Eastside NYC 2005

Maritza was a troubled Puerto Rican girl from East New York. She was born into a poor family with only her mother because her cowardly father ran away a few weeks after she was born. Her upbringing was hard and she often found herself being sucked into gang activity by her two childhood friends, Lorena 'Crazy' Quesada and Alejandra 'Tiny' Orellana whom were both involved in one of New York's most violent female gangs. It was known as the Eastside Harpys Gang or simply by the acronym HPS. The gang only consisted of Latinas and had been around for decades, holding down their small turf of East NY with a a firm grasp.

On one cold morning when she was only fourteen years of age Maritza received a call from Tiny, Maritza picked up the phone and spoke with a loud sigh. "Puta it's three in the morning, fuck you need?"

"Bitch, come down to Rabbit's crib, fast." Tiny replied loudly. "It's important." she finished.

Maritza sighed loudly and instantly hung up, she stayed in bed for a further ten minutes before realizing she wasn't getting back to sleep, she climbed up off her bed and slipped a white tank top and a pair of khaki shorts on, she buckled her belt up and opened her bedroom door slowly, cringing nervously at the sound of the door opening. She slowly crept down the hall and out the door, once out she hopped on her bike and pedaled off rather slowly. she soon found herself at the house, it had the look of an abandoned house. windows boarded up, covered in gang graffiti. However it had the sound of laughter and loud music coming from the inside. Maritza made her way in.

When Maritza entered the room it suddenly went quiet, the other Hispanic females stopped dancing and stared at Maritza. Maritza spotted her short friend rather quickly.

"Why'd you bring me here, Tiny?" Maritza asked as she rubbed her eyes, she instantly noticed as Alejandra's lips twist into a smirk.

"Yo Rabbit, c'mere homegirl" Alejandra called out, ignoring her question.

Within a few seconds of Alejandra's call a woman who stood out amongst the rest of typically pretty Latina girls entered from a nearby room, she had tattoos covering her entire arms along with a set of devil horns inked on her forehead, she was Daniela Morales, known simply as Rabbit. The intimidating woman stared Maritza down for a moment before she finally spoke up.

"Your homegirl Tiny likes to talk about you, 'Maritza', I mean I honestly don't believe half the crap she says" Daniela remarked "You think you got what it takes?" she asked before sipping on her Olde English 800 as she watched her loyal homegirls surround the fourteen year old Latina.

"Uh..I..think I do" Maritza said, stuttering due to being nervous, she was barely able to finish her sentence before the sound of a punch filled the room, Maritza was punched in the cheek by Tiny, beginning her jump in, Maritza struggled to fight back and remain on her feet as almost six older, stronger young women beat her up. She ended up laid out on the old house's wooden floor with a bloodied up face.

"Help her up, she's one of us now."Daniela said coldly "And you better not let me down or it's you and Tiny's lives on the line" she continued with no remorse at all.

The Hispanic females helped Maritza to her feet quickly. Tiny handed her beaten friend a blue bandana. "Here, clean yourself up" she said gently. Maritza cleaned the blood off her face and leaned against a nearby table due to dizziness from the beating, Rabbit stood beside her and offered her the bottle of alcohol.

"This should make you feel better, mija, don't take it personal, we all went through that." Daniela said, this time in a more gentle tone.

Maritza snatched the 40 ounce bottle from Daniela and took a large gulp from it. She frowned at the disgusting taste of the liquor, not quite used to it yet.

"Rabbit, when does she prove herself?" Tiny asked "I know that wasn't all she had to do to get in, you made me-"

"She'll do it tonight" Daniela said quickly, interrupting Tiny's sentence. Tiny nodded her head in agreement.

"What she finna do then?" Tiny asked curiously.

"I'll think of somethin' homegirl, you girls just enjoy the party" Daniela said before walking away without another word, Tiny refocused on Maritza.

"Hey look I'm sorry about that" Tiny whispered gently, feeling bad for the vicious beating she inflicted on her best friend who currently had her head hung low.

"You didn't even give me a chance to figure out what was going on, puta" Maritza snapped "You call me here outta nowhere and just beat on me, don't even tell me shit" she sighed, feeling betrayed.

"Bitch, it was Rabbit's orders, you said you wanted in, now you're in" Tiny defended.

"What I gotta do to prove myself then huh? didn't I just prove myself by letting you bitches bash my face in?" Maritza remarked "What else are you gonna make me do?"

"You're gonna have to kill someone" Tiny whispered "But don't trip! it ain't THAT bad"

Maritza sighed and walked away from the living room into the kitchen, she pulled the fridge open and looked inside, she contemplated murdering someone. Maritza didn't like the thought at all. Alejandra followed Maritza into the kitchen and led her out into the lounge room. she managed to make her relax on the couch for the next few hours until the music had stopped and the house was basically empty. By then it was Five AM, the sun was just starting to come up and light up the streets outside.

Rabbit entered the room and stared at the two teenage girls on the couch, she grinned softly to herself as she inspected them silently. "You two still awake huh?" she asked the two clearly tired girls.

"Yeah Rabbs, ain't you tired?" Alejandra asked as she looked up at Daniela groggily.

"Bitch I been awake since monday" Daniela laughed, clearly high on Methamphetamine. "Lets go get this shit done, you packin', Tiny?"

Alejandra withdrew a USP45 and cocked it. "You know I'm strapped, homegirl" she said with a chuckle.

"Lets go" Daniela said, leaving the house with an excited Alejandra and a nervous Maritza following close behind, the trio got into Daniela's beat up car and drove out of the neighborhood, the gang drove a few blocks away from Daniela's house into a rival gang's neighborhood, the 17th Street Gang's turf.

17th Street had been at war with HPS ever since the gang's creation for unknown reasons, the trio drove around the hood slowly with the music low.

"Grab the tec under the back seat, Mari" Alejandra said as she looked back at her nervous friend "And give it to me, you can have this cuete right here, it'll be easier". Maritza did as she was told and pulled a TEC9 from underneath the back seat, she didn't say a single word as she exchanged the automatic weapon for the pistol.

"Yo, yo, here go some of them bitches" Daniela said whilst pointing at a group of young Latinas who were hanging out on the front steps of a house. she pulled up infront of the girls "Yo, this that Harpys gang, you bangin or que?!" Daniela yelled at them from inside the car, Alejandra cracked the TEC9 and kept it low while Maritza reluctantly lowered the back window.

One of the latinas stood up and formed an S with her finger, holding the sign up high "Uno Siete gang puta, Fuck Herpes, you and your lame ass clicka" she said proudly as the other two Latinas stood up, ready for a possible fight, the first latina made her way to the bottom of the steps. "You wanna catch the hands, pinche puta?"

"I got a better idea, chavala" Alejandra said with a smirk as she aimed the TEC9 out the window at the women.

Maritza hesitated for a second but aimed it up quickly at the woman after catching a stare from Daniela, Maritza closed took aim with one hand before closing her eyes and pulling the trigger back. Maritza fired a bullet towards the other Hispanic woman and let off a shot into her torso, Alejandra fired off several shots alongside her before the car screeched off and sirens echoed throughout the neighborhood. The three Hispanic woman made it safely back home after pulling off the gang shooting. Tiny parted with the group and Maritza was led inside by Daniela.

Maritza sat down on the couch and began to experience anxiety and fear after the news that she had officially pulled off a murder, she teared up as she panicked.

Daniela sat beside Maritza and put a comforting arm around her, calming her down slightly, Maritza stopped shaking and wiped her eyes.

"I can't believe it..I'm a murderer" Maritza said softly, assuming she had killed the woman she shot.

"It feels good" Daniela grinned before finishing with "Don't it?"

Maritza didn't reply to Daniela's careless remark and simply shook her head, Daniela offered her a joint. "Don't even trip, mija, just toke on this, it'll take alla that shit away, palabra"

Maritza quickly took the joint and took a few quick puffs on it, calming down more.

"Ay I seen that shit though, you cold, mija, you straight smoked that puta" Daniela smirked proudly as she rubbed Maritza's shoulder.

Maritza made her way home a few hours later and stopped at her front door, she stood and listened for a few moments, hoping her mother wouldn't be home.

She withdrew her set of keys and unlocked the door, pushing it open quietly afterwards, Maritza stepped into the living room to find her mother sitting on the couch, waiting for her. She instantly noticed the bruises covering Maritza's young face.

"What the fuck, Maritza?! who did this to you?!" Ms Ramos exclaimed in spanish.

"Mom, it's nothing." the younger Ramos lied.

"Those gang members did this to you, didn't they?!" Ms Ramos shouted "I know you were hanging out with them, your bike was outside Rabbit's house when I passed by."

"Just stay out of it mom" Maritza snapped at her mother before storming out of the living room and into her bedroom, she turned on her radio and put some loud music on before dropped down ontop of the bed and sighed, she dug a hand into her pocket and pulled a joint out, Maritza lit it up using a lighter given to her by Rabbit, she smoked the joint on her bed.