Last Chance

A story I wrote for language arts class.

Last Chance

            I walked down one of the two littered, cracked sidewalks that lined the busy streets of southern Chicago. My old thrift store boots put themselves in front of each other with every step I took, landing in the snow with a soft crunch. A late-November wind whipped up my dark hair and tossed it about, all the while nipping and lashing at the back of my neck. An eerie chill tickled my spine, and I dug my mitten-less fingers deeper into my coat pockets at a desperate attempt to keep them warm. I hiked my book bag farther up my shoulder and examined my surroundings.

            Up ahead, to my left, there was a middle-aged man slumped up against the leather seats of a bus stop bench. A lit cigarette dangled from the tips of his frostbitten fingers. As I passed him, he stared long and hard at me, his bloodshot eyes practically burning holes through my skin, before he took another drag from the orange and white cancer stick he possessed.

            I ignored him and kept walking. I was quickly approaching the railroad tracks, and knew that just beyond them was the alleyway Ace asked me to meet him at. It was usually where we got together after school so we could walk home together.

            I crossed the train tracks and was about to round the corner into the alley, when I heard voices. I abruptly came to a halt and pressed myself up against the brick wall of the building next to me, struggling to hear the conversation.

            “What the hell do you want?” asked someone in an annoyed tone. I recognized the voice immediately: it was Ace’s. I knew it anywhere.

            “I wanted to have a little talk with you,” a different guy answered. It was Snake, Ace’s best friend.

            Well, they used to be friends--ever since I can remember.

            It didn’t matter that Snake was black and Ace was white. From the moment they had a food fight in first grade, the two were practically brothers. They grew up defending each others’ backs, beating up any threats that came in their direction. Which was why, in their junior year of high school, nobody was surprised when they each formed gangs and promptly became the leaders.

            Snake’s gang was called the Kings, and Ace’s was called the Tigers. Each gang was composed of about seven members, including the leader.

            Together, the Tigers and the Kings were unbeatable. They basically ruled the school. It was probably because everyone was afraid to stand up to them. Those who did went down--fast.

            They were even thinking of combining the two gangs into one: the Scorpions. That is, until it happened.

            I had been dating Snake for about two months. We were moving a fast rate, too fast for me. He wanted to do things that I simply was not comfortable with. So, in a blink, I dumped him, and pretty soon was going steady with Ace.

            To say Snake was furious would be an understatement. He was pissed. Now, I had a feeling I knew what this conversation was about. I crouched behind a nearby pile of snow and peeked over the top so I could see what was going on.

            “You stole my girl, m**********r,” Snake spat. He took a long drag from the cigarette he was holding, then blew the smoke in Ace’s direction before saying, “Now I’m going to whoop your little white a*s.”

            “We don’t need to fight about this,” Ace argued, moving his hands around to emphasize his words. “She’s just a girl. Get over it. Really.” He turned to leave, but Snake grabbed onto the collar of his t-shirt.

            “B***h,” he hissed, then raised his voice. “You don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you.” Snake seized Ace’s arm and spun him around. He extinguished his cigarette on Ace’s cheek.

            Ace flinched, but didn’t fight back. He just stood there.

            “See, here’s the thing, bro,” Snake continued. “She ain’t no ordinary girl. She’s Shaniqua. And my, oh my, she is fiiiiine.”

            I shuddered at the way he said my name and how he described me.

            “Whatever.” Ace shrugged and began to walk away again.

            “Yo!” Snake yelled angrily, shoving Ace face-first into a nearby wall. “This ain’t over yet.”

            “I don’t want to fight you, Snake,” Ace told him in a tired and pained voice as he turned to face him. “It’s not worth it.”

            “So you’re going to stand here and let me kick your a*s?”

            Ace didn’t have time to respond, because in the next second, Snake’s fist was colliding against his jaw, full-force. However, Ace still stood his ground and didn’t move a muscle. I couldn’t believe he was letting himself become a free punching bag. He had seen what Snake could do to other people. What was he thinking?

            Snake leaned back on his heels and cracked his knuckles, a sign that he was just getting started. He slapped Ace across the face for a distraction, then kneed him in a sensitive place. He punched Ace’s nose upward, causing it to become dislodged. A few cracking noises were heard.

            Ace stumbled backwards, clutching his nose. He didn’t utter a single word, but I saw a small tear trickle its way down his flushed cheek.

            “There’s no use cryin’,” Snake said with a smirk. “Nobody can save you now.”

            I swallowed, trying to get rid of the huge lump in my throat. Instead, I made it even bigger. I felt my hands trembling inside my pockets.

            “No one can rescue you.” An evil twinkle shined in Snake’s eye.

            I knew that I should jump in and stop the fight. After all, I was the reason they were doing this. I could spring out, jump in the middle of them, and put an end to this once and for all. But there was something deep inside of me, a gut feeling, that kept me crouched there behind that pile of snow.

            I watched in horror as Snake performed hit upon hit in perfect sequence, until Ace fell backwards onto the snowy alleyway floor. I knew that this was my chance--my last chance--to save him, but right at this moment, I was too afraid of what Snake would do to me if I did.

            Ace curled up into a ball, whimpering into the asphalt pavement he was sprawled out upon.

            Just as I had decided to reveal myself and stop the fight, Snake pulled out a large pocketknife and held it up to Ace threateningly.

            The same chill I felt before had returned, now stronger than ever. My whole body started to shake uncontrollably.

            Ace’s body was doing the same. As Snake raised the knife, Ace took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

            In a second, Snake’s hand brought down the knife and it pierced Ace’s chest. Pain reflected off the innocent teenager’s face as the feeling of metal in his heart shot throughout his body. He laid there, almost lifeless.

            “I’m sorry,” Ace managed to gasp out. “I’m sorry that you felt you needed to do this. I loved you--just like you were my brother.” He paused to breathe in enough oxygen to say his final words. “Shaniqua would be very disappointed in you.” Then his mouth closed and he became permanently still.

            It took a few seconds for Snake to realize what he’d done. He fell to his knees and began to weep. He ran his fingers through his hair and let loose with every four-letter word he knew.

            I felt a sob escape my own lips. With one last look at Ace’s pale, dead face, I stood up and started to run.

            “Shaniqua?” I heard Snake call. “Shaniqua!”

            I didn’t answer. Instead I just kept on running down the snow-covered sidewalk towards home without looking back.

 

            The day that Ace died, something inside of me died too. I could feel it as I sat on the carpet in the middle of my room in the Indian-style position. A tear escaped from my glassy eye and started to race down my cheek.

            “Damn it! Stop crying!” I scolded myself, swiping madly at my face to get rid of all evidence of the tear’s existence. I had cried enough over Ace already. There was no point in shedding more tears. I mean, what could I do? He was already dead.

            Still, the guilt was gnawing away at me. I had the chance to save him. I should’ve done something. Why didn’t I?

 

            And now, there in my room, somebody had the chance to save me, too. They could’ve done something. Why didn’t they? The world will probably never know.

            Anyone could walk in on me right now and find me holding this knife up to my own chest. They could rescue me from what I would to do myself. But I knew they wouldn’t. I wasn’t anything to them; just another mouth to feed.

            I raised the knife. This was it. This was the last chance.

            “Nobody can save you now,” I whispered to myself, just the way Snake had told Ace those exact same words.

            I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, just the way Ace did. Without a second thought, I brought down the knife against my skin and through my heart.

            “I’m sorry,” I gasped out to no one. “I’m sorry that I felt I needed to do this.”

            Then I felt my vision fade away as my world became a never-ending darkness.

 

The End

Author's Note

Since it was a school assignment, I blocked out the swear words with stars. But for the full effect of the story, I took them away on here and replaced them with what the characters were really saying.

Reviews

[Mudkipz]

:o, I liked it!