TAKEN

[24]

"Both men answered uniformly. " Sir!" Their boots thumped dangerously on the ground.

"Ease yourselves please."

The previous guys chuckled and met the new guy halfway. He'd just bypassed us without seeing us. Against Dima's whispered warnings, I stole a quick peep, capturing their faces as the flashlight illuminated them. 

"We were just about to come get you." Both men replied.

The new one scoffed. "There'll be no need for that. I've got the ammunition we need, plus all other necessities."

In a moment, something rustled like it had been torn off plastic wrappers. Nurse Dima and I shuddered as we both heard multiple guns cork, followed by the swift movements of multiple footsteps shoveling away.

We heaved a heavy sigh, whooshing air from our lungs. I almost slumped in total relief.
The nurse, on the other hand, bent over and puked out her stomach contents.

I gave her a side eye, even though I knew she could hardly see my face. She was not all that tough now. But as we tried to gather our emotions, the men suddenly stopped.

Sensing the unnatural quietness, I tapped my friend to hold herself. We stealthily went back to our bidding positions and held our breath one more time.

"It's nothing." One of the men announced, easing our fears. "Let's keep going."
Their flashlights probed through the hallway and stopped dancing in the shadows. "See, I told you it's nothing."

"Hmmm..." Came the mumbled answer from another. Another tap, like a pat on the back, followed and another voice came on. "Let's keep moving, We need to get to this place quickly and put an end to the chaos."

"So, the girl is still at large?" Another man said. It was the voice of their commander or their boss.

"I guess so."

"Well, let's not waste more time."

Slowly, their voices faded into the darkness and the walls of the tunnel became silent.

Five minutes later, when we were sure they were long gone, we rushed through the path, nurse Dima's Phone light banishing the darkness ahead of us.

I didn't know where we exited from because it was too quiet and eerily. We bumped into a walled building which I couldn't identify.

"I thought you said you know this camp well?" Nurse Dima was right behind me, whispering into my ears.

I nodded. "This must have been new. Afraid to still use the flashlight from her phone, I instead, palmed the building, running my palms through it. Even though I had my sight, Mama's perilous punishments also taught me how to make use of my sense of smell and touch.

Dima held onto the helm of my shirt as we navigated around the building till we finally got to the front. It was deserted. Ahead of it were two smaller makeshift tents that I recognized housed food supplies. Pushing our bodies lower to the earth, we ran to those tents and it was void of humans.

"There's nobody here," I complained.

She tugged on my shirt and whispered. "Keep your voice down, please."

I nodded and we continued to make our way to where the gun battle was going on. We'd passed another set of smaller huts when I heard whimpers. We were at the back of the house, close to the open window.

Young girls were all huddled together, maybe ten of them. They hid themselves towards that angled section of the hut. A lone lantern burned at the center. None of them said a word, except for inaudible whispers.

"Should we...?" Nurse Dima was about to ask,

I shook my head vigorously. "Not now."

"Why?" She pushed.

I turned to see her face lightened by the kind glow from the dim half-moon. "Because cutting off the root of a problem ends its existence."

She nodded, holding my shirt as we traveled through the homestead, wielding our sticks. Whether we would achieve anything tonight was still left to be imagined. Yet, hope was all we had and all we would ride on.

My first victim was a guard who was using a machete to keep some girls back in their rooms. A few of them were already bleeding from the injury they sustained from him. His back blocked most of the activities in the room, except the face of a young boy, he was  kicking in the stomach.

His victim wasn't more than sixteen. I guess when the chaos started, most of the boys sought to protect the younger girls, hence the drama unfolding before me.

"Leave him alone!" Three girls went at him, fighting him off the boy who was writhing in pain on the floor. But he kept tossing them away like flies.

His huge body and muscles were enough to pick a fight with two able-bodied men and none of them would've been able to land him a punch. How much more are these teenagers?

I didn't wait for anyone to tell me to help. Without conferring with my companion, I lifted the stick and ran towards him. And with a swift but precise blow, I knocked him to the ground. He passed out immediately.

The nurse flew over to the boy and began offering him medical assistance. His lips were broken and blood trickled out of his mouth, head, and nose.

But he didn't sit there and nurse his wounds. He staggered back up, lifted the log off the floor, and began hitting the guard repeatedly. The others, finding their courage, joined in the feast and punched the lone guard until the countenance on their faces changed. It was nothing but a seething rage.

"Grab a stick and let's fight for ourselves, for our freedom." The only girl who didn't join in the general beating had her fist balled in the air, eyes hungry like a lion. She shouted at the rest of the people in the room.

As if they'd been waiting for this day, each person grabbed anything around them, anything hard. Bed frames came off their hinges, and window panels as well. Even wooden chairs were not spared.

I was so surprised when another came out with cow-long bones. She distributed it amongst themselves and waited, staring at me.

Confused, I glanced at them, person to person. Tears walled my eyes and I let it fall. For some of them, tears cascaded down their faces just like me as the unplanned meeting turned into sniffles and whimpers.

"Ogwu?" Their ring leader called, startling me from my thoughts. "I know you. Everyone here has heard your story and we know what you've been through. I'd been through them as well. We all have." She pointed at herself and swallowed the tears that were fighting to erupt.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room before she continued.

"We have been afraid of their guns, and torture for a long time, but not anymore. Today, we will follow your lead and if in the process, we lose an arm, a leg, or even an eye, we will be at peace with the outcome. Knowing fully well that we'd fought for our freedom, for the sake of young people who should never know this pain. And so, if we perish?" She glanced at them again, eyes popping out with rage. "We perish!" They all shouted in unison.

I crumpled to my knees, feeling all that rage surge through me. When I lifted my gaze at them, it wasn't just the pain alone, but a mountain of anger. Plus a thirst to deal with their captors. Our captors.

I wiped the tears off my face and nodded at them. "Then, let's do this."