episode 2
The imam took the podium and spoke ‘ You listened to him . ” He pointed to the pool of blood and meat under the huge cross” he preached : The lord will save his people and you replied ” Amen! ‘
He mimicked their initial response..” His men laughed and he continued ‘ You thought the capital was a safe haven , the chaplaincy in the villa was impregnable , You thought the Muslim Destruction Army would never infiltrate the Rock . well you lied. ” He barked ‘ In shan Allahu…the president is dead’ he paused as people reacted to the news.
” Silence !’ A soldier ordered. He was the one who had shot the cross to accidentally kill the pastor earlier. The general of the MUDA.
The Imam contiued ” The president was killed by his own guards. They know this war is over and the NRRF will not win.” his accent was now pronounced. ” May allah help your souls , that the vice president stays missing”
He came down to the front of the church . He smiled to a little girl , pat her on the shoulders , wiped away her tears and gave her back to her mother, who all these while had been pleading on her behalf.
He contunued his speech. ” Western education has corrupted us . We once lived in unity . we were once brothers , all of us in our lands.Then the white man came with his false religion. Turned us against each other. Even before independence, in the 60’s , we were already at war…’
At an audible order , seven men were dragged out and knelt before the altar. They faced the church.
” Now I will give us chance to be one again. I will show mercy, because Allah is merciful ‘
He turned to the men. ” You will denounce your faith and live . Or stick to your God and die. ‘ You have ten counts to decide..three..four…five…”
Panic..I could feel it in the air. It gripped me too. Yet I didn’t care if those men got wasted . I really wanted to stay quietly alive. I had lost everything when the war began . I had no one to care about , not even a bug or insect.
“Eight…nine..”
He concluded and nobody was willing to switch faiths. He got real mad. He pointed his nano slugged 9mm auto at one of them.The courage in the man’s eyes terrified even the Imam.
Out of frustration, He ordered the soldiers to drag out ten people from the crowd. Five women, five children.
Two men denounced their faiths at the spot. The Muslim General shot them also at the spot. They fell down backwards, cold and dead.
” Too late ” . The Imam said unapologetically .
The women and children were brought forward . I had to do something now. All these muscles and brains were not for waste. I neeeded them to stay alive but I found not the courage to sit by and watch women and children get murdered in cold blood.
The five men were given ten counts again to denounce their faiths. This time around they were given a condition, the first to go against his faith , dies for the remaining four.General Abdul and his soldiers laughed to this. They really had no good intentions towards us, it was clear to me now. Time elapsed and no one spoke a word. Silence. It engulfed the atmosphere.
Then, the soldiers covered the heads of the women and children.
The General decreed a word and said to the five men kneeling down ” Their bloods are on your hands’
He gave the order to fire. His men activated their guns and they came terrifyingly to life with a whizzing sound. The cries of the women and children filled the air . who would save them ?
“Screw you Nino. Screw you!! What a jerk ” I thought . I knew I could do something. By a freak of impulse I jerked to my feet and said ” wait! “I continued ” Please , don’t shoot them. Wait!’
Something hit me from behind. A soldier had struck me with the rear of his gun and I fell to my knees again.
‘ Stay down. Dan Iska ( Bastard!) ” he cursed me.
General Abdul and Imam Tunde( I knew their names from Adam) , wanted to hear what I’d have to say. They admonished this idea.
” Bring him forward” Mr Tunde ordered.
I told him I had something for him to trade in exchange for the lives of those innocent citizens . I knelt down before him with my palms on my head.
” And what is that ? ” He asked ” but know that nobody is innocent ”
“Gold ” I urged” Inside this bag” I pulled the bag handle off my shoulders. I poured the pieces of shiny stones to the floor. I quickly took back a container and put into my trousers . I lied it was my medication but it contained whisky. Ah! Whisky and gold were precious at these times, especially whisky . Man cannot live by bread alone.
The eyes of the MUDA men lit up. They had found treasure and they could sell it to the Soviet Union for more supplies to fight against NRRF and the pokenosy British intelligence.
The imam laughed hysterically, and a soldier came forth immediately. He had been the man who shot his superior at the beginning of all these.He fired two women through the chest. Pipp pipp went the sound. Within seconds , two other children fell flat. He turned to the five men . He picked one from close range. In all, five bodies added to the four on ground.
Cries and screams grew among the crowd. Blood trickled down the aisle….
” Shi:t !’ I cursed” what the –”
A blinding slap brushed my face and ears.
” This is the house of God .” General Abdul said mockingly ” Mr ?
” Augustus” I corrected while nursing the ringing in my ear drums . It was so deafening . what kind of palms do these guys have.? As hard as bitumen tar. Fu”ck!
” Mr Augustus. Mind your tongue ”
I tried to bargain more. I told the officers that I was a thief. I took that gold from the government coffers. I told them I had more from where that came from. My eyes glanced at my right hand sleeves, my arms instead, brought out a map from the bag on the floor.
I told the General that I had found a bunker during the early days of the war and was able to siphon that little from the mass. He became interested, but Imam was not in for the riches.He tried to discourage the General and bring him back on course with the original duty.
“Abdul Raheem ” he said and pulled his uniform ” we are not in for the wealth. Allah will purnish us if we allow the things of this world blind us from the course of the duty at stake. ” he continued” we have been on this jihad for months now. We can’t let any distractions get into our way”
Imam turned to face me. Unaware that the General had pulled his 9mm nano Black witch laser gun and targeted at his head, he wanted to say something .
” I know ” the general interfered ” We can’t let anything get into ‘my’ way. ”
A loud drill and tearing of flesh reported when the Imam fell flat to the ground.
People screamed but soldiers ordered them silent. Abdul turned to me ” Where can I find this bunker of gold?”
3
I would never share the spoils of war with my enemy.I had even changed my name to Nino Augustus after I had tricked a moslem to sell me a nano-slugged calibre pistol in the early days of the war. I could not get it from legal means . The moslem uncovered my identity after we both hit a store and looted cash. The storekeeper somehow recognized me . I don’t know from where he did so. I eventually killed the moslem at point blank and no one would ever find out where I had buried him. Even till the earth cease to exist.
The General got angry at me for not disclosing my treasure. I demanded a cut. A forty- sixty percent cut, but the General made a statement that tore my inner caucus.
” I don’t negotiate with thieves and you my friend , you are a bloody civilian who happens to be a bloody thief ”
I have never been tossed like a tennis before in my life , ever but these men used me to play and they beat the hell out of me. They punched my jaws,gave me slaps and tossed me from one blow to another as I tried to recollect who hit me last. After painfully twisting my free will, they resolved to my weakness.
A soldier dragged another woman out and shot her on the leg. They pulled her back into the crowd and left her to bleed out . she would only be treated if I spoke out. I was compelled to reveal the gold’s whereabout . Yet , I was betrayed. The woman was never treated and they pushed me back into the congregation. The General ordered his men to get the bag of gold they already had to the altar.
He crossed his legs and feasted his eyes on his new wealth. He sent six of his boys to dig out the remaining gold. They left through the main entrance with the map I gave them.
In about twenty minutes they returned and were alarmed. They told the General about the NRRF army that was advancing.
” Take some men with you . Divide yourselves into three. One group find me that gold. The remaining party should reinforce the resistance at the entrance to the Vila.quickly ! ! ” He barked ”
The rest of you will stay here with me. This ends today… ”
Immediately , people began to muse to a sign of hope.
” Silence!! ” He yelled.
One of his men suggested they murder all the brethren.Somehow , Abdul’s eyes met mine and in a seemngly miraculous way he declined the advise.
He clenched tightly to the bag of gold. Greed. I knew his kind. His face said it all. Worry. He pulled out an old metal matchet from one of those bags his men had brought in earlier.
Where the fuck did he dig that matchet from ? I asked myself. It was more like those ancient tools people used in the year 2019.
