Black to the Past

Chapter 50

"Oh my god, Wilson, look at this," Halle bolted upright and handed her phone to Wilson.

Wide awake now everyone waited while Wilson read the note Halle had posted for herself.

Wilson looked at her quizzically.

"Can I share?"

Halle nodded. She was petrified. Which mom was the message referring to and how had she found out that information? She remembered that her stepmom, the only mother she'd ever known was still in a hospital, or was she? Thoroughly confused, Halle listened while Wilson read the text to everyone. Meredith was the first to react.

"Your mom is alive. You think you meant your biological mother is alive?"

"I don't know. I'm so confused. This has opened up a can of worms like nothing I've ever been through before."

"Does anyone else feel like they have two separate sets of memories," Michael asked.

"I don't," Meredith answered.

"Neither do I," Wilson said. "Well, not really. The only thing that's really different is I have memories of Halle I didn't have before."

Meredith was next to admit that she had memories of Jalen she hadn't had before. Michael and Jalen seemed to be the most affected.

"What changed?" Jalen asked.

"We have to figure that out because the professor needs you to go back and undo what you did or there's going to be a war. The war is imminent," Brooke told them in a shaky voice.

"Kids," Dr. Van der Haven called from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, dad," Michael and Jalen answered at the same time.

They stared at each other then. As close as Michael and Jalen had always been, neither had ever called Michael's father dad. Michael always referred to his father with just that title, father. And Jalen always called him sir or doctor. This apparent bond that they shared was comfortable, but new.

"Call your parents and tell them you'll be staying the night. There's a mandated curfew and I don't want any of you out in the streets. We're going to lock this house up like Fort Knox and I'll take you all home tomorrow if there's still tomorrow to wake up to," Dr. Van der Haven uttered ominously.

"What do you mean," Michael asked as he approached the stairs and stared up at the same father he'd seen everyday but was looking at for the very first time.

"Turn on the t.v. and you'll see for yourself," his dad told him.

Breaking news was blaring across the t.v. Divided into screens were various cities across the U.S. that showed crime, violence, and looting. Police brutality was rampant in those areas. Tear gas, guns sounding off into the air, pepper spray, and batons were all being used against civilians who were in the streets. Some were simply trying to get home. But if you were out and about, you were subject to being harmed by the police.

"The X Party has declared war on the U. S. government. Republicans and Democrats are meeting behind closed doors to discuss the situation. What was once a black vs. white issue has crossed to all minorities and their supporters against those perceived as white supremacists. Malcolm X is holding court from his throne in an undisclosed location. At 90+ years old his voice is still powerful and his promised day of reckoning has arrived," the news reporter stated.

"Are they serious," Jalen jumped up and went to the 50" screen. "When Malcolm X went to Mecca, he came back a changed man after that!"

"What if he never went now," Wilson asked.

"Why wouldn't he have gone," Jalen challenged Wilson's line of thought.

"Hear me out," Wilson said as he held up a hand to get everyone's attention. "We alerted Dr. King that he would be assassinated. He stepped aside, disappearing for all time. The people were ready to follow a voice, any voice, that would get them out of the oppressive lifestyle that they were fighting to endure. With Dr. King out of the picture and no one else even remotely close to having such a powerful influence on people, Malcolm X could step away and start his own political party, one that was dominated by politics instead of religion. One that was not under the tutelage of Muhammad but one he could organize and run himself. It's a good plan all in all."

"But now America, our America, it's at civil war," Michael reminded him.

"I'm not saying I agree with it. I'm saying he had a great plan," Wilson told him.

"How do we stop it," Jalen wanted to know.

"Can we stop it," Halle asked quietly.

"The professor said you all have to go back and stop it. This really isn't an option," Brooke told them.

"Let me hear the message again," Michael told Brooke.

"It's not on my voicemail," she said rolling her eyes. "I answered the phone. I memorized it."

"What did he say," Michael said as if prompting her to recite it.

"Your friends are in trouble. They are coming back to a world much different than when they left. I don't know what they've done to change history but whatever it is they need to get back there and change it back before the civil war that started this morning, destroys this country. That's it, Mike, that's all he said, I swear," she crossed her heart when Michael looked at her with some skepticism.