Novel in the Making

This is a story I wrote for my comp class. It isn't as developed or as detailed as I would like it to be, but I was limited to 1,000 words(which I exceeded). I do think it has a decent, but very basic storyline, which I would like to expand on eventually. 

Blood Brothers

Blood soaked his shirt. It was spreading fast. Tom had been shot before, but this time was different. The bullet went through his throat. His insignificant life was coming to an end here in this dark alley, behind the dumpstero that had been hiding him. This was too well planned to have gone wrong; it must have been set up. But who would set him up? Tom was so close to everyone involved that he was practically family. He knew he should not have been so trusting, but he let James talk him into it. After all, what other options did he have?

            Tom and his brother, James, were pulled into the gang at a young age. For a couple of kids in their position, there was not much else for them to do. It was either end up like their parents, on welfare in the slums of the town, or turn to crime to make a living. Living in such a terrible neighborhood in the slums of Detroit was no aid in improving their life, so they took matters into their own hands. Unable to afford the things he needed and wanted, he turned to shoplifting. He started small and rarely, but seeing how easy it was, he gradually moved up the spectrum from candy bars to televisions, setting an excellent example for his younger brother. This became an easy, lucrative way of life, and school became pointless for Tom.

            One night as Tom walked out of the electronics store, with yet another TV to sell, he was dealt a hard blow to the head. Tom woke up in a dark warehouse, arms duct-taped together behind the metal chair he was constricted to. His head throbbed. His white clothing made him stand out in the dark warehouse. He looked around and seemed to be alone. Then he heard a voice. A man approached Tom from across the room, dressed in black. He asked Tom, “Do you know who I am?”

            “No,” Tom replied. “Where am I?”

            “Don’t you worry about that,” the man answered. “I’m the man you’ve been stealing from.”

            “I’ve stolen from a lot of people,” said Tom, hoping to defend himself.

            “You’ve taken a lot from me, more from me than anyone else. I own the places you’ve been stealing from. I know all about you: who you are, where you live, why you’re doing this. I know a lot about you, Tom. But there’s one thing I don’t know.”

Tom was scared. “How could this man know so much about me?” he wondered to himself. “Who is he?”

 “How have you been doing this? No one has ever broken into my stores before,” growled Tom’s captor.

            “I’ve had help,” Tom mumbled. He winced as the man approached him.

            “Don’t be afraid,” assured the man. “I’m not going to hurt you. I need you.” Tom was confused. “You and your little brother are the only ones that can help me.”

            The man first made Tom get all of his stolen goods back, which was no easy task. However, Tom was scared to death of the man, so he and his brother had some extra motivation. Once they finally collected all of the man’s belongings, he told them more about who he was and why he needed them. “My name is Mr. Wallace, and you are my newest recruits. You’re a little young now, but you obviously have the experience for what I need you to do. What that is, I can’t tell you until you need to know, but you will be part of my gang until then. You will live a good life, not the hell you’ve been stuck with in this town. I can change all that for you if you just do what I say.”

            Tom and James were scared at first, but, having few alternatives, they did as they were told. The man held true to his word, and the brothers lived like kings together. They had women, cars, money, and anything they wanted. Within just a few short years, they were able to climb to the top of the gang and be Mr. Wallace’s right-hand men. This was the good life. Both brothers had everything they wanted, and couldn’t complain. However, they did forget one thing. Mr. Wallace had a purpose for them, a purpose that they would not know until the day came.

            Today was that day. Mr. Wallace called the brothers to his office, and spoke to each separately about what their next task would be. Tom and James were not to speak to anyone about the information they got from Mr. Wallace, not even each other. Only Mr. Wallace knew what they were to do.

            The next day Tom and James carried out the instructions that they were given the day before. They picked up the items they needed from their apartment that morning, and parted ways. Tom went to the alley behind Mr. Wallace’s electronic store, where he was told to wait until a man came out through the back entrance. Mr. Wallace told Tom that he would be in a meeting with a man dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, and Tom was to shoot and kill this man when he left. This was just another day on the job for Tom; he did not understand why this mission was so different from any other he had done for Mr. Wallace, but he did what he was told. He had been waiting for hours when the door opened.

He stood up and shot at the man, but he couldn’t have been farther from his target. The bullet hitting his neck threw off his aim. His target had fired back. As he lay in a pool of his own blood, the man approached him. Though his vision was fading, Tom recognized the man. It was James. He had been shot by his brother.  

            Mr. Wallace instructed James to wait in the shop until exactly noon, and then exit through the back. A man would be in the alley waiting for Mr. Wallace to leave as he usually did. Mr. Wallace said this man was trying to kill him and would try to kill James too, so James would have to fire quickly. And he did, killing his brother. Mr. Wallace had set them up.