KOLLUPIA episode 12...battle at the border!!!

Nse and Tari had been running most of the night
Why?

They had stopped over to rest at an abandoned building for the night.Thoughts of Micheal still plagued her.

Was he dead?

Was he injured somewhere?

She shouldn't think of these things now she thought.

The border was all that mattered.

The feeling of  being watched was always there.

Who was that mysterious sniper?

Why had he left them alive?

These questions tormented her as she heard Tari's snoring.

She smiled as she stared at his peaceful face.

Even in such times of uncertainty, he could still find peace.

In many ways he was like a child she thought.
Suddenly, she heard voices in the house....many voices.

She shook Tari roughly and they made their way out a side window into the night.

"never travel at night,unless you absolutely  have to"Micheal had said.

So they ran....and kept running.

Occasionally,they'd hear gunshots and have to stop.

Then they'd start again when the coast was clear.

To his credit,Tari managed to keep up this time as they swiftly ducked between buildings and charred vehicles.



TWO days later.



"Chiefo"came Dagger's voice as they stared at the refugee campsite by the border.

"The men are hungry"He said a little out of breath.

Opuwari barely noticed his own hunger pangs as he stared at the border.

"We'll find food down there....."Opuwari pointed.





"What exactly are we still waiting for?"Damiete asked nervously as they stared at the border security.

Micheal was silent.

They had been at  the border refugee camp for two days  and  Micheal still hadn't taken them across.

They were all restless.Food and water were scarce in the camp.

The thieves were everywhere.People fought,killed and prostituted themselves for less than ten litres of water.

Kadilo couldn't stand the foulness in the air.Water was like gold, which meant  bathing was a luxury.

The smell of unwashed armpits, fresh human excrement and decaying bodies filled the air like a bad omen.

She wanted nothing more than to go across the border herself.

"The Kollupian soldiers would cut us down the second they saw us coming"Micheal said.

Big Joe eyed the crowd skeptically.

"What if  we tried to blend in?....."He said.

"The soldiers on this side of the gate have photographs of at least one of us"Micheal said eyeing Damiete.

"The second we show our faces,.....we're dead.!!!"he concluded.

Long pause.

"...so we just stay here until they get bored and go home for the day?"Big Joe asked.

Micheal didn't want to admit it but the truth was, he was secretly waiting and hoping that Nse would show up somehow.

Though he had no reason to, he'd been  scanning the camp for her.It was a long shot he knew, but he couldn't help himself.

Every mission had its own objective.His training had taught him that.

His mission objective had changed when the patrols began.There was no way he could have gone to Nse.There was just no way.

Now as he observed the crowded border gate from inside the filthy camp,he wondered if he could actually bring himself to go across the border.

He knew he couldn't.

Deep down inside, he knew he'd have to go back for her.Even it meant coming back with her body.

But he had to save Kadilo first.

"So what's the plan?"Kadilo inquired.

Damiete watched a dirty looking emaciated little girl walk by with a dazed look in her eyes.

"There are at least ten kollupian soldiers between you and your freedom....I'll draw them away from the gate while you...."

Kadilo cut Micheal off.

"What do you mean...'you'....we are going together right....?"

Long pause.

"....I'll hold them off until you are on the other side..."Micheal went on.

"If you think for one second we'll leave you behind...."Damiete interjected.

In a blur, Micheal gripped his throat.Damiete could feel  Micheal's breath on his face.

"....I have risked my life bringing you here....I may have forfeited the life of someone very dear to me....any regrets on my part at this time, would be  dangerous for you....do you understand?"For the first time since they met him, they could sense uncontrollable rage.

Long silence.

Micheal let him go and managed to compose himself.

"....I'll distract the guards...once I do that,make for the medical screening section....no Kollupian soldier can touch you once you're in there....Wait for my signal...then run."Micheal said in his steel tone again.But the anger he'd exhibited seconds earlier was still in his eyes....like the simmering heat of volcano.

"..w..what's the signal?"Big Joe asked softly.

"You will know it,when you hear it"He said simply.

First Lieutenant Soki was exhausted,his men were exhausted.For days they'd been combing the through the crowds day and night, in shifts,with photo printouts of Damiete and Micheal.

The stench from the crowd was over-powering.But he had to be focused.Whatever happens,he was going to make a name for himself on this mission.





The sun was bearing down on him,but CAPTAIN DUMO was undeterred.Being a Sniper was all about patience.There was just no getting around that.

It was part of the job description.One time,he'd been at an outpost for almost a week waiting for a target.But that was years ago....in a different terrane.....a different war.

He'd been awake mostly,staring through the sniper scope,searching for Micheal and his crew.Had they gone by yet?He doubted that.

".....the next Time I see you..."Or so Micheal had said.Captain Dumo pushed such thoughts away from his mind,just as he tried to push away the stench from his urine soaked pants.


That was Sniping for you,he thought.You barely slept and if/when your bladder and bowels acted up,you simply "went"there.

Once a day or so,a junior soldier would bring him food...(which was essentially,just near rotten bread with some warm and not so clean water).

Whenever he ate it,he pretended it was A Hamburger and a cold glass of  coke.

Days had passed with still no sign of Micheal or the others.

But Captain Dumo was patient,after all every Sniper had to be.

Micheal could see the soldiers searching for them in the crowd.He knew what he was about to do was a long shot at best.In war,no one could ever trully predict the moves of an enemy.

He knew there was a possibility of a Sniper nearby.Of course,that would complicate things but it was possible....just possible that he could pull this off and get Kadilo and the others to safety.

As he moved through the crowd,weapon wrapped inside his jacket.He knew he was tactically at a disadvantage.He was out in the open and out numbered.The second he revealed himself,all hell would break lose.

He wasn't certain he could survive such a battle.There was very little cover from gun fire save for the two dilapidated houses sentry houses on either side of the crowded road....and there was the tall grass.

He had to be careful.He thought as he observed the border gates.If he wasn't, he'd hit a Non-Kollupian Soldier.

Micheal scanned the crowd for  His "companions".He hoped they were in the crowd....hiding somewhere.

This was trully a long shot.Micheal thought as he slowly raised his weapon and leveled it at a Kollupian soldier,several people saw it and swiftly moved away,more screams began as people scuttled away from his path.

The Kollupian soldier didn't stand a chance, he barely had time to spin his rifle around when Micheal opened fire.

First Lieutenant Soki saw the soldier go down.He saw the the crowd scatter in all directions as panic exploded across the crowded road.

Screams rang out from everywhere.

In the chaos,his eyes settled upon a lean muscled man wielding a rifle.He recognized the Man's features instantly.It was one of the faces that stared back at him from the printed Photographs.

The man stood there for a few seconds as chaos reigned around him.He seemed to be taunting The First Lieutenant.

Then he broke into a mad dash into the tall grass.

"You've just sealed your fate"The First Lieutenant whispered to himself with murderous delight.

"Flank him.....I want him alive!!!"

The soldiers burst into the grass as bullets tore through the air.




MICHEAL ran as fast as he could drawing their fire as far away from the road as possible.
He hoped Kadilo and the others were prepped and ready to go.In that instant Kadilo's face flashed through his mind's eye....he hoped he'd done enough to save her.

He was still pondering this when a bullet ripped through his shoulder.




DAMIETE,Kadilo and Big Joe saw Micheal go down as the soldiers  closed in on his position.

The road was clear.There was nothing between them and their freedom.The gun-fire heard dispersed the crowd.People were running wildly as more automatic weapons ranted into the air.
He could see the medical centre,he could see the gate.
"Where is he?"Kadilo as the soldiers bore down on Micheal's position.

Suddenly,Big Joe made a mad dash towards the border gate.

"Wait!!!"Kadilo called out but Big Joe was already halfway to the screening centre .....not once did he look back.

It was more than just a flesh wound Micheal realised as blood oozed out of his shoulder.

The pain didn't matter.He thought.

He had to stop the bleeding.

He could hear the soldiers closing in on his position.

Stupid.He thought.

He had lost his focus for just a split second.

That's all it took to  die.One careless thought of Nse,and he was in trouble.





"Lets go!"DAMIETE screamed.The Kollupian soldiers had left their posts and were chasing after Micheal. Damiete and Kadilo had a clear line of sight to the border gates .All they had to do was make a run for it and they'd be free.

But Kadilo was frozen.

Between watching  Micheal go down into the tall grass and Big Joe leaving them behind,she suddenly seemed unsure of what to do.





MICHEAL spun around on the ground,ignoring the pain in his shoulder,he fired two rounds in the direction of approaching steps.He heard a man scream in pain and then fall to the ground.

He had to think.Already,he could hear the soldiers flanking his position.

It was only a matter of time now.




At first,OPUWARI was confused as to the sudden explosion of violence,but as the crowd cleared,certain details became more apparent.

A man had shot at least two soldiers and was currently hiding inside the tall grass.He  was as good as dead.Opuwari thought as he saw the soldiers close in on his position.

Then He saw something that caused his heart to race in homicidal delight.

He saw Kadilo and Damiete.

"Grab those two" he pointed across the clearing.

Dagger and the other men stared at each other curiously.

This was so not what they'd signed up for.

"You want us to fight the soldiers???"Dagger asked incredulously.

More gun shots.

"....I am your Chiefo,you will obey me...."

More gunshots.

".....this wasn't what you promised us....it isn't our fight....we don't have enough bullets to....."

But Opuwari was already charging towards the border gates....towards the man and the woman he had pointed at.

So blind and maniacal was his rage,that he didn't care that he was suddenly out in the open and exposed.All he could think of was what he would do to that slut once he had his hands on her.

Dagger and his men watched for a few more seconds,then they turned around and left.....this wasn't their fight.




CAPTAIN DUMO saw the man with the matchete dashing towards the Kadilo and Damiete.




Everything was happening so fast.MICHEAL was down somewhere in the tall grass,Possibly wounded

 And now there was a crazed looking man with the dashing towards the Kadilo and Damiete.

The Man's intent was clear.

CAPTAIN DUMO angled his weapon at the running man.He had the Man's head in the sniper scope's  cross hairs when the sunlight flashed off the surface of something Metalic perched in the distance   to his left.

Then he heard the shots.



MICHEAL heard them too, as three more Kollupian soldiers fell to the ground around him.

Someone had taken  them out.



The Captain's Heart sank.


There was a Second sniper out there

.....to be continued

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