TAKEN

[24]

Let's go!" Nurse Dima was back on her feet. "This is our opening."

I grabbed my log and walked behind her. All this while, the forest had gotten darker and the sounds of crickets and other nocturnal animals were getting louder.

We were about five minutes away from the camp's back door which led to a shorter tunnel into the settlement.

The door that led to the cave-like tunnel was suspiciously open. This made me question if we were making the right decision. My feet slowed and I pushed it in super carefully. It creaked softly, ushering me into the dimly lit tunnel.

A yellow bulb above, danced gently as the evening breeze sipped into the claustrophobic pathway.

My heart was willing to continue the journey, yet my body was laced with fear. I was still taking baby steps into the long tunnel when someone brushed past me and walked briskly ahead.

Startled, I stopped and squinted at the image of Nurse Dima ahead of me. "Wait.." I called, running after her.

She was ahead, sprinting into the darkening tunnel. We got to a corner where there was no electricity, just the vanishing shadow from the previous light bulb. "I said,.... wait!"

My steps came to a halt as I bumped into something hard. "What the...?" My mouth was about to go off when I felt a warm palm cover my mouth firmly. 

I struggled to wriggle myself from its hold. "Stay still!"

My friend's voice stopped the scream that was about to rush out of my vocal cords. Instead of an earth quaking shrill, it instead, became a whimper.

"Please stay quiet." I heard her voice command me again.

Without making a sound, she pulled me into an opening in the wall, shielding our bodies from the flashlights ahead. Echoes of voices flowed from that distance towards us. We couldn't make out what they were saying, but I was sure they were militias.

"Did you also get the SOS?" One of the men asked as they got closer.

My heart was stumping away in my chest, threatening to rip itself out of my body. Suddenly, I felt as though I could no longer stand.

"Breathe." My partner, the nurse whispered.

I took slow deep breaths before regaining strength in my limbs. Relieved, I subsequently wiped clusters of sweat off my face.  Doubt the power of fear at your peril.

"Yes." Came the affirmative voice of another man. "Just got that about five minutes ago. I was close by, so I jumped into action immediately."

"Well, let's see how this whole mess turns out."

A sigh escaped his partner's lips. "I sincerely doubt that."

"Why?" His friend's frustrated reply hung like a thick cloud in the pathway.

"Because this kind of thing has never happened. NneEze is way too vigilant for that kind of slip-up. I think it's her people trying to take her out."

Silence brewed between them before a voice spoke. "If that is so, then let the puzzles fall into place."

Nurse Dima's hot breath was blasting my neck with enough heat to roast a chicken. Then, her heartbeat ran off track, crazily pouncing against her chest with loud thuds.

I could barely stay still in place. I almost danced to the rhythm of the beats just to distract myself from the impending doom.

The men were closer now, a few feet away from us. Suddenly, another voice emerged from where we came from and called into the tunnel. "Canon?"