After having taken one too many pills, I was out. Of everything. A druggie's worst nightmare. And so me and Logan set up another trip to Jay, our dealer. We arrive in the dark alleyway deep downtown. A tall figure comes out of the shadows. Nineteen years old and with a goatee. Jay.
Logan told me the two of them went way back since eighth grade. Logan caught Jay with weed but instead of reporting it he hit it with him. Jay later joined a gang and became a professional dealer. He'd been Logan's seller ever since.
"You got our stuff?" Logan asks. The words were drowsy. The two of us were high as hell since we'd used the last of our pills on the way here. But before Jay responds, ten others come up from behind him. They were gangsters, that much was clear. Jay seemed familiar with them. His gang probably. We all shift, me and Logan leaning on the wall opposite to the ten of them. There are now thirteen of us in total, all leaning on the walls. "You got backup? What, you think we're gonna rob you?"
"We've got some problems with another gang. It's just a precaution in case they come and mess around in our territory," Jay says. He pulls out a newspaper. Of course, he wasn't giving us the news. Inside were the drugs. "Juice for your vapes. Two weed pens. A box of Oxycodone. Two boxes of Xanax. And, if you want, I was even able to get some fentanyl. Though you're a regular, I do still have to tell you to be careful. You overdose on that shit, police will put more effort into finding the seller."
"Perfect!" Logan exclaims. Fentanyl. Deadly. Jay had been out for the past few weeks, but Logan said it was one of his favourites despite its dangers. He said when Jay had fentanyl we'd buy. He hands Jay a huge wad of cash, half mine half his. Jay gives him the newspaper.
"Pleasure doing business. Now leave," one of the gangsters says. I'm the first to stop leaning on the wall. I start quickly shuffling away from the alley. I still wasn't used to this life of crimes and gangs. I didn't want to be around those people for one more second.
But I bump into someone as I'm trying to leave. Big. Scary. He's holding a crowbar. Another gangster. Strange they brought so many. Why did this one look more aggressive than the others? He had a ton of tattoos, and his arm was the size of my head. I had to look up to see his snarling face.
"Who's this scrawny little shit?" The man asks. The gangsters all seem to stiffen up and form a pack behind me. They pull me away into the pack.
"Didn't we tell you this is our territory?" One of the people in front of me says. Others come into the alley and form up around the one I bumped into. It's a rival gang. And me and Logan are in the middle of a standoff. This is not good. Would they beat us up? Rob us? Kill us? The tension is visible in the air, pipes and crowbars shifting in impatient hands. A fight would be breaking out very soon.
Would they kill me just to send a message?
I take a deep breath. Then, I grab Logan's arm and start sprinting. I hear a clash of metal behind us but don't stop. I run until me and Logan are at the place he parked his car. We get in and drive off.
"Shit. That was insane. Maybe we shouldn't have went there high," Logan says as he breathes heavily. "I've never really seen a gang fight."
"Could've been bad," I agree. "I hope Jay is fine."
"Yeah. I have no idea if any other dealer would give us those prices," Logan replies. It was a close call. If I wasn't so shitfaced I'd be screaming right now. It was only when I saw my hands shaking on my lap that I realized I hadn't stopped trembling the entire time. Though I should probably get used to it. Because now, more than ever, I feel like a criminal.