Chapter 6


    With a head full of irate bluster, Isaac sted out of the small, white building in front of his father like a


    madman on a mission. The second he reached his dad''s car, he mmed his fists on the roof as hard


    as he could.


    "Isaac, hitting things isn''t gonna make the situation any easier." Mr. Mercer rationally exined as he


    walked around to the driver''s side and got in.


    Isaac waited until his dad unlocked the other door before he jumped inside and mmed the door


    behind him.


    "What does he mean," ''I don''t have any experience?'' "What kind of experience do you need to clean


    toilets?" He yelled while wiping sweat from off his forehead. "Ain''t this about a blip?"


    "You gotta understand something, son, there''s a lot more to being a janitor than just cleaning toilets.


    Besides, Mr. Wace already has a full staff. He said that he''ll give you a call when something opens


    up again." Mr. Mercer calmly rified before cutting on the ignition and pulling away onto the street.


    "Yeah right, and when something does open up, that jive turkey will probably forget all about my ck


    ass!"


    "Cut that out!" Mr. Mercer scolded. "God never once promised any of us an easy life. Times are tough


    for everyone right now. People are losing jobs left and right. Gas is drying up. It''s our hardships that


    make us stronger people. You''ll find something. Besides, you''ve got a wedding to n."


    Isaac just turned his head in disgust and remarked, "What good is a wedding when the husband


    doesn''t even have a job? I promised Lynn that I would help her out. Now what?"


    "Now, you trust in the Lord. You have to allow him to take control of the situation."


    Isaac rolled his eyes in silent frustration at his father''s constant religious intervention. To him, it was like


    dousing a cup of acid on an already gaping wound.


    As they drove along the decaying side streets of Cypress, it suddenly donned on Isaac as to just where


    he was at that moment. He had been away for only two months, but yet, it was those two months that


    seemed to make all the startling difference in the world when it came to his ugly urban surroundings.


    Once tall, busy downtown buildings had tragically sumbed to the plight of an economic slump.


    Crippled and dpidated structuresyered almost every corner of the vicinity. Most businesses, which


    had been around since the turn of the century, had be mere shadows of a more vibrant and


    industrious yesterday; a bittersweet reminder of a once thriving metropolis known as Cypress, Ohio.


    As they passed by a Dairy Queen, Isaac caught himself fondly recalling a childhood memory where he


    was holding his mother''s hand as they both walked down the strip to the restaurant on hot summer


    days. The mini-mall that was located just across the road from where his father would take him every


    other weekend to buyic books was by then only a convenient store that had a store closing sign


    posted on the front window.


    Those and many other institutions had been shut down for months and years, and still Isaac could not


    seem to get it into his head that time had passed him by seemingly overnight.


    Every so often he would nce over at his father, who by then needed his sses to drive even in the


    daytime, hunched over the steering wheel as though seeing the road ahead of him was a million dor


    challenge. The mightiest man in the world had the striking appearance of a feeble senior citizen who


    looked as though he were ready to fall asleep at a moment''s notice.


    All Isaac could do was soak in every remembrance, past and present, sigh and shut his eyes. The


    feeling of hopelessness squeezed the life out of him.


    Mr. Mercer began to giggle to himself before saying, "I feel like a woman every time I think about you


    and Lynn getting married."


    Isaac snapped out of his disparaging trance and muttered, "Whaddya mean?"


    "I just wanna n everything, from the invitations, right down to the kind of tux you''ll be wearing. Your


    mama sure would be happy to see you getting married. Yes, sir, that woman sure loved her some


    weddings."


    Isaac''s sorrowful mood wasn''t dissipating, but just for a few glimmering seconds, just seeing his


    father''s gushing face seemed to relieve a tiny measure of pressure enough for him to breath.


    As they tooled along, unexpectedly, out of the corner of his eye, Isaac took notice of the Tri-State


    Savings & Loan bank building to his right that they were speeding by. His head had to take a double


    spin backwards just to make sure he wasn''t seeing things.


    "Do you think I can find a job soon, dad?"


    "Sure you can." Mr. Mercer exhaled. "There''s still plenty of work out there, you just have to keep on


    looking."


    Isaac relented. He held back as much as he possibly could, fighting the temptation like a wild,


    rampaging animal...but it was too much to stomach.


    "Dad...can you let me out here?" He sheepishly uttered.


    "Right here, at this stop light?"


    "Yes, sir, I think I saw a help wanted sign back there."


    "Well, do you want me to turn around and wait until you fill out an application?"


    "That''s okay. Why don''t you go home and get some rest? I''ll catch the bus back."


    Without any more words, Mr. Mercer pulled the car over. Isaac hopped out and began marching off in


    the opposite direction down the cold sidewalk.


    He wanted something, anything to either distract or stop him altogether from going back, but the closer


    he neared his destination, that was all the more he realized that it was inevitable for him to do what he


    had to.


    He cut down a corner and felt the harsh winter wind p his fidgety face. Isaac stopped in front of the


    bank building before looking to his immediate left where he eyed a broke-down garage that had its


    closed sign facing the outside window.


    He stepped over to the garage, ignored the sign and entered through the surprisingly unlocked front


    door, allowing the tiny shing bells above his head to ring.


    "We''re fuckin'' closed!" A loud, angry voice yelled from the noisy back where Stevie Wonder''s, ''I Wish''


    was ring on a stereo.


    Isaac apprehensively entered the darkened garage identally knocking over an empty gas can along


    the way. The instant he approached an ajar door he braced himself and barged his way through to spot


    one young, skinny, light skinned, shirtless man seated at a table snorting lines of what looked to be


    cocaine, and arge, heavily bearded ck man pointing a .45 handgun directly at his face.


    "I said we''re fuckin'' closed, motherfucker!" The shirtless man hollered as he looked up to see Isaac


    shuddering at the doorway.


    In a deep, coarse tone, therge man, with a ck knit hat on his head, announced, "Look who it is,


    Larry, the prodigal son."


    Wiping the powder away from his nose, Larry slurred, "What the fuck? Put your piece away, Marvell.


    Can''t you see we gotpany?"


    Isaac inched a bit closer to Larry, but not too much to where he was within arm''s reach. He made sure


    to keep his jittery eyes poked at the backdoor.


    "How''d you get in here, man?" Larry asked.


    "The front door was unlocked."


    From out of a nearby corner came trotting a female Doberman pincher who skittishly shuffled past


    Isaac on her way to a nearby tool table where she eventually cowered underneath. Isaac began to


    move towards the dog only to have the animal whimper and whine the closer he approached.


    "It''s okay, Queen, it''s only Isaac." Larry assured his pet while stumbling towards Isaac. "She''s still afraid


    of you, brother," he grinned. "So, what brings you back here after all this time?"


    "I, uh, I just came by to see how things were going." Isaac stuttered while maintaining a vignt eye on


    Marvell, who in turn had both of his eyes locked on him while flipping through hundred dor bills.


    "Going?" Larry eximed. "Shit, things are goin'' real will, my nigga. Look around you, business is


    boomin''!" Larry proimed with outstretched arms. "Jimmy The Peanut is already lookin'' after us


    colored folks. Before you know it, Larry''s Garage will be the only mechanic racket in town."


    As Isaac reached for a stool behind him, Marvell brazenly snatched it away before cing it beside him


    instead, not once taking his eyes off of the scared, young man.


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    "Don''t mind Marvell, someone just stiffed him yesterday for a couple of hundred. You know how he gets


    whenever someone holds out on him." Larry rified as he wandered back to his table. "Hey, Marv,


    turn on something for the lucky man!"


    "Lucky? Whaddya mean, lucky?" Isaac questioned.


    "You getting'' married, aint'' you?"


    "How''d you find out about that, man?"


    "This is ain''t L.A. or New York." Larry tossed up his hands. "It doesn''t take long for news to travel in


    Cypress."


    "No...not really," Isaac bowed his head.


    "So, you and that fine ass Lynn are finally tying the knot, huh? Man, if that were my woman I''d be


    smiling from ear to ear. What''s with the sour puss, brother man?"


    Isaac reached back into the furthest corner of his brain to try and remember why he even bothered to


    show up at all.


    Larry then boldly stepped into Isaac''s face and asked, "What, did youe back to get your job?"


    "No." Isaac stammered. "I just came back to see how you were doing."


    Both Larry and Marvell began tough out loud at Isaac''s seemingly innocent response, as though they


    were expecting it all along.


    "C''mon, Isaac, you can tell me. Why are you back here?" Larry persisted on, only in a more serious


    tone.


    Isaac''s hands became increasingly sweaty as he nced down at the equally frightened dog under the


    tool table ahead of him. It was already warm inside the garage, so it was no surprise to Isaac that he


    would be sweating buckets while two dangerous men were surrounding him.


    "I know why you''re here." Larry sniffed. "You wanna give me some jive about how sorry you are that


    you just up and left the way you did. Is that it, Isaac? You wanna apologize for acting like a fool the way


    you did?"


    Marvell got up from off his seat, strolled over to the table where Larry was snorting cocaine and picked


    up a Phillips wrench. He then began to toss the tool back and forth in hisrge hands as if it were a


    football he was ying with.


    Staring deep into Isaac''s face, Larry questioned, "Where did you go, Isaac?"


    "Whaddya mean?" Isaac stuttered while smelling Larry''s noxious breath.


    "You gonna stand there and bullshit me like that, man? You''ve been gone since December. You see, I


    got it in my head that you was up to no good back in November. If you wanted in on the operation, why


    didn''t you just say so?" He grabbed Isaac by the shoulders.


    "What operation, man?" Isaac nearly lost his breath.


    "C''mon, Isaac, you didn''t have to go behind my back, you could''ve trusted me, I''m your best friend."


    "Larry, I don''t know what you''re talkin'' about, man." Isaac began to squirm. "Okay, you want the truth?


    Fine. I dide back here for a job. I need one bad, man!"


    "Fuck a job!" Larry screamed as he pounded his right fist on the table beside him. "You make a deal


    with those Jamaican motherfuckers, and you leave us out of it?"


    "Jamaicans," Isaac turned up his nose.


    "Those nigga''s deal with more heroin than American''s do! And you leave us out of the deal? Then what


    happens? You pissed off the wrong person, and they let their dogs loose on your ck asses. All you


    had to do was let Marvell and me know, we could''ve dealt with them. We all could have made some


    serious loot. Ya dig?"


    "Larry," Isaac hysterically panted, "you know I ain''t never dealt with that shit! We''ve known each other


    since the fifth grade, man! Why would I double cross you after all these years?"


    "Because you''re a dumb ass nigga, that''s why." Marvell sniggered.


    "Fuck you, motherfucker! Ain''t nobody asked your ck ass!" Isaac irately retaliated.


    Just like that, Marvell balled up his right fist and punched Isaac square in the forehead, sending him


    crashing to the floor.


    Both Larry and Marvell knelt down and grabbed Isaac''s body while the cowering dog whimpered even


    louder from behind.


    "Shut the fuck up, Queen!" Larry yelled before turning his attention back to Isaac. "You see, I think I got


    this all figured out after all this time. You deal with the Jamaicans, behind our backs no less. Get fucked


    up on some of their ganga shit. Start acting all crazy. Your eyes get all fucked up. Then, out of the blue,


    you just vanish into ck air." Larry steadily exined while holding Isaac''s shaking legs still. "I think


    you was with the fuzz these past few months, tellin'' them everything about our little operation here.


    Wait a minute...you''re probably wired right now."


    "C''mon, Larry," Isaac beseeched. "It wasn''t anything like that! I didn''t have anything to do with those


    Jamaican cats!"


    "Shit, whoever you hired to kill those dudes sure did a helluva job. They made sure to spare your ck


    ass." Larry snickered. "I''m surprised you''re even walking around out there. Don''t you know that there''s


    a kidnapper on the loose? He snatches up cute little white girls and pretty little colored boys like you."


    "He probably takes ''em back to his pad and fucks them up in the ass!" Marvell howled before ripping


    open Isaac''s coat and white button down shirt.


    At that painstaking instant, all Isaac could think of was his father''s beaming face back in the car, and


    just how proud he was of him.


    The cold, hard wrench that Marvell was pressing against Isaac''s face felt like ice sinking into his flesh.


    All he could see in front of him was a glimpse of Queen staring back in fearful trepidation. He watched


    the dog''s frightful eyes shift up and down right before his own blood that was seeping from his


    wounded forehead began to drip down his face and blind his vision.


    "I say we tear out this nigga''s tongue and break his legs." Marvell insidiously grimaced. "We''ll see how


    well he walks down the aisle in crutches. I wanna hear him try and say I do!"


    All of the sudden, Isaac''s eyesight grew dim. The words that the men were screaming were bing


    more distant and foreign, like they were speaking a differentnguage altogether.


    "Yeah, maybe I can drop by and see how Lynn is doin''." Larry jumped in. "I never told you, I would pass


    by her house every now and then just to make sure that the electric was still on." Heughed as he


    took the wrench from Marvell and bashed Isaac''s right leg with it as hard as he could.


    But instead of screaming or even wincing in pain, to the shock of both Larry and Marvell, Isaac did


    somethingpletely unexpected. He shut his eyes and began to hum. "Dog llik." (Kill God)


    Isaac moaned in a coarse tone before surprisingly snatching the wrench from out of Larry''s startled


    hand and somehow managing to power out from the clutches of both men.


    Larry and Marvell stood to their feet and watched as Isaac, too, rose up. They looked on as he spoke


    more unfamiliar words, words that sounded as though they wereing from someone else''s mouth


    rather than his own.


    "This nigga is high again!" Marvell said as he stepped away, too rmed to do anything at that instant.


    With the wrench firmly gripped in his right hand, Isaac bumped up against one table and into another,


    nearly falling to the floor in the process.


    Queen helplessly yelped from underneath the confines of her tool table. Larry backed up, only enough


    to where he could gain a more precise view at what was taking ce. He couldn''t tell if what was


    happening was for real or just one of his own drug induced hallucinations.


    Isaac''s erratic movements looked more as if he were being pulled and pushed by an unseen force. The


    behaviorsted nearly two whole minutes before Isaac took the wrench that he was holding and


    cracked Marvell over the face with it, sending him reeling into the wall behind him. Isaac then lunged


    forward and struck Larry over the head.


    "C''mon, Isaac, I was just yin''!" Larry dreadfully screamed while holding his hands up in merciful


    defense. "I didn''t see your girl, man!"


    Isaac''s body turned around and began to beat Marvell over the head with the wrench until blood oozed


    out and onto the floor.


    From there he spun around and handed his childhood friend the same treatment. "Eid uoy...eid uou, eid


    uoy!" (You die, you die, you die) Isaac viscously ranted on as he beat Larry over the head repeatedly


    until he could hear his skull crack wide open like a coconut.


    Isaac then stood back and watched as Larry''s unconscious body began to convulse right there on the


    cement floor in front of him.


    Isaac dropped the wrench, grabbed Larry by the neck and pulled him over to a corner where he


    proceeded to get down on all fours and lick up the blood that was seeping from out of his gaping head.


    In the midst of his drinking feast, Isaac paused and turned to Queen, who by then had managed to


    sneak underneath Larry''s tow truck.


    Isaac''s shiny eyes blinked in rapid sequence. He fed off of the animal''s fear of him like a drug. It turned


    him on to see the dog cower like a pup. "Ereh emoc." (Come here) Isaac grunted from his stomach.


    "Ereh emoc, uoy hctib! (Come here, you bitch!)


    But the dog would not budge. It sat under the truck as Isaac, on all fours no less, began to crawl over


    towards its direction, hissing and grunting while shining his set of blood stained teeth along the way.


    Soon, the sound of a fire engine ring outside down the street sent Isaac scurrying back into another


    dark corner to where only his bright eyes could be seen.


    He got to his feet and fled out the backdoor that led to the alley.