ONE MONTH LATER
I strolled down the stairs onto the last floor of Petite Hospital. Like me, other patients, young and old included, were also wheeling their drip bags as they walked on that floor. When I had my neck cast removed, the nurses advised me to take this stroll, but I was not up for it. Now I know why they did so. It was very lively and noisy in a good way. So this is what I have been missing. It's good that I eventually got off my ass and did it. In an environment like this, you won't possibly be able to get depressed.
I navigated into a corner, leading down to a secluded part of the hospital where they treated fatal injuries of mentally deranged people before taking them back to the Asylum. There was a patient being wheeled out of the theater, which was the first room on that passage, and taken down to the last ward. It seemed to me like a new arrival and it was a woman. She looked young, very young.
'I wonder what her case is'.
I tried to get closer to see the patient, but the nurses nearby stopped me immediately.
"Excuse me, but this area is restricted."
"I know, but the patient looks very familiar, I want to, at least, see her face," I lied.
"I still can't let you through." the nurse insisted.
"Well, at least tell me what's wrong with her." I said as a last resort. The nurse was looking reluctant, obviously she didn't want to hand out such information, but I was being persistent.
"Well, she has severe depression and violent behavior because she was abu…"
"Nurse Chant!" someone called out to her from far down the passageway.
We both looked in the direction of the voice. It was a doctor.
"I am coming." the nurse replied and zoomed off, leaving me hanging in suspense like that author that wrote 'Sixth Sense'.
Upset but unwilling to continue my pursuit, I returned to my room. The Chief will be here soon. I tucked in nicely into my bed.
'Should I feign sleeping again?'
It sounded like a good idea. I may not get a kiss again, but at least I will get a peck, right? The thought of that made me jiggly inside. I was so lost in my romantic fantasies that I didn't hear the knock on the door until the visitor came in.
"Noni?"
I stiffened.
'He is here.'
I looked up immediately. My smile, as broad as the morning sun.
"Chi…. D.P.O?"
'What is he doing here?'
My smile disappeared. He walked to me and sat down in the chair that I had pulled up for Chief.
"What? Are you not happy to see me?"
"No it's not that." I looked away.
"Are you expecting someone else?"
"No, not at all. I am very happy to see you. It's just that… I didn't expect to have a face-to-face conversation with someone I respect so much under these circumstances." My voice was barely audible now. I was ashamed..
"Yeah, it is really not the best, but it doesn't matter. What you have been through, I don't know anyone who would not have thought of doing the same. I'm just happy that we didn't lose you." he smiled warmly.
His compassionate words really touched my heart.
"Thank you, Sir."
"You are welcome. Oh, of course, before I forget. I came here for more than that reason." he was wearing a serious look now. His voice became deeper than before.
" I did not close the investigation on your case. I admit, I was tempted to because it was yielding no fruit until recently. Information came to us as to how James Miller was able to leave prison. His uncle, the Commissioner of Justice in the Diite State, got him out. He was never going to serve any sentence for his drug dealing."
"What!" I stared at the D.P.O, my eyes wide in shock.
"He is not the only one. There have been eight like him this year and all of them had sexual abuse under their wrap sheet and one more thing, before you, Miller had two other victims, and he was never convicted. Not once." He stopped, his words had really gotten to me.
My hands were squeezing the bedsheets and my body was trembling in anger. I was muttering. "Those Godforsaken sons of a bitch, when did man reduce to such evil?"
"Dammit!" I yelled. I felt so enraged and so murderous inside. That's when he made me that offer.
"I don't care about what others say; what you did to Miller, I am proud of you. We cops spend day and night investigating and hunting down criminals, but after that, they end up getting released. No trial, no sentence, no punishment whatsoever. But you, you did the a very good thing. You rid the world of James Miller. Now so many girls can live in peace. Think about it, if you had killed him last year instead of handing him over to the cops, Udom would still be here."
My hands balled into tight fists. 'He was right. He was damn right.'
"Only those who don't obey the law can deal with outlaws. I wish I had learned that earlier, then…" he bent his head.
"My little sis should be about your age by now. Her birthday will be here soon. I told her that I would pin a rose to her hair every time we celebrated her birthday; now, I have to bring the rose to her grave. She didn't even get a chance to grow in-" He paused again. I could tell he was struggling.
I looked sympathetically at him. Who am I to complain when there are others who didn't even live through theirs?
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, because I am not hurting anymore ever since they came to me." His tone shifted, secrecy clouding it.
"They call themselves SAFE. An underground Vigilante Cult. They have detectives and government officials all working for them. With their resources, they investigate people who the law refuses to punish. If you are found guilty, they pass judgment. They helped me find the bastard that hurt my sister. He had already torn away the lives of two other girls before we caught him. We gave him the judgment he deserved."
"What are you saying?" I pinned his gaze. He patted me on the shoulder and then rose from his chair.
"I want to recruit you. With your skills, we can save more girls from ending up like Udom, like my sister. And those men can finally get what they have really earned."
There was a momentary pause. He was allowing me to take it all in.
"I… won't force you." He continued. "Just think about it. You have my number, call me when you have an answer. I might not be able to visit often because of work."
"I will think about it." I said. He smiled and left.
8.30 SHARP
Time really doesn't fly when you are bored as hell, but it sure does when your mind is occupied.
The D.P.O made me that offer in the early afternoon. Now it's heading towards the late night hours, and I was still thinking about it.
The offer was tempting. I mean a chance to finally get rid of as many James Millers as possible before they create more Udoms, but the law does not recognize them, so they are seen as outlaws together with the criminals they chase. Do I really want to live a life of secrecy, running from the law I enforce? And killing… Do I really want to be a killer?
More and more thoughts ran through my mind.
I really need a stroll right now.
I got up from my bed, pulled out the wheeled stand that carried my drip and took myself for a walk. Surprisingly, I ended up at the same place as in the afternoon; the wards for the deranged. I peeped around to see if I could find the nurse from the morning but she, that nurse , wasn't there. So I decided to try entering again.
One step.
I waited to see if anyone would stop me. Nobody did.
Two steps.
I waited again, but there was still no one.
Five steps… Ten;
There was nothing. Gladdened, I hurriedly walked down to the new patient's room pretending to be the invisible.
Immediately, I reached out to open the door, two voices stopped me. They were coming from inside her room. I listened.
"Sixteen?!" A lady exclaimed. "She is very young indeed. What on earth happened to her?"
"You didn't hear," the second voice began to explain. "They found her unconscious in a well. Where she had been eaten up by ants."
The first voice let out a frightened gasp.
"Yep. The doctors conducted an examination on her and confirmed that she was badly mangled. Honestly, I can't believe she survived."
"What of the boys that did this?"
"Huh, their wealthy parents flew them overseas before the police could get to them."
I pulled away from the door, my hands were shaking again except this time, it was out of fear and pure rage.
'How can someone be so heartless? They must have heard her screams. Her little voice begging them to stop- but they still… in the end… and threw her away like trash. To die in pain. What the hell did she ever do to them?'
'Flown abroad.' I chuckled, maniacally 'So are they just going to get away with this?'
'Never.'
I picked up my pace, raced to a nearby phone booth in the hospital and dialed his number. He picked up.
"Hello."
"I accept and would like to start immediately."
I heard him chuckle.
"I knew you would come around, but starting now, that's unexpected.
Plus, we don't have any jobs at the moment."
"I do. I have some people I'd like to return a gift they gave to someone."
He smiled so hard it went through the phone.
"WELCOME ABOARD."