The Purgatory chapter 7
So here we are! Just a couple more chapters to the end!
Benny: Yeah, what a pity. So who's the poor sucker this time?
I wouldn't call them a sucker, Benny. But let's read this and find out!
Background
17-year-old Michael " Mike" Lanston was concerned about how his life was going. He had poor grades in school, being forced to move out of his family's home, owed money to the biggest psycho in town and to top it all off, some ugly bitch named Jenna claimed to be having his kid. Mike sighed as he thought that things might not change.
Mike was a young man in 1985 and was your average teen slacker. He didn't show up to school too often and spent most of his time playing Nintendo or Atari. When he wasn't at his house playing video games, he was either at the town video arcade or the local bar. Mike had to wise up to reasonability, though when Kevin Eden Lanston was born on July 26th, 1985.
Mike didn't want to claim Kevin as his child at first. He denied parentage and neglected to take care of Kevin and had it not been for Mike's parents, Kevin would have been raised in a single-parent home. Mike took care of Kevin alongside Kevin's mother, Jenna Flores. Jenna was 19 and bullied in both high school and college so Mike didn't pay much attention to her. Even after Kevin was born, Mike still ignored Jenna.
Two months after Kevin turned a year old, in September 1986, Jenna Flores was killed by two muggers on a Pontiac street on the night of September 4th, 1986. She was found by a local jogger and the ambulance took her to Henry Ford Hospital. By the ambulance got there, Jenna had already succumbed to her wounds.
Mike suddenly found himself the single father of a 1-year-old. Kevin was raised in a small apartment in the Detroit suburbs and Mike liked it that way. They weren't far from Detroit so Mike always could make runs for his job and the town wasn't very far from where his parents lived so that Mike would be able to visit. But in 1991, things would change.
On March 9th, 1991, Sarah Lanston was in her home in Pontiac when her neighbors heard gunshots. People rushed onto the streets to find out what just happened. Sarah Lanston and her fiancée, Gregory Salbird were both found wounded in the living room of their home, shot with a .38 handgun. Salbird was shot twice, once at close range. He had a bullet in his chest and one in his stomach but he was taken to the hospital and excepted to make a full recovery.
Sarah, however, wasn't so lucky. She was shot eight times, five times in the chest, twice in the shoulder and once in the head. She was shot three times at close range, unlike Gregory who was shot only once at close range. She was declared dead on the scene.
Mike was mildly panicking. With his sister and the mother of his child dead, and his gambling and alcohol debts catching up to him, Mike no longer felt that it was safe to stay in Detroit. On the night of March 16th, 1991, only a week after Sarah's death, Mike packed up a suitcase and a duffel bag with clothes, the basic necessities, a Nintendo gaming system and a bottle of cheap liquor and no less than 5 thousand dollars in cash before he put the bags in the trunk of his 1988 Audi Sedan and put Kevin in the backseat and then drove off from the apartment.
Mike and Kevin relocated to Peach Creek in early May of 1991 after what was a almost two-month stint of hotel rooms, friends' houses, bars and couches. Mike didn't have enough money for a home so he rented a small apartment not far from the outskirts of town but he told Kevin that they would soon be able to live in their own home. However, Mike was mildly out of control. He drank more than he used to and he gambled so much that he actually made more money in a day than what he lost in a year. According to the landlord, Mike used to bring different women to the apartment.
Of course, all this had a toll on Kevin. His preschool teachers used to tell Mike that Kevin drew inappropriate things and acted out in class. Mike mainly ignored these warnings and told the teachers that it wouldn't happen again. He would discipline Kevin by shouting or mocking him which would only make things worse.
Kevin's personality changed in those years from a happy, bubbly toddler to a quiet, soft-spoken preschooler. No doubt that this had to do with Mike's discipline. As 1991 came and went, Kevin started kindergarten and Mike began to drink even more. He actually spent more time at the bars than he did at the video arcades. As the time went on, Mike's behavior became more dangerous and disturbing. He abused and neglected Kevin while giving some, if not most of his attention to Kevin's baby half-sisters, Noelle and Laura.
Due to that, Kevin secretly harbored a deep hatred for his little half-sisters and decided to find ways to abuse either one of them. At first, there were small, little incidents that could passed off as "accidental". Being burnt with a spoon, belted, poured hot soup, the likes of that. But Kevin needed an outlet to help him with that.
That outlet came in the form of Christian fundamentalist Marcus Connor. Marcus was a stocky man in his 20's who had been raised in a extremely religious household and had been in and out of prison multiple times in the 1980's and early 1990's. Marcus had always been one to try and impose his unusual beliefs on others and Kevin seemed like the perfect guinea pig to him.
So in June of 1994, Marcus joined a local Big Brothers Big Sister branch and began to mentor Kevin. The point of Big Brothers is to have young boys get a mentor and help them in order to get them and keep them out of trouble and harm. In other words, they were basically supposed to help the kids and make sure that their role models or mentors weren't the Crip that hung out on the local street corner or the prejudiced skinhead that walked around town wearing a leather jacket with a bunch of patches.
However, Marcus could have been just as, if not more dangerous to Kevin's childhood. He had educated Kevin on his religious and social beliefs so that while Kevin was learning from him, he kept enough distance and taught him about other things so that Marcus' superiors wouldn't get too suspicious. That also had a toll on Kevin and may have possibly have been the reason for an incident in September of 1994.
This is what occurred when Kevin's teacher talked to Mike...
Mike was curious about why the teacher called him during Kevin's lunch period. The teacher wanted him to show up just before school ended to talk to him. All he knew was that the teacher said that it had something to do with whatever Kevin did earlier this week. Personally, he just wanted to go in there and get it over with.
So he entered Kevin's homeroom and Kevin's teacher, Mr. Baldwin, a dark-haired man in his 40's looked at Mike before he sighed, pulled out a dark-colored folder and began flipping papers through the folder.
Mr. Baldwin said " Ah, yes, you must be Kevin's father. I'm Mister Baldwin, Kevin's homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you, Mister Lanston." before he stuck his hand out for Mike to shake.
Mike hesitantly shook his hand and replied " Likewise, Mister Baldwin." before he looked at the other two people in the room which was a grey-haired man in a suit and a blond-haired slim woman in a white blouse, navy skirt and jacket.
Mister Baldwin had decided to introduce them by saying " This is Mister and Mrs. Rosen. Their son, Jeffrey is in Kevin's homeroom."
Mike said " Pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Rosen." before he sat down in a chair in front of Mr. Baldwin's desk.
Mr. and Mrs. Rosen both looked at each other before Mr. Rosen turned to Mike and replied " I wish we could say the same."
Mike turned back to Mr. Baldwin and asked " So you said that Kevin had a incident earlier this week?"
Mr. Baldwin looked through the folder and answered " Well, Kevin had gotten into a physical altercation with Jeffrey on Monday which followed an argument."
Mrs. Rosen said " Jeffrey has never been a fighter. So he couldn't have started the fight."
Mike asked in curiosity " So what was this argument about?"
Mr. Baldwin answered " The argument was about money that Jeffrey apparently owed Kevin. Jeffrey told Kevin that he had no more money and that if Kevin tried to steal from him again, Jeffrey would tell the local police."
Mike said " That doesn't sound like Kevin. He always has money and surpringsly, he doesn't spend a single penny."
Mike thought " Yeah, right. That kid spends so much money that it's almost no surprise that our family's in the red."
Mr. Baldwin continued " But the actual trouble started on Tuesday afternoon during recess. Kevin came over to Jeffrey and punched him in the face. According to Jeffrey, Kevin blamed a visit from the local police department on him."
Mrs. Rosen said " That's ridiculous. Why would Jeffrey call the police on such a little occurrence?"
Mike thought " Hate to say it but I have to agree with the strict lady over here. There would be no reason for that kid-for any kid to call the cops over a little fight. But the police thing...I remember that."
Mike replied " There was a visit from the local police on Monday afternoon. They were investigating a string of a robberies in our neighborhood and they asked Kevin some questions about it."
Mike thought " There's no way the kid could have done it. Kevin may be a lot of things but he is not a thief...I hope."
Mr. Baldwin continued " Jeffrey said that he denied that he called the police. Then Kevin apparently called him a liar and a " little bastard" before he took out a Colt Anaconda and put it to Jeffrey's forehead. He said that if Jeffrey did anything else to Kevin, he would shoot Jeffrey like his dad shot Maria."
Mr. Rosen said " I'm not sure why somebody- anybody would threaten Jeffrey at all, let alone with a shotgun. This was over a local visit from the police?"
Mr. Baldwin nodded and replied " That's what Jeffrey told me, the assistant principal, the principal, the police and the security guard."
Mrs. Rosen said " I'm wondering how this Kevin boy managed to get a gun into the school or even have a gun at all in the first place."
Mike said " Well, our family doesn't keep any weapons. I do have a shotgun for protection, of course but that's under lock and key. There's no way Kevin could have gotten to it."
Mike thought " How the hell did he even get a gun? I already know that it's not any of mine because I don't own a Anaconda. Plus, even if he had a gun, Kevin isn't that stupid. He would just wait after school before he would threaten the kid."
Mr. Baldwin closed the folder, took off his glasses and said "So the school board, the district, the assistant principal and the principal agree that Kevin's punishment should be six weeks of a in-school suspension in addition to having a ankle bracelet. If Kevin has any more psychical altercations with a student, the in-school suspension will be extended to thirteen weeks and if Kevin does another incident similar to the one on Tuesday, he will have a out-of-school suspension and be forced to complete the year at the Peach Creek Juvenile Center."
Mr. and Mrs. Rosen both looked at each other before they nodded.
Mr. Rosen looked at both Mike and Mr. Baldwin before he said " My wife and I think that would be an appropriate punishment for the Lanston boy." before Mrs. Rosen nodded her head in agreement.
Mike replied " I don't think that Kevin had done anything wrong but I will tell him that."
Mike shook hands with Mr. Baldwin and said " Thank you for your time." before he left.
Thirty minutes later, Mike came home. He bought the house in the suburbs with a combination of loan money and money that he "borrowed" from sleeping or dazed crazies walking around. But he didn't always sleep in the house.
Mike walked into the house and closed the door behind him quietly. He looked around before he noticed that nobody was in the main living room.
He shouted " Kids, I'm home!"
Two small girls ran up to him and hugged him. One was about six or seven years old, with dark brown hair and medium skin and she wore a purple T-shirt and shorts. Her name was Noelle.
The other was about six or seven with blond hair and light skin. She wore a light green T-shirt and jeans. Her name was Laura.
Mike hugged the two of them and kissed Noelle's forehead. He looked around for Kevin but he didn't actually hear anything. Anything except for the sounds of a Sega Genesis.
Mike said " Wait here, kids. I'm going to find your brother." before he went down the hall to look for Kevin.
Mike thought " He must be playing on the Genesis in the Reek Room."
When Mike first bought the house, he decided to make one of the rooms into a private room. He put a TV and a few gaming systems in there as well as a bed. He called it " a recreation room." Kevin called it the " Reek Room" because apparently, the room had a slightly...unpleasant smell to it. Despite that, it was one of Kevin's favorite places in the house, second only to Kevin's bedroom.
Mike opened the door to the Reek Room and walked inside. Of course, there was Kevin sitting on the floor with a Genesis controller in his hands, heatedly playing Road Rash.
Mike kneeled down next to Kevin and said " Road Rash, huh?"
Kevin answered calmly " Didn't have any homework to do."
Mike said " Well, I went to your school today. Was what this about you threatening a kid with a pistol?"
Kevin replied " I didn't threaten anybody with a pistol. I'm only nine, Dad. Give me some credit."
Mike said " Oh, so you do have a pistol?"
Kevin scoffed before he answered " Course not. Just because kids at school may have a gun doesn't mean that I do."
Mike replied with an eyebrow raised " So you won't mind me searching your bedroom for it?"
Kevin shrugged before he unpaused the game and said " Whatever. But if you're looking for a gun, you sure ain't gonna find it."
Mike replied " Oh by the way, you're going to be suspended in school for six weeks plus you'll have a ankle bracelet." before he left the room to go search Kevin's bedroom.
Background (continued)
Kevin was mildly a rebel in school. He graduated middle school in June of 1999 and started his freshman year of high school that September. As Peach Creek High School refused to accept him due to his bullying, fighting, truancy and extortion among other things, Mike had to send him to Carmen Holt Academy about 40 minutes away.
Kevin had a group of older friends who were rebellious, troublesome and wild. He hung out with them since he wasn't very popular with kids his age in town. If there was to be a textbook example of juvenile delinquents, Kevin's friends would be that example. They drank, they smoked, they fought other rebels and they committed vandalism. But they also did things that most kids their age did like playing video games or listening to music.
On the day that Kevin died, December 24th , 1999, his gang of friends weren't exactly playing video games...
Kevin was standing around near his house with his friends. He was wearing a blue hoodie and jeans along with his Holt Academy uniform: wrinkled white shirt and plain blue tie. His bad school record prevented him from getting into PCH and already was causing him trouble at Holt.
Kevin's uncle Ray was in town for the week and he had his own car. Hoozer wanted to take Mike's car on a joyride but Kevin persuaded him to take Ray's car instead. Kevin liked his uncle Greg. Despite the fact that he was in a wheelchair, Gregory didn't let that stop him. He showed off his bullet wounds with a smirk and even tried playing wheelchair basketball. But he also helped people with their disabilities and issues. Greg's brother Ray on the other hand...
Abusive was one word to describe him. Drunk was another. He actually drank more shots in a hour than Mike used to in a day. That in itself would have been an accomplishment if Ray was actually nice or even just neutral. But he wasn't. He was a psychotic, abusive jerk who often abused and fought anybody who disrespected him.
Ray had this old, horrible car that barely could run let alone drive into the hole that the guys wanted to. But Kevin didn't want them to use Mike's car and they wanted to get across the hole tonight.
Kevin was standing with the guys, laughing when Jeffrey walked up to him with a slight glare at Kevin. Jeffrey and Kevin still didn't get along and Jeffrey wouldn't even be anywhere near Kevin and his friends if it wasn't for the fact that he was required to.
Jeffrey said " Hey, Lanston."
Kevin turned to Jeffrey as he glared back at him. Since the incident in fourth grade, the relationship between Jeffrey and Kevin worsened to the point where people actually shunned Kevin if he beat up Jeffrey- or even just threatened to. But since Jeffrey knew one of Kevin's friends, Hector, Kevin didn't really have a choice in being hateful towards him. However, that didn't mean that Kevin had to like Jeffrey or vice versa.
Kevin replied " What do you want, Rosen? Don't you have some science experiment to do or something, considering you are one?"
Jeffrey replied back calmly " Kevin, I wouldn't want to be near you if I had to. Unfortunately, I have a message for you which I'm supposed to carry out in person." before he rolled his eyes.
Kevin crossed his arms, shrugged and said " So what's your message, wise guy?"
Jeffrey replied " It's from your little girlfriend, Juliet. She says that the childcare classes start on Monday."
Kevin replied " Thanks for the warning, freak. Now get lost."
Jeffrey said " Hey, messages don't come cheap. Especially coming from a crazy like Julie." before he stuck out his hand.
Kevin looked around at his friends before he dug his right hand his pocket and he pulled out his wallet.
Kevin said " OK, freak, how much do we owe ya?"
Jeffrey replied " Since I had to try and get here through the trailer park, not to mention since it's Julie...about 1.80."
Hector replied " How about a dollar?"
Jeffrey said " 1. 70."
Hector replied " 1. 10."
Jeffrey replied " 1.60."
Hector looked around before he calmly replied " 1.40, Jeffrey and you've got a deal."
Jeffrey nodded and said " Done." before he shook Hector's hand.
Hector handed him the $1.40 before Hector also gave him a 20-dollar bill. Jeffrey smiled as this was the most he had gotten for his profession this month.
Jeffrey said " Thanks, Hector!" before he walked away casually.
Kevin asked " Hector, why do you hang out with that freak?"
Hector answered " Kev, Jeffrey ain't a freak. Not exactly the most popular guy at Peach Creek but he's not a freak. You could try lightening up a little, you know. After all, it's Christmas Eve."
Kevin shrugged before he said " Come on, man. Ray's only gonna be in town until he leaves for the airport at eleven tonight. But until then, I'm probably gonna be pissed off."
Hector replied " Why? Just because that jerk is still in town doesn't mean that you have to be angry. Look at all of this. Even Jeffrey is in a good mood." before he smirked.
Kevin replied with a raised eyebrow " Dude, you just gave him like 22 bucks for no damn reason. Of course, the freak would be happy."
Hector's reply was a mere shrug as he looked at Ray's black 1990 Chevrolet Corvette. It was kind of old, which meant that it would have made it easy to hotwire. But that wouldn't be necessary since Kevin stole the keys from his uncle the previous morning while he wasn't looking. Kevin thought that Uncle Ray deserved this since he was not only strict to a great extent but that he was abusive and crazy.
Harold White was the oldest of them at age 21. A high school dropout who came from a middle-class family, White was like a " child in a adult's body". White was a former hockey player who decided to join the boys after saving them from a angry store owner in June of 1997. The younger boys quickly warmed up to White and envied him, while the older boys respected him and treated him like an equal.
White asked " Yo, Kevin, you got your uncle's keys?"
Kevin nodded and answered " Yeah, dude. Here you go." before he tossed White the keys.
White caught the car keys before he unlocked the car door and opened it. He got in and put the keys before he started the engine. When the engine slowly revved, the boys cheered. After all, they were about to attempt Ripper's Hole. Anyone who made it over that hole would be a legend. And even if it was one of their crew, then it would be even better.
White got out of the car and the other guys cheered before he raised his hands up. There was a good amount of silence from them all. Of course, it was a suspenseful moment. The boys simply knew that one of them would be chosen to drive-no, ride in but drive- the Corvette.
White shouted " OK, guys! We got the Corvette revved up. Now, since this car belongs to Kevin's uncle, Sergei and I have both decided that would only be fair that if he goes over Ripper's Hole first. After that, Sergei will go and then we'll do a coin toss for everyone after that. Sounds good?"
Everybody shouted back " Yeah!" while a few of the kids patted Kevin on the back for being the one to experience going over Ripper's Hole.
Ripper's Hole itself was a hole full of dirt, about five or six feet wide and less than two feet deep. Nobody knew when Ripper's Hole was made, how it was made, why it was made or even how the name came about. Every drunken goofball in town enjoyed trying to go over Ripper's Hole in their cars or motorcycles and usually ended up failing epically.
Kevin got into the driver's seat of the car while White got into the passenger's seat. Kevin put his hands on the steering wheel, extremely nervous inside. But he was happy and would be called a legend if he managed to go over Ripper's Hole. Almost nobody had managed to make it over Ripper's Hole so therefore, being the first one to do it would be a lifetime accomplishment.
White asked " You ready?"
Kevin was nervous but he managed to push the feeling aside as he answered " Man, I was born ready."
Kevin put the gear shift to drive as he pushed on the accelerator almost immediately. He prepared to go up the homemade ramp as he and White both looked at each other with confident smirks.
Kevin thought " Hope we make it. We'd better make it or else my rep would be totally shredded and on Christmas Eve, of all days."
Kevin felt the exciting rush of adrenaline rushing through his body as the car soared in the air. For a few seconds, it actually seemed as if the car was flying like the Ford in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Then the car landed on the ground. The boys cheered as they celebrated. They had been the first to overcome Ripper's Hole and live to tell the tale! This brought forth a feeling of strength and excitement within them.
White got out of the car halfway and shouted " OK! Kevin and I are gonna go over one more time! Then it's gonna be Sergei's turn!" before he went back into the car.
Kevin now felt less nervous but he knew if he made it over a second time, it would be great. He pressed on the accelerator as the car went over the ramp and into the air. However, there was one thing. Kevin and White didn't anticipate on how high they would be going. Usually, when something is in the air, it has to be at a certain level so it will not miss its target or go too far away from it.
Plus there was one law of physics: What goes up must come down. The car did come down...hard. It landed in the middle of Ripper's Hole, the front submerged in the dirt.
White asked " What the hell happened?"
Kevin answered " I don't know, man. I think we went too low."
White said " Damn, the front is in the dirt. Kev, could you pull the gear shift to reverse so we could get the car out of this?"
Just as Kevin was about to pull the gear shift to reverse, the boys heard a shout.
Ray shouted " Hey! What the hell are you kids doin-my car!"
Kevin got out of the car, the gear shift still on drive and his heart beating fast. All the kids looked nervous or shocked. This would definitely not end well...
Ray shouted " You little punks trashed my car! Kevin! You're gonna pay for this!" before he started running towards the car.
The moment he did, everyone started running. Kevin took the keys out of the ignition and shoved them into his pocket. He then started running away before he noticed the house was only a few minutes away. He started running faster but then he looked behind him. Ray was right there!
Kevin began to run faster but then Ray tackled him. Ray began to kick, hit and punch Kevin before he looked down at Kevin's bruised form.
Ray asked angrily " Where the hell are my car keys?"
Kevin answered " I- I ain't got them."
Ray growled before he continued hitting and beating Kevin. Kevin was ready to almost cry at this point. It may have been Christmas Eve but there was no family joy in this picture. Kevin tried to protect himself, but to no avail.
Ray picked up Kevin's shirt, pulled his fist back and shouted " That is for taking my car, you little jerk!" before he let his fist fly into Kevin's face.
Kevin woke up in a fit of sweat, almost panicked. He looked at his alarm clock. It said 5:07 am. Kevin looked at himself as he felt pain surging through his body.
Kevin thought " Uh, I feel like crap, man. It's probably because of something I ate." before he headed downstairs to the kitchen to watch TV.
Kevin sat down in front of the kitchen counter before he looked at the flatscreen TV. He didn't know what would be on at that hour.
Kevin said " I hope Whacked Out Sports is on now. That show's awesome." before he turned on the TV.
The morning news was on, of course. The news anchor talked about another story.
" In other news, a young man has died in Peach Creek. A 14-year-old boy was hit and beaten yesterday afternoon near his home in Peach Creek. The suspect has been found but charges are still pending. We will give more information on this story as it develops."
Afterward
Kevin Eden Lanston died en route to Peach Creek Northern Hospital on December 24th, 1999. This was unfortunate for his family, since instead of unwrapping presents for Christmas, they had to bury the body of their son, brother and friend.
Raymond Salbird was caught while drunk at a gas station about 2 and a half miles from Kevin's home. He was charged with murder in the second degree, attempted murder and assault. He was found guilty on all counts and sent to prison. He is now serving the remainder of his sentence in a maximum security prison.
Carmen Holt Academy, the school Kevin went to, gave his family a honorary diploma in Kevin's honor. Had Kevin been alive, he would have graduated as part of the Class of 2003.
Kevin's grave is not far from Nazz and Rolf's graves. It reads " Kevin Eden Lanston: Beloved Son, Brother, Nephew and Friend: July 26th 1985- December 24th, 1999."
So that's numero sette! Just one more chapter... or is it? Check out my profile for the poll and give your thoughts!
Benny: Cut out the melodramatics.
Very funny, Benny. That reminds me. Tomorrow's Super Bowl Sunday! So having had a bad week, it is nice that I have some joy in my life. Now I'm not exactly a Ravens fan but...
Benny: * appears wearing a Ravens cap* Super Bowl 47! Ravens are gonna win it!
So now I'm going to make a dedication to this chapter... now I did just say I had a bad week and despite Super Bowl Sunday and the ton of food I'm going to have today, I feel like I should do this just to honor someone.
This chapter is dedicated to Jadaylee J., a beautiful little girl who lost her life just so soon.
