Melanin Wars

by Taquila Thompson

  She nodded her head.

  “Okay here we go,” I said as I looked back down at the paper. “After days of trying to break the subject down mentally we’ve failed. We blamed his wife’s death on him and he admitted to not being able to protect her like he wanted. We also said that he failed his children and that we would soon capture and torture them. But, he’s very confident that his son will be able to take care of him and his sister which makes us curious to find this young man. Being that the subject has such a strong mindset, there is no way that we can break him down by using his emotions against him. So it is now time that we try to torture.”

  “Okay, I think that’s enough for now,” said Ahshay. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to hear how those whipipo tortured our dad. Maybe...maybe..we can read about that later.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, yeah we can definitely do that.” I closed the file and place it on the ground beside me.

  “Are you guys okay?” asked Tyleah.

  “Yeah, we’ll be fine,” I said as I hugged Ahshay close to me.

  “Okay, now let’s get back to our shifts and actually try to get some rest or none of us are going to be any good in the morning,” said Tamoia.

  We all nodded our heads and went back to our sleeping bags, only sleep didn't find me immediately. I laid back and thought about my father and all that he had been through and whether or not he was still alive. When he first got captured, it had been easier to think that he had just been killed. Now that I knew that he was tortured I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know if they broke him or not. If he became the very thing that he fought so hard against I didn’t know if I could face that truth. Or even worse that they tortured and killed him. Because, then I will feel bad that I didn't try to save him like Breyrian did when his parents were captured. I felt like a failure. Like I failed him. That I’m not the son that he would be proud of. That he would be ashamed of me and that’s not something that I think I can live with.

  Chapter 8

  I woke up the next morning still feeling dread within my stomach. I still couldn’t believe that my father was tortured. I think that I would’ve been better off if I never opened that file. That I would’ve felt better if I had just believed that he died as soon as they captured him. It would’ve been so much easier just believing that he had no suffering. And, if he was alive, I knew that it was going to be much worse. That he endured all that for three years. I looked over at Ahshay and she was lying down with dad’s picture still in her hands. I knew whatever else was in the file would be liable to break either one of us, but I still thought that it would be useful for us both to know. No matter how painful it was. I noticed Tamoia was staring off into space and could see that she had a lot on her mind. I wanted to see what was wrong with her but I also had a lot on my mind and knew that I wouldn’t be of any help to her at the moment. I heard someone clear their throat behind me and saw that it was Breyrian.

  “How long have you been up? I know that you didn’t sleep well last night. I saw you tossing and turning most of the night,” he said.

  “So I take it that you didn’t get much sleep either if you saw me tossing and turning most of the night,” I said with a raised brow.

  “Well, I noticed most of it during my shift. Plus, after seeing what happened with your dad, I’m curious to know what happened with my parents. Whether they’re still alive or being tortured,” he said.

  I sighed. When his parents got captured, he tried everything within his power to save them but he was unsuccessful. “Try not to think about it because knowing the little bit I know about my father so far is killing me. It’s why I can’t sleep. I feel like I could have done more to try and save him, but I had to be there for Ahshay.”

  “It’s cool Ty. We were younger then and you did what you felt was right at the time. Do you think he’s still alive?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. But if he is, I know he won’t be anything like the man he once was.”

  “You think they broke him?”

  “He has too much pride to be broken. He would let them kill him first.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  I nodded. “I’m positive. There’s no way that he would bend to them.”

  He stared at me for a moment and sighed. “I think that my parents would have conformed. They aren’t as strong as your dad is. What if they were spies for the whipipo?”

  I placed my hand on his shoulder. “You will have to make a decision on what to do with that if we run across them and they are indeed spies for the whipipo.”

  “I don’t think I could kill my parents Tysim. Not after I missed them for so long.”

  “I understand.”

  “I mean, if it came down to me or them, then maybe. But even then it would be hard for me to do.”

  “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t be able to kill my dad either. Besides, Ahshay would probably kill me before I got the chance.”

  Breyrian chuckled. “Yeah, she was a big daddy’s girl. She would most definitely kill you first. So are you going to read the rest of the file?”

  I took a deep breath and reflected on that. “I know that whatever is in the rest of that file is going to be rough Breyrian and I want to finish reading it but just not with Ahshay. I don’t think she can handle it anymore than I can and I don’t want to re-open any old wounds or create new ones.”

  “Are you two talking about your dad’s file?” asked Tamoia as she sat down beside us.

  “Yeah,” I said as I looked over at her and then back at Breyrian.

  “You know your dad’s file is bad, but his isn’t the worst file that we ran across. Yes, they did some bad things to him but not nearly as much as they did to other people,” she said

  I looked her square in the eyes as I prepared to ask her a question that I knew I wasn’t ready to hear the answer to. “Tamoia, I have a question and I want you to be completely honest with me.”

  She looked at me and slowly nodded her head.

  “Is my dad still alive? Is he still being tortured?” I asked.

  A pained look came across her face but she quickly covered it up. “Your dad is really dead. He lasted for about two years but because they couldn’t break him, they killed him. He went through a lot and he stood his ground every step of the way. He went out like a very strong man.”

  “How did you know he died? Like are you completely sure that he’s dead?”

  She shifted around uncomfortably on the ground. “We heard one of the whipipo talking about it one day. Said that with the leader of the melanins dead that we would never unify and know our true strength.”

  “He could have been bluffing,” I said. It wasn’t uncommon for the whipipo to lie to us. After all, these were the same people who tried to rewrite our history and break us down mentally. And they got most of us to believe it, which is why we were always looked down upon as a race by every other race of people.

  She shook her head. “With the stuff that he was being put through we don’t think that it’s a lie. Plus, we’ve been through most of their headquarters and we’ve never ran into him or heard anyone else speak about him. I think it’s safe to say that the man you knew as your father is dead.”

  I nodded my head. I had accepted my dad being dead a long time ago, so maybe it was best that I didn’t let my mind run away with a fairy tale. But there was something about her last sentence that seemed a little off to me. “I guess that’s for the best. I wouldn’t even know what to do if I saw my dad but that’s why I’m trying to be at least half the man that he was.”

  “Well, the best way to do that is with going through with all the stuff that we had planned.”

  “The Africa stuff?”

  She nodded her head.

  “Well, I do plan on going along with it. It seems like it’s the right thing to do. Besides, if it’s going to make us stronger and give us the edge that we need to win this war then I’m going to go along with it. It’s our only hope right?”

&nbs
p; “Probably not our only hope but it’s definitely our best chance. I mean we have researched deep into this and this is our best bet. And, with these powers awakening in some of us then I feel we need to go there and see if it grows.”

  “Do you think going there will really help strengthen our new powers?”

  “It’s the motherland. The birth of everything in this world. So yes, I do think that it will help grow our powers.”

  “Well, I’m willing to go and find out. I mean I don’t even know what to think or do about the powers. I think until we learn how to control and grow them they will be useless.”

  “Yes, and no all of us have awakened our powers yet.”

  I nodded my head knowing that she was speaking about herself. So do you want to wake up everybody else and get this day started? We’re going to the whipipo headquarters today right?”

  “Yeah, we have to get a little bit more information and see what they’re up to and then we will plan our trip to Africa because this has to be done. We can’t fail if we don’t want our people to be exterminated.”

  “Don’t worry we won’t allow that to happen.”

  “Yeah, you’re right because we’re going to succeed. Show this world what a bunch of teens can do.”

  Tamoia smiled at me for a second and then she began to shake everyone and wake them up. There were moans and groans but eventually everyone got up so that we could talk about what the plans for the day were going to be. Ahshay looked over at me and smiled but I quickly looked away. I didn’t want her to know what I knew about dad. Tyleah looked the best she’s looked in a while and I was glad because I felt as if at any moment she was going to crack. Once everybody was up and semi awake Tamoia began to speak.

  “Okay everybody, here’s the plans for today. Since it’s a group of us now we will need to travel in two groups until we head off on our trip to Africa. Is that understood?” she asked.

  Everyone nodded their heads.

  “Okay so, Tysim, Dezzie, Rahz and I will be headed to whipipo headquarters so that we can get some new information on them. The rest of you look for more supplies and also set the usual traps,” she said.

  “Traps?” asked Ahshay.

  “Yes, we set traps so no unwanted people find our stash,” sad Rahz.

  “That sounds reasonable,” I said.

  “How come Tysim gets to go with you to whipipo headquarters?” asked Ahshay and I knew that the only reason she was asking was because she wanted to go and see if she could get more information on dad.

  “Because, he’s your leader and I think that he can handle this. He seems level headed and I have faith in him that he can pull off the self control that is needed to be there. Now everybody grab some food, water, and an emergency kit and let’s get moving.

  Chapter 9

  As my new group and I stepped foot back into the sunlight my mind was running at 100mph. I was nervous about going directly to the whipipo but I knew that I had to do it. I wanted to finally face my fear and become the leader that I wanted to be. Ahshay was still a little up in arms about me being chosen to go see the whipipo but I knew that she would get over it. She had to. Besides, she never really could hold a grudge for long so I knew this would pass.

  “Okay Tysim, before we go, do you understand exactly what we’re going to do because we can not get caught. We all know what they’re capable of and we don’t want to be next on their list,” said Tamoia.

  “Yes, I know what I need to do and what’s expected of me. I won’t get us caught,” I said as confidently as I could. I was a little nervous but nothing was going to get the best of me. I would do this.

  “Okay, and if you have any questions don’t be scared to ask. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” said Rahz.

  “How long will it take us to get there?” I asked so I would know how long I would have to boost my confidence up during the journey.

  “It will take us about 3 hours to get there. And we’ll spend at least 30-40 minutes in there,” said Rahz.

  “We just look for files right?” I asked.

  “Yes, look for files files and avoid the whipipo,” said Dezzie. “That’s all. And not run through your water supply too fast but it’s a given.”

  “Okay well then let’s get moving,” I said.

  Tamoia looked at me and nodded her head. “Alright then.”

  It was a good thing that the other group left ahead of us because I honestly didn’t want to have to face Ahshay again. They had already left to go scout for water, weapons and food. I just hoped that we all would get back in one piece. This would be the first time that we had ever been split up and I was nervous about it. But, I knew that we could handle it. We were a strong group. As we treached along the path in the heat, I could feel my nervousness slipping away and turning into anxiousness. My heart rate sped up a bit but only because I could feel myself getting excited about what was going to happen.

  “So, can you tell us what it was like to grow up with a dad like Marshyn?” asked Rahz as we treached along.

  I glanced over and saw Tamoia nudge him and I couldn’t help but smile at her trying to protect me.

  “It’s okay Tamoia. He can ask about my dad. I don’t mind,” I said.

  “If it’s too much you don’t have to answer. I don’t want to intrude,” said Rahz.

  “Yeah, we don’t want to overwhelm you,” said Tamoia as she shot Rahz a smug look.

  “It’s fine. Growing up with my dad was great. He was like your average dad. Gave me advice when I needed it. Came to everyone of my sports events. He helped me out of binds and taught me so many things. The man was like a saint in my eyes. He could do no wrong,” I said as I thought about all of the good times I shared with my father. “Then when all of this happened he changed. He got a little tougher and then things weren’t as fun anymore. But, I understood why. We were living in the end and things weren’t what they used to be. And then shortly after we lost my mom and he broke down and became kind of cold and distant. A part of him died when she died and he never recovered from it. Then, he became a warrior. Then, well, I guess the rest is in that file.”

  “Well, at least you got the chance to have a good dad,” said Rahz.

  “You didn’t have one?” I asked.

  “No, I was an unwanted kid,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

  “Don’t say that,” said Tamoia.

  “It’s true,” he said as he looked her in the eyes. “It’s okay though. We all know that and I’ve accepted it long ago.”

  “Yeah, but I wished that you would just word it differently,” she said as she rolled her eyes.

  “For what? How I word it would make no difference,” he said, “but anyways Tysim, I was an unwanted child. I was in the foster system from birth. I wouldn’t know my parents if they passed me on the streets. They gave me up the day that I was born and never looked back.”

  “Wow, I couldn’t imagine a life like that,” I said. It seemed as if all of these kids had it rough and I couldn’t believe how easy me and Ahshay had it. It was crazy how life was on the other side.

  “It’s fine. It taught me how to be tougher and self-sufficient. I mean it sucked at times and when I was younger I used to want what the other kids had but then I got over it,” he said.

  “You never wondered about who they were or why they gave you up?” I asked him.

  “Yeah, all the time but then it was driving me crazy so I settled on the fact that they didn't want me. I know that people give their kids up for all types of reasons but I really used to wonder why they didn’t even try,” he said.

  “Maybe they thought that you could’ve had a better life if they gave you up,” I said.

  “Well trust me, life in that foster home was not a better life. They were mean, well not all of them. And some were verbally abusive but like I said the scars, the emotional scars, made me stronger,” he said. “All I kinda wished was that they would’ve tried. Maybe they wouldn’t have been as bad as they though
t. But I guess I’ll never find out.”

  “Dezzie said that she and Dizzie were in foster homes as well. Did y’all meet in there?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No, they were in different ones. We only became close when we became a team.”

  I nodded my head. “So Tamoia, what’s your story?”

  “You sure you want to hear about it? It wasn’t all peaches and cream like yours was,” said Tamoia as she stared at me directly in my eyes.

  “Go ahead, I can handle it,” I said.

  She smirked. “Well, I grew up with mostly my parents, just like you did but it wasn't as easy as your life was. In my opinion, my parents would’ve been better off apart. Then maybe my life wouldn’t have been as bad.”

  “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  “Because my dad was abusive. Both physically and emotionally. He used to beat me and my mom constantly and tell us that we were worthless and beneath him. But everytime that he left, mom would always beg him to come back. That she would change and be a better wife. It was like she couldn’t function without him being there. He would then say that she was the love of his life and that he would also change but I knew that he wouldn’t and that she was just fooling herself. They both were. It was chaos and I was tired of dealing with it. I didn’t want to have to stay in a house where there was always drama.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “No one should have to deal with abuse.”

  “Yeah, you’re right no one should. But I did. And a lot of other people do to,” she said.

  “So what happened to your parents?” I asked.

  “When ‘the end’ came, at first my dad bolted. I guess he was scared but then he came back the next day and was just as abusive as before. You would think that ‘the end’ would change him. I mean, people were losing their lives. People were scared. But him, he seemed as if he got meaner you know. He beat my mom worse and I tried to stop him but he pushed me off. Then she said that it was okay and that she deserved it. That she wasn’t being a good enough wife to him. After that, I was done. I really was. I couldn’t just stand by and watch him kill her. Even worse, watch her let him do it. I just knew that once he killed her he would move onto me and I wasn’t trying to deal with any of that.”