KOLLUPIA ...episode 4

The room was still.

All eyes were fixed upon Opuwari as he pointed the rifle at The Soldier, who didn't flinch or seem uneasy at Opuwari's obvious stupidity.

Long silence.



"These are your options...." the Soldier said with a tone as cold as steel.

"You can shoot me, and draw attention to our location.....or you could put down the weapon. In which case I'd kill you as soon as you did that"

The Soldier let the gravity of his words sink in.

Damiete fearfully looked in Kadilo's direction.She was the closest to The Soldier.The odds of her getting hit from a bullet in the untrained hands of Opuwari were high.

"...there were five rifles on that table,.."The Soldier continued.

"....only three are loaded.The odds that you picked that right one are three to two.....If you're comfortable with those odds,......then I suggest you pull the trigger"

Opuwari nervously looked towards the table. I'm I holding the right one? his eyes seemed ask.

"I....I don't me...mean to be..." Opuwari began awkwardly.

"That doesn't matter any more" The Soldier said

Distant gun shots.

But no one in the room stirred.

"There's one more option for you...." The Soldier continued after another long silence.

It seemed the entire room held it's breath.

"Take the rifle and leave....your chances of survival are slim at best...but they would be a lot slimmer if you remain here" The Soldier said simply.

A series of fearful glances swept across the room.

"Please....I'm sorry ....I  ...." Opuwari began desperately.

"Leave ....or DIE!!!" The Soldier declared.

Long Silence.


Opuwari's eyes hesitantly roamed the room as if seeking some form of assistance.

".....I was just afraid....I ...I didn't mean to....I really wasn't going to shoot anyone...."

" I think you should leave" came Kadilo's voice.

Opuwari stared at her in shock. Her eyes were almost as cold as the Soldier's.
Opuwari fearfully looked around the room again. For the first time since all this craziness began, he felt totally.....ALONE.

"I'll...need the key...." he said finally.

"It opens from the inside" The Soldier replied. Not once did his eyes leave Opuwari. He he had  the focus of a seasoned sniper.

Opuwari swallowed some saliva in his throat as he slowly inched towards the opened door, then ran down stairs.They heard him fumble with the door for a few seconds...before they heard the metal door slam shut.

He was gone.

No one stirred for a few seconds.

" If he's caught and tortured, he'll give this location away.....we have to leave now" The Soldier said without turning around.

" We....?" Damiete began.
" I thought you said ....."

"I changed my mind"The Soldier interrupted as his eyes met Kadilo.

What was it about her that fascinated him so much? Damiete wondered.

"Carry as many weapons as you can...we leave now."The Soldier was still staring at Kadilo.
His stare made her uncomfortable.

"....em....what about the food?" Simone asked.

The Soldier replied without even looking at him.

"I have three rules.........Do as I say, Don't slow me down.......and Never point a gun at me...unless you're prepared to use it."The Soldier said as he walked towards the door.

".....I'll take you as far as West Pride-Land....then you're on your own"

"....You never told us your name" Kadilo asked suddenly.

Once again, he paused as if her voice physically restrained him.

"Micheal.....you can call me Micheal" He said in a voice that didn't sound like his.




Opuwari ran.....and ran...till his legs hurt. He had no idea where he was going....or what to do once he got there.Everywhere he turned, he was reminded of  the soldier's parting words;

"......................Your chances of survival are slim at best............."

As much as Opuawari hated the man,he  knew he was right.

There were fresh corpses everywhere, men, women, children.....some of the bodies were so badly mutilated and hacked to pieces, that it seemed impossible to determine their gender.

He stopped to catch his breath.

How could they be so heartless? he thought as he leaned against the wall of what used to be a Supermarket.

"Think-think-think" he said frantically to himself.

Large beads of sweat were dripping from his body.

He stared at the rifle by his side. He suddenly wished he had paid more attention on how to use it.

Was it even loaded? he thought  to himself
And how would he even know what to do if it was?

He considered going to his house. But then realized he was heading in the wrong direction.

 The street in front of him had at least a thousand spent shell casings on the ground.

"Bastards" he said out loud as he remembered the faces of The Soldier, Damiete and that slut Kadilo.

Who  did she think she was telling HIM   to leave?

After all,He was owner of the Biggest Night Club in Pride Land. What gave her the right to talk to him that way?

And as for Joel,......that riff-raff he'd practically  picked up from the gutter hadn't even stood up for him.

I'll show them.He thought to himself.

Then he heard the screams.

At first,they sounded far away.Then slowly he realized they were coming from the building next to him.He quickly ducked behind a large waste bin.

The smells coming from inside were awful.

A split second after he had ducked he saw them.

He instantly recognized two of them from the night club attack.
He counted at least fifteen men armed with rifles and machetes.

They were dragging what looked like a naked pregnant woman to the center of the road.
The woman was screaming and struggling as the men roughly pulled her.

She had blood all over her face.
It looked like she'd been savagely beaten and raped for hours.

The men(boys actually)were laughing while some of them kicked and punched her stomach as she was dragged around.

Opuwari,crouched there listening to her screams...and their laughter.

He had to get out of here.He thought.

This wasn't a good place to be.There was nothing he could do for her.

"stop...please...have mercy please" came the woman's voice

He decided to go back the way he came. He started inching away slowly as he heard the sound of machetes scratching loudly against the concrete ground.

He heard more coarse laughter.

"please..dont kill me... my baby" the woman kept pleading.

Opuwari didn't need to see what was happening to know what the men were about to do to the woman.

He kept on inching away slowly, trying as much as he could not to make a sound.

Then he felt something warm pressed to the side of his head.

He froze.

"Don't move" came a very raspy voice.

Opuwari remained perfectly still.

All that went through his head was;
"They've found me"

The young boy Pushed Opuwari towards the road.

"Look what I found."the boy shouted as he shoved Opuwari towards the group.

"I am so dead" Opuwari thought to himself.

He was thrown to the ground next to the woman as more laughter erupted on the road.

The concrete was boiling hot and burned his palms.

He could smell the blood and something foul coming from the woman's naked body.

"Please!!!!" The woman was screaming.

He had to think fast.. He had to save himself somehow.

"Don't kill me.... I can be of help. I'll do anything" he heard himself saying. The boldness in his voice, shocked him.

"Why should we let you live?" came a voice from behind him. Opuwari was too scared to turn around.

"You're ugly..your body is old....and you don't have food......KILL THEM BOTH" wailed the voice.

Opuwari heard the sound of the machetes on the ground...then came the roar of the men.

"I know where you can find food, weapons and a beautiful woman!!!!!" he screamed half expecting the first series of blows from their machetes.

"Wait!" Ordered the Voice from behind him.

Long silence......save for the whimpering of the woman next to him.

He felt the coldness of steel on his neck.

"If you're lying....I'll peel the skin off your face and feed it to you" The Voice behind him said.

"I'm not lying......if you let me join you,....I'll take you there now"

Opuwari was talking fast.
Half the things coming out of his mouth were more or less free-style. He had no Idea what else to say. All he knew is that he didn't want to die.He couldn't care less the pregnant woman and her smelly body.
He just wanted to live.Period.

Laughter from the men.

"He said he wants to join us" The Voice behind him chuckled.

More laughter.


Then he heard the loud clatter of metal on the ground in front of him.

"....kill her with this.....hack until she stops moving" The Voice said mercilessly.

Long Pause.

Opuwari looked at the Machete in front of him.There was fresh blood on it. Confusion and panic filled his sweaty face.

Then he ....slowly turned to look at the woman. Though her face was battered and bloodied, she was crying. Her eyes pleaded for her life as she stared at him.
".....Please...." was all she could say.

"KILL HER, KILL HER!!!!!" They started chanting.

The blistering sun rays were tearing into him.


For a long time he stared at  the bloody machete,....hearing them chant.

Then slowly....very slowly  he leaned towards the machete.

...to be continued






LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID