AfroSFv2

by Ivor W Hartmann

  Onani pushed the thought out of his mind and tried to concentrate on driving. The vehicle’s lights cut through the night as Onani passed through Dedza district. He had not driven the Corolla in a long time. It had been his mother’s. He knew it would take him a few more hours before getting to Blantyre district but Onani did not care. He had to find Nina.

  Chileka, Blantyre district

  Father Fletcher said nothing, but clutched his rosary in his hands so tightly it hurt his fingers. The missionary was both angry and confused. “Sir Gregory, this is insane! I can’t believe this. I refuse to!”

  Sir Gregory immediately replied, “In all the years you have known me, Father, I have never been one to say things in jest. And I most certainly would not joke about a thing like this.”

  This time it was Mavuto who spoke up. “If what you say is true, how can we trust you? You’ve just said you are one of them! Who are you, really, and why are you here?”

  “That is enough, Vuto,” Nina spoke softly, calmer than she had been all night. “Dad-”

  “Don’t call him that!” Mavuto snapped at his sister. “We don’t even know who he is! We never have and probably never will!”

  Nina ignored her brother. “Dad, I know you have a lot to tell us. We are all in shock. But could we please not do this now?” Nina nodded her head towards Joel. The boy not only looked confused but also terribly frightened.

  Sir Gregory understood. “You’re right, Nina. No need to talk about this further. I need to go back up to the house and check if there is anyone there. I think I heard something.”

  He went to the locker which Mavuto was now leaning on. Sir Gregory said nothing, only glared at his teenage son. Mavuto grudgingly moved out of the way. Sir Gregory punched a few numbers on the keypad and the closet opened to reveal a vault with different weapons in it. Taking a spear and ignoring the stares, he went back to the stairs, pressed the red button, and cautiously went up telling everyone to remain below.

  Back in his room, Sir Gregory found everything untouched. It was when he was about to open the door to the living room that he intuitively felt another presence in the house, one of his kind. Sir Gregory flung open the door, took one sweeping glance across the room and threw his spear. The man sitting on the sofa was dead before he even realised who had killed him.

  Sir Gregory calmly removed the spear from the man’s stomach and covered him with a tablecloth. Then, after making sure that the rest of the house was secure, he went to call the others, all the while preparing himself for the talk with his daughter.

  Chilinde Barracks, Lilongwe city

  She was still in restraints, standing with four soldiers, their guns trained on her. But she seemed unperturbed, eyes closed, deep in thought. The soldiers guarding her could have sworn that she had a smile on her face.

  There were only a few hours left until the hunt begun. And, captive or not, she would participate. She had lived on this planet for a long time with these gumas. She had even practised killing them over the years. It was easy on this planet; they were more domesticated and even weaker than the ones she used to hunt back on her planet. When she killed on this planet, in spite of their law enforcement agencies, she had always got away with it. Until now.

  She was looking forward to the hunt for two reasons now. First, it was her reward for staying on this planet. She had earned it. Second, she now wanted the pleasure of killing the man who had captured her. The man who had shot and almost killed her. She was going to hunt down the detective.

  Blantyre city, Blantyre district

  The soldier was surprised to see the white sedan approaching the roadblock. He had not seen that Corolla model since he was fifteen. He unslung the rifle on his shoulder, released the safety catch and cautiously approached the window of the driver’s seat. One could not be too careful in light of the recent events, especially when a great-looking, but old vehicle approached a restricted area at night.

  Behind the wheel was a weary-looking young man. “I’m Detective Onani Limani from Police headquarters in Lilongwe,” he said, handing over his identification. “I need to get to Chileka right now.”

  The soldier looked at the man’s identification with one hand, the other still on his gun. “I’m afraid that is not possible, sir. We have strict orders not to let anyone through except military personnel. I’m going to have to ask you to turn back.”

  Onani looked at the soldier carefully. “I have been driving from Lilongwe non-stop for four hours. You have to let me through, it is important.”

  “That will not happen, sir. You won’t get through,” the soldier reiterated, handing back Onani’s identification. “The road which passes through the power plant has been blocked as well,” he said as if reading Onani’s mind, “and do not even think about bypassing this roadblock on foot, sir. We already have men in the area who are more likely to shoot you than ask questions.”

  “Well, aren’t you the king of countenance,” Onani spluttered sarcastically. He put the car in reverse and parked it by the side of the road, a few metres away from the roadblock. The soldier kept watching him carefully. Onani tried Nina’s number again, but still got nothing. It was then that Onani remembered another number.

  Chileka, Blantyre district

  Sir Gregory left Father Fletcher with Mavuto and Joel, who had calmed down a little, in the boys’ room and knocked on Nina’s door. The door was already open and Sir Gregory found his daughter sitting on her bed, holding a picture of her mother.

  “You should get some sleep,” he said, not sitting down. Nina looked up at the man she had called her father since she was little and it was almost as if she had just met him today.

  “I killed someone today. Just how do you expect me to sleep? I stabbed him. His blood was all over my hands!”

  “It’s alright, child,” Sir Gregory soothed. “You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your brothers. He wasn’t human anyway.”

  Nina ignored her father’s last remark. “Was this all a lie? Did you really love any of us at all or were we just your cover on Earth, to make you look human?”

  Sir Gregory sighed. “It was nothing like that at all. I really loved your mother. That is why I married her. And, as time went by, I grew to love her even more. It was the same with you and your brothers.”

  “Forgive me if I do not believe you,” Nina snapped back, with fire in her eyes. “And even if I did, that still does not excuse the fact that you have been lying to us all these years. How could you and mother keep something like this from us?”

  “We thought it was best that you not know. We wanted you to go on with your lives as normal, without wondering who was human and who was not.”

  “Why exactly are you here? You are one of them. You have obviously been on this planet for so long. Why?”

  Sir Gregory paused for a few seconds before replying. “When humans were put on Earth, a few of our kind were left here to monitor them. Each of us was supposed to stay here for a few hundred Earth years under different identities until someone came to take our place and we went home. A few years before my time was up, I met your mother so I refused to go home, which made my people angry. And, when I married her, their hatred towards me grew worse. I could not go back, even after your mother died. I love you and your brothers too. I could not leave you.”

  For the first time, Nina felt like she understood. “You must be really old.” That brought a slight hint of a smile on Sir Gregory’s face. “So you disobeyed your kind and married outside your species. I guess that explains why they hate you so much.”

  “Yes, well, the feeling is mutual,” said Sir Gregory, moving out of the room. “Get some sleep now, child. I will keep us safe up here tonight. We shall talk further in the morning.”

  “Dad,” Nina could not believe she still called him that. “You said the hatred is mutual. I can understand why they despise you. But why do you hate them?”

  Sir Gregory stood by the door and looked at his daughter. In sp
ite of the distance, Nina could see great sadness in the old man’s eyes. “They killed the love of my life. They killed your mother.”

  9

  Sir Gregory sat on his favourite chair in the living room, spear ready. The spear’s victim still sat in the chair opposite his, and had probably bled into the cushioning, but Sir Gregory did not care. He did not move, just sat in silence, radiating melancholy.

  He had not meant to tell anyone on Earth about what had really happened to Milcah on the day she died. Technically, he still hadn’t. But now Nina knew that the metsus had killed her mother, although she did not know how. Milcah’s death had seemed natural enough. High blood pressure. But Sir Gregory knew better. Yes, he definitely knew better.

  He was interrupted from his thoughts by a low rustling noise in the corridor that led to the bedroom. Sir Gregory did not move. He knew who it was.

  Father Fletcher stood by the door that led into the living room, hesitating when he saw the body covered with a bloodstained sheet.

  “Do not be afraid, Father. He will not rip your chest open. He is dead. I made sure of that.”

  Father Fletcher’s eyes scanned the dark room, before he finally decided to sit on the chair next to Sir Gregory, grateful for the coffee table which was between them and the dead body.

  “Are you sure that thing is dead?”

  “Yes, Father, I am. I stabbed it in its heart. You have nothing to worry about.”

  The priest gave a short, strained laugh. “I have nothing to worry about. Within the last twenty-four hours, my faith has been heavily shaken. Some members of my congregation have been brutally murdered. I have just heard a story about how both the creation and evolution theories championed on this planet are false, how God does not exist. And you say I should not worry.”

  “Actually, Father, you have evolved, in a way,” said Sir Gregory, not looking at the clergyman. “Your appearance has improved and so have your cognitive skills. It seems that this planet agrees with you gumas.”

  “Well, I suppose we should be thankful for that,” snapped Father Fletcher, full of sarcasm. “Do you know what this story of yours could do to this world? How much chaos and irreparable damage it would cause?”

  Sir Gregory took the spear from across his knees and leaned it against the chair. “This world is already headed for chaos come morning, Father. I have no doubt about that. And when it comes to my story, I can understand your misgivings.

  “However, the hunt starts in the morning, like I said. If we are going to survive, we have to stick together. So believe what you want, Father, because I really do not care. All I ask of you is that we act with the same goal in mind, staying alive.”

  Father Fletcher knew what Sir Gregory was alluding to. “Well, I can tell you two things right now, Sir Gregory. First, I will never deliberately take another man’s life. And secondly, I do not believe your story. Even if I did, you would have to explain how you and your gumas happened to be on your planet in the first place. Quite frankly, I do not think you can. Now, I suggest that that thing lying dead in the chair be removed as soon as possible. You do not want the children to see it.”

  Deep down, Sir Gregory was forced to admit that he could not explain where metsus and gumas had originally come from. But he did not want to start debating their origins so he sat quietly, waiting for that which he was certain would come in the morning. He would move the body later.

  Chilinde Barracks, Lilongwe city

  The room her captors had placed her in had no windows, just four walls and an overhead lamp. Her well-honed senses could tell her, however, that it was after midnight, nearly dawn. It was time.

  “Excuse me,” she addressed one of her guards. “Could I please have some water?”

  The guard looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then walked over to the table in the middle of the room where a pitcher of water and a few plastic cups stood. Laying his rifle on the table, he filled one of the cups and took it to the prisoner. As if expecting what the captive was planning, he un-holstered his sidearm and pointed it at her forehead. “Drink,” he ordered, helping her tilt her head back with the barrel of the pistol.

  She drank, concealing her frustration. The plan would not work with a gun to her head. This guma was clever. He had ignored the sense of security the other guards provided, with their guns pointed at her. But, it did not matter. She would try again. The chains she could break. It was the guards that would complicate things.

  10

  Chileka, Blantyre district

  Nina opened her eyes just a few minutes after the first rays of dawn glowed between the curtains of her childhood bedroom. She smiled, happy to wake up at home, in her own bed. Then all the events of the past hours came flooding back. Her smile vanished.

  She had killed someone. She had actually murdered someone. And, she had done it up close. Although she kept telling herself that it was self-defence, and an accidental miracle that she succeeded in killing the man who would have killed both her and her brother, she still felt guilty. The man was quite young. He had come out of nowhere and attacked them, knocking Mavuto to the ground and then landing on top of him, beating him mercilessly before turning his attention to Nina. She could still vividly recall how it had felt, the knife slicing flesh and piercing the man’s abdomen. Her father had told her that he was not human and was probably hundreds of years old so she should not feel bad about killing him. To Nina, all that provided little comfort.

  Her father. Nina shuddered as she recalled the previous night’s events. Her own stepfather, the man who had been the most important male figure for most of her life, had just told her that he was not human. Not only that, he’d kept it a secret for all these years, together with her mother. Her mother, who had allegedly been killed by her stepfather’s own kind.

  Nina had so many unanswered questions. For one thing, she could not understand how her mother, whom the doctors said had died due to high blood pressure, could have possibly been killed by these things. Also, if her stepfather knew about what was currently going on, why had he not warned them sooner? All he had done was confuse Nina even more. He had flatly refused to answer any more of her questions after mentioning her mother’s death, leaving Nina seething with rage.

  Pushing her ambivalence towards her stepfather aside, Nina got out of bed and dressed. She was glad to be with her family now, with everything that was happening. But right then, there was one person she needed more than anything.

  Chileka, Blantyre district

  A sharp rap on the driver’s side window woke Onani up. He adjusted the seat he had been sleeping in and rolled down the window. In the morning light, Onani thought the soldier he had met during the night looked a lot less menacing as he handed over a satellite phone. “You have a phone call, sir,” the soldier spoke with sincere courtesy.

  “You are quite the determined lover, Detective,” Lieutenant Phiri’s voice crackled from the other end of the line. Onani was a bit taken aback. “How did you find out, Lieutenant? I did not tell you why I wanted to be in Chileka this badly.”

  Lieutenant Phiri laughed. “I have my ways, Detective. When you called last night, I got really curious. Besides, only a woman could make you leave the security of the barracks in such hasty a manner.”

  Onani said nothing so the lieutenant continued. “Some more of my men are being deployed in the area today. I have instructed them to take you along as our police liaison. Keep in mind, though, Detective, that this is a military operation. Our men will not allow any of your heroics or foolhardiness. Get to your girlfriend and get yourselves out. That’s all.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant, I understand. Thank you,” Onani managed to say before the line went dead. He took a few seconds to familiarise himself with his current surroundings. The filling station to his right, taxi rank to his left. The roundabout behind him, with four roads; two led to Blantyre city, he knew. One led back to Lilongwe and the other was the one he was about to take.

  The soldier cleared his
throat loudly, attracting Onani’s attention. “The men are about to leave, sir.” Onani nodded, handing back the satellite phone. “Park your car by the roadblock. You will be using army vehicles.” When he saw Onani hesitate, the soldier added, “Don’t worry, sir. I will personally look after it.”

  Onani was surprised to see a hint of a smile on the soldier’s face, which had seemed quite stiff the night before. He decided to do as he was told. “Hey. What is your name?”

  “Chimanga, sir. Corporal Lanjesi Chimanga.”

  State House, Lilongwe City

  President Moto rolled around in his king-size bed and stretched. The clock on his bedside table said it was six in the morning. He had slept for five straight hours. Doctor’s orders. The head of state got out of bed and checked himself in the mirror. His face had the haggard look of someone who had not slept in days. So much for resting.

  As he showered and dressed, the sequence of events from the last few days played over and over in his head. It had seemed like his country was cursed at first. But now, it was evident that the whole world was.

  People were being killed mercilessly. And, if what the ‘ambassador’ had told him the night before was true, President Moto was sure this was just a practice run. The image of the thing towering over him that night made the president shudder. The Metsu, as it called itself, had managed to infiltrate the American ambassador’s well-guarded residence, had killed the diplomat and taken his place without the guards’ knowledge. He had also managed to gain access to the State House and, subsequently, an audience with the president!

  The president re-evaluated his look in the mirror. The shower, plus the suit and tie gave him a fresh appearance, although his eyes still looked weary. But, he told himself, at least I do not look scared, which, in all sincerity, he was. He had thought he was going to die the previous night.

  Herbert Moto’s mind drifted to his family. He had spoken to his wife and two children before going to bed. He was glad they were not around to witness what was happening, although he was not entirely assured of their safety. All was not well in the United States of America, either.