FIRESTORM:
The villagers chanted, “Finem maluma, finem maluma, finem maluma….”
“What does that mean?” Grace asked Zayne.
“Evil lives here no more.”
“To the complex!” Tinga shouted.
The angry mob of villagers roared and moved swiftly into the woods as the sun set through the trees. Only the children stayed back with Nannu. The swell of the crowd took Zayne and Grace with them.
Zayne chanted with his people as they marched down the well-trodden path to the complex that sat on the lip of the volcano.
“Finem maluma, finem maluma, finem maluma….”
Zayne was ready for revenge, so much in fact, he nearly forgot Grace was with him. He didn’t consider how all this made her feel. Someone needed to pay for his captivity and torture. No one in the village would be safe until they restored balance with the Bennu birds. This must be done. They stomped quickly through the forest, chanting all the way.
Night fell as they reached the path leading up to the complex. Several villagers lit torches, and the fire illuminated the hatred in their faces as they looked up at the compound that had taken over their lives. The low-paying jobs that employed them consumed all their time, but left the villagers with a lower quality of life. Their ecosystem was out of balance, their children were disappearing, and the sacred birds of the land grew savage and unkind. They had to break the invisible cage that cast a shadow over their lives ever since outsiders took over their island.
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Their chanting grew louder with every step they took. “Finem maluma, finem maluma, finem maluma….”
Grace pulled on Zayne’s arm.
“There has to be a better way,” she pleaded, but it was too late. Zayne wasn’t in control of what was about to happen.
They reached the tall fence with barbed wire that protected the massive complex that sat on the lip of the volcano.
“Finem maluma, finem maluma, finem maluma….”
Some villagers had a Universal DNA Identifier to get in because they worked there, including Tinga. Others climbed the fence. Grace hung back and begged Zayne to stay with her.
“Please don’t go any further. Camp Claudi has tight security, and guards will shoot anyone attempting to enter illegally.”
“This must be done.”
“Don’t you see? The guards kill everyone!”
“Stay close,” he told her. “I’ll protect you.”
Grace screamed when gunshots pierced the air.
The guards protecting their post shot at the villagers as they neared the complex. Some flew off the fence from the force of the bullets. They destroyed others at close range inside the gate.
The villagers that got through swung their weapons, ready to kill the guards that represented their oppressors. Anyone inside that compound was their enemy and must die if they were to live freely on their island; the birthplace of their ancestors and the sacred Bennu birds they worshipped and now feared.
The battle had begun, and neither side would stop without complete victory. Which side would win amongst the bloodshed?