The busy streets of the city filled my ears with constant commotion: cars honking, senior citizens screaming, and crackheads begging

The busy streets of the city filled my ears with constant commotion: cars honking, senior citizens screaming, and crackheads begging. Times like this made me appreciate the silence that I dwelled in while I was imprisoned. Back there you could here a pin drop; while I could barely here myself think here.

I decided to take a cab home instead of walking; kids did that to you. I expected my first day to be uneventful while in fact it turned out stranger and more spontaneous than I ever could have imagined. I went from murdering a bunch of wannabe thugs to talking to a teenager about STD’s in a matter of eight and a half hours. My life officially had three faces of today: the face of an ex assassin trying to kid his child back, the face of a teacher who, unfortunately, had students who hated him, and finally the face of a new gang leader.

I walked on the cemented sidewalk, taking in all that I saw, whether it was the massive buildings that stood like giants or the oppressed homeless that roamed the streets for help, but getting little to none. Kids of young ages clung tightly to their parents as I passed, some laughing and playing, while others were crying and scowling. They held an innocence that was unique to them, one that I recently realized that I never had time to enjoy. I never had a truly happy childhood after I was drafted for AEGIS back in Midas.

Reflecting on my past made my head become filled with memories of Jacques and Satori. The happiest times in my life were the times where I was with them, for they were the only two true friends I had ever had. I knew still though, that my past was behind me, being carried in the wind to never return. I had assumed a new name, Malice, after Jacques died, for Malice was one of the most prominent feelings I had felt during my years as a killer. My old name was of little to no importance.

Years had passed since I last saw Satori in person. Otherwise, I’ve only seen him in my dreams which were more or less like nightmares. With each nightmare he appeared in, I felt more and more guilty for his imprisonment. Sometimes I could shake the guilt off, while at others I couldn’t. In each dream it was the same vision: Satori’s face bloodied to a pulp, his body void of any type of clothing except pants, and his arms chained to a stone wall, with three feets worth of shackles. At first his head was held high as if he saw hope coming, but it gradually, as the dream went on, his head lowered until it reached its lowest.

His pain looked so genuine and vivid during the dream that I often woke up in cold sweats, as bloody tears tip toed out of my eyes. My heart raced as the sweat poured down my temples, and my hands trembled as I felt useless. This time, as I walked down the street, was one of the few times this didn’t happen. Guilt was one of the few magics that remained in this cold world. It was times like this when I prayed for Jacques to just show up out of nowhere and help me make sense of all that was happening in my life, but he never came. This let me know that I was all alone in this vast world for all my friends were dead or locked up.

As I deeply inhaled the smog filled air, I couldn’t help but remember the massive amounts of pain I had caused people. The millions of dead bodies that piled on top of each other made me cringe as I wondered if, even after my mission of repentance, I could truly be forgiven for all the sins I’ve done: murder, assault, treason, arson, and so many more.

A few of my crimes were necessary I had to admit, but they were wrong nonetheless. If only people could forgive me the same way they say Jesus does, I thought. The fires that I had caused in peoples lived both physically and emotionally wouldn’t truly die out until I collected the rest of my shards. My child would not be able to see my eyes, to feel my skin, or to hear my soothing voice, until I killed 600 and something demons, sadly, so my time was limited. The faster I got it done, the less my kids would miss out on. I’ll probably be finished in ten months… nine months at the least thanks to the connections I get form this gang leader job.

“I guess I have a niche for finding trouble” I sighed.

“You sure do Mr. Malcolm” a slithery voice whispered.

I looked towards the place where the voice came form and saw a child coming out of an alley way. I instantly recognized the key. His smile truly was one of a kind.

“You asshole” I began “you don’t even deserve to see the light of day after what you’ve done.”

The boy known as Tye stepped out of the corner he so discretely blended into. “All I did was tell the truth. And correct me if am wrong sire” Tye said “but I am supposed to be truthful aren’t I?”

Sometimes I wish these “never tell a lie” rules could be exceptions in certain cases. “Damnit! Even still, you didn’t have to make the girl pissed like that. Very few people deserve to be embarrassed that badly in front of thirty kids.

“Well then she was damn sure one of them. She killed my brother best friend!” he stressed. You think I’m gonna just le her get away with that?”

“No I don’t, actually. I expect you to be the better person and let her be. Karma is truly a bitch. Trust me, I know me from experience.”

The boy gave me a glassy stare, proving he truly hated me.

“By the way, shouldn’t your brother take care of the situation since he was his bets friend?”

Suddenly, a cold stare crawled into the kids eyes as he spit the words “My brother is dead…” The word “death” held tightly onto my mind.

“And I bet you have no idea how it feels to lose your brother, let alone your best friend, within the blink of an eye. You don’t know what it’s like waking up each and every morning, with the first question popping into your head being ‘Where is my brother?’, and then answering your own question with ‘Oh! He died and I’m never going to see him again!”

The boy’s words slowly slithering around my heart, squeezing it tighter as I felt the troubled boys anger and pain.

“Look kid” I said as he stared at me with sadness showing in his eyes, “Believe it or not, I feel the exact same thing you feel. Hell I probably feel even worse considering it was my fault that the man that I loved like a brother is dead.” The boy’s eyes looked sorry for a split second, but then changed to pain only seconds after.

“As hard as it may seem, you need to quit bitching about your brother dying, cause if you haven’t noticed, you’re fucking up other peoples lives because of it: you’ve made a misunderstood girl PO’d, you’re stalking a teacher, and you’re making your bro’s death seem trivial. Do you think your brother would’ve wanted to see you doing crazy shit?”

Tye merely smirked as he whispered “Well that’s for me to know…”

“You know what?” Malice sighed “You’re just a little punk. You try to make others lives a living Hell just so you can make your life seem better. Well here’s a reality check, everyone has problems in their life, whether it’s a family member dying or not being able to pay the rent. The truly strong people in this world don’t harm others because their life sucks; they try to make their life better and have optimism. It’s spoiled little brats like you, who don’t realize this, who grow up to become serial killers, rapists and shit that wonder why their life is hard. If you don’t get a foot in your ass soon to wake you up to see this, then I’m afraid you’re no better than Satan himself…”

Anger and rage constricted my heart tightly, but not as much as disappointment had. I seriously thought the boy was simply misguided but it turns out this kid was truly crazy.

Tye simply stood there, a blank look on his face as he stared into my eyes. I tried to guess what he was thinking but failed. He just stood there as if he saw a ghost.

“Hey Tye… you okay?” I said with a hint of concern in my voice. Still he just stood there in a strange state of blankness.

As I walked closer to the boy, to see if he was okay, he slowly elevated his arm and pointed to the distance.

With a mask of fear on his face, the kid whispered “Behind you…” I turned, with my back now completely facing Tye, as my eyes became set on a tall white male with all brown hair. He was dressed loosely in a camouflage hoodie, some denim jeans, and very dark suede boots. The ghoulish smirk on his face would care the toughest of men, with the toothpick that he twirled around in his mouth, making him look all the more fear some.

With his hands shoved in his pockets he spoke with an extremely thick southern accent, “The name’s Malice, right?” His voice sounded robotic, as if he were speaking through a machine.

Putting my gangster face on, I replied “Who wants to know robodick?” He stood there, hardly fazed by my insult, smiling for some mysterious reason.

“Look” he replied “I ain’t here fer trouble… at least not yet. I just have a message from muh boss.” He dug into his back pocket and slid out a thin slip of paper.

Robodick unfolded the slightly crumpled paper and cleared his throat before he read the letter aloud which said,

Dear Malice, leader of the Arachnids,

I would like to cordially invite you to my mansion to discuss some trade matters and welcome you as the new leader of the aforementioned gang. If you accept my invitation, please come to my house in exactly two weeks from this day at 7:30 PM. The address is 2132 Lynchem Lane. It would be my pleasure to meet you. There will be lots of booze, bitches, and “big ballers” in the community attending also. Think of it as a social community rendezvous.

Sincerely,

OG Homeboy Grand Wizard Mac Daddy Big Pimpin’ Billy Bob Joe Ray Mccoy

The Leader of the Coo Clucks Clann (not to be confused with the KKK)

The man then crumbled the letter up and tossed it behind him into the oncoming traffic as he began “I personally don’t like your kind in my presence but the boss said it was mandatory and very signified… or significated… or some long ass “S” word. Ya know what to do if you wanna’ come.” With that, he walked off across the street into another alleyway.

I was awestruck at what had just taken place. I had been a gang leader for no more than a week or two and already had big time OG Homeboy Mac Daddy’s asking me to come over for booze and bitches. Life was damn sure good. It was all perfect until I had an unfortunate realization: Tye was right behind me and heard all that was said.

I briskly turned around and faced Tye whose jaw was touching the floor. “Now before you get all weird and stuff, lemme explain…” I stuttered.

Tye picked his jaw and hollered “How the hell can you explain some honkey tonk asshole calling you a member, better yet the boss, of the Arachnids, the most famous gang on the East Coast!!”

Damn, he’s not lyin’, I thought. I need a lie, and quick…

“Ya see Tye, I…I… I’m not really a member of that god awful gang. I don’t even know what that gang is…”

“He knew your name retard.”

“Umm… coincidence?” I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Coincidence my ass, you lying ass mothafucka. Explain this shit now or else I’m exposing you to my mom.”

“What the hell is your mom gonna do?” I retorted “Put me in time out? It’s not like your Mom has any authority over me. Hell, I don’t even know who your mom is. She’s probably some whore. Hopefully she’s not as ugly as you are or else that’s pretty much it for your kids in the looks department.”

Tye’s face reddened with rage as I went on “Your wife has to be fuckin Beyonce or Eva Longoria if you want your kids to not look like shitty remakes of Alien Versus Predator. And trust me, that’s FUCKIN’ ugly…”

As I went on and on about how ugly he was (which wasn’t necessarily true, I just had to get his mind off of my gang affiliation) the kid finally let loose.

“My mom’s your boss idiot!!” the kid screamed

In a childish voice I asked “Wuddya mean?”

“Ms. Reynolds, the principal of the school, is my mom.” He said.

“Who’s Ms. Reynolds?” I asked

“Your boss idiot!!”

“Wait, wait, wait…” I sighed “Your mom is the beautiful woman who gave me my job! Oh shit, if you tell her a word I swear I will hunt you down and murder you!!”

“Then tell me your story. The whole story. And I don’t just mean the gang affiliation. I mean the stuff before that.”

My skin crawled with fear over the fact that he knew about my true reasons of being here. How did he know? When did he find out? And Why the hell am I arguing with a fifteen year old? All I could do was tell him the truth, but not all of it.

“Okay kid, I’ll tell you the story from my gang affiliation to my cousin’s secret homosexual lifestyle.” I sighed. “Just come with me to my hotel room and we’ll talk like gentlemen. But for now, just call your momma and tell her that you’re smoking weed with some friends or something. Whatever it is you teenagers do…”

I handed him my cell as we walked towards my 45th street, where the Milton Hotel was.

We sat in my hotel suite in separate chairs, facing each other, with the coffee table in between us.

“So, let me get this straight.” Tye said. “You were raised by wolves with down syndrome who taught you everything that you know, from playing the piano to speaking English and French. They raised you until you were thirteen, when you ran away from home and volunteered at a nearby city in France to teach paraplegic blind and deaf kids how to dance. After three years of teaching them, you went to a school with in America with normal people and were shunned by the cool kids, who bullied you to the point where you held your principal hostage and went to jail after getting caught. Then you spend two years in the slammer and gain a cult following at the jail. The people who followed you in jail are now your fellow gang members of the Arachnids, whom you started.”

I nodded my head as I said “Yeah that’s basically it.”

“Well I say that’s basically complete bullshit. Your story makes no sense… at all.”

Gabriel who rested under the coffee table said “What happened to the master of the sacred art of lying and rewording? Haha, god DAMN your stupid.”

Shut up you mutt! “Look Tye, I know it sounds kind of fishy, but I swear it’s the truth.”

“What do you mean kind of fishy? It’s impossible for wolves to teach you two different languages, there’s no way for a paraplegic blind kid to have the need to know how to dance if they can’t move their legs, and the Arachnids have been around for over a decade. You’re twenty something years old, yet you say you formed the gang when you were sixteen.”

Puzzled, I argued “Like I said, it sounds improbable but if you were there, you would see how probable it actually was.”

“You just wasted a whole hour of my time with complete crap. If you don’t tell me your story, then I’ll find it out my self. But only after I get you fired for gang affiliation.” With that, the kid rose from the chair and walked towards the door with evil intent.

Suddenly, I dove around his ankles. “Please don’t tell her! I’ll do anything for you except tell you my whole story! Please don’t get me fired. I NEED this job!”

The boy shook me off of his legs and slyly replied “Anything?”

I nodded my head in agreement. “Then tell me” he began “Why do you NEED this job?”

I swallowed my spit as I sat on my ass, facing the fact that all I could do was tell him what my true purpose to be a teacher here was. If I didn’t, then my child’s’ future was at stake.

“Alright. Here it goes… It started with a girl named Alicia…”

A/N: I’m officially back!! I have rewritten the whole plot of this story to the very end. All attitudes of the characters will remain the same but Malice’s pasty has changed dramatically. I have ideas for the next three chapters, so don’t expect a LONG ass hiatus any time soon. Keep reviewing and if you have any new stories yall are writing then PLEASE tell me about them. I’d be happy to give you critiques on them. If you have any comments on my story then just message me.