Ahafo

by safohen
'For years, they have polluted the earth, with their poisons and slowly drained her lifeforce. Did they not think that they would face judgement from Asaase Yaa (Earth goddess)? Did they not realise that she would make them suffer for their crimes?'
Chapter 1, Verse 1 of the Kannfo) Buukuu (Book of the Purifiers)

In a half completed building, two women, clad in military fatigues and wielding huge assault etuo (guns) fired several metal spikes from the cover of the building's pillars at several, tall, chalk-white figures, wielding similar rifles. The similarity ended when their bullets struck the building. Each of them glowed green and shook from side to side as if alive.

The building began to creak and dust fell on the heads of one of the women. She brushed it off, 'Dzifa, you go ahead' she addressed the second woman behind her. She pulled a small, spherical metal from her pocket. Sedna tried to seize it from her but she punched her in the face, felling her.

The woman pointed the etuo at her. 'As your superior officer, Dzifa, I'm ordering you to leave.'

'So that you can blow yourself and this building up, Sakyiwaa?' Suicide is still illegal in this country.'

'I'm not really concerned about the law at this moment. Besides, you and I know that dying is preferable to being converted by the Kannfo)'.

The figures, their faces similar to the spirit masks, Sedna had been taught to fear, breached the building and she fled, bitter tears streaming down her face. Sakyiwaa watched her go and shot down eight of them. The fallen quickly got to their feet, picked up their rifles and returned fire.

'I hate it when they do that' Sakyiwaa muttered. She squeezed the sphere and it began to glow when three green bullets struck the sphere. It struck the ground and stopped glowing. Three bullets struck her arm and she fell to the ground as her arm began to stiffen and pain coursed throughout every nerve of her body.

The Kannfo) holstered their akodze and stood to attention as an 8 feet tall Kannfo) walked past them and stood over the fallen woman. 'You are a good fighter' it said in soft tones. It pulled a spear from a b)ha (sheath) from its back. 'You will make an excellent convert' it smiled before it stabbed her in the belly.

Dzifa shed her military gear as she run past the abandoned banks, not stopping for a minute even as she heard Sakyiwaa's screams. When she was out of the city, she stopped by a lake, as the screams stopped and plunged into it. When she reached the surface, she brushed aside the dirt from the lake floor, placed her palm on a metal door and lifted open a metal door.

She fell into a rectangular cage as the door was automatically locked. She pushed open the cage door, walked past the other ahafo and entered a room labelled 'Research lab'. The room was dusty and filled with cobwebs. She slumped to her feet and held her head in her hands as she reflected on the events of the week.

That Monday, she had been reading in the military library of New Brong Ahafo when the earth had began to shake. A large mound erupted from the centre of the city and the Kannfo) had burst out, armed with assault etuo and other akodze. By the end of the day, half of the nation's military, which had been mobilised to deal with the attack had been converted into Kannfo).

Desperate, the President had ordered that New Brong Ahafo, be sealed off from the rest of the nation. A new, daring unit called the Ahafo (Hunters) had been formed to hunt down and neutralise the Kannfo) but by Wednesday, they realised that their weapons had little to no effect on the foes and most of them were converted as well.

The citizens had been evacuated to special underground bunkers as the surface was virtually overrun by the Kannfo) and the militiary command had been rumoured to be working on a new super weapon, that would end the war in one strike. Despite popular belief, she had acquired the Kannfo) Buukuu and read it from cover to cover.

She also knew that the Converts still remained some vestiges of their humanity. However, as evidenced by the dust and cobwebs of the research office, High Command had forcibly removed most of the resources she had gathered to enable her turn the Converts back into humans, shoved an assault rifle into her hands and forcibly recruited her as an ahafo.

She rose to her feet. As one of the 10 ahafo left, she had a duty to contnue her work. She removed the floorboards, revealing several herbs, herbs that would help her make the cure. Herbs she had stolen back from the supply stores.For days,she had worked on a cure to no avail but after Sakyiwaa's sacrifice, she was even more determined to find it. For two hours, she worked on a cure until she realised that she had got it. 'Now I just need a Kannfo) to use it on.

Suddenly the door was kicked in and several ahafo walked into the room. She drew part of the mixture into a syringe and hid it in her utility belt. 'Ahafo Dzifa, the Supreme Commander demands your prescence'.

The ahafo dragged her into a large office and thrust her into a large chair. 'The ahafo have informed me that you've been stealing supplies for your research'. That's not why I brought you here though. 'Tomorrow, 50 billion metal spikes will fall from the sky in what High Command has codenamed "the Rain of Judgement'. Both converts and the Kannfo) will be dead in 20 minutes of the fall and so will everything else that is not in this bunker, surface or otherwise.

', Commander Serlorm. I can cure the converts.'

Selorm rubbed her chin in thought. 'How are you going to do that when Converts will resemble complete Kannfo) in 2 hours, and you are the only Ahafo available on surface patrol?'

'I have a plan. I need the location of the Kannfo) Panin"

In the centre of the city stood a large stone building, guarded by several Kannfo). They aimed their weapons at a lone figure, approaching them with hands raised. Dzifa approached them, unarmed. One of the Kannfo) rushed toward her, checking her for weapons. Satisfied, they escorted her and brought her before the Kannfo) panin, 8 feet tall and covered in wrinkles.

'What is the purpose of your visit, filth?'

'To end the fighting. I've come for all the converts in your possession in exchange for providing you shelter'

'Shelter?' scoffed the panin. 'From what"

'50 billion projectiles that will lay waste to this city and everything beneath it unless you're in our secure bunker'.

'Convert z, does your former subordinate speak the truth?' a panin asked a prostrate Kannfo).

The prostrate Kannfo) rose to her feet, Sakyiwaa's eyes the only human feature, Dzifa could recognise.

'She speaks the truth. In my former life, a similar plan was revealed to me'.

Without warning, Dzifa rushed at Sakyiwaa and plunged the needle of her syringe into her neck. She fell to her knees as her body began to change colour and her face became less rigid. She rose unsteadily to her feet, panting.

The other Kannfo) raised their rifles, but the panin raised her hand. 'Dzifa, we'll come with you and you may cure the other converts without any aggression on our part.'

At 6:00 am the next day, in the cold of space, a large metal block, disintegrated into large metal spikes that fell towards the city, destroying everything in minutes. Trees crumbled, underground tunnels were crushed and buildings were pulverised into dust. In the Ahafo Bunker, Dzifa supervised the re-conversion of the Converts into humans, helping them to their feet with the help of other ahafo.

Watching them quietly behind a transparent wall were several of the Kannfo). Selorm glanced at them and spoke to Dzifa. 'The Kannfo) are grateful to you for saving them and seem to trust you. I'm leaving the peace agreement between us and them in your hands.

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