To Live or To Die I

"Hey Andrew, wait up!" my friend Jamika yelled as I walked down the street. I turned around and stopped. 1

Jamika came running over and said, "Andrew, listen to me! Something has happened!"2

I began to feel that this 'something' was something really bad. 3

"I have a Revolver."4

I began to ponder over the many things that she could be talking about when she impatiently yelled "Andrew! I have a gun!"5

I was afraid she would say that. 6

"What do you mean you have a gun?" I asked. 7

"Do you remember when I told you about that boy Marcus messing with me?"
"Yeah." 8

"Well, he went overboard! When I was in class today, he came behind me and stabbed me in the arm with a sharpened pencil!"9

Jamika lifted her arm, revealing a deep stab wound. 10

"What the heck did he do that for?" 11

"I don't know! He's just so mean! But anyways, I got this gun to... you know." 12

"To what?" 13

"To shoot him stupid!" she yelled. 14

I quickly responded, "Jamika, it's not worth it! Just give me the gun." 15

Jamika looked at me as if I were crazy and said, "Andrew, you just don't know how painful this is to me. It's not even the physical stuff. It's knowing the fact that I can do nothing about it and that he has no empathy for what he's doing." 16

At her own words, Jamika began to cry. 17

"Jamika, look. I know that it must be hard for you, but it will not help you to do this." 18

Jamika looked at me with a look that revealed all. 19

"Jamika, you didn't already do it, did you?"20

She looked at me, then at the floor. I knew that she had already done it. 21

But then she unexpectantly said, "Andrew, they're after me! They're going to kill me!" 22

"What! Who is going to kill you?" 23

"Marcus and his friends!" 24

"Well, where are they now?" Jamika lifted a finger and pointed behind me.25

I quickly whirled around and my heart nearly stopped. Marcus and a boy whom I identified as his 'friend' were right behind me. 26

I yelled to Jamika, "I thought Marcus was dead!" 27

"I shot him in the shoulder and he fell down, but he didn't die."28

I began to think. Marcus must be one strong boy to get shot and be standing right behind me. Marcus then addressed me. 29

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Jamika's boyfriend." 30

Everyone called me that because of the fact that the two of us were almost boyfriend and girlfriend but hadn't yet gotten there. 31

"Look Marcus, I know that you're mad, but you need to just leave Jamika the hell alone." 32

He looked at me and thought for a moment. 33

"Okay how about this. Either I kill her or I kill...YOU!" 34

I stood there shocked. 35

"Make you're decision either to live or to die." 36

Marcus pulled out a gun. "Five, four, three, two, one, choose!"37

"Okay, okay, okay!" I yelled. 38

"What's your choice?" Marcus asked. 39

"My choice is for me to live, for Jamika to live, and finally, for me to kick your tail!" 40

At that moment, I quickly jumped foward and punched Marcus in his shoulder where he'd been shot. He yelped in pain and dropped the gun. I quickly bent down and picked up the gun. 41

I pointed it toward Marcus and said, "You know I don't want to do this. But if you don't leave us the hell alone, I will!" 42

Marcus began to stand up and said, "Foolish kid. You just don't know. As you stand here talking about what you will do, Leon is holding your girlfriend with a gun to her head right now. Isn't that ironic?" 43

I turned around and saw Marcus' friend holding Jamika with a small gun to her head. 44

"You let her go right now!" I yelled. 45

I truly thought that Leon was going to shoot her, but I saw that a look of fear was in his eyes. He didn't want to do it. 46

I took advantage of this and said to him, "Look Leon, I know that you don't want to do this. I can see it in your eyes. You know that it isn't worth it. If you shoot her now, your whole life will be over." 47

I looked downward, then up at Jamika and continued, "And so will mine." 48

I could see a tear rolling down Jamika's cheek and she smiled. 49

All the while, as I had been talking to Leon, Marcus had gotten up and was walking towards me. 50

Jamika noticed and said, "Andrew, look out!" 51

I turned around and saw Marcus with a thick branch that he had picked up off of the ground. Before I could point my gun at him, he swung the stick at me and hit me in the face, knocking me to the floor. 52

I still managed to keep my grip on the gun, however. 53

He came over to me and began to try and pry the gun from my hand. With all of my remaining strength, I tried to keep a firm grip on the gun, but that blow from the stick had really taken a lot out of me. 54

Eventually, Marcus managed to get the gun from my hand and pointed it at me. He then said, "You know, I really wasn't intending to hurt you today but now I'm going to do more than hurt you, I'm going to kill you!" 55

Marcus kneeled down and wrapped a sock around my eyes so that I couldn't see what was going on around me. 56

Then he continued, "but before I kill you, I'm going to kill that cowardly excuse for a girlfriend of yours first." 57

I couldn't see anything, but I could hear Marcus cocking the pistol. 58

I heard Jamika beginning to scream and I said, "You leave her alone you bastard! If you hurt her, I'll kill you, your family, and whomever else you love and I'll make you suffer!" 59

Marcus began laughing and said, "Kid, why don't you just shut your mouth and-" BOOM! 60

At that moment, the sound of a gunshot being fired was audible. 61

I began to cry and said, "You bastard! I'll kill you, you hear me!" 62

But then a familiar voice comforted me. "Andrew, calm down, it's okay. Leon shot Marcus."63

I quickly identified that voice as being Jamika. 64

"What, really?" 65

Jamika pulled the sock off of my eyes and said, "See?" 66

I looked and saw Leon standing, Marcus lying in a pool of blood, and Jamika's beautiful body next to mine. 67

I walked over to Leon and said, "Thank you so much." 68

Leon looked down and said, "I'm going to jail aren't I?" 69

I looked at Leon and began smiling. 70

"What the heck are you smiling at?" he asked. 71

I pointed up to a surveillance camera on the side of the gas station across the street and said, "After seeing that, the cops should let you go in a jiffy." 72

Leon smiled and said, "Thanks." 73

"You're welcome," I said to Leon as I walked over to Jamika. 74

When I got to her she smiled. I smiled back at her and said, "Let's go home." 75

She looked directly into my eyes and said, "Let's do that." So the two of us walked home together and hoped that we would never again have to make the choice of whether to live or to die.