Chapter 13


    Seated inside a brand new, turquoise blue, 1977 Cadic Eldorado was both Wendell and a jumpy


    Lyte who was more than eagerly awaiting her friend to finish rooting around inside his brown paper


    bag, while keeping a vignt eye on her dark surroundings within the alley where they were parked.


    Lyte bit her already withered fingernails down to the nubs and tapped her right foot on the floor in a


    rapid session; it was all the woman could do to keep from jumping through a window and going


    completely out of her mind.


    Ever since the encounter in the park, Lyte was wound up like a machine, nothing or no one could


    bring her down. Around every corner was only a pair of eyes. And despite being drowsy, she dared


    herself to fall asleep for fear of one nightmare after another.


    "Okay, here we go." Wendell said as he pulled out several, small white rocks from within his bag and


    presented them to Lyte.


    Lyte just rolled her eyes and asked, "What are these?"


    "It''s what you asked for." Wendell replied in a surprised manner.


    Pointing at the rocks, Lyte turned up her nose, "This is what I asked for? I looked at these the other


    day when vell gave them to me. I thought he had done me dirty."


    Grinning from ear to ear, Wendell waved his hand, "No, no, this is something new. It''s getting some


    traction out in Cali, and vell wants to bring it here."


    "What is it?"


    "You have to melt the stuff down, and then use a syringe. Like I said, folks out in Cali are starting to


    catch on real quick."


    Lyte took the rocks and stuffed them into her pants pocket. "What else do you have?" She


    feverishly asked. "I need something right now."


    "Okay, hold on." Wendell urged. "I may have something else up in here."


    That was all Lyte needed to hear at that point. Just as long as it was close she was satisfied.


    "It''s been a real rough day."


    "Oh yeah," Wendell hummed as he searched around inside the glovepartment. "What happened?"


    "Yesterday, my sisters jumped some woman in the park. And if you knew my sisters, believe me, it


    wasn''t a pretty sight."


    While Wendell was rifling through the contents of the glovepartment, Lyte continued to stare


    out the window at the alley. From the trash cans to the various garages, the woman''s eyes went back


    and forth. Not one inch of the alley was missed. Each and every sound, from that of a mouse to


    crickets was taken extremely serious.


    "Okay, I got some of this right here." Wendell announced as he took out a bag of pills and ced them


    in herp.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Lyte took and swallowed as many white pills as her mouth could


    take in all at once.


    "Whoa, hold on!" Wendell pleaded. "You wanna end it all right here because of a stupid fight your


    sisters had? Take it easy on that shit!"


    But Lyte was going away, as far away from the world as possible, and she wasn''t nning on


    taking anyone with her along for the ride. Once she had swallowed her body instantly went into a state


    of blissful calm, along with the customary shakes and groans that came along with the high.


    Wendell just sat and stared at the woman for a while before asking, "So, uh, how do you get along


    without one of your fingers?"


    Lyte heard the question, and in times past the inquiry would have either enraged her or shoved her


    into silence, but instead she just turned to the man and whispered with a half grin, "I get on just fine."


    "That was pretty fucked up what Isaac did to you. You should havee to vell, he would''ve taken


    care of the nigga before he went all psycho on you."


    Lazily sniggering, Lyte said, "Believe me when I say, Isaac would''ve sliced that nigga in half. Trust


    me, I know."


    "What?" Wendell sat back in disbelief. vell isin'' up in the world. My man is takin'' over the east


    and west coast. Ohio is only the beginning." He smugly proimed. "And speakin'' ofin'' up, vell


    wants you on board, too."


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    "Oh really," Lyte''s eyelids lifted.


    "Yeah, he wanted me to ask if you wouldn''t mind trickin'' for him."


    For a quick second Lyte heard her sisters inside her head; just a mere glimpse of their voices


    echoed before she turned her head to the window in dismay.


    "It wouldn''t be every night at first; he knows that you got your kid and all. Just a couple of nights during


    the week, and one day during the weekend."


    Lyte looked back and forth, from an ardent Wendell, to the alley. With a sluggish tongue, she said,


    "Look, I can''t really see me doing—


    At that split second, something inside Lyte''s ears shot her lethargic senses wide awake to where


    she sat up, bumping the top of her head on the car''s roof.


    "What''s the matter?" Wendell looked amazed.


    With frenzied eyes, Lyte stammered, "Did you hear that?"


    Wendell sat and gawked all around. "I don''t hear shit." He shrugged.


    "It''s out there." She breathlessly gasped.


    "What''s out there?"


    "Just listen." She whispered aloud.


    Both individuals sat and listened for what seemed like an eternity before Wendell twisted his lips.


    "Man, you got me all paranoid. Ain''t nobody out there."


    "But I thought—


    "Is that why you ran from Lucius that night? Man, that dude thought you were a fed or something."


    "I don''t like being in alleys." Lyte defensively responded. "I thought I heard something that night,


    too. That''s why I ran. I can''t meet up in alleys anymore like this." She started to tremble.


    "I think you took way too many of those pills."


    "Can you just tell me how much I owe you so I can go?"


    "Look, I''ll prove to you that there''s no one out there." Wendell said before turning on the vehicle''s


    headlights that shined brightly clear down to the end of the alley.


    Lyte sat and braced her entire body while gazing endlessly out the window. The longer she sat the


    more time just seemed to drag on and on.


    "See?" He cut the lights off. "You took too many of those."


    "I could''ve sworn I heard something." Lyte exhaled.


    "Ain''t nothin'' out there. Now, about your payment," Wendell mentioned as he unzipped his pants.


    Lyte sat and watched as the man anxiously pulled down his boxers right before something big and


    loud exploded through the windshield and into Wendell''s face, tearing him limb from limb.


    "No, Isaac!" Lyte shrieked at the top of her lungs.


    Not one thought passed through her head; like a crazed lunatic Lyte jumped out of the car and ran


    down the opposite end of the alley with arms iling in the air.


    She could still hear the creature roar and growl behind her. It was as if Wendell didn''t stand a chance in


    the world.


    "Isaac, no," she continued to desperately scream as she raced out into the empty, 1:28 a.m. street.