Soon
it would be her turn then her friends and they would be cultists. She wept. What
would her daddy say, what about her mum, brothers and sisters; they all trusted
her. Oh, she wept. Suddenly, Harmony and herself were seized and dragged before
Doris, Cynthia and Sussy. They were struggling with their captors who tried to
pierce their thumb for the finger print bloodletting.
Sandra
and Harmony fought with all their strength; they shouted, kicked, bit their
captors. In the process, they fall to the ground but they were loosing the
fight their thumbs had been seized firmly while a host of BS members held them.
The
pin stabbed at the girls thumbs and they yelled in pain and despair.
“Bring
the forms!” Cynthia screamed. These girls are tigers. Despite their fragile
look they are a tough a lot “Good!” she thought, “I like them tough!”....continue
The
two girls’ thumbs dripping with blood were being forced nearer the forms when
suddenly a fullisade of gun shots, yells, screams and clashes of knives,
bottles; cut short the ceremony. Immediately, the door was banged and Santos
and his men rushed in shooting indiscriminately in the air.
Santos
shouted, “Lie down flat all of you! Danga you and the boys spread out. He
turned to Cynthia. “You bitch, so you hired Jango to attack us. Ok we shall
see.”
The
firing increase intensity, it was a battle front. Gradually Jango and his men
who had prepared for this were forcing the Brethren back with their superior
fire power.
Suddenly
again, siren filled the air with their woops, signaling the arrival of the
Mobil Police unit stationed at the gate with their armored cars in anticipation
of just such matriculation cult war. Santos, Jango and their men as well as
Cynthia and the Brigade sisters knew that the police would shoot on sight
anything in that trouble spot; that was the Government’s orders. As if a truce
had been tacitly declared, the cultists stopped shooting and fled.
Santos,
followed by Danga, dived through the upstairs windows. Cynthia, Sussy, Doris
and the rest of the sisters followed suit. Many of the initiated babes were
still undressed. At the sound of gunshots and the escape of the BS executives,
they also clutched their clothes and scrammed for safety. Many jumped from the
upstairs windows and broke heads, ribs, legs, sustaining severe injuries.
By
the time the police arrived, only the injured lying where they fell remained. These
were rushed in the school’s ambulance to the medical center. Sandra woke up in
hospital. Her legs felt very heavy. When she tried to move them, she couldn’t.
A familiar voice said:
“Take
it easy girl”
Turning
slowly, she saw Lizzy her cousin and Harmony her friend sitting on the bed
besides her.
Looking
around, she realized that she was in a hospital ward. She looked at her legs;
they were hidden inside two heavy POP casts and they were hanging up. It all
came back to her. The party and BS initiation. A sharp pain stung her head as
she tried to turn and look at her thumbs. Her hands were also in plaster. She fainted
again. When she woke up, a doctor was testing her pulse.
“She’ll
be alright, he said, “the shock has subsided”.
Sandra
opened her eyes again and saw Harmony and Lizzy. “What happened?” she asked.
Harmony
explained: “when the shooting started, Cynthia and others jumped from the
window. You and I also followed suit. Unfortunately, you fell on top of the
cess pit beside the house. We thank God that we are alive”.
“Yes,
you are alive that’s what matters. You have also learnt your lesson. From now
on, you will be more careful with relationship in the campus”. Lizzy said
Sandra
lay silent for a long while then she asked “How long have I been admitted”.
“Six
weeks”.
“What,
so that means the matriculation is over. It was done without me!” She screamed.
“Not
only that”, Lizzy added “First semester exams are nearly over. That means you
will work extra hard when you recover to ensure that your second semester result
will be enough to keep you away from withdraw or repeat”.
Sandra
closed her eyes while tears silently rolled down her checks. But strong vow was
forming in her mind. She was going to read and read. Even, if it means being a
triangular student. She was determined to join her friend Harmony into second
year.
“What
about Cynthia and the others?” She asked sleepily?”
“They
all escaped that night but were later arrested during the week. Cynthia and
Sussy are still in police cell. They also missed their final year exams. In fact,
they have been rusticated from the institution. Like you, many girls sustained
serious injuries. Dizzy K lost an eye”
“What
about Santos?” She asked
“Ah
Sandra that war na waao. Two boys died I think from Brethren. Many were injured.
But Santos and Danga disappeared. I hear they changed to another school in the riverine
area.
“Jango
is back in school. He wrote his exam and will graduate without any problem”.
“How, was he not the leader of the other cult?”
“He
was and wasn’t”
“I
don’t understand”.
“Well
rumour has it that Jango is an SS man planted in the school by authorities to
help flush out cultist”.
As
the drowsiness increased, Sandra realized that it was indeed a narrow escape for
her on that matric eve. Repeating her resolution to use that experience as a guiding
principle, Sandra drifted off to a troubled sleep.
The
End!
Writer’s
Profile:
Nnamdi
Anumihe (Ph.D) Is a lecturer in the Federal Polytechnic Nekede. Imo state. He has
published so many text books and journal articles on English Language,
Literature and Communication Studies. Thanks for following us till the end!
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