Fireflies in the Dark Continent. Chapter 15

feekayo (58)in #novel • 9 years ago (edited)

Chapter 15

My maternal grandmother was fond of saying “A real man never loses his head”. Though I’m certain she meant that figuratively, it was what first crossed my mind as I regained consciousness. I could feel my head throbbing and pulsing as though my head and heart had swapped places.

The moon full and unfiltered. The air smelt strange. The entire area was silent, except for the chatter of crickets and frogs and the scattered moaning of the few injured. I struggled and rose to my feet; my nose immediately perceived the stench of rot set into the air. Dead bodies rot faster in the swamps.

I looked around and saw the faces of the many dead. Akim had fallen not far from where his brother lay. Omur Alamsi, the elders and the rear guard had been massacred. I can never forget the looks on their mortified faces; they all told tales of pain and shock. I think, deep down all men think they are immortal. I felt my eyes swell with grief.

What surprised me the most was that it seemed like a single man had taken all of them down? The elephant of a man too lay dead in a heap, he had the same look on his face as those of his victims.

I fell down on my knees and screamed out in pain! Never had I felt so sad. What had all these men died for? Ashti for sure would never forgive me. I looked up toward the sky and screamed at all the gods and goddesses. This was entirely their fault.

While bringing my head down, I saw the horizon on fire. I got up on my feet and started running as fast as my feet could carry me, while trying to stifle streams of tears flowing down my face. Bodies littered the way as I hounded on as fast I could through the marshy road to Iriju.

It took far too long before I set my eyes on the first burning house on the outskirts of Iriju. Sounds of battle still rung through the air. It looked as though the city had been attacked from all corners as the entire metropolis seemed afire.

Screaming and wailing filled the air. I found a little girl screaming in the shadows; tears and mucus streaming down her face. She was covered from head to toe in mud. I picked her up and continued in the general direction of my grandfather’s mansion at the center of town.

The girl little girl in my arms would not stop screaming and kicking out. I found a group of children lurking in a dilapidated shack. The oldest was a boy of not more than twelve years. I handed the girl over to him. I instructed him to hide himself and his little band in the bushes on the outskirts of town.

I ran deep into the heart of Iriju till the houses started to have a familiar feel to them; albeit they were all on fire! I turned a few familiar corners and alas right in front of my eyes was my grandfather’s mansion in flames.

In its heyday; not many houses in the known world could compare in magnificence with my grandfather’s mansion. It was regarded as the jewel of all Iju. Even in flames it was still a sight to behold.

Ignoring my already weak knees I ran round the compound shouting the names of all the relations I could remember, I got no reply.

I ran to the front door and tried to barge down the huge metal door. It was so hot it literally cooked half of my abdomen. I bear the scars to this day; mostly on the left side of my abdomen

I perambulated for a while before my overbearing exhaustion from all the running and shouting in thick smoke finally got to me. I turned around, took a few steps away from the building, felt my knees let go and for the third time in as many days I passed out; this time face first into soft warm and wet loam