And just like that, It’s another beautiful Thursday evening, meaning its time for another entry into the Morning After Dark series on Dancing Silhouettes. Complications arose and the entry last week didn’t make it, but I squashed my complications so I wouldn’t deny our dear readers this latest installment. Thanks to everyone for the patience and of course, for sharing this story. Special thanks to @CountOblivion who contributed to the story. If you are just joining us, fret not #1, #2 and #3 are here for you to catch up on.
As always read, share and comment! After all, if you have something to say it should be said right? Enjoy
A crescent moon floated majestically in the cloudless sky as night began to creep in. A few objects could be seen moving through the nightsky, but whether these were living creatures flying, corpse pieces floating by or just something else being blown away was not known. Here and there a few cluster of stars could be spotting flickering, like the twinkling effect they once possessed had been taken away from them. The night’s air was cool, and with a heavy breeze colder than normal. Concrete structures looked a little like abstract statues under the moonlight, their shadows casting cryptic shapes on the grounds below them.
Tunji and Nneka had returned to his place, after their delightful, albeit hazardous reunion.
She had collapsed on him just after they managed to share a hug and some salutations. From the way she had looked, she must have been through horrible things in the past few days, and Tunji had no idea just how much she had gone through just yet.
He had covered her with one of the jackets, and tore the sleeves off the other so she could wear them on her legs. She had come to, and had managed to walk all the way back with Tunji, even recognizing the Police Station and asking about the same people Tunji had been thinking of before finding her.
She had blacked out, then came to when she was on Tunji’s makeshift bed, asking for water before she fell asleep. It wasn’t until nightfall that she finally woke up, hungry and refreshed to an extent.
Tunji had made a fire, just how he did it she had no idea. But that wasn’t really her concern at the moment, something smelt good and her stomach really needed something in it before it went back to devouring its wall lining. She saw that she was wearing a baggy pair of jeans, and her wound had been cleaned up as well. Of course, Tunji was responsible, and she could bet he had taken a small delight in having to rub her thigh with a good excuse to boot. But at this time, she didn’t quite mind. If the shoe was on the other foot, she probably would have been delighted herself.
Tunji smiled as he saw her walking towards him, a bowl in his hands. She sat cross-legged by his side, accepting the bowl and savouring the smell coming out of it.
“Noodles? You haven’t changed. What’s in this one, besides the seasoning that is.”
“Oh, just a few extra things. Carrot chops, little bits of green pepper, shredded beef…”
“And how did you come by these things? We’re in the middle of an apocalypse or something.”
“Never underestimate mumsi’s storing skills. They’re killer effective.” Tunji drifted off with that last word, remembering the fact that he hadn’t seen his mother ever since the explosions. Nneka was busy slurping up the noodles, but intuition told her something was amiss. She dropped her bowl and looked at Tunji, trying to guess the extent of the problem. Tunji hadn’t touched his own share yet, and his bowl was just steaming with the heat of the noodles.
“You know, noodles have a thing for soaking up water and sticking to your bowl.”
“What? Oh sorry, you’re right I should get on with eating.”
“Or I could help you with it.”
Tunji chuckled and Nneka smiled. Apparently, her humour wasn’t gone, and neither was her appetite. He looked at her eating, and admired the attitude she was exhibiting. Not carefree, but rather a careful and yet free mood at the same time. She caught him looking and asked him a question that got him completely unawares.
“So, how was it? The pantie shot I mean.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“The pantie shot. You changed my jeans so I imagine you got a nice shot of my undies.”
“Eck.. Eh, Nneka I… Well…”
“I think the material’s satin. It has these lace designs and such you know.”
She hadn’t lost her humour, or her raw take on things that would be normally embarassing. Despite his apparent embarrassment at the idea of her knowing, he couldn’t help but have a question linger on in his thoughts.
“Nneka… How did you end up like this?”
Silence, which was broken by Nneka’s eating, followed the question. After a moment, she placed her bowl on the ground and shook her head slowly.
“I really can’t remember much of what has happened… Both before and after the explosions.” She stared into the fire as Tunji waited for her to gather her thoughts at her own pace.
**************************
He checked the contents of his magazine clip like he always did every 20 minutes or so. It had become more of a habit than instincts given the situations at hand. He had just finished the last can of sardines he had managed to find, meaning he would have to go looking for food sooner or later.
Sooner would probably be more appropriate, there was no way he could continue fiddling with his gun. Eventually he would just get it over with and pop one into his head. A fast way to end it all… there was always a fast way. He rose from the hole he managed to construct, dirt falling off his torn uniform as he did so. He probably needed to have a wardrobe change, but that would have to be an issue for later. There were other things at hand to be considered.
Two nights back he had witnessed three people beat up someone without hesitation and move along with the things they carried. He wasn’t sure why they did what they did, neither was he sure of the victim’s fate. He had fled the area as fast as he could before he fell victim to their violence. Even though he had a gun, he wasn’t exactly prepared to start shooting just about anybody. The sounds alone would most likely attract their comrades, putting him in more danger.
He looked around his present location… same old broken buildings, twisted frames and scattered concrete. He had to move out and fins some supplies.
It was every man for himself.
*************************************
There you go! Another one done and posted! My warmest thanks goes out to @CountOblivion who has been instrumental in getting the series off the ground. I’ll keep you all informed on when you can expect the follow up to this post. As always, have a good week-whatever remains of it, and see you next post!
*Full Disclosure: This is Detanfy, hijacking Phylix’ account. I had to use Triple strength decryption algorithms to get into Phylix’ account. I couldn’t bare the thought of our readers going another week without their required dose of MAD. And yes, “MAD” is my new acronym for Morning After Dark. Spread it!
