Page 81 of Butterfly 6, Phase 1

Messiah felt her body tense. “Messiah!”

It happened in the blink of an eye. Khadeen heard five shots, and she screamed as Messiah fell forward, pushing her into the open car door. “My daughter,” he groaned, before falling to the ground. He rolled over to look the shooter in the eyes as he prepared himself for the headshot that would end his life. Khadeen scrambled over the driver’s seat and out of the passenger side door, then snatched open the back door, violently yanking Yara out.

She stayed low as she ran as fast as she could while tucking Yara into her body until she made it inside the restaurant. Yara wailed as the owner ushered her inside, locking the door behind her. “Please, help him! Somebody, help him!” Khadeen shouted.

She heard one more shot and then saw the shooter flee, hopping back into the passenger side of a blue sedan before the driver peeled off. Khadeen passed Yara to the woman who had been their waitress, and then burst out the front door, running full speed towards Messiah.

“Messiah!” She skinned her knees as she rushed to help him.

“Ahh, fuck!” he shouted, as he lifted his shirt, revealing a bulletproof vest underneath. “One went through the vest!” he groaned. He thanked God he never left home without it, but he was hit. The blood leaking all over Khadeen told him so.

“Yolly?” he asked frantically. “Where’s my daughter?”

“She’s safe! She’s okay!” Khadeen stammered. “Somebody, help!” she shouted.

“Stop the bleeding, KD. You got to…” Messiah gasped for air as Khadeen struggled to remove the shirt, then the vest. He was hit right beneath his collarbone, and blood gushed out of him like a fountain.

“Messiah, open your eyes! Hey!” she shouted. She stuck her hand in the bullet hole, and he howled bloody murder. The pain shocked him, jolting him with adrenaline.

“Damn, Doc!” Messiah shouted. He hoisted himself up on the side of the car as the sounds of sirens rang through the air.

“I’m sorry! Just keep your eyes open for me!” she shouted, crying.

“Khadeen,” he panted as she removed her shirt, leaving only a camisole beneath. She pressed it into his wound.

“Somebody’s coming. I hear the ambulance. It’s close. Just stop talking and stay up, Messiah. Don’t close your eyes on me. I do not want to be the last thing you see before you go to glory,” she shouted at him.

“That wouldn’t be so bad,” he groaned. She stared at him, heaving, and tears fell down her face as blood soaked through the shirt.

“Don’t die, Messiah,” she whispered.

“I’m trying, shorty,” he gasped, blowing out a slow breath and gritting his teeth as the vein in his forehead bulged. His eyes closed. “Careful, Doc, might make a nigga think you care.”

Even while he was slipping out of consciousness, he was charismatic.

“No! Wake up!” she shouted frantically as she pressed on his wound to try to shock him again.

When he barely reacted, Khadeen screamed at the top of her lungs. “Messiah, please!” A crowd had slowly flowed into the parking lot, but no one came to her aid. His eyes were so low, and her hope sank with each passing second. She could see his energy leaving him. It was like watching water drain down a clogged sink. It was slow but inevitable. His grip on her wrist was getting weaker.

“It’s okay,” he mumbled. “Don’t cry.” His bloody hand lifted to her face, and he wiped her tears, leaving red streaks of him behind.

Khadeen grabbed his face. “Keep your eyes open, Messiah. Look at me.”

“A nigga should have kissed you when I had the chance,” he whispered.

She sobbed, shoulders shaking as he struggled to lift his hand to fist her hair as he gritted his teeth while pressing his forehead to hers. “You got to make it, so you get the chance to break all my rules.”

Messiah tried to laugh, but he was choking on blood and air he couldn’t feel in his lungs. “Don’t die on me in this parking lot, Messiah,” she said softly. He tried to respond, but when he began coughing up blood, tears blinded her.

“I just want to close my eyes,” he mumbled. Khadeen leaned against the car and pulled Messiah’s head and upper body onto her lap.

“Don’t do that. They’re coming, Messiah!” she cried to him. “Hold on a little longer.”

“They ain’t gon’ make it,” he struggled. “Thank you for listening. I don’t got to take my daddy to my grave because you listened.”

“Stop it, Messiah! You’re not dying out here! They’re pulling in now!” Khadeen was out of her mind as she looked around at all the bystanders. “Help me! Why are y’all just standing there? Do something!” She sobbed as strangers filmed them. It was the most abandoned she had ever felt. Humanity was nowhere in sight; it was just voyeurs to tragedy around her. Cell phones recording. People looking. No help. Society had desensitized human beings so much that they were just watching a show.

“Tell my kids I love them. Tell Ethic…” He struggled to speak. “Thank you. Tell Mo I…” Messiah swallowed hard, and then no more words came out as his eyes closed. The ambulance screeched to a stop, and Khadeen sat there, trembling. She was so shaken that even her teeth chattered as an EMT rushed over to her.