The Antelope's Journey

16. Francina cannot be trusted.

“Please, please give him some.” Kali had been begging Francina for a sip of the healing portion. It was the only way to save his friend. Kali never thought that he’d be in such a position where he feels at the traitorous girl’s mercy. He would chase after her, merge his palms, go on his knees and beg. The dissociated girl would only turn away.

“He’s going to die, damnit!” Mbali had cried. “You’re the only one who has some left!” It was not only Kali and Mbali getting frustrated. Betty, too, felt a sudden despise of Francina. They all thought if they grovelled more, maybe she might just prove to have a heart. Maybe, there was kindness behind her scowl-face.

They tried all sorts of tactics to get her to help. They tried to trick her into it, “We need to keep our numbers stable, we’re already too few. He is the strongest of all of us, surely we’ll need him.”

They tried appealing to her empathy but later, concluded that she had none at all. It was easy to believe their conclusion, considering that she was the first one to leave Jim behind, and she showed no guilt. Now, they were attempting aggression. She was a small figure, and they were all three against only her. Surely, they could easily take her down.

In a very stoic tone, Francina finally said, “This is my portion, and I saved it for myself. It’s time to get moving.” She started to move forward.

“We can’t leave him here!” Mbali saw that the girl was not responding but instead, continued stepping forward. This angered Betty—she despised it when people simply ignored Mbali. Betty charged forward and provoked a fight with Francina. Mbali also stepped forward to search for the portion in Francina’s pockets. Francina put up a fight against the two. She hated having her things taken from her, especially since she did everything possible to care for her things.

It was all scary for Kali. While they were fighting, Kamo was getting worse—he was running out of time. Kali was never one to be entitled to other’s belongings, perhaps because he always had all he wanted, thanks to his wealthy father. This was something he did not have what he wanted. His first ever friend was dying. He was desperate. For the first time in his life, he felt spite. At that moment he resented Francina. No rational nor logical part of him could tune in. The boy only knew rage at that time.

Since, Kamo was assisted down to a drier spot, he had not moved since then. He had Monkey in his arms. He kept caressing her to take his focus off of his pain and illness. Monkey was very intelligent, she could see the scuffle among the friends and she could sense the tension rising, but it was unfortunate that she could do nothing. In fact, it was nice sitting comfortably in the arms of the name who Kali highly looked up. Monkey sat there while her eyes stayed on the scuffling trio.

Kali brought himself back to Kamo and sat there looking hopeless. “Hey,” Kamo said to Kali. “I like you kid. You remind me of my son.” Kamo was clearly in pain. His body was weakening. It was very hard for Kali to see this. “Make sure you get out of here. Get the money and go save my son’s life. Help my wife get back on her feet for me, okay?”

Tears started running down the boy’s cheeks. That man looked out for him and for what it was worth, Kali had become drawn closer to Kamo too. He saw a father in him. He felt a love he’d never felt before. Kali could not take his words. He ran off, he went on to help the others fight Francina and to get the portion.

They had been at it for some time now. All the pulling, scratching and yelling. “He’s dead,” the sad voice easily grabbed their attention and commanded their silence. Kali said it again, as though trying to convince himself of the truth, “He’s dead”. He was looking at the dreadful view of Kamo as he was announcing what he was seeing. Kamo laid there, peaceful and out. Unable to handle the swelling emotions, Kali led out the loudest cry while drawing down to his knees, it filled the entire tunnel. A heavy, heavy feeling weighed down on those with a heart. Betty and Mbali gave Francina the last stare meant to make her feel guilty.

It was this moment that Betty started entertaining the idea of not having Francina around. She began having her own fantasies at that point. She would constantly try and put logic into her fantasies. She would provide excuses for why it must be done. This was most likely, her preparation to figure a convincing way to tell the others and get them to do what she wants. Betty did not feel with Francina around anymore. She was even more agitated since Mbali was there too, she wanted to protect her.

I did not feel guilty but I did feel sorry for the crying boy. In his cry, I felt the intense pain he’d carried his whole life. A pain scarring deep as mine. It was a heavy feeling that weighed down on my tortured heart. I was even surprised that I could still feel. I never knew I could anyone like that. Normally, I couldn’t even hurt a fly. But according to Jim, it all works out in the end. I hope he’s right or else, these moments will hang over my head for the rest of my pathetic life.

They left Kamo buried in their jackets. It would be cold for them going forward, but to them, this was a worthy sacrifice. It was not easy leaving him there, they did entertain the thought of dragging him along for Kali’s but that was not good for their course. They left him there. They proceeded. They had walked a while. Each one of them was begrudging Francina for what she did—or what she refused to do.

Days passed in that tunnel, they hunted rats for food and drank from the ponds they would come across. They were getting agitated by now. Mostly, they directed their anger towards Francina. They gave her nasty glares and the silent treatment. From time to time, Francina would catch them rolling their eyes at her. She would also see them keeping the most distance away from her.

They were all getting tired. It made sense that they would rest again soon. They would rest collectively. It was planned that the next time they fell asleep, they’d take out Francina because, “She will be the death of us all,” said Betty to them in the closed triangle.