Africa (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The young tribe took their newest member to a camp they had set up. They were a traveling group made up of the straggler kids left behind after the meteor impacts. They had somehow managed to survive on their own and avoid capture. The kids were smart, resourceful, and loyal to each other. They seemed to have a solution for any problem or challenge they encountered. Kam was thankful to have met them.

If the plan was for Kam to sneak back in and warn his people not to drink the water, then that required a lot of trust in this new group of kids to follow through on their end. Once back in, he may not get another opportunity to escape.

At night, the camp was quiet. Kam entered through the gate with one of the kids. He pretended to be one of the guards who had just captured someone.

"[I have a new worker,]" he said to the soldiers guarding the entrance. They were a little suspicious as they had never seen Kam before, but he looked and sounded the part, so they allowed him to enter.

Another guard accompanied them, leading them through the two gated areas to the slave quarters. Kam could not believe he was coming back voluntarily.

"[In here,]" the guard said. "[Put him with the others.]"

Just as Kam was about to enter his old living quarters, the guard said, "[Wait.]" Kam froze with fear. He slowly turned around and looked at the soldier who was now looking at him intently. "[He needs shackles,]" the soldier said.

Using a radio, the guard called over more guards. This was not something Kam had anticipated. The more guards he interacted with, the greater the chance of being recognized. Kam pulled his hat lower and stared at the ground to hide his face.

A few moments later, another guard showed up with a set of shackles.

"[What's going on?]" the new guard asked.

"[Got a new worker,]" the old guard replied.

"[Where did he come from?]"

The two guards looked at Kam and he said, "[Caught him wondering in the forest. Said he was looking for his parents.]"

"[Who are you?]" the new guard asked.

"[My name is Tiki... I've been working the gates.]"

Kam looked up, which is when the guard recognized him. With furrowed brows, he narrowed his focus to get a better look. The guard ripped off Kam's hat. The guard immediately dropped the shackles and withdrew his gun.

Kam had no choice but to lunge forward and wrestle the gun away. If the gun were to fire, then it would surely alert the rest of the soldiers and their plan would be ruined, not to mention they would both be killed.

A scuffle ensued, and Kam was heavy handed with his punches, slamming his fist into the soldiers face, releasing a rage in which he had pent up. The soldier was quickly knocked unconscious, but Kam kept hitting him, beating his face to a bloody mess. As for the other soldier, Tyler took care of him. He wrapped his arms around his neck like a snake and squeezed his airway until the man lost consciousness.

"Yo, you got him," Tyler said to Kam, who was still punching.

"You have no idea what kind of hell this guy put me through over the last several months. He deserves to rot in hell."

"Alright, but we have a job to do."

"Wait, this will only take a second," Kam said standing over the man.

"What are you ... oh god... you're peeing on him? Bro, what the hell did they do to you in here?"

"You don't want to know."

"Alright, well, finish up and shake off. We have work to do."

Kam and Tyler entered the hut in which Kam had slept for the better part of a year. The people inside grew nervous seeing two dark figures standing in the doorway. Nothing good ever came from middle-of-the-night visits.

"Hey, everyone, sorry to wake you. It's me, Kam," he announced.

Murmurs began to circulate among the crowd, but people weren't really sure what was happening. For all they knew, the other figure standing with him was a guard. Everyone remained quiet.

"Really?" Kam said, "I don't even get a door greeting. I thought at least one of you would be excited to see me. I brought a friend, we're here to break everyone out."

It was as if he had said the magic words. Everyone jumped up and ran toward the exit. The first person in line was Ukari.

"Kam, it's so good to see you," she said, ploughing into him. "I was afraid I would never see you again."

"Listen up, everyone," Kam said, trying not to project his voice too loudly. "I met some friends who are here to help us. They are poisoning the water supply so nobody drink the water. I'm not exactly sure when the poison will kick in, but hopefully this will be your last night here."

The volume of the chatter grew, but Kam was quick to remind them that they were not free yet. At any moment, guards could come.

"So what's the plan?" someone asked.

"We stay put for one more night, all of us, me included. Then in the morning, we have breakfast as usual but don't touch the water or anything that may have been rinsed. We may all have to go to work as usual since we don't know how long it will take for the poison to kick in. If everything goes according to plan, then these soulless demons will start dropping dead."

"Then what?" somebody asked.

"Yeah, I mean, where are we supposed to go after this?" another person chimed in.

"That's entirely up to you. I know most of you have some family and friends somewhere out there, so you'd be free to find them. As for me, I don't have family or friends that I know of, so I will likely look for a safe community that will take me in. For those individuals looking to do the same, you're welcome to join me. We can look for other survivors, or other camps and help set them free. The more of us there are, the safer we all will be."

"What about food, water, and shelter?" a voice from the crowd spoke.

"We'll have to figure that out. With all the soldiers gone, some of you may find comfort in just remaining here. There's food, shelter,—"

"Yeah, but no water."

"I mean, in time it could be safe to drink."

"Or we may die of thirst before it becomes decontaminated."

Tyler leaned over and whispered in his ear. "You would think these people would be more grateful."

"They're good people, they've just been through a lot."