I Am Warrior Read online

  Contents

  INTRODUCTION

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  EPILOGUE

  I AM WARRIOR

  M.E. WILLIAMS

  [email protected]

  Edited by Annie J.

  For my sister, Mari. Who is my true Guardian Angel.

  For my son, who is named after an Arch Angel.

  For mother, Tea Jay, who paid for my editor & cover art.

  My family who is always supportive.

  Thank you to the reader. I hope you enjoy the journey.

  INTRODUCTION

  My name is ‘JHS and since you are reading this, I am dead.

  I was sent to ‘ND in order to do reconnaissance for the TV-WBK between my home NGNBM and a neighboring planet. NGNBM is a place mentioned in your Bible, but it is nothing like the paradise of which you dream. It does not matter anyway.

  A day from now or a century from now, the temperature on the planet will rise catastrophically. Humans were never meant to last as long as you did. And after the war is over, the BM’M, might forget about you all again or just maybe start over like has happened many times before.

  PROLOGUE

  I opened my eyes and felt another pair staring at me. It took my eyes a while to adjust to the dark. Slowly, things cleared and I saw Marriah’s mahogany face appear by the light shining through the slither crack in the door. She stood with one foot slightly in the room, a hand on the door frame, and her face peeking in. “Did you hear me, Mari?”

  I was normally a light sleeper. Yesterday was a rough training though and I was still not used to this body. “Mom wants us out on the deck. There are three men who wish to be let in. She seeks your counsel.” The body was not the only thing I wasn’t used to. The name didn’t fit either. “Ugh, lead the way.”

  My voice was hoarser than I meant it to be and I cleared my throat as I got out of the bed that was half a foot too short and rubbed my eyes. Adjusting to the light was not as hard as I thought it would be; the sun would soon be fully in the sky.

  We made our way through the maze of igloo-shaped tents, past the inner defenses and guards, to the inner walls. Once through the inner walls and after another set of guards, we had to go through a final—female—guard group with their dogs. These women managed to train animals better than any other clan I’d ever seen; it was just a small part of the reason they held most of the power throughout the Midwest.

  The other reasons were obvious and strategic. The Queen of the Midwest had managed to stay in control because as her clan took over other territories, her sisters had stayed behind to resume power. There were six of them total, each one darker than the next.

  Once we made it to the outer walls, we stood well above the rest of the busy maze below. “Don’t leave me waiting next time.” Queen Lisa always spoke in a harsh tone. I thought it was to make sure she always got results without asking twice. I remembered studying all the greatest warriors on Earth, and Queen Lisa reminded me of the ancient Amazonian women. Tall. Gorgeous. Smart. Cunning. Fierce.

  She was taller than every single man or woman in this clan, and stronger than most of them too. She wore her hair braided back and she was adorned in simple tunic and form fitting pants. To anyone outside the clan, it would appear she was not a threat but we all knew better. “Yes, my Queen.” She did not turn around to acknowledge we’d arrived, so Marriah and I both looked over the wall to see what it was that had her focus.

  There were two people and a child, suit wearers; they must have been white or lacking melanin because they wore suits meant to protect them from the rising sun. They also must have been male. I could tell that because they had what appeared to be homemade breathing machines.

  Years ago, over half the male population was wiped out by an environmental attack on the Y chromosome. When the wave of death first began, people thought it was some sort of undetected virus or bacteria slowly spreading like a disease. Too late, they realized only males had been affected.

  A few years after that, rising extremes of weather had caused a second wave of death. The extremes had caused an unbearable level of ultraviolet radiation to hit the Earth, especially with the ozone layer all but disappearing over time, so melanin-deficient people had a hard time surviving on their own.

  Earth had never been intended to live this long. It turned out she was a fighter.

  The attack on the Y chromosome had been enacted by BM’M, by allowing the mutation of just enough pollen; a religious person might have thought it a plague to kickstart the downfall of humanity, but it was just another experiment to test reactions under extreme duress. The stripping of the ozone layer had been humans’ fault; even though it wasn’t planned, it undoubtedly did help man to further experiment with the survival of the planet and the human species. And the truth was, man had never had enough of anything. Even now.

  I looked up to the sky, searching for a sign from BM’M or at least my K’LM-LBK. Nothing.

  The voice of the tallest male brought my attention back to Earth. He was standing in the center, and it was hard to make out what he was saying until the Queen ordered him remove the mask. “Please, we were out looking for food and a storm swept over. We temporarily lost our direction. Now, we’re too far away to make it to our bunker before the sun completely rises.” It was a likely story.

  With the fluctuation of the weather, random storms popped up here and there. To top it off, he must have been desperate enough to remove his mask. “Princess Marriah, what do you say?” I could tell the Queen was testing her, but did Marriah know? She looked at me, and back to the men. Her lack of response warranted the full attention of Queen Lisa.

  Under the scrutiny, Marriah spoke, “Well, the sun will be up soon. Even with the suits…” Queen Lisa cut her off, “Being a leader requires quick decisions sometimes, Marriah.” She spared a glance to me, and I was about to speak, but Marriah finally had her answer, “Yes, let them in. It’s just three of them. They’re harmless.”

  The Queen shook her head with a sigh of disappointment, “Did you complete your readings, Princess?” She did not wait for an answer. Instead, she continued her scolding, “What do we know of the Native Americans and indigenous peoples? What do you know of what happened to Africa? Better yet, remember the war three years ago? People seeking shelter from the sun tried to overrun your Aunt Kunova and her people.”

  Marriah frowned. “So we blame everyone for one group? When will we trust and how will we continue to survive?” They both looked to me, the Queen expecting me to answer the question, and Marriah expecting me to side with her. I looked back at the men, the one in the middle with the mask off still looking up to us. I looked around, the archers aiming at them with their arrows, gunners with their weapons.

  The man spoke again, “At least take my sons.” He was beyond desperate now, looking around for somewhere else to go. There was nowhere else though. Queen Lisa was strategic in picking our location. “No, do not let them in,” I said simply. Marriah looked disappointed, almost sad and defeated.

  Queen Lisa looked over the edge, then took a loudspeaker from the guard to her left so she did not have to yell. “What are your skills? What do you have to offer?” The male looked up, “My eldest son is strong. A great builder. My youngest, just a boy, great with his hands, an aptitude for engineering.” The Queen looked unmoved. “Look around, we already have strength.” The male was about to speak again but the Queen was out of patience. “What we don’t have is space to waste.” Then she stopped Marriah’s protest with
an arch of her eyebrow. Very effective. The sun was up.

  Marriah looked away. Queen Lisa grabbed her chin in a gentle manner contrary to the scene below us. I focused on the smallest male, the boy. He began grabbing at his suit, attempting to rip it off. He was definitely burning from the inside, but with the suit on, the feeling of suffocation was probably what sent him into a panic. The older son started screaming and grabbing on his suit, while the father did only what he could, knowing it probably wouldn’t make a difference.

  He threw himself on top of the small boy in a desperate attempt to shield him from the sun. I had witnessed this countless times before—not just the scorching, but I had seen parents try to protect their children in situations they couldn’t win. Perhaps it was just the human will to think it could survive. I used to think it was nature, but I’d also witnessed parents leaving their young in an attempt to save themselves.

  Some of us found it hard to understand the choices of humanity. If BM’M was honest, they would admit they did not understand humanity either.

  Once all three males stopped moving, the Queen released Marriah’s chin. This time, Marriah did not turn away. She stood there—I thought—in shock. “My Queen, what would you have us do today?” Queen Lisa looked at Marriah; it was hard to explain it. She almost seemed weary.

  She addressed me but was looking back toward the compound. “You, Marriah, and Roci will take the bodies to the far post and hang them from the high rafters as a warning to others who may be lost. Marriah. Go get your brother and make sure to carry your weapons.” Marriah turned away, still silent and began the walk back to the largest tent. “Choose a couple of guards to take with you, two trackers, and a survivalist just in case you’re caught by a storm.”

  The first person I wanted to get for the trip was Rance. I went to his tent, but he must have been below ground because his breathing machine was on his bed. Rance was one of the men who happened to be an expert survivalist. He would be the only male besides Roci on this trip to the outskirts, and he was also cousin to Marriah and Roci.

  I went over to just in front of his desk. There was a handle to the right side, and I lifted the metal and walked down the steep steps illuminated on their sides by solar-powered lights, the solar equipment placed outside of each of the tents. As I expected, he was writing, seated there like a modern bard. If we’d put instrumentals behind whatever he was saying, we’d have had our own musical genius.

  He schooled everyone on the history of music, mostly while we were going through our drills. No matter how someone contributed to the compound, everyone had to know how to use basic weapons and defense—even the men. So, during our weekly training sessions, he would go on and on about how music would change the world.

  I would say he was a modern-day Shawn Carter. But then again, my K’LM-LBK, K’LM-‘KM leader L’RBG. Leader, I think you have heard of, Gabriel. He did not teach us about your music; what mattered during training and our lessons was how to defeat you.

  “What’s up, do we have a new mission?” He put down his pen as he looked up. “Even here, I could hear the commotion above us.” I saw him trying to sneak something into his left pocket and briefly wondered what it was, but it definitely was not a threat to me.

  “Yes, Queen Lisa would like for us to take three bodies to the border of the city. We need to make a display. You are one of our best survivalists.” He did not even need any additional information and it was why I liked him. A good soldier, ready to do whatever for his clan.

  “Let me grab my weapons. I’ll meet you at the gates.” He was hiding something but I did not take offense; humans always had something to hide.

  My next stop was to the training grounds with the trackers and guards. Eman and her sister Aya were the best guards we had for a trip like this, sisters from what was previously known as Egypt. No one exactly knew how or why they made it all the way to the Midwest. They did not like to share their story and I imagined it was not a happy one. They also refused to be separated. If I needed one for this short trip, then I would take them both. It would be good for them to come, since they enjoyed practicing their English and also taught the group the Arabic Egyptian dialect.

  I approached them while they were demonstrating hand-to-hand combat to some of the younger children, all twelve years of age or younger. Most of the girls were in their training clothes, all black skirts and shirts that allowed for the ease of movement. The boys also were dressed the same, but with their breathing devices around their mouths and threaded through their nostrils.

  Once they finished demonstrating, I approached. “Sabah alkhyr” was how I pronounced the words for good morning. “We need to get to the border, and I’d like the both of you to come along. The Princess will be accompanying us this trip.”

  They looked at each other. “The males?” Word traveled fast and I knew she was referring to the three males who’d suffocated at the bottom of the wall. “Yes and pick another guard to come with us. We will have Princess Marriah, Prince Roci, Rance as survivalist, the two of you, and I’m going to get Lesley and Shaylah.”

  Eman spoke again after they looked at each other with questions. “Why do we need trackers?” I shrugged, “Queen’s orders.” This time, Aya spoke, “We’ll take a recruit with us. We’re all trained, and it’s a simple trip.” I nodded my head, “I leave it up to the two of you. I will get Lesley and Shaylah from below. Meet me by the gates.”

  Lesley and Shaylah were in the underground training facilities with several entrances. I went over to near the archery targets, spotting the metal rods for opening. I pulled on the handles and lifted.

  As I took the descent, I realized how innovative humans could be when their lives depended on it; they each had natural talents to help others, but were also naturally selfish. Perhaps these conflicts were necessities for a group, but individualism was the main focus of the research of BM’M. I knew for us, it mostly served as entertainment when we were bored.

  The lights illuminated the various pathways. I took a left, walked straight, where I was met by two large doors. I always had to use both hands to pull the large doors because of how heavy they were, and when I opened the door, I was met by a young male falling from ropes.

  All eyes turned to me as I looked up; there were several boys and girls, various shades from white, light, through brown, to dark. Lesley and Shaylah were obviously teaching them to track by using climbing to their advantage. Since we were all sealed away from the sun and underground with purified air, none of the children had on their suits or breathing devices.

  I managed to spot Lesley and Shaylah, both with smirks on their faces. They jumped from the banners with ease, right in front of me. Lesley spoke first, “When do we get to switch with the guards for day shift above ground? We’ll have to train them in the real world eventually, you know?”

  Lesley and Shaylah were both tall, but Lesley taller, only by a few inches. Shaylah was much darker. Both had a head full of thick hair. Lesley preferred to keep hers in a twist, while Shaylah left her hair out, picked and loose. Shaylah nodded her head in agreement, “Yeah, plus I miss the sun and trees. This skin deserves some love.”

  “Well, Shaylah, you are in luck. We have a short trip. You two are coming with me to the border to set up some warnings. Meet me by the front gates. Before we leave, choose another tracker to continue the lessons.” When I turned to leave, I could hear them all but scream with excitement. Still, they tried to keep it cool in front of their students.

  Now I had my team selected, I went back to my tent to pack my rucksack, change my clothes, and make sure things were locked away. My tent was not like the others’; all theirs were very personalized, some even with photos of family and friends, some with plants and drawings, or old record players. There were things in their tents solidifying their role in the clan.

  I looked around my own. There was a recliner to welcome a guest, a desk, and a small couch. I stepped through the door to my room. Still, nothing identified m
e as being here after I was long gone.

  My extra-long full-sized bed was in the back corner. There was one desk. Unbeknownst to others, I never actually unpacked and I had been living with this clan for a few years. I couldn’t allow myself to feel at home here. I was ‘JHS, not Mari.

  I pulled the bags from under my bed. The rucksack was already packed and ready to go—I just needed to change out my weapons. The assault rifle going diagonally through the straps was removed, and I checked to make sure it was clear and placed it back under the bed.

  I opened the sack to make sure I had water purifiers, enough food to be rationed a month or so if needed, and a couple changes of clothes. I also packed the combat towel, change of boots, knives, and the GPS locator. I doubled-checked the outermost part of the bag to ensure my Berettas were stored with extra ammo.

  Next, I changed clothes to my fitted running pants with a compartment in the back made to hold guns, where I liked to keep my Taurus 360 handgun. I put my Glauca B1 on my hip. It was a great custom blade. Then, I added a drop-leg holster and .44 revolver. The black jacket I put on to act as a windbreaker and simply to protect me from the elements held additional knives.

  I locked all the bags and placed them back under my bed, then looked in the full-length mirror, applied sunscreen, and dropped it in one of the more accessible pockets of the sack. I looked back around the room again and exited the door, locking up.

  As I was headed back to the main entrance, I looked around. The sun was now at its highest point; I wished we could have left earlier but never mind, we did what we must, when we were told. The clan was busy with their daily activities and all the people in suits caught my eye.

  This meant they must have been upgrading them and trying to test them out against the sun. They must have been all female—there were no breathing devices—and I wondered if they were all white. No doubt, a majority of them would be, in order to test the strength of the suits against the strength of the sun. But they had to have controls to test, therefore, must also have had variations of melanin and skin types in the clothing.