Array Ashley: The Last Chapter

Breeze sprinted full speed and burst through the door. Her heart began to pound heavily as she was hit by the rays of sunlight shining through the blinds. It had been so long since she had seen sunlight that it was like a punch to the face. Breeze quickly shook off the initial shock and darted out of the basement door, desperately searching for a door to escape the spacious house.

As she frantically ran through the house, Ma’tee was right on her heels. Breeze knocked over lamps and chairs trying to evade his clutches and buy herself more time.

“Please! Let me go!” Breeze pleaded as she approached Ma’tee’s front door. But it was to no avail. He had two dead-bolts. She tried to unlock the door quickly, but by that time, Ma’tee had caught up with her and grabbed her from the back. Breeze kicked and screamed, but Ma’tee’s strength was too much for her to match. He wrestled her to the floor, and that’s when the tears began to pour from Breeze’s eyes. She knew that she was about to die. At that very moment, she lost all hope, and her soul no longer belonged to her-it was Ma’tee’s.

Ma’tee pointed the gun at Breeze’s head and prepared to pull the trigger. “Chu will forever be me lady,” he said as he pressed the barrel to Breeze’s temple.

Breeze closed her eyes and tried to brace herself for the impact. “God, please have mercy on my soul,” she whispered just before the boom. It wasn’t a boom from the gun, but the sounds of items falling from Ma’tee’s walls and cabinets. The earth began to shake at a magnitude that would be documented in history as one of the worst earthquakes the world had ever seen.

“What the-” Ma’tee tried to stand, but the violent vibrations from the ground knocked him off his feet.

Breeze didn’t know what was going on as she looked around, frantically trying to figure out what was the cause of all the rumbling. The ground shook so intensely that Ma’tee’s windows shattered and his floor began to crack. The sounds of trees crashing against the earth whistled through the air, and before long, Ma’tee’s house began to crumble, as the earth seemed to swallow the house’s foundation. Breeze screamed at the top of her lungs. She was in the middle of the pandemonium.

Ma’tee tried to run under his kitchen table for protection, but he never made it. The roof caved in and crushed him, burying him in debris. Breeze witnessed Ma’tee’s death just before the roof crushed her also. Breeze was instantly knocked unconscious as the earth crashed down on top of her.

This natural disaster had made an imprint on Haiti’s country that would be talked about for years to come.

Carter walked through the cellblock with a folded blanket and thin pillow in his hands. Two guards escorted him to his cell as the sounds of the rowdy inmates echoed through the corridor. Carter walked at his own pace with his head held high. The sound of someone yelling, “The Cartel is in the building!” sounded off, and Carter smirked, knowing that some of his soldiers were on his cellblock. The feds had come in and locked up most of his crew, and some of them were in the same penitentiary Carter was currently at, which meant Carter was still in a position of power.

“Stop right here,” the guard said as they approached the last cell on the block.

“Open D-one!” he yelled down the corridor. Moments later, the door slid open, exposing a heavy set Latino man with a salt-and-pepper beard. He looked to be in his mid to late fifties.

“Garza, you have a new celly,” the guard said, referring to him having a cellmate.

“You know the rules. My cell is not to be shared!” Garza objected as he sat up from his bunk and placed down the book that he was reading.

“The prison is full and there is no other place he can go. He has to come in here,” the guard said as if he were explaining to Garza rather than telling him.

“I don’t want a nigger in my cell,” Garza said as he gave Carter a dirty look.

Carter nodded and gave Garza a small smirk just to piss him off more.

“It is what it is, Garza. He’s your cellmate. Step in,” the CO said as he stepped to the side, clearing the way for Carter.

Carter stepped in and placed his things on the top bunk. Moments later, the guard yelled for the cell to be closed and the door slid shut, leaving Garza and Carter alone in the small room.

“Don’t get comfortable. You won’t be in here for too long,” Garza said as he sat back on his bed and focused on his book.

Carter hopped on his bunk and ignored Garza’s comment, not wanting to make any enemies so soon. He smirked and shook his head, knowing that Garza didn’t realize whom he was talking to, or the power that Carter had. But the truth was that Carter didn’t realize the power and connections that Garza possessed.

Robyn walked into the crowded courthouse. Her expensive pencil skirt and matching cropped jacket with ruffle top gave her a professional appearance that allowed her to blend in with the lawyers and officials that filled the building. She smiled at the security guard at the entrance as she placed her briefcase on the conveyor belt and then stepped through the metal detector. With her Hermès briefcase in hand and a cardboard tray of Starbucks in the other, she seamlessly bypassed security. Her five-inch heels click clacked across the wooden floor, her step so precise that one would think she was on a runway. She slipped into courtroom A. She peeked at the schedule and noticed that the next trial would not take place for another hour. It was more than enough time to handle her business and disappear.

Just as she suspected, the stenographer was a light-skinned young woman with cute features. The presiding judge had a thing for young black girls. Robyn walked inside and smiled humbly at the girl

“Hi, I’m Vanessa. I’m the new stenographer for Courtroom B. I’m supposed to be training underneath you today,” Robyn stated. The lie came off of her lips so smoothly as she put down her things and extended her hand to the girl.

“Oh, no one told me that I was supposed to be training today. Um… well…” The girl seemed to be put on the spot and completely unprepared for the task at hand.

“I think that they said they were replacing girls because of them being ill prepared,” Robyn added slyly as she watched the girl’s eyes grow wide in concern.

“Right… of course. I remember now… the training session today. I’m Melissa,” she said as if she had suddenly remembered.

Robyn smiled and grabbed one of the cups of coffee. “Well, Melissa, it’s nice to meet you. I can’t get through my day without my morning cup of coffee,” Robyn said as she extended the cup to the girl. “Consider this as the student bringing the teacher an apple. It’s my way of sucking up on the first day.”

Melissa accepted the coffee and nodded toward the chamber doors. “You better go introduce yourself to Judge Marrell. That’s who you should have purchased coffee for. He’s the one to suck up to,” Melissa stated playfully.

Robyn winked and replied, “So I’ve heard.” She then made her way to the large wooden door and knocked lightly.

“Come in,” she heard the judge say, and she slid inside the plush, prestigious office. The middle-aged white man looked up at her from his desk. “How can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m Vanessa Riley from the District Attorney’s office. I’m here to drop off some motions from our office,” Robin stated, making up another lie on the spot. She had been doing this for so long that it was nothing for her to switch personas. Lies were more familiar to her than the truth.

“Let’s see them, Ms. Riley,” he said as he gave her his undivided attention.