Solomon King
When Dr. Marvin T. Holmes was released, they began to filter blood into his body through the tubes.
He was on the brink of meeting true death and had become so frail that if you poked him, he might break.
His home was a fortress of rooms and hallways that led to tunnels that connected all throughout the Underground, including the school.
I watched his private nurses care for him around the clock for the next several hours as he laid in the bed, barely breathing.
They almost managed to starve him out. Someone his age needed blood constantly because he’d been fighting death for years.
The older he let himself get, the more he needed the nutrients to stay alive.
It was only a day after the incident where the second barrier was officially open.
Just like the church that they blocked off, Lake Lanier was shut down until they could figure out what to do next.
If a white man and his friends were on a boat, cruising the water with their beers and music and suddenly fell in…
they would end up right here in Drew Collins the moment they came up for air.
There was nothing protecting us anymore.
Still, I watched as Marvin turned his head to the side to speak with his nurse.
She was clearly a pet to him in the past from the bite marks on her wrist, and neck.
Another sat nurse, letting the blood drain as she laid slump in the chair, weak.
“Dr. Holmes would like to speak with you privately,” the nurse said.
She motioned for the other three to get up, disconnecting the tubes and stopping everything until it was just him, and I in the room together.
I slowly walked over with my hands shoved in my pockets before pulling up a chair to the side of his bed.
He looked at me with his cloudy eyes and blinked slowly with a heavy sigh.
“Thank you for financially backing this institution. We are forever in your debt…” He admitted, voice strained and frail.
“A loan is a loan,” was all I said, making it clear where I stand. “You will pay me and my people back or I will have this school as promised.”
“Yes,” Dr. Holmes said as he exhaled again. With a deep swallow, hearing the saliva move around his mouth, he picked up his hand and slowly placed it over his chest. “I wasn’t meant to stay that long…”
“You and the UBI were working together this entire time?” I questioned, thinking about Harvey and his brother. “You knew something like this was going to happen?”
He never responded. I wouldn’t know the truth from Dr. Marvin T.
Holmes because he had more secrets as one of the founders of this place.
I do realize that he, more than anyone else in this world, would do whatever it takes to protect this place called the Underground.
Whether that was throwing his family under the bus or turning himself in and playing the villain.
So the true evil could finally reveal itself.
“The Underground has been my home,” he murmured. As if reading my mind, he slowly turned his head to look at me. “I will do whatever I have to do to protect this place I call home…”
“Is it fear?” I asked with a direct tone.
“Fear?” He whispered, repeating the word as if it were foreign to him.
“Do you fear the world above?” I asked. “Do you think this is the only place you can live and thrive? Why are you afraid of letting go of the Underground?”
He never responded to my question as he slowly closed his eyes. He moved his jaw around in a circle before opening them to look at me.
“I need one last favor from you Mr. King…”
I stiffened at the request. This wasn’t part of the deal we made.
“What is it?”
“The mother…” He paused, expression on his face softening at the thought.
“The mother of my children is in Savannah, and she doesn’t have much time…
I want to see her before she goes. I want to talk to her,” he said.
It had nothing to do with his son or other kids.
He wanted to see Maggie’s grandmother of all people.
“You want me to take you to her,” I said before smirking. “Now why would I do that when you haven’t even held up your end of the deal.”
“You want to know about the Taluwi sirens…”
“I want to know everything,” I demanded. I would never get it out of my head when I first met Ayira. She said something to me that set alarms off in my head, and I haven’t been able to look back since.
“They are not a threat to you what you’ve built–––”
“They?” I repeated as my jaw tightened. I didn’t see them as a threat, but hopefully more of an opportunity. “So Asha isn’t the only one.”
“No. She along with the others were sold to us in mutual agreement that benefited both–––”
“Where are they now?”
Dr. Holmes just looked at me.