KOLLUPIA episode 9

She panted as she stared at the ceiling.

She could hear her  own breathing in the stillness of the room.

Her mind was blank.

The blood mingled with sweat and trickled down her skin.The smell  wasn't as unpleasant as she'd thought it would be.

People often described the smell of blood as metalic....and awful.But to her right now,it was a smell she welcomed.

By some sheer luck, she'd killed two dangerous men.Morality dictated that she should feel some sort of remorse or at least sadness for the lives she'd taken.

But all Nse felt was a cold nothingness in her head.

Her mind was like a radio dial ,stuck  between  frequencies in static oblivion.

She felt nothing inside.


Nse lay there for a few more minutes until she heard the buzzing of flies.

What would Micheal do in a situation like this?She wondered.

Would he cry, remain on the floor or get up and do something?She pondered.

The blood was drying fast on her body.

"Get up"She told herself.

Slowly........she got off the floor.

The rain had stopped and the sun was going down.

She scanned the interior of her room.

The place had held so many good memories.

It had been their secret place, it had been their den.

So many cherished moments and heartfelt whispers.

Now all she saw was a slaughter house of dead bodies,fast drying blood and the buzzing of opportunistic flies.


It wasn't her home anymore.

Nothing would ever be the same any more.

She eyed  Micheal's Dog-Tags on the floor.

He was still alive out there. She thought, as her fingers closed around the metal army necklace.

She was going to find him.



TWO DAYS LATER.



The sound of gunshots woke her up.Her head was pounding really bad.

The last bit of bread and some water she'd taken with her from the house was gone.

"Always travel light"Micheal had told her.

She'd found a small shoe-repair shop.

From the looks of it,it had been broken into and ransacked.

If the bloody floor was anything to go by,it looked like the previous occupant had met with a very violent end.

There were too many Military patrols and violent activity on the streets.She'd narrowly escaped being spotted by some soldiers a day ago.

Luckily,she'd found this damp rat infested hole to hide in.

It wasn't much, but at least it was better than being shot-up or raped in broad day light on the street.

Once again she checked her inventory;

Her had two extra clips of ammo,the silver scissors and Micheal's Dog-Tag she'd worn round her neck.

Call her sentimental, but each time she touched it, she felt safe.


"I would die  to protect you" he'd always tell her.

She'd always felt a sense of peace in moments like that.

He is alive,....he had to be.

An hour or so later,all was quiet around her.

Not a peep.

Can't stay here forever.She thought.

"Always keep moving....never stop until you're safe"she whispered to herself.

Thankfully,she had no family in Kollupia to worry about.She thought.

It didn't mean she didn't have friends...close friends out there.

Her mind drifted to her best friend Divine.

She wondered if she were still alive.She wondered if her and her Eight year old daughter made it.

Nse shuddered at the thought of Divine and her beautiful daughter by themselves  on the road.

She brushed it aside.

This was no time to get distracted.She thought.

She had to move.

She strained her ears for sounds.

Nothing....just the  scuttling sounds of rats inside the shed.

She cocked the Gun.

The sound was quite loud inside the small space.

Then she held her breath.

Nothing stirred outside.

No sounds of running boots on the pavement.

She exhaled.

She put the two clips back into the pockets of her jeans then she wrapped her jacket about her.



She gripped the gun firmly as she walked out into the street.

The air was a bit cooler than the staleness of the shed.

The smell of smoke greeted her.

She ignored the bodies and forced her mind to focus.

She had to make it to the safe house....Micheal would be there.




GHOST hated Kollupia for one reason and one reason only.....The heat.

Even in the mornings, it was humid as hell.

No wonder there was a Civil war.He thought.

If he lived here, he would have probably started one too.

The Remington 700 Tactical XCR Rifle, 338 Lapua W/Brake,was his favorite sniper rifle.

He loved the balance and feel of it.

Perched on a rooftop, Ghost stared down the scope of the sniper rifle at the young lady on the street.

He'd been picking off targets all day.

Why?

He needed the warm-up.

It didn't matter if they were soldiers,rebels or civilians.He just loved to watch them go down.

Killing brought him pleasure,it was as simple as that.

The sight of blood, the smell of death.The taste of war was what he lived for.

He couldn't believe that one time, he'd considered giving it all up.

What had he been smoking? He could never give up this life.

It was an integral part of his DNA.He was a killer....and a damn good one at that.

The prospect of meeting with Micheal on the battle field excited him.

Finally,...a worthy adversary.He thought.

He felt a surge of adrenaline run through his toned body as he stared at the woman through the scope of his rifle.


She was pretty.He thought.

Judging from the way she held the gun,she'd obviously received some form of training with the weapon.

Her eyes scanned corners like a pro.

Interesting,he thought as his finger slowly tightened around the trigger.


It had been a while since he'd killed a beautiful woman.

He decided to aim for the heart as he adjusted the scope.

A woman this beautiful deserved a quick death.

She'd be dead before she hit the ground.

Then he saw it.

At first he it was just a regular necklace but as he zoomed in with the powerful lens,he realized it wasn't .

He could barely make out the inscriptions on the Tags,but they were tags he'd recognize ANYWHERE.

Why?

Because he had the same tags too.

The tags were as distinct as finger prints.

"Micheal"He whispered.

Long pause.

I will kill you later.Ghost thought to himself as he stared at the girl.

"You might be useful."He said under his breath.

He loosed his grip on the trigger.

He needed a different approach.





The girl's whimpers  angered him for some reason as the fifth man TOOK her.

She couldn't have been older than Thirteen or Fourteen.Opuwari thought.

Chiefo's eyes were on him again...studying him.

Ever since he'd killed that soldier in the street,their leader had treated him differently.

There was some talk amongst the men that the soldier had been a Major.

Apparently,killing a senior officer was a big deal.

Such acts were reserved for Chiefo,who believed that when you kill an enemy, you take his power.

Most of the men believed it too.

He'd hacked at the Major's head until there'd been nothing left.

They had all stared at him in shock at the brutality of the attack.

They stared at him with something that vaguely resembled fear.

Opuwari had noticed a change in himself ever since the Major's murder.

Maybe it was the act of killing the senior officer,or the fact that he'd caught a glimpse of Micheal and the others on the street.

He couldn't tell.

All he felt inside him was rage...raw rage.

After the last matchete blow to the Major's body,He realised he wasn't afraid any more.

All he could see as he chopped the Officer to pieces was Chiefo's and Micheal's face.

That was two days ago.

Since then, Chiefo had been a little cautious around him.

They'd stumbled upon a little girl hiding in one of the buildings.

Ofcourse, the men were excited at this discovery.

As the Army patrols began,they'd needed a place to hide.

They'd found an empty house on Enild street.

The place had some food and water.

It was the perfect place to hide...and rape.

The last Fourty-Eight hours of the little girl's life had been hell.

She'd been abused more times than he could count.

As much as he'd grown used to her constant whimpering, he really wished she'd just shut up.

Though he took no part,he felt no sympathy for her.

Such was the degree of rage he felt.

It was like a dark cloud inside him.

It blotted out every other emotion.

All he wanted to do was hurt the people responsible for his situation.

He wanted to make them pay.

Twice now, one of the men Gabriel....or "Dagger" as they called him had brought him water to drink.

Each time that happened, he could feel Chiefo's eyes on him.

The hate in them was as glaring as the sunlight outside.

"You dont want?"Chiefo asked with a snarl,gesturing towards the girl.

Opuwari was silent.

The seething fury in him was like nothing he'd ever felt before.

The little girl's whimpers filled the stale air.

"I'm I not talking to you?"Chiefo snapped with venom in his voice.

More whimpers.

"If you speak again...."Opuwari began with a cold wrath.

"....I will kill you"

All the men stopped.

Even the one on top of the struggling little girl paused in his grunts and thrusts.

Long silence.

Even the sounds of the girl's whimpers suddenly seemed to have faded away.

Chiefo looked like he'd just seen a unicorn wearing shorts at a bus stop in broad day light.

He silently rose to his feet.

Opuwari was still seated on the floor with his back to the wall.

The few men around Opuwari ...slowly shifted. away as Chiefo approached.

"What did you say???"Chiefo's voice echoed in the room.

Odd.

Opuwari thought.

He wasn't scared....infact he couldnt feel anything else but anger.

He rose to his feet.

He realised he was actually a little taller than Chiefo.

Funny how he'd never noticed that before.

".....I said....I will kill you" Opuwari heard his own voice say




So when are you leaving?"MICHEAL said in his Characteristic calm manner.

"Is it that obvious,that I want to leave?"Captain Dumo responded.

Micheal said nothing for a long time as he stared at the sleeping figures of Kadilo,Damiete and Big Joe.

As the  Army Patrols started,they'd stopped at what used to be a Large "Mechanic Village".

The area had good cover and a fair water supply.

Between himself and The Captain,they'd had some time to teach Kadilo and the others how to hold,reload,aim and fire the weapons.

It hadnt been easy,Damiete was an insanely slow learner.

Big Joe was better, but Kadilo was a natural.

It was almost uncanny how fast she grasped the basics of an AK 47.

Of course, they'd been practicing with empty weapons.

Too much noise would've attracted trouble.

Micheal knew they would have to leave the area soon.

He wondered if Nse was still alive.

"Why do you think we do what we do,is it because we are soldiers...or because deep down inside we are just killers?"Micheal asked thoughtfully.

"I'm a soldier I obey orders....I try not to think of whats or whys"The Captain replied as they watched the sleeping forms.

Long silence.

"Letting you return to your battalion is a risk,....you know that, don't you?"Micheal said calmly,not looking at him.

"....there's a chance I might tell them which way you're headed" The Captain said softly.

"....And there's a chance they will kill you if you don't" Micheal said evenly.

Kadilo stirred in her sleep and snuggled up next to Damiete.

Long silence.

"....I wont kill my fellow soldiers,...if we go to the border...."

"...You'll end up doing just that" Micheal cut in.

Another long pause.

"....you don't trust me to keep your location and movements secret?"The Captain asked.

"No I don't!" Micheal said flatly.

A small warm breeze blew passed them.

"....so what are you going to do....kill me?"The Captain Scoffed.

"The thought had crossed my mind....several times" Micheal said simply.

The Captain cleared his throat as Damiete extended an arm over Kadilo.

"....so...will you?"The Captain asked cautiously.

Micheal turned to face him.

"I haven't decided yet...."He said staring into the Captain's face.

".....But if you leave,.........IF I let you leave,I will kill you the next time I see you"

Micheal held the stare a little while longer for emphasis.

Then he stood up.

"We have to move,...now"He said coldly.

"Decide now if you're coming with us"He said flatly.

The Captain rose to his feet....slowly and took a cautious step backwards.

Kadilo woke up to stare at them.

"And...."the Captain was saying.

"IF I decide not go with you.....?"The Captain said touching the army knife at his side.

"...Then I'll kill you before they wake up."Micheal said simply.

They stood watching each other in a tense silence.

.....to be continued.


LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID