Chapter 11

 

"Sissy? Sissy you here?" I'm calling out.

I'm running where I last saw Sissy and Carol. There are no sign of them though. When I walk over I see Peter. He walks into the room.

"She went out with Ms. Carol for a walk. You OK?" he states.

He's kind of loud.

"Keep it down Peter."

"What's wrong?"

He can see it all in my face. I've always had a hard time not showing things that I was feeling. Now was one of those minutes. The fear stains my face like paint. I had just seen Beau downstairs. He was holding Chuck and Stevie prisoner in the basement. I'd heard the last part when I was walking back up the stairs. I heard Beau say that he was going to wait until my Uncle and Aunt were back from the country club. Then he was going to kill the Crawfords. He said he was going to kill every last one of them.

I didn't have a plan. Stevie signaled something about getting Beau's brother Shug. Shug would be the one to talk him off the ledge. That's what he said. But I didn't know. Beau seemed crazy. He seemed psycho. From the foyer, I can see the little rotary phone that they have in there. I can call the cops right now. They should be handling something like this. Not me. Not me.

"I uh..."

I pause up real good. He's looking at me like I have three heads and the sad part is even if I did, I wouldn't be able to think with not one of them. Right now I was shit deep in something that I didn't want to be caught up in no way.

I should have stayed my ass up north.

"You sweating," the Crawford driver realizes taking a few steps forward, "You scaring me August."

"Shouldn't you be with Uncle Charlie?" I ask.

"They sent me home. Said ain't no need for me to sit around in the parking lot waiting. The Millwood driver ought to be dropping them off with Roger Millwood back here at about `bout 9 or so."

"What time is it now?"

"6:30."

I didn't have much time. Anyone else I would have assumed wouldn't have waited, but I saw how determined Beau look. Beau had death in his eyes. That there was the real death. He wanted to kill. I ain't never seen anything like it. He would have killed Chuck if Stevie wasn't there and it wasn't too late. Hell, the way he was looking at Stevie made me nervous. What if he snapped on Stevie too? What if I couldn't do anything about it.

"So you free?" I ask.

Peter smiles at me, "You asking me out on a date or something?"

He smirks and gives his best imitation of a flirty laugh. I wasn't in the mood, especially not with him and especially not now with Stevie and Chuck stuck down in that basement with that fuckin madman.

"I just need you to take me somewhere."

"What's in it for me?"

"You work for the Crawfords. Ain't I a Crawford?"

"Your Uncle ain't too fond of you lately. What did he call you the other day? Believe he called you a Doo-Doo Dickin' Double Crosser. Sounds like you been exempt from my household obligations if you ask me."

"Ain't nothing going on between me and Uncle Charlie," I lie straight to his face hoping to call his bluff.

Peter sees right through it, "You sure? He said something about you hiding your favorite garden nigger in our basement."

Dammit. I was never a good liar and I try to keep my face as straight as I can but the smile that keeps getting wider on Peter's face lets me know I'm going to have to try a little bit harder to fool a guy who's been around a bunch of Crawfords for this long.

"Oh come on. You believe that mess. That's just Uncle Charlie shooting the shit..."

"How bout I go check it out."

That's when Peter starts making his way to the basement. I get nervous as all shit watching him head that way. I grab his arm swing him around so hard you would think we were dancing. He gives me a look of suspicion and I know I'm showing my colors without even meaning to.

"Ok. Ok. Me and Uncle Charlie not on good terms but you can't go down there."

"Why not?"

"Cause."

I'm trying to help him. Beau might be trying to make a spectacle by keeping Chuck alive but he had some real bloodlust in those eyes of his and it seems like someone like Peter was just what he was looking for to fulfill that. I didn't need any blood on my hands though. I, at the least, had to try to stop Peter from walking straight to his death.

"Cause what?" he insists.

I can't play this game with Peter. I just didn't have the time.

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want."

I grab Peter at that moment. I press him up against the wall. He loves it. I can hear Peter moan out loudly in the hallway. He's so loud that I hope that from the basement it sounds like a television or something playing too loud.

"Shut up," I'm whispering in his ear as I dry hump him from the back, "How about as we drive I tell you all the freaky shit I'm going to do to you when we get back."

"Mhmm...really?" he asks, "Why can't we just do it now?"

"It's an emergency."

"Fine," he states turning around licking his lips, "But I'm going to get mine."

~

We're driving at that moment. We are driving around Stevie's neighborhood. Sure enough, his house had burned down. Seeing what was left of it in the passenger seat of the car was awkward, to say the least. I am looking at the burned down building and I don't realize that Peter is looking at me.

"What we doing in this neighborhood?" he asks.

"Just do a couple laps around the neighborhood," I tell him, "I'm just looking for something."

"Drugs?"

He thought I was in a Negro neighborhood looking for drugs. Typical. It might be the easiest way out of this though.

"Something like that," I tell him.

He grunts, "August Crawford not so innocent after all. No problem. I'll play along. I'll keep driving. You keep telling me what you want to do to me."

He had no shame. I look out the window and think of the first thing that comes to my head, "I'm going to put my big dick in your mouth and fuck your throat until you gag and want to spit up. But once you start gagging I'm going to push it down even further until you choke on my dick."

"Damn..."

He reaches over the seat. I didn't have time for this. I smacked his hand away as we go down the next street. I needed to focus on finding Shug. I see a bunch of people barbequing. It's a negro family. There are younger people there though. It doesn't seem like the type of thing Shug would go to.

"Keep driving. No touching. I'm in charge," I tell him.

"I like when you're in charge," he responds to me.

He reminds me of Stevie when he says it. For some reason, it turns me on a little bit but I shake the thought out of my head. This was not the time to really be getting into this. I had to focus on trying to find Shug.

"Keep going," he pleads.

"I want to make love to your asshole. I want to rub my dick on your man-clit. Make you beg for me to put it inside if you. And I'm not going to until you say please daddy fuck me. Over and over again. I am going to make that asshole of yours drip and---and—what the fuck are you doing?"

I notice him driving a little slower. When I turn back to Peter, I see why almost immediately. Peter's dick is out and in his hand. He's driving with one hand and uses his right hand to slowly move up and down the shaft of his dick. He spits on his dick and is rubbing his dick so hard that the head is beginning to turn a really vibrant color of red. It's clear he's getting into this. It's clear that he's loving every moment of me telling me what I'm going to do to do to him.

"Keep going," he pleads, "Please, daddy. Please."

"You need to focus on driving."

"If we're going to be driving around the hood all night, I can at least do this," he explains.

"You're crazy."

"We can head home if you'd like," he responds.

He pulls the car over. I can see he definitely knows that I need to be out here. He knows that I want to be out here. He's holding it over me and he's doing a damn good job of it too. I have no hope. I have to keep going. He can get his rocks off and I can find Shug.

I guess it was an equal exchange.

"I wanna get you so horny that your ass gets wet..."

"Damn how wet?"

"Soaking baby," I tell him, "Then when your ass is squirting I'm going to stick my dick all the way in you. Every little inch. I'm going to have you moaning out as I hit parts of you that you didn't think exists. I'm going to choke you, push you down to the ground like the dirty slut you are. I'm going to make you beg for my cum."

"I want it...I want it, baby."

"Keep begging."

"I want it. I want it SO. Fucking. Bad."

"Stop."

"Too late."

"No, I mean stop the car."

He stops the car but just as he does I hear him squirm out. His body shakes and it's clear that he has orgasmed all over himself. The semen soaks his shirt like detergent being poured down on clothes. His breathing gets heavy when I see his sticky hands loosen from around his dick. He has this look of pleasure on his face.

"Damn you're the best," he tells me, "Why don't we just run away?"

"I told you," I repeat, "I'm interested in someone else."

Someone else was going to get a piece of me that he was never going to get. The reason that I was out here. I look out the window at that moment and notice a bunch of guys hanging around a street corner. They are shooting Craps. I notice the one who has the dice in his hands. They aren't too far from us. I can see his face clearly.

It's Shug!

"Oh shit..." Peter says.

"What is it?"

"The Klan."

He turns at that moment and points. On the opposite side the street I see torches. At first, it's just a few torches but the more I pay attention to them the more I realize that it's more and more torches. I see the white sheets over some people heads but not all of them. Many people walked proudly. No hoods. Nothing but burning torches. I had heard of them. I'd seen them on television. The civil rights marches were shown on television. The clashes with the anti-protesters were shown too. It always seemed so far removed, but now I see them only a block away from me. I could throw a rock at them if I wanted to. Here they were. Right there in my view. The face of hate. It was something I couldn't hide from. Not any longer.

"How are they here?"

"Millwood's fanatic speeches done made a lot of non-Klan members participate in their campaigns," he states, shaking his head and laughing, "Looks like some niggers is in for it tonight...you can bet that on yo' mamma."

"You think this is funny?" he asks, "A campaign of terror funny to you?"

"Why you care? Ain't your house nigga safe?" he asks me.

Even him talking about Stevie like that makes me want to hit him straight in the face. I shake my head. I would think Peter would be more open being a gay man, but he's not. He has so much hate in his heart and it shows.

I have no time to argue with him.

"I need to go warn those boys," I state.

"You stupid?" he asks, "The Klan is everywhere around here. Don't get involved in this shit."

"Wait here."

"August."

"Wait here!"

I jump out the car and make a mad dash across the street. I notice a couple of cars stopping. They are noticing the torches as well. There is this unique smell of fire filling the air. There is this chant that fills the air "BLOOD AND SOIL, BLOOD AND SOIL!" I hear it like an echo of the ghosts that are walking the streets as the smell of something burning spreads even quicker into the black neighborhood. There are so many of them. I couldn't even count if I wanted to.

I find myself running to Shug.

"What you doing over here white boy?" Shug asks.

He doesn't seem the least bit happy to see me. His face has this grizzled up look on it. I look next to him and see Lonny. Lonny is sitting on the stoop while the other boys play. He looks like he is rocking back and forth a little bit. He has this stupid smile on his face. It sickens me to even be near someone like him but I came here for a reason.

"You need to come with me now," he states.

One of the boys with Shug laughs, "You let this white boy talk to you like that?"

"Get the fuck out of here cracker," Shug cusses at me.

It almost makes me wants to leave his ass.

"Ya'll not safe here," I tell him.

"You threatening me?"

"I'm warning you!" I state, "Ya'll not safe here. The Klan is coming..."

"What you talking about white boy?"

"Shug...Shug look!" Lonny states from his stoop.

Lonny gets up. He gets up and he starts pointing down the street. We all look and we all see the same thing. We all see the rally of terror heading our way like a storm of white anger. The mob is getting louder. They are getting angrier. What's freaking me out at that moment the worst is when I see that there are kids among them. Kids that can't be much older than 8. I watch them carrying weapons almost as big as they are.

The sounds of rifles fill the air. I see shop owners immediately starting to close their doors. Cars starting to pull off. Mad chaos is filling the streets of Birmingham within seconds of seeing the rally marching our way.

My heart is sore from anguish. I'm scared beyond anything at this point.

"We gotta go...we gotta go!" Shug is stating.

"This way," I tell Shug.

I grab him.

"What about Lonny?"

I look back at Lonny. Lonny, the rapist. He was still sitting on the stoop just looking confused. A part of me feels like he isn't right in the head because he literally just looking at the oncoming flame like a deer in headlights. And I make a decision at that moment. My decision is I can't feel bad for someone like Lonny. I can't feel bad for him at all after knowing for sure what he had done.

"MOVE!" I push Shug as hard as I can, "The car is right there. Peter! Peter! HEY!"

I notice Peter looking my way. He stops the car as we are running towards him.

"Why are we running towards the fuckin mob?" Shug asks.

"I need to get you back to the house."

"Why?"

"Beau."

"What about Beau."

"He got some plans. I need you to talk him out of it. Stevie sent me."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..."

Shug looks at me. He looks over at the street that leads away from where I'm headed. We would have to run back towards the mob to get to the car and to get to where Peter was waiting for us! I knew it was a risk but there was a chance the mob would catch up to us anyway if we ran on foot.

"Our best chance is the car," I tell him.

"What about Lonny?" Shug is screaming.

There was no stopping him. He felt this responsibility to Lonny and I could never get it for the life of me. I didn't get why any of them felt the need to protect Lonny. The longer it happens the more it seems to piss me off but it's clear that there was no changing Shug's mind.

"Goddam it, call for him," I respond.

I don't know why I'm doing this. I don't know why I feel bad about leaving him. I watch Shug scream over for Lonny and Lonny finally seems to snap out of it long enough to notice we are trying to run away. He starts towards us.

The flame is coming closer.

"There goes some niggers!" I hear someone scream out from the crowd.

I hear glass break as the mob starts to turn onto the busy intersection. They begin to pull black folk out of their cars. I watch a black lady literally being dragged kicking and screaming into a back alley in the distance.

Too late. I can't help her. I can't help any of them.

I came for Shug. That's it. Don't get involved August. Don't get involved.

I came for Shug. That's all!

"Peter!" I scream, "C`mon Shug. The car is this way."

We're breaking through the intersection to head back towards the car. That's when I see Peter. Peter sees me. Peter looks at Shug running with me. He sees Lonny trailing not too far behind us. When he turns he sees the white mob heading our way and that's when I see something changes in Peter. It is almost as though someone hit a switch and turned him off completely. He stops looking my way. I approach.

I try to open the door to the car. It's locked.

"What your friend doing?" Shug asks, "This some sort of setup whitey? This some sort of fuckin' set up!"

Shug screaming that makes Lonny who is running up on us seem nervous. There is all this panic at that moment.

"Peter open the damn door!"

Peter looks over at me and he shakes his head. That's when it happens. That's when Peter drives off without us. He leaves us there in the midst of all that shit and I feel stupid. I feel stupid to have trusted him. I feel stupid to have put myself on the line like that. Maybe I thought because I turned Peter on that I was somehow exempt from the hatred that he had in his heart. No. It wasn't hatred in Peter's eyes. That wasn't what made him pull off.

It was fear.

Fear conquered everything.

But who was he afraid of? The Klan or the two black boys headed his way? Did it even matter in this kind of climate?

"You set us up, white boy!" Shug states,"RUN LONNY! RUN!"

I turn at that moment and I see Shug running. Lonny is running with him. It's too late though. I notice the Klan members looking over at them. Just the idea of black men running seems to set them off. Maybe they were robbed once and it looked like these two boys. Maybe they just didn't like how fast they were running. I don't know why, but I turn and see someone with a gun in their hands.

They take aim.

They fire.

And I see rifle bullets splatter blood all through Shug's back. The poor boy is dead before he hits the ground.

 

 

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