Victor's War and Odyssey

CHAPTER 1: GENESIS-2

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he thought of his grand-father’s gentle laps. You see Victor had a soft and tender heart but all this war was confusing his soul and he did not know what to make out of the whole situation. He just lay starring at the ceiling all night wondering if he could run away. He was in this position for a long time until he fell asleep once again. He woke up early the next morning with the brilliant sunshine cuddling and caressing the tent where he was like a mother cuddling her baby. The sunshine made him to feel energetic and alive. Like a typical youth, he felt ready and rearing to go. By now, the soldiers were shouting for the children to come out for their daily ration of food and their military drill. He was charged with energy by now and he was one of the first people to rush out for their daily food ration. He ran with all his energy as the soldiers stood in front of the tent with loud whistles in their hands. They looked as fierce as ever and they blew their whistles with all the strength in them. They were to receive their morning ration of food and water just beside the tent. The slave girls they had abducted were supposed to serve them their daily bread. The children were hungry anyway and they rushed out for their ration with all the strength in them. Victor was in front of the line and he thought he was leading the line when Godwin overtook him at full speed. This surprised him as Godwin kept on leaping like a kangaroo. Ever since he knew him, Godwin’s athletic ability always surprised him. If Godwin had not been a child soldier, he could have been running in the Olympics. He just watched him as he got to the place they were serving food before anybody else.

Soon, all the children were there gnawing away at the piece of bread and butter like hungry lions in a zoo. Strangely, everybody was quiet as they ate. He himself felt as quiet as them but in a strange way, he could feel their pain with them. It seemed to him that nobody in the slave camp was happy. It seemed that their souls united into one and there was a powerful, almost spiritual bond between them. As they were eating, he looked at Godwin’s face and telepathically, he could understand what was going on in his mind. He seemed as confused, lost and angry as he felt and it was written all over him. The sadness that pervaded the air was so much that he could touch it. As the sadness and quietness pervaded the air, he suddenly heard a sweet and sonorous voice. It sounded like sweet music he had never heard before. The music was a manifestation of their common experience and humanity. He wondered where it was coming from until he noticed that it was the Godwin that was singing. The song went like this

In the darkness of the jungle

And in the pain of my heart

Yet I will see my papa

In the confusion of my heart

On the day this sorrow shall end

We shall kill our captors

We shall see our fathers again

Anger and Confusion in our hearts

Sorrows sang together in unity

We sing together as one

We shall see our father again

At first, everybody first of all listened to him as he sung sweetly as it was a new song but then children learn fast anyway and soon, all the other children sang along with him. It was an expression of the deepest sorrow of their heart and as they sang, it seemed their hearts united together as one. Victor of course, sang along with them. Because of the song they were singing, their meal took longer than usual. In fact, some of the children forgot about their hunger and simply sang along with the other children. As the song went on, it seemed to lift their souls even if only for a few minutes. The song went on for some time and their voices grew louder and better until they suddenly heard the sound of gunshots in the air. All the children were shocked and turned in the direction of the sound. To their surprise, they saw the soldiers standing in front of them looking like the dragons they always made themselves to be. The children fell silent all of a sudden and they just sat there shell shocked, not knowing what to say or think. The soldiers stopped shooting and just starred long and hard at them. This stalemated silence kind of lasted for some time until one of the soldiers spoke up. His name was Malick and he was a short muscular man with very athletic features. The man had a deep, baritone, micro phonic voice that could make one to shudder in fear. The very ground shook at the sound of his voice.

“Now, this place is not a quire or are you people planning to be musicians? Get back to your military drill right now before I deal with you” He yelled while pointing to a small space in the forest where they were supposed to have their military drill. The children stood there looking at him but then, he shot in the air again, and this time around it registered in their brain and they all ran immediately for their drill. As the children ran, the soldiers kept on shooting right behind them and this made them run as fast as possible with all their might. As they were running, Victor fell down and the other children mistakenly trampled on him. This made him feel pain all over his body but he just managed to get up and staggered until they got to the place for their drill. The sun was bright high in the skies early this morning. In fact, it came out in the skies like a warrior going to war. As soon as they got to the training ground, there were young, stout soldiers in their 20’s waiting for them. The soldiers handed A.K. 47 rifles to each of the boys and they had to carry it in true military stance. When Victor handled his gun, it seemed a little heavy for him but he acted like a man and took it high in the sky.

As the soldiers handed them their gun, they looked hard at them and until one of them spoke up. “Now all of you, as from now one, you are no more children, but soldiers fighting for the liberation of yourselves and the formation of a new nation. You are freedom fighters fighting for a destiny greater than you can imagine. You are fighting like men, proud lions in the sun, now hold the gun on your soldiers like the soldiers you are”. At this point, Victor and the other children held their guns on their shoulders and stood looking at him wondering what he was about to say next. They all looked in awe as some of them had just been recruited a few weeks before and carrying a gun seemed to them a new, scary but fascinating experience. They looked at him with a mixture of confusion, sorrow and expectation in their eyes. Victor on his part did not really understand what the soldiers were saying. All this talk of forming a new nation was something he did not really care about. He just wanted to know what was next. As he was still lost in his thoughts, the soldier shouted. His voice sounded louder than thunder. He had never heard anybody scream so loudly. He nearly peed in his pants as the voice made his heart to shake like a leaf on a tree shaking before the wind or a cow’s scrotum. “Now everybody, stand at attention, it is time to march!!!” He said in a fiery voice. They carried the gun on their shoulder while they marched in true military fashion. Some of the children did not march in order however, and they had to be separated in order to receive some special extra training. They were taken apart from the other children and the soldiers gave them some little extra training on marching.

After the marching session was over, they now had to start some real military training. They did target practice with guns and then after that, they had to learn to engage in combat practice. They were taught hand to hand fighting techniques and even how to disarm someone. For their training, each child had to carry a piece of wood and then hold the stick in a particular manner. Victor in particular was made to fight with a boy bigger than him and this made him to be afraid but he summoned up courage. The rules of the fight were funny, you could only hit with the stick and not your bare arms but you could also disarm your sparring partner and when you did, you won.

The boy was charging at him with all the aggression he could muster but Victor kept on dodging his sticks. It seemed to him that this boy was not a skilled fighter. He moved all over the place and dodged him like Mohammed Ali in the boxing ring. After dodging him for some time, he simply used his stick to block him and the stick flew out of the boy’s hands. At this point, the big boy was surprised and wanted to charge at him but he dodged him and then side-stepped him. The big boy fell down like a tree that had just been cut down. The boy fell so clumsily that he could not help laughing. The boy because of his big stature had difficulty getting up from the ground. He just lay on the ground for some time and then when he got up, he charged at him again. As the boy ran at Godwin, one of the soldiers jumped in front of him and held him tight in his hands. The boy struggled to set himself free but he did not succeed. As the soldier caught him, he shouted at him and said “Look, young man, there is no contact in this game, you only fight with your stick, when you lose, you lose”. The boy did not listen to the soldier and wanted to charge at him but the soldier held him back and he struggled to free himself from the soldier’s hands in vain. After this, he was given another boy to fight with and this time around, his new opponent was more skillful and agile than the last one but Victor’s skill, ability and intelligence were legendary by now and after a tough fight, he finally disarmed his new opponent and the soldiers clapped for him. After the fight, the children ate a short meal and they went on what the soldiers called “A test of endurance”. Before they started, Malick (the lead speaker) as usual gave them a rousing speech about the fact that they had to be bold and stand like men. He even emphasized the fact that they will be heroes at the end of the day. The speech was short exciting as he was an animated speaker. He made what he was saying seem real and impressive to the impressionable and confused kids in front of him. After the speech, the soldiers then started their “test of endurance”. They were supposed to jug round a roughly constructed bent path in the bush 50 times. The soldiers this time around had no mercy on them and held big canes in their hands. Anybody that decided to stop on the way was harshly canned and dragged to run again. He felt tired but then he struggled to complete the 50 laps. It was a long and torturous run and the soldiers kept barking and shouting at them. It was their last exercise for the day anyway as darkness had set on the skies.

They retired to eat their dinner and then went to sleep in their tents. By the time he got to the tent, he was so tired that he just fell asleep straight away. Every bone and muscle in his body had been stretched and he could feel pains all over his body. Godwin always slept beside him but this time around, he was not there. He wondered where he had to or even if he had wondered away. He wanted to look for him but then he was too tired to be moving about in the tent and he just lay down on his small mattress. He was soon fast asleep anyway and he slept deep into the night. By the time he woke up the following morning, he was full of energy like never before. He was bubbling like a new born baby from his mother’s womb. As usual, the soldiers called them out for breakfast and they had to collect their daily ration for the day. All the children hurried towards the breakfast table. Victor always wondered how the girls woke up so early to prepare their breakfast. He did not really think of the girls in the military encampment but today, he was thinking of them. The girl that served him in particular was very beautiful.

She was fair skinned and had long hair to her waist. The hair was naturally long, it was not an attachment. Even in her rugged dress and sorry state, she seemed to have this personality that could arrest attention and make her look majestic. The sun was coming out in all its glory today and she seemed so glorious in this African sun. She watched him as she dropped some stew into his plate. She smiled at him and she smiled back. He had not really talked to a girl before and he did not know what to say but then he summoned up courage and managed to shake her as she was about leaving. In fact, he did not just shake her; he gripped her hands very tight, in fact, so tight that she could not escape from his masculine grip. The charming girl did not complain anyway but just smiled back at him. They stood there rooted for some time until to his surprise, the girl spoke up. “Well, my name is Cynthia what can I do to help you?” She said with a smile on her face. When Victor saw her smile, he wondered what made her to smile in this sad and deplorable state they were all in. It seemed to him that she was always smiling and that made him a little curious. He managed to say something and then said “Well my name is Victor, one of the child soldiers here and I will like to be your friend” with a pleasant smile on his face. “Well, that is nice, it’s good to make friends around here at least we can share our good times together” she replied. At this point, the two of them struck up a conversation. She seemed to him a lively conservationist. Since he came inside the bush, he had not had any form of female company. He only saw girls from afar and did not in any way relate to them. This was the first time in a long time he really thought about talking to girls.