KOLLUPIA episode 5

"Killer!!killer!!killer!!"

Came their chants.But Opuwari could barely hear them.

He could barely feel the scorching surface of the concrete road against his backside.

The machete was still trembling in his hand.the hilt felt strangely familiar in his grasp as the blade still dripped with the pregnant woman's blood.

"Killer Killer!!"

He couldn't feel the pounding in his chest or the sweat mixed with fresh blood dripping from his body.

"Killer-killer!!!!"

He could still hear her screams in his head.

They played over and over again as images of her flesh giving way to  machete blows filled his head.

She had screamed for a long time,begging for her life...for the life of her baby.

At some point,she'd stopped begging........and just kept on screaming.
Blood had exploded from her body as the men continued chanting.

He didn't stop hacking.

He'd felt her bones splinter under the machete blows, as  screams tore through the air.

He  still didn't stop.

He'd continued hacking.,..cutting away at her soft flesh as  blood splattered on his face.

At some point,he'd stopped seeing her face..
Then he stopped hearing her screams.

All he could see were the faces of Damiete,The Soldier,Joe ....and that little slut Kadilo.

He didn't stop hacking,......

...........until she'd stopped screaming.

His nostrils were filled with the metallic smell of blood.
 He could almost taste it.

One of the men  pushed him off the bloodied mess that was once a human being.

"It's okay o...she's dead...don't spoil our machete.''

Opuwari had fallen to the ground,his body trembling,heart racing as the men continued chanting.

''!Killer-killer-killer!"

He didn't know how long he'd sat there.



He  felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

When Opuawari's bloodied face looked up,he was gazing into the blackened face of a near toothless young man.

"Welcome to the Resistance"the man said.

Opuawari instantly recognized his voice as the one he'd heard behind him.


"....Oya,...clean yourself up and take us to the place you talked about'',..

"...........we will call you 'Machete man'......."the man smiled

Then the chanting started again.

But this time,with his new name




Once again Damiete was running behind Micheal.

Christ!
The guy was fast.Damiete thought.as he tried to keep up.
The dude had to be on some form of steroids or something.

It was just unnatural how fast this guy moved.
It was like trying to catch up with a sprinting Leopard.

He didn't have to check on Kadilo and the others to know they were behind him.

He could hear Kadilo's labored breathing behind him.

She had really picked up within the last few hours or so.
It was almost uncanny.He thought.
She seemed to be adapting.

He wondered how the others were faring,Big Joe seemed okay.
Damiete couldn't say  the same for Simon though.

He'd been  quiet for the most part since his brother was killed.

But Damiete couldn't really think about that right now.

Suddenly,they were in an open road...a street.

"I.."Damiete began.he suddenly wished he had worked out more.

"I...I thought you said .....we should stay away from the m....."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence.

As swift as a cat,Micheal ducked and crouched beside a car.

His movements were more or less a blur.

"Get down"he hushed at them.

As they quickly took their places by the side of the car..... next to him.

Long silence.

The road ahead was still.

Why the hell had they stopped?Damiete wondered.

Though he was grateful for the break,he was curious as to why they had stopped.

They were all out of breath.except Micheal of course.who seemed like he hadn't even been running.

Micheal's eyes were focused on a building at the end of the road.

Damiete recognized it as a pharmacy he used to buy....condoms from.

He was about to say something to Micheal when he saw movement up ahead.

Four figures, all carrying weapons.
Though they were far away.Damiete  recognized their uniforms

The Kollupian Army!

That was a good thing right? He wondered as he stared at Micheal.

Why wasn't he standing up?Why wasn't he identifying himself?Wasn't that what soldiers did when they saw each other?

The soldiers up ahead seemed pre occupied with something.....something  on the bonnet of a car.

"Aren't you going to.....?Damiete began.

"They don't seem to be going any where.....and we can't go around them....."Micheal said simply.

The faces of Kadilo,Joe and Simon were drenched In sweat.

".....a gun fight would be two noisey...They're very likely part of  larger force stationed nearby.... We have to go through them" He said not looking at them.

Damiete was still confused.Why didn't he just identify himself as a member of the Kollupian Army?

Micheal unslung his rifle and handed it  to......... Damiete.

The look of sheer panic on Damietes face was just priceless.

Micheal pulled out a large army knife from a strap on his hip.
The monster of a knife startled kadilo to look at, she turned away.

"Stay Low" Micheal whispered.

They were all staring at him wondering what he was about to do.

"...no matter what you hear....stay low...wait for the whistle......come  out when you hear it..."Micheal whispered.......and disappeared into a nearby alley.

"Where are you.....what whistle....?Damiete began......... but Micheal was already gone.

They all crouched there, looking at each other.

What was happening?Where was Micheal going?
Their faces all seemed to be asking asking each other.

"What if he doesn't come back?"Kadilo whispered.

Damiete could only stare back into her face in confusion.

He didn't have an answer.

He wished he did, but he didn't.

Long silence.

How long they remained crouched there, Damiete couldn't say.

Where the hell was Micheal?he wondered.

Then he heard the whistle.

They all heard it.




MICHEAL stood over the bodies of the soldiers.His blade was still dripping.

The last man had been a little difficult to kill.
He'd seen Micheal's approach and went for his gun. But in a blur, Micheal closed the distance between them and sank the knife into the man's throat.

The man went down silently and Micheal made certain he didn't accidentally pull the trigger on his rifle as he went down.

Long silence.

Why had they been here? Micheal wondered. Strategically, it didn't make any sense .The soldiers were looking for something. He thought.

As Micheal stood there,he saw something sticking out of the  dead soldier's shirt pocket.

He bent down and picked it up.

What he held in his hand changed everything.

It further complicated his situation with his "new companions". But  at least he knew what the soldiers were looking for..........the 'why' was another matter.

Micheal held in his hand.....a paper with a picture printed on it.

The face in the photo was.......Damiete's.

That's when he whistled for them to come out, as he tucked the paper into his pocket.




MAJOR  KURO stared through the eyes of the long range binoculars he held in his muscular hands.

"It can't be" he whispered to himself as he took them off.There was a clear look of shock in his eyes. He was not a bad looking man, but on his left cheek was an old ugly knife scar.

"It can't be'' he repeated.

Then he stared into them again.

His  tall well defined physique was evident,...even inside his Kollupian uniform.

"Micheal is alive??" He said out loud as he stared  at the distant figures , standing over the bodies of his men.

He felt an old rage rising inside him.
It was like poison in his system,....... like battery acid flowing through his veins.
It was  that old darkness inside him again.

Captain  Dumo stood by the Major's side staring at him curiously.His lean muscled frame was a sharp contrast contrast to the Major's thick build.

"Sir,...They're within range of our snipers...sir" Captain Dumo said.

Long silence.

The major continued staring into the binoculars.

"Sir...??"the Captain began.

"No...tell the snipers to stand down....get me the radio...the General needs to hear this" the Major said simply as he put down the binoculars.

This changes everything.he thought.

Seconds later the Captain returned with the radio.

Long pause

GENERAL#Major....

MAJOR# ....yes sir,we have found the boy..sir

GENERAL#...good work...you've captured him....?

MAJOR#......no sir,there's a complication.

GENERAL#...major I do not appreciate excuses.....

MAJOR#...Sir.....Micheal is alive sir...

Long pause.

GENERAL#............Shadow lives????

MAJOR#....yes sir,.....the boy Damiete is with him.....they seem to be heading West of Pride-Land.....my guess is the border...sir.

GENERAL# ...............does he know who the boy is.....?

MAJOR#...........Sir....I think he's about to find out sir....


GENERAL#.....Micheal and the boy are to be kept alive....understood?

MAJOR#.....with all due respect sir...killing Micheal would be hard enough..I suggest...

GENERAL#.....(angrily)...you have your orders...put your personal issues aside captain.

MAJOR#......yes sir

Connection disconnects.

The Major stood there staring at the distant figures for a long time.

"Sir,...Who's Micheal sir? The Captain asked after a long silence .

The Major looked at him,and asked,

"Captain,have you ever heard about....Black Death?"

The Captain thought for a while as more junior officers passed by.Their outpost on this hilltop had over three hundred soldiers.

"Yes sir I have....he was a deadly assassin  credited with over a hundred impossible Kills during the Usilrian war....sir"

The Major nodded his head in agreement
.
"....Sir....I thought Black Death was a myth...........is that who this Micheal person is sir?"

The Major scoffs....and then chuckles

"No...Captain.............Micheal was the one we sent to KILL Black Death"

The Major paused for effect as the Captain listened.

".....Micheal....was sent in with a  Four Man Black Ops team.........Only Micheal survived........He  came back with Black Death's head."The Major continued.

There was a look of surprise on the Captain's face.

"....Micheal is more than just an assassin...he's an artist........A Grand Master of Death............Our orders are the same ...find the boy....but Micheal is MINE....!

The Captain still seemed confused.

"Sir,...but...isn't he supposed to be on our side...sir.....?"

The Major sighed heavily

"It's a long story Captain.......very long story"

To be continued


LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID