KOLLUPIA episode 11

Nse felt like pulling the hair from her scalp.

What was she saying?She had no idea how she was going to get to the border.

Yes,she knew where it was,but between the safe house and the border were soldiers,rebels and ....bad people.

How was she going to make it?She wondered.

Her eyes went to Tari.The dude seemed clueless.No doubt his tagging along was a risk.But what could she do,leave him on the street?

They'd left the safe house hours ago.

Nightfall was coming.

They had to find shelter.She thought.

"Never travel at night unless you have to"Micheal had warned her.

They had to find somewhere safe.

She cast an eye in Tari's direction as he stumbled after her.

The guy was a walking "Please-just-Kill-me" Billboard.

He once again,he tripped over a bottle and crashed into a nearby metal door.

Nse rolled her eyes.

They had to find shelter ....Fast.

"...I'm sorry,"He said awkwardly.

He really seemed pathetic as he tried to gather himself.

"C'mon....!!!"She said angrily as he followed her up the street.

"Did you hear that?"came a male voice from up ahead.

Nse pulled Tari down forcefully behind a large truck.

"It came from over there"Another male voice said.

Then she heard the sound of fast moving feet on the concrete.

Her heart sank.

Crap!!!she thought.

She eyed Tari.

Thanks alot!Her stare seemed to say.

She considered their options as the sounds grew closer.

There were at least two men out there.Probably armed.She couldnt tell if they were soldiers or rebels.

But one thing was certain,they were most likely not Friendlies.

She had to think.

Judging from the sounds,the men seemed to be approaching from either side of the truck.

Could she shoot her way out of this?The thought as she brought her gun up.

"What do we do?"came Tari's frantic whisper.

Her heart was racing,the sweat was pouring down from her body.

Then she heard the shots.

Three shots actually.

Quickly accompanied by three heavy thuds.

Then silence.

For a long time,Nse and Tari just remained crouched,holding their breaths.

Long silence.

Nse slowly....peeked around the corner of the truck.

On this side,she could see two dead bodies.

"What happened,are they still coming?"More panic in Tari's voice.

She hushed him to be quiet.

All around them was still.

With a lot of courage,she slowly stood up and walked towards the two bodies.

Both were young men....probably in their mid twenties.Their tattered clothes and matchetes told her they weren't soldiers.

Each man had a single gunshot wound to the head.

Readying her gun,she stepped over the fresh corpses and checked the other side of the truck.

A third body lay there....same gun shot wound.

A sniper!

She frantically pointed her gun into the air above,scanning the roof tops rapidly.

It dawned on her that she was out in the open.Her pulse was still racing.

Whoemver the shooter was,he was good.From the little she'd heard about snipers from Micheal,head shots were tricky.

This marksman took out three armed men execution style before they could react.

This was a well trained killer.She thought.

Panic gripped her

So why was she alive?She thought as she continued to scan the air above her.

He studied her through the scope of the sniper rifle.

With a small squeeze,he could end her.Infact,he was slightly tempted to.

But that,wasn't the objective,he thought as he relaxed his trigger finger.

That wasnt the objective at all.

The three men were just dead weights.He thought.

They would've only slowed her down from the mission's objective.

Besides,he needed her alive.

That meant Baby-sitting her all the way to his "mission".

He smiled at the thought.He could use the practice.





"Chiefo!Chiefo!Chiefo!"The men chanted in low tones.

Opuwari stood over the bloodied corpse of his tormentor,staring sightlessly into the floor.

The adrenaline rush he was feeling was like nothing he'd ever experienced before.

Chanting continued.

To his surprise,he wasn't out of breath.Infact,his breathing was very regular.

He was amazed at how relaxed he felt.He knew exactly what to do.

Chanting continued.

Opuwari raised his bloodied matchete hand into the air.

And the chanting stopped.

Long silence.

"We will go to the border"Opuwari began scarcely recognizing his own voice.

"....I have a score to settle...I promise you women and pleasure"

"Chiefo!Chiefo!Chiefo"

He gestured again,and there was silence.

"...and the prisoners..the girl...?"Dagger asked in a small voice.

Opuwari scanned the faces of the men on their knees.Men loyal to his tormentor.Morality dictated that he let them live.They'd seen what would happen if they ever crossed him.

Morality.

He smiled.Morality fled Kollupia the instant the first shot was fired.

Opuwari slowly made for the door.

"Kill them all"He said in a small voice as he opened the door.

The cool evening breeze greeted him as he stepped out.

His time had come.He thought.

Then he heard the gunshots.

Odd.He didn't even flinch.

"I'm coming for you Damiete,Kadilo...Soldier"He said with a smile.

"I'm coming for you".




Three days later.



The Kollupian border was a tall Five inche Thick steel wall that stretched for miles.

It had two WatchTowers on either side of the Great gate.

At least A hundred or so armed Niroulian Soldiers guarded  it day and night.

The Niroulian Goverment had granted the Kollupian refugees asyslum in their country.

The only problem was,because of rumours of an outbreak of cholorea,chicken pox,and dysentry,the Niroulian Government insisted on "Medical screening"before anyone got through.

This didn't go down too well with the horde of Kollupian Citizens.

The border was a bee hive of people.Refugees fleeing a civil war.Hundreds of Starving men,women and children struggling to fit themselves into what now seemed like a narrow road leading up to the gate.

It was a mess.

The surrounding area was now a make-shift refugee camp.

At the People were screaming  and struggling with the guards,many infants were left crying on the side of the road.

Occassionally,a Niroulian guard would fire warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

That usually worked....for a few seconds before the horde returned again.

Soon it seemed they grew accustomed to the sound of gun-shots.




They were at a hill top overlooking the border.

First Lieutenant Soki had been grumpy for the past few days.He had lost his command and had lost his one opportunity to shine.

Now Captain Dumo was going to take all the glory,he thought to himself as they stared at the border masses.

This was a dangerous mission,he thought.

They would be out in the open,their enemy had too many hiding places.

"The crowd would be our greatest enemy."Captain Dumo said.

Long pause.

"Sir,Do you think we'll get any support from the Niroulians?"The First Lieutenant asked.

"Don't bet on it...."The Captain said without looking at him.

".....The last thing they need is an international incident"

The First Lieutenant stared at his men.They looked tired and hungry.

"How do we proceed sir?"

The sarcasm in the First Lieutenant's tone was clear.

Captain Dumo smiled and said,
"Take your men down to the border gates"

Long pause.

"....and you sir....?The First Lieutenant asked awkwardly.

"I'll hold point here....you'll need a good sniper to cover you"Captain Dumo replied.





Micheal wondered if Nse was still alive.

He knew there was nothing he could've done.Her section of Kollupia was crawling with soldiers and rebels.

Even without his companions,he knew going to find her was suicide.

They'd been walking almost non-stop for days.

They had left the city limits.

"C..can we just stop?"Came Kadilo's voice as she collapsed to the ground.

In an instant,Big Joe and Damiete were at her side.

Micheal was still standing.

"She needs to rest....we all do" Damiete said defensively.

"We will...Just after that hill"Micheal pointed, he sounded slightly out of breath.

"...w..why...what's after the hill?"Big Joe asked gasping.

Long silence.

Micheal turned around slowly and calmly said,
"The border"



...to be continued


LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID