Animal 2 by K'wan Read Free Book Online

eventually comes to the light.
    Pretty Percy wasn’t very pretty anymore once Cain was done with him. His body was slumped in the chair, motionless. The only way Ashanti knew that he was still alive was by the gurgling sound coming from him.
    â€œDamn, that was some heavy shit,” Abel said to Ashanti. He was still shaking his head in disbelief.
    â€œHeavy like a boulder, my nigga,” Ashanti agreed.
    â€œYou gonna run this to King James?” Abel asked.
    Ashanti thought on it for a long moment. “After a time, I will. For right now, I just wanna marinate on it. Keep it to yourself until I say otherwise, ya heard?”
    â€œYou know it ain’t going no further than us,” Abel assured him.
    â€œLet’s get gone,” Ashanti said. “Yo, Cain. We gotta go—” His words froze in his throat. Cain was straddling the barber chair and Percy’s body. “What the fuck are you doing?”
    Cain turned so that they could see his handiwork. In one hand, he held the bloody razor, and in the other, the skin from Percy’s face. He held the flesh up over his own face like a mask. “Halloween is coming, and this year, I wanted to dress up as a bitch-ass nigga.” Cain laughed hysterically.

FIVE
    A SHANTI , C AIN, AND A BEL WENT back to Ashanti’s crib to regroup after the hit. They took turns taking showers and changing clothes. Cain’s clothes were bloody, so they poured bleach over them and tied them in a plastic bag. When they went back out, they’d find somewhere to burn them.
    When Ashanti came out of the shower, Cain and Abel were sitting on his couch playing Xbox on his big screen. They looked so innocent, more like the kids they were than the killers the hood had made them. Ashanti was proud of his little recruits. They had been hanging tough for a while, but this had been their first actual murder mission together. They had to be tested before letting them in fully, and they had passed with flying colors. If Animal were there, he’d have been proud of Ashanti for picking them to add to his little family.
    Thinking about his comrade brought a smile to Ashanti’s face. When Animal had come back into the picture, it had been like a sign for Ashanti. Seeing his teacher and best friend reminded him of what a real nigga was supposed to move like.It inspired him to carry on the tradition of getting money and making bitch niggaz suffer. Losing Animal for a second time hurt worse than the first, but it sparked something in Ashanti. He would ride until they laid him to rest on a cold sidewalk, just as his mentor had.
    â€œY’all niggaz cut that video game off, and let’s hit the streets. We got business to attend to,” Ashanti told him.
    â€œChill, we in the third quarter,” Abel said, still flicking the joystick.
    Ashanti turned the game off. “I said, let’s go. You, too, Dr. Lecter.” He tossed Cain the bag of clothes.
    â€œA’ight, let’s gather up the straps and dip,” Abel said.
    â€œNah, we don’t all need to be holding since we gonna be together. It’s easier to beat one gun case than three, feel me?” Ashanti told him.
    â€œIf we only taking one, I’m gonna hold it,” Cain said.
    Ashanti looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “After that shit you pulled in the barbershop, it might be a while before I let you hold a weapon around me. And I hope you got rid of that nasty-ass skin mask.”
    Cain got quiet.
    â€œBlood, are you fucking serious? Man, get rid of that shit,” Ashanti ordered.
    Cain mumbled something under his breath before taking the plastic ziplock bag from his pocket that held the bloody skin. He put it into the bag with the clothes and stormed out of the apartment, the bag thrown over his shoulder.
    â€œWhat the fuck is wrong with that nigga?” Ashanti asked Abel.
    Abel shrugged. “Cain is just