Stay sharp, stay safe

[In a brightly lit conference room in a police operations house, Chief of Detectives Clyve Robertson leans against a table in front of a white board. In front of him are several police officers in plain clothes siting in folding chairs.] "According to our inside man, the Bloods are planning something called NDX." "NDX?  That … Continue reading Stay sharp, stay safe

You’ll get used to it

After I wiped the rest of the dirt off of the "stone," we all looked at it more closely. It was perfectly round and had two lines that looked like tracks, one green and one purple, going around it on one circumference, and two identical ones intersecting on another plane. It was otherwise dull grey and feather light -- almost … Continue reading You’ll get used to it

“Rita”

[At Duke Regional Hospital - Two uniformed police officers stand guard outside a hospital room. Inside, Carritta (Rita) Douglas wears a shoulder harness and a splint on one finger.  She is shackled to the bed by one ankle.] "But I don't remember what happened." Rita's shoulder was hurting and she had dull pain in her rear, … Continue reading “Rita”

In the divot

"In other news: Some are calling a 15-year-old boy a hero after he subdued two attackers in Northern Durham. WRAL's Craig Knighton has the story." "A boy, whose name we cannot release because he is a minor, was walking along this quiet street after school, when two assailants on a motorcycle attacked him. Little did they … Continue reading In the divot

Defend yourself

We’re in high school now – going to Northern High. I haven’t heard from my special friend since that night he told me about the gifts. I kind of expected to hear from him before now, and honestly wondered if the psychologist was right. Maybe I’ve been falling asleep and not realizing I was asleep.  That … Continue reading Defend yourself

You can call me ‘friend’

Mom insisted, so Duke ran all the test they had to make sure I didn’t have anything out of the ordinary. They took many vials of blood. I peed in a cup. They did x-rays and put me in an MRI machine. For that one, I had to be really still. It was very cool! … Continue reading You can call me ‘friend’

I’m not Superman

I told mom when I got home. She looked at me, squinted, and asked, “Are you sure you’re not exaggerating, ‘Ziah? You’re just full of surprises these days, aren’t you?” I said, “You’ll see, mom. Wait until you see the stop sign.” Dad came home later than usual that evening. He's a police officer. He had gone straight … Continue reading I’m not Superman

My best friends

There are only two friends that I ever told about the meteorite, so they are the only ones I decided to tell about that night. Mo said, “First Allah sends you a black stone, and now he speaks to you? Do you know how many people Allah has spoken to directly? Three; in all of … Continue reading My best friends

How embarassing?

How embarrassing was that? My dad took me to the doctor a few days later and I checked out fine, except for elevated levels of something called Vanadium. Huh? The levels were not toxic though, so – no worries. I hadn’t told anyone what I experienced until we were on our way home from the … Continue reading How embarassing?

Oh what a night

So I prayed about it all those years. All of them prayed, and even my friend Mohammed (he is Muslim) says he’s been praying for me. Mo’ said, “It is like the Black Stone in the Kaaba, which fell from the heavens to guide Adam and Eve to build an altar to Allah. “ With all of … Continue reading Oh what a night