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“And he’s now walking with crutches because of that. He shouldn’t have bothered.”
“If he hadn’t bothered, you wouldn’t be here by now. Who knows where those people would have taken you? Did you not hear that some families in our community are looking for their children?”
“I can take care of myself, granny. As I will today.”
“But I don’t want to lose you, my child.”
Aaliyah sighed and bit back her tears. She didn’t want to talk about losing anyone.
“You’re ill, granny. I need to find drugs for you. I’ll just check if there are any pharmacies around and see if I can get some something. I’ll also try to get bandages for Ted if that’ll make you happy but I have to go now. We’ll be moving in an hour. That’s hardly enough time for me to get what I need to get.”
She turned and headed out.
?
??You don’t want to be indebted to Ted or to anyone for that matter. That’s it, right?”
Aaliyah stopped. She wanted to turn and reply but she forced herself to go on. Her grandmother had always been able to read her. As she walked on, she came to the path that demarcated the highway through which they made their journey from the main town. A couple of guys sat around, talking. Ted was one of them. Aaliyah pretended she didn’t see them and walked past. Worry crossed Ted’s face and he moved to get up.
“Hey, bro. Don’t tell me you’re going after the witch,” Jackson, one of his friends, said while holding him back. Jackson was quite a bit younger than Ted. The only reason Jackson hung out with the bigger guys was that his father was the manager of the local bank. Sincerely, Ted wasn’t sure he liked the boy too well. He raised a brow.
“I am. Is there a problem with that?”
The rest of the guys laughed.
“When are you gonna learn a lesson, boy? That girl dun’ care about you one bit. Besides, you don’t need anyone to tell you that she’s a black cat. She’s got bad luck on her. Your leg is a testimony,” Jackson said.
Ted laughed.
“Y’all don’t know her. And you’re delaying me. I’ll be back.”
He limped towards her. She didn’t stop when she noticed him coming. He didn’t stop following her either. When she couldn’t ignore him any longer, she stopped and turned to face him.
“Why are you following me?”
He smiled at her.
“Where are you going? Did you need something? You know you could just have asked my mother, right?”
“I’ve made it clear that I don’t need any help. Especially not from guys who feel they are everything a lady needs. I’ve got to go.” She turned to walk away but Ted limped closer to her and stood right in front of her.
“You didn’t seem so independent yesterday.”
Aaliyah rolled her eyes.
“Is that what this is about? Well, I didn’t ask you to save me.”
“I know. And you don’t owe me. I know you don’t appreciate it but I’m just hoping you’ll realize that we all need each other especially in these crises. Please, let me in. I just want to help.”
Aaliyah sighed and walked around him, pulling her woolen nose mask on in the same moment. She passed through the small streets cautiously, looking for the green cross that symbolized pharmacies. Her eyes were also peeled for any abductors. She spotted a small building. It had the sign she was looking for. She frowned when she noticed the iron doors that blocked the entrance. The windows were barred. She couldn’t go through them either. She walked up to the door and looked at its lock. It was of the more complex sort - the kind that took a while to open. Luckily for her, she had some experience with doors of that sort. Her mind wandered back to her days in senior high after the incident. She had decided to hang out with a couple of Goth girls because no one in school messed with them. She had wanted to be like them: strong and intimidating. She had learned a lot from them; like how to open locks when they wanted to enter the principal’s office and change their grades; or how to fight like the wrestling stars on television. Someday, somehow, she decided to not continue with her squad. It turned out to be a great decision because they were caught and got expelled on the next scheme after she left them. She was lucky.
She set to work on opening the lock. In ten minutes she was done. A smile lit her face as the doors swung open to let her in. She walked through and shut them so as not to be interrupted. She walked through the aisles, searching for pain killers, diabetic drugs and bandages. She found them one after the other. Then she had an idea. There was so much need for drugs back at the camp. People had caught the flu and had to resort to natural remedies that they knew little about and weren’t used to. If she got drugs for them, she could make some good exchanges. She ran through the store, picking up whatever she felt would be necessary.
She was pleased with herself when she saw how full her bag was. She decided to leave. She was about to head out when someone suddenly grabbed her from the back and held a hand to her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Aaliyah paused, taking a moment to recall all her training.
Stepping hard on her captor's feet, she turned sharply and kicked so that the person fell over on to a shelf, taking the whole thing down. Aaliyah poised herself for a fight. Her assailant got up from the pile. It was a dark-skinned woman, probably in her forties. The lady twisted her neck, making cracking sounds in the process. Aaliyah wasn’t afraid of her.
Fear is only an illusion.
