Karaktärer: (Namnen med "" är deras gängnamn.)
Ángel "Chico" Martínez (huvudkaraktär)
Victor "Amarillo" Martínez (Ángels storebror, MS13 medlem)
PRÓLOGO
“Run Ángel!” My brother yelled.
“But...” I stuttered like a little baby. I felt my heart pounding faster and faster, wouldn't it burst out of my body soon?
“Look at me, chico.” He put his hand under my chin, it was warm, loving and his eyes filled with a constant worry. There was sweat on his forehead and from time to time he looked in another direction.
“Just run. Run as fast as you can. And don't look back, okay?”
He didn't hug me, just put his hand up in the air and I did the same and we both formed our hands as a devil's horn.
“Hermanos para siempre.” He said.
“Hermanos para siempre...” Brothers forever.
He took out his handgun from the pocket of his pants and gave me a push.
I started running and while I did I repeated Victor's words in my head and on my lips. I whispered them as I ran away from the alley where we'd been hiding. Hermanos para siempre. It has been all my idea. Victor had disagreed to it but I had nagged about it all morning and eventually he'd shouted:
“Fine! But it's not my fault if you get shot.”
It wasn't really allowed. But Victor had said that his leader, El Maquina, had already approved of me as a sympathizer, someone who was in, let's say, a quarantine, waiting for the day when he could join.
Having succeeded with my nagging I had managed to go a “look out” with my brother not too far from where we lived. My brother's gang, the Mara Salvatrucha, ruled in our neighborhood but from time to time they had to go on look out's in order to prevent the chavalas, the enemy, from entering their territory.
Because of the morning's route Victor had been appointed to keep an eye on he didn't think it would be at all dangerous for me to come along. But of course, he was so wrong.
I looked over my shoulder to see if my brother was still there. He was sitting knee-bent in the dark alley looking in the opposite direction. Then the rain begun to poor down on the people of El Salvador. I ran too fast and accidentally lost my left shoe. I tried to keep the same pace as before but failed and eventually I kicked off the right shoe to be able to run faster. I stumped into a puddle of water and that's when I heard them, the shots aimed to kill. I stopped as if I'd been put on pause in a video game. It felt as if I'd lost my breathe. I knew right then what those bullets had done without looking.
Even if I shouldn't have I turned to glance who the man pulling his trigger was. He stared at me with harsh eyes. Everything around me just stopped existing. All but those eyes. It felt like we stared at each other for hours. The man's face was mostly covered with a white and blue scarf – the colors of El Salvador. I shifted my gaze to the gun in his hands. Surprisingly he didn't point it at me. Instead he turned his back on me and ran away. When he was out of my sight I ran back to my brother.
“Victor?” I bent down next to him. His wet clothes were painted in red.
“Tu eres loco chico!” He growled. (=You're crazy boy!)
“Qué?” (=What?)
He grabbed my shirt with his bloody hand.
“I told you to run! Didn't I?” The rain made it hard for him to look directly at me.
I dropped my gaze to the ground. He pulled my face closer to him.
“Didn't I?!”
“Yes.” I hissed.
“So why didn't you listen to me?”
“Because I...”
Victor released his grip of me. I fell backwards in to the muddy ground.
“I'm sorry.” I sobbed.
“Stop crying, Ángel. A Mara* never cries.” (* Mara = Mara Salvatrucha medlem)
Even if the lump in my throat kept growing I shut up. Instead I lied down next to him with my head resting on his chest.
“Promise me, chico.” He said.
“What?”
“To never look into the eyes of the devil.” (= att inte bli en Mara och fastna i det livet, djävulens ögon tillhör såklart Diablo.)
Till prologen lyssnade jag om och om igen till låten "Yo te esperaré" (= Jag kommer vänta (på dig)), lyssnade mycket intensivt till den sista dialogen. Jag blev alldeles blödig :P
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