One Night In Red Deer

 

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 I grew up in Red Deer, Alberta.  During my teens Red Deer had a population of about 60,000 and like other blue collar cities on the prairies it was a place where violence was easily provoked. One Friday night Me and a friend drove to an out of the way suburban liquor store to get beer for a party at my girlfriend’s place. We went to this store because they rarely asked for ID and there were no security cameras anywhere. We didn’t necessarily pride ourselves on shoplifting but In our circle, a lack of money was no excuse for showing up to a party empty handed. There were a few nights when unbeknownst to them, the owners of the west park liquor store facilitated the needs of a dozen or so juvenile delinquents. 

On this particular night we had money so we bought 2 six packs of cheap beer and as per usual, did so underage and without ID. We walked outside into the dusk now ready to start the night. As we were walking to the car something small and unseen hit me right in the chest pocket of my flannel jacket. I looked across the roof of the car to my co pilot with a chuckle thinking he had thrown a rock or one of those small red berries from the bushes behind us. He looked confused and had no idea what I was laughing about. As I Was about to explain myself another unseen  projectile ricocheted off of the side of my car making a loud ping. “someone Is throwning rocks at us!” I said Looking around my smile turning to agitation. “ I think that sounded more like a pellet or something man!” Replied my co pilot. Just then a third, unseen object bounced off some part of my car making a whizzing sound . “We’re being shot at!” I proclaimed while skittering around the loose pea gravel to his side of the car for cover. we crouched down behind the car like the two cops in the Lethal weapon, peeking up to scan the parking lot and everycar in it. We didn’t see anyone in any of the cars but there was an apartment building on the far end of the parking lot with 3 floors of windows that looked directly down on the parking lot. We closely scanned the wall of windows and noticed that only one Suite had a light on and an open window. My co pilot Looked and thought he saw a dark figure ducking suspiciously behind the window Curtain. From behind the car we acknowledged that this probably where the shots were coming from. Just then we saw that two of our other friends (who will also remain unnamed) had pulled into the parking lot after having seen my car. ( The only custom painted metallic green and rust ‘78 Malibu with chrome rally wheels still in existence). They were the wild type, rarely sober and quick to violence. I once saw one of them club a guy with a tire iron at a house party. We ran over to their car and through their rolled down windows told them we thought we were being shot at from someone in the apartment. Before I knew it they were out of the car and we were all running across the parking lot towards the entry door of the building. We headed up the side entry stairs and to the second floor finding the approximate door where we figured we had seen the light and the open window. My co-pilot, the biggest and toughest of us, banged on the door. I didn’t expect anyone to Answer but do remember worrying that He might go so far as to kick the door in. All of a sudden the door did open!  A lone man older than us stood face to face with my co pilot. His suprized look was at least some indication that he did not see us running across the parking lot to his building and did not expect to open his door to the very people he was shooting at a Minute before. My co pilot asked him if he was shooting at us to which he immediately said NO. In a panic he tried to slam the door in our faces but my co pilot, already having seen the gun Behind the man, reacted swiftly by pushing the door open, grabbing the guys arms and wrestling  him backwards into his own living room where sure enough there was a pistol replica pellet gun in plain site. He gave up the gun quickly knowing he could not possibly fight the 4 adrenalized psychopathic tennagers who had just forced their way into his home. Straight up home invasion!We truly were capable of anything, but not in the good way often depicted on the murals in the hallways of our catholic high school. 

 My co Pilot let go of the guy, reached over, grabbed the gun and walked past the 3 of us still standing at the front entry comprehending  exactly how things had escalated so quickly.

 Off we went down the dimly lit hallway. We descended the rust coloured carpeted stairs, ran back across the parking lot and quickly got into our cars. With 420 positrack engaged i fishtailed my beast of a car on dry pavement out of the parking  and onto the road with our other 2 friends car in tow. They followed us across town to my girlfriends northside basement suite where we caught up on the prior events. We were now on the bad side of town. Unlike the southside where we had just been which was more middle class suburban kids with bad attitudes and alcoholic parents, the north side was lower class meth moms in pink sweat pants with cigarette burns on their forearms raising kids alone. About 10 years before this night when I was a kid I had been robbed by two older kids in this same neighbourhood. They stole my bike and left me tied to a spruce tree In the river valley. Luckily for me they were not very good with knots. On another occasion I had also been held at knife point on a nearby bike path by 3 young gangsters in broad daylight, but that’s another story. 

We parked and went down the stairs of the shared entry duplex. My girlfriend rented a small bedroom on one side the bsmnt to the right of a shared kitchen. A middle aged stock clerk named Darren lived in the bedroom on the other side of the kitchen. I had to confront him earlier in the month after he tried to get into my girlfriends room while she slept one night. He had obvious mental delays so I just gave him verbal warning instead of starting a fight. Upstairs from my girlfriends room  lived group of adults, at least one of whom was in a native gang called The Beaver Bones Clan. They were a group of teens and young adults who I’m sure perpetrated much of the crime that made the area so undesirable. Needless to say they made me nervous. 

We all crammed into my girls bedroom suite and passed around our newly acquired weapon, laughing and cracking beers While retelling the highlights of the story to each other. Not long after our arrival there was a knock at our door. It was one of the older guys who lived upstairs. He was clearly Tripping on acid and asked us all if we wanted to buy some. Of course we did. But again, money was a problem so my co pilot produced the gun to the madman at the door and asked him if it would be suitable payment for 5 tabs. We threw some cash in the deal as well and the trade was made. we dropped the acid and prepared for the abyss to open up Save us from our boredom. Within about 15 minutes we could feel the effects somewhat but the experience was being seriously affected by what sounded like a domestic dispute escalating upstairs. We could hear the madman yelling about something or other and tipping over furniture while a female screamed profanities in reply. He was freaking out from the acid

 and It wasn’t long before he decided to come down pay us another visit. He opened the door to our suite uninvited and waved the pellet gun in the air accusing us of try to rob him and some other nonsense. His eyes were glassy and dialated and though he was small you could imagine that he was probably capable of some serious shit. But that was no matter because so were we! My copilot again handled the situation and talked the guy out the door into the shared kitchen and up the back stairs to the shared entry calmly trying to get the guy to go back into his own place and leave us the hell alone. We all crammed into the landing behind them ready to assist should anyone else come out of the apartment uninvited. No matter how hard we or the guys girlfriend tried we could not get the madman to go back into his apartment.  One insult led to another and to another which resulted in my copilot grabbing the guy, throwing him directly on his head and pounding his lights out. It was the last resort. It was also a very short contest won easily by my large friend. The girl from upstairs hurled some profanities at us then proceeded to drag her semiconscious friend up and into their suite closing the door behind them. We went back down to the bsmnt. Looking at each other exasperated - What a night! Unbeknownst to us someone in the area had called the police. (No surprising considering  the last 30 minutes of activity by all parties involved was easily loud enough to be heard by the whole block.) so into the house came the police to respond to the domestic situation that had erupted upstairs 45 minutes before. We all sat quietly as possible in the bsmnt with our acid laced anxieties and the odd uncontrollable giggle. It didn’t take long for those upstairs to rat us out.  They said we were the ones responsible for bringing the pellet gun into the house and of course that we had started the fight.  There was no mention on their part of how the gun actually came into the possession of the madman. He would never give himself up as the lowlife speed dealer he was. He told the cop we let him borrow it. So down the stairs the cop came and so started his questioning  about who’s gun it was and why we were carrying it around at night. One of us claimed that we had found it in the park earlier. (Never admit anything which might incriminate you.) The police took the gun and explained that carrying a replica handgun around at night was the fastest way to get shot by the people with REAL guns (pointing at himself). He then told us the party was over and asked us to disperse immediately. I said goodbye to our 3 friends as they left in the other car and hung back to say goodbye to my girlfriend. After a quick hug I headed up the back stairs and out the door but just as I was exiting, the madman poked his head out the entry door of his suite, looked me straight in the eye and with a psychotic smile said “I’ll be seeing you around son!” 

 I went back to that house many times over the next year but luckily I never saw his face again. 


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