The Heru Special Chapter 3

[K-Blao]

CHAPTER 3

I jog in the graveyard

Spar in the same ring

Now it's house by the building

Where Malcolm X was slain

I spring train in the winter

Round early December

Run suicide drills over and over

With the weight of the world on my shoulder

 

"Man what the fuck type of shit is this?"

 

The music crept out of the car as Mason stood barefoot in the beach water that kept washing to shore.  Horace stood next to him with sandles on, looking into the distance.  It was exactly 4:30am.  

 

"Where is dude?" Mason asked.  "We agreed 4:30am exactly.  I could still be in the bed."

 

"He'll be here," Horace replied.

 

Mason looked down at his cell phone in his hand.  "I'm leaving in three minutes."

 

Horace sighed.  "What the fuck else do you have to do?  You're already up.  Where do you have

 

to be?  Quit being so dramatic and chill out.  He'll be here."

 

Mason picked up a handful of sand and let it fall between his fingers.  Just as the wind blew

 

he sand into the air, a head popped up from underneath the water about fifty feet out into the

 

distance.  Mason took notice of this and pointed at him.  "Who the fuck is that?"

 

Horace looked into the distance and saw the man swimming in their direction.  "That's him."

 

The man was swimming toward them like an Olympic champion.  It was as if the waves had no

 

effect on his ability to cut through the water and pust harder with each stroke.  After about

 

forty-five seconds, this unknown was standing right in front of Mason.

 

"Is this the guy?" he asked Horace, while still keeping his eyes locked directly into Mason's

 

eyes.  

 

"That's him," Horace replied.

 

Mason looked at this man.  He stood about six feet two inches.  He had an athletic build even

 

though he was slim.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like

 

the sound of rushing waters.

 

"You trying to get rich nigga?"  the unknown man asked.

 

"Hell yeah," Mason replied.

 

"Good," the unknown man replied.  "Follow me."  He turned around and began walking out into

 

the water.  Mason semmed reluctant to follow.

 

"Man, I ain't trying to go all the way out there in that cold ass water, nigga.  Just because

 

you think you Supernigga, don't mean I'm gonna try the same shit."

 

 

The man didn't reply.  He just kept walking.  Still high, by the time Mason noticed the water

 

splashing under the man's feet, he had already ducked his head under the water and

 

disappeared.

 

"Fuck," Mason uttered to himself as he turned to Horace.

 

Horace shrugged his shoulders and smiled.  "Hey, don't look at me, nigga.  You want the

 

connect, your ass better swim."

 

Mason shook his head and headed toward the water.  He removed his white gold chain and

 

jewelry. He took his earrings off and placed all his jewelry in his $300 pair of Air Jordan's.

 

 He then proceeded to take off his $200 pair of jeans and $150 shirt.  He neatly folded them

 

and placed them on top of the shoes.  Lastly, he removed his $150 "Buck-Fifty" hat and placed

 

it on top of his neatly folded clothes.  

 

Horace began to laugh.  "Man, you look like a whole nother nigga!"  

 

Mason stood their, slightly embarressed.  He had on a pair of "tighty-whiteys", as he kept his

 

hands to his chest, trying to keep warm from the cool breeze that was blowing through.  It was

 

a nice day out, but it was just a little bit windy.

 

Mason tip-toed out to the shore, as he saw a head pop up from under the water about thirty

 

feet away.  "Come on nigga, quit acting like a bitch!"

 

Horace snorted out a laugh and tried to catch his breath.  "Nigga, go!  Quit being scary!"

 

Mason tip toed out a little bit more.  He felt the cold water spread over his feet and up his

 

ankles.  He shivered.  "Man this shit is cold!"  

 

"Last chance, nigga!"  the unknown man exclaimed, as he went under again.

 

Mason took a hard look at the cold water as his lower teeth began to repeatedly chatter

 

against his upper teeth.  Man, fuck it, he thought.  

 

Mason ran at full speed and dove head first into the water.  As soon as the shock of the cold

 

water went away, he felt peaceful.  It was so quiet.  He liked it here.  He was just floating

 

in a silent space with his eyes closed.  He realized that he hadn't felt this relaxed in a

 

long time.  Suddenly, he was overcome with the urge to swim.  He began swimming out into the

 

distance.  His legs felt like they were pumping.  His arms felt a surge of energy.  He drove

 

foward pounding his entire body against the water.

 

I'll show them, he thought.  I'm going to beat this man at his own game.  Old fool didn't know

 

I could swim.

 

After Mason got out about thirty feet, he noticed that he had to stand on his toes to keep his

 

head above water.  There was not much ground under his feet.  The waves slightly pushed him

 

back toward the shore, and he fought against it.  The waves got bigger as he kept going.  He

 

noticed that when the waves sank, he would not be able to keep his balance as good.  That's

 

when the unknown man popped up.  It seemed as if he was riding the wave with no surf board.  

 

He crashed right into Mason and grabbed him by the neck.  Both of their bodies were swallowed

 

by a giant wave as they went under the water.  Mason tried to stand up, but he was overtaken

 

by the strength of the unknown man.  He felt the man's hands cover his face and neck from

 

behind.  

 

What the hell?  Mason thought.

 

He felt the man's legs wrap around Mason's ankles as he locked his body against him.  His hand

 

was like a steel weld over Mason's mouth and nose.

 

He's drowning me!

 

Mason tried to reach and pull the man's hands off his nose, but it only seemed to hold on

 

tighter.  Mason tried to kick his legs, but they were locked.  He was losing energy fast.

 

Fuck, I'm going to die!  Mason thought to himself as he felt the air in his lungs escaping

 

fast.  The urge to breath in was putting so much pressure on him, he felt himself starting to

 

black out.

 

Why his he doing this?  Is he a cop or something?  Why would Horace set him up?  Why did I

 

even follow this man into the water?  What the fuck was I thinking?  What about Jasmine?  What

 

about my dad?  What about Sarah?  How are they going to know that I'm dead?  

 

The pressure kept building in on his chest until it felt like he was going to explode.  He

 

started to think thoughts about taking in just a little water in his lungs and control his

 

breathing to hang on.  At that very moment, the man pulled Mason out of the water and seemed

 

to throw him fifteen feet.  He couldn't tell if it was the wave that carried him, or the man's

 

energy alone, but the force was extreme.  Mason took a deep breath as he landed on about five

 

feet away from the shore.  He stumbled and fell over into water that was just above his

 

underwear.  

 

This shit is crazy, Mason thought.  Fuck this.  I'm about to whoop this old nigga's ass.  Why

 

the fuck would he bring me out here to do this?

 

Mason looked around for the man, but he was not in sight.  More waves crashed in as Mason

 

turned around and saw Horace.  He had a huge smile on his face.

 

"Horace, what the fuck?" Mason exclaimed in a loud tone.  He heard his voice echo two or three

 

times in the distance.  Nobody else was out there but them.  There was no traffic, no police,

 

no anything.

 

"Take it easy!"  Horace yelled back.  "It's cool, you're okay."

 

The unknown man popped up from under the water.  He was about ten feet away from Mason.  The

 

water was still up to his chest.  "You okay?"

 

Mason was thrown off by this question, but his temper got the best of him.  "Man, what the

 

fuck type of shit is you on, nigga?  You trying to drown me?  Why the fuck you bring me out

 

here on a goddamn beach at 4:30 in the morning to get naked so you can wrestle with me in the

 

water?  What the fuck is y'all on?"

 

"I only have one question for you," the man said.

 

Mason was not trying to hear this man, yet he was not going to attack him.  He seemed to have

 

some type of super strength or military training.  There must be some point in him trying to

 

kill me then save my life.

 

"What?"  Mason asked.

 

"When you were under the water just now, what did you want to do?" the unknown man asked.

 

Mason's face got very angry.  "What the fuck type of dumb ass question is that?  I wanted to

 

breath!"

 

The unknown man went into a rage.  "When you want to be successful as bad as you want to

 

breathe, then you will be successful!"  he yelled.  "You won't give a fuck about women!  You

 

won't give a fuck about no pussy!  You won't give a fuck about no parties!  No video games!  

 

No hanging out all night trying to be cool and talk shit!  No clubs!  None of that shit!  All

 

you will want to do is be successful!  Every breath in your body needs to breathe success!  If

 

you can't do that, then I don't want you on my team!"

 

 

Mason felt a charge of energy overcome him.  This man was right.  It's just that Mason hated

 

the way he proved it.  Just as Mason was about to speak, the man cut him off.

 

"Shut up and listen!  Check yourself Mason!  I don't wan't no nigga on my team who acting like

 

they already blew up!  Like you're already on top!  You came to me because you're fucked up!  

 

You come to me trying to get work off me, and you show up dressed like a female!  All you need

 

is a purse and a bra!"

 

Horace chuckled.

 

"I'm serious, Horace!"  Horace smile quickly disappeared off his face.  "Why the fuck you

 

bring me a nigga who ain't even smart enough to figure out not to wear no jewels to the first

 

meeting?  We don't attract attention like that to ourselves.  We take you out of all that fancy shit, and you look like a scared little boy.  A nigga like you will snitch on a nigga in a second.  You think you got

more to lose than me?"

 

Mason felt insulted.  "Nigga, I ain't never snitched on a nigga a day in my life.  You don't

 

know shit about me.  Who the fuck are you to tell me how to live?  You don't know shit about

 

me!"

 

"Shit nigga, I know you need this work on consignment.  Or shit is gonna be fucked up for a

 

while, ain't it?"

 

Mason dropped his head and swallowed.  

 

The man repeated himself.  "Ain't it?"

 

Mason nodded.

 

"Okay then.  If you want me to give you this work, there are certain things that you're going

 

to have to understand.  Jewel one:  The early bird gets the worm."  He pointed to the sun,

 

which was only about halfway above the lake's surface.  The water reflected an orange glow

 

that looked as if it was on fire.  "You see the sun?  That's you.  You're supposed to move

 

with the sun.  Not the moon.  The moon is lunar.  That's feminine. When the sun gets up, then

 

you get up.  Got me?"

 

Mason scratched his head.  "What?"

 

The man continued.  "Men are solar based.  Women are lunar based.  We move with the energy of

 

the sun, right here."  He slapped his abdomen which was ripped.  "Right here in the belly.  We

 

take in that energy from the sun and hold it down in the third chakra.  We put that energy in

 

our gut and go with our gut.  Do what your gut tells you.  But only if you move with the sun.  

 

Know where the sun is at all times because that's like your battery charger.  Soak in the

 

natural rays.  They will give you energy."

 

Mason had to admit, when he had first got in the water, he had an unexplainable boost of

 

energy until he was attacked and almost killed.  "I had that energy until I was almost

 

drowned."

 

The man nodded.  "You still do have that energy.  That's what we're out here for.  To soak up

 

the rays.  Lay back and float."  

 

The man pushed backwards into the water and began to float on his back.  His toes sat right

 

above the water, parallel to his head as he stared up into the pink and orange sky.  The

 

sunrise was beautiful.  Mason had to admit, it was very peaceful even though he was cold.  He

 

looked over at Horace, who again shrugged his shoulders.  "Don't look at me," he repeated.

 

Mason shook his head and took a deep breath.  He jumped backwards into the water and let his

 

body float.  He stared up into the sky and listened to the silence.  He could hear his own

 

breath.  The air was passing through his nostrils, sounding like an airplane taking off and

 

landing over and over again.  It was very relaxing.  The man spoke some more.

 

"The sun up, sun down lit says this:  The sun doesn't move.  We move.  But subconsciously, we

 

think that the sun is inside the earth going up and down.  That's why the sun appears to be

 

going up right now, but actually, it's not moving.  We're moving."

 

The simplicity of what the man was saying hit Mason like a ton of bricks.  He had never really

 

thought of it like that before.  But it was true.

 

"Women are like the earth. Men are like the sun. Women are supposed to rotate around men, but

 

they got it now that the sun is rotating around the earth and the men are rotating around the

 

women.  That's the trick.  To get you to forget that the earth is rotating around the sun.  

 

It's a feminine way of thinking.  In the bible, Eve used to listen to Adam, until one day she

 

stopped listening and bit the apple.  Then she came and got Adam and made him eat it too.  

 

When God found out, he looked at Adam and asked 'Nigga, what the fuck is you doing?'  Adam

 

told God, "Shit, it was her!  It wasn't me!  She told me to do it!'  And God looked at Adam

 

and said, 'Nigga, I told you to listen to me, not her!  If you listen to me, then she's going

 

to listen to you!  You listen to her, now you fucked up!'  You understand?"

 

Mason understood, but he didn't understand what this had to do with getting drugs on

 

consignment.

 

"Go with your gut.  Trust your instincts.  Don't get lazy.  Don't let all the money, jewelry,

 

cars, and fast life distract you.  The sun sacrifices itself everyday so that we can stand

 

here and talk.  The sun is burning out all of its energy so that we can live.  It's the most

 

dynamic force that the two eyes can see.  It's right there in front of you all this time, and

 

you don't even appreciate it.  If it were to turn black right now, you'd be fucked up.  Give

 

the sun his props.  Don't be like a bitch and take it for granted that the sun is just gonna

 

keep burning itself out and rotating around you.  The sun ain't moving.  The earth is like a

 

female, moving around through chaos, spinning around, getting hot, cold, raining, snowing,

 

wobbling, getting cloudy, getting clear, all that shit.  The sun doesn't move.  It's been

 

sitting right there since the beginning of time.  Every planet wishes that they had their own

 

personal sun.  Imagine everytime a planet had a problem, the sun moved.  Imagine what that

 

would do to the universe."

 

Mason imagined the sun moving around through the universe.  He pictured other planets getting

 

cold as the sun moved in the opposite direction.  It kind of reminded him of how Jasmine acts

 

everytime he tries to walk out the door.  She get's cold.

 

"We're going to float around for a few more minutes, then we're going to head to Phoenix.  

 

That's where the work is." the man said.  

 

"Phoenix?" Mason asked.  "Phoenix, Arizona?  That's like an entire day of driving from

 

Chicago."

 

The man laughed.  "Phoenix, Illinois fool.  It's like nineteen miles outside of Joliet."

 

"Oh," Mason said.  "I never heard of Phoenix, Illinois."

 

The man shushed Mason, and pointed to the sky.  "Listen," he said.

 

Mason took a deep breath and relaxed.  For some reason, he felt more relaxed than he felt for

 

a long time.  He felt as if he was being inducted into a mob.  This man intimidated him, but

 

he was not afraid.  He could feel that this man wanted to trust Mason, but Mason didn't look

 

trustworthy.  He had to gain his trust.

 

After about ten minutes of floating around in the water and staring at the sun, the two of

 

them got dressed and got inside the man's 1980 Ford Thunderbird. 

Horace took off and went to

 

go cook breakfast for his wife.  As Horace and the man headed toward Phoenix, Mason realized

 

that he didn't even know this man's name.

 

"Man, you never told me you name," Mason said.

 

"Osirus," the man replied.  "But you can call me Po."

 

"Po?  Like 'poor'?"

 

Po popped a rolled cigarette in his mouth and lit it up.  He took a few puffs and rolled down

 

the window.  The smoke shifted directions and flew out the window.  

 

"No," he replied.  "Po as in 'poetic'."