The Rebel Of Jackson Street

Chapter One- Rebels Never Die

Looking off into the distance, Deke took a long drag on his cigarette. It was night, everyone was out at the pool halls or the movies. Deke wasn't like that. He wasn't like anything. He was his own man. No one was like Deke Ruxton. Deke just liked to walk around and look at everything. Analysing even the smallest details that didn't even matter to anyone but him.

People slipped past him whenever he would walk down the road- they feared him, while also paying him the utmost respect. No one would dare get in his way. If they did, they'd get clobbered. Simple. There were a few that didn't fear him as much, and those would be the rest of the Hound Dogs- his gang. They consisted of 5 others, not including Deke himself. Starting off, you had the second-hand man, Vince Haywood. Vince was as loyal as a dog, jumping to his owner's side at any time he needed. He was Deke's go-to guy for anything he wanted. Though, runner-up for this position would probably be old Vernon Claiborne. He was the most mature of them all, almost like the father of all of them. They certainly needed one, especially with the troublemakers Jed Singleton and Avery Banks. The two would cause a lot of trouble, ending up in them getting into trouble. Finally, you had Sawyer Carriway, the silent shadow. You'd barely think he existed, since he was almost never around. Though, none of them exactly had the same feared reputation that Deke had.

Deke stopped by their usual diner, the whole area going silent as soon as he stepped in. He looked over at the ink-haired waitress, lightly nodding as she placed a glass bottle of cola on the desk, obviously nervous.
"Here you are, Deke." She shakily mumbled.
"Thank you, miss." He replied, showing off a slight smirk for a short moment. Deke walked up to the counter and took the cola, reaching into his pocket for money.
"No money needed, sir!" She stuttered, shook.
"Oh. Alright. Thank you again." Deke answered coldly, not even changing his tone. His voice was always like that, icy yet mysterious; it always made you want to hear more.

And as soon as he entered, Deke left the diner, hearing the whispers flood after him. Many people would see this as a bad thing, getting whispered about how much of a danger to society you are. To Deke though, this was just regular behaviour. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The Hound Dogs were the main gang in town, because of Deke's reputation. No one even thought of rivalling them. Deke absentmindedly went to the park, a usual hangout for him. In the day, it was usually inhabited by families and kids, but it was his park at night. He owned the streets at day and night, so he still had territory either way. Of course, people could walk on them, but had to make way when the king passed by. It was just common knowledge.

Smoking on the bench and staring up at the stars over the city of Memphis, Deke let out a long and tired sigh. From the slight sound of footsteps, Deke darted his eyes over, catching Vince walking up.
"Gee, you scared me to death! I thought you couldn't hear me." Vince explained.
"Well, you were wrong. What's going on?"
"Well, I was looking for you and thinking that we could go to the rails tomorrow morning. We used to go there all the time as kids. It'd be nice."
"Sure. I've got nothing to do." Deke replied, putting out his cancer-stick on the arm of the bench.
"C'mon, you can stay over at my house tonight. My ma isn't home."
"Sure. Let's get out of here. I'll get my kicks somewhere else."

The two began walking tall through the streets, Vince lighting a cigarette for himself.
"Y'know, in all our years, I never asked you something. Where did your ma end up?"
"After my Pop died, my mama moved up to Texas with her new man. Pretty sure she forgot I existed. That, or she didn't want me no more.
"Oh. Didn't know that. Sorry about that, Deke."
"It's fine. Didn't even like her anyhow."
"Hey, another thing, is your full name Deacon or what?"
"I'm not sure. I never asked. I just called myself Deke from the minute I came outa my mama."
"I get it, I guess. C'mon, let's get some shut-eye."
"Okay."