chapter one hundred and twenty five

"You should know that unlike what we have now when one gang ruled the hood, it was different then. Each gang had a territory which was marked by whatever the gangs felt was going to keep other gangs off. This meant that, we could all be in the city and hear or watch- depending on your proximity to them- other gangs be at it and we wouldn't move an inch to join them or separate them as long as they didn't encroach into our territory."

"What would happen if they encroached into the territory of others?" Elio was curious.

"The gang whose territory was encroached into would blindly join the fight and be against the gang that had done so. Though we stayed on our individual lanes, we knew each other and so we could tell whose gang anyone belonged to easily." Ricky narrated to him.

Elio stared wide-eyed at Ricky. He couldn't imagine the level of inhumanity that was exhibited then. "So, what happened?"