Only Darkness Lies

Chapter 23

There was a change in the hospital atmosphere, not as a whole but particularly the atmosphere around Ekom. The nurses were very cautious of what they say to him.

This change, though slight, didn't go unnoticed. Ekom figured out that something must have gone wrong and his instincts were telling him that it must be related to Kin and Monre.

They had not visited him since the morning which was really unusual, considering how badly they wanted to help him while he heals. He had a gut feeling that this couldn't be coincidence. He was suspicious that the nurses knew something about the two of them but were keeping him in the dark.

When one of the nurses came in to check on his condition he asked her outright about Kin and Monre.

She was hesitating, stuttering and finally she told him the tuth.
"Th..they are, well they a.are d..dead..".

Ekom froze as if his brain stopped working, he stared blankly at her face with his mouth open as she continued to speak something which he couldn't understand.

His heart was pounding fast, as if it will come out, it was difficult to breath, tears rolled down his cheeks as his silence changed into sobs.

More nurses rushed in to help because they feared his condition could get worse. He squeezed his eyes, thinking that it could stop his tears. After aome time, he calmed down a little but refused to talk to anyone. They kept him under surveillance for the night.

As daybreak was around the corner, Ekom's condition was stable, he was lying awake as he couldn't sleep the whole night thinking about Kin, Monre and Elvira. He knew, without anyone telling him that she had killed them, she must have.

As he thought more and more about it, despair took over him and he felt helpless and useless.

But it was no time to mourn, the night had changed him, he realised that it was time he does something to avenge their deaths.

Kin, Monre, both of them protected me. They kept me safe. But they are no more. I can't sit around, doing nothing. I need to avenge them.

There was no time to waste. He called the nurse and gave her a task to do. He told her to write a letter as he dictated. It was meant for somone important.

The nurse followed his instructions without resistance. She began writing the letter as he dictated though she felt that what she was doing was wrong.

Ekom asked her to post it for him and be quick about it. She posted the letter and reported back to Ekom.

The letter was meant for Elfred from the village of Etiome. Ekom knew him because of their past meetings in their shop.

He was one of their customers and they knew about his village and his will to fight the Troupe. Ekom thought that he was the only person who could fight for him, as his own body forbids him from doing so. He wanted to use him to get rid of Elvira.

But he didn't know that Elfred and Elvira knew each other and that she had helped him to fight and get rid of the Troupe.

It was still a question, whether Elfred will actually help him or not, especially when in his letter, Ekom had asked him to kill a certain someone for money?

But this was the best Ekom could do at the moment to fight back against Elvira and protect himself because it was obvious that she will come after him next.

Elvira, in the inn had no idea where Ekom had went to. She was sure that he was injured severely but she couldn't think of him receiving treatment in a general hospital while being aware that she will attack him again.

Since he wasn't with Kin and Monre earlier, he might be still severely wounded or maybe has succumbed to the wounds he received that day.

But these were only assumptions. She didn't know for sure whether Ekom was dead or alive and needed to find him. She wanted to finish him off soon and then return to Ilsiome and to Mr. Shim, as there were many questions he was required to answer. Ranging from her brother and villagers to Owide, who according to Kin was her father.

He wasn't home most of the time.
"He is firm and strong and though not a genius, an intelligent and logical person. But most importantly he loves us very much."
That's what mother used to say.

She smiled as the memory from her childhood came into her mind.