Learning Lessons

“Come on Dai, be a pal. All I want is one little intro to that new blonde pal of yours. Ya know, the wit’ the muscles.”

“No Luis, I’m not making any intros.” Daimonn knew the skinny boy walking next to him meant Kicks. He also knew why Luis wanted the introduction. “I’m not going to help you sniff out fresh meat for that drugged out brother of yours. My blonde friend has a girlfriend, end of story.”

“Aw-man, Dai. Aldo’s seen ya wit’ the guy and he wants ‘im. I gotta come up wit’ sumptin’ for ‘im or I’ll be in for it.”

“Not my problem, Luis.” It was a cold thing to say especially since Daimonn knew exactly what Aldo would do to his younger brother if he failed to procure Kicks. Daimonn knew it was Luis who’d cut the tire on his cycle. His shadows had reported the activity to him while he was making his last delivery of the day. So now he had to walk his bike home and Luis was free to badger him the whole way about Kicks. He could have arranged transport through his guards, that was one of the advantages to having them around but Daimonn was curious about what the walking beanpole wanted that was worth slicing his tire over. Even now Luis was wringing his hands, bemoaning his fate and it wore at Daimonn’s nerves. “Give it a rest, Luis. I’ve tried to help you out better then a dozen times. Set you up in places safe from Aldo where you could get at least two meals a day, a clean cot to sleep on and nobody jumping in the night but you keep going right back to Aldo and his drug fried friends. So don’t cry to me about your rotten life cause you picked it.”

“Ya just don’t understand, Dai. There ain’t no place save from Aldo.” The boy’s eyes flickered over their surroundings. “People who run from him end up dead or wishing they were.”

Daimonn sighed. “Give me a break, Luis. Aldo can’t find his own feet when he standing up eighty percent of the time and the other twenty he’s either asleep or busy looking for a new ‘toy’.” Daimonn stopped walking. “Your brother breaks his toys and I won’t have my friend getting hurt.”

 Luis was as close to anger as Daimonn had ever seen him. “No but you’ll lave me hung out to dry! I thought we was pals!” He rubbed a filthy hand over his teary eyes succeeding in smearing streaks of dirt over his already grimy face. “Ya knows what Aldo is gonna do ta me if I don’t get that blonde boy for him. Last time it was weeks before I could get out of the hospital!”

“And you went right back to Aldo even after you’d been taking somewhere safe from him. You made your own bed, Luis, you can bleed in it.” Daimonn did feel bad for the boy but he wasn’t about to betray Kicks to save him. He saw Luis suck in a lung full of air but before he could start up again, Daimonn cut him off with a shout of his own. “No! The answer is no, Luis and it isn’t going to change!”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to take his place.”

All Times of Tribulation information, places, and ideas are copyrighted by their creator Todd Rourke.

All characters, writing, and drawings found in these pages are copyrighted by their various creators. 

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