Icelamb

Chapter 7

Ara

"When you hear your surnames, follow the line," One of the guards yells at us. There are about forty of them.

Still visibly shaken from the encounter with Mobo, I awkwardly step forward, waiting for my name to be called. I expect the line to be divided; instead, It's a single, long line.

"Adewunmi!"

"Azikwe!"

"Bola!"

The line goes on and on as they arrange us.

"Let the training begin! " The instructor starts with a Taekwondo lesson. We learn basic kicks, and we also practice on the punching bag. There is no wall clock in the room, so we don't know the time.

"Excuse me, sir. Please, I want water. I am extremely thirsty," A boy approaches one of the guards. The guard contemplates for a second, but he temporarily heads out of the room and returns minutes later with a bottle of water.

The guard heads over to the boy to hand him a bottle of water when we hear a loud gunshot. Everyone stops their training momentarily and turns in the direction of the gunshot. We see Mobo standing in front of the guard.

"Hunh, I liked that one. He was a great addition to the team. Pure shame." Mobo whips out a handkerchief and wipes his hands. Then he stands up abruptly and prances around the room, waving his gun in the air.

I shake my leg repeatedly to ward off my anxiety. My heart starts beating extremely fast, and a wave of nausea hits my throat.

"Do you think I am playing with you? Anyone! Anyone I say that defies my orders will face the consequences of their actions. This is 'Aye' mehn! You will receive the best training here. By the time I am done with you, you will see water, and you will not want to drink it," He yells at us, and his voice rises with every sentence he utters.

I demonstrate my eagerness to learn by heading to the punching bag.

I kick the punching bag with so much vigour even though I have no strength. When I cannot take it anymore, I fall to the ground. A guard whips my back with two strokes of a bamboo cane.

"Sweetheart, you are really proving difficult for us. It hurts, right?" Mobo moves in front of me and helps me up. He presses his hands on the small of my back and digs his fingernails into my flesh. I flinch and try to run away from him, but he increases the pressure on my back. "It's going to hurt even more when you complain," I suck my teeth and continue punching the sandbag. I keep on boxing that I do not notice the time is far spent. Every time I stop, the whip lands on my back. When Mobo blows a whistle and signals everyone to stop, I drop to the floor and toss my boxing gloves to the side while panting heavily.

I scan the crowd quickly as new intakes keep joining us at the training group, but I don't notice my sister. The guards disappear shortly and reappear with a tray in their hands.

The tray holds a Jar bottle, a syringe, and a packet of cotton wool. Inside the Jar is a blue liquid. As each guard advances towards us with handcuffs in their hands, I try not to think about the damage they will cause us.

With handcuffs, the guards fasten each of us from our left to our right wrist. With a scowl plastered to his face, the unfriendly male guard forcefully grabs my hand.

The sudden friction causes a bruise on my wrist, but he doesn't seem to care. I decide not to react or do anything as I cringe inwardly at the pain. I resign to my fate. He injects the syringe into my veins.

I wait for the effects of the blue liquid.

Nothing happens at first though my heart is beating fast towards the anxiety, then I start to feel lightheaded. I feel the adrenaline flowing through my body.