---
AIM chapter 16
.
.
Epilogue:
.
"CHARGE!!!" (The commander general's voice shot through the atmosphere like raging thunder during a storm.)
.
"AHHHHHH!!!!!" The soldiers pushed forth, breaking Twaze's defence, giving Mutale and Makhaza space to push through, making their way to the tent.
.
"REMEMBER, THE COURAGEOUS DIE FIRST, WHILE THE COWARDLY LIVE ON TO TELL THE TALE." (The commander general commanded.)
.
.
Chapter 16: A Coward
.
.
(5 months ago, at the Zambian Defence Agency headquarters.)
.
"So as you're aware of, Twaze is planning to make an attack on our state. The only thing they aren't aware of is that we are quite aware," said head scientist and strategist Robert Chifita, as a warm light cast upon his face while he gently took a sip of his coffee.
.
Seated right opposite him at the round table was Mutale, who sat quiet, irritated but still paying attention to listen to what he had to say.
.
"WOULD YOU SIP YOUR COFFEE FASTER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!" Mutale burst, pointing a finger, causing Robert to cough out in laughter.
.
"Hahaha," (cough, cough) "chill down, it's bad manners to yell at a man to finish his drink before his due time," Robert said in a sarcastic tone.
.
"Ughhh whatever, IT'S JUST BLOODY ANNOYING!!!" Mutale yelled like a complaining child, causing Robert to choke out of laughter once more.
.
"QUIT LAUGHING!" Mutale yelled.
.
"You know, for Zambia's best and top student at the military academy, you sure do behave like a child," Robert said immediately after he wiped his mouth with his blue handkerchief.
.
"But all the more, let me not waste your time regarding why I summoned you here," Robert added, as he gently put his handkerchief away, adjusted his glasses, and gave Mutale a direct stare straight into the eyes.
.
"So as you're aware, anytime soon we're going to war... or more to say, we're going to defend our nation's borders, a task I believe we'll handle quite well, seeing the advancements we've made regarding our military gear," Robert said.
.
Mutale nodded. "So what exactly is my role in all of this, other than being on the battlefield?"
.
A silence lingered as Robert adjusted his glasses once more, light reflecting through the surface of the lenses.
.
"Sooo, as you may not be aware, we have a fiend working behind the scenes regarding Twaze's sudden burst in courage... I won't reveal further detail now, but all I know is that he's bad news," Robert added.
.
"I see, now explain to me why I was summoned here," Mutale asked with a serious expression.
.
"Right, so in case things get out of hand, and you somehow fail to apprehend this man, just in case things get out of hand," he said, "I want you to run away," he added in a serious hush tone.
.
"Run away????" Mutale asked with a confused expression on his face.
.
"Listen, it may sound disgraceful, especially seeing your pride as a soldier, let alone a person. But right now, take me seriously..." he said with subtle aggression in his tone and a stern expression on his face.
.
"You are to run away and return here, got it? Then the rest will all be left to chance... we'll figure something out," he added with a serious tone, the same expression on his face.
.
Mutale's eyes lingered upon his stern expression as he began to feel a sudden sting in his stomach, as he began to grit his teeth.
.
"I see, I'll think about it," Mutale said, standing up and walking away.
.
Silence swept the room, as the only sound that could be heard was that of Mutale's echoing footsteps pressing on the white marble floor.
(Now)
.
BA!!!!!! BA!!!!! BA!!!!!!! The Zambian commander general threw three hard knuckle blows at the face of the Twaze commander general. He took each blow, keeping his stance straight despite bearing the pain.
.
"AHHHHHH, I will not, I repeat, retaliate!" he screamed, only for him to receive another blow.
.
Meanwhile: Mutale and Makhaza were struggling to make their way through the crowded battlefield, as cries, blows, and blasts were rampantly heard throughout the field.
.
Makhaza: "We need to make our way through, somehow," he said immediately after kicking two soldiers down.
.
Mutale: "I am quite aware," he said immediately after knocking down five soldiers.
.
(FYOOOOO, FYOOOOO, FYOOOO) Missiles were launched from the Twaze side, but because of the commotion on the battlefield... they just blew up half of their own men, including some from the Zambian defence. (BOOOM!!!!)
.
"Crap, Makhaza!!!!!" Mutale yelled.
"I'm here, calm down," Makhaza said in response. "How exactly are we gonna make our way through all of this? I'm getting exhausted as hell, and we're clearly running out of time!!" Mutale spoke in a quick manner.
.
"Running out of time????" Makhaza asked. "Watch out!" as Mutale took down the soldier who was about to attack him from behind.
.
"Thanks," Makhaza said.
.
"We need to make a way through all this havoc," Mutale said in a desperate tone.
.
Meanwhile: (Back at the tent: Matimba had just finished loading her gun, while Khumalo finished making some adjustments to his jet boots.)
.
Matimba: "I never thought I'd ever get to go to war like this," she said, her expression and tone calm.
.
"I never thought I'd get to see so much blood, so much injury, so much," she said but was immediately interrupted.
.
"Come on, let's not get all depressed now, eyyy, eyyy," Khumalo said in a lighter tone.
.
"I'm not, I'm just... I don't know honestly," Matimba said in a calm tone but down expression, as the grip on her gun's handle tightened.
.
"We'll make it out of this, don't worry," Khumalo said in a reassuring tone.
.
"Then what about those who've already lost their lives? So you're telling me they died just like that??? Is it so easy to take away a human life like that, just like that???" Matimba said, her grip tightening, her teeth clenching, yet eyes and expression still calm.
.
"Calm down, right now we need to make a way," Khumalo said, "for those who are still around to tell the tale." He said, putting on his jet boots, now done and ready.
.
"Now, climb on top of my back," Khumalo said, inviting Matimba to climb onto his back.
.
"Errrrrr....." she said with an embarrassed expression on her face.
.
"What, are you shy????" Khumalo asked teasingly.
.
"Of course I am!!!" she yelled, her face completely turning red.
.
"Well, it's nothing romantic, it's for the sake of battle," Khumalo said with a serious tone.
.
"Fine," Matimba said. Though hesitating, she climbed onto his back, adjusted her gun. "Let's go!!!" she said.
.
Meanwhile: (Twaze military base.)
.
Roderick and the president stepped into a greenly lit dim room. The room was filled with large green screens on the wall, a computing hardware system, and a tube right in the middle of that hardware.
.
"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM, RODERICK!!!" the president yelled.
.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Roderick said in a calm but sarcastic tone, as he slowly made his way to the tube in the midst of the hardware.
.
"Back in the day, I had admiration for a man I so considered to be my idol," Roderick said as he pressed the tube and the screens grew brighter green.
.
"I saw no flaw in him, not until he began to display weakness," he said, gesturing his arms into the air.
.
"Idols are not supposed to display their weaknesses, that simply breaks the illusion of what we hold dear," Roderick said, as the green lights grew brighter and brighter.
.
"Roderick, what's this yapping about? We're in the middle of war, whyyyyyyyyy aren't you taking this seriously!!!!" the Twaze president yelled.
.
"I am taking it seriously, just you watch," Roderick said with a large smile, the green light reflecting upon his face and widened eyes.
.
.
Meanwhile: (Lusaka city, Olympia town.)
.
Megan lay flat on the floor unconscious, as Mumba glared at her with a cold yet calm expression on her face. The clock slowly ticked as time moved forward, partial light penetrating through the patches in the curtains. The room was completely silent.
.
"That face..." Mumba said as her breathing rate slowly began to increase. (Flashback: Mumba standing in the empty hall of the Department of Engineering at the University of Zambia. As she made her way past through the hall, she saw Mama, who bore an almost identical face and structure to Megan.)
.
"Banda, what the hell have you been up to?" she said as her breathing increased and her tone became quicker.
.
"Even years after her death, you choose not to see me. You choose to pick me. You still want to be reminded of her face through this," Mumba said as her breathing gradually began to calm down.
.
She pushed her hair back, slightly stumbling backwards but maintaining composure. Her eyes lingered upon Megan once more, scanning every feature on her face, her tone, her hair, everything.
.
"Haha, I guess you really can't force someone to see you huuuh..." she said to herself, standing powerless as her face slowly faced the ceiling.
.
"I tried, I really did try, but nothing. He never chose to see me. Even years after her death, he still chooses her... her," she said to herself.
.
"Hahaha, Banda you sly devil," she said to herself, as a tear gently fell from her eyes and dropped down her face.
.
Meanwhile: Outside the school entrance, Banda slowly made his way towards the entrance.
.
Mumba: "Banda..."
.
.
To be continued...
---