Chapter 117

Chapter 117
“The Last Stop”

I was shocked to see the man bathed in his own blood, lying face down and unmoving on the ground. Fear gripped my body, and I froze, clutching my son in my hands. My head was fogged, and my mind was messed up with the horrible picture in front of me, so I clutched him tightly without even realizing it.
And then, gradually, everything returned to normal, and my senses came back to life. I wondered who shot him in the head, and then my terror intensified, and so much fear rolled up in my mind that it made me deaf from the motions of the surroundings. After a little stillness, I heard footfall running from behind me. At first, I thought it was Dave, but when I turned around, I noticed more than one person. They were dressed fully in black, with face masks and long fire guns, and they were approaching where I was kneeling with my son screaming in my arms.
The armed guys hoisted me up and attempted to take my son from my arms, but I struggled to keep my boy still, and they did not force him. They led me to the two tented black cars, escorted me into one of them, and sped away from the crime site.
I prayed hard that this upheaval in my life would cease soon and that I would have tranquility until the end.
We continued our journey, and one of the men wrapped a black cloth around my head, and after a few minutes, my son stopped wailing. Something made him stop weeping, and when I touched his mouth, he was gnawing on something, a chocolate bar.
"Who are you? Why are you covering my head? Are you plotting to kill us? Please don't hurt my son, mister. He was young and innocent; please spare his life, "I begged.
But no one was responding to me. They aren't speaking, as if they are deaf kidnappers or have been warned not to speak.
As the situation became more stressful, I imagined this bunch to be more organized than the two prior batches, the last of which they had slain just a few minutes earlier. Maybe they had a different strategy for killing me. Perhaps they intended to burn me to death and send my urn of ashes to Mea. Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably.
"If you kill me, please don't do it in front of my son's eyes," I begged. "And please, once more, return him to his grandfather."
But the kidnapper-killer did not respond. They were silent and unresponsive, which irritated me and caused me to stop speaking. For the first time, I surrendered to the Lord. My mother once taught me that in times of need, just ask God for help and direction, and help will appear in various forms. Surrender it all to God Almighty.
I prayed quietly, and after several hours of traveling, we came to a standstill. My son was sleeping in my arms when I heard the car door opened. Someone grabbed my arms, dragged me from the automobile, clutched my son, and walked out of the car while I was still blindfolded.
As far as I could tell from what I felt at my feet, we were walking on a cement pathway. Then I heard the sound of a door opening, and I assumed we were in a house, where an expensive air freshener welcomed my nostrils.
After a few moments of traveling, another door was heard to open, and hands pushed me a little, and the cloth covering my head was removed, and a nice room appeared in front of me. The door closed behind me, and I didn't have time to notice the man who was driving us there.
The room was fully equipped, with a tiny kitchen on the left side of the bed and a dining table for four. The fridge was beside a door, indicating that it was a restroom. The wall-mounted cooking area was crammed with culinary utensils like a cooking stove, a kettle, a frying pan, and a drawer containing some spoons and forks that gleamed like unused toys.
Looking at the fridge made my tummy grumble for food, so I quickly opened it and found it full of fresh fruits and other foods to eat. The closet included a variety of canned and dry items.
But I need to fill my stomach with food right now or I'll get sick. There's also some baby formula and other basics for my youngster.
After a few minutes, my hunger was satisfied, and Rafael Junior fell asleep again after sipping his milk. He was too fatigued to move about since he was exhausted from sobbing.
The shower room was spacious and stylish. And it still appeared unused due to the aroma of the freshly painted portion of the room. I'm surprised they haven't killed me yet. What are they waiting for to wipe me off the face of the earth?
For the first time, I felt agony in my feet from running, and my entire body hurt and exhausted from the stress of being pursued by the killer. When I closed my eyes, I fell deeply asleep and dreamed about the man who had been murdered in front of me. His head blew up in front of me several times, and I shouted in terror and contempt.
I turned to the bed, panting for air, and saw Rafael Junior still fast asleep. The cool water from the refrigerator wiped away my worries.
Who exactly are they?
I wanted to inspect the room because I remembered Roger putting me in a room after snatching me from the birthing facility. The room was fully equipped, much like the one they put me and my son in now. And after more investigation, I discovered that the window could be opened at any time and was barred with a grill. The trees were only a few meters away from the house.
Maybe that would be a good escape for me, I reasoned. I moved to open the room's door, but it was barred from the outside, indicating that we were still imprisoned in the room, as I had been after giving birth to my son, and I sighed and gave up.
At the very least, we were still alive, I thought gratefully. Perhaps God heard my petitions.
Rafael Junior awakened a few hours later and requested more milk. I showered him and was surprised to find a drawer full of children's pants and shirts, so I changed him into clean clothes. And he rolled around on the carpet after I fed and bathed him.
Rafael Junior spent the entire afternoon on the floor, and afterwards, after preparing our dinner, I ate it, fed my son, and went to bed, where I promptly fell asleep. I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of automobiles approaching and stopping. I shuddered with horror at the thought that the culprit had arrived and that the time had come to kill me. I went into the kitchen to find a long, sharp knife for self-defense, and then I lifted my kid, wrapped him in a large blanket, and placed him in the bathroom. It was fortunate that Rafael continued to snore while sleeping.
I peeked out the window to see guys gathering on the lawn, silently lining up, as if waiting for an important person to arrive. I was blinded as we approached the area a few hours earlier, and I didn't know the actual number of men in the house.
After a few minutes, a car's lights illuminated the road between the towering trees, and it came to a halt in front of the men in line. I attempted to hear what they were talking about, but their voices were muffled in the chamber where we were imprisoned. The automobile then restarted and drove away from the gathering.
After a few moments, the men in line spread out and ran in different directions, as if alerted to something bad.
My heart was pounding hard. And I waited to see what would happen to us. I returned to the restroom and cradled my son in my arms. I am bracing myself for the worst-case situation.
I fell asleep in the bathroom and was startled by a loud and deafening gunshot. I jerked awake and embraced my son once again. This time, I shivered with fear. The firing continued and became fiercer; there were rushing footsteps everywhere, and nervousness was eating me up. I had no idea how long the gunfight lasted. Then there was this enormous blast, and some men were screaming in agony; others were chasing each other. That was what I visualized based on the movements I heard from the outside.
Then I heard some footsteps, racing in and opening the first door, then the second door, which led to the bathroom. I asked God how long this chaos would last. The men dragged me out of the bathroom and wrapped a cloth around my head once more. They simply let me hold my son while another door opened, and we arrived at a car, hopped inside, and drove away. I yelled because I couldn't stand the terrible predicament we were in.
"Who are you?" If you're going to kill me, do it now!" My throat ached from the agony of my scream.
But my captor ignored my complaint and resumed our stealthy escape. Later, the automobile came to a halt, and I was hauled again, and once out of the car, I felt a strong wind and the aroma of the sea. "Where are you taking us? Are you going to dump us into the sea? Please respond! "
Hands slowly drew me and then removed the cloth from my head, and I was surprised to see a boat beside the water. We were going to ride on a boat.
The man held my elbow and guided me into the boat. Aside from the boat man, there were two males who escorted us inside the boat. And we sailed.
As we drove by boat, I realized what kind of death they had in mind for us. They're going to drown us in the sea and kill us. Nobody would know what had happened to us that way. We shall be forgotten and will perish beneath the waves.
"Please, don't do this to my son! I beg you. Kill me, but not him. He will never know what happened to me. He will not seek vengeance for my death. He's just a child. Spare his life! "
But they ignored me until we got to a beach where the dark silhouette of an island could be seen in the night.
And as the boat came to a stop, the men in charge of us pulled us to the land and left us there.
What they were doing shocked me. They didn't kill us, but they did abandon us on a small island. The coldness of the night made me shiver, and I hugged my son tightly. I looked around, but the shore was all new to me. At that point, I started to drag my feet out of the sand as the seashore started its high tide. I walked slowly until a small light attracted my eyes from a far distance.
As I proceeded slowly towards the light, it became larger and larger until it showed a house. It was the only light from a house, shining from an open window.
When I saw the house, my heart leapt with excitement. I was fairly certain that I could get assistance from the people who lived in that house.
I came to a standstill in front of the house's bamboo gate. "Hello? Is anyone home?" After repeated calls went unanswered, I decided to go inside the house to look for water. I was thirsty enough to drink a drum of water.
I went in because the door was slightly ajar. My eyes widened as I noticed the food on the table and a pitcher of water. I drank the water I had grabbed. And then I shared it with my son, who was thirsty as well. And the freshly prepared fish and rice on the table enticed me, so I began to eat.
After a few nibble the door opened wide and a familiar figure entered.
"Rafael, is that you?" I asked in hushed tones. "You are alive?" I couldn't believe he was there in front of me.