Purified Tomorrow: The Mad Awakening - Episode 15

 

 Carl was perplexed when he saw Sonia running up to him. Joyce wondered how she could make the foolish girl pay for making her boyfriend angry always.
'What do you want to...?' She said as she glanced from one face to another before finally staring at Carl.
'Calm down', Sonia said.
She was skeptical about Sonia showing up at that time.
'You people need to get away from here', Sonia urged.
'We are not going...'Carl sneered at her.
'Parade would be here soon and you all would be in trouble'.
'Then, let's leave this crazy place', Fred said as he fled from her. He resented being near her . Maybe the next day would show him as forgiving but for now, his anger was still at its peak.
'You would have to go without Joyce', Diana said as she walked towards them. Joyce held her breath. Diana was coming again and she couldn't help staring at her with her mouth agape. 
'The rest of you would go, she would meet you. You people need to eat and get ready for whatever is coming'.
Sonia guided them away. Joyce was afraid of being alone with the one they all saw as a prodigy. She watched them till they were gone

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/purified-tomorrow-the-mad-awakening

. If not for the big smile on Diana's face, her mind would have exploded in fear, admiration, and joy of being in the presence of Diana. She looked like one that could destroy the world in ten minutes, especially as her ponytail dangled behind her. 
'I need you with me. I know it's too early, that you only arrived at this place this week, but I can't let this opportunity slip from me'.
Joyce could only nod in reply. 
'Follow me', Diana said and clambered into a cave, and she followed her. Some guards rushed towards the place they just left, stared at different spots, and left when they didn't see anything. The corner was deeply buried in the rock that surrounded the place. If one didn't look from the top of the rock, one wouldn't see the cave.
'Stay here'.
Joyce sat up and watched Diana rush off the edge. Time began to fly like the birds of the field. She hummed tunes of Beethoven and wished she was given at least her trombone. She would do anything to leave the place to get her instruments.
Some minutes later, Diana jumped into the hole, with a backpack. She pointed at the ground that led to the train. Joyce stared at the ground, and hoped to see anything worth her time. 
'We all have to leave this place', Diana said.
Joyce was surprised. She never knew that even the dreaded Diana wished to leave the mysterious place.
'Where are we?'
'No one knows. It's one thing that the idiots saved our lives or our ancestor's lives, now, they are bent on kidnapping us into a place none of us had ever been to'.
'At least, they should inform you'.
'That's the problem. I don't care. None of those that were given the opportunity to leave have ever returned. Many of them are in the Punishment room, maybe because they talked'.
'So what do we do?'
'I have all that is needed to escape this place. Except one thing - Someone that could teach us how to climb out of this mess. That Iris of a girl can do that, and I need you to help. Now, before you ask me what you would gain, you would get a chance to be a part of my team, the deepest secret gatherers of Grousters'.
'Grousters? You'
'No time. Follow me'.
Joyce climbed down after Diana, who stopped as soon as they got to the edge of the cave. Diana detailed how she should use the objects in the bags.
'Can you remember that Iris' face'.
'Not really, but the pad would help me, right?
'Yes'.
They stared at the field once more. Joyce inhaled loudly as she hoped she would be able to survive the place she dreaded most for now.
'Wait...' Diana said as she brought out a picture cut out from a magazine. Joyce stared at the face of the man, and wondered how she wouldn't remember it. She had seen him on the television set for long, and had always dreamt of having the same affluence and authority with which he spoke.
'I know him'
Diana stared at her.
'Yes, I know him'.
'Who is he?'
'Second in Command of the world. Is he in the punishment room?'
'You'll look for him, tell him you're Joyce...' 
She nodded.
 'And find Iris'.
She nodded and walked with trepidation towards the ground, and saw the feathery objects moving about. Why did she agree to be a part of the craziness that Diana had hatched? She was plunging herself into something crazy for the second time and it was beautiful. At least, if she helped them get out of the place, it would help her CV with Blanj if she ever sought for a job at their place.
Immediately she stepped on the edge of the forbidden field, she fell through, screaming all the way. The Punishment was built in such a way that falling was like falling through a pipe to the floor, so the impact wasn't always too much to bear, and the ground too always seemed as soft as a bed at first impact. She wished she could get out immediately because the stench in that place acted like Zombies. They feasted on one's sanity and breath. 
She clasped her hand on her nose and would have puked if she didn't hit someone who exclaimed. Hurriedly, she wore the goggles and retrieved the map Diana gave her, which could only be read with night vision goggles like the one she wore, and began to study her time. She checked the time to be sure she wouldn't be surprised with a flood. The timer indicated that she had only 15 seconds left to avoid it. According to Diana, they flooded the place once a day.
She hurriedly unwrapped her bag and brought out a neatly folded blanket. She never imagined that this was what those in the punishment room were enduring. Many of them stood still for fear of being fallen on or kicked. What if she had stayed back? 
Immediately the flood came like rain, people lifted their hands, and some of them hurriedly removed their clothes. The rain fell for ten minutes. Many of them scrubbed their body. Joyce watched them in despair. They were really in a world that no human being should be subjected to.
People were wailing and making different types of plea for escape. After the rain stopped, the place was suddenly cold, but a warm air began to blow from the top. When she looked up, after removing the blanket, she saw many of them fiddling with the clothes, trying to wear it again. Someone at another end was squeezing the cloth.
She traced where she was on the map and began her journey through the place. As she progressed, she noticed that some people formed a line at a place and had their clothes tied together, she paused to see what they were up to and she was lucky to have stopped because suddenly heavy, packed objects rained on the ground, and on people. A lot of the packed objects fell into the place the people had formed a line. She scanned the whole area to know how the others were reacting, but was met with an empty space. She looked up. Those who were hit by these packed objects didn't cry; instead, they carried the objects and found their way from the side.
'It's here', someone screamed and people scattered towards the place she was standing. They hurried as if the packs would disintegrate if they didn't touch it in time. She scrambled out of the way.
 'Let us go', someone shouted but the men that guided the place had a rod that had been wrung from different plastics plate, which they flung from side to side. 
 'We don't need to go through all this trouble. We all know the plan', a lady's voice shouted. 'We do know the plan'.
The people grumbled as they stopped on their track. Joyce knew her. Joyce knew who she was and felt mad at her. The lady compelled them to leave the tunnel, but was still in the punishment room. Joyce felt obliged to tell her how to do it, but Diana warned her not to let any other person know about her presence in that place. She still recognized the voice anywhere. She peeped and saw that the girl was huge. If she was put up against the girl, she would be crushed by the girl immediately.
'Please, the food is not enough for breakfast', someone yelled.
'Would you rather you don't have access to it?'
'You're dead...'
'Well, I can show you things worse than death'.
The man tried to move towards her but by a strange means, four of her men pulled the man away, and dragged him towards the rail, and within seconds he was screaming as he was thrown over the rail. People looked back at the rail in fear. They didn't know how deep the ground was but they knew it was something they should be afraid of. Joyce knew she had to tell this girl. However, when she saw what the lady made those hefty young guys do, she had to rethink what she planned. These people remained in darkness because of their fear.  She felt like telling them to all move towards the rail that the days they've spent in despair was enough, that they needed to plunge themselves into the darkness, of course not as fools, but with highly calculated steps. 
So, she decided to move out of the reach of those hefty guys swinging the plastic rod. However, when she saw her handler crying terribly, seated in a folded manner, she wondered how it would be that if she was still in that place. She couldn't even fathom how the life in the place was.
'I'll get you food', she whispered into her handler's ear.
'Who is that?''
'I'm... I want to help you'.
'How will you help me when everything is dark? I should die, and I've thought about jumping over the rail like some did but I couldn't muster the courage to do it. I am in a serious mess. How will people be cruel to dump us here? I never asked for this'.
'I don't know the answer to all these questions, but let me get you something to eat'.
'How will you help me? Every man is for himself. When I tried to get there, the hefty men threw us back, and I don't know how they do but they ration our food... Our already rationed food. I'm tired. Can you kill me?'
'Not me...'
'Then, leave me...' her handler said, and tried to crawl through the legs of the hefty men again, but was kicked in the chin before Joyce could even pull her back or stop her. Her handler moaned and winced as she tended to her wound.
'Leave it to me'.
Her handler looked perplexed and stared unfocused into the darkness. 'How do you know what I'm doing?'
'Don't worry'.
'Who are you?'
'Don't worry'.
Joyce crawled through the blind spot of the hefty guys, and brought food for her handler. She saw the joy on her handler's face, and smiled. She wanted to proceed with her mission, but thought otherwise, she returned and took a handful of food. Then, she shared it to those crying desperately for food. But before she gave them the food she would whisper, 'don't shout, and don't tell anyone'.
The people she helped were disobedient, they would rejoice and run to inform others. Many people began to pass the information to another. Within few minutes of doing this, a lot of people had thronged towards the place. The food guards noticed the bustle among them, and tightened their formation. Joyce wished she had all the time or the opportunity to always return there to help people out of the place. But she couldn't waste another time, so she sneaked in again and packed a lot of food for the lady, then she returned to pack more. When she was sure she wouldn't return there, she picked one of the food and flung it at the authoritative lady, who sprung from her sitting position and yelled in pain.
'My People...I told you we are not alone in this world. I told you', someone shouted excitedly. 'Someone is here. People have told of other presence, but now you all can believe it. A female powerful thing is here among us'.
Joyce stared at the man and knew he must be another person living in the belief that something different from humans was living in the world with them. He was a Grouster. How come they brought a Grouster as a recruit to their secret place? She always wanted to believe that another thing was with them in the world, the only thing that could make her believe in this invisible things would be if her parents materialized.
'Something gave me food', someone yelled beside her.
'Me too'.
People began to shout 'me too'. Tears welled in her eyes as she was happy that she did something good for the first time in her life. Sometimes, doing illegal things always opened one to the pain others were enduring. That was the reason she wanted to be a P.I. As a P.I, she could legally do illegal things to help others. Her handler shouted, 'me too'.
Their shout made the hefty guys readjust to ensure no one was stealing food without their notice. The authoritative lady cried as she nursed the place she was hurt, but Joyce knew she needed to find the man and Iris. She held one pack of food for Iris.
She brought out the map and stared at her direction, the man was the nearest. Diana had made others invisible. The only chips she saw were hers, which was colored pink; Iris', which was colored blue; and the man's own which was colored red. She met him seated dejectedly in a corner. She perched beside him.
'Sir, my name is Joyce. Diana sent me'
The man's head sprung up with a certain delight.
'Joyce. My Joyce. Oh, God! At last...'
 She was surprised. Diana never told her she would meet any surprises down here. There was no prior training.
'Come Let me feel you Are you with the goggles?'
'Yes. You know about it?'
'Bring it'.
'Why should I give you?'
'I'm your father'.
That was impossible. She was perplexed. 'It can't be'
'I am. I'm sorry I left you alone at that estate'.
'You didn't leave me. I never had a father, and I'll never have a father'
'Who gave you the house? Why did police always leave you whenever you offend? They all work for me'.
'You...I don't have a father'.
'I am your father'.
Joyce couldn't hold herself any longer. She burst into tears, and her body rocked.
'I'm sorry. If they knew you were alive, they would kill you'.
'That was impossible. You could have protected me'.
'I'm sorry. I should have found a means but I didn't know whom to trust'.
'You Left me alone'
'I'm sorry. Even your mother, she didn't know you survived after some men collected you from her'. 
'Which men?'
'The details are too much'.
'I want to know...'
'My people...You can't understand everything now...'
Someone came up to them. Joyce turned and shifted out of her way. It was her handler. 'Sir! I've brought your food'.
Her father flashed the girl a big beam.
'I got enough for us till the night. It wasn't rationed. I believe now. We're not alone in the world'.
Her father only chuckled. 'You should eat a little'.
'Why? We have enough'.
'Well, it's not every time you will see the thing or person that gave you food'.
'That's right. You know sometimes I wish you can be ridded of those shackles. So that you can save us from the savages', her handler lamented.
 'Well, you don't need to wait for my shackles. I know how I can help you with your shackles'.
'What do you mean?'
Her father turned as if he was looking for her.

Read " The Thorny Path to Europe " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. She burst into tears again as she avoided staring at the way her father was locked to the wall. 
'Joyce, please help me take this girl away'.
'I... Diana'
'It's just one girl. No one will know'.
'I'm here for another girl. Maybe another time'.
'No. Come up with a plan. You're my daughter. What if she follows you?'
'No. She can't. The authorities must not know I thought you should know all these'.
He glanced at her handler'.
'What do you mean by he should know? Who are you?'
'Nothing. I'm his daughter. And I think I have a plan'.