THE ESCAPE (4)

 John Begins to Work On His Escape

It was Monday; the third day since his capture and John was slowly adjusting to his new environment. He hoped he would not have to get used to being there, he had to be released this week. He didn’t hear from the kidnappers yesterday, it looked like it was their day off; thankfully the cook wasn’t off duty too, he was treated to another hearty meal.

He said his prayers, for the second straight day, and he waited for day to break. He heard those voices again this night, and he was asleep, but he thought he heard Khalid’s voice among them. It was probably his imagination, so he shoved the thoughts away.

When day finally broke, John awoke to see just a cup of coloured liquid and a few slices of bread; his special treatment was over. He managed to swallow down his breakfast, and then went over to meet Khalid. They were talking when Eagle walked in with a partner. “John, your people no won talk better, them say them no get money to pay for you, and na only 2 bag of rice we say make them bring. Your mama say she no even get half bag of rice to give us”. It took John a moment to register it in his head that when Eagle spoke of a bag of rice, he meant a million naira. “No be the first time we dey hear this kind talk, but make them no worry, we fit return only the part of you way them go pay for, and we go keep the rest for here”.

A frown came over his face as he walked over to John and slapped him in the face. It was a vicious slap, and it almost felt like his palm stuck to John’s face, it stung. Another slap was coming, but John wisely ducked and went to huddle against the wall. Eagle growled but made no further attempt at assaulting the stunned young man, leaving the hall with his partner.

As soon as they had left, Khalid ran over to John and asked if he was okay. John thought he was until the sobs caught in his throat while trying to prove that he was fine. He had just gotten a one-way ticket to hell. He cried and cried once the initial tears began to flow; surely these men would kill him in no time, his life was over. He knew his family could not raise a bag of rice, talk more of two, and these men were serious about getting their money. Shouldn’t he just be brave and ask them to kill him, knowing there was no other way out? Who was going to come up with the ransom and how?

Khalid tried to console him but John couldn’t stop the tears; he was a dead man, and he might as well not carry any tears to the grave. He reflected once more on his life, and whether he had actually done enough to merit this unfortunate end. His life could not end this way, he resolved. He didn’t know where this resolution came from, but he would stay alive for as long as he could. This den would not be his end. His first lunch/dinner of yam came that afternoon, but he didn’t touch it, he let Khalid have it. He could only cry, pray, sleep, and cry again.

Six days had passed and rather strangely Khalid was still around, the only other person with him. The other guy was taken on Wednesday, two days ago. They were now subjected to manual labour, because they had to earn their meals now; negotiations were not progressing as they would have wanted. John’s mum had gotten close to a bag of rice at the time of their last talks, but the captors were already asking for a higher amount, it was expensive taking care of her son, they said.

John had begun to study and take in his environment and his captors; he was going to be willing to provide the police as much information as he could that would help in the capture of these criminals. They had to be caught and made to rot in jail. He hadn’t been able to get a proper description of the environment yet, he didn’t really know the names of the vegetation but he knew there had to be a drainage nearby, maybe a stream not very far away. The major thing he had noticed was a tattoo the men had; some had it on the interior of their forearm, others on the left of their upper back region. It was a tattoo of a lion’s head having two wings and a snake’s tail. He could assume that the brains among them, like Eagle, sported the tattoo on their backs, while the brawns were the ones branded on their forearm.

John had also begun to notice their schedules; he was recording shifts, their rest times, and the number of people who stood guard at various hours. He had also begun to notice those who had some sense of sympathy and those who were the real cold guys. He was also figuring the chain of command and who had what rank and what it meant. He had identified about 14 unique faces so far, but he was certain there had to be more than that, though there were hardly more than eight people in the camp at the same time. If he played his cards right and spotted a few weaknesses, he could just escape, couldn’t he?

It was Thursday and he and Khalid had just completed three hours of weeding the premises. The sun was favourable and they were grateful for the mild weather. They were rewarded for their efforts with a boiled egg each to go with their yam; grand treatment. John couldn’t eat yet, he had to plan his escape. He had already begun to put things together and his plan was looking solid. He was already playing various scenarios in his head when his plans were interrupted by heavy footsteps. He looked up to see a part of the gang come in, but they were not alone: they had brought two new victims who were unconscious.

Recalling his own experience, John couldn’t help but already feel sorry for these people, who he didn’t even know, but this strengthened his resolve to escape, he couldn’t wait anymore. He finally decided to eat and while eating, he realised he had to take Khalid with him, he couldn’t leave his only friend here, plus they could plan their escape together; two good heads were better than one. “Khalid, there’s something I’ve been thinking about, and I’ll like to share it with you, but I can’t tell you here”, said John after his meal. “Sure, I’ll like to hear about it, but why don’t you want to talk here?” Khalid asked. “Don’t worry, just trust me, and you’ll be glad you did. I might have found a way out of this bondage once and for all” John replied. Khalid appeared surprised to hear it but said nothing, appearing to be deep in thought.

Two days later, John had been captive for over a week, but he was sure he wasn’t going to stay that way for longer. His plans had been altered by the entry of the two new people, who were having their last royal breakfast today. He had told Khalid a few things but hadn’t gotten into details because he hadn’t worked it all out. Today though, they would be able to talk while doing their Saturday labour.

They were out and as they worked, John was looking for a comfortable time to tell Khalid about his revised plan. They had not worked for an hour when the weather began to change. The scorching sun was swiftly replaced by clouds that promised some rain. John brought this to the attention of their supervisor, but he was dismissed as being lazy and unwilling to work. Less than five minutes later, a heavy downpour broke upon them without any formal warning, and before they could run for cover, they were soaked by the rain before they got to the hall.

The new captives didn’t work, so only John and Khalid were drenched; their supervisor had made his way to is quarters. As they took off their wet shirts, John turned to ask Khalid if he was fine when his eyes met a sight that made him freeze. With his back facing John, there on Khalid’s back was tattoo of a lion’s head having two wings and a snake’s tail. Khalid was one of them!