THE NEW ALLY

THE NEW ALLY


Michael’s POV

“Go ahead,” Richard urged me while placing one hand on my left shoulder for support.

I turned to him with a heavy sigh and gave him the look that says I wasn’t sure if I could face her.

Richard has not left my side one bit. We stood outside the emergency unit for hours until a nurse came to inform us that Madison had regained consciousness and was ready to be transferred. Now, she is confined in a private ward and is awaiting discharge.

“You’ve got this bro. None of this is your fault,” Richard remarked when I turned to the door.

I nodded and then turned to Richard. “Why don’t you go home and get cleaned up? You could use some rest too,”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? I don’t mind staying here,”

“Go home, Richard. Some people care about you and trust me, they are also waiting for you,” I replied.

“Carissa is safe and like I mentioned earlier, everyone was evacuated and should be at their homes right now,” Richard said.

“Madison has regained consciousness and you heard the nurse. She’s well so we’re all good. You need to get some rest too. I’ll take it from here. Thanks, buddy,”

He nodded, placed a hand on my shoulder one more time, and then turned around to leave.

I pushed the door inside and then stepped into the ward.

Madison was seated on the bed and she was facing the wall. She was wearing one of the patient’s gowns and was backing the door. I moved closer and viewed her from the side. I noticed that the swelling on her face had gone down. She turned to me and I caught a glimpse of her entire face. There was a tiny stitch on her forehead.

I sighed, climbed the bed and threw my head on her shoulders. “You gave me a scare,”

Madison said nothing.

I looked up and realized that she was staring at the blank wall then I remembered what Dr. Magdalene had told me earlier.

I pulled away. “I’m very sorry. I couldn’t protect you,”

“What happened?” She asked without looking at me.

“We were attacked by a group of mercenaries. They took Ank and our guards by surprise. They launched explosives in the house but God no one died,”

Madison turned to me with eyes welling up with tears.

I sighed. “The police chief and some of our security personnel are currently running an investigation to determine the identity of the attackers,”

Madison looked away.

I continued. “It’s a good thing that Ank caught sight of them on time and that way, they were able to repel them. The explosives destroyed a portion of our home particularly the hall but don’t worry, we will fix that in no time,”

Madison turned to me. “And how long will these attacks keep prevailing?”

I didn’t utter a word. I was speechless.

She fell silent and I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her mind.

“I’ll tighten security. The house shall be watched 24/7 and I’ll ensure whoever did this is brought to book,” I held her tightly.

Madison shook her head. “You don’t get it? Don’t you? Why must I live my life in fear? Why must I live anticipating whether there’s going to be an attack on my house or not?” She turned to me with tears streaming down her cheeks. “I just want to be happy Michael. I just want to live peacefully with my husband. I have barely gotten over the…,” then she stopped and placed a hand around her stomach. “And my baby. I don’t want to raise my child in fear. Did we make a mistake by coming home?”

I cupped her face with my hands. “I swear to God, in 3 days. I shall put everything to an end. You will no longer have to live in fear. In three days, I’ll ensure all loose ends are tied and you won’t have to worry about anything again. I need you to truce,”

She threw her head on my shoulder and began to sob.
A moment later, she sniffled and looked up. “Do you think maybe she has a hand in this?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. All her defenses have crumbled. She got a life sentence and is living a caged life. She can’t lift a finger,”

“But her parents are out there. We don’t know whether they’re dead or alive. What if they are behind this?” Madison asked.

“The state seized all their resources so I don’t think they have the means to pull such a stunt,” I replied.

Madison hugged me tightly. “Never underestimate a Green. I’ve lived with them all my life and all they’ve taught their daughter is to keep fighting till her last breath. They don’t give up easily, Michael,”

“And neither will I,” I fired back. “Whoever is behind this, in three days, I shall end them for good,” I vowed.

\~~~

Savanah’s POV

The sound of the gong pierced into my room and the first thing I did was drop my legs to the floor.

The gong signals a lot of things in this shit hole. Breakfast, lunch, patrol, chores, dinner, and just anything that compounds to make our lives miserable in here.

Since I barely slept last night, I stood up and stretched then I turned to the small window on the wall. I noticed that the sun was barely up. We don’t have clocks here and as someone who got a life sentence, I couldn’t care less.

It was time for the usual morning walk. It normally occurs around 5:30 am. We walk around the prison perimeters, supervised by wardens do like an hour before we are led like a bunch of animals to the hall where we sit at a table of ten, all cramped for two scoops of watery porridge.

I collected my hair into a loose bun. Thank goodness I had no mirror in here else I would have gone mad at a glance of my reflection. My trousers were falling off. My neck grew taller and my cheekbones were projected.

I was completely emaciated. My hair was a mess. I smell like piss and look like shit. Well, that’s my life now. The life of a convicted person is all thanks to Michael and Madison.

At night, I barely sleep because anytime I close my eyes, I get flashes of them sitting in their chamber sharing a cup of coffee, or running around in the meadows. They look happy in my dreams. Even when we are barriers apart, they won’t stop torturing my mind.

I slipped into my sandals, rubbed my palms against each other vigorously, and waited for the patrol officer to open my room and release me from my cage.

I used to hate morning walks but right now, it was the only moment I had to get away from this shitty room and my harmful thoughts.

Why is the officer taking so long?

I could barely pace. The room was as tiny as a box. Then I heard doors opening next to mine and I knew he was close. It was Wednesday so I was expecting Officer Larry, the warden in charge of our Wednesday patrols to show up.

But then, another officer came forward with the keys. He slipped it inside the lock and unbolted it.

I have never seen the man around despite being here for months. Was he new?

“Come out, Savannah. Time to take a walk. You don’t want to ruin my first day at work,”

I was about to take a step toward him when I stopped in my tracks. I turned to him with my brows flaring up.

He smiled, exposing his cigarette-infested teeth. “Well, in case you’re wondering, your name is written on your tag. I picked it there,”

I sighed. He’s right. For a moment, I had wondered why a new warder would know my name on his first day at work.

I was about to walk past him to join the queue when he stopped in front of me.

“They are out there,”

I turned to him in confusion. “Excuse me?”

He leaned closely. “Your parents!”

My heart skipped a beat.

This man was playing games with me. What if I was even imagining him? My hallucinations were growing these days and it was even possible that this man wasn’t real.

“I know who you are, Savannah. I know about your case,”

I sighed. Another warder who had probably gone through my pathetic case file so now he knows about Savannah Green, the crazy woman who abducted her half sister, tortured her, and tried to murder her because she was in love with her Sister’s surrogate, now husband.

Was I still in love with Michael? Heck no!

I just want to rip him apart. Limb by limb. I want revenge!

“I met your parents,”

I turned to the warder. He was real.

He smiled. “There’s no time to explain. You might not see me here again until tomorrow. Your parents wanted me to let you know that they are alive and are watching,”

I gasped.

My mom and Dad! Alive?
“Where? When? How?”
He sighed. “I shall meet you in the dining room after breakfast tomorrow and there, you’ll get all the answers you need,”