DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CLAIM TO OWN ANY UNORIGINAL CONTENT. BATMAN WAS CREATED BY BOB KANE, AND BELONGS TO DETECTIVE COMICS INC. THE ONLY CONTENT I CLAIM ARE THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS THAT ARE USED THROUGHOUT THE STORY.
Far Too Young To Die
Prologue
Bruce was standing in the doorway of the guest bedroom in Wayne Manor, watching the boy as he slept. He was worried that he'd have nightmares, but Bruce wouldn't let him know that.
He doesn't look like a bad kid… Bruce thought.
Ahkim looked like a regular kid in high school aside from the way he was dressed. His clothes were raggedy and baggy; some of his shirt was ripped. It wasn't noticeable, but if you were looking for it - you found it.
Ahkim had a dark chocolate skin color with a small, nappy—it was very apparent that he didn't have any way of taking care of his hygiene—afro. His hair was jet black, and from what Bruce had seen earlier, his eyes were the color of caramel chocolate. His attire consisted of graphic tees—the current one he was wearing was from a popular TV show about a super-human spider that saved people's lives. The shirt showed a man in a costume that looked like a black widow, and he was titled, "Man-spider."
Looking at Ahkim, Bruce could tell that he didn't have a decent home life. Even still, looking at someone and judging their home life – it's not something you do. Bruce needed proof. He found it, and he wish it was just some bad dream.
Bruce fought crime, and there were a lot of things he absolutely despised seeing. Underneath rape and killing, was the abuse of a child. That's why the kid was in the guest bedroom – child abuse. It wasn't something Bruce was looking forward to finding, but it was there nonetheless.
Sighing, he walked to the den area, grabbing a shot glass. "Old Rip Van Winkle" he said silently to himself as he poured a little bit of the vintage whiskey into his glass. He looked towards the window, and took a sip of it letting out a slight, "Ahh." as the burn of the liquor hit his chest.
This kid…I don't know what to do with him.
He looked towards the family grave outside where his parents lie. He set his glass on the sill of the window and stared at the tombstones.
He just wants a family, and that's why he turned to gangbanging.
Ahkim Adams wasn't a bad kid. In fact, he was one of the most well behaved kids in the school at Gotham High. Straight A's, very few bad marks—the marks he made were rarely his fault, and usually it was because he was hanging around the wrong crowd.
All his life, Ahkim just wanted to fit in; make friends. His home life was terrible. He took to hanging out past curfew with people he thought would protect him in exchange for doing their homework, or other menial tasks that required a more intelligent person to perform. He didn't want to go home. Not to his father.
His father was a tyrant, to put it lightly. He would come home every other night reeking of alcohol and marijuana. Ahkim didn't go to school because he was forced, but because he didn't want to be at the home anymore. Every wall, every corner, every crevice; they all held vicious and vivid memories of blood splattered on them.
His father had a drug problem. Marijuana wasn't the only thing coursing through his system. Heroine, Meth, Spice—you name it - Deonté Adams has had it through his system. Deonté Adams was in a gang - that is where Ahkim got the idea from. Gangsters or GD's as they are known through the series of Ghettos in Gotham, were a longtime rival of the Bloods.
Ever since he found out about gangs he was interested. He wanted to know why his father would join; he wanted to know if they could help him in any way.
After asking around the school, and almost getting threatened to be jumped—several times—after school in the streets, Ahkim had finally found the man he was looking for – Tyrell Fisher.
Tyrell was a big name around the high school. Despite the fact that he was 28 years old, he hung around most of the high school kids. He bought them cigarettes and alcohol, got them into parties, and even hardcore street drugs. Tyrell was bad news to any sensible person, but Ahkim was in a state of desperation.
Maybe if I can get Tyrell to like me, I'll have a family like I want. He thought.
What Ahkim didn't know - being in a gang wasn't all it was hyped up to be. To be in a gang - it meant to hurt innocent people; it meant stealing, and cheating, and lying. Of course no one was going to tell him this—why would they? That would drive people away; not bring them in.
So what drew Ahkim in? The promise of getting away from his father and the vivid memories of blood-stained walls. Getting away from his mother who abused him because she couldn't stand up to her husband. She didn't want to leave; she couldn't.
She had nowhere to go. Her dad had thrown her out; her mother was killed when she was in her early 20s. Brothers and sisters didn't have room, friends didn't want the imposition. She was alone and had no one to help. Deonté had taken every cent from his paycheck to buy drugs and prostitutes, leaving her to use all her money to pay bills and groceries.
Many nights they went without running water, or even electricity. Home wasn't home to Ahkim. It was a nightmare. He wanted to wake up and escape; to leave and never come back.
Bruce had looked towards the grandfather clock that took up space in the den. It was a quarter 'til midnight, the only light in the room was the overbearing shadow of the moon seeping through the glass.
As he looked at the old antique clock, visions of what had transpired today went through his mind. He still had second thoughts about the kid, but he figured they would all seep away when everything had ironed out.
This whole situation was a ticking time bomb, and Bruce was being careful not to accidentally set it off.
His only question was…
Is this the right choice?
-;-
A/N; Hey, guys. This is the first story that I'm posting. This is the prologue to Far Too Young To Die – an original Batman story that I came up with. I hope you guys enjoy reading it, and if you feel the need to give constructive criticism about anything, please leave a review and I'll work on changing that! Enjoy~
-Master of the Muses.