RUDEV MARY

Gambling fever

"Help! Help!" a lady cried. She's seen carrying an unconscious lady." Is anyone here?!" she screams out. Suddenly, people came out of their rooms to attend to her. "What's wrong?"

Khalifa rushed out and asked, "What happened?"

She placed the unconscious lady on the ground and replies "She's not waking up. " Everyone shared a perplexed look on their faces.

"Let's carry her to the healing bay..." Khalifa ordered more women to lift her, and they attended to her.

***

Everyone loitered in the lounge, expecting the lady's recovery. " Don, we have a problem," khalifa says, panting.

"Is the lady okay?" Rudev asked 

"No... She's infected with a disease..." Khalifa replied. They all gasped.

"What kind of disease" Don asked getting up.

"I don't know but the doctors say that it must have been gotten from outside and it's not from the prison" Khalifa replied.

They all looked at one another because they all had the same thoughts in their head.

"Was she trafficked?"Rudev asked hoping the reply would be no.

Khalifa nodded slowly. 

"Then she must have gotten it from outside" Don suggested.

Rudev turned to Don and said, "You think?"

She faced Khalifa and said, "Is she going to be okay?"

Khalifa shrugged"I can't tell"She walked away.

Rudev nodded and sniffed. She faced Don again"Please we need to talk"

"I know what you want to say... but I can't fulfil your wish," Don said slowly sitting back down."Rudev then replied, "Listen, Don, a lady is about to die here and more ladies will if the correct measures aren't taken..." She held Don's arms softly and said"You can put an end to it". Don snapped and replied"That I'm afraid cannot happen. Gambling is a tradition that has to go on, that is how we earn a living and a name for ourselves!" The reply shook rudev. She stared at Don for a short while"Can't you see that there more house pets than Kingpins, which means that more people are suffering"

Don relaxed a bit and replied"That's not up to me to decide"

"But you're Don?" rudev said.

"I know but the traffickers out there rely on this jail to release women... And the whole wardens are aware of this. This is just not mine to be given"

Rudev knew nothing she said or would say eventually would convince Don, she cleared her throat and said"Alright, if you wouldn't help me, just know that I would put an end to this..."

"Do what you must... It won't work" Don concluded.

***

"Only two of us won't make the plan work...." eve said to rudev.

"I know, then we'll need all the housepets to comply" rudev replied.

"How? are you sure they'll listen... I know how it feels like being a housepet. I could never go against Dianne, she made me live in fear for almost all my life, I was too scared to defy her, the others feel the same too" eve explained.

"But look now... I freed you and I want to do the same for them too" rudev said.

Eve didn't know what to say at this point, she just nodded and trusted rudev because rudev's ways have proven to be efficient.

Later that night. Eve and rudev gathered all the housepets in the hall. The women were numerous, and the hall was stuffy and closed so that no kingpin would enter. They all looked confused as to why rudev would want to address them. Eve gave rudev a thumbs up and rudev stood on the high table where she could be seen. The hall glanced at her and remained silent.

Rudev sighed deeply and stared at the faces waiting for her to commence, she smiled and looked at eve. Eve smiled back and told her to go on. She began

"Welcome my brethren!... Who says this?" she asked them. They all murmured for a while and chorused"Khalifa!"

Rudev smiled at their cooperation, she continued"Who calls you house pets?" 

They also answered"Our kingpins!"

The hall became noisy all of a sudden. They were wondering where rudev was taking this." Is that the kind of life we want to be living...." she asked. 

They all became quiet all of a sudden. The silence was too awkward for her, she looked at them reasoning with each other. She looked at eve, and eve replied with a shrug. Someone from the crowd then said, "What are you saying?".

Another person then asked," are you insinuating that we rebel against our kingpins?" The hall became noisy again.

Another voice was heard"You want us to dig our early grave!"

She was speechless, people continued attacking her with questions"We'll be dead if we do that!" 

Rudev finally spoke out"We have to put an end to this..." but someone shut her up saying"Easy for you to say, you're a kingpin". They all agreed.

Rudev couldn't take it any longer"...A life of slavery, fear, torment. A life where you don't have a say of your own...." They all calmed down for her to continue.

"...Something must kill a man...and that thing that can destabilize even the mightiest man is fear...I agree that I'm a kingpin but even when I wasn't, I still had a voice of my own. I never let anyone put me down or make me feel bad. My greatest fear was losing my parents and that had already happened."

She made gestures with her hands during her speech"Let me tell you something you guys haven't thought about yet... I have fifty-six housepets but if all of them ganged up and dealt with me... I would be in the healing bay..."

They all reasoned and murmured at what rudev just said.

"A lady is dying in the healing bay as we speak... Do you want to end up like her..." she asked

They all chorused"No!"

Rudev smiled and went on"I want to help you guys, how many of you want to make a change..." They all went mute again.

She expected her speech to at least make a little effort in convincing them but still no answer. She became angry, she yelled"I'm not doing It for myself, as far as I'm concerned, I'm a kingpin... I'm doing it for you all..."

The hall remained silent. Rudev sighed in disappointment and got down slowly, Just when all hope seemed to be lost

"I comply" eve raised her hands. Rudev stopped and turned to her, she looked at the rest still making up their minds. Eve was a motivation for some that raised their hands"I comply too.". Rudev climbed back up, she was amazed by the responses.

More women raised their hands up and even more women, half the hall raised their hands. Eventually, everyone complied. Rudev was impressed, her face beamed with joy.

"I have a plan..." she concluded.