The Cure for the Healer

Chapter 1

A Mother’s Love

(Liam)

Okay, here we go. Ducking into an abandoned burnt building, I get to the second floor quickly for a better vantage point. I pull out my binoculars and take out my high-tech breathing gear that I personally designed. Assholes got bold after the first wave of the first pandemic. That may have been an accident, but some of this other shit they’ve released into the air is not. Whites say it’s the Blacks trying to wipe us out, but in my heart, I know it’s the whites retaliating.

The resort is visible from here. I can also see the port and most of the hotspot trading stations. Zooming in on the docks with my binoculars, there appears to be a situation brewing. There is a group of Black people, about five to seven people, surrounded by Black guards. They all bear a resemblance; they must be a family. “I don’t get it. What’s the issue there?”

That’s when I see her. There’s a woman arguing with a guard. Why is she crying? Did he just snatch her mask off her face? My concern and fear for them spill out audibly. “Oh, no, she hit him! Please don’t hurt her! Shit, I don’t want to see him kill her.”

Her family members are surrounding her and holding their hands up in surrender. Now she’s hugging them. It looks like she’s saying goodbye. I’m so confused. The circle disperses and I finally see what the commotion was about. She has a son, looks like he’s mixed-race. They’re both crying and hugging. “Okay, where’s her husband? He must be hiding somewhere. Coward. How could you let them face that alone?” I watch for a few more minutes, but no one shows. I grab my backpack and drape my rifle over my body with it pointing down and head out of the structure.

“Hey Clorox, where are you going?”

I turn and see a guard preparing to approach me. That’s when I reach into my pocket and pull out a pre-wadded roll of ten hundred-dollar bills.

“Hey man, I’m not looking for any trouble. I’m simply passing through.”

“Yeah well, I don’t know when the fuck in time you think you are, but whitey ain’t allowed to stroll through this town bearing arms.”

“Yeah, I get that, and I mean no disrespect. I’m just looking for safe passage from here to the other side of the port. Can I offer you a grand to just look the other way?”

Snatching the wadded money from my hand, he says, “Whatever, Clorox. Take yo’ ass on. I hope you have something for the next guard.”

I continue and can see the front of the resort. There’s a long line of diverse people hoping to find somewhere to lay their heads for the night. One of my requests to Thaddeus before signing over the property was that everyone would be welcome here.

As I approach the entrance to the resort, I see a man standing in the line in front of the mother and her son. “Hey bitch, you think you and your little pale bastard are going to get shelter here? If they have any sense at all, they’ll throw you out on the street where you belong.”

He’s too close to them.

I walk up right behind the woman and her son and calmly, but sternly, say, “They’re with me.”

He looks up, preparing to challenge me, but I have about six inches on him and outweigh him by at least forty pounds. Then, he notices my rifle. His eyes double in size and I ask, “Are we cool here?”

He turns back around.

Now that I’m standing inches away from her, I see that she’s a short, little woman. I’m at least a full foot taller than her. When she turns to look up at me, our eyes meet over our masks, and I swear she looks straight into my soul. Her eyes are filled with fear and anguish, but not defeat. Hmm, she’s a fighter. I like that. She grabs her son even tighter and holds him close. I reach for her arm to guide her to the front counter. Probably afraid that my white skin will bring her extra unwanted attention, she jerks away. I look deep into her eyes. “Please, let me help you. I promise you I can help.”

She gives me a wary look, but nods. I continue to push my way through the crowd.

“Hey Casper, it’s a new day. Did you miss the memo? You’re not running shit around here anymore,”

someone shouts. Many hurl other obscenities my way, but I keep us moving. We pass other white people who stand in line sheepishly with their heads down. I nod in acknowledgement, but they all quickly turn away.

Finally, we reach the front desk. “Excuse me, ma’am. Would you be so kind as to ask Mr. Thaddeus Masters if he would come to the front desk?”

Rolling her eyes, she looks in my direction, but appears to be looking through me. “As the gentleman you pushed by told you, you are not running anything. You need to wait in line like everyone else.”

“Actually, this one we’ll make an exception for.”

The voice of another woman sounds behind her. A beautiful Black woman appears wearing an expensive designer, coral colored dress, and heels. She has dark, flawless skin and shoulder length natural hair. I recognize her as Thaddeus’ wife. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. I was beginning to think you were dead. It’s been what, like three years?”

I nod. “Yes, sorry about that. How are you, Alicia? Thad around?”

“Yeah, he’s around, somewhere. How about I get you settled into your room?”

She grabs the sister key to mine for the dual lock system on my room. One of my conditions for giving Thad the resort was that I get to keep a room that no one else enters without me, but of course I kept a copy of their sister key. She begins to lead the way and then notices that I have guests. “So, I see you have company.”

Holding out her hand, she says, “Hi, I’m Alicia.” My guest shakes Alicia’s hand but says nothing.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive her. She’s had a rough day,”

I respond.

“No worries. We all have those. Here we are. You ready? On three. One, two…”

We turn our keys simultaneously. “So, how long are you planning to be with us?”

“Not long. Thanks for everything, Alicia. Will you please ask Thad to call me before he stops by the room?”

Whispering, “She’s skittish, I get it. Yeah, sure thing.”

She walks away.

The room I kept for myself was once the presidential suite, so there’s plenty of room for three people to spread out. There are two bedrooms, but I had to turn one into a makeshift infirmary, lab, and armory in case I ever run into trouble while passing through. I remove my mask and turn to my guests. I hold out my hand, but don’t advance toward them. “You’re safe now. Hi, I’m Liam, Liam Sinclair.”

They remove their masks and I try not to react. I know it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the company of a woman, but goddamn she’s beautiful. Caramel skin, big brown, doe eyes, high cheekbones, her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, but it’s clear that once released, it flows down her back. I can’t see her body yet because she’s layered her clothes like many do to lighten the load they carry. Even though it’s early-spring, it’s cool out. Shit, they’re both wearing sneakers. That’s not going to cut it on our trek up the mountain.

She slowly reaches for my hand and shakes it. “Hi, I’m Nicole Simmons and this is my son, Zion. I apologize for being so skeptical, but they tried to take my son from me.”

She breaks out into tears and pulls her son close to her side. “I’ll be damned if anyone is going to take my son away from me! I carried him, birthed him, nursed him, and…”

“Shhh. It’s ok now.”

I tell her, but I dare not touch her. Zion is just as traumatized; I can see it all over his little face. I can feel their pain and, without thinking, I blurt out, “No one is going to take your son! I promise.”

Her eyes dart up to me as she regains her composure. “Thank you, Mr. Sinclair, but I don’t think you’re in a position to make that call. I appreciate you helping us out, but I can’t pay you anything. And why are you helping us anyway?”

I’m not really a fan of how she called me Mr. Sinclair. “Please call me Liam, or Lee. I saw what happened with your family on the dock. It was bullshit, and I didn’t like it. So, let’s just say that I have a soft spot for mothers and their sons.”

“You didn’t exactly answer my question, Mist… Liam. Why help? You don’t know us, and I can’t pay you back right now.”

“I don’t want anything from you. I’m helping you because I can. My mother taught me that if you can help, you should help. Why don’t the two of you get comfortable, maybe take a bath. In this day and age, you never know the next time you may have access to hot water. Come on, let me show you around the suite. That is, if I have answered your question to your satisfaction.”

I take off my jacket and throw it on the sofa.

They follow and take off their jackets. Underneath, she’s wearing a hoodie and jeans. She removes her hoodie to reveal a fitted, v-neck, long sleeve t-shirt. Damn! Her ass and hips are pure perfection. Her waist curves in, creating that classic hourglass silhouette. It accentuates her round ass. Those hips are baby-making hips. Thad taught me that one. She has lots of curves. I’ve always liked a voluptuous woman. She turns around after hanging their jackets on the back of the chair on the other side of the room. Well, damn! Those must be double Ds. Hmm, I bet they would bounce wildly while I bounce her up and down on my cock. Shit, her expression just changed. She must have noticed me looking at her breasts. Damn, man, pull yourself together! Her voice pulls me out of my head.

Turning Zion away from me, she says, “So, should we take the tour on our own?”

I blink and wipe the stupid smirk off my face. “No, right this way,”

I say to Nicole, gesturing with my hand. Walking next to Zion I tell him, “What a handsome young man you are.”

Zion has pale skin, maybe just a shade darker than mine, a head full of dark brown loose curls, and freckles. He has his mother’s eyes.

With a healthy sense of stranger danger, he shyly says, “Thank you.”