Ex Gratia (#1 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 38

Akoma opened her eyes slowly and found herself lying in bed with her clothes changed into a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. She had had nightmares of the horror she had faced with the members of Ex Gratia but could not tell how long it had been since she was rescued from there by the mysterious woman’s timely intervention. She tried rising up, but slumped back into the bed when a sharp pain in her back flared up. Her head ached badly and she felt weak. As she looked the room over, she recognized the butterfly stickers on the wall, the pink curtains and the Post-It notes near the window. It was definitely Aba’s bedroom. That was when she concluded that Aba had received the message and had been the one who rescued her eventually.

Just then, Louisa walked in with two plates of vegetable noodles and sausage chops, two glasses of natural orange juice and pancakes on a tray in her hands. She carefully shut the door with her elbow and walked carefully towards Akoma. She stared down at her with a worried look in her eyes, and Akoma stared back. She was not sure if Louisa knew everything that had happened yet. Had Aba told her already?

“How are you feeling?” Louisa asked in a hushed voice and set the tray onto a chair next to the bed before sitting by Akoma to stroke her arm. “You have no idea how worried we have been. What happened?”

Akoma was puzzled. “Didn’t Aba tell you anything?” she asked. “She brought me here, didn’t she?”

Louisa raised her eyebrows. “Who? Aba? She hasn’t been home since the wedding. She told me she had to find you because you sent her a message that sounded like you were in trouble. I called her to inform her that you were found outside the door to this house. She also had to travel. Emergency business trip.”

“What?”

“Yes. Ah! Then you have been sleeping for really long o! Ei Akoma!” Louisa chuckled. “Please get something to eat. I thought of taking you to the hospital when I realized you were not waking up after the first day – “

“The – what? How many days?” Akoma sat up quickly, but groaned when the pain flared up again. “I am confused. I – what? But where is Aba? You said she wasn’t the one who rescued me?”

Louisa shook her head. “We still don’t know how you got here. I was inside when you showed up. Whoever it was must have left as soon as he or she left you – “

“It was a woman!” Akoma shouted. “I saw her. But I didn’t see her face. She looked – “. She closed her eyes and tried to recall what she had seen, but she could only remember her dark silhouette standing before the glass window against the light from the room where she was being held hostage. If not for the number of times she had passed out after Derrick’s chokehold, she might have seen the identity of her rescuer. However, details from the memory were inconsistent with how she knew Aba, because her rescuer had ruthlessly and mercilessly murdered Derrick by opening the poisonous gas onto him.

“Akoma?” Louisa said and clapped her hands to draw her attention. “What are you not telling me?”

Akoma frowned and scratched her head. She remembered what the members of Ex Gratia had said about telling other people about the syndicate and the penalty. At that instant, she was not sure if her membership counted after the fruitless initiation since all the members were dead. If the rules counted no more, probably she could tell Louisa anything without fear. She pulled the curtain to look outside and found out it was evening. She did not find anyone walking behind the building and dropped the curtain to turn to Louisa who stared at her quizzically.

“Louisa,” Akoma whispered. “Someone saved me from some – wicked people in the shadows. You will not believe what I am about to tell you, but – “. Just then, a phone started to ring and she turned to find her phone lying on the pillow and ringing. Louisa was shocked to see her startled by a phone call and folded her arms across her chest, anxiously waiting for the story. Akoma leaned over and gulped, praying silently that it was not who she thought it was.

She finally picked up the phone and brought it closer to her eyes, and her heart leapt. The caller’s number was encrypted. Akoma dropped the phone and looked around wildly, and Louisa gaped at her in shock. “What is -?” she began to ask, but Akoma clapped her hand over her mouth to silence her. She forced Akoma’s hand off her mouth and sputtered. “Ah! What is the matter with you? Are you – what is going on? What happened to you, Akoma?” She looked terrified.

Akoma climbed out of bed and limped to the door, trying hard to ignore the pain in her back. She locked the door shut and took out the keys, and then she rushed to the windows to close them shut. She turned around to see Louisa seated there watching her cluelessly and frowned. “Join me!” she shouted through gritted teeth. Louisa rolled her eyes and shut the windows near the bed, and then went into the bathroom to shut the windows there too. She walked back into the bedroom to stand akimbo.

“Akoma, will you answer that phone?” Louisa asked. “Why? Who do you think is calling?”
Akoma shushed her and went to pick the phone up. It stopped ringing. Akoma grimaced and glanced at Louisa’s worried look. The phone rang again and she almost dropped it. Louisa shook her head and watched. Akoma slowly answered the phone and listened. The caller was also silent for some seconds and Akoma felt impatient about confirming who it could possibly be. “Who is it?” Louisa whispered.

Akoma listened carefully, her eyes sweeping the room to check the windows and the door for any surprise break-in. The silence continued. Akoma found herself breathing loudly into the mouthpiece no matter how much she tried to control herself. If only Louisa understood what horror she had been through, she would not have stood there ogling at her.

Was it Ender? Akoma saw her die. Who could possibly be calling with an encrypted line?