This Is What Happened When Vengeance Crawled Out of the Grave
The old warehouse area, on the edge of Detroit was really quiet. The only sound you could hear was the away noise of the highway. Under the light of one streetlight that was not working very well a black SUV was sitting in an empty parking lot. The engine of the SUV was making a low noise, like an animal that is waiting to jump on something. The black SUV just sat there waiting.
Inside the warehouse Marcus “Reaper” Donovan was walking back and forth fast his fancy Italian shoes making a lot of noise on the concrete floor. He had made a lot of money in this city from selling drugs and hurting people and selling guns. For five years Marcus “Reaper” Donovan had been, in charge. Nobody had tried to stop him. Marcus “Reaper” Donovan liked being the boss.
Until tonight.
Outside Daniel Cross came out of the dark. You could not see his face well because it was covered with a dark hood but his eyes were really angry and mean. Daniel Cross was his name and a lot of people thought Daniel Cross was dead.
This happened because six months ago they had buried the man. The man was gone from their lives six months ago that is when they had buried him.
The Night Everything Changed
That was the night when everything in my life changed. I am talking about the night everything changed. The night everything changed is still very clear in my memory.
I remember what happened on the night everything changed like it was yesterday. The night everything changed was a turning point for me.
What occurred on the night everything changed had an impact, on my life and the night everything changed is a night I will never forget.
The events of the night everything changed are still hard to believe today.
Six months earlier Daniel Cross was a different person. He had a job as a mechanic who fixed machines lived in an apartment, outside the city and spent his weekends teaching kids how to play basketball. His younger brother, Tommy meant everything to Daniel Cross. Tommy was a college kid who wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. Daniel Cross really loved his brother Tommy.
Tommy did something bad. He saw something that he was not supposed to see. This was a mistake that Tommy made. Tommy saw something that he should not have seen. Now he is, in trouble because of it.
On a Friday night Tommy was walking home from the campus library when he saw Marcus Donovans crew doing something bad to a rival dealer in an alley. Tommy started running. He did not run fast enough. Within a hours Marcus Donovans men found Tommy.
They did not just kill Tommy. They made it look like Tommy died from taking many drugs. This destroyed Tommys name and it also broke Daniels heart. It was a sad and cruel thing that they did to Tommy and Daniel.
Daniel knew the truth about his brother. His brother had never taken drugs. Daniel decided to go to the police and tell them what he knew about his brother.. The problem was that Donovan had a lot of control, over the police department because he owned half of it. So Daniel went to the FBI to see if they could help his brother. The FBI told Daniel that they needed proof before they could do anything to help his brother. Daniel was very determined to help his brother so he went to talk to journalists and lawyers and anyone who would listen to what he had to say about his brother.
That is when Donovan decided that Daniel had to go. Donovan thought it was best for Daniel to leave well. Donovan made up his mind that Daniel had to go.
Buried Alive
Donovans men took Daniel from outside his apartment on a night when it was raining. They hit him badly that he lost consciousness. Then they put him in a car. Drove him to a place where people were building something far away, from the city. After that they threw Daniel into a hole that was not very deep.
They made a mistake. They did not check if the person was really dead before they put him in the ground. The person they were burying they just assumed he was dead. They did not make sure the person was actually dead before they buried him.
Daniel woke up. It was completely dark. He had six feet of dirt on top of him. This dirt was pressing down on him hard. His lungs were screaming for air. Daniel was really scared. Something inside of Daniel changed at that moment. The person Daniel used to be the engineer Daniel, the coach Daniel, the citizen Daniel who always followed the law that Daniel died in that grave.
Something strange came out. It was not what you would expect. What clawed its way out was something entirely. The thing that clawed its way out was really different, from everything.
Daniel used his belt buckle as a tool and all his strength to dig up through the dirt. He. Dug. It felt like it took forever. His fingernails were all. His hands were bleeding. Daniel was starting to lose his mind.. Then he finally made it to the top. Daniel broke through to the surface. He was so relieved that Daniel had made it out of the dirt. Daniel was exhausted from digging with his belt buckle.
The man fell down on the ground. He was breathing hard and blood was coming out of his body. At that moment he did not look like a man all he was just a person who was badly hurt this person was barely a human being the human was suffering a lot.
But alive.
Six Months of Preparation
Daniel did not go to the police. Daniel did not go to the hospital either. Daniel just disappeared.
For six months Marcus Donovans enemy became a ghost. He found out about Marcus Donovans operation, like what Marcus Donovan did every day the places Marcus Donovan owned the people who worked for Marcus Donovan and the things Marcus Donovan was not good at. He made his body strong by using his feelings and his anger to build muscle and learn new things. He went to boxing gyms to learn how to fight. He also learned about guns and other weapons from soldiers who did not ask him any questions, about what he wanted to use them for.
He found every person who was involved in the death of Tommy and the attempt on his own life. He wrote down all the details making sure he had a strong case. This case was so strong that not even the corrupt police officers working for Donovan could turn an eye to it. He made sure that the case, against the people involved in Tommys death and his own attempted murder was solid.
The papers and records were not enough for Daniel. Daniel wanted the people who did wrong to be punished. He wanted Donovan to be really scared just like Tommy was when he died. Daniel thought about how Tommy felt when he was, in a lot of danger and Daniel wanted Donovan to feel that fear.
Tonight was the night.
The Confrontation
Daniel walked calmly through the warehouse door. The guards who worked for Donovan saw him away and they raised their guns. But there was something, about the way Daniel was walking. He was not scared at all.. That made the guards stop for a moment.
Donovan shouted “You should have stayed dead” at the top of his lungs. His voice was really loud. It bounced off the walls of the empty space. Then Donovans hand moved towards the gun that was, at his waist.
Daniel just kept on walking. His voice was really cold, like the steel they use in winter. He said “You buried the man.”
The sound of a gun safety being turned off was loud in the warehouse. Daniel was ready for this. He moved fast he got down he got close to the other guy and he hit him very hard. This punch was so strong that it sent Donovan flying into the side of a car that was parked there. Daniel had thought about what might happen. He was prepared. The punch that Daniel threw was very bad, for Donovan.
Guards rushed forward. Daniel had planned for this too. The lights in the warehouse went out all of a Daniel had messed with the electrical box before he went in. It was really chaotic and dark. Daniel moved around like a shadow. He went from one guard to the next taking away their guns and stuff. He did it really fast and strongly. Daniel was very good at this. The guards did not stand a chance, against him Daniel.
When the lights came on Donovans crew was lying on the ground groaning in pain. Daniel was standing over his boss, who did not have any injuries, just the old scars from when he was buried in his grave. The scars on his boss were from his grave. Daniel could see them clearly now that the lights were back on. Donovans crew was still on the ground. They were all groaning. Daniel was just standing there looking at his boss and the scars, from his grave.
Donovan got really angry. Said “You ruined everything!” He spat that out. There was blood coming from his lip. “My operation my operation is messed up now” he said, “. My reputation my reputation is gone”
“No” Daniel said, cutting in. His voice was really quiet. It sounded mean. He reached out. Grabbed Donovan by the collar. Then he pulled Donovan up to his face. “You did this” Daniel said. “You did this when you killed my brother”
Justice, Not Just Revenge
What happened next was not what Donovan expected to happen. Daniel did not kill Donovan. Even though Donovan really wanted Daniel to do that. Daniel just did not kill him.. That was a surprise, to Donovan.
Daniel pulled out a USB drive. Then he tossed it on the ground right in front of Donovan.
“Everything is, on there ” Daniel said. “I have six months of evidence on that. It has names, dates, transactions and even murders. I have already sent copies to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the Drug Enforcement Administration, the state attorney general and three different journalists who are not working for you, the FBI, the DEA, the state attorney general and those three journalists they all have the evidence now.
The sirens were wailing in the distance. They were getting louder. The sound of the sirens was really loud now.
Tonight Daniel said, “I am going to put an end to this.” His voice sounded really sad because of all the pain he had been feeling for six months. “I do not want to be like you ” Daniel said. “What I want is for you to face the music for everything you have done to the people, around you including me. That is what I am going to make sure happens to you Daniel said, so you have to face every single consequence of what you have done to me and the other people.”
Federal agents were over the warehouse. Daniel stepped back, into the shadows. He had to go to one place. Tommys grave. He wanted to tell his brother Tommy that things were finally okay now. Daniel was going to tell Tommy that the people who did things were caught and justice was done for Tommy.
The Aftermath
The police looked into what happened. They were able to take down Marcus Donovans whole criminal operation. They arrested seventeen people who worked for Marcus Donovan. Some police officers were found to be corrupt. They lost their jobs. Marcus Donovan got in trouble and had to go to prison for the rest of his life with no chance of getting out.
Daniel Cross told the truth in court as a witness then he was gone again. This time it was legal he went into the witness protection program. Before Daniel Cross left he started a foundation, in the name of Tommy. The foundation helps people who see crimes by giving them legal help and keeping them safe. Daniel Cross wanted to help these people because they are witnesses of crimes just like Tommy was a witness.
The man who crawled out of that grave was not the person who was buried in it. He was different now. The man had lost the innocence he once had he had lost his brother. He had lost his old life.
The man had also gained something. The man had gained the knowledge that when the system fails to do what it is supposed to do individuals like the man can still fight for what is right and just they can still fight for justice, for the man justice was very important now.
The Real Message Behind the Story
This is a story about what happens when people are treated unfairly. It is about justice. Getting back at someone who has hurt you. The story of Daniel is an extreme example but it makes us think about something that affects all of us. When someone does something to us we have to decide what to do. Do we act like the person who hurt us or do we find a way to stay true to what we believe in and make sure that person is held responsible for what they did to us and that is what justice and revenge and our choices are all about and that is what the story of Daniel and his search for justice and revenge is all, about.
Daniel made a decision. He chose to go to court and get justice in a way. This was not the way. It would have been simpler for Daniel to get rid of Donovan.. Daniel knew that was not the right thing to do.
He knew that getting justice is not about hurting someone. It is about making sure that people who do things are punished in a way that keeps everyone safe. Daniel wanted to make sure that Donovan paid for what he did. He wanted it to happen in a fair way.
Daniels choice to get justice in a way is a good thing. It shows that he is a person than Donovan. He did not let his feelings of anger take over. Instead he used the system to get justice for what happened to him. This is what Daniels decision is about. Daniels decision is, about getting justice in a way.
In our lives we have to make a decision every day. When someone does something to us like they cheat on us or lie to us or hurt us we have to figure out what to do. We can. Do something bad back, to them or we can try to make things right without losing our values. We face these choices all the time. When someone wrongs us we have to choose how to react to the person who wrongs us.
The story also shows that it is really important to keep trying when thingsre not fair. Daniel did not give up when the local police did not help him. He found information looked for other ways to get help and finally found people who would listen and do something. This teaches us something when one way to get justice does not work, keeping at it in a fair way often helps us find another way. Persistence is key. Daniels story is a good example of this. Persistence is what helped him in the end.
Educational Takeaway: This story shows us that being really strong is not about hurting people but about doing what is right. When something bad happens or we see something that is not fair the best thing to do is to be determined and honest. We should gather facts go to the authorities and make sure the people who did something wrong face the consequences through the correct systems. This way we do not become like them. We stay true to our values and principles. This is what Education Takeaway is, about it teaches us to always pursue justice and always maintain our moral principles just like Education Takeaway says. When we have a problem with someone at work or in our life we should try to fix it the right way. This means we follow the rules and talk to the people who can help us of trying to get back at the other person.
We do not have to act like someone who is being mean to us. The best thing to do is be better than that and make sure the person who did something has to answer for what they did.
To have a life we need to be brave and stand up for what is right even when it is hard. We also need to be smart about how we do it so we do not hurt the things that’re important to us and, to our community like following the law and being fair.
Have you ever faced a situation where you had to choose between revenge and justice? How did you handle it, and what did you learn?