The Fallen by Paul Langan

Author:Paul Langan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Townsend Press

Chago’s last words caught me like a nail catches your skin. He acted like killing was the best way to show respect for a kid who never hurt anyone, who smiled at strangers and felt sad whenever he saw a stray cat. That’s not my brother’s way. Huero wouldn’t want me to shoot anyone. He wouldn’t want me abandoning Mom and wasting my life in jail either. I figured this out one afternoon when I cut class to visit his grave. No matter what Chago, Frankie, or anyone said, I had to live for Huero—not kill for him.

“I’m takin’ care of Hector myself, Chago. My way. I don’t need you or Frankie’s help to do it,” I snapped. It was true, though I wasn’t sure how.

“Homes, you ain’t thinking straight. We been tight for years, so I’m gonna tell you straight up. If you walk away like this, you’re gonna make Frankie an enemy, and you’ll be alone against Hector,” Chago said. “It’s like a street fight. The dude in the middle gets hit from both sides. You can’t survive that. ”

“Then I won’t survive,” I said. “We all gotta go sometime, Chago. At least I’ll see Huero again. ”

Chago glanced at me and then turned away. I’d seen him act this way before, when he disagreed with me but knew there was no changing my mind. Like when I stopped buying him weed ’cause I thought he smoked too much.

“Why don’t you take off?” he said suddenly. There was something desperate in his voice. “You know, run away or join the army or something. Just until Frankie cools down. Those recruiter dudes are all over the place these days. ”

I almost laughed in his face at how crazy his words sounded. You gotta admit, it’s a messed-up world when going to war is safer than staying home.

“I’m serious, Martin. Go away for six months, a year,” he added, almost like he was begging me. Chago had never given me advice before. Usually he was asking for it about girls, or work, or dealing with his mom. Frankie and I used to tease him about it. But things were different now.

“I can’t leave, homes,” I said. My mother and I had already moved across the city. And at 16, I wasn’t joining no army. Besides, I couldn’t leave my mother alone, not after what she’d been through.

Chago was about to try and argue with me. I could see it in his face, but I cut him off.

“So is Frankie comin’ for me, Chago? Is that why you came down here?” I asked.

Chago reached into his pocket and grabbed the cigarette he’d just put away. I knew the answer before he opened his mouth.

“You know Frankie. He don’t take ‘no’ from anyone. ”

For several minutes, we stood on the corner and said nothing. Chago finished his cigarette, tossed the butt onto the sidewalk and looked back at Bluford.

“And what about you, Chago? Will you be with Frankie when he comes?”

Chago shook his head and cursed under his breath.

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