The Lost Prophets

Chapter 1

Stiles stood under the streetlight in the pouring rain. It was a cold, somber rainy day and Stiles was heartbroken. His muscles tensed, and his eyes welled up with tears. He lost his beloved Malia. The gang had found where she lived and had kidnapped her during the night. Stiles was involved in gun smuggling. He stole guns from another gang to make a profit. Malia had insisted on helping him. They were now seeking restitution for the guns taken from them. It was up to him to save her now. Stiles gave a shake of his head to scatter his thoughts, and started walking toward his apartment on the south side of town.

Happy Ending 

Chapter 2
Stiles set on his couch and looked toward the big glass window that overlooked the bustling city beneath him. He waited for a knock on his door from his friend Rodger. Rodger was his partner who helped steal guns from the gang, The Lost Prophets. Rodger was like him. They were one and the same. Pete was also involved within the gang, but had yet to arrive as well. They had good intentions, but always seemed to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. As soon as the thought of Rodger faded from his mind he heard a knock. In the hallway stood Rodger.

Hey, Man. Sorry, I tried to come as fast as I could.
"It’s ok. Come in."
"We need to leave soon."

Rodger sat on the couch and crossed his arms waiting to hear what was to come next. Then Stiles began speaking.

"Alright, so, listen up, Rodger, if this is going to work, this is what we must do. When we go at him we can't be careless. You and Pete will split up. One of you will go to the east side of the house and the other to the west. Make sure you have a clear shot of the back deck. When I give the signal, put the red dots on his chest. I will go through the front with the counterfeit bag of money. Keep a watchful eye because the situation will unravel quickly."

Pete arrived shortly and perched himself next to Rodger on the couch. The two men studied Stiles face wondering if he might be bluffing.   Instead Stiles stood quietly and waited for a response from them. Offering no response, the men stood up and headed for the door. Everyone agreed on what came next.


Chapter 3
Stiles arrived at the house where he met Jesse, the main man in the opposing gang. He would pay his dues to the gang, and right his wrongs. Jesse thought one million dollars should do the trick! Stiles arrived holding tightly to the brown bag of counterfeit money. A big burly man opened the door. Stiles stepped inside the tiny run down house. Jesse stood inside the room near the door. Beyond him, Stiles can see out the window and sees his buddies crouching and waiting for his signal. He approached Jessie to stand in front of him, and raised his hand toward the window. He gave the signal. Gun shots exploded in all directions. Staying low he ran toward the door. Guns continued to fire over and over, and suddenly the world around him was a blur and pain overcame him. He had been shot twice.

Malia was hiding in the back of the house, and quickly began to try to free herself. She raced out of the house, but tripped over Stile's body during the attempt. Malia became hysterical when she realized his fate. Jesse who was consumed with anger shot her. As she gasped for breath she fell and landed next to Stiles. Their arms entwined, and then her body went limp. Stiles turned his head toward her one last time.

His dying wish was that she would survive. He remembered the day he had become an organ donor. He wanted to provide for her after he is gone. His thoughts faded and he turned his head toward the sky and the world went black.



Crime Scene


Chapter 4
Malia woke the next morning in the hospital not fully aware of what happened. There were flowers and get well cards scattered around her hospital room, and Rodger was there. He told her how the brawl ended and that Stiles was dead. As soon as those words were spoken her heart sank. Her one true love was gone. There were no words to express the agony she felt.



"I know you do not want to hear this Malia, but when you arrived at the hospital you were close to death. One of your heart valves was damaged when you were shot. The surgeon immediately called for emergency surgery. They cut an incision down the center of your chest. Tubes were placed in your chest, and connected to a bypass machine to await a new heart. The surgeon put the new one in and connected the blood vessels so there would be no leaks. Malia, you would not be alive if Stiles did not have the heart that was a perfect match for you. You needed Stile's heart. He died, but because of him you live."





In Memory

The words hung in the air and for a long time and she did not respond. He loved her with a love she could never comprehend. She felt her chest and moved her fingers over the patch that covered her wound. Malia could feel the heart beating against her chest and she knew that her world would never be the same.

Author’s Note
I wrote my story based off of the stories beginning from" The Rainy Season" and the next few chapters following. My character Stiles was based off Rama, who was upset at King Sugriva. He was annoyed that he was not helping him find Sita sooner. So instead he took some of the measures into his own hand and reached out to Lakshmana to go help them start more search parties across the land. I decided to turn my story darker because of the reality of the world these days. Some times in life there is no happy ending but there is just an ending. Stiles died but he did what he set out to do, which was to save his love. Malia (Sita) was pure in heart and because of that was saved. Stiles and his friends, who represent King Sugriva and Lakshmana, were good people but surrounded by bad environment. I wanted my characters to have depth to them. They have good hearts but never had a good role model. I wanted to provoke the question of what if Rama was not a good man? What if he was filled with greed? How different would the story be? I added to my story as well by expressing more of his thoughts behind certain decisions he made. I felt it would add more understanding and flow as my readers are able to connect more with my protagonist. I chose the research and learn editing method last week to allow my story to be more believable. I learned about how heart surgery is done so my audience can realize the depth of what Malia went through being part of the story. Last week I choose start strong and end strong as my editing method. This week I chose sharpen and focus because my story was originally quite lengthy.

Bibliography
Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.
How Heart Surgery is Done