THE LAST CALL

THE LAST CALL - Ch3

Chapter 3: Crossroads of the Heart

The rustling wind swept across the dim streets as dusk painted the neighborhood in shadows. Kelvin sat outside his house on a broken bench, an old basketball rolling slowly away from his feet. His shirt was stained with sweat and the smell of fried akara wafted from a nearby stall. But he didn’t care about food. His thoughts were far away — caught between the thrill of the last job with Rex and the guilt that hadn’t let him sleep since.

Inside the house, Mama Kelvin lit a candle. The electricity had been out for two days. She glanced at her son through the window, her heart heavy. She had once dreamed of a better life for him — education, work, maybe becoming a teacher like his late father. Now, she wasn’t sure who he was becoming.

Meanwhile, across town, Timi and Ejiro sat together in their tiny room. The single bulb flickered above them. Timi clutched a small Bible, one he had secretly borrowed from the church. He wasn’t sure why, but something had shifted in him since the last job.

"You okay?" Ejiro asked, noticing his silence.

Timi nodded slowly. "I’m not sure I want to keep doing this."

She looked at him, surprised. "You mean with Rex and them?"

He nodded. "Something about Pastor James’s words... I don’t know. It’s like I heard something inside me that day."

Ejiro smiled faintly. "Then maybe that was your last call."

The next day, the trio—Kelvin, Jerry, and Timi—met at their usual hangout, a spot beneath the abandoned water tower near the school fence. Jerry lit a cigarette and leaned against the rusted structure.

"Rex wants us to meet tonight," he said casually. "He says this one’s big. We do it, we score real cash."

Timi hesitated. "I think I’m out."

Kelvin and Jerry froze.

"What do you mean out?" Jerry asked.

Timi looked them both in the eye. "I’m tired, Jerry. This isn’t the life I want. I don’t sleep well. My mom cries every night. We’re not kings. We’re scared boys pretending to be tough."

Jerry scoffed, but Kelvin remained silent. His eyes were on the ground.

"I can’t stop you," Timi added. "But I’m done."

He turned and walked away, his footsteps firm, like he was marching toward something better — or at least trying.

That night, Kelvin lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Mama Kelvin had fallen asleep after another long prayer session. He could still hear her soft whispers of his name. Tears crept into his eyes. He got up and paced the room, then pulled open the drawer beside his bed. There, wrapped in a cloth, was the pistol Rex had given him.

He picked it up, stared at it, then stared at himself in the cracked mirror above the dresser. "Is this me now?" he whispered.

He tossed the gun back and slammed the drawer shut.

At the hideout, Jerry waited alone. Rex arrived with two of his men.

"Where’s Kelvin?" he asked sharply.

Jerry shrugged. "He said he’d be here."

Rex scowled. "You tell him this is not a game. You miss the call, you miss the money—and maybe more."

In the morning, Pastor James stood outside the church gates, watching the sunrise. A familiar figure approached slowly. It was Timi.

"You again," Pastor James said with a warm smile.

Timi nodded nervously. "I want to understand more. That thing you said... about God whispering truth."

"Come," Pastor James said, opening the gate. "Let’s talk."

They walked inside the empty sanctuary. Timi’s footsteps echoed.

"I don’t know where to start," Timi said.

"You already started," Pastor James replied. "You heard the whisper. You followed it. That’s the beginning."

Timi smiled faintly. A new beginning.

Elsewhere, Kelvin stood on the street corner, watching as school kids passed by in uniforms he once wore. A sudden commotion erupted down the road. Sirens. Police vehicles.

His heart dropped.

He ran toward the noise. A small crowd had gathered. Jerry was on the ground, bleeding, handcuffed, with Rex screaming from the back of a police van.

"Jerry!" Kelvin shouted.

Jerry looked up, blood on his lips. "You should’ve come, man... we could’ve handled it."

Kelvin’s knees buckled.

He had almost gone. Almost.

Mama Kelvin's voice echoed in his mind: If this is his last call, let him hear it loud and clear.

The chapter closes with Kelvin walking into Pastor James’s office the next day.

"I need help," he said.

Pastor James looked up from his desk. "Then help is what you’ll get."

Kelvin sat down, the first time in a long time he’d felt he wasn’t falling.

End of Chapter 3