❀HIS❀BRIDE❀

🎀Forty🎀

Asher

The place is so lonely and deserted. Really far away. I cannot detect the exact location but I did take note of the route we came through. We park our cars at a far distance away from the building where Royal is.
Everyone gets down as I get down and open the bag containing the arsenal. We have a lot of risk to take.

"Come on guys," I call, as they gather around me. I start sharing the weapons to them according to how I know they can use them. While I do it, there's this feeling of fear I have, in a snap of finger, but then my boldness returns to me.

When I am done sharing the weapons, I zip the bag and give it to Kiki so she can drop it in the car.
"Guys, I'm sorry I'm making you guys go through this for something that isn't your problem," I say. "I just...need you guys to help me out. My life depends on it, it is very important."

"What is important to you is important to us too," Nancy says.
"I don't even know how to use a weapon," Lovely tells us.
"But you can pull a trigger." Junior looks at her.

"Yeah? But I don't wanna be a murderer," she says.
"It's fine. You can use it to scare them if you are scared of shooting," I tell her.

She lets out a sigh in a long whoosh. "Okay fine. I'm gonna do anything for Royal." Immediately she says that, the girls slap high-fives with her.

"Can we go already?" Praise says, walking off. I don't know what this guy's problem is.
Ashton nods at the rest and they keep walking down boldly. I am glad they are so determined to help through this risky case.

"So, are the four of us gonna be together?" Kim asks. "I can be on mah own. It ain't my first time fighting with Allen and his lil brother, Alex."
"Karen and I are gonna be alone," I say and Karen gasps.

"No I just can stay in the car and pray for y'all," she says.
"Karen, it's your son we're talking about here. You're supposed to do anything for him," Ashton says.

"Girl, I prefer the way you used to be when you was younger. Ya know that sass attitude, plus being bold and fierce? That's what Royal needs from you know and you have to support Asher."

Karen lets out a sigh. " 'Kay...fine." She looks at me.

"Okay, we're gonna head on," Ashton says and leaves with Kim.
I turn to Karen who has her eyes shut while catching her breath. "Oh God..." She mutters.
I place my hand on her shoulder and raise her jaw to my face.
"Trust me, you'll be fine."

"Asher, I can't do this. I've never done this, it's so hard. I really can't. I'm scared, it doesn't have to be this violent. I can pay them to release my baby..."

"Shhh..." I cut her short. "You talk too much. Just follow my lead, I'm gonna protect you. If I say I'm gonna protect you, then trust me."
Her sigh is in a long whoosh. "Okay. Fine."

I grab her hands and start heading down with her. It is more like a war, because as I take every step, I get angrier at the fact that they've got the upper hand now.

~~

We get into the big compound which is like a maze because it has incomplete buildings with roofs. Already, Praise and Ashton have already figured that out before telling us. Some of us are surrounding the whole place and some of us go in.

I keep walking straight to any part I feel like, with Karen beside me. Then we get towards this part where a bulldog is placed in the middle of the road. I really want the dog to come towards us so I can use a knife to get its eye but Karen holds on to my hand tighter and moves back.

The dog starts to bark, and keeps running towards us.

"Come on, run," I whisper to Karen and I run with her, making sure I'm holding her tight.
I've never been scared of a dog but I am sure that as long as Karen was scared and she was already going to run, I just have to run with her so she won't scream, thereby ruining our plans. I know how scared she is of dogs.

We run through a right path.
"It's behind us," she says.
"Just run, Karen..."

Then we go through another right path, and then a left on. We just keep going through different paths to confuse the dog because running straight will make it faster to get to us. The dog keeps barking until I feel its bark is now distant from us and we run into an incomplete building.

Just when we do, Karen jumps on me — wrapping her legs around my waist and burying her face on my shoulder.
"We're safe," I whisper to her.

I can feel her breath into my white polo. Her breath is fast and unsteady. I wrap my hands around her waist and lean closer to her ear. "Karie we're safe," I whisper again. "It's gone."

She raises up her face and our noses are touching each other. It reminds me of when I took her to my house and she was scared of Jayzeey, Ashton's dog then. But it is dead now.
"Are we gonna be fine?" she asks.
"Yes."
"It seems like we won't be. I feel like I'm trespassing and it's making me scared.."
"Karen trust me. I'm here for you."

"Asher, please...let's just call the police..."

"Who's there?!" We hear a very harsh baritone voice from outside but it is not close to where we are.
"Shhh..." I place my hand against her mouth so her breath will not be loud because she is breathing hard and fast.

The steps keep coming closer.
"Who is there?!"
It comes closer. And closer. It comes towards our direction and stops.

"Famzy!" Another voice calls. "We've checked. Everywhere is safe!  Come on, let's go back in."
I can remember who Famzy is. The idiot who stabbed Ashton when they all had a fight about Kim before they split up.

The step moves away from us and keeps going farther down.
I get my hand off Karen's mouth and she exhales.

"We need the police, Asher..." She is almost at the verge of crying.
"Guys! People are here! They're surrounding us! Search every building!"

That is Allen's voice.
"Come on, we need to go."

I grab her hand and run out with her. We keep running. Sometimes we keep going right, and sometimes we go left, sometimes we go straight and return to a place we have been to.

So we keep running right and left as a pattern.

"Keep searching! It's those Berkely Crew! I'm sure of it."

"Fuck! Damn!" I almost yelled out in frustration as we keep running to where we did not know.

"Keep searching! They are somewhere!" Allen says. "They are in this maze! Surround the entire area! They are too little for us!"

"Asher, what are we gonna do?" Karen asks in a faded voice. "I'm tired. I want water."

I stop and look at her while panting. "Karen I'm sorry but we just have to do this. It's our son, remember?"
The first tear drop and then the second. She uses the her hand to wipe them off.

"Let's call the police, Asher. I'm...I'm tired of this. I'm scared. I'm not in your crew, I've never done this. I might get you guys into trouble..."

"Some of them are around here!"

The voice is close to us.
"We gotta go. We gotta go.." I take her hands again and we run away. I'm sure my race is fast and really fast for her to keep up. She is only keeping up because I'm holding on to her tight.

"Surround every building! Those idiots can't trespass and over shadow us! It's our territory!"

I really wonder if this guy is using a mini microphone because his voice is loud.
"Take out your weapons. Shoot anyone you see! Surround them!"

"Asher..." Karen calls. "...my beanie. It fell off."

"Leave it!"
"They can use it to trace us."

"Shoot! That's true."

We run back to get it and just when we want to run back again, we see them in front of us. We cannot even take the other way because another group are blocking the way.

"Damn!"
"Oh my God! This is my fault..."
She gets out her phone really fast and types into it.

"Take her phone from her!" Alex commands and one comes running towards us.