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Chattanooga, Tennessee

  Alton Park region

  June 8th, 2005

  Life and destiny stood for one last moment, perfectly synced in time. Never again would the world see the past as they remembered, as one death would change the world’s destiny forever.

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  Trae Williams leaned to one side as he sat on his mother’s decrepit front porch and watched his sister play in their front yard. Lena Williams, an energetic eight-year-old, raced back and forth across the worn lawn as she chased after tiny moths that had hidden themselves on the blades of grass. With each swipe of her hand, she expertly snatched the tiny white targets out of midair, then released them back to the world safely.

  “Oh yeah! Trae, did you see that?” Lena asked proudly.

  “Damn Le, you’re like a ninja or something,” Trae replied.

  Beaming with pride, Lena replied, “Too bad Mom can’t see my skills.”

  “She’s working, Le. She’ll be home in a couple hours. Maybe you can show her then,” Trae answered.

  “Mom’s always working,” Lena said disapprovingly, then added, “Too bad we don’t have a dad like Sharice’s, next door. Then Mom could stay home too.”

  “Le, you do have a dad. He just don’t come around no more… and Sharice’s mom don’t work ’cause she’s lazy,” Trae replied as delicately as he knew how.

  Lena stopped running and sat down next to Trae.

  “Do you ever see your dad, Trae?” Lena asked sincerely.

  “Not for a long time. Not since before he went to prison. That was before you were born,” Trae replied.

  “Oh,” Lena said simply. “Do you miss ’im?”

  “Nah. He wasn’t around much, even before he got sent up,” Trae answered.

  “Well, I miss my dad,” Lena replied.

  “Damn, Le, you never even seen ’im before. How could you even miss ’im?” Trae blurted out in quick reaction.

  “I just do, Trae…I’m sure he misses me too,” Lena replied.

  Trae knew his sister was hurting from her father’s rejection. Hoping to take her mind off her pain, he searched for anything to distract her.

  “Hey, Le: check out those moths over by the street. Bet you can’t catch ‘em all,” Trae said, with a challenging smirk.

  “Bet I can,” Lena replied, laughing.

  Immediately, Lena sprang to her feet and darted to the edge of the road, both hands sweeping through the air as she lunged for more moths.

  Trae watched her for a moment, then became distracted as an older Buick with faded paint slowly drifted toward the stop sign at the beginning of their street. Unremarkable at first, the long length of time spent at the stop sign made the old sedan a conspicuous sight.

  Trae focused more of his attention on the car. Something just wasn’t right. He squinted hard as he tried to see through the darkened, tinted windows, but it was of no use. The occupants remained a mystery.

  Trae began to feel uneasy. The old Buick was literally parked at the stop sign for what now felt like an eternity. He glanced over to Lena, then back at the suspicious car. A knot in the pit of his stomach began to grow.

  “Le, come here for a minute,” Trae said in nervous tone.

  “Just a minute, Trae. I almost caught ‘em all,” Lena replied, indifferent to the world around her.

  Trae saw the brakes release from the old Buick, then quickly stop again, almost as if by accident. He looked up the street to see if the vehicle had intended on pulling out but reconsidered due to another passing car. Strangely, there were no other vehicles in sight.

  “Lena, come here,” Trae said.

  Hearing Trae use her full name, Lena stopped and stared at her brother for a moment. She could see the peculiar look spread across his face as he turned back toward the mysterious Buick.

  “Trae, what’s the matter?” Lena asked innocently.

  “Dunno. That car’s been there a while. Maybe you should go in the house for a minute,” Trae replied, now feeling the anxiety of the moment.

  “Ahhh,” Lena sounded out in protest. “I don’t want to go inside. It’s just a car, Trae. Besides, I can take care of myself,” Lena stated proudly.

  “Uh huh, sure you can… just get in the house,” Trae responded bluntly.

  “Just one more m.…” Lena began, but was cut short by the revving of the Buick’s engine.

  “LENA, GET IN THE DAMN HOUSE NOW!” Trae shouted loudly.

  Suddenly, aggressively, the old Buick released its brakes and stormed around the corner. With tires squealing and smoke billowing from behind the car, the old sedan charged up the street toward them.

  “Oh no,” Trae murmured to himself, almost in sobbing tone.

  With little time to react, Trae sprang to his feet and hurried toward his sister. Lena stood paralyzed in confusion. She knew something was wrong, but was too young and naive to fully understand Trae’s actions.

  Trae watched in horror as the Buick’s dark tinted windows began to lower. In seconds, his worst fears were realized as the occupants extended their guns out from the windows. With deafening sound, their automatic weapons came to life.

  As bolts of white light streaked from the ends of the gun barrels, Trae lunged for Lena, knocking her to the ground. He instinctively rolled on top of her to protect her as a hail of bullets tore up the ground around them. As the faded Buick roared past, Trae and Lena lay motionless on the front lawn, their minds and bodies unable to react.

  As time seemed to slow, Trae could almost count the bullets as they exited the guns. One by one, each bullet miraculously missed it mark. Trae looked into his sister’s eyes. She had not been hit. Suddenly, he realized they both were alive and had made it through the drive-by shooting.

  Quickly, Trae leapt to his feet, pulling Lena up with him. The sight of the two still alive spread quickly to the driver of the car. In an instant, he slammed on his brakes and brought the old Buick to a quick halt. Throwing it in reverse, he immediately roared backward down the street toward Trae and Lena. Seconds later, the driver slammed on the brakes once more and brought the heavy vehicle to a quick stop.

  Trae grabbed Lena around the waist and sprang from the edge of the road. Like the stride of a gazelle, he bounded across the front lawn with amazing speed and agility, his adrenaline pumping at full capacity.

  As the faded Buick came to a stop, all its doors were flung open and four young men exited the vehicle quickly. With their guns still drawn, they wasted no time in continuing their task. Trae leaped to the top step of his front porch and felt a sharp razor-like object strike his left side. Before the first bullet could even register, a second bullet struck him in the right shoulder, rendering his arm useless. Instantly, Lena dropped onto the porch, Trae collapsing beside her.

  An eerie quiet spread over the neighborhood as the four thugs reloaded. Knowing this was their only hope of survival, Trae crawled to the front door and tried to wrap his fingers around the lower corner. With his hand covered in blood, they slipped off the edge of the door.

  “Le, get in the house… stay low,” Trae ordered.

  Lena, scared and crying, lay beside her brother, unable to move.

  “Lena, get moving NOW!” Trae shouted.

  “I’m scared,” Lena whimpered.

  “I’ll block you. Go now… hurry up!” Trae assured confidently.

  Nodding reluctantly, Lena quickly stood up and pulled the front door open as Trae moved to shield her from the four men nearby. Instantly, a roar of bullets unleashed a swath of destruction across the front of the house, breaking windows and knocking shingles from the siding. As Lena began to enter the house, another bullet entered Trae’s lower back, knocking him forward against the door, closing it momentarily across Lena’s body. Trae rolled to his side and dropped down onto the deck of the porch once more.

  “TRAE!” Lena cried out in fear and disbelief.

  “Lena, get inside. GO, NOW!” Trae said, his voice now barely audible.

 
“No, I can help you,” Lena replied with determination.

  Before Trae could protest, Lena reached down and grabbed him by his shirt. She pulled with all her might as Trae pushed with his feet. Suddenly, Lena exhaled abruptly and sounded a guttural moan, as a bullet struck her in the chest. Immediately, she slumped to the ground, then rolled over on top of Trae.

  With both victims down, the four thugs ran back to the waiting car and sped off. Once again, an eerie quiet swept over the neighborhood as the neighbors, one by one, ventured out into the warzone.

  Further south, along Signal Mountain, Dr. Phineas Morgan stood on his wooden deck. Perched high above the valley floor, he stared out toward northern Chattanooga and tried to shut out the images of carnage that had just taken place.From his location a few miles away, he could not see the muzzle flashes, nor did he hear the gunshots; but strangely, he knew exactly where the shots were fired and who they were fired upon.

  Sadly, he checked his watch: 10:30am.

  In a moment of solemn respect, he uttered a few simple words, “Forgive me Lena. Your death will save thousands.”

  Turning away, he stared out over the city and spoke. “The dominoes of destiny are now tumbling... Godspeed, David.”

  T T: Chapter 2