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AIM: Chapter 21
Epilogue:
".... We're going to hell...." (He said in a whispering tone, forcing himself to get up despite feeling completely weak at the knees.)
".... and based on the current conditions of our situation..... I see that happening beyond our control." (He slowly stood up... his eyes lingering upon the chaos before him...)
".... Hence to retaliate.... I'll forcefully.... put things under .... my own control."
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Chapter 21: We jump into hell, to fight the pain towards a better future.
"Peaceful afternoon, isn't it?" said Professor Chifitah in a cheerful tone. The room was silent and peaceful, with distant sounds of birds, crawling insects, and drizzling leaves playing in the background.
Mr Chifitah sat calm and composed on his chair, with snacks, biscuits, and some coffee on the table. Seated next to him was assistant Godfrey, who sat shy, reserved, and trying to remain composed.
"Hmmmm, these biscuits are to die for, I swear," Mr Chifitah said in a dramatic tone, swinging his hands in the air after taking a bite.
Godfrey, though initially startled, simply observed.
"Hmmm, this is heaven," Mr Chifitah said again after taking another full bite of a sweet scone, taking a sip of coffee, and scrunching his face, rolling out his tongue, simply because he couldn't bear the taste.
"Ughhh," he wiped his lip. "No matter how many times I've tried, I've never really liked coffee, to be honest." He said, putting the cup down and reaching for another scone.
Godfrey just sat there, hesitant, observing Mr Chifitah's actions.
"Why aren't you eating, Godfrey..." Mr Chifitah said. "It would be a shame if you missed out on something this sweet," he added while chewing.
"Right... I... I'm not that hungry," Godfrey said in a hesitant tone.
Mr Chifitah, seeing this, grabbed a scone from the table. "Eat," he said, handing it to Godfrey.
"Sir..." Godfrey said.
"You're still a growing child... you need to eat as much as you can," Mr Chifitah said softly, shoving the scone into Godfrey's mouth.
"I'm 22 years old, sir," Godfrey said while subtly chewing a piece of the scone.
"Which is still a child in comparison to my age. Hahahaha," Mr Chifitah said cheerfully, grabbing another scone and eating it.
Godfrey, not taking another bite, simply sat there, observing Mr Chifitah's every move.
(Inner monologue: Why would he comfortably eat so much... when there are men out there seriously dying, all in the name of fighting for our lives?)
"YOU'RE STILL NOT EATING!" Mr Chifitah said, banging the table, which startled Godfrey.
"I AM, I AM!" Godfrey quickly took a big bite of his scone and began to chew.
"That's my boy... eat till your heart's content. HAHAHA!" Mr Chifitah said out loud.
"You never know how long small moments like this can last," he said in a calmer tone. "HAHAHAHA!" he laughed again, startling Godfrey so much that he began to choke.
"Ohhh... don't eat fast," said Mr Chifitah.
"I WASN'T!" Godfrey said.
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Meanwhile: (Border tensions – Zambian defence tent)
"Mr Zimba... silence is not an answer!!!" said the grey-haired man, his eyes and tone sharp on Mr Zimba.
The entire room's focus was on the battlefield displayed on the holographic map. Others continued working around it.
"Mr Zimba..." said the grey-haired man.
"Let it be for now..." said a large bald man wearing a long coat.
"Mr Taiza?" said the grey-haired man.
"Mr Taiza?... what are you... aren't you supposed to be back at the defence headquarters?" asked Mr Zimba in a shocked, hesitant tone.
"I was... but after that missile strike on our territory, the defence decided that this matter should be taken a little more seriously," said Mr Taiza as he stood tall in the room.
"I see," said Mr Zimba, immediately turning his attention back to the holographic screen and falling silent.
"MR ZIMBA!!" yelled the grey-haired man.
"WHAT?!" Mr Zimba yelled back.
"I believe you know how severe the situation has become now, haven't you?" the grey-haired man said.
"It was just one missile... that's the furthest they'll go," Mr Zimba said calmly, despite a heavy sensation in his chest.
"THAT CONFIDENCE—" the grey-haired man said, gritting his teeth. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW—"
He was interrupted by Mr Taiza, who gently pushed him back.
"He's one of the most brilliant minds we have in our state," Mr Taiza said. "Give him time, he'll figure this out."
The grey-haired man looked away, folding his arms and gritting his teeth.
Mr Zimba's eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"Okay..." Mr Taiza said. "Let me organize our backup."
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Meanwhile: (The battlefield)
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
"ANOTHER EXPLOSION!" Mutale yelled.
"I'm starting to wonder why they haven't launched any missile attacks on our end," said Makhaza.
"WATCH OUT!" Mutale yelled, pushing Makhaza out of the way as a soldier was shot from behind in a surprise attack.
"Thanks," Makhaza said.
"Take it easy on yourself... I've got your back," Mutale responded.
"Okay," Makhaza said, struggling to breathe. His chest felt like it was being pierced by a thousand needles. His vision remained blurred, but he stood his ground.
"Okay... this is no place to stand down," Makhaza said, forcing himself upright.
"There's nothing else we can do at this point," Makhaza said, raising his hand and taking a painful deep breath.
"OKAY... GOOO!!!" he yelled as his eyes turned blue, with glowing tattoo markings spreading across his skin.
"Makhaza, don't!" Mutale yelled.
BYOOMM!!! He summoned a large portal, launching a massive missile toward the opposing forces.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOOOM!!!
"UGH!" Makhaza yelled as he collapsed to his knees.
"MAKHAZA!" Mutale yelled, kneeling beside him.
"I'm fine," Makhaza said weakly.
"You can barely breathe... and you're saying you're fine?" Mutale replied.
"We can't do anything else right now," Makhaza said.
"Sit here..." Mutale said, standing up.
BYOOOOM ZOOOM FOOOOSH—
Mutale sprinted through the smoke of the explosion, but was hit by another blast from Twazwe forces.
"Mutale!" Makhaza said weakly.
"I'm fine," Mutale said, appearing behind him.
"How??" Makhaza asked.
"I'm the most skilled person in the field... a mere explosion isn't enough to take me down," Mutale said.
"This is not the time to brag, you spoiled brat!" Makhaza said, trying to stand.
"I said just sit here," Mutale replied.
But Makhaza still forced himself up. "Look around... you can't handle these men alone," he said.
"What men?" Mutale said, as five Twazwe soldiers in completely different uniforms surrounded them.
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Meanwhile: (Zambian defence society)
"Mr Chifitah... it's time," said a soldier at the door of his coffee room.
"I'll be right there," said Mr Chifitah.
"Where are you going??" asked Godfrey.
Mr Chifitah simply smiled gently, stood up, and walked toward the door.
"You might want to finish that," he said, opening the door and leaving.
He closed it behind him.
Mr Chifitah walked down the hall, entered an elevator, and descended underground into a busy lab.
"Hope you've calculated the coordinates accurately," he asked as he walked through the lab. Asked Mr Chifitah as he walked into the lab , passed the busy lab workers on their desks , focused on their computers , the entire room completely filled with clicking noises .
"Sir... everything is already jotted down. We're just waiting for your signal," said a messy-haired scientist.
"Wait," said Mr Chifitah.
"Alright," said the scientist.
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Meanwhile: (Tazwe underground military base)
Fyoooshh—
A disk emerged from the machine Roderick had previously activated.
"There," Roderick said, picking up the disk and holding it gently.
"Roderick... what is this??" asked the Twazwe president.
"Hmmm," Roderick said with a wide grin. "The thing that's going to ensure you win this war."
"Things are completely getting out of hand! And you're telling me this disk will ensure—" the president was interrupted.
"Hush... no talking now. You wouldn't want to get excessively stressed. It's bad for your health," Roderick said, patting his head.
"Roderick I don't want—"
( Fyoooo BOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMVUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSHIIIIIIIIIII , BOOOOOOOOOMMMM)
The ground shook violently.
"What was that??" the president asked in panic.
(Transmission: "SIR, PLEASE COME OUTSIDE!")
"Come outside??" the president asked.
Roderick said nothing and walked ahead. "You heard the man. Let's go outside."
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Outside, they were met with a massive tower of smoke rising from a distant city in the far east of Twazwe.
"What happened?!" the president asked.
"We can't even explain what we saw," said a soldier. "It was like a gentle thread doing ballet in the sky... and then suddenly—"
"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!" the president yelled.
"RODERICK!"
But Roderick said nothing.
He simply smiled wider, staring at the smoke.
"It's beautiful," Roderick said.
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To be continued...
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