The Death of 1977 (Book 3)

"Here, girl, take some more!" A large black man handed Leo's naked and inebriated mother more rum for her to drink.

Leo, from the thin sliver in the door, watched with doleful eyes as his pitiful mother drank and slobbered the alcohol before falling completely off of the bed in a heap and laughing about it. It was at that stage that Leo pulled himself away from the door and staggered into the tiny kitchen to sit at the table. From where he was he could hear both his mother and her friend laugh and carry on while the stench of marijuana left the room making it look as though it were on fire. The young boy pressed his hands against his ears as tight as he could while weeping ever so quietly. There was always his outside refuge, but he was so sick and tired of retreating that listening to his mother night in and night out only seemed therapeutic at that point. And the nights always seemed to drag on endlessly.

"Hey, boy," his mother's friend came into the kitchen with only a pair of boxers on his body. "Why ya in here" he stumbled. "Why ya not outside where ya belong?"

The man reeked of rum from head to toe. It was so strong on him that it made him smell as if he had been soaking in the liquid for hours.

Getting up from the table, Leo meekly remarked with his head down, "I was going outside."

The man halted Leo's progression out the doorway. He stood there with his bottle of rum while looking lazily down at the frightened child.

"Ya never tell me your mama was such a great lay! I'd be over here sooner!" He laughed.

Leo never looked up at the man. He blushed before attempting to bypass him only to be caught by the man and lifted up by his shirt collar to eye level.

"I be speakin' to ya,

little body remained in the air. Soon, the man dropped him to the floor before dragging his drunken body back to the room where Leo's mother

the angrier he seemed to become, albeit, the anger was always there, just tempered by his love for his mother. The more he heard the man inside the shack laugh and toss bottles around, that was all the more Leo wanted to get up and run off.

at the still busy street and various people buzzing about before reaching up under one of the steps and pulling out a shoebox. He removed the lid from off the box and took out a revolver. The boy opened the chamber and examined all the bullets inside before taking a glance back at his shack's front door with a bitter glare on his wet face. He

same something sounded heavy and brooding, like it were stalking after someone. Leo stood in place at that instant, not exactly from fear but from sheer curiosity. The more he heard his mother and her friend laugh and carouse inside, the

racket grew even more intense. Leo jumped back, dropping his gun to the ground in the process. The heavy

shining beams appeared from out of nowhere. The snarling noise came face to face with Leo who was by then shivering underneath the stairs. The two beams blinked off and on at him before a set of slobbering, white fangs appeared right before his very eyes. The boy could smell the mustiness of the animal's thick fur. Leo grunted while losing his breath. He knew that the animal had heard him, and yet, just belting out a simple squeak for

out in laughter so loud that it must have startled the beast. The thing spun around with the quickness of a cat and rampaged through the flimsy door. Leo gritted his teeth and listened as the animal roared so loud before causing both his mother and her friend to holler out in absolute terror. Leo slid out from underneath the steps and stood and watched as the glow of the

up here, boy?" An older man ran up behind

But Leo had no words for the old man. All he could do was stand in

is dat up in dere?" The

a bloody mess before being dragged right back inside yelling and fighting for one last grasp of life. The old man immediately grabbed Leo and took him back down the steps where others were standing and wondering just what on earth was

happening?" A woman shouted from her

man breathlessly cried out