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.

speakin' to ya, boy!" The man breathed into Leo's

body remained in the air. Soon, the man dropped him to the floor before dragging his drunken body back to the room

around, that was all the more Leo wanted to get up and run off. He sat on the steps and looked out at the dark, far distance where the mountains rested. Although he couldn't see any of them in the night Leo was always well aware that they were far from home, and

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 then turned back around and looked even harder at the gun, which was a size too big for his hand, before getting up

But just then, a presence halted his every motion. There was something creeping up the metal steps, and that 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 more desperate he was

that would resemble such a noise. He then went over to the other side of the stairs and peered down only to hear the snarling racket grew even more intense. Leo jumped back, dropping his gun to the ground in the process. The heavy plodding made the already fragile steps sound as if they were

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

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 lamplight that was inside his home was flung to one corner to the other. All he could hear was his mother and her friend being ripped

"What's gwan on up here, boy?" An older man ran

All he could do was

in

yelling and fighting for one last grasp of life. The old man immediately grabbed Leo and took him back down

happening?" A woman

"Dere's someting up dere!" The old man breathlessly cried out as he