Animal 2 by K'wan Page A

politically and had a strong hand in the streets, which made him twice as dangerous. When he found out that it was me who put the love on his nephew, he demanded compensation. Back then, the Clark family didn’t have the political connections they havenow, and Mobi’s uncle would’ve crushed us like bugs. Still, Poppa Clark was my friend, and he refused to turn me over. He was ready to kick off a war that we had no chance of winning to protect me. Mobi’s uncle saw this, and it gave him a newfound respect for the Clarks, so he offered a compromise.”
    â€œWhich was?” Animal asked in a very interested tone.
    â€œI was put on loan in the service of Mobi’s uncle to take out one of his rivals in Africa. To settle the blood debt over Mobi’s life, he demanded the life of his enemy and the lives of the enemy’s family,” Priest explained. “It went against my beliefs, when I still believed in anything, but I didn’t have much of a choice. The children I gave quick deaths. With each dimming of their young lights, my soul became darker, more stained. I took my self-hate out on their parents and killed them in the messiest ways I could think of. I slaughtered everyone in the house, except the slave girl. She wasn’t of their blood. When Mobi’s uncle released me from his service and I was allowed to leave, I brought her with me.”
    â€œKahllah,” Animal said, putting the pieces together in his head.
    â€œYes, my little Black Lotus. It’s funny how I saved her from a life of servitude and she saved me from myself.” Priest chuckled. “After the things I’d seen and done in Africa, I wasn’t the same person Poppa Clark had put on that plane. Everywhere I looked, I saw the faces of the children I’d murdered, and it drove me mad. I retreated into the furthest corners of my mind and had no desire to leave, but Kahllah refused to let me slip away. Even when I was at my lowest point, Kahllah never left my side.”
    â€œAnd what of us?” Animal asked, trying to keep his emotionsin check. Listening to the pain in Priest’s voice as he told the story was getting to him.
    Priest blinked, and when he opened his eye it was moist. “By the time I got myself together, Marie was a washed-up base head, and the streets had you. My little boy was gone, and you were the Animal.”
    For a long while, Animal said nothing. He just sat in the passenger seat, weighing everything. Animal didn’t know Priest very well, but he was an expert on the hearts of men, and there was too much genuine pain in Priest’s voice for it to have been a lie. In a few short hours, the man claiming to be his father had told him more about his origins than his mother had in all the time he was with her. He felt like a weight had been lifted as some of the blanks in his life had finally been filled in, but the bitterness of being abandoned and abused remained.
    â€œSo what now? Are we supposed to go toss a football in the park or some shit? I can respect the position you were put in, especially being in a similar situation. I’d do everything I could to protect someone I love, even if it meant letting them go.” He thought of Gucci and the constant danger she was in by being with him. “Sacrifice is sometimes a necessary evil, but that still doesn’t absolve you from abandoning your responsibilities.”
    Priest turned to face Animal. “You still don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about absolution. I’ll be judged by a much higher authority than you or anyone else. I don’t expect you to forgive me; I just want you to understand.”
    Animal nodded. “One thing I still don’t get is if you’re so loyal to the Clarks, then why help me? And don’t feed me that family shit, because we hardly know each other. What’s your angle?”
    â€œPoppa Clark is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I