Okay, so I must say...I am really enjoying this story right about now. There are so many ideas I have about where to go with it, which is both good and bad. Good, because, well it's always good to have ideas. Bad because I don't want to just get to a block and burn out, then result in a story I don't feel motivated to finish. So, keep your fingers crossed.

Anyways, thanks to Shadw, Darnell the Author, Dark Smile, MizzC, and TRIGGER MIKE THE GREAT for the reviews! They really are encouraging, and I'm glad to get the positive feedback. I'd be glad for criticism (well, okay, it would suck and all but you do need it to grow) as well, so feel free to send that in as well.

So, here goes chapter three!

(And to answer someone's question, I have no idea if I'm back for good. Let's just see where this goes. :P)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Boondocks. Arghh....


Old Soul

Chapter Three

Riley

This broad…threw up on my brother.

He's a good one, cause I don't care if she was sick. I don't care if she was in shock, or in pain, or any other of those lame ass excuses he tried to give, with his wackself. She's unconscious? I don't give a fuck. I would've chucked her dead outside if she did that shit to me.

Which was exactly why when I came up into the doorway to see practically everyone surrounding her, Huey's face sporting this look like he was gonna throw up himself (and he still had the nerve to be holding her ass), I went, "Ew. Really, Jazmine? Really?"

Huey gave me a look, his nose still wrinkled, although his eyes were soft. "Cut it out, Riley," he told me, standing to his feet, Jazmine's head resting on his clean shoulder. I tried to ignore the strange, green substance on that covered the majority of his shirt as well as a part of the floor, along with the smell. "She's been through a lot. And all she had to eat-" he shot Caesar a dark look. "-was a Zebra Cake."

Caesar threw his hands into the air. "We were on the run!" He yelled, frustrated. "Damn, what the hell did y'all want me to do? Make a stop by the cozy four seasons on the way? Sip at some tea and eat scones at some outdoor café? You're the one who wanted us back before dawn, in case you're forgetting-"

"She's pretty tall, but Maya's around her height," Cindy cut in, wrapping her arms around Caesar's waist and directing her words towards Huey. "She should have some pants that fit her until we can get her more clothes."

"Fine. Can someone please go ask her?" Huey sighed, shaking his head. When Cindy moved past him, heading towards the house, she nodded in his direction. As she passed me, she winked.

"Fun times, huh?"

"Get outta here with that mess." My lips curled upward and she smirked, before disappearing inside. In front of me, Huey was giving out commands, being the serious bitch he is. "I ain't cleaning that shit up," I muttered under my breath.

"Cairo, go lock up the bike," Huey said, not even affected by the unconscious girl in his arms. "Duey, go with him. Caesar, I want you to go see what you can find out about a woman named Jazmine Alston in Woodcrest. See what they're saying about her. Make sure you two don't leave the roof entrance unlocked again!" He suddenly bellowed towards Cairo and Duey, who were retreating through a side door. "Damn, you're just asking to get us caught-"

"It was this nigga's fault!" Cairo shot back, plucking Duey in the forehead. "You know he be slow."

"Shut up!" Duey snapped.

"Riley." I started as my older brother acknowledged me, his eyes serious. "I want you to go take Jazmine to Hiro, so he can take a look at her. I think Maya's somewhere around here, too, so she can probably handle her wardrobe-"

"HELL. NO." I shook my head, backing up and pinching my nose. "That bitch smells like throw up."

"Riley, can you just grow up for about five minutes?" Huey rolled his eyes. "I have other things to worry about."

"I'm sure Jazmine's not too high from the top of the list for you, so why don't you do it yourself?" When Huey glared at me, I sighed, holding out my arms. "I hope your number one priority right now is changing your shirt. Cause no offense, my nigga, but you smell like ass."

Huey shook his head, shifting Jazmine's weight as he slid her into my arms. She wasn't heavy by a long shot, but the dead weight was something I didn't prepare myself for quick enough, so I ended up stumbling a bit. "How do you even know what that smells like?"

"It's an expression. Damn!" I grinned. "And you call me stupid?"

Huey just ran a hand through his large Afro, already heading through the same side door Cairo and Duey took. "Get her upstairs. I'm going to go set the alarm." He glanced behind him, sighing. "And I guess clean up that vomit."

I watched him go, listening for his footsteps to fade, before I let out a sigh of relief.

"You don't know how glad I am," I mumbled to the woman in my arms. "That you're alive."

A loud cackle came from behind me, followed by an "Uh huh! I knew you missed her ass!"

I whirled around, glaring at Cindy, who was holding a stack of clothes. "Shut up!"

"Stop trippin, Reezy." She wiggled her fingers, beckoning me closer. "Now, come on."


Huey

To the rest of the world, Huey Freeman is dead.

So is Riley Freeman, along with Michael Caesar. Hell, they even think that Cindy McPhearson disappeared along with the rest of some flight heading into the Caribbean one stormy night three years ago. With so much going on these days, it's a bit more difficult to keep up with people, which is how it was so easy to fake my death.

It's not easy, being non-religious in a country where the government can kill you for it. Correction: being anything but a Christian. Caesar himself converted to Islam a few years back, but in the government's eyes, the two of us are both screwed. It's just like over in the Middle East, in the "Holy Land". Only there, they've trained their government to cover it up.

Here, they brag about it. They call it "Religious Cleansing". It's on CNN, in papers, news stations that broadcast all over the world. It's like karma's coming back on the US for all those countries that needed our help and we ignored them, or all those countries whose business we chose to butt into, uninvited. Now, no one's coming to our aid.

Not that they could. The United States is probably the most powerful country in the world, even isolated from our once allied countries. The United Nation's collapsed. There is no NATO.

We're fucked.

The only people who are safe, of course, are Christians. Sadly, it's pretty hard to prove that; you have to have records of the church you belong to, your church has to be registered…they even background check and look up your ancestry, just to make sure you don't have any Jewish cousins or Agnostic sister-in-laws; anyone who could influence your religion.

"Huey Freeman" died February 9, 2016, the exact same day as "Riley Freeman", along with the actual death of our grandfather. The train back to Chicago had derailed, only it wasn't the train we're on, at least, not in actuality.

It wasn't hard to do. With my friend Hiro's help, it was pretty simple to hack into the state of Illinois' records and change our dates. We even went into the database for Amtrak and switched the times of our trip, so that it seemed as if we'd just been another casualty, and not the mourning teenagers we were at our grandfather's funeral. Everyone was too scared to talk to the police, and even if they did, they weren't going to think about the Freeman siblings still being alive.

"Aye, man."

I looked up from my thinking to see Caesar shuffling in, already wearing new clean clothes, his expressions triumphant. He had a beer in one hand, a small box in the other. "We pulled it off, huh?" He held out his fist. I held out my own, thumping it against his.

"Yeah. Good job, man." I turned towards the computer I was seated at, my eyes scanning the screen. "What's up? How's Jazmine?"

"She's fine. Still sleeping, but I think that's for the best right about now." Caesar shook his head, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh. "She's going to be pissed."

"I know." I began typing, the codes I was entering way too easy for anyone who knew them to take seriously. "What other choice did we have, Caesar? They were going to come for her eventually. I couldn't leave her there."

"Huey, she thought we were all dead." Caesar briefly left the room and I heard him in the kitchen, picking up a chair. He carried it back into the room, plopping it down beside me before sitting on it. "I don't think she's going to be angry that we brought her here. I think she's going to be angry when she finds out we've been lying to her for practically six years. Not to mention when she finds out we ran her off the road."

I couldn't help but smirk. "No, man. You ran her off that bridge, not me."

"It was your idea!" Caesar raised his eyebrow at me. "What if she wouldn't have survived, like you said she would? What if she would've died?"

I felt something clench inside me, something that made it hard for me to focus on breathing. Just the thought of her dying…I shook my head, once again focused on the task before me.

"Jazmine was the best swimmer in our class. She's a certified lifeguard, and even got her license for scuba diving the summer she was eighteen, four months before her father died."

"Huey…she had to find her way out of a sinking car."

"The windows busted out like they were supposed to." My voice, I could tell, was becoming more strained. "It wasn't a long drop from the top of the bridge, and that's why you got out of the car. To make sure that if you needed to, you could save her." Finally seeing what I needed, I clicked with the mouse, giving Caesar a critical look. "Now stop making this more complicated than it has to be. She's fine."

"Yeah, until she wakes up." Chuckling, Caesar glanced at the screen. "What's up?"

"You know what's up." I tapped the state of Illinois emblem at the top right corner of the screen, already entering code after code, satisfied that I'd finally remembered every twenty-six digit password by memory. "Fixing the records."

Caesar snorted, flipping his dreads out of his face. I eyed him.

"Did anyone see her between the time when her car ran off the bridge and when you picked her up?" If anyone had noticed her that wasn't supposed to, then this entire thing could end up not even working. Not to mention, a breech in security could be traced, and the only person who could keep that from happening was probably upstairs, still with Jazmine. I noticed Caesar pause.

"…really?" My tone was flat.

"Well, no." His response was uncertain. "I think a cop noticed her, because he called over some others. They were on their way to us when we drove off."

"Damn it." I slammed my fist against the desk top, the wooden surface cool underneath my hand. "Did all of them see you two?"

"No, just the one guy. Even he was kind of far away, though." Leaning back in his chair and using his socked feet to balance himself, Caesar smirked. "He was only suspicious because Jazmine was running away from the scene like a complete lunatic."

"Right." I closed my eyes in relief, turning back to the screen. I'd gained access to the full site and was already searching through the A's, Jazmine's name nowhere in sight. "They've probably got the car out the river already, and they're going to trace her license plate back to her. When her body doesn't wash up, they're going to believe she's dead anyways."

"So…shouldn't we wait a few days?"

"Nope. No use in anyone snooping around." Finally seeing her name, I clicked on it, her entire medical record in front of our eyes. "They'll just figure someone went ahead and did the work for them, and instead of asking questions, they'll be glad." I shrugged. "Not like they wanted her alive anyways." I glanced at Caesar, the box he was grasping registering in my mind. "What is that?"

"Huh? Oh, just a ring. For Cindy."

I raised my eyebrows. "Is this really the right time for that?" I noticed the look Caesar shot me and fell silent.

"Is there ever a right time?" His voice sounded ashen. "Huey, I love her. I'm not saying that we have to get married right away. I just want her to know that when this whole mess clears up, that's what I want. And I hope it's what she wants as well."

"Good point." I massaged my temples. I'd already trained myself not to think past the present, but I could tell it wasn't as easy for everyone else to do. I tapped the desk with my fingertips before letting my fingers position themselves along the keyboard. "Alright. Time of death."

I noticed Caesar check his watch in the corner of my eye. "It was 8:59 when I ran her off the bridge. I took the battery out so I wouldn't forget."

"Right." I typed, my eyes on the screen. "Jazmine Elizabeth Alston, born September 9, 2000, 6:23 am. Died…" I swallowed. "September 9, 2022, 8:59 pm."

Just like that, Jazmine was with the rest of us in the world of the departed. I was just relieved that it wasn't the actual case.


May 13, 2018
Jazmine

Caesar was supposed to meet us at our lockers that morning, but he never showed.

"You know, maybe he got detention again," I tried, unsuccessfully, to convince Cindy. "There's no need to freak out over it."

"Freak out? FREAK OUT?" Cindy's eyes, as blue as the sky that afternoon, were as wide as full moons. "Jazmine, Loni Anderson got gunned down with her parents in their own home two days ago! They're doing all these random searches, asking questions…" Her hand gripped my arm, and her nails dug into my skin. "What if they're questioning Caesar? What if he's giving them the wrong answers? Jazmine, you know he isn't that religious, he isn't going to lie about that!"

"He's fine," I told her, although I already knew that something didn't feel right. I knew he wasn't skipping; truancy was much more a serious crime than before, especially since they wanted kids where they could be easily tracked. "Maybe he had a doctor's appointment. He was getting over the flu."

"He would've told me!" Tears were dancing on Cindy's lashes and I felt my heart ache for her. "He wouldn't just disappear!"

"We'll stop by his house on the way home if we don't see him at lunch, alright?" I shook my head, trying to smile. "Come on, it's no big deal."

"Easy for you to say," Cindy spat, shaking her glossy blond curls. "You aren't the one being questioned all the time. You're the Catholic one-"

"Just shut up." I hated bringing religion into conversations, being that it was practically being used as a tool to destroy the country. Not to mention, something that Huey had despised…

Huey…I felt my own eyes begin to well, and before I knew it, both Cindy and I were hugging, our books on the floor, our sobs echoing in the empty hallway.

We got detention that afternoon for "lingering", but that wasn't what made us break down. What had us was when fifteen minutes in, Cindy was called out into the hallway. When she came back in, her eyes red and her nose running, I already knew without her having to tell me that he was gone.


September 10, 2022
Huey

"These are sum stale ass Golden Grahams!"

"Then nigga, go to the store and get yo own damn cereal!" I snapped across the room to Riley, who was in an armchair, wearing a pair of basketball shorts, and stuffing his face. I focused on the newspaper in front of me, my eyes narrowing. "And cut the damn TV down!"

"Man, we playing Call of Duty!" Hiro, along with our friend Maya Johansen, were laughing at the game, while Cairo, Cindy, and Caesar talked about something on Cindy's laptop. "Stop having such an attitude!"

"I don't have an attitude!" I roared back, whirling around. "I just want to read the damn paper without-"

My words trailed off into nothing and I froze, as did everyone else as they noticed the figure in the doorway. For a moment, there was only silence.

Then, Cindy spoke.

"Jazmine." She put on a small smile, standing up and holding out her arms towards the mulatto who stood in the doorway, her expression guarded. "You're awake. I'm so glad."

"Thanks." Jazmine's tone was dry, her green eyes colder than I'd ever remembered them being. Her hands were jammed in the pockets of the light gray sweatpants she was wearing, her dark blue T shirt bagging at her waist. Her hair was slightly damp still, curling loosely down her back. I wondered how long she'd been getting her hair to even do that.

The room felt too small, and I wondered if I was the only one who sensed. As soon as Caesar coughed to break the silence, I was sure that I wasn't.

"Jazmine." He patted the cushion on the sofa beside him. "You wanna sit down?"

Jazmine stiffened, leaning against the wall. "Not really."

I knew that Caesar's efforts were all in vain, especially when I saw Jazmine's eyebrow furrow. "Aw, Jazz. Come on-"

"No, you come on!" Jazmine suddenly snapped, causing Caesar to flinch. Maya jumped, while Duey managed to look annoyed. "You're supposed to be dead!" She stopped to take a breath before glancing around the room, her eyes lingering on me for the longest. I didn't move. "You're all supposed to be dead! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Jazmine-" Caesar tried.

"NO!" She exploded, stomping her foot, her eyes blazing. "Don't lie to me! I almost died yesterday, and there's people looking for me, and then I'm dragged to Chicago and I don't even know why-" She paused, taking a deep breath. Her face was flushed. "Do you even know what I've been through?"

"Jazmine, you've got a fever," Cindy said, eyeing her with concern. "You need to relax-"

"She doesn't," I heard myself say. Everyone, as well as Jazmine, looked over at me. "She's mad." I cleared my throat. "And she has the right to be-"

"Ya damn right I have the right to be!" She yelled, advancing on me. "Huey? You of all people? I thought you died!"

"Yo, chill the hell out!" Maya snapped back, her own tawny brown eyes narrowed. "Who are you to come yelling in here like you own the place, demanding shit? Sit down somewhere."

Jazmine's fists clenched. "Who the fuck are you?" She ground out. Maya rose to her feet, her own fists balled up.

"Bitch-"

"Alright, alright!" I yelled as everyone began to draw sides; Duey and Cairo jumped up behind Maya while Caesar and Cindy glared at the trio. Hiro sat alone on the couch, torn. Riley, with his dumbass, was laughing on the opposite end of the table. "Everybody sit down, shut up, and listen up! We can't be having this shit in here!"

"This is the girl you were so hung up on getting here, Huey?" Maya shot at me, her ponytail bobbing behind her. "This spoiled, selfish, pretentious-"

"Don't play me! I don't even know your ass!" Jazmine shot back. Maya snorted.

"Good! Give me my pants back!"

"Maya, shut up," I commanded; she looked up at me with a mixture of surprise and hurt. "Jazmine, keep your damn pants on and stop snapping at us, I am not in the mood."

Jazmine's hands moved away from the waistband of her sweats, where she'd obviously been about to rip off the pants, no doubt to throw them in Maya's face. To say Jazmine had toughened up in the past few years I'd seen her would be an understatement.

"Now," I said quietly, the room once again silent. "We'll explain everything, alright?" I looked around, my eyes falling back on her. "We'll tell you anything you want to know."

"So sit down. You ain't gonna do shit," Maya mumbled under her breath. Cindy elbowed her.

Jazmine shot Maya a look. "I'm fine right here. Thanks for the concern," She spat. Crossing her arms, she leveled me with a pointed stare.

"What am I doing here?" She asked, her voice a tad bit softer. I straightened.

"Caesar brought you here because I asked him to."

Jazmine's eyebrows drew up in surprise. "Why?"

"Because you were in danger."

"From what." Jazmine shook her head. "I've been hearing that everywhere for practically the last twenty four hours, and I fail to see any danger."

"Oh, right." I had to work to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. "That's why the police were raiding your place, right?"

Jazminefaltered. "How did you find out about that? Wait, what, hold up." She held up a hand. "How are you even here to tell me this? Once again, let me say, you're supposed to be dead."

"I know." I rubbed my forehead with my palm. "As you can see, I'm not. None of us are."

"Then why-"

"Because, Jazmine," I couldn't help but snap. "The government wanted us dead anyway-"

"Why?" Jazmine shook her head. "None of this is making any sense!"

"Look." I glared at her. "While you were busy being sheltered by your Christian daddy, and using your religion to save yourself, the rest of us were going through a pretty tough time. Excuse me for not making any sense."

"Wow, okay!" Jazmine threw up her hands. "Sorry that we have different beliefs, Huey! Sorry the government decided to go postal and choose Christianity as the official religion! I apologize that I lucked out and you didn't! I'm sorry! And don't you dare bring my dad into this!"

"I'm not trying to!" I smacked my palm against my forehead. "Have you always been this impossible to talk to?"

"Have you always been this much of a liar?"

"Huey, Jazmine, stop." Caesar cleared his throat, and we all looked at him. He had his diplomatic face on. "Jazmine, when Congress started passing all these laws that began allowing things that went against freedom of speech, against our constitutional right of privacy, and against our rights as people, that's when the country started going out of hand. You know that."

I watched Jazmine nod slowly, her features softening. Caesar went on.

"People started rebelling. We all knew it wasn't right to allow this, but there was nothing we could do about it. They had the FBI, the police, the government on their side. People were killed, dying to protest for our rights. One of them was Huey's grandfather."

I saw Jazmine shoot me a glance but I avoided her eyes, instead focusing on Caesar as well.

"The government was already supporting the idea of "religious cleansing", and they knew Mr. Freeman was a Christian. Only, Huey had made it blatantly obvious to a lot of people that he was an atheist-"

"I prefer "non-religious"," I cut in. Caesar rolled his eyes.

"Right. Non-religious then. Whatever." He looked back towards Jazmine. "Jazmine, Huey faked his and Riley's deaths so that no one would come looking for them when they came here to Chicago to live with their aunt. About two years later, Huey came to get me."

Jazmine blinked. "So, you being in that accident at the hospital was a lie?"

Caesar winced at the way she said "lie". "Yeah. I came here, with Huey and Riley. Hiro came about two months later, after graduation. Cairo and Duey were already here when he got here." His eyes softened and he wrapped an arm around Cindy. She squeezed his hand. "Cindy came from college out in California to be here. We acted as if she died in a plane crash in the Caribbean."

Everyone was silent, the only sound being Riley smacking his lips, still eating his Golden Grahams. Jazmine's eyes lowered to the floor, and she bit her lip.

"So last night, you came for me." She lifted her head. "How come?"

Caesar nodded towards me. "Ask him."

Jazmine looked at me, her eyes moist. "Huey-"

I sighed. "I didn't want you to be involved. I knew it would be best for you if you didn't know what was going on, if you weren't a part of it. If I would've known you'd wind up in danger yourself…I would've gotten you myself, earlier, but…" My voice trailed off when I notice the tears beginning to fall down her face.

"Huey." She repeated, her voice small, sad. "Am…am I dead, too?"

I knew, without asking, that she'd caught on. That somehow she knew that we'd rigged the system, fixed it so that it appeared as if her existence was no more. I nodded.

"Yeah."

Jazmineclosed her eyes, swiping at them with her sleeve. "I died last night."

There was no question in her words.

"Yes," I whispered.

She spoke again.

"I…I can't go back." Once again it wasn't a question, but a realization. I shook my head. No one moved. No one breathed.

"No."

Jazmine nodded, swallowing. "Okay." She looked up, and her eyes were once again angry. "Fine."

With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared from the room. I heard her stomping up the stairs, followed by the slamming of a door. Everyone exchanged glances.

"So, should someone go talk to her?" Maya asked, uncomfortable. I shook my head, resting my elbow on the table, chin in my hand.

"No." I glanced up at the ceiling, imagining her sitting up in one of the rooms, crying. Alone."Jazmine handles things her own way. She'll accept it soon."

I'd left her alone for too long. I wondered if I'd done the right thing, keeping her out of the loop for so long. Knowing what her dad was killed for, why her mom was dead, I should've known that they'd think she knew something, whether or not she was involved.

I wondered still if I was doing the right thing, involving her now.

"Just leave her alone for a while." I glanced towards the window, the sunlight streaming in and leaving a bright patch on the floor. "Just a little while longer."


The pace is gonna speed up. I swear.
Thanks for reading! :D

-Kelsey