Post by Loner。 on Apr 6, 2017 13:46:36 GMT
❖ MALIK YOUNG
There was a knock on the door of the apartment, well more like an angry banging. No answer from the other side. Ah well. the visitor had hoped to find the person who dwelt here home and present, but instead it seemed like the guy was out.
No matter. Crouching for a moment the male who was visiting examined the lock. A small smile crept onto his face as he saw how he could move to plan 'B'.
A bad feeling which Malik recognized as some kind of premonition appeared in the 18 year old male's gut as he walked home from his job. He was not used to this kind of warning, More often he sensed something moments before he risked getting hurt either by another's hand, giving him time to react to an mediate threat. This time it felt way more vague and general, with no hint of what was going on except that it was something bad. it could be related to himself, or to someone he'd met or a total stranger. The closest comparison was the feeling he'd experienced when he'd found out the hospital couldn't keep his mother alive much longer. Even that did not relate well to this new feeling of dread because that time not quite half a year ago, he'd known what was coming. the dread had been largely the fear of not being able to get to her side fast enough to say goodbye.
All the knew that whatever it was to come was in the direction he was heading to get home. The male picked up his pace a little bit worried about what he might find.
Flashing lights could be seen well before Malik reached his apartment. He broke into a run, covering the remaining meters at a pace which a professional runner could keep, but his peers, and anyone else untrained would struggle with.
He would have been able to catch his breath quickly when he arrived if not for what he saw. A lady in a robe looked like she'd been fixing her hair when she'd needed to come outside, with one half of her black curls straightened and the other in its natural state. Her partner had his arms wrapped around her, and both watched the house. A college student held his terrified cat, and his guitar rested at his feet in its case. His clothing was damaged and blackened. An ambulance flashed with it's lights as the last person to whom the apartment was shared, was carried in on a stretcher, his features hidden, but what could be seen badly burned. Smoke streamed from every orifice and crack of the charred building as firemen and women were struggling to put out the smoldering blaze. His home, and the home of his immediate neighbors was gone.
Malik caught a beckoning from the corner of his eye, and turned towards the houses on the other side of the street. Someone was in the narrow space between two of them. whoever it was was certainly trying hard to not be clearly seen. This did not bode well, but Malik was curious enough to approach. He was pulled into the alley, and quickly found a knife focused on him.
"I told you to meet us at the lot." a voice Malik clearly recognized hissed. "we could of used you out there." He knew what was being talked about. many of his old peers had joined in with the riots across the city. He'd even seen some of their faces appear on the news.
"I'm not gonna riot with you about your undeserved privilege Dio. Get a real Job, give up gang politics, and get a better life. you just robbed four good people of all they had." Malik pointed out with a frank, but dangerous tone, assuming that it was indeed Dio who had begun the fire, or if not Dio's work someone the lanky youth knew threatening Malik now knew. That was four not counting Malik. He couldn't lump himself in as completely non-deserving of this. Dio definitely held some sort of grudge against him.
Unafraid of the knife, Malik Grabbed the taller male, and began to pull him out of the alley. He intended to tun Dio over to the police.
Dio immediately pricked Malik with the blade. "You do anything, you turn yourself in. I know you got something to hide." If Malik turned Dio in, Dio intended to tell the authorities what he knew about Malik. If Malik used street justice, he might attract the authorities' attention on his own. "Make sure you actually show up next time I tell you to, and maybe I won't tell anyone about you."
Malik snapped. Faster than any would expect, he pinned the other Male against one of the walls. "go ahead." he dared. "Tell someone. you've already taken plenty that I've worked hard for." Malik could only hope that Dio's criminal history and reputation would serve to keep those Dio told from taking the dark skinned young man seriously.
He pushed Dio to the ground, punched him hard enough to knock him out. Though quite upset, Malik managed to restrain his violence to that. Beating up a person could only serve as a temporary solution to pent up frustration. A nagging sense in the back of Malik's mind suggested killing the male as a viable solution. someone dead couldn't spill secrets, but Malik knew if he went that far, he'd be no better than the youth at his feet.
Malik left Dio in the alley. Hopefully no one would stumble on the criminally inclined male. Many people's attention was still on the aftermath of the fire. The apartment was less than a charred shell. it was clearly uninhabitable. The closest person, the student gave Malik an odd look. Malik hoped the conflict was not so loud and clear that the people out here were aware of it, but someone knew there were certainly plenty of potential witnesses, neighbors, people passing through and so on.
Malik waited with the rest to hear the firefighters' verdict about the house, but he already knew it was for naught. He'd probably lost all he owned, except for the things he had with him, his bicycle which was chained up outside to begin with, and the money in his bank account.
Growing agitated and wanting to escape he headed towards the bike. He wasn't sure where he'd go. He didn't have any relatives on call, and as for friends... well he couldn't trust most people who called themselves his friends when all had grown up in the same high risk area as himself. He could probably find help if he wanted it, from the land lord's insurance or something, but he didn't want that. He rather disappear. Maybe he could start anew somewhere else if he was strategic.
