Finding You.

CHAPTER 20

SOMILA

As the guys slowly drop their guns, their hands shoot immediately in the air. Lizo is carrying the sports bag in one hand, his other hand is raised mid air. "I'm gona let your girl go and count up to five, if she's still in sight she dies... alright? And you know I don't miss Lizo!" Bheki barks, holding all the power in his hands.

Where will I run to? At this point, I need to get away from all of them. "Don't do that Bheki!" Lizo sounds angry as he finally speaks. "You broke into my house, stole the cash and my diamond which will make you rich. You know you have to sacrifice the things you love for money, that's just how it is in the streets. You love this girl? She might die tonight, that's your sacrifice. The girl or the diamond, what will it be?"

The air is filled with a brief silence before Bheki breaks it again with his terrifying voice. "There's no way everything is working in your favour tonight!" he says. Lizo is quiet, would he really choose money over me? After dragging me into his mess and now I'm going to die because of his gangster ways. I'm shaking under Bheki's embrace, "Don't worry baby girl, you won't feel a thing." He whispers in my ear as he releases his hold from my neck. "Somila run!" Lizo shouts.

I'm running towards the tall grass, but it feels as if I'm standing in one place. "One!" . . . My feet hurt under the small stones I'm stepping on. "Two!" . . . My legs wobble and my knees are weak, but I keep going. "Five" . . . what the fuck happened to three and four?

A gunshot sounds from close by, and I fight the urge to dwell on the curiosity of who else got shot tonight. I continue running, not looking back, and I wish my hands weren't tied so I could run faster... Bang! Another gunshot. I don't care if they all kill each other, I have to get away from here.

A force pushes me forward all of a sudden just as I'm about to touch the gravel paving leading to the tall grass. My right shoulder feels heavy and numb at the same time. I dive across the floor, my cheekbone scraping the gravel surface as I slide on the floor. My ears are ringing as I hear four more gunshots... bang . . . bang . . . bang bang! . . . Silence.

"Somi!" the voice is fading. "Somila!" the tape is peeled off my wrists but the pain doesn't compare to the burning pit I feel on my shoulder. My face is lifted off the ground and there are arms on my back. My shoulder is throbbing with pain as Lizo shakes me into consciousness and then shock.

"Wake up baby, come on!" he's tapping on the sides of my cheeks and I slowly open my eyes, my vision blurry. "You're okay... you're okay!" He assures me, but nothing that comes out of his mouth is ever true. I'm having heart palpitations and my saliva tastes bitter as I swallow. "I'm okay." I try to convince myself,  but I'm not okay.

I'm intoxicated and drug induced, I'm losing blood . . . fast. "What the fuck are we going to do with her?" Fanele is shouting, pacing back and forth, "Fuck fuck fuck! Lizo you shot Bheki, the police will be here soon, let's just leave them here and go!"
           "Are you fucking insane man? She's bleeding to death, we need to get her to a hospital!"                           
         "Hospital? The police are going to ask questions, I don't want to go back to prison Lizo, especially not for some bitch!"

Lizo still has me in his arms, he seems to be weighing his options. "We're dropping her off at the warehouse and we go!" He finally says. "You said she sent someone her location, the police might be there already." Fanele argues, "I said we're taking her to the warehouse and that's final!" Lizo responds as he picks me up in his arms, getting into the backseat with my head on his lap and my feet on a bleeding Bullet's lap.

The first gunshot we heard must have been from Bheki, because Bullet also has a bloody wound on his arm. Scar is speeding as we leave a dead Bheki behind, an echo of sirens already sounding from a far distance. "Come on man drive faster!" Lizo prompts as the motion of the car increases.

"Aya..." my voice is hoarse, and Lizo just looks at me and says nothing. I'm getting weary as minutes pass by, and my shoulder hurts more now that the car bumps roughly on the gravel we've been driving on for the last five minutes. "SHIT!" Fanele screams, quickly grabbing Lizo's attention. "Turn off the headlights, the cops are here already, just toss her out." I assume we're near the warehouse now, there's only one person I need to be with right now, how I pray that he's here for me. "Toss her out, Scar put the fucken car on reverse and let's get the fuck out of here!" Fanele's words come out with finality and they start moving.

Lizo's door flies open, leaving my head to fall onto the seat as he goes out and drags me out, holding me under my armpits. "Ahhh!" I cry out in pain as I hit the dirt ground, I hear the door being shut and the car speeds away. I'm left on the side of the road, in the middle of the night... or is it morning? I don't know. I should get up, the police are still there, it's not a far walking distance from here...

I get up, pushing myself off the ground using one arm. I don't know how I did that but it's probably the cocaine giving me some sort of energy? The heart palpitations are getting worse with every step I take, or is this a heart attack? I'm feeling a lot of different things all at once. I need to get to Aya, he'll get me home safely, and I'll be safe in his arms.

I should shout so they can hear me and come to my rescue before I die here. I feel like instead of walking, I'm shuffling at a very slow pace, left foot . . . right foot . . . left foot . . . right foot . . . My shoulders are too heavy, it feels like there's a heavy load resting there. I stop walking, falling to my knees, then down to the ground...
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AYA

We arrived here an hour and a half ago. When I received the location, I called Somila's mum, telling her to inform the Johannesburg police about the information I had received. She had done just that, and as we got to the Ermelo police station, the cops were already waiting for us with five vans. Turns out, they've been looking for an excuse to raid the place, but couldn't get a warrant without a plausible reason.

We quickly got into the car and followed them to the abandoned warehouse. When we arrived, Sam had insisted I stay in the car, but I couldn't just sit knowing there's a possibility that Somila was hurt in there. I followed the police inside even though they told me plenty of times to stay outside.

She wasn't in there, we found her phone smashed into pieces on the floor, and there were signs of drug usage as well, but no Somila. I helped search around the premises outside, but there was still no sign of her. I thought I saw headlights in the distance, but they turned off again. I didn't know whether I was hallucinating due to the recent blood loss since I hadn't allowed Sam to stop at a petrol station for a band aid. "You'll get an infection." Sam had scolded me, but I didn't give a shit, the only thing that mattered to me was finding her.

Now here I am, standing in this cold dark gravel, thinking I saw headlights in the distance... I see a figure for a brief moment and then it falls to the ground. I could just be seeing things, rubbing my eyes to take another look- I see nothing, there was never anyone there.

I should go back to the other cars and listen to their search strategy... but I can't, something compels me to go towards the place where I saw the headlights, where I saw the figure falling to the ground. What if that person needs help? What if they need help and I deny them that chance to live... What if it was Somila who was alone, stranded and exhausted... then someone who could help her decided not to?

These chaotic thoughts taunt me so much that my feet carry me quickly to the figure. As I inch closer, I notice that the purple pyjama top she's wearing is soaking with blood all over her back. "Hey, come over here!" I yell back at the cops who are getting ready to evacuate the premises. "Excuse me Ms?" I try to get a word out of her, but she doesn't stir. Switching on my phones flashlight, I notice the familiar dreadlocks... and then it hits me. Fuck no!
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IS SHE DEAD? Will they ever find Lizo and the guys who did this?
What are your thoughts? Tell me everything .