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Fury replaced every feeling in his body. The monster who’d killed his mother was in front of him, and that was the only thought running through his mind. Through his rage-filled haze, Keyon wrestled the gun from Brock’s hands and shot the monster in the face.
Blood exploded everywhere. The screams and gunshots were muted in Keyon’s mind by the ringing in his ears. Someone took him by his coat and dragged him away.
Everything was surrounded by smoke and fog. Someone hit Keyon in the face. Still confused, he didn’t fight back. Then someone kicked him in the ribs.
“What have you done, you cur?” Keyon heard through the haze.
He did not see the face of his attacker; he didn’t hear the angry words flying at him anymore. He’d killed the monster; he had avenged his mother. A smile curved his lips.
“Are you mocking me, you useless bastard?”
This was the last thing Keyon heard before everything went black.
Salvation
Keyon woke up to a female voice, singing softly.Mama?
He shifted on a soft mattress and felt his entire body ache.
What happened? Where am I?
He groaned as he shifted again. His mind was hazy, his limbs refused to listen to him, and his eyelids were too heavy to open. The melody was lovely, though. And that voice was almost angelic.
Had he been rescued by the angels? His mother had told him about heaven too, the place he was supposed to get to if he was good. Just as his mother always told him he was.
After everything that had happened to him, he couldn’t possibly be good. Could he?
“I see you awake, little boy,” the voice sang with a strong accent. “Here, drink some water.”
Keyon realized that his throat was dry, and he was parched for a drop of drink. He fought to open his eyelids, but the most he could do was squint.
A silhouette moved before his eyes, and then warm hands helped him sit up.
“Mama?” he asked again, his voice hoarse.
“No,chavi. I am not your mama. But you can call me Beebi.”
“Baby? Why?” Keyon was beyond confused.
The woman cackled loudly, making his ears ring. “Beebi means aunt.”
She shoved a drink in his face then gently brought it to his lips. Keyon drank greedily until the last drop.
“Do not worry, Chavo. There’s more,” the woman said and brought another glass full of water.
Keyon relaxed against the pillows and drank unhurriedly now.
The world started taking a familiar shape, no longer blurry or smudgy. Keyon looked around the colorfully decorated round room. Why was the room round? He didn’t quite have the strength to ask yet.
His gaze returned to the woman before him—Beebi.
She was an old woman. He hadn’t seen a lot of old people in his life. At least, not up close. She seemed hundreds of years old. Her skin was dark and lined with deep wrinkles. Her eyes were opaque blue, and her gray hair was mostly hidden beneath a shawl. She wore long, dangly earrings on her ears, decorated with colorful stones, and each finger of her hands was covered with rings.
“I see your troubled past,” the woman said. “And there’s more trouble coming your way.”
Keyon looked at her pleadingly. “I don’t want more trouble.”
He was truly exhausted. It felt like he’d been fighting without stopping ever since his birth. He imagined himself like one of the knights during medieval tournaments, and as soon as one battle ended, he was shoved into the next one. What battle had he fought recently?
