KOLLUPIA episode 13....the grand Finale

"Sniper!!!....At 6 o'clock"  the First Lieutenant screamed at his men as they all spun around and took cover in the tall grasses.

Two more of his men fell as they fired at the Sniper's position.

The First lieutenant knew the futility of their actions.Their weapons were out of range.

The sniper had the advantage.They were out in the open and he was clearly using a powerful weapon.




He watched the soldiers duck and fire wildly at his position.

Brave.He thought.

Ill-advised,.....but brave.

This was the closest firing position he could find on such short notice, before all the madness began.

He'd followed the girl and her "Companion" to the border.He'd barely had any water to drink in the  past few days and was essentially running on fumes.

But the mission came first.

His instructions had been explicit.

He couldn't believe his luck when his Target suddenly revealed himself in the crowd.

When he saw the soldiers closing in on the Target,he knew he had to act fast.He couldn't risk losing  his Prize just when he had found him.


More Gunshots.

"Lets go!!!"

DAMIETE broke into a run.The soldiers had turned around and couldn't see them.This was their last chance.

More shots.

He desperately wanted to believe Kadilo was right behind him ...he really hoped she was.

Then he heard her screams,he turned around to see Opuwari roughly pulling her away as she thrashed and kicked about violently.

He stood there helplessly watching her being pulled away.

"....Damiete...help!!!"

More shots fired.

He was only a few feet away from the border gates.The guards on the other side seemed poised and egdy as  they watched the battle unfold.

A few more paces, and he'd be free.Damiete thought.

But .....

KADILO felt her back hit the ground HARD as Opuwari's body pinned her down.

He had dragged her to a clearing behind a make-shift tent.

His fist bashed the side of her face.She saw stars instantly as he hit her again.

"....Do you have any Idea what I've been through because of you???"Opuwari barked with spittle spraying from his mouth.

Then he hit her again.




NSE flinched as another wave of rounds tore through the air.

Tari had her in his arms as they crouched for cover.

"The border would  be safe"Micheal had told her .

How the hell was she supposed to know that there was a fierce gun fight going on?

Bullets were flying in all directions.It was hard to discern who was firing at who.This was crazy she thought.




KADILO could feel the pressure on her neck.She could barely keep her eyes open as Opuwari was literally choking the life out of her.

More gunshots.

"...I've been dreaming of this moment for a long time....."Opuwari's voice was saying as his fingers pressed into her throat.

".....Once I'm done with you,....I'll...."

He never got a chance to finish.He was suddenly thrown off her body.

She could barely breath,and her vision was blurry.But she instantly recognized the figure standing over her.

Damiete.


"...So you decided to be a hero after all.....?

Opuwari said nursing the part of his head that had been struck by Damiete's hand gun.

More gunshots outside.

Damiete helped Kadilo up as she picked up her fallen pistol.

The two stared at the slightly disorientated Chiefo as he awkwardly rose to his feet.

".....c'mon...You and me Damiete..put down your gun and fight me like a man"Opuwari said poised for combat.

".. ..this is war,Damiete....only the strong survive."He had an insane grin on his face.

Kadilo casually cocked her gun and gave Damiete a long silent gaze.

"....he's right..."She said finally.

There was a silent confirmation in Damiete's eyes as he cocked his own gun and pointed at the suddenly petrified Opuwari.

"....only the strong survive...Opuwari....but no one ever said you were strong."Damiete concluded.

Both pistols went off at the same time .Rounds ripped and tore through Opuwari's body sending sprays of blood in all directions.

The Chiefo remained standing as his body seemed to suck in more bullets.

Damiete and Kadilo kept on firing until both weapons were empty. The sounds of their guns were drowned out by the chaos around them.




MICHEAL broke into a fast crawl as blood oozed out of his wound.From the sounds around him,he could tell that at least one of the soldiers survived.Though he couldn't pin point the Man's exact location.He had to stay low.

As long as he remained on the ground,the sniper couldn't find him.

He was losing so much blood.But he had to keep on moving.

Then he felt the nozzle of a rifle pressed against the side of his head.

"Move and you're dead"came The First Lieutenant's voice.




Finding this Sniper was next to impossible CAPTAIN DUMO thought.The man was perched at an impossible angle.If the Captain fired and missed he'd have exposed his own position.And if the fresh corpses of Kollupian soldiers on the field were anything to go by,THIS sniper wouldn't miss.

The Captain focused on his Sniper Scope .He only had one shot...he couldn't afford to miss.



The FIRST LIEUTENANT nudged Micheal towards the road with the rifle.

"....call off your Sniper..."The First Lieutenant said slightly out of breath.

Micheal's hands were in the air.He could literally feel his life draining from the wound.

He was growing weaker by the second.

"....This is tactically stupid...I have no sway over the Sniper...he'll kill us both...."

"Shut up...tell him to stand down or you die!!!"The First Lieutenant said harshly and nudged him further into the road.




KADILO and DAMIETE watched in horror as Micheal was shoved into the road.



Getting the an angle on the soldier behind his Objective  proved problematic.
He couldn't risk killing his objective.That was not the mission.




Shooting had stopped.



TARI peeked out to stare at the road.He saw a Kollupian soldier pointing  his rifle at the back of a man.


The man was being roughly nudged into the road.

Tari ducked back,heart racing.

"What is it?....what's going on?"Nse was frantic.

"Micheal"Tari said calmly.

"....I saw Micheal."

Long pause.

Nse quickly upholstered her gun and handed it to Tari.

".....what...what are you doing?....I can't fire a weapon"Tari said defensively.


Nse still had a second gun tucked in her belt Under her shirt.It was a weapon she'd picked up from a fallen soldier on the way to the border.

"...Take it...I need you to give me  cover fire while I go get Micheal...."She said frantically.

Tari threw her a devious smile.




"You must be really important to the bosses for all the trouble they've gone through to catch you...."The FIRST LIEUTENANT was saying as he pushed Micheal again.

There was a momentary pause in Micheal's head as he saw something that froze the blood in his veins.


He strained his eyes to focus on the two figures approaching.He wasn't certain If the loss of blood had created some sort of hallucination.

As he strained ,he saw clearly....

He saw Nse, his heart began thudding in his chest.

"Micheal....!!"She called out as Tari nudged her with the gun she'd given him.

It wasn't just the sight of Nse that shocked Micheal,it was the sight of the man behind her.

Micheal would know his features anywhere.

Ghost.

"Micheal!!!" Nse screamed out as she saw him.

She tried running to him...but ......

"Any sudden moves and I'll shoot you where you stand" came Ghost's voice .

The man she'd   known as Tari for the past few days.Pressed the nozzle of her own gun into her spine.

Micheal felt a surge of raw panic run through him as he saw Ghost standing behind her.

"Alpha Tango 286....Identify yourself soldier"ghost announced as he pushed Nse into the open.

"I am First Lieutenant Soki  Of the Federal Kollupian Army.....My orders are to capture this man and bring him to the military head quarters.."

Even the wind seemed to pause...

"Lieutenant,my ...associate has a high powered rifle aimed at you as we speak....I'm sure by now,you know he's a crackshot.....my advice, is that you put down your weapon ......and hand over your prisoner"

Long pause.

The Lieutenant seemed to be considering his options.

"....No...YOU,put your gun down and....."

The lieutenant never finished the sentence as a high powered bullet broke through his skull,throwing his body backwards to the ground.....violently.



Micheal turned around slowly to see the body of the fallen Lieutenant.

Long pause.

"....why are you doing this?....I saved your life."Micheal began as he felt his body growing weaker with each passing moment.

Ghost leaned forward and grabbed Nse by the back of the neck.

She winced in pain as his steel-like fingers dug into her flesh.

"....you think you saved me???....This is the Only life I know, Micheal"Ghost's voice carried across the road like the harsh hot afternoon wind.

"......I tried going straight for a few years....I even met someone(scoffs)but who was I kidding?,...I was a killer....and a damn good one too....the first chance I got,I took out Four men with my bare hands.....I couldn't deny my own nature....YOU can't deny it either  Micheal,...we're killers ....it is who we are."

There was Terror in Nse's eyes.

"It was foolish for you to think you could escape this life....It's who we are.....Now,Just give yourself up...or my associate will....!

Gun shot.

Long Silence.




CAPTAIN DUMO breathed a sigh of relief after pulling the trigger.

When the Sniper shot the First lieutenant,he exposed his position.

All the Captain had to do was reposition his rifle,...aim and fire.

The Captain's bullet found its mark....and the Sniper was silent forever.

Long pause.

Ghost......cautiously stared into the hills for his .....associate.

There was a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

"What was that....you were saying about your associate and his high powered rifle again??? Came Micheal's mocking tone

The Ghost had rage in his eyes.

"He was assigned to me when I arrived in this hell hole....he had promise....a good soldier.."Ghost said in a small voice.

Then he smiled.

"..Your sniper hasn't taken a shot at me, probably because he needs to reposition himself...."Ghost continued grinning from behind Nse's ear.

"...And THAT usually takes time....time which Nse here doesn't have....you have five seconds to  surrender yourself  to me  or she dies. ......"Ghost yelled.

"...just leave her out of this.."Micheal said trying to stem the tide of dizziness he felt. Now that he had found her,he wasn't ready to lose her again.

"....you for the girl Micheal" Ghost said shoving Nse towards the  road.

Long pause.

Micheal knew he had no choice.He was injured and was losing strength fast.

He threw a casual look behind him.The Niroulian soldiers had been watching all this time.Guns trained, but they dared not interfere.

They were reluctant Umpires in the carnage on this side of the border.

Micheal started walking towards Nse.

"...sorry it had to be this way Nse,....guess you should be more careful who you trust next time."Ghost said with an evil grin on his face as he shoved her towards Micheal.

He had to move fast.Ghost thought.Sooner or later,that Sniper was going to reposition himself.

Kadilo moved stealthily towards a discarded rifle on the ground.

"No....."Micheal said to her calmly.

"....You two should stay out of this"

Kadilo halted her approach.

Nse reached under her shirt to feel the gun tucked under her belt.

Her   caught Micheal's eyes in that moment.

He suddenly realized what she was about to do .

"No...don't....."Micheal's voice was hollow and the eyes filled with urgency.

"....You gave yourself away when you mentioned Micheal's name....."Nse said to Ghost without turning around.

"....and you still gave me your gun?Ghost chuckled

Nse paused.

"...who says I gave you a loaded weapon??"

Short pause.

"Oh sh....!!!"

Ghost began as Nse spun around pulling the gun from her belt and firing  three rounds into his face

Ghost went down with a dazed look in his eyes ,still clutching the empty weapon in his hand.


Nse ran to Micheal....and threw her arms around him.The joy she  felt  sent a flow of tears down her face.Micheal's lean figure partially collapses  into her body.

"No..No..no baby ..."Nse said as she tried to keep the panic out of her voice.

She wasn't going to lose him again.....she wasn't .

She heard footsteps behind her.

She spun around with her gun.

"....We're friends  came Kadilo with her hands in the air.Damiete also had his hands in the air.

Damiete couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between this woman and Kadilo.

Micheal's attachment to Kadilo now made sense. They could pass for sisters.
Both women studied each other, obviously they saw it too.

Long pause.

Nse didn't seem convinced.

"...three of you can make....it across"Came Micheal's voice.

More tears streamed down Nse's cheeks.

"I'm not leaving you here..."

"You won't have to"Came a male voice.

All three of them turned around to see Captain Dumo stealthily approaching with his rifle poised.

"...Drop your weapons and step away from him....."The Captain ordered as he drew closer .

"He's injured....He needs...."

"I won't ask you again...."Came the Captain cutting off her frantic voice.

Nse reluctantly rose to her feet and put her hands in the air as she stepped away from her lover's body.

"...if you hurt him,I'll kill you..."she said simply.

The Captain ignored her and closed in on Micheal,gun first.

"That looks really bad,"The Captain said frowning at Micheal's wound.

"...just let them go across....you can take me back..."Micheal's weakened voice said.

The Captain eyed the Medical centre by the border.

"....We both know you wont make it that far"The Captain said.

Long pause.

"....just don't ever show your face in Kollupia again"The Captain said sternly.

He turned to his three prisoners.

"....he has lost a lot of blood....take him to the Medical centre ....Now!!!"

The three scrambled and hurriedly picked up Micheal's body.

Kadilo mouthed a silent "thank you"which the Captain acknowledged with a light nod.

The Captain watched them carry Micheal towards the border gates .

"Micheal...!!!"The Captain called out.

They all stopped and  turned around.Micheal's face was getting paler by the second.

"....If I ever see your face again,....I'll kill you"The Captain said with a smile.

"...not ....if I kill you first..."Came Micheal's weakened voice...which was accompanied by an  even weaker smile.

Then they turned around again heading towards their freedom.


                          THE END....

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