KOLLUPIA S02 E07

Zikha  felt the needle pierce her skin. Like always, what followed was the warm rush of the serum as it oozed into her bloodstream. To her, the sensation was slightly erotic, like being caressed from the inside. She closed her eyes and let the feeling engulf her. Sex didn't even come close to the buzz she got from this. She loved it. She listened to the busy sounds of the lab as the doctors buzzed about amidst the sounds of  the lab machines droning away.



"This is better than fucking!!"  Brohlo howled.




 She opened her eyes to see him seated on another bed a few feet from hers. She'd forgotten he was there. A slender woman hurriedly retrieved  a needle from his arm. He eyed the frightened woman lustfully as she walked away.

"Its potency is weakening" the smallish Doctor standing next to Zikha whispered.

"Potency...?" She arched an eyebrow.

"...The time frame between doses...." He said ensuring his tone was low. "....is shorter"
The smallish doctor's name was Brahn, and she figured he had a thing for her. If the past few months of sneaking peeks at her bust line was anything to go by.

"So...what does that mean?" She asked.

Brahn looked nervously over his shoulder.

"Your bodies need more of the serum than we can produce."

She still had a curious look on her face.

"...A standard vial of the serum usually lasts anywhere from six to eight hours" Brahn continued."....Your last shots were just three hours ago."

"So just get us more" she shrugged.

"There isn't anymore"he said eyeing Brohlo nervously. "..if we don't find the other half of the formula soon,.....you might all die"

He handed her three vials of the serum. She stared at them in silence for a long time.

"But I feel fine" she said.

He brought his voice lower.

"Have you been experiencing headaches,...dizziness....?"

"I assumed that was just a side effect from the drug...."

"Its a bit more than that, I'm afraid" he said.


"Without the formula, your internal organs will liquefy. ..and in your case, your cancer might....."


 His voice trailed off as he felt her hand on his skin.

Long pause.

"I'm already on borrowed time anyway" She said softly.

In a weird way, she knew he cared about her.


 He was a good man. But her world was no place for good men. They were just collateral damage.
 
"I'll advice you to leave this place...the first chance you get" Zikha said.

Brahn suddenly looked at her in shock.  But she was already on her feet. Sokha had just walked into the lab.

"It is time," Sokha said.

Zikha nodded.







0700hrs....KOLLUPIA.

Thundering sounds of the Chopper blades.

Sokha grabbed hold of Zikha's arm as she approached the military air craft. He drew her close and whispered into her ear.

"Kill him once he retrieves the drive. Hide vials. If the old wolf gets hands on even one of ....."

"I wont let that happen" She said quickly.

More noise from the Chopper.
Brohlo ran past them.

"Are we going to kill something or what??" He yelled.

"Watch out for this one" Sokha said.

She shot him a curious stare.

 "Careful Sokha."Zikha smiled. "One could easily confuse your tone for concern"

"Sokha does not care if Zikha lives or dies" he said simply. "His only concern is for mission not to fail....Without formula, Sokha dies too"

"Ass hole!!" She spat and made her way towards the Chopper.

"Bring back Souvenir!!" Sokha  chuckled.

She didn't even turn around.

Micheal walked past him towards the chopper.


 He paused a few feet away with his back to Sokha.

"One way or the other, Sokha" Micheal yelled over the sound of  the  blades. "I will kill you"

"Have safe flight, Old wolf" Sokha smiled.

Micheal ran towards the air craft.


Sokha stood there, watching the craft rise into the night sky and float towards the city. So far so good, he thought. The Old wolf had no idea that the boy was missing. The search party had turned up with nothing. He knew he had to find the boy. The last thing he wanted was the General finding out about missing Lucious.

"Sir..? Came a soldier behind him.

Sokha frowned. He had a feeling about what was coming.

"The General wants a word"

Spies. Sokha sighed. They were everywhere in this camp. No doubt someone had informed the General of the boy's escape. This was going to be a long day.







Droning of Chopper engines.

They were airborne.

The Chopper's Interior was cast in a dull red glow.

No one had said anything for a long time.

Brohlo was pre-occupied with smearing War Paint to his face. "A warrior's look" he called it.


  He seemed entirely oblivious to everything else.

"The drop Zone is just a Mile outside Pride Land!!" The Pilot called out.

"Understood!"  Zikha replied.

"Why so far away?" Micheal asked.

"A lot has changed in Kollupia since the Last time you were there" Zikha yelled over the sound of the engines. "All the fighting factions have come together under a single banner....The Lords.."

Micheal said nothing, but was clearly curious.

"They're well funded and highly trained" She continued.

"How's that even possible?"

More droning from the engines.

"They're led by an Over-Lord called Ibim"

Micheal's eyes lit up.

"I believe you're familiar with this man" Zikha smiled.

"You mean, Captain Ibim?" Micheal said.

"He discarded that title years ago" Zikha said checking her rifle. "After he aided you and your friends at the border, the General put out a bounty on his head. The General had Ibim's entire family executed for that betrayal"

"Captain Ibim is a good man, not a rebel" Micheal said softly.

More droning sounds.

"Even a good apple goes bad amidst rotten ones" she shrugged. "Captain Ibim....now 'Over-Lord' , isn't the same man you remember from more than a decade ago. He's rallied the rebel factions to his side and created a formidable force."

Mild turbulence.

"He's lost his soul" Zikha continued. "...and would most likely kill you, first chance he gets. He wants the General's head....and the head of anyone else he thinks is responsible for the death of his entire family."

"Fucker's not exactly a 'Hug-it-out sorta guy'..."  Brohlo grinned.

They both ignored him.

"You're certain about the Drive's Location?" She enquired.

"Which of you is going to pull the trigger once I retrieve it...? Micheal asked simply. "My money's on you, Zikha.....Brohlo doesn't possess the brain power for such..."

Brohlo made an aggressive move towards him.


But like a feline, Zikha was on her feet blocking his path.

"Are we going to do this again?" She glared at him.

Brohlo was about to say something when the Pilot spoke.

"We're approaching the drop. ETA in three minutes"

Long pause.

Brohlo and Zikha exchanged intense stares.

"Roger that!" Brohlo said and slowly returned to his seat.







The General was standing when Sokha walked in. Like before, Sokha stopped a few inches away from the line.

His eyes promptly studied the two guards. Like before, they were as still as statutes.

Sokha  couldn't tell if the General's expression indicated sorrow or rage.

"Have you found the boy?" The General began softly.

Sokha eyed the two soldiers. He had to tread carefully. It was clear that the General knew about the youngster's escape. Feigning ignorance would be stupid and dangerous.
"Sokha will find the boy...or not return" he said.

There was a very long silence after that . Sokha wondered how fast the sentries were. Even if he could somehow kill them both and then somehow kill the General (if such a thing were even possible) he'd never leave the camp alive.


 He held his breath and awaited the General's response.

"You're right," The General said. "You shouldn't return if without the boy"
He turned around and walked towards his desk.

"Now, get out of my sight!!"

Sokha bowed and left the room. He knew his ability to draw breath depended on his finding the boy.









"He's  waking up!!" A boy's voice exclaimed.

There was a sharp pain in his head. His vision was blurry, but he knew he was lying on grass.


 He could feel the sun in his face.

"Are you sure?" Came a much older voice.

"I....thought.....I saw his eyes move" the younger voice said hesitantly.

There was a rapid shuffling of feet.

"...Wait ....please..." The younger voice cried.

Sound of fist striking against something ......hard.

"Aaah!"

Heavy thud.

"....you thought??" The older voice snarled.

Lucious could smell gun powder in the air and his eyes still felt heavy. He felt a numbness around his right foot.

Approaching footsteps.

Lucious could hear distant voices.

"Hey!!!" Came the Older voice just above his head.

Fingers snapped infront of his face.

SMACK!

Went a hand across his face.

"Wake up!" The voice said impatiently.

SMACK!

Went  the hand again.

"Stop that!....you will open the wound in his head." The younger male voice whimpered.

"If you talk, I blow you again." The older voice snapped.

Lucious forced his eyes open. For a long time, the blurry images were all he could make out.


Then slowly, his vision became clearer.

The scared and Blackened face of a boy in his late teens stared down at him.

"He's awake!" The boy exclaimed. "Bring him outside!!"

Lucious felt himself being roughly lifted from the ground. Suddenly, his nostrils were filled with the stench of sweaty armpits.

He could hear cheering.

He could make out trees, huts, sandbags. It seemed they were somewhere in the forest. He could hear the sound of a river in the distance.

He was being dragged to a clearing of some sort. There were dozens of bare chested boys armed with Matchetes and Ak-47s.

"Blood! Blood! Blood!" They chanted.

The blistering sun tore into his back. He realised he was naked.

He was thrown to the ground.

"Baba!" Declared the voice of the Black Faced boy.

Chanting stopped.

Long silence.

Lucious looked up. A tall, thick, bearded man stood over him. The man was dressed like a soldier with a large cigar dangling from his lips.

"Is this your Sacrifice, Scatta?" The Man's voice boomed.

"Yes, Baba!" The Black Faced boy shrieked.

The rest of the boys raised their matchetes and rifles into the air.

"Blood! Blood! Blood!"

Lord waved the crowd, and the boys were silent again.

"So be it!" Baba declared, pacing around Lucious. "As you all know Axe, your brother, and  my number 2 fell during our last raid"
He paused for a few seconds to look at the crowd.

Lucious noted that most of the boys were either his age or older. They all had the same fierce, hungry  look Scatta had.

"He was a true killer, he was a true brother," Baba continued. "Now, the Spirits have chosen Scatta to replace him. But as we all know, to do this, he must kill a stranger.....ARE YOU READY FOR BLOOD? "

"BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!" The crowd chanted.

"I am ready!" Scatta screamed.

Lucious felt a small spray of spittle on the side of his face.

"BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!"

Baba waved his hand again and silence descended.

He picked up a machete from the ground and pointed it at Lucious.

"This boy, is a gift from the River spirit!" He declared. "He was brought to us Miraculously, unharmed by the rocks.....IS THAT NOT A SIGN?"

"WE ARE THE FOLLOWERS OF THE OVERLORD! WE ARE HIS CHILDREN!" They chanted.

"The children of the Overlord are strong! " Baba screamed. "The Children of the Overlord are fearless!"

"BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!"

Baba threw the machete on the ground.

"Kill the boy!" Lucious heard Baba's voice over the chants.

"Kill him and claim your place by my side.....AND SERVE OUR OVERLORD!"
"BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!"

Lucious saw Scatta pick up the Machete  and charge at him.




to be continued.........






LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID.