《The Torch》


 Chapter 1-Crying is not allowed in this world, we prefer the oozing of blood.

    2016 had its quirks and fun moments, the very things that summed up a very busy year. Zimbabwe was trying to mitigate the economic crisis and the lack of jobs for the newly graduated university students, which were constantly making the masses stressful. Many graduates were fleeing abroad to acquire jobs in South Africa. Some were even going to the plains of Dubai, which was the trend of the day amongst the youth. However, not all were in this misfortunate circumstance; the lucky few either remained lucky or changed the formula once things had gone sour. Having connections, degrees and being assertive in front of the right people was the speculated right mindset of any serious Zimbabwean, especially those living in the capital of Harare. Materialism and the quest for wealth had engulfed the population, which was not entirely wrong, to a certain extent, but the superficial levels were ripe and vanity amongst the youth was running rampant in the capital. The environment used to be less tense back in the day, but things have changed since then. However, as much as this known truth of how things were now like in Zimbabwe was prevalent, such taxing thoughts were usually far away from form 4 students or at least from the majority. It was mid June, the time when winter was at its worst in the country and also the time when some form 4s wrote their June national exams. Zimsec, the country''s examination board, which usually had a disturbingly low national pass rate of 20% to 30%, scared most high school students, though the 2015 stream defied those stats with a 50% plus pass rate. It was the bane of their time, the horror that both sexes dreaded. Those who usually passed with flying colours were from mission schools, the ones considered to be getting a really good education. All those who dreaded Zimsec had the mother Theresa of all examination boards, Cambridge, who was the go to girl. Her buxom bosom of hope was a comfort to any who sought after it. It even came with the benefits of groping with no deterrent for such an action. Cambridge exams were mostly taken by students in private schools and others from different schools who were willing to fork out an extra buck for examination fees. This was the state of Zimbabwe, and it was going to be like this for a long time coming.


    The suburban neighbourhood of Mt.Pleasant heights was part of the group of neighbourhoods, known as the north side, a title commonly used by many snobby teenagers in Harare. It was June the 16th; the weather had fall winds and a tang of breeziness, one that the compact neighbourhood knew all too well. The high altitude of the raised plains of Mt.Pleasant Heights always made its own peculiar atmosphere, one that didn''t attract the exotic kind of people. Its serenity bothered Tanaka Manyika, who had been used to a much more bustling tumultuous environment before his family had decided to move to this suburb. Even though they had settled and established themselves there for 3 years, Tanaka''s roots were still engraved into his inner being. The suburbs, known for their little outside activity and at times, intermittent ghost town vibes, were not Tanaka''s cup of tea. This was even worse for him due to the fact that his house was beyond the boom gate, an extension of the neighbourhood, which still had vacant stands. The vacant stands had already been purchased but had yet to have a house on top of them. This was usually due to insufficient funds to initiate the next stage of building the house or the buyer was still too comfortable with his or her renting lifestyle to think about the next stage. The vacant stands made the spacing of already existing homes far too lengthy. Houses would get to the extent of being spaced at a distance of 100m to 200m. The growing long tufted grass impeded visibility, giving that particular side of the neighbourhood an ominous aura. It became isolated and encroached with thick bushes to the point that many people dreaded walking at night. Serpents, muggers, and random things in the dark could make their way to the people and this made travelling at night dangerous. Little did Tanaka know that there was a danger coming from a foreign land to his doorstep.


    The black BMW Z4 parked outside the boundary of the yet to be finished durawall of the Manyika house had not been noticed by the inhabitants of the home. Two men, Russian and British, both wearing black clothing were glancing back and forth at the house, checking if anyone had taken notice of the parked car. To their fortune, everyone inside was oblivious of their presence.


    "Nicholai are you sure that taking one of them alive will get him to release Austin?" said Bob, the British man who looked like a by product of New Castle at its worst. He was mounting the silencer on his handgun, sitting on the passenger seat. He was well built and had a very hoarse voice. The heavy phlegm due to smoking quality cigars at Ibiza had left adverse effects on his voice. He reiterated his question, waiting for Nicholai to respond. Nicholai eventually replied, but the tone he used was cold and disturbing.


    "Bob I told you before that we are going to butcher the family and leave his little brother alive. Don''t make me repeat shit twice; I am a man of action, not one to waste words."


    "I get that Nicholai, but Collin has proven to be a heartless cunt before. He didn''t even blink when his girlfriend was killed during that mission in Bangkok. He has even more disturbing exploits in the ISIS group flaying department. Are you sure that his brother being used as a bargaining chip will work?"


    "Over thinking is a sign of old age, thinking enough is how elite men should conduct themselves," he said mounting the silencer onto his carbine, "Unless you''re married to pussy, its death is like the flow of menstruation, it comes and goes like the four seasons." Bob was never ever prepared for Nicholai''s misogynist remarks. His words always carried with them the venom of a cobra, always fatal and offensive to the core.


    "Trust me on this one Bob; I know that this will work because Austin told me. The route to Collin''s heart is through his brother." he said taking another glance at the house. Bob obliged and didn''t pester him anymore. Austin''s word was enough to make a doubting Bob believe. The two of them polished their weapons and prepared for their fatalistic entry. In a country where gun stores were not even readily available and gun control was so strong that everyday civilians only knew the weapons they saw on television, the Manyika family''s fate was sealed.


    "Wow he won!"


    "Keep it down son, I am trying to read!" was what Thomas Manyika, Tanaka''s father said to his son who was watching a popular survival zombie TV series. Its time slot was 21:00-22:00 and was the only show he was permitted to watch during a school day. The episode had reached its climax and had the young teen at the brim of euphoria. This was Tanaka Manyika, a heavy consumer of television, fizzy drinks, and food. He was medium in height, slender, dark in complexion and the youngest in the family. He was wearing a baggy jacket with white fur at the edges of the shoulder to the point of the torso. He also had a white silky T-shirt, denim trousers, and black and white converse shoes. His goggle like eyes, kinky short hair, and small lips synced well with his oval shaped head. In a sense, he was almost handsome but his nose stood out too much like a sore thumb. He was sitting on the couch, which was adjacent to the window behind him and strategically placed where he could directly view the TV. Dinner had been served at around 20:00, a nice meal that was a symbol of Mrs. Margaret Manyika''s exceptional cooking. The shouting done by Thomas due to his son''s fanatical rant was one of his rare out of character traits. Thomas usually never bothered with the youth. Little did Tanaka know that his father''s grumpiness lately was due to severe constipation.


    The show ended and his father then said, "The show is over, go to your room and study." This was said in shona, the local language of the country. Shona usually had more emphasis and impact when said than the English language. Tanaka left his seat and obeyed his father without showing any signs of resistance. The sitting room, which was a rectangular prism, was the largest ground floor room. It had the sofas, television set, fine china, wooden sledges on both sides to hold the books, radio, picture frames, and a nice mural of the father and mother embracing each other. Tanaka left the sitting room and headed for his room, which was upstairs. He went via the corridor, which had only one door to the right from his view: the entrance to the house, and three passages to the left. One was the stair case, another being a corridor, which was spacious that led to the ground floor rooms and inner lounge, and the last passage leading to the pantry. The room at the far end, which had no door, was the kitchen. Tanaka trotted via the corridor and bumped into his older sister, Nyasha. She was about the same height as him, short hair, big eyes, visible eyeliner, studs on her ears, small nose and small mouth. She was wearing a night gown. She was also dark in complexion like her brother but was more appealing to the eyes than her next of kin was.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "About to study little bro?" she said, patronising the youth who already knew it was a rhetorical question.


    "Well I gotta get those 5 O¡¯levels; shit will be real if I don''t get good grades."


    "By the way," she said, closing in on his ear to whisper, "how''s my future sister in law?"


    "Ah...um...ahem." he said, embarrassed by the fact that his sister asked about the girl who he was trying to get at school.


    "You epileptic or what, speak boy, tell me the juicy parts."


    Tanaka decided to make a run for it, heading upstairs to avoid his confession of shame. Nyasha somehow mustered the energy to chase him and yanked him. She even twisted his hand and began to repeatedly say, "Tell me or I won''t stop."


    "Okay, let go of me, you''re hurting me sis," he said, being susceptible to her burst of power and wanting to mitigate the pain.


    "Okay um listening."


    "The truth is," hesitating at first, "she rejected me."


    In that moment, humiliation poured down on Tanaka like a heavy storm. His sister laughed at him to the point of halting for a bit after a burp and then continued on. The tears of laughter were on her face.


    "Wow, just when I thought you could handle things like a man."


    "This is why I didn''t want to tell you... um going to my room."


    "Sorry about that, okay I won''t ever laugh again," she said, patting his back to cheer him up, "but tell me, why did she break up with you, were you fooling around with another girl? Did she get jealous or bored? Give me a reason and I will let you go."


    Tanaka and Nyasha were oddly enough, were very good with each other. As siblings of the opposite sex, quarrels were to be expected all the time, but they were somehow different. They were pretty much best friends. The only logical explanation would have to be their age difference. Nyasha, who was a 3rd year university student at MSU (Midlands State University), was on attachment (internship). She was an intern working at the CBZ bank in the city. Their bonding was a way to compensate for the fact that their brother, Collin, had left home for university at Wharton business school when Tanaka was 10years old. Boys who usually yearned to bond with the alpha male for guidance at a young age would lose face, but his sister managed to fill in the void. Her subtle traits could also explain why they got along so well.


    "Truth is," fumbling his brain to remember his ex''s exact words, "she said that ''umtooniceandtooaccommodating... it¡¯s funatfirst, butgetsoldquickly.'' I don''t even know what the hell that means."


    "Well bro, I kinda agree with her." she said, raising her hand upright, thumb drawn outwards and forefinger raised whilst the rest of the fingers were folded. She wanted to stop him for a bit of sister to brother advice.


    "You do realise that'' that doesn''t make me feel any better right?" he said, looking as sullen as an abandoned child.


    "I won''t take too much of your time but hear me out." she said laying her whole arm on his shoulder, escorting him to his room.


    "Um listening."


    "Remember George?"


    "Pretty boy George? You mean the nice guy who you called a supermodel...?"


    "Yes."


    "He liked to spoil me, bought me pizza. He bought me that game console and took me out to food joints. He was a cool dude. You''re an idiot for dumping him."


    "Well apart from the obvious benefits you gained from him, he was boring, ever always smothering me even when I would behave like a bitch. He didn''t man handle me..."


    "My mental image of you has been tarnished for life,manhandled!?"


    "What I mean is that he wasn''t spontaneous and was too nice, being nice isn¡¯t a bad thing, but its kinda pathetic when the guy always wants to please you because his afraid to make you angry. Um human, um allowed to be angry, but I don''t want to date a pussy."


    "Even if it was Trey Songs being nice?" he asked, trying to validate whether she was being serious or not.


    "Even if Mr. Gorgeous smile smothered me, I wouldn''t say no... "


    "Just cut to the chase."


    "Um saying that you should be more assertive and give it to them rough."


    "Another offside of the night, you owe me a dollar for violating my innocent mind."


    "Oh please, as if you don''t cry out Asa Akira during your sleep, nympho."


    "Bitch."


    "Ass."


    "Whatever, I will be in my room." he said, entering the room and slamming the door dramatically. This was nothing serious at all, no one had really insulted the other, and it was their natural way of discourse, their definition of eccentric bonding. Thomas heard the loud thud of the door and shouted out, "Don''t bang your bedroom doors!" Nyasha quickly descended down stairs to encounter her mother, Margaret Manyika. She had come from the corridor that was connected to the inner rooms to check on her boiling cattle in the kitchen. She was quite large and the typical early 50s out of shape aged Zimbabwean woman. She had her hair net on top of her weave and was in her night dress. Her figure, which had once given Thomas a drastic increase in libido in the past, had become flabby and aged.


    "Nyanya don''t forget to call Simon about finishing the durawall tomorrow, this habit of people walking into my yard will end."


    "Yes mother." she said, heading towards her room, which was on the ground floor. Her mother went to the kitchen, finished off the dishes, and made herself tea. The front door suddenly began to thud. There was a knock at the door. The knock startled Margaret who shouted out, "There is a knock at this hour? You see! This is why Simon should finish the durawall!"


    "Don''t stress yourself mother, I will get the door, it¡¯s probably Tariro who wants his jerrycan returned to him." she said, rushing to the door. Her mother''s complaining was an annoying cacophony of irritating sounds. Nyasha first checked the front door via the window and noticed two tall white men standing by the door. She was surprised, for it was rare, actually highly unlike to have white visitors at all. She marvelled at the sight of them and then glanced at the kitchen to say, "We got white people at the door!"


    "Mavheti? (A colloquial shona term for white people)."


    "Yes, white people, I wonder who they are and what they want...," she began to think to herself, "Maybe they have just moved in and are having some ¡®we have arrived¡¯ party."


    "Nyasha don''t be silly!"


    "Well you never know with these white folks, knocking at someone''s house at around 10pm might not be a big deal to them, these foreigners!" she said at the same time laughing at herself.


    "Well we will find out what they want and if it¡¯s not anything good I will come there to shout at them," she said frowning and pouting at the same time, "these white folks should have learned that the president meant business when he chased them away!" The political rhetoric she had spouted had been out of pure annoyance and not racism, but you could never know with Margaret. Unfortunately for her, her daughter had just made the worst decision in her life. Opening the door ended her life.


    Bob took out his handgun as soon as she had opened the door and pulled the trigger. Nyasha had no time to react to the sudden adverse results of her decision. The bullet went through her head, exiting with blood that splattered on the walls behind her. Nyasha''s corpse fell backwards hitting a wooden stool, which had a vase on it. The sound of the crash triggered a lot of attention from the living room and kitchen. The disturbing sound and no reply whatsoever from Nyasha changed the mood quickly. Bob moved in first pointing his gun ahead. He walked in and turned left whilst his partner took the right. Margaret glanced and saw the gun men. She screamed, but what made her not flee was seeing her daughter''s dead body. Blood was all over the face of the dead girl as if she was in a masquerade party themedredflow.As one who had raised this child from scratch, her maternal instincts kicked in, over shadowing her confusion in the situation. She began to throw several plates and pots at Nicholai. Nicholai fired a shot, which hit her shoulder and then took cover away from the arsenal of deployed flying objects. After things had stopped from the other end, Nicholai pursued her. Margaret who was already running to the door that led to an exit was struck by two bullets, one going through her nape, and one piercing her back. She collapsed, hitting the ground. Margaret chocked on her blood as her life dissipated from the world. Nicholai looking at the cadaver smiled and said, "It¡¯s like how Austin had stated it, his clairvoyance has no bounds."


    Bob had encountered a sprinting old man who was heading towards his direction. Thomas soon realised that the perpetrator had a gun, something he didn''t expect. The final contribution he made with his life was the sudden shouting of, "Tanaka run for your life..." The effort ended as soon as Bob''s shot hit his temple. It was all over in a flash with no effort at all. Nicholai already knew where Tanaka was. Bob who was about to check the inner corridor was told to stop by Nicholai. Bob wondered why and heard the reply, "It¡¯s what Austin predicted." Nicholai then waited out of view from all the vantage points that anyone upstairs would have. Tanaka who was listening to music at the same time going through a gruelling geography text book would soon come down to quench his thirst. He would come down to get a glass of water and would fall prey to them. This is what happened, this is exactly what Austin had predicted. Who he was and why he was Collin''s hostage was a mystery in itself. Tanaka would come down as planned with the music in his iPod pumping to the noise in his earphones. As soon as he reached the bottom, he saw the dead bodies and the two men. Tanaka didn''t have the time to process the shock of the aftermath that had just occurred before his eyes. To avoid the boy running away or any form of struggle that could go ugly fast, Nicholai used the hilt of his gun and knocked the boy out as soon he was within a meter¡¯s distance from him. Nicholai took hold of the boy''s body and lifted it, placing it on his shoulder. He glanced at Bob and said, "See we are done now. As long as you trust Austin all will be right."

 Chapter 2-The continued nightmare.

    The BMW Z4 was cruising down Golden stairs road, quickly closing in on 2nd street extension, a road that would lead them into the city. Nicholai was embracing the Zimbabwean night scene, not much to see considering it was winter. The area was called Marlborough, in which they had passed, having many NGOs on the sides and eucalyptus trees. As Nicholai cruised through the road ignoring the traffic lights, Tanaka who was in the boot with his tied up hands and his mouth covered with a cloth, woke up. His head was throbbing at the same level of that of a person recuperating from a hangover and his contusion was quite severe. He grasped the situation he was in and then remembered the disturbing imagery of his dead sister, bloody father, and gun men. Fear engulfed him so quickly that he went into a state of panic, kicking and shaking in the boot. Bob in this circumstance was the first to comment.


    "His awake."


    "That''s actually good," said Nicholai, as if he had anticipated this, "it¡¯s nice to get to know the rest of the family." Bob had no comment for that remark. Nicholai took a look at his rear view mirror, checking whether the thud was extremely noticeable. The boot was vibrating, but not showing anything that could be considered worry worthy. Tanaka was petrified at his very core, pondering about his dead father and sister and wondering whether his mother was alive. She was most probably dead and soon he would follow suit. Tanaka had only seen shows about serial killers on TV and did not believe that such encounters in real life were possible. This was Zimbabwe after all, there were no Ted Bandy archetypes in the country, and how this happened was purely perplexing to him. He began to sob and then eventually started kicking and shaking with more motivation. He poured out his heart into his fearful filled tears, trying to not give up without a fight. He could tell that he was in a speeding vehicle from the revving he could hear and was hoping that somehow, a passing motorist would notice the thumping of the boot. It was wishful thinking, he had to be content with just crying, and kicking, however he soon stopped when Nicholai began to speak.


    "Tanaka boy, calm down! Calm down! I know you''re experiencing a lot of stress, but there things I have to tell you. As my captive I think I owe you that much." Bob looked at him wondering what he had to say. At that moment, they had passed the KFC food court that was close to the Belgravia sports club. Nicholai''s speeding seemed to not be slowing down at all.


    "First of all, you can feel happy that you''re not the only child in the family, we are going to see your brother tonight."


    "Brother?" was the question Tanaka had in his mind.


    "Um pretty sure that you have been told that your brother went to Wharton, graduated with a masters degree and ended up in one of those fortune 500 companies."


    "Where is this going?" was what came to mind in Tanaka''s confused head.


    "The truth is that your brother used that as a cover to deceive your family. He never went to Wharton nor does he work in a cubicle..." The sudden revelation about the truth behind his brother scared Tanaka. He was already dealing with his present situation and did not want more baggage. He was simply overwhelmed by grief and confusion to the point where his mind was at the edge of collapsing. One more push and the walls of Jericho would crumble to the ground. Nicholai didn''t not spare any moment at all to torture the poor chap.


    Your brother is a secret agent who was once serving under a very prestigious clandestine society that was controlling the world behind the scenes. They go by the name Zeal." Tanaka most probably thought that this was more bullshit to toy with his conscience.


    "The psycho in control wants to mind fuck me till my brain is impregnated with paranoia and even more confusion." is what he was thinking.


    "Your family line was a part of them, but your grandfather and father pulled out of it, except for your uncle who was supposedly taking care of your brother in America."


    "Nicholai is telling the kid all theses secrets really necessary?" asked Bob, who was puzzled by the effort Nicholai was making to enlighten the youth. Tanaka was no longer finding what Nicholai was saying to be normal. The more he uttered the more he thought he was bat shit crazy.


    "Now that you know some family history, I am going to explain your present situation." The car which was cruising had just passed the South African embassy along 2nd street and was now entering the Avenues.


    "We are going to use you as a ransom to get Austin back, our boss, and member of the Zeal society." he said, changing the gears and pumping more gas as he passed Josiah Tongogara road. Tanaka''s psyche was bouncing on several thoughts; his dead parents, his brother''s outrageous so called secret and the more present danger of the psycho, who was most probably going to murder him or worse, strip him of his virginity. After processing all these ideas, he went crazy and began to kick and struggle inside the boot. At that point, his hands, which were tied up, became loose, but what was more startling was what he was hearing. The psycho who was intimidating him with his accent and unsavoury revelations began to panic. Was it a police officer or just a driver who had noticed the noises and decided to check it out? Tanaka heard weird voices and disturbing sounds that sounded mechanical in nature. The men began to scream and the voices grew louder and more disturbing. The sounds had a very foreign and alien aspect to them. Tanaka was beginning to think that his mind had caved in. He was now insane. The sounds made the men go crazy but Tanaka wondered what those sounds were. They spoke a language he couldn''t understand, disturbing gibberish that made his spirit weak. The car began to swerve and this added the final horrific thought in Tanaka''s mind, a dreadful car crash.


    Tanaka had knocked out after the car had crashed. His electronic watch had been still strapped to his right arm, had a timer set for 06:20, which began to ring during his sleep. This was what woke him from his deep sleep. The boot that had been dark had a flash light, which was on. Tanaka could barely see anything at all before, but the sharpness of the contrast between black and white of the colours was unusual intense. His body was covered in sores and he was throbbing in pain. He was lucky to not have experienced any fatal injuries. He survived a car accident, which somehow made him happy, but made him even more depressed. The world had given him a kick in the balls and he was in all honesty totally fucked. Tanaka took hold of the torch in view, which had surprisingly intense light: light so intense it looked as if it was powered by a transformer. The peculiarity of the torch came with both aspects of LED light and differed light, which was a spectacle to behold. Tanaka took hold of his torch and then manoeuvred his body so that he could kick the boot open. Tanaka looked at his watch again to confirm the time. It was 06:25 at the present moment, but what he was seeing told a different story. It was black! Extremely pitch black! It was as if a dark mist had engulfed the inside of the boot, devouring all possible visibility. The only thing that was visible was what was within the rays of light of the torch. This further added to his speculation that he was going mad. At the same time, he was wondering whether those bastards were dead. If his family''s killers were killed in the crash then he would be safe, but at the same time, his family was dead. Life was not being fair at all. He couldn¡¯t feel good about them dying for he had not grieved just yet. Tanaka then thought that he would escape first and then grieve later. The sounds he had had heard before were all faint now, but the creepy ominous sounds that were inadvertently affecting him still could be heard. When Tanaka adjusted the torch, he pointed at where his legs where at. The darkness before was effaced as if a laser beam had been fired into the black void, lighting up the only section which was within its trajectory. Tanaka noticed that the boot was bust but somehow the openings from the serrated parts of the boot were just pitch black. There was no gradation, no tone, no distinction, just purely black. Tanaka was beginning to think it was still night time and that his watch malfunctioned during the crash. He decided to kick the boot open. The winter temperature of June, which would have given him hypothermia, had not done anything at all to him. Upon kicking the boot with all his mustered strength, he began to feel his contusions throb, but persisted until it was busted open. The influx of rushing humid air compacted itself in the space Tanaka was in. He quickly rose up, acting upon reflex and raised his upper body upright, but the act itself set him up with more fright. It was the oblivion! The sky could not be seen, everything was bleak, no visibility, and it was just black. It was pitch black, infinite black. The only thing that pierced through the void was his torch. At that moment, Tanaka admitted that he was in a nightmare. Why the world hated him was another question for another time. He got out of the boot and landed face flat. He still was quite weak and dizzy and seriously needed to embrace what was currently going on in his life. He was all alone in the dark, the white dot in a giant black painting. Tanaka managed to muster yet again strength to stand up and wielded his flash light. He noticed that things that were in the view of the light were visible. He pointed the torch at the ground, which began to show the tarmac, which wasn''t visible before, but once he pointed elsewhere, that same tarmac became covered in darkness. Tanaka pointed his light to the sky, waving it from side to side. What he noticed was that though the sky still remained purely black, with only the corona of the light of his torch showing, the buildings could be seen. The torch as he had picked up quickly would go from differed light when pointed at close surfaces to intense LED when pointed at far objects. The differed light had a radius of 1.2metres when on the ground making the bounced back light shine on his body, but as he had realised before, the light intensity of the torch was unrealistic.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    When Tanaka pointed at the surrounding architecture. he realised that he was in the Avenues. His light had managed to mark a spot of a building, a hospital known as Baines Avenue hospital. Tanaka noticed one disturbing common trait among all the buildings he could see when he pointed the torch upwards. They were all in ruins. The flats all had wreckages and some had smeared blood on the walls as if 10000 tomatoes were swatted and left to slither downwards to revolt the onlooker. Tanaka quickly lost interest in the disturbing scenery and then directed the torch to the ground. He remembered the accident and averted his attention to the crashed BMW Z4. Since Tanaka could not see where he was walking if the light was not pointed to the ground he quickly adopted the follow the rays of the torch method, a method which would show him nasty surprises. Going back to the crash site, he passed his holding cell and scrutinized the disgorged remains of a once beautiful ride. The sounds that had disappeared before were now returning, but more like gradually. Tanaka, thinking about the smeared walls and certain things that looked like human entrails, began to get scared. He decided to block out those thoughts so that he could assess the car. When Tanaka had gotten to the front, he noticed something that made him vomit instantly. The sight of blood, lots of blood. The window screen was broken, shattered with many pieces layered in blood. There was one dead body, a corpse so violated by horridness that he was at the brink of plucking out his eyes. The body was Bob''s, which looked like crushed beans mixed with tomato sauce. The broken glass and steal had flayed his flesh. This was a spitting image of gore porn. At that moment, he began to hear more ominous sounds and thunder. The humidity was increasing and soon it was going to start raining. As the sounds increased, Tanaka took a quick look at the devastated vehicle and realised that this was not caused by the collision of two or more vehicles. He even directed his torch to other parts in this infinite black mist to locate the other vehicle. Whatever stopped the ride was coming soon and Tanaka could hear the slithering sounds. Tanaka realising that he was in a neighbourhood full of people decided to call for help or at least, ask someone who knew what the fuck was going on. His shouting made the ominous voices become more audible. He began to hear footsteps in the dark. It was the sound of something bizarre approaching him. Tanaka, though visually impaired by the darkness could at least hear where the disturbing voices were coming from. He decided to run the opposite direction. His somehow quick adjustment to the present situation could have been triggered by some form of psychosis. The loss of his loved ones, imprisonment by Nicholai and now the disturbing nightmare before him had driven him mad. He was now at the edge, coping with the stress of this trial.


    As he went far away from the voices, he began to hear voices from the other end and sounds of flesh being devoured in the darkness. It was like when meat was devoured by a savage, no manners intact and pure brutality in bite. The rain began to pour down, but this only made things worse. The rain started as drizzle and then became heavy. Tanaka hearing the sounds took a right turn into Chinamano Avenue using his torch and memory of the old world as a guide. Soon Tanaka realised that the rain was in fact not rain, but fountains of blood gracing the plains with its red liquid. Tanaka began to look like he had hatched from an egg as an embryo covered in sticky blood. The voices grew louder and more unintelligent, a foreign dialect that sounded like blizzards or gibberish. Tanaka ran and ran until he came across an unspeakable creature, a demon. It was pruning people, but then it ended up fleeing as soon as his light was in full view. He made a quick turn and found more blood and depravity on the ground. Flesh was hammered onto the ground as if for salting purposes. There was so much blood and dead bodies that it looked like a bio hazard gone wrong. Tanaka even encountered crawling foetuses with umbilical cords attached to their dead mothers. The foetuses apparently were crawling and had the strength to drag their dead mother. The mothers¡¯ wombs had been eviscerated, with maggots and moulds having a picnic on this gangrene specimen. Tanaka was in hell. This had to be hell. What other place would have such? This was what engulfed his mind. He must have died, his in hell and this must be hell, but somehow a part of him didn''t want to believe that. The voices he had tried to evade were now within his perimeter and what he felt when they uttered was melancholy. The despair had gathered to devour him. Pointing the torch into the sky made things worse, exacerbating the moment. He saw manifestations of evil in the sky. No horrid or depraved word in the lexicon could fully articulate what he had just seen. In that moment, death was better than living in this torment. Tanaka cringed onto a corner in the street, took a foetal position, and began to repeat words whilst directing his torch out wards.


    "I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!


    I don''t want to die!¡±


    As he cried, an abomination appeared underneath the drain that was just below him. Its tongue stretched out touching his face and began to lick off the tears on his cheeks. It then opened its obscene mouth in the drain and began to speak,


    "It¡¯sokayTanakayoudon''thavetocry,allwewantis yourflesh.Couldyoupleasebleedforme,Ipromisetobeagoodfriend..."

 Chapter 3-Lets adjust to the times and accept the sadness.

    Broken by the forces of evil and driven to a manic stationary state, Tanaka had succumbed to a mental break. The psychosis had triggered a mental barrier, resulting in him passing out. The boy¡¯s helplessness had over whelmed him and thus, fear had stripped of his will to resist the reality before him. This was a frightening world he had wound up in, a nightmare that had inscribed the fear of god in him or rather the fear of unknown obscenities before him. Tanaka''s motor senses had glitched, a trance like state resembling that of a brain diseased patient. His hand though, had not unclenched the torch, the only part of his body, which involuntary contested his defeatism. Regardless of the gloom and death before him, he somehow survived. He was unscathed and this was a miracle in itself. Was it chance or were these despicable savages toying with him? This was a question that had not surfaced in his now damaged mind, a question his sanity would fight off till his last breath.


    5hours had passed since then and the world was still pitch black. The only thing that pierced through the darkness was the light from his torch. He woke up in tears, soaking his cheeks until his eyes started to hurt. His denial of the reality before him had continued, to a point of self-loathing. His crying eventually stopped; anymore and he would have severe migraine. Tanaka slowly mustered the strength to face the terror, an act that was more like a sudden realisation that his body parts were still intact. The mangled flesh he had seen and the grotesque nature of the demons had given him an impression that he was the defenceless sheep in the world of wolves. As he slowly came to terms with his safety he remembered that the world was still dark and without any distinction. He was the only figure in the unfinished painting or maybe he was the only anomaly left to complete the black painting of death.


    Tanaka recovered his senses and began to hiss words to himself, "I am not dead, I am alive." This chant helped him internalise this belief more and more, making him muster the confidence to no longer cringe in fear anymore. He was still trying to accept the current state of the world and the faint voices of people that were dying and being chewed by ravenous mouths. The heavy rains had ended and all that was left in view was the blood and gore stained buildings. The smell of blood was putrid and strong, something that reminded him of how chickens smelt when he had decapitated them, but human blood was worse. The smell was strong enough to cause nausea and vomiting of disturbing volumes. Tanaka upon seeing this and realising that he too, being soaked in blood, was harbouring a repulsive stench, he inadvertently vomited. Seeing his vomit mix with the red concoction below, creating the ultimate human pineapple stew, disgusted him even more till he pointed his torch elsewhere. After a while, his body''s natural limit to discharge rejected fluids finally came, after he had decorated the ground with last night''s dinner. He was repulsed by the smell and discomfort of being drenched in human blood. In that moment, as he glanced forward and sideways, his curiosity got the better of him. He saw a bizarre depravity that had a body of questionable aesthetics. It was a slithering centipede headed human sized dog with humus like skin texture and brittle feet. Tanaka didn''t point the torch directly at it; he twirled his light, shaking as he tried to observe the fiend that had made its way onto the road. His lack of focus on the subject at hand easily reflected his uncertainty. He wanted to observe his fear out of curiosity, but at the same time dreaded it. It was a state of ambivalence he had to go through in that moment, but soon he would regret having even gazed upon the foul beast. It was feasting on something! What that hapless thing was'' was what Tanaka wondered in the infinite darkness. He heard the munching and snapping of bones, the very definition of a meal devoured with a tang of gluttony. Tanaka twirled his torch pointing at the bottom surface close to the beast, slowly adjusting his view vertically. Upon suddenly hearing a movement, he mistakenly directed the light upwards and what he saw was not nice. It was an amputated old man with shrivelled remains. The quick glance reviewed a huge gush of blood as the creature devoured the body. It even went on to lower its centipede head, grinding its food like a tomato on a grater. The spilt blood was sucked soon enough by its atrocious nostrils after it had gobbled up the corpse. Tanaka then quickly turned away and pointed the torch at the ground before him. The irony about the relationship between his only light source and the infinite darkness was that his clarity showed him displeasing things, but what he could not see could not affect him. However, the sounds were still ominous and prevalent even in his state of impaired vision. Tanaka had opted in his mind to run elsewhere, but his body did not move. He had survived being eaten and was starting to believe that he was saved due to sticking to that corner of his. He was still engulfed in fear, almost becoming one with it, a fatal symbiosis indeed, but he decided to accept things as the way they were. The sound of the creature burping sent a chill down his spine and he then immediately wet himself. The urine stained his denim trousers and warmed up his groin and thighs, an awkward but pleasant feeling for him. He began to hear the thing not visible in the dark, breathing, and an instance in his life that drove him to great fret. He wanted to cry again, but he had already poured out his tears and the pangs of his headache were not helping the situation at all. The background sounds of screams and flesh being ravaged went on faintly. Tanaka remained in that position for 7 hours, not moving and remaining frigid in his corner. No matter how bad the cramp was, Tanaka would not move. Trying to move was pointless for him and he believed that it was only a matter of time before he would become a new cuisine for these obscene creatures, a thought that was perpetuating depression in his mind.


    Tanaka looked at his watch, noticing that it was now 19:00. His body began to complain, hunger being the main agenda. The June winter was giving him the chills and his stomach was longing to be filled. In the 8hours that had passed, he had reminisced about a lot of personal things, his family, and other trials he had gone through in his life. All alone in the infinite darkness. he began to think about his parents and how they had raised him. Tanaka''s father who had an affluent blue collar job as an electrician, working on large scale company transformers and generators in Bindura was a hard worker. He believed in soldiering on with your beliefs and staying focused. He also believed in having cordial relations with his children, delving into humorous and thought provoking talks with his son. He was a cool dad who made them advance out of the rural areas into the suburban setting, a dream come true for most hard working families. His mother worked as a human resources management officer at a demining company. She was mostly exposed to foreigners at her work place. She often shared the stories about the delinquent nature of the deminers and also stories about her British boss Tom. Nyasha whose lewd behaviour at times, had her talking about wanting to have a one night stand with her mom''s boss, always made Tanaka give her the look. Her never ending idiosyncrasies always added the fun aspect to a gloomy day. Collin was mostly at boarding school in the states, but always made his appearance back home during the holidays. Collin was an enigmatic, focused, and level headed person, a man of many talents whose stay was not long lasting. Tanaka always wanted to be around him, but his life in America unfortunately, denied him the chance to bond with his brother. As Tanaka thought about Collin, he began to remember what Nicholai had uttered about him. The iteration of him being a secret agent who worked for a secret society called Zeal didn''t seem at all too farfetched anymore. He was in a horrific world, the thought of his brother being an agent was no longer something to behold with awe, but the very idea got him thinking. If Zeal was a secret society of some sort, did they know the world was going to be as it is now or is this some unpredictable apocalypse? Tanaka''s thoughts lingered in that area of confusion and scrutiny, trying to picture his brother as the so called super spy. A black James bond fit the bill, but moments later as he heard more screams and sounds of flesh being hammered by voracious ingesters, he began to see the vanity of thinking. As far as he was concerned, everyone on the planet was fucked. He tried to think that this phenomenon was an isolated event that was only happening in Zimbabwe, but such wishful thinking as he had seen in a lot of survival post apocalyptic TV shows made him think otherwise. Upon becoming swept away by hopelessness like a damsel in distress, he began to think about his friends and the girl who had rejected him recently at school. A certain manic circular logic made him think that this event was made for him to get back at Samantha Mutasa, the girl who had given him an unexpected horse kick. In Tanaka''s head he believed karma had come back to strike his enemies, but the collateral damage was also applied on the people he loved. As the way things were now, Tanaka began to realise a lot of things; he won''t get laid, his anticipated post O''level excursions were no longer possible, and he wouldn¡¯t get to watch any of his favourite shows or do the fun things he had set his eyes on for the rest of the year. The question, which was left now, was whether he was willing to live in this world or not. The world had gone to shit and though suicide had never ever surfaced in his mind before, the seeds of self harm began to sprout out bleak ideas. Should he go on living in this world? What was the point if he would just end up like that man who was being eaten by a despicable being? These ideas did their rounds in his thoughts, congesting his cranium with more negative thoughts. His impaired vision and dependence on his torch to light the way were encouraging these self destructive ideas to the point of nurturing them into concrete truths. Tanaka could not stand the stench of blood and the sense of uncertainty of not being able to see things outside the reach of his torch light. Killing himself as a means to end the nightmare was an option taking deep root in his reasoning, but as much as he dreaded the current state of the world, he dreaded death even more. His cowardice saved him from making a great mistake, but somehow in the back of his mind he wished he had died in the car crash. The cold steel penetrating his flesh would have been horrible, but having to deal with this nightmare and knowledge of mass human extinction was enough to drive any sane man mad. Tanaka eventually discarded the idea of killing himself and laid in his corner, hearing the sounds of suffering in the infinite void. Each scream and heinous voice told a tale of its own. Tanaka began to wonder how everyone was managing in this massacre, a humanitarian idea that came as a means to console his loneliness. The questions of whether there were others out there like him who were still alive and if there were those who were totally safe were Tanaka''s way of clinging onto hope. It was clear that this side of town was dangerous and that the rampancy of death was as visible as the infinite darkness, but there had to be someone. Tanaka was too afraid to call out for help lest he attracted a gang of hungry beasts to murder him. He sat there quietly, enduring the smell of over excessive gratuitous violence and shivering in the cold. The June winter of Zimbabwe had given him a cruel dose of frost bites and potential hypothermia, an additional negative to his already bleak scenario, but the worst possible thing that could happen to him was death. His anxiety and inability to sleep did not overshadow his appreciation of being alive in a world where everyone had been added to the menu: a swallowship of fiends as they celebrated the banquet of human flesh.


    Tanaka had hugged his own body, trying to fend himself against the June winter. The goose bumps had now colonised his body, taking ownership of his once relaxed fine features, but the cold was the least of his worries. The hunger began to take precedence in him. Tanaka had manipulated his body into ignoring his desire for food as he had been distracted by the thoughts of self preservation. He had managed to pull through a whole day, concentrating his mind on one idea, surviving. However all noble things come to an end and a man eventually has to eat. Tanaka looked at his watch and had realised that it was 03:23am. He was beginning to feel the adverse effects of sleep deprivation and cramps. Sleeping had not been an option for him for he could hear things lurking in the dark. Complacency in a world where people were eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was not something that could facilitate sleep. Tanaka''s eyes were heavy, milky and losing their strength. The light intensity of the torch helped keep him rejuvenated for a while, but that trick was slowly losing its effect as his body tried to initiate repose. Tanaka had moved a bit, picking up a piece of a broken sign post. The piece was quite heavy and looked as if it was dislodged from the very ground. Tanaka wanted to defend himself, though seeing how these things were like, he didn''t believe that his poll had any feasible combat advantages at all. He only kept it as something better than using his hands. The noises and nocturnal movements in the dark had become intermittent. Tanaka would hear things on occasion, thinking that death had finally come to claim him, but nothing so far ever happened. He was ignored or not noticed. He had spotted one of those crawling foetuses that were dragging their dead mothers via their umbilical cords, munching on the left overs of human remains that had been conspersed on the tarmac of the Avenues. Tanaka this time had observed it without any aversion. It had maggots and moulds all over its body like a dried up sea bed with overlying algae and dead fish. The creature though, showed certain repulsion towards his torch light, grimacing as it showed its ugly face, which had black eyes, no nose and puss like lips as it crawled away into the darkness. This had also happened when he had seen a 7inch maggot that looked more like a human spleen basking in menstrual blood, moving like a snail and leaving its disgusting trail. The creature began to bleed rapidly, almost as if it were affected by his torch light. It even went from being sloth like in pace and sped off into the darkness like a black mamba. These new discoveries were making him consider the possibility that these creatures were afraid of his light. However, he hadn''t seen this work yet on the bigger beasts yet for he hadn''t encountered any after midnight. The quietness of his surroundings around 03:00am had also incited him to change what he was doing. He was hungry and extremely tired, even seeing things that weren''t even there due to exhaustion. His tummy began to rumble and his internal discomfort began to overpower his will to remain on his own self proclaimed corner of safety. Tanaka remembered on the discovery channel that there were 2 particular terms and states for the process of starvation. One was ketosis and the other was autophagy. Ketosis was when the body would change its metabolic system upon 6 hours of not having food, converting the stored up glucose and fats into food, the body''s way of eating itself for survival. Autophagy on the other hand was when the body reached its peak of strife as starvation continued. The body would thus devour its own muscle tissues to feed the rest of the system, causing the limbs of the one starved to become flabby. Starvation also led to marasmus and kwashiorkor, two diseases that had been etched into Tanaka''s mind in the General paper studies during his primary school days. Apart from his cognitive acceptance that he wanted to eat something badly, the fear of getting sick and prolonged hunger had materialised in his head. Though he was afraid to move away from his current position, he could not neglect the call of nature. He was hungry and the lack of sleep was giving him severe fatigue. The horrible stench, terrible cold, lack of sleep and stomach¡¯s cravings, had driven him mad. He couldn''t take it anymore, he had to do something to mitigate this hunger, or else he would devolve into something far much uncivilised, a rabid man.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Another hour had passed making it now 04:00am and this time it was now quiet. Tanaka was still alive and starved, but this time his volition dared him to look for food. The fear that had once grasped his body firmly was now being overcome by his natural cravings and in the end, Tanaka could not handle having an empty stomach. The young man thus began to rise up slowly, taking a hold of the steel poll with his right hand and torch with his left hand. He was going to move out with finding food as his main aim. The Chinamano Avenue Montagu shopping centre was just before 2nd street was. It was the mini supermarket just opposite the Baines Avenue flats and hospital. It seemed like the best idea to scrounge for food there. Tanaka also hoped that the food hadn''t been compromised or become bad. The young man who was turning 16 soon in July was about to display a brazen attempt to have bravado in a dark and bizarre world. His life was in danger, but he had to capitalise on this silence. If this was going to be his last meal on earth then so be it. He had to be strong in this bleak world of pain and despair.


    Tanaka trotted, using his light as his guide as he walked facing downwards. His movements had knee jerking involved, something that showed that every step he took required an ounce of bravery to get to where he was now. The torch had the element of always surprising him as he walked. He would come across potholes filled with bloody puddles, tendons lying on the ground, vehicle wreckages and bloody clothes dropped at random. Tanaka crossed over the 2nd street road and went deeper into the Chinamano Avenue lane. He could see that the trees were still intact, with blood dripping down their leaves whenever the wind would blow. His steps were the only audible thing in the darkness, each tiny step leading him close to the mini supermarket. Tanaka passed through a number of things; mangled human flesh, shattered glass, a demolished durawall to his right and a black liquid. He wasn''t sure if it was blood, fuel or none of the above, but he made an effort to not stain his shoes in the puddle of unknown fluids. The crickets could be heard from where he was and the sound of night bugs was prevalent. The sound at first startled him until he recognised the familiar noises that he had heard constantly after a heavy fall of rain, the sound of insect activity. It bothered him though that the insects carried on with their simple and non spectacular lives, ignoring the end of the world and the bloody tragedies that came with it. This very idea made him angry, but at the same time, he began to wonder why he was angry at a couple of bugs. He realised that hunger, lack of sleep and the cold were driving him crazy. He then immediately put that thought on hold and went on to focus on ideas that are more productive. Tanaka by now was at the pharmacy. His light spotted bloody stained walls and a broken window, which showed signs of forced entry. The inside of the store looked like abstract art of human remains with a touch of Picasso in his depraved years. The mini supermarket was just after the ATM, which was just after the pharmacy. This meant that he was close and he was hoping for something edible. In the pharmacy, he could see medication and boxes all thrown everywhere. The ground was full of broken bottles of cough syrup, MMTs, Prozac, squashed bubble gum wrappers, disgorged wooden counters, and a hole in the ceiling. The unsettling mystery behind that ceiling made him want to avoid entering the pharmacy at all costs. Tanaka moved forward, tip toeing past what looked like bricks and reinforced steel. The bricks were plentiful and Tanaka decided to look upwards at the right and around, twirling his torch. To his dismay, he saw the roof top section of the Baines Avenue hospital levelled 4meters downwards. It was as if the key piece to demolishing the Tetris structure had landed on that building, decreasing its imposing height. Something big had knocked out the infrastructure and Tanaka was the only one to view this. Tanaka then hissed to himself, "What the hell did this?" It was a gothic imagery of how bad things had turned out, but what was ahead of him was going to scare him even more. Tanaka passed the ATM machine, which was still intact and got to the closed glass doors of the mini supermarket. The store from inside as his torch light permitted, showed that it was still intact. Everything was in order, nothing was misplaced, mostly the non perishables. What Tanaka quickly realised is how the torch light bounced back from the mirrors he had targeted. The lighting in the room became more natural, something that had surprised Tanaka since his light''s performance only covered a certain part in its differed state. Tanaka thus gazed at the goods in the store. His hunger began to swell in his stomach as he was stimulated by all the food in view. Bread, biscuits, refrigerated drinks, and many more delicacies were in plain sight. All that was left was to access the store. Tanaka wielding his poll looked at it and then an idea came to mind. His first burglary offense was about to commence. He lifted his weapon and hammered it at the glass door. The first strike made it crack, the second made it shatter and finally the third made it crash and burn. The noise of the glass breaking made him freak-out a bit. He was scared that the sound would attract things in the dark, but to his merit, nothing came. He was still safe and now he was only left with the food beyond. As he walked slowly, he took a misstep on one of the broken pieces of moist glass and fell backwards. He landed on his back, with the torch in his hand. The pain of landing hurt, but his adrenaline fixed it quickly. As he glanced at the side, having noticed that the shop was no longer visible anymore, what was in the view of his torch was a disaster. It was an international airplane that had crashed. It was charred, drenched in the bloody rain water and had levelled two flats upon plummeting to the ground. This level of chaos was scarring Tanaka even more, and thus this was truly the end of the world.


    Tanaka entered the shop, precariously, scrutinizing everything around him. The shop teller counters computers were all turned off and the ever sharp pen boxes and usual lollipops and sweets in plastic bowls were all in intact. As soon as he slipped in, he felt the warmth of the room. It was better than being outside where he had to deal with the winter and other ugly things. On instinct, his mind told him to cover the entrance. Though he had not fully assessed his environment, he felt as if he would not encounter anything at all in the shop. The fact that the store was still orderly and uncompromised gave him the impression that all was well in this supermarket. At first, the idea of using a trolley crossed his mind, but anything with wheels could easily be rolled away. He automatically scratched that out and thought of something else. He looked for any boxes lying around and found nothing. The whole process seemed stupid to him and he ended up regretting why he had tried to be clever in the first place. Tanaka immediately forgot the effort and headed towards the back sections of the store. He opened the fridge, which had the spring water and took one bottle. He placed the poll on the floor as he washed his hands and poured the liquid into his system. It was refreshing, an elixir that relieved him from his thirst. Tanaka went on to take another bottle, washing away the blood soaked hands; he even went on to get the 5litres of water and poured it all over his body. The relief he got from cleansing himself was like taking a good shit after severe constipation, it gave him solid peace of mind. Tanaka had tolerated the stench on his body for a bit after the bloody rain, but this was his chance to get rid of the repulsive body odour. The torch was placed on a sledge as he bathed himself. The blood on his body flowed downwards as he poured loads of water on his body, ending its unsolicitated stay. The whole process wet the ground and spoiled it with red. As soon as Tanaka was done, he tore through the packets of chips, biscuits and devoured many like a starved animal. It had only been a day plus, but sitting in that corner made him feel like it had been several weeks of hell. Tanaka tore through the expensive chocolate bars that cost $9 and the black forest cakes. A balanced diet was not on the agenda, all he was doing was just feeding. Tanaka opened the fridge with all the fizzy drinks and alcohol, drinking up to 4 cans of sprite, fanta, and coca cola, reviving the inner fizzy drunkard in himself. He imbibed a lot of the juice and was enjoyed it. He saw a can of Russian bear and at first hesitated, reminded by the fact that he was under age. However, he remembered that the world had gone to shit and that there weren''t any adults or law abiding people here to stop him. He hissed to himself, "Well it¡¯s not like I am going to get another chance like this to drink booze so I might as well try this." The can was opened by the curious teenager who took a sip and then squinted his eyes upon tasting it. It was sweet and sour, but mostly had a tang of sweetness. The alcohol mixed with the already settled soft drink juice in his bowels, making him feel as if he was pregnant with multiple flavours inside of him, all due to be expunged . Unlike the other liquids, the beverage settled in his body and began to warm him up. Tanaka opted to take more, but somehow he had enough. He was full and happy to have mitigated the hunger. In retrospect, the end of the world wasn''t all that bad; he had free food, he could raid buildings and could trespass them anytime. As long as nothing came to eat him, he could embrace this bliss for a while.

 Chapter 4-Child in the dark.

    Tanaka having remembered that alcohol could be used as a disinfectant, something he had learned on TV shows about doctors, he decided to apply the sky vodka filled can on his wounds. He took the paper towels on the cutlery section of the store, poured alcohol on them and applied the papers on his bruises. The sting of alcohol was new to him and made the whole process troublesome as he wiped the sores. The last thing Tanaka wanted was getting an infection, something that had often scared him ever sense he was at Parinyenatwa hospital. The country had quite a few amazing hospitals, but in his experience, Parinyenatwa had earned the title of death hospital. Other hospitals such as Saint Anne''s, West End and so forth, were to him, decent alternatives. Family members he knew who had gone there had always died, being unable to be saved by the medical staff there. In addition, the number of gaunt people waiting in line to be treated was always disturbing. The fear of getting sick made him a hygiene freak, even overshadowing his bum life persona. After applying the alcohol, Tanaka got a hold of a stack of magazines. He decided to pass the time by reading the content of the old world; binge reading through people magazine, men''s fitness, Glamour and FHM. The stories of celebrities, particularly the Kardashans, and other teen star dramas in Hollywood revolted him. He skipped those sections and read on about movie releases, real life stories, fitness advice, and random articles. Tanaka was a border line close to average Joe guy, had an interest in reading books, but only books that were given to him. He wasn''t the type to search or look for them passionately, but had no problem digesting the content. In the end, it was all entertainment to him. 2hours had passed as he munched through a packet of lays, browsing the content in hand. The sounds outside were still faint, almost as if they were a kilometre away from where he was. He could not hear any crawling obscenities and was happy that he was not being taunted by anything yet. The torch was mounted on top of a bread holder shelf to direct the light directly at the book. Due to its intensity, Tanaka had to place it on the shelf so that he could read properly without being blinded by the light. The women''s section talked about women''s periods, desires, sex stories, and so forth. The hygiene stories were gross. The stuff that women liked and their daily biological problems made them seem more human and less superficial as how some portrayed themselves in their vanity. Tanaka''s comfort and reading began to make him dose off. His body was now giving in to a state of comfort and security, a dangerous complacency that was not needed in a world of darkness and despair. This was showing as he was losing his mobility, suddenly closing his eyes and dosing off. In that moment a deformed creature which had been moving in the infinite void passed by the mini supermarket. It noticed the broken glass door and saw the light. It began to sniff, smelling Tanaka''s blood and natural musk. It sneaked into the store, slithering and making unusual movements as it approached the boy. The light was on the shelf and he had knocked out. The creature was planning on getting rid of the shelf and devouring the young lad. It drew nearer and nearer to its meal, going all ecstatic over the idea of relishing his flesh like early morning road kill. The boy''s body was in full view and what this creature intended to do to Tanaka was something nasty. It wanted to violate him before eating him. Sowing its seed and reaping what it had sowed was its fetish. It stretched out its serrated claw like tentacles to nudge the shelf that had the torch. The small nudges which seemed like effortless exuded energy was actually moving the shelf. The first nudge made Tanaka''s body fall sideways. He was still asleep, but the kind of dosing he was in was a deep lucid state that only came when someone was deprived of sleep for far too long. Tanaka had knocked out and he was at the mercy of this thing. The creature began to grin, drooling in the dark, waiting to ravish its meal. It nudged the shelf again and again, making the torch light become farther away from him. Its victory was moments away and the more it pushed the shelf the more Tanaka became reachable. One push and it would be all over. The monster mustered its final nudge, preparing to finally end Tanaka''s life in a flash, but then suddenly his watch''s morning alarm which had always rang to wake him up for school began to cry. The sudden noise woke Tanaka up and immediately made him rise. Upon this happening, the creature hammered all its might into the shelf, knocking it far from Tanaka''s reach. Tanaka instantly reacted seeing the darkness quickly engulf his field of vision. The torch and the furniture holding it had flown ahead, leaving him stranded in the pitch black. Tanaka heard a crash and destruction of wood, which give him great distress. All that crossed his mind was whether the torch had been destroyed or not. He then sprinted forwards, chasing the white dot he could see in his now darkness engrossed field of vision, but what prompted him to run faster was the sound of a diabolical depravity pursuing him from behind, gnashing its teeth as it lusted for his flesh. Tanaka was going to die; this was going to be the end of the young man''s life.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Tanaka ran in the dark, blind as a mole, but without any excellent hearing to compensate for his disadvantage. His feet bumped into a lot of things, things that grazed his legs, but did not slow down his determination. The creature behind him was breathing heavily like an asthma attack victim, shrilling its voice in the formless night. Tanaka dived into the debris, getting stabbed by a piece of wood, which lodged onto his left forearm, causing him to ooze lots of blood. His right hand''s fingers struggled through the debris of what was left of the shelf and managed to get hold of his torch. Upon getting hold of it, he quickly turned to face the bizarre monstrosity on top of him. He pointed the torch directly at it and took in the very thing that accentuated ugliness with his eyes. The abomination had erected its corrosive, anvil like, frothing phallus to violate him. Its tip and shaft were like a bleeding drill, dripping pus and tiny bloody miniscule foetuses that were speaking an unknown language, something similar to how candle wax melted upon contact with a flame. Its abdomen was that of an amphibian with pimple like mumps, the ones you would find on an ebola victim. Its head was that of an encapsulated ball of putrid flesh, straight out of the frying pan of hell. It was a despicable entity that scared the shit out of Tanaka. It even had the audacity to wiggle its abscess like mouth to utter its intentions.


    "CHILD LET ME FUCK YOU!!!!"


    Tanaka screamed out loud, devoured by fear, which had regurgitated his body, restoring him back to the reality that had crippled his mind. The creature, which was on top of him suddenly exploded. It turned into liquid ash and ended up spoiling his entire body. Tanaka cried and panted at the fact that the creature had died, but he had no time to celebrate, the death of this being had attracted a lot of its friends. The horde of demons and unintelligent voices began to shatter the air waves. Tanaka who was stricken in fear also remembered the pain of his left forearm. He rose up from his position and ran towards the cutlery section. Seeing his own blood was scaring him and the fear of bleeding to death was dawning on him. He took the table cloth, plucked out the wood lodged in his left forearm and began to scream. The pain was excruciating indeed, it felt like the pain of a groin being repeatedly shot at by a nail gun. Tanaka removed the wood and felt the warmth of his own blood trickle down his fingers and torch. He applied the paper towel and opened the fridge to grab more vodka. He poured loads of it onto his wound and then wrapped a dish towel onto his wound. The pain made him cry, but what made him evoke more tears was the realisation that there was something inside the ceiling. The very thought of what was coming gave him hyper tension. It was now time to abandon ship and Tanaka did not waste time. His exhaustion was overpowered by his will to live, making him jump out via the glass door he had broken. He sprinted aimlessly, using his torch to direct him in the darkness. Every area he pointed at reviewed disturbing imagery of unspeakable proportions. Tanaka ended up turning right; passing the travel plaza mini-mall that was adjacent to the mini supermarket that he came from. In his sudden burst of speed, Tanaka only had one thing in mind, to survive. He ran and ran until he took a regretful step. Tanaka who was in the heat of the moment had not directed his torch to the ground soon enough to save himself from the impending doom. He simply ran blindly into a pit, which had many horrors lying before him. Tanaka tumbled down an inclined heap of bloody and mutilated corpses, all stacked up to portray a twisted version of the human stair case. Regardless of his fall, he held his torch tightly, but fortunately, the bruises he got from the tumble didn''t give him much pain. He quickly picked himself up and assessed the situation. What he realised was that he was in a valley like field of dead bodies, all mutilated and pruned like crushed hazel nuts. At the centre of this pit were demons dragging and mounting the dead bodies in a pile, like a coliseum of corpses all viewing the young Tanaka in distress. The creatures doing their gathering job soon took notice of Tanaka and began to draw near him. The fiends all crawled and marched slowly, closing in on the child and destroying all form of hope in him. Tanaka stood there, baffled in utter stupefication. This was the end, it was a good ride, or rather a nightmare, but he had tried his best to survive. The acceptance of death had flooded Tanaka''s mind, an inundation of surrender and loss of will power, but somehow his fear surprisingly turned into rage, a hatred of what was giving him fear. Driven mad, the boy could no longer handle his despair anymore. He picked up a femur on the ground that still had its tendons and began to glance at his surrounding adversaries. They were all uglier than their next of kin. Tanaka glared like a mad dog, waving the bone violently as if he was intending to kill one of them. The world had gone to shit, but he was not going to go down without swinging.


    "Come at me you bastards! Come you bastards! Come on, come!!!"

 Chapter 5-We are a product of our environment.

    "Come on!¡± he said, swinging the femur with ill intent. He had lost his mind and had masked his fear with his hatred in the absurd situation. The hideous corpses were all layered before him as if a construction site designated for sadists was underway. He was but alone in the infinite darkness, deprived of peace, sleep, and mental composure. If he was going to die, he was not going down like a helpless animal. He was going to strike his enemy, leave a mark before being devoured or so he thought. Each thrust of the femur in hand had kept his tears together, bounding them in a ferocity that made his face seem as if it aged 10 years into his old age years. He twirled around, observing these obscenities as they came, and what made it more unbearable was that he could only see one of them at a time. His torch''s LED light form made the encompassing darkness more chilling and petrifying. He would see one of them, twirl, not there anymore, twirl, three of them now in that position. What made the wait to pandemonium even more unbearable were the sounds they were making. Their unintelligent dialogue and sickening sounds were like a foil to innocence; it accentuated depravity at best.


    The boy kept on swinging incessantly as he heard the demonic creatures¡¯ ghoulish movements in the dark. The macabre had still not attacked him and he was beginning to wonder why. He turned around to see the creatures just feeding on the corpses and regurgitating things that looked like they had lost any traces of their once cherished humanity. They had been reduced into red phlegm, with black veins and snake sized leeches drinking the succulent blood of whatever was left of the body. The irritating sound of blood being sucked was no different from that of weevils munching on corn, an unsightly reminder to why he hated bugs. Tanaka continued to shout vehemently, "Come on you bastards!¡± His mustered strength, though conjured out of unwillingness to die like a dog, was now being atrophied by the uneventfulness of his situation. He was in a despicable pit, probably a play ground for these creatures of the dark, the unknown beasts that had put the world into its current state of horror and despair. The demons had rebuffed him or so he thought, but one consistently clear thing was that they surely didn''t like being in the lime light. They tried by all means to be evasive to his torch light, something that he soon realised when had decided to reason instead of cultivating his rage. Tackling his fear head on had not entirely desensitized him from what he was seeing, for the variances of unsavoury horridness had an ugliness you could never get used to. Tolerance would have to be a choice, in his case, a must. His left arm was still hurting, regardless of his attempts to treat it earlier at the mini supermarket. Though his effort had been abated, he didn''t come out as the disgruntled one. Instead, he took a warm delight in knowing one fact that had kept him alive in this nightmare, his torch light gave him immunity. They could not touch him. It all made sense now, how he had survived on that corner, pissing in his pants, frightened by the monsters he only thought existed in demented horror films. He was alive because of his torch. In that moment, it dawned on him that the torch wasn''t normal. How could his torch be the only manner of light? His acceptance of his trump card ended up filling him with many questions. Where did this torch come from? Whether or not his kidnappers had left it in the boot for future use, was beyond him by now. His realisation of his fortune drove him into manic euphoria. His bad luck had run out and lady fortune was smiling at him. He began to laugh, a gradation of laughter that started low and ended up high pitched. He was embracing this and could not help but hiss to himself, "They can''t touch me, these shits can''t touch me.¡± Though he chuckled at the realisation of his fortune, he was still in an angst mood. His interrupted sleep had given his brain a weird sensation, one of weariness and proneness to insanity. The world had gone mad and he clearly was going through severe psychological changes. In a short while, he had been maimed by the infinite darkness.


    Tanaka was now fully confident that he wouldn''t be eaten by the adversaries from the night and embarked on getting out of the pit. The coliseum of corpses was ridiculously huge and greatly inclined. For Tanaka to get out of the pit, he would have to climb over dead bodies to get out of this gore party. Noticing the features beyond the ridge, he began to see a few flats that were in ruins. These flats were all soiled in blood and lodged with human remains. The creatures behind him had continued on with their banquet, relishing on human flesh as if it were thanks giving day. The sound of drooling saliva, putrid smell of corpses and ominous sounds were like an endless motif in his horrific tale. Tanaka began to move upwards, stepping on dead bodies. Unlike last time, when he had puked, his mind had blocked any form of revulsion to facilitate his progress, making him trample on bodies that were either tampered with to the point of irredeemable ugliness or were just naturally unsightly. The bodies all plastered in the pit, ranging from little kindergarten kids to fully aged senior citizens. Tanaka never thought about how these hapless folks had been taken by surprise by the circumstances of death by mutilation. All he did was walk and stomp on these cadavers. As soon as the slope became greatly inclined, Tanaka began to climb up the wall of corpses, though his left hand was in pain, he didn''t waver at all, grabbing onto a shrivelled head with exposed brains, as if he was a rock climbing expert on an organic mountain. He crawled his way upwards with his fingers, elbows, and feet, latching onto gelatinous flesh as he made his way to the top. As he was drawingclose to the end, a hand from nowhere grabbed him. It was a man who was still alive, buried in the wall of corpses. Tanaka was startled by the hand that had grabbed onto him and almost struck it with his right elbow, but what made him hesitate was the man''s appeal.


    "Help me! Help me! Don''t leave me here to die, take me with you!¡± is what the man had screamed at Tanaka. He sounded like a young adult with a typical Zimbabwean English accent. His grip on Tanaka was similar to that of hand cuff, something that gave the impression that this man''s situation was dire and he wouldn''t give up until he was saved. Tanaka who had given up on the belief that there were other signs of life in the bleak world of death, tried to pull the man up, grasping his torch tightly as he offered him his right hand to save the only life he had encountered. Tanaka even emotionally spouted out, "Grab my hand! Grab it!¡± The man did as he said, crying and moaning as he latched onto Tanaka. What Tanaka had not realised was that the wall of corpses had been soaked in the bloody rain and had been greatly imbued with dampness. The moisture, which had marinated the corpses, and the man¡¯s sudden movements, began to cascade the pile of bodies downwards. Tanaka used his strength to try and pull out the man, motivated by the fact that he had found another life. This life could help him feel less lonely in this dead world, someone he could definitely share his fears with to ease the depression that came from the current state of things. The constant repetition of the words ''I don''t want to die¡¯ and ''save me¡¯ were what was hammered into his subconscious mind. He inadvertently internalised this as an act of heroics that he had to fulfil. This man was counting on him; he called for his help and wanted to be saved. As the man slowly began to squeeze out, the bodies far ahead on top began to lose their place on the walls. The wall of corpses on the man''s side began to crumble down like an avalanche. The differed light from his torch could show how desperate he was and how he was full of tears due to his dire situation. The man screamed, "Don''t drop me! Please I don''t want to die! Help me! Help me! Don''t let go!¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "I won''t! I promise you I won''t drop you!¡± he said, crying now for he didn''t want to fail the man. He had been angry before, but tears were now streaming down his face. Was it because he had clung onto hope again? Tanaka had gone manic mad to face his peril head on in the pit, a suicide mission that would have gone sour fast if it weren''t for the creatures'' aversion to his torch light, but this time, he was emotional. He had another man''s life in his hands, something precious to him having had to survive close to 2days of mental psychosis and depression. His rage and confidence before was truly a lie, a facade to keep him from breaking down. In the moment he saw the man slip before him, falling to the base of the pit below, the rest of the corpses tumbled down like dominoes. He realised right there thatyou only ever truly value life when you''re deprived of it. The man, who was in shock and had a fretful expression as he fell down, was consumed with bitter sadness. What lied below him was a reptilian demon with serrated teeth, a huge jaw, and indefinable grotesque features. It had its mouth open like a baseball glove, waiting to make the perfect catch, in this case, a gruesome bite. By the time Tanaka had turned to look at what had happened to his hapless friend, his whole body was painted red with the blood of the man. The bite had an unprecedented impact that propelled large quantities of gushed out blood. The vanity and hopelessness of the world became clear to him at the sight of the dead man. There was no hope, only unapologetic despair. His eyes, which were now bloodshot, engraved with exhaustion and abominable scenery now had to deal with his cascading tears. Life was so fragile, indeed, humanity was puny, and weak compared to the evil creatures of the dark.


    Tanaka had climbed out of the pit, heartbroken and extremely sullen. The man dying had really done something to him. He had cracked. He began to walk slowly, using his light as a guide, leaving the now infested Josiah Tongogara road behind him. His body''s movements were heavy, each step for him felt as if he was carrying sand bags in deep water. He began to cross over Chinamano Avenue, looking to his right, seeing the same plane that had crashed looking uglier than ever before. The fiends were roaming about, near the crash site. He dragged his body, this time with no tears, but a lifeless expression as if he had seen a ghost. He would glance at weird things that would try by all means to hide since his light was a bane to their existence. He looked at his left to see the remnant of the once profound Baines hospital. The durawall for the ground floor was totally bombarded. The car park, ground floor where there was the reception, pharmacy, ambulance garage and emergency rooms were all desolate. They were all painted red with thick and putrid flesh overlying on the walls. The cracks on the windows and previously observed levelled top section of the building were still a sight to behold. Regardless of the carnage being displayed, Tanaka had become hollow and indifferent.


    Tanaka walked, aiming for one of the flats that were within Baines Avenue. He was one quarter done with part of the journey to get there, shuffling his feet on the ground, as he looked dead. His lack of cognisance towards his surrounding environment soon ended when he heard the sounds again. The sounds had begun to annoy him, irritating him to the core. The alien dialect and corrosive tone, which had started off scaring him in the beginning was now just aggravating him. The sound irked him, driving him to complete aggravation. It wasn''t enough that these creatures had murderous intent towards the rest of humanity, but they also had an insatiable desire to make that dreadful noise. That noise, that excruciating noise! Tanaka was now filled with acrimony. He heard things slithering around him, making ominous sounds as usual. He began to scan these sounds to find the source. He saw another one of the crawling foetuses and then directed his torch at it. The creature quickly showed aversion by moving away from the light, but unlike the last time, Tanaka wasn''t going to give it one glance, he was going to probe this thing till the very end. He began to follow it and was constantly directing his light at it. When it had realised that he had caught up, it tried to run away, but he also began to run, tormenting the creature. He looked at it with much discontempt as its body boiled and ruptured and bled. It was dying because of his light. Tanaka began to utter out contemptuously, "It hurts doesn''t it? It hurts, it hurts! Now you know how I feel you monster!¡± Tanaka continued to torch this thing until it died, bursting into sticky blood that soon withered and wilted into something gross. Tanaka had witnessed this with much pleasure and the irony now was that the annoying sounds close by began to give him a sense of purpose. He had to kill all of these sons of bitches. He gave so much attention to his hearing capabilities and turned to where he could find any that slithered. He found another foetus and torched it to death. He found another a monster, a dog like maggot, and levelled it to the ground with his light. The chasing was beginning to exhaust him; he was injured and deprived of sleep. He then got tired and decided to maintain his previous course, heading towards the flats to catch a nap, hoping to find a room that had not yet been desecrated by these fiends. As he walked, having completed half his course, he stumbled upon a horrid scene. He saw 2 demons devouring a human body, hooking their teeth onto the exposed rib cage and yanking it with their teeth. The process was disturbing as the things were forcefully deboning the lump of meat that had a visible kitkat T-shirt fastened to the meat. The way these things chewed was shameless, giving off a subtle burp sound, which gave the impression that they were enjoying this violation of human integrity. The fact that they did this feeding without any reservations, without any concern for the person they had just ravaged, infuriated Tanaka. Tanaka had glanced at these things for 10seconds and on the eleventh second his rage coursed to his torch and it began to beam with more intensity than before. Its rays of light began to glisten so much that it ended up brightening everything within a radius of 20m. The light rays blasted out like a laser canon, incinerating and burning the flesh of the demons. The slaughter was quick and brutal, blowing the demons into a pile of mince meat with vapours of smoke all fuming from what was left of them. Tanaka did not wait to marvel at what had just happened; he just went on to burn other nearby demons. The killing spree was surely giving him joy. The once emaciated by exhaustion boy was now venting out his rage. Everything close by was decimated, incinerated by this teenager who had gone crazy. After wiping out everything near the hospital, the adrenaline in him was coursing in his body, making him hyper, but he had to go to the flats and sleep now. The annoying sounds were now gone, he hadjust killed the demons around him. As he walked onwards, he could here subtle sounds back at the pit where he had come from. At the back of his mind, one of his voices was saying he should forget about it and find some rest. However, the voice he listened to was the one that desired retribution and carnage, the voice that hated the things that had scared him in the dark. Tanaka eventually looked back and immersed himself with the view of the edges that led to the pit. He grimaced and then said, "Its time you monsters learned how to die.¡±


    It was a fellowship of human flesh and defiling of corpses as some of these demons turned to necrophilia, filling the corpses with black brittle semen that acted as an acid that would incinerate the bodies from the inside. This was done to both sexes, a sick and unprecedented act from these demons in the pit. The wickedness soon ended when an angry Tanaka appeared at the top, directing his light everywhere. All that was in the pit, immediately turned into a bonfire of death, even the corpses were turned to ash. His ambivalence in that fierce moment gave him so much discomfort. He was angry at the monsters and at the same time jovial that the bastards were dying. The banquet soon turned into a burnt offering: the pit looked like an apparatus for burning incense and what came out were great amounts of smoke, going to the point of looking like a mushroom cloud after nuclear detonation. Tanaka had destroyed his enemy and with much satisfaction. The fact that this power was in the torch meant that there was something strange going on in the world, something far more mystifying than the horror before him. Tanaka turned back and walked away as the smoke behind him consumed the bodies in the pit. The torch was something special indeed and Tanaka couldn''t help but wonder what it really was. Tanaka began to stroll to the apartment ahead with his head held high, knowing that this time, he had beaten the infinite darkness.

 Chapter 6-You are not alone!

    Tanaka had gone through several rooms, at the Southerland Heights court, a flat that had several rooms and an old fashioned inner room structure. He had come across six rooms that were totally in a mess; bloody bath tubs and a lot of sickening imagery to come with the rest of the apartment. He finally opened a door, which led to an unspoilt room. It was clear of any blood or severe gratuity. It was simply austere and clean. It was a 5 roomedapartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 dining room, a kitchen, and a toilet with a bath tub. It had a balcony just adjacent to the dining room, which was locked and concealed by brown drapery. The room had blue walls and simple furniture. It had pictures of an old man with his supposedly old spouse and pictures of him wearing a white coat. There were other picture frames of younger adults who Tanaka assumed to be his children. He might have been a doctor in the previous world, saving people or killing them at Parirenyatwa. Old clocks and a florescent smell in the room was a relief for Tanaka. The putrid smell outside was now gone and now he had this pleasant apartment to himself. He did a preliminary check of the place, checking the bathroom and other rooms. One of the bedrooms was locked and he didn''t bother with knocking or finding out why. He just left it alone and proceeded to the free room. He got in and noticed that it was effeminate. It was a girl''s room full of pink and cuddly stuffed animals. The paint was pink and orangish and had One direction posters. There was also an examination time table with only 3 subjects: chemistry, physics, and biology for studying. He assumed she was doing her A ¡®levels, probably in upper 6. The room was also full of mirrors. His torch light hit one of the mirrors and bounced back the light, something that never failed to dazzle Tanaka. The room immediately lighted up, erasing the encompassing darkness. Tanaka then came up with a good idea to make sure that nothing would happen to him during his sleep. He took a number of suit cases, opened them, hoping to fill them up with anything heavy to place them against the door. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn''t have any of the creatures invading his space during sleep. He found a number of romance novels, lingerie, maxy pads wrapped in their plastic casing and a box of women''s condoms. Tanaka then commented, "I guess she was getting smashed a lot, girls of today.¡± The previous owner of the room had a collection of items, which showed that she was the focused girl who at the same time loved to have fun. Her certificates for school academics, enormous text books, and trophies for extracurricular activities were all in plain sight. There was even a picture of her at Victoria Falls with a guy groping her in the form of a hug. It was most probably her boyfriend. Tanaka kind of felt jealous, but it didn''t matter anymore, they were probably both dead. After mounting all the suit cases at the door, he dragged all the mirrors into a strategic position. They were all set up in a way that they would be able to bounce the light into each other. It was a trick he had learnt from Collin when he was young, a trick that came in handy in this particular situation. Everything was now placed where it was supposed to be and he jumped onto the bed. The blood on his body soiled and stained the clean sheets, but Tanaka didn''t care about neatness in that moment. He just wanted to sleep. He covered himself with the blankets and became cosy. He even hugged the stuffed animals that had decorated the bed into an extremely girly specimen. His torch was left on his bed, facing the mirror, which lit the whole room. In a matter of seconds, he fell asleep. Whatever he would dream about, may it be a nightmare, or sweet dreams, Tanaka had finally found rest ever since the apocalypse had begun.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    13hours had passed as Tanaka had been asleep. He woke, up feeling refreshed and his left arm was feeling much better. He then uttered to himself, "Girls really do have comfortable beds.¡± He remained limp, gazing at the ceiling until he heard the sound of something burning or cooking as he had assumed. He immediately woke up, grabbed his torch and took the lamp stand in the room as back up. He removed the suitcases, opened the door, and ventured into the rest of the apartment. The sound was coming from the kitchen. What he saw was something puzzling, a surprise he didn''t expect at all. It was the old man from the picture frame wearing shades and he was using the gas stove in the kitchen. He was cooking eggs and adding tomatoes and green pepper to the frying pan. Tanaka was shocked at the very fact that this was possible, but what was more puzzling was how complacent and calm the old man was. Was he oblivious of the hell outside? Tanaka then took a step and heard the old man utter, "You decided to come out of my granddaughter¡¯s room. Well don''t worry; I am open to different kinds of people. Dinner will be ready in 15minutes so be patient.¡± The old man was alive in this now horrid world. Tanaka who was surprised could not help but oblige. He only replied nervously with a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "Sure thing...old man, I will wait.¡±

 Chapter 7-Old man Hambira

    "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." Eclesiastes 9 verse 11.


    Tanaka had looked at the old man with a sceptical gaze, bewildered by the fact that his eyes were skewed squint. The senior citizen had just finished the eggs, which were scrambled and immersed in a very palatable soup, with savoury smells that Tanaka embraced, having not smelt anything enticing in a while. The old man began to fondle the gas stove, searching for the stove''s knobs, as if it was a peculiar body search demonstration. The old man then got a hold of the valve and turned off the flames of the stove. The greasy bubbling of the soup continued long after the gas was turned off, maintaining the right heat suitable for a delectable meal. The old man went on to tilt his body a bit, fondling the back of the gas stove to turn off the valve of the gas tank. The process was quite twitchy and strained, which gave away the old man''s physical disposition. He was the same height as Tanaka, wearing a denim golden buttoned thick shirt which had breast pockets and aged material. His body was worn down, veiny, wrinkled, but still had some visible fat that emasculated the old man''s pot belly. He had a box shaped face, which complemented his semi bald hair and squint eyes. His grey trousers, which were accompanied with a pair of loafers, really gave this old timer a lax appeal. Tanaka began to wonder if he was even blind considering he could operate the stove. This was the first ridiculous thing Tanaka had encountered in the infinite darkness. The old man went on to move slowly to where the cupboards where, fondling the knobs and then opening to take out two black and white ceramic plates. The process was very uneasy as if he was balancing weights with his hands. Tanaka also wondered whether he was going to drop the plates with the way the old man''s fragile aged hands shaked. This very scene accentuated what old age did to youth, making what seemed like a simple task into a gruelling drudgery for the elderly.


    The old man placed the plates on the under counter''s ledge and began to prepare the supper. The boy watched the twitchy movements as the old man put the rice in his plate. The old man then uttered with an aged 1970s British accent, "I usually prefer sadza and mazondo over this typical white meals, but my granddaughter always shunned me for that." He broke into a brief laughter that ended with a violent cough similar to that of smokers with a phlegm problem. Tanaka couldn''t help but cringe over the old man''s mortality, which also drove him to wonder how he had survived the carnage outside. The old man finished the preparation of the supper, opened a drawer, and rummaged through it to get a hold of two forks and one knife. Tanaka then assumed that the old man was the fork and knife kind of guy, something that he never got to master due to preferring the use of his hands when devouring meals. The old man placed one of the forks inside the rice on the plate. The dish was greased in a savoury concoction of delectable eggs and other spices. The old man paused for a bit upon finishing the cutlery decorations on the table. Tanaka had noticed this and wondered what was going on. The old man then uttered, "You don''t talk that much?" Tanaka was dumbfounded by this and then quickly articulated his thoughts to respond to the old man. "Um... I do talk sir." he said, not sure whether he had answered appropriately. "Feel free to speak, you don''t have to be quiet and stiff." he said, slowly sliding his hand underneath one of the plates and raising it up. Tanaka saw the man''s hand shaking due to the weight and realised that soon enough the plate would drop to the ground. The old man held out the plate and said, "Here, take it, it¡¯s yours." Tanaka moved swiftly and took hold of the plate with his right hand, having put the torch in his left. The closer he was to the old man the more the strong shadows were cast onto his body. The close up and intense concentration of the torch light made the dark shadows interspersed with bounced back light, which was reflected back on the old man. Tanaka took hold of the plate and the old man asked, "You are most probably wondering how a man like me with eyes like mine can operate something as dangerous as a gas stove?¡± Tanaka''s curiosity had been met by this question and he simply replied, "Yes." "Um a blind retired medical practitioner who had a nasty falling out with a disgruntled patient. The misunderstanding cost me my eyes, but revealed to me things I could have never had seen in my able days." he said, taking hold of his plate and now moving towards the dining room. Tanaka gave way to this old man who shuffled his feet as he walked, having just spoken words that were truly mystifying. The falling out with a disgruntled patient? This had given him a bit of unease, but what was really giving him a headache was how the old man was still alive and at the same time ignorant of the carnage beyond the walls of his apartment. As he watched the old man sit on his sofa, placing his food on his lap, he began to consider a number of possibilities: either he was senile and blind to the point where he was clueless or he was just lucky. Tanaka wanted to immediately jump into hysteria over the horrific nature of the current world but was baffled by the fact that this old man might not be aware of it. He couldn''t hear any demons outside so far, but if this blind old man was still oblivious to what was going on then things were going to get complicated. Tanaka followed suit, actually flashing his torch at him. As how it was outside, the light from his torch still acted as a piercing ray of light in the ample darkness. Tanaka sat on the couch opposite to that of the old man''s and began to dig in, but the way he ate his food was that of an agitated boy with no time to waste.


    Tanaka''s sense of alertness had taken over his body, making him do things with a belief that any time things could go to shit. The old man soon enough interrupted his feasting by asking, "Do you not pray before you eat?" Tanaka looked puzzled by this insistence of formality and replied, "Um sorry." Tanaka then quickly made a concise prayer and dag in again as soon as the old man said ''Amen'' to acknowledge the prayer. Tanaka was eating and eating, trying to alleviate his hunger, but somehow the grotesque imagery of past horrific events began to flood his mind. He felt off, feeling as if his demeanour was too lax for someone who had just survived the death trap of the pit. The world had gone to shit and he was just munching as if it was just an ordinary day. Overcome by conflicting emotions he suddenly stopped eating and darted at the old man who was eating slowly like a graceful gentle man. Tanaka was still in guerrilla mode and felt mild pain from his previous tumble in the pit. He thus took a long pause and then asked the old man, "Sekuru [2], are you okay? Did you hear anything or experience anything bad?" "What do you mean young child?" he asked after also pausing for a bit. Tanaka then remembered the locked door from before and began think that the old man had been confined in his room for a long time. However, a lot of things didn''t add up. Tanaka had been out in the infinite darkness for 2 or 3 days, which seemed probably longer to him due to the horrors he had to endure. Did these monsters somehow miss the old man? This was surely a miracle, but Tanaka was still curious, wanting to understand how this old man had survived a very pernicious event. "I mean..." he said, uncertain of what to say next, "Nothing has happened to you right? You''re safe and haven''t been hurt right?" "You''re a strange aren''t you, already asking for my care when you entered uninvited," he said breaking into laughter that made the situation even more awkward for Tanaka, "I hope you''re not one of the boys my granddaughter talks about." "Granddaughter?" he asked, not expecting such a response, "one of the boys?" "Yes. The room you slept in was my granddaughter''s. She would have gone into hysterics if she had found you in it." The old man broke into a chuckle, which made Tanaka look at him with grave astonishment. Was this old man serious? He was oblivious of the hell outside and at the same time cooked for a stranger who had broken into his pleasant but austere apartment. His complacency with what was going on in Tanaka''s world left much to be desired. No Zimbabwean would allow a total stranger in their house let alone cook them a meal! When he used to live in heavily populated areas, he heard of trespassers being beaten to a pulp as a part of common neighbourhood folklore, however the same would not necessarily apply to this old man who from what he had seen on the mounted picture frames was a plump doctor. His ancient British accent similar to that of old James Bond films, specifically acted by Sean Connery, registered to him a possibility that this man was of a unique upbringing. This drove Tanaka to believe that he was in a serious dilemma. The old man was senile to the point that he couldn¡¯t tell what grief lied beyond the walls of his apartment and at the same time would probably laugh off Tanaka for talking about monsters in the dark.


    This kind of senility was something he had seen a lot when he would travel to the village to see his grandparents, always having to accommodate their sometimes absent minded glances and elderly handicaps, which made socialising with them unbearable. The old man was going to be a burden or at least he thought it was going to be difficult to convince him that there were man eating demons outside and a world covered in infinite darkness. Tanaka realised his current predicament and began to probe the old man with a few questions to alleviate his own mental tension. "Old man..." he said before being interjected. "Call me Richard. Richard Hambira is my name son." said the old man. "Sekuru Hambira how is it you can cook since you said you''re blind?" asked Tanaka. "Hmm, that question never ceases to get old. I was inflicted with blindness at the age of 40, after a falling out with a patient," he said, slowly as if trying to get a hold of his lungs, "I spent 10years as a blind man which affected my medical career to the point I was just limited to mundane work such as medical consultancy of younger interns and psychiatry. However, I memorized the layout of this apartment and made sure that no one would misplace things." "Why did your patient attack you?" he asked, a bit annoyed by the fact that Mr. Hambira hadn''t immediately illustrated how he was able to cook as a blind person. What even annoyed him more was the long pause that came from the old man who seemed to be contemplating a plausible answer. Tanaka began to think that his question had put the old man in some form of mental strain, a trend in the aged that required the young to tolerate. The old man soon enough answered slowly with a monotone voice, "I had insisted on treatment that would aid them, but they were more concerned with their upcoming music concert than their health. Such is the vanity of gallivanting with your life." "Sorry about that." he said with a commiserate tone. "Well don''t worry about that, she soon got deported after assaulting me." he said after a heavy cough filled with phlegm. The old man then snorted and then took his table cloth and spat in it. The whole process was gross and made Tanaka quiver in discomfort. The old man then excused himself and then went on to answer Tanaka''s previously asked question. "Well about my blindness, well, it was a gruelling long process for me to get to be able to move freely. I now see how dreadful it is when your patient ends up with retinitis pigmentosa." "Retini what?" asked Tanaka who was overwhelmed by the tongue twister. "Oh my, I did it again," chuckled the old man, "retinitis pigmentosa is a form of gradual blindness." "Oh." he said, not really satisfied by his answer. "Well I have been in this house for years and I have managed well, memorizing everything and also insisting that my granddaughter doesn''t move things from their original place." he said, coughing again but this time with a less strained effort. "Must be a handful being blind." said Tanaka who was beginning to think that the old man had a miserable existence. "Not even son, the days of not having my sight have been the best years of my life." said the old man with much zest. Tanaka gave the old man the look, thinking that he was overcome with senility to the point of uttering nonsense. All this was just flippant to him. The horrors outside were still engulfing his mind and yet this blind old man had the audacity to utter rubbish.


    Tanaka began to worry about the old man and became even more self conscious as he entertained this senior citizen who had given him food and shown him uncommon hospitality. His thoughts were soon interrupted when the old man said, "Well my condition shouldn''t be up for discussion. Let''s talk about something more interesting." "Interesting." he sighed, wondering what the old man had to say. Tanaka''s nerves were slowly coming back to him, growing circumspect as he got annoyed by the old man''s complacency, but somehow he didn''t give in to his need to scream. The desire to cry out his anguish, fears and concern for another survivor like him did not burst out like he so desired. Something made him heedful towards the old man, something he couldn''t quite explain. That very unclear reason kept him at bay as he listened to what the old timer had to say. "Yes, interesting," he said, putting his plate on the arm base of his couch, "but first of all, how was the food son?" "The food? Oh it¡¯s amazing, you''re a better cook than me, I always cook a disastrous sadza at home." he said, shocked to have rejected the food earlier on and now feasting on it as if he was being scrutinized by the old man. Tanaka knew that his behaviour was all too awkward but the old man was blind and he was being silly, a peculiar situation indeed. "Why thank you, it¡¯s one of the few dishes I can make in my condition," he said, coughing a bit and then spitting into his table cloth again, "so what''s your name young man?" "My name is Tanaka Manyika." he said, glancing at the old man with a tense look. "Tanaka hmm," he said, relaxing his back onto his couch, "I knew a Manyika in Domboshava and Gokwe, involved in farming. He was quite an odd fellow." "Oh." he said, not so sure of what to say about the random anecdote. "So how are your parents?" asked the old man with a passive air to his discourse. Tanaka didn''t answer. The question really cemented his belief that the old man was oblivious of what was going on in the world but at the same time began to churn his mind''s memories into a dreadful whirlpool of terror. The dead body of his sister and short glimpse of his father lying inanimate on the ground sent a very sickening feeling to his inner being. It was like a very nerve wrecking past event that any retrospective person cringed upon taking a slight pensive stance. The memories went on to merge with his prior psychotic break and emotional molestation that had been caused by the creatures of the darkness. His itchy and sore wound on his left arm also reminded him of what he had gone through. Caught in-between his own internal standoff, his desire to scream out how screwed up the world was versus how he wanted to accommodate the clueless senile old man, erupted. He acknowledged that telling the old man what was really happening would just be pointless. What he still couldn''t put his finger on was how he had survived. The old man, from what he could see, had resumed life with his usual routine as a blind man, gifted in doing things normally thought as impossible to do for people in his condition. Even in his arrogance, he realised that a total stranger like Tanaka had committed an unsolicitated entry into his apartment, but instead he got a cooked meal like he was regular guest. Something was really off with this old man. Tanaka began to wonder whether it was senility or maybe his background, which made the old man peculiar.


    The old fashioned afro-centric British accent of Mr. Hambira made Tanaka insinuate that he was from the diaspora, a term commonly used by Zimbabweans to describe natives who were living overseas. The obvious choice would have been the UK since most Zimbabweans engulfed that region when it came to travelling abroad. Mr. Hambira''s socialisation in England could have made him assimilate nonconventional and bizarre things like taking in strangers into his home. However, Tanaka was at least pleased that he didn''t have to get into a scuffle with the old man; the alternative scenario would have just been a disaster. As he wired his mind in pensive thought, the old man soon realised that the long silence from Tanaka was a reticence of an ominous reason. The old man then asked the same question again but this time he got a response in the form of, "I don''t know." Tanaka''s inability to share had changed the atmosphere of the apartment into a very tense one. With only the differed light showing on the old man''s body as Tanaka twirled his torch, the rest of the encompassing darkness made them look like they were in a debate cubicle, surrounded by the panorama of infinite oblivion. "Hmm, you aren''t the sharing type then, well I guess I will tell you my life story." he said, coughing a bit. "You cough a lot, are you really okay old man?" he asked trying to shrug off a potential life history anecdote and at the same time concerned about the intermittent coughs that seemed to be causing more harm than the old man was letting on. "It¡¯s just nothing. Just a shell of what used to be tuberculosis son, no need to worry, this old man isn''t dying today." "Sorry about that," he said, mustering the strength to say, "there is something you need to know." "Something? Don''t be so disrespectful boy, I am the one who¡¯s supposed to telltale first," he said chuckling, "and my granddaughter insists that she is the future of this country. The young are so pretentious." "No old man it¡¯s nothing like that at all, um trying to tell you that you''re not safe," he said, with a tang of fury in the tone of his voice, "you might not have been attacked yet, and um pretty sure you think everything is just normal, but it¡¯s not! The world has gone to shit old man!" "Child where are your manners? This is no way for a young person to speak when I have given them my food and hospitality. I could have just beaten you with my cane you ungrateful brat." replied the old man who also raised his voice to match Tanaka''s own pitch. "You might think you''re safe, but there are monsters out there," he said, getting emotional as he continued on with his dialogue, "there are people out there dying, and I just want you to know the ugly reality of the world Sekuru. It¡¯s scary!" "Oh shut up!" he said, picking up his plate with his twitchy right hand and throwing it at Tanaka who somehow managed to dodge the flying saucer of wrath. The food in the plate crashed and burned alongside the ceramic form of the plate. Tanaka was astonished that the blind man could accurately target him even without any field of vision. In his mind, he thought it was the so called heightened hearing that blind people had: a commiseration of the creator for having allowed them to be given impaired vision. The effort to throw the plate from what Tanaka could observe was really something that had taken a lot of energy out of the old man. His passive smile had turned into a rather ugly grimace, the kind associated with severe constipation and a kick to the balls. Tanaka glared at the man, confused with what to do and just simply cooled down as he assessed the situation. Mr. Hambira slowly rose from his seat and then barked at Tanaka, telling him to leave if he wasn''t happy with his treatment. Tanaka in this peculiar moment didn''t know what to do. The peaceful meal that Tanaka had been experiencing unfortunately morphed into a violent venting out of a senior citizen. Tanaka could have left to oblige the old man, but as far as he was concerned, everything in the infinite darkness had no chance of survival. Leaving with the only light source in the house was a preposterous proposition that his mind could not conform to. Despite the violent yelling of this old timer, Tanaka didn''t bloat out his concerns for him, something that was really vibrant in this distraught youth. It had been luck that Mr. Hambira was alive, but luck was something that eventually runs out, turning those who aren''t prone to adapting to the situation into hapless victims who cling on to a belief that has no feasible application in a horrific world. This old man was senile, blind, and oblivious to the hell outside, but Tanaka couldn''t leave him behind. No matter what, he wouldn''t let this old man go through the same horror he had experienced in the past two days. "I can''t go." said Tanaka, calmly saying it as if trying to mitigate the argumentative tone of Mr. Hambira. "You won''t go? You are fed by me and treated well, and you think you can blabber nonsense like that at me?" shouted the old man as he tried to understand the defiance of the young child. "Nothing has happened to you Sekuru Hambira and um glad, but I can''t leave you. You won''t survive those things. You might think um crazy, but you will die if I leave you here." said Tanaka with a stern voice. "Boy just shut up. You''re ill and uttering nonsense... " he said before being interjected by Tanaka who seemed to be the only voice of reason between the two. "Old man you don''t get it. Everyone is dead! The world is over! There are only ugly things in the dark, no everyday life, just death, lots of dying and death! If we are the only survivors in this nightmare then so be it. I gotta keep you alive!" he said almost as if he was having a nervous breakdown.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Tanaka wasn''t good at convincing people; his con man skills were as meagre as that of a master at inefficiency, a never ending struggle he had failed to manage, as he was unable to get people on his side. However, no matter what would happen in this apartment, he would save this old man from his blindness to the present despicable world. "How do you suppose you can help me?" asked the old man, with fervent mockery, emphasised with a demeaning smug on his face, "if there is this death you speak of, then you surely are no better than me when it comes to safety." "I know this is going to sound crazy, but the reason I know you will be safe with me is because these things are afraid of my flash light." he said doubtful that his explanation would have any impact. "That is whore shit child! You actually think um a fool? I am a retired medical practitioner not a bloody monkey. You best take your leave before I get my cane. I will clobber you if you stay." he said, enraged and on the verge of harming the youth. Tanaka was not abated at all by these threats and remained stern, but something unexpected suddenly changed the hostile atmosphere in the apartment. The unintelligent voices and disturbing sounds had returned, resonating extreme heinous and iniquitous intent. Their vile nature came like a wind, rattling the windows of the apartment with every intention of drawing out fright. Tanaka instantly ignored the old man who was still urging him to leave, behaving as if he had not heard the ominous sounds. The fact that he still spoke regardless of hearing the terrors of the dark made Tanaka wonder how senile the old man was. Tanaka in the heat of the moment quickly shushed the old man who had been uttering like a proverbial rattle snake. The old man didn''t cease his venomous threats, acting like a total idiot in the dire situation. Tanaka who was a child brought up in the belief that the elderly were sacred was now going to disregard that belief. He ran and grabbed the old man, covering his mouth with his right hand. In the view of an onlooker, it would have seemed as if Tanaka had the old man on a choke hold, but the very action was of a benevolent nature. The ominous sounds were causing a very unusual and revolting ruckus, the kind expected from a poltergeist. Tanaka struggled to keep the old man quiet, wrestling with him as he got elbowed in the gut by the unwilling participant. The sounds from outside were gloomy; reverberating the blood lust of the fiends and sending a chill down Tanaka''s spine as they rattled the entire building. The moment felt as if a swarm of insects had just passed through, but the real trouble was getting the old man tamed. Tanaka told the old man to stop, feeling the pain of each elbow jab as he tried to keep this old man quiet. In between a submission move and one trying to break free from it, Tanaka slowly lost his hold on the man''s mouth. "You little twat, let go of me this instant!" said Mr. Hambira whose mouth had gotten free from the boy''s hand hold. "Keep quiet old man, um trying to help you. Your shouting will only attract them here." said Tanaka who shushed the old man sternly. "I said get off me!" he said struggling again as Tanaka''s hand masked the old man''s jaw. "Why are you fighting me, can''t your hear them. The sick sounds on the walls?" questioned Tanaka who was astonished that the old man was still being difficult even when the voices'' audibility was as clear as day. Something was wrong indeed. The old man surely was not deaf, but his attention to Tanaka over the depraved noises was defying logic. Tanaka eventually went on to ask, "You can hear them right? You can hear the scary sounds like me old man, I know that these sounds are making you sick just like me so why are you still fighting?" "Cause I won''t die you idiot." "If you continue making noise you will attract their attention." replied Tanaka who shushed the old man once again. "You are not listening you stubborn boy, I said I won''t die." said the old man who was struggling with the hand that Tanaka was using to silence him. "What makes you so sure?" he said as he hissed into the ear of the old man. "Because he told me!" screamed out the old man. This happened just as he broke free from Tanaka¡¯s hold. Tanaka fell to the ground, dropping his torch due to the sheer force of the back prodding. He was momentarily dishevelled and fumbling like an electric eel as he crawled to reach his torch. The area that was out of reach to the light rays of his torch became pitch black. Tanaka couldn''t see the old man anymore, all he could only see was his torch, which he crawled towards with manic pursuit. The elbow jabs to his gut were painful, but weren''t strong enough to completely disorientate him. He was lucky that the old man was aged, if he had been in his prime years, Tanaka would have most probably have coughed up blood from the very first strike. Tanaka got a hold of his torch and pointed upwards, massaging his abdomen as he rose from the ground. The old man was still standing erect, but looked strained as if he had gotten a back rub from a boulder. He was now hyper ventilating, possibly stressed by what Tanaka had done. Tanaka glanced at him and asked, "You said because he told me, what does that mean?" The old man ignored Tanaka and ended up retiring on his couch, breathing heavily as if he had just finished a marathon. This didn''t help the situation at all due to Tanaka probing the old man with the question he asked before again and again. The old man was just seated there, breathing in and out and coughing.


    Tanaka was beginning to think that he was having a heart attack. In that moment, he felt really stupid for having jumped on the old man. The ominous sounds had moved on, leaving an echo of their depraved rhythm behind, the background music to a child experiencing a possible nervous breakdown. Tanaka felt as if the main danger was over, but he began to have down casted feelings of regret as he watched the old man twitching like a headless chicken. The blind old man was hyper ventilating and now grabbing his chest tightly. Tanaka stopped probing him and just stared at him with utter confusion. He began to scratch his head as he squinted his eyes, trying to look contrite as he watched this horrific spectacle. He began to knee jerk, getting the same sensation that people who held back their pee for several hours felt. He was completely useless in this situation and the thought of any first aid techniques seemed irrelevant and far from his mind. The old man was going to have a heart attack and die! The old man realised his predicament and mustered the strength to call out for Tanaka. Tanaka went hurriedly to the old man and murmured stuff like, ¡°I don''t know how I can help you but how can I help you?¡± In a very tearful stricken voice. Tanaka who had wanted to help the old man felt like an idiot for having made him get this sick. The old man began to hiss, "Boy, boy, get a big cylinder plastic container in the kitchen from the first left cabinet. The bottom shelf should have my anti anxiety tablets. Also, bring me a glass of water. Please hurry with the medication." Tanaka heard the man loud and clear and immediately headed towards the kitchen. Tanaka opened the cabinet and rummaged through its contents and found the cylinder container which had the anti anxiety tablets. Tanaka then took a random cup from the cupboard and tried pouring water in it from the tap. The pipes began to crank and make weird noises when he opened the faucet, but what came out was reddish black thick blood, flowing from the faucet¡¯s nozzle. This grotesque scenery just made things worse as Tanaka tried to race against time. Tanaka turned the faucet shut, and dropped the cup, which seemed to have been filled with red pathogens as a result of having held it out. Tanaka had the pills but he didn''t have the water. He was scratching his head and twirling his torch at various directions, trying to think of a solution to his current predicament. Tanaka then noticed the refrigerator and then opened it. The stench of stale meat was strong in this storage unit, but fortunately for him, he found a 2litre bottle of Mazoe orange crush containing water. It wasn''t frozen but was good enough to drink. Tanaka quickly shut the refrigerator and ran towards Mr. Hambira. The boy gave the old blind man his tablets, and watched him ingest 4 capsules. Tanaka then gave him the bottle of water and watched the old man drink half of the bottle''s contents in one go. All he could do was just watch, leaning on the hope that this drastic effort would actually amount to something. Tanaka could see the old man''s throat undulate as he imbibed the liquid, adding more suspense to his already pervading drama. The old man dropped the bottle, which ended up wetting the carpet below. Tanaka was somehow disturbed by this, thinking that Mr. Hambira had lost his strength hence why he dropped the bottle, but his pessimism didn''t reflect the truth. Mr. Hambira who had been hyper ventilating before was now gradually retaining his normal breathing rate, a spectacle that had the young boy in tears. After 7minutes, the old man was back to normal, but sounded as if he was connected to a respirator. His breathing became slow and relaxed, reassuring him that all was well. Tanaka just stood there and watched the old man breath into stability. After a while, the fatigue of standing kicked in and he ended up sitting on the couch opposite the old man. An hour passed as Tanaka waited for the old timer, wondering whether he was actually asleep or just faking it. It was hard to tell whether a blind man was conscious or not, a poker face that Tanaka was surely not adept to. As he thought about what occurred, he began to wonder what the old man meant by, ''Because he told me.''


    The old man wasn''t telling the whole truth and even his arrogance towards the ominous sounds was extremely questionable. He was hiding something, something grave, but the reasons behind such an omission of important information did not make sense to the young Tanaka. The world was already screwed; there were no benefits in being clandestine at all. All these speculations, which had consumed his mind, were soon interrupted when the old man began to twitch. His worries soon departed when the old man woke up, breathing slowly to the rhythm of the insidious night. The old man''s voice was now low and hoarse when he woke up, hissing words, which had half the power of his normal voice. Tanaka took heed of this old man''s mechanical and atrophied sounds and asked him a question, assuming that he was wide awake. "You okay Sekuru?" he asked, stricken with contrition. "You damned boy¡­ you are still here?" asked the old man who seemed to have been overcome with great exhaustion. "Um a stubborn kid." "Hmm, if I had my sight, I would be really happy to see the face of this stubborn boy." he said with light laughter that broke into a cough. The coughs were now just a frightening thing for Tanaka who thought that things were going completely wrong within the old man. However the intermittent glitches were nowhere near life threatening and his cause for concern was just tied to his guilt for having caused the old man to have an anxiety attack. "Old man, don''t overdo it, its okay you can get some rest." he said, worried about the old man. "Well it¡¯s too late for that now. I actually have something to say." he said, hissing and slowly evoking his words into conceivable speech. "You have something?" "Yes, I do," he said, coughing a bit, "I have been a licensed physician since I was 27, brought up in a Rhodesia which I was soon liberated from by our great liberation fighters and political leaders." "Wow 27years that must have been a great accomplishment." "Hardly boy, graduation is only part of the journey, living off your acquired knowledge is where the excitement actually starts." he said, rubbing his chest slowly as if searching for where his chest hurt the most. "I guess." "Well let me tell you something interesting about my life." he said, taking a deep breath. Tanaka just watched, as the old man gave an account of his adverse life experiences. "As a fully sighted man, I lived to see everything, all the ugliness of work, death, and miscalculations in the hospitals. As the years passed by, Parinyenatwa hospital improved and interns from UZ and plenty of foreign schools changed the way things were done, health and stability became common. People didn''t have this rubbish of having to go abroad to acquire treatment like nowadays, but I can''t entirely discredit the ministry of health in this country. Things have changed since then, but where credit is due I give it." "My cousin sister had to get her kidney stone removed in South Africa when hospitals here could not do a specific operation for her. I always thought it was ridiculous, it kinda makes getting the glorious 15points seem like nonsense." "You''re wrong again, that 15points and 7 years of med school are worth it. You seem like one who would venture into the commercial and artistic side as a career path judging from your disdain for the sciences." "You got all that from just that?" he asked, entertaining the old man even though he didn''t really care about what he had to say. "Well from the way you talk, I figured out just as much that you''re not an idiot, though you behave like one." "Um sorry for that, I was just trying... " he said, now feeling guilty for having dishevelled the old man. "Its okay, I should have been honest from the beginning. I know what''s happening Tanaka. I know very well that my granddaughter and all my loved ones are not alive as we speak." he said, interjecting Tanaka who was now overcome with shock by what Mr. Hambira had said. The defining moment had come, changing the very tone of the conversation. Tanaka who had thought the old man was just senile ended up asking, "So you know what''s going on? Why did you pretend like you didn''t?" "Because I wanted to end my final days on this planet on a peaceful note. My life has been a turbulent pile of shit, getting divorced, my children hating me and being accused for being too engrossed in my work. To add the icing to the cake my ignorant patient thought it was best to vent out her disapproval for her treatment plan by making me blind. Yes, I said nothing because I wanted a peaceful end." "Peaceful...? First of all, how are you still alive? Nothing has attacked you. Do you have some secret to how you''re survived so far?" asked Tanaka who completely ignored the old man''s sob story. "No secret, I was just given a free pass." "A free pass?" asked Tanaka who was completely perplexed by what the old man was talking about. "Yes. A free pass from a stranger who came into my home 2 days ago." "Huh?" said Tanaka who was now lost. Tanaka already had a hard time telling the time in the infinite darkness, but this blind old man could tell whether 2 days had passed or not. Everything sounded stupendous in that moment, but what he would later come to hear would end up inclining him to more fear than he had already taken in, the fear of the true nature of the infinite darkness.

 Chapter 8-The one who rules the world is known as the evil one!

    "Yes a stranger came into my house, a peculiar one indeed. He said he was from the other world or something like that. At first, I thought it was just a bunch of nonsense, but he began to tell me things about my life that I hadn''t told anyone else. Very private things that I had never told my colleagues, wife, and children. It was really all bizarre and I entertained him like what I did with you." "He said he was from the other world?" asked Tanaka who was stricken with fear by the unravelling of things. "Yes. The other world, a world that was more close to the heart of man as he had said. The man asked me a lot of questions about how it felt to be human, living through life and enduring hardships. I told him that I wasn''t the best at this life coach business, but he insisted that I had input worthy of a good listen, so in the end I told him about my life''s journey and the funny thing is that he marvelled at how I lived with my blindness." "Who is this stranger?" asked Tanaka who was quivering over Mr. Hambira''s story. "He calls himself Mweya Mutema, the chosen one of his race. He admired that I had lived through my divorce and loss of eyesight and was inspired by what drove me to not give up on my life. Being blind wasn''t a joke. I had to go through therapy, guidance in the art of knowing my environment and reading those dreadful Brailles, but what excited him was that regardless of my effort to become bigger than my problems, I was still depressed. My blindness impaired my ability to see my wife Martha''s frowns and the scorn my children. The stranger said that he was fuelled by the darkness of my life, it gave him the resolve to not give up, something that didn''t make sense to me initially, but which later made sense after much after thought." "What are you talking about Sekuru? I don''t understand." asked Tanaka who was getting even more confused by the old man''s monologue."


    What do you think drives people into doing things? Is it money, fame, love, or fear? Most would go for the positive and more charismatic responses, but the ugliness of the world has been summed up by the dreadful fear that conditions us to a certain behaviour in a way. Insecurities, acceptance from peers, desire for status and so forth are one of the factors, but when one accepts this fear and becomes one with it, he realises that there is nothing much to live for and that the world is a bleak form of shit. Apathy is the only reasonable belief in our world today. Everything is just a lump of vanity conditioned into making people run away from reality, the reality of us being the source of our own fears. Noble ideals and happiness are just a euphemism to a very cruel joke. The stranger agreed with me and commended my apathetic nature towards the world, because I hate the world Tanaka. I live in it knowing it¡¯s what conditions us to be horrible and sad people. So in the end when one becomes one with his fear, he accepts that he has no control and is but a pig in an abattoir, awaiting a glorious slaughter." "Old man why are you saying such ugly things?" asked Tanaka who was beyond confused by the sudden depressing tone that the old man was using. It was as if something had snapped in between retelling his encounter with the stranger known as Mweya Mutema. "It is not ugliness, it is but the insanity that harbours the world and recycles itself, adding more and more suffering. This stranger I met was a product of humanity''s suffering. He said his kind were the product of man''s sin, all the sin of the world turned into the evil we know today. An individual in the end cannot run away from their fears or insecurities. It is what we are and until we can accept that we will just live life based on false hope." As Mr. Hambira spoke freely, the two of them suddenly heard a strong thump that resembled that of a shock wave. The shock made everything in the apartment vibrate, shaking more vehemently as the sound drew nearer. From what Tanaka could hear, it was most probably coming from the Harare gardens, drawing near the Julius Nyerere way. Each thump got stronger than the one before it, knocking down furniture from its ledges and various mounted points. Tanaka could not understand what the hell was happening, but what Mr. Hambira had to say quickly made the horror of what was happening in the infinite darkness clear. The unsavoury encounter with one known as Mweya Mutema was upon them. "His here, his here, why is he here. He gave me one more day. Why did he come so soon?" complained the blind man who was now hyper ventilating again. Tanaka was just in manic confusion, wondering what hardships were lying ahead and worrying about Mr. Hambira who was panicking. The old man was obviously afraid and so was Tanaka, but he had the torch, the light that had eradicated the darkness before him in his earlier tribulations. Though he was also entranced in fear, Tanaka couldn''t afford to show weakness. "Old man I can protect you, my torch can kill these things. I don''t know what the stranger is like, but I can help!" shouted Tanaka who was now heading towards the old man who had fallen to the ground due to the shock waves. "You don''t get it boy, nothing can save me; he fucken ate my granddaughter and violated my daughter. He now rules this world, that evil bastard. He couldn''t even keep a promise to an old timer like me. His an evil heinous monster, leave me here to die!" "No!" he shouted, seeing the ground separate in two, as it burst for unknown reasons. The tilting of the floor made Tanaka fall back, slamming into the wall behind him. The vibrations were now more audible and had the kind of impact to deafen ears. The next thump caused great turbulence, making Tanaka''s body behave like a ball after a cataclysmic hit during a snooker play. He was now separated from the old man and the upper floors of the building began to crumble downwards. The entire building had been struck by something big, causing many of the upper floors to cave in as he glanced upwards, seeing the inevitable death dropping before him, the torch he wielded began to glimmer again as if a vortex of large amounts of photons, compressed into a cylindrical object. Tanaka''s darted torch incinerated the 7 story building¡¯s upper floors, destroying the debris of the crumbling apartment as well, leaving only dust clouds of ash and smoke. Tanaka was lucky to be alive, having survived yet again a potential dreadful death. The boy put himself back together and began to crawl upwards over the inclined floor of Mr. Hambira''s apartment. Only the parts of the ground floor remained, the rest of the building was now just forgotten collateral. Tanaka began to call out the old man''s name, at the same time heard the violent tumultuous thumping in the infinite darkness. Each thump nullified his shouting, making the whole process of calling out Mr. Hambira''s name pointless. He finally got to the tip of the cracked floor plain and pointed his torch at what lied beyond. There was a pit lying in between his cracked floor and the old man''s side of the plain. The old man was lying on the ground, crying as creatures from the pit below crawled and growled with every intention of devouring him. Tanaka glared at the creatures and pointed his torch at them, releasing his rage on these despicable fiends. The light made the creatures return to the abyss they had crawled out from, saving the old man from peril, but regardless of Tanaka''s heroics, something jaw dropping came into his view, maiming him with great fear to the point that he wanted to pluck out his own eyes. It was the abominable fiend Mweya Mutema! He was riding on an 18metres tall vile centipede that had human legs for its feet. The legs had boils and various lacerations, inscribed with blasphemous signs and revolting things that were beyond the boy''s scope of descriptive ability. The rest of the centipede¡¯s body had giant serpents that looked more amphibious than reptilian. The creature was long and it seemed to have destroyed the ILSA College that was opposite the apartment building that Tanaka was in. The fiend was as tall as the reserve bank of Zimbabwe, a demonic malevolence devoid of any known aesthetics. Its imagery alone violated anything tangible and desecrated it with its own existence. Its gargantuan deformed hands reached out to grab the body of Mr. Hambira. Tanaka who was now looking at the old man in despair had to watch an unsightly scene of grotesque murder, one that completely defiled whatever innocence was left in him. The old man''s body was instantly skinned alive by the supernatural pull of the demonic hand, having his skin leave his flesh like a robe that had been yanked off an object it was covering. The skin landed on the hand like bubble gum and merged with its repugnant brittle humus like palm. Its eyes were empty and it only emanated despondency and infinite apathy when Tanaka had taken a look at it. Upon taking the life of the old man, it continued on its course and rode on its gigantic demonic centipede, leaving the view of Tanaka''s torch light. Tanaka soon enough cried when the shock waves had deceased, taking in the horror he had just seen and also grieving over the now dead old man. Mweya Mutema was no joke at all. He was the apotheosis of everything ugly and beyond, the bane of Tanaka''s existence. He was now all alone again, bound by fear and terrible thoughts, traumatised yet again by foul scenery. The demons in the pit took advantage of the boy''s distracted state and dragged the remaining flesh that made up Mr. Hambira into the pit. They simply devoured the leftovers of Mr. Hambira without a care for Tanaka''s feelings. The infinite darkness was now much more despicable than what he had initially thought; a panorama of sadness tainted in indistinguishable darkness, the very definition of a living hell. All this young boy could do now was just grieve, the cruel karma for those who survived the madness, the endless cycle in a world of infinite darkness.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

 Chapter 9-A lonely night

    Darkness had engulfed his world again, leaving him with tears as he walked away from the remnants of the now demolished Southerland heights flats. Tanaka couldn''t handle the loss of Mr. Hambira and felt totally responsible for having failed, but what struck him the most was the fact that the fear he had gotten from the first time he had sighted the creatures of the infinite darkness had returned to him. The haunting image of Mweya Mutema had crippled him, making him scared once again. He was in a nightmare, with no means of return. All he had left was the will to live, in a world where choice was replaced by inevitable suffering.


    The bruises he had gotten from tumbling as the upper levels of the flat collapsed were now beginning to sting on his body. He was in Baines Avenue, pointing his torch at the building opposite to where Southerland heights was. The flats opposite it, known as the Rosshire heights flats, had its own mural of flesh and depravity on its walls. The sight of more ugliness made Tanaka sick inside and he immediately twirled his torch elsewhere. The pungent smell of decaying flesh and sounds of crawling creatures in the infinite darkness had become a ubiquitous annoyance to him. Tanaka even began to think of diseases associated with ominous air and thought that soon enough he would get tuberculosis because of the air. At some instances, he felt like he was going to suffocate, dying from asphyxiation as a result of the pungent air. He twirled his torch backwards to glance at the road that divided the Baines Avenue flats and the private property that was on the opposite end. Tanaka heard the cracking and shaking of the ground from afar and witnessed something diabolical from where he was looking. The entity of horridness sprouted forth from the road Tanaka had directed his torch. It was a giant mole with the body of that of an exomuscular serpent with gelatinous reeds on its chest. It smashed through the surface of the road, leaving gusts of steam as it slithered away. Tanaka watched in horror as the creature disappeared into the darkness, evading his light like the rest of the monsters in the night. The inclination that Tanaka had of actually looking for a place to rest at the Baines Avenue flats soon vanished from his mind. He was still grieving over the old man and wanted to avoid anything that registered the possibility of him dealing with creatures that would disturb his peace. Like a nomad, he now had to relocate to somewhere else with the will to live keeping him from committing suicide.


    Tanaka passed the new Mazoe road and crossed the rocky remains of the tarmac that was in between Leopold Takawira road and Mazoe road in the Baines Avenue. The giant foot prints left by Mweya Mutema''s demonic centipede were of great depth. Tanaka felt like he was in a Godzilla movie, passing through the landmarks left by its grotesque gargantuan feet. Tanaka took time to gaze upon the completely levelled down Baines Medical centre number 52 hospital. His torch pierced through the infinite darkness, highlighting the rubble and debris left due to the wreckage. Whatever life had existed within the walls of the facility had most probably been flattened into compacted flesh by my Mweya Mutema. This was what went on in the mind of the young boy who could not help but feel pessimistic towards the dreaded scenery. The sadness pressured his mind into deep thought as he thought about what old man Hambira had said. The creatures from what the old man had said were a product of mankind''s sin, a vice that came back to devour the root of its origin. Tanaka who had tried to be realistic and doubtful towards anything farfetched before was now open to the idea that maybe everything peculiar was not nonsense. The organisation known as Zeal as stated by the Russian began to resurface in his mind. Could the events concerning his brother and his so called captive ''Austin¡¯ be connected at all to what was happening in Harare? As he pondered over his thoughts, just as he was about to cross Leopold Takawira road, he suddenly roared in anger. Tanaka was irked by the fact that he couldn''t at all connect the dots of the information that was in his head. The existence of Mweya Mutema and the events that involved his family being murdered did not have any relation to each other. In the end it all seemed like randomly placed misfortunes that were left there to ensnare him. He was the world''s tragic tale and as far as he was concerned, he was living by the manuscript of suffering, word by word, without any comic relief in sight.


    Tanaka crossed the Leopold Takawira road in Baines avenue, finding a flat that had part of its durawall still intact. The level of degradation that he had seen on other buildings wasn''t present at all on this flat. The balconies still had clothes, vases, and lots of curtains to cover furniture. This was going to be the shelter for Tanaka for the night. The sounds of the creatures in the darkness were still prevalent, but were very far. Even the precarious movements that were part of the menu of this nightmare were scarce from Tanaka''s current position. Tanaka glanced to the right to see the rest of the road that was known as Leopold Takawira. He glanced at the various buildings: the Salvation Army church that was demolished, flats and a small mosque that was utterly dishevelled. At the far recesses of his light''s range, he could see the divided Leopold Takawira road and the glimpses of Parinyenatwa hospital. The intensity and luminosity of his torch had improved immensely, showing him things that were more than a kilometre away. Tanaka could see the different breed of demons from afar, noticing one of them that looked like a lizard with an abdomen of that of an octopus. Though everything from afar lost its resolution as Tanaka observed, it was quite clear to him that there was a banquet happening at other side of town. Tanaka eventually twirled to the opposite direction, gazing upon the emptiness that led to the heart of the city. Past Fife Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Tanaka could see a lot of abandoned vehicles that were all covered in red and black substances. There were also shrivelled remains of limbs and organs that Tanaka could see even from afar. Each disturbing image had its place next to the birth certificate office and the outer regions of the Harare gardens. It looked like a fashion runway that was adulterated by chunky meat with visible bite marks. The revolting scenery never lost its edge, getting more grotesque the more he looked at it. Fortunately for him, the street he was in was clearly free from the prowling demons, engraved with a haunting silence that was foreign to him ever since the nightmare had started. After he was satisfied by the situation at hand, he decided to enter the flats.


    He passed through the hole of the demolished durawall, pointing his torch downwards as he trotted. Pieces of broken glass were scattered everywhere and the damp soil stained by the bloody rain was sticky. He felt like he was walking on bubble gum, having to scrape off the web like thick blood on the tiles of the flat''s ground floor pavement. Tanaka scoped out the 4 story flat, looking for possible signs of life and any nasty surprises. Climbing up the stairs that led to the 1st floor, he found doors numbered 1 to 4, all opened with the wind howling in a ghostly manner. Tanaka peaked through each door, seeing the various insides that had signs of struggle and tonnes of blood. The hapless victims were most probably caught in their sleep, tasting death without any knowledge of its depraved form. The apartments registered different walks of life: from the sophisticated to the mediocre, they all had a tale to tell. Tanaka scrutinised the homes briefly with intent of finding a place to rest, checking for any irregular creatures in the homes. He was fortunate enough to find nothing at all, seeing only blood and signs of struggle as the anecdotes of a past life. Tanaka went through all floors, finding only a few decent apartments that weren''t tarnished by gratuitous violence on the 2nd floor. The third and fourth floors were a blood bath. These particular floors where were the most heinous acts of sadism were performed, covering the aspects of eviscerations, scattered organs, cartilage that was hammered onto the walls of the hallway and regurgitated sternums. The smell was enough to get him to consider the 2nd floor as his final choice, defeating any possibility of him thinking otherwise. Tanaka having learned of the efficiency of mirrors before as a means to ward off the beasts of the night had decided to dismantle several mirrors from the top floors. He felt driven by his desire to survive, taking even packaged foods with him. The chips, biscuits, and fruits were all part of his loot. Most of the Baker''s inn loaves and other bread brands of the country were more or less in the household basins. Most of the non perishable foods that were stored in each house had gone either stale or completely bad. Room 20 on the 4th floor had stored away goat meat, pork, beef, and chickens. Tanaka''s tummy could not help but rumble to spite him in that situation. The meat in the refrigerator he had opened was now mouldy and smelling bad. Such a waste of food had occurred and now Tanaka was left with only a gruelling truth that he would later run out of food if he wasn''t careful. The tension and graveness of the world had driven the boy into a manic alertness, filling his mind with paranoia. His knowledge of survival from what he had seen on television also played a pivotal role in distressing him with a lot of thought. This was what went through his mind as he gathered his resources, thinking of what would happen to him now that he was alone. The only consolation he had in the world at the present moment was the fact that he had his torch. It was a weapon against the monsters and kept him safe from evil, but its lasting functionality was his main concern. In the event the device stopped working or got damaged, this would be the death of him. Apart from that, he was also concerned with the possible of the vanity of his choices. With very little information to go by and no signs of life, Tanaka began to wonder what the next day would amount to, thinking about whether there would even be another day to survive. Checking his watch, he noticed that it was now a few minutes past midnight, 3hours after the death of Mr. Richard Hambira. With the way the encompassing darkness looked, Tanaka felt as if checking his watch was now just a futile thing. There was no sun and no moon, just an infinite oblivion that reminded him that things were never going to be the same. After a while, his thinking weighed down on him, maiming him with fatigue. He had gathered all that he needed in room 9 of the 2nd floor and was now prepared to call it a night. His choice for this particular room was more pertaining to his personal preferences rather than something tactical. It was an apartment filled with books and foreign antique items. It had several burglar bars; some were even devastated by the forced entry of the demons. The master bedroom was where the gross slaughter of the inhabitants of the home had happened. It was a nasty scene, but the only room that was untarnished was the bedroom of the supposedly son of the inhabitants. It was filled with movie posters, magazines, video game consoles, comic books, and lots of sporting accessories. Tanaka had reasoned with himself on his way to room 9 that if he was going to go through the madness of the world he would need something to distract him from depressing ideas. This at first seemed contrary to what he had seen in survival TV shows where everyone turned angst and were mostly concerned about surviving. However, with the torch in hand, immune to the demonic attacks, not all he had to worry about was losing sight on a reason to live. With that said, he was slowly adapting to the situation he was in, accepting that this was life and this was now how he was supposed to live it.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Tanaka opened a bottle full of water and washed his hands in the sink of the home. Having noticed that the faucets only released bloody water as soon as he had opened them, he said to himself, "I guess ZINWA (Zimbabwe National Water Authority) does it again¡± He surprisingly chuckled sardonically, peeved by the sight of the contaminated water, but at the same time he was thinking about where else he would get clean water for his sustenance. The mere fact that he had to think about planning ahead had begun to worry him. He had gotten close to 50 litres worth of drinking water into the bedroom he had reserved for sleep, but wondered if it was going to be enough. As far as he was concerned, the nightmare wasn''t going to end soon and this added to his subtle hypertension. After he had cleansed his dirty hands, he dined on a packet of maputi, Zimbabwe''s own version of popcorn, which resulted from the use of maize. Tanaka took in 2 packets and then stopped. His gluttony wanted him to go on further into a binge eating feast, but he realised that it would only be logical if he only devoured food when he felt hungry. However, the oranges and bananas that were available were not spared. After his light meal, he sat on the bed of his room, placing his torch on the candle stand so that it wouldn''t change position as it lighted up the surrounding mirrors. The room was filled with so much light that it felt as if the infinite darkness didn''t exist. The light could also be seen from outside, even lighting up part of the Leopold Takawira road as it came out of the window. The colour of the bedroom walls, which was brown and lime, was now visible. As Tanaka embraced the light, he dropped his back on the bed, relaxing as he stared at the ceiling. The light bulb that had a lavish casing distracted him for a bit, as he looked at its intricate design. It looked very pricey, especially the stand of the bulb, which looked more fitting for a chandelier. As Tanaka rested his back into the therapeutic bed, he began to feel something that was small but solid. After a while, he realised that it was two items and then uncovered the blankets to unveil what was underneath. Tanaka found a PSP 2 vita and an iPod. He took a hold of the two devices and analysed them with great scrutiny. He turned on the PSP gaming device and immediately saw the dashboard. The device was half way charged which he could clearly see on the battery icon on the screen. As Tanaka looked at the screen, he noticed the date and time. It was a shocking reminder that the world had gone to shit in the past 3 days ever since he was abducted by the two strange men. Tanaka could not help but shed a tear as he realised that he had lived through 3 days of hell. As soon as he began to trickle tears of despair, he quickly wiped them away as if he felt weakened by his emotions. He immediately tensed his face to shrug off his sadness and continued browsing through the PSP applications. Tanaka temporarily forgot about the iPod and began to play the games that were available on the device. Tanaka found Metal Gear Solid 3 in the PSP and played it from the last saved mission. He was quite familiar with the other instalments, but hadn''t really played the 3rd one in the franchise. The game consumed most of his time, devouring it, and making him forget temporarily that he was living in a hopeless world. After a solid 5?hours, his watch began to sound off his early morning alarm. The ringing startled him for a bit and made him realise that he had been too engrossed in the game. He soon pressed the button on his watch to end the noise, returning to the game for an extra fix. The battery of the PSP began to complain soon enough, annoying him with the reality that his fun was soon going to end. The mission on the game was almost complete and the battery was almost flat. The PSP eventually turned off, making the boy snivel in silence. Tanaka immediately grabbed the iPod lying next to him to avoid feeling the withdrawal effect. The ear phones were fortunately connected to the iPod, making the listening experience even better. Tanaka scrolled through the music gallery of the device only to find an armada of rock in it. The genres were wide in variety, ranging from alternative rock to death metal core. Tanaka wasn''t a massive consumer of rock neither was he not receptive towards it, but he skipped the noisy bands that mostly focused on hardcore sounds that really irked him to the point of having a migraine. At least with an iPod he was guaranteed that its battery would last for a longer time. He was even fortunate to find out that it was fully charged. Tanaka began by listening to some of the soft core rock as he rummaged through the magazine and comic book contents of the room. The magazines were primarily Mojo, Empire, Popular science, and video game magazines. Tanaka had surprisingly hoped that he would find adult magazines, hoping that the infamous pent house magazine would be there. Explicit magazines were his guilty pleasure, one shared commonly by young boys with raging hormones, but in the end, he would have to make dowith what was immediately available to him. The comic books that were available were mostly western, with a few Japanese and Chinese manga and manhua respectively. Tanaka devoured volumes and volumes of the available titles, feeling immersed in the worlds that were depicted by each story. With the inactivity of the infinite darkness and long lasting battery of the iPod, Tanaka was in luck. He would pour a glass of Mazoe blackberry into his cup from time to time, imbibing it as he read. He at times would laugh to himself, sighting humorous things in the comics. Then suddenly, as if he was driven by pure instinct, he called out his sister''s name after seeing something epic in one of the panels. The actual act reminded him of his loss and made him feel sullen again. The involuntary action was something he was used to exhibiting whenever he noticed something cool and called forth his sister to mutually enjoy the experience. The mellowness became very apparent to him and he ended up closing the book he was reading. Tanaka eventually felt the fatigue of being up for several hours and then ended up sinking into the cosy blankets on the bed. He began to scroll through the music and then tapped the playlist icon on the iPod. He was surprised to find a playlist titled ''Suicide vibes.¡¯ The title was peculiar, but somehow grabbed his attention. Tanaka opened it and played the music in it. The music was dark and atmospheric rock, which at first depressed him, but the message somehow connected to him. The lyrics addressed his pain and worries, talking about the pain inside him. There were songs from bands like Opeth and a lot of Katatonia''s album titled Discouraged Ones. It was surprisingly therapeutic and made him appreciate the genre even more. He even sang along, singing, "Find me another heart.¡± Tanaka then dropped his head on the pillow and looked to the side. He saw an action figure, which he hadn''t initially noticed before when he first entered the room. Tanaka fumbled out of his bed, grabbed hold of the toy and began to play with it. It was a Zulu warrior with a spear. He moved the limbs and made childish expressions on his face as he raised its hands. After a while, he placed it beside his pillow and said, "You''re safe with me Zulu warrior Hambira.¡± Tanaka looked at his watch before covering himself with the blankets and noticed that it was nearly noon. In normal circumstances, he would have considered that as unusual behaviour, but in this case, the normal cycle of life had lost its face. With exhaustion engulfing his body, he decided to sleep. He had survived and he was alive, enjoying his long awaited rest, but in the back of his mind, something still bothered him. The thought of how he would carry on in the world of infinite darkness. Whether he was prepared to meet the anguish of the days to come was the pressing issue at the moment, but what scared him the most was that deep down inside he preferreddeath to living in the endless nightmare. The very fear he could not repress as he slept in the world of infinite darkness.

 Chapter 10-The roar of the burning light

    "Tanaka, Tanaka, wake up! Wake up!¡±said the voice. Tanaka''s 4hours of sleep were interrupted by the ominous gritty voice that called him, sowing the seeds of fear in the boy who had just found serenity in his sleep. Tanaka opened his bloodshot eyes and darted at his surrounding whereabouts. There was no one around him; the room had only him and his belongings. This made him sigh in relief until he heard the voice again. It called out to him saying,"Tanaka, you''re now awake. Tanaka you''re now awake you ghastly piece of flesh.¡±Tanaka immediately got out of his bed, dropping the iPod on the ground as he rushed to grab his torch. As soon as he got a hold of it, he quickly examined his environment with great hostility. His adrenaline rose up high, fuming him with inner tension as he tried to find out the source of the evil voice.


    "Tanaka, I will feast upon your flesh boy, give it to me, give it all to me!¡±said the voice as it laughed, unbashfully exhibiting its wretchedness. "Who are you, who are you, show yourself!¡± he shouted as he darted his torch at where he thought the voice was emanating from. He found nothing and was enraged by his failure in locating the target. The voice began to hiss like a snake and said,"Join us Tanaka, you won¡¯t make it on your own, lend us your flesh. The pain will go away, offer your body to us. We want everything and more!¡±


    "What are you? What the hell are you monsters?¡± he shouted as he looked distressed.


    "We are the very thing that only finds satisfaction through human suffering. Make us happy young man and give us your flesh!¡±screamed out the demented voice. The shrill was high pitched, causing Tanaka to cover his ears in great despair. Tanaka couldn''t bare the noise and grimaced in pain as he tried to bloat out the deafening shrill. The scream broke the mirrors one by one, propelling some of the pieces of glass at Tanaka. The fragments which were about to hit the boy were evaded through a momentum of unexpected agility. Tanaka was now on the ground with his torch in hand, trying to get himself up to face his adversary. The lighting, which had been there before due to the mirrors had now dissipated. The bedroom was now full of encompassing darkness that had rendered his torch to being the only light source that pierced through the terrifying oblivion. The voice began to laugh at him and began to say,"You got cocky when you thought we couldn''t touch you didn''t you boy. You think because you have the light that you''re safe? I am going to enjoy feasting on your flesh you fool!¡±Tanaka was intimidated by the threat; it reminded him of the fear that had left him. Was he not immune due to having the torch? The possibility of his one trump card being rendered useless was now terrifying him. Death had come to him in his domain and now it wanted to slaughter him. A sudden burst of adrenaline drove the boy into screaming out loud and caused the torch to surge with energy. Tanaka then immediately pointed his torch towards where he thought he had heard the voice. A ray of burning light gushed out of his touch and blasted through the ceiling. The light went through all the upper floors and pierced the encompassing world of darkness. Upon this happening, Tanaka heard the screaming of souls which he couldn''t quite pin point. The noises made him breathe intensely, an anxiety he had not yet felt since the day he had been born. Tanaka twirled his torch around, looking for anything with form, trying to spot the creature behind the voice. His exasperated disposition was sadly rewarded with nothing. The voice had gone quiet. Tanaka looked around and found nothing, feeling the fret build up in him as he became manic over the situation. He began to scream out loud, "What are you bastards? What the hell are you things? Leave me alone you monsters, leave me alone!¡±


    "The food isn''t allowed to talk; it¡¯s only allowed to offer itself to be eaten. Give us your flesh boy!¡±said the voice.


    "I will kill you'' you sick bastard, um gonna murder you'' you monster!¡±


    "Come puny human and offer yourself, I will greatly relish your feeble body.¡±said the voice as it made a sound that was similar to that of an animal wagging its tongue. As Tanaka twirled his torch, trying to spot the creature behind the voice, he noticed something peculiar. The paint on the walls of the room began to peel off, but the peeling was similar to that of skin being flayed by the use of a blunt knife. The walls began to bleed, drenching the floor with greasy blood as Tanaka trembled in fear. The peeling continued until the bricks inside the plaster casing of the walls were vomited, ejected from where they we lodged and coming in the form of horrid creatures. The creatures were larvae like human infants with rusty chains as their strands of hair. The obscenities that were flung from the walls came at him with great velocity, but something saved the boy from the jaws of death. His light flickered like a camera and then flashed. This instantly incinerated the spawns of hell. Tanaka breathed heavily as he was gripped with the fear of almost having tasted death. The voice began to laugh in a disturbing and malformed voice, which sent shivers down his spine. The ceiling suddenly began to expand like a womb and gave birth to a huge blood plasma being that splattered on his bed upon hitting the surface. The bubbling creature that reeked of so many unbearable smells began to shout out,"We love you Tanaka, that''s why we want your flesh. Can''t you see that it breaks my heart to see you all alone? Make your mother happy and just die!¡±Tanaka began to scream out loud, as he glared at the obscene entity. He instantly directed his torch at it and turned it into ash. The creature along with his bed was incinerated into nothingness. Tanaka began to hear sounds of muscle spasms and the throbbing of torn muscles mixed with the collision of bones. He turned to see a crawling stomach with its intestines dangling as it came from the door. It growled like a retarded being and shouted,"Can''t you see that it pains me to be this incomplete, I know that deep down inside of you there is love for me, pour out your flesh for me!¡±


    "NO!¡± screamed out Tanaka as he blew away the creature with the intense heat of his torch. The madness had returned and his rest had been ended. The voice began to laugh diabolically, as Tanaka ran out of the room. The compiled food supplies were all left behind as the walls and the ceiling that made up the room caved in, gushing out blood as if an organ had been busted open. As Tanaka headed to the exit of the apartment, the walls of the lounge began to rupture, turning into heinous orifices that egested foul things at him. The room began to wobble like jelly as he approached the door and it soon lost its form. The whole flat began to lose its solid structure and turned into volumes of blood. Tanaka was swept away by the landslide of putrid flesh, which had surprisingly come from the once solid building. Tanaka was drowned in the volumes of blood, following its current as it led him to Josiah Tongogara road. He could feel creatures in the blood, they meleed him and he also kicked and punched back at the things he couldn''t see. This was a terrible misfortune for him and all he could hear as this happened was the dreadful voice. The voice laughed and shrilled malevolently as his body flowed with the bloody current. The voice then uttered with great acrimony, ¡°You see Tanaka, you were always meant to be ravaged child. How selfish of you to keep you flesh to yourself!¡±In that moment the will to live coursed through his torch and what came out was a great furnace of light, blazing the blood and lighting up a large portion of his current position. The velocity of the wave stopped and left Tanaka who was tumbling like a barrel down the road. Tanaka''s back hit a stop sign pole, breaking his rolling with great pain. Tanaka cried out in agony as he twitched, fumbling like a helpless child who had been hit by a boulder. Despite the pain, he twirled his torch and darted it at the voluminous body of blood, which had receded backwards like the ebbing of ocean waves. Tanaka saw the dilution from hell and clenched his teeth as he rose slowly from the ground. His bruised back was hurting, but the anger that came with the pain made him glare at his adversary with an intent to kill. The voice began to shout out,"There is no hope for you Tanaka, we demons are a product of man''s sin, and we have come to claim our meal. Mankind is dead! Dead!¡±The voice burst into depraved laughter, but Tanaka did not entertain it. Instead, he vented out his rage and shouted out loud, "NEVER YOU BASTARD!¡± Tanaka deployed the most violent ray of light at the bloody creature, burning it as if he had a flame thrower. The act that was at first an involuntary portrayal of survival became an intriguing fetish for violence. He boiled the blood and after he passed the boiling point, he evaporated every molecule of blood until what was left were vapours of red smoke. The road beneath the layer of blood was burnt to a crisp, removing 6feet of earth from part of the Leopold Takawira road. Tanaka began to laugh sardonically at the fact that he had killed it. He threw himself to the ground and began to murmur to himself, "Why can''t I just have a happy moment. I hate being here. I hate this world. Mommy, mommy, mommy!¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The boy snivelled at the thought of his miserable life. He was filled with feelings of despair and anger as her breathed on the ground. His rest was soon interrupted when he heard the sound of water rush from afar. The sound was similar to that of coming rain, but it seemed to be colliding against something. The direction in which it came from was opposite from where he was. The sound of voluminous waves of liquid was coming from the heart of the city and this made Tanaka stricken with fear. He darted his torch at the long trail of the Leopold Takawira road, which extended into the heart of the city, making his light reach past Park Lane Street until it connected with Samora Machel road. What Tanaka saw was indeed horrific; it was something he only ever dreamed of ever seeing in the apotheosis of all nightmares. It was a 12m tall volume of bloody flood water coming his way! As it traversed towards him, it devastated the buildings and the surrounding vehicles past Herbert Chitepo Avenue. The end was surely drawing near and in that moment, Tanaka began to reflect on his child hood, the good parts and the bad, thinking of things he wanted to do and accepting regret in its fullness. This was the end to a long struggle and he honestly believed that he had done his best to survive, but just as he was about to throw in the towel, something bizarre happened. Tanaka''s right hand, which had been wielding the torch, began to throb, bulging with veiny lean muscles. In conjunction with what happened to his hand, his nose began to bleed and he coughed out a bit of blood. Though all this happened in a peculiar way that made him think that he was going through some form of tissue necrosis, Tanaka somehow new that something unprecedented and positive was about to happen. His arm charged the torch energy and filled it with some extraordinary power. As the waves quickly passed Baines Avenue, slowly getting to where he was at Chinamano Avenue, his torch released the greatest beam of light that bewildered Tanaka as he watched. Like what Moses had done in the bible, separating the red sea with his staff, the boy divided the waters with a burning hot beam of light. The water inadvertently went around him with geysers of steaming blood engulfing the air. The whole process lasted for 10minutes as Tanaka evaporated all the blood before him. The temperature around became like burning aura; this was no different from being in a boiler room. The wave of bloody flood water soon ended, leaving Tanaka in a gaunt condition. The torch had saved him again, but this time it had crippled him. Tanaka was coughing out blood and feeling pain in his bowels. He huffed and puffed, doubting that he was alive but yet again, alive to fight in the infinite darkness. As he respired, breathing in and out and chuckling in appreciation of being alive, he then thought about what had happened to the remaining water. As he lied on the ground, he averted his head to face the direction where the water had gone. To his dismay, his victory was soon abated by a startling scene. The land marks, architecture, and everything towards King George road, which connect to Avondale had sunken deep into the bloody sea. At first, it seemed as if it was just the flood water level being stationary, but what actually happened was something far much worse. The flood water had devoured the land whole! Tanaka could also see swimming demonic reptiles in the vast sea of blood, basking in their inglorious wickedness. In the end, he was just living in a never ending nightmare, one that defecated on his efforts with great spite.


    From nowhere he heard the cry of a grown man. The encompassing darkness, which had impaired his vision, forced him to twirl his torch to sight the source of the cry. Tanaka found a land rover that was flipped on its back side and lodged to the ground. The vehicle was most probably flung by the waves, but the fact that someone had survived was a miracle in itself. Tanaka began to crawl slowly, heading towards the vehicle with little strength. He mustered his strength to crawl until he reached the vehicle. He pointed his torch at the cracked window and found a mid forties man who looked extremely distraught. The man saw Tanaka and screamed out, "HELP ME PLEASE! GET ME OUT OF HERE!¡±

 Chapter 11-Daniel and Tanaka.

    "Can you hear me? Kid can you hear me?¡± was what Tanaka could hear. Everything had gone blurry and misty as he tried to figure out the environment he was in. The last thing Tanaka remembered was the gruelling effort he had made to crawl towards the crashed vehicle, seeking the voice of the crying man. From there on everything went blank for him. All he could hear was the monotone voice of a man in his late 20s. The voice continued to say, "Kid wake up, can you hear me?¡± After a while, Tanaka eventually broke free from the binding grip of sleep and awoke to see the man behind the voice, surprised to see another survivor like himself. The man was 6feet tall with a craggy oblong face that had down turned eyes, large lips, a chiselled nose, noticeable cheek bones, and small ears. He had short hair that had a fade, the result of a haircut that most probably happened a day prior to the apocalypse. The man had a fit disposition: not being too muscular or athletic but having just enough flesh on his body to portray agrown man. His clothes were in tatters and heavily spoiled as a result of the new vile environment of death that stained the Avenues. The man was wearing a white shirt and a grey plaid blazer, which was both stained with red and greasy substances. His right hand had a wedding ring on the index finger and also held the torch with its long hairy fingers, darting it at Tanaka who was lying on a hospital bed. Tanaka had a tube that was connected to his right forearm, which was pumping in morphine. The drip was on a stand that was connected to the bed Tanaka was on, reflecting the light that came from the torch to the entire surrounding walls due to its silver like surface. Both Tanaka and the man had bandages on their bodies and had their wounds patched up. Tanaka had been bandaged on his left arm, temple, and lower lip. The man had a few bandages on his face and some underneath the veil of his clothes. Tanaka gazed at the man who at first appeared blurry in his field of vision, but later began to recognise the tangible imagery of the man. The man called out at him again saying, "Kid if you can hear me, just respond. We''re safe for now, um Daniel.¡± As if he had woken up from a coma, Tanaka uttered slowly, "Daniel?¡±


    "That''s right, my name is Daniel. You saved me back there and I returned you the favour.¡± he said with a cheerful smug.


    "Saved?¡± asked Tanaka who couldn''t quite recall having saved the man.


    "Yah you did. I guess you can''t remember because you later passed out.¡± he said, getting off from the stool that was just opposite Tanaka''s bed. He walked towards him and said, "I don''t know what your mama feeds you but I gotta say that you''re one strong kid.¡± Tanaka wondered what that meant and asked, "Strong?¡±


    "You hardly remember do you? Well you won''t believe it, well even I wouldn''t believe it, but you ripped off the door like it was nothing.¡±


    "The door?¡± he asked, puzzled by what he was saying. Daniel noticing that what he was saying wasn''t getting through to the child, decided to abandon the discussion. He simply replied, "Anyways we''re safe now from those things. You passed out after pulling me out of my car. I carried you and then took you to this clinic.¡±


    "Wait um in a clinic?¡± asked Tanaka who seemed a bit bothered, by what he had just said. Tanaka began to scrutinise his surroundings with a sceptical eye. He noticed the blue curtains and the peach coloured walls that his torch light permitted visibility. Tanaka soon realised that he was in a cubicle sized examination room, which seemed untouched. Tanaka who now fully realised his situation began to ponder over what had transpired prior to him passing out. The violent and fretful memory of the flood demon coming towards him startled him and reminded him of what he had just survived. It gave him relief but at the same time a sense of uncertainty. Though he felt as if he was supposed to be alarmed, the morphine that was flowing into his body managed to nullify his temperament. After reflecting over past events he asked, "Are you a doctor?¡± Daniel was surprised by the question and quickly responded, "You mean the drip? Hmm, well at some point in life I did medicine and then left it for business management.¡±


    "Oh.¡± said Tanaka who didn''t know what else to say to Daniel''s remark, "how long was I out?¡±


    "Um not sure, it¡¯s hard to tell without any light, but all I can say is that you kept me worried for a long time kid,¡± he said, with a less jovial grin, "How did you manage to survive all this time?¡± Tanaka looked at the man whose naturally charismatic face suddenly became sullen and engraved with despair. The world of the infinite darkness had dawned on him and Tanaka could see that it had already sunk its crude teeth of fear in Daniel. Tanaka didn''t know what he was supposed to say and paused for a whole minute, checking to see whether he still had his watch on. Unfortunately for him, his watch was no longer there, which probed him to think about the appropriate answer he was supposed to give the man. Daniel just stood there, stricken with vexation and with a desperateneed for the boy''s answer. His question had somehow triggered Tanaka into a moment of self-reflection, remembering the numerous occurrences he had almost died. Tanaka noticing that Daniel had his eyes drawn towards him quickly ended the silence by saying, "It¡¯s all because of that torch in your hand, that''s why um alive."


    ¡±The torch?¡± he asked as he glanced at the torch, twirling it to confirm whether it had any special attributes. Though Daniel was doubtful, Tanaka''s fixed expressions made his own doubt seem questionable. Tanaka slowly rose from his bed and sat up right with his back against the wall and said, "That torch in your hand has kept me safe from those monsters.¡±


    "I thought I was going mad when I was hearing things until I saw something,¡± he said, grimacing as he reflected on what he had seen, "but I guess there is nothing much we can do about it. I will be honest with you, um scared kid. A grown man like me is afraid.¡± Tanaka noticed the man''s despair and wondered how he could help console him, but such a discipline wasn''t his forte. After Daniel''s display of emotional distress, Tanaka decided to delve into another matter at hand.


    "I think I remember something. I remember a few things before passing out. Your car was thrown by the wave.¡± he said as if he was attempting a monologue as he fumbled his right thigh with his fingers. Daniel looked at him in a puzzled manner which made Tanaka realise that Daniel didn''t know much about what had happened.


    "The wave?¡± asked Daniel.


    "There was a flood. Well. A flood full of blood.¡± he said in a nonchalant manner.


    "Flood, you mean that sound of water was a flood in Harare? Kid what the hell is going on? Um clearly confused and all this is hard to believe. What the hell is going on!¡± said the man who seemed to have been overcome with anxiety. Daniel gnashed his teeth and clenched his left hand as the vexation coiled his frustration.


    "I don''t know what I would really call it, but the closest thing that comes to mind is hell. The world as we know it is over.¡± said Tanaka in an apathetic tone. Tanaka knew that what he said had stricken Daniel with fear, but at the same time didn''t really understand why he was so blunt with his words. The morphine had surely worked its way into his system.


    "So you''re saying that we''re dead and this is what hell looks like?¡±


    "No. I don''t think were dead, we are alive aren''t we? We are just the only survivors in this nightmare. You''re lucky to be alive. Before everything went dark, where were you at?¡± he asked with a tang of apathy in his tone.


    "Where I was? Um...¡± he said, pensively reminiscing over what had happened prior to the night mare, "I was on my way to a funeral with my wife. She was initially against it, the whole travelling at night business, but I really felt driven to get there, but then, suddenly something happened.¡±


    "You couldn''t see anymore?¡± asked Tanaka who seemed curious to know how things had played out for Daniel.


    "No, not at first but I was coming from the Bulawayo road direction and as I was driving into town, I began to hear voices and screams.¡±


    "That''s what I also heard before things went dark, but I never got a chance really to see what happened.¡± said Tanaka who sounded poignant.


    "You must have been asleep when... ¡± he said before being interjected.


    "I wasn''t actually, my whole family was killed, and I was kidnapped by 2 white people. I pretty much went through what happens on television.¡± he said with his eyes drawn towards Daniel. Daniel by instinct felt like doubting what the boy had just said but with the way things had gone chaotic, the unthinkable now seemed feasible. He then went on to probe him with questions, "So have you noticed that no other light source works apart from the light that comes from this torch? Do you know where we can get more than just one torch of the same brand? And do you have an idea what''s going on?¡±


    "There is only one. So, I guess I wasn''t going crazy after all when no other light was working. What did you notice? No. Actually I had asked you about what had happened to you before things went dark. Please tell me that first.¡±


    "Yah umm...¡± he said, pensively searching for vivid memories of the events prior to the darkness, "as I was saying, after passing the Harare show grounds, heading into town, I began to witness a lot of things that me and my wife couldn''t believe.¡±


    "What did you see?¡± asked Tanaka who looked deeply into Daniel.


    "I saw the moonlight disappear as if it was going to rain, but things slowly got dark to the point where the lack of visibility didn''t make sense. When things got dark and we couldn''t see a thing at all, I couldn''t see the glow of my phone and even the tower lights.¡± he said frantically as if he was trying to withhold tears from pouring down his face. Tanaka''s empathy had now returned when he saw the man struggle with his words as he tried to divulge his tale. Tanaka recognised the gestures of the man and realised that the man''s sanity was hanging by a thread. Tanaka ended up commiserating the man by saying, "It¡¯s alright Dan, just tell me everything.¡±


    "I heard screams after a couple of minutes and also heard explosions. But what I remember the most was my wife...¡± he said, pausing briefly to mourn as tears flowed down his cheeks, "my wife screamed, calling out for my help. I couldn''t see anything at all. Everything was just dark and I couldn''t help her. Something thing broke through the window and took her. It was all just fast and then her screaming stopped. All I heard was chewing and sick things. Before I could get out of my car to help her, I think an oncoming car hit my car and flipped it over. It all happened all too fast.¡±


    "So that¡¯s what happened.¡± hissed Tanaka as he thought to himself.


    "I was wrong to have driven so late and now I don''t even know what happened to her. It was hell in the dark kid. All I could here were things and screams. As I lay in my car with a severe cramp which lasted for a long time, I almost starved to death until I heard the rain water for the second time.¡±


    "For the second time? Hmm, it explains the flood.¡±


    "The flood? What do you meanby that? How can there even be a flood in Harare. It¡¯s not possible kid so what are you saying?¡± he asked with great curiosity.


    " Did you look at the rest of Leopold Takawira or anyone close to Parinyenatwa hospital?¡±


    "No, I immediately picked you up and ran straight to this clinic, I didn''t bother checking.¡±


    "Daniel, there are things you haven''t seen that I have during the past couple of days, things I need to tell you about. Um not too sure myself what''s going on but I think what I have to share to you is important and you need to hear this.¡± he said with a serious expression.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "You''re right, by the way, I managed to salvage some food whilst you were asleep here, at the Montagu spar. If you''re hungry I can go and get some food, it¡¯s in the next room.¡± he said with a feigned cheerful expression.


    "Wait you left me here alone whilst you looked for food?¡± he asked with a hint of rage in his tone.


    "Yah, I first came here to Westend clinic and used the drugs from the pharmacy to treat you. I was starving but I had to take care of you first. After I realised that there isn''t any food here in the clinic I decided to go the shops. I left you here in a safe place. Don''t worry, I blocked the room with a board and a number of heavy boxes so that nothing would get in.¡±


    "You idiot! Do you know that you almost killed me!¡± he said as he left his bed, prepared to pounce on Daniel, "do you realise that those monsters are only scared off by the torch you bastard! You could have killed me!¡±


    "Calm down kid, I said I blocked the entrance didn''t I, you were safe...¡± he said before a bloodshot eyed Tanaka grabbed his collar and pushed him back until he was against the wall, tipping over a stool as he struggled.


    "Those things can''t stand the light. They can easily kill and slaughter people in the dark, you might have been cooped up in your car for a long time, but you gotta understand that these things will kill you. Nothing lives in the darkness. Everyone dies everyone!¡± shouted out Tanaka who seemed to have been spraying saliva as he uttered. Daniel looked deeply into the eyes of the boy and saw a terror unknown to him. The eyes of a dishevelled child were what came to mind when Daniel looked at Tanaka and he couldn''t help but wonder what had really happened to him. Daniel ended up pushing back the boy who landed backwards with his back, hitting the steel stretcher base of the mattress. Tanaka felt the sting of having struck the steel behind him but didn¡¯t waver in his complaint. Daniel felt instant guilt upon having pushed the boy back and said, "Um sorry, I didn''t mean to...¡±


    "That doesn¡¯t matter dammit!¡± interjected Tanaka, "listen to me, never ever leave me in the dark and never leave that torch. It''s not just a light, that thing is the reason why I am alive and why you''re not dead!¡± Daniel was overcome by fright at what the boy was saying, conflicted by the mental dilemma of whether or not he was supposed to believe what Tanaka had just said. Having survived in the gruelling agony of being confined in his car and having also starved in there had already done its worst to him. The revelation of the creatures in the infinite darkness and what Tanaka was saying pierced through his layer of sanity.


    "Your torch kept you safe because of its light and you could see in the darkness because of it, I get that.¡± he replied.


    "It¡¯s not that simple, the torch has powers. It can kill those things!¡± shouted Tanaka who seemed irked by Daniel''s inability to take in what he was saying.


    "I know you''re still woozy from the medication and your recovery, but let me tell you for a fact that this torch doesn''t have any special powers, it¡¯s just a torch that seems to have the only working light in this damn darkness!¡± shouted Daniel who wanted to make the boy hush. At one point Daniel wanted to believe him, but the torch having some marvellous power seemed quite absurd to him. Looking at Tanaka, he could only perceive a dishevelled boy who was dealing with his delusions. Daniel then took the initiative to say, "Kid stop, you''re not feeling too well, that''s why you''re saying the torch has power...¡±


    "Listen to me, the world as we know it has been invaded by monsters from some dark place I don''t even know. All I know is that I have seen these things up close and I know why they are here. They want to kill us all, every single one of us! That torch kept me alive and scares those things.¡± he said, emphatically as he rose up from the ground. The cord that was pumping in the morphine into his system had been yanked off by his advance before and was lying placid on the bed. Tanaka came towards Daniel and then asked, "You saw those things outside didn''t you, those sick things in the dark? The reason why nothing happened to you was because of the light! They hate the light, they are the darkness and we are in the light that protects us from them. As long as you don''t confuse the reasons then you will be safe!¡±


    "Kid there is nothing super powerful about the torch, just listen to yourself... ¡± he said before being interjected by an ominous sound. It was the kind that would give a person shivers down their spine. The sound was emanating from beyond the walls of the examination room cubicle. It sounded like there was a slithering creature, which made guttural growls that echoed its malice on the walls. Daniel halted for a bit and told Tanaka to shush, darting the torch at the entrance of the room. There was definitely something on the move near the receptionist area close to the corridor of the Westend clinic. Tanaka could hear the depraved thing in the darkness and instantly became alert. It was as if he had reverted back into a guerrilla warfare soldier. Tanaka quickly grabbed hold of the torch, snatching it from Daniel''s hands and rushed to where he could hear the depraved abomination. Daniel pursued behind him and cried out, "Kid, what the hell are you doing? Get back here before you get yourself killed!¡± Tanaka could hear the footsteps of Daniel who followed behind him, frantically catching up to him. The cramp that Daniel had mentioned in his anecdote had really affected his footing and made him get easily outpaced by the gaunt Tanaka who had just woken up from a mild sickness. The thumping of their shoes on the surface of the ground also echoed in a haunting manner, adding a sense of unnerving fright to the already terrifying atmosphere. Tanaka made it to the receptionist room just after the corridor and found a very disturbing imagery of walls painted red and organs having been lodged onto cracked walls and broken glass on the visitor seats. The diabolical entity he was looking for had disappeared, evading the burning light of his torch just in time, and frustrating the boy in the process. Daniel who followed behind, running in a limp like manner, hissed at the boy, "You crazy kid, you''re gonna get yourself killed. Get back here.¡± As Daniel uttered this, something demolished the right side of the corridor wall in front of him. It blasted the bricks and the plaster away, making its unsightly appearance. It was a crude looking sea lion sized maggot with protruding limbs of that of a centipede. The limbs were the upper bodies of deceased people. The necks of each body were bent in a manner that made the heads that were still attached to the bodies as a base for the lower part of an alternative foot. The orifices of each head had claws that sprouted forth, resembling that of toe nails on an elephantiasis infected leg. The head of this maggot was dripping saliva, which was mixed with a purplish green acid that foamed on its mouth. Its gums had serrated teeth and visible due to the lips of its mouth having been retracted backwards like the foreskin of male genitalia upon getting hard. Its abdomen had outer teeth and inner teeth that seemed to have been chewing on something with the way they were lodged with flesh. Like a washing machine, Daniel could see the meat of the dead being twisted and turned in its open belly, being churned into mincemeat. The inner bowel teeth were grinding the flesh at random and prettifying the man who could only see the cast shadow of the demon as a corona gleamed on the outlines of its depraved body. Tanaka quickly turned his head, saw the demon, and immediately screamed out, "Run!¡± However, the fear that the creature gave Daniel was hypnotic to the point that he remained stationary, cringing in fear and not moving a muscle as it came towards him. When Daniel quickly glanced behind him, he could only see the darkness ahead, the depths that were beyond the reach of the torch light. Upon witnessing his subsequent defeat, the creature began to speak,"At last, a fresh meal to fill me whole!¡±The demon said this as it regurgitated the dead bodies in its abdominal mouth. The flesh was vomited like a concise tidal wave of smog, desecrating the ground as it stained the pants of Daniel. The bodies that had been ejected had stomach acid all over them, but as much as the imagery was hazy due to the cast shadow of the demon, Daniel could see the corpses moving. As they crawled, they all uttered,"Help us, the pain won''t go away, he keeps on chewing us and burning us with his stomach. The teeth and the lack of comfort, end our misery please!¡±Daniel in that moment was driven out of his trance and made a run for it in the opposite direction. The demon pursued him, crushing the semi liquid state of the cadavers as it launched itself on Daniel. The pile of shrivelled corpses were flattened into gelatinous greasy blood, but as that happened the souls of the deceased left their respective bodies, disappearing into the infinite darkness as they wept in anguish. In conjunction to that, Tanaka''s torch had fully charged and immediately discharged a ray of burning hot light, which instantly destroyed the demon. Tanaka blew it away, spoiling the walls and found Daniel who had already reached the end of the corridor. Tanaka went on to fry the flesh with his torch, burning the remnants of the demon to the point of it smelling like burnt meat. After incinerating it completely, he ran towards Daniel and grabbed hold of the startled man. Daniel''s eyes were wide open, starring at Tanaka in great petrifaction. He was breathing heavily and looking intensely with every glance. Tanaka then said, "Its over Dan, I killed it. You''re safe man, it¡¯s gone, the monster is gone.¡± Daniel looked at Tanaka, huffed and puffed intermittently as he swallowed his saliva. He eventually calmed down and relaxed on the patient''s waiting bench. Tanaka sat next to him and said, "It¡¯s okay man, its dead, I killed it. I killed it with my torch. We''re safe.¡± Daniel just stared at him in bewilderment and kept quiet. Tanaka noticed that Daniel had been traumatised by what he had just witnessed and needed time to take it all in. Tanaka realising the situation at hand decided to sit on the bench opposite his. He sat there looking at the man who had a fixed expression of utter stupefaction, waiting for him to say something. After a while Tanaka''s stomach began to churn and his knee began to jerk as he withheld his urge to follow through with the call of nature. It had been a while since Tanaka had relieved himselfsince the beginning of the nightmare and his desire had just come at a wrong time. Daniel noticed the young man''s discreet struggle and said, "It¡¯s okay, I will accompany you to the toilet, you don''t have to punish yourself waiting for me. It¡¯s not safe when you''re not in the light of the torch. I get that now.¡± Tanaka found the remark awkward but at the same time found relief in both the fact that he was going to ease his bowels and that Daniel had recovered or at least was mobile. As if driven by instinct, he began to think about whether the toilets had a mounted mirror and where he would place the torch to bounce back the light. Tanaka had not admitted it initially from his return to consciousness, but he was happy to have found another human being in this dreadful time. Old man Hambira had perished and he felt gravely disgruntled because of his death, but a new chapter in his life had presented itself to him in the form of Daniel. As they left, heading towards the restroom, Daniel asked, "What''s your name kid?¡±


    "My name is Tanaka, Tanaka Manyika.¡± he said as he led the way to the toilet. The encompassing darkness still had not changed, but at least the journey was no longer of that of a one man army. It was now the survival of this man and boy, in the world of infinite darkness.

 Chapter 12-The voice in the infinite darkness

    Tanaka and Daniel dined in on the biscuits, apples, and chips and imbibed the water. This fellowship between two men was a blissful privilege in the dark era of death and decay. Tanaka ate a lot, exhibiting a startling gluttony. Daniel took notice of this and said, "You don''t have to finish it all, we gotta keep some for tomorrow.¡± Tanaka immediately glanced at Daniel and said, "You never know when it¡¯s gonna be your last meal, don''t hold back.¡± Daniel did not challenge Tanaka, and left him to his binge feasting. After munching for a while, they began to hear the ominous sounds from outside, pervading with great malignancy. Daniel at first was startled until Tanaka told him to calm down. Daniel couldn''t quite understand why Tanaka was so calm, but he was soon told, "We''re safe because we have the torch, don''t worry. Just eat and forget about them.¡± Daniel who was still trying to adjust to the world as it was, tried to figure out why Tanaka wasn''t remotely disturbed or at least frightened. What he didn''t realise was that Tanaka was afraid, but his fear rested on other thoughts not pertaining to the creatures in the dark, thoughts that he alone delved into as he finished feasting. Tanaka finished off the bottle of bonaqua still water whilst Daniel sipped intermittently one can of Lion lager. The muffled sounds of their chewing and swallowing went had in hand with the cacophony of the creatures outside. The mirrors that were yanked off from the toilet walls were placed in the cubicle, bouncing off a lot of light onto the walls, making the room feel more natural and lively. Beyond the entrance of the examination room, the darkness from the shadows that were cast was great, leaving a scintillating mystery of the unknown. When Tanaka finished his meal, he took the antibiotics and pain killers that Daniel had insisted on to alleviate the pain that Tanaka had hinted as he fumbled his back from time to time with a grimace on his face. After taking his meds, he flung himself on the bed and looked at Daniel who was sipping his can slowly. Tanaka then asked, "How does alcohol taste like?¡± Daniel glanced at the curious youth and replied, "It¡¯s brittle and sour, good for calming the nerves and for Dutch courage.¡±


    "What''s Dutch courage?¡± he asked, oblivious of the term and its meaning.


    "Well you don''t know what that means?¡± he asked as he chuckled, "It¡¯s when you drink to gain confidence or at least when you want to feel charged up.¡±


    "Can I try it?¡± he asked, with the hope of being obliged.


    "I don''t think I would be a responsible adult if I let a minor drink before they were of age.¡± he said in a coy manner.


    "Well um 16 years old.¡± he lied.


    "The legal age is 18 kid,¡± he said getting another bottle from the 6 pack casing, ''"but then again, not all of us started drinking at a legal age. You might as well give it a try¡± Daniel threw the can at Tanaka who barely caught it in mid-air. Tanaka received it in a manner similar to that of an American football player catching a ball, immediately fumbling it and then finally opening the can. Tanaka saw the foam build up and instantly took a sip. His face at first grimaced, folding his fine features into a severe squint but he then opened his eyes wide open and said, "It¡¯s not bad, but tastes like nyevhe.¡± Daniel chuckled a bit then responded, "Well at least you now know how it tastes. Now give me the can.¡± Tanaka at first thought he was joking, but Daniel''s facial expression reflected a passive seriousness that he didn''t want to contest. Tanaka thus got out of the bed with the can and placed it on the ground, next to Daniel, with a snivelling gesticulation. As he trotted back, Daniel then asked, "So what do you think is going on in Harare?¡± Tanaka sat on the bed, his back fastened to the wall and said, "I don''t think its Harare alone, maybe the whole of Zimbabwe or even the whole world, but I learned a few things before we met.¡±


    "And what did you learn?¡± asked Daniel whose curiosity had reached its apex.


    "I met this old man in a flat who told me things¡¯ things about those monsters being here because of our sins or something. It didn''t really make sense, but I think maybe we might be in hell. He said that these things are here because of our sins, that they have come as a result of us or something.¡± said Tanaka who looked dismayed as he narrated his tale.


    "Our sins are the result of these things? Wait what happened to the old...¡± he asked before being interjected by Tanaka.


    "He got killed. There was nothing I could do, he just died like the rest of the people in the Avenues.¡± he said in a sullen tone. Daniel couldn''t help but pause after hearing that, but eventually said, "Sorry kid.¡± The brief silence was subsided by the guttural ominous voices that were all emanating from outside as if the demons were marching on Old Mazoe road in the darkness. Tanaka went on to say, "I saw the thing they call their master just before he died. It was the scariest thing I ever saw in my life. I felt like I was possessed by an evil spirit, as if I wasn''t myself when I saw it. That stuff that pastors like Makandiwa and Uebert Angel talk about. It was really scary. That thing is supposed to be the leader of those monsters. That''s all I know.¡±


    "A leader?¡± he asked, engulfed with fear due to the revelation. Daniel put his beer can down and flicked his eyes as he tried to accept what was being said. This was all new to him and he felt as if he was close to reaching hypertension the more the terror of the world was unravelled.


    "Yes and the old man called him Mweya Mutema. That''s what his called. Everything that''s killing people and the reason why there is no sun or moon and just darkness is supposed to be related to him. Well that''s what I think, I can''t really make sense of this shit.¡± he said as he starred at the ceiling with an almost empty gesture. After a brief mental meltdown, Daniel retained his claim to sanity and then asked, "So how is it that this torch is the only thing that works? When I was at the shop, I tried lighting a match stick, but it couldn''t light. But when the torch''s light was lighting it, it seemed to work. How is that even possible?¡±


    "I don''t know. I was in the back of a moving vehicle with two white guys who were telling me things that didn''t make sense. I just woke up with the torch when their car crashed.¡± he said with a tang of frustration.


    "Wait you came out of a car accident?¡± asked Daniel with his eyes wide open.


    "Yah, its been a bad day from the beginning.¡± he said as he sighed, mortified by his own struggles. Daniel just looked at the boy with unbelievable stupefaction, wondering what else he had gone through before they had met. Tanaka had gone through a lot and this realisation was drawing the man into being more sensitive and selective with his words.


    "Did the white guys die in the crash?¡± he asked in an almost hesitant manner.


    "Yes. They did. They deserved it¡± replied Tanaka. Daniel was disturbed by the fact that Tanaka had rejoiced in the death of his two kidnappers. They had committed a grave crime indeed, but seeing such a young man behave in an angst manner was not something he was used to. In fact, the very display of such was extremely foreign, but something even more unfamiliar pressed his mind.


    "I know that this is totally unrelated but how did you do that with the torch. I mean you burned that thing alive. How do you make it do that?¡± asked Daniel who seemed intrigued by the torch''s special attributes.


    "I honestly don''t know. When um angry it just listens to me or something, even at that time when I killed that thing, I was really just angry at it. How it works is beyond me.¡±


    "I guess it all adds up now. Have you noticed something about the torch?¡± he asked as he got up from where he was sitting and grabbed the torch, "it has no batteries inside.¡±


    "Huh?¡± asked Tanaka who was surprised by what Daniel had just stated.


    "I guess you never checked it. It felt a bit too light, as if it didn¡¯t have anything inside. I then noticed that it had no batteries at all.¡± he said with a hint of bewilderment. Tanaka just starred as he was utterly dumb founded by the information. Daniel even twisted open the latch of the batteriescompartment to show Tanaka the novelty of the torch. Tanaka was left speechless when he found no batteries inside and then kept quiet for a while. Daniel went on to ask, "So what''s the plan?¡±


    "Plan?¡± iterated Tanaka.


    "Yah, what do we do now that we know all this. You have a plan right?¡± asked Daniel who looked at the boy earnestly.


    "I don''t know. I don''t even think a plan is even possible with the way things are.¡± said Tanaka who seemed irked by the question.


    "What do you mean even possible? There is always a way, you just have to be optimistic.¡± said Daniel who seemed disappointed by what Tanaka had just said.


    "I don''t know. You''re the adult, think of something.¡± said Tanaka who was surprisingly shocked by his own rudeness.


    "You don''t have to be an ass about it. The world is in a terrible state, but we gotta look ahead. If you got nothing then tell you what, I have an idea.¡±


    "An idea?¡± he asked, vexed by the sudden stance Daniel had taken.


    "Yah, there is garage just opposite the Montagu shop, the Montagu garage. I found an abandoned car therewith one missing tyre. There aren''t any cars around so um guessing it would be better to fix it with a spare tyre from the garage spares and then drive to some place that''s safe.¡± said Daniel as he explained using his hands.


    "A car?¡± asked Tanaka who at first marvelled at the thought until he said, "but I think it¡¯s pointless. Where would we go? I don''t think there is even any safe place.¡±


    "We can try Tanaka, everything is messed up here but there might be a chance of there being a safe spot. We can go anywhere as long as it¡¯s not here.¡± said Daniel with fervent energy.


    "To where? Masvingo, Marondera, Chitungwiza, Gweru, across the border?¡± shouted Tanaka who seemed to be infuriated by Daniel''s enthusiasm.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "I don''t know yet, but staying here is not a good idea. You might have the torch to protect you, but who knows, it might switch off or things could change. We gotta make a move for it.¡± he said with a stern disposition.


    "I want to believe you, but I don''t think it will work. There is no point.¡± said Tanaka who seemed to be shivering as if close to tears.


    "Don''t be like that. Don''t just throw in the towel. We have to try. There might be help elsewhere.¡± he said, trying to console the young man into a positive light.


    "If there was a safe place then the Zimbabwean defence force would have done something. Nothing happened, no military, no police, no help, just dead people and false hope. You haven''t seen Mweya Mutema haven''t you? Of course you haven''t because you were in your car hearing everyone die the whole time. We are just lucky for now because of the torch but going out is pointless.¡±


    "Why are you being like this? Don''t you want to survive? Don''t you want to be somewhere other than here?¡± asked Daniel who seemed astonished by Tanaka''s defeatist behaviour.


    "I wanna survive, man I don''t want to die, I don''t want to end up like everyone else. I wanna live, but live for what? Tell me, what is worth the effort of going somewhere?¡± shouted Tanaka.


    "So you want to stay here, is that what you''re saying?¡± asked Daniel who looked at Tanaka who seemed to have been getting emotional over the issue.


    "I don''t know. I honestly don''t know, um not sure. I just don''t know, but all I know that it¡¯s pointless!¡± cried out Tanaka.


    "Kid you''re no longer alone, we can face this together. You''re afraid, but we can''t just stay here and do nothing. We need to make a move, there is always hope. You just got to fight the fear and share it with me. We can do this together.¡± said Daniel who looked at Tanaka with a fixed gaze.


    "I have nothing to look forward to, mama is dead, daddy is dead my sister is dead. The world is screwed. The whole of Parinyenatwa hospital and Avondale are gone. You''re trying to be nice, but we are just gonna end up like everyone. Just food for those things.¡± poured out Tanaka who felt the pangs of his emotions hurling poignant blows at him.


    "You can''t honestly believe that. Um sorry for you, but we can''t give in. I know that you''re a kid, but you have to be strong. You have to. You can''t just give up.¡± said Daniel as he approached Tanaka.


    "You don''t know what you''re saying. I looked into that thing''s eyes, Mweya Mutema, and I know that we are doomed.¡± he shouted as Daniel came close.


    "Um trying to help you Tanaka, um scared too but we got to man up and see this through. You obviously want to live and I do too. You never know what going far away from here will entail. Trust me on this.¡± said Daniel as he tried to condition the boy into positive thinking. Tanaka went silent, irked by the man''s nagging and said, "Leave me alone, you wouldn''t understand.¡± Daniel was completely abated by that last remark and watched Tanaka as he lied on his bed in a foetal position. Daniel''s words weren''t getting to the boy and he clearly was defeated. Daniel halted his advance and let the boy have his tantrum. Tanaka covered his head with the pillow and sunk his fingers into it to spite Daniel. Daniel was frustrated by the boy''s actions, but reserved his anger and just sat on the floor, thinking about what to do next. Tanaka had been selfish, not considering that the information concerning the demons had also affected Daniel who most probably lost more than his wife. Daniel just sat there and starred at the boy as he pondered over possible contingency plans for the future.


    After a while, Tanaka slept, succumbing to the effects of his medication. He began to dream, seeing himself in Mt. Pleasant heights with his family. He was in his front yard, playing with his soccer ball whilst the family was having a braai. The girl of his dreams was also there and everything was going well as planned in his reverie like fantasy. He was smiling and dribbling the ball until the sound of thunder broke the fellowship. Tanaka glanced at the sky and saw the cumulonimbus clouds, which began to pour rain, but the colour of the rain was black. The rain began to paint the world completely black, erasing Tanaka''s field of vision. His family was bloated out of the image and all that was left was complete darkness. In the vastness of the void, he then heard the ominous sounds and slithering of vile fiends. Tanaka began to feel weak in the knees and cried as he heard a voice explode into disturbing laughter. In that defining moment the voice screamed,"You know that you belong to us, how nice of you to stay!¡±Tanaka''s flesh was instantly destroyed upon it uttering and it immediately woke him up from his dreadful nightmare, causing him to sweat and pant. Daniel was lying against the wall, drooling a bit of saliva as he snored. The ominous sounds were still audible but seemed more precarious thantheir usual ruckus. Tanaka glanced at Daniel as he breathed in and out, wiping away the sweat off his forehead. Tanaka began to relax, when he realised that all was well, but suddenly all that peace of mind disappeared the moment the voice from the dream had had returned.


    "Boy why haven''t you given us your flesh? You know that there is no point in living, give up and feed us. We have waited and waited for you to die. Don''t make us sad, we just want you with us. Please understand that you''re our friend. Friends feed the hungry. Please make us happy!¡±


    The voice broke into depraved laughter, which reverted into a ghastly cough. Tanaka was prompted by the voice to wake Daniel up, shaking him until he gained consciousness. Tanaka recalled the grave occurrence that had happened before he met Daniel and began to feel great fear. As soon as Daniel woke up, Tanaka shouted, "WE GOT TO GO NOW. YOU WANTED US TO LEAVE, THEN LETS GO!¡± Daniel was taken by surprise and broke the chains of his sleep immediately. Daniel went on to ask, "What''s going on? Did those things get inside?¡±


    "Something worse, we have to leave!¡±


    "No! You''re going to feed us you fool!¡±said the voice. Daniel was frightened out of his wits and wondered what that was, but Tanaka dragged him out of his corner, grabbed the torch and ran away with him, heading towards the exit. The walls and ceiling of the examination room that they were in began to peel off and self-imploded into geysers of blood and flesh. The corridor walls began to resemble the inside of a mouth as Tanaka and Daniel dashed forth towards the exit. Unfortunately for them, the exit deformed and sprouted teeth that resembled that of a crocodile with excessive serrated features. As they passed via the exit, the teeth launched themselves onto Tanaka and Daniel. Tanaka and Daniel managed to escape, dodging the ill fate of death. From there they sprinted towards the garage that Daniel spoke of. The encompassing darkness and surrounding demons were screeching and making their sounds as they saw the two running, drooling at the thought of quenching their thirst for blood with the meat of these two survivors. As they passed Montagu Avenue, they noticed that the road ahead had begun to rapture. Tanaka began to flicker his eyes as he snivelled over his dilemma, shouting, "No, no, no!¡± Daniel who had just caught his breath began to ask, "What the hell is going on? Why are we out here? I thought you didn''t want to come here and what the hell was that voice?¡± Tanaka''s ears couldn¡¯t resonate with what Daniel was asking; all he could here was the sound of the voice as it grated his mind with its violent pitch, laughing as it mocked his very existence. The Montagu garage and the surrounding architecture began to disintegrate into a primordial soup of blood. Even the Josiah Chinamano heights flats self-imploded into geysers of blood. The very brick walls that had been worked hard on to sculpt the walls of these buildings had been rendered into piles of flesh. Tanaka felt prompted to run the opposite direction but when his torch light revealed the disintegration of other buildings from afar, he fell into a suffocating panic. Daniel shared the same anxiety with the boy who couldn''t help but feel hopeless, wondering how they would deal with the impending doom. Tanaka averted his attention to the right, but was devastated by the sight of most of the buildings past Blackstone road having disintegrated into volumes of blood. The overflow of the blood began to reach their knee level, gradually increasing with every intention of going past that point. Tanaka was out of options, glancing from side to side as despair immersed his body. Daniel''s horrified expression mangled his handsome face and lefthim down-casted. Daniel even struggled with his words as if he were choking and asked, "What can we do Tanaka?¡± Before Tanaka could respond the voice shrilled out,"Become one with us and feed us your flesh!¡±The moment that was uttered the wind pressure changed drastically, pulling the blood at the direction that lied from their south. The blood was no different from a flood, but before Tanaka could make use of his torch in time to repel the blood stained elements, he and Daniel were swept away by its wave. They were like dead fish in the current as they were dragged by the volumes of blood, which circled them with the power of a violent rapid. All of the flats and various facilities from 2nd street towards Prince Edward road had disintegrated into greasy blood, devouring a colossal portion of the Avenues. The ripples and flow of the water resembled that of a gargantuan spiral. Tanaka and Daniel barely had time to realise that they were being dragged into a whirlpool from hell. At the centre of the abominable orifice emanated the voice and it shrilled,"Finally! I will drown you into my bowels!¡±Tanaka held Daniel''s jacket by the lapel and held the torch with his right hand as the demon made its inglorious announcement. Fate had landed yet another crude blow at Tanaka and his new accomplice in survival. This was another tribulation he would have to overcome as he drew closer towards the centre of the whirlpool from hell.

 Chapter 13-Welcome beloved Apocalypse

    The great gulf of blood spiralled with violent velocity as it dragged down the two survivors of the infinite darkness, leading them to the centre of the whirlpool. Tanaka and Daniel could only scream as they endured the cold translucent bloody whirlpool that took them along for a dreadful ride. Their immersed bodies were hopeless against the current and all they could hear in the darkness was the laughing and grunting of the voice. Its guttural sadistic laughs pervaded the air and engraved it with atmospheric hopelessness. The torch behaved as it usually did, piercing the darkness and only revealing what was within its rays, but this made the two feel uncomfortable. They could hardly see the encompassing rapids of bloody water and at times, wondered what the centre of the whirlpool looked like. The haunting sounds of the wind interchanged with the sound of water clashing against each other and caused mental instability in the minds of the confused two. Tanaka held the torch with a clenched fist, grasping it tight as they completed several revolutions in the downward spiral of the bloody whirlpool. With his whole body soaked in the red of the sea, Tanaka was unfortunate enough to have the blood that splattered and splashed around him enter his mouth. The taste of scarlet blood was like lavishing on rotten eggs mixed with acidic bile. Tanaka shared this same burden with Daniel who kept on spitting blood out of his mouth, coughing and grimacing at the very thought of the hideous taste. Being submerged in the rapid was the worst thing that could happen to them and not knowing what lied below in the deep red sea strengthened their fear of sinking into the whirlpool. As they drew closer to the centre, Tanaka decided to muster the chance to make use of his torch. Having remembered what he had done before to counter the great flood that came from the heart of Harare''s CBD, he began to concentrate on one thought at hand, evaporating all the blood before him. Daniel was not prepared to see the show case of power that was about to be exhibited by the youth and neither was his mind at all thinking about what Tanaka could do. In the end, Tanaka felt the surge of power course through his forearm and thus watched as his torch fired a great beam of light into the sea of blood. The spiral of blood was immediately disrupted, greatly changing the structure of the whirlpool and changing the velocity in which their bodies traversed in the blood. The glimpse of shinning light gave both Tanaka and Daniel a sight of insurmountable horridness. The depth of the whirlpool was great and had a hollowness that resembled that of a grating abyss. This reinforced their fear of reaching the centre of the whirlpool as they were unfortunately being dragged downwards by the spiral of blood. Despite the beam of light having disrupted the current for a bit, the blood soon enough returned to its spiral shape as it pulled the two in like a vortex. As the blasted bloody water recoiled back to the whirlpool, Tanaka felt a concise flow of warm to hot blood striking his body. The recoiled blood, which had been heated by the blast from his torch, had returned to spite the two, burning them with its boiling state. The degree of the burn was nullified by their clothes and concoction of cold blood, but both men surely screamed in pain that night. As all hope came to a close as they completed several more revolutions, Tanaka couldn''t help but wonder whether or not the end was near.


    The voice kept on laughing in the darkness, depleting Tanaka''s optimism with its disturbing spiteful laughter. The torch finally revealed in detail the imagery of the centre of the whirlpool. Tanaka twirled it randomly, at the mercy of the bloody current. What Tanaka saw was a grotesque gargantuan oesophagus that was draining all the blood and the reason behind the whirlpool. It sucked all the air like a black hole and had slightly visible serrated teeth that seemed to be filtering the contents of the blood by grating whatever came its way. Tanaka even witnessed rubble and chunks of dismembered apartments from two flats: Kellar''s court and Earl''s court, which he recognised, having seen them at Fife Avenue, corner Prince Edward road. The torch made every detail of the buildings including their sign posts visible as Tanaka observed the vortex down below. The serrated teeth of the oesophagus destroyed the debris of concrete and bricks and made it nonexistent from Tanaka''s field of vision. The velocity of the current didn''t waver and whatever hope Tanaka had in mind was slowly losing its significance in his dreadful predicament. All Tanaka could only hear was Daniel''s muffled screams as he cried for his life. Tanaka thought about firing a beam of light at the centre, but the current never gave him a chance to fire properly. His aim was greatly disadvantaged with no feasible vantage point. His desperation lead to a tantrum that only he knew about as he sulked over his pitiful situation. Tanaka''s hand coursed with energy yet again and relayed that power to his torch. It fired a beam of light which made everything glisten, showing the massiveness of the coiled bloody water. The upper levels of the spiral that they had passed became quite visible and Tanaka could tell that he was at least 30feet below ground level. The fired beam did not do much to thwart the structure of the whirlpool nor its velocity. The blasted water emanated great vapours of red smoke and ended up recoiling to join the main spiral of the whirlpool. Tanaka''s loins became weak as he pondered over his bleak situation, cringing internally in fear of his damnation. The revolutions that remained to reach the centre of the whirlpool had become too few for comfort. The voice in the darkness didn''t even spare any moment to relish in their anguish, increasing the intensity of its spiteful laughter as the two reached the centre. Daniel had already conceded defeat and was just hoping for a painless end, however no matter how much fear or sense of uselessness had afflicted Tanaka, the will to live somehow persisted in his inner being. The fear of continuing on with his existence at the clinic had now subsided in the face of great peril. Tanaka wasn''t sure whether or not if his fear of dying was greater than the fear of living in a world of suffering, but soon enough the resolution to his problem came, but at a price. Tanaka began to realise that his right hand had procured a mind of its own, raising itself upright as if to fire a flare. This strange phenomenon was observed by Tanaka who looked ambiguously at his hand, which began to bulge out with veiny muscles. Tanaka began to feel a stinging pain in his cranium, one that quickly became gruelling in a flash. His nose began to bleed, but with the surrounding bloody water, he wouldn''t be able to distinguish his own blood from that which smeared his face. In the end, he grimaced as he watched his hand act on its own. As his veins began to glisten with vine like glowing patterns, Tanaka began to see the forming of compacted light on the muzzle of the torch. It started off as a ball of light, the size of a soccer ball, but it gradually formed into something more grand and luminous. As Tanaka reached his final revolution before encountering the end, the light that had accumulated into a sphere of bubbling energy was violently ejected from the torch as if he had just fired a cannon ball. The force of the ejection pushed back Tanaka to the point of him being submerged in the bloody current alongside with the hapless Daniel who he had clung onto with a clenched grip on his blazer lapels. The two immediately drifted into the violent rush of the blood, at the mercy of the suction power of the demonic oesophagus. The sphere of light traversed with great speed towards the centre. It was immediately sucked whole by the vortex. The collective group of photons reached the very depths of the oesophagus, passing through its serrated teeth and then immediately exploded. The blast sent a rush of light, which travelled vertically as it destroyed everything around it. The ominous whirlpool was ended abruptly with a great burst of blood gushing out upwards and releasing a violent wave similar to that of tidal wave. Daniel and Tanaka''s bodies were consequently swept away by the blanket of bloody waves as they endured the gruelling sea of blood. Tanaka wasn''t a very good swimmer and all he knew at best was how to float. After overcoming the vortex of death, he was now faced with the possibility of drowning. Unlike the former predicament, Tanaka had to rely on his own wits. Tanaka didn''t dare open his mouth to take in cups of the putrid blood which tasted like gangrene, all he did was swim hurriedlytowards the light of the torch, which he had let go off due to the incapacitating force of the ejection.


    The blood around him was translucent and looked more like diluted red juice as Tanaka swam towards his sinking torch. The encompassing darkness in the water gave him quite a fright, but somehow he ignored it. His right hand had gone numb as if maimed by a terrible muscle spasm cramp, which ended up making him do strokes with one hand. These were the kind of strokes that any decent swimmer would jeer at, but his resolve made him swim with such effective thrust to the pointthat any doubters would be put to shame. As he got closer to the torch, he began to feel a great pain in his lungs as ifthey were going to burst due to lack of oxygen. His field of vision also began to malfunction, becoming milky due to the blood. It got to the point where Tanaka could only see hazy figments of light, which did not help to ease the young man''s distress as he swam towards the light. As he got nearly close to the torch, something to his disadvantage happened. His body gave in! His lungs couldn''t take not having any air anymore and he thus began to involuntarily convulse. Tanaka wanted to reach for the sinking torch, but his body was having the shakes and he was immediately immobilised. His body even involuntarily forced him to open his mouth as if to seek out air, but he ended up imbibing cups of putrid blood into his system. This was death and it had finally won over him. Tanaka''s final moments were now marked with agonising pain in his lungs and a very horrendous taste of things that almost destroyed his taste buds on the spot. He had fought the good fight, but in the end, the world of infinite darkness was too strong for him. The fleeting dream of survival had now lost its significance to the now passing out Tanaka. A significance he sadly wished would come true.


    Not everything had gone completely to waste. Daniel had been close by in the sea of blood and had gotten hold of the torch, heading towards the now drowning Tanaka. Unlike Tanaka, Daniel showed signs of actual notable swimming capabilities and soon got a hold of Tanaka. The distance between them and the surface level was great and Daniel was also running out of air. As if by some wild guess, Daniel fastened the torch into Tanaka''s right hand, which triggered a shock in the body of the boy. The shock instantly woke him up and made the torch fire a beam of blazing hot light. The very force of the blast thrusted them backwards and sent them flying out of the bloody water. Both Tanaka and Daniel were flung out of the putrid blood and experienced 5seconds of airtime before plummeting to the bottom. However, Tanaka quickly resurfaced after being submerged again, coughing out the cups of putrid blood, which made him feel sick. His right hand had clenched onto the torch as if it were nailed to it, ceasing it with no intention of letting it loose. Tanaka hadn''t the time or the luxury to find out how such a thing had happened and instead, coughed up more blood and vomited twice. His vomit was washed away in the ripples of blood as he hyper ventilated over the exposure to air. The air wasn''t satisfactory due to having the stench of putrid flesh and the pungent smell of the sea of blood, but it was better than possible asphyxiation. Tanaka later began to float in a dumb founded manner, glancing everywhere. His torch only revealed to him the vastness of the sea of blood and he could see the silhouette of Harare''s skyscrapers from behind. The Herbert Chitepo Avenue road had inadvertently turned into the sea shore of the dreadful bloody sea. The distance between him and any feasible land was possibly close to 4km. The encompassing bloody water was as haunting as any nightmare could be and gave Tanaka a grave experience he would never forget. To be all alone and immersed in the sea of blood was Tanaka''s own personalised tragedy. The blowing of the wind and chill of the blood added to his resentment of his current circumstance. After all his senses had become clear, respiring now with a normal heart beat rate, he began to think about Daniel. The voice in the darkness'' guttural and hoarse voice soon became muffled, but had a sonata laughter, which still irked and dreaded Tanaka. After glancing now and again to see whether or not Daniel had resurfaced, Tanaka began to feel uneasy. He was feeling weak in the knees again and a tang of anxiety, one he associated with depression and mood swings. As he searched anxiously for Daniel, his eyes began to flicker as if he were about to sob as he said, "Daniel, Daniel, don''t leave me all alone. Daniel!¡±


    Tanaka began to swim with a down casted expression, heading towards the city. His right hand still felt numb and stiff as a mounted sign post, but he managed to think of a way to swim cohesively. He would stroke with his free hand and then pause to see where he was or where Daniel would probably be. He didn''t want to believe that he was dead, but the life expectancy of one in the infinite darkness was something, which almost assured him that Daniel''s survival was impossible. However, he had not seen any swimming obscenities yet and that was something worthy of relieving his mind from anxiety. The swimming process after a while got tiring and gruelling to the point that Tanaka began to reflect on all those swimming shows he watched on TV during the Olympics. He had been told before by his dad, that swimming was used to work on the flexibility of an athlete and that it was also quite a feat that required raw strength. Tanaka back then would have just shrugged his father''s words and said, ''Swimming is a white man''s sport. They swim fast because it¡¯s in their blood¡¯, but this time he realised that it was a possible feat, but one that required strength and practice. His body had now become extremely soggy and his eyes were slightly growing tired. Though all of this was happening to him, he did not waver and kept on swimming without giving into his body''s desire to rest. Further ahead he could see the plane that had crashed which seemed to have disgorged pieces of itself lying everywhere, floating aimlessly to the motion of the ripples of blood. In the back of Tanaka''s mind, it looked like a possible good resting point, one he would surely need after enduring such tiring hurdle as swimming in blood. As Tanaka got closer to the wreckage of the plane, he began to see a peculiar disturbance in the water, as if there was something moving in the blood. Tanaka didn''t waste any time over thinking what that was and aimed his torch instantly at where the disturbance had occurred. Though this was an ambitious act, Tanaka only noticed the boiling of blood and the emanation of red vapours due to his torch light, but couldn''t quite see past the translucent blood. This irked him and gave him great anxiety, as he had to anticipate what was coming, but that effort of predicting was soon made obsolete when Tanaka saw the source of the ripple. It was a serpent: a demonic shark, which had revealed its dorsal fin as it swam, but also flipped its lower body to reveal its caudal fin. Tanaka noticed a growth or abnormal connection to its body. At first, he thought he had misinterpreted what he had seen, but alas, it was a scorpion tail on the shark. Tanaka''s heart raced to epic proportions and left him with a stern face of alertness. At that moment, his right hand retained some form of fluid movementthat was quite convenient for the boy, but moving his limb was now no different from flexing swollen muscles. The effort was excruciating, but Tanaka wasn''t going to die from a shark attack. The fact that it was hard to see past the surface layer of the blood reinforced his fret and sense of urgency, sending more energy againto his torch. Tanaka randomly beamed the bloody water around him as if he was playing acupuncture; dipping lasers into blood. The blood around him began to vapour the more he burned it. After a while, the ripples stopped as if to signify that things inside the blood were scared off by his tactics. Tanaka didn''t feel reassured at all and glanced at the wreckage ahead. One thing he did know was that being unable to tell what was beneath him was a bad idea and he needed land. Tanaka began to swim, heading towards the wreckage of the plane to salvage a means to protect himself against the fluvial creatures. Tanaka swam and swam but suddenly paused upon hearing the voice of an unexpected survivor. Daniel! Tanaka immediately averted his attention and glanced at the direction where he heard the voice of Daniel. Tanaka shouted out, "Daniel where are you man. Where the hell did you disappear to? I was worried damn it! Where are you?¡±


    Tanaka waited until the muffled voice of Daniel responded, shouting out, "I can''t see a thing, it¡¯s too dark where I am. Tanaka okay, okay. Just listen to my voice and find me!¡± Tanaka upon impulse began to twirl his torch, looking for any signs of life in the sea. He eventually noticed Daniel whose whole body was completely covered in red. Tanaka immediately began to swim towards him and then remembered the creatures that were in the blood. He immediately took this opportunity to shout out, "Dan um coming there, hold on tight. Be careful, there are things in the water, but I will be there, just waiting for me!¡± Tanaka had not realised to what degree his revelation had frightened Daniel who had been hoping that there wouldn''t be any swimming depravities in the blood. Tanaka''s forewarning ended up just making Daniel more uncomfortable and uncertain of his own environment. Tanaka began to swim towards Daniel with little much pace and his incompetence was relayed with each splash he made. Daniel in conjecture to this, suddenly shouted out, "Tanaka let me come to you. It¡¯s much safer for me that way. Point your torch at me and don''t point it elsewhere. As long as I am in the rays of the light I will be safe.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "Okay, alright um pointing it at you!¡± shouted Tanaka with a driven and angst expression. Tanaka refocused his torch on Daniel and then watched him swim towards him. Daniel was indeed a fast swimmer and Tanaka began to think that Daniel was actually gifted in the art. As Daniel swam, Tanaka was worried about the shark he had seen before in the blood and really hoped that Daniel would make it to him alive without a scratch. Tanaka was now left with just the task of watching over him, but the ripples he saw way ahead of him burdened him with great vexation over what he had to do next. The creatures in sea of blood were now racing towards Daniel with a diabolical intent. Tanaka wondered what he was supposed to do, averting all his focus from Daniel and firing multiple beams of light at the locations that relayed the most peculiar surface movement. This only made Daniel panic, but sadly it did not break the pursuit of these monsters. They were going for the jugular and Daniel was their full course meal. Tanaka began to panic as well, trying to think about a solution that could help safe guard Daniel from peril. The monsters were clearly protected by the layer of thick blood in the sea and these creatures used this to their advantage. Tanaka fell into deep pensive thought and wondered what he was going to do and at the same time felt useless. Daniel kept on swimming regardless of the violent ripples he had seen before him. He had put his faith in the young man which was pretty much all he could do. Time was running out and Daniel was about to be devoured. Tanaka then hissed to himself, "If only there was light in the water.¡± Tanaka had uttered those words with an absent mind that was anxious, however upon saying such, an idea came to his mind. Tanaka then immediately shouted out, "I have a plan, just stay where you are Daniel. Um gonna save you!¡± Daniel didn''t know what to do with those words but surely felt less trepid than before. He halted his swimming and anticipated the great plan Tanaka had come up with. Tanaka began to recall the emotions and actions that had taken place before the whirlpool was destroyed and charged his torch. He began to feel the same pain he had gotten before in his head and saw the build up of light, which turned into a soccer ball sized sphere of light. Tanaka then immediately ejected it into the blood and in an instant, the blood began to glisten and all the shapes and morbid things were cast with shadows. The shapes of the serpent and the shark with a scorpion tail were all revealed to Daniel and the shadows immediately disintegrated into fragments of flesh. An encompassing spacious bracket of light illuminated the distance between Daniel and Tanaka. It was as if there were underground giant flood lights directing their rays upwards to make the blood gleam. Unlike the light that blew up in the demonic oesophagus, this one remained in a spherical shape, which didn¡¯t lose its form. Daniel now had a reason to keep calm and began to swim towards Tanaka who seemed as relieved he was. The unexpected turn of events of the whirlpool and the demonic marine life in the blood had really changed the scope of how messed up the world had become. Daniel eventually reached Tanaka and upon getting to him he embraced the young man and said, "You did it kid. You did it.¡± As Daniel embraced the young man, it began to rain again, with sounds of thunder and violent winds as the motif of the darkness. The raining of blood became all too monochromatic to the point that both of them could no longer recognise the colour of their skin. Everything had become scarlet red in the infinite darkness.


    Daniel and Tanaka were just about to reach the wreckage of the crashed plane as they swam through the dampness of the vast blood. None of them said a word and all their thoughts rested on one goal; getting out of the bloody water. The rain poured down and also came with a repugnant stench, the kind that made the word noxious seem like an understatement. The two finally reached debris of the plane and found a floating rudder, a propulsion system, and interior walls of the crashed plane. Tanaka spoke slowly into Daniel''s ear and said, "We are almost there.¡± Daniel increased his swimming pace and tugged Tanaka along. As they got closer to the remnant of the plane''s rudder, the voice began to laugh again but in a more jovial tone than its usual malignant self-did. Tanaka ignored it as he flung himself on top of the rudder, feeling the cold rusted metal as he laid himself on its surface. Just as Daniel was about to embark the rudder, a scorpion tail from underneath the rudder threw itself at him and stabbed his left arm. Tanaka was quickly shaken up by this unexpected circumstance and darted his torch at Daniel. The tail immediately felt the burn of the light and deteriorated into a gunk of flesh. The shark which had been lying in wait underneath the rudder quickly swam away to avoid the wrath of the young man. As if driven by instinct, Tanaka''s torch instantly surged with vibrant luminosity and deployed a small sphere of light at the creature. The sphere splashed into the blood and illuminated a huge portion of its volume. The shark instantly deteriorated like a vampire exposed to sunlight. Tanaka then quickly averted his attention towards the now incapacitated Daniel who was as much taken by surprise by this manic ordeal as Tanaka was. Tanaka laid Daniel on the ground, ripped off his blazer with surprising strength and looked at his sting. Daniel grunted in pain as Tanaka checked for his wound, feeling the venom circulate into his system. Daniel went on to shout, "It hurts, ahhh! Damn it, darn it hurts.¡± Tanaka had never seen manly tears before, but in the moment of Daniel''s gruelling struggle he finally saw how theylooked like. The sight of the arm, which had been stung, stirred a plethora of emotions. Daniel''s hand subsequently withered into crinkled flesh, the kind you would find on a starved human being. The severe form of tissue necrosis had infected his arm. Daniel''s eyes were now slowly becoming heavy and Tanaka was left speechless at the sight of his deterioration. Daniel looked at the boy with tears of anguish and said, "Um sorry Tanaka. I thought I could make it. Damn this hurts, ah!¡±


    "No, no, no, no! No, why did this happen. No, you can''t die. Listen to me Daniel; I don''t want to be alone anymore. You can¡¯t die!¡± cried Tanaka who held onto to the man. The effort that these two had made, the tribulations they had experienced, had all come to this, a dreadful tragic end. Tanaka glanced ahead and noticed that the city was now closer than he expected. He quickly rummaged through the wreckage scrap and got two cylindrical parts of something that consisted of the plane''s propulsion system. He began to row the rudder saying, "It¡¯s not too late, there should be a pharmacy or two in town, we can reach the end. You''re not gonna end up like everyone. You''re gonna survive this Daniel!¡± Daniel watched the boy row and to his surprise, the rudder moved with plausible speed. Tanaka was pouring tears as he thrusted back and forth the poles into the blood, to get to the Herbert Chitepo road sea shore. Daniel laid there on the rudder and glanced at Tanaka with an empathetic eye. Though the pain had maimed him with insurmountable agony, he felt obligated to tell the boy something important before he met his end. To his fortune, his pain sensory system was dishevelled by the venom to the point that he couldn''t feel what was killing him. He then took this moment to tell Tanaka a few words of encouragement.


    "Tanaka,¡± he hissed, "stop, stop.¡±


    "Daniel I can''t stop now, you once did medicine in school right. I can find a place with the drugs and medicines and stuff that can help you. This isn''t over!¡± he said pouring tears.


    "Tanaka stop, stop. It¡¯s okay. You don''t have to go to a pharmacy. Um not gonna make it in time.¡±


    "Don''t say that man. We made it out of the water together. We can make it to the end.¡± said Tanaka who was now venting with great sadness.


    "Tanaka, it¡¯s okay, but please stop, I don''t have much time to argue with you. Just come here.¡± said Daniel who looked as gaunt as an ebola patient did. Tanaka felt like resisting the command, but went on to oblige Daniel. He placed the cylinders that he was using to row on the surface of the rudder and lied next to Daniel. Daniel was now breathing slowly and coughing at the same time. The toxin of the sting had spread to his neck and his veins were now looking green and black. Tanaka felt reinforced with more reasons to burst out in tears at the sight of the terminally ill Daniel. Daniel then spoke slowly and said, "It¡¯s okay to cry Tanaka, it¡¯s okay. You know ever since I started working at bank FBC after graduating I always wanted to be the top dog. I wanted John Mushayavanhu, Webster Rusere, and Felix to notice my worth but the pressure to impress got to me. The work environment was tough and there seemed like no hope for it to improve. I went through a lot of ass kissing to get to my post but forgot the very reason I did in the first place.¡±


    "What-what was your reason?¡± he asked as he shivered and lisped his words with heavy breathing.


    "Family and love Tanaka. That was my reason. I have only told my wife this and she gagged at the chivalry, but I used this example to give you a reason to continue on. You have been quite an interesting kid in the short time we have been together. No matter what this dark world tries to do to you, survive. I think there are more people who have the torch just like you. Where there is a spark of hope, the night is flooded with many stars.¡± he said as he coughed out blood.


    "But what if I can''t go on, you''re leaving me alone. Um just a kid with a freaken magical torch. I can''t continue on'' on my own. I need help.¡± he said with his head now lying on his chest.


    "Yes you can Tanaka, yes you can. You must be strong you''re strong. You took out those monsters all on your own before we even met. You destroyed that thing in the water. I couldn''t even do anything. It was all you. I know that this world is scary, but you can survive.¡± he said with saliva now foaming from his nose and mouth.


    "But um all alone on this, what¡¯s the point of living?¡± asked Tanaka who seemed sullen beyond measure.


    "Tanaka remember this as you carry on living.THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ISOLATED HOPE! IF YOU HAVE THE LIGHT THAT PROTECTS YOU FROM THE DARKNESS THEN THERE ARE SURELY OTHERS THERE LIKE YOU. AS LONG AS YOU''RE BORN INTO THIS WORLD YOU''RE NEVER ALONE.¡±


    The words spoken by Daniel struck a chord in Tanaka''s mind and made him realise something. He had encountered the torch by chance but it was indeed in the possession of the two strange men or at least he found it in their boot. Tanaka had been against the idea of there being some form of cavalry, but Daniel had sowed the seeds of hope into the young man. Tanaka was motivated by Daniel''s words but was sadly scarred for life by his final moments. Daniel began to foam in the mouth and he convulsed until what constituted life in him had subsided. He had died and Tanaka wept for the loss of his friend.


    The distance between him and the shore had been minimised to less than 200m. Tanaka had been rowing and he had made it past the discouraging distance. He intended on burying Daniel''s corpse and following through with the plan of leaving Harare. How he would do that was a question he would ask himself once he had reached dry land. As he rowed, the rain intensified, spraying blood everywhere. Hypothermia had been discarded as a possible concern and Tanaka was now grinding through the dampness and soldiering on. He was now a driven man and he didn¡¯t feel like entertaining any negative thoughts. He had his eyes on the ball and he was going to catch it, however something peculiar happened. Daniel''s decayed body moved. It turned its head and glanced at Tanaka and said,"Well hello there Tanaka. I have one question for you. Did you really believe all the shit he was saying?¡±Tanaka instantly glared at the corpse and pointed his torch at it saying, "Get out of his body damn it!¡± The corpse began to shiver and cry with Daniel''s voice saying, "No Tanaka don''t point it at me, its burning my skin.¡± Tanaka heard the cry of Daniel and halted. The corpse began to laugh and then echoed the laughter of the voice in the darkness. Tanaka pointed the torch at the surface of the rudder, which bounced off its differed light at the corpse. The corpse plucked off its cheek, took a bite, chewed it, and said,"Those sharks do come with dreadful venom don''t they, my body surely tastes god awful.¡±Tanaka felt enraged by its presence and asked it, "What are you things, what do you want?¡± The corpse replied,"Well well, you denied us your flesh and now you''re asking us questions. Your selfishness knows no bounds boy! You want to know the how, why and what, you gotta pay with your blood!¡±The corpse began to explode in guttural laughter after uttering what it had said. Its lower jaw immediately slid off like a disc falling out of its compartment. The corpse eventually fell apart like a house of cards. Tanaka watched in horror as Daniel''s body was desecrated to a pitiful state. The body fell into pieces that slipped into the sea of blood never to be seen again. Tanaka could hear the laughter of the voice, which had become audible as if emanating from the clouds. The voice had now become like thunder, roaring in the heavens with its ominous terror. Tanaka was not ready to hear what was coming, but he would surely remember it all in the world of the infinite darkness.


    "You want to know what we are puny filth? Well very well, we are the bane of your existence carved out of the cup of wrath. As man continuously sinned, the world''s gauge of sin was eventually broken, filling the cup of wrath to its brim and when deadly wine overflows, it intoxicates the masses. We are the wine of wrath that all of mankind is being subjected to. We are here to completely feed on you weak morsels to our own satisfaction!¡±roaredthe voice in the darkness. Tanaka was shocked to hear this and began to recall biblical scriptures that referenced the end times and the end of the world, but soon enough his thoughts were interrupted.


    "I am the father of all darkness and Mweya Mutema is my son. My son lived because you cast all your sins upon him to ensure his existence and he exists to cause mass terror! You''re lucky that you have that little flash light boy. My children would have ripped you to shreds. The creatures of the darkness are my creation, they are my offspring and their sole purpose is to feed. My children will be filled up with fat bellies as they ravage all of humanity. There is no hope for you. There only lies death and destruction. My son Mweya Mutema will devour the vessel of innocence and will transcend from his form. You will live in suffering Tanaka, give up your flesh and die. There is no hope, no chance, nothing! You will try to fight it, you will live in my world, but reality well set itself in you. We conquered the north, east, west and your pathetic south region of your world. There is nothing for you here, only continued suffering if you remain alive!¡±The voice had spoken and left a dreadful truth. Tanaka had nothing to say as he heard it laugh. It was truly their world and he knew it, but Daniel''s words carried weight and Tanaka for once didn''t cave in to the pressures ofthe nightmare. Suddenly as the voice laughed with its thunder like pitch, the state of the weather changed. The sound of clouds was rendered into the crude sound of people weeping. The voice went on to say its final remarks,"This is the world of the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Hell on earth Tanaka. Embrace it to the fullest!¡±The state of the rain changed from blood to human tears, pouring heavily as if it were a product of the Amazon forest climate. The tears didn''t cease and neither did the weeping. Harare was drenched in the tears of the fallen and their sorrow could be felt across as the clouds thundered.


    Tanaka finally reached Herbert Chitepo Avenue and was now walking in Harare Street after disembarking off the rudder. The passport office to the left was beyond comprehension and was the archetype for ancient ruins. The same went for the Girls high school hostels to the right. The durawalls had all tipped over and signs of great debauchery had wrecked it in its entirety. The demons were all around him, minding their own business, and giving him way. The creatures dreaded the light and went on with their wicked business as usual. The sight of such sickened him, but the fact that he was all alone, the only sign of life in a world that was now owned by these creatures made him sad. As he got close to Park Lane Street and Samora Machel road, he noticed that the tile and carpet store and other nearby buildings had a few vehicles that had been flung at them. The infinite darkness had come at night so it made perfect sense for the whole road to be mostly empty, but as Tanaka glanced to the right, he saw the lengthy road that led to the show grounds, which looked empty as well but had blood puddles. Glancing to the left, he saw the rest of the buildings that were all spoiled and cracked. There was a giant nest on the reserve bank building which his torch clearly showed with great detail. As he walked slowly along Samora Michel, he found a truck that had smashed into the Western union complex, a Mercedes long nose truck. It was drenched in greasy blood and was beyond repair. However, suddenly the door of the truck began to bang open. A young girl, who was wearing hospital clothes, had greasy hair, was the same height as Tanaka, and had bloodshot eyes. She came out of the truck and she was wearing a shiny pendant. Upon getting out she screamed out, "Nicholai you bastard, you came back. Why did you leave me here? Do you know what I had to go through you sick fuck. You left me here to die. You left me here on my own you sick fuck!¡± Tanaka at first thought that it was a possessed corpse, but the dishevelled body that ran towards him told a different story. The girl was another survivor like himself and she ran towards Tanaka in a crippled like stance. She had cuts on her wrists, which were healed up and light ebony skin. She clung onto Tanaka who was speechless and said, "Nicholai you fucken asshole why did you leave me here to die!¡± The girl prodded Tanaka and cried, however the name Nicholai sounded familiar but for the life of him, he couldn''t remember the source. The world of infinite darkness had presented another human being who had survived the carnage, but this time, Tanaka wanted this survivor to pull through the horrors of the nightmare. He had remembered what Daniel had said and he hissed to himself, "There is no such thing as isolated hope.¡±

 Chapter 14-They called him the wolf of Russia.

    "We are going to use you as a ransom to get Austin back, our boss and member of the Zeal society." he said, changing the gears and pumping more gas as he passed Josiah Tongogara road. It was the same old job: extraction and delivery with a hint of malignant intent. Nicholai cruised along Sam Nujoma road with one objective in hand. To get Austin back! However, in between feeling driven and switching gears, Nicholai heard a loud shrill. Bob who was in the passenger seat was startled by the unusual sound. Eventually they began to hear unintelligent voices, the kind that desecrated purity and innocence. The street lights and many other lights that emanated from the buildings in the Avenues neighbourhood began to lose their visibility. Even the far background and foreground that showed the Nassa building and the rest of Sam Nujoma road up to George Silundika Avenue could not be seen. It was as if someone had poured black paint over Nicholai''s field of vision. Everything had begun to lose its visibility to the point that it became pitch black. The screaming and disturbing voices grew louder and progressively thunderous to the extent Bob screamed out, "What the hell is going on?!" Nicholai roared as he lost sight of the road, swerving his vehicle to his own demerit. The darkness had engulfed the encompassing environment, maiming it with a void of unquestionable depth. Nicholai''s vehicle flipped over and crashed. This was an unexpected turn of events and something that Nicholai had not prepared for beforehand. The coming of the infinite darkness had made its appearance, an era of weeping and gnashing of teeth that was surely going deface all manner of life, the coming age of terror.


    The horrors echoed in the background as the incapacitated two remained motionless in the now upside down car. After a few minutes Nicholai woke up, dealing with the sores and bruises on his arms and temple respectively. The window screen cracked with fragments of the shards of glass all scattered around. These intricate details weren''t visible at all to Nicholai who seemed to be only seeing black. He fumbled through the vehicle as he heard the noises. He called out bob''s name and got no reply. He could feel his partner''s body but could not tell whether he was dead or just knocked out due to the crash. In his claustrophobic predicament, the violent and depraved noises reigned supreme, muting any other possible sound. Nicholai felt like covering his ears with earplugs but his hands didn''t have such a leeway to manoeuvre. All Nicholai could do was just endure as the diabolical noises sent chills down his spine. The sounds of hopeless, the sounds of suffering and sound of death were all he could hear and in that moment, Nicholai was vulnerable. Suddenly his breast pocket, which had been concealing a tiny spherical marble, began to glimmer. The sphere glowed and dispersed the darkness in the car. The light was differed and didn''t have much intensity. In an instant Nicholai could now see the shard of glass and the rear view mirror that revealed to him cuts and scrapes on his face. Nicholai examined the sphere, which was glowing and prodded it with his fingers. He then remembered what it was and said out loud, "Its Austin''s essence." He said this in an absent minded state as if he was expecting his discovery to be also marvelled by Bob. As soon as he glanced at Bob''s body, he noticed that his temple was bleeding and that most probably he had suffered a severe head injury. Nicholai tried shaking Bob but the man from Newcastle didn''t budge at all. After giving up on the effort to awaken his colleague he decided to unstrap the seat belt that had incarcerated him in the uncomfortable bind. As he tried to yank off the belt, he suddenly heard a deep exhale of a creature. It was somewhere near the vehicle, but he couldn''t quite pinpoint its location. Its guttural nostrils sniffed the vehicle, searching for its meal. Despite the loud and disturbing cacophony of horror in the background, Nicholai could hear this creature. Its slithering gave away its size, which was probably that of a whale. In an instant, the vehicle that had crashed near Five avenue was flung by the beast. Nicholai was helpless in this situation as his body felt the impact of the vehicle being tossed. It was no different from being in free fall, but this was the kind of fall that promised great pain and flustration.


    The clanging of the metal as the vehicle crashed bruised Nicholai''s back with relentless severity. The demon however did not consider his misfortune and thus pursued the flung vehicle with murderous intent. Nicholai sensed the coming of the oblivion and disembarked himself out of the now disgorged BMW. He kicked the door open and hurled himself out as the demon dropped its weight on the vehicle. Bob''s body was pressed down to the point of graphic mutilation. The terror in the eyes of the Russian man was one that could not be described in words as he saw the state of his vehicle and his partner go through a grotesque desolation. This was not what he had planned for and this was clearly going to inhibit his plan. The luminous sphere in his breast pocket did not do much to add clear visibility of what was before him, but the little he could distinguish in the infinite darkness was enough for him to take relative defensive action. Nicholai was worried about Tanaka who was in the boot as the creature slithered over the passenger seat, crushing the right side of the vehicle. Nicholai crawled his way to safety as he saw the demon glare at him with empty eyes of savagery. The two Berettas, which had been strapped to his lower back, were quickly unsheathed and fired at the wretched abomination. Nicholai clenched his teeth as he gutted it down, emptying both cartridges of his two weapons. The demon''s exterior flesh was destroyed by the bullets, peeling it to death as it slithered towards Nicholai. The fiend tasted death and fell before Nicholai who looked as if his heart had almost given out. His sweat had dampened his clothing and his adrenaline had kicked into another gear. His breathing, his concentration and even acceptance of what he had seen, were all distorted and trying to find precedence in his situation. The moment of shock quickly disappeared as he felt the flow of blood on his hip. The vehicle being tossed had done much more damage than he had expected, but there was no time to whimper over his pain. The creatures in the infinite darkness were sure to come and grab his attention, but what was even more dreadful was what was happening to the inhabitants of the Avenues. The hapless souls who had been asleep in their apartments, mistaking the darkness for the usual power cuts that occurred in Zimbabwe were now in great suffering. As the teeth of the depraved sunk their teeth into the flesh of the masses, a great unanimous cry was echoed in that area. Nicholai could hear children, fathers, mothers and the elderly scream to their heart''s content. The forced entry into the homes and private property were audible in the cacophony. The breaking of windows, furniture, walls and even the bursting of pipes were complementary to the already existing discord. In that moment, Nicholai realised how grave his situation was and pondered over what to do next. He remembered his initial objective and thought about retrieving Tanaka''s body. He hoped that the boy would be still alive, and as soon as he got back on his feet, he made his way towards the car. As he trotted, clinging onto his hip to stop the flow of blood, something suddenly descended from the sky. It was abrupt in its landing and quickly devoured the carcass of the creature he had just killed. The unusual act of cannibalism was the least of Nicholai''s concerns as he was faced with the dreaded choice of either retrieving Tanaka whilst nursing his injury in a hostile environment or fleeing from the scene until he recuperated. Though these options played out in his head, the unknown beings of the infinite darkness were not like people who would act according to his logic. Nicholai eventually made the decisive call and ran away from the dreaded creature. Whatever would happen to Tanaka was now beyond his control. His decision had peeved him inside, but his pride would not equate to his survival in this situation. All Nicholai could do was just trot down Baines Avenue as he tried by all means to avoid the distracted beast which was relishing on the flesh of its own kind. The light that emanated from the breast pocket slowly began to increase in vigour, going from being dim to being a bit bright. As this happened he had just passed the Baines avenue flats'' neighbourhood main gate, getting a glimpse of a screaming man who was being pursued by reptilian maggots which had serrated teeth. This ghastly imagery made him wonder whether he would encounter such as he trotted away. Nicholai could only recall hearing the tearing of human flesh and demented laughter as the man met his end in the darkness. This was only going to escalate further into a nightmare of obscene proportions and Nicholai was already beginning to doubt his chances. As his light became more luminous, he could now see at most a meter''s worth of visible objects within his immediate position. The sudden rise in intensity from the sphere of light had surprised Nicholai, but what he had not prepared for was when the sphere dissolved. It liquefied itself and soaked his chest, but as a result of such happening, the unexpected happened. Nicholai grew a white fiery aura, which covered his body from head to toe. He was now no more different from a fluorescent walking light bulb inside a thick black fog of darkness. Nicholai darted at his body, marvelling at the glistening aura, which seemed to be keeping him warm, but the pangs of his bleeding hip made his awe short lived. He coughed out blood and cursed as he moved along. The sound of a plane that was plummeting began to increase gradually, even getting to the point of muting the screams of the people who were suffering in the Avenues. As Nicholai wondered what was going on, he heard a sudden boom and loud explosion. The impact of the crash landing was as if a thunderous drum interspersed with the friction of scrap metal. The plane had crashed in Chinamano Avenue, just before new Mazoe road. This was to the north east of Nicholai''s current position and this, as he expected, was one of the elements that was going to escalate the chaos and carnage. The level of uncertainty reached a towering high in Nicholai and made him wonder what he was to do next in a situation that he could not predict. His aura of light, which acted more like a bulb emitting light, managed to show him the sign post of Baines clinic. It was the towering facility that was just after the Baines Avenue flats, separated from the compacted neighbourhood by the usual asbestos durawall. The visage of the facility made him realise that he could patch up his bleeding hip with the medical utensils inside. His first objective had become clear and he thus made his way to the clinic, which looked more like a hospital. As Nicholai turned right, heading towards the entrance that had the usual guard post and barricades, the demon, which had ignored him to devour its own kin had now averted its attention towards him. The fiendish beast galloped towards Nicholai, smashing into the durawall that acted as the bulwark to the facility. The escalation towards a bitter and grave night had now begun and this surely he would never forget.


    Nicholai passed the pharmacy, which was locked and sprinted towards the adjacent block that had the patient wards. As soon as he reached the glass revolving doors, he found a nurse who was crouching near the receptionist counter. The great darkness that had infringed the room before had now been subsided by his aura. The light that emanated from his body revealed to him a perfect example of mass hysteria in a chaotic environment. The corridors had nurses and other complimentary staff members cringing in fear on the floor with some screaming at the sound of the unintelligent voices. Nicholai took out his carbine, which he had tucked away in his jacket and pointed it at the nurse. The sight of a glowing man was one thing, but the sight of one pointing a gun at her was something that the nurse wasn''t prepared for. She immediately rose up from where she was and ran the opposite direction. Nicholai was speechless upon seeing the young ebony skinned nurse leave before he had a chance to siphon information from here. He only needed to ascertain where the medical kit and drugs were kept, but this was probably the worst time to be interrogating people. Nicholai thus passed the ground floor and made his way to the first floor where encountered people who were either being devoured by a grotesque being or were running away aimlessly without the ability to perceive anything in the darkness. Some staff members in the clinic mistook Nicholai as a man with a flash light. The moment they noticed that the light was just aura around his body, the staff members were startled at the sight of Nicholai. This was a perplexing situation for them indeed and to make matters worse a number of creatures had invaded the premises. Patients who had been sleeping in their wards were devoured without a forewarning. As Nicholai began to call out for a doctor, he began to see a lot of carnage and mayhem in the hospital. The brutality in which the janitors, nurses, security guards, and patients were massacred was represented on the walls: gallons of blood, limbs, and protruding flesh were all decorating the walls. Nicholai from time to time fired his carbine at the creatures, as he called out for a doctor. He opted to treat himself but realised that he wouldn''t have time to do so. The demon, which he had left outside, had entered the facility, but it soon forgot about him when it discovered humans that had been quivering in the darkness, unable to see and in a stationary position. What that creature did to them was beyond the descriptive capabilities of any sane man, it was purely horrid and beyond remorse. This all took place on the ground floor, which Nicholai had left. He finally found a medic kit compartment which was mounted on the walls and broke it open by striking the glass casing with the hilt of his gun. The shards of glass all decorated the hospital floors and made a scrape-like sound as Nicholai walked over them. He took a bottle of spirit, a needle and thread, bandages, morphine bags and a plastic container full of penicillin. Nicholai then immediately ran into a random ward and settled in it. In the room, he found a nurse and a female doctor crouching and hugging one of the patients on the bed respectively. The sight of him walking in and dispersing the pitch black darkness that had engulfed the room had given them relief, but at the same time, seeing a glowing man was something no one would be ever ready for. The chubby toffee skinned nurse with an oblong face, puffy cheeks, small succulent lips, pulled back hair and a blue attire screamed out, ''Mhama mhama!'' Nicholai ignored the scream of the woman and the astonishing glare from the female doctor. He instead tended to his wound and began to stitch it up, applying the spirit and subtly grunting at the pain. The young boy on the bed, who was being embraced in the form of a mother-like hug from the female doctor, glanced at the man. His faint voice, which echoed a weakness only peculiar to those maimed by illness, addressed a question at the man.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "Are you an angel?" asked the young boy. He was an 8 years old, scrawny, pale ebony skinned boy with short hair, a thin and narrow face, and eyes that looked droopy. His question startled the doctor who had been covering his head to alleviate him from the anxiety of the screaming monsters in the darkness. Nicholai was bewildered by such a question, but quickly replied, "Um no angel, just a man. You over there, doctor aren''t you? Come here fix me up." The doctor''s eyes were instantly drawn towards the man''s eyes with utter stupefaction. Her initial reaction towards the summoning was that of stern refusal. However, Nicholai raised his carbine, which consequently caused both the doctor and nurse to scream. Nicholai fired one shot at ceiling, which caused some plaster to fall onto the floor. The warning shot filled the doctor with horror and petrified the nurse. The doctor, who was in her mid thirties, had a healthy and well maintained thick figure, wavy curly hair fresh from the salon, squint eyes, a supple round face with well-defined cheek bones, and a height of 6 feet. She looked at Nicholai with great uncertainty and at the same time tried to take in the reality that things had gone way off the tangent of sanity. The glowing man to her was as frightening as the absence of light and the disturbing voices in the darkness. Her inner being wanted to stay put where she was, but she decided to oblige the man with the gun. She kissed the young boy on the forehead and told him, "Listen to me John, don''t panic on me. Everything is going to be okay. Keep calm and think happy thoughts. Everything is going to be okay. Dr. Rondozai isn''t going anywhere, just stay strong."


    "Hurry up now or else I will shoot your friend!" roared Nicholai. Dr. Rondozai slowly removed herself from the bed-ridden boy called John and shuffled slowly towards the glowing man. Nicholai could have easily continued to patch himself up, but believed that the best thing he needed was the expertise of one in the medical field. As Dr. Rondozai approached him, the window at the opposite end from where Nicholai was'' was broken from outside. A yeast-like creature with dark granular textured skin with orifices all over its exterior and a withered amphibious body, was fuming with the souls of those it had devoured. The now exposed part of the room facilitated the rush of hot humid air. It was no different from a mid summer heat wave as a result of diffusion. This change of atmosphere complimented the arrival of the demon, but what was more frightening was the fact that there was another person at the far end of the room. The other bed, which was adjacent to the one John was lying on, was separated from his bed by a curtain. The heavy drapery had concealed almost half of the rest of the room and only exposed the window, which had been broken by the demon. The nurse jumped back upon hearing the smashing of the glass and even shrilled upon hearing the scream of a young teenage girl. It had become apparent to everyone that there was one more human being in the room. Dr. Rondozai, acting upon instinct, ran to get John off his bed. Nicholai observed the frenzy that took place before him and quickly reloaded his weapon and fired 6 shots at the demon. The bullets didn''t do much to stop it, as it prepared to lunge itself at him. The screaming girl behind the curtain had been ignored by the creature and it was now Nicholai who was on the menu. The nurse fastened her body at the very corner of the room whilst Dr. Rondozai concealed John in her arms. The creature''s speed of propulsion was like lightning and so was its quick death. As soon as it got close enough to maim the man, its ghastly body disintegrated into a pile putrid flesh. The remnants of its muscle tissue crinkled away into nothingness and disappeared. Nicholai who had not blinked at all at the sight of such a phenomenon feigned heavy panting. The girl who had been behind the curtain continued to cry, pouring out her tears without a hint of reservation. She eventually made her way to Nicholai and the rest, with a brisk walk that reflected her fear. She was 5.5feet tall, petite, light ebony skinned with an oval shaped head, greasy elongated hair, and wide hips. Her face was crisp and etched with a brazen look that was complemented by her thin and sharp nose, but yet still maintained a feminine elegance expected from a young lady. As soon as she got to the other side, she curled into a ball right next to Nicholai, cringing in fear as she chanted, "Daddy still loves me, daddy still loves me." Nicholai glanced at the young child and whispered said to her, "Um sure he does, you''re safe now." He grunted as he said this, now tending to his wound. The nurse went on a cursing spree, wondering what the hell was going on as she quivered in her corner. The doctor who had earlier on feared the presence of Nicholai soon enough asked him, "Who are you? What was that thing just now?" Nicholai wanted her to tend to his wounds but realised that this was the wrong time to be subjugating civilians. He instead took a long pause and asked, "Do you believe in the principle of natural selection?" Dr. Rondozai remained quiet and didn''t attempt to answer him. She hugged and comforted John who was at the breaking point of fear. He was in a state of shock and undeniable dread. His heart was thumping hard and somehow Dr. Rondozai knew that he needed every bit of her comfort to remain strong. This was the horror and fret everyone was sharing in the room. Nicholai who was irked by her silence went on to say, "Well you see, natural selection has made mankind obsolete... well the majority at least. Only the select few who survive will become part of the paradise."


    "Select few?" asked the nurse who seemed perplexed at the same time still afraid of the glowing man.


    "Yes, the select few under the leadership of my boss, in the era of Austin." said Nicholai with a grating smug on his face. None of them understood what Nicholai was saying and at this point, anything he was going to say was going to be considered as gibberish. An ominous silence fell in the room, which was soon to be toppled by the sounds of two women crying and one boy sulking. The only two who did not indulge in the whimpering were Dr. Rondozai and the glowing man from Russia. The door, which had been shut in the room, was suddenly burst open. The face of a stout light skinned ebony man wearing a standard Hawaii summer t-shirt and denim trousers was accompanied by 3 other men. The man who had just waltzed in was covered in blood, but not his blood. The flesh of those who had been mutilated in the Baines Clinic hospital had been sprinkled all over his body with such murderous precision. The man who walked in felt relieved to have just escaped the carnage in the darkness. It was the same for other two who were trailing behind him; however, the fourth escapee wasn''t as lucky as his companions were. As the three walked in, Dr. Rondozai and the rest of the gang were startled by their dramatic entrance and the nurse did not miss an opportunity to scream her lungs out upon seeing the blood drenched stout man. Dr. Rondozai blocked John''s ears and held him tight, not even giving the time of day to the peculiarities before her. It was clear to her that things had completely gone south. She was as petrified as the rest of them, but she was remaining strong willed for the sake of John. However, that strength was soon short lived upon the arrival of the fourth man. The fourth man had just put one leg into the room before a mangled thorn like ligament had punch through his chest, coming out the other side. Everyone who was in the ward watched in horror as he was yanked back into the darkness. He was returned to the void where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth, unprecedented violation of one''s body and sadistic brutality. Dr. Rondozai cried upon seeing the gratuitous violence and subsequent death of her colleague. In that moment, she let lose her emotions. The 3 men who had survived; the stout man with the Hawaii summer t-shirt who had entered first, the security guard who was wearing his black uniform and a semi-athletic 20 year old boy, had arrived to further their understanding of fear. The moment they realised that the source of light which they had assumed was from a flash light or solar lantern was actually Nicholai, they went into another frenzy of fear and one of them even began to chant a prayer. Everything in that moment had gone to shit way too fast for their ability to be desensitized. The only room with the light became the one Nicholai was in. From the top floor to the bottom floor of Baines Clinic, there was murder and suffering. Patients, staff, doctors who had stayed for their night shift and the neighbouring flats all around had been subjugated to great terror and savagery. No one knew what was going on exactly in the world except for Nicholai who had just finished patching up his wound. However, what they clearly shared together was their mutual acknowledgement of the present fear in their lives, the existence of the infinite darkness. At the back of Nicholai''s mind, he was wondering whether Tanaka was still alive. Austin had told him that he was going to be the one who brings the child to him and as far as he was concerned, Austin was never wrong. As those in the hospital met their fatalistic end and those in the surrounding neighbourhood met their demise, Nicholai could not help but burst into a guttural laughter saying, "The world is dead; this is now the era of darkness!"

 Chapter 15-The truth about the infinite darkness

    Nicholai¡¯s chuckle left disheartening feelings amongst the members of the surviving group, a negative externality of his very existence that he never considered when he did things. The shock and sight of the glowing man in the infinite darkness was still etched in their minds and with the complimentary horror that surrounded them, it did not do much to alleviate their already rising despair. Nicholai glanced at Emma, the girl with greasy hair who had maintained her curled ball position. The three men stood at a distance, observing the seated Nicholai who wasn¡¯t even irked at all by their darting eyes. The stout man with a Hawaii t-shirt was the one who broke the ice and asked, ¡°What are you?¡±


    Nicholai was surprised that the question had come sooner than he had anticipated, but nevertheless he obliged the man and said, ¡°Um a survivor, just like you. My name is Nicholai Vickinder. Before you get your religious hopes high in this situation, just know that I am not an angel, never was, and never will be.¡± Nicholai¡¯s clarification did not help the situation and it caused the security guard to shout out, ¡°Demoni iri, demoni iri!¡± This random shouting caused the rest of the group to be startled. In an instant Nicholai realised if the security guard went on with the shouting he would cause mass hysteria in the room and contribute more chaos to the already dire situation. Nicholai aimed his gun at the ceiling, fired a shot and shouted out, ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± Dr. Rondozai was bewildered by the turn of events and noticed the trepid scream of Emma. John began to pour out tears, soaking the bosom of Dr. Rondozai who could tell that the boy was barely keeping it to the together. The nurse became one with the wall as she cringed in fear after the gunshot. The men panted liked overworked beasts, recuperating after a long run. Nicholai went on to say, ¡°You want to know what is going on, sure let me explain your current situation. If you did not know the definition of totally fucked, then you¡¯re in it. You¡¯re totally immersed in pure shit I tell you. As you can see, the things that are chewing your buddies like sugar cane are Diablo in the dark. However, luckily for you guys, Diablo hates the light thus we are united together to bask in my light.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not making much sense sir,¡± said Dr. Rondozai who lisped over every word she uttered, ¡°Are you saying that the things are demons Nic-Nicholai?¡±


    ¡°Precisely, you catch on fast doctor. If more of you quickly digest the situation quickly, you won¡¯t be turned into chopped liver. The things outside are demons, ready to consume anyone who steps out of my light.¡±


    ¡°Demons? How is that even possible? There is no such thing!¡± screamed out the young semi athletic boy. His gesticulations showed great disapproval towards what Nicholai had said, grimacing despite the fact that he was still startled by the sight of him. Nicholai then glared at him and said, ¡°I guess a class in atheism always skips that part of the spectrum. Demons exist boy, never forget that.¡± Upon hearing this, the 20 year old 5.9feet tall young adult called Hilary Madzima could not help but feel instant rejection of such a truth. He had a lean physique, oblong crisp face, dread-locks, a crooked nose, and lazy eyes. He had the stoner look and a blunt could easily fit him into the prediscribed imagery. Regardless of his personal beliefs, what he had seen could not merely be effaced by his stern beliefs. The sight of the man who was pulled into the darkness, the noises outside and inside the hospital, which told a grave story of death and unprecedented mutilation, staunched his ironclad denial. In the face of death, there was no denial for Hilary. As this reality sinked into his frame, the stout man went onto to ask, ¡°So those things are demons?¡±


    ¡°Yes they are and as long as you¡¯re in the dark, you will be their food.¡±


    ¡°How are you glowing?¡± asked the stout man.


    ¡°This light you see here isn¡¯t mine. It¡¯s an extension of my boss Austin, the one who will change everything back to normal once we find him.¡±


    ¡°Austin?¡± they asked, some hissing and others in their thoughts. This puzzled everyone who was still dealing with the fact that there were in a nightmare and to add more fuel to the madness, Austin was supposedly the saviour in their bleak predicament. Nicholai noticed their vexation and went on to say, ¡°My boss Austin is going to set the world in order. This reality you¡¯re currently experiencing is but a phase that will pass once he has established control. The darkness will go away and everything that comes with pain will cease to exist.¡± Emma averted he hidden gaze and glanced at Nicholai with down casted eyes. She had been lost in her sadness, but the iteration of the end of pain struck a chord in her spirit. Something she longed for more than anyone else, a personal scarcity in her life.


    ¡°Do you mean it when you say the end of pain?¡± asked Emma, who resembled a child whose only chance to happiness was an exceptional form of escapism. Her innocence, which was fastened to her frame, showed a great yearning that Nicholai could easily observe despite the greasiness of her hair. Her vulnerability and despair were all exposed to him; they were nothing left but remnants of one¡¯s broken self-esteem. Nicholai looked into her eyes and said, ¡°With Austin as the leader of the new age, the pain will go away little one.¡± Hilary couldn¡¯t believe what was happening and sighed inside, grasping his face with utter stupefaction. The nurse who had had cringed to the point of aligning herself with the wall beckoned a surrender with her body language and slowly sat on the ground. Everyone was dealing with the reality in their own way, some better than others, but for Nicholai this meant that they would devote their hopes towards him. In the graveness of any turbulence, the stable figure is always the pillar of strength.


    ¡°Now if anything at all is going to progress, you¡¯re going to have listen to me. I have a mission to see to it that I get someone to Austin and that someone is outside.¡± said Nicholai who feigned fluid speech regardless of the pain of his peeving hip. Though Nicholai had been glowing, something that was still terrifying most of them, the stout man mustered the courage to overcome his fear and asked, ¡°Someone outside?¡±


    ¡°Yes, someone outside in the dark.¡±


    ¡°But those things are out there, those things that are killing people in the hospital¡­ are you planning on going back out there?¡± asked the stout man.


    ¡°I guess you and the others don¡¯t understand. There is no safety anyway; every single area in the dark is just death waiting for you people. I am the light here, the reason why you¡¯re alive.¡± said Nicholai as he pointed at the putrid carcass of the demon that had blown up upon trying to pounce on him. Both the stout man and the other men scanned his raised right hand that pointed at the bloody remnant of the demon that exploded. This was their first time taking notice if the wretched specimen on the floor and the visage of the broken window, which had no distinguishable features beyond it, reinforced more fear. The darkness, which was as concrete as the depressing reality they were facing, made them instantly look back at Nicholai. Nicholai ignored their mutual display of discomfort and said, ¡°That thing on the floor died because of the light coming from my body. The reason more of them haven¡¯t come through yet is because they can¡¯t stand being in my light. As long you¡¯re within my light nothing will happen to you¡­¡± he said, just before he coughed out some blood. Nicholai held his mouth and felt the scarlet liquid moisturise his palm. Dr. Rondozai noticed this and began to worry. John had clenched onto her with a full proof grip as if his life depended on it. The coughing was something that she was familiar with, and the bleeding hip that Nicholai was grasping was evident that he was drawing close towards a critical condition. Dr. Rondozai whispered into John¡¯s ears and told him, ¡°John, I need to help that man. I won¡¯t be gone for long. Be strong and be brave. I will be back shortly.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t, stay with me, please don¡¯t let go.¡± said the boy who tightened his grip even more, squinting his eyes as the tears poured down his cheeks.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you gotta be strong, I will be back.¡± she said, stroking his head gently with great concern for his fleeting stamina.


    ¡°No please, I don¡¯t want to be left alone. Please Mrs. Rondozai, don¡¯t leave me alone. Please!¡± said the boy who tightened his grip as if trying to smother her. Dr. Rondozai knew all too well that the boy was struggling to cope with the situation just as much as the adults were, but she had to do what needed to be done. Dr. Rondozai left John on his own, kissed him on the forehead as she left to tend to Nicholai¡¯s wound. The glowing man who was as luminous as a solar lantern lit up the flames of uncertainty in Dr. Rondozai as she tiptoed to him. Her mind tried to discern the feasibility of the human body glistening like a fluorescent, thinking about all the theories that scientists had and when that didn¡¯t surmise, she went to think of religious alternative possibilities. As she reached his body Nicholai said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can come here, um not going to hurt you or anything like that, just take your time. This bruise really needs adequate medical attention.¡± As if making a leap of faith, she quickly dashed to look at his wound. Dr. Rondozai who had expected some sort of unusual feeling or pain upon being in the presence of Nicholai was subtly surprised that nothing within her physiology apart from the receding fear upon contact, had changed. She sighed in relief; quickly removing the cloth which she had been using to clog his wound. The stiches he had tried to place were hardly methodical and were a tad rushed. Dr. Rondozai quickly called out Abby¡¯s name, the nurse who had been so lost in her fear of the known that she had lost track of what was happening all around her. She repeated her name 4 times until Nicholai reciprocated by calling out her name, which immediately restored the nurse¡¯s cognitive senses. Abby, the chubby and panda shaped nurse with dark ebony skin, pulled back her braids as her right hand twitched. Her face revealed an undeniable sullenness and a pout that was similar to that of collapsing crevices in a cave. Her waning frame showed uncertainty and ambiguity. Dr. Rondozai wasn¡¯t sure whether she was hesitating or whether she had frozen under Medusa¡¯s spell, but one thing for sure, her 5<sup>th</sup> calling out got her back into reality.


    ¡°Abby, listen to me, open that cupboard and drawer and get the disinfectants and drip. Also get the syringes in the black jar on the top shelf.¡± screamed Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°Okay, okay um getting that done,¡± said Abby who seemed to have swallowed her words as she uttered, tasting the tears that flowed down her cheeks in the process, ¡°the syringes in the black jar!?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Get them quickly or else he will start convulsing. He needs to get a tetanus shot!¡± screamed out Dr. Rondozai who was applying pressure on the wound, glancing at Nicholai who was feigning an indifference towards his pain. Emma, the rest of the men and even the petrified John, all darted at Abby who opened the fitted cupboard and drawer, rummaging through the contents and meticulously selecting the right medication. She carried all that she had collated and began to pace towards Nicholai. Nicholai who had been looking at Dr. Rondozai, who was scrutinising his wound, quickly stared at Abby upon hearing her footsteps and inadvertently caused her to drop the medical utilities when he looked into his eyes. She hadn¡¯t gotten used to the fact that he was a glowing man and the luminosity of his body made his eyes shimmer as if they were burning flame, something that recoiled a nasty sensation of inner dread in her spirit. She took a few steps back as if the path beyond entailed death, but was quickly hurled back to the task when Dr. Rondozai said, ¡°It¡¯s okay Abby, his harmless, you see nothing has happened to me. If I am fine, you will be fine as well. Just bring things here and we can move forward.¡± Dr. Rondozai was clearly okay and this resonated with her mind, pushing her beyond the barrier of fear she had self-inflicted. Abby picked up the syringes, the morphine plastic bag, and other items, handing them over to Dr. Rondozai. Her sweat tripled upon being in the same breathing space as Nicholai. Regardless of the fact that her fear had impeded concise progress with treatment of Nicholai, the Russian however was not at all angered at all by her inadequacy, but was aroused. The fear she had of him gave him a hedonistic pleasure peculiar to him. One that relayed diminutive smug that only the stout man took notice of. Dr. Rondozai asked for towels as she injected Nicholai with tetanus shots and pain suppressants. She rubbed a medicinal liquid on the wound and bandaged it. The whole process seemed very methodical and the rest of the individuals in the room all looked, equivocal at best at the sight of what happened. The stout man, Hilary and the security guard all looked at each other speechless, their eyes wondering about, reflecting their confusion. Emma peeped through her hair strands in her curled ball position. She remained stationary, observing as Dr. Rondozai went to work. However, when she turned to the side to look at John, her dilated eyes were promptly raised when she saw his empty soulless expression. Only she had noticed the vacancy of his frame and in that moment, the fear that came from the infinite darkness and the demons beyond were second to nothing compared to the dread she felt from the boy¡¯s ghastly appearance.


    The howls of the night and the screaming of those who lived in the Avenues went on for a while; sounds of carnage and dismay echoing in the indistinguishable darkness. It was as if a grand choir, which specialised in discord had gathered outside to profane the air. The noise, which did not cease, was interspersed by the sound of wailing demons, sending a chill down all their spines. The ward, which contained the 7 people who survived the gruelling butchery, was the least tainted room in the whole hospital. The upper floors had all been wiped out in a depraved bloodbath, fountains of blood trickling down stairs like a stream. The sounds of screams had disappeared and they were replaced by the sound blood dripping and the occasional disgorged furniture falling apart. This had now become a mental trial for the survivors who could not even hear themselves think. The noise, which had heightened after Nicholai had been patched up, had instilled a silence within the group for an hour¡¯s length. Emma had covered her ears with her hands in the duration of the unsavoury ruckus. It was the same for John, Abby and the rest of the men. Nicholai and Dr. Rondozai did not cover their ears; the noise wasn¡¯t much to Nicholai and Dr. Rondozai had tended to her domestic duties of taking care of John by embracing him in her arms. The howling and winds of the night stirred panic in the security guard who seemed to be chanting prayers whereas Hilary and the stout man had put their backs against the wall, wielding dismantled drip stands as weapons for self-defence. Abby had returned to her prior position with a mangled facial expression as she emulated Emma¡¯s current disposition. Nicholai was also terrified, but he had gotten accustomed to dealing with his fear and soldiered on impeccably as the others waned in mental fortitude. As soon as the high pitched sounds had gone, the gradual volition to ask Nicholai more about what was happening came in the mind of Dr. Rondozai. She broke the silence, which had just returned and asked, ¡°Mr. Nicholai, whatever or whoever you are. Please explain to us everything at least the crux of things.¡±


    ¡°Tell us everything, please. Please tell us what the hell is going on.¡± Interloped the stout man.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the explanation of demons good enough?¡± said Nicholai who seemed clueless of what else they desired.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not good enough. We want understand why this is happening and where you came from and how you¡¯re even glowing.¡± Said Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°Are you like a special agent?¡± asked Hilary who looked at him dead in the eye.


    ¡°Yes I am kid, but not the kind you think¡­ but the information you seek is beyond your scope of understanding. It is utterly useless for me to tell you anything that I know.¡± he said with a hint of apathy.


    ¡°Try us then. With what¡¯s already happening I don¡¯t think anything crazy you¡¯d say would surprise us anymore more than what¡¯s already happening.¡±


    ¡°Trust me my dear; even a poor wretch like me couldn¡¯t handle the truth when I heard if from my boss the first time, you¡¯d simple collapse upon discovering the truth. Let it be.¡± He said sternly.


    ¡°What you¡¯re doing doesn¡¯t make sense, why withhold shit from us, like honestly. Is this like some biological weapon or something that the Russians sent to this place? Are you a terrorist?¡± asked Hilary who was gradually going paranoid.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Young man watches too many spy movies I see, but to what benefit would Russia get from wiping out this hospital let alone this country. You have an active imagination young man but it¡¯s clearly misplaced.¡± chuckled Nicholai who was astounded by what Hilary had just said.


    ¡°That glowing body of yours could be some special military suit. My cousin in the army told me some interesting stories; I think you¡¯re some kinda special agent.¡± Insisted Hilary.


    ¡°You took the agnostic stance I see, little boy you saw what you saw and heard what you heard didn¡¯t you? What do you think that was?¡± asked Nicholai inquisitively.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but um definitely not going to be mind-fucked into your demon bullshit. Those things, I don¡¯t know, I think it¡¯s a virus or something.¡±


    ¡°And what about the pure black night beyond the window and the dead thing on the floor and the noises, can your logic explain what they are?¡± teased Nicholai.


    ¡°There is no moonlight cuz its midnight or something¡­ ¡± said Hilary before being interjected by Abby.


    ¡°Listen kid, shut up. Just shut the fuck up.¡± screamed Abby whose irritation towards Hilary¡¯s denial had reached its peak. Hilary was surprised by this and was muddled by her sudden cry. Dr. Rondozai caught a glimpse of his eyes and signalled for a ¡®desist¡¯ on his part. Her body language conveyed the message and Hilary instantly reclined and left the adults to the task of asking questions. Nicholai was astonished by the breakdown of communication, which had transpired before his eyes. The stout man immediately took this opportunity to ask, ¡°We really need to know. Give us some closure to what¡¯s going in detail. The how, who and what. Please tell us what you know.¡±


    ¡°Yes Nicholai, please tell us everything don¡¯t hold back anything at all.¡± said Dr. Rondozai who was now stroking the hair follicles of John who had fallen fast asleep. Nicholai had no intention of telling any of them what was really going on and had preferred the route towards secrecy, however keeping all that information to himself would lead to distrust and insubordination from the group members. The thought of lying came to mind and filling them with nonsense to go by or the possibility of him killing them all and continuing on with his mission, however, the last thing he¡¯d want to do is get into conflict with potential allegiants. As far as he was concerned, these were potential citizens in the era of Austin, killing them would deplete the population of the coming age, and besides, Tanaka Manyika was still in the bonnet of his dishevelled BMW. The last thing on his mind was causing dissention that would prolong his stay. All of the people in the ward were disposable anomalies in terms of combat ability, but with Bob dead, the one who knew Harare inside out, Nicholai would have to rely on the locals for directions. Many things apart from the fact he had to get Tanaka played in his mind. Tanaka¡¯s brother, Collin, who had Austin, as his hostage was the formidable anomaly in his way, one that he wouldn¡¯t reveal to the rest of the group. The dynamics of his mission had become complicated: Bob was dead, he was injured, had possible liabilities or assets in the room and he had to face the highly trained and deadly Collin Manyika in the world of infinite darkness. This was among the list of his growing problems, but his immediate concerns were getting Tanaka who was supposedly alive because Austin was never wrong. Though this sounded ridiculous considering how the rest of the world was experiencing mass extermination, Nicholai did not at all doubt the chances of Tanaka¡¯s survival. All he could do was just hope that he was still in the boot, incapacitated, but not gravely harmed. After contemplating in his head how he would carry on his mission and get Tanaka to his boss, an intricate plan was conceived from the depths of the Russian¡¯s mind. Nicholai then glanced at everyone and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s time I told you what is and how the world has gone to shit.¡± The stout man, security guard, Hilary, Emma, Abby, and Dr. Rondozai devoted all their attention towards the glowing man. Dr. Rondozai went onto to say, ¡°We¡¯re listening.¡±


    Nicholai straightened his frame and then began to say, ¡°Before I oblige you with a horrific tale, does anyone know where Crowne Plaza? The Mezzanine floor?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± asked Hilary who seemed disappointed by his question.


    ¡°Crowne Plaza is just next to the Harare gardens, it¡¯s not too far from here. Is it important in what you have to tell us?¡± asked the stout man.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s besides what um talking about, but it¡¯s where we will be going after I heal up and retrieve the boy.¡± said Nicholai with a stern look.


    ¡°Wait a minute, you want us to fucken go outside. I thought you said you wouldn¡¯t. I don¡¯t want to fucken go outside. I don¡¯t want to. No, no, no, no. I want stay here where um safe.¡± screamed Emma.


    ¡°You have it all wrong little girl; this ward isn¡¯t safe, for now, the monsters in the dark have ignored it. It¡¯s safe because my body is generating light that keeps them away. If I leave you here alone in the dark, you will die.¡± said Nicholai who seemed irritated by her interjection.


    Emma immediately absorbed the information given to her and went silent. The corrosive nature of Nicholai¡¯s remark left the girl at a loss of words. Dr. Rondozai, Hilary, Abby, and the stout man were shocked by the acrimonious words that had come out of Nicholai¡¯s mouth. At that moment it became clear that their saviour was not a saint and that anything that they wold do or say would work against them. After hushing the girl, Nicholai went on to say, ¡°After I tell you the truth about what is happening you must take me to Crowne Plaza. Only if you promise me that you will guide me there will I kindly tell you the prospects for the future.¡±


    ¡°Okay Nicholai.¡± said Dr. Rondozai who seemed poised as she addressed him.


    ¡°Very well. You see the world is as my boss put it, is a construct of innocence and wickedness, pretty much good an evil to put it in simple terms. Humanity is driven to either acts of evil or acts of good, but here is the catch. It¡¯s pretty bad when we do bad things.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it always bad to do evil things?¡± asked Hilary with a sarcastic tone.


    ¡°Hmm the atheist at least confers with what um saying, touch¨¦, but when people sin, the thing that taints their body is emitted by the body and is sent to a realm similar to what they call hell in the biblical sense.¡±


    ¡°So what happens to this emitted stuff?¡± asked the doctor.


    ¡°It¡¯s contained in a vacuum called the cup of wrath, the liquor of poison, death, and hades, and when that cup fills up, the wine of wrath over flows and seeps into the physical realm. Thus, the monsters are a product of our sins. We are in a sense a victim of our own vices and the whole world played a part in this." said Nicholai who seemed hardly phased by what he just told them.


    ¡°So this is the end of the world, like the apocalypse? Oh my god, this is like the end?¡± asked Emma whose mental stability was gradually waning beyond recovery.


    ¡°Yes. This is the end of the world.¡± said Nicholai quaintly.


    ¡°So this is not just happening at this hospital? This is world wide scale? The whole of Harare, Gweru, Masvingo, Bulawayo, and the neighbouring countries? Are you kidding me? This is too much to take in.¡± said Dr. Rondozai who felt as if her conscience had been struck by an anvil. Everyone in the room was shattered into pieces by the news. Hopelessness had filled in on the empty seat happiness had left and anymore divulging the horrors of their current predicament was going to lead everyone to a meltdown. Nicholai had anticipated this reaction and thus prepared in advance words to sober up the group.


    ¡°But you see, as much as this is the order of the day, there is still hope.¡± he said glancing at everyone, waiting to see the change of expression on their faces.


    ¡°There is hope you say?¡± asked the stout man.


    ¡°Yes, let me explain. The world has had observers of the cup of wrath, a secret society that was monitoring it. An organisation called Zeal. Some would call them the illuminati as popular culture would dictate or free masons, but that¡¯s just fairy tale garbage to mislead the masses. Zeal in essence is the chosen architect of the Paradise construct. They are going to erase the darkness and create the new age. Millennium new.¡±


    ¡°So how does that happen?¡± asked Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°My boss Austin who is one of the hierarchy members of Zeal is going erase the darkness from its source. His like me but much god like and powerful, but the key to destroying the monsters is to get the boy to Austin.¡±


    ¡°What boy?¡± asked the stout man.


    ¡°The key to paradise is that boy and his outside in my car.¡± replied Nicholai.


    ¡°What the fuck man, you left a kid out there all alone with those things screaming and killing people? Are you nuts?¡± judged Hilary.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t leave him, I was attacked by one of those things and managed to survive. The kid isn¡¯t going to die. I know that he will be alive when I go back there.¡± said Nicholai with an air of enthusiasm.


    ¡°How could he possibly survive out there? Is he like¡­, does he have a glowing body?¡± asked Hilary with an earnest concern for the well-being of Tanaka who he barely knew.


    ¡°His different, but all you need to know is that whatever Austin says comes to pass. He has never been wrong.¡± he said, stroking his hair as he glanced at Hilary.


    ¡°And where is this Austin you speak of?¡± asked the doctor.


    ¡°His at the hotel I mentioned, Crowne Plaza, but his under someone¡¯s custody. A soldier like me but he has sided with the monsters in the dark and has betrayed pretty much the whole of mankind. His a well-trained killing machine who¡¯s in the way of the paradise that awaits being created. His name is Collin, the bastard who¡¯s in the way of Zeal¡¯s great mission.¡± he said, grimacing his face.


    ¡°Seems like there is going to be a lot of trouble before paradise comes, so your mission is to get a hold of the boy, get to Austin, kill this Austin fellow and then save the world?¡± asked Dr. Rondozai who seemed uncertain of what Nicholai had said. She had no reason to doubt him, but the information that they were given seemed carefully picked to support his agenda without question. The stout man felt the same way as the doctor, but in this situation, they had no choice but to believe whatever he had to say.


    ¡°Precisely. It¡¯s quite simple; I find the boy, take him to Austin, kill the anomaly, and save the world. The things in the dark can be stopped, we just have to get the boy to Austin, and all will be saved. It¡¯s that simple.¡±


    ¡°So what value does the boy have to fulfilling the creation of paradise?¡± asked Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°He is a valuable specimen that is the key to creating the this paradise.¡± Replied Nicholai.


    ¡°So what do you propose we do Nicholai? And how¡¯s it you¡¯re glowing again?¡± asked the stout man.


    ¡°First of all I need to explain why these things can¡¯t stand my glowing light. My body is glowing because of Austin¡¯s essence. His aura of untainted presence is masking my body and it has the power to ward off the evils in the dark. As for the plan. First things first I need to recuperate, 2ndly we have to leave this hospital and get supplies, get the boy and then finally get to Crowne Plaza.¡± he said with his eyes drawn at the doctor.


    ¡°So we are really going to leave?¡± asked Abby.


    ¡°We don¡¯t really have a choice.¡± said Hilary who seemed to be subtly glaring at Nicholai.


    ¡°You¡¯re right young man, you don¡¯t have a choice. Whether you comply or not, I am going to fulfil my mission. You¡¯re alive because of me. Your compliance would be much appreciated and I would be happy to see you all live to see the new age. Let¡¯s work towards reaching that goal together.¡±


    ¡°Are we completely safe with you? Is your light full proof? Are we guaranteed that no harm will come on us if we stay with you?¡± asked Abby.


    ¡°As long you don¡¯t wonder off into the dark, no one will die. Stay within my boundary and you won¡¯t taste death.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s this paradise going to be like?¡± asked the stout man.


    ¡°It will be the very definition of heaven on earth, the finer things in life will pale in comparison to what Zeal promises the world.¡±


    ¡°What about our family members, people who are at our homes. Can we rescue them and bring them along to this paradise you speak of?¡± asked the security guard who had been silent for a while. Dr. Rondozai already new the depressing answer to his question, but was surprised that the guard had not picked it up quickly. Nicholai took this opportunity to shatter the man and the rest of the people into pieces by saying, ¡°Everyone who isn¡¯t in the room with me, may it be in this city, or neighbouring cities is dead. This is your chance to mourn for your loved ones because they are all dead.¡±


    ¡°Everyone?¡± asked Hilary who seemed to have not realised that world annihilation meant that casualties would also consist of his own blood.


    Nicholai then said, ¡°Um going to take a nap now, feel free to explore your emotions. When I wake up, we are going to move along with the mission.¡± The insensitive nature of his remark did not help at all to mitigate the pain and the tears that poured down the security guard¡¯s face. Hilary collapsed as he wept vehemently, thinking about his mother, girlfriend and younger brother. The stout man had passed the point of crying and simply sat on the ground with a defeatist look on his face. This surely was hell on earth and there was going to be more turbulence for the future that awaited the 7 who were now surviving in the world of infinite darkness.


    As Nicholai dozed off, peacefully as if the existence of the demons didn¡¯t matter, the remaining survivors took this time to talk to each other. The whole group except for Emma sat in a circle and began to talk. Dr. Rondozai knew the stout man¡¯s name and began to say, ¡°Mr. Tafadzwa Hokwa, you¡¯re the man who worked on the computer systems for the hospital. It¡¯s funny how people are brought together at the worst of times.¡±


    ¡°Yup the worst of times. I barely get to see the whole staff, but at least Abby here is a regular. I would always find her and playing candy crush during her breaks.¡± smirked Tafadzwa.


    ¡°Yah you noticed, wow, I wonder what Dr. Rondozai will say after you¡¯ve exposed me.¡± she said with a feisty and yet poignant look.


    ¡°Well with the hospital gone, I don¡¯t have jurisdiction to end you, so consider yourself lucky.¡± remarked the doctor with a sombre look.


    ¡°It¡¯s still hard to take in, you know, this shit and all. What Nicholai has told us and the fact that we survived being eaten by monsters, freaken things you¡¯d see in the movies and yet here we are.¡± said Abby who was grasping her forehead as she stared at the ground. This was unsettling for all of them, but the discussions would soon bring the group into unison.


    ¡°Yah, here we are, waiting for that guy who¡¯s glowing by some odd farfetched reason to wake us up and take us to Crowne Plaza. This night only gets better and better only that I never pictured hell being like this.¡± said Tafadzwa.


    ¡°We¡¯re probably in hell, is that what you think?¡± asked Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°I mean there demons like he said and we¡¯re apparently supposed to follow him to get to the Promised Land. This sounds like the script has been flipped or something. I mean honestly, if this isn¡¯t hell, is this like purgatory. Um a Pentecostal and that stuff has no real meaning to me, but Catholic churches have that in their doctrine. This could be like some trial or realm where we get to go through tests and we survive. Then from here on heaven or hell.¡± said Tafadzwa who seemed to be fondling his fingers as he pictured his very words.


    ¡°Please stop already, can we please talk about something else. Right now, the last thing I want to hear about is theories. Our family members, people we care about are dead. At least talk about the people you lost or something.¡± said Hilary who seemed stricken with pain as he spoke.


    ¡°Um sorry, but it¡¯s important that we try to figure out for ourselves what¡¯s happening. What¡¯s your name?¡± asked Tafadzwa.


    ¡°My name is Hilary.¡± he replied.


    ¡°Okay Hilary, sorry for your loss.¡± said Tafadzwa as he patted his back.


    ¡°Um sorry too and um sorry for everyone here.¡± said Hilary as he darted at everyone around him. Everyone nodded to signal their mutual understanding for his remark and then looked down-casted.


    A moment of silence was thus sprung into motion for a few seconds until Dr. Rondozai asked, ¡°Let¡¯s get to know each a bit more before. I think that would help the situation right now. Security guard, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°My name is Tawana Madziwire. You can just call me baba Tawana.¡±


    ¡°Nice to finally know your name. This child in my hands is John. His an asthmatic 8 year old kid with dreams of being a pilot. Pretty much every boy¡¯s dream when they are in their primary school days,¡± she said, turning her body and facing Emma, ¡°That¡¯s Emma over there. She was diagnosed with bipolar and clinical depression. She has had a hard time growing up and isn¡¯t that open to human communication. She¡¯s a good kid, but she still needs time to get used to people.¡±


    ¡°Is that why she won¡¯t join us and prefers to sit close to that guy?¡± asked Hilary.


    ¡°In a way she is just someone who takes her time when it comes to making a connection.¡± she replied, now averting her body towards the group.


    ¡°Um Abby, by the way, one of the nurses of this hospital slash clinic. Pleasure to know you all.¡± said Abby as she glanced at everyone as well.


    ¡°As much as it was scary at first, I have to admit that it¡¯s kinda fascinating to see a glowing man, like how he is emitting light and all. This really is a spectacle.¡± said Tafadzwa.


    ¡°Yah it is, so if this is going to go down the way it¡¯s going down then, all of us will end up in heaven.¡± said Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°Apparently so, since he stated that finding this Austin guy would lead to the paradise construct being made. So, Austin must be an angel or something. Hmm, this really is confusing.¡± said Tafadzwa as he scratched his head.


    ¡°Hopefully we will all make it to the finishing line with this guy. We must be strong and survive. John and Emma are our weakest links in the group. We need to take care of them because they are in no position to take care of themselves. So I know this news is as shocking to me is it is to all of you, but I think we should look forward to getting to where that guy wants to lead us. To Austin.¡± said Dr. Rondozai with a fixed and determined frame.


    ¡°Yah, but that Collin guy is holding the future hostage as he said and works for the monsters. How are we supposed to face these things or even assist?¡± asked Hilary.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have to. The monsters out there are not coming in here because Nicholai is here so we are safe as long as we are with him. That¡¯s what he said and so far it checks out.¡± replied Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°So we settle for his plan and survive, okay at least we have got that all covered but now the question is are there more people like Nicholai? Like we can¡¯t be the only ones. I know he said everyone is dead, but I can¡¯t just accept that. This isn¡¯t how I imagined the end of the world or the rapture. There have got to be more people like him who are being helped.¡± said Tafadzwa.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re looking too deep into this. Let¡¯s call a spade a spade accept what Nicholai has said.¡± refuted Dr. Rondozai.


    ¡°But think about it, why us, like how are we the only ones alive, is the rest of the world really dead?¡± asked Hilary.


    ¡°Does it really fucken matter, why can¡¯t you be just grateful and appreciate that you¡¯re not monster food. Why all these questions. Why do you people waste your time over such convoluted bullshit? Just be happy that you¡¯re alive. Don¡¯t over think it please.¡± said Emma who surprised them all. It was presumed that she was asleep, but apparently, she had been wide awake, eavesdropping on their conversation. Hilary then took this opportunity to say, ¡°I don¡¯t get your problem kid, is there anything wrong with having a little bit of hope? Why don¡¯t you come here and sit with us.¡±


    ¡°I want to be close to the light and I don¡¯t wanna join you guys.¡± reciprocated Emma.


    ¡°Okay. Sure you can stay there.¡± replied Hilary who seemed irked by her arrogance. Emma eventually reclined in her corner, chanting words silently to herself. The process was at first startling to the group, but they later ignored it when Dr. Rondozai stated that it was her way of coping with stress.


    As the group discussed, they went on to talk about personal things in their lives. Dr. Rondozai was a divorced doctor with a child who died in a car accident, the product of teenage party escapades and drunken driving. She had joined the Baines Clinic in 2013 and had enjoyed and squabbled over the ups and downs of her work life and personal life respectively. She had devoted her time to paediatrician work and personal fulfilment by digesting self-help books and being involved in the community. She was a woman who had evolved, and rose from the ashes of her turbulent existence. The doctor lived in Helens vile and tonight she had planned on going through some paper work, which had been distorted by one of the staff at the hospital, but the infinite darkness came along and shattered everything.


    Tafadzwa Hokwa was the IT specialist who went to Monash University, studied a degree in CISCO computing, and finally returned back to Zimbabwe after completing his education. He was a cosmopolitan individual who had been exposed to various cultures and life styles. During upbringing, he fit the ¡®salala¡¯ (snobs in Zimbabwean slang) stereotype. His interests spanned from anime, manga, movies, video games, technology, and liberal thinking.

 Chapter 16-Our depressing pasts

    Abby was like all aspiring humanitarians: a willing participant, but yet not usually qualified. She had not done sciences subjects for A¡¯ level and planned on bridging into medicine via nursing, a conquest that only a few individuals could actually materialise. She was also one to have many failing relationships due to her demeanour and demanding work schedule. As time stretched on, she grew to hate her career choice and wore her heart on her sleeve, but this apathetic tone towards her work was publicly shown. It was her own internal trial that she had to overcome on her own, never to be shared to her superiors.


    The security guard, baba Tawana, was a man who had a simple mind and had a not so inspiring upbringing. He was born to an impoverished family that lived in the Rushinga village district and his high school education ended at its infancy, due to the scarcity of finances to further his education as the route to his tragic tale. Like most rural boys who would end up stripped of their right to education, he began to till the land, embracing a mundane agricultural existence until he moved into town. The city promised many opportunities, but being unqualified had many disadvantages let alone those who didn¡¯t complete their high school education. In this instance, baba Tawana ended up lodging at someone¡¯s house, exchanging labour skills as the means to get pay and accommodation. The whole process eventually lost its vigour and made the boy now turned man seek other means of employment. The rigorous security guard experiences started off from a low note and went on to the security of banks, private property and now hospitals. He was a village pansy in the great city that never slept, and his rural semantics made it less comfortable to converse with him in the English language.


    Hilary was a sportsman who was impaired by a genetic heart palpitation condition, which usually knocked him out when he would over exert himself. He was agnostic and his family had travelled across the globe, diversifying his childhood and showing him all facets of life in various places. He tended to be egotistic, snobbish and particular. His palpitations had risen during a basketball match and had sent him to Baines Clinic. He was talented piece of work, but hereditary wasn¡¯t one to exempt the gifted.


    Emma as a child had a tragic and sad upbringing. Her parents experienced the height of domestic violence at its core and this made the family dynamics complicated. To make matters worse, she lived in a neighbourhood were most of the children in it were affluent. The family drama worsened over the years; her father¡¯s misuse of money and surprise discovery of step-siblings turned her youth into a whirlwind of restlessness. The stresses were always real to her and her peers couldn¡¯t entirely understand the differing of her social standing due to such circumstances, but what drove her to the edge was the death of her older sister. Her sister had managed to go through the troubling obstacles of her family life and had made into university, completing 2 years and waiting for attachment. Her death came in the form of a dreadful accident, ending her life and starting the decline of her sister. The death had not only taken away from her a role model, but someone she could connect with at a personal level over things only she understood. This emotional scaring of such a young girl at a youthful age was the point at which she began to become aggressive, erratic, and depressed. She shut out many people who she couldn¡¯t relate to and began to change drastically. Her friends began to alienate her and her isolation and deviance led to her feeling lonely and not being able to come to terms with the reality that siblings died. Her vulnerability made her prey to boys who would pretend to want a serious relationship with her, but only wanted a piece of her ass. The fairy tale vision of how love was supposed to be was thus perverted by each encounter she had with the opposite sex. She ended up feeling sad whenever the romance in real life didn¡¯t play out as well as the novelty of literary fiction. This led her to think boys her age were immature, and she decided to find solace in older men, who were called ¡®blessers¡¯ among the youth of the day. The sexual encounters with these married men who had daughters who were just the same age as her, were blissful and yet detrimental times for the young girl. Having been glossed by fine gifts from a working salaried man, made the girl delusional. At times, she even dreamed of her lover leaving his family for her. Affairs came with that kind of novelty, a novelty that was equally destructive and intoxicating. When her appeal as a young girl swept away by love did not convince her lover to leave his family for her, a break up soon came and hurt the young girl.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    The man decided to terminate the relationship, but Emma was not going to accept such a raw end to her fantasy. Emma wanted to threaten the man by telling the man¡¯s wife about their moments of passion, but the man threatened to kill her. Emma¡¯s disillusionment about what her lover decided to do was something that maimed her face with much distress. The man indeed assaulted Emma, bruising her beautiful face and fracturing her leg, but luckily, just in time, her father who had found her activities to be highly off and suspicious had begun tailing her daughter. Her father found this lover and upon finding him brutalising his daughter, he got a hold of the man and murdered him. Emma had lost her lover to her father. Emma was also pregnant with the man¡¯s child and the father to her child had died. This scandal resulted in it being reported on the Herald newspapers. It was two strikes for the child: causing her father to be imprisoned for the murder of her abuser and bringing a fatherless child into the world. She became the talk of her family and the talk of the school. The stigma and attention she got from the whole affair made things even worse. She later conceived a healthy baby, the only positive thing that came out of her drama. Being a teen mom, the stigma of being a minx who had affairs with married men and having her father imprisoned, were all she got, but regardless of that, her mother gave her support. Her mother was angry about her daughter¡¯s recklessness, but over looked it to support her. After a while, Emma left her current school and went to a different one to avoid the judgmental eyes of her peers. She had been a screw up but now was the time for her to get organised. However, the guilt about her having her lover killed, causing a publicised scandal that affected her lover¡¯s family were all vices she had to deal with. Some of her relatives blamed her for her foolishness and morbid thoughts began to populate her mind. She began to think about suicide attempts, cutting her wrists and taking psychedelic drugs to cope with her stress. This landed her straight into the hospital where she began to be detoxed by doctors and also getting counselling. When Nicholai stated that everyone beyond his light had died, she thought about her mother and child. She didn¡¯t want to believe it, but as much it hurt her to accept it, she had no reason to disbelieve Nicholai. The infinite darkness had done a number on her and it essentially reminded her of what it meant like to be alone.


    These were their stories, differing circumstances and different backgrounds that summed up the individuals in the ward. The infinite darkness had come into their world. Little did they know that once Nicholai had woken up the turmoil of the night would become even worse, bringing in more sadness into their lives. However, one thing lingered in both Dr. Rondozai and Tafadzwa¡¯s minds. If Zeal were really the saviours of the world then how the hell did they fail to prevent the apocalypse?

 Announcement for the continuation of the series after crossing 10k views.

    I posted this novel a long time ago and due to the little reception I got in terms of views, for a while, I thought that no one cared or wasn''t interested in what I was writing. So I declared on social media that if I were to pass 10k views I would resume this series and I eventually got 10k. Anyways, thank you for you guys reading my work, I will try by all means to make the new content interesting.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

 Check out my manga - Bloody Mhika

    Please check out my manga Bloody Mhika


    Synopsis: The Musipa clan was cursed with the "DEATH BY CHIKWAMBO" curse, destined to die by the hand of the beast, but Mudiwa Musipa found a solution. A solution that would save his family from despair and alter the fate of the world, but one that his son Munatsi will have to carry out to save their entire clan.


    Please check it out.


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