Crash And Burn

Chapter 1

It was getting late and the sun had started to set. She looked around herself wistfully, as she walked through the streets. Shivering with cold a sliver of fear passed through her as she recalled how dangerous the neighbourhood was. Graffiti on the fences, cracked pavements, occasionally she’d pass bullet holes in the walls.

She shivered again and pulled her jacket tighter around herself. If she didn’t hurry she wasn’t going to make it in time for the interview. She had barely managed to get Rohan to Sal’s house before the school had closed.

She just had to get this job, without it how would she pay the rent?? Especially after Toni had died and with her still at high school. She held her head up high and started, at least tried, to walk in confidence. She would get through this, as long as she had herself she could look after Rohan and give him the support Toni had given her whilst she was growing up.

Her parents had died when she had first learned to ride a bike and since then Toni was all the family she had had, he wasn’t even related to her family in any way yet he had been the father she had never had. More like a loving uncle, she thought smiling wryly to herself. Never a father, always an uncle.

She froze, her foot in midstep.

The sounds of someones shoes on gravel.

Her mind told her it was okay. She was fine. It was probably just someone part of the neighbourhood out for a walk. Her intuition reminded her she wasn’t particularly fond of meeting people in this neighbourhood.

A cold numbing sensation washed over her. She had just passed the gravel path….which meant whoever it was was retracing her steps. Feeling her throat constrict she spun around to face her opponent.

She swallowed.

Hard.

There were two of them. Her trained eyes scanned them in one glance. One was bald, lean tall and black, the other looked white, well under heavy black tattooing which extended even to his face. Some part of her distant mind told her it was for camouflage not a freak show parade.

Both were wearing cheap leathers and knuckle dusters, not to mention smug grins that she felt like wiping off their faces.

“Want to give us a good time babe?”, sniggered the black one.

Her eyes darted to the other one who was sniggering. She stayed silent.

“So what do you say?” they were inching forward, sauntering almost.

Damn!

Not only was she in trouble with these stupid freaks of nature but now she would surely not get a chance at the stupid job. In a flash she saw herself cutting down on the shopping lists, keeping the heating off in the winter time, wrapping poor little Rohan up in her nightgown because he had outgrown his.

She could feel her teeth clench and hands bunch into tight fists.

Damned bastards!

She looked around and realised there was no way she could outrun them.

She turned tail and fled.

Just as she expected the short white man followed at an easy pace, the black putting up a race.

Swinging round she threw her bag in his face, squatted down not giving him a chance to recover from the shock she did a triple roundhouse, hearing her sneakers smack smack smack across his face he held his hands up to protect it as he crawled on all fours on his backside up against a wall.

Turning swiftly she saw the short one come up.

“No shit!” he was just as surprised, instead of attacking her as she had contemplated he took out a Deagle and aimed it at her midriff. Her heart sank.

“Please!” she dropped to her knees, her long dark hair fall over her face and shoulder like a dark silky curtain. “Don’t…”

“You be a good girl now”, she heard the barrel popping into place, “and we won’t hurt you, right Nails??” she could hear the sarcasm in his voice and stood up slowly raising her hands, training her face to look defeated.

Then she could feel herself wavering, almost toppling in a faint.

“What the fuck?!”

She fell forward to the ground flailing her arms as though she were trying to protect herself, flattening her palms against the concrete path she used herself as a pivot as she struck swiping her legs off the grounds, swinging them round and letting them kick the weapon out of his hands.

“Huh?!”

Just as quickly she jumped up and slammed him with a right hook. Grunting he fell back, blood spewing from his nose.

“You bitch!” she turned around to see the black man staggering towards her, his face full of purple bruises.

It was now or never, she grabbed her bag and fled.

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“Yes, thankyou…I understand, goodbye”, she hung up and sighed wearily.

She had after much effort managed to reschedule the appointment for the job at the large supermarket.

Rohan came up to her, he was holding his gameboy and looked adorable with his mussy hair and his baby blue pj’s.

She felt a grin spread over her face, Toy Story, to infinity and beyond!

“Hey sweety! Isn’t it time you got to bed?” He scowled at her.

“Look Sophie, I’m eleven, call me by my name”, she rolled her eyes and laughed silently.

Her little brother was growing up fast, with adorable curly black hair, a snub nose and healthy profile.

“Okie, bigboy c’mon let’s get you to bed. Big day tommorow”, he yawned loudly.

“It’s always a big day tomorrow, are you gonna leave me at Sammy’s?”

She ran the thought through her head and wondered whether she could fit that in after school, finishing her homework, buying the groceries and getting to that interview. She had realised how lucky she was especially today, Toni had taught her tae kwondo and a little kickboxing, she exhaled a deep breath, it certainly came in handy.

Not only did it help her to calm down but also excellent for self-defence, and you couldn’t get a martial arts teacher better than Toni at that.

“Sure”, she smiled brightly, it was a tight time plan but her luck couldn’t possibly get any worse.

Could it?

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Please R&R let me know what you think!

...X