Who skipped Dinner?
1282 Words
He shut out the nightmare as he opened his eyes to the darkness of the night. It was so dark that he almost doubted if his eyes were already open. He blinked, closed his eyes for seconds to check the insignificant difference.
While wondering how dark the place seemed, he could hear distinct noises of sneaking footsteps and low whispers.
"They're probably doing it, really", Joe said to himself as he yawned twice. "They better not die, this time".
He stood up and got suspicious. There was no one around him. He had slept off, the previous night, before the hunters got back so he didn't eat lunch.
"Hello?", he said, softly, wondering where the whispers and footsteps were sounding. "Hello?".
He could see a door, slightly open. "Hello?", Joe said as he approached.
The door opened, quick and short, and a knife flew out at him.
He was lucky enough to only hear the whooshing sound of the weapon as the knife almost touched his ear.
"What the...!", Joe exclaimed. He quickly moved away from the door as two men walked out.
One of them moved forward, confidently, while one stood by the door. Joe stood up and ran out, quickly shoving the man aside, as he tried to escape.
He didn't know whether to ask why they were trying to kill him or to just run as far away as he could. Predators began to emerge from every door, corner and angle of the building.
"What the...!", Joe yelled as he ran. A man appeared in front, where he was running to.
Joe was about to stop when the man threw a knife at him. Joe bent and avoided the knife.
"Aargh!", one man shouted, from behind, as the knife left a wide cut on his neck and dropped to the ground.
Joe ran at the man in front of him, pushing him away with all his strength.
"Where's your knife, Joe?", Stanley asked as Joe got to a dead end.
"How the f**k!! Come on, i entered this place somehow!", he yelled at himself before his brain processed Stanley's words. "I think I misplaced it".
"Just call it back... the same way you did, the other time with Soko"
"Uhm, ok", Joe replied, fidgeting as he stretched out his arm.
"Pull faster... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1"
The men found him and rushed into the room with weapons. They were about to attack when the knife got to Joe's hand.
"Put them down, once", Stanley advised.
'No', Joe thought as he took his hand off the knife and started controlling with his mind.
He made the knife move fastly around him, like a fan. It kept going round and round. They were scared to move close to him.
"Another one is coming with a stick. He may break through", Stanley warned. "Just kill them, once and for all."
"No way... I'm not doing that again", Joe replied, thinking of a way out.
"... 3 ... 2 ... 1"
A fairly old man rushed in with a huge pestle. He ran at Joe, holding out the pestle and ignoring the scary dangerous fan blade.
Joe got a new idea as he sensed the incoming attack. He made the knife turn and cut through the man's hands. The man yelled out in pain as he dropped the pestle.
The knife didn't stop there. It went through the hands of everyone that gathered there with a weapon. Their weapons dropped and they left Joe as they tended to their hurting hands.
"That was creative", Stanley complimented him. "Let us go".
"Where are you going?", Joe asked as Stanley was walking towards a wall.
"Come on, let's go", Stanley said. "Can't you walk through a wall?"
"Am I supposed to be able to do that?"
"Yes... you're a conduit, a door. Just turn ghostly for a second and walk through".
"How the f**k is that a tutorial on how to walk through walls???"
Stanley sighed. "Move to the wall. Breathe in and walk, then breathe out when you're on the other side".
Joe did as Stanley said and they walked through the wall, together.
Approximately one second later, Mama walked in and saw everyone writhing in pain. "I told you he's dangerous", she growled.
★★★ ★★★ ★★★
"What happened to them? They suddenly changed"
"You're a conduit", Stanley replied. "That happened... and they were hungry".
"Hungry?".
"The hunters didn't return with a catch... and they were scared of you so they tried to turn their fears into a meal"
"Hmm! Is that creative or absurd?"
"I think it's recycling", Stanley replied, playing along.
"That's something, too", Joe said. "Where's Toby?"
"That's why I'm here... We need to talk about that".
"Is he dead?", Joe asked, dramatically and Stanley gave him a weird look. "Come on! I was just kidding. What's worse than death? I mean, who's now above death?".
"Death is probably the worst for you", Stanley replied. "He got captured".
"By who? Kidnappers? Soldiers?"
"Does this look like a joke to you?"
Joe laughed. "I'm sorry but... what you're saying doesn't make sense to me?"
"What I'm saying didn't make sense to me either", Stanley replied. He held Joe's hand and they stopped walking. "Maybe you should come and check out The Daylight"
"The daylight, your world?"
"Yes... There's a place called 'The Other Side of Day'. It's for damned souls or souls who willingly choose the dark side. They are called Twilighters"
★★★ ★★★ ★★★
The roads were empty but it wasn't silent. Akeem wasn't sure of his freedom till he walked far from the camp. He was still afraid that he could get recaptured if he came across another camp.
He was still contemplating whether to go in search of civilians who managed to evade capture or to just go back to his camp and accept the offer to become one of the soldiers. The only problem with wearing the clothes of a soldier is getting caught by someone who recognizes everyone.
As he walked on, he could hear some sort of noisy movement in the bush. It was obvious that whatever was moving was trying to be silent and stealthy but the grasses and tangled weeds were betraying. He stopped as he suspected that he was being watched and followed.
"Who's there?", he asked, slowly, as he got scared.
As he looked around him, his eyes caught a glimpse of an animal. It hid behind a tree. He wasn't sure of what he saw but he wasn't ready to confirm.
He started to run as fast as he could. Unfortunately, a wild dog appeared behind him, chasing and snarling.
★★★ ★★★ ★★★
The soldiers were chatting, noisily as they ate. Some were still getting served.
"It's enough. Thank you, ma", Kenny said to the woman, respectfully.
"You're welcome, sir", she replied and kept serving the others.
Kenny took his food and joined his fellow soldiers at the gate of the camp.
"How far, Kenny? Your meat's big. Let's exchange", one of the soldiers said.
"No... your meat is not my type"
"That woman is sick... See the small meat she put on my phone".
Kenny smiled. "Maybe if you smiled at her, more often, she'll treat you well. Besides, what happened to the other woman?".
"Did you meet her?"
"Yes... Only once, though. The day I got here. After that, another person started", Kenny replied, as he ate.
"I don't know who shot her in the leg. She can't stand again"
"And nobody cared to investigate... because she's a civilian."
Ada and Chuma looked at Kenny from where they stood. Kenny could see them staring. He waved and left.
- Writer
