The streets of Kigali bursted into chaos as twilight descended. The men had come again, unannounced the barged into the streets.Children ran so fast back to their mother's, laughter in the streets turned into screams, shouts and cries. Vendors abandoned their stalls and everybody ran helta skelta.
Large drums were beaten. Black armoured vans bearing badges of the emperor of Zazu drove past. Hefty, tall men jumped down with tattooed magical symbols of the great emperor. Their boots were combat and black, like those of soldiers ready for war. Each of the men held a razor sharp knife. They didn't speak to anyone, they just ran into the streets, breaking doors, opening stalls and barging into houses.
Kigali felt strangled.
"Taji, who are those?" I whispered, gripping to his arm tightly as we hid behind a kiosk. The streets grew emptier, chaos unfolding around as people fled in panic. "We need to run. I think something is wrong. Those are the emperor's men, and they're definitely searching for something again." Taji said. "Or someone," I replied.
He held me close. "We need to leave here," he insisted. "To where?" I asked, feeling disappointed since we didn't have a house of our own.
"The woods" he whispered. "We need to stay safe," he added. The commander roared "Bring her to me! The heir of Bahati must be found!"
I didn't argue.
We tore past the last row of dilapidated houses and into the bush, the streets behind us faded with a storm of confusion. We ran through the lanes like insects scattering from light, dodging spilled containers and discarded market mats, our feet thundering over dirt and gravel. Taji held me tight and we continued running for almost an hour.
I couldn't catch my breath anymore.
My chest burned, every breath felt like shards of ice piercing my chest. "Let's stop, let's stop," I gasped, grabbing Taji's sleeve.
But then I heard them.
"Do you have a daughter? Bring her out!" The deep masculine voices echoed from miles away. Men of power, showing no mercy.
"We can't stop now," Taji snapped, his face twisted with something halfway between fear and rage. "We have to keep running."
"But, I'm tired," I stammered. My legs were shaking. My lips were cracked. My body was failing me.
"Just try," he said, softer this time. "Try, Zuri. Please."
His voice steadied me. Convincing yet gentle. But tinged with urgency. As though our lives depended on my actions.
Because they did.
If those guards caught us, if we so much as breathed wrong, if they even suspected us, or thought we knew anything, we'd vanish. Like the others had, no name, no grave. Just another secret swallowed by the Empire.
I clenched my teeth and forced myself forward.
Branches lashed our bodies as we stumbled into the forest. The trees closed around us like they were trying to keep us hidden, or trap us. I couldn't tell which. All I knew was that the voices were getting closer, and I was running out of strength.
And worse, we didn't know what exactly they were searching for, or why I felt in my gut that they were here for me.
"Finally… water," I mumured softly as we stumbled into a stony glade and glimpsed, a narrow cavernous stream ahead.
"Taji, let's drink," I managed to say, my voice barely rising above a breath. My throat was sore.
The night sneaked in silently, covering the sky with thick layers of darkness. I didn't see a single star blink above us. Only the sound of rushing water broke the heavy silence. We knelt by the stream, cupping our hands and drinking greedily.
Then, a voice.
"These rats think they can vanish into the forest!" the shout tore through the night, in a thunderous baritone voice.
I froze. Taji's eyes widened.
"They're here," he whispered. "Zuri, we need to keep running."
"I'm tired…" I gasped. "Taji, I can't run anymore. I need to rest."
My legs felt like broken wood, every step as if I just returned from the gym.
"STOP THERE!" the deep baritone commanded behind us. I turned around just in time to see a huge shadow step out from behind the trees, big, tall, and quick.
"Zuri, jump!" Taji shouted, already dragging me toward the edge of the vault.
"Taji!" I cried, my body shaking. The stream was like a dark throat below us, swallowing light, cold, and endless."We have to!" he yelled. "They'll never find us underwater!"
His hand tightened around mine. I felt him lean forward, ready to leap.
But then the man's grip clamped onto my other wrist.
"No!" I screamed.
Taji's eyes turned wild as he saw the massive man pulling me backward, I clamped my feet on the muddy bank.
"ZURI!" he yelled again, his hand still holding mine,but I felt the strain. He was slipping off, the man's grip was stronger and ruthless.
The freeze stream rumbled below.
"Taji, don't let go!" I cried, tears burning in my eyes. He still tried to hold me, gripping onto my wrist with all his strength.
"I won't!" he shouted back, but the strong man pulled me away forcefully. Taji lost his balance and let go.
I screamed as I was dragged backward into the darkness, his name tearing from my throat. " Taaaaaji"
The man gripped me with unrefined strength, his fingers wrapped around my arm and he pulled me along with a strong grip. My feet scraped the gravel, I was so afraid, was I going to die? I thought to myself. I had barely taken two steps when he tugged me closer to the group of armed men waiting by a van.
"You think you can run, huh?" he growled, his voice sharp with fury. "Your feet can never carry you faster than this van."
Before I could form a word, his hand zipped through the air and struck my face. The slap echoed like thunder, i felt so much pain. My body shifted, I lost balance and nearly crumpled to the ground. But, I caught myself just in time, swaying on unsteady legs.
Then he slapped me even harder the second time.
This time, I dropped to my knees slammed against the earth, my palms scraped the dirt, and i tasted the warm mettalic liquid that filled my mouth. I touched my lips and it was my blood.
Behind me, the drums kept beating, rhythmically. And above it, all the men sang with their voice loud and in bass.
"Raise her up!" the commander instructed with a frown on his face. "Don't torture her. She's a woman, not an animal."
A moment of silence.
"You!" he said, pointing a gloved finger at a slender man standing by the side, partially hidden behind the others. "Check for the seal of Bahati."
The other men behind the commander broke into laughter, mocking and bitter.
"Her?" one of them snorted. "She's filthy, straight out of the slums. This thing cannot be the heir we've searched for across the great Kigali."
"Check her!" the commander snapped shuting the men up, this time with fire in his voice.
The slender man stepped forward, unsheathing a knife so small yet so sharp it made my skin crawl. My body started to shiver, but I was too weak to move far. All I could do was cry and scream.
"No... please..." I yelled, but he didn't flinch.
In one swift motion, he sliced through my blouse. The fabric fell apart on the soil, exposing my trembling skin to those evil men. I shivered uncontrollably. The cold wasn't from the wind, I was the only one who felt it. I swallowed hard, nervous. "This is the time they kill me" I murmured.
The man's eyes scanned me, slowly, he was searching deliberately. Every inch of my body felt like it was on fire under his gaze.
Then he froze.
He leaned closer, almost nose to skin, then pulled back, his face pale with shock.
"She has it!" he gasped. "The seal! The seal of Bahati!"
The men stirred instantly, the laughter choking in their throats. They surged forward, surrounding me, crowding in as if I were a an ancient sculpture.
"There it is," one whispered. "By the gods, it's real."
Another dropped to his knees and stared at the mark like it was sacred text written by the heavens.
"No," I cried, my voice cracking. "I'm not her. I swear I'm not. I'm an orphan. My parents are dead. I don't even know where I came from. They left me here… in the slums. I'm a nobody!"
The commander's boots crunched against gravel as he marched toward me.
"Shut up!" he roared, his voice thundering with finality. "You speak nonsense, absolute nonsense, you do not know the truth. But the seal doesn't lie. You belong to Bahati."
He turned to the others. "Get her into the van. We ride to Zazu before night bleeds into morning."
Suddenly, the drums escalated into a chaotic rush. The beat was thunderous, each strike a declaration of victory. The soldiers began to sing, harsh, triumphant songs that made everyone on the run stop, and people who were hiding came out to the streets. But we were far from them and deep in the forest.
"We have pleased the Emperor!" they chanted. "We have been favored! Bahati has returned!" "Our months of searching the entire Kigali is now over."
The men who had been terrorizing the nearby streets abandoned everything, leaving behind half-snatched goods, frightened villagers, and open fires. They climbed into the van like children returning from war with a trophy.
One of them stepped forward and gently, almost respectfully, wrapped me in a white cloth. I tried to resist, but my body had given up. My strength had drained with every slap, every scream, every step of that night. All I could think of was Taji, did he make it out of the water? Did he hear the words of the Emperor's men?
As they hauled me into the van, I looked back starring into the darkness. The slum I had called home, the only place I had known,was already fading away. I was captured and I was taken... it was gone.
The van doors slammed shut.
The drums faded into echoes as the engine roared to life. The chanting continued, louder and louder, more frenzied, as though the entire Kigali already knew of my capture.
"We have found her!" they sang. "The seal has risen! Bahati's daughter lives!"
I curled up in the corner, the white cloth clinging to my body like a shroud.
My heart pounded.
I wasn't who they thought I was.