WHEEL OF THE PEOPLE
Story by KUTEESA FRANK
PROLOGUE
PROLOGUE
The police siren sounded startling Absalom from a deep sleep! He spent the night asleep in a hair but how and what exactly!
He sat facing a high glass window with an early morning glow of daylight. The window's curtains were half-drawn revealing a down-flow of raindrops outside the glass and moisture on the inside.
Not far on his right, there was a curved office table. Everything around him was fuzzy and wavy. His head was humming and hurting. Why he was not seeing clearly and feeling unusual caused him to panic!
When struggled to balance on his limp legs but staggered off! Fortunately, there was an office table. He crushed into it and knocked over something brittle!
It was a glass of juice taken halfway down! It crushed to the floor into several pieces! However, its sound did not scare him better than the sound made by the approaching police siren outside the hospital.
He looked confused! He questioned himself how long he must have been out!
It took him some seconds to recall, that he has been on the run for the last forty-eight hours. He glanced around quickly trying to take in his surroundings. Everything was familiar.
There was a man on his right. The man's face was fuzzy and unclear at first sight! Absalom squinted with his head cocked a bit.
It was Dr Serunjoji Timothy, chairperson of Kyagulanyi Hospital and this was his office. Did he spend the whole night in the doctor's office? This is when he remembered what happened!
He looked up at the clock. It was 5:15 am! This is when he realized he'd slept too long!
"Wait a min. You drugged me... fool!" Absalom uttered just when the police siren sounded again, this time even louder and closer than before outside the hospital!
His heart pounded heavily! Meanwhile outside, military vehicles were arriving and cutting off every entry and exit point into the hospital's perimeters!
Well, when he woke up just a minute ago, he had a cloth covering him in the chair. Sadly, he never noticed it fall. As he staggered were to the curved office table, the cloth tangled up his feet.
Still, he did not realize!
Now when the police siren sounds from the hospital parking, he hurriedly made an impossible step towards the window. His foot was stuck!
The next thing, he was stumbling to the floor with a heavy thud! His specs fell off. He quickly reached for them, thereafter crawled up to the window.
Reaching the window, he peered out and what he saw silenced him!
The hospital was under siege by triple the usual number of police officers. As if it wasn't enough, these were fully armed military men.
They positioned themselves and their heavy armoury vehicle in an arc -from one end of the hospital's front to the other leaving close no escape even for something as simple as a street lizard!
Absalom's heart pounded even faster than before.
Absalom let the curtain go keeping the rest of his body behind the wall. His blood rushed and his body heated in a matter of seconds! He angrily looked up at the hospital's CEO. He could not believe this man just sold him and his son out!
"I am so sorry...," the doctor spoke before Absalom could utter anything.
Anger gripped Absalom's throat. His face twitched as he stood up! He recalls they arrived here two hours past midnight, dropped off by a truck driver.
It was raining cats and dogs outside. He carried his unconscious son in his arms! Why? His son had something metallic attached to the back of his neck.
He could not explain to the doctors how his son got the thing attached to his neck but wanted their assistance removing it.
The doctors tried their best until something accidental happened almost killing two doctors!
There was a blackout following the operation accident leaving lots of questions. Two doctors were dying from a paramount electric shock and Dr Absalom had no clear explanation!
The CEO was angry! Absalom remembers following the doctor up into his office while trying to explain but no matter his innocence, the damage was brutal and irreversible!
All the same, he came here for professional assistance and so thought the doctor would understand. After all, they had talked and Absalom had revealed all his challenges to their arrival point.
What more did the doctor require to understand?
Nothing more because this was the meaning of; -it is over! Checkmate! His fingers grew tingly! He felt a rush of coldness up his nerves followed by a few shivers!
"Damn you!" He cursed while rushing forwards at the CEO but a doctor and the hospital's security guard hold him back!
Fearfully, the doctor steps back to hide behind his desk lest the enraged fugitive tear at him! Absalom fiercely struggles against their obstruction but they pushed him back. He was sure very sober by now! "We had an agreement...!"
"Yes Sir..." The doctor spoke with regret in his voice. "However, your son's problem didn't require medical attention alone. And you knew that. Didn't you?
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, you still will pretend not to but that thing on the back of his neck is an issue beyond our profession. It is a matter of security concern!" the doctor spoke pointing a finger hard onto his table. There was a moment of silence. Absalom shook his head in disbelief.
"You should have said so in the first place..." Absalom uttered.
"I trusted you." The doctor blatantly uttered quickly with quick gasps for air. "After all he was only a child. Just seventeen years of age?"
Absalom listened as the doctor's voice rose with bitterness. "But you lied! You lied that you didn't know what it is... be it what it was capable of!"
"I did not lie..." Absalom replied calmly.
"I bet you did!" the doctor interrupted quickly shutting him up. "Because that thing, it contains the power of seven power transformers. And you boldly claim you knew nothing of how or where exactly he got it..."
Following this was another moment of silence.
"Well! -so now?" Absalom repeated shaking his head in disbelief.
"And right now, this morning, two of my best doctors, good men each has a family and children. Both are on oxygen and who knows if they will survive." The doctor went on calming down a bit with his final words.
"Then you should have sent us off at once instead of this bullshit...!" Absalom sneered at the doctor trying to attack him again.
"Sent you off to?" the doctor interrupted. "-the next hospital...? That would have been another of my greatest regrets by now. Would have been no different placing two or more other medical personnel's lives at risk!" The doctor uttered critically adding.
"So you drugged me...? Screw you!" Absalom spoke with such disappointment.
"I could have found you desperate and innocent of everything else you said... but you still are topping the union's most wanted list! ... Well, why the hell are you running if you are innocent?" The doctor said. "Unless there's something else to this sir. Oh hell, there is..."
"You don't know what you are talking about...!"
"Your son and that thing?" Came the doctor confidently. "Whatever it is, how and where that thing found your son, you gotta explain to them before anyone else including yourself gets hurt."
Absalom was at a loss of words. Just then he heard his name announced from outside.
"Dr Absalom, this is where it ends. Surrender and step out at once..." The doctor did not move.
He wore the look someone wears to mean _I did only what he thought was right. Absalom rushed to the window again! He peeped only to realize the military had not entered the building yet.
However, Nezumi surveillance drone levitated about the building's windows purposefully scanning the faces of those they could on the inside. One of Nezumi's drones passed by the window and Absalom lowered the curtain quickly.
"My son. Pray he is fine...!" Absalom spat!
He reached for a doctor's musk on a table behind him. He wore it quickly and started out. There were drones in the hospital.
He rushed down the stairs, through the nurses and doctors into the main surgery section. He saw his son still lying back with parts of his limbs still connected to machines. Good enough the drones had not recognized him through the surgical mask he wore!
His father tried disconnecting the syringes and other stuff from him when the hospital guard and two other doctors tried to stop him! He spun on them so swiftly taking the pistol out from the guards' hands and pinning it to his forehead!
The man froze shutting his eyes hard and fearfully wetting into his pants. No one was going to split the man in rugs from his son.
"Don't you dare touch me?" He ordered the guard. Thereafter helped his son up off the bed. As they headed for the surgery room's exit, he quickly grabbed the Head surgeon hostage. Unfortunately, the surgeon was Dr Serunjoji's wife!
"The rest of you, make way...!" Absalom barked at the men and women.
The moment they stepped out, people in the reception drew back yelling with worry. Half of the Nezumi Surveillance drones spun to focus on him.
When they detected a weapon in his hands, they sent out a signal. They zoomed in on his face as well as the doctors!
There and then razor beams came on from all directions!
Doctors and nurses rushed to the balcony facing the reception point, opposite the main entrance and peered down.
The Hospital's Chairperson came last only to find his wife hostage! Absalom glanced back at the balcony and landed eyes with Dr Serunjoji who looked puzzled to see his wife tangled into this mess.
"Father!" His son stammered at seeing the tension all around them. "Did they find us?"
"I slept off Erick. I am sorry..."Absalom replied as a few of the clients recognized him as the criminal on the run.
These started throwing insults, banana peelings and other stuff at him from directions he wasn't seeing. Absalom pressed the pistol harder on the nurse's head.
"They are lying to you. I was Framed and they...!" He tried to speak but this was like to himself. He pressed on towards the main entrance.
"Everyone hates us Father... why don't we just surrender and talk to the police? Are you going to run forever?"
"Surrender? No! Not to them Erick..." Absalom came in. "-they are the bad guy. Not we...!"
"What if they can help us get this thing off of me... I don't like it." Erick confessed as they reached the main entrance.
"I know but... everything is complicated Erick," Absalom spoke adding. "I don't know what and how to tell you but that thing there controls something very powerful..."
"What...?" Came Erick in total surprise.
"It controls a weapon of mass destruction called RAT. We got no time right now for a good explanation but..." His father spoke with heavy breaths.
Why they weren't firing at them yet like yesterday, God knows! "-but everything happening around us. The bombing, the riots causing this entire national rampage and insecurity, the bitterness of the heads of state as it has been shown on the news for the last two days not to forget your mother's death seventeen years ago. They all are connected and come down to an international craving to control RAT."
"My mother's murder too...!" Came Erick.
"Yes Erick," Absalom replied this time pushing the door open and a gust of cold wind blowing into the hospital.
"When did you find out...?"
"It's a long story ..." Absalom replied.
"So this controls the weapon RAT!" Came Erick confusedly. "What then am I to do with it? Let them take it. -those that want it and stop chasing after us like this!"
"Paramount freedom and peace. They aren't assets for trade child! They are a rare package. Together, they are byproducts of struggle, bloodshed and the revelation of truth..." His father uttered while bits of sweat mixed with droplets of rain went flowing down his face into the hostage's hair.
"In other words, we cannot survive by merely giving it up..."
"But I don't want to lose you too...!" Erick uttered meekly.
"You won't. At least not like this..." Absalom spoke stepping out into the rain.
"What then are we doing?" Erick asked.
"We have a hostage and they'll give us one of the cars...?" Absalom lamented in tone.
"You will let us pass if you need the doctor alive...!" Absalom yelled to the police while dragging the hostage to the nearest car in the parking. He asked Erick to open the front door but it was locked.
"Break the window... hit it hard with your right elbow. Hurry now!" Absalom spoke hurriedly. His son looked confused now. At first, Erick hit the window with his elbow once but not that hard...!"
"Do it hard!" Absalom pressured him. As his son prepared to hit the window again, a bullet hit the car tyre. It burst startling Erick back.
"Come... this way!" Absalom started across for another car but it was shot in the tyers - flat before he could even take four steps towards it. There was a sniper and all Car lights focused in their direction blinding them.
Absalom looked puzzled.
"It ends here sir. Surrender the hostage because you are under"
"Let's just give it to them Father... I don't care what it does or..." Erick spoke finally walking out from his cover and lifting his hand in surrender. "Tits the only way we can stay alive..."
"Don't you dare disrespect me..." his father panicked and barked at him in a hoarse voice. His son was stepping away and shaking his head unwillingly!
"No, Erick. Please. That thing there..." his father now pleaded. "It contains unimaginable power capable of changing the balance of power throughout the East African Union. Whoever has it, can rule not Uganda alone but the whole continent. And they wish paramount power over everyone. The death of thousands and you don't want to give it up to them. Not them at least. Please!" Absalom spoke convincingly. Erick felt him.
"Who then can I give it to? I do not want it. Have it! You know best what and how it can help us... and everyone." Erick reached up to take it from his neck but it stung when he touched it.
"Don't tamper with it." His father interrupted. "It could kill you..."
"You take it off me here..."
"Stop it now!" his father responded strongly. Erick looked up at him confusedly.
Before he could utter another word, Absalom came fast. "I can't. Well, I could have helped earlier but... but it found you first. And trying to change that has already cost the hospital two lives..."
Erick's mouth dropped. He looked scared now. He shivered ad his father knew why he had to remain calm.
"Yes. Only you weren't awake yet to see it..." Absalom added calmly. Still, Erick was silent. He did know what to do about it!
"Am I going to die then?"
"No one is going to die if only you can listen to my instructions... now get back here," Absalom spoke concluding in a commanding tone.
Erick started back quickly. Once he was back behind him, Absalom spoke again.
"One thing I know for sure is -RAT is capable of protecting you against them whatsoever!"
"...you don't mean that I know!" Erick stammered under tension while stepping out from behind his father.
"I do. -even if this fails... trust help will come!" Absalom spoke.
(The prologue continues...)
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It is almost two years since I first uploaded #Wheel of the People ((That's in August 2020)) and it is listed among stories by Kuts123 https://www.wattpad.com/amp/882101995
Don't hesitate to check it out - if you loved this introduction!☺️😊🙂
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BESIDES THAT, I formed a talented team of creators/artists and 3d animators. together we have illustrated several of these scenes in what you will find in the story here. - Mystery of the Olko beads and Wheel of the People story. For your amusement and entertainment. We start uploading the graphical works on the 6th, of October 2022.
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