the city that never slept in the summertime. Someone was always outside no matter the time of day. Even Mrs. Harris was out mean mugging folks in the wee hours of the morning. On this cold December night, not a soul was out. This was one emotional night for Brittany as she fell asleep to the tragedy replaying over and over in her thoughts.