Pain!

I woke up with the most terrible headache I’ve ever felt. My head felt sore and light.

I realized I couldn’t move my body. I’ve been tied up to a chair.

I struggled to get free, but the rope was really strong and tightened. The more I tried to free myself, the more it bit into my flesh and it hurts like hell.

I knew I was trapped.

I looked around slowly becoming aware of my surroundings. I recognized this place, the river that flows to the dam and the bushy surroundings made it easier to recognize.

It was the school farm, one of the most isolated parts of the school. I knew because I’ve been here so many times.

“You know where this is,” someone said from behind.

That voice I’ve heard it before, it’s right at the top of my brain but I couldn’t pinpoint for whom it was.

Then, suddenly remembered whose voice it was,

“Welcome back, Amir,” he said as he walked out from behind and squatted right in front of me.

I felt distraught

“It was You,”

“Yes, it was “

“How ironic,” I said bitterly

“Life is an irony itself” he replied

I shook my head sadly.

“How long was I out?”

“Roughly 6 hours”

“6hrs? The bombs,” I said out loud

“They are active, ready to detonate anytime soon”

I stared at him bitterly. Pain gnawed on my heart.

“Letting me go earlier, was an elaborate plan to get me alone.”

He chuckled

“Yes, I couldn’t detain you. I can’t have you coming out tomorrow that you warned us, it would have backfired.”

” I wanted you to walk away so I could finish the job. My orders were no loose ends,”

“You looked like you believed you believed me and were ready to follow me”

“I knew Rasheed would find a way to convince me, I had to feign being convinced,”

“But I must say I was surprised and taken aback when you came talking about the bombs. I was even more shocked to see you walk straight into the Agriculture Lecture Theater, you had full Intel”

“You followed me,” I said

“Yeah, I told the others I was feeling very very sick and had to go home. I wasn’t to be called nor disturbed till tomorrow night when I resume my shift.”

“I traced you; I was quite intrigued to see how much info you had. You knew everything, didn’t you? Now which brings me to my question and the reason you are still alive, who told you there will be a bomb blast?”

I ignored his question

“You are scared of getting caught,” I asked

“Shut up ” he bellowed, and punched me right in the face

“I allowed your witty comments and replies earlier for a reason, the same mercy shall not be shown I promise “

“So now, how did you find out about the bomb?” he asked again

“Trust me, you wouldn’t believe it,” I replied.

“Try me,” he said

” I dreamt about it”

He slapped me so hard that I bit my tongue. I winced in pain.

“See, I told you, you won’t believe it, ” I said

“It seems you have a death wish, kid,” he said

He raised my chin up

“Tell what I want to hear and I might let you live”

Again, I ignored his question.

“You will be the reason a lot of people died today. Don’t you fear your soul?”

“Can you sleep with peace of mind after this? The horror will haunt you for the rest of your life” I said calmly

“Please there’s still enough time to change everything, to save everybody. If you release me now, I swear on my life not to identify you” I begged him

“We both know I’m not doing that,” he mused.

“Once you go down this road, there’s no going back. No redemption for your soul!”

“I admire your gumption kid, Amir, right? , Amir is such a beautiful name. The money I will be paid is enough to save my soul”

“Money? It was all for money?” I asked rhetorically

“Of course, it was about money, what did you expect, religious fanaticism?”

He laughed

“Although I was expected to make it look like bombing due to religious fanaticism, I don’t believe in all that nonsense,” He added

“What do you mean?”I asked

“How do you think religious fanatics get access to guns and bombs, it’s politically driven, a scheme by the opposing party to disrupt the ruling party and use it to push agenda in the subsequent elections “

“Are you saying you were paid by one of the current opposing parties of the country to disrupt the ruling party?” I asked confused

“No, I wasn’t paid by a politician, and Yes, I was paid to carry it out, you will be surprised who did”

“Who?” I asked curiously

“Does the name Giwa Raheem ring a bell”

“Yeah it does, every student knows him, he was said to be the Next VC of the University but was replaced by a Woman at the last minute,”

Prof. Giwa Raheem a professor in Criminology was set to become the next VC but was replaced at the last minute by Prof. Isa Zainab, it was said to have sparked an outrage but was later curbed. We only heard a little of it. It was rumored he was an arrogant sadist and wasn’t particularly liked by most people in the University. It was said he was denied being the VC because he was too unstable.

“So…. how does that relate to bombing the school?” I asked confused

“When the bomb explodes, she would be blamed for the insecurity of the University and would be asked to step down, Prof. Giwa Roheem will step up to the position amid the crisis and take control, “

I felt a spark of rage surge through me

“He is psychotic and you are insane. He will take several innocent lives because of a VC position and his bruised ego, and you obliged to do it for him.” I hollered

“Besides the Vice Chancellor isn’t responsible for the University Security and won’t be reprimanded for the explosion. You are both throwing away innocent lives for nothing,” I added bitterly

“Well that’s none of my business, the government will find a way to pin it on someone and not take the blame for their incompetence. The VC is the perfect scapegoat to take the fall and Prof. Giwa will make sure of it.”

“The school explosion will be the tip of the iceberg, the conspiracy goes way more than it meets the eye. There’s a limit to what I know and I’d love to keep it that way. I will fly out of the country before the end of the week with my family. I will start a new life entirely and that’s all that matters to me”

“The money is not worth the havoc you are about to wreak. The lives that will be lost, the sadness you will cause, they all have parents, siblings, and people who love them “

“They are all going to die anyway, I just made it earlier. Their parents can always give birth to another, and will forget about them in a few years, their siblings in a few months, their friends probably in a few weeks, Death is not as deep as you make it seem”

“This is the most psychotic speech I’ve ever heard You make me sick” I replied angrily

“you should be more worried about yourself right now kid, you are about to die. And I will give you two options, tell me what I want to know and I will make it quick and painless. If you give me another witty response, I will make you know true pain before you die.”

“I promise you, you will tell me everything you know, those I didn’t ask included, it’s just up to you to tell me, with or without pain.” He added calmly.

“Nobody, I told you I dreamt it or went back in time. I’m not sure,” I replied

He sighed

“I hope your threshold for pain is as strong as your stubbornness .”

He rubbed his hand over my head.

“Nobody will save you, Amir. You are a dead boy talking. Tell me what I need to know and I won’t have to hurt you,”

I resorted to pleading again,

“We can still save them, sir”

“Too late” He chuckled

He looked at his wristwatch

“It should explode in 5 4 3 2 1, swoosh “

He made a mocking gesture with his hand and mouth

“That is that,” he said

I felt sick again. I am a disappointment! I was given a chance to save everyone and I failed.

I stared at him with a burning hatred. I wanted to hurt him, I wish I could break free and beat him. To burn him or bury him alive. But there was no way I could do any of it when tied.

“Who told you about the bomb?” He asked once again,

“I hope you rot in hell, you will never know peace you fucking monster. I will gladly die knowing you will be caught soon, enjoy your new life as fast as you can, till you are caught. It’s a question of sooner rather than later” I shouted back at him

I knew he planned this carefully and probably would never be caught but I will seek a little solace knowing I have made him restless. He will spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder in fear of getting caught.

“I told you to choose your words carefully,” he said

He held my neck with one hand and hit me right in the face, I felt something crack. He hit me again right in my nose, I felt the air sucked out of me as I struggled to breathe. I felt my blood drip down my nose.

He continued hitting me till I couldn’t feel my face. My face was bloodied, I was blacking out.

“Hey, wake up,” he said slapping me back to consciousness

“Who told you about the bomb” he asked fiercely

“It was s…” I said very low for him to hear

He bent down and moved his head close to me

“Who” he asked

I bit his ear, I held on to it with all the strength I have in me, this is for everybody who just died, I yanked it off. I spat his ear out with his blood and mine mixed in my mouth.

I laughed hysterically, seeing him writhe and struggle with pain gave me a bit of pleasure and satisfaction.

“you can also feel pain, coward “

“Now, You are really dead “

“Tell me something I don’t know ” I replied

His finger grasped my hair, pulling my head back, he punched me this time with more rage, how cold his hands felt with the first few blows and how quickly they warmed with my blood.

I felt my skin tear, I felt my jaw snap, my teeth loosen, and I just swallowed my teeth with blood.

It hurts! He was keeping his promise!

He held my head back again, That snapping sound yet again, as his fist collided with my nose I couldn’t breathe.

He finally left me to writh, but soon brought out a gun and aimed. I didn’t know he had a gun the whole time.

I heard a bang, I felt numb at first, then a blinding pain in my leg, I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Are you ready to talk now?” he asked

I didn’t answer, I was too weak and tired to. I wanted the pain to end.

He aimed the gun again, this time at my stomach.

I knew that was the last straw, I once read in a book, that being shot in the stomach was one of the most painful ways to die and he probably knew about the pain of being shot in the stomach too.

I deserved this pain, I was given a chance to change people’s fate and failed miserably. I will die for it!

I thought about the number of people who had died all over again, I thought about what I could have done differently.

I thought it over and realized I tried my best, it wasn’t my fault nobody believed me and it definitely wasn’t my fault the perpetrator was the head of the security unit.

I tried my best! It gave me a bit of relief.

I watched my whole life flash right in front of me, I thought about My Mom, the poor soul would cry herself to sickness. My siblings and I always took our relationship for granted, I haven’t been exactly been the best brother to them. I thought we had all the time in the world to make up later, I was wrong.

I didn’t have friends close enough to mourn me other than Abdulrauf, how I wish he believed me, everything could have been different if I had him with me, he was smarter braver and stronger than I was, he would have made better decisions. I knew it will haunt him forever knowing he could have saved me but didn’t.

I felt sad, I didn’t want him to feel that way, he was a great friend anybody could ever wish for. I wouldn’t have believed him either and deemed him crazy if he told me he went back in time. I wished that wasn’t his last memory of me.

And Zarat, I never got a chance to apologize to her for how I’ve treated her.

I felt sick again, I remembered something , something I didn’t think about earlier. I would have remembered if I had listened to her more and scold her less. Zarat’s phone was faulty! That was why her cellphone was unreachable, she told me yesterday but I waved it off my mind. She definitely didn’t see my message and went to school, she probably died too.

The Angels are probably laughing at how horrible I failed. I remembered what Rauf told me about Fate; man often meet fate on the way he takes to avoid it.

I felt warm tears streamed down my cheek, I was overwhelmed with my emotions.

“Are you crying boy” he asked mockingly

” No, I sneezed with my eye balls, blind old rat”

“I will savor this moment for a long time ” he said

I felt a sharp pain in my stomach before hearing a bang, it was a hot burning sensation coupled with an intense terrible pain! My vision was becoming blurry.

I heard another bang but no pain coupled this time. I watched Mr. Ali drop to his knees and fell on me.

I raised my head and saw some people rushing towards me. I could only make out Abdulrauf out of them before loosing my vision completely.