Author’s Note: All characters are over the age of 18. Character names and events are purely fictional and in no way endorse racism, bigotry, rape or the dehumanization of another human. Heavy use of racial language and slurs. Please look at the tags, there is mention of sodomy and nonconsensual gay sex. No sex in this chapter unfortunately, but the last two will have plenty:) If any of these themes offend or disgust you in any way, feel free to skip reading. Everyone else, enjoy!

Friday, August 23rd, 1811

“Five years ago, before Master Cryer was head of the plantation, there was his daddy, Cainworth Cryer II. ‘Pappy Cryer’, they called him. And back then it was Pappy Cryer callin’ all the shots.” Khadijah begins.

“Pappy Cryer got his wealth from the sugar cane game and he was well respected by them white folks. But he was a twisted sick son of a gun to the rest of us. The one thing he loved more’n makin’ a quick buck was breakin’ in one.”

A gasp. Darla leans in, Broderick close behind like they didn’t hear Khadijah right.

“You mean -“

“That blue-eyed bastard was nastier than all his descendants combined.” spits out Khadijah not missin’ a beat.

“They call it ‘buck breakin”. Pickin’ out the biggest, strongest hung black male slave and…doin’ things with him. You can guess what. He tore up one field slave so bad he was snifflin’ and wailin’, couldn’t walk for days… just dreadful.

“I couldn’t stomach it, and neither could anyone else. But we knew what would come if we tried to stop it. Knowin’ ’em, I reckon that’s where Master Cryer learned all his devilishness from.

“One day Pappy Cryer brought in a new slave. Production was gettin’ slow and we needed faster hands. But really, Pappy Cryer needed a new slave to toy with. That new slave was Nathaniel Gray. Little did anyone know he would change the course of the plantation forever.”

“Who else knew of this ‘Nathaniel’ fella?” Broderick asks the group.

Some chatterin’. Slowly but surely, two hands raise, voices mumblin’. One of them is a much older woman with honey brown skin, who looks like she could’ve been in her forties five years ago. The other is a balding light skinned man, and the way he holds her hand makes me think he’s her partner.

Broderick clenches his jaw. “I reckon y’all are here now and Nathaniel ain’t for a reason, huh?”

The silence is thick.

“Nate was one of the biggest, strongest, and well respected negro slaves the Cryer plantation ever laid eyes on.” Khadijah goes on, her voice tremblin’ a bit. “He was so good, he became a livin’ legend. He looked out for us, makin’ sure we weren’t workin’ ourselves to the bone, tellin’ cot-time stories to the young’uns. In a way, Broderick, you remind me of him – Strong. şişli escort Passionate. Lovin’.”

Khadijah licks her lips all nervous as she wrings her hands on her apron.

“When he found out ’bout what Pappy Cryer and ’em folks was doin’ to our brothers he set out to put a stop to it. We tried to warn him that Pappy Cryer was gon’ come at him soon enough, but he wouldn’t hear it. And then it happened.”

Khadijah stops like a cold came over her, wringin’ her hands some more. Her lip quivers.

“What happened?” Albee says, as Broderick sidles next to Khadijah to console her. “What happened that day, Khadijah?”

She’s prickin’ into her fingers through the apron. “P-Pappy Cryer broke him in. Right there, in broad daylight. But Nate wouldn’t give without a fight. They was practically wrestlin’, half naked and sweaty and dicks hangin’ and Pappy Cryer was pantin’ talkin’ ’bout how Nathaniel was an ungrateful nigger for refusin’ him. We shielded the young’uns in the slave quarters away from the commotion, but the rest of us could only watch.

“To no one’s surprise, Nate won the brawl. Cut Pappy Cryer up so bad he looked like a big ol’ strawberry. But then Pappy’s men came ’round – the white overseers of the fields, and then they —” Khadijah shudders. “They…”

“They took Nathaniel for themselves.” says the old woman from before. Her hair falls in long tendrils over her shaggy snaggle-toothed face. “Stripped him down and put their measly cocks inside him. Five men against one. Lord have mercy. It was worse than all the other times. They wanted to make sure Nathaniel was ‘a broke buck’.”

“It wasn’t a pretty sight. We didn’t see Nate for weeks after that.” Khadijah’s voice cracks like dry twigs. “We all assumed he was in the infirmary, healin’. But when he came back, he looked finer than ever. And he was carryin’ a bag of guns in his hands.

“Shotguns, pistols, rifles. When we’s all in a group with none of the whites watchin’ he told me, ‘Tonight we gon’ do it.’ I said, ‘Do what, Nate?’ He said, ‘Blast the sons of bitches in the face and get every last one of ’em. Man, woman, everybody.’ Not even the little ones was gonna be spared. Said he was gon’ do what we shoulda done a long time ago and put an end to this perverted madness. “

The room gets colder now as the realization settles slow on folks’ faces.

“I told him I couldn’t. And that broke his heart.” She can’t bring herself to look Broderick in the eyes as she says it. “I was still new on the plantation, all this ‘escape’ and ‘rebel’ talk scared me. And I had ’em lil’ ones to think ’bout. All ’em slave kids in the quarters depended on me for keepin’ ’em fed and cared for. I thought, if they mamas got hurt for us takin’ out the white man first, taksim escort what would become of them? I just couldn’t gamble with that.

“Others felt different. Roger joined him. Yams. Mildred. Kendrick. Dwayne. Gordon. The Dilford Twins. Even Besse. It felt like more of our brothers and sisters was on Nate’s side and didn’t ask too many questions. Not ’bout the guns or the plan. They all just felt powerless and instead of layin’ down and takin’ it, they was gon be the takers for once.

“Only folks that stayed behind were me, and Clyde and May o’er there.” She chuckles dry as she brings the old woman from before, May, in for a squeeze. Clyde sidles next to her with a gummy smile.

“The plan was to storm the house at night and take out Pappy and the overseers while they was asleep or settin’ off to. Then we’d swipe their jewels and any cash we could find and book it to the nearest train up West of Cavalry that leads to the North.”

“But that ain’t how it went down.” Albee finishes her train of thought.

“No it ain’t.” a gloominess sets in her eyes. “We got Pappy and two of his men. But outta the blue came five more. Just outta nowhere and pounced right on the Rebels real quick. Nate thought he’d stolen all their guns, but they had a heap more, and boy it was a sight. It turned into…a bloodbath. Blood was everywhere…even on the babies…they killed ’em all.”

Khadijah ends the story with a sniffle, usin’ a rag tucked in her breast pocket to dab away her tears.

“I’m real sorry honey. ” Broderick rubs her back, consolin’ her.

“Why you ain’t never tell me this?” Darla looks at Khadijah in wonder, hurt in her eyes. “All this time…oh, Khadijah.”

She shakes her away with her hand. “To avoid exactly this. Oh gosh, don’t gimme that look. Don’t you dare gimme that look,” She tries to stop the tears from comin’ but they do anyway and

Broderick swoops in to give her a tight bear-hug, somethin’ she desperately needs.

“That day always replays in my head. And I reckon it still haunts folks but I was so racked with guilt I kept it in the back of my mind. Thought I could just block it out. But the past has a way of catchin’ up to ya. Doomin’ us to repeat it.” She pauses with her head in her hands

Darla, Johanna, May and Clyde all gather ’round Khadjiah to give her a warm embrace, murmurin’ words to remember those who walked this path for us.

I can’t help but think ’bout the coldness I felt from Old Man Reesus. I get why he’s so gruff and pessimistic now, hardened by the cruel years he’s lived through. Why be nice to the new slaves when they’s sure to end up like all the other ones, dead or barely holdin’ on?

What shocks me though is that Khadijah ain’t mention nothin’ ’bout Old fatih escort Man Reesus, and he’s been here longer than any other slave, even before Khadijah’s time. He must’ve seen it all go down. Yet he’s the only one absent from the circle. The gears in my head turn as I put the pieces together. Clyde and May were stickin’ by each other, and Khadijah was protectin’ herself and the lil ones, but what could Old Man Reesus’s excuse be for sittin’ out the rebellion?

“Old Man Reesus would’ve been in his 60s at the time, right?” I blurt out. The crowd turns their heads my way, and Khadijah’s face goes stone cold.

“Yes. 62 to be exact.” She says dryly.

“Was he too old to join ’em?” I ask slow-like, tryin’ to make sense of why his name ain’t come up in the talks yet. Albee looks at me curious but doesn’t let go of my hand. He braces it tighter.

Khadijah exhales. “No he wasn’t. But we was never close. I reckon none of the slaves was close to Old Man Reesus – but no one questioned his presence near us. ain’t sure if he didn’t take part ’cause he was scared like us, or if he had his own reasons. But I do know one thing.”

She leans in, and we all lean in with her.

“The night of the revolt was the same night Old Man Reesus was seen leavin’ Pappy Cryer’s room. Walked in and out, just fine. And that same night every single rebel slave was gunned down. ‘Cept for the three of us. And Old Man Reesus.”

Shock. Murmurs. Whispers. She says it exactly how it sounds.

I close my eyes and take a big ol’ breath. The only thing keepin’ me calm is Albee’s fingers tangled in mine. It all makes sense now: how the Cryers been gettin’ away with this for so long- they have they own personal negro spy feedin’ ’em information; and in return he gets his own fancy room in the house and position of power ’round here.

“I reckon it’s high time to stand up to ’em, Khy. You done what you needed to do to protect ’em, and now we gotta do what we must to make sure no more protectin’ is needed.” Broderick turns from Khadijah to the rest of us, and there’s a whole heap of noddin’ with what he’s sayin’. “But in order to do that, we gots to be smart ’bout this. And we gots to ALL be in. We need all the help we can get. So who’s with us?”

“I’m in. ” Albee says after a pause. His pecks tighten in his shirt as he says it, his hands holdin’ me strong, he’s ready to fight for my honor.

“I’m in as well,” I say, leanin’ into him. He leans into me at the same time and for a second our lips brush one other. My heart skips a beat, but I pull away ‘fore he has a chance to object and blurt out. “For everyone. For us.” I direct my next words to Khadijah. “And I reckon we need a plan. I think we gon’ need your help puttin’ that plan into action.” Nods and murmurs, the whole gang is on board now.

“You want my advice to take on these bastards once and for all, Mayella?” Khadijah looks straight at me. I hold my breath like a spell.

“Watch your back and keep the hell away from Old Man Reesus.”