If an injury has to be done to a man it
should be so severe that his vengeance
need not be feared.
-Niccolo Machiavelli
Sifa barged into her apartment with all the force she could muster, living alone in an isolated land where there are no signs of life for miles (except for birds and reptiles) she leaves her doors unlocked.
She totters into her room, rummaging through her drawer for her first aid kit, fresh blood gushed out from the gun wound in her belly taking out a pair of scissors, some bandages, and a sanitary pad, she totters to her bathroom, and places everything in the sink.
Her eyelids drooped as she digs out the bullet. It is a shallow wound but quite excruciating, She placed the pad on the wound with shaky hands and wrapped the bandage around her belly.
She is getting weaker by the minute but needs to place a call and get the hell out of here before the upcoming blackout. Her hands shook as she dials the only number in her phone. It rang once when the person at the other end picked and she said;
"Walnut end. Fifteen minutes." then hung up.
It seemed the cleaning of the wound had given her some stamina as she walked steadily to her car, gunned the engine, and zoomed fast, heading to walnut's end. She is no fool, she knows she'll pass out soon, what's worse is she is also coming down with a fever caused by the long time the bullet stayed in her body.
Having less than fifteen minutes, She decided to recall the events of the day that led to her getting a bullet. How could I be so careless?
* * * *
Sifa looks at the photo once again and at her target to make sure he is the right person; behind the photo is his name written in black ink: SHAYNE. she studies him from her hiding place, he is sitting at the almost empty park, constantly staring at his watch as though he is expecting someone. A mirthless smile slowly crawled onto her face; one could tell he is grieving.
"Not bad for someone who just lost his pregnant wife in a car explosion," she said to herself.
And his daughter.
Two weeks ago, Sifa killed Sandra, Shayne's wife; having followed her around waiting for the perfect time to strike, the opportunity presented itself when Sandra, on her way from the clinic, dropped by the pharmaceutical store to get some prescribed medications. She sneaked into Sandra's car and placed a bomb on it. With the detonator in her hands, she went back into her car waiting. In less than seven minutes, Sandra came out of the store, got into her car, and drove off.
"Too bad for you," she muttered before detonating the bomb.
The place was flooding with policemen in less than ten minutes and a roadblock was placed. The car was identified and Shayne was informed. She could still remember the look on his face, it was a bit satisfactory for her to see his anguish.
Now you know how it feels.
That evening, she sent a mail to Summer; Shayne's daughter, a short poem written by John Pepper Clark that she modified.
Will the mother be back today?
You cannot know,
And so should not bother.
Time and tide come and go
AND SO HAS YOUR MOTHER.
A picture of Sandra's remains was attached to the mail. Two days later, Summer was found dead in her classroom
"All these people never had to die." She would say,
Their crime was to be related to Shayne.
Kill all or none. Wipe them out so no one would come back for revenge. Attending the burials of her victims, seeing the pain of the bereaved gives her some sick sense of satisfaction.
From her hiding place, Sifa could see that Shayne is on the move, it is 3:50 pm and there is no one else in sight. She wondered why he constantly checked his watch if he was expecting anyone.
Perhaps he wants to meet the person, whoever he is, elsewhere. She watched him get in his car and slowly drove out of the park. Not wanting to lose sight of him, she got out of her hiding place, entered her car, and followed her from a safe distance. Shayne drove around aimlessly for twenty minutes and Sifa thought it unusual. why drive aimlessly? By now, she is convinced he wasn't meeting anyone. He probably wants to while away the time because he wasn't keen on getting back home to an empty house.(Having watched him for a week and knows he spends little time at home.) 'It could be the only explanation.' she thought.
Shayne made a sharp turn to his left, heading towards a deserted neighborhood; everyone living there had been evicted since the land was sold and the houses were soon to be demolished. Without a second thought, Sifa parked her car at a safe distance, completely out of view and followed him. She watched him leave his car and walked into one of the dilapidated buildings.
Checking the inside of her jacket for her Glock, making sure it is still intact, she got out of her car and followed him. She was getting impatient because she was slowly losing sight of him, unaware he was baiting her.
She stopped short when a pistol was placed at the back of her head.
"Don't turn. Just keep moving."
having been cornered, she obeyed, moving slowly until she faced the wall. The whole place stank of urine, heat, and garbage; the air was humid and nauseating.
"Stop right there!" Shayne ordered, firmly pressing the gun on her head for emphasis.
Trying to ignore the smell, she noticed his voice was hollow, like a man who has nothing else to live for. good. However, that makes him more dangerous given her situation. The deadliest foe is one who has nothing to lose.
"Now put your hands up and slowly turn around." He moved back a bit, away from her arm's length with his gun still aimed at her.
"Who are you? and why have you been following me?" he asked.
She made a mental note not to piss him off and keep him talking until she finds a way to get out of this situation unscathed. Hopefully.
"Answer me!" he thundered.
"I'm Sifa, an old friend."
"I don't have any fucking friends."
"Oh is that so? that means I'm with the wrong person. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding." She said and made an attempt to leave.
"Now hold it right there! Why were you stalking me?"
She is getting weary and impatient, being at the other end of the gun was not her plan, and worse still, having a chit-chat with her target. He should be dead by now and she needs a distraction. She spotted an iguana crawling down the battered ceiling right above Shayne, unable to take the weight of the reptile, the ceiling gave way, falling on Shayne's head. She kicked the gun out of his hand while he was struggling to free himself from the reptile. Without hesitating, she dug out her Glock and shot his leg.
Shayne fell on the dirty floor, holding his bleeding leg in pain while the iguana ran for safety. Probably scared by the gunshot sound.
She could have killed him on the spot, but she needed to see more pain, she lived for their pain, so she tortured him instead.
"You haven't seen me before? then you must have the shortest memory in the world. Just like your daughter, she couldn't recite the four times table; pretty dumb for a seven-year-old. "You should have seen the look on her face when I told her I killed her mom right before I snapped her neck."
What happened next came in a flash. Forgetting the pain, Shayne slapped the gun away and pushed her against the wall, strangling her with all his strength. wrong move.
"You witch! I shouldn't waste a bullet on you. I'll squeeze the life out of you."
She kicked him below the belt with all her strength. He bent over in pain, both of them gasping for air.
From where she was, she could see that Shayne was closer to her Glock on the floor even though he hasn't realized it yet, her best chance is to make a run for it before he sees it since she was closer to the doorway.
Too late, he had spotted the gun and was reaching for it. She kicked his jaw and ran but hadn't gotten far when she heard a bullet explode at her side, barely missing her ribs.
with two bullets gone, there are four left and the odds are not in her favor.
She ran in a zigzagged fashion, hoping he'd miss again. She couldn't help but notice he was bad at shooting a running target. Shayne is closely behind her, the bullet in his leg did not slow him down; nothing gives one strength to destroy like rage.
Another bullet flew past her right ear. ' that's three, three more left.' another flew past her left leg, grazing it. She yelped.
I need to get to my car as soon as possible. She suddenly stopped at the main entrance; something was off, he has stopped chasing her, and everywhere was quiet. Too quiet.
It didn't feel right, she could have sworn he was right behind her, he could not have just given up the chase.
With more vigilance, she walked quietly, looking around, knowing he was lurking close. She hated to feel like the prey.
Picking up a brick from the floor, she felt better, it's nothing compared to a Glock, but at least she is armed. Shayne crept quietly behind her but she heard him anyway. Turning around with her brick trained to strike, he shot her stomach, he was about to shoot her again when she threw the brick at his injured leg, marking her target. Shayne dropped the gun and fell in pain, this gave her enough time to run for her car, gun the engine and speed off.
For once, she was thankful for her Mercedes.
* * * *
Two minutes away from walnut end, Sifa is getting weaker, she needs to stop driving or risk a crash. Her fever is getting worse, the wound is probably infected. She slowly stopped the car, turn on the alarm and dialed her contact before slipping into coma.