AncilThe city of San Fernando only had one exit and that was in Point Fortin. The entire city was gated off from the rest of the country by a thick metal gate with only one way in and one way out. You enter with a boat through the area of Princes Town and leave with a boat through the area of Point Fortin. It wasn’t the most convenient thing in the world but it kept the entry and exit of persons controlled. We sailed all the way through San Fernando until we finally reached the exit. But we weren’t the first persons there. There were hundreds of other citizens on their boats ready to get out of the city as well. Some of the boats were advanced and some were makeshift. The majority of the boats were small wooden canoes that were jam packed with people and their families barely fitting. There was a continuous uproar throughout the city because the city gate was closed. Some people were aggressively shouting at the gatekeepers to open the gate while some women and children were in their boats crying. The sky finally decided to burst out with rain.
“You think they are going to open the city gate?” Marsha asked.
“I don’t know, let we wait and see what they have to say,” Ravi answered.
Patience however was lacking among the other citizens as the uproars got even more aggressive. The gate keeper, who was in a small booth at the side of the gate, locked himself in the booth because the citizens were threatening him. People began to throw objects at the gatekeeper’s booth but he refused to budge. Some people jumped out of their boats and tried to climb the gate. The gate was really tall but it was climbable. Suddenly, about three police hover cars flew in from the city with full speed. The hover cars had huge guns connected to the base projecting out to the front.
“Citizens. Stop the disorderliness now or else we will be forced to take action,” one police officer said through a speaker phone.
The citizens failed to comply as the disorderliness continued. More and more citizens followed the few that decided to climb the gate.
“No one is allowed to enter or exit the city at this time. This is a direct order from the office of the Prime Minister.” The officer continued. “So please stop the disorderliness now or else we will be forced to take action.”
The disorderliness continued.
“This is your last chance to comply,” the officer continued but in vain.
One of the men who was climbing reached the top of the gate and jumped off towards the water of the Gulf of Paria but while in midair his body literally exploded into a million pieces after the police officer fired the first shot from the hover car. The roars and cries from the crowd instantly turned into fearful screams. Other disorderly citizens saw the same fate as the first man who was shot. The disorderliness continued and so did the shootings by the police. A few citizens jumped into the garbage-infested water to try to get away from the shots while some quickly backed their boats away from the scene. It was chaos
“Let’s get out of here,” I said.
“I think we probably should,” Megan agreed.
Ravi then turned the boat and sailed away from the gate. He didn’t carry us to Marsha’s house but to his house which was closer. The boat needed more fuel so we all decided to stay at Ravi’s place for the night. The negative energy between Rajiv and I were still evident among all the chaos. He decided to keep to himself leaving both Megan and I alone. Megan and I didn’t do much talking either. We tried but it ended up just being a lot of short sentences that preceded a bout of awkward silence. Megan and I sat in Ravi’s living room but not a peep came out of us. I tried to break the silence with some questions but it just broke the silence for a few seconds before it returned again. However Ravi stormed in and officially broke the silence. “Allyuh come.”
We followed him into a small room where Rajiv and his mother already were.
“All joke aside. We have to come up with a plan,” Ravi said then he picked up an old map and placed it on a small table that was in the middle of the room. “We have two options. We could either stay here and wait for the Midnight Robber and he army to come kill we or we could try to do something. Now I have an old hover car that I buy when I went to Russia about ten years ago. We could use that. But here’s the thing. My friend say that they crack down the whole country. Nobody could leave and nobody could enter until they resolve the problem. So if we try and fly away we would get kill for sure. Them coast guard don’t play. We can’t leave the city either but I hear that the security on the city gate near Siparia not so tight right now as plenty guards fly in to help out at the main exit so we could probably sneak out through there. But we have to leave now. It’s going be dangerous so we have to be careful. What we could do is sneak out the city and go to the office of the Prime Minister in Port of Spain and convince him to do something about the situation. Because I sure that good for nothing piece of shit don’t even have a plan. I not going to wait here for them to resolve it. All of we would die before that. If we sneaking out we have to do it good and do it proper.” He started pointing at different locations on the map as he spoke. “We would have to leave through Siparia and in through the Columbus Channel. From the Columbus Channel we have to fly in through the Atlantic Ocean and back in through Sangre Grande. How that plan sounding?
“Sounding risky,” Rajiv interjected.
“We could die if we don’t be careful, but we have nothing to lose. We going and die anyway,” Ravi reasoned.
“So all of us are going to Port of Spain?” I asked Ravi.
“Nah, I don’t think that that go be wise. One or two of we should go. So if anything happen all of we won’t die on the trip. We have five days to go and come back.”
“I agree,” Marsha said.
“So who coming with me?” Ravi asked.
“I’ll go,” I said instantly.
No one else seemed to be as eager as I was to go. But after a while Megan joined in.
“So is me, Melanie and my son that staying behind,” Marsha said.
Rajiv looked unsure as his mother pulled him aside. He then said with a warm smile, “nah, is just you and Melanie. I have to protect my girlfriend.”
Marsha didn’t want to let her son go but after a lot of talking, he was able to eventually convince her to let him leave.
