FINAL CHAPTER OF ARC 2 PART 1: Peace For Once

Jack’s still recovering from his wounds from the ambush that took the lives of four of his comrades, and as he’s healing he can’t help but think of ways of retaliation against those wretched rivals who managed to get inside sources without anyone's acknowledgement. The scars created from his injuries became a new form of body art for him. With a scar on his right shoulder and a scar on his abdomen, Jack couldn’t care less how much his body had endured such torture. All he wanted to worry about was to protect Angela.

The gang had been at a standstill ever since the ambush Jack had experienced, so everyone was on standby. Eric couldn’t risk losing more of his men, he couldn’t allow it. What made things more complicated was explaining their deaths to their loved ones. He had to endure cussing from loud mouthed baby mommas, angry mothers, and sometimes fathers ready to take his life.

The boys had been on the low ever since, trying to live their lives and not engage in any illegal activities for their safety. It was best for everyone, especially with how peaceful it had gotten throughout the small time of peace.

“Yo guys!” Randolph shouted.

Eric and Jack were relaxing in their own rooms when they heard Randolph’s loud voice disturbing their relaxation. Both of them let out annoyed groans and sighs, then they came out of their rooms. Jack walked into the living room and Eric came up from downstairs. Walking into the room, they saw Randolph was all excited for some reason.

“You guys want to come along to a local club to watch people rap, tell jokes, and hang around?” said Randolph.

Jack and Eric thought about it. Jack gripped his jaw, Eric crossed his arms and closed his eyes, the two made noises of thinking. Jack coughed for a moment, Eric too, and both chuckled after. They both didn’t have much to do, so they accepted his invitation by nodding to Randolph.

Eric opened his eyes and shrugged. “Let's go, shit I’m bored anyways.”

Jack stretched and yawned. “I guess so, it seems like a good chance for us to go out together, we rarely do this.

Randolph pumped his arm in excitement. “Bet! I'll be right back!” he said as he quickly ran to his room and started getting dressed.

After ten minutes had passed, everyone was outside. However, as they were about to get inside their vehicles, they all remembered Angela. In unison all three said, “Oh fuck… right.” They couldn’t leave her alone, especially knowing how they could be ambushed at any time.

Jack walked back inside. “Angela,” he shouted, stopping at the foot of the stairs. “Can you come downstairs?”

Silence. He got no response.

“If you don’t come down here, I swear I’ll come up and drag your ass down here, girl.”

Jack heard soft giggles, which briefly reminded him of someone who he hated. When he looked around, he spotted Angela creeping around the corner of the bottom stairs.

Her head was barely sticking out, and she looked rather annoyed at first glance. “What is it now? I’m trying to watch my show!”

Jack sighed. “Forget about your damn cartoons. How did you get downstairs? Anyways, we’re going out as a group to enjoy ourselves and guess what?”

“Uh, what?” she asked sarcastically.

“You’re coming with us!” Jack rushed at Angela and picked her up.

“No! Put me down! How dare you take me away from my precious shows!”

“Too late. You’re going with us, baby sis.” Jack carried Angela outside, closing the door behind and before he could put her into the fancy SUV they rarely used parked in front of the garage door, he remembered that other change in her appearance that’s out of the ordinary.

He stood there, analysing Angela’s hair and grabbing his jaw, squinting an eye. “Huh…”

Angela noticed how concentrated his staring was. “Uh… brother, you’re making me blush here.”

“Angela… Your hair… Why is it—”

Angela’s eyes lightly exploded, and she grabbed her hair, stroking it. “Uhh, I already told Uncle Randolph about it, so no worries. Right, Uncle?”

Randolph was smoking with Eric in front of the vehicle until he heard his name being mentioned, so he responded with a loud “Huh?”

Angela clenched the ends of her hair, forcefully grinning. “See, nothing to worry about.”

Jack raised a brow, and briefly looked to his left. “Okay… but the other thing is, you really like that hoodie, don’t you?”

Angela grabbed the hoodie that Jack used to wear. “Yeah! It’s my favourite thing to wear now. It’s really comfortable too!”

He glanced down at her pale legs. “At least put some pants or long shorts on. It looks like you’re wearing nothing again.”

She sighed all petty-like. “Ugh… fine! It’s more comfortable wearing short shorts with this hoodie, you know?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Hurry up or we’ll leave you behind.”

Jack, Eric, and Randolph entered the SUV and all three patiently waited for Angela to change and come back to them. When she returned, instead of putting on what her brother suggested, she’d only slapped on some knee high socks that were stripped black and purple. She hopped in beside Jack in the backseat. They drove off and headed to the location Randolph had requested.

After an hour’s drive, they arrived at the club Randolph boasted about. Angela got out and stretched her legs and arms from the long trip. Jack yawned and stretched too. Randolph felt relieved getting out of the SUV. They all took a good look at the club and it looked alright until Eric saw the sign which had a black woman bouncing her butt next to an inappropriately named sign.

Angela tried to get a better view of the sign by hovering her hand over her eyes, raising her toes until her vision went black. “Hey!” she said, flailing her arms.

When Eric saw the name of the club, and Angela trying to analyze it, his parenting instincts kicked in, quickly covering Angela’s eyes with his giant hand then to give Randolph a raised angered brow. “Really man, the Fuq-Mah-Ass-Express?”

Angela grabbed her uncle's hand and tried removing it. “Un-Uncle… why’d you cover my eyes?”

Jack laughed. “Hilarious name, but I think you’re killing Angela.” Eric groaned to Jack in response.

Randolph shrugged but quickly cringed. “Oh yeah, my bad haha, let's go shall we?” He started walking and Eric made Angela walk with him as he still had his giant hand covering her entire upper head.

Jack stayed behind for a moment to get a good look around their area. Though the building had graffiti all over the front, with doors still in use from the eighties, destroyed pavements, and dirty windows, it was better than what they had back home.

Jack could tell they were close to Detroit, because he felt nostalgic and the air smelled criminally rotten. The area was surrounded by the stench of corrupt politicians and homelessness was at every corner. Neighborhoods were divided from the rich class to the poorly funded.

“Heh, just like home,” Jack said.

Feeling the essence of his past breeze on his face, Angela came back in a rush to get her brother, and pulled on his sleeve. “Are you coming inside cause everyone else is.”

Randolph and Eric were already ahead, waiting inside the entrance of the club. Jack nodded, grabbed Angela’s tiny snowy hand, and they both walked into the club that was filled with Randolph’s promises. They quickly caught up to the guys, then they all pushed open the heavy doors to walk into a sea of seated people.

They spotted a table and sat near the stage to get a better view of the show. The place was packed to the brim and was full of life, but a lot of the audience looked like what you’d expect in a place called Fuq-Mah-Ass-Express from thugs wearing baggy pants, sagging, gold chains, watches, flashing diamonds and looking mean to their or single women wearing very provocative outfits fitting for the mens liking. All four sat down and waited for the first act.

“The first act is mainly typical life telling stories. Sounds dope, right?” Randolph said.

“Randy, I doubt that most of these people really care about such a thing,” Jack said.

“But they should, though. I mean, we’re no different than these bums. We’re all a part of the streets. We’re crooks, murderers, and provide folks with their addictions,” Eric said.

Both men agreed to Eric’s statement, since most of these people needed a life lesson or two. The show started, the curtains opened, the spotlight flashed on, and the first couple of people started the show by telling their life changing stories and advising some of the young guys to follow a better path.

As Jack and Eric said, the majority of the lowly audience shrugged it off and joked around about their stories. Some people taunted people’s tales, calling them pussies, weak asses, bitch asses, and so on, which made the poor souls regret ever telling deep experiences to such wastes of life.

It took at least two hours for people to come and go with their stories. Angela seemed to enjoy all of their stories, especially the one about a guy losing his sister due to gang violence. It made her shed a tear. On the other hand, the rest of the guys almost fell asleep, yet Jack was still a little interested in some of their stories.

The second act came on and it was time for the stand-up comedians. Whether it was the cheesy, corny, or typical clown type of humor, everything was a go in terms of comedy.

The first guy came up. He was a white dude dressed extremely silly, who forced himself to speak street talk. He pointed at someone’s girl and said, “Let me come over there with a broom cause I’m about to sweep you off yo feet, girl! Ahahaha!”

The girl’s man got mad. “Watcha say bout my bitch, you small ass?!” He got up to storm the stage but security stopped him.

The corny one liner guy seemed to not give the utmost care. He tried his luck on another girl by pointing his wiggling finger at her. “Oh yeahhh! You there, girl! My name’s—”

“What?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“None of your business. I can’t read or write, but how you doing?” The performer laughed in a very rude way, which made the girl turn red in anger.

She twitched an eye, grabbed a glass, and threw it at him. “Stupid, corny ass, dumb, punk ass, white boy.”

Everyone had enough of him, so they all booed. Security also had enough of his cringe. They went up onstage and finally escorted him off while he was continuously being booed by the audience.

The second guy, a very creepy looking fellow who wore just a gray hoodie, sweat pants, and had shaved head, came up and decided to try and pick on Angela.

“Hey there, young pretty thang! Say…” He walked to the edge of the stage and extended his arm out to her.

Angela nervously looked around. “Me…?”

“Yes you. Where are your parents? Or are you just a sexy, short gal?”

That pissed Jack off enough for him to slightly get off his chair and furrowed his brow, giving the man a death stare. “Watch your fucking tongue, pervert.”

The crowd booed the guy and yelled at how ass his joke was, but it wasn’t really a joke in the first place. The crowd grew ruthless on him and they started chanting pedophile.

The guy began to sweat and was growing nervous. He felt the menacing pressure from the audience, especially Jack’s fierce stare. “Uhh, my bad… um, how about we say that— Wait! You know what? You guys are all a bunch of…”

He suddenly got bombarded with food. The crowd called him a “pussy pedo boy” and a cheesy average “thug boy.” He covered his face in shame and ran off the stage.

Everyone cheered. Jack released an angered breath and rubbed Angela’s back. She wanted to leave after hearing such a nasty comment from such a vile stranger.

After one long hour of an awful second act full of cheesy, creepy, lackluster performers, it was time for the last act. It was mainly focused on music where people performed by rapping or singing, but sometimes they played instruments. It went okay for the first hour, but everyone was beginning to get bored from the same routine. They wanted something hyped and something that was hard as fuck.

One guy shouted at the host, flailing his hand in the air. “Hey yo! Whoever’s in charge, put something entertaining or we can take this outside so I can beat your ass!”

His woman next to him stood up, shooting one of her fists in the air. “Yeah! Do what my man says or he will hurt you!”

Another man chimed in. “Yeah lets fucking go! Give us some good shit you bum ass fool!”

More people joined in and shouted at the host. As all this was going on, Danny walked into the club and noticed how the crowd was getting rowdy. He knew this would be entertaining to watch.

“Hoo, what’s with all the charades? I feel as if a storm is coming!” He sat on top of a table near the entrance just in case things went south.

“Man, this shit is so whack yo!” a random woman yelled.

“Fuck this bullshit! Bum ass fool!” a random guy bellowed.

“You ain’t shit, my guy! We want our money back!” the bartender shouted, wanting to get into the action just to stir things up and have a good laugh.

The crowd got more aggressive and riled up. They raised their fists and stood up from their chairs to yell furiously at the host. On the other hand, the host had enough of these low life's of society, so he got up onto the stage and took the microphone.

Taking a deep breath, he rolled his head. “Shut all ya’ll bitch asses up! Unemployed, bum ass, worthless lame ass fools!”

The crowd gasped at first, feeling that what he said was in fact true, but being the hoodlums that they were, they quickly barked back. For some stupid reason the crowd started attacking each other. Logic flew out the building and everyone’s anger vented off into each other’s faces, even with some pulling out weapons. Some pointed guns at each other, some pointed knives and yelled empty threats to one another.

Danny thought it would be fun to break the crowd by grabbing a water glass from the bar. He stared at one and smiled, then got off the table he was standing on, walked up to the bar, grabbed a glass and threw it into the air, waiting for it to land on someone. It landed on someone’s head and knocked them out. It shattered, making a loud thump from impacting his dome. The glass spread onto other people from the aftermath.

The crowd stayed silent for a moment, blinking confusingly, then they got into a ruthless frenzy. People were punching each other, tumbling onto one another, and scuffling on the ground. Some smashed glass just to stir up the heat. People were being tossed over tables while chairs were being thrown throughout the place. There were people slamming against one another onto tables and some even attempted murder. People tackled one another, some were headlocking others, and women were pulling each other’s hair or fake hair entirely. Tables were destroyed, chairs were broken, glass was everywhere, and there were blood stains on tablecloths.

Jack kept Angela beneath his arms to protect her from the chaos. Eric and Randolph yelled at the host for escalating the situation. Angela started having a panic attack because her anxiety was through the roof.

“I wa-want to leave th-this hell hole,” Angela said while trying to regain her breath.

Jack thought for a second and looked around, then spotted something on the stage. He got up and held Angela’s hand, making sure she didn’t lose sight of him.

Jack stood in front of the host and grabbed the collar of his expensive suit. “Hey asshole! What’s underneath that cloak?” He pointed at the huge shaped object on the stage.

The host gestured to Jack to calm down. “Chill, scary looking homie! It’s just a piano. Why do you ask?”

Jack had an idea and immediately rushed to the stage. He removed the cloak, which created a huge cloud of dust. Jack coughed and smiled, then he wiped the dust off the piano, trying to clean it as much as possible.

Eric realized what Jack was up to and ordered Randolph to find the microphone and bring it to him. Jack shouted Angela’s name and ordered her to come on stage. She was confused, but she heard his call and cautiously walked up to the stage.

Randolph found the microphone and tossed it to Eric. He caught the mic and tapped it to see if it was still on, then he walked up onto the stage and walked over to Jack. “Hey man, we need to get the crowd’s attention.”

Jack lifted Angela up and placed her on the piano seat.

“What are you up to?” Angela shouted, freaking out and flailing her limbs about.

Jack smiled and gave Eric a thumbs up.

Angela tugged on his jacket. “Brother! Please tell me what you’re planning?”

Jack patted Angela’s head. “Don’t worry, sis.” He leaned close to her face and they bumped heads.

She made adorable sounds of nervousness, turned red, and then her eyes glistened. “H..uh?”

“Angela, this is your time to shine. Show these fools what real music is, and use the sound that you love making to bring everyone together.”

Her eyes glistened with life. She’d never heard such motivation from him before. After watching him change so much these past two years, she never would’ve imagined he would show his old self again.

She nodded and prepared herself, stretching her fingers, taking multiple breaths, stretched her arms out above her head, and circled her neck to move her shoulders. “Show them what I got ey?”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This is my time to shine!

Angela cracked her tiny fingers and felt the heat of the spotlight shining on her pale skin. Slowly, she degraded all the annoying sounds around her and muffled them out completely, putting herself into deep concentration.

Eric cleared his throat and said into the mic, “Hey! Can I have your attention please?”

The crowd continued their violent acts, ignoring his words.

Eric got mad. He drew in a huge breath of air and screamed furiously into the mic, “Listen up, you bitch ass fools!”

The crowd stopped the moment his super deep, bassy voice erupted into the mic and distorted it. Everyone paused, standing still.

Eric smirked and handed the mic to Jack. “Your turn, scary looking fool.”

Jack took the mic. “With pleasure, Steroids.”

Jack hovered the mic towards his face and cleared his throat. He looked over his shoulder, seeing that Angela was ready.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Jack. And this…” He moved aside and showed the audience Angela, “...is my little sister, Angela.”

Danny, who was behind the chaos, heard Jack’s familiar voice. He got on top of a table and spotted Jack on the stage, but he quickly diverted his attention to this Angela he’d never heard of. If he heard Jack correctly, he heard him call her his little sister, but to his knowledge he knew for a fact he didn’t have one. But it was more than enough for him to grow a sinister smile.

At last he found Jack, but most of all he now had a way to make Jack suffer. “Oh yes! Yes, yes, yes!” he shouted weirdly, making people in the crowd nearby give him strange looks. One even called him a “Crazy ass cracka!” but he didn’t seem to care. He wanted to watch this.

Angela’s fingers hovered over the keys and slowly began to play the piano. The sound coming out of it haunted the very essence of the entire building. It was so frightening to hear. Every single note made people shiver. They’d never heard something mesmerizing before, but the feeling of being scared was good because the place echoed with the beauty of her amazing talent.

Every note she hit struck people’s hearts, and the atmosphere alone made everyone stay in awe. The crowd relaxed and felt flustered but most couldn’t believe she was making a beautiful yet sad sound. Everyone started to sit down one by one and before long, everyone was sitting down to embrace Angela’s song. As the crowd paid attention to Angela’s performance, Jack and Randolph couldn’t stop smiling, especially Eric.

Angela was lost in her own reality of playing. Her eyes were closed, and her body moved to the rhythm of the song, feeling every note she exuded from her wretched soul. It wasn’t about her, though. She was expressing her love into the keys, letting the world know of it, a love so deep that no one could comprehend it. This love did have pinches of her new life, but what she was expressing the most was her deep passion and obsession. This song was for her never-ending love for her brother Jack.

Everyone was astonished, amazed, but more importantly, the crowd was calm and at peace. The sound of every key she pressed was of pure beauty. The sound emitting from every note purified everyone’s stained souls of sin. It was every representation of her profound bond to him. She wanted to impress him, wanted him to look at her in a different way. She was getting into this deep devotion that the crowd started cheering a bit from her expressing this unknowing love.

People started to cry rivers at how beautiful her playing was. Eric and Randolph couldn’t believe how good she was at playing the piano. They too started to shed a couple of tears. The host took his hat off in respect and listened to the beauty of Angela’s noise.

Jack was so proud of her that he couldn’t help himself but continue to smile. He hadn’t felt this happy in years. He looked back at the crowd and noticed how everyone was enjoying Angela’s show. He felt he could watch Angela play forever.

Eric walked up to Jack and patted his back. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?”

Jack patted Eric’s back as well. “She sure is. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better in my life and…”

As the song continued to play Jack looked at Eric with a gentle smile. “My boy, your voice doesn’t sound dead.”

Jack slowly blinked and embraced the wondrous moment. “I’m just so glad I saved her life, Uncle Eric.”

Eric shed a tear and looked away, watching Angela finish her performance.

“Don’t leave me out of this! Give me a hug, you bums!” Randolph exclaimed with his arms out.

They all hugged and smiled. Eric hid his tears, then turned to Jack and smiled.

“Jack, what song is she playing?” Eric asked.

Jack chuckled. “She’s playing a song from one of her favourite cartoons. Well, that’s my guess.”

As Angela continued playing, she played the song faster and more hauntingly. Sweat dripped off her face, her fingers started aching. The song grew sadder by the second because of the awful memories storming from her mind and being released onto the keys. The renaissance of her past was driving her mad and then she paused.

The crowd felt afraid yet anxious. Jack was about to approach the stage to check if she was okay when Eric stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

Her awful memories came to an end when a brave boy stood in front of a mob and stopped them from being engulfed into darkness. She reached for his arm as an angelic smile spread across her face. He became her new symbol of hope, giving her a new reason to live.

She panted as her hands hovered over the keys. Angela quietly said, “My love for you, Jack.”

She returned to reality and slowly finished her performance with a scary and agonizing end. She slowly got up and was out of breath, but that didn’t stop her from turning to the crowd, and took a gentle bow. The crowd stood up and applauded, cheering her name as they gave her a standing ovation. She blushed with embarrassment.

Jack walked next to her and hugged her. Angela cried tears of joy. “Thanks everyone for believing in me, especially my brother.”

For once, the situation wasn’t resolved with violence, but with the sound of music that brought people together. Jack showed her a genuine smile and lifted her, then spun her around. But within the atmosphere of purified sin, Danny, a growing sinner, watched from afar with an ugly look in his eyes.

Danny smiled maniacally and pointed at Angela. He extended every finger and turned his hand upside down. “I’ll take away your dear sister as you have taken mine…”

He closed his hand, clenching it with fury, then jumped off the table and walked out of the club. I’m going to enjoy every minute of your suffering, Jack. Until we reunite, old friend!

To Be Continued In Part: 2 - Coming Out December 5th