SAKIRA- New Edition

Chapter 15

Mr. Benson, still not ready to give up, hired slave catchers and summed them up with his men.
“I want us to go to this maroon village and get this girl back”
“The villagers will fight back” one of them said.
“Anyone that gets in my way, execute them. After all, the government has no business with them.” He said.
“Yes sire”
“Gather the men. We have a slave to catch” he said as he left the living room.
Sakira thought about what Dave had asked her the previous day. If I asked you to marry me, would you? She was shocked that he would suddenly ask her to marry him. She knew he loved her and she loved him too but she didn’t think she was ready for marriage.
“I’ll give you my response when we arrive at my hometown” she said
He nodded and gave her a short kiss then got up from her.
Dave was not exactly satisfied with her answer. He was not going to push her or force her.
He would continue with her until she was ready.
Later that day, Dave returned from hunting. Sakira sat outside their shelter waiting for him.
She sighted him with Tikka and a few other boys; they were laughing and talking happily. In spite of the difference in colour, he still looked like one of them. Dave approached her and gave her a peck.
“Have you been waiting for me” he asked and she nodded.
He dropped the game and sat beside her.
“Tikka is a very good fellow” he said
Sakira turned to him and smiled. She agreed with him. Tikka was the one that allowed them to pass the border to the village. He visited the village once in a while and made \conversations with Dave. They got along easily and since then, they’ve been good friends.
“He told me he used to be a slave and then he ran away and decided to protect the people of this village.” He said
“Did his master come to look for him” Sakira wondered
“They gave up” he smiled
Sakira hoped the same for Mr. Benson. She hoped he had already given up on her.
The evening came and everyone gathered around the bonfire. Each of them telling stories and making jokes. The men of the village made beats with the wood they sat on and Dave got up to dance to the rhythm. The villagers clapped and smiled as they watched him dance.
Sakira looked at him with gladness filled in her heart. He reminded her of the times she used to watch the masquerade danced in the middle of the village square in her hometown. Dave was very excited as he danced. This was what he loved; the African culture. He adored their tradition and culture. He wanted to be like them, he wanted to be one of them. He reached out to Sakira and pulled her up to dance with him. She was taken by surprise initially, but then she gave in and danced with him. A few others joined them to dance and the atmosphere was filled with peace and joy. And for the first time in a long time, Sakira loved everything around her. She wanted every day to continue like this. Just a place with nothing but happiness. But as the saying goes, every day is not Christmas.
***
Tikka barged into Dave and Sakira’s shelter and they jolted from sleep. They noticed it was almost morning.
“Get up, you have to leave now” he said
Dave got up looking worried and Sakira followed
“What’s wrong” Dave asked worriedly
“The slave catchers, they’re coming” he said “I saw them from a distance. Quick, you have to leave now” he pushed
Dave picked up his bag that contained every document he needed and his guns. He held
Sakira’s hand faced Tikka.
“You’ve been a great friend” Dave said to him and he nodded.
Tikka gave them a horse and they rode through the other side of the village. They had no idea of what entails on the journey ahead but one thing is that they had to get away from Mr. Benson and his crew.
Tikka watched them leave and felt sad for them. His expression changed to anger and he loaded his rifle. He returned to his post and waited for the men to get closer.
“I’ve waited long enough for this” he said to himself.
He prepared his men, for he knew a war was about to happen. Mr. Benson got closer to the end of the border and was surprised he saw no one. He knew something was wrong but he
couldn’t put the pieces together.
Mark rode his closer to his father. “Where do you think they would have gone to?” he asked.
In splits of seconds, Tikka and his men came out of the bushes and rallied round Mr. Benson and his men. Tikka shot his rifle and it met the leg of the horse of one of the men.
Another of Tikka’s men shot a bullet and it met one on his head. Mark loaded his rifle and shot one of Tikka’s men. Tikka fumed and aimed to kill Mark for killing one of his men.
Even after being caught unaware by these set of black men, Mr. Benson gathered himself together and fought them. He shot another of Tikka’s men and fear began to rise in them. Mr.
Benson’s men got closer to these men on their horses and kept on shooting. Tikka noticed how strong these set were and he began to retreat slowly. He refused to give up. He shot one
of Mr. Benson’s men and he fell from the horse. He winced in pain as he felt a bullet pass through his arm. He looked up to see his shooter. Mark smiled evilly at him. Tikka noticed
that the white men had outnumbered him and his men. There was no way they could win this.
But yet, he was not ready to give up.
“Men forward!” Tikka shouted as he and his little men ran towards Mr. Benson and his crew.
They shot carelessly and it met a few of Mr. Benson’s men. One thing that would always remain with the English men is the skill of tactics. They shot back with precise measurement
and accuracy and the remaining men left were now dead. Tikka looked around to see he was the last man standing. He face swelled in anger as he lifted his rifle to kill the opponent.
Before he could hit a target, a bullet was sent straight to his chest, he staggered back but refused to give up. He reclaimed his stance and wanted to shoot at them but another bullet
was shot into his stomach, blood poured out of his mouth as he slowly fell on his knees and finally Mr. Benson shot a bullet into his head sending Tikka to his grave.
Mr. Benson and his remaining men rode to catch up with Sakira and Dave. As they passed the village, the villagers ran to find safety away from them. Mr. Benson made a mental note to capture more slaves from here. But first, he has to deal with the present one on ground.
Dave was still riding the horse and hoped to be far away from Mr. Benson now. He didn’t know how he and Sakira would deal with Mr. Benson and his men. He could have guns but
their number is way much more than theirs. Sakira cried behind Dave as fear controlled every bit of her.