Chapter 2

Yet, a moment later, there was a cacophony of shouts and the pounding of feet which caused all five of the ladies to sit bolt upright in their deck chairs; only for them to see a torrent of blackness come pouring down the stairs. It was hard to make out just what it was, that noisy black mass yet, by the time it was too late for her to do anything about it, Debbie’s mind finally accepted that it was a shouting, unkempt horde of unruly, black children. Black boys would have been more accurate since, as they now poured out of the bottom level of the house and out onto the pool deck, there didn’t seem to be a single girl among them. What was most shocking of all though was that this teeming and wild mob seemed to be carrying the ladies’ five sons in front of them. Furthermore, the body of each of their sons was ramrod straight and their faces were stricken with terror. On each side of them and behind them, black hands seemed to be grasping them everywhere on their bodies. The black boys were lifting them off the ground and carrying as the son’s spindly white legs pinwheeled helplessly. All of this now came boiling down the stairs before bursting through the open sliding glass door and out onto the patio. Yet, the swarm didn’t stop there. Instead, it now split in two with the first half of it plunging straight into the pool as the teeming mass of thrashing and chattering black boys surrounded each mom’s son. The rest of the pack now split again with half of it diverted around the edge of the pool to the left and half of it turning to the right. Even with half of the black boys in the water; Debbie estimated that at least ten boys were headed her way while another ten were approaching the five lounge chairs from the other direction and heading directly for Janet. Everything was happening so fast that Debbie’s stunned mind didn’t have time to react. The boys in the pool were drowning all five of their sons as four black boys surrounded each white one and held his head under the water.

“Hey!” said Debbie as she scrambled to her feet but by then it was already too late. Four black boys now surrounded her as four more moved past and encircled Beth. The last two of the boys that had come around her side now moved on to Shawna as did the last two of the boys that came from the opposite side. Each mom now seemed frozen with indecision as the boys raced towards her and, the first boy to reach each mom, now shoved her hard back against her deck chair. Debbie’s head snapped back as she was shoved and then the black boys were grabbing her as one took hold of each arm and another seized each of her legs. They were all so remarkably strong that Debbie could hardly believe it. She looked at the boys that surrounded her as her confusion transformed into fear. For none of the boys’ eyes showed the slightest trace of humanity or of civilization. Their short and skinny bodies, however, were each covered in skin as black as coal and none of them showed a trace of fat but instead had muscles that stood out like steel cables as they rippled under their skin. Their broad flat noses and big lips, the way their jaws and ears seemed to jut out, Debbie thought the lot of them looked more like apes than like humans and this only made her struggle even harder. In the end, all she did was tire herself out and not once did she even come close to freeing either an arm or a leg. She was going nowhere, at least not with her limbs attached. As she thrashed about, the boy that held her left arm now also grabbed ahold of her left leg while the boy that had previously been holding that limb moved around to the far end of her deck chair and lifted it off the ground. For the other end of the deck chair, the one by Debbie’s head, had wheels that were attached to the supports, so that it could easily be rolled to a new location or position. Debbie turned her head as much as she could and saw the four other ladies were all in the same situation. Each mother had three boys surrounding her while one lifted the far end of her chair. Once all the deck chairs had the far end lifted off the ground it was wheeled around until that far end was facing inward. In the end, the lounge chairs of the five ladies were rearranged in a circle as Beth and Shawna both desperately tried to twist themselves around since their chairs faced away from the pool. From the pool still came the sounds of a commotion, of struggling, splashing, and horrifying cackles of laughter. From Debbie’s spot directly facing the pool, she was in the best position to see what was going on and what she saw now horrified her. For her only son Jarrett was still thrashing about in the pool as his head was held under the water. His arms were flailing about helplessly as Debbie watched him grow weaker.

I’m w-watching the m-murder of my uh-own son.

The horrifying thought flashed in her mind and so now Debbie struggled even harder. In the end, she was able to wrench her shoulders back and forth but came no closer to freeing her limbs.

“What do you want?!” she now cried.

As terrified as she was, Debbie thought it was a miracle she was able to say anything at all.

“To break you,” said the boy standing at the far end of her chair. His voice was as calm as could be, as if he were casually responding to a question about the weather.

“To hear you admit that you’re conquered. That you’re defeated. That you’re all fully grown women in your mid-30’s and that you’ve been overpowered by a few fourteen-year-old black boys. That you surrender and will do whatever we tell you under punishment of your sons being murdered.”

It wasn’t something about which Debbie needed to think. Even if she had needed a moment, she wasn’t sure she would have it because she had no idea how long Jarrett’s face had been in the water but to her it seemed like an eternity.

“Alright! Alright! We-we’ll do whatever you want! Just please, please, don’t drown our sons!”

The boy standing in front of Beth’s chair now asked her the same question.

“Whadda you say lady” his gruff sounding voice now spoke, “you willing to do anything we tell you if we promise not to drown your son”

Beth now tried to stand up but it was useless because the three boys held her down firmly, until Beth finally spoke.

“Yes! God! O.K.!”

Beth’s bright blue eyes were fixed on the pool where her son Taylor’s splashing was growing noticeably weaker. As her shapely white legs kicked and her succulent upthrust breasts violently heaved, the boy in front of his chair now turned to his friend, gave him a nod, and then stood like a statue.

“Whadda bout you Mrs. McDonald?” the boy in front of Shawna’s chair now spoke. He had his hands on his hips and his feet spread apart, his dirty red t-shirt and tattered green shorts didn’t detract at all from his imposing stance.

“Let me go!” Shawna now thundered in her most demanding voice. She had always been the most assertive woman in their group and Debbie thought, if their group had an unofficial leader, it was definitely Shawna.

“You hear that kids?” the boy standing at the end of Shawna’s deck chair now said.

“This one wants to watch her son drown. Alright boys, give her what she wants.”

Shawna now made one more tremendous effort to try and get up but it wasn’t even close for, while she kept herself in excellent shape, she was just no match for the combined strength and weight of the three boys.

“Tilt her head towards the pool. Let her watch. Let her watch and see what her decision has done.”

The boy holding Shawna’s right arm now took his right hand off of it while continuing to hold it with his left as, with his now free hand, he grabbed a fistful of Shawna’s long brown hair. With a terrifying yank, he now held her head still and kept it pointed at her son Jason. Like the rest of the frightened young white boys, his body had almost gone still. His movements grew weaker and weaker and it looked like he was a goner for sure.

“I’d say he’s got about a minute until permanent brain damage occurs. You sure you don’t want to agree to our terms and save your son’s life.”

“Fine!” Shawna cried, as she continued to struggle against her captors, “I’ll do what you want! I’ll do whatever you want! Just let my son go!”

“Sorry, Mrs. McDonald, no can do”. The boy standing at the end of her chair was now shaking his head back and forth in a mocking derisive manner.

“You see, any time any of you ladies try to defy us there’s going to be consequences. Eventually the only consequence will be that you’ll have to sit there and watch while your son gets drowned in the pool. But for now, we’re willing to give you a warning. Let me hear you say your name, your age, your church and marital status, the age and names of all your children and that you’re now willing to accept that a bunch of 14-year-old black boys are your new masters and that you’re going to immediately do whatever you’re told from now on. Only if you say all that, will I let your son live.”

The look on Shawna’s face was completely indescribable. It went beyond stunned horror, beyond disbelief, beyond incredulity. It was a look of twisted agony, of a mind that could not possibly comprehend what was going on, when so shortly ago, the pretty Mormon mother had been lying peacefully in the lap of luxury by her best friend’s cool and inviting pool.

“Alright, you’ve made your choice” said the boy at the end of Shawna’s chair. “I guess Jason dies. Well, I guess it’s a shame that his mom didn’t love him more.”

“Wait” now said Shawna in a voice that was almost a scream. It was now obvious to everyone that she was in a panic and almost completely out of control.

“I’ll say it! I’ll say it! Please, I’ll say anything you want! Just please, stop hurting my son! I’ll say anything you want!”

“Alright” then said the boy, a smile of satisfaction now growing on his face. His eyes sparked with an evil, mischievous twinkle and Debbie could see he was clearly savoring his victory.

“Better get to it. Doesn’t look like Jason’s got long left to go.”

Shawna now shuddered and shook as her eyes darted back and forth and her racing mind tried to remember what she was supposed to say.

“Let’s see ... uh ... uh ... name ... age ... m-martial st-status. R-religious aff-filiation ... n-name and uh-age of k-kids. O.K ... O.K ... O.K ... uh-uh-huh-here I g-go.”

Her darting eyes now looked up again and she now saw for the first time that the boy standing at the end of her chair had pulled out an iPhone. He held it up at almost chin level, his face staring at the screen as he apparently was recording everything that Shawna was about to say.

“Hi ... uh ... uh. M-my n-name is Sh-shawna McD-d-Donald. I’m uh I’m th-thirty ay-ay-eight and I’m a p-proud member of the l-local Mormon ch-church. Uh-I’m uh-als-so a p-proud w-wife and mother ... a h-happy st-stay at h-home mom t-to my wuh-one s-son Juh-Jason.”

Shawna now hesitated, her eyes again darting back and forth, as if she had forgotten the rest of what she was supposed to say.

“Say you’ve been conquered,” the boy at the end of her chair now reminded her.

“Say you’ve been defeated. Say that you’re a thirty-eight-year-old lady who just got conquered and defeated by a couple of fourteen-year-old black boys and that now you’re gonna do whatever any man or boy tells you.”

“Uh-uh-uh. I’m a n-nice th-thirty-eight year uh-old Muh-ormon wife and muh-mom-mom-mom. And I w-wanted t-to say th-that I’ve b-been k-conquered. I’ve b-been d-defeated. I’m a th-thirty-eight-year-old l-lady who j-just got k-conquered and defeated by a k-couple of fuh-four-four-four-fuh-fourteen-year-old buh-black boys-boys-boys and n-now I’m going to do anything they t-tell me t-to fuh-for the ruh-rest of my luh-life.”

Debbie simply sat there as she watched with amazement. Shawna was the strongest woman she had ever known and she had just been broken in a matter of seconds. Shawna had been broken and forced to humiliate herself on camera no less. And the craziest part about it was it had all happened in the space of a few minutes, by nothing more than a bunch of skinny short black boys. Shawna was crying now and the boy standing at the end of her chair seemed satisfied at her answer. He now turned his head to the left, nodding to his friend who stood at the foot of Janet’s deck chair.

“What about you lady? You gonna do anything we say or should we all just stand here and watch the last few remaining seconds of your twin boys, Jesse and James?”

Debbie’s eyes now moved to the pool where Janet’s twin sons still struggled in the water. She had no idea how much time had passed but she was starting to fear that all their sons might be dead. Neither Jesse nor James seemed to be fighting very hard; instead, their faces were submerged and their arms moved weakly, Debbie noticed she could see their individual vertebrae poking through the skin of their necks as they broke the water’s surface.