Chapter 10

"What are you saying?" "You heard me loud and clear." The guy holding the knife to Jack's throat said; Jack slowly reached to the back of his leather jacket and pulled out a 9mm pistol, pointing it to the monster's head, as the four guys ran off, dropping their weapons.

The Leather jacket he was wearing was the one his sister had gotten him for his birthday; after losing his mother and the girl he had once loved, fear never struck him.

He walked in areas, not an average man would walk through; people had been shot and stabbed.

Jack was driving through the area on his motorbike when he heard a woman screaming.

For a moment, he thought it was Nicole.

Jack turned to the side and saw a group of guys mugging a woman. Without hesitation, he drove up to the Alley. Thats when the man let go of the woman and approached him.

"You know we charge people for driving through this neighborhood?"

The guy had a dagger tattoo on his neck with a number twenty-six, A prison Tattoo when getting initiated into a gang.

UNDERSTANDING THE 26'S

Specialize in robbery, smuggling, and other monetary crimes

Work as a cleaner in the prisons

Recruits of the 26's only need to be able to scavenge for goods and who has their wits about them.

Members must be active in the gang's duties and cant laze around

The 26's keep the prisons alive and are responsible for acquiring supplies of money, drugs, cigarettes, and other luxuries and are known for beating the system.

The wealth they bring into the prison system must be shared with the 28s if the 28s are low on resources.

They do not use violence very often and are often seen as a soft option for recruits.

However, although it is the softer option of the gangs, they do have a history of bloody wars and must take blood to obtain a higher rank.

If a member of the 26's becomes too violent and aggressive, he must become a 27 because there is no room for him in the 26's ideology.

Members of the 26's should not look for blood, nor should they seek same-sex relationships

A 26 can look at any stage covert to a 27 if he wants to communicate with the camp of the 28s.

However, if 26 wishes to remain a 27, he must take blood to stay a 27.

Any inmate who has been raped cannot join the 26s.

The 26 gangs will also not tolerate any member who has sustained a head injury in prison unless he takes back his blood by stabbing a warder.

Jack learned this through Marcus, a friend he grew up with; this friend grew up in a rough neighborhood and a place with a high unemployment rate; people had turned into gangsters as a means of making a living.

And this happens to be the area in which Jack was in, pointing the gun at the thug's head. Nothing could stop him from pulling the trigger and walking away with everything that had recently happened.

"Jack," said a familiar voice from behind him; as Jack turned and looked, he saw it was Marcus, wearing a white vest and blue tracksuit. "What's going on here?" Marcus was not alone; He was with three guys who seemed to have higher ranks than the twenty-six; the guy had short blondish hair and ice-Sky blues and tattoos all over his neck; he had this distinctive appearance about him that could send shrills through anyone.

Marcus's Dad was a drug dealer; he was neither wealthy nor poor and had people on his payroll who stayed around in the neighborhood.

The guy who had the gun pointed to his forehead looked over at Marcus and recognized whose son he was. They called Marcus's dad "Dood," meaning Death; he got that name when he entered the prison after killing a warden and a few cellmates; his rankings made other people take the rap for him; he served time; he looked after their families.

"Hey, Jack, what did Roy do?" the twenty-seven gang member of higher rank stepped closer, walked up to Jack, and let him go.

"No, I won't let him go." Said Jack; as the twenty-seven was about to pull his knife, Marcus stopped him, "no one is going to touch a hair on my friend."

"what do you mean?" said the twenty-seven. He is one of ours."

"Hey, stand back said Marcus getting annoyed."

The twenty-seven was about to say something when the guy on Marcus's left side, who carried the rank of a twenty-eight, pulled out a knife and stabbed the Twenty-Seven several times.

The number twenty-eight could do this and get away with it since he had a higher ranking; the twenty-six eyes became big, knowing that he was not only dealing with Jack, but usually, the twenty-eight asks the twenty-six to do the dirty work.

In this case, Marcus is well respected that the twenty-eight proved his loyalty to Marcus; without hesitation, he had just killed the twenty-seven in public.

By now, Jack was so used to seeing people die around him that the guy who got stabbed did not bother him. Jack stood still and kept the gun pointed at the 26s head.

"This rubbish and his friends were robbing this lady," said Jack, looking over at the lady in her early twenties with a brown purse, red dress, and a scarf. She had long brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin.

She admired Jack's fearlessness and calming aurora; there was something about this guy.

The twenty-eight grabbed the twenty-six by the collar and pushed him deep into the alley. He leveled the revolver at the guy's chest, his fingers quaking as he felt the cold metal grow increasingly heavy with the passing second. He softly said, "please," the man pleaded with him. "please don't do this."

The twenty-eight face grew grimmer; his grip tightened on the man's throat, and his grip on the knife in his other hand was unwavering. Speaking into the cold night air with a cutting tone, he replied, "Death comes to us all, only to some of us sooner."

With a breath and a blink of an eye, he didn't even feel his finger twitch on the trigger. The shot was muffled as though the sound echoed through the Alley. He could only watch, still, as the other man stumbled back and stared down at the red blossoming at his chest before he collapsed and the knife slowly clattered to the floor.

The man wore a long brown cloak with a brown hat; he was utterly calm as he walked up to Marcus. His cold blue eyes and wrinkled tanned skin barely showed visibility to the tattoos he had on him,

"Well done, Joe, well done;" the lady looked terrified of this man as Jack walked over to her, "don't be afraid, you are safe;" he had placed his hand on her shoulder "can I give you a ride home?" nervously the women shook her head, as she was about to run out of the passage. Marcus stood in front of her; as the tall man came walking up from behind her, she couldn't shriek. She couldn't grasp. She felt hollow, like a skull emptied of live flesh. The shock had wrapped around her body, battling down her throat.

She realized this was a dream. It was a dream to warn her, but dreams aren't meant to come true, just our imagination playing tricks on us. No, this can't be happening.

"Wake up, wake up somebody, please wake me up!" The dark figure approached and said, "it is your time to die."

But this time, she didn't wake up. Instead, the dark figure pierced the blade into her heart. The pain was unbearable. She remembered what her parents said about the area she was walking in, that it was none of her business, but it was; now, she had fallen into an alley surrounded by three men. So this is what it feels like to die?

She could see her mom in the reflection; the stars started to disappear from her sight—the spirits of love, peace, and truth faded into the dark distant universe.

She was all alone, and she was scared, frightened, terrified. Was this my end? Only rest here; it will come to me with all strength and brilliance, she thought; as she turned around, he stood with his thin, tall figure like the movie scarecrow but in a slender man version.

"Please don't hurt me she pleaded. I won't say anything;" Jack now stepped in front of this man, Jack took him by the shoulders, but he showed no fear.

"This girl won't say anything about what happened here because we know where she stayed, and we were saving her."

Right? He looked over at the girl with her big brown eyes as she shook her head without saying anything.

Good, we can all go our separate ways, "not so easy, Jack." said Marcus; if she spills the beans, this is on you, and you know what the consequences are," Jack smiled, "get on my bike, lady. I didn't need your help Marcus, but thanks. See you around."