WAR OF WHIPS

PART THREE (DARKNESS WITHIN)

Zamu looked up at the deep purple sky. It was night time already and he folded his sleeves that had fallen as he worked. He wiped the sweat that dripped from his brow as he heard the whistle for the end of his labor for that day. He stood straight, stretching his tall, lean, dark body and he shook his head, clearing the fatigue and dizziness that clouded it. He picked up  his worn leather bag and started walking home. None of the men there spoke to him. He never replied and with time, they seemed to understand.

He walked up the hill and into the reservation. The place where the lowliest of commoners resided. The stench hit him like a pungent wall, the mixture of body fluids, excrement and large hills of refuse blew into his nose, causing him to screw up his rough, pimple filled face. He spat and increased his pace. He walked past all of the 'Atu'.

The Atu was the sort of buildings that was allowed in the reservation. They were like domes made of rock and clay. He walked to a small one that sat alone, away from the others. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with the soldiers in their black leather armor, wearing long black swords and the emblem of the Immortal emperor on their chests; a spear striking skull. He walked in and immediately screwed up his face. The stench of white wine and vomit filled the air. He looked down at his mother, naked, spread on the floor in a wine induced hallucination.

He got a wrapper and threw it over her, wondering absently where Resi went. Resi was his younger sister, seventeen and one of the best seamstresses in the reservation. He looked around for food but he found none. He sighed, feeling the wave of darkness, the familiar, beautiful wave descend on him, fouling his already sour mood, drawing him deeper into it's embrace. He walked out of the house and made his way to one of the few eateries that existed in the reservation. He touched his pocket, feeling the cowries within. It gave him small comfort to do that.

" Zamu! Eyy Zamu! Have you lost your ears?". He heard the loud, melodic voice call out and he turned to see Resi, running towards him, her dreadlocks flapping about.

He smiled inwardly at how beautiful she was. With dark smooth skin which was a marvel to him because they could not afford any oils and skin spices. She was tall, almost as tall as him and lean but maintaing the curves and fullness of a woman. Zamu felt a sadness well up within him. She would have to marry soon, maybe to one of the soldiers. Their life might be better then. A woman like her continuing in the reservation was bound to meet with some misfortune. He forced himself to smile as she ran to him, wrapping him in an embrace. She smelled of sweat and old fabric. He held her to himself, feeling some of the darkness leave him. She drew away from him then and slapped his forehead. He winced and raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

" Ah, fool. You were going to an eatery, no? That money could be used to buy a few things from the market. We could make good soup. It will last for a few days, no?" She asked and hooked her arm in his, towing him towards the direction of the market. It pleased Zamu that she did not speak "Pidgin", the common tongue among the lowest class. He did not want to lose himself to the reservation. He nursed a hope of leaving one day.
"So, how was your day? Konam is not giving you too much trouble, eh?" He asked and she turned to him, flashing healthy white teeth.
" She's alright. She knows that if I leave her shop, she will loose all her customers. Eruption to that! I can barely stand the woman anymore. I'm saving up to leave, you see." She said and increased her speed, walking with long, spring like steps. Zamu increased his pace, frowning at the extra stress. He was already tired from his work at the Shandar.

They walked into the small clearing that served as the reservation's market. Almost immediately, market women started calling out to them, displaying their wares and lavishing the siblings with flattery. Resi ignored most of them, settling for the women she knew and had decent trust for. Zamu handed over his five white cowries to her, keeping two back. She smiled at him and turned to the women, setting an expressionless face she normally used for haggling. After a few hours of which Zamu wanted to scream, they started back home. Resi handed back two of his cowries.

" You should begin to have a care for the subtleties of the marketplace, Zamu. No be Everytime wey I go dey here o." She said, throwing in some Pidgin into her words. Zamu scowled at this but said nothing. He blew out breath through puffed cheeks.

" So, have you seen ma today? She was out drinking white wine, I expect. Where she gets the money from I do not know." He said and his scowl deepened. Resi shook her head, her lips forming into a thin line.

" She has been lost for a while. I really don't think she was ever there. Ah, erupt it. I do not want to think of her right now." She said and Zamu nodded. Both of them walked silently then Resi slipped her arm round Zamu's waist, humming a tune then laid her head on his shoulder. He smiled fondly and held her shoulder as well, his free hand holding the sack that held their purchase.

They were close to the Atu when he sensed it. It rippled across him, awakening his darkness. He walked faster, outpacing Resi. He burst into a run and threw himself at the door of their Atu, bursting it open. His darkness roared to life at what he saw. There, on top of his mother, a soldier sprawled, his head thrown back as he thrust into her motionless body, his eyes closed. Zamu gripped him by the neck without thinking, the darkness working deeper into him as he flung the man across the room. The man crashed into the wall, shouting in surprise. The man leaped for him and knocked him back with an uppercut. He landed on the floor and heard Resi screaming behind him through the noise that rang through his ears.

"You fool, son of a whore! You dare touch me?" He roared and Drew his black blade, raising it above Zamu. Zamu embraced the darkness, slipping into it, letting it take him.

He opened his eyes, tasting blood in his mouth, a headache tore at his skull and his body felt weaker than it did in ages. He groaned and tried to stand but his legs were too weak. He turned to see Resi sitting down on the ground, eyes wide with shock and horror. He followed the direction of her eyes to see the soldier, or what was left of him. He was torn into unrecognizable pieces and his blade was broken into small fragments. Zamu nodded. That was what the darkness did. His mind finally pieced everything together. A soldier was dead. The rest would come. The noise. Fear burned through him, strengthening him. He stood up and he saw Resi observe him with surprise and he looked down at himself, seeing that he was naked. He looked through his clothe sack and brought out a brown, faded shirt and black wool trousers. He made to reach for Resi but she leaned away from him, eyes wide with horror. He knelt beside her and held her face in his palm, ignoring the fear and tears in her wide, brown eyes.

" Look, Resi. You have to come with me. We have to go, now. The soldiers are coming. We must leave this place. Do you hear? I promise I will explain everything." She nodded at him, some of her senses returning and she looked at their mother, still sprawled on the mat, naked, oblivious to reality. Zamu shook his head, his face bearing a mournful look.

" We will have to leave her. You understand? We have to." He said and Resi seemed to understand. He gripped her arm and towed her out of the Atu, running with her hand in his. They kept on running and running, out of the reservation. Zamu breathed cold air, headache and weakness still ravaging his body. He had done what was needed. Mother was gone. It was he and Resi now. They would not find them. They would not find him. He had to protect her at all costs. He grit his teeth, shoving down his weakness and pain as he ran, clutching his sister's hand in his.