I walked inside, leaving the door slightly ajar on purpose. Then I casually walked to the phone on the countertop and called 911.
"911. What's your emergency?"
I put on a scared front and said, "M-Miss! There's bad guys coming at the house! And blood! So much blood!"
The operator, a middle-aged woman judging by her voice, immediately turned serious. "Okay, kid. Calm down. Where are you right now?"
"M-Miss Serena said it's 1411 Elm Street! It's the house with flower pots and light green paint-"
Just on cue, a gunshot echoed in the distance.
Not my planning, but perfect timing.
I immediately hung up.
At the same time, I heard Auntie Yue's panicked voice from somewhere down below. "Alex! Get down here!"
It was smart. It looked like she'd holed up in the basement with April and Miss Serena.
Very defensible.
But unfortunately, we'd get funneled. And these guys had guns, so it'd be no good.
The only way out of here was to pull off something they didn't expect.
So...
"I'll be back, Mom. Give me ten minutes."
"Alex? ALEX!"
I slammed the door behind me, making sure the door knob was locked. Then I dove into the bushes towards the first person I'd attacked.
It was a gruff looking guy with a bandana. Blue?
I didn't know much about gang activity, but that was convenient.
There was a perfect 'explanation' prepared for all of this then.
I wrapped my hand in the guy's bandana and picked up the gun he'd been holding.
Now.
...I'd always been holding back my violence in my past life. And here I had the perfect opportunity to vent.
Let's do that, shall we?
===
Yue felt her stomach churn as she heard the front door slam.
'Stupid, stupid, stupid...!'
"M-Miss Yue?" April's terrified voice echoed from beside her. "Alex... Alex is going to be okay, right? And... And Mommy too...?"
Yue forced a smile and said, "It'll be fine, Sweetie. Trust me."
They were in the basement of April's home.
Serena had enough in her to hide in the laundry room downstairs before she passed out. And just before then, she managed to tell April to call Yue.
Thankfully, Serena wasn't too injured.
April had made it seem like Serena was dying, but the only injuries Serena had were bruises. She'd been battered, but nothing lethal.
In fact, she was only unconscious because of fatigue.
...At least, Yue would like to hope so.
Either way, she would be fine.
Or she would have been fine. But...
'Fuck. Fucking white devils and those bastards...!'
Serena had told Yue of her life. Of what she had to do to keep food on the table and April safe.
And after Yue had offered Serena an out, the younger woman (18 to Yue's 19 years) had taken it.
The plan had been to go home together after school tomorrow and move in for a bit while Serena sorted out her life properly.
But then this happened.
And now the whole neighborhood was ringing with gunshots while her STUPID nephew was running around doing god knows what.
'Fucking little fatty better be alive...!'
Everything inside Yue was screaming for her to leave April and Serena and run after Alex to drag him back.
Since Alex had already called 911 and given the address, the cops were on the way.
But that little reckless idiot had rushed off somewhere.
And Yue couldn't do anything about it.
'Useless, useless, useless...!'
All her training. All the times she had gotten rid of men who'd tried to take advantage of her and assault her. All the times she'd gotten out of dangerous situations, only for her to be stuck here unable to do anything but wait.
Yue hated it.
...Was this how Big Sis felt towards Alex? Not being able to do anything about the situation except wait?
Big Sis clearly loved Alex. But because she and Brother-in-law didn't have money, she was forced to leave him alone despite wishing otherwise.
And now Yue was stuck doing the same thing.
'No, not the same.'
Because Mei never had to worry about whether that stupid little reckless and heroic kid would still be alive by the time the cops came...!
"Fuck...!" Yue brushed the tears out of her eyes.
April saw it and started crying too. "M-Miss Yue...? Is... Is Alex...?"
Gunshots echoed. Sirens blared, slowly getting closer. People screamed, and there were the sounds of men dying.
All the while, Yue held April close and covered the young girl's ears so she wouldn't be traumatized.
But that meant Yue had to listen instead.
And every minute... No, every second was torture.
Because with each gunshot, she imagined Alex dropping to the ground somewhere without a sound. She imagined her cute and loving nephew dead in a pool of blood. She imagined having to go talk to Big Sis and Brother-in-law that their son was gone before he even finished his second year of school.
But before Yue could completely spiral, an authoritative voice echoed.
"Deputy Sheriff Gerald Smith! A brave young boy said that Miss Yue Wu, April Rose, and Serena Rose are here, and that there might be medical attention! Where are you?"
Yue froze. Then she called out. "D-Down here! In the basement!"
"Men! Move out! Clear the house! Little hero, lead the way!"
Footsteps echoed. Heavy boots, clanking belts.
And then the door to the laundry room opened.
There, with an apologetic smile on his face and dirt all over his body, Alex stood.
Yue blinked. Then her vision blurred as she sprinted forward to hug him. "You...!"
Alex hugged Yue tight and said, "Sorry to scare you, Auntie. But I got help!"
"Stupid, stupid, stupid...!" Yue sobbed and clung onto Alex, shaking with relief.
===
I felt terrible seeing Auntie Yue in such distress. But it couldn't be helped.
Stepping back in time a bit...
The moment I closed the door behind me and ran outside, it was chaos.
I didn't know exactly who Miss Serena was involved with, but it was DEFINITELY someone up there in the ranks of the local gangs. And whoever it was SERIOUSLY wanted her back.
Well.
Past tense.
You see...
...I, uh. Underestimated how dangerous I was.
Between the time I made the call and the police showing up, there were around thirty minutes.
The man who wanted Miss Serena to suffer... and the degenerate who also apparently wanted to do unspeakable things to April.
He had been ballsy enough to show up with his entire crew.
So.
I.
...May have.
...Committed mass murder.
Allegedly.
You see, uh.
I forgot this was the 90s.
People still believed in demons, ghosts, and devils and stuff at this time.
Now, imagine this.
A dark shadow blitzed through the terrain, slinging a ropedart, knives, and the occassional bullet through your men.
Bodies dropping to the floor left and right without a clear cause...
Yeah. Uh. They panicked. So I just mowed them all down.
It wasn't that hard, actually.
I think that the media got it half-right about kids being violent because of video games.
It wasn't that we wanted to commit more crimes... but more that we were more cognizant of crimes. Violence too. Faced with it happening in real life, we wouldn't hesitate.
The days of a school shooter being able to walk into a place and everyone being so scared they were all mowed down were looooong gone.
I came from that era, so I didn't have any hesitation committing violence. Not only that, but pathing, getting cover, silent takedowns...
Yeah. So like, game skills heavily transferred.
Meanwhile, these guys were all over the place. No tactics, no organization. Just guns, audacity, and brandishing it like the fear of being shot was enough to stop them from dying.
Newsflash, it wasn't.