Balogun

GONE

  
"We would take the body and dump it at the edge of the town, let it rot and decay for everyone to see. Animals would pass by and take a bite of his flesh, maggots would eat his body and I pray his soul face a fate in hell that is even worse than his dead body would face here on earth."
     - Prince Murewa

                                        xXx

It was the first knock that woke him.
Maybe it was because his subconscious knew it was going to happen, he didn't really know, but one second he was fast asleep and the next, he was flying off the bed towards the door.

He swung the door open just as the second knock sounded.
It was Jamal standing there, his eyes full of worry.

"The Queen has been shouting the whole palace down for minutes, how didn't you hear?"

"What's going on?" Murewa stepped through the door and closed it behind him.

"The King," Jamal answered, already moving down the hallway.
Murewa didn't need any more words. He charged towards the stairs and took the steps three at a time until he was on the top floor, servants were lined in every corner, staring at him as he went and he also met a handful of them standing in front of the King's door, trying to peek in.

They dispersed immediately they saw him.

"Get back to work," he snapped at them and they all disappeared down the hallway.

Murewa went into the room with Jamal only to meet his father in a worse state than yesterday's.

The man was thrashing and groaning, vomiting blood everywhere.
It took four guards to hold him down.

But the blood...it was everywhere.
The tiles, the bed sheets, the King's nightshirt, the guards' cloths.

"Father." Murewa rushed to him, but the King was too delirious to hear his son's call.

"My stomach." The King heaved and coughed up blood again.

Murewa looked up at Jamal worriedly and he could see his friend was also clueless.
What could they do?

"How did you know this was happening?"

"The Queen." Jamal shook his head.
"She was shouting for someone to come help the King and I heard it all the way down the stairs, it was terrible. I think she was too scared to leave him alone to come call us."

"This is the worse I have seen him," Murewa looked at his father again.
"Where is the Queen now?"

"She went to get the physician."

"The physician can't help him. This isn't something a physician can fix."

"Yes. But the man who can fix it, where is he? It's like the Grandfather just disappeared off the surface of the earth!"

As if on cue, the door opened and Queen Habibah rushed in with the physician behind her.

"Prince Murewa, I am so sorry." The Queen rushed towards him. "Now everyone in the Palace knows the King is very sick, but I was so scared."

"It's okay, I absolutely understand." Murewa smiled at her and turned his gaze to the Physician who was staring at the King with a look that scared Murewa.

"What's going on?" He asked the man impatiently.

"He must have lost like three litres of blood," the man said, while fishing through his bag.

He produced an already loaded syringe and then quickly attached a needle.
Everyone watched quietly as he stepped towards the thrashing King and injected the liquid into his arm.