Stabbed in the Back, short story by thomasbrady

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Short Story by: thomasbrady

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Status: Finished | Genre: Action and Adventure | House: Booksie Classic

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Following the single day of a boy that has to choose between the girl he loves and is now pregnant with his child, or his friends and gang he has come to respect. When friendships are torn apart by betrayal, who will he choose?

Submitted: June 05, 2011

A A A | A A A

Submitted: June 05, 2011

A A A

Stabbed in the Back

By Thomas Brady

Moonlit night, the smell of a bloody fight, as I strike a match a simple spark ignites into life. A simple flame to give us warmth, hope and light in the darkest of places. Hang on what the hell is this, alright then let me make one thing perfectly clear, you will find no happy endings in this story, only sorrow. This story follows just a single day in my life, when my own life and that of my two best friends changed in a way that you have to hear it, just to believe it really happened.

So let’s start at the beginning; Monday morning, the start of a new week and nobody’s happy about it. The weekend is over and life returns to normal. Its six a.m. and the sun had just kissed the bleeding sky. I arose to a dark room, it’s small and very claustrophobic. My eyes were heavy and tired but I still found the strength to force myself out of bed, pressing my feet on the soft carpet below I let out a deep sigh as my own greeting to the new day. I flipped the switch of the lamp that rested next to my bed and suddenly the room was bathed in a golden glow of light. I never had many things, money was too scarce to throw away on meaningless possessions. The only luxuries I had were my clothes, all of them neatly assembled in the small cupboard in the corner of the room.

I walked over to the cupboard and retrieved a pair of dark blue jeans, a white shirt and a blue jacket. You see I live in Stonebridge; around here we fly the blue flag, it shows who we belong to. Which family we’re a part of and as a family we fight, hustle and die together, as brothers in arms. So there I stood now fully dressed and ready to begin the day. With all of this in mind I quickly made my way out of the room and downstairs, the house was quiet and empty, just the way I like it. I quickly grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in the kitchen and suddenly I found myself looking out upon the rotten streets of the Stonebridge estate.

Stepping outside onto the sun kissed porch I inhaled the deep city air as a calming feeling swept over me, I took just a few moments to take in all my surroundings, a habit I had gotten myself into. Cars were flying down the Brentfield road at high speed filled with passengers all desperately trying to make it to work on time. Local dealers were occupying their usual corner and applying their illicit trade to those who passed. We all lived a simple life, we did whatever was necessary to survive, even if it meant taking a life. I stepped off the porch to find a man leaning lazily against the wall. His name was Michael. He was smoking a cigarette and yawning. His sleek auburn hair blew calmly in the cool summers breeze. He wore similar clothes to me, dark blue jeans and a white shirt, the only difference was instead of a blue jacket he wore instead a blue bandanna that hung from his pocket against his leg. He offered me a cigarette and I took it, striking a match against the coarse surface of the wall behind him he sparked the end of the cigarette and a cloud of smoke encased the both of us, “morning mate” I said in a tired voice, we shook hands and warmly greeted each other, “you ready for today then?” he asked me before letting out another deep yawn. I nodded my head and the two of us made our way towards the nearby road.

At the end of the path sat a white Mercedes that glistened in the sunlight like a star in the night sky, sat in the back seat was Isabel, the beautiful Isabel. Her long golden hair fell delicately upon her shoulders and her deep blue eyes would pierce the very soul of anybody that glanced at her magnificent beauty. Michael sat at the steering wheel and started the car. I sat next to him and as I sat in the car, Isabel leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, “I have something to tell you” she whispered in my ear. The engine roared as Michael reversed out of the parking space, I turned around to face Isabel, “what is it?” I asked her,

“I’ll tell you later” she replied and gracefully smiled at me. My attentions turned back to Michael and the task at hand, “what’s the job then?” I asked as we all sped off through the estate,

“We have to meet Jahmall to pick up a few ‘packages’ that need to be delivered” he answered in a sarcastic tone . The tree of us laughed, “sounds simple enough” I replied.

It didn’t take long for us to reach Jahmall’s house, the car came to an abrupt halt and Michael quickly jumped out of the car. He made his way to the blue door of the house next to us and disappeared inside. Now that we were alone I turned around to face Isabel, “so what did you want to tell me then?” I hesitantly asked her, she leaned forward on the chair with a smile written across her face,

“I’m pregnant, I went to the doctor’s yesterday and they told me I was definitely pregnant” she answered. At this precise moment my heart sunk back into my chest, the thought of bringing a child into this miserable world was almost unbearable. Part of me was terrified, yet another part of me was excited and overjoyed, “say something then” she said,

“That’s wonderful news” I instantly replied and kissed her softly on her rose coloured lips . She seemed ecstatic that I was pleased to hear this daunting news but I felt flush and needed some fresh air so I got out of the car and made my way towards Michael who had reappeared at the door.

As I approached the front door a second man appeared, he was dressed in bright coloured clothes and dark tinted shades that covered his eyes, “alright Jahmall” I said

“Alright blood you going to take these packages and deliver them for me?” He replied,

“Yeah man as long as I get paid” I jokingly answered. All of a sudden he passed a large cardboard box to Michael who then handed it to me, it seemed to weigh a ton and I barely managed to keep hold of it as I walked to the back of the car. Isabel too got out and opened the boot for me, I repeated this three times and once it was over I thought my arms were going to fall out of their sockets. Isabel took my hands and held them in her own, she began to rub them in an attempt to make them feel better, surprisingly it seemed to work, “what’s in the boxes?” she asked with curiosity,

“Don’t know and I really don’t care, the less we know the safer it is for us all” I quickly answered her. Michael was still standing at the door and chatting to Jahmall, the only reason I didn’t say anything was because it gave me some time alone with Isabel. I kissed her on the forehead and held onto her as tightly as I could, “listen to me” I said in a soft voice so Michael could hear me “we’re going to have this child, I’m going to make us enough money so that we can leave this place, just you and me” I continued to whisper in her ear. Isabel smiled, “but what about Mike?” she then asked me,

“Forget about Mike, it’s just you, me and the baby now” I immediately answered.

Moments later we were all strapped in the car and ready to finish the job we had set out to do, “where to first then chief?”I said in a lively tone,

“We’re heading to Kensal Green mate” Michael replied in a cold and hollow voice. Shivers ran up my spine as horrid thoughts of screams and torment filled my head, “are you mad blood, if we go there we’ll be killed on sight” I retorted,

“Do you want to get paid or not?” Michael yelled, “besides we’ll be in and out before anyone even knows we’re there, so calm yourself and try to not make a scene before you bring the cops down on us” and with that we all remained silent. I took off my jacket so that we didn’t draw attention to ourselves, Stonebridge had been at war with Kensal Green for the past three years, little did I know that it was about to escalate further than any of us had dreamed.

We were still carefully driving through the Stonebridge estate when the car suddenly came to an abrupt halt just outside a towering block of flats. Outside the entrance was a crowd of teens that were all wearing blue colours with pride, “what are we doing here?” I asked looking at Michael. I received no reply, instead Michael opened the door and turned to face Isabel, “you stay here Isabel, we’ll only be a minute” he said in a sadistic voice. I said nothing but gave Isabel a reassuring look and got out of the car. Slamming the door behind me I ran to catch up to Michael. As I came to his side I grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him until we were facing each other “what’s going on mate you’ve been acting strange ever since we got to Jahmall’s house” I asked him from one brother to another,

“There’s been a change of plans, we know about Isabel being pregnant and now she must go” he replied. His words pierced my heart, such betrayal boiled the anger that had long been dormant inside of me, “you know I can’t allow that, you go through with this and you and I are through” I replied with strong words, “it’s too late, their already coming for her” he retorted with sinister words. I reached around the back of my jeans and took out a gun, I held it tight in my hands and pointed it to Michael’s head, “what are you going to do, shoot me, your own brother?” he said mockingly,

“If I have to blood” I replied with the gun still held firmly between his eyes. The crowd that had been congregating at the entrance to the flats had noticed what was going on and now they came to investigate. I had no fear of them, my family was protected by the worst this estate had to offer and everybody knew it, to lay a finger on me was to condemn yourself to death. Michael smiled and without speaking he turned around and began walking towards the entrance, “Michael!” I shouted, “you’re dead to me you hear? You’re dead!” I yelled at the top of my voice but he didn’t even dignify it with a response.

Time was now of the essence and I had to get Isabel out of Stonebridge as quickly as I could, the only problem was that by now every low life thug in north west London would be attempting to take her out. Their pathetic way of impressing the elders, the men that really ran this city. I ran back to the car as quickly as my feet would carry me and with the gun still in my hand, the crowd of youths were all chatting about what would happen so it wouldn’t have been long before they knew where we were. I opened the car and turned on the engine, luckily Michael had been foolish enough to leave them in the car. Isabel screamed in my ear as we began to drive away, “what’s going on?” she said but there was no time to talk. As we came to a nearby garage I drove the car around the side and turned off the engine, we were out of view from the main road and not many people used this side stretch next to the garage. I then turned to face Isabel whom still looked at me with shock, “where’s mike?” she asked,

“It was a set-up, people know you’re pregnant and they’re coming after you” I immediately replied,

“Why do they care if I’m pregnant or not?” she then continued to question me further,

“Because if you have a baby, they know that I will have to leave the gang and apparently that’s something they can’t afford. Just stay calm and let me think of a way out of all this mess” I answered her and then the car fell silent.

I looked over all of my options but it seemed there was nowhere I could go that they wouldn’t find me, it was tormenting having to run away from the people I bled and killed for. Then I was struck with an epiphany, there was one place I could go to for help but there was also a good chance he would kill me in an instant, “what about Johnny? We could go to his and he can get us out of here. It’ll be just like we said, me, you and the baby” I said,

“Isn’t he that guy you left half bleeding to death when the cops were after you?” she replied and brought up a valid point. There was a risk but at that time there was nothing I could do that didn’t involve a great deal of risk. So with my mind made up I started the engine once again and reversed out of the alleyway, “so where does he live?” Isabel asked,

“Kensal Green” I replied with cold words.

We began the short journey into Kensal Green, it was a place that a lot of us hadn’t been to in over three years despite it being so close. There was a dark past that had been laid over this place, many people had lost their lives over such a small dispute. It started as nothing more than a simple fight for territory where dealers could sell their drugs, one fateful shooting and an innocent young girl no older than seven dies. People were furious and determined to make sure this crime didn’t go unpunished. The police say that judgement must be left to the courts, we say to hell with that. A life for a life, that is the price on these streets. Now I was more determined than ever to see these streets run red with the blood of the people I once called my brothers. We turned onto old oak lane, my heart was still beating with pure rage and disbelief. I stopped the car on the corner of channel gate road.

We were now deep in the enemy’s territory and a crowd of people were congregating next to the car, Isabel leaned forward and kissed me on the neck “you sure you’re up for this?” she calmly asked me. I took a deep breath before answering, “I’m ready” I replied and opened the door. Isabel followed and instantly every boy in the crowd standing in front of us was trying to chat her up, “alright girl you want to come chill over here with me” one of them said, Isabel remained silent but I was in no mood for it. I whipped the gun from my pocket and flashed it to all of them, “yeah you want to play games” I said slowly putting the gun away.

We walked down channel gate road until we came to number sixty nine, there is stood with a large red door with concrete steps leading up to it. Suddenly I felt the cold sting of fear, I was very doubtful that he would be happy to see me. My hands began to sweat uncontrollably but Isabel refused to let go. I knocked on the door and patiently waited as a figure appeared behind the misty stained glass window, the door swung open and standing before me was a dirty looking man with scruffy, curly hair and tattered clothes with rips on the legs and sleeves. His eyes were red and tired, “alright mate, long time no see” I said in a cheerful voice. Without a word of caution he revealed a knife from behind the door and held it above his head, “how dare you come here after that stunt you pulled, I did two years in prison because of you” he replied with anger and rage in his voice,

“You’re right mate I was an idiot but we’ve gotten ourselves into some trouble and we need your help. She’s pregnant, surely you can’t say no to her, you can do what you want to me” I quickly replied and pointed out Isabel. Johnny fell silent as his eyes darted from me to Isabel, he let out a deep sigh and lowered the knife, “alright get in here” he said and stepped to the side to let us pass.

The house was dark, it had dark red wallpaper that was peeling off from the bottom. The light bulb had been smashed and the floor was damp and parts of it squelched beneath our feet. He lead us through a side door into the kitchen, I followed him and Isabel followed me. There were dirty dishes on the side, some of the cupboard doors had fallen off and others were hanging off their hinges. Johnny sat at the table in the far corner of the room, “so what have you gotten yourself into now blood?” he impatiently asked,

“It seems our old brothers don’t like the idea of Isabel being pregnant, they’ve put a hit out on her so we need your help getting somewhere we’ll be safe” I answered,

“I’m not surprised taking into account who her father is, we both know he was a straight up snitch. I’m surprised you came into Kensal Green though so you must be desperate” Johnny spoke with blunt words. Isabel wept for her father that had been caught slipping last year and was killed in a drive-by shooting. I gave her a hug, “why don’t you wait in the other room while we talk” I calmly told her. She agreed and made her way out of the kitchen, I then turned my attentions back to the matter at hand, I sat the table opposite Johnny, “so what do you want me to do?” he asked,

“You still got that place up in Yorkshire, that would be well out of harm’s way” I answered

“Yeah I still own it but that doesn’t solve the problem of how we’re going to get you out of the city, besides I see no profit in all this for me” Johnny argued. I had to pause for a moment,

“I’ve got some gear that I was supposed to deliver to Brixton and a car parked down the road, you get us out of London and their yours. That sweet enough for you cuz” I spoke with cunning words that soared to his ears. At this moment I saw a spark in Johnny’s eye. He rubbed the bottom of his chin.

He accepted the terms of our agreement, in return for our safe journey out of London and use of the house he inherited in Yorkshire I was going to give him thirty kilo’s of pure cocaine, this would leave twenty five kilo’s for myself to sell. We spent the next half hour planning every move with exact precision, from the route we were going to take, stops that we would make along the way and even the clothes we were going to wear. Everything had to be precise or all of us would be killed instantly. Above all this, the thought of being hunted down by Michael, someone that had been my best friend for over ten years was now trying to assassinate the mother of my child. Isabel still sat quietly in the other room and both Johnny and I were becoming more distressed with each passing minute.

We had cracked open a couple of cans and were staring at a map that had been spread across the table. Our mission was getting onto the motorway but that meant driving through Stonebridge where every thief, dealer and gang banger was going to take a shot at us, “there is a second option” Johnny quietly said, “if we drive towards Uxbridge we can take the back roads onto the motorway here” he continued and pointed to the map. I examined the route we would have to take, “it means going out of the way but it’ll be safer than going back through Stonebridge. Alright then let’s do it” I replied and downed the rest of my beer. Isabel came back into the kitchen, “are we ready?” she asked

“Yeah come on let’s get to the car” I answered and with one quick movement the three of us were heading towards the door again. Johnny grabbed his knife and carefully placed it in his pocket, I kept hold of my gun, there was no telling who could be out there. Johnny slowly opened the door and took a peek outside, “there are three cars parked outside” he said taking his head away from the door,

“who is it?” I enquired,

“Don’t know blood but there not from round here” he replied and closed the door again. We were now in a difficult situation, “is there another way out of here?” Isabel asked him, Johnny said nothing but walked to the cupboard underneath his stairs, with one pull the door swung open and a staircase was revealed, “down here, quickly” Johnny whispered so Isabel and I followed him down the secret staircase. It lead down to a dark and damp basement, at the far end was a pair of wooden doors. Johnny lifted them open, the sunlight poured into the room.

So there we stood at the back of his house, Johnny lead us round the side and onto the front. As we reached the street a man jumped out and grabbed Isabel, I tried to stop him but my arms fell just out of reach. He dragged her into a nearby car as her screams filled the air, “Isabel!” I yelled drawing my gun. They tyres screeched, I open fired on the car, bang bang went my gun as the bullets flew into the metal frame of the car but it was too late. The car was gone and Isabel with it, I fell to my knees with failure in my heart, a tear filled my ear and streamed down my face, falling to the floor below. Johnny grabbed me by the arm, “come on we can still get her back” he shouted and lifted me to my feet. We ran to the car I had parked on the corner and with quick haste I turned the engine on and put my foot down on the accelerator. The car pulled out and we were on our way back to Stonebridge, “you know where they’ll take her?” Johnny asked,

“I don’t know but we have to find her” I answered wiping the tears from my eyes.

We quickly drove through Kensal Green paying no attention to the red lights as we drove past them and within minutes the concrete jungle that is Stonebridge came into view. I turned the car past Shackleton house, one of the taller block of flats that I once called my home, as we passed the big metal bins next to it Johnny yelled out, “stop the car!” the tyres came to a screeching stop, “what’s that over there” he continued pointing to something next to the bins. I looked at where he was pointing and suddenly I was taken back in shock and horror, lying next to the bins were a pair of legs and a thick red pool of blood. I opened the door and flew out of the car. My worst nightmares had come to fruition, lying amongst the rubbish was Isabel, motionless and dead. I fell to the floor and held her head in my arms. The blood trickled onto my hands and arms, “Isabel wake up, you have to wake up” I cried but it was no good. She was gone and she wouldn’t be coming back. I was enraged, furious and thirsty for the blood of those that had stabbed me in the back. Johnny slowly walked up beside me and lightly placed his hand on my shoulder, “I’m so sorry mate, we’ll make them pay I promise you” he calmly said,

“I want to look down on Mike and Jahmall, I want to see the last drop of life fade from their eyes. They’re all dead” I said with pure hatred in my voice. I took off my jacket and placed over Isabel’s dead body, “we will be together again I promise you Isabel” I whispered in her ear then kissed her on her forehead. I got to my feet and took out my gun, I shot at the petrol tank and with an enormous explosion the car lifted into the air and burst into flames.The time had now come when the streets I stand upon would flow blood red with a river and anger and pain...