Chapter 5: the swell II

My breath came in pants as I crouched forward, hiding away from the now shattered glass above me. Reflexively, I shielded the lady with my body as more of its pieces began to fall unto us.

A frenzied disarray of actions, building up the chaos by the minute. It was unexpected, the turnout of events that had violently jerked my attention towards the outburst. In one minute everything changed, and at this point, we could lose everything.

It was almost impossible how a minute of resolute peace erupted in a series of pandemoniums, heightening swiftly by the clock. I had to buckle up and be prepared, and at the fall of the last glass piece, I expertly reached out for my gun, awaiting the next masked face.

The woman behind me was trembling and the muffled sounds she produced in fear were making it so hard to think straight. I needed her to shut up because fear was the most penetrable emotion that existed. Silently and without announcing itself, it grips courage in its firm hold and diminishes it to pieces before one's very eyes.

I trudged forward slowly, hoping to be unheard but then, the click of her heels and the annoying sobs were all by itself, pulling us into the spotlight instead of away from it.

"Quiet!" I ordered, turning my neck a little in her direction but at the same time, making sure my eyes still took notice of everything. The firmity in my voice was enough and it had made her swallow her sobs and mewls, forcefully.

I scanned around the space where we stood, it was clear but we had now approached the hallways which were immensely clouded with gun powder and were also, the centre and starting point of all the commotion. I could almost taste the acridity of the powder and its sulfuric blend, as I took cover by the wall at the entrance –– the gravity of things dawning on me thereupon.

There were still bullets flying around but the most distinctive parts were the bodies laying flat across, lifeless. 'How many more were injured, or dead?' I posed the question to myself, as the sight of blood shed was capable of haunting me afterwards in my dreams.

The view claimed my full attention but then, horrifically, the click of a gun followed next and I didn't have to turn to register where the sound emanated. Immediately, I put my hands up in the air, steering my body carefully towards the angle of danger right after. My gun was still suspended in the air, as I came face to face with one of the masked men in kaftans and scarfs.

I looked straight at his eyes, the only part of his face I could see, trying to find any flash of weakness. I was met with orbs as glacial as ice and I knew then that this one was the type hardened enough to pull the trigger without even flinching. The intercom piece on my ear was blowing off with commands and orders. Sadly, it also seemed as though something horrible had happened back in the meeting room.

"Emergency, all units to the apex, I repeat we lost sight, all remaining units..."

I decrypted it to be the voice of Commander Young and his alarmed tone had even signified that the situation was much worse over there. I had learnt some time ago that secure parts of this building were on automatic lockdown in the events of an attack. They must all still be trapped inside the conference room, I had to get there and save them before the masked men did.

Coming out from my thoughts, I dropped my gun as I schemed my next move. I turned to see how the woman beside me was coping but alas, that was a wrong line of action. There was no one there, just the gunman and myself currently filled the space and utmostly, it was discombobulating. I didn't need distractions but now, what rang through my head was scattering my concentration. Where had she gone? The thought surfaced but I didn't dwell on it as the masked man moved forward.

He was left handed, I had noticed that and my only option at getting out of this was to create a diversion and retrieve his gun. From his angle, trying to collect his weapon would certainly be deadly because he would catch on to my actions even before I performed upon it.

A second was all I had, as he edged closer, trying to pull my hands and take me captive. The second before he reached my back was all I had to save myself and I did so.

Time was faster in these moments as everything was unforeseen. I moved and reached for the gun but the man was alert enough to notice my movements. So, it became a forceful struggle with a loaded weapon.

It was now directed straight at my face but I tried so hard to keep the gun that was also between my hands upwards. I was standing closer to the masked man now and I could clearly see his cold black eyes. They seemed familiar, just like I had known them for years. The realization was staggering and almost enough to make me lose focus. I did, for only the fraction of a second but it was deadly.

The man managed to swipe it out of my hold, using its end to smack me across the face. The pain had loosened my balance but still, I caught onto his leg with mine in such a way that willed him to fall alongside. 

The gun fell off his hands, as an outcome of the unexpected force of my pull but instantly, he speedily reached for it once we collided with the ground. I was compelled to snap out of the pain in haste and as he returned the gun to his hold, I limped forward, jumping on him, and aiming for a punch as well as the weapon before he could act.

I held his combat skills in high appraisal because no matter how fast I was he still caught on. The gun was now between both of us. My angle wasn't safe because any sudden twist, the gunman could easily pull the trigger of the gun that was directly against me and put an end to the my life and the fight. Albeit, I still held on.

It transformed into a similarity of the game tug of war but now, it was more of tug and roll. I couldn't let him pull that trigger but his hands were already halfway pressed upon it. To say I wasn't rattled on what the outcomes of this would be, was an errant lie. I feared for my life, and even though the number one rule in a fight was to never let your opponent see your fright, I didn't have to show this person anything, as it seemed that whoever knew me well enough to even read between the lines of my thoughts.

I didn't see it coming. In a flash, he had stretched towards something on the ground. I detected it to be the shiny surface of something but that was after it had flashed through my vision a nanosecond later and before I could react, I felt the sharp edge of the item pierce through the skin on my lower neck.

The pain flooded through my whole body, as I screamed in agony, leaving an opening for the man to finally pull the trigger and he did.

It had happened so fast again but luckily, I shifted my body on time, just as the bullet rolled forward, grazing the edge of the coat I still had on. 

In that minute, I thanked the heavens for the meteoric speed displayed, as I had known straight from the start that this man wouldn't hesitate to shoot. So, when I had retracted, I ensured that my body angle was not in line with the gun hole.

Meanwhile, the position of the glass shard was risky, seeing as it was presently located near my spinal cord and if I was correct, my brachial plexus also. There was a very high chance that I could be paralyzed from any slight shift of the piece sticking out of me.

I couldn't allow myself to die though and luckily, where I had landed, my gun appeared right beside my leg. Unhesitating, I reached for it, darting out of the way, just as a string of bullets followed. I swerved, ducked and found safety behind an outstretched surface. All the action had shifted back to the site and it wholly metamorphosed into a full blown shoot out.

Someone had covered for me though. I realized then that it had been Emeka. Initially, I had thought it was just luck that had helped me run out of the gunman's sight on time but I guess no one could be so fortunate, something had delayed him.

But the doors were locked, how had he gotten out? The question still popped, even though I was more focused on eliminating the new numbers that joined. I still fought, despite my injury and the fact that we were outnumbered.

Fortunately, we then heard the shout of something that looked to mean 'retreat' but it had been enounced in a different dialect, coming from the top quadrangle. Like apparitions, all the attackers around began to withdraw. Some of the remaining officers and soldiers who were on sight, followed their trail, tracking and searching for their entrance point.

I couldn't join those one's and once the coast had been clear, I sunk down to the floor in total anguish and pain. Awfully, the glass had to maintain its spot till I received medical attention unless I bled out.

"Lade!" Emeka shouted, coming to crouch in front of me. He genuinely looked concerned and for the first time since I had known him, something actually bothered him.

I laughed shortly but it hadn't been a good idea, seeing as it resulted in me coughing out sputters of blood.

"Are you out of your mind! This isn't a joke," he said and I didn't miss out on the irony in his words.

"Emeka, I'm fine," I insisted, shutting my eyes to gather enough strength before striving to pull them back open.

"You're bleeding through your neck, it's dangerous."

"It didn't hit an artery. Look, don't you see the angle, it's at the base," I assured him weakly, lifting myself up afterwards. He just looked at me like I was going crazy but then, I was never normal from the start.

"Any numbness?" He bothered some more, concern filling his tone as we proceeded down the hall to get help. I struggled to hold myself up, refusing to admit that I needed any kind of support.

"No," I lied, clutching around the spot where the sizeable glass shard stuck out with my palm.

"They killed someone high up," Emeka informed me after some time had passed and immediately, my steps faltered. I was terrified of hearing anymore news on painful deaths by the hands of these men. It was already depressing that as we walked, I could see the lifeless bodies of colleagues I had known and fought beside for almost ten years.

"Who?" I asked, dreading his next words.

"The Commander."