The damp patch that resided on my ceiling held my gaze as I lay on my mattress. The bedsit was far from an ideal place to bring a woman back to, I'd have to do some major cleaning before even entertaining that plan and that was assuming that I'd live long enough to do it.

I was reluctant to go outside after my brush with death last night but I needed food, and badly. Making sure to put on some flip-flops before crossing the disgusting linoleum floor, I made my way to the fridge in my boxers. The floor in the kitchen area had one part that had been stained red, as if a pool of blood had been there for a good while. It wouldn't have been much of a surprise if I had been told that someone had been murdered in here and on further inspection there was a number of bullet holes in the walls too.

At least the water was clean, I got washed up and dressed to leave but promptly stopped walking once the front door had closed behind me. I had planned to get a taxi and get something to eat in downtown Stilwater, instead I walked to a nearby fast food restaurant called Freckle Bitch's and bought a double decker burger ('The Fist') and a large lemonade (a 'Big Swallow'). Its surroundings were a far cry from the neighbourhood. Strangely, on the way there and in the restaurant there were a number of people wearing purple which reminded me of Julius' proposal. By the time I had finished my drink, I had made my decision whether to take the plunge or to go it alone.

The church wasn't as ominous-looking as I had expected although it was covered completely in graffiti. I tentatively opened the door and peered inside hoping not to find anything. My wish was granted as although the place had been occupied recently, it was deserted. I breathed a sigh of relief and quietly left but as I was going down the steps I saw a girl wearing purple walk towards the adjoining graveyard. Against my better judgement (and possibly not thinking with my brain) I followed her and quickly realised why it was so devoid of life inside the church. A sizable number of people wearing purple were gathered talking. Before I could change my mind, I had been spotted and cursing under my breath, I joined them within their midst. Troy was standing above the set of steps that led to the side entrance of the church and it was long before Julius emerged with a stern look on his face.

"Every motherfucker here knows what we need to do," he barked. I looked around at everyone else. There were a couple of girls I would have liked to...let me get back to the speech. Julius continued on.

"Those bitches be riding around, thinking they own these streets. I don't care what flags they're flying, Rollerz, Carnales, Vice Kings, no one's making this nigga scared to walk the Row! We're about to lock this shit down right now!"

Everyone cheered in approval while I gauged their reactions. Julius was definitely their leader but what was I getting myself into? I was going further and further down the rabbit hole but I hadn't reached the point of no return. Not yet anyway.

"Who the fuck's this guy?" a voice said, snapping me out of my thoughtful trance. Everyone was now staring at me, the only person not wearing the same colours as them. I hoped that none of the gangs in this city wore black as that was exactly what I was now wearing. My eyes flicked from one face to another, each seemingly willing me to make one false move and to give them a reason to have me buried in a foreign land with multiple fractures with a bullet in my head. Fortunately, Julius defused the potentially fatal situation.

"Troy and I found him," he said, referring to me. "I was going to see if he was going to ride with us."

"Julius, if he wants to run with the Saints then he has to me canonised" an eccentric-looking Asian-American man said. Why do I use that to describe him? Gold earrings, tribal neck tattoos, lightly tinted sunglasses and an interesting hairstyle. This consisted of a hightopped crewcut with platinum blond hair and black roots. He was the one who woke me from my daydreaming with his profanity.

"He's right, Julius. Everyone had to do it," Troy interjected. Julius turned to me and looked me directly in the eye. I saw the same degree of remorse in his eyes as I had with that thug from last night who had the gun in my face.

"You ready for this, playa?" he asked, gently. I had been quickly been surrounded by a number of individuals draped in purple who were eyeing me with stone-faced determination. I counted four males and two females in this group who had their fists clenched.

Before I knew it, an overweight thug moved toward me and threw a slow right haymaker. I swayed to his left and kicked his outer left knee and followed it up with a vicious right elbow strike to the side of his head.

As he dropped to the floor, I spun around to see a woman charge at me. Before she could also throw a punch, I grabbed her tightly by the throat and while sweeping her back leg, I firmly planted her flat on her back in the grass nearby. She gasped as the air was knocked out of her lungs and when I let go of her throat, her neck had bruises left by my fingers.

Do you think you're good enough to run with us or do you need another kick in the head?" he asked. Out of the corner of my eye on my right side, I saw a foot travelling toward my face but after grabbing the sole and the ankle of the person, I swung around and kicked them leftfooted in the stomach as hard as I could. I looked over briefly to see the second woman in the foetal position kicking her legs and clearly in pain as the skinny kung-fu guy tried to stomp my head into the ground. Through mostly luck, I quickly lifted my right foot and made contact with his scrotum, stopping him in his tracks.

I quickly got to my feet and was faced with the two remaining assailants. They both exchanged a look and then rushed me, obviously planning to overwhelm me. I quickly assessed the situation, one was thin and wiry whereas the other appeared to be slightly more robust. Standing in a low stance and keeping my eyes on the second man, I waited for them to get closer before switching my attention to the skinny thug. I exploded out of my position and as my shoulder connected with his solar plexus, I lifted both of his legs and slammed him into a tree. The spectators groaned as they watched their friend slide down the tree trunk into a seated position.

The last man caught me with a punch to the stomach and shoved me hard off of my feet onto my back. Sensing victory, he climbed on top of me but I managed to wrap my legs around his waist which caught him by surprise. He gave me a look of disgust and threw a righthanded punch but I grabbed his wrist, raised my left leg across his face and the other leg across his chest, forcing him onto his back and securing an armbar submission hold. Still gripping his wrist, I hyperextended his arm as much as possible until he screamed in pain.

"Okay, that's enough!" Julius commanded. I let go and we both stood up, my victim rubbed his elbow with his eyes lowered. The other attackers were where I had left them and had been watching attentively. I wanted to gloat but I knew that I'd be pushing my luck in doing that so I kept my mouth shut instead.

Troy walked over and gave me dap. "You earned your colours today" he said. That helped me to relax a little as I felt my adrenaline dissipate. I had beaten six gang members singlehandedly, deep on their own turf!

A hand clapped onto my shoulder bringing me back down to earth. "That's some impressive shit! The only other Saint who kicked ass like that was Johnny!" the owner of the hand told me. I followed his eyes to the foul-mouthed Asian-American man who I now deduced was Johnny.

"Shit," he said cooly, turning his nose up at me. "Took me half the time."

"Welcome to the 3rd Street Saints," Julius said, stoicly. He walked over to us and gave me a fist bump. I couldn't help but give a sly grin as Johnny sized me up.

"Let's get down to business" he continued. "If we're serious about taking back the Row, we've got to let those motherfuckers know what time it is. Now if you break it down, it's all about respect. Get enough of it, they're gonna back off, and we're gonna move right on in. We've got some friends in town that could use some help. Give them a hand. Of course, you can always drop any motherfucker flying the wrong flag. So long as word gets out that the Saints are on the Row, I don't give a damn how you do it. You feel me?"

I assumed that I was the last bulletpoint on the meeting agenda because everyone dispersed as soon as he had finished. The thug with the headband gave me the thumbs up so I returned the gesture so I felt better that things weren't taken personally. Johnny gave me a headnod (a good sign) as he left and I was approached by the same girl who I had followed to the church earlier. I had established myself as a dangerous man and was on my way to getting the girl too. This day was improving by the minute!

"Aren't you full of surprises?" she exclaimed. "You're tougher than you look."

"I do my best," I replied. I watched her jaw drop in astonishment.

"You're British too? What the hell are you doing here in Stilwater?"

"It's a long story but maybe I can tell you later. If there is a later, of course."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I want to give you my cell number."

I obediently handed over my smartphone for her to input her number. I wasn't expecting her to be so forward but this wasn't a regular suburban girl I was talking to. She went from 0-60mph but this analogy led to her intentions.

"Will you relax? I haven't been given orders to put a bullet in your head, I'm just offering to be your guide for a little while to help you get used to things around here. Think of me as your wheelwoman or something," she laughed. "Don't get any ideas though, I love your accent but I'm in a long-term relationship and even though he got his ass handed to him when he was canonised, touch me and one of us will make your brains touch the concrete."

I stared at her speechlessly. I wasn't expecting a death threat from her but I had a funny feeling that her words were sincere. There was little chance of making any intimate acquaintance but I was fine with keeping things platonic. I stuck out my hand.

"I'm Jay. Strictly business is fine with me."

"I'm Tamyna," she said, shaking my hand. "Welcome to Saints Row. If you ever need a ride somewhere then give me a call but make sure you have a plan B, I have a life away from the Saints, you know." She looked over at the front of the church. "It looks like Troy wants to talk to you." Troy was beckoning me over and urging us to finish our conversation. She began to walk away. "I'll see you later. And don't call me at stupid o'clock either, I have a feeling that you'll need my"

I walked over to Troy who looked as serious as ever. I had a feeling that I wouldn't like what he was about to say but I still hadn't decided when I had reached the point of no return.

"Hey, you did good today," Troy said. "Now that you're one of us, what's your name?"

"Jay," I replied. I was still trying to anticipate where this conversation was leading to.

"Great. Alright man, time for you to buy a piece."