PI~OtOGU[<br > "They dead， they all dead!"<br > Aileen Mayes recoiled back at the pain-filled voice that screamed over the<br > phone line. She didn t have to see Elizabeth Grayson s face to know that it was<br > reddened and streaked with tears. The emotion in her voice was almost tangible.<br > "Who s dead? Who s dead， Elizabeth?" Aileen asked in a fearful whisper.<br > "The boys， Candy! They all dead! They all shot， at the house， at the house! Oh，<br > God， I can t breathe， I can t take this...I can t!" she wailed pitifully.<br > Aileen s heart hammered loudly. Her worse fear， her worse nightmare was<br > being announced as a reality at that very moment. She loved her students， and<br > had worked so hard to instill in them a desire to fulfill their dreams. A desire to<br > be more than what the streets in the Church Hill part of Richmond， Virginia<br > had to offer them. She had her stars. Students whose futures shined like the<br > luminaries that lit up the sky over Maymount Park. Sean Grayson had been one<br > of those stars， although he didn t know it. But Aileen did. She saw it every time<br > she read his work. The spirit， energy and power he would put in every poem，<br > every bit of prose he would pen.<br > The wailing continued， turning into deep， beckoning howls. A mother s cry.<br > "How...how?" Aileen asked as her own tears gathered in her eyes.<br > "They come to my house; hurt my children. Shooting and fighting and fight-<br > ing and..." Elizabeth paused， choking on her sobs.<br > Aileen could hear voices in the background telling Elizabeth Grayson to<br > hurry， that they were leaving for the hospital. A hope filled her. If they were<br > oin to the hospital then maybe lust maybe the children were not dead!<br > g，， g r ， ~ ，， ~ . ~，， .<br > Are you sure they re dead， Elizabeth? Are you certain. Aileen asked.<br > Silence cried back at her. "Elizabeth?" she called out again， panicking.<br > "I have to go. We re leaving now，" Elizabeth said. "We re at MCV!"<br > "Okay， but what about Chico? Elizabeth? Elizabeth?"<br > Aileen heard music， but it was the sound of the dial tone， letting her know<br > that Elizabeth Grayson had hung up. She hung up her own receiver and rushed<br >