Breeze smiled as she thought about escaping Ma’tee’s wrath. It would soon be over, and she would be a free woman. She looked down from the chair she was standing on and wrapped the belt around her neck. Ma’tee had left this leather belt down there after he had sex with her. Little did he know that he had provided Breeze an exit by doing so. Breeze tugged on the belt to make sure that it was wrapped around the pipes above her head securely. Tears began to fall down her face as she shook nervously. The only thing she would have to do was kick the chair out from under her feet, and the nightmare would finally end.
Carter put three fingers up, signaling the countdown. Mecca stood at the front door with a 12 gauge shotgun, aiming it at the lock. Zyir held two pistols in his hands, ready to rush in right after Mecca blew the door open. “Three, two, one!” Carter whispered.
BOOM!
Mecca blew through the lock and they all rushed in.
Ma’tee heard the blast while he was in the shower washing the smell of sex off of his body. He quickly turned off the shower and ran into his room that was attached to the bathroom. He reached for the tech-nine automatic handgun he kept under his pillow. He looked at the monitors that were on his wall and gasped. He had his entire house under surveillance, and saw three men running through the downstairs of his home with guns.
“What de blood clot!’ he yelled as he held his gun in his hand while dripping wet, and still completely naked. He looked at the security monitor that was watching the basement where he kept Breeze. Ma’tee’s heart skipped a beat and he gasped at what he was witnessing. He gripped the sides of the monitor in anguish at the sight of Breeze’s feet swinging from the ceiling. He was witnessing her committing suicide. “Nooo!” he yelled as he rushed downstairs to save her. He didn’t care that he was going up against three guns, he just wanted to save his love before she died. “Breeze!” he yelled as he ran down the stairs, gun in hand.
Mecca was the first to spot Ma’tee, and reacted without thought or hesitation. He cocked the shotgun back and let off a round, just barely missing Ma’tee. Ma’tee returned fire, spraying anything he saw moving as he made his way down the stairs. Zyir also opened fire as he came from the opposite corner of the room. He hit Ma’tee in the arm, sending him flying down the stairs violently. Carter was toward the back of the house, and came running when he heard the gunshots.
Ma’tee dropped his gun as tumbled down the stairs, leaving a bloody trail behind him. He landed at the bottom of the stairs awkwardly. “Hmm!” he grunted as he tried to sit up and gather his bearings. When he looked up, Mecca was standing over him with a shotgun to his face.
“Where is Breeze?” Mecca screamed as he dug the barrel into on one of Ma’tee’s eyes. Before Ma’tee could say anything Mecca kicked him forcefully in his temple out of anger. His emotions got the best of him, and he could not contain himself. Ma’tee was the man who had caused his family grief like no other, and his rage emerged like a bolt of lightning, striking hard and swift. “Where is she?” he yelled as he looked at Ma’tee, who seemed to be losing consciousness.
Ma’tee was dizzy because of the blows Mecca had just given him. He could barely speak. “Breeze!” he whispered as he thought about her hanging in the basement.
“Fuck that! Breeze!” he yelled as he ran up the stairs, skipping two at a time in a desperate race to find his girl. Carter headed to the back of the gigantic house screaming her name also.
“Breeze!” Zyir yelled as he invaded every room of the house. His heart pounded furiously in his chest, and his instincts told him that something was wrong. If she’s here, why isn’t she answering? He thought. “She’s not up here! I can’t find her!” he screamed as he descended the steps in worry.
Mecca saw the look in Zyir’s eyes, and knew that something was wrong. “Where is she?” Mecca shouted as he looked down at Ma’tee, gripping him by his dreadlocks.
“In… the… basement,” Ma’tee mumbled as blood dripped from his head.
“She’s in the basement!” Mecca yelled just before he sent a shotgun blast through Ma’tee’s chest, killing him on contact.
Carter rushed to the front, and Mecca told him that she was in the basement. They all rushed to the back of the house and tried to open the basement door, but it was secured with five dead bolts.
“Stand back!” Carter said as he pointed his gun at the lock. He let of five rounds, breaking each lock with each bullet he fired.
“I love you, Poppa. I love you, Mama. I love you, Mecca. I love you, Monroe. I love you, Uncle Polo. I love you, Carter,” Breeze whispered, giving each one of her loved ones a personal and final good-bye. She put her hand over her heart and wished that Zyir would’ve come and saved her. She wished that when she called, she could have gotten the chance to let him know exactly where she was, but she didn’t, and now she was about to make her grand exit from her hell on earth. “I love you, Zyir,” she added just before she prepared to take her own life.
She heard gunshots coming from upstairs, but she was so focused on what she was about to do that she paid them no mind. Breeze kicked the chair from underneath her and her body immediately dropped and dangled from the pipes. She began to squirm and hold her neck. The kiss of death gripped at her body. The pain was so great that she almost regretted her decision, but she would rather face a few moments of it then a lifetime of grief in the shackles of Ma’tee. The pressure building in her head was so great that she began to see stars. Each second was agonizingly slow as her lungs begged her to inhale. The strength of human will caused her to grab at the belt to avoid the suffocation. Her nails broke from grabbing at the leather, and she kicked wildly as the pulse in her head became audible in her own ears. She could hear her heartbeat fading, and just as she was on the brink of unconsciousness, she heard Zyir calling her name.
“Breeze! I’m coming!” Zyir’s voice came from upstairs.
Zyir! That’s Zyir! she thought as she continued to struggle for air. She heard someone trying to get to the basement, but the locks were stopping them.
“Breeze!” Zyir yelled again as he tried to kick the door down. She jerked and contorted her body, trying to release herself, but it didn’t work. Frantic and out of air, she grabbed at the belt around her neck, scratching her skin as she attempted to create some slack in the belt. Her world became gray, and her eyes felt like they would pop out of her skull as she put the last bit of strength she had into freeing herself. Her efforts were in vain. It was too late. She was already in the Grim Reaper’s hands, and there was nothing she could do. She tried to yell for Zyir, but her airway was cut off. She only could let out small grunts. Her grunts were too low for anyone to hear, and she felt herself slipping away. She couldn’t take it anymore, and she finally stopped struggling as life left her body.
Zyir pushed the door open and was the first to head down the stairs. He held his gun in front of him as he crept down the stairs, not knowing who was down there. Carter and Mecca followed closely behind him. Zyir got to the bottom step and his heart broke in two at the sight before him. Breeze was swinging from a ceiling pipe, swinging slowly from left to right. He quickly dropped his gun and ran over to her lifeless body.
“Breeze! Nooo!” he yelled as he held her up by her legs trying to stop her from choking, but it was far too late; she was already gone.
Carter saw Zyir holding Breeze and quickly ran over and picked up the chair so he could stand on it and untie her. His hands shook as he looked at Breeze’s limp body.
Mecca was still by the stairs, frozen in heartache. He dropped to his knees and silently cried as he watched his sister’s body drop into Zyir’s arms. Zyir had never mourned anything or anyone in his life, but as he sat with Breeze in his arms, he rubbed her face as tears flowed down his cheeks. He kissed the top of her head over and over again as he rocked her back and forth while whispering her name again and again. “It wasn’t supposed to go down like this!” he whispered into her ear. “Not like this!” he repeated as he wept over her. He looked down at the only girl who had ever stolen his heart and regretted the day he had ever met her. He had never felt a pain so great before she had entered his life. “I’m so sorry, Breeze. This is all my fault,” he whispered as he closed his eyes tightly and tried to get the image of her suicide out of his brain.