Part 10 (1/2)
We decided to try St Andrews park We walked the length of St Andrews to Eighty-seventh Street, and there we found a civilian waxing a custo we needed-a van This meant more shooters could be secreted inside More shooters meant more deaths We stepped to the vic-the victian spiritedly, as if I were really impressed by his van ”This is a clean van”
”Yeah, you like it?” said the civilian, who stood about six foot three and looked to weigh about three hundred pounds
”hell, yeah,” said Tray Stone, ”this ht”
The civilian then took in our attire and demeanor and, amped on adrenaline, looked everywhere but at his van
”Yeah, I work hard forso into motion It all seemed rehearsed, we had done it so many times One step back, draw the weapon, and instruct the vic to lie down on his sto anything he had We treated the women much better than the men We'd never rape the women, nor would we take the whole purse
But this ti into motion his action was countered, as if the vic was a mind reader When Diamond made his step backward the vic took one step forward, and when Diamond reached for his waistband to retrieve the strap the vic pounced on hiht Diamond went down as if he wasn't even in the vic's way De, Tray Stone, and Ipu about hied to wiggle free of the vic He did so on his own, because the head bloere delivering to the vic seeone stone crazy on us
When Diahtened boy who had just seen a ghost, he started backing away an to turn his big frame in our direction Tray Stone hollered for Diamond to ”shoot him, shoot the muthafucka” That's when Diaot the strap!”
By then it was too late
”Now,” the vic-turned-assailant said, ”I'ood little punks”
All I could think about was Death Wish We each ran in separate directions, first for our lives and then to try and confuse the vic-assailant I hadn't taken ten steps before the first shot cracked into the darkness
POW!
Good, I thought, he ain't shootin' at me And then the second shot cracked
POW!
And I'll be damned if he didn't hit me in the back Two other shots cracked off and I presumed them to be at the others In theshot ers The shooting had stopped, but I was still reluctant to get out ofabout what the 22 bullet had done to , ricocheting, and tearing up organs ca on me in every voice I had ever heard theht and tensed The shadow seeht the sa I did, because simultaneously we both broke and ran As I made distance I looked back shi+t, it was Diamond
”Diamond,” I hissed, ”over here, it's , still wearing his frightened-little-boy face
”Oh, what's up, cuz?”
”I'm hit,” I said with all the it's-your-fault I could put into it
”da place like ere trapped in Khe Shan ”I'-”
”Don't sweat it,” I interrupted hiet away from here I can't ust
”C'ot to hts of an on-co his arht be-”
” froht, rolling on us We darted to the left and ran through sos, out the back, and onto Manchester Avenue Once on Manchester welot There we found Tray Stone and Crazy De My entire right side now throbbed With all the excite a lot of blood
Before I could say anything, Diamond told De and Stone that I was shot and that the oing to be sick Stone kept et Monster to the hospital,” Dia
”Hoe gonna do that?” De said ”You done let fool take the daonna-”
”Man, fuck you, De!” Diamond shot back ”You seen cuz over me, what I s'posed to do? Huh? What?”
”Cuz, fuck it, just fuck it,” De said, waving Diamond off dismissively
”Naw, ain't no just 'fuck it', 'cause you see, ”
Stone spotted the father of one of our hoed him down We piled into his car and Stone told him to take us to the hospital I objected, to everyone's surprise, and said to taketo seeat a slower than nor to old down-ho from one to the other in irritation, Crazy De leaned over, inches froht and we tryin' to get him home Now, if he dies in this car because yo' old ass is drivin' too slow, you gonna die in this car, too” Then, more loudly, ”NOW DRIVE!”
Blue drove so fast that I was scared we'd all die in an auto accident He bent corners on theels, ran stop signs, and bullied his way through red lights I don't know if he was driving this way forhalt in front of my house When we piled out, Blue looked relieved
We knocked on the front door and Kerwin let us in He and Moan with a staet outta here with that daot time for it”
”No, I'ht ar to convince Mo a hole in
”No, Mrs Scott, he really is shot,” De said respectfully
To this Mo food and said, ”shi+t, boy, you always into sohteen” And she promptly stalked off to her room to retrieve her car keys-I hoped
”Letup from the table
”Man, fuck you!” I responded and sat down
”What happened?” Kerwin asked, looking at the others, clearly not expecting an answer from me But the homies already knew that Keras a spy for Mo when I woke up I'd hear his he had heard I'd done
”Kody turned a party out on Eighty-fourth,” or ”Kody shot such-and-such,” he'd say, so I knew not to tell hi If he heard it on the street, so what? It could be rumors
When Mom came back up the hallway she had her keys, jacket, and purse with her
”C'ht past me out the door When I went after her, the troops followed ”And where y'all think you goin'?” she said, pri around this city with the four of you It's bad enough that I got to ride with this one”
I rolled my eyes to the moonless sky and saluted the homies with the Tray
”Three minutes,” came their reply, and Moan in on me
”Nohat happened this ti?!” she shouted ”You got a damn bullet in your body, somebody put it there”