Tales By Chi

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The classroom could be likened to a graveyard going by the fact that not even the breath of the pupils could be heard, that's how Miss Martha Loved her classroom to be. She sat on her desk busy with the class works piled up in her face and observing the details over the rims of her glasses. She shifted her gaze from the the books to the kids, who had their heads on their desks, each time she heard even the faintest of noise without moving, only her eyeballs rotating in their sockets.
August got up slowly from his seat at the far end of the wall and walked quietly towards the door.
"August" Miss Martha called without raising her eyes from the books. He stopped and turned in her direction.
"Come here" she commanded, her gazed still fixed on the books. He walked up to her noiselessly, like his feet wasn't touching the ground.
"And where are you going?" she asked, not looking up for once.
"The toilet" he muttered
"Where?" she asked
"The toilet" he said louder, fidgeting his fingers.
"You could have taken an excuse from me, that would be proper, don't you think?"
"I'm sorry ma'am" he said
"Good, next time, say excuse me miss"
"Yes ma'am"
She dismissed him with a wave of the hand and he walked briskly out of the classroom and headed straight to the toilet. He locked the door and climbed the covered water cistern to access the small window above it. Through the window, he observed the school backyard and everywhere was clear with nobody in site. He climbed the toilet seat and heaved himself up through the window and effortlessly climbed out the other side. He dropped his feet on the floor and broke into a run, climbing the short back fence of the school and running into surrounding bushes.
  * * *

"How do you think he will feel when he sees you again" Oscar asked looking at Jaycee who watched the school gate from the passenger side of the blue sedan.
"I don't know but I wouldn't want him to see me"
"I know but you know"
"Know what? Must you always talk?" Jaycee asked staring at him.
"No, I was just thinking and imaging the thrill when he sets eyes on you, he may run, you know, thinking you may be a ghost and all"
He chewed his gum mechanically and smiled as he talked. Jaycee laughed and tilted his head to the side, shifting his gaze to the road ahead of them.
"Like the ghost in the church graveyard?" he asked with a grin
"He knows I'm no ghost"
"Yea, but he thinks you live in a grave yard"
"Mad mad, I think you are better off dead"
"Hahaha" Jaycee started to chuckle and stopped halfway, all of a sudden.
"Look who we have here" he said, watching Jaime clear his car at the other side of the road.
"Jaime Rodneck" Oscar mouthed slowly.
"The fuck is he doing here?"
"His son schools here you know"
"Fuck you Oscar"
"Welcome" he replied with a grin, Jaycee smiled and tugged at the pistol tucked into his pants
"I could take a shot you know?"
He threw a gaze at Oscar who scoffed.
"And you can be sure of your second death bro, Nancy ain't here"
"Oh, my Love and savior"

From the other side of the road, Jaime got down from his car and shut the door, observing his wrist watch at the same time.
"1:50 pm" he whistled and walked into a store across the road, trailed by the eyes of Oscar and Jaycee.

"I could take a clean shot and I would be sure to have him" Jaycee muttered.
"Man at least be grateful, he is looking after your brother for fucks sake, give it time bro"
"Cool, one day, I will have a go at his cop ass"
"I thought you already charged August with that?"
"It's gonna take a million years for him to be able to do that, he may even fall in love with the man"
"Yea, considering he has a cute daughter who's all over August" Oscar commented with a broad smile on his face.
"I may kill you before I kill him eventually"
"No you won't, you love me bro"
He let out a dry laughter and observed Jaycee who had a smile at the corner of his lips
"I hope you ain't thinking about going out there for him"
"Not really, but now that you mentioned it, I'm considering it"
He threw him a stare and grinned savagely.
"Good thing I got the wheels"
"I know a lot about drive by shooting"
"I just pray you are not serious about this" Oscar said with a tone of seriousness in his voice.
"I pray so too"
Jaycee replied absent mindedly, massaging his pistol.

August crept back into the school in time before dismissal. He clutched a white shovel as he walked back to the toilet window. He dropped it against the wall and climbed back into the building through the window.
He made his way through the scanty hallway and back into the class without a word from the teacher. He sat down on his seat at the far end of the wall, smacking his lips in satisfaction.
Time dragged on and everyone waited quietly for the dismissal bell. August played and replayed his simple plan in his mind. He smiled at himself and nodded with satisfaction each time. The clock above the classroom board clicked 2 pm and the school bell followed. The pupils all stood up, happy that the boring day at school was over, the race for who will make it out the classroom door first began but not after August had slid through. He ran down the hallway and around the school building, making his way to the back where he dropped the shovel. He picked it and observed it closely, he waved it around and nodded. Dragging it behind him, he trudged on, back into the hallway and moved through the flood of student unnoticed with his tool. He moved a little distance and stopped. From where he stood, he could see Terry's back turned in his direction, he was standing with 2 of his friends, yelling out his point at everyone around. August squeezed his face and put his hand against his racing heart, heaving a heavy sigh, he walked on, dragging the shovel behind him.
"Terry!" he called out, moving quickly in his direction, the shovel heavy and ready in his hands. Terry turned swiftly to respond to the call, setting his face for the impact with the shovel. August put all his energy in the effort and landed him a fatal blow on the face with the shovel. He fell immediately on impact, August followed up with another blow, he got him on the head as he lay writhing in pain, the two friends with him bolted as the pupils around stood around watching with awe.
"Please, don't hit me again"
Terry begged, his left hand in the air as he crawled away from his assailant. August moved closer with murderous intent. Terry let out a blood curling scream as another blow landed him squarely on the head and left a gash at the side of his blond hair, he passed out as blood tickled out of the gash, August let the shovel drop beside his still body, he let out a smile of satisfaction as he stood over him, victorious in his own terms.
He looked up from the body and saw a teacher running towards his direction, he took a quick turn and dashed in the opposite direction.

Jaime walked out of the store clutching two packs of cookie in his hand and walked to his car and pulled the door open. He dropped them on the seat besides the drivers seat and sat down,  with the door still open. He checked his wrist watch again and the time came back as 2:15 pm.
"They should be out by now" he murmured and got out of the open door, adjusting his trouser.

"A black Mercedes car" Jaycee sang out, watching a black Mercedes car pull up from behind them "This is not good".
"What?" Oscar asked.
"Every single bad news I ever came up against is associated with this make of car, gotta to be ready for the worst" he said. Pulling out his gun from his pants. Oscar grabbed his own piece from underneath his chair and placed it on his laps.
They watched the car pull up in their front and came to a halt before them.
"Now what?" Oscar asked
"Just wait and see what happens next"
"Do you think they are here because of you?"
"I don't know"
"Maybe you should have stayed underground like before"
"Don't be a sissy man" Jaycee whispered.
They sat there for another 10 minutes, the tensile atmosphere within the car could not go unnoticed, they switched their gaze from Jaime who rested on his car to the black Mercedes parked in front of them, the car was so still that it gave them the creeps, no one had gotten down from the car and the glasses were all tinted.
The next 5 minutes saw August run out of the school gate into the street. They saw him at the same time Jaime saw him, the Mercedes came to life again.
"August" Jaycee gasped and flipped his door open, sliding his blue face cap on, he jumped down from the car with his gun held tight by his right hand.
August made out Jaime in time and rushed at him breathing heavily. Jaime grabbed him as he came to him.
"What's the matter?" he asked as August panted continuously, trying to catch his breath.
In a split second, the Mercedes jerked forward and screeched to a stop beside Jaime and August, Jaime raised his face to look at the car, the tinted glass wound down and they came face to face with a masked man, his right hand held a glock pointed at them.
"Put the boy in the car" he commanded.
Jaime stared at him with a stubborn expression all over his Face.
"I said get the boy into the damn car 'fore I blow you open" he thundered a second time.
Jaycee stood a little distant from the car and raised his gun up, he squeezed the trigger and the bullets flew in through the back of the car, shattering the rear glasses, the masked man withdrew his head back into the car, Jaime took the distraction as an opportunity and grabbed August, he dashed around to the other side of his car and withdrew his pistol from its strap.
"Stay down" he yelled at August and waited some seconds before slowly and discreetly creeping up the front of the car.
The sunroof of the Mercedes snapped open and the masked man came out of it, pulling an assault rifle along with him, Jaycee saw him early enough and dashed further down the street. The man pulled the trigger and the gun let out a cackling sound, firing leads at Jaycee who dodged in time.
"Shit, told that boy to be careful" Oscar muttered and started the engine of the car.
From the side of the car, Jaime took an inconsistent aim and fired at the man, he missed and gained his attention, he turned to shoot at him but stopped on a second thought. He went back into the car and faced his driver companion with his black hat. He shook his head at him and he hit the steering wheel with his fist.
"I'm not leaving here without him" he yelled and drove the car back with rage and full force. He pulled up behind Jaime's car and opened his door, jumping out of the car with his assault rifle.
Jaycee ran forward, reducing the distance between him and where they stood, he fired aimlessly at the car again, the man in hat shot a look at his direction and their eyes met. Jaycee held his gaze with a shock expression all over his face. He smiled at him and jumped back into the car compelled by shots fired by Jaime.
"Williams!" August yelled as the man got into the car.
"Stay the fuck down" Jaime yelled at him. He was standing and trying to get a better look at the man in hat. He couldn't mistake the face of his brother. He tried running to the car but was held back by Jaime. The Mercedes Jerked forward and dashed further up the road, escaping into the bend ahead.
Oscar did a 180 degree turn and stopped right before a stunned Jaycee.
"Get into the car man"
He opened the door and called out to him. Jaycee snapped out of his shock and jumped into the open door, Oscar screeched the car forward and drove away through the other end of the street.
"Damn it, that was fucking Williams" he snapped.

Click HERE for all episodes of COLD

Click HERE for all episodes of COLD

Click HERE for all episodes of COLD

The bush led into a pathway that sloped deeper into a body of flowing water. They got to the water and discovered there was no way they could make it across. They stuck to walking along the edge of the water. Jaycee leading the front, Maria and August in the middle and an observant Joseph limped closely behind. The full moon in the sky provided enough light for them not to trip to the ground.
"I am tired" August complained and was reassured by Maria.
"We will rest soon baby" she said with a shaky voice that suggested she had been crying. Jaycee trudged on in silence, a cold silence that showed no emotions, he was there with them but he was still far away from them. In his heart, he felt regrets for ever knowing Nancy, he believed she had died because she was with him and the thought only made him more angry, angry at himself, angry at the people that had put them where they were, angry at his parents for bringing them into that shithole called St Mathews and angry that he never got the last chance to reassure Nancy of his undying love for her. As these thoughts run through his mind, his heart grew colder and his grip on his gun tightened. Joseph had no chance to think of anything, he just wanted to make it out of their present location and lead his siblings into safety.
In the distance, the five assassins stalked behind, tracking them by their footprints, they too kept to the edge of the water, moving silently in the dark at a high pace. They didn't walk for long before they saw the 4 of Jaycee, Maria, August and Joseph moving away from them in the distance. Reducing their pace, they cocked their guns and moved in on their targets like a bunch of predators.
Joseph was able to make out the sound of footsteps different from theirs. He took a look around saw nothing through the darkness. They continued and were approaching abandoned farm houses when he heard the sound of guns being cocked behind them, he took a look and saw the five armed men.
"Run!!" he yelled and they broke into a run, making their way to the farm houses. The assassins too ran after them.
"Jaycee, you and Maria should hide in that house while I go over there" Joseph said handing over a pump action to him and Jaycee nodded.
"Be careful" Maria said and hugged him. They split and Joseph ran into a house facing the direction they had come from. Joseph, Maria and August ran into a hut a little far from where Joseph was. They waited in silence as the five assailants approached slowly. Joseph opened a window and through it observed the entrance into the premises. He waited patiently with his finger on the trigger, ready to pull. One after the other, the men came in, spreading out and trying to surround the premises. Joseph took an aim at the first man and then the second man, satisfied with the notion that he could take them out simultaneously and faster, he took a shot and the first man fell, he quickly switched to the next man before he could duck, he fired at him and he too fell. The rest dropped to the ground and started shooting in Joseph's direction. He had expected it and had moved away from the window in time. The bullets poured in blazing and shattering the house into bits. Joseph lay on the ground, his hands held tight over his ear and gritting his teeth. Silence fell again after about 40 seconds. He waited again for 10 seconds before picked his guns and moving slowly through the rubbles made by the guns. He came outside to meet the men getting up from the ground. One of them fired at him and he took cover behind a pillar supporting the roof of the building. The bullet got deflected by the pillar, he ducked and flipped 180 degrees around, he fired at the shooter and missed when he shifted. From the other end of the premises, he heard a loud shot and saw one of the assassins fall. Attributing it to Jaycee, he nodded and smiled.
"That's my boy".
He ran round the house to the back and one of the two remaining men followed him. The other moved back, releasing shots into the hut where Jaycee and Maria crouched. Maria held onto a shaking August and you could easily see the fear in her eyes as the hut was being raided with bullets. The assaulter ran out of bullets and stopped shooting, he moved quickly away from where he stood with another mag in his hand, switching it with the empty one as he ran. In the distance, they heard someone scream and Jaycee stood up. Pulling his .34, handed it over to Maria.
"Here, this is the trigger, that's where you pull to kill someone"
"I know how to shoot a gun" she said taking the gun from him.
"Good, I will go check up on Joseph"
"Okay, please be careful"
He nodded and ran outside with Maria and August watching him leave. Seconds later, they saw a man run after him, Maria grabbed August and moved out of the hut in a bid to save his brother, they walked in the darkness towards the house Joseph had moved into, Maria holding the gun like it was heavy. They walked slowly in tiptoes and silence. They stopped when they heard the sound of footsteps, before Maria could turn to look around, She was grabbed from the back by strong hands which circled around her neck, squeezing the life out of her body. Her gun had fallen out of her hand and she yelled at August to run. The man squeezed harder and the blood started coming up to her eyes. With the little strength she could gather, she moved her left hand up and jabbed her elbow against the man's stomach, he winced and continued working on her. Determined, she grabbed his hands and with all her strength, moved it up to her teeth and gave him a deadly bite that tore off part of his skin, he screamed and released her, she spat out the flesh from her mouth and kicked him in the crotch, he staggered back and came on her again with mad pain and hatred in his eyes. He pulled her closer to him and gave her a heavy punch on the cheek, she staggered back and fell to the ground, he moved in again and grabbed her by the neck, squeezing harder than before, slowly, she felt the life fleeing from her body, she felt so weak and gave up fighting back, her vision slowly turned blurry and there, all she could see was her family, in the distance she hard two gunshots, the hands holding her withdrew and through the blurs, she saw the man fall and two more shots followed. Slowly, her eyes cleared and she coughed violently. She looked up from where she lay and saw August holding the .34. She jumped up and ran to him.
"It's okay baby, it's okay" she said cuddling him and taking the gun from him. In the distance, they heard the sound of police siren.
"Thank God, police" she muttered and took August by the hand, they walked slowly together, the man coughed where he lay on the ground, Maria looked back and saw him pointing his gun at them, she fell in between him and August, shielding him from the gun, the man fired once, the bullet hit Maria on the chest, she gasped and fell to the ground pushing August far away from her.
"Noooo!!" August yelled and rushed the gun where Maria dropped it, he picked it and shot the man 3 times on the head. He ran back to his sister where she lay gasping for breath.
"Baby, go" she said in between coughs.
"Jaycee!!" August cried out. Jaycee ran to where they were and cried out on seeing Maria.
"Maria!" he shouted and ran to her.
"Jay" she smiled and coughed out blood.
"Sis, don't die on us"
"Please, take care of August" she begged and Jaycee nodded furiously as drops of tears flew off his eyes.
"Please we need you" he pleaded, looking all over her, not knowing what to do. Joseph ran to them from the back of the house and fell to his knees beside his younger sister.
"Baby, what happened? Who did this?" he yelled as the tears streamed down his face. Maria smiled up to him and held her hand up to his cheek.
"I love you bro, I love you all" she cried and shut her eyes. Just then, a police car pulled in. Joseph grabbed Maria and heaved her up to his shoulder.
"Run with August" he said to Jaycee. He grabbed August and ran in the opposite direction of the approaching car. Joseph dragged along behind them until he couldn't move again. The strong headlamps of the car beamed on him. He dropped Maria's body slowly to the ground and cocked his gun. Filled with rage and the memory of all he had lost, his parents, William, Lugo and maria, tears streaming down his eyes, he shot sporadically at the car, shattering glasses and the lights that came from the car. The police men retaliated and fired back at him. The bullets from them tore at him all over his body, the impacts shook him and he staggered back.
"I am Joseph Donati, yes, Joseph Donati, Fuck you all" he yelled and pointed his gun at them again, oblivious of the bullet holes all over his body. Behind the car, Chief Jamie heard the name, the name of the man he had been looking for. Without remorse or pity, he aimed at Joseph and continued shooting. Joseph fell with both hands spread wide. He fell beside Maria and clutched her hands, with a broad smile on his face and wet eyes, he shut his eyes.
Jaime approached him with with alert and observed his body.
"Let's find the rest" he said and his 3 companions followed him.
Joseph and August had gotten to the water when they heard the firefights. Something told him that no matter what, if Joseph fought back, he was going to get killed. He was torn between running with August to safety and going back to help his brother. Whatever decision he took, he took it too late, Jaime and his men were already on him before he made any move. He saw their flashlights as they approached, he was terrified and that made him stronger, the thought that they couldn't have gotten to him if Joseph stilled lived made him more bitter than he was, the thought of losing everyone he loved killed him more.
"Run!" he whispered to August and shoved him away. August moved a little far away and stared at his brother with tears all over his face. Jaycee cocked his gun and raised it, he pulled the trigger before the police could make him out, the gun clicked and there was no sound, it was empty. He cried and watched as they saw him. In self defense, Jaime shot him 3 times at his hands, stomach and leg as August watched silently in anger. He staggered and fell back into the water. August held up the .34 and shot blindly at Jaime, the bullet caught him in the leg and he fell.
"No, wait!" Jaime yelled as his men tried to shoot at August "he is just a boy". He dragged himself off the ground and limped towards August, holding out his hand, his men pointed their guns at August waiting to shoot at any wrong move.
"Come on now boy, I don't want to hurt you, just hand over the gun" he said with reassurance. August looked at him and around at the men, he moved back and dropped the gun to the ground. Jaime pulled him closer and together they walked back to the car to wait for more backup.