INKTOBER DAY 29: Injured

Tega ran. Fast!

The man was running after her and she knew she needed to hide to be safe. The road was dark and there was no car in sight, this was not how Tega wanted this life to end. Yes, she had done so many cruel things in this life but not like this please, God. Somehow Tega had time to laugh, God, really? Funny how you only say that name when you are in trouble; you honestly think they give a fuck about you now? Focus woman! Tega kept running as fast as her feet could take her, the scars on her face were itching but there was no time to stop and scratch. The only way in her sight was to dart left into the bushes and try to hide. Her attacker entered after she did from wherever he was, Tega could hear his movement. The darkness was her only cover as she decided to stop moving, she could hear him thrashing around trying to find her. He seemed to be getting closer to her so she got on her hands and knees and crawled away from his sounds slowly, using her hands to make sure nothing would give her away. When he stopped moving, she stopped moving; he was trying to find her location from her sounds just like she was doing to him. Tega prayed with all her might, called on God even though the voice in her head said it was futile; begged for a miracle. She was bleeding out from the gash on her leg from when the mad man had grabbed her and stabbed her with a blunt knife. She remembered how the pain shot up to her brain and how all she saw was white; the pain moved to second place when he crawled out and got on top of her. He didn’t know that she too, walked around armed and dangerous as she used her knife to stab him back. She recalled taking the life of her neighbour’s daughter for following her suspiciously. Right there in the street while people watched but knowing no one would dare question her; the scars on her face made her a legend of sorts and everyone stayed clear of her. She touched the scars now, images of how she got them flashing behind her lids; it was a fight she was not ready for apparently but it had to happen and her opponent clawed at her with faux metal claws that dug deep into her flesh. Her scream echoed in her head and the pain from her leg caused the one in her mind to feel real, resulting in a very audible yelp. When she realised what she had done, Tega waited to hear if he had heard her too. His sudden movements made her understand that he was closer than she thought, probably on his hands and knees as well. Refusing to die at the hands of an unknown man who probably wanted to violate her, she got up and with what was left of her strength, ran in the direction of the road. The fight, the ridicule, stabbing of the girl in red shoes, the nights she spent crying over that life, having to run away, and this night with this psycho. Lost in her thoughts, she ran blindly into the road, the impact of the car bringing her back forcefully back down to earth. She saw herself travel in the air and land on the floor; when her head made contact with the asphalt she knew that it was time. So much for not wanting to die tonight, was her last thought.

Ovo woke up with a start, rubbing her face, feeling her legs and her head—the pain was so much behind her eyes. She started to cry out loud attracting her mother’s attention. The Queen rushed into her child’s chambers, arms open and ready to console her baby. “Bad dreams again my princess?” Ovo nodded into her mother’s bosom. “Sorry my baby, it’s just a bad dream.”