Campus Tales: Episode 10 ( The Police Invasion)

THE POLICE INVASION

As I ran, I heard voices from behind, screaming, as the sirens from the police van closed in on us. I noticed some of us had been captured but the thought of being captured was as frightening as the word itself. So, we dived into a nearby bush and kept pushing forward.

I had no idea where we were headed, but anywhere was far better than the confines of the police. Well, so I thought. We heard the van stop where we’d cut into the bush, and some policemen jumped down, blaring some gun shots into the air.

The screaming increased at the sound of the first shot. From rough estimation, we were about seven guys running through the bush and I was the unlucky one behind. Running was just not my thing.

Next, we heard the policemen scream that we should halt. But who would dare to do so in the situation we were in. Being captured by the police, whether guilty or not, amounted to nasty experiences, which I could never imagine.

Again, they started shooting into the air to scare us, but the fright of getting captured kept staring at our faces. Backed by adrenaline, there was surely no turning back now. I regretted ever agreeing to go for the party, but that was useless now. The most important thing was losing the police that kept trailing on us.

The shock of my life came when the guy closest to me stopped running, pulled out a gun from his waist, and started shooting at the police. At first, I thought he was going to shoot at me, but his effort was quite good – it bought us some time to cover some distance away from the police.

However, his efforts were short-lived as the police started shooting back at him. As I ran, I heard stray bullets fly by. I felt the urge to go down on my belly and avoid being hit, but I thought better. After about a minute of the shootout, I heard him scream in agony but I didn’t stop to ascertain what went wrong.

As I ran, I started seeing some light ahead, and the sound of motorcycles. That must have been a highway, I thought. If I could get to the highway, I believe I’d be able to lose my attackers.

So I added pace to my flight. No sooner did I get to the highway, than the police began to shoot at us again. Suddenly, I felt a very severe pain on my laps. The pain was so severe that I dropped down, and tumbled over. I’d been shot!

I crawled rigorously to the side of a tree, and lay there, trying my best to remain calm – the pain was massive. Bullets kept flying by as one of us stopped and shot back at them, just like the first guy.

Sat by the tree trunk, I knew it was over for me. A party had gone wild, and escaping from a brawl with a taut, I’d gotten to another predicament. One that was worse than the first.

I lay there, weighing my odds. Obviously, I’d be caught, and labelled a criminal, or worse off, a cultist. I’d also be accused of shooting at the police. All of which, I was innocent. But how would I defend myself? It was going to be their word against mine.

Soon, the guy that was shooting stopped, and turned to his heels, abandoning me. I tried to stop the blood from gushing out more and more, but I started feeling very dizzy and weak.

There was no running for me again. I was like a seating duck, waiting to be captured. I closed my eyes gently as I heard footsteps draw nigh from the bush. I knew this was the end of the road.

Suddenly, a car stopped by me, making the tires scream, as they came to an abrupt stop. “Get in!” screamed a familiar voice. “Guy get up now!!”

Was that James? I wandered, opening my eyes abruptly to see a saloon car in front of me, with the back door wide open. I didn’t wait to confirm who the bearer of the voice was. I speedily mustered all the strength left in me, and dived into the car which drove off immediately, even as the police shot at it.

For a moment, the pain meant nothing. I was free. I was safe.

“Everything will be fine, man.” said the voice again, which I confirmed, was James’.