“Welcoming people” Chilala muttered under her breath
“What is this place anyway?” Nawa asked noticing containers littered all across the fenced grounds.
“Its a sort of special club” Chansa said parking the bus in front of one of the trailers.
“Welcome to your home for the night” Chileshe said stepping out of the bus checking the scenes with small camp fires dancing in the distance around them. Nawa and Chilala remained in the bus watching Chansa move in and out of the trailer removing their little possessions as Chileshe enjoyed the sites.
“Will you be sleeping in the bus?” Chansa asked walking out with two mugs handing Chileshe one as she joined him sipping and watching the fires dance around them.
“You better not let my hot chocolate go to waste!” Chansa snapped in the direction of the bus before she and Chileshe strolled off leaving the duo alone. Once alone, Nawa slide the bus door open stretching his legs for the first time since they got into the white bus.
“What are you doing!?” Chilala snapped after Nawa, following him out of the bus with caution.
“I need to stretch” Nawa said bending his back until it cracked.
“Since when do you crack your back? not to mention your fear of new things and places. What’s gotten into you?” Chilala pressed looking at her friend with confusion
“Its slightly after midnight” Nawa said ignoring Chilala’s question with a big grin.
“So?” Chilala retorted with surprise wondering what game Nawa was playing.
“I’m 15 now, must be what puberty feels like” Nawa said staring at himself in disbelief and wonder.
“We actually escaped” Nawa mumbled as he kept analysing himself.
“Anyway hot chocolate?” Nawa asked shaking himself off and walking into the trailer for the first time leaving Chilala standing awkwardly outside the trailer.
“Its really nice” Nawa said with a huge grin handing Chilala her mug of hot chocolate as they looked about their surrounding together.
“I don’t get how you’re so calm right now the roles are rev…” Chilala’s voice faded to silence as the mug slipped through her hands breaking as it touched the ground, followed closely by Chilala’s body.
“Chichi!” Nawa shouted with worry watching Chilala drop to the ground with a thud. Nawa stood frozen unable to move his body at all as his eyes looked at Chilala on the ground in horror.
“Chichi! Chilala! Answer me! Chichi! Chi…” Nawa yelled at her until his body went limp and his eyes closed as his body fell to ground out cold. Nawa and Chilala lay on the grass with pieces of broken ceramic laying all around them.
Nawa felt his head throb as his eyes fluttered open adjusting to the dimly lit room he found himself in. He looked around trying to remember how he found himself in the room. He saw Chilala lying on the floor a few metres away silent and not moving. Nawa’s eyes shot open remembering the hot chocolate and Chilala falling to the ground before his eyes.
Nawa attempted to move towards her but found both his arms and legs were bound with wires attached to hooks fastened to the floor he was laying on.
“Chilala! Chichi! Chichi!” Nawa shouted attempting to wake her from slumber.
“Shut up! She’ll wake, just sleep” Came a response from behind Nawa making him aware of everyone else in the poorly lit room with them. Chilala coughed as she started to come too drawing Nawa’s attention back to her.
“Chilala!” Nawa whispered excitedly lunging himself towards her snapping his wire bonds in the process falling over himself in a heap.
“Wait! How’d you do that?” Came the strange voice again as Nawa rushed to Chilala’s side undoing the wires binding her and offering her his supporting arm as they got to their feet.
“If you don’t remove mine I’ll scream and you’ll never leave this place” The voice continued as Nawa helped Chilala stabilise with her arm going over his shoulder towards the only visible door. Nawa froze contemplating his options as Chilala started to stir in his arms.
“Everyone else is still asleep, I’m Shamende, and I think I could be of use to you, if you let me out!” The strange voice spoke forcing Nawa to stop walking with Chilala holding his hand to help her balance as he undid Shamende’s wires.
Just then gun fire and shouting broke out from above them stirring everyone captured below with them.
“Carry your wires and follow me” Shamende said grabbing his wires and running furthest away from the door towards the back of the room away from the sound of commotion.
“The door is that way, where are you taking us?” Nawa asked once him and Chilala caught up to Shamende.
“There is clearly danger that side, why would you want to be shot at or worse captured, again!?” Shamende asked picking up a flash light from off the wall next to him and walking towards a table with a box on it. Inside the box were several different phones, prompting Shamende to pick his phone passing the box to Nawa and Chilala.
“Sorry, who are you?” Chilala asked turning her phone on following caustiously behind Shamende with Nawa closely behind her. Shamende stopped running as they met a dead end.
“What now” Chilala asked panicking as they heard the doors open behind them with screams from all the ones they left behind.
“There should be a door or passage or something because others have come from this way” Shamende said as he shone his phone’s light in all directions of the room hoping to spot something he didn’t previously see. Chilala anxiously watched where they came from ensuring they were not found out as Nawa and Shamende used their phones to search for a possible exit.
“Hurry up!” Chilala whispered anxiously focusing on the commotion coming from the front of the room. Nawa started pushing boxes aside looking for a pathway out of the hole they were in.
“Come here!” Shamende whispered motioning his phone light for Chilala and Nawa to follow.
“What’s wrong?” Chilala asked frantically upon reaching Shamende as he struggled to open the door.
“Its locked” Shamende said hanging his head down defeated, using his phone’s light looking around for something to pry the door open.
“There isn’t any other way” Shamende said in resignation stirring back where they came from where the rest of the prisoners could be heard celebrating.
“You think it’s safe to go back?” Nawa asked listening to the euphoric shouts of joy.
“Cousin? Nah I don’t trust them. They brought me here” Shamende said as he rushing into the locked door hoping to bang it open.
“Cousin?” Chilala asked confused by the term.
“The police, don’t you know anything?” Shamende asked with a resigned sigh
“We can’t let them find us, they’ll take us back!” Chilala said alarmed looking at Nawa with panic at the predicament they found themselves in. Panic gripped Nawa as the image of being dragged back to the orphanage filled his head. Before he could stop himself, Nawa ran straight into the locked door slamming into it with a thud breaking it off the hinges supporting it.
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