Chapter 3: Hell and Heaven

Aladdin laid on the ground. Babkak was leaning over him with a knife up against Aladdin's throat.

In the beginning, Aladdin had really thought he was going to get away again, even without Abu's help. He hadn't been too worried when Babkak and Omar cornered him in the alley. The two of them weren't very good fighters. Babkak was too uncoordinated and Omar was way too slow.

Aladdin had brawled with them. All was even for a while until Omar had gotten in a lucky hit. Aladdin had flown back and Babkak was ready. Before Aladdin could get back up, Babkak had pinned Aladdin to the ground, and now things weren't looking so good.

"Guys," Aladdin said, placatingly, "Look, I'm sorry that-"

"Shut up!" Babkak shouted angrily. His knife dug into Aladdin's throat. "Just shut up, okay? I don't want your fucking excuses, you stupid Ape. Kassim should have left you to die when he had the chance. Tonight, I'm finally gonna fix that."

Aladdin said the truth that neither of them wanted to hear. "Killing me won't bring Kassim back."

Babkak pressed the knife deeper into Aladdin's skin and snarled, "I don't care. You chose a monkey over your brother, you little shit. You belong in hell." There were tears in Babkak's eyes.

"Yeah!" Omar added with a sniff. The big guy was also crying. His big nose was dripping with snot.

Aladdin wasn't sure what else to do. Babkak was thin and wiry, but the older boy was still too strong for Aladdin. The street rat couldn't move and he was out of words. What could he say to his childhood friends at this point?

Babkak's knife hand was steady as he cried over Aladdin. The hot tears that fell on Aladdin's face felt like acid.

Aladdin wished he could mourn with them, but it was just like 5 years ago when Babkak and Omar had first tried this. They didn't want his apologies and well-wishes. They wanted him dead.

Aladdin had escaped that day, and ever since, he and Abu had been evading Babkak and Omar, always moving around the city, never in one place for too long. Aladdin and Abu had survived.

Aladdin always survived.

But maybe Babkak and Omar were right. Maybe Aladdin needed to stop apologizing, stop making up excuses, stop pretending he had a right to live. Because in a world without his father, mom, or Kassim, what business did Aladdin have surviving? He was tired of it, tired of the guilt, of always looking over his shoulder. Maybe he should just…

Aladdin saw a brown tail on the rooftop above him.

"Abu?" Aladdin breathed.

It was the wrong thing to say. Babkak let out an anguished wail as he lifted up the knife to kill the street rat that had once been like a brother to him.

This was it.

Aladdin meant to watch Babkak murder him, but Aladdin's eyes betrayed him. They squeezed shut in fear. Coward that he was, the street rat didn't want to die.

Then there was a loud:

CRACK!

Aladdin felt his whole body go heavy. Instead of death though, there was another loud:

CRACK!

Then a moment of silence, before Abu's voice snapped, "Stop sleeping and get moving!"

Aladdin opened his eyes. Babkak lay unconscious on top of him. The knife was stuck in the ground a few centimeters from Aladdin's head.

He was alive!

Aladdin's instincts took over and he acted quickly. The boy slipped out from under Babkak, napped the knife, and was ready to face Omar, only to find that he was also knocked out. After a quick look-see at the rest of the alleyway, Aladdin realized that both boys had been hit with some clay pots. The remains of which were scattered about the ground.

To his surprise and relief, Aladdin had survived yet again. No thanks to his own questionable will to live. Aladdin looked up at his best friend. "Thanks, Abu…"

The monkey began to jump for joy, but Aladdin wasn't watching him anymore. The boy's attention had been caught by the beautiful girl standing beside the monkey. Suddenly all of Aladdin's complex emotions were replaced with a knee-weakening feeling and all he could think was:

Wow.

Aladdin didn't know that they make girls like that. She was…perfect. That hair! And those eyes! They seemed to glow in the moonlight. Then she spoke. "Are you alright?" Her voice was as crisp and sweet as a freshly nicked apple.

Aladdin licked his very dry lips. He suddenly wasn't sure if he was alright in any sense of the word. Maybe he actually had died and by some celestial mix-up, this angel was here for him.

A/N: Hey Reader,

Thank you for reading this far. If you're enjoying this I'd appreciate it if you followed, favorited, or left a review. I mentioned it before, but this is my third Aladdin fic. And I have yet to get a review for any of my Aladdin fics from someone besides my very good friend and sometimes beta reader, march4fun. (March4fun, you are the literal best and I love you!)

Anyway, You, Dear Reader, could make history and my week which honestly isn't going so well...

But you're here for Aladdin's angst, not mine. ;)

So, moving on from my shameless request for attention, I wonder if anyone has recognized Omar, Babkak, and Kassim. I didn't make them up. I'll talk more about it in a later chapter. I hope to post again soon. Have a great night!