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1852 — Desoto County, Mississippi
Minnie pushed through the brambles, making way for four of the children her group traveled with. They whimpered and cried as she ushered them into the thicket. The men, Ambrose and Felix, carried the smallest ones, mere infants, in their arms, shielding them from the brambles. In the distance the group could hear the dog barking.
“Keep going, baby,” Ambrose encouraged one of the kids. He and the other adults helped the little girl through, cooing words of encouragement.
“But I’m scared! What if they get us?” Sobbed another kid, a fourteen year old.
The final member of their group, an older woman than Minnie, took the little boy’s hand. “We’re almost to the river! Just a little further, okay?” She smiled at him, trying to cheer him up.
Right now was the worst time for smiles but the children had steadily grown more fearful of their pursuers. The hunters were hot on their heels. In the distance the savage growls and snapping teeth of the hound reached them, torchlight flickering like dots of light in the darkness. Every step was a step closer to the mighty Mississippi, Minnie could smell it.
They just had to keep going.
The night was hot and humid, the thick air clogging their throats with moisture. Cicadas chirped from their hidden abodes and lightning bugs lit in a code only the insects knew. Apart from their feet crunching the fallen leaves and their pants and cries of terror, the forest was calm. Nature itself was hiding from human activity. Even the sky itself, with its glittery array of far off pinpricks of light, lay in repose. Those said stars led the way to freedom.
It was up to them to follow that guide and overcome the obstacles in the way. There was still a long journey ahead, they just had to make it to the next stop.
This was the summer of eighteen fifty-two and Minnie and her bunch were enslaved people on the run and desperate for freedom.
The small group had long fled the Miller plantation in Holly Springs, Mississippi, but it was a few miles close to the river, in Olive Branch, where they were discovered. Others in their group had perished at the hands of the figures hunting them. The rest of them were in a race to catch the boat that awaited them. From there, it would ferry them up the river to Chicago. It would be a grueling and tense journey, but one that would change their lives for the good.
No matter what the white devils that chased them wanted, they would never return to that hell. They were human beings just like them…it was too bad they were too void of humanity to see that. Minnie, Ambrose, and Felix herded the children through the darkness, the kids too young and innocent to understand the evils of the world; it was these kids and the freedom that pushed them beyond their limit.
The forest fell away to reveal the mighty river in the distance. It flowed North, its waves smooth and sparkling beneath the starlight. There, at the docks, was their ride, a small Paddle Steamer.
“Go! Go! Run, baby! Let’s go!” Ambrose herded the group, swooping a stumbling boy into his free arm.
He and the others pushed their bodies harder. Time seemed to slow as they left the safety of the darkness. The grassy shore, full of rusted out boats and rotting boating equipment, was difficult to push through, the tall reeds fighting them the whole way.
A gunshot pierced the night.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Felix collapsed with a howl of pain, the little girl he held rolling across the ground. He gasped for breath and held his stomach. His hand came away covered in crimson blood. The kids screamed, the teen boy falling to his knees to scoop the squealing infant into his scrawny arms.
“Uncle Felix, get up! They’re coming!” He cried, pushing at the injured man.
“Not so fast you little shit!” A male voice yelled with venom.
Minnie and Ambrose paused in their attempt to help Felix, pushing the kids behind them. Their pursuers stepped out of the woods, their dog leading the pack on a leash, its maw baring its fangs with saliva dripping to the ground at its feet. Three men wearing dirtied clothing marched up, two of them pointing their guns at the group while the third sat back and held the eager canine at bay. Their eyes had savage glints, their faces morphed into sick visages of victory—these were no mere men’s but real life white devils in the flesh. Under the moonlight, they looked terrifying.
“Auntie Minnie! I don’t wanna go back!” The little girl behind her whimpered.
She cooed, trying to calm the young girl. Her arm slung protectively around her slender shoulders.
“It’s okay, baby. It’ll be alright…” she whispered.
In their situation the words wouldn’t help, but she still tried. This child was under her protection now. Her momma had already died before them, shot in the head like some criminal, so Minnie did her best to protect what innocence the child had left. She would need it if they made it out of this alive.
The white devil that had spoken before said something else, a wicked smile on his face. “There’s a bounty out for ya. The Millers will pay us real nice when we bring y’all back.” He snickered, digging the barrel of his gun into Felix’s belly wound.
He howled in pain, tears streaming down his face. The teen boy clung to him and tried to shield his Uncle’s body but the white devil man kicked him away, laughing at the misery before him and his companions.
“Theodore, stop playin’ with the animals and round ‘em up already! Mabel expects me home.” Scoffed the dog tamer. In the moonlight his glasses glinted wickedly. Minnie swore she saw the Devil in him right then and there, her heart skipping a beat in her quaking fear.
The teen boy shivered in terror, angling his body to protect the wailing infant he held. He attempted to rock the tiny one back to sleep as he scooted his way to Minnie and the others but the baby still cried. That sound seemed to annoy the other gun-wielding demon.
“William, shoot that little thing! It’s annoyin’!” He hissed, turning his barrel towards the others.
“Come on, Henry, we have to bring them in alive!” Theodore huffed. He wiped sweat from his forehead as he applied pressure to Felix’s belly just enough to quell the bleeding.
Having one of them bleed out wouldn’t be good.
William came closer, whistling a command to the dog. They both came closer to assess the situation up close, parting the tall reeds to round the little party of people. For miles he and his buddies had chased this group, dead set on getting that sweet reward money for the return of the slaves, and maybe some good standing with the wealthy Millers. Men like them could use a little extra coin in their coffers. They could probably be set for months.
It was too bad for them when the forest abruptly fell silent.
Ambrose and Minnie were the first to notice, taking small cautious steps towards the docks. Something in the woods raised their instinctual alarm bells. In the darkness something lurked—was it another white devil? Or was it something worse? What lay hidden in the woods didn’t feel like any man nor beast but something else entirely. Whatever it was…neither of them wanted to find out.
“Hey, you stop right there! Ya make another move and I’ll shoot ya, too!” Henry commanded.
The man’s eyes were wild and focused on the fearful group before him. He seemed to revel in the misery he was causing.
Behind him something rippled in the air. The air itself seemed to move. Minnie and Ambrose shared a look, both of them falling to their knees and taking the kids with them, Felix following their gaze. He seemed to see it, too, because he immediately played dead, falling limp and closing his eyes.
“What’s wrong with them? I guess they finally realized their superiors,” chuckled William.
Hank shrugged, “Beats me.”
Theodore angled his upper body slightly to peer into the darkness of the woods. His eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to make out any detail, something. He was about to give up his search when a clicking noise pierced the silence of the night. It was soft, like a woodpecker, but different from a woodpecker. Something was off about it that he couldn’t place. Woodpeckers weren’t nocturnal. The fact that there was one at this time of night?
That was downright strange.
“Theodore, what is it?” William asked, tightening his reign on the leash.
The dog whimpered, trying to retreat towards the river. His tail tucked under his belly and he crept low to the ground, his hackles on end. All three men glanced at the retreating dog, confusion on their faces.
“Ya damn dog! Stop that! There’s nothin’ there!” Scolded William. He yanked the leash to bring the dog closer but the hound refused.
Ambrose and Minnie held the kids closer, watching the wavering air come behind the white man named Hank. They held their breaths as the rippling air drew closer. Whatever it was, it was huge and silent.
“What’s that noise, Auntie Minnie?” One of the kids asked, burying her face into Minnie’s skirt.
“I don’t know, baby. Don’t make a move now.” She whispered, rubbing her hand up and down the child’s back. Her dark eyes stayed focused on the moving air behind the white men.
Hank barked, “I didn’t say you could say a word ya n—” his words were abruptly cut off when twin blades burst through his chest.
The area erupted into chaos as Hank was lifted into the air and beheaded before everyone’s eyes. Kids screamed in terror, running to hide behind the adults while William and Theodore shot their weapons into the moving air. There were monstrous hisses and growls from the moving air as the pair tried to avenge their fallen friend.
Minnie and Ambrose helped to pull Felix away from the chaos, the kids helping as best as they could with his legs and arms. They called on their reserves to push through the tall grass. The captain of the boat made his appearance at last, hurrying to help them as he ran from the bowels of his vessel.
It was then that the rippling air fell away to reveal a massive figure clad in strange metal armor. The beast had dark reptilian skin that glittered in the moonlight, a wolf-shaped mask covering its face. Long black tubes hung to its shoulders, the tendrils decorated with metal bands that glinted beautifully in the moonlight. Tipping its mighty paws were wicked black claws that could cause major damage.
“Kill the demon!” Yelled William, releasing his dog off the leash.
Rather than attacking the demon before them, it raced back into the trees at breakneck speed. He hissed in anger and quickly moved to put another round into his rifle. Sweat slickened his palms in his race to reload. Meanwhile, Theodore was facing off with the demon thing. The beast wielded the two wicked blades that stuck out from its brace, blood dripping into the grass. It snarled, a deep sound that shook the man to the core.
He had never heard anything so evil and Satanic! This had to be sent by the Devil himself! Maybe it was one of those “sinful” rituals the slaves liked to curse upon their masters, even!
Whatever it was…he was ready. No one killed his friend and got away with it!
The beast and he danced but he made a critical error. Those twin blades cut right through his middle and he fell to the ground dead. A mighty paw lifted Theodore’s upper body into the air and roared, a bestial battle cry of victory.
By the shore, the group traveling to freedom boarded the boat with urgency. The last person was brought aboard, the teen boy who helped carry a shaking Felix with the help of Ambrose. They all sat to watch the violence that played out on shore while the captain started the engine, the motor sputtering to life.
William was skewered like a fish on the same blades that had just killed his friends, the men screaming in agony. Minnie and Ambrose covered the eyes of the kids when the beast dropped William and tore out his spine.
It made it look so easy! The beast was that strong! What kind of strange thing was it? Had Satan sent it to right the wrongs of their pursuers? Was it a gift from God to help them? They had no way of knowing but what they did know was that it didn’t want them.
The beast walked to the shore, flinging the blood off of its blades. It stood there in the moonlight watching them make their way up the river. As if it understood them, it lifted a single finger over its masked mouth. No words were spoken but the human freedom-seekers understood it. They watched the eyes flash yellow before the beast vanished, its body melting into the very air.
“Tell no one.” The beast had said.
Perhaps it was an angel that came after the wicked.
“It’s an angel…” she whispered under her breath in awe.
Minnie seemed to think so as she uncovered the eyes of the children at last, finally free of the moment that stole her entire attention. She smiled softly at the children beside her, her eyes flickering up to Ambrose, the man gently rocking the wailing infant to sleep. Felix was being tended to by the captain while he instructed the teen boy to keep the wheel straight. Their group, what was left of it, had made it. That angel had swooped in and saved their lives.
Eventually, Minnie and her group would make it to Chicago where she would spread the tale of the moonlit angel that hunted the wicked. After more tales of formerly enslaved people arose, the angel would come to earn the name “Chain Breaker''.
Unknown to them, that is exactly what the beast was doing. He was a Yautja bent on freeing as many oomans as possible from the evil clutches of their fellow man. In time he would come to accept and welcome this nickname given to him by the oomans he saved. When the Chain Breaker came, there was no stairway to heaven for the wicked, only a sharp bladed welcome to Hell itself.