A Slave’s Ascension

Chapter 3: Storm of Fate II

Ikenna sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes as he tried to shake off the sleep, but the urgency in his mother’s voice snapped him wide awake as she dragged him to the door.

“Mama, what is going on?” he asked, his voice laced with confusion.

“Shhh, you’ll get us killed,” Akunna whispered in low tones, placing a finger over his lips. Her face was pale, and her eyes darted nervously toward the door, as if expecting a soldier to barge in at any second. Ikenna had never seen his mother like this before, and it filled him with dread.

Akunna peeped through a crack in the door and scanned the village. She heard the screams of the villagers as they were forcefully dragged out of their homes. While she observed, she saw one of the soldiers point toward her hut and begin walking in its direction.

Ikenna moved to peek, but she yanked him back, gripping his arm tightly.

“Listen to me carefully. We need to leave this place now!” she hissed.

“Leave? Why?” Ikenna’s voice cracked. “What about Uncle Nonso and the others?”

“They’re either dead or worse,” Akunna replied, her voice shaking with fear. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll share the same fate.”

Her words hit Ikenna like a slap. He had so many questions and wanted to protest, but the look on his mother’s face silenced him. She wasn’t just afraid—she was desperate. Swallowing his panic, he nodded in understanding. Akunna ruffled his hair with a fleeting smile, then dragged him deeper into the hut, toward the narrow window at the back. She stopped briefly to grab the knife on the table.

She helped Ikenna climb out through the window, then followed after him. Just as she jumped down to the other side, she heard the door to their home being kicked down and a soldier barging into the hut.

The soldier scanned the room and noticed the open window at the back. Peeking out, he spotted his targets creeping through the village, heading toward its edge. With a wicked smile, he left the hut and gave chase.

“Mama, who are they?” the boy asked, unable to keep silent as he saw the soldiers marching through the village, dragging people out of their homes.

“Foreigners. They are here to kill, raid, and take whatever they want. You must not let them see you, Ikenna,” she whispered just before dragging him back and hiding behind a wall as soldiers with torches walked past them.

“Let’s keep moving,” she urged him on.

Ikenna’s stomach churned as they passed by the open square where he had played with other children only days ago. Now, he saw the few men of the village who had survived the massacre on the battlefield. They were on their knees, chained up and defeated. He also saw his Uncle Nonso, the scared farmer, tied up with the rest of the villagers. Some were being rounded up, while others had already been killed. He wanted to shout, to do something, but his mother’s hands gripped his arm like a vice, urging him forward.

“Don’t look, my son,” she whispered, her voice laced with pain. “Just keep moving.”

But Ikenna couldn’t help it. His eyes misted with tears, and he clenched his fists as anger and helplessness built up inside him.

Akunna led them toward the edge of the village, where the forest loomed. “We’re almost there,” she whispered, her voice strong with determination. “Once we’re in the forest, they’ll have a hard time finding us.”

They moved quickly. The forest was in sight, and they could almost smell freedom when a sharp voice rang out through the rain.

“Stop right there!”

Akunna froze, her heart sinking as she turned and spotted a soldier standing a few paces away from them, his torchlight pushing away the darkness and catching her terrified face.

“Run, Ikenna!” she shouted, shoving him toward the forest.

“But Mama—”

“Go!” she barked at him. “I’ll be right behind you!”

Ikenna turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him into the forest, his heart pounding with fear and tears streaming down his face.

The soldier didn’t even look at Ikenna; his lecherous gaze was focused on Akunna. “You’re a pretty one,” he sneered, his eyes roaming over her body.

“Run. It’ll be more fun that way,” he said with a laugh.

Akunna didn’t need to be told twice. She turned on her heels and ran after Ikenna, toward the forest. The soldier followed with a loud laugh, lust gleaming in his eyes.

Akunna reached the forest first, easily navigating the terrain with her knowledge of her surroundings. She worried for Ikenna and wanted to call out to him but feared it would lead the invader to her.

“This little game of hide-and-seek isn’t going to save you,” the soldier taunted as he scanned the area. He spotted footprints and, being a competent tracker, followed them straight to Akunna’s hiding spot behind a bush.

“Found you,” he declared with a smile as he walked toward her. His stance was full of openings, confident she wasn’t a threat.

But Akunna’s trembling hand slipped behind her back, finding comfort in her hidden blade. Her fear, though real, burned with rage.

As he drew closer, his smile twisted into something darker. “You’ve made me work for this, but it’s over now. No one is coming for you.”

The moment he reached out, Akunna moved with surprising speed and agility, plunging the knife deep into his shoulder. The soldier yelled in pain, stumbling back as blood seeped down his arm. He stared at her in stunned disbelief, anger quickly replacing his surprise.

“You b**ch,” he snarled, whipping his hand out with brutal force and landing a backhand slap that sent her reeling. She hit the ground, her world spinning violently as pain surged through her face and blood filled her mouth.

The soldier growled, pulling the blade out with a wince before tossing it aside like trash.

“You’ll regret that,” he spat, dragging her up by her hair despite her struggles. Akunna clawed and kicked in defiance, but her resistance only enraged him further.

“You can fight all you want. It won’t change a thing,” he sneered, tightening his hands around her neck in a deadly vice.

Akunna’s vision dimmed. Her lungs screamed for air as strength left her limbs. She grew weaker, and as the life drained from her eyes, one thought consumed her: *Ikenna, I hope he got away.*

Suddenly, there was a furious roar. Before the soldier could turn around, Ikenna—blinded by rage—drove the discarded blade into his neck. Blood poured out in a surge as the soldier’s hands shot to his wound, his eyes wide with shock.

Ikenna didn’t stop. His face twisted with unbridled fury as he plunged the blade into the soldier’s neck again and again.

“You killed her!” he screamed, his voice thick with agony. Tears streamed down his face. “You killed her!”

The soldier gurgled, his body twitching before collapsing in a heap. Ikenna didn’t stop stabbing until the man was completely still.

Panting, his hands trembling, Ikenna dropped the blade and fell to his knees beside Akunna’s lifeless body. The fire in his chest turned to ash as he cradled her in his arms, tears spilling freely down his face.

“I’m sorry, Mama. I should have never left you,” Ikenna sobbed, his grief choking him.

The storm above mirrored his anguish, thunder crashing violently and lightning splitting the heavens, as if nature itself mourned her passing.