princejez

• 

Nina was over the moon when she turned around to find my hand, clutching Ricardo’s arm in fear that we were going to die from the Uber driver’s recklessness. I myself was shocked at how they got there, and Ricardo was just sheepishly smiling at my confused face and scratching the back of his head.

“Ooh-la-la what do we have here?” Philippe who was facing us asked with raised eyebrows and a sly smile.

Nina who was really irritated smacked his head with her slipper.

“Ouch.”

“Can you mind your own business and focus on the road, gosh?”

Then as if nothing had happened she turned back to us and in her usual frenzied tone, said,  “So, how exactly did this happen, hmmm.” She said motioning her hands towards ours. “Are you trying to see if the ring will fit her dainty little fingers.” She continued only pausing to laugh.

It was then I realized my hand was still clutched to his arm. I was so embarrassed that I asked the uber driver, who had just turned onto my street, to stop. I got out and started walking towards my house.

As the uber passed me, the back window rolled down and Ricardo waved to me and signaled me to call him.  I walked through the neighborhood to my house, my Abuela was sitting on the steps waiting for me.

”Where have you been, it’s literally 7:10 pm?”

“Yah, but my curfew is at 7:15 pm so it’s ok.”

“Not when school ends at 5:15 pm”

“We had to walk to the place where we usually get an Uber home  and we found an ice-cream stand. Ricardo bought us ice-cream and then the uber came late. He was driving like a drunk idiot and then… Oh wait, that’s actually it.”

“You entered a car with a drunk driver behind the wheels?” My Abuela was now rising with one hand on the rail to stable her and the other headed for her slipper.

“No, Abuela you don’t understand,” I said while dodging one of her slippers, “I meant he was driving like, not that he was drunk.”

“Oh, was it Philippe?” She calmed down and plopped herself down next to me.

“How exactly do you know that driver?”

“Well, I knew his Mamma, a very good friend of mine or my best friend as you kids these days say. She actually lived on this very street, mamma Serena’s house. She passed on 12 years ago though.” Abuela said with tears brimming in her eyes as if it was yesterday.

I wrapped my arms around her. At that very moment, mom, who always took public transport, arrived home to see me still outside with my arms around Abuela. She rushed to her side.

“What’s wrong, mamma?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just memories of Mamma Philippe.”

“Oh God rest her soul, she was such a saint. I remember when we just came to the neighborhood and the movers  hadn’t brought our stuff yet and she gave us about six quilts  because we were sleeping on the floor.” Mom said as she laughed.

“Yes Sheila, I also remember she used to make a hell of a granola pie, the kind that would take all the kids away from their mother’s cooking.

“Wait how come I don’t remember Mamma Philippe?”

“Well, you were two years old. I doubt you would remember her, although she carried you a lot,” Mom said.

At that moment the twins came outside, and jumped on mom.

To be continued…

Later on, my Abuela moved in with them, because my father felt she was too old to take care of herself.

So that practically brings us to the present.

You know the irony of this is that my mom is from Sierra Leone and I and my brother’s name fit in there, get it? Because I’m Sierra and he is…. You know what I think, you get it. I’m not going to try and explain it to you.

Anyway, I have to get to school so this reverie will have to end here.

As soon as I got out of the house, my two best friends came to pick me up in an uber and yes, there is such a thing as having two best friends. I have known Nina Santiago and Ricardo Martinez from when we were all in kindergarten. We all went to the same nursery, elementary, and now high school.

“Sierra, hurry up, we need to go, you know how Mr. Fuentes gets when all three of us come late. I’m not about to get yelled at in front of Manuel,” said Nina.

I got into the Uber and the driver sped off down the valley.

Just to be clear, Manuel is her crush wait… no scratch that off the table… ahem, Manuel is her obsession.

“Hey, I’m not obsessed with him,” said Nina.

“Honey, this ain’t your podcast, this is my story.”

Sorry, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, Nina has a “crush/obsession” on this guy called Manuel Rubongoya and it is really bad, to the point that she has already planned their wedding, honeymoon, and kids names. If that isn’t an obsession, I don’t know what that is.

“Nina, why are you so obsessed with that guy?” Ricardo said like he was reading my mind.

“Right,” I said.

“Guys I am not obsessed with the guy, I just like him that’s all.”

“Like him a lot, cough, cough,” Ricardo said.

I laughed hysterically but Nina was not amused.

“Anyway, we are here,” Nina said as she got out of the car and slammed the door.

“Nina, calm down, we didn’t mean to piss you off,” Ricardo said as he paid for our Uber.

Nina just walked off through the school gates without even a backward glance.

“Do you think she’s really mad this time?” I asked Mateo, as we headed for class.

“Nah, just the same old Nina sulking routine, by lunch she’ll be chatting like nothing happened.”

“If you say so.”

Immediately we approached class, we saw Mr. Fuentes enter. We hoped he hadn’t noticed us but sadly that was not so. He turned around and came back to the hallway.

“So are you two love birds just going to stand there or are you going to attend class today?”

My cheeks felt redder than a tomato, this wasn’t the first time they referred to us that way but every time they did, for some annoying reason I always blushed.

I know right now you’re getting all sorts of ideas in your head, but don’t, were just friends, and I know that doesn’t make sense to you, but it doesn’t make sense to me either. I have always thought of I and Mateo’s relationship as just a simple platonic friendship, but recently I have… wait why am I telling you all about my personal… you know what… let me head to class.

The moment I entered class, I got an evil grin from Nina who was glad she got in before us while two girls were snickering at Mr. Fuentes’ remark.

One boy whistled and started singing, “Can you feel the love tonight?”

I swear, I wanted to punch his guts out.

“Gwe Pumba, shut up, it’s still morning,” a voice from the back said. The voice belonged to Manuel Rubongoya, the only foreign student in our school and he easily stands out considering his light brown complexion clashes against our peach-coloured skin.

In case you’re wondering, yes I did say Manuel, the same one Nina is crushing on. To her Manuel is 100% Mr. Right. Manuel moved here with his parents from Uganda, and from the moment he joined the school, Nina has only had eyes for him.

“Sierra! Sierra!” Mr. Fuentes called, pulling me out of my expository reverie.

“Hmmm.”

“What would I use if I wanted to measure the amount of electricity in a bulb?”

“What?”

“Correct. A watt is a unit of voltage used to measure the flowing current in electricity.”

After math, we went to the cafeteria for lunch. We were seated peacefully eating our tacos when my archenemy came to our table. This wretched goat by the names of Adriana Caballero was the principal’s daughter and because of that she felt she owned the school.

And to make it worse, this pompous cow dared to flirt with Ricardo in my presence and then was mean to Nina and me when he wasn’t around. Can you believe that decorated cockroach?

After we had finished English, science, and history, it was time to head home. We headed out of the school compound and down the road to a place where we could get an Uber.

“So, do you have any plans for Saturday?” Ricardo asked.

“Why are you asking, Ricardo?” Nina said with a sly smile on her face as she side glanced at me.

“Nothing that concerns you. Ricardo mouthed at Nina as he glowered at her.

“Yah I do, why?”

Suddenly Nina started walking away slowly.

“Nina, where are you going?”

“I’m just going to get us some ice-creams from that stand over there.”

“Ok, should I help you out?”

“No, I’m perfectly capable of carrying ice-cream by myself and plus Ricardo wanted to ask you something, right?” Nina said trying to wink at him, but was only being able to just blink both eyes.

He glowered at her and mouthed, “go away,” at her.

After watching Nina giggling as she walked away I turned to him and asked.

“So Ricky, what was it you wanted to ask me?”

“Um, well, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Antiqua dance with me?”

“L…li…Like as a couple?” I asked with a confused expression wondering if this was actually happening.

“Yes.” He said getting slightly anxious.

“Whoa, wow, I mean I did not even see this coming,” I said which added more to his agitation.

“So, what do you say?”

Before I could answer Nina came bounding towards us and shoved an ice-cream cone into my hands and then gave another one to him.

“So, what did she say?” She asked.

“She hasn’t said anything,” he said with a downcast look in his eyes.

“Yes, I will go to the dance with you,” I said with a smile spreading across my face.

“Yay, oh my gosh, I can’t believe it is finally happening. I have been planning your wedding since 5^th grade.”

“What?” We both chorused looking confusedly at Nina who just giggled excitedly at us.

Well, I couldn’t deny that I too was giggling excitedly on the inside when he asked me to be his date. I mean I have had a crush on him since 5^th grade when I and Nina first met him, but as most girls do, I hid it inside my heart and only told Nina and my grandma. Now I was excited because I had hope that maybe, just maybe, he liked me back.

After we had finished the ice-creams, he ordered an Uber to take us home because it was coming to 6:30 pm.

When the Uber arrived 20 minutes later I was alarmed because my curfew was at 7:15 pm and it was at least a 40-minute drive home. I asked the Uber driver if he knew any shortcuts to my neighborhood.

“Well I don’t know any but I can get you there in 15 minutes.” He said.

“How?” We asked.

Three minutes later:

“Move outta the way you grandma,” our taxi driver yelled with his head out the window.

We were all terrified by the speed the driver was moving at but mostly Nina who was seated in the front and forced me to sit in the back with Ricardo.

“I think that was an actual grandma.”

“Hey, um excuse me driver, could you slow down a bit.”

“Yo kid, you asked me if I could get you there in 15 minutes and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Cause Philippe always keeps his promises.”

“Well, Philipe,” said Nina who had just about had it with this driver. She pulled a stick out of her bag. “She didn’t ask you to kill us and if you know what’s best for you, better slow down or I swear on my Abuelita’s grave you will regret it.”

Out of fear, the driver slowed down.

To be continued….

• 

It is such a beautiful Saturday morning, the sun is up, the trees are swaying and mama is coming up the stairs to get me out of bed, oh I forgot to mention my name is Sierra but you can call me Sisi. I am five years old and I live in Guatemala. My mommy said we live in a little town called Flowers. I live with my mama, Sheila, my Papi John, my little brother, Leonardo, and my Abuela, Jolie.

“Sierra wake up my little princess”

“Morning mama.”

“Come on Sisi, let’s get out of bed and get ready.”

“Where are we going today?”

“I am taking you with me to dance class.”

“Yay!!”

“Shhhh, your Papi and Leo are still sleeping, okay?”

“Sorry mommy.”

“It’s ok now let’s get ready.”

I love my mommy. She is the best mommy in the world and the most beautiful too.

Click.

Okay, fast forward.

Zhhhwwwwee.

My mom isn’t as perfect as 5 years old me so dearly explained. My mom can sometimes be extremely irritating, like this time whe…oh wait I am 14 now by the way.

I now have 9-year-old twin sisters, Lilly and Lola, who for some reason will not stop taking my hair brushes to brush their dolls’ hair. Then there is Leo, sweet innocent Leo, Abuela’s favorite being he is the only boy in the family. Anyway, I have been sidetracked long enough. Right now I have to get ready for school.

“Sierra you better get out of that room right now and come for your breakfast otherwise I will give it to Pedro.”

“I’m coming Abuela.”

Oh yeah and we also got a dog, his name is Pedro. Anyway gotta run, before my Abuela, which means grandma in case you didn’t know, throws away my breakfast.

“If you were as quick at dressing up as you were at checking your friend’s statuses it would make your Abuela so proud.”

Today was just like every other day. I woke up, dressed up and went downstairs to see Abuela making tortillas for breakfast in her blue free dress and shouting at Pedro for taking one of her slippers. She beat him with the other.

Then there were my siblings. Leonardo was going through adolescence issues and Lilly and Lola were discovering child rights did not apply in our house. Slowly they realized if they did anything stupid, papa or Abuela would smack their backside.

Then there are my parents, they didn’t have much, but they taught us to value the little three-bedroom apartment we had. My mama and I have always had our differences, most times we don’t always see eye to eye but I still love her.

My Papi has always been my favorite and since most of my friends didn’t have fathers or lost theirs due to gang violence in the city, I was extremely grateful for mine. My parents have told me many stories in my lifetime, some true some fake, but my favorite one was how they met.

It started when my dad was working in Sierra Leone as an assistant staff director for a shipping company and my mom was the boss’s receptionist.

Every time he would need to talk to his boss, he would have to book an appointment through her. Eventually slowly by slowly he began to notice her and sometimes he would call her even when he didn’t need an appointment, but she didn’t like him at all – at first anyways.

One day he asked her out for coffee and she flat out said no and walked away. Can you believe it? That is another level of being cruel. The story doesn’t end there. After some intense persuasion from her mother, who badly wanted to see her daughter get married, she accepted and went on a date with him and got to know him.

After getting past the fact that my dad was extremely goofy. It turned out they were a perfect match. They both wanted to one day live in Guatemala. They both hated Chinese food and loved Ryan Reynolds movies. The biggest thing that connected them is they both wanted a family.

Sadly as everyone who has watched Suites knows the company manual says you can’t date a fellow employee. My dad was so determined on dating my mom, he sacrificed his white-collar job to work at a construction company where he didn’t earn as much as he used to.

Eventually my mom got tired of her job and quit. Since my dad had saved enough money from his previous job, they moved to Guatemala and got married there.

To be continued…

Kigowa Road – 6:30 PM:

James unlocked the door to his house. He was soaking wet from the rain that got him as he was taking his daily evening bicycle ride. He took off his Adidas sneakers and left them on the inside of the front door.

He made his way to his room, leaving a trail of water droplets on the floor. He took off his shirt and got a black one to wear. He looked at his chest, it was still wet. He grabbed his towel and wiped himself first then he wore the shirt.

He grabbed navy blue shorts and changed into them.

~-~

Where did I leave my phone? He searched his house but couldn’t find it. A thought hit him, Get a broom and sweep the house. He did that, but all he found were three 500 shs coins.

He sat on his bed, I came back with it before I went jogging. I called mum and wished her a happy birthday. There’s no way my mind is playing tricks on me. Another thought hit. He lifted the mattress and found the phone lying on the bed frame close to where he was sitting.

Thank God. It’s interesting how much of my life and emotions are wrapped up in an electronic device.

7:00 PM:

James was about to join the line in front of one of the checkout counters at Fraine Supermarket when he felt something bump him hard in the back. The shock caused him to let go of the glass olive oil bottle he was holding. It shattered on the white floor.
He turned, but in the process lost his balance and slid to the floor hands first. The oil had spread in all directions.
He stood and confronted the man who knocked him from the back with a trolley, “Why did you do that?”
“It’s not my problem you have such clumsy fingers.”
James punched the man.
The man spat blood on the ground.
A security guard ran towards James, “Stop it. This is not a boxing ring.”
James walked to a spot outside the reach of the spilled oil and spoke to a store attendant, “Do I have to pay for the broken bottle?”
“Yes, you do.”
How unfair. Paying for something I haven’t used. Next time I’ll make sure I always shop with a shopping basket. He walked to the section with cooking oils. What will it be? Regular cooking oil or olive oil? Good health or just great taste? Always think long-term.
He made his way to the entrance, picked a shopping basket, and placed another bottle of olive oil inside. As he walked to a different checkout counter, he saw a woman with a stick broom mopping the area where the other bottle had fallen.

8:05 PM:

James was eating rice, beans, and cabbage when his phone rang, Hello Neville.
Hey bro.
I’m having a pork celebration at my place in Kabalaga this Saturday.
I see your pigsties have been doing well.
Neville chuckled, yes. I’d like to know if you’re available to show up. The fee is 20,000 shs only.
I hope you have enough pork. I want to eat till I can’t stand.
They will be fifty kilograms.
I can’t wait.
See you then, said Neville.
See you.

Saturday at 9 A.M.…

Simon wasn’t at peace when he woke up that morning. Something just wasn’t right, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Was he falling ill, catching the flu perhaps, or was it something worse? Perhaps it was something simple; he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. 

Maybe it was the liver I had yesterday. It has been a while since I last had it after all. Simon thought to himself. But it’s not the first time I’m eating something after a long time and my body never reacts like this. 

The thing was that he didn’t feel sick but just uneasy. He decided to do what he usually did when he felt uneasy or disturbed which was to write. He took out his notebook to continue writing the poem he had started but then his siblings started running around the house and making noise. 

Oh C’mon. He thought to himself. Simon then decided to take his breakfast quickly and head to the office space they were renting. I can use the WiFi while there if I get tired of writing. 

Simon walked to the office while listening to music on his phone. The office wasn’t far from his place so he decided to take it as a chance to have a morning stroll. When he got to the entrance, he greeted the guard then went upstairs to the topmost floor where their office was. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the glass door then reached between the rails of the burglar proofing to the solex padlock that he unlocked to gain access to the office. 

“You locked yourself in here?” Simon asked Claudia who leapt in fright after he had touched her shoulder. 

“Don’t do that. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” Claudia responded.

Simon couldn’t hold back the urge to laugh. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said with giggles inbetween each word. “You shouldn’t turn up the volume so high on your headphones when you’re in a public place alone you know.” 

“My volume wasn’t turned up too high and to answer your question, yes, I did. I have some coursework from campus to complete and submit before tomorrow, so I came to try and finish it here since at home there are too many distractions. Plus I didn’t expect anyone to come here today. No one ever does.” 

“When you say distractions, I get you loud and clear.” 

“I’m guessing that’s why you came too?” 

“Yes, save for the coursework part.” 

“Of course, you’re done with university.” 

“I’ll let you get back to it.” He walked over to his desk. It was a shared office space with two other companies using it as well and sharing the bills equally amongst themselves. 

Simon sat at his desk and started writing in his notebook. The writing was going on well but then he hit what is referred to as a writer’s block after a while. As he sat back in his chair, he decided to turn on the desktop in front of him. When he logged into it, he went online then started to watch some TED Talks. As he did, a thought hit him, why don’t I check how far Frank had gone with the assignment we gave him? What he found, however, didn’t quite add up. The balance on the account was way lower than what he remembered? An alert on his phone, however, shifted his attention. Brighton Vs Chelsea ended in a three (3) to one (1) defeat in favor of Chelsea. 

“What!!!” He leaped out of his seat and jumped around shouting for joy. “I’ve got to call Darius and see if he watched the match.” He spoke out loud. 

Meanwhile, Claudia sat peaking over the separators. Boys and football, oh gosh, now he has become a child too. She thought as she shook her head from side to side.

To be continued…

On the drive, or should I say ride back home, Simon and Paul discussed the class as they did every after a session. The conversation was good; they identified the strengths and weaknesses in that particular session for the students and even they themselves as teachers.

“What did you make of Mary’s comment regarding Frank?” Simon asked.

“I was somewhat taken aback by it. Didn’t know what to make of it but you know me and my wit, I span it round real quick.” Paul responded.

“Wow, so high and mighty.”

“It is what it is. You know how it goes…”

God thought of making man by joining all the bones

Thinking of the greatest one

God thought of me

“It’s not a famous Sunday school rhythm for nothing. He made me.”

Simon burst out laughing so loud that the passengers in the taxi turned to see who was doing that.

“Sorry.”

The friends then laughed in unison at the reaction of those in the taxi.

“I know Mary to stick out like a sore thumb at times regarding her views but I feel we should give her the benefit of a doubt this time. If and only if she provides this mysterious evidence she was talking about that is.”

“I agree with you on that one thing, which is the availing of the evidence.” 

“I think we should check what Frank prepared on Monday because judging by the time now, when we get to town it will be 6P.M. or thereabout.”

When they got to town about an hour and a half later, the two separated since Simon and Paul stayed on opposite sides of town. Paul stayed in Namuwongo whilst Simon stayed in Ntinda, closer to the office space they were renting.

“We shall catch up tomorrow or later on WhatsApp.” 

“Poa.”

“I see you’re brushing up on your Swahili.”

“Jioni njema.”

“Na wewe pia.”

Paul went to Shoprite to buy scones as he was craving them since the start of the day. It was surely his lucky day as he found only two pieces left and bought them both.

Meanwhile, Simon got into a taxi heading toward home and while in the taxi, he pulled his Samsung Galaxy S10 out from his left jacket pocket and dialed the number of Frank.

“Hey Frank.”

“Hey Simon”

“I think if you are still in office you can leave then we shall meet on Monday and go through what you did because we just got to town. I’m in a taxi now heading that side but it being a Friday, the jam is bound to be tragic.”

“Hehe, Tragic indeed. I was still here but if you are just leaving town then you’ll reach here late. It’s cool, we shall meet on Monday.”

Frank sat back in the office chair and gave a sigh of relief then thought to himself. This gives me some time to make this look more authentic, two whole days to be precise. I can go home and relax tonight then get on it tomorrow. Let me download some episodes of BULL to go watch.

It was a long day, good, but long. Simon thought to himself as he pulled out his Bluetooth earphones and connected them to his phone then started playing music. He bobbed his head to the sound of Millionaire (Good like that) by Tauren Wells & Kirk Franklin.

When he got home, Paul was very hungry and went straight for the flask to pour himself a cup of tea then carried it to his room and sat down with his scones then started to dig in.

To be continued…

After long well-conducted deliberation, Simon and Paul finally agreed that they needed to recruit someone else to help them out in the work at TellastoryUg. Who did they get for this role? Frank an enthusiastic young man with a passion for learning and writing just as they had whom Paul met at an art exhibition.

They trained Frank day in and day out starting with the basics, which took them over 2 years to master and refine. After Frank was vetted by them and found capable of working with TellastoryUg, they made him a member of the team. He still had more to learn but knew the basics at the very least 3 months down the road.

“We need you to try and come up with a better expenditure tracking system for TellastoryUg than the one we have now,” Simon told Frank.

“I already refined the one you were using with some knowledge from the one we used at the organization I used to work for,” Frank responded.

“Oh, that was fast. Good work, we are still going for a class at Hope High Christian School so perhaps you can take us through it when we get back.”

“That would be fine with me.”

“Cool. Later then.”

The duo went out to go attend the class they had. They left Frank behind as he said he had to finish an assignment he had for a client of his. When they got to the gate of the school, they found Mary waiting for them.

Friday 2P.M. in Entebbe in front of the school gate…

“Good morning guys.”

“Good morning.”

“You’re here early. I hope they didn’t chase you from home.”

“Hehehe, they are stuck with me for the long haul.”

“Touché madame, touché.”

They then followed her through the gate while conversing and walked up to the administration block to inform them they had arrived after which they went to class. It was a good 2-hour session and when they were done, the students were begging them to make the writing lessons longer as they enjoyed the class.

After the session, they conversed as they left the school.

“You guys, I have something to tell you. It’s about that new guy you said you hired.” Mary started.

“What about him?” Paul responded.

“I’m not yet very sure but I just want you to be careful with him.”

“What do you mean by be careful with him?”

“Keep an eye on him. Basically.”

“That’s not a whole lot to go on you know.”

“I’m still doing more research too so that I establish the actual truth behind it before I commit myself to you.” 

“Then let’s wait for your investigative skills and see if they pay off.”

As they were about to reach the taxi park, Simon asked Mary how the session was for her at the school since it was only but her first time to join them for a school session. She had a positive response about the class that day with a few nuggets to spare too as regards making the class even livelier.

They reached the taxi stage and said farewell to Mary as she was using a different taxi from them to go back home since she stayed not so far from the school but they had to get back all the way to the city centre.

To be continued…

Can you believe this? A foe, or so they thought, that turned out to be a friend. Shines a bright light on the ‘never judge a book by it’s cover’, doesn’t it?

Peter finally meets with the supposed enemy approaching from the south side. It turned out he was moving around with a small infantry looking for any survivors of the attacks by the marine beasts (that’s what they decided to call them, those who had seen them anyway).

“Commander Wong, how did you learn about the enemy attacks?” Commander Peter asked. 

“Interesting story or rather a distraught one. We sent a group out on patrol which we did usually just a routine thing. The group reached a point and disbanded to investigate some anomaly they found. They couldn’t find out what was wrong there though so they just regrouped and came back.” 

“And was that it?” 

“No, not even remotely. When they got back, they reported that there was something odd happening out in a certain location that needed further investigation. I forgot to mention that the patrol groups were often small ones comprising of about 15-20 soldiers only. Anyway, we sent out another patrol there, a bigger one than before this time but they found nothing. Not a whiff of anything odd. Not even what the first patrol had reported.” 

“And is that what piqued your interest in that area?” 

“For a time, it was. We soon grew weary & tired of it all though so we let it be as we couldn’t find anything of interest despite all the precautions & spying we did in the location.” 

“Let me guess, it hit you then.” 

“Actually, quite contrary to that. It seems they were watching us too & instead of the place we were concentrating on, they decided to attack us from different locations almost simultaneously. We just found out that some of our troops were going missing from different locations. This happened about a month after the first report came about the oddness of the location we kept investigating. We became more conscious but a week passed and the marine beasts attacked one of the groups, they were now bigger groups on patrol, which was a good and bad thing altogether. The bad bit was that we ended up suffering heavy losses but the good bit it that we had a few survivors that narrated to us their encounter.” 

“I’m sorry about the losses you suffered. I reckon that’s how you learnt about the attacks. It’s a good thing you learnt about them early enough otherwise it would have been devastating, a case like ours here. I know saying it was a good thing doesn’t come off as sympathetic though because the loss of even one good man scars any commander but please accept my sympathies.” 

“Yes, indeed I agree with the way you put it because to any good commander, the life of each of his men is precious to him although we don’t get the luxury of showing it to the rest as it can be mistaken for weakness. Simply put, I understand exactly what you mean by that statement, and thank you.” 

The leaders of the two forces went to a tent and started sorting out a way forward before the horde arrived. 

“Something you mentioned earlier has got me baffled, what are these marine beasts you spoke of?” 

“That’s just a name we gave them.” 

“Who is ‘them’?”

“The ones attacking. Haven’t you seen them before?” 

“I’ve seen the enemy soldiers that attacked us here and they looked nothing like extraterrestrial beings or anything aquatic.” 

“Haha,” Commander Wong laughed a little then started, “The people that attacked you here possessed the bodies of humans but we’re nothing like us. It’s only but a guise to fool people into believing that what’s going on is merely a war like we have for territories for instance but it’s much more than just that at play.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“We named them marine beasts because of their physical appearance and I mean actual appearance and not the surface human appearance.” 

“Are you saying that in reality, they look like fish?” 

“To an extent yes they do. Perhaps I need to complete the story of how we discovered them, to begin with, to give you a clearer picture.” 

“Yes, please do go right ahead.” 

“I told you about the patrols and how some of the members in our small groups started to disappear or rather not return.” 

“Yes, I remember that.” 

“After we increased the number of people in each patrol unit, one of our units stumbled upon a suspicious-looking area. They followed a trail and it led to a cave in the mountains.” 

“Halt.” The Commander of the troop called out with his right hand clenched in a fist and lifted slightly above his head. He then used hand gestures to signal his troops to make a dome-shaped formation before they advanced toward the entrance to the cave. 

Stealthily they walked, one foot in front of the other being careful not to step on any twigs or produce any sound whatsoever as it was the case that any slight mistakes producing high pitched or any sound for that matter could prove life-threatening if whatever or whoever was in the cave found out about their planned surprise attack. 

A trifling sound almost impossible to hear pierced through the air and the commander lifted his right hand with a fist yet again. “Halt.” The troops screeched to a dead stop. He signaled them yet again to move forward but slowly and more cautiously which they did with him taking the lead. 

A few feet in front of the cave, the unspeakable happened. 

“Ahhhhhhh…” He hardly had the time to let out a scream let alone react. A huge spear had been thrust through his chest and came out from his back covered in his blood even as it spewed out of his mouth.

“The commander of the troop had been struck by what they couldn’t even explain. They were frozen with fear. That was it.” Commander Wong said. 

“Shoot it!!! Shoot it!!!” The 2^nd commanding officer of the troop yelled out. 

Bang bang bang… tatatatatatatatata… bullets flew out of the muzzles of the M16 assault rifles the troops carried as they opened fire on the attacker of their commander. 

The troops scurried back a few meters as they fired to create a bit of distance between their attacker and themselves. It wasn’t going down, however; it slowly drew closer to them despite the heavy gunfire they laid down. As it advanced, it struck three more soldiers that were close to it.

“Shoot the head!!! Aim for the head!!!” 

The troops shifted their random fire and concentrated it to the head of the attacker. After emptying and reloading their magazines, the attacker finally fell to the ground. 

“What the heck is that?” One of the soldiers cried out. “It took out the commander with one swift blow, a single thrust of the spear then lifted him as if he were a piece of chicken on a stick.” 

“It is as though it wasn’t even being harmed by our bullets until we shot it in the head.” Another soldier added. 

One of the soldiers proceeded closer to it.

One would say he should have known better. Approaching someone or something in this case that you don’t understand seems rather foolish, don’t you think? Well, you may think so but it is paramount that you know the state of your enemy while on the battlefield. If you fire at him through the eye of a sniper rifle and don’t check whether you hit your mark, you may be in for a shock after you find that they were actually just playing dead and then you end up being the dead one. 

As he approached it, it didn’t move or show any signs that it was even breathing. He shot at it a couple of more times and then came closer and poked at it with the muzzle of his gun. 

“It’s dead.” He said then turned around and yelled out once more, “it’s dead.” 

The soldier then moved a few feet in front and knelt to the ground next to their commander who was still gasping for breath. 

“Are you sure it’s dead before you start leaving your back open to it like that?” The 2^nd in command of the soldiers asked and just as though he had jinxed the soldier, the thing that had just killed their commander got up. 

“It…it…it…” The Commander tried to warn him but had lost too much blood to even have the energy to lift his finger and point. 

“Don’t try to speak, sir. You need to rest up and we’ll take you home then patch you up and you’ll be as good as new in a few weeks.” 

And with one last heave, it lunged out grabbing the soldier and stabbing him through the neck before it let out one last cry and dropped dead on the ground. It happened so fast that he didn’t have the time to react at all. No sooner had he started to turn than it grabbed a hold of him. He fell dead right next to his commander who then rolled back his eyes and breathed his last as well. 

“What the …? Shooooooot ittttt!!!” The 2^nd in command shouted telling the soldiers to empty their clips on it. They fired more bullets at it until their clips were empty. He then approached it and poked at it with the muzzle of his gun. “It’s dead. Whatever it is.” 

“That was the day we learnt about the marine beasts. The soldiers were few with dead amongst them as well so they couldn’t carry it back for further inspection, unfortunately. All we had to go on was their testimony of the ordeal they had encountered and the arm they cut off to act as proof of the encounter. Unfortunately, the arm started to decompose as they brought it and they had little to show when they arrived but it was still something to behold.” Commander Wong added in his story of how they found out. 

“Did you go back to the place to see the whole body?” Commander Peter asked.

“Yes, but of course we did. Immediately they arrived with the injured, all we needed was a small recap of the events that took place and the mere sight of the soldiers got us up in arms. We were too late when we got there though.” 

“How so? Had it decomposed already?” 

“No, something rather odd. It had disappeared and not decomposed but I mean disappeared like been carried off.” 

“What???” 

“Yes, that’s it and we could tell because of the traces of blood we found there leading away from the place but which just mysteriously vanished.” 

“How sure could you be that it was the blood of this marine beast you speak of and not one of your men?” 

“That, my friend, is the predicament we found ourselves in and the reason for which we came back and questioned the men who had claimed to witness this beast. Their story is the basis of what I just told you.” 

“I’m not convinced that it was enough to cement your ideology that something a few men encountered and didn’t have tangible evidence of swayed you to believe in its existence.” 

“You’re right about that. But if there’s one thing it did, it was to at least give us a picture of what we had to expect out there. It made us alert and that alertness is what eventually led us here, to you.” 

“That sounds more believable.” 

“I’m glad you believe so. We had also seen some of their works in some of the other kingdoms they ravaged which weren’t as lucky as yours to be left standing. In some of them, we found victims just breathing their last or at the brink of death but with enough breath in their bodies to confirm our fears.”

“Does that mean that among your ranks some didn’t believe in their existence either?” 

“Yes, that’s accurate. Some believed the soldiers who had returned were just suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and needed more convincing which the scouting did little to add to but eventually they admitted the existence of great evil in our lands. An evil we need to weed out before it gets the best of us.” 

This evil lurked around but just as the commanders were to soon discover, they were in for a shocking turn of events for the evil had already spread far and wide. It was not a time for them to be telling stories but rather to be gathering all the resources they had for a full-scale attack from the enemy, the marine beasts, who had been planning this for a long time under the leadership of their very own master, Damon. 

To be continued…

Let’s pick up from where we left off, at the wall. At this point, the Commander of what was thought to be another enemy force advancing on the Kingdom from the south is proceeding slowly toward the south gate. 

“How far along is he?” He asked when he got back to the wall. 

“He is just below the wall, about 100 meters from it to be more precise, sir.” Another soldier replied to his question. 

“Okay, open the gates but keep your weapons pointed at him. Once he walks in, proceed with caution and subdue him. Make sure you check him thoroughly to ensure he isn’t carrying any concealed weapons or explosives, then let me know.” 

“Yes, sir.” He responded. “Let’s go, he called out to five of the soldiers with him.” 

They walked with him toward the southern gate. When they got there, they gave the signal for the gate to be opened and when it was, they aimed their guns at the commander and asked him to lay down his weapon then walk in. 

He put down his gun and slowly walked in. As soon as he made it through the gates, he was subdued by the soldiers then searched thoroughly to make sure that he wasn’t carrying anything that would endanger them. 

“He’s clean.” They said to the 1^st Officer who was in charge of the operation south wall. 

“Who are you and what is your business here?” The 1^st Officer asked the commander of the foreign forces. 

“My name is Commander Wong and I’m with the Allied Forces of the Kingdom of Fukugen. I was sent here by my General who said he had heard of some creatures attacking and he wanted to know whether there were still people out here; survivors who we could aid in the struggle.” The Commander responded before adding, “May I know with whom I’m speaking?” 

“You’re speaking to 1^st Officer Ben-Ami of the Kingdom of Shalom. 

“Are you in charge of the Kingdom’s forces?” 

“No, I am not. We have a Commander who is.” 

“You look to have suffered heavy losses and casualties in the attack. We would like to be of assistance. That is what I was sent here for after all but I’d prefer to speak to the in-charge if you don’t mind.”

“You’ll have to wait here as I get the word out to him and know if he’ll see you.” 

“Understood.” 

1^st Officer Ben-Ami then sent word out to his commander about the findings concerning the supposed enemy attacking from the south. 

“I see. Let me join them on the south side shortly. You are excused but tell 1^st Officer Ben-Ami to keep the soldiers on the south wall alert. We can’t just take Commander Wong at his word, it could still be a ploy to get to us.” Commander Peter told the soldier who had brought him the message. The soldier then went back to the south wall and told the 1^st Officer what Commander Peter had said. 

“Understood. Thank you. You are excused. Now fall back to your primary position on the wall.” 

“Yes, sir.” The soldier saluted 1^st Officer Ben-Ami and went back to the wall. 

“He is coming to us shortly.” 1^st Officer Ben-Ami told Commander Wong. 

A few minutes later, Commander Peter came to the southern side. Commander Wong acknowledged his arrival with a simple bow as a gesture of respect customarily practiced in his Kingdom while 1^st Officer Ben-Ami saluted his Commander. 

“Nice to meet you, Commander Peter.” Commander Wong said. 

“Nice to meet you too, I hope.” Commander Peter responded. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” 

“I can understand your doubt. As you already know, my name is commander Wong with the Allied Forces of the Kingdom of Fukugen far to the East of here. I came to assess the situation of the Kingdoms to the West. We heard about an evading force that was wiping out vast Kingdoms and thought we would lend a hand. We are only better united. Here is a letter from our General Eliad to whomever we found here.” 

Commander Peter accepted the letter, which was still sealed then lowered his left hand and reached for his belt gripping the brown dark tanned leather holder for his pocketknife. He flicked open the black button on the pouch and slid out a pocket knife with a black hilt, he then brought it close to his chest then pushed a round button close to its end and a black serrated blade was flung out of the left side of the hilt. He then slid the blade through the slightly open side of the envelope and used it to pry open the envelope. 

Dear General, 

This is a letter to serve as proof that I have sent my Commander, Wong, to establish whether there are other survivors out there that we as Allied Forces of the Kingdom of Fukugen can stand with and fight this vice plaguing our lands. 

I hope and pray you can see the reason behind this and accept to stand with us and fight together for the greater good. 

Yours sincerely, 

General Eliad, Allied Forces of the Kingdom of Fukugen. 

The Commander then folded the sheet on which the letter was written and held it in his right hand. “I have read the letter and agree with your General, commander. As you can see, the first wave already swept through here.” 

“Yes, I can see that. I am sorry for your losses commander. The General of our army asked me to go ahead as you have read. He simply needs a go-ahead from me so he can come too.” 

“That was very thoughtful of him. I still have a few hundred soldiers left. We are ready to make our final stand here.” 

“Why don’t we ensure that it’s not your last stand by working together? I only came with a handful of soldiers so I will have to send word back to the kingdom to request for backup.” 

“Our communications are down. They made sure they destroyed all the towers, we only have a few radar towers left but can’t reach the outside world.” 

“I see. They seem to be a wise lot, these creatures. I’ll have to go find a way to get the word back to the General.” 

“That means you’re leaving, right?” 

The two walked towards the wall and Commander Wong sought permission to signal his forces to advance to the Kingdom, which he was granted. 

“I know they don’t look like much but they are some of the top elite fighting force soldiers in our Kingdom. And to answer your question, no, I won’t be leaving. I saw a land devastated by those creatures; unfortunately, we got to them too late. They killed everything in their path; there was evidence to suggest that they suffered too, even amongst the bodies of the children. I have assessed the situation and will have 10 of my soldiers go back to base and rendezvous with the others then come back us up in full force. I will stay and hold down the fort with you until they return.” 

“Thank you, Commander. I am truly in owe of your gratitude. After addressing them, we can go plan a course of action then address the soldiers together and place them according to their strengths.” 

When Commander Wong’s forces arrived, he addressed them concerning what decisions had been reached and selected 10 of them to go back and alert the General of the presence of other forces and their acceptance to join them, fighting together. He then asked the other 40 soldiers to stay behind with him and hold down the fort until the bigger force arrived. 

“Tell the General that I opted to stay and fight as I wait for reinforcements.” Commander Wong told the soldiers he was sending back. He sent them in such a fairly large number so as for them to have a fighting chance if they met any hostile forces on their way back. 

“You took a risk coming forward like that Commander Wong.” Commander Peter told him. “I heard you were shot at.” 

“Yes, I did. But I would rather I did it and lost my life than my men. I would die for them as they would for me.” Commander Wong responded. 

“A leader, not a boss. I like that. The world needs more men like you.” 

The two commanders laughed as they walked along and then issued commands to situate their men strategically to minimize losses and maximize their chances of survival for as long as they could as they hoped and waited for reinforcements. 

To be continued…