Moremi's Escape

PROLOGUE

The night was pregnant with danger and the scent of blood filled the ever whispering woods as Baderin pressed her trembling hands against the blood-soaked Iro 'blouse' folded on Moremi’s punctured belly, she watched as her cocoa-toned skin began to pale under the moonlit rock that sheltered them ever so slightly. Her breaths were more shallow and strained, she noted lifting the cloth gently to check the bleeding.

‘It looks better…, not that bad bad ’ Baderin said as she observed the narrow hole drilled into Moremi’s lower belly, she spat out the plant herb she had grinded in her mouth and placed it over the wound. ‘Well .. That should hold for now’ she said, tying the cloth gently around the wound. ‘Moremi, Moremi’ she called, tapping the slightly older lady who groaned in return. ‘We need to get on the move, the dogs are on the loose.’

Moremi inhaled sharply, she looked down at her amateurish patched up belly and dropped her head back against the cool rock. “Give me a minute,” she murmured.

“We don’t have a minute.” Baderin warned, her voice rising just a bit to match the tension in her heart, she was starting to hear the dogs bark and she knew the Ugbo men were not far off. “Okay… okay… leave me here,” Moremi whispered. “You go. Head for the river. At least one of us has to make it—”

“No.” Baderin interrupted her, her voice hardening. “I’m not leaving you here for them.”

Moremi tried to argue, but the words barely formed on her lips. “You know what happens if they catch us.”

“Oh, I know.” Baderin answered as she tucked a stray strand of Moremi’s long, damp hair from her face, her fingers brushing against her soft cheek. She studied her face—the sharpness of her jawline, the deep brown of her nut-colored eyes, the faded traces of red on her lips as she feigned a smile, a protective painful smile that reminded Baderin of her Sister.