The Cave
(Episode 15)
They were kind of some ancient warriors. Michael wasted no time in squeezing the trigger but hit not a single one of them. There was pin-drop silence for a moment. My heart started beating so hard I feared it would pop out of my chest. I held Fiona’s hand. She too was sweating.
All of a sudden, the noise and the appearing and disappearing acts repeated themselves. Michael swung around and unleashed fire into the bushes again, but once more, he got no one. Just like the first time, there was another perfect silence. I heard the throbbing of my heart in my head. Sister Elizabeth was too petrified to scream Blood of Jesus! She instead clutched Amitabh to herself and was quivering. I saw the panic on Biggie’s and Ubong’s faces also, but they were ready to fight nonetheless. Ready to fight an army we could not see? I prayed that God helped us.
From nowhere, arrows flew in the air and landed at our feet. We reeled backwards and yelled. Michael swung his rifle, but before he could pull the trigger, one of the warriors ran out of the bush and knocked off the gun with what appeared to be the femur of an enormous animal and disappeared into the bush. All happened in a flash. It was evident that these strange creatures were not interested in killing us at least not for now. Michael looked left and right like a child whose candy just got snatched away.
With one last cry, the warriors ran out of the bush, and the fight began. These warriors were savages. They wore no clothes except a piece of animal skin that covered their loins. Their bare bodies had drawings of different patterns made from a white substance. Many of them wore amulets made from small bone pieces and animal fangs around their necks and upper arms. Their weapons were clubs, femurs, spears, knives, bows and arrows. A woman whose nose and mouth were covered with what looked like a nose mask led them. She fought like a goddess.
These brutes were strong, fierce, and good fighters. Even so, we were not ready to end up in some cooking pots. Though Sister Elizabeth and Lilian were quickly subdued, the rest of us, including little Amitabh, fought hard. We made sure we drew blood. Biggie’s strength was helpful, and Fiona’s martial art skills were exceptional; she was a black belt holder. She grunted and yelled as she parried, blocked, ducked, jumped, and delivered deadly kicks. I, on the other hand, was very generous with uppercuts. Ubong didn’t have much strength, but he knew how to fight dirty.
As the battle got fiercer, we started growing tired and one after the other we went down. Ubong was the first to hit the ground after receiving a femur strike to his back. I was still dishing out my uppercuts when I heard Biggie’s scream. A spear ran through his abdomen, and he fell to his knees holding the spear and gasping. Blood seeped through his fingers. I watched, in horror, the warrior jabbed the spear deeper into him and screwed it with a grunt. Biggie’s eyes bulged and as he moaned blood gushed out of his mouth. Two other warriors rushed down and began clubbing him until he fell to rise no more. Tears welled up in my eyes.
The distraction got me a club to my temple. My eyes whirled around, and I saw stars. I fell to the ground. In my pain, I looked around, and I saw that Michael too was already down. How the mighty were falling! I saw Sister Elizabeth, Lilian, and Amitabh wailing and screaming our names from where they were restrained, but I heard nothing.
Then, I turned in another direction. Fiona was the only one still standing. The enemies were closing in on her. Nevertheless, she fought like a true warrior. A warrior grabbed her from behind while another one charged at her with a club. He swung it hard but Fiona ducked, and the club smashed the head of his fellow warrior. Instantly, Fiona returned the gesture with a push kick to the abdomen of the one that attacked, and he fell backwards. Three more lunged forward, and she ran to meet them. She delivered a flying hook kick to the face of the first one and on landing on the ground, she slid through the legs of the other two sending killer blows to their scrotums. All the three of them rolled on the ground, screaming in pains.
My vision was becoming blurry, but I forced my eyes open. Fiona advanced, but when she least expected it, three arrows found their way into her back. She screamed and fell to the ground. That was when her eyes met mine. She gasped and stretched her hand towards me. She wanted to hold my hands before dying. Blood trickled from a corner of her mouth.
I screamed and wailed. The tears stung my eyes as I dragged myself to meet Fiona. I heard chuckles all around me. I got to her and held her hand, crying like a baby. She wanted to talk, but she could not. With her last strength, she removed her necklace and wore it around my neck. She gasped and coughed one last time and shut her eyes. The earth stood still. I started hearing a slow, solemn, mournful piece of music in my head like a dirge. I lost the willpower to live at that instant. My eyes fluttered a few times, and I saw nothing more.
To be continued … Watch Out for the Next Episode!
