Evolve: An Anthology of Horra/Thrilla Novellas

By LaErtes Muldrow

Im William Wineman, known as Wine-no Willie The Kang of the Tenderloin! LaErtes asked me to say something bout the four tales in this book. The boy pays well so I say ok.
COMPLEX about a man named Pyriel who is hiding out from the government cause they want him and any like him for their Special Workshop; a tap into the powers of the mind thang. Pyriel chooses an apartment complex that is run amuck by bad ass kids. Once Pyriel realizes what hes gotten himself into he tries to help these brats and thats when hell breaks loose.
THERMAL this one messed with me. Its about a haunting, possession, voodoo, death, and conjured up demons. I killed a fifth of jack while reading this one.
HARVESTER which is the story I personally narrate is about an Indian legend parents told their bad ass kids to make em mind, and what happened when that legend came to life. NEED - this tale reaches past the Exotic-Erotic of the entertainment industry, and clear to blown away. Once youve read it youll take my meaning.
I told LaErtes he should apologize to the readers for using vaguer language, the destruction of innocence, and the explicit sex and violence throughout the pages of this book. The boy told me, Shut up - keep drinking my Jack Daniels. This book is about the salvation of the soul.
The boy got a point there!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463444471

LaErtes Muldrow

LaErtes is a San Francisco Bay Area producer, though he was born in Hope, Arkansas. LaErtes, whose name means, father-son-brother-king, is a fresh new author whose creativity, down to earth street smarts, frankness, humor, history, and unique approach to the fiction genre are interestingly evident throughout the genre he calls "Horra/Thrilla "For a person of color in those days it was better known as "Hope To Get The Hell Out Of Arkansas." My mother relocated us to Chicago, Ill. For a taste of Black Freedom and to meet my Father. Both adjustments were wanting, so we moved on to San Francisco, CA., where life became better for both of us. I was an only child. All the father figures associated with my mother were alcoholics. They taught me well. Music entered my life in elementary school throughout high school. In high school I threw myself into writing. I became the Editor, Music Reporter, and Current Events Journalist, for the first Afro-American high school newspaper in California. My life changed when I joined the Military. In the Army, I became a Strategic Com-munications Command Soldier. My Military Disabilities caught up with me, and I began undergoing corrective surgeries, suffered while in the Army. I have one daughter. Many conflicts occurred between her mother, that side of her family, and me. Developing into a major riff, between my daughter and I. While recovering from a couple of major foot surgeries I decided to write my daughter a letter bringing her up to date about me.A single letter turned into three-volumes of novels, yet published, too, AISHA!Awakening a gift which laid dormant inside me for many years¿ I Am Awake! LaErtes LEE Muldrow

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EVOLVE

An Anthology of Horra/Thrilla Novellas

Written by

LāErtes Muldrow

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AuthorHouse™

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This book is a work of fiction. Places, events, and situations in this story are purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

© 2011 LaErtes Muldrow. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/15/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4446-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4448-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4447-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011914000 Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

COMPLEX

(Created 04/22/2001)

CHAPTER 1

The view from above the clouds is spectacular, like no other on the planet. The soft swirling symmetry of the clouds leads you to believe they might make a wonderful place to take a nap or just let go of your out-of-body pressures. The truth of it becomes clear as you pass through the clouds and, for a brief moment in existence, you are one with cloud.

The Creator has the greatest sense of humor of all.

When you pass through a light-textured cloud, the type you can almost see through, all is safe, smooth, and rather fun. But when you pass through a dark-textured cloud, the type where you see flashes of light dancing around in them, you better cover your butt, because there’s no feeling in creation like the one you get when a lighting bolt hits you in the butt causing your eyes to momentarily bulge out, making you look like the Bug-Eyed Man at the carnival sideshow.

You never know what you’re going to pass through on your descent from the heavens.

The Creator has fun like that…just a little reminder that all of life is full of surprises!

Then all too quickly, or much too slowly, depending on what textured cloud you pass through, the unsuspecting world below is revealed.

Any way it goes, it’s still a beautiful sight looking down on the cities below with the heavens at your back. There are such sights to see! And the cities.ah, yes.the cities below. When you’re high enough in the sky, all below looks appealing, inviting, but none more than the Cities.

Hmmm.This City looks like it might work, with its tall skyscrapers outlining the horizon, water on three sides, bridges connecting it to other interesting looking landmasses, and all those wonderful little islands in the Bay.

Yes…this place might do just fine… let’s give it a shot…

CHAPTER 2

Omar kept a clean looking apartment complex. on the surface anyway. It looked and felt like a small world of it’s own.tucked inside the larger city. Omar knew everything that went on in his world. He was a pleasant enough guy. When you met him you would discover that he was intelligent, and spoke with authority and confidence on many subjects. He was even likeable, the type who you would easily trust the moment you met him. But he was not one to turn your back on for any length of time. In Omar’s world, everybody had to pay, and Omar made sure that he was the one getting paid the most!

Even Deven had to pay Omar.

In Omar’s world, Deven was the NeNo Brown type character, from the old cult movie New Jack City. Deven was the enforcer; the man who ran all the scams that went down throughout the apartment complex. If anything came up missing, you could bet that Deven was behind it. And for a piece of the action, Omar let Deven run the complex any way he wanted, just as long as Omar got paid. And Omar was paid…Omar was paid very, very well!

Deven lived in one of the so-called penthouse apartments above the third floor. His apartment looked down over the entire complex.

Deven, with his eyes in the sky, watched everything. The little kids innocently playing in the courtyards, the illegal dealings going on in the dark recesses of the complex, the new tenants moving in. Deven especially kept an eye on the new tenants moving in, checking to see if they had anything of value that he could make a fast buck on.

Deven was a ladies’ man; he had his pick of most of the residence’s women. They all knew what Deven was about, and it was only a matter of time before Deven would come calling on them to get his need met.

Nyah had recently moved into the complex. She had a mind of her own and plans for her future. She worked during the day, went to school at night, and was well aware of the games that were carried out in the complex. But she didn’t buy into that way of life. Nyah kept a low profile and lived in a neat, simply furnished apartment. She was not about to let herself be played by the negative elements within the complex. She didn’t spend a lot of money trying to fix up

her apartment just to let Deven and his Crew break in while she was gone and take what they wanted. She had a six-month plan to live here, and then be gone before the shit-hit-the-fan.

Nyah had a 6th sense about her. She knew that sooner or later Omar, Deven, and his crew would run their game on the wrong person, and as a result, the entire complex would be destroyed, just like Los Angles during ancient times.

Deven’s female counterpart was Vivica. She was every male’s, and some female’s, fantasy…she knew it, and played it for all it was worth. Vivica lived in the other so-called penthouse on the backside of the complex. This gave her privacy, and she could watch Deven’s back for him. Vivica and Deven knew each other like a book, therefore, each of them was free to indulge in whatever, and whoever brought them pleasure. But make no mistake about it; they were definitely there for each other until the end of time.

The kids of the complex, both male and female, looked up to Deven and Vivica. That’s all they knew! All they lived for was to grow up to be as powerful as Deven and as beautiful as Vivica. Deven had some of the more aggressive kids in the complex on his payroll. They were his eyes and ears throughout the complex; his little dealers of whatever he wanted them to deal, or needed to be informed about.

Omar kept an extremely low profile around the apartment complex. You rarely saw him. No one knew much about him, not even Deven. Hell…Omar could have been the Devil in the flesh!

Omar didn’t live in the complex; he only came around when something needed fixing, or to collect his money from Deven. Omar kept the buildings and grounds immaculate; the complex had great curb appeal, which was rare, considering the neighborhood.

Maintaining the outward beauty of the complex was nothing more than a spider’s web to catch potential tenants. And once these new tenants moved into the complex, they became absorbed, one-way or another, into the goings on of this little world inside a bigger city.

It was like San Francisco’s legendary Hotel California, once you’ve checked in…you never checked out…alive!

CHAPTER 3

Since before time was known as time, several planets would align with the moon between the sun and the Earth in a Planetary Conjunction!

This was one of those times. Strange phenomena occurred on the planet Earth during times like these. Some think that a channel between the known and unknown opens during this briefly experienced period. Whatever! But unusual events do take place during those times.

During this total eclipse of the sun, Deven and Vivica left for Las Vegas, as did the heads of all the Crews that ran the City. This was The Gathering. This was the time and place to work out any issues that had erupted between Crews. If there were any disputes over territorial rights, this was the place to peacefully work them out. After all issues had been resolved, the time to party had come, and there was no better place on earth like Sin-City to party.

Deven’s Crew was bored having to hang around the complex during this party time, so they went to Lake Merritt to enjoy the fireworks display that glorified this Planetary Conjunction event.

Nyah took this time to lounge in peace and privacy at one of the complex’s pool sides.

This was a rare opportunity for her to lie by the pool in a bathing suit without being hit on. Nyah was the complete package, spiritual, shapely, sexy, virtuous, beautiful, smart, gifted, and she was working to better her condition in life.

Deven, Vivica, and every member of their Crew wanted a piece of Nyah in one way or another. But Nyah wasn’t interested in playing their games; she had her own agenda!

Nyah’s silence and relaxation was interrupted by the sound of keys rattling, a door opening, and footsteps going up and down the metal stairwell. Even though she wasn’t like most of the other occupants of the complex, she was only human, and human beings, most of them anyway, are nosy. They have a need to know what’s going on around them. Even when it has nothing to do with them!

In this respect, Nyah was only human. She slipped her jeans and blouse back on over her bathing suit, slid her feet into her sandals, and nonchalantly strolled over to the movement going on at the other end

of the pool area. This was a rare event.someone was moving into the complex without being screened by Deven or his Crew. Nyah couldn’t help herself; she just had to see the perpetrator of this bold move, it was like defying the laws of nature. At least the laws that be. in the complex. She took a strategic position where she could see but not be seen, and she watched the show.

It was a MAN!

Nyah couldn’t get a clear look at him; all she saw was a shadow stealthily moving up and down the stairs. In and out of the vacant apartment this guy went, moving in his furniture. Then, box after box, up and down the stairs, never a wasted trip, not a useless motion. This guy moved about his business with the smoothness and grace of a well-trained dancer, never missing a beat, never making a sound. Nyah wasn’t sure if this guy was that silent, or if the explosions from the fireworks were masking the noise he made moving into the now almost-full apartment. The only sound she was sure she heard was the sound of the trash dumpster’s lid clanging down after the man dumped his empty boxes into it. She finally heard the sound of a sports car starting up. Next she heard the car pulling into one of the garages in the alley by the trash dumpsters. Then, Nyah heard the thud of a car door closing.

That’s when she decided to make her move. She grabbed one of the trash bags out of a can by the pool and made her way over to the trash area. Nyah took her time; she was waiting to hear the buzz of the garage door motor engage as it pulled the garage door close. When she heard the motor engage with a hum, she made her move. Her timing was of the utmost importance to her. She wanted to hit the access door at the same time that it took this man to reach it from the garage. Her timing was perfection as they almost crashed into each other at the access door.

Ooops.sorry ‘bout that, she said with a coy little smile on her face when she landed in his arms.feeling great that her timing was so perfect.

He smiled down at her and caught her garbage bag as it slid from her hands.

They stood there suspended in time while several fireworks from the lake went off like thunder…lighting up the sky over their heads.

It was a kodak moment; one of those rare moments in time when the planets all aligned and a channel between the known and unknown opens.

In that split second, Nyah’s mind and body flashed. She began to experience events that were not her own—events ranging from wonderful to horrific, all in the same instant. Nyah felt excitement, then serenity—peace, then anger—fear, then trust—ecstasy, then disappointment—joy, then sorrow—pain, then pleasure—love—and then she fainted.

Systems Overload!

What was happening to her?

Her knees had gotten weak.the garbage bag in her hand finally fell to the ground…then all had gone black for her.

As Nyah was returning to consciousness, the first of her senses to return was her sense of smell. Sage was the first scent she recognized. It was light, refreshing, and very soothing to her. Somewhere in her distant consciousness she began to hear music, but this was like no music she had ever heard before. This music was touching deep into her soul.

Then came a soft light; she blinked several times before anything came into focus. She looked around and realized that she was in a place totally unknown to her. She became aware that she was lying on her back, and there was something soft, moist, and cool on her forehead. Nyah bolted straight up, thinking the worst, making herself dizzy from her abrupt movement. Somewhere in her daze she heard a soft, warm, caring voice saying, Take it easy…you’re all right.you just fainted.

Nyah turned toward the direction of the comforting voice.

There he was.sitting in a chair across the room from her. She couldn’t take her eyes off him; he was so alluring to her. There was something about him; something that she instinctively connected with.

Nyah looked around the apartment in awe. His apartment looked like he had been living there for years. There were plants standing from floor to ceiling, and hanging plants, too. Abstract pictures were placed on the walls, beautiful artwork was all around the apartment,

and everything was coordinated. His apartment was straight out of HGTV; it had such serenity, such peacefulness, warmth, and caring.

She thought to herself, A man did this?

Looks like you’re quite the little homemaker, Nyah said in a teasing tone.

Well. what can I say, came his response, along with a smile that could melt the Polar Ice Caps.

Are you feeling better now? he asked.

Oh I’m fine…I mean, I’m doing much better now, she said.

"Why’d you change from fine to much better?’ he asked.

Because I’m training myself not to use the term ‘fine.’

Why, he asked?

Because to me the term ‘FINE’ means ‘Fanatical, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional.’ It’s a negative and I’m training myself against negative verbal self-imaging, she explained.

He smiled at her again and said, That sounds interesting, I’ll have to keep that in mind.

Nyah was completely back to her usual self now, and she felt embarrassed about the way meeting him had turned out, her fight, flight or fun instincts set in.

Thank you for taking care of me. I don’t know what brought on that little spell, but I’m feeling myself again, and there’s business I need to handle. Her flight instinct won out.

Hopefully.we’ll see each other around, she added. Not really wanting to leave, she had to make it look good, so she got up and headed towards the door. As she opened it, she turned and said, My name is Nyah.and you are?

He smiled that wonderful smile at her again, and slowly said, I—am—Pyriel.

Pyriel, she softly said, allowing it to float smoothly on her breath as she exhaled…Spell that for me.

P-Y-R-I-E-L, he softly spelled out loud for her.

Pyriel. she said softly to herself again. I’ve never heard that before. Well. even though it’s been totally embarrassing for me, she said hanging her head down. Then she looked up straight into his eyes and said.

Meeting you has been special…Pyriel.

It’s been special for me too.

Maybe you could stop over for dinner sometime, he said, not wanting her to leave.

You cook, too? she asked with a surprised expression on her face.

Absolutely.I’m a very gifted being, he said with that body-smelting smile of his.

To herself, Nyah said, I know you are!

She gave Pyriel one of her own now-feel-this smiles as she turned and walked out the door. She hadn’t heard the door close yet so she knew he was still checking her out. She wanted to get another look at him so she took a few steps backwards…turned around to face him, and there they were, back in each other’s arms again—smiling.

If all the lights in the complex had gone out, you would have seen a glow beaming from the two of them.

CHAPTER 4

Omar met with Deven after he returned from Vegas to collect his piece of the pie, and to inform Deven that they had a new tenant. There wasn’t a lot of information Omar could tell Deven except the guy paid cash in advance, for a years rent, and that he had a beautiful little green collector’s 1970 Volvo Estate Sports Wagon in the garage.

Receiving so little intel from Omar meant Deven needed to gather his own using his Crew. This was not the way Deven and Omar usually did business! Usually Omar gave Deven a folder with copies of the new tenant’s paper work, and some type of patterned outline on the new mark, but not this time. This time Omar dropped the ball after this new tenant laid all that cash on him. Omar couldn’t even remember the guy’s name. He told Deven that the guy’s name sounded something like. Purereena. you know…chow-chow-chow…that dog food.

I think the guy moved in the day of the eclipse, but I haven’t seen him since.

Deven assured Omar not to worry, that he was on top of things.

Omar said to Deven, All right son, go ahead, handle your business. I’ll check in with you later. They one-arm hugged—then went their separate ways.

For two weeks Deven tried to get a look at this dude, but the closest he ever came was either seeing him driving away, or closing the door as he entered his apartment. Deven wasn’t really trying to hook up with this dude; besides, Deven had other obligations to keep himself occupied.

A few months had passed and the only new intel Deven had on this new guy was that the other tenants seemed to like him, and so did many of the youths, at least the ones who Deven hadn’t recruited into his operation. Deven decided it was time to step up his intel on this new guy so he assigned the job to Baby-G, Little-T, and Honey-Bunny, a.k.a. The Terrible Three. These were three of Deven’s adolescent followers and members of his Crew, known as The Bratt Pack.

Deven figured that kids would probably pose no threat to this guy, especially these three. They could be as charming as they come.

These three were the best infiltrators in Deven’s Bratt Pack. They were simply irresistible, smart, with plenty of game, and they could be lethal, too!

Deven instructed them to scope out the kids that this guy has been spending time with. Find out how that time is spent and doing what. Become part of whatever this dude is in to, become his favorites, then report to me…you got three weeks!

Deven believed in giving assignments with enough time to gather strong enough intel to be used against his marks.

The three-week deadline came and went.

Deven hadn’t seen or heard from The Terrible Three.

When he questioned other members of his Bratt Pack, they told him that The Terrible Three were tripping. They didn’t hang out or even talk to the Bratt Pack any more. They’re spending all their time over at that new dude’s apartment doing who knows what!

This update pissed Deven off!

Was this dude strong enough to break through his brainwashing techniques?

Never send kids on an adult’s mission, he thought to himself.

Thanks for the 411. Then he told his Bratt Pack, Y’all go ‘head…handle business."

After the Bratt Pack disbursed, Deven placed a