CHIBOK (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER TEN CONT'D

the first part of this chapter is somewhere above, please keep lifting the spirit!

RALIAT...

The harassment continued every night without end, and true to his word, Abubakir didn't care if she cried or wailed or cursed him through the night—he always had it his way. And until she denied him the pleasure of seeing her cry and fight the inevitable did she gained freedom, freedom at the cost of whatever morality she ever had left. It was rape, but then, for the last time, she allowed it. Just to dissatisfy the sadistic beast of a man.

The only activity that occupied Raliat after losing her innocence was to just curl in a corner and relive the horrors over again. She refused food, cloistered in the same tent with Hali, who tried her best to keep her company. There was nothing her or even her friends could do to make her happy. Her one sole pride that she only dreams of gifting off to the man that would marry her someday was lost, lost to a monster in the middle of the wilderness.

She'd cried till she could no more. For an entire week, the only thought that thrummed in her head was worry about the next encounter. For how long will she bear with the suspense, for how long will she cope with being a sex slave?

Many of her classmates fared worse, nevertheless, many of the grownups served as forced call girls to satisfy the men in the camp. The same applied to the abducted women including the widowed. Horror went every night, and sounds through the stillness. Raliat could hear her own shrieks, she could feel every searing pain, the smell of dead flowers, the humiliation... it all made her feel less than anything; and she knew countless others go through same ordeal, time and time again.

Her mourning days were interspersed with Hali leaving early in the morning, then return in the afternoon looking harried. Raliat was curious and Hali explained that Abubakir was one of the few men that allowed his women participate in the militia drills. She demonstrated to Raliat how she had learnt to shoot a rifle and asked if she was interested.

A bulb lighted in her brain, the thought of wielding a gun gave her hope, a hope that went as quickly as it rose. Even if she could shoot, she'd never have the nerve to shove the lead right where it belong: in Abubakir and the Commander's skull. Yet, she accepted, and this morning, Hali announced that he had talked it over with Abubakir over the night and that he had agreed to have her in training.

"You mean he actually supervise the training?"

Hali pursed her lips, "Yes, rarely though, those are days when he would visit other camps or go on a mission," Hali saw her face fell and giggled, "Not to worry, he should be on his way to Bama if I'm correct. He told me so himself."

Raliat scowled, for a moment she felt like staying put in this tent where she could be distal to Abubakir, but the thought of learning to defend herself, the hunger for power, for that feeling of being in charge took over. Anything to end her feeling of helplessness. She sighed and tied her hair behind donning on her hijab. Her palms was already wet, was she really willing to walk right into the place where the man that constantly featured in her nightmares would be? She urged herself on, besides, had he not travelled?

Hali was by the window, waiting for her to dress up so they could leave, she chanted some verses of the Koran as she stared at the clear may sky, "...Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth_"

Raliat felt like keeping quiet, but she had heard Hali chanted this over and over and it made her sick. Courage came to challenge her, "No offence, but I think you've got that part wrong." Raliat interrupted, "or rather misinterpreted. Even the prophet_"