"Calm down, guys," Ekene urged, his calm demeanor
serving as a reassuring anchor for his friends
"What do we do?" Grace asked, her eyes locked on
Ekene's as she awaited his guidance
"Evacuate everyone out of school immediately!" Ekene ordered, his voice firm with conviction
"Right!" the quartet of Princess Adaeze, Samuel,
Grace, and Cynthia chorused, their relief at having a clear course of action
evident in their voices
"Let's move!" Ekene commanded, his unwavering
determination a beacon of hope amidst the chaos
"Right!" the quartet of Princess Adaeze, Samuel,
Grace, and Cynthia chorused, their fear momentarily eclipsed by their resolve
to protect their fellow students
With that, the quartet of Princess Adaeze, Samuel,
Grace, and Cynthia sprang into action, aiming to carry out their new mission of
evacuating students out of school. They fought against the tide of panic,
trying to organize the stampede of students. But fear had made the crowd
irrational. The snakes claimed a few more lives, their massive bodies
slithering through the halls, adding to the terror
"Don't push! Calm down!" Samuel shouted, attempting
to maintain order amidst the chaos
"Don't tell me to calm down! I'm not ready to die!
I'm not going to die here!" one student, cried out, fear and desperation
colouring his words
"Don't worry, nobody is going to die-" Grace's words
were interrupted by a sudden blast coming from the Law student's examination
hall
Turning to face the source of the explosion, Grace's
heart pounded in her chest as a horrifying sight met her eyes. There, in the
midst of the destruction, Ekene was wrapped helplessly within the coils of the
same gargantuan snake that had attacked the Law students' examination hall and
killed the invigilator, its scaly body a prison of death
"No! Ekene! No!" Grace shouted, the sound torn from
her lungs as hot tears blurred her vision.
Overwhelmed by a cocktail of fear, Grace broke a
sprint towards Ekene, her mind a blank except for the single, desperate need to
reach him as she bore witness of his desperate struggle against the
overpowering might of the ruthless predator
However, Princess Adaeze, recognizing the futility
and danger of such an action, quickly intercepted Grace, restraining her and
preventing her from charging headlong into harm's way
"Let me go! Let go of me! Ekene is in trouble!"
Grace shouted, her voice raw with emotion as she fought against Princess Adaeze's
hold
"Calm down," Princess Adaeze said, her voice a low,
steady command
"Ekene!" Grace wailed, the sound of a raw, guttural
cry of pure anguish.
Samuel's pleas for calm were swallowed by the
collective gasp of the students. The panicked flight screeched to a halt. All
eyes were fixed on the devastating scene: Ekene, the young hero whose bravery
had shielded them from the serpentine menace was now in the coils of the beast.
They stood paralyzed, caught between the instincts of self-preservation and the
desperate desire to help their savior. It was a scene ripped from a comic book,
a moment where the world held its breath to see if its hero would fall. The
question hung heavy in the air: would this be the end? Would this be the point
where Ekene's story ended?
Ekene thrashed against the constricting coils of the
colossal snake, his mind a whirlwind of regrets: "Damn it! I was careless. I
let my guard down. What a mistake. Is this really where I die?" The fear that
his life would end there – an ignoble death at the hands of the very evil he
had sought to vanquish – threatened to consume him
Ekene's eyes squeezed shut for a moment and he saw
flashes of those he held dear, those he loved, the laughter they shared, the
dream he held so dear. He then remembered that he had once given up on that
dream in the past and the sting of it
A surge of defiance, of pure, unadulterated resolve,
coursed through him
"No! I refuse to let it end here!" Ekene thought to
himself, his spirit bolstered by a newfound strength, "I gave up on my dream
once, I won't give up on it a second time!"
With a roar that was more will than sound, Ekene
strained, his muscles bulging with unimaginable strength. He managed to free
his left arm from the vice-like grip of the serpent, his right arm still
ensnared by the massive beast. But, in his free hand, held high for all to see,
was a grenade. The students and staff watched in stunned awe as he gritted his
teeth, his jaw working to pull the grenade's safety pin free.
Ekene, in one decisive motion, tossed the primed
explosive directly into the gapping maw of the colossal snake. The ensuing
explosion was deafening, a spectacle of fire and force that reverberated
through the air as the lethal projectile detonated within the beast's body,
ravaging its internal organs and ultimately claiming its life.
The creature, a massive pillar of scales and muscle,
crashed to the ground with a final, earth-shaking thud, releasing Ekene from
its death grip
Despite the ferocity of the explosion that claimed
the life of the colossal snake, Ekene had miraculously survived, shielded from
the brunt of the blast by the creature's massive body. His right arm, however,
bore scars of his ordeal, the burnt flesh a testament to the sacrifice he had
made to ensure the safety of those around him.
Ekene pushed himself to his feet; a low groan
escaped his lips in response to the pain he felt from his burnt arm. The moment
he was on his feet, Grace, Cynthia, Samuel, and Princess Adaeze rushed to his
side, their faces a mixture of relief and concern
"Guys! It's not over!" Ekene's voice was hoarse, "We've
only taken down just one snake. Let's take care of the rest!" he commanded
"Right!" the quartet of Princess Adaeze, Samuel,
Grace, and Cynthia chorused, their gazes fixed on the remaining threats
Ekene quickly distributed the rest of the grenades
in his bag. With the weapons, the students, now united and emboldened, sprang
into action. They worked together, a cohesive force, taking down the remaining
snakes one by one with the explosives, their collective strength proving a
potent force against the encroaching darkness. The final threat was eliminated,
and the long, the brutal battle that had consumed the entire day finally came
to an end
The serpentine invasion, which had begun at 8:55 am,
had left a trail of devastation in its wake. The lass snake succumbed to their
efforts at 5:49 pm
As the dust settled, the cost of their victory
became heartbreakingly apparent. Among the students, 177 had perished in the
onslaught, their lives cut tragically short by the malevolent forces that had
descended upon their school. The staff had not been spared, with 13 individuals
losing their lives during the serpentine invasion
A somber mood settled over the school as they mourn
their fallen comrades, their lives and memories honoured in a poignant tribute
to the sacrifices that had been made