Song: Zanku — Dopenation. 

*Unedited* (I was reading a book and an author with her readers was proud of herself for writing her chapter in one day — approximately 2,000 words — and then I realised, I write all my chapters in one day. Should I be worried?)

Kofi's head was resting against my shoulder as he breathed deeply, indicating that he was fast asleep. I was tempted to shove him off like he did to me, but I decided against that. One of us was a decent human being.

We'd been driving for a while. I asked Justus to take us to the Faye polo club so that I could take Elikem from Nathan and Wolfgang. Even though us going back to the village was dangerous, I wanted Elikem with me. I couldn't even imagine leaving him behind.

Kofi didn't know about this, which was the real reason why I was allowing him to use me as a pillow. I was afraid that he wouldn't let me take Elikem along.

"How much longer until we get there?" I asked, keeping my voice down so that Kofi wouldn't be disturbed.

"Not much," Justus replied. I didn't tell him why I was whispering, but he was smart enough to do so too.

The ride continued in silence, as I thought of the danger we were about to put ourselves in. If it wasn't clear already, Kofi had decided to put an end to everything; to the syndicate and all the corruption.

It must've been the sight of his father and the memories he had rekindled with his presence. When Kofi told me initially, I thought he was just pulling my leg but as he continued to unravel his plans, I realised that he wasn't monkeying around.

Everything began with that sham of a village, and it was going to end in that same sham of a village. He hadn't told me everything, but from the little I could gather, the village was part of the syndicate just like the mansion in the forest and the hospital where the organs were harvested.

The business that was taking place under the illusion of a village was gold smuggling. Through the village, the chief and his partners smuggled gold into neighbouring countries, since the village itself was on the border.

Not just gold, but other minerals and even weapons. This was the first business we were going to take down, because doing so would cripple the syndicate financially. After making it vulnerable, we would then attack and destroy the whole thing.

The syndicate consisted of three businesses. Gold (mineral) smuggling, organ harvesting and human trafficking (prostitution). It was surprising when I found out that the prostitutes at the mansion were willing only because Kofi had searched for people who wanted to be prostitutes.

Before he'd taken over that business, it was forced. Still, he didn't control all the pimp businesses, so that meant that somewhere out there, an innocent girl like me was being forced to sell her body.

I hoped we could just do what needs to be done before any more people get hurt.

I let out a breath that must've been too loud for Kofi. He shot up, looking around like he had no idea where he was or how he got there. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, then looked at me. Of course, then he frowned, hating the very sight of me.

"Go back to sleep," I told him, only half-joking. If he found out where we were going, he wouldn't allow us to keep going there.

He ignored me and asked Justus, "How much more until we get there?"

Justus stole a glance at me. I hadn't told him anything, but he was much smarter than I gave him credit for. He must've sensed that I wouldn't want Kofi to know anything. "It's a lot of time, I don't think we'll be there until tomorrow afternoon or even evening. You should get some sleep so that you can take over when I get tired."

An annoyed look crossed his face and he leaned back onto his seat with a huff. "I don't even know the way."

"I'll give you directions before we switch."

Kofi didn't go back to sleep though. He simply folded his arms and tossed his foot about, occasionally — intentionally — kicking me. "Are you hungry?"

Justus let out an approving sound. "Famished! I didn't think—"

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you," Kofi glared at him through the mirror.

I started laughing at Justus before I realised what that meant. I pointed to myself uncertainly, "Me?"

"No," Kofi glared, "the tree growing on your head."

Justus choked back a laugh while I glared at Kofi. "No, the tree growing on my head is not hungry."

Kofi sighed and rubbed his face. "Justus, can you make a stop at any fast food place so that we can get her food?"

"Not just her, I'm hungry too."

"Who even told you I am hungry?" I questioned.

"Your belly. It's rumbling and it's disturbing my peace of mind." He stated annoyedly, kicking me purposely again.

I averted my eyes ruefully, yet I kept the frown on my face. "So you heard my belly rumbling and you know I'm hungry, yet you're still asking me if I'm hungry. Isn't that stupidity? Pure foolishness?"

"Oh my goodness, this woman," he murmured exasperatedly, covering his face with his hands.

I smiled subtly. "I want chicken and chips from KFC."

"Villagers. All they know is KFC," Justus muttered, rolling his eyes.

So he hadn't grown past the snobbish rich boy stage. Good thing I also hadn't grown past the hating him with every fibre of my being stage.

I wondered if we could stop at a KFC drive-thru. Kofi thought we were going to the village, but we weren't, and I could simply eat at the polo club's restaurant.

Justus was trying to be subtle about the confused looks he was shooting me, but Kofi was too observant for that.

"What—" he stopped, looking outside. The way his body stiffened... well, he must've obviously recognised the road. We were so close. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm just looking for a drive-thru," Justus replied nonchalantly.

"No," Kofi said slowly, "we're on our way to the polo club. Why?"

Justus stayed quiet. It took a while but Kofi turned his attention to me, and the way he was looking at me, I just knew that he had figured it out.

"No. No. Turn this car around or I will kick you out myself."

"Just listen to why she wants to go here first, yeah?" Justus said, like the reasonable human being he was, insanely deep down inside.

"I know why. She wants to bring that innocent child into all of this," he looked at me accusingly.

"Look, I won't be at peace if I don't know whether he's fed, or happy—"

"So your peace of mind is more important than his safety? And the sister of the year award goes to... yours truly."

"He'll be safer wi—"

"No, he won't. You can't even take care of yourself, how much more him?"

Anger surged through me at his words. I could obviously take care of myself. I'd been doing it these past eighteen years. It's just that I'd been bruised and battered by the people in my life these past months, rendering me incapable. "I can take care of myself."

"You mean the same way you were taking care of yourself when the drugged chief beat you up and broke multiple bones in your body?"

"That's not fair," I spat, stealing a glance at the road. If I continued to engage him in conversation, he wouldn't realise how close we were getting. A few minutes more and we'd drive through the gates. "He's much bigger and—"

"Exactly! You could take care of yourself when your rivalry was with gossiping teenage girls, but you can't now, when you've been dug into shit this deep."

I smiled, seeing that we'd gone through the gates of the polo club. "At least I can take care of myself when my rivalry is with you."

I stepped out of the car as soon as it stopped, leaving behind a fuming Kofi. As if on cue, Wolfgang came out of the building, wearing a polo t-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. I had no idea what he was going to do, but that outfit was not it.

"Elorm?" He whispered quite shyly, pinching himself to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

I almost smiled, then I remembered what he did the last time we were together. "You son of a—" I tried to walk as fast as I could with my healing leg so that I could give him a good bonk on the head, but Kofi quickly grabbed my waist, stopping me. "Let go of me!"

"We're going back right now!" He forcefully swung me around and was working on shoving my head low enough to push me into the car.

"Can you be a little rougher? Please?" I said sarcastically, stilling when I realised what that sounded like. Kofi stilled too. We separated from each other at lightning speed, acting like those last words hadn't been said. My cheeks would've been bright red if I was lighter skinned.

When I finally mustered the courage to lift my eyes from ground level, Wolfgang was frowning deeply, his eyes flickering between Kofi and me. "Wolfgang," I snapped, bringing his attention to me. "Where's my brother?"

"Elorm," Kofi whined, an exasperated look crossing his face.

"We're already here. At least let me see him," I fired back.

"He's upstairs in his room. Can I ask something?" He didn't wait for us to reply before he continued. "Why are you guys here this late? What did dad do? Are you okay?" The last question was directed at Kofi.

"Never been better," Kofi replied, avoiding Wolfgang's eyes. "Take us to the boy, and get her some food please."

"That doesn't answer—"

"I don't have time for your useless questions right now, we have somewhere to be."

"Where?" Wolfgang frowned.

Kofi rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm. "Let's get inside." He led me into the three-storey building, leaving his annoyed brother behind. Before we got in, I looked at Justus, who was sitting in the driver's seat looking bored out of his mind.

"Kofi... Wolfgang and I aren't on the best of terms right now, but I know what happened there wasn't right. Before you embark on this dangerous journey, at least make sure that all your relationships are sound. In case..." I trailed off, hoping he'd get my point.

"Elorm," Kofi sighed, "you ruined my relationship with my brothers, so you shouldn't even be talking. Also, I want to make something clear. Neither of them can know what we're planning to do."

I yanked my arm away from him. "Why not? They deserve to know."

He took us to the first floor like he knew that that's where Nathan and Elikem were going to be. We stopped in front of a door that looked vaguely familiar. It must've been the room Nathan took me to when he found me in Fluffy's stable.

"No, they don't. My brothers aren't bad people, but they love that man. They're afraid of him, but they love him either way. Besides, when this whole thing goes down, we're all going to end up in prison. Both of them enrolled in university for this academic year and I know that they don't want to go to prison."

"That's selfish. Give them a choice."

"I know what they're going to pick. They've been rich their whole lives. Not only are they going to prison, but they're also losing all the money they were born with. Their images will be tarnished. They won't want this."

"Kofi," I shoved him against the door. His eyes widened as he watched me bewilderedly. "At least give them a chance! What's the worst they could do? Double cross you?"

"We're talking about men who watched their brother get beaten into a bloody pulp day after day. Yes, they might."

I stepped back, having ran out of arguments. Kofi stepped forward too. I didn't see his hands coming as they grabbed onto my shoulders. I looked at his hands, then at him, shocked.

"You've grown attached to them, haven't you? This is hard for me too, they're my brothers, but they're not innocent. If it makes you feel any better, I'll go to prison too."

I smiled wryly. "That doesn't sound too bad."

"Exactly," he grinned. "Then you can marry whichever idiot you want."

"Please don't talk about him. Stop," I stepped away from his reach. "Let me just say goodbye to my brother."

"I'm sure he'll be inside," Kofi knocked, then pushed the door, just to find it locked. "Wolfgang will have the key."

We went to the receptionist's desk and waited for Wolfgang there. When he came, he tried to pry answers from Kofi, but Kofi ignored him. We got the key, and I went into Elikem's room.

The child was fast asleep. I noticed that he had gained a healthy amount of weight, which made him look more like a regular baby. I tried to stop myself from crying, but it didn't work. I ended up waking him.

His reaction to seeing me made me cry even harder. He just grabbed my face and mushed it against his, laughing adorably. I made a mistake coming to see him, because it just strengthened my need to take him along.

I cradled him against my chest until he fell asleep again. Then, Nathan came into the room and ruined everything. He was being pleasant, but I could tell already that he wouldn't let me sneak Elikem away.

Wolfgang had snitched on Kofi and me and Nathan wanted answers. I decided to respect Kofi's wish and not tell him anything, but he could obviously tell that we were up to something.

It was late and the restaurant had closed, but they got the chef to whip something up for Justus and me. When Nathan found out that Justus was the Justus, well, he was tending to a black eye and a broken nose.

"Let's go," he jumped into the driver's seat, clutching tissues to his bloody nose.

I was too busy doubling over from laughter to walk straight. I had just filled my stomach with some good food and I'd spent time with my baby brother. I was on cloud-nine.

"You're going to vomit if you keep laughing that hard," Kofi chastised me, but he too couldn't wipe the smile of his face.

Nathan wiped his fists clean of Justus' blood. "Why don't you come back for another round?" He teased Justus, shouting so that he could hear him from inside the car.

Justus glared at him, and we all started laughing.

The calm before the storm.

"We should get going," Kofi said, grabbing onto my arm again. I realised now that he was doing so because I was still limping. Maybe he thought he could help me walk better.

"You still haven't—"

"We're not going to tell you where we're going, save your breath. If you even think about following us," he let the threat hang.

I saw the outskirts of the village loom into view and my stomach knotted around itself. Suddenly, it felt like all that I'd eaten was about to rush back out. I took in a deep breath, clutching onto my stomach.

Kofi decided to wake up in that moment. "Are we there yet?" He asked, yawning.

Justus had been sour ever since Nathan broke his nose. He glanced at Kofi through the mirror and rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Does this look like civilisation to you?"

"One more insult to my home. One more," I wagged a finger at him.

He smirked lazily, looking stupid with his black eye and broken nose.

"Stop the car then," Kofi said.

"Why?"

Kofi peered ahead of him. The drive had taken all night, and the sun was out, shining brightly. The people were usually up and about in the morning, but this didn't look like a regular working morning. The people were dressed in their best clothes, and an air of excitement filled the place.

"We don't want to draw any attention. Stop."

Justus listened and stopped just at the outskirts of the village.

We both watched as Kofi stepped out of the car. He opened Justus' door, and before he could react, smashed his head against the wheel. My mouth fell open as Justus slumped and passed out.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, watching as he picked the unconscious man and threw him over his shoulder like a ragdoll.

"Help me, will you? Open the boot."

"What are you doing? How about you tell me about your plans before you ask me to help you with them?" I shot out of the car, just to watch him angrily over the roof of the car.

"He's heavy. Open the boot."

We were engaged in a stare down before I submitted and went to open the boot with a huff. He threw Justus inside.

"He'll suffocate."

"There's plenty of air in there. Come on, we don't have time to waste," he closed the boot and took the driver's seat.

I spent some time standing there and wondering whether he was going to knock me out and stuff me in the boot too, before I finally made up my mind and got in the backseat. "Why did you do what you just did?"

He sparked the car. "He's fulfilled his purpose."

"What are you going to do with him then?"

Kofi turned around to look at me. "Don't tell me you're feeling sorry for him. He's a rapist and a simp."

"I still have no idea what a simp is and I just want to know why you did that."

He ignored me and drove into the village. Like I expected people started looking at us. Cars like this one were not a regular occurrence in the village, so I wasn't surprised.

"Lay low," he told me, "I have a feeling that they won't want you back."

"I'm wondering how you know that," I glared, but he didn't notice. He was looking at the people too curiously for someone who was supposed to be driving.

"Where are these people going?" He asked me like I didn't just arrive at the village with him.

"Roll the glass down and ask someone."

"I don't speak your language."

"I don't know how these people are going to receive me."

"Just tell me how to ask."

I laughed. "You wouldn't be able to nail the accent."

"Does that matter?"

"Yes. Ghanaian languages require good accents to be understood. The meaning of a word can change based on how you pronounce it."

"You're talking like I'm not Ghanaian myself."

"Do you speak any Ghanaian language? You're no better than a foreigner."

He gave me a particularly vicious glare. "I speak Ga."

I laughed. I couldn't imagine Kofi speaking a Ghanaian language. He was light-skinned with green eyes and 3A hair. He looked like a foreigner. "You're mixed, right?"

"Of course not. I'm just light-skinned. I lived in the USA for a while but that's it. It was the racism for me."

"Oh please. Light skins are almost as privileged as white people."

"Almost. And I prefer it here. Everyone is black, it just feels nice."

I rolled my eyes. Looking out the window, I realised that everyone was heading in one direction. They were trickling in slowly, but all moving towards... the village square?

"Kofi, go to the village square."

"Elorm, where is the village square?"

I laughed a little before saying, "Just follow the people."

"We don't have time for this. We're supposed to go to the palace."

"It's just weird. I haven't seen anything like this."

Kofi wanted to lash out at me, but he controlled himself. He followed the people. They weren't heading for the village square, they were heading for the palace. When I told Kofi this, he smiled triumphantly, grinning at me.

A nagging thought scratched at my mind. "What day is it?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the question."

"January thirty."

"January... Michael and I were supposed to get married today." I said sadly. Sure, I didn't want to get married at eighteen, but I just wondered what it would've been like.

"So what is this, a memorial for the day you were supposed to get married?" He laughed.

"You're not funny," I retorted. His smile died, like a fire that was snuffed out. "Michael is alive then." As I said those words, I felt a baggage I didn't know I was carrying be lifted off my heart. I breathed in, finding it easier and deeper than it'd been the past month.

"Obviously, you fool. You were exaggerating."

"But why is everyone going to the palace?"

We had just stopped in front of the palace gates. There was loud music blasting through high quality speakers. 'Zanku' by Dopenation was playing, and I could see people on the inside dancing. There were others in front of the closed gate too. They were probably the latecomers.

"Is it someone's birthday?" Kofi asked me.

"No. Michael was born in February. On the twenty eighth."

"Lucky."

"Can we go inside?"

"I don't think he'd want to have me," Kofi said, slumping in his seat. The people had turned and were now looking at us.

I was lounging in the seat, playing with my hair when a bold pre-teen came to the window and peered in. My eyes widened as he saw me and let out a small scream. He ran off.

"What the..."

"He saw me and screamed," I sat up, alarmed, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"Obviously, you're not welcome," he pushed a panel on his car door and locked all the doors. "The windows are bulletproof. They won't be able to break them."

"Why would they break them?"

"To lynch you of course."

My heart did a somersault in my chest as I sat up straighter, feeling every hair on my body stand on end. They could lynch me. How hadn't I thought about that?

"Let's go to my house. I want to see... if they're still alive."

"You finally grew some balls."

"Balls are weak. They can't even stand a touch. I cut them off instead."

He laughed lazily, leaning his head on the seat. "You're something else."

"Can we go?"

"We need to let the boy know we're here, at least."

I groaned and folded my arms. More people were coming to peer at me, and I didn't bother hiding because that boy had obviously spread the news. In no time, there were more people peering through that window than standing at the gate.

The first evidence of hate was from a teen girl, who spat on the window. I shot her a glare, and almost everyone backed away from the window like they were scared.

I frowned. "They're scared of me."

He ignored me. "How do we get in?"

"Blow the horn, genius."

He didn't want to admit that I was brilliant, but I didn't need him to anyway. He began blowing the horn and we soon attracted the attention of a palace guard keeping the people outside. He walked over to us, and I couldn't help but notice how dark and muscular he was. I almost forgot how good looking my village's men were.

The people backed away from Kofi's window as he approached. Kofi rolled the window down, and he poked his head in. "May we have an audience with the prince?" He wasted no time in going straight to the point.

Luckily, the guard apparently spoke English. It was tainted with a strong ewe accent though. "The chief is not available right now, and I'm not who you should be talking to."

So Michael was a chief already? But he wasn't married... "What occupies him?"

The guard paused upon seeing me. His face was a mask of confusion, fouled with awe and malice. They were all looking at me with malice burning in their eyes. I thought Michael would've told them that I was kidnapped, but apparently, I was wrong.

"The chief is getting married as we speak."

It felt like a punch to the gut. Not just any punch, a supernatural punch. A punch from a huge metallic fist. I felt all the wind get knocked out of me. I doubled over to wrestle some air into my lungs.

Kofi touched my shoulder, his expression worried. "Are you okay?"

I slapped his hand off angrily, feeling the anger touch my spine and shoot through my whole body in red hot waves. "He's getting married? He's getting married while I spent the whole month recovering from what his father did to me!"

"You are not welcome back here, you murderer," a woman who poked her head through the small space the guard had left spat.

"Get yourself out of my car," Kofi hissed. She drew her head back, even though neither of them understood what the other said. The body language was enough.

"Who is he getting married to?" I asked the guard.

He was obviously irritated, but he was too professional to be as rude as that woman. "A refined young lady from the city. Queen Diamond." He smiled proudly at the mention of her name, and a cheer went up. They didn't even understand him but they were so happy by just hearing her name.

I was angry. I was obviously so angry. The rage was coming off me in waves and even Kofi knew to keep his distance.

"Elorm, please be reasonable."

"Unlock the door."

"They will lynch you."

"Kofi, he's getting married," I spat. "After everything we've been through, he's just going to marry her like that. I won't allow it."

Kofi rolled the glass up and the guard hurriedly removed his head. He had his hand on his sword, watching me intently. I didn't care if he even pulled out a grenade. I was going to stop that wedding.

"Did you hear him? Queen Diamond. They're already married."

"Then I'll kill her." I spat.

"Do you hear yourself? You're going to kill her in front of everyone at her wedding party?"

"He doesn't get to be happy! He's getting married to her like nothing happened. He doesn't get to get married while I'm still fighting to end what his father started!"

"Oh please. You don't want him to get married because there's still some delusional part of you that thinks you can be together. Forget about him, Elorm."

"No. No! Unlock the door!"

"They will kill you! Just look at them!"

He gestured to the people pressing their faces into my window just to look at me. I didn't look. I lunged forward and hit his face with my elbow, hard.

He let out a wounded sound and clutched his eye, giving me the opening I needed. I shot through the space between the two front seats and pushed the same button he pushed to lock the doors.

The resounding click assured me that I had pushed the right button.

Just before I opened the door, Kofi shot out his hand and grabbed my upper arm. "If they start beating you up, I won't help you."

"I don't need you," I spat.

I stepped out. There was a cry of dismay as the people scrambled away from me. I ran to the gates and began to rattle the long metal bars. The people were hurling insults at me while I screamed his name, but I didn't listen to them. The two guards who were guarding the outside tried restraining me, but I kicked and bit until they let me go.

"Michael!" I screamed, the rage making me mad.

I didn't see it coming. The first stone. It smacked me at the small of my back. I turned around, and the next one hit my neck.

Before I knew what was happening, everyone was picking a stone. My brain wasn't working the way it was supposed to. I was blinded by rage. I picked a stone too and threw it into the crowd randomly.

The people let out a collective cry and backed away, but I was left completely horrified when I saw who my stone had hit. It was a little girl, probably seven or eight years old. She was holding her head, where the stone had hit her and was screaming, tears running down her face.

I covered my mouth with my hands in shock, feeling the remorse dowsing my raging flames of fury. The mother looked at me fearfully, but before I could apologise, the crowd's anger had intensified.

Someone picked a stone, and it was much larger than the size of the ones before. Everyone followed their lead and began pelting me. I held up my hands like that would do anything. The stones were getting bigger and bigger, and I was finally thinking straight.

I began to rush to the car, which was receiving its fair share of hailstorm. I didn't get there, because I was suddenly thrown to the ground by a particularly sharp rock. I felt my vision blur as the pain on my forehead intensified.

I touched my head and brought back bloody fingers.

Then it hit me.

They were going to kill me.

* * *

Elorm, anyone? Just thicker.

Have you ever witnessed mob justice? I've only seen it on the news, but it's such a horrible thing.

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