When I Lie in Bed at Night (Ending)

Part Fifteen

"Dad, wake up." Alana told him.
          "The only way to end this nightmare is to just wake up." said Detective Weir.
Suddenly, the sound of an alarm echoing through the prison jolted Antonio from his dream. Still lying on the cold hard bed on cell block B, he barely raised his head to peep out of his cell. That day, another prisoner was being released, but he wasn't. He thought that after calling that place his home for over twenty years now that he would be used to it by now, but he wasn't. It stunk every day and the guards were cruel to him every day.
            The only peace he found was in his dreams and his daughter. Now that she was twenty, she could come visit him on the weekends. He always looked forward to that. He liked hearing about her life and all of the adventures she was having. He lived through her. She tried to always be happy when she saw him, but sometimes couldn't help but cry. She had the hardest time telling Antonio about Jude. Jude died when she turned eighteen. He was supposed to take her to the prison to see Antonio but he was just to sick. So, she came alone and sat at the table and cried. Worst part about it was that Antonio couldn't even comfort her. Because of the fear of contraband, the warden wouldn't allow any contact besides a hand shake between prisoners and visitors.

          Antonio took a deep breath. Making dreams out of what he had done was only going to send him crazy and making things up for his own conscious was worse. Detective Weir was a good man who was just doing his job. He didn't deserve to die. To be honest, his sister wasn't an angel. She fired at the cop first. There was no set up or sabotage, at least not against Antonio or his gang. It was just a stupid, 19 year old Antonio that cared more about his gang than he did about an innocent man's life, his sister, his uncle's grief over his lifestyle, and his daughter.
          “Wish I had a time machine.” Antonio often thought to himself. Obviously that wasn't going to happen. All he had were his dreams, his bed, and on weekends his daughter. That was it and he knew this. He could twist his dreams any way he wanted to, but when he awoke it would always be the same ending and he would be just as guilty as he ever was. It was over. There was no way he could fix things, not even in his dreams.

          Still, every time he went to sleep, the words of a crazed inmate that used to be in the cell next to his, replayed in his head, over and over and over again, “When I lie in bed at night, I make believe that all is right...”

(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 14

Alana kept her head ducked down as bullets whizzed by her. She couldn't even peek out to check on the safety of her dad and Jude. She just stayed huddled down and hoped for the best. Earlier, Antonio had given her a gun. She barely knew how to use it, but she clutched it as if she had been a gun fighter her whole life. 
          "Shit, shit, shit!" Alana said to herself, regretting ever even coming up with this plan.
          The sound of gun shots was deafening. Sparks flew as bullets ricocheted off cars and street signs. They shot in all different directions and the flashes from the gun barrels as bullets fired from them, was blinding.
           For whatever reason, Alana thought of her mother in that moment. She could see her now, standing with her hands on her hips and saying, "I told you so." She'd probably get herself shot trying to prove she was right and Antonio was wrong. That's where Alana and her mother differed. Her mother was a martyr. She was more than happy to hurt herself or put herself in harms way just to make Alana feel sorry for her. Alana was nothing like her. This time she had spent with her dad taught her one thing; her father was a bad ass and she took after him. 
           Mustering up some courage, Alana peak her head out from behind the dumpster and saw Antonio and Jude trapped between the shootout. Antonio was desperately trying to get closer to her and Jude was close behind him. Just then one of the gang members spotted Antonio and began firing at him. A few other members began firing at them as well. Antonio and Jude tried their best to fire back but moving even a slight inch meant the end of their life. 
            Suddenly, and without hesitation, Alana stood up, stepped out from her hiding spot and pulled the trigger of her gun. She fired relentlessly at the gang until they retreated behind cars, dumpsters and houses. She even shot a few of them but the wounds weren't life threatening. Most of her bullets just went through arms and legs. 
            The sound of approaching motorcycles was a welcoming sound and was the one thing that distracted Alana. The other thing that stopped her little almost killing spree was Antonio's strong grip pulling her back and behind the dumpster.  
            "Woo!" Jude screamed out of excitement. "Alana you are out of your mind!" he told her.
            "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Antonio shouted. "I told you to stay down, Alana."
            "They were shooting at you!" Alana explained.
            "I didn't ask for you help! You could have got hurt!" he yelled back. 
            "We don't have time for this!" Jude yelled through the gun fire. "We have to go! This isn't our fight!" he said motioning for their gang to back off. 
            "See that house over there?" Antonio said pointing at a small house at the end of the block. It was dark. The street light overhead had been shot out. It was their best bet if they wanted to be safe and clear of the shooting. "We gotta get over there. I'll be in front, Alana you stay behind me, and Jude you follow behind her. Got it?" Alana and Jude nodded and followed Antonio's directions. 
             Waiting for the other gang to start back shooting at the cops, Antonio led Alana and Jude out into the street. As they made it to the middle of the block, a member of Antonio's gang opened fire. The gang fighting with the detectives and other arriving officers, turned and shot back. A meth house caught in the shower of bullets burst into flames. The explosion caught everyone's attention, but the shooting never stopped. At that moment, and in a flash, Jude fell to the ground. A bullet had struck him in the head.
             "Jude!" Alana screamed.
             Suddenly a bullet tore through her shoulder and then another through her stomach. Antonio stopped in his tracks. His best friend was dead and his daughter was dying. No longer caring for the rest of the bloodshed around him, Antonio walked back to his Alana. He knelt down beside her and did his best to stop her bleeding, as the gun fight carried on without him. Words couldn't even leave his lips. He just stared down in shock at Alana.
              "Not again." he finally managed to say. "Please not this time."
              "Dad..." Alana started in pain. "I can't..." she told him.
              "Shhh." Antonio told her closing his eyes. 
              "I told you so." said Detective Weir as he suddenly appeared. "You'll never be a free man." 
              Detective Weir stood over Jude's dead body. He frowned as he made eye contact with Alana. This was exactly what he had been trying to tell Antonio from day one. There was no freedom from his life. No mattered what he did or how many times he replayed his past, there was never going to be a win in his life or the lives of the people closest to him. 
               "Come on, Antonio." Detective Weir said kneeling down next to Alana. "It's time to wake up an face your reality. I'm just trying to help you." he compassionately told him. 
                The gun fight had now been pushed to the back of his mind. The bullets still zipped by. Bodies on all sides dropped to the ground after being hit. Antonio watched his friends and family die around him, but not one time did a bullet hit him. He was just there in this constant reminder of his own mistakes. 
                 "I can't live with you." Alana told her father with the little breath she had left. "Just wake up..."


(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.