DO NOT OPEN – Episode 17
© Brian Ngoma
There was dead silence from the other side of the door. The callings had st©pped. Before they st©pped, there was a loud ban-g from the door it sounded like the door would crack open. In a corner skrie-king, sobbing and so afraid curled Jackson and Zindaba. Jackson had managed to keep Zindaba quite telling him that, that wasn’t there father out there. They didn’t know how long it had been but they could see the sun rising from their windows.
“Jacky, I am hungry,” said Zindaba.
Jackson shushed him. He too was hungry and extremely tired. He would dose off but fear woke him up time and time again. They had both we-tted themselves. The silence was too loud. What had happened to their father? Who were those other people who could be heard from his father. The boy slowly stood up and told his brother to stand too.
They ti-ptoed to the door. Jackson pressed his ear to the door trying to hear of any noise. There was nothing. “Daddy,” he called out. Still nothing. He slowly turned the keys and unlocked the door. He carefully pu-ll-ed the door and peeped. “Daddy!” He called again.
“Jacky, I want mommy,” Zindaba was about to start crying
“Sshhhhh!” Jackson said as he stepped out of the be-droom.
In the hallway, la-id Clarence with blood oozing out of his nose. The loud ban-g that the boys had heard, he had ban-ged himself onto the door and pas-sed out. With him being unconscious, the witch had little control of him till he woke up.
“Daddy!” Zindaba shouted almost letting go of Jackson.
Jackson held his hand ti-ght and pu-ll-ed him back. He told him to not say a word. They walked past the unconscious Clarence. As they ti-ptoed, Zindaba’s leg was gr@bb£d.
“Jacky!” Zindaba yelled.
Jackson quic-kly turned around and started pu-lling his brother. The grip on Zindabas leg was so ti-ght it couldn’t match Jackson’s little strength. Still, he kept pu-lling screaming and shouting.
“Don’t let me go,” Zindaba cried. “Daddy st©p!”
“I am not your father,” The witches voice shouted as Clarence’s head rose covered in blood.
Jackson let go of Zindaba and went round him to the possessed Clarence who was still struggling to get up. He started hitting the arm which had caught Zindaba. It had not effect. The boy went for the eyes and poked them but there was nothing. In the end, he too was gr@bb£d on the n£¢k. Zindaba was pu-ll-ed closer and choked too.
Rising, the possessed Clarence choked both the boys lifting them in the air as their little legs kept fli-pping and fl@pping. It was almost impossible to breath. In their little minds, this person was supposed to be protecting them not hurting them.
“You’ve finally given up, Clarence. Haven’t you?” The wizard laughed. “Let me now finish the job and get out of here.”
The boys were strangled and kept fighting for their lives. Their eyes were turning red as they almost started giving up fighting for their lives.
“b***h leave my sons alone!” Clarence shouted letting go of the boys.
“Impossible!” The witch shouted.
“He’s strong!” Chenga said.
“Shut up!” The witch screamed.
“Boys run!” Clarence dived into the boys be-droom and locked it.
Weakly getting up, Jackson g@sped for air. He crawled to Zindaba who was terribly coughing holding his n£¢k. “Get up Zee.”
Zindaba continued coughing. Between breaths, he cried, “I want water.”
Their be-droom door ban-ged.
Jackson looked at it and knew they had to leave the hallway. He helped his brother up and staggered out of the hallway. They reached the living room but Zindaba kept crying for water. They rushed to the kitchen and drank vehemently. They checked the kitchen door and it was locked. The keys weren’t there. They decided to go to the living room and it was also locked. They never knew where their father put the keys. Stuck, with nowhere to go, the boys stood at the door their eyes on the door to the hallway expecting whatever had taken control of their father to come back and probably finish them off.
***
Shaking uncontrollably, Nikiwe was noticed by everyone in the bus. She had been trying Clarence’s line for hours now. She even tried their drivers line who said had gone for the weekend with his wife. He never worked on weekends, that was un-derstandable. She had to think of the fastest way to get to Lusaka. This bus would reach in the early hours of tomorrow, she thought. She had to do something, urgently. In the meantime, She put all her hope in s£nzo’s hands.
“My boys,” she sobbe-d. “My boys.”
***
In the boys be-droom, hours later, a war had been declared between Clarence and the witch. It was the battle of who gets control of the b©dy. Clarence had put the boys be-ds on the door to prevent himself from opening the door.
“I told you,” Chenga said. “The day you will possess a man, that’d be the end of you.”
“Shut up Chenga!” The wizard yelled. “We are not yet done. I am getting the boys, they’re mine.”
“Over my dead b©dy!” Clarence shouted.
“You think you’re more powerful than me? You’re just wasting time!” The witch told Clarence. “The more you fight it, the weaker your b©dy becomes and the more power you give me. Keep fighting it. Eventually, you’ll lose consciousness and I’ll claim the b©dy.”
Clarence ran into a wall and ban-ged his head onto it. He was bleeding even more. He could feel his b©dy getting weak.
“You’re killing yourself!” The witch yelled.
“I’d rather die than live with the regret of killing my boys, b***h!” He ban-ged his head again but this time, he pas-sed out.
There was silence in the room. The boys were still by the door their eyes still on the door to the hallway. They had heard all the noises and cried till their eyes were so-re. Back in the be-droom, Clarence was getting up, this time the witch had completely taken over him.
“Why won’t you st©p this?” Chenga asked. “They’re just kids.”
“We’ve killed babies before, who are these?” The witch said.
“St©p saying ‘We’. I’m no p@rt of this. Never been!”
“You’ve been saying that for 60 years. You and I bound together for eternity.”
“One day, witch. One day. I’ll be free and I can feel it coming.”
The possessed Clarence started removing the be-ds from the door. He finished and unlocked it. In the hallway, he walked towards the door to the living room where the boys where. This time, the witch was more than determined to get the deed done and leave. Clarence had been a tough opponent. She’d never met anyone who fought so ha-rd like he did. All the others gave in quic-kly. In the living room, throu-gh Clarence’s eyes, she saw the boys shaking and shivering. This was it.
To be continued