I screamed. No sound escaped from my mouth. My voice was gone. There was no one around who could hear me. Fear suddenly pervaded the whole space that surrounded me. Even if the sound had carried out, there was no one within a radius of one and half kilometres. I remember when I was coming, I had travelled for about thirty five kilometres along the deserted road until I reached the isolated and quaint farm house.
The building was all boarded up and looked deserted. I was carrying a load of gold ore which I was to dump in the building. It had all started at Zororo Bar the previous evening.
Comrade Mobiliser had approached me in the company of a stranger who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. I could tell from his dressing that he was an artisanal miner or mukorokoza. His work suit was dusty. He had large sores all over his hands and arms.
“He wants a driver to deliver his gold ore, just a few kilometres out of town,” Comrade Mobiliser said referring to the stranger. He made it sound so simple.
I had never seen him before. The next day was my day off. I had no problem with that. I was neck-deep in debt and this extra money could come handy and help cover up some of my debts.
It was not difficult to convince me. For a straight forward delivery job, the money was mouth-watering.
Now I know why it is easy to catch mice and rats — the bait is always mouth-watering, irresistible. That is also what plays out in the real world of man. Honey traps are set up for the gullible.
I should not have agreed. I was now in big trouble. The moment I drove up to the building, I got out of the truck to open the garage door. I stepped inside and peeped around until my eyes got accustomed to the dim light. It was at that moment, the garage door clanged shut behind me. I was trapped inside. I heard someone lock the garage from outside. I shouted loud to be let out. There was no response.
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Then someone backed the truck away from the driveway and drove off. A few seconds later, it was all quiet. I tried to open the garage, but it was firmly locked from outside. At first I thought it was all a mistake. After a few minutes, it slowly dawned on me that this was all planned. I looked around the garage, there was about two or three tonnes of gold ore piled up in one corner. There were a few scattered items on the ground.
I noticed two large black drums at the centre but both were empty. A funny, nauseating smell came from the drums. I didn’t like the smell of it for one little bit. They reminded me of burnt carbon. I got goosebumps.
In the corner of the garage was a heap of a woman’s clothes. It was like someone had undressed maybe to take a bath and intended to come back for them but never made it back. The female garments did not look like they had been abandoned for a long time, maybe a week or two. There was still a certain air of freshness about them.
There were no windows, just two air vents which allowed a little light to penetrate through. All of a sudden, I was overwhelmed with great fear. I screamed and screamed. I don’t think anyone heard me. Gradually my voice became hoarse.
I was also worried about the heap of clothes in the corner. What had happened to the woman? I feared the worst. Did Comrade Mobiliser know about this.? I was confused. The problem is Comrade Mobiliser mixed up with all sorts of characters.
Who are these people? What did they want from me? A flood of questions raced through my mind. It was common knowledge that some of the people who were into artisinal mining practised rituals. By now, my imagination was running wild.
I had left my phone in the truck when I had opened the garage door. I was basically trapped. Several hours had passed away. There was no sign of help.
I tried to look for a weapon, anything to defend myself with, in case the need arose. There was nothing.
I was feeling thirsty. My mouth was now dry. I sat down on the floor, feeling very much defeated. It was now dark outside as there was no light illuminated through the air vents.
I sat down on the floor for a very long time, agonising over my predicament. My life was in danger. I was sure that by now Mai VaMaidei was worried about me. All my friends like Baba VaTata, Fatso and Rasta must all be worried about me.
After a very long time, I heard a strange sound outside. I suddenly stood up and tiptoed to the other corner opposite the bundle of clothes. I was trembling with fear. Someone, who did not want to be detected was outside. Was it a foe or friend? Let’s find out next time.
*Onie Ndoro
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