The Interrogation Room

Albemarle County Police Department

1:30 am

Ahti's POV

Darkness...

All I see is darkness when my eyes awaken, vision is blurry. I feel a burning sensation and coldness surrounding my body. I tried to move and get up, but I'm constricted by chains on my feet and hands. I tried using all my strength to break out from the chains and escape from this unknown place, but nothing worked. I am still way too intoxicated to have the strength to do anything, I shouldn't have drunk all that Hennessy.

I don't remember much about what happened, but I do remember two officers disturbing my drinking session. Now, I don't even know where I am at or why I am chained up.

I hear footsteps coming, the sound of the shoes walking by are busting my eardrums. The noise stops and the door opens. Bright lights slowly exposing itself into the room, but thank goodness that it didn't touch me. Too much light can really damage my skin. I love my unique skin.

The door closes and the light is gone, making the room almost pitch black again. I get a closer look at the people who just walked in. To my surprise, it is two black police officers; one male and one female.

"Hey! Ki sa ki Fuck la ap pase? Ki moun ou ye mesye? Ki kote mwen ye? Epi poukisa mwen nan chenn !? (Hey! What the fuck is going on? Who are you guys? Where am I? And why am I chained up!?)" I freak out, moving around and making a lot of noise.

They turn on a lamp, the light did blind my vision for a second, but I got used to it. I got a good look at their faces and name tags.

"Chill out Ahti, nou pa isit la fè ou mal. Nou jis vle konnen kijan ou santi ou. (Chill out Ahti, we are not here to hurt you. We just want to know how you are feeling.)" Officer Jordan tells me.

Hearing Officer Jordan speak Haitian Creole sent me aback, because I was not expecting any American police officers to understand or communicate with my language.

"Ki jan ou fè konnen kijan pou pale kreyòl ayisyen an? (How do you know how to speak Haitian Creole?)" I asked her.

"Nou tou de konprann ak konnen ki jan yo pale lang lan. Plus nou gen zanmi ak manm fanmi ki te anseye nou ki jan yo pale li. (We both understand and know how to speak the language. Plus we have friends and family members that taught us how to speak it.)" She responds.

"Oke, ou se de yon koup oswa yon bagay? (Okay, are you two a couple or something?)" I ask.

They both laugh in unison.

"Non, nou pa yon koup. Nou te vrèman zanmi pwòch pou plis pase ven ane. Nou te grandi nan ghetto a menm ak travay wout nou yo. (No, we are not a couple. We have been really close friends for over twenty years. We grew up in the same ghetto and worked our way up.)" Officer Durant answered.

It's nice getting to know them a little, but I still want to find out why I am chained up.

"Èske ou ka mesye eksplike m 'poukisa mwen bloke? Ki kote egzakteman mwen ye? (Can you guys explain to me why I am trapped? Where exactly am I?)" I curiously ask.

They look at each other, trying to find out who's going to tell me.

"Oke, Ofisye Smith te bay tas ou epi mennen ou nan Depatman Polis Konte Albemarle. Li te mansyone ke ou te bwè Hennessy nan mitan lari a epi ou te trè sou. Lè Ofisye Boone te eseye kesyone ou, ou atake epi ou manje l 'vivan. Mwen te mande, poukisa ou ta fè yon bagay konsa? (Well, Officer Smith tased you and brought you in to the Albemarle County Police Department. He mentioned that you were drinking Hennessy in the middle of the street and you were very drunk. When Officer Boone tried to question you, you attacked and ate him alive. I got to ask, why would you do such a thing?)" He asks.

"Mwen pa t 'anmède nenpòt moun, pa te gen okenn machin oswa pyeton alantou. Tout sa mwen te vle fè se bwè epi ale lakay mwen. Lè sa a, de polisye sa yo te deside anmède m. Mwen te vle kite, men yo te eseye fòse m 'nan menòt epi yo pa te gen okenn lòt chwa men defann tèt mwen. Mwen te ale twò lwen pa touye youn nan ofisye yo, men li te fè li vini. Anplis mwen pa manje l ', mwen chire kou l'. (I wasn't bothering anyone, there were no cars or pedestrians around. All I wanted to do is drink and go home. Then, those two cops decided to bother me. I wanted to leave, but they tried to force me into handcuffs and had no other choice but to defend myself. I did go too far by killing one of the officers, but he had it coming. Plus I didn't ate him, I tore off his neck.)" I explained.

"Poukisa? (Why?)" She asks.

I let out a sigh. I didn't want to expose my true identity to random people, especially police officers. But I must have to, if I got any chance to survive and escape from these chains.

"Mwen se yon vanpir. Mwen te yon vanpir pou tout egzistans mwen. Mwen te viv ak te pase nan anpil. Kounye a, sa a se eksperyans ki pi mal la mwen te nan pou yon ti tan kounye a. (I am a vampire. I've been a vampire for my entire existence. I've lived and been through a lot. Right now, this is the worst experience I have been in for a while now.)" I explained.

"Èske ou sèten ou se yon vanpir? Montre nou kòlè ou a? (Are you sure you are a vampire? Show us your fangs?)" He asks, being skeptical about what I just told him.

My mouth agape, letting my teeth get some fresh air. The upper and lower fangs show. They take a step back, shocked and afraid that I am a real vampire.

"Ou se yon vanpir. Èske gen anpil plis tankou ou? (You are a vampire. Are there many more like you?)" She curiously asks.

I don't feel comfortable sharing that information to them. I don't want anyone else who is a vampire, especially my African brothers and sisters to end up in the same position as me. Plus there might be cameras watching and recording every word I am saying.

But just in case if something terrible does happen to me, I need to find a way to let all my African vampires know what happened. So I comply with them.

"Èske mwen ka reponn kesyon sa a nan chichote nan tou de nan zòrèy ou? Mwen pwomèt mwen pa pral moulen li koupe oswa fè anyen fè ou mal. Plus mwen nan chenn, kidonk pa gen okenn itilizasyon pou atake. (Can I answer that question by whispering to both of your ears? I promise I won't chew it off or do anything to harm you. Plus I am in chains, so there's no use to attack.)" I asks, being as respectful and calm as possible.

"Do you trust him?" He asks her, speaking in their English language.

"Yeah. We need all the information that we can from him. Plus like he said, he's chained up. So he won't attack us." She responds.

"Okay" he agrees.

They both walk close to my direction and put their ears close to me. I whispered to them the address of Queen Gugu's mansion, Kalisha's house, Shani's salon, and my house. I also told them that if anything bad happens to me, I want them to spread the word to everyone about everything that happened to me. They step back after I got done sharing the information to them.

The door opens and three more police officials walk into the room. The three of them are white and one of them is not wearing a police suit.

"I think we heard and seen enough. So exactly did he whispered to your ears?" He asks.

"Well, Commissioner... He told us that his friends and family live in Haiti and that he wants you to let him go so that he can see them again." Officer Durant carefully respond.

"Let him go?! He just killed an officer like one hour ago. Not only that he killed Officer Bowers and Officer Hudson. He might be the one that killed that robber in the alleyway." The commissioner said vehemently.

"How exactly do you know he's the right guy that did all of this?" Officer Jordan questions him.

"What other black vampire is out there in Virginia? Plus some random kid who came to my office told me that the killer was a African-American male vampire. He is the perfect match." He tried to explain himself.

"You two should stop questioning the commissioner, he knows what's best." Officer Keener tells them.

"She's right. You shouldn't be friendly or sympathize with a murderer, especially a vampire." Officer Smith added, looking at me with hate in his eyes.

"Let's ask the vampire some more questions before we figure out what to do with him." The commissioner sneered.

The commissioner pulls up a chair and sits across from me. Officer Smith stands behind me, while the rest of the officers watch.

"Ahti... Isn't it? I know you can't speak English, but can you understand the language?" He asks.

I nod my head in agreement.

"Good, now I'm going to ask you some crucial questions and answer them truthfully. You can speak in your language, Officer Jordan and Officer Durant will translate for me. First question is, did you kill Officer Bowers and Officer Hudson? Why did you kill them?" He asks me.

I am befuddled right now. I can't believe he is accusing me of two officers and a robber that I never met in life. Yes, I did kill one officer, but it's not like I murdered every police officer in the world.

"Mwen pa janm tande pale de, temwen, oswa touye ofisye ou te mansyone. (I never heard of, witnessed, or killed those officers you've mentioned.)" I replied and Officer Jordan translated.

"Are you sure? You did kill Officer Boone, so how can we believe that you didn't kill the both of them as well?" He asks.

"Tankou mwen te di, mwen pa janm te rankontre yo nan lavi mwen. Mwen pa menm konnen ki jan yo sanble. Sa a se premye fwa mwen aprann sou yo. Mwen santi mwen mal ke yo te mouri e mwen voye kondoleyans mwen bay zanmi yo ak fanmi yo. Mwen regrèt tou pou m te touye Ofisye Boone. Men, mwen pa ta dwe nan chenn pou krim ke mwen pa t 'komèt, sa a se enjis ak mechan. (Like I said, I never met them in my life. I don't even know how they look like. This is the first time I am learning about them. I do feel bad that they died and I send my condolences to their friends and families. I also do regret killing Officer Boone. But I shouldn't be chained up for crimes that I didn't commit, this is unfair and cruel.)" I explained and Officer Durant translated this time.

"Oh shut the fuck up!" Officer Smith thundered and smacked me hard at the back of my head.

Hissing in pain and my rage is boiling. If I wasn't chained up, I would have tore off his pathetic hands. No one disrespects me and get away with it.

"Calm down now Ahti, we still got more questions to ask. The next question, why did you decide to drink Hennessy in front of the street? What exactly was the thought process or end goal of doing that?" He asks.

I tried to calm down, but he's asking foolish questions now. I really want to escape right now, because I can't take any of this rubbish anymore.

"He asked you a question boy!" Officer Smith spat, giving me a spiteful look.

Officer Smith is really testing my patience. If he blurts out one more thing to me in a aggressive way, I will break out from these chains and kill him on the spot. I don't care if I get life in prison.

I hate people that treat me like I am nothing. I am important to my family and friends in Haiti. I am important to myself. I am important to the world. I am not a killer, I am not a criminal, and I am nobody's slave.

"Since you don't want to answer my questions, we will make you talk one way or another. Officer Smith, choke him out!" He commanded.

I am shocked by what I just heard. This is what I didn't want to happen to me.

"What? Is that even allowed? Why can't we just put him in a cell and let the judge deal with him?" Officer Durant asks, sounding disturbed by what the commissioner commanded.

The commissioner gets off his chair and faces Officer Durant.

"Since he doesn't want to talk, this is the only way we will get answers. Plus he deserves to be punished for killing multiple officers and being a menace to society." He responds.

"But there's a better way to handle this than harming him. Plus it will be hard for him to reply if Officer Smith is choking him out." He reasons with him.

"Why are you defending a criminal?" He asks.

"I am not defending him. I'm just saying that we shouldn't hurt him." He clarifies.

"When did you start growing some balls all of a sudden? I should fire you for continuing to go against the commissioner." He warns him.

"Why don't you do it already?" He asks, getting really close to the commissioner's face.

They stare intensely into their eyes, awaiting to see if one of them will throw a punch or shove each other.

"Alright now, there's no need for this." Officer Jordan steps in to break it up.

"I can't live another day knowing that a cop murderer is alive. I definitely don't want a vampire, especially a black vampire causing harm or putting fear to the American public. He needs to be treated like he treat Officer Boone, Officer Hudson, and Officer Bowers. So Officer Smith, choke him out and make sure I don't hear one breath out of him." He rants out.

Officer Smith forcefully tugs on my neck with his arms, crushing it. I tried getting up and breaking free from the chains, but my breath is decreasing and he is trying his best to not let me escape.

"LET HIM GO!" Officer Durant cries out.

"This is extremely fucked up!" Officer Jordan added.

Officer Keener stands in front of them so that they won't interfere or start attacking. Staring at them like a hawk and holding her baton, ready to strike if they make a move.

I don't want to die by the hands of the police, I need to escape. I am way too young to die and I still got a lot more life to live. So I try again to break free, using all my vampire strength. He continues to add more pressure to my neck. I see the commissioner with a disgusting leer on his face. I see fear and sadness on Officer Durant and Officer Jordan's face.

I hear cracking of chains coming out, so I continue to add more vigor. I am so close of getting loose. The commissioner notices that I am about to break these chains. He goes to the light switch, he has his hand on the handle.

"Officer Smith, stop what you are doing and move away from him." He commanded.

Officer Smith listens and stops choking me, moving away from me. I catch my breath, letting out a thunderous cough.

"Since you don't have respect for human life, vampires like you don't deserve the same respect as well. I hope you burn in hell!" He viciously tells me.

He flicked the light switch up, which turned on all the lights in the room. The white lights are blinding my eyes. My beautiful skin is sizzling and roasting at a rapid pace. I shrieked so loud that everyone had to cover their ears.

I finally broke out of the chains, but it's too late for me to escape or attack because my flesh is exposed and my entire body is boiling.

I hear screams coming from Officer Durant and Officer Jordan. Officer Durant threw up after seeing and smelling my burning body.

My screams are getting feeble now, as my throat is destroyed. I drop to the ground, laying there lifeless and still feeling the burning sensation.

The commissioner gets closer to me and looks at me with pity and disgust.

"This what happens when you mess with the police." He said, spitting on my body and walking away knowing that I am still alive.

"Alright everyone, let's leave. Let him continue to burn to death. Also none of this should ever come out to the public. I don't want people to know that there was a black vampire that lived among us." He commanded.

Everyone walked out of the room. Officer Durant mouthed out, "I'm sorry" before leaving.

The door is shut. Leaving me alone with the bright lights and my burning body.

I can't believe I am left in this predicament. Maybe I do deserve it for treating women like sex objects, drinking too much, having anger issues, killing a officer, abandoning my Haitian family, and creating a monster like Dadi.

This is karma burning my body and I don't blame her for leaving me to die. My life flashes before my eyes, remembering everything I did. I wish I could apologize to everyone that I have done wrong and changed my ways. But it's too late for me. All I see now is darkness.