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AIM: Chapter 19
EPILOGUE:
"RUN!!!!!!! RUN!!!!!! PUSH FORWARD!!!! PUSH THROUGH!!!"
(Mutale screamed at the top of his lungs as he pushed himself to run as fast as he could, despite bearing the pain of his nearly broken foot.)
"PUSHHHHH THROUGH!" (Aggressively screamed Makhaza.)
"GOOOOOO!!!!!!!" (Screamed the rest of the soldiers behind him.)
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" (Screamed Mutale.)
("No… I never saw that coming.")
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Chapter 19: The Injuries of Now, Then and Our Past: Part 3
"She doesn't have a scratch," Banda said in a hush tone, as his eyes lingered upon Megan's frame—from her feet all the way to the tip of her head.
The room was silent, for it felt as though time had taken a temporary still. Mumba's eyes widened in fear as her body began to slightly tremble, her heart rate increased, and her breathing became uneasy.
"Mumba… you and I need to have a word after this. This is an absolute violation of student safety code and—"
Mailo said with a straight tone, but was immediately interrupted by a loud burst of laughter coming from Mumba.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Mumba began to burst into uncontrollable laughter, widening her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.
Banda kept silent, for his attention was still on Megan. Mailo felt a subtle shock and irritation at her sudden outburst.
"Excuse me," Mailo said.
"Yeah," Mumba said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Would you mind explaining to me what you found to be so funny?" Mailo asked.
"Right," Mumba said, wiping her tears. "HAHAHAHA!" bursting into uncontrollable laughter once more.
(Inner monologue: "HAHAHAHA… they're seriously treating this thing like an actual child… a child.")
"MUMBA!" Mailo said with a sharp tone as he slowly began to raise his hand.
Banda gently pulled his finger, carried Megan in his arms, stood up, and slowly walked towards the door.
Mumba, seeing his silence, felt a sudden sting in her chest and a huge sense of unease.
(Inner monologue: "He's always done this… he's always turning his back right at me.")
"BANDA, you're treating that doll like it's actually human," she said in a sarcastic tone.
"Mumba," Mailo interrupted.
"I'm just stating the truth… a robot… an artificial intelligence… one that has no soul nor true purpose of its own," Mumba said, pointing a finger.
"You couldn't let her go now, didn't you? You couldn't move on… you just had to create an image of her… one that you could actually play doll with."
Mumba was immediately silenced as Banda suddenly glanced directly into her eyes.
"You've said enough… this obsession of yours has gone too far, Mumba," Mailo said as he walked towards her with a few quick steps.
"What?"
"Sleep… you need rest…"
Mailo whispered to her, causing her to feel a sudden calm that made her immediately fall asleep.
"I'll deal with her. You just make sure Megan is fine," Mailo said.
Banda simply nodded his head and walked away.
Silence hit the room.
"Immature, Mumba," Mailo said as he smacked his face, while holding her in his arms as she lay unconscious.
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Meanwhile (Border: Zambia Defense vs Twaze Army)
"Mutale!!!!!!" yelled Makhaza as he stormed as quickly as he could, pulling Mutale towards his direction and out of the way of the impending blast.
(BYOOOM!!! BOOM!!!)
"THAT WAS CLOSE!" Mutale panicked.
"You think?" Makhaza said, trying to catch his breath. "God damn it, I feel—"
Makhaza said as he subtly knelt down, trying to catch his breath as his vision slowly began to blur.
"MAKHAZA!!!" Mutale yelled as he knelt down to check him out. "Are you okay???"
"Doesn't look like I am… God damn it," Makhaza said, wiping his face as he forced himself to stand up on his feet.
Mutale, seeing this, felt a sudden sting in his chest—one that forced him to bang his chest and grit his teeth.
"Look, no need to get emotional while we're in the middle of something bigger than both of us," Makhaza said with a shaky tone, breathing slowly, for every time he inhaled he felt a huge sting in his lungs, and his eyes only began to blur more and more.
"How we're going to get to that tent… I don't know," Makhaza said.
"But one way or another, we need to make a clearing of the path ahead…"
Makhaza said as his eyes began to caress through the busy battlefield, covered in smoke and dust from the fighting.
Mutale's eyes lingered upon Makhaza's frame, which sent an even greater sting to his chest, forcing him to clench his teeth and feet so hard that his mouth began to bleed.
(Flashback: A young Mutale, standing outside a large farmhouse. The Commander General's back faces him as he walks towards the large hovering ship amidst the farm. Mutale's eyes linger upon his frame.)
"So this… was the reason why he always stood so strong…" Mutale whispered to himself, catching Makhaza's attention.
"A soldier's supposed to cry… he bears the pride of the people he protects… why, at the same time…" he flinched,
"He takes the lives of the ones who protect theirs," Mutale said out loud as his body began to tremble.
"Hey," Makhaza said, but was interrupted—
"I don't know if I'm angry… I don't know if I'm sad… I came here excited… now I'm starting to think…" Mutale said as his body began to vibrate more and more.
"Chill down," Makhaza said, placing his palm on Mutale's shoulder.
"For a spoiled brat, you've always been sensitive… despite having the bloody mouth to talk," Makhaza said in a teasing yet reassuring tone, wearing a gentle smile—one that Mutale rarely saw.
"One way or another… we'll make it through… and put an end to all of this," Makhaza said as he began to raise his hand.
"I don't have much manners, but I can at least try… and if it doesn't come out the way I hope… at least I can die trying," Makhaza said with a reassuring smile, despite feeling that sting in his chest every time he breathed.
Mutale, seeing this, was overwhelmed with a sudden silence—a calm that consumed his entire body, slightly easing the trembling.
He took in a deep breath, stood firm, and stood alongside Makhaza.
"Alright then."
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Meanwhile: Khumalo and Matimba
"Okay… our plan here is one: not get hit, and two: ensure our enemy does get hit," said Khumalo.
"WHY ARE YOU SAYING IT LIKE THAT?!" said Matimba as she smacked his head.
"You do realize I'm bald, right?" Khumalo said in an irritated tone.
"I don't know—it's your bald head! I hit people whenever I'm stressed out!" Matimba yelled.
(Translation: I don't know, it's your bald head — Nyanja.)
(Transmission from the tent: "You two, be careful and serious up there!" yelled Mr. Zimba.)
"Fusekiiiii… we're still waiting for your signal, you know!" yelled Matimba.
"Since when were you this talkative?" yelled Khumalo.
"I don't know… ever since I came to war…" Matimba yelled while continuously smacking Khumalo in the head.
(Transmission: "You guys do remember I told you not to get hit by a missile, right?" said Mr. Zimba.)
(BYOOOM, BYOOM, GYOOM, FYOOOM!)
An unexpected missile strike came straight at them, catching them off guard.
"DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!" Khumalo panicked.
"Don't just stand there—DODGE, YOU IDIOT!!!" Matimba yelled.
"Get ready!" Khumalo said as he tightened his grip on Matimba's legs, and she tightened her grip on him, as he made a quick maneuver to dodge the five impending missiles in a zig-zag, twisting formation—causing them to fly in all directions.
(BOOM!!!!! BOOOMM!!!!!)
Some missiles broke past the border and hit farmland on Zambian territory.
"God damn it, that was so close!" Khumalo yelled.
"I know, right!" Matimba said with excitement.
(Transmission: "FOCUS!" yelled Zimba.)
Another missile came towards them. They dodged—but weren't quick enough to see another coming from behind.
"God damn it!" Khumalo yelled.
"Chill," Matimba said as she quickly aimed and shot at the missile.
(BOOOMM!!!!!)
"I always tend to forget that you've got quite the eyes," Khumalo said.
"Thanks," Matimba said with a wide grin.
(Transmission: "ABSOLUTELY NO FLIRTING ON THE BATTLEFIELD!!!!!" yelled Zimba.)
"I was talking about her aim," Khumalo said in a defensive, ashamed tone.
(Transmission: "NAH AH, focus!!!")
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Meanwhile: The Tent of the Zambian Defense
The entire room was silent and tense as all eyes were on the field—but some were completely on each other.
"You saw that, didn't you?" said the grey-haired man as his eyes widened and lingered on Mr. Zimba.
(Flashback: The missile hitting farmland on Zambian territory — BOOOM!!!!!)
Mr. Zimba stood there silent, tense, as a drop of sweat began to stream down his face.
"Not as expected… this war is not supposed to expand to any further territory!!!" Mr. Zimba said.
"So what now?" said the grey-haired man.
Mr. Zimba kept silent.
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Meanwhile: On the Battlefield
The Commander General stood tall amidst all the chaos, his eyes facing the direction of the missile's impact.
Under his feet lay the Twaze Commander General.
"You haven't won," he said in a hush tone.
"We need to end this now… Zimba, any insight?" he said via transmission.
But Zimba kept silent.
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Meanwhile: Zambia Defense Society
Standing on the rooftop of the defense's skyscraper building was Professor Chifitah, whose eyes lingered in the direction of the smoke rising from the missile impact.
The wind drifted through the leaves of the trees surrounding the defense for miles, brushing through Professor Chifitah's hair, face, and clothes.
"Was that…?" asked his subordinate.
"Yes… it was," Professor Chifitah said in a straight tone, clenching his fist.
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To Be Continued…
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