The Wall

94

“Should we try?” Nozipho asked. Her bare upper arms were pressed against the walls of the freezer. “I’m freezing.”

“Do you hear anything?”

“Not a sound. But I’m also just cold. And I have to pee so badly.”

“Me, too… Do you think we should give it a shot?”

Nozipho didn’t bother to answer, but pushed the lid up with her ass. The oppressive heat mixed with the chill, and Nozipho got goosebumps. She lifted the lid with one arm and listened for sounds inside the house.

“Empty?” Thembinkosi asked.

“I think so.”

A shot was fired somewhere. Then another. A third. Then a barrage.

“That’s nowhere close,” Thembinkosi said.

Nozipho tugged her dress up over her hips and climbed out of the freezer. She then pulled the fabric back down. Thembinkosi was already standing next to her. Very quietly, she opened the door to the house, just a crack.

The real battle was now underway. Shots fired from various guns. Irregular. They looked at each other. Nozipho preceded Thembinkosi into the house. She walked straight into the bathroom and sat on the toilet. Thembinkosi followed her and peed into the sink.

“Unlock the back door,” she told Thembinkosi.

She then waded through the blood to the wardrobe and fetched the briefcase and purse. By the time she reached the kitchen, the back door was already open. The shooting had stopped.