The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

54.

Just as he had suspected Tamuka had seen them and it had not taken long for him to realize that these two men were somewhere they should not be.

Hombarume was standing a few strides away from Revai, panting like a wild dog and staring at the approaching adversary. It would have been better if he was alone, they would have easily found a compromise and they would perhaps even be able to negotiate with him, but seeing as he had company, they had to run. The inevitable chase had finally begun.

Revai on the other hand was frozen in place and there was no telling what he was pondering. Tamuka was his long time friend and seeing him bounding through the ridges in the field, headed straight for them was something that earlier on would have been truly impossible.

The former guard only came back to reality after a strong jolting from Hombarume.

‘We have to move or else you would have risked your life for absolutely nothing,’ Hombarume said.

After they crossed over the thorn barrier, there was a short forest patch before they came bursting into yet another open field. Unlike the last, this one wasn’t deserted. Two men were hard at work at the far end of the maize field, a woman was standing close to the edge of the field where a thin path ran off into the tall grass thst surrounded it and she seemed to be instructing her children to join the two working men.

The two fugitives did not stop, but rather sped up even more for the fear that the strangers might recognize one of them. The strangers in question were very confused and the two men in the field only realized who had just passed by after they were gone and not long after, another pair of men came sprinting through.

Hombarume saw them stop through the corner of his eye and at that moment he knew that they had to make  decision about where exactly they were headed.

‘Stop!’

Hombarume almost startled Revai.

‘We cannot stop now, hunter. If those men catch us, we will be in bigger trouble than we already are,’ Revai said.

‘We have to make a decision now. Where are we headed and what are we to do?’ Hombarume asked

‘And I assume you still feel that we should head South towards your friend’s compound?’ Revai asked

‘Let us head to the Eagle compound, that way we will lose them and we have a better chance of escaping through there.’

Revai did not need much convincing, time was of the essence and the longer they waited, the slimmer their chances of making it out of the village alive. The gods were certainly not on their side, therefore they had to do their best to save themselves.

The Eagle homestead was eerily quiet; not a single sound to be heard in the entire compound, not a single cock crowed, not a cry from a goat or any fowl. The whole place was deserted and it seemed like some of the huts that had been used by the old man Vhudzijena had been emptied out.

This place had been one to behold once, many of the villagers’ lives had been saved here and it was hard to believe that it had all come to a swift end. The village healer was gone and the future was bleak.

The doors to almost all the huts were open, while some of them creaked and swung in the soft breeze of the early morning, the sound against the prevailing quietness was haunting. The sun had just begun to regain its strength and it seemed like today it would be quite insufferable.
Revai looked around as if he was searching for something specific while Hombarume just ambled around, wondering where the young man who was supposed to be here was.

***

The sparring contest had revealed the unexpected to Batanai who until now had only been a quiet observer in all that was taking place in the small village that was plagued by disappearances and gruesome murders.