KOLLUPIA episode 8

The Major's screams echoed across the road as the heavy down pour gave way to a drizzle.

Micheal stood perfectly still watching Kuro as he clutched his leg in pain.

Long Silence.

There was a look of defiant rage in The Major's eyes .

Captain Dumo stood over Damiete,Kadilo and Big Joe.Even through the streams of raindrops it was clear to see the uncertainty and confusion in his eyes.

Damiete's eyes were still fixed on the knife lying just a few feet away.

"Kill them.....kill them all!!!"Came the Major spitting out rainwater with a Maniacal wrath.
The Captain just stood there.

Yes, he had killed before,but he'd never shot an unarmed person.

Death was so much simpler when they were trying to kill you.

But this was different, he thought.

The three lying on the ground before him were clearly civilians....untrained civilians just trying to survive a dangerous situation.

The girl looked up at him from the ground.Her partially muddy face wasn't the homicidal killer's....it was just the face of a terrified girl.

"Shoot them......that's an order!!!"the Major's voice was screaming.

Dumo's eyes went to Micheal.He'd never thought it possible that any man alive could take the Major in a fight.

But after witnessing that brutal combat,he couldn't help but admire this Micheal character.

He had fought with honor, the Captain thought.

He could've seized the advantage and killed the Major...but he hadn't .

Maybe he was worried about his friends....but even that in itself was admirable.

Any man that could put the welfare of others before himself was a man of honour.

The Major had sacrificed his own men in that shop just so he could flush Micheal out.

There was no honor in that.

The rumble of thunder occasionally punctuated the flashes of lightening in the heavens.

More drizzle.

The Captain tightened his grip around his rifle.

Long silence.

"This is your situation, Captain"Micheal began.

"Don't listen to him....Do as I command!!!"The Major's voice was frantic.

"....you can shoot us..and somehow make your way back to your Battalion..."Micheal said calmly.

The Captain's uncertain gaze went from Micheal to the Major.....then back to Micheal again.

"Kill them all...."The Major was clearly in agony as he propped himself up against the front tire of a car.

"....although,...I don't think you'd get very far with an injured man on your hands.."Micheal continued.

Damiete...slowly began inching towards the Major's knife on the muddy ground when he felt the rifle pressing into the back of his head.

"....I wont warn you again" came the Captain's cold tone.

Damiete froze as the Captain's eyes returned to Micheal again.

"....if I know the Major well,he probably ordered the troops in the surrounding area...away from here...meaning,no reinforcements for you"Micheal went on.

The Major was silent as he continued glaring at Micheal...and the Captain.

"...that explosion would've caught the attention of every rebel/resistance group within the area....we probably have a few minutes before we're surrounded."Micheal concluded.

More rumbling in the heavens....more light rain fell around them.

The Captain was clearly uncertain of his next move.

"You killed my brother....you bastard"the Major hissed.

Micheal slowly crouched next to the Major on the ground as the Captain tightened his grip on his weapon.

Damiete felt the nozzle pressing a little more into his head,as he heard Kadilo's tremor-filled breathing.

Micheal's eyes caught The Major's vengeful glare.

Long silence.

"....they sent the five of us on a suicide mission...."Micheal began as the Major muttered obscenities at him.

".....they knew we all wanted out of the life,...we'd shed too much blood.But I guess they couldn't have five well trained killers roaming free out there....too risky"Micheal said as the raindrops quickened.

The Major winced in pain but continued glaring at him with evil intent.

"....we knew it was a one way trip..but we went anyway because that's how badly we wanted to leave..."Micheal went on.

A wild flash of lightening shot through the sky.
Kadilo shuddered as she braced herself for the thunderous blast.

".....what we didn't know then was that one of us was tasked with killing anyone who survived the mission.....that person was your brother".Micheal said.

Thunder boomed overhead like a deafening exclamation point.

"Liar!!!"Came the suddenly wide-eyed Major.

Micheal paused for a few seconds as he stared at the Captain standing over his companions.

For the first time since the war began,Micheal's face wore an expression of sadness.

".....by the end of the mission,only three of us survived.....that was when Victor struck"Micheal went on.

"You're a bloody liar!!" Came the Major's hateful whisper.

The pressure on Damiete's head had relaxed as more rain poured on his body.

The Captain's ears were peeled to what was being said....though he could barely make out most of it from that distance.

"....Ghost was a good Soldier....the finest in hand to hand combat I'd ever seen.....he was my friend.................Victor shot him,"Micheal said in a low tone.

"No....."The Major said shaking his head.

"YOU,...shot and killed Ghost"He said with Venom in his voice.

"...I don't know if Ghost survived........I managed to get the gun away from Victor....and we fought....I went for my knife...he went for his....but I was faster"Micheal ignored him.

"Lies!!!!" Screamed the Major as more thunder erupted.

Long pause.

".....before he died,Victor told me it was nothing personal....he made me promise that if I ever met you again, I should tell you...he died with honor"Micheal's voice was calm as ever.

"Lies...all lies"But now,the Major's voice was weak...as he began to cry.

More rain fell.

"....he told me to say these words to you....I am the Dark Soldier ...I am the Weapon of  War...and ...."

But the Major cut him off before he could finish

"....I pledge my life to battle..from this day to my last"The Major completed then burst into a series of loud sobs as a curious expression appeared on the Captain's face.

Even Kadilo and Big Joe exchanged questionable looks.

Long silence.

More rain.

"...It was our secret message to each other.....if ever one of us was caught,...it was a way to tell the other that the Messenger....could be trusted.."The Major continued sobbing

Another long silence.

"Stand down,Captain!"The Major yelled when he finally composed himself.

"Sir...?"The Captain asked.

"I said...Stand down....give them back their weapons,...these are not our enemies."The Major said staring at Micheal .

The Captain seemed perplexed.

"That's an order!!!"The Major barked.

Reluctantly,the Captain did as he was told.

"Bring me my weapons"The Major said.

Micheal was still in his crouched position as he studied the muddy appearance of his companions.

"...We swore an oath,on pain of death to never speak those words in the presence of an enemy....my brother must've respected you."The Major winced.

Micheal said nothing as Kadilo and the rest rose to their feet and were handed their weapons.

The Captain came over to the Major's side,eyeing Micheal cautiously as he handed his superior his knife and rifle.

"I really don't know what the General wants  from you...but why are you still here,why didn't you just leave Kollupia?"The Major asked him.

Long Pause.

"I'm looking for someone"Micheal said in a low tone.

The loud Pop of a gunshot tore the air.Micheal saw the bullet explode into Kuro's chest throwing the Major over the bonnet of the car and landed heavily on the other side.

In an instant,they were caught in a hail of gunshots and hot lead flying through the air.

"Move!!!"Micheal screamed as they they all threw themselves to the other side of the car.

A storm of small missiles ripped through the car's metal as they hunkered down.

Shattered glass fragments rained down on them.

The Major was bleeding.Micheal observed
The projectile had cut clean through his chest .

It was a fatal wound.

More gun shots.

"Make for the border....now!!!"The Major screamed at him...but even as he did,blood spurted from his opened mouth.

More bullets whizzed past,more glass rained on them.

"Captain!!"The Major began as more blood oozed from his lips.

"Sir...!!"came Dumo's voice as more  chaos exploded around them.

Damiete cradled the panicked Kadilo's head.
"Go with them...I'll hold off the rebels!!!The Major yelled.

Through the hurricane of gun fire and flying debris,the Captain stared at him in a combination of terror and shock.

"What....?"He began.

"Do as I say Captain!!!!"The Major's spittle was a thick red crimson.

"Don't be foolish,Major...I counted at least Ten shooters....I can help!!!"Micheal shouted as more bullets chewed up the other side of the vehicle.

"Micheal,...Some of the shooters are probably doubling around us by now......your civilians would be cut to pieces"The Major said with his voice trying to compete with the sound of multiple blasts.

Micheal stared at Kadilo,crouched in Damiete's protective arms as more rain and flying glass fell on them.

"I will only slow you down....Go!!!"the Major cried.

Micheal felt a small warm spray of blood on his face as the Major screamed at him.

A car exploded nearby...the sound sent a shudder into the earth as smoke and fire engulfed the vehicle in a wild blast of heat.
The gun shots continued.

The Major's eyes went to The Captain again.
"There's no need for any one else to die here ....RETREAT..THAT'S AN ORDER!!!"

The Captain's expression  of shock and terror remained unchanged.

"RETREAT!!!"The Major screamed as another wave of rounds rained down.

He roughly  grabbed Micheal's arm.

"Tell them...I died with honor!!"The Major said.
"Now GO!!!"




HOLD HER LEGS!!"barked the First Man's voice as she kicked with  her  legs  as hard as she could.

They had thrown her on the bed and had stripped her naked.

The Second Man was trying to pin her down,while the First Man came round the bed,..probably to hold down her hands.

She  was in trouble .

She fought like a wild cat,spitting,biting and scratching but the man untop of her was determined.

With all her might,she drove her knee into his groin.

The Man howled and fell off her.

She had to move fast,the First Man was bearing down on her FAST.

She lunged across the room at her dressing  cabinet,...    it was her only chance.

But as her hands grabbed it's surface   ,The First Man's body crashed into  sending her and the contents of the cabinet across the floor.

Her body slammed into the wall....she felt something sharp stab into her flesh.

She ignored the pain.

The Man's heavy body had landed on top of her.The impact knocked the wind out of her.

She felt a warm slimey tongue on the side of her ear as his lust pressed into her back side.
Her skin crawled.

His hand was already wrapped around her mouth.

Then she  caught sight of it.
It was the image she'd had in her head when she lunged at the Dressing cabinet.

It was sprawled a few inches from her head.
She wrapped her fingers around its hard  cold body.

The large silver Scissors was  part of a collection Micheal had bought her when she'd first taken up fashion designing.

"Could almost pass for a weapon"Micheal had said playfully one day in her room.

Of course she'd told him to put it away and get back to bed.

Funny how she'd totally forgotten about it until she'd been thrown on the bed.

She could hear the other man groaning in pain somewhere in the room as the one on top of her was cursing and spitting out obscenities as he roughly turned her over.

In one fluid motion,she rolled over on her back ignoring the pain on her side,and jabbed the blade into the side of his throat.

She pulled it out and jabbed again...again again....she was screaming all through as thick Crimson fluid bathed her  face,mouth and her eyes.

But she kept on stabbing at him even after his body went limp .

She was out of breath and her hand ached.

There was a sharp pain in her shoulder.

But there was no time for that,the she could hear The other Man  groaning,cursing and limping towards her.

She managed to wriggle her blood soaked body out from under the dead Man's body.

His blood tasted oddly metalic in her mouth she thought.

The adrenaline was still surging through her veins as her naked body  stood up.She still had the bloodied Scissors In her hands.

The Man stood on the other side of the bed.His left hand still nursing his groin.

For a few seconds,only deathly silence and  murderous glares past between them.


At her feet lay the body of his companion..still bleeding out into her rug.

The smell of death filled the  room.

The Man's eyes...cautiously veered to her left...
She followed his gaze.

On the far side of the roof(right under her Reggae poster) was a single AK 47 rifle leaning against the wall.

She'd spent enough time around Micheal to know what an AKA 47 rifle looked like,Though she'd never fired or held one before.

The Man hesitated.

Could He reach the weapon before her?His eyes seemed to ask.

She realized the terrifying picture she cut out:stark naked,skin soaked in blood and armed with a pair of bloodied silver scissors.

He was more afraid of her than she was of him .

She tightened her grip on her weapon.

After seeing and tasting all that blood,her mind felt strangely clearer.There was no more fear,doubt nor hesitation.

All she felt was the overwhelming need to survive.....by any means necessary.

Then he made his move.

He lunged at the wall....and so did she.

As he hit the floor,his hands wrapped around the rifle for a fleeting second,he experienced a feeling of elation...his goal was to spin around quickly and empty the entire clip into her body.

Who says you couldn't rape a corpse? He thought.

But no sooner had his mind processed this,when he felt the impact of her body crashing painfully into his back.

God she was fast ! He thought.

There was a sudden explosion of pain so excruciating the man screamed  as the blades of the scissors sank into his right  ear.




THE rain had stopped.The Smell of gun powder was still thick in the air .

Major Kuro's breathing was labored as he still clutched the empty rifle in his hands.

He was slowly bleeding out.

He'd managed to hold them off for about Fifteen Minutes or so.More than enough time for Micheal's group to make it  out as far as possible.

He grew weaker with each passing second.His arms felt heavy and his eyes just wanted to shut themselves...but once again,he opened them as he heard the sound of approaching foot steps.

Funny,he .He'd always thought he'd die like a true legend,in an explosion or hail of bullets.

Not bleeding out by the side of the road like some pitiful beggar.It was just embarrassing.

He heard the sound of glass fragments being crushed under foot.

The Major wondered what his last thought would be when his moment came....but even as he pondered this,his eye lids became too heavy.

He decided to close them for a few seconds....so tired .He thought.






When they'd first spotted Micheal and the others Opuwari felt an immediate intense hatred for him.

It was Micheal's fault that he'd  killed the Pregnant woman.

It was Micheal's fault that he'd been conscripted and  Sodomized.

In fact they were all to blame.He thought.
All of them;Damiete,Kadilo...Big Joe.....ALL of them.

Opuwari had pulled the trigger without thinking hoping to hit Micheal.

He'd never fired a rifle before and had no clue what would happen once he pulled the trigger.

The recoil of the rifle took him off guard sending  bullets in all directions.

By sheer luck,one of the rounds had hit the Muscular soldier standing next to Micheal.

Chiefo had been furious at him.His trigger happy behaviour had thrown them into a gun fight they didn't need.

"I will deal with you later."Chiefo had said with a wild glare.

Almost an hour after the smoke had cleared,when the silence told them their enemy was either dead or out of ammo,the Rebels approached the bullet riddled car.

The soldier's body on the other side was deathly still.

Opuwari couldn't explain nor understand the rage that was inside him.

Ever since he'd seen Micheal,the very sight of the Kollupian Uniform filled him with inhuman wrath.

"I think he's dead"One of the Men said as he nudged the Major's body.

"Better to  be sure "Opuwari said as he approached the Major's lifeless form.
And With all his might,buried the machete's blade into the Kuro's head.

The impact of the blow broke, splintered and shattered the Major's skull.




20 MILES OFF THE COAST OF KOLLUPIA

A Military Chopper descends into a  an abandoned air strip.

The wind currents from the craft swept across the field.

A man  stands watching the Helicopter.

Mobile Phone Rings.

The Man fishes into his pocket.

MAN#...Sir?

GENERAL#....I can not impress the importance of bringing Micheal and Damiete back alive.

MAN#....I understand sir.

GENERAL#....we're Counting on you, Ghost.

MAN#....yes sir

Line disconnects.

Ghost sprints towards the Chopper.

...to be continued


LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID