BEHIND THE WALLS

Episode 10

Carlos and Annaya pushed through people at the hospital and got in the ward where Maria had been kept.

She was not on the bed.

"Did they take Maria too?" Asked Annaya

"Why would they kidnap 9 students with burnt faces? This thing is getting complicated, I thought it was just a fire. 50 students were missing, and now 9 are missing from the hospital. This is not normal" said Carlos

As they stood there, a nurse came in and recognised them.

It was the same nurse that had asked them to leave when Maria wasn't feeling comfortable.

"Excuse me, are you looking for the girl that was here?" The nurse asked

"Yes. Please don't tell us that she's missing too" said Annaya worried.

"You've heard about it? I thought only the staff know about it. How did you know?" Asked the nurse in shock.

"Nurse where is Maria?" Asked Annaya again

"That girl is safe. She wanted to pee so I took her to the washroom. Just as we were going back... but why should I trust you two? What if you are among them?" Asked the nurse.

"Among who? She's my student" Annaya said

"No one can be trusted on this. In fact we can't talk about it here. It's so crowded and more people might know about it" said the nurse and walked out.

The two had to quickly follow up.

"Nurse Jane, where are you taking them?" Asked one doctor who just came out from the ICU as the others came out after him.

"To the mortuary sir. They've been looking for their loved one and haven't found her anywhere. They haven't checked among the dead bodies though" explained the nurse literally lying to the doctor.

"Oh is that so? So sorry for your loss" the doctor said and left.

"Are we really going to the mortuary?" Annaya asked feeling scared.

She had never been to a mortuary before.

"What? You can't handle it? Then you can as well stay behind" said the nurse who sounded rude.

"No, I can. I can" said Annaya trying to act tough and kept following.

The nurse took them to the opposite building and got in.

Annaya was already sweating, thinking that they were really in a mortuary.

There were cctvs all over the place so it was safe to really get in the mortuary.

"Miss, if you can't handle it, better go back now" said the nurse to Annaya.

"You can outside for us" Carlos said

"I can do it" she insisted and the nurse took them in.

"There are cctvs in this place, so we have to pretend like we are really searching for a body" said the nurse.

"Why would they put up a cctv in such a place?" Asked Annaya

"The bodies have to be protected too. There were incidents of some people sneaking in to sleep with the dead bodies and some even stole the bodies just to escape paying the preserving fee" explained the nurse.

"What?" Annaya asked thinking it was unbelievable.

"Shocked? It happens nowadays. So as we look, tell me, why should I trust you both?" Asked the nurse.

"My name is Carlos David, i'm an undercover cop, general at Simba department" he said and wanted to take out his ID but the nurse stopped him.

"Someone might be watching. My salute to you sir. I'm an undercover cop too, general at Chui department" said the nurse as she revealed a body to them.

"Oh my God!" Annaya said and looked away, holding firmly on Carlos.

"General Sara Davis?" Asked Carlos in surprise as the nurse covered the body and took them the next.

"So you've heard about me too. I was sent on a mission on the same day you joined us. You became a general in just 6 months of joining. I was impressed and wanted to see this man who can challenge me but I got missions after missions. I heard you were on holiday,didn't know I would meet you here" said the nurse moving from body to body.

"Me too. Everyone talks about you. You on another mission?" He asked

"No, I'm on holiday. I finished my mission and wanted to go back, but I heard that you were on holiday so I decided to rest too. Then I heard of the fire incident and decided to be a volunteering nurse, just didn't expect it to be so complicated" said the nurse.

"What is happening? Why did the students go missing?" Asked Carlos as Annaya kept hiding from the dead bodies.

"Can we trust her?" Asked the nurse

"Yes. She is a teacher at the school and also my sister's close person. I haven't found my sister yet though" said Carlos.

"I thought it was the girl with a burnt face" said Sara Davis.

"Not really. Annaya here said they are bestfriends and always together. She somehow brushed my hand and dropped my sister's bracelet, so I thought it was my sister at first" said Carlos

"Oh, I get it now. You feel she might lead you to your sister? I guess that's true" said Sara

"Does she know where she is?" Asked Carlos

"I think so. You see, earlier while taking her to the loo, she saw a man in black and got very scared. She made me rush her to the washroom. She was so scared so I gave her my phone to tell me why she was afraid. It's shocking" said Sara

"What did she say?" Asked Annaya now looking at Sara who uncovered another dead body.

"She said she saw something she wasn't supposed to see, so the man is after her" said Sara.

"Which is?" Asked Annaya

"Get to the point general" said Carlos now curious.

"She saw a group of students being taken away towards the school field just before the fire broke out. The students didn't seem to be in their senses and walked in line. The guards were all asleep. There was a lorry waiting for them just outside the fence. Afew of her dormmates were there so she tagged along to see where they were going. She then saw two men carrying fire sticks and lighting up the dorms. The fire spread out quickly but the students weren't waking up. There was no movement for about 3 minutes in the fire. In fear, she screamed for help and the man spotted her. She had nowhere to run to, so she made sure to get back into her blazing dorm. Now the students in her dorm had woken up and were still in a daze. She had to scream at them to run. The commotion of students made the man not to get closer but he didn't go away. She stayed in the burning dorm and tried saving other students until at last minute, the smoke began choking her and she fell down. The fire brigade had arrived but didn't reach her dorm quickly. But she said she was sure the man saw her burn and being saved. I believe that's just half the truth she said since she kept thinking before writing. Also, why would she scream at a dangerous moment like that, knowing that the guards were asleep.But it seems they were really looking for her. All students with burnt faces like her are missing. I'm sure they'll come back if they know one was left behind" explained Sara still checking bodies.

"This explains the 50 missing students, but what do they want from the students?" Asked Carlos

"I don't know about that, but I think your missing sister might be among them" said Sara

"This is complicated. I need to talk to Maria. Where is she?" Asked Carlos in confusion and anger.