Chapter 2: Shaggy
After leaving The Bullet, they walked down Washington Street. Nas was talking to everyone, like he always does, but all Shaggy could do was listen and focus on his environment. Let the others talk, this was DC, and not Camden, they’re home. Nas would always include him in on a joke, and now and then, he would oblige by being a part of the joke. Aaliyah kept looking at him and Nas while Jasmine and Omarion talked about the upcoming evening sermon.
As they had walked past the opening through an alley, they heard a scream that stopped them in their tracks. A woman was being assaulted by men in hoods. There were about eight of them. She had graying blonde hair and a face that was elderly but still bright. Her olive green coat protected her from the rain.
“Oh my god,” Jasmine said as she looked around. “Why isn’t anyone helping her?” Shaggy looked around and noticed that even other citizens passed by without even looking in the alley. It was almost as if they were actively ignoring the situation. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He thought as others passed him. That’s when he noticed Jasmine stepping into the alley. Omarion and Nas followed, and Aaliyah stood behind them.
Once he entered, the hooded men stopped attacking the lady. They tore part of her coat off, exposing her clothes and underwear. They moved closer, and in the sole light provided by a lamp post, Shaggy could see their faces, pasty white faces, skeletal like bodies, and black robes with hoods.
“We should get out of here,” Aaliyah said, but she didn’t move. None of them did. Even Shaggy wanted to. They were outnumbered two to one, and the only people that had any combat training were Nas, a soldier, and Aaliyah, who took karate. Omarion shared in the past that he used to wrestle but wasn’t good at it. As far as he knew, Jasmine never fought for her life. There was no fear in Shaggy; he would rather fight for his life. No, the only fear he had was that his friends’ lives were in danger. He stepped before Jasmine and was ready to fight. His aikido skills would help, but he wished he had a sword, which he has been training for the past year.
“Go, I’ll hold them off,” he said, his voice low, strong, confident. He just needed his friends to escape, so Northern happens with them at all. Again, he wished he had a weapon to even the odds.
Nas stood by him, and Shaggy noticed that he was shaking. “We are not going to leave you here by yourself.” Nas took a Muay Thai stance.
Jasmine stood with them, too. “Nas’s right, we’re going to stick this out together. Either we run away together, or we fight together.”
“If something happens to you all,” Shaggy said. “I will never forgive myself. Please, go!”
“I said no,” Jasmine said.
“Something is making me stay. I wish I could say it was courage or love, but I think it’s just fear.” Aaliyah said.
“We should pray,” Omarion said, lowering his head. “Ask for guidance. Something. We can’t just stand here.”
“Shaggy’s right. You guys go ahead. We’ll hold them off.”
“I said no one is going anywhere. You heard Aaliyah; something is keeping us here, and I know what it is. We are needed here.” She said as she started to pray, Aaliyah and Omarion joining her. Shaggy looked at Nas, who just rolled his eyes.
“Look at that!” Darry yelled as he pointed at the hooded men.
Those were the last words he remembered from JAsmine as the rest of the memory became hazy. Did they fight those guys? Is that how they ended up here in this laboratory? He looked at each of his friends. They were all struggling with pain and staying conscious. Nas looked the most peaceful of the five.
Guilt started to set in and, in its way, was more painful to Shaggy than the physical pain his body was experiencing. Aaliyah and Omarion looked the worst of the five and, when they had moments of consciousness, seemed the most scared. Jasmine and Nas carried a sign of defiance, which Darrly tried to match when Lilith came in.
She was always alone and always had a clipboard in hand. She forced a smile as she checked on each of them. Not saying a word and with the guards, they couldn’t respond anyway. Every time she came near him with that substance, he wanted to kiss her. He noticed that he was getting better with each dose.
Shaggy lowered his head and started praying. “God, please give me the strength to break these bonds. Protect my friends. Forgive me for not protecting my friends. For failing as their protector. Please don’t let them be hurt because I wasn’t strong enough.”
He looked up, and Nas was staring at him. With their eyes, they talked. They were strong, defiant, and communicated one thing. Understanding. Shaggy wanted to look away, he didn’t deserve the kind gesture. No, he had to figure out a way to get his friends out of this. And if they did, hopefully, the world would listen to him this time and leave him to die an honorable death in battle.
Persent
Stupid. The only word that kept going through Shaggy’s mind. How could he let his guard down like this? He was trained better than this. He looked at the woman called Lilith, and for the first time in his life, he wanted to hit a woman. She was a threat, and he didn’t believe a word she said. If she had saved their lives, then why weren’t they in a hospital? Instead, she had his friends restrained on a pod.
He started to remember coming out of the haze after being injected with something. A medicine.” Some kind of experimental drug? He struggled to keep his focus on the woman as she went to each of them. One by one, to examine them. The pain was returning, and if they all suffered the same injuries, then his friends must be in pain, too. Stupid. He let his friends down by not paying attention. Something he prided himself on. Nas always called him paranoid, but Shaggy was usually right when he followed his instincts. Where Nas was observant of people, Shaggy was observant of events and places. He could tell when something seemed wrong or was out of place. Not this time, and now he cursed himself.
Lilith would place mouthguards on them after Jasmine spoke. For the next interval of hours, she would check on them. His pain would rise, and she would show up, inject them with the mysterious substance, and the pain would subside. The mouthguards prevented him from talking with his friends. He could tell, though, that they were all experiencing the same pain because Lilith would give the same injections to each ot them. His arms felt as if they were losing feeling from being in the crucified position for so long.
