That day King had taken Solomon down to the road block the Saudis had set up on his early 2000's model Hyundai. When Solomon saw it was right next to the Kwik Stop, he had understood why the confrontation with Khaled had occured.

It was a crude road block, but effective. Made up of trucks and cars that could be backed up to free up the road quickly if needed or desired. Along side it and in key positions, including covered behind the vehicles, were the Saudis who lived in the compound. They were dressed in black masks, but not the kind for protecting from the virus. They also all had automatic rifles and behind one car one held a rocket launcher.

King stopped slowly and nervously.

"I think this close enough" King said.

Solomon didn't tell King they were well in range of all that fire power. If they had wanted to, they'd already be dead.

"Stay here, King" Solomon ordered. "Keep the car running".

"What you going to do?" King asked, nervously.

"Depends on what they want to do..."

Solomon climbed out with a grunt, stick lifting him up and standing tall. Off to the side Khaled's brother, Abdul, was tending to him. Judging by Khaled's swollen face and the droplets of blood on the gravel, they'd done a number on him. Adbul was holding a blood soaked rag.

Abdul looked at him with surprise and Solomon began to make his way forward without returning so much as a glance. He kept his eye on the prize. He wasn't scared of these towelheaded bitches.

Off to the side there was a crowd gathered. Mostly brothers and sisters, all of which he knew. A few white folks, some of which he did. They were looking at him with shock.

"Solomon! Stop! Don't go over there!" a woman held. It was Mitzi. She was a 30-something woman who taught at the elementary school. Her husband Rodney held her back and Solomon paid her no mind.

But her screaming seemed to wake Khaled out of a trance and he hurried to his feet and walked towards Solomon, even as his brother protested and tried to hold him back.

"Solomon! What are you doing my friend!?" Khaled shouted at him. "You will get yourself killed!"

"Stay back, Khaled" Solomon said in a gruff voice. "I got this".

Solomon walked forward. The Saudis grew surprised by his continued advance and trained their weapons at him, except one. One, the leader, calmly stepped forward and awaited Solomon's arrival.

This is it, Solomon muttered under his breath. This is my redemption.

As Solomon grew close and leader took him in and, after seeing he was unarmed except for the stick, put a hand in the air and all the other Saudis lowered their weapons slightly.

Solomon stopped six feet from him the Saudi, not because it was the CDC recommended distance, but because he knew from here he could catch him in he throat with the stick if need be.

The two men looked each other up and down with evaluation and study then they stared at each other as the sun grew low in the sky, casting streaks of pink and blue.

Neither spoke, as if waiting for the other to speak. A silent negotiation. Who would break first?

It was not Solomon.

"I am Babul, son of Dayyan" the leader spoke finally. "And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

The leader's voice had grown nervous. He didn't like the looks of this black man. Not one bit. He had a look in his eyes Babul had seen before many times in his homeland: a man with nothing to lose, not because of desperation, but because they no longer cared. That was the most dangerous kind of man. That had been the kind of American that had murdered his father.

"I'm Solomon, nigga" Solomon spoke in a don't-give-a-fuck voice. "Son of I'm Gonna Fuck You Up If You Don't Get Gone".

The other Saudis raised their weapon. Babul held up his hand again and they lowered them, he smirked.

"And how are you going to do that? Look around, Solomon. You are greatly out numbered. All you have is that stick...."

"All I need nigga" Solomon responded. "All I need..."

Babul shook his head.

"In my religion, Solomon was a great and wise ruler. You don't seem great and certainly not wise. Just a cripple and a fool. But you seem to see yourself as their ruler so tell me, do you speak for them?"

He made a gesturing motion at the crowd that had gathered and was growing by the minute.

"I speak for no man" Solomon responded. "I only speak for myself and I'm telling you that you need to get gone".

Babul looked at Solomon hard and then addressed the gathered crowd.

"We rule this town now. This is territory of the Sons of Al-Ḥaram Ash-Sharīf and I am their leader Babul. You may stay or you may go. If you choose to go, we will allow you to leave unharmed. We will give you until sunrise tomorrow to pack your things and leave. Once you leave, there is no coming back and no one else will be allowed inside. If you choose to stay, we welcome you to our Noble Sanctuary, but there will be rules you must follow. You must convert to Islam do as Allah commands and the Prophet Muhammad. All women will wear full covering. Two men shall never lie together. This will be a land of Sharia Law..."

"Who do you think you are sandnigga?" Solomon said, cutting him off, raising his voice. "This ain't camel town, this is America!"

Babul smirked.

"...was America. Your country is sick and your imperialism ends now. Our time has come. We will rise in the corpse of your Constitution and misguided freedom".

"What are you anyway?" Solomon asked. "Al Queda? ISIS?"

Babul tiled his head back with laughter. The other men laughed as well, as if doing so was required.

"You insult us Solomon!" he said. "We are the Sons of Al-Ḥaram Ash-Sharīf. Al Queda, ISIS... they seek to destroy America. We seek to destroy American false ideals and take over this land for the Prophet and Allah".

"So you reject negros then?" Solomon said, needling Babul.

Babul did not like this and he took a deep breath, but then put on a forced smile.

"I like you, Solomon. You should join us. You know, in Islam Solomon's resting place is Al-Ḥaram Ash-Sharīf, or the Noble Place. That is what we will turn this town into and soon, all of America. That is where our name comes from. That cannot be coincidence, can it? You are meant for this place. Everyone is welcome here. Even traitors can repent..."

He looked in the direction of a still recovering Khaled as he said this with disdain.

Khaled shouted something at him in Islam and Babul shouted something back. Whatever it was, they were both angry.

"Hey! It's me and you who's talking!" Solomon said, raising his sick. "Not them! You won't be to rest here? It's going to be because I'm dead, but if I go I'm takin' all you niggas with me... Maybe you'll rest here with me or maybe you'll get your 40 virgins. But you gon' be dead either way".

Babul sighed.

"Very well" he said. "I see I can't have you stay but I can't let you leave...."

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As he said this on a nearby poll that had been erected and Solomon noticed now for the first time a flag was raised. It was a flag he had seen before, but this one was version was different.

It was the state flag of South Carolina, complete with crescent moon and Palmetto tree. The only difference was this version was a dark green.

[ IMG] [https://i.ibb.co/pKnWJkX/scflagislam.jpg]

"Isn't it beautiful, Solomon?" Babul said with a smile. "A symbol for our new holy land. I spent months trying to decide on a design for our flag..."

He extended a hand a shook a finger as he spoke.

"But it was right in front of me the entire time! The flag of this state is perfect, you see. The Palmetto tree is a perfect symbol fitting with our homeland and the crescent is a symbol of Islam already! It is a sign! This was meant to be our land all along! Destiny! All it needed was a color change to green, the color of Islam, and now it is perfection!"

"Looks gay, nigga" Solomon responded a-matter-a-factly. "Like you".

Babul sneered and looked at Solomon, eyes filled with daggers.

"Your destiny, I'm afraid, is quite different" Babul said slowly, bitterly. "You have sealed it".

Solomon had seen the dog moments earlier. It was his dog -- sorta. He fed it at least. A scraggly mut of unknown origin. Maybe some pit in it. It had showed up to his home one day and been loyal ever since. The towelheads hadn't been paying no mind to it, but Solomon had and the dog had seen Solomon. They had silently communicated. The dog was behind the rag with the rocket launcher. It was time.

"I make my own destiny, nigga" Solomon said and whistled. The dog immediately flashed teeth, jumped and bit the Saudi in the neck, thrashing him around as he screamed. The other men, including Babul turned, confused. The rocket launcher went off, shooting a rocket into the covering over the gas pumps at the Kwik Mart. It exploded.

Solomon wasted no time taking advantage of the distraction. Remembering his army training, he jabbed Babul in the throat with the stick and then whacked him in the head before sweeping him off his feet with it. With Babul on the ground, he pressed the stick to his throat.

In the background there were screams as the townsfolk ran away. The other Saudis, seeing what had happened, had pulled their weapons straight at Solomon but had not fired. He had their leader on the ground.

He watched as in the distance the dog, blood covered both, snuck away

"Good boy" Solomon muttered.

"One of you motherfuckers move and Babul here gets his throat crushed in!"

They all looked at each other, nervously, but Solomon had under estimated Babul. From nowhere he produced a dagger and slashed at Solomon's leg.

Solomon grunted and fell to the ground as Babul climbed on top of him, dagger aimed at his face. They wrestled and rolled around, Babul closing the dagger in on his throat getting the upper hand. The Saudis watched on together in a group, guns trained but unable to get a shot off for fear of striking their leader.

Babul then had Solomon, dagger pressing into his forehead, producing a trickle of blood.

"Fuck you nigga" Solomon said.

"Those are your last words?" Badul spat. "Pathetic!"

But Solomon got a leg free and kicked Babul off him, but in the process exposed himself to open shots from the Saudis. They aimed and he looked on and closed his eyes.

Least I ain't go out like no bitch, he said to himself.

It was the sound of a car engine, shouting and then skin and bone meeting metal and caused him to reopen his eyes. King was in his Hyundai which was now washed with blood and guts. He was behind the wheel and looked shaken, his mask off for the first time in weeks.

Babul had been partially struck but not injured, only knocked back. He looked at the scene in shock.

"Solomon!" King screamed. "Get in car now!"

Solomon looked at King and then to Babul on the ground and the back at King. He nodded to King and then turned to Babul, lifting his stick he beat him mercilessly.

"You like that motherfucker!" he shouted at him. King continued to scream for Solomon to get in the car.

Reinforcements were in route and one had already shown up. He trained his gun at King and King screamed and ducked as a shower of bullets scattered his windsheild

"Help me you fool!" a bloody and beaten Babul shouted to the man from the ground. The man turned his gun in Solomon's direction but before he could pull the trigger Abdul reached him, smacking him in the face with a lead pipe, sending blood and a couple of teeth flying. It wasn't enough to kill him or even knock him out, though. The man pressed the trigger of the AK-17 and bullets shredded Abdul's chest and stomach. He was dead in seconds and fell at the terrorists feet.

Khaled let out a devastated scream.

"BROTHER! NO!"

He reached his brother and picked up his lifeless body. The terrorist who had just murdered his only brother began to lift from the ground towards Khaled. Khaled responded by pulling out a sharp, long knife of his own and in a rage stabbed it into the neck of the terrorist. And Again. And Again. And Again.

Over and over, faster and faster, until the neck looked more like hamburger meet and blood shot out like a fountain as Khaled weeped and cried for his brother.

Meanwhile, Solomon continued beating Babul to a bloody pulp, but just as it looked like he had defeated him Babul made a lucky punch right in the spot Solomon had been shot so many years ago and he crumbled to one knee. Babul raised his dagger, breathing heavy, spitting blood.

"ALLAH AKBAR! ALLAH AKBAR!" he screamed and sliced towards Solomon's neck. It would have been a killed blow, but at the last moment King jumped from the car and with a graceful spinning kick that surprised Solomon but Babul more kicked Babul in the back of the head, causing the dagger to turn at the last second. The hilt of the dagger hit Soloman in the head instead, but it was a hard hit and he knocked him to the ground and stunned him.

As Solomon tried to regain his composure he felt himself behind pulled up against his will. King was forcing him into the car. Solomon tried to struggle and fight back but had temporarily lost control of his body.

"No! No King! No motherfucker! This is redemption! I have to finish this! You don't understand!" Solomon spat at King, half delirious

"You don't understand! They coming! You get in the car now goddammit!" King shouted at him as he, full of adrenaline, groaned and moaned forcing Solomon in the back seat.

Khaled jumped in the passenger seat, his dead brother's body in his arms and they sped away right as Solomon regained control of his motor functions and tried to escape the car screaming. But it was too late, they sped off -- Babul jumping out of the way as they did -- as reinforcements arrived and destroyed the back of King's car with a hail of bullets but did not succeed in stopping them.