Tag: short story

Writers Wednesday – Chapter 4: The Women with Blue Eyes

Chapter 4 : “I’m Not Crazy”

“Aliens?”

“Look, laugh all you want. I am not crazy.”

Erica composed herself.

“I’m sorry girl. You sound like you believe it and if you believe I do too but…”

“Then you don’t believe me.”

Tina got up from the sofa and walked over to the window of Erica’s downtown office. Downtown Chicago was one of the most beautiful places in the country.

Erica put her notepad to the side.

“Okay. Let’s entertain this for a moment. You gotta think about how this is going to sound. Your nephew died in a drug deal…”

“…it wasn’t a drug deal,” interrupted Tina turning around. It pissed her off that people were still saying that.

“Hold on, let me finish. Far as they know it, your nephew dies in a drug deal and everyone else flees the scene. You take leave from work to raise Keisha’s kids, your remaining nieces, and nephew who by the way aren’t really your nieces and nephew…”

“Erica…”

“No, no, let me finish. You take them in after winning a custody battle with their Dad after he couldn’t prove stable residency and their drug addict mom gave you permission to have them. And now everyone involved in the case are connected to you in some way. Top this all off with the death of another black man by Lord knows who and your claim that Aliens killed Ronnie and abducted everyone at the Warehouse.”

Tina nodded. It did sound phony when you said it out loud. She sat on the sofa, resting her head on the pillow behind her.

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you but you a detective girl. You should know this ain’t gonna stick.”

“So, what am I to do then? I can’t keep taking these pills. It’s driving me crazy.”

“Listen, you need these pills so you can do your job without seeing little blue men walking around.”

“That’s not funny E.”

“Seriously, here’s what I think. Here’s my professional opinion…”

Tina smirked. “Now you wanna be professional?”

“Don’t be in my office judging me,” laughed Erica, “I’m the one with the pen.”

Tina laughed.

“In my professional opinion, I think you should see if you can find a connection between those who were abducted and people who may be working with these Aliens or whatever around here killing folk. They gotta be working with somebody or they wouldn’t be able to do anything without being seen.”

Tina sat up.

“They look like men though. That’s how they can move about without notice. It’s not like in the movies. The only way to tell is their eyes and sometimes not even then.”

“Still, they gotta be working with normal, everyday people too.  Find those people.”

Tina looked at Erica and bit her lip. It was a start.

“Meanwhile,” Erica stood and walked over to her desk and tore off a piece of paper. She walked back to the sofa and handed it to Tina.

“Get it together.”

Tina rolled her eyes and took the prescription, “I don’t need it.”

“Yes, you do. Even if it’s just in case.”

***

Tina thought deeply about Erica’s words on the drive home. She did have her wheels turning. Who could be involved in something like this? Az did say it was a government cover-up. Tina laughed. This some conspiracy theory shit. Reaching for the folders, Tina scanned the names again: Antonio, Brandon, Chareese, Sidney, the two officers, Emmanuel.

Someone is missing. Tina tapped her fingers against the steering wheel, thinking back to the days they used to hang out. Her close ties to everyone abducted did make her look suspicious so she had to be careful. They were all so close at one time and she blamed herself for Ronnie’s death before meeting Erica and getting her mind right.

Tina went to High School with a girl named Ja’mella back in the day who had started talking to some cat from the hood named Antonio, who everyone called Tony. Ja’mella came back into Tina’s life when she filed a rape charge against Tony and his best friend Brandon who was in a committed relationship with Tina’s friend Chareese at the time. Chareese was also pregnant with Brandon’s baby. The case centered around ties to Big Sam, the largest drug Kingpin in Chicago. Big Sam sparked something with Tina’s sisterfriend Keisha and got her strung out. Keisha couldn’t pay her debt to Sam and that’s how her son Ronnie got involved. Sam recruited him to work off his mama’s debt. They were all connected in a “six degrees of separation” kind of way.

Tina searched her thoughts, remembering their card games and get-togethers. They had all been tight at some point or another. Though she knew them all personally, she wasn’t real tight with the men and the women had gone their separate ways until the case united them.

“Black.”

Tina pressed the button on her dashboard to connect her Bluetooth to the speaker and waited as it rang, gripping the steering wheel. There was only one person missing from the crew. A click sounded and Freddie answered the phone.

“Yeap.”

“Hey Freddie? What did you say the name of that Insurance Guy was?”

Tina’s face froze as Freddy gave her the name.

“Tina? T, you there?” Freddy asked.

“Yea, yea I’m here. Thanks bro.”

Tina pressed the button to hang up, still in shock. She had forgotten all about Black.

Black was another one of Antonio’s friends, known for his complexion. He had a big crush on her back in the day, but she was talking to his friend at the time. Eventually, she went to school and he joined the military. She hadn’t seen him since then. His real name was Byron and now he was, dead.

Chapter 5 “The Mission”

Are you new to this series? Click here to start from chapter one.

Writers Wednesday – Chapter 3: The Women with Blue Eyes

Chapter 3: “They Are Back”

“Ronnie, no!”

Tina shot up, swung her legs off the bed and snatched her robe from the hook on the door. Pulling it tighter around her body she was in Janiyah’s room in an instant and rocking the seventeen-year-old in her arms like an infant. There was no explanation needed and no sound escaped either of the women’s mouths except the whispering words of comfort coming from Tina.

“Shh. It’s alright now. It’s alright. It’s over.”

She rocked and rubbed the young woman’s head with her eyes closed. This was her routine. Running into Janiyah’s room in the early mornings, though she didn’t think it would have lasted this long. She also worried she could not sympathize with her sister’s daughter, now her own. To lose your baby brother in such a violent way was one thing, to witness his murder was another thing. And then, there was the other thing.

Tina’s cell was singing in the room downstairs. Peering down at her exhausted teenager, she quickly untangled her body and let the girl fall sleepily back into the sheets and covered her before running downstairs, into her bedroom and silencing the phone before it woke up the other kids.

Hmm. Tina looked down at the tiny screen. That was odd. What was the office doing calling her so early?

She looked toward the window. She still couldn’t believe the city had settled and despite four people living here, the house was still too big. No amount of money could bring her nephew back though, even if it did help to raise his brother and sisters. The money was good. She couldn’t lie. It felt good not to have to worry about bills or pray she didn’t have to investigate some asshole just to make ends meet. Tina loved this time of day. Early, when the sky was still dark, the sun not yet peeking through. Tina threw herself back into the bed and called the office back.

“You better have a damn good reason for calling me so early in the morning.”

“What?” Tina’s smile faded, and she sat back up in the bed.

“When did this happen?”

Tina got out of bed and balanced the cell between her ear and shoulder as she slipped on a pair of slacks. Trying to do the same with a blouse was not going to work.

“Hold on a minute…”

Placing the phone on the bed she slipped on her shirt and put the phone on speaker.

“The phones are blowing up over here. Officer Parks said she started getting them as early as last night,” said the caller.

“Calls? What calls? I thought I told you to hold…” she said before almost slipping on a sock. She picked it up and put it on. Now if she could just find the other one. Tina wasn’t the organized type at home. What she could do at the office did not manifest in her private life. It was one of the worries she had about being a mom. Cops didn’t exactly have a lot of time on their hands. She found herself hiring a Nanny against her better judgment to help maintain that balance. She had little time for laundry and housework and now that Janiyah had her license, she could pick up her brother and sister from school. She did make it a point to be back in time to make dinner and spend time with the kids. It made her feel motherly like she was upholding her end of the bargain. Miss. Bernice was not allowed to cook for her family except on occasion and during emergencies. This sounded like one of them.

“All I know is you better get your butt down here asap.”

“I’m on my way,” said Tina looking under the bed. Where in the world is that other sock?

“Yea, I know what that means. I’ll give you an hour.

“Freddy, chill. I said I’m on my way.”

“Your on-the-way has a different meaning from everyone else’s on-the-way,” Freddy chuckled.

Tina rolled her eyes and hung up on her partner.

“Kayla…Michael…” she called, grabbing the toiletries bag on her way out the door. She only had enough time to jump in and out the shower.

“Niyah,” she called, climbing the stairs and walking the length of the hall where a giant blue M hung against a door. She banged.

“Michael…”

She turned to the door facing Micheal’s where a giant pink K hung and banged.

“Kayla…”

Turning to her left, where the door was already slightly open from earlier, Tina peered in.

“Janiyah, ya’ll come on. I need ya’ll to get up.”

The young woman stirred and sat up, a black night scarf covering her head. Her elegantly arched eyebrows shot up,

“What time is it?”

Tina smirked. She didn’t know how she did it, but Janiyah managed to be cute at every occasion, even after waking up. The nose ring she begged Tina for didn’t look bad against her golden-brown skin. Janiyah scratched at her nose as if reading Tina’s thoughts. As anticipated, her nails were freshly done.

“I need you to call Miss. Bernice, tell her I need her to come in early. Like, right now.”

“Okay.” Janiyah patted her head. “Where’s your other sock?” she laughed.

Tina cut her eyes and smirked as she turned away from the room and ran back downstairs, calling names as she descended.

“Mike, KK. Up. Now!”

As she hurried her mind flooded with Freddy’s urgent message.

Another man was found dead yesterday in the Cicero neighborhood of 145th Avenue, now the fifth black man to die in the past seven days. It happened the same as the others, in broad daylight. All the men had suffocated, found dead in hotel rooms or their own homes. The latest death is the oddest of them all. Some Insurance Company worker found dead on the floor in the bedroom of an empty home. He was still wearing his blue-collar Insurance shirt and Khaki pants. Tina pondered as the shower poured its steaming hot blessings over her body. She hated cases like this. They made her think of…them. Tina stopped moving, letting the water drench her skin. How could she have forgotten the most important piece of the puzzle? Ronnie.

Her nephew Ronnie lost his life in a drug deal gone bad last year. There was a shootout at an empty warehouse where his sisters and brother had been kidnapped and held hostage. Ronnie’s loyalty to Big Sam, the dealer who hired him, ultimately costs him his life. But Tina knew the truth. It was the year everything began, the deaths, and the sightings all over the world. Tina knew better. They had killed him. Is that why the city had settled? Who would want to admit that the impossible was possible? That they did come but were not the friendly miracle workers we thought they would be? Was her team trying to sweep the truth under the rug?

Tina’s body trembled, not from the air now cooling her skin as she stood shivering under the water, but from the truth. Tina knew that Big Sam had blue eyes and that Ronnie’s death was no accident. They had murdered her nephew, were back, and killing again.

Chapter 4 “I’m Not Crazy”

Are you new to this series? Click here to start from chapter one.

Writers Wednesday – Chapter 1: The Women with Blue Eyes

Chapter 1: New Beginnings?

Friday, December 31, 2005, 11:55p

632 N Dearborn St., Excalibur Castle Chicago Dance Club

Bodies filled all five levels of the massive venue, and the music growled from the belly of the loudspeakers. Excalibur once again managed to stuff every available body into the three-level club. Blue, green, red, and yellow lights beamed from above the DJ table and hung from the second and third floors and illuminating the pack of intoxicated bodies on the ground floor.

“Erica girl where you been? It’s about to start.”

Tina turned away from the bar to face the short woman of milk chocolate complexion and short hair. Her body filled out the black dress as the woman waved her hot face.

“What?”

Tina laughed; the women couldn’t hear themselves over the music.

“It’s about to start. The countdown!” yelled Tina in Erica’s ear.”

“Wait, lemme get my drink.”

“Girl please, time don’t wait for nobody you better c’mon.”

Tina jumped down from the barstool.

“Grey Goose Martini and a plain cranberry juice,” shouted Erica to the bartender who smiled and winked.

A crowd of people began to surround the main stage as it prepared to lower the huge crystal ball to the middle of the floor.

“I need yall to make some noise,” boomed the voice of the Emcee from the microphone, sending the crowd into hysteria.

“C’mon E,” said Tina, watching as the bartender handed Erica her drink and the woman wobbled over to her. The women stumbled toward the stage, laughing.

“Here we go!” yelled the DJ.

“Whew” yelled Tina, laughing. It had been a long time since she had this much fun.

“I love you Chicago!” screamed Erica. Tina laughed. She was tripping on that drink.

“We love you!”

“I love you too baby,” said the DJ.

“Whew!” laughed Erica and Tina.

“Ten…nine…” began the DJ.

“Eight…” said Erica.

“Seven…” said Tina.

“Six…” said the crowd.

As the crowd sang along something caught Tina’s eye. A man stood in the distance. Wearing a black suit and tie he is oddly out of place and looked to Tina to belong in a courtroom, not a club. The sound around her went mute and her mind raced to decipher the identity of the strange man. After spending a year in therapy, she had tried to forget about her now fading past.

Purposefully considering her sanity, she had not expected to walk into Erica’s office to receive such a down to earth reality check from a doctor who was now dancing out her dress in a club with her patient. As such, Tina took this as a sign that things were finally back to normal, taking hallucinogenic suppressants as prescribed and even cutting off any ties to the former life.

But now, as the club lights bounced off the hint of blue that gleamed even in the darkness, she remembered Malaki’s words like it was yesterday. “What happened to Ronnie…was no accident. I saw Ja’mella’s eyes, the …they were blue.” That’s when they knew there were women too.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

The crowd’s shout startled her and forced Tina to take a step back. Erica hugged her and spilled some of her drink.

“Damn, messing with you.”

Tina smiled to conceal her changed demeanor, but it was too late.

“Hey girl, you alright?”

Tina’s eyes darted frantically around the club for the man, but he was gone.

“Yea girl, I’m good,” she said waving her hand.

“You sure? You been taking the pills, right? Don’t let me have to write yo butt up.”

Stealing one more glance in the direction where the blue-eyed man stood, there was no one there.

“Yea girl, I’m alright,” Tina waved, “where’s the bathroom though?” she said with laughter to fake the fear that already started to grow the tiny hairs on her skin, the sweat already creeping its way down her back. Tina gripped her purse as Erica pointed in the direction of the ladies’ room. She was definitely in need of a double dose tonight.

Chapter 2: “Captivated”

I Knew it Was a Mistake the Moment It Was Over

Portia Banks smoothed out the wrinkles forming in her dress, and picked at imaginary lint. She took it all in, snapping imaginary pictures of memory with her eyes as she scanned the room. Bachelors in Computational Journalism from Stanford University, Exceptional Research and Development, the list goes on and on. She wondered if it was all worth it, her name on the door, this office, or the prestigious position she found herself in. She’d come a long way from the dirt roads of Mississippi to a position as one of New York’s top Journalists. And while the check would be huge, she knew it was a mistake the moment it was over.

“Come on now, I know that look. You do know this is the biggest client we’ll ever have; ever.”

Simon fixed his glasses and stared intently at Portia, trying to understand her logic. The woman had talent no doubt, but as Assistant News Editor he had worked side by side with this talent for over two years and a mule could not be more stubborn. Of course he couldn’t say that, Portia was always on a prowl for any glint of racism from her white counterparts, even finding it where it didn’t exist. She believed all Europeans were born racists and that no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t help themselves in their feelings toward blacks. Still, she had managed to become one of his best friends which awarded him the truth concerning her level of racism. Although she wanted him to believe she held this grudge against whites, their friendship told him otherwise. In any event, to take on this case would put The Journal Chronicles on the map and Portia knew it.

“We’re talking about the biggest dollar signs you’ve ever seen in your life. Huge,” he spoke with his hands.

“Trying to persuade me with money is never a good idea Simon you know that. Besides, you do know money is not everything?”

“No, as a matter of fact I don’t.”

Portia laughed, “You’re such a liar.”

“And your such an idiot,” said Simon standing.

“Whatever”, said Portia gathering paperwork from her desk. It was Friday, the most exciting yet busiest day of the week, everyone trying to take weekend vacations and submit final story ideas to the big dogs at the same time.

“I just don’t care much about the man,” she said continuing, “What is there to know about a man we already know everything about?”

Simon looked at his watch; he had exactly two minutes to convince her to take this case. Otherwise it would go to the competition and Anne, the wicked witch of the west who pretended to be their boss, would never let him hear the end of it.

“That’s just it. How do you know we really know him? Because the TV says so? I’m not going for it.”

Portia smiled at Simon as he went on. She was wondering where he’d put his soap box and knew it was only a matter of time before he stood on it. She stopped daydreaming and turned the mental volume back up on Simon’s voice.

“We’ve got an opportunity to present a fresh story, a new look. To gather information about the success of the world’s biggest fragrance chain since Victoria’s Secret, Scentology. By delving deeper into Xavier’s most intimate thoughts, we have the opportunity to present a fresh story. We don’t care about his written rebuttal, let CNN fight over that. Anderson can hold that down…”

“Don’t try to be black Sy…” laughed Portia.

“Portia! WHAT WE WANT is the exclusive hard core truth. WHO is Xavier Thomas?

That was a year ago and Portia cursed herself for having to live the answer to that question. With every nerve in her brain there was an explosion threatening to obliterate pieces of reason. Painfully, Portia sought desperately to understand how she’d allowed herself romantic involvement with this man. Her face contorted, as she floated in and out of consciousness. The womanly intuition she’d always counted on to save her, could not assist her now as she tried not to choke on her own blood. Laying on the bathroom floor, a tattered mess in this abandoned building, where Xavier had just tried to kill her for discovering that he was a clone.

For Rose – A Story in a Single Image

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The city never afforded her body the chance to be this intimately part of creation in the way to which her eyes were now experiencing. The sun danced splashes of yellows on her skin and the light immersed her body into the landscape. Forty-two acres of earth welcomed Chelsea until her eyes were not big enough to hold all of it at one time. The sun seemed to come down from the sky to personally greet her and she felt a closeness to the heavens like never before. It was as if she could reach up to the sky and capture the wings of angels in the palms of her hands. A treasure of luminaries in a bowl of black dirt. The only sounds audible were locust and grasshoppers that leaped through the air like children playing hide and seek with the clouds and the growling motors of cars racing by. The land did not reach any homes on the right or the left for at least a mile or two nor were there any houses in front of her. Chelsea remembered feeling lonely and yet the way the trees stretched its branches wide reminded her of a mother’s embrace. Only Forrest stood across from her, a gate closed her into her grandmother’s inheritance, and community spoke like laughter beyond Sara’s womb. She bent her knees and crouched closer to the ground, plucking handfuls of grass from the rich dirt. She had to touch it to make sure that it was real. How could something so beautiful be the result of something so painful? What Grandma Rose left to her would nourish generations of children and her heart ached that Nana would not be here to drink glasses of lemonade on the front porch of their country home or eat tomatoes fresh from the garden. “Rose”. She said it below a whisper and let the smile crease into her face and wrap itself around her cheeks. It had been weeks since she smiled. Nana always knew how to do just that. Amazing how she consoled her even beyond the grave. The woman let the emotion wash over her and the tears race down her face and drip from her lips. The sun bowed its final curtsy before lowering itself into sleep for the night and Chelsea cried for the last time. Her tears all courage shaped in her throat. Finally, the grief had come to an end.

Book Trailer – Stella Book #3: The Road to Freedom: Joseph’s Story

Coming to Print, Amazon Kindle, B&N NOOK, iBooks, Google Play, Goodreads, and Kobo Friday, February 26, 2016.

Wealthy and clueless are just some of the words Joseph uses to describe his family. Deeply concerned about the state of Black America, a fight with his brother compels a young Joseph to leave his mother’s house and join his friends for a trip to Atlanta for SNCC’s (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) second conference. Excited to live life on their own, Jo and his friends have left school and the lives they were living for a chance to become part of the movement. With no money and essentially no plan the seven friends, three black and four white, set out for the road when they are stopped by a racist cop who makes them exit the car. The teens are unaware that a mob of Klansmen also awaits them at the New Orleans bus terminal.

Discover what life was like for Joseph when he left his mother’s house in the 3rd installment of the Stella Trilogy, years before a mixed race Jo knew that he was mixed race. Determined to be apart of the movement Joseph McNair, son of “Sidney McNair”, and his friends abandon their lives in search for answers in the Jim Crow south on The Road to Freedom.

Writing 101: Assignment #7 – Social Media Inspiration: The Best of Both Worlds

https://twitter.com/BluMarTen/status/605128443475456001

“Whatever”, Tasha spoke under her breath and logged out of her twitter account. It amazed her how exactly those few words had summed up her life. Technology was a trip.

Curtis
“Hello love”

Tasha
Not a good time

Tasha slid the smart phone under the covers as her husband entered the room.

“Hey babe,” he said planting a kiss on her lips. She watched him walk away. Completely compact with everything she’d ever wanted in a man. As he slipped out of his shirt she took the opportunity to admire the dark chocolate, toned physique of her child’s father. Standing 6’1 the man had beauty and brains and had swept her off her feet ten years ago and everything else had been storybook. In less than a year they were married, Carson was born six months after that and their combined salary afforded them the luxury of the two story house sitting comfortably between two large Oak Trees in Elmhurst Illinois. Tasha hated those trees. They had somehow become the mocking occasion of her perfect life. Attorney, wife, mother, and home owner and yet here she was, stuck between two men; both just as large and overwhelming as those trees. She’d have to remember to have at least one of them cut down. Their existence, how they mocked her very life, was too much to take.

“What time you getting off tonight?” yelled Anthony from the shower.

“Nine, this case is really kicking my butt.”

There it was. Another lie. It was her fourth lie this month. She knew because she counted. It was difficult at first, but whenever she thought about rolling around on the floor with her boss it became much much easier.

Curtis was nothing like Anthony and that reality was perhaps one of her greatest fears. More so than the betrayal, the lies, even more so than the sex was that these men couldn’t be any more different. It was that, their differences, that Tasha feared even more so than getting caught. She smiled wickedly. Why did the thought excite her so? She’d built trust with Anthony and now she capitalized on that trust. Taking advantage of their years she played the men like strings. Pulling and tugging on their position in her life and manipulating the occasion.

Tasha met Curtis when she was just an intern at Curtis & Law and he was well aware that she was married. Tasha preferred it this way and often beamed with satisfaction. If ever there was an occasion to sleep around she’d found it. If ever there was a secret to deceit, she’d cracked the code. Her life with Anthony was secure and she made it clear she would never divorce him. Curtis was OK with that and vowed that their time together was nothing more than a thing.

Curtis
Tash, you there?

Tasha scrambled to mute the text alert before it became noticeable. One downfall to cheating was extreme paranoia. Tasha was sure the muffled sound could be heard through the sound of the Shower and peeking down at the screen she rolled her eyes. This was starting to get old real fast. He knew he had no right to call her that. Only Anthony called her “Tash”. But Curtis had professed his love last night and somehow thought it gave him free reign to be the first man in her life. She thought she’d made it very clear that would never happen. “Maybe I should just call off”, thought Tasha. The dread of the workplace had become intense. Any occasion to which she had to see his face in public sent her cascading through mental turmoil and she felt she would explode.

“In our universe a star explodes and dies every single second..”

“Hmm,” thought Tasha, “Is this what death feels like?”

Anthony was her everything. Her love and her heart broke at the thought of what this would do to him if he ever found out and yet, the thought was quickly erased by another lie.

“Please, I’m tripping. Men do this all the time”, she told herself to soothe the bruise of adultery seeping from her pores.

Anthony walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and another one he used to dry his hair. “Goodness, that’s a beautiful man.” Tasha said to herself.

Curtis
Meet me at the spot, 1 hour

Startled, Tasha scrambled to answer her text.

“Tell Curtis you’ll be late this morning”, smiled Anthony, seductively approaching his wife.

Tasha smiled a wicked smile. Poor Ant, he would never know. It amazed her how color had such an impact on the way people saw the world. Anthony would never suspect a culprit in the proper, brown haired, blue eyed Caucasian that is his wife’s boss.

Tasha
I need a few hours. (wink)

Curtis

OK love.

Who needed worlds? Tasha had both.

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