“You like to fuck little boys.”
“HEEELP!”
“Nobody can hear you all the way out here, you nasty piece of shit. You know what, though?” Legend stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I remember screamin’ for help, too, just like you are now. The things you did to me never left my mind. Funny thing though, apparently God knew what was comin’ my way, and he sent an angel to guard over me. You tried to kill me, by breakin’ my spirit. She was there to catch the shatteredpieces, and help put me back together again so when I became a grown man, I’d have the tools to keep myself sane. God bless Ms. Florence. You didn’t succeed in ruining me. Now, I’m not going to seek revenge by tryna break your spirit in return. That’s petty.” The man seemed to sigh with relief. “I’m going to kill you, ’cause that’s final.”
“Please! I was just going along with it! I didn’t want to do it! It was all Luis’ idea!”
“Mmm hmm…” The man kept moving away crawling backwards on his hands. His palms dug into the earth as he sweated and turned into the worm that he was. Legend followed him closely, his dogs at his side.
“I was on drugs. I wasn’t in my right mind! I’m so sorry, amigo!”
“I’m not your fuckin’ friend. I’m your worst nightmare, and you know it. You’ll do anything to save yourself right now. So sad. I will admit you were the least horrible of the three of y’all, but you still participated. Enjoyed yourself. It’s kinda like three demons visit you, you know? But the smallest demon with the smallest knife wasn’t quite as bad as the other two. Don’t change the fact that he was a demon, for he was still cuttin’ into you. I remember the way you smiled, and how bad you smelled. I remember you helpin’ to hold me down…”
“Oh, God… Listen, I’ve got a little money! You can have it all! I know where you can get some free blow! Some jewelry, too! You can pawn it for a lotta cash. We can get it tonight! I’ll show you where it is!”
“I don’t smoke no fuckin’ blow, and I don’t want your money, or the hot jewelry you stole. Ain’t shit you can give me to make me feel any better, except your life.”
“Please!” The man’s head hit a tree stump. The backwards crawl was over. He lay there like an insect with a broken leg, trying to escape a spider that had lured it in its sticky web.Flashes of Tarik staring at the bug on the window came into his mind.
CRACK!
Knock on the glass… make the insect jump and move.
CRACK! CRACK!
Cracking glass… like a spiderweb, spreading at high speed… sprawling outwards, in all directions.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Shattered glass… the web burst. At the place light and wind meet, shadows and stillness wait in the wings.
“ATTACK!”
“AHHHHH!!!” The three dogs lunged, tearing into the man as if he were a bloody steak. Strips of clothing flew in the air, and wails of absolute pain pierced the night. Legend stood back, his rifle at his side, and watched. “AHHHHH!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Screams rent the air in the forest, dusting it with sweet sorrow and tangy revenge. Legend leaned against the tree, crossed his ankles, and casually watched. When it was all over, his dogs walked away, playing and sniffing the grass, their fangs dripping with blood. It was quiet… so quiet. Except the faint music playing from his truck in the background.
After he’d had his fun, he whistled and called to them, and the four made the journey back to the truck. NAV & Travis Scott featuring, Lil Baby’s, ‘Never Sleep,’ played. He bobbed his head to the music, got his dogs in the truck, wiped them down, then got in his vehicle and lit a celebratory cigar. He removed his weapons, set them aside on the passenger’s seat, and let his mind run free.
I ain’t even have to waste a bullet on yo’ ass. I don’t ever sleep, nigga. I hold a grudge like a happy mama with her newborn baby. I ain’t never lettin’ go. I’m not thepresident. I don’t pardon. I’m nocturnal, up all night because nightmares fill my brain on a daily basis. I’m not sleepin’, but now YOU are. Rest in chaos, you worthless son of a bitch. Burn in hell for eternity. You fucked with a legend, and died for it. I can see you, but you can’t see me no more, mothafucka. The blind leadin’ the blind…
Thank God my third eye is open. One down, two to go.
Church!
Chapter Twenty-One
Legend sat onhis motorcycle, observing the excavators, bulldozers, and trenchers at work from a distance. He’d occasionally ride over to the property he’d purchased to check out the progress of the building crew, to see if his vision was matching what the arms and muscles created. He and Desiree had just finished more paperwork at his new attorney’s office, and though things were far more intensive than he’d imagined, it was well worth it, especially when he had someone he could trust by his side.
“Mr. Legend Vidal?” A man wearing a hardhat approached him with some papers in hand.
“Yeah?”
“Hi, I’m Robert Kavanaugh. The building contractor. Nice to finally meet you.”
They shook hands.
“All right. Nice to meet you, too.”