Melanin Wars

by Taquila Thompson

  “Of course I patted her down! I mean how do we know that they are who they say they are!” exclaimed Ahshay. “I just think that it’s too soon. No offense to them, but I’m just not ready to trust anybody just yet.”

  Dizzie looked at us and smirked. “Our group attacked a small army of whipipo. Killed three but injured two. I don’t mean to brag but I think that you would want us on your crew. We don’t mess around and we’re about as loyal as they come. I know that you may not want to trust us right now but honestly we both need each other and it would definitely beat trying to keep going at it alone.”

  “Dang, we might really do need you guys” said Ahshay.

  I could tell that she was impressed. And she was a hard person to impress. Even before all of this stuff happened. I was about to open my mouth to say something when Breyrian walked back in followed by three more melanins. Two were dark skinned, strong looking melanin boys and one was a very beautiful brown-skinned girl with short hair. I found myself staring at her for a second before I looked at Breyrian to see what he had to say.

  “Her story checks out,” said Breyrian. “I brought them in because the sun is coming up and I didn’t want them to draw any attention to where we are.”

  I nodded my head and looked back at Tamoia. “If I let you join our group, just know that we don’t tolerate craziness. And that we move smart and do what’s best for us as a whole. At the moment our main focus is survival.”

  “That’s no problem. We don’t have any drama or craziness in my group,” said Tamoia.

  “Also, does your group have supplies? Water, food, weapons and things like that?”

  “Yes we do. We keep them all at our underground camp,” said one of the guys who came in with Breyrian.

  “Underground camp?” asked Tyleah.

  “Yeah, about a month ago we found this abandoned underground bunker and have been using it since. It’s safer than finding shelter above ground because they rarely check below. Besides, we don’t have to struggle to find a different shelter everyday. All we had to do really was find weapons and bring them back to the bunker. It even came stocked with food and water. We figured that it probably belonged to a whipipo who was planning for the end of the world but didn’t make it,” said Tamoia.

  I nodded my head. “Okay, so who are the rest of the people in your group?”

  One of the tall, strong looking boys stepped forward. He had a scar above his right cheek and a chipped tooth. “I’m Rahz.”

  He stepped back and the other boy who had a mole on the side of his face, by his ear spoke. “I’m Clayahr.”

  Lastly, the beautiful girl with the short hair stepped forward. “I’m Dezzie. Dizzie there is my twin brother.”

  “Okay, so now that everybody is acquainted do you want to come back with us to our bunker or not?” asked Tamoia. “Because I know that our place is a lot safer than these abandoned buildings y’all have been in.”

  “Let me talk it over with my crew,” I said as I motioned for them to huddle up around me. “So what do you guys think? Do you think we should join crews with them?” The last thing I wanted to do was make another decision they didn’t agree with and have to constantly hear about it. As much as I loved my crew, they could be annoying as hell sometimes.

  “Did you get to fully scope them out?” asked Breyrian.

  “Yeah, they don’t look as if they’ve been experimented on. I think that we can trust them,” I said.

  “Okay then, I think we should join them. This is what we just talked about. Besides, you are right, we can’t keep doing this by ourselves much longer,” said Tyleah.

  “Yeah, you would say that,” said Ahshay as she rolled her eyes. “They don’t seem like they’re bad people so I say why not? And Tyleah is right, we definitely do need more people to defend ourselves from the whipipo. We need to go from just surviving to fighting back.”

  “Okay, but we did just dodge a bullet with that other group,” said Breyrian.

  “Yeah, but something is telling me they aren’t the same,” I said as I looked at him. I was sure about this decision and I needed him to get on board.

  “Okay, well if you say go, I’ll follow,” he said.

  I nodded my head. “Well, I guess the decision has been made.”

  They all nodded their heads in agreement.

  I turned around to face Tamoia. “We’ll join you.”

  She smiled. “You won’t regret it. Besides, we think that we have the key to give us an advantage in this war.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked with a raised brow.

  “Grab your stuff and follow us. We’ll explain along the way,” said Dezzie as she smiled at me.

  I looked at my crew and gave a short nod. We gathered our stuff and in a few short moments we were on our way to the underground bunker. As soon as we stepped outside, I had to blink a few times to help get my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, but after that, I was good to go. We started on our treach and after a few moments I decided to speak up. “So, how exactly do you think that you’ve discovered an advantage in this war?” I asked.

  Tamoia slowed her pace a little so that she fell in step beside me. “As you know, melanins have always been the superior race. That's why whipipo have gone to the extremes to divide us and ensure our downfall. We were once kings and queens and some of the smartest and gifted people on this earth. Why do you think they want to be us so bad?” She pause briefly and looked around at all of us before she began speaking again. “Everything was birthed from Africa. And honestly, Africa holds the key to everything whipipo want. Only, they don’t know how to unlock the power which is why they’re experimenting on us and exterminating us at the same time. But we have a plan. A plan that will turn the whole situation around for us.”

  “And what’s the plan?” I asked curiously.

  “Get to Africa and untap our full power,” she said.

  I stopped and stared at her as if she were crazy. I’ve heard a variety of wild plans since the end started but this by far was the wildest one. “You want to go Africa?”

  “It’s the only way to have the advantage over these whipipo. They’re breaking us, the superior race, down to create what they think is a ‘pure race.’ They hate us so much, yet they want to imitate us so bad,” she said. “And what’s even funnier is that even though they claim to want a ‘pure race’ they still need us to do it.”

  “We’re like Gods to them,” said Dizzie.”Before the end of the world they tried so hard to make themselves like us. Take our culture and try to make it as if it were something new.”

  “Booty shots, fuller lips, our music, our curves, even dreads and braids. Some of them even put on a lot of make-up to look darker or walked around with that permanent tan,” said Dezzie. “They tried to emulate us, while trying to make us feel bad about ourselves in the process.”

  “Systematically breaking us down one by one,” said Clayahr. “They found faults and flaws in the same thing many of them wanted to be in the first place. They tried to place their self-hate on us.”

  “So the only place to truly tap into our full potential and be our great selves we have to go back to where we were the greatest. Where we reigned supreme and where they tried to rewrite our history. We have to go back to the motherland,” said Tamoia her voice full of confidence.

  “Back to where we ruled kingdoms and built nations,” said Rahz. “We know that this is a lot to take in but in order for us to survive and have the upper hand it’s necessary. And in about a week or two we will be headed there and will tip this war in our favor. We’re tired of having to hide underground. Tired of being punished just because we were born a different color. All of these years later and history seems to keep repeating itself. Only in this stage of it, we’re going to win.”

  I stared at them in disbelief but kept walking. Standing still in the sunlight was like having a target on your back. “And you’re sure this going to Africa will tip the war?” I still thought they were a little
off but maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea. Afterall, it wasn’t like we had many of our own at the moment.

  “I know it will. Whipipo are already planning to go there. But, they can’t tap into anything without that melanin juice,” said Tamoia. “And that’s why they keep trying to take ours. We need to make a move on this as quickly as we can.”

  “And how do you know all of this?” asked Breyrian.

  “That, we can’t tell you,” said Rahz. “At least not in the open.”

  “So are you still down with us?” asked Tamoia as she looked at all of us.

  I nodded my head. “We’re still down. If this is something that you truly believe will make a change in this war then I’m for it. We could use an advantage and if it’s just going to be nine of us, then we can use all of the help that we can get. Besides, I’m a little curious to see what will happen if we do go go.”

  “Yeah, I don’t mind seeing Africa. It would be a nice change of environment,” said Ahshay. “Although, I know it probably looks like this place since the world ended as we know it. Still though, would be a great change from seeing all the same sites here.”

  “I’m okay with it,” said Breyrian.

  “Me to,” said Tyleah.

  Tamoia smiled and nodded her head. “Good to know. Anyways, we’re here. This is where we stay.”

  I looked at the area and didn’t see anything. As I looked at the ground I finally saw what looked like a faint outline of a door. “Okay, so we go down there now?”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s dark down there and we only use flashlights and lanterns to see. But, one of you can go down there now with Dizzie and put your stuff up. And if anybody comes, we all go under and lock the hatch. Once the latch is locked then nobody can get it because it bolts pretty tight.”

  “Tyleah, you go with Dizzie and put the stuff up,” I said as I handed her my bag. She was the most nervous out of the group so I knew that her seeing what was down there would help ease her nerves if only for a little bit.

  She took the bag and headed with Dizzie down below.

  “So what do you all do during the day time?” I asked as I continues to scout the area out. I still didn’t want to take any chances of being caught in the open like this.

  “We scout for supplies or for people like us. We also sometimes spy on the whipipo and try to stay one step ahead of them. We do a lot of stuff since we always know that we have a safe place to come back to.”

  “You actually go near them on purpose? The whipipo?” asked Ahshay wide eyed.

  Tamoia nodded. “How else are we supposed to know what they’re planning. Can’t know how to attack if you don’t know what you’re up against.”

  “You have a good point there,” said Breyrian.

  “Yeah, but aren’t you afraid that you will get caught? That they will see you and torture you?” asked Ahshay.

  Tamoia shrugged. “We’re careful. We just have to be aware. Can’t live in fear and be blinded by the facts. The only way to rise is to know what you’re rising above. See that’s the problem that most melanin crews have had, they don’t want to get close to them to know how to defeat them.”

  I took in what she said. Although she was right, I couldn’t see myself putting my crew at risk like that. We were family, and we never put each other in unnecessary danger like that. I was about to open my mouth and say something when the door to the bunker opened up. Out stepped Tyleah and Dizzie. She didn’t have a look of fear on her face so that further solidified my faith in them. Tyleah was a cautious girl, very cautious, so seeing her comfortable the way that she was was something to take into consideration. `She had a very trusting nature but I knew that the moment she ever felt uncomfortable she would let it be known.

  “Okay, so now that everybody is here, let’s get to business,” said Tamoia.

  Chapter 5

  I watched as Tamoia reach into her backpack and pulled out some files that read classified. I felt my heart begin to pound louder. I knew that she had stolen them from the whipipo. Only, I was just really scared to know what they might say after having been trying to survive with blinders on for so long. As much as I liked to say that we were fighting for a cause, after my dad got captured I really did try to keep a blind eye more than I should have.

  “Are those what I think they are?” asked Breyrian curiously.

  “Maybe,” said Tamoia. “Now, have a seat.”

  We all sat down in a circle as Tamoia placed the files in the middle of all of us and began to open them up. “Okay, my crew has already seen the files and we’ve figured a few things out on our own. But, with fresh eyes maybe we could figure out some more.”

  I nodded my head. “What are these files for? I mean what’s in them?”

  “These files contain details of the experiments that they have performed on melanins or what they want to perform on melanins,” said Dezzie.

  “Yes, and some of the stuff written in here isn’t for the weak. In fact, some of it is very gruesome and a little disturbing,” said Tamoia.

  “We always knew that it was bad. Just not that bad,” I said.

  Tamoia opened the files and laid out some of the content in front of us. There were melanins strapped to tables being injected, some were in incubators, and others had melanins literally cut open on the table in front of them. I picked up one of the papers and began to read it out loud. “Melanin subject number one doesn’t seem to be affected when forced extreme heat upon him. He also has been starved for the past two days and hasn’t succumbed to our ways. His strength is unbelievable and we are trying to figure out what makes him tick. Once we’re done and find out what we need I will dispose of him just like the others.” I stopped reading and placed the file down. I looked up and saw Breyrian and Ahshay staring at me. We were all aware of what was going on, but we also didn’t think that it was like this. This was some real messed up stuff and I could feel my stomach beginning to turn as I pictured that man being subjected to what he was being subjected to.

  “How do they dispose of them? Does it say?” asked Ahshay.

  Tamoia looked at us and it seemed as if she really didn’t want to tell us. So I knew that whatever was about to come out of her mouth was about to be horrific. “They drain them of all of their blood and cut the brain out.”

  I stared at her in disbelief. “Why would they cut the brain out?”

  “Because, they believe that it will be the key to figuring out what makes us superior,” said Rahz. “The brain is one of the most misunderstood organs in the human body so that’s why they want it. To get a glimpse into how we tick because if they find out how to access that power, then they think that they can be unstoppable and can control us even more. That’s why we have to figure out how to access it first..”

  I shook my head. “I swear this seems as if it’s all a bad and horrible dream that I’m never gonna awaken from.”

  “Well, I can tell you right now that it’s very much a reality,” said Dizzie.

  “And it’s a reality we’re going to have to live with day in and day out until we rise up to make a change,” said Dezzie. “We have to be the heroes because no one else is going to come in here and save us. We’re all that we got.”

  Ahshay shook her head as she picked up one of the files and began to skim over it. I watched as her face went from stoic to appalled to shocked. “Hey, I think I found something. Listen to this,” she said as she flipped back to the page she was reading. “We are very close to breaking the code that makes the melanins the way that they are. We have decided that once we find out exactly what it is that we will install it in or NWO soldiers. That way they will find the melanins faster and we can destroy them. They can not group together or unite or they will unlock this power on their own and then we will be in a lot of trouble because we won’t be able to control them or stop them. We must keep them in fear. We must keep them low so that they won’t know how high they can go.”

  “Well, they’ve succeeded in keepi
ng us in fear. It’s the main reason most of us won’t unite,” said Tyleah.

  “Yes, but we’re a group of melanins that are together. Do you think that we will be able to unlock the power?” I asked. “My group has been together for a while and we haven’t unlocked any powers. Only thing that managed to change on us were our eyes and that’s a change that happened to all of us.”

  “You weren’t trying to unlock a power though,” said Tamoia. “But, we’re a bigger group and together I think that we can unlock the power. I think that as a bigger group we will be able to unlock our full potential, even without trying. We just have to stick together.”

  I sat and took in everything they said. I knew that melanins came from greatness. We were once kings and queens with beautiful kingdoms. It was all stripped away from us though. They stole our freedom years ago and rewrote our history. Most of us didn’t even know the history of melanins before slavery and now they were completely trying to annihilate us off of this planet completely. Shouldn’t have been much of a shock considering that’s what they’ve been trying to do for years. With so much open hatred in the world before all of this started, none of this really surprised me when the whipipo began to act crazy. They always wanted it to be just them and now they were putting that into action. “So how do you think that we go about unlocking our hidden potential? I mean do you even know what kind of powers it is that they are looking for in us?”

  “I still believe that we have to go to Africa to unlock our full power,” said Tamoia. “But, I also believe that the more we unite and stand together, the more the power will eventually unlock itself. I’m not exactly sure of the kind of power that they are looking for but I know whatever it is it will be the keys into turning all of this around for us.”

  “So, what do we do in the meantime?” asked Ahshay. “I mean are we to just sit around until we figure out how to unlock all of this stuff?”

  “What we do is play this war smart and survive,” said Rahz. “We have to make it because believe it or not we may be our race’s only hope.”