Locked Out :: Short Stories Crime Violence Papers

Locked Out Death is a small price to pay for respect--the words spilled from the headphones like crude oil. Erway Dewey listened to the music barely hearing the lyrics. The words were dark and damaging but soothed the roughness of the harsh surroundings. It didn't matter what the words said anyway, Erway thought, it ain't real life. Erway stood in the shadow that the old warehouse doorway cast against the rising sun. He hoped the bus wouldn't take much longer because although the building sheltered him against the wind, it was cold and snowing. Today, like most other school days, he got up early so he could lift weights and play a game of basketball in the gym with his friends. It was quiet on North Avenue this early in the morning. In the afternoons, sometimes it was so loud you could shout and no one would hear. As he waited, Erway tried to remember what he had done when he got up this morning. Only forty-five minutes had passed but it was already a blur. He remembered going to the bathroom, but that was about it. The hunger in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten anything since last night. I'll get somethin' when I get to school, Erway thought. A slight alarm swept over Erway's body; he fingered his coat pocket for his bus pass. The smooth plastic calmed him. He had forgotten it the day before and had to walk back home to get it, missing the early bus. A tall shadow appeared from around the corner of the warehouse. It was too dark outside to distinguish faces. Erway's body tensed up as he prepared for a confrontation. Would he be robbed, stabbed, shot, or just beaten? Erway stood still, cocked like a pistol ready to fire; to run or fight. As the man came closer Erway realized it was the same man he'd seen yesterday. It was just some older guy going to work or something who caught the same bus. As he came closer Erway could see he was smoking a cigarette. Cigarette smoke and the smoke from warm breath meeting cold air danced a desperate tango and disappeared in the darkness. "Hey," the man said to Erway, looking past him. "Hey," Erway replied coolly, maintaining his casual slump in the doorway. "First bus come, yet?" "Naw, not yet," Erway exhaled heavily.