I decided to change tack and told Aaron what he wanted to hear.
Jackson : I think maybe your idea of getting more men is not so bad after all…
Aaron took a couple of seconds to register my comment before reinforcing that he was right all along and if I had listened to him, we would be on our way back by now.
Aaron :We’re wasting precious time…. you are wasting time Jackson ….
Jackson : Yes…. I’m sorry…
Aaron : It’s ok… it’s ok…. We head back now…. I know which house has the most men who are ready to go at a moment’s notice…. I’ll settle the men… ok ?? ok ??
I nodded.
Jackson :Ok… put that away please….
Aaron, seeing that I’m coming around, took a moment to consider before stuffing the gun back into the holster.
I started then engine but before I pulled on my safety belt, I turned to Aaron.
Jackson : Aaron…. Hong is out there alone….
Aaron : What…. ?
Jackson : Hong…. He’s jogging out there alone…. I’ll go find him…
I could see he was about to reject my suggestion but I told him to go on ahead.
Jackson : You take the taxi back first ok…? Wake the men… I will find Hong… we will wait for you…. Ok ??
Aaron looked at me as he considered my proposal before nodding his head vigorously.
6am
I got out of the taxi and Aaron pulled out of the carpark before flooring the accelerator at the main road.
I cursed under my breath as I left my axe under the driver seat.
I called Yiling immediately and told her what happened.
She was quiet for a moment but she didn’t sounded surprised.
Yiling : Ok I understand…. I’ll deal with him…. Stay safe Jackson …. Tell Hong immediately after you hang up…
Jackson : Ok…
I was about to dial Hong’s number when I saw him coming round the bend on the pedestrian path. He saw me standing alone and he gestured a questioning wave.
Not wanting to show that we know each other in case anyone is watching, I dialled his phone and told him about Aaron’s panic attack.
Hong : Bloody hell…. Always like that….
Jackson : He did this before… ?
Hong told me Aaron is the type that will always have excuses if it comes to anything remotely violent or anything physical. He once bailed on Seven when they were suppose to change a car tyre in the middle of the expressway.
Hong : I went with him and Boss to a turf dispute once a few years ago against the Rajahs……. He fucking ran when a fight was about to break out….everything turned out ok in the end and he appeared again…. Saying that he got the men back in the castle to come and back us up….. Aiyah… better now then later…. Who knows, he might fucking shoot us before the terrorist come….
Jackson : ok…. I’ll hang around the area… you be careful…
Hong : Ok…. Check out the 2nd storey unit opposite the childcare unit…
Jackson : What about it… ? you see them… ? are you sure…?
I casually looked around and pretended to stretch.
Hong chuckled and said there’s a pretty babe smoking.
Hong : Chio bu… Chio bu….hahaha….
Jackson : Oh my god….. I don’t believe you Hong….
I hung up and took a stroll. People are starting to rouse from their slumber.
Real cab drivers are pulling out from the carparks to make their first trip of the day. Old aunties gathered in the void deck with their shopping baskets and trolleys while waiting for their wet market khakis.
They wiped their sweat with their handkerchief, their friendly banter will soon turn into one of extreme competition upon reaching the market. Each vying for the freshest produce not just for the family, but also bragging rights.
Weary eyed office workers started to appear, plugged into their headphones and a sweaty newspaper delivery man grabbed another bag of papers from his covered truck.
I saw a school bus rolled into the carpark and a mother sent her daughter up the bus, waving and reminding her to finish her water.
Another car pulled into the drop off area, tired parents got out of the car and dropped off the young son with a smiling grandmother before heading to work.
A mother came out of the lift with her teenage kids and separated ways, the kids off to take their own transport while she headed to her car.
Retiree walking his dog, perspiring auntie after her morning walk, students in uniforms playing games on their mobile phone, and even what looked like a couple in their honeymoon period holding hands coming out of the lift.
Town council workers were already hard at work, sweeping up the streets and corridors, one of them pushed a trash cart by the kerb and started sweeping up the offerings left by the residents. Fruits, baked goodies meant for the dead turned out to be a breakfast feast for the pigeons and sparrows.
I caught the metallic clink of a lighter and I turned, a kid in school uniforms walked casually and lit up a cigarette. He flicked his long fringe to the side and waved to his friends approaching from the other end of the block. Looks like they are planning to skip school that day.
7am
I felt my heart beat faster as I heart the squeaking of toddler’s shoes walk pass me towards the infant care centre attached to the side of the childcare. The little girl wobbled cautiously with a smiley smug look on her face as she turned to look at her mother, as if waiting for her praise.
The young tired mother clapped and in a high octave voice, praised her daughter’s accomplishment.
All of these mundane activities and happenings occur around us everyday. No one hardly notices it. The casual nod of acknowledgement when meeting neighbours, the discreet glance at the hot girl staying 2 floors below you, this is life.
A typical day.
I don’t know why but I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand as the clocked ticked past 7am and approached 7.30am.
More parents streamed into the centre with their children.
Some are dressed in shirt and pants, busy replying emails while waving and hugging their child. A mother carried an infant in a harness while dropping off the elder sibling.
I could see Hong pretending to stretch and cool down at a bench barely 20 metres away.
Looking at my hand, I realised I started trembling. I’m scared.
I could not bear the thought of what would happen if we failed.
I wonder if everything is ok on Kamal’s end.
There was a sudden lull in the number of kids arriving and I saw a father arriving with his 2 daughter. He held their hands while carrying both their bags on one shoulder.
He looked tired but nevertheless, kept up a smile while talking to his kids, asking them to behave in school.
Teacher : Good morning Alicia, Ariel ….hello….
As the teacher checked the temperature of the girls before signing them into the centre, I noticed the father looking a little nervous.
After the girls waved their goodbyes, I overheard the father telling the teacher that he’s sorry about the late school fees.
Father : ehh.. Teacher…. The school fees…. I’m… I’m sorry ah… I try by this week…. This week….
Teacher : Ok…. But Ariel Daddy…. It’s 2 months overdue for both girls already….so…ermm.. my finance is chasing us also…
Father : Sorry about that…. This week… I try to get it sorted out by this week….
Teacher : ok… thank you…
I looked away as the father walked away after taking one last look at the centre where his kids are before walking away with his head hung low.
I don’t know his circumstances, his story, what he did, what happened, but it seemed life hasn’t been easy for him.
We are one of the richest country in the world, it’s unthinkable that some of us could not afford to pay for childcare fees.
Another happier father came along, sporting tattoos on both his calves, he looked like a body builder. He ran with his kid in his arms before giggling and dropping him off. Another kid came in a new continental car flanked by a helper and grandparent while munching on a pastry.
He met his classmate by the door, both exclaiming happily and curious about what the other is eating for breakfast. The slice of plain white bread his friend is eating must looked alien beside his Danish pastry.
My attention was quickly and sharply diverted. Like the flick of a switch my eyes went from the entrance of the childcare centre to the approaching men.
Heading purposefully towards the childcare about 50m away are 4 men.
I looked at Hong who was looking at the same direction as me.
He saw them too.
I exhaled and bend down to tie my shoe laces, blending into the crowd of parents at the door.
The 4 men looked around and their pace quickened.
I turned my backs towards them to avoid making eye contact while looking at their reflection on the notice board.
An internal heat wave flushed inside me as I saw them break into a sprint.
Hong started to walk briskly towards the entrance of the childcare before breaking into a run.
The teacher at the door was shocked beyond words and the 4 men charged and shove her into the childcare. Screams, shouts and curses were thrown around freely by the men that were all rushing to gain deeper access into the centre beyond the entrance lounge.
I sprung into action and so did Hong. I grabbed the hair of the man closest to me, yanking him backwards before striking him on his throat. Before his friend could lay his hands on my, Hong’s knuckle duster rearranged his nose, spilling first blood.
Just when I thought we took care of 50% of the threat, another 2 men started running towards us from a distance away.
There was no time to worry about threats 30m away when the 1st 2 into the childcare turned their attention to us.
The teacher was left crying on the floor and the commotion drew the attention of the other staff in the facility.
Kids and staff came running out and chaos erupted while Hong and I dealt with the other 2 man.
Amidst punches and kicks, I saw their concealed weapons. They were armed.
Hong headbutted his man while I smashed the one I was tussling with using a trophy left on a nearby shelf.
We managed to push them out the front door and Hong pulled the gate shut. The metallic catch of the door lock snapped into place, putting the metal gate in between the terrorists and us.
I helped the teacher who was crying and bleeding on her head up while a staring match ensured between us and the attackers.
The teacher ran into the childcare, shouting for the principal to call the police.
The principal came out, saw the commotion and did something nobody expected.
He looked at Hong and me, before turning to the men outside the door.
And he reached for the door release.
……………………………………………………………..
Jackson : What are you doing !!!
My glare did no damage at all as I watched the principal unlocked the gate before quickly retreating into his office. The teacher by the door shouted at the principal but her screams were muted by one of the man that grabbed her and dragged her out of sight as we retreated.
The principal is in on this. He knows this is going to happen.
The release of the lock triggered the series of catastrophic event to follow.
The men charged into the childcare as Hong and I retreated deeper into the centre.
Shell shocked kids and teachers scream and shouted as I watch the men shut the door before chaining it together with a padlock. A lot of the kids were unaware of what is happening, many of them still at the table sipping their milo or playing with their Lego toys.
Hong and I pulled every kid we could get our hands on up off their seat and on the floor as the teacher by the door was thrown onto the floor.
A man was about to grab her leg when I rushed forward and kicked him away. I helped the teacher up and pulled her behind me. The teacher quickly helped to gather the kids.
The gate was locked and more men filed into the main hall.
I felt sick when the men came in and starting kicking the kids unlucky enough to be near them. A toddler barely 3 years old was kicked so hard that he literally flew up into the air before landing on a table filled with used cups.
Blood poured form his cut lips as he looked dazed and confused.
The teachers gathered as many kids as they can trying to form a protective barrier between the men and their ward.
One of the teacher was grabbed by one of the terrorist while holding onto a screaming toddler. Beside the hall we were in were a series of smaller classrooms and that teacher just walked out of it.
Hong charged forward, wrestling 2 men at a time while I went to the teacher’s aid.
I punched the man in his gut before going for his arm.
I broke his hold on the teacher with my elbow, went low and delivered 2 strikes to the insides of his knee. As he collapsed, I jumped and sent my knee to the side of his head, denting the dry wall of another classroom.
I backed up just as a kick sent Hong staggering backwards onto me.
It became clear that the damage I did was not hard enough as the man shook his head and stood back up.
The men formed up a line in the hall 4 abreast sealing us in.
The cumulative cries in the centre is deafening as confused teachers tried to protect the kids. Hong and I shouted for the kids to get behind us as a mad grab for hostages started.
We managed to get most of the kids in the hall behind us but there were a few stranded at the ends. The men laughed and made taunting strikes at us as our attention was divided with trying to keep them at bay and trying to keep the kids safe.
I wanted to reach for my gun and so did Hong but with kids stumbling and falling all around us while trying to deal with the approaching men, it was impossible to do so. A few of the toddlers were clinging onto our trousers as well.
With each step we retreated into the centre, Hong and I tried to pick as many kids up off the floor. Some ran in random directions, some ran to the teachers. I tried to stop a kid from running towards the terrorists.
A man tried to rush us, Hong and I immediately made him regret his decision. Hong smashed his head with his knuckle duster while I kicked him in his kidney before imprinting his bleeding head on a standing easel with scribbles of alphabets.
Jackson : stay back!!.. stay back… !!
I shouted to the teachers behind me, asking them to help bring the kids back.
A man grabbed a crying toddler before throwing him like a sack of rice to his friend. The large classroom about the size of a badminton court was immediately split into 2.
Horrified staff including the pantry lady were crying and trying to console the terrified children.
Hong and I grabbed as many kids as we could, putting them behind us and handing them to the teachers.
A 5m gap opened up between those we managed to save and those we didn’t.
As the lot of us retreated into the kitchen area, Hong and I pushed tables and threw chairs to block the advance of the terrorist. We did so with only one hand as we were carrying a crying child in the other.
Everything happened so fast there was no time to take stock of what is going on.
By the time the 1st wave of calm descended on us, the men regrouped and I could see between them, they have a total of about 8 kids.
The principal emerged and shouted at Hong and me.
Principal : Who are you !!! you are not parents… you should not be in here…. !!!!
He did not wait for our reply and he started scolding the terrorists. He shouted at them and said he was promised this will be fast and everything will be over soon.
Principal : why did you all screw this up !!!!
The teacher behind me shouted at the principal, condemning him for planning something like this only to get a fierce retort. It was the same one by the door that saw him open the door to let these men in.
Principal : You think it’s easy !!! you think it’s easy to run such a big centre. !!!! all the money….the finances… !! the complains !!!! the difficult parents. !!!! you think it’s easy !!! I’m so sick of the fucking whiny parents and the kids. !!!
Teacher: HOW COULD YOU!!!
I knelt down and pulled the handkerchief off another kid’s top and I used it to wrap a long scratch on one of the girl’s arm.
Jackson : It’s ok…. It’s ok….everything will be ok….
The principal ignored his staff and instead turned to the attackers.
He gestured angrily at them while shouting.
Principal : how could you screw this up !!! you said you will overpower everyone before anyone knows what is going on … NOW LOOK!!! Look!!! My staff knows I’m in on this !!!! HOW WILL You!!!
Before he could finish his sentence, one of the man covered the principal’s mouth and stabbed him several times in his stomach.
The kids screamed at the horrible sight as Hong asked all of them to turn away and close their eyes. One of the older teacher fainted and collapsed onto the floor. Several toddlers peed themselves and one of them vomited.
The principal collapsed onto the floor and blood started to spread outwards from his body as he clutched onto his stomach. He went into shock as his body curled into a ball. The spasms stopped barely a minute later as blood flowed freely from the open wound.
The man that stabbed him must be the leader of the group. He’s one of the 2 man that arrived at the 2nd wave.
Someone called the leader by his name and handed him a phone to look at a message.
The leader nodded and his men kept the phone.
Ray : I don’t know who you are…. But I assure you… you have already lost….
As Ray spoke, he grabbed a chair, set it down in the centre of the open space before grabbing a little girl by her hair.
He put the knife to the little girl’s throat and positioned her in front of himself.
There was no talking.
No offers, no demands.
Jackson : NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Without warning, Ray just slit the little girl’s throat.
Blood poured from her slit veins as the confused girl’s hands went to her neck, feeling the surreal opening as blood pooled around her body. Her eyes teared but no sound came from her.
Her small hands just kept trying to stop blood from coming out of her small body as the horrifying image burnt itself into my head.
I don’t know if she registered the pain or if she was old enough to know what is happening.
A teacher screamed so loud that she too collapsed while the kids were all crying and trying to hold onto the adults closest to them.
Siblings sort comfort in each other as I felt as if someone had just ripped my heart out of my chest.
I recovered in time to pull my weapon out of my holster and Ray had grabbed another boy who was crying and rubbing his eyes.
The moment the group saw the gun, they took cover, scrambling to hide behind the walls and columns in the centre.
I took aim and started walking towards the men on the other end.
Ray : Who are you !!! ? Huh ??? you cops ?? didn’t you get the order??? HUH ??
I turned the corner and saw a man with his knife raised at me.
I didn’t hesitate, I shot him in his chest. The echo of the gunshot was so loud that the kids covered their ears and screamed louder.
Before I could squeeze off the trigger again, someone used the body of the man I just shot and shoved him against me.
He came for my weapon and the moment we started struggling for it, Hong got all the kids to lie down on the ground.
Hong : Everyone get on the ground !!!! lie DOWN… lie Down !!!
Ray shouted a command to his men, asking them to grab the kids and start stabbing them.
Ray : Alright… fuck the hostages…… Kill as many as we can… and let’s go to alternate site !!
I relaxed my grip on the weapon and let the man pull it towards himself. Using the momentum, I smashed it into his face and I hit the release for the magazine.
It didn’t fall out like the movies, but it came out enough for me to grab onto it. Separating it from the weapon, I jabbed the magazine into the man’s eye before slamming it against the side of his temple.
His momentary disorientation allowed me to disarm him.
Turning the gun around, I pointed it at his kneecap and squeeze off the round in the chamber.
Using the empty weapon like a hammer, I struck him several times on the head as he tried to hold onto me. I could see the large section of scalp I ripped off with the hammering as his grip loosened before sliding to the ground.
There’s a total of 6 men. The one Hong and I put down is still on the floor. Plus the one I shot and the one I just hammered, there’s still Ray and 2 others.
They had gone into a classroom from the other side of the hall and I could see them trying to gain access to Hong and the kids in the main area via a internal window.
I took the same route Ray and the men did and I was overwhelmed by emotions and I started crying. I could not control my emotions. Tears just started dropping.
I cried as I stepped over the bodies of the kids that Ray and his men had stabbed.
I screamed in agony as I stepped over not lifeless bodies, but bodies of toddlers still fighting for their lives, confused and lost as to why this must happen to them.
They clutched onto their wounds, some were twitching on the floor, another 2 held onto each other as blood spread outwards in a radial pattern from their small bodies.
I got to the room where Ray and his men had retreated to. Ray and another man has jumped out from the internal window to where Hong is. Before the last man could leap off, I grabbed him and yanked him backwards into the classroom. He landed on a plastic crate of lego tiles, spilling it’s content all over the floor.
He tried to stab me with a sharpened screwdriver and I barely ducked in time. The wild swing of the tool caught me twice in a row and I could feel the sting of pain in my forearms.
I caught him on his 4th attempt on the wrist, and I turned my body inwards, angling my back towards him. His teeth snapped too close to my ears for comfort as he tried to bite me.
I brought his weapon bearing arm low, shifting his centre of gravity, and waited for my opening.
I felt his hot breath behind my head and I snapped back, catching him on his nose. His gripped loosened and I grabbed his thumb, twisting and bending it hard enough I felt it pop out of it’s socket.
Man : ANGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
I wanted to grab the tool but it dropped.
I heard gunshots twice in a row from a few metres away.
That must be Hong.
I slammed my fist several times into the man’s eye socket before grabbing his hair and dunking it towards the floor with the lego tiles.
I stomped on the back of his neck once and he stopped moving.
I pulled myself up the internal window and I saw that Hong had shot one of the terrorist on his thigh. Ray was trying to wrestle the weapon from his hand. I dove straight for Ray, slamming both our bodies against a bookshelf.
We collapsed layers of framed photos and accreditations on the way down.
I pulled a inch long splinter from my cheek and Ray was trying to get up.
Hong was trying to stem the bleeding from a boy’s arm while a little girl clung onto him like a koala. With a free leg, Hong tried to hook the lifeless body of another child towards him.
A little boy picked up Hong’s gun for him and he quickly took it before thanking him for his help. Hong shouted for more bandages and another older crying girl ran into the kitchen before emerging with the first aid box.
The remaining conscious teacher was swarmed by the remaining kids, all desperate for her protection.
I kneed Ray on the side of his ribcage and I grabbed him by his collar before punching him with a wide swing that he staggered 2 steps before collapsing onto the floor.
Ray laughed.
He chuckled, spat blood onto the floor as he pushed himself off the ground.
Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, I grabbed his hair and slammed it repeatly against the leg of a toppled table.
The leg snapped, exposing angry sharp splinters attached to the table top.
Ray used his last burst of energy and shove me back, screaming and laughing like a mad man.
Ray : who do you think you are… ? ahahah… who do you think you are…. !! hahaha… you think you are a hero are you….hahah what do you think you are stopping… hahaha ???
I grabbed Ray’s hair and his collar before driving him against the concrete pillar.
I ripped the corner protective edge the school installed to protect the kids, exposing the close to 90 degree angle of the structural column.
Ray spit at me and swung a half hearted punch at me.
I grabbed his arm and pressed it against the side of the column, trying to bend it at an awkward angle.
Ray : argnhhhh!!! aRGHHHHHHHHH!!!..AEGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Then I punched him again.
Ray: you lost… ahhahaha… you already lost….ahhahaha.. hahaha….
Ray tried to kick me but I blocked it with my arm.
Ray : who do you think you are !!!!!! hahaha who do you think you are…. !!! hahaha
I smashed my fist into his teeth and I could feel the pain in my knuckles when going head to head with one of the hardest part of the human body.
I grabbed the table with the exposed sharp splinters. Before I slammed it against Ray’s face, I replied.
Jackson : right now…. I’m a monster… .
I buried the splinters into Ray’s cheeks and his screams were muted by 10% due to the table top.
I stabbed my leg down on the table, driving the splinters in whatever part of his face it didn’t reached the first time and Ray stopped moving.
Sirens could be heard a distance away, help must be coming.
Hong : We need to go Jackson …. ! ….
Hong exclaimed as he help another kid put on a cartoon plaster for a cut.
Jackson : Search the men for the key to the padlock… !…
I picked up my gun and the magazine and a little girl clung onto my pants.
I turned and saw that it was Ariel.
The little girl that I saw earlier with her dad.
She was crying and begging me not to go. She was looking at the still conscious man by the side which Hong had shot in the thigh. He’s bleeding profusely but he is still conscious. His face is pale and he looked half dead already.
Ariel : Uncle !!! Uncle…. No… no please… please don’t go away… please don’t go away… !! sobzz.. sobzz…
A couple of other kids wanted to run over but they were terrified of the blood on the floor and the bodies scattered throughout.
Ariel kept holding onto me, her hands reached up in a gesture as if she wanted me to carry her.
I lowered myself and told her I can’t stay.
Jackson : I’m sorry…. I’m sorry… Uncle has to go…. There are other kids who need help…. Ok ?
Ariel sobbed and cried harder but she nodded her head.
Hong : Jackson … here….
Hong yanked the key out of one of the men and a phone fell out as well.
The same phone I saw he showed Ray before.
I grabbed it and we went to the padlock.
I turned and looked at the crying kids. One of them waved goodbye and I told them help will be here soon.
I can’t stay. Not a second longer.
I knew if I did I would break down.
I would collapse onto the floor if I need to look at the lifeless bodies of the kids the attack left behind.
Opening the door, we were greeted with another surprise.
More bodies were scattered throughout the void deck leading to the childcare.
“ aRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! “
Another man charged at Hong from round the corner and I felt a sharp pain on my shoulder as someone just stabbed me.
Jackson : aRGHHH!!!
I pushed him back and I touched the fresh wound near the back of my shoulder blade.
It’s not deep but I’m bleeding.
The attackers did not all enter the centre. Another wave of men were left outside to stop other parents from approaching. I could already see the lifeless body for a pregnant mother on the floor holding her toddler.
Another kid was shaking his father who was bleeding on the stomach.
I was attempting to duck the subsequent attacks when help came.
No, it was not Aaron returning with 40 men to swarm the centre, it was the man I saw earlier.
Alicia and Ariel’s father.
He grabbed and wrestled my attacker to the floor just in time when I saw a 3rd attacker charge straight at me.
I went low for his legs, wrestling him to the floor as I shouted like a mad man, delivering punch after punch into his face.
He pulled a knife and tried to stab me but I grabbed his hand, twisted it back before I pushed it against his chest.
Man : ARGHHHH!!!!!!aRGHHH!!!!!!
The tip went in a little but the ribcage is too hard to penetrate like this.
I grunted and I tried to put my body weight on the handle of the knife.
I slammed my palm onto the back of the knife several times but still it didn’t go in deep enough to deal fatal damage.
I hammered again and again, grunting as if I was trying to put a nail inside a vampire’s heart.
The pain I was dealing is enough to loosen the man’s grip
I tried to grab the knife but it slipped because of the blood on my palms.
I kneed the man in his groin before piling my elbow into his nose.
Alicia : DADDY !!!!
I turned around in time to see Alicia rushing out followed by her sister.
The man kicked and pushed his attacker away and tried to go towards his daughter.
Before he could hug both of them, the man he barely wrestled away tried to stab him on his back but he fell, plunging the knife low into the back of the father’s calf, dragging a 3 inch cut and splitting open the skin.
Father : aRGHHHHHHHH!!!
Alicia , Ariel : Daddy !!! DADDY!!!
I ran forward but was rugby tackled onto the ground by another man that appeared out of nowhere.
I moved and put a lock around the man who just tackled me as I watched the stabber tried to score another kill targeting the girls with the father nursing his wound.
He got up and was about to go for Ariel when her father fought the pain in his calf, stood up and grabbed the knife with his bare hands before punching the terrorist on his nose. His daughters screamed as the man I was trying to put a lock on struggled violently.
He’s a lot heavier and bigger and it took everything I had to keep him down.
I wrapped my legs around his body and I pulled my head back as I felt the muscles in my arms burn.
Jackson : ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I saw Hong collapse a shoe cabinet onto the guy who jumped him the same time the girl’s father took another slash across the chest.
A teacher from the childcare shouted for the girls to come in but they refused. Their tiny hands were up, waving and flailing helplessly for the man to stop hurting their father.
Hong grabbed the man attacking the father by his hair and lifted him off the ground with a roar before slamming him back down. He kicked him in his face before stomping on his head.
Jackson :aRGHHH!!!!!!!!
I felt the man in my arms go limp and I relaxed my grip the same time I saw the 2 girls run to their father.
Alicia was crying as she tried to stop the bleeding with her cartoon print handkerchief. The moment it touched the wound, it was soaked with blood.
I shove the man aside and I saw Candy running towards Hong and i.
She paused and her hands went to her mouth when she saw the carnage in front of her.
I went over to the father and he just hugged onto his daughters.
Jackson : Are you ok…. ?
He nodded at me as he patted his crying daughters’ back, trying to reassure them everything is ok.
Father : It’s ok girls… it’s ok… daddy is ok….
I’m not a father, perhaps I would never be but at that very moment, I felt as if life has taught me a valuable lesson.
There is nothing a parent would not do for their child.
Candy : I….I… Jackson ….Hong… I got your ride…. Follow me….
I saw several paramedics run towards the childcare from carpark on the opposite block.
It’s still not safe. Several of the men we put on the ground is starting to rouse.
They were regrouping and picking up their weapons to make their last stand.
Probably they wanted to kill as many as they can before they were stopped.
I shouted for the teachers to bring the children out of the centre.
They need to leave now.
Right about then I saw more people arriving.
No, not terrorist. Not attackers.
Several residents had gathered on the ground floor and they were all armed.
Hong : Jackson !!! we need to go !!! ..
Father : go… go… I asked…. I asked the neighbours for help….. go…
Ariel waved at me as I started running.
As I ran, I turned and saw not Singaporeans going about their everyday lives.
No longer do I see people going to work.
No longer do I see aunties going to market.
I saw everyday folks, of different ethnicity, different skin colour, neighbours, fathers, grandfathers and even foreign domestic worker charging into the scene and beating up the terrorist who attacked the child care.
The worker from India who cleaned the estate hammered one of the attackers with the metal dustpan when he tried to approach Alicia and Ariel with a knife raised.
A helper with a broom was crying and screaming as she waved it frantically in front of her while putting her body in front of the girls and the father.
A mother with a knife, and a grandmother with a meat chopper came down, apron around their bodies as the teacher brought out the first group of kids crying for their parents.
They too put themselves in between the kids and the gathered group of bloodied terrorists.
The kid I saw earlier in smoking in school uniforms ran in, flanked by his friends, some of them with blonde hair and tattoos covering entire arm and legs.
He was shouting for his little sister that goes to that childcare.
The bloodied terrorist charged towards the resident line while the paramedics tried to save whoever they can. Before they can reach the line, the school skipping teenager bulldozed in followed by his friends.
The town council worker, the foreign domestic helper, a half naked retiree, a delivery man unloading goods half way, even a fast food delivery man still holding his helmet.
Everyone rushed the attackers, providing cover and protection for the helpless kids.
More neighbours arrived in droves, each carrying a crying child and bringing them to safety.
Differences among neighbours were put aside, it didn’t matter where you come from. The colour of your skin didn’t matter, the name in which you call god didn’t matter.
Where you go and pray and how you conduct it, didn’t matter.
What mattered is the place they call home.
The very neighbourhood, the place where daily lives as they knew it is different now.
Everything seemed to be happening at breakneck speed, its like watching a horror movie unfold in fast forward.
Candy told us that the car is 2 streets away.
We sprinted all the way over. The moment we got in, Candy put the car into drive.
I looked at the clock on the dashboard.
It’s hard to imagine barely an hour has passed since it all began. It felt like a lifetime ago.
8.35am
Jackson : Hougang…. Go to Hougang !!!
Candy : Jackson …. ! there’s no time… !!
Jackson : Hougang !!! go please !!
Candy turned onto Tampines ave 10 before swerving left into old tampines road.
I held onto the handle as Candy overtook cars on the narrow road by going against in coming traffic whenever she could.
There’s still time.
I kept telling myself there’s still time.
There must be.
Hong handled a bottle of water to me from the back seat and I coated the exterior of the bottle with blood when I took it.
I drank it all in a go and I bit down on my teeth trying hard not to break down.
Tears flowed freely from my eyes and I kept wiping them away.
I kept looking at google map on my phone. The triangle arrow moved closer and closer to the childcare in Hougang.
I only prayed it’s not too late.
I used up all the tissues in Candy’s car and I tried to wipe myself down as much as I could.
9am
There was a queue to enter the carpark. Someone was having trouble with the gantry.
Not wanting to waste time, I opened the door and I started to run.
It was right there in front of me barely a hundred metres away. There are no widespread carnage on the outside. People are still dropping off their kids.
A cloak of fear so dark spread inside me as I quickened my pace. It there are no one taking hostages, it meant someone must have planted something inside the childcare.
I just need to warn everyone and get all the kids and teacher out. Within that split second, I was even considering pulling my gun out and threatening everyone so they would run.
Cutting across the landscape turfing would save valuable seconds even if it meant leaping over bushes and still burning offerings on the ground. I leapt over a burning heap of incense paper and a auntie shouted at me in dialect for being disrespectful to the dead.
As I got closer I could see a little girl running back to a waiting car while her father went on ahead to the childcare.
I’m on time.
Everything seemed normal.
I’m on time.
I was almost there, right across the dual lane carpark when I felt a shockwave hit me. It threw me backwards against a parked bike. I collapsed and set off a domino effect, toppling 3 bikes in a row.
I landed on my back and I felt the searing heat brush past my face before dissipating.
I turned off the bike and collapsed onto my arms.
I felt as if all the air in my lungs has been sucked out and I could not hear anything. There was just this buzzing sound in my ear.
I opened my eyes and all I could see was thick grey smoke.
My fingers clawed at the ground and I saw Hong and Candy running towards me. The checked that I’m ok before grabbing and pulling me off the ground.
They were speaking and shouting but I could not hear anything.
My eyes barely registered their presence as I looked helplessly at the childcare in front of me covered with smoke as flames licked the interior.
I wanted to scream but no voice came out.
Hong and Candy got me back into the car and I screamed to the point of exhaustion in the car as we raced down the road.
On the opposite direction, ambulance and police vehicles raced towards the site where the explosion just happened.
Hong buried his face in his hands while Candy kept wiping her tears with the back of her hand as she drove.
We pulled into the carpark at the residential unit and Candy asked us to stay in the car for a bit as she goes up to make sure the place is clear.
I pulled the phone I took from the attacker out from my pocket.
It’s a cheap disposable phone.
I opened the messages and I saw only 1 message that was sent that morning. The time stamp coincides with the time Ray read it.
“ Attempt to take lion’s den failed. Regroup and hit again on 15th “
I started scrolling through the other messages and I tried to piece together what is happening.
There were news on the radio about accidents and incidents where many were injured but authorities say they are still trying to piece together the details.
Candy turned up the volume and the authorities is asking everyone to stay at home.
We arrived at the residential unit at Changi. It was empty.
Kamal and the rest has yet to arrive.
Candy helped Hong and I remove our tops to check for wounds.
She brought out the first aid kit and started cleaning our wounds.
Candy : Seven was shot on the shoulder and Declan needed surgery to remove a metal rod that went through his calf….they’re all back at the castle….
Candy told Hong and I that the injuries are not serious and Kamal is more than capable of attending to them with the help of the medical crew back home.
Candy : I need to close your wound Jackson…. It’s going to hurt…
I felt the needle punctured my skin near my shoulder and the drag of the string sliding inch by inch as Candy pulled both sides of my split skin towards each other.
Hong turned on the TV and all the news channels are reporting wide spread chaos all over the country.
Foreign news media are fast to conclude that this is a terrorist attack.
“ Barely a couple of years after their 50th birthday, Singapore was hit hard by what appears to be a coordinated terrorist attack…..”
The news drone on in the background and I could not hear anything all of a sudden. It’s like someone pressed the mute button.
Candy went over to Hong after she was done with me. Hong had very bad abrasions and bruises including a long cut across the tummy. It’s not deep and it barely bled but you could clearly see the red and angry skin on the verge of splitting.
Hong drank water as Candy cleaned up a wound on his calf. Her tears never stopped and they kept falling on Hong’s leg.
Hong : Candy…. Can…. Can I touch your breast before I die…
She smacked Hong on a bruise and he squeezed the bottle he was holding, splashing water all over his own face.
Hong : arghhhh!!! Arhgh!! Arhg!!!
Candy went to the bathroom after she was done attending to us, giving us time to calm down.
I could hear her on the phone talking to Yiling, giving her an update of what happened while trying hard not to break down.
Candy came out of the bathroom and asked for our guns.
Candy : I need to get rid of them …. And the phones too…. Give them to me.
I pulled it out and I was about to hand it over when I stopped myself.
I dialled Yiling’s number and she picked up at the 1st ring.
Yiling : Jackson ….
Jackson : They’re going to hit the lion’s den again on the 15th …
Yiling : How do you know that….?
Jackson : I …. I overheard it from one of the terrorist….
Yiling : Ok I’ll handle it…
Jackson : Where is the lion’s den… ?
Yiling : Jackson…. The lion’s den is safe…
Jackson : Tell me… where is the lion’s den !!
Yiling : NO!!.. I’ll handle it… the lion’s den is fine !! give the phone to Candy and stop using this line !!
She hung up on me and Candy grabbed the phone from me.
Candy : Jackson…! Calm down… !!
Candy chugged the phone and guns into a bag and checked the corridor before leaving.
Candy : I’ll buy food back…. Don’t leave this place…
As the door shut, Hong turned his attention from the door over to me.
Hong : I don’t care what den it is…. If I get to have another go at those fuckers…. I’m in….. find out where it is….
I opened the phone and I saw hundreds of messages dating almost 2 weeks back.
I opened each one, trying to piece together what happened.
I finally saw what I’m looking for. An address.
Somewhere awfully close to where the castle is. Barely a 10 minute drive away.
It’s another childcare, privately operated.
Jackson : I got it….
Hong : Where…. ?
Jackson : Bukit Timah….
……………………………………………….
Hong : ok…. That solves half the problem…. Now we just need to get there….
Jackson : It’s quite near the castle….
Hong : well I can tell you for sure if we go back to the castle, no way will boss let us leave it….. especially not when she knows you want to go where she don’t want you to go…..
Jackson : We’ll take one step at a time…. we need a ride….
I opened the door and I saw the gate is secured with an additional padlock. 2 separate keys are needed to leave the place.
There’s a camera in the living room as well.
Looking at the hinges of the gate, it doesn’t look like your typical standard HDB gate either.
I know it’s to keep us safe, but right now, it’s stopping us from getting out.
The chances are slim that there will be a spare key around but I have to try.
Hong : Candy has the key…. I saw her keep it in her pocket…
Jackson : there might be a spare one lying around… or something we can use to break the lock… worse case scenario, we’ll have to grab the key from her…
Hong : hahha…. I like your sense of humour….
Jackson : we can take her together easily… even in current condition….
Hong : that don’t sound right to me right now hahah….. but she’s a feisty little chilli padi Jackson ….. the hard approach don’t work…
Jackson : then what.. you want me to beg… ?
Hong : no harm trying…
I went to the kitchen and opened the cabinets. It’s fully stocked with instant noodles and canned food. Several crates of bottled waters sat on the floor and there’s even a mean looking water filter connected to the tap.
The fridge is empty but the freezer compartment is full of microwaveable stuff.
There’s no alcohol.
There’s a knife by the sink but I cannot find any tool I could use to break the lock or gate.
Looking out the window from the 4th floor unit, it’s too high to jump and we’re not in any condition to do a bit of wall climbing either.
Hong groaned in pain as he orientated his body to lay down on the sofa. He increased the volume of the TV and every channel he switched to are covering the different incidents happening all over the country.
From explosions to incidents with mass injury, the scenes in which the reporters were reporting from is pure chaos.
Medical personnel rushed to help the injured and while many more residents chipped in to help in whatever way they can.
I walked over to the living room and I could see a table by the side with numbers in red.
A tally of the number of casualties.
12pm
Candy came back with lunch and she saw us eyeing the key she stuffed deep into her pants.
Candy : I spoke with Boss…. NO!… you both are not leaving this place….just stay here for the time being….
Hong : Jackson says he’ll take off your pants if he has to, ahhaha… for the keys I mean….
Candy gave Hong a death stare as she made the gesture of throwing the packet of noodles at him.
Hong : Just kidding… just kidding…. Hahah…
Candy looked at me and I said nothing. She gave me my share of the food and the 3 of us ate quietly while following the news on the TV.
Some of the victims gave interviews, some of their relatives told what happened. Many more are crying on screen.
There was a shaky footage of a mother fainting when she saw the bodies of both her kids lying motionless outside a childcare in woodlands.
News also covered videos that went viral, of a father who lost his son breaking through the police line to stab one of the arrested terrorist in his neck.
Another viral video at a centre in Jurong showed a grieving father who lost his wife and kids. The pregnant wife was sending their 3 year old daughter to school when the attackers struck.
The screams and chaos around the childcare have barely settled when he snatched the gun from a police officer, shot 2 of the arrested terrorist point blank in their faces before turning the gun on himself.
I put the packet of noodles down, and while Hong continued eating, I could see his eyes turn red and watery. He forced himself to wolf down the entire packet of noodles before he limped and staggered to the bathroom and vomited it all out.
Candy’s food remained suspended in mid air as her shaking hands holding the chopsticks grabbed onto a few strands of noodles.
3.00pm
By 3pm, it was official.
The defence ministry put out a notice and condemn the attack.
I almost threw the chair at the TV when I saw Teng delivering a prepared statement while trying to act emotional.
3.30pm
All of us remained glued to the TV screen as reporters ran along the streets of Geylang. Apparently, there is still a hostage situation going on there.
Shaky footages of men fighting in the rough neighbourhood flashed on the screen and I could not longer watch any of it.
Jackson : shut it off….please….
With the TV gone, the house descended into eerie silence.
No one spoke and we just stared blankly into the air.
Candy : get some rest guys….
Jackson : Candy….
Candy : yah ? ….
Jackson : we need to go to the lion’s den…
Candy shook her head.
Candy : No… Boss told me it’s being handled….it’s quite the castle… she has sent men there already….
Jackson : who ? ..
Candy : Aaron and 10 others are parked right outside the gate…. It’s fine…
Hong : Jesus… Aaron…
Candy : There’s 10 other men there besides him….. it’ll be ok…
I gestured to the TV and told Candy that base on the latest reporting, there are a total of 7 explosions and 11 hostage taking incidents, there might be more we do not know of or it’s not reported.
Jackson : There’s more than 10 men at the childcare at Tampines… and they were told to regroup and hit the lion’s den on the 15th….
Candy : but…
I put up a hand and asked Candy to let me finish.
I showed her the phone I took from one of the attackers.
Jackson : I don’t know how many of them are here…. I don’t know how many going to hit on the 15th…. But there is more than 10 that is supposed to regroup from 1 childcare alone…. Can you imagine if all of these men hitting that 1 childcare at once….
I could see Candy considering what I just said and I asked her what does she know about that Childcare.
Jackson : What is this place…. Why is it so special ?
Candy : I don’t know either….
Jackson : Have you been there before… ?
Candy : A couple of times… I went with Boss but I always stayed outside….she goes in alone….
Candy assumed Yiling knew the principal or something, maybe catching up with friends.
Candy : It’s always during lull period, or when she stops working…. Or … or… late in the evening…. It’s… it’s not work related… because if it is, Boss won’t go there dressed in her pyjamas… bringing a few cans of beer…
Jackson : that place opens into the night… ?
Candy nodded.
Candy : there’s always people there… sometimes I see people picking up their kids as late as 10pm… some kids sleep over when their parents work late too…. I think Boss knows some of the teachers there…..
Jackson : What else can you tell me about that place…. ?
Candy : Boss owes the property that the childcare operates from including the adjacent sites…. In fact, out of that plot with 5 properties, 4 belongs to La Bella Vita….
Jackson : What about the 5th.
Candy : That one you cannot buy….
Jackson : Why not… ?
Candy : That is the North Korean Embassy….
Jackson : You’re shitting me….
Candy : No I’m not… it’s a pretty big plot….they never bothered anyone…
Jackson : There must be a reason why they are going to hit the place….
Candy : Boss has people outside on the road already…. The units beside the childcare are left empty and sealed… no one stays there…. And you can be sure no one will try to trespass into North Korean Embassy ground….
Jackson : In normal times….maybe… but not when everything is going crazy… we have to go…
Candy : What can we do even if we go there Jackson ??
Jackson : It beats sitting here and watching TV….
Candy : It’s for your own safety…. Do you know what you guys have done… ?? You discharged a weapon in a childcare…. You killed people in front of kids…. The teachers saw your face…. The kids saw your face… the cameras in the childcare saw everything….. you should lay low for now until everything gets sorted out…..
Jackson : We can’t… and you know it….
Candy : aRGHHHH!!!
Candy stood up abruptly, obviously frustrated.
She walked into the bedroom and I called out after her.
Jackson : We don’t know what time they will strike….but 15th is less than 48 hours away….
…………………………………………………………….
14th March 2017
Tuesday
8am
I hardly slept.
I sat in front of the TV, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Rumours are awash all over the internet with several conspiracy theories popping up.
Some foreign media are calling it an inside job.
An attack of this scale is near impossible to pull off unless you have someone on the inside making it happen. Especially not with Singapore’s tight control on firearms, explosives and immigration.
More viral videos emerged overnight with residents witnessing soldiers storming police posts, and police officers engaged in firefights with other police officers.
Some claimed a coup is taking place with politicians trying to seize power during this period of chaos and uncertainty.
3pm
The overall death toll continued to climb throughout the day. Candy tried talking to Yiling about the lion’s den but it was a no go.
Yiling refused to let us near that place.
Candy : Boss is adamant that you stay here…. Kamal, Seven and Declan are hold up in the pantry as well….
Jackson : Candy… think about it…. Please… just think about it….
She finished changing the dressing on our wounds and said she would.
8pm
Candy came back with dinner and after much persuading by Hong, she relented and bought some beer from the supermarket.
I kept looking at Candy, and she avoided my eyes on purpose.
10pm
Candy : Fuck it…. Let’s go ….
Hong : hahaha… alright….
Candy gestured to the camera up by the ceiling and says Boss will know what we are up to the moment she logs in.
Hong pulled a stool, got up on it and yanked the camera out.
Hong : there… problem solve….
Candy : Boss is going to kill us after this…..
We left the unit at 11pm and we drove straight to the lion’s den.
True enough, small 2 way road is packed with 3 vehicles on one side.
The childcare is operated out of a refurbished 3 storey bungalow. There’s a playground and sand pit by the side of the porch.
The lights are off on the top 2 levels but there are still activities on the ground floor.
I saw a female teacher through the window. She appears to be sorting out some paperwork. I could see her sporting a cap and her hair which is tied into a pony tail sticks out from the back.
Candy pulled up to one of them and the men inside were surprised to see us there.
We asked for an update to the situation and he told us they were running 3 shifts.
Jackson : Where is Aaron …. ?
Man : He just went to grab some food at the cookhouse……. He hasn’t slept in 2 days man…. Always running around….trying to organise things…
Jackson : I see…. Thank you…
Candy drove off and Hong commented under his breath.
Hong : Well… I believed the running part…
Candy : Tsk…Hong… don’t be an ass… Aaron has been coordinating the castle’s defence and deploying men to the warehouses this couple of days….
Hong : okaaaayyyyyyy….
We circled the plot to familiarise the surrounding and we passed by the North Korean Embassy.
The embassy guards looked at us and their fingers were never far away from the trigger of their rifle.
Candy parked outside a unit that belonged to Yiling and ask what’s the plan.
Candy : We can’t possibly just sit here….
Jackson : No need for all of us to be here… let’s take turns….The castle is near….go back and rest Candy….
Candy : If we go back… Boss might not let us out again….
Jackson : Don’t go from the front… head to the cookhouse and take the path to the farmhouse…. Everyone’s busy at the castle….they won’t look there….
Candy : Ok….
Jackson : Hong.. you too….
Hong : Oh goody… I get to sleep with Candy at the farmhouse… ? hahah..
Candy : touch me and you’re dead…. !
Hong : hahhaha…
I sent both of them back before going back to the lion’s den.
I remained awake, my eyes kept scanning the surrounding area for signs of activity.
To my front about 50m away are the line of 3 cars with La Bella Vita’s men in it.
Behind me is the North Korean embassy and my rear mirror allows me to see any vehicles coming from the back.
15th March 2017
6.30am
A motorcycle approached me from the front. I tensed up and only relaxed when I saw it was Hong.
He cut the engine and removed his helmet.
Jackson : You’re early….shift change is at 8….
Hong : If they are going to hit in the morning… it should be around now…. here… I got you something…
Hong showed me one of the axe I kept in the farmhouse.
Jackson : haha… thank you…
8am
Nothing. Nothing happened. Just your average day of parents dropping kids off at the centre.
I waiting until 8.30 just to be sure before leaving.
Hong : Go and rest… I doubt it will happen in the day….
I got to the farmhouse and I saw Candy tying up her hair in the bathroom.
Candy : I’m going to grab breakfast with Cindy and Xiaoyu….
Jackson : Does Yiling know… ?
Candy : Yes… she’s fucking pissed but she has no time to deal with us at the moment…..
I slept and woke up at 4pm with a jolt.
Hong was in the farmhouse with me. Candy must have started her shift by the den.
Hong : You were shouting in your sleep Jackson …..
Jackson : I was… ?
Hong nodded as he sipped his beer.
I took a shower and went to grab some food with Hong at the cookhouse.
Aaron walked in while on his phone, he saw us and he made an about turn, pretending he has something to attend to.
Hong : Unbelievable…
Jackson : Leave him be….
7.30pm
I took Hong’s bike over to Candy and took over the shift at 8pm.
Candy : It might not happen Jackson …. They might have call it off…. My guess is most of them are hiding now…. Go and rest Jackson ….
Jackson : it’s only a few more hours….
Candy : ok.. Boss is pulling the guys out tomorrow morning… we need them at the warehouses…
Jackson : ok… hopefully it’s a false alarm.
I listened to the radio while keeping an eye on the road.
10.30pm
I saw the headlights of the cars parked outside the childcare light up.
They started to move and when they came close to me, I rolled down my window and ask them what is going on.
Man : I don’t know…. got the order to head back to the castle….
Jackson : what… ? order from who… ?
Man : Aaron asked us to head back to the castle….
Jackson : Why… ?
Man : No idea man…. We’re pulling out…. We’re told to head to the warehouse in Jurong to relief the men over there….
The 3 cars drove away back towards the castle and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on it’s end.
This is not right. Something is wrong.
This don’t make sense at all.
10.45pm
I saw 2 goods Van approaching from the opposite direction. I started the car engine but I kept the headlights off.
One stopped before the childcare while the other parked in front of it.
My foot gently applied pressure on the accelerator and I released the hand brakes.
The side door of the van slid open and I saw several man emerge from the vehicle. They checked the surroundings before pulling out their weapons from inside the vehicle.
Machetes, clubs, crowbars and even a baseball bat.
I floored the accelerator and sped towards the men.
As I got closer, I saw the Van parked further away had even more men. Close to 10 of them.
The gate to the lion’s den was shut and many of them started scaling the fence.
Someone shouted to warn their friends of my approach as I rammed my vehicle into a man who was trying to unload a large canister of what looked like flammable liquid.
I sandwiched him against the side of the van and the crashed deployed the airbags in my car.
I could taste blood in my mouth as I staggered outside and grabbed my axe. I tried pulling it out but it’s stuck. More than half of the men already made it inside the den’s compound and I could hear the leader shouting for all of them to get in.
“ GO !!! GO!!! GO!!! Take the DEN!!! “
A guy rushed towards me with a machete and I avoided his mid air slash. Grabbing his arm and sliding my body in, I pulled his wrist down against my shoulder as I disarmed him. I wrestled him onto the floor and I grabbed his hair, using it as a handle, I rocked and smashed his face a few times against the road, painting the white directional arrow a dark shade of red.
One of his friend tackled me onto the floor and I blocked his attempt to knife me. Pushing my thumb into his eye, I got him to release the pressure he was putting on my body with his.
I got up and head butted him before grabbing the knife and plunging it into his stomach.
I pulled it out and plunge it under his armpit and pushed him away from me.
Most of the men have made it over the fence and are all heading into the childcare.
I jumped onto the fence and I started to climb.
The attack has already started. Anytime now the screams of the teachers and kids that were roused from their sleep will reach my ears.
There was plenty of shouting.
I ran into the ground floor living area. It was empty.
There’s no one there.
I grabbed an ornamental candlestick and ran up to level 2.
The staircase leading up to level 3 is at the other end of the corridor and I caught sight of one of the men running up.
Level 2 is flanked by doors on both sides of the corridor.
I pushed open doors to empty classrooms and play area, with each open door, my heart braced itself for a grotesque scene of blood and bodies but there were none.
All 6 doors I opened on level 2 were empty.
I could hear the shouts and commotions on level 3.
I flew up the dog leg staircase as fast as my legs could carry me.
I saw the terrorist closest to me and I smashed the candlestick into his back, snapping it into 2 before he could step through the glass door his friends just walked into.
I wrestled him down onto the floor and I struggled to put him in a submission lock. We grunted and tussled on the ground and I finally managed to get my arm around his neck.
With internal walls knocked down, level 3 is essentially a large hall about the size of a basketball court albeit with columns at regular spacing. A full height glass wall separated the staircase from the rest of the hall.
The entrance is controlled by an electronic lock and it was snapped shut. One of the terrorist tried to hit the release button repeatly but it would not open. He tried smashing the glass with the bat he was holding but the glass refused to budge.
He could only look on helplessly as I slowly choke his struggling friend. Another guy came to try and open the door but it was no use.
Just before I wash myself in despair that I would not be able to help the kids and teacher inside the hall, I froze.
I could see the kids that were roused from their sleep and gathered in the hall during this ungodly hour. They varied in age, between 3 to 15 years old. There are almost dozen of them.
I could see the 2 female teachers standing in front of the children.
I held onto the struggling man as I realised something was wrong.
The kids at this childcare did not cry.
The teachers at this childcare did not scream.
Faced with almost a dozen armed men in front of them, they remained eerily still and calm. Like a portrait in a horror movie.
It was then I realised both the female teacher have their caps pulled down, covering most of their face.
The terrorist tried to advance but paused almost immediately.
A figure clad in black stepped out from behind a column. It’s a man.
He was dressed in the same manner with a mask similar to the 2 guys I saw on the roof at Rajah Holdings that day and he’s armed.
Not with a samurai sword. His built is different from the 2 lean man on Rajah’s rooftop. He’s beefier.
He stood upright with an imposing posture carrying the 2.1m long Kwandao in the same manner a general would in the battlefield.
A door at the back opened and I could feel my hand tremble when I saw a large heavy set man walk out slowly. He’s huge, and around his right wrist is a metal cuff that drags a 2m long chain.
On his left hand, he held a fucking meat cleaver with chipped and jagged edges.
He too wore a mask and was dressed in black but he has an apron around his body. He looked like a butcher in a fucking horror show.
He stood beside the man carrying the kwandao and you could literally see the terrorist trapped inside the room tremble in fear when faced with such abomination.
They are used to seeing kids cry and teachers scream in fear.
They are used to the intoxicating satisfaction from threatening helpless care givers and children.
Now, faced with teachers that don’t falter in front of danger and adversity, faced with young children and kids that don’t cry, don’t scream, don’t pee in their pants, they froze.
All of them froze.
The group of terrorists backed up against the glass and a few of them tried to unlock the glass door by hammering it. I could feel the life of the man I was strangling slowly slipping away.
One of the female teachers, with her head held low, switched on the large projector TV in the room with a remote.
I saw our Prime Minister’s face appear as he addressed the nation during this crisis.
The teacher kept increasing the volume.
And the more she did, the more frantic it got the men trapped inside the hall.
I could hear the prime minister speech from outside the glass door.
I could see his face projected on the large screen by the side.
Welly Chin looked tired, it’s like he hasn’t slept in days but look beyond that exhausted expression, you could see the fire in his eyes and the iron in his will.
He spoke with anger and conviction
PM : We shall fight them ………………we shall fight on the seas and oceans……
The teacher kept increasing the volume and I felt goosebumps all over my body as the kids slowly and calmly raised their hands and put it over their ears. It’s like all of them knew what to do.
PM : We shall fight them in the streets….. on the roads…. On the very path your kids take to school……
PM : We shall fight them on the beaches,…… we shall fight them in the streets of the CBD…… no matter where they may be….. we shall fight them
The younger kids turned and face the other direction, away from the terrorists
PM : We shall fight them in the hills, in our alleyways…………………we shall defend our island home…… no matter the cost…..
PM : We shall never surrender………..
There was a moment of pause as the prime minister gathered his emotions before wrapping his message up.
When he looked back up at the camera, he delivered a message to LFO.
The organisation responsible for this attack.
PM : And to the organisation responsible for this …………you did not cripple this country……
PM : You just woke a sleeping lion…
I felt the man I was strangling in my arm go limp as the older kids who remained facing the front closed all their eyes.
……………………………………………….
Thank you for all the comments
Hope you enjoyed the read so far, good parts coming soon
Apologies for lack of replies, will do so after i wrap up this piece is a couple of weeks time.
Enjoy the long weekend all. Stay safe.
James
One of the terrorist started hammering the magnetic catch at the top of the glass panel, hoping that it will give way.
The leader among the terrorist , a dark skinned individual grabbed him man, trying to get them to snap out of their fear. He turned them around to face the 2 masked men who remained unmoving.
Leader : They’re just trying to scare you !!!! they’re just trying to scare you !!!!!
He started pushing his men 2 at a time towards the centre of the hall.
A few of them hesitated for a couple of seconds but seeing that the 2 masked men did not move, he decided to go for the kill.
Their half hearted cry accompanied their raised weapons as 4 of the terrorist went for the man carrying the 2m Kwandao. No one dared approach the butcher with the chain and cleaver in hand.
It was the logical choice to make in that situation, go for the less scary and smaller size one.
That decision turned out to be a decision that they would not be able to regret.
The leader grabbed and pushed all of his men forward while he himself remained by the glass door as I looked on.
The man with the kwandao took a step back while leaving the massive blade on the ground, unfazed by the approaching men. He held onto the handle end of the kwandao and timed it perfectly as he kicked the heavy weapon upwards, slicing the cheek of one of the terrorist off his face.
Before the lump of flesh touched the ground, he dashed back into the kill zone with both hands on his kwandao. He swept one attacker off his feet with the end of the kwandao, parried the slash of a machete with his blade, before throwing the whole weapon horizontally at the remaining terrorist.
The last man tried to hold onto the weapon without knowing how heavy it is. The moment he held onto it, he staggered backwards as the blade part of the weapon fell on the floor like a gym goer overestimating the amount of weights he could lift.
The owner of the blade delivered a perfect uppercut, dislodging the terrorist’s hold of the blade and sending him at least 15cm off the ground. The masked men grabbed onto his kwandao and angled the blade to cover his face the same time the machete he parried from the first strike made a 2nd attempt.
He face fuck the attacker with the side of the massive weapon and swung it with such force that it ripped open the stomach of the man he tripped onto the ground earlier as he tried to get back up.
Completing the swing of his kwandao, he lodged it into the side of the man wielding the machete, spilling blood and flesh onto the pants and shoes of the teacher with her cap pulled low.
Jackson : Jesus…..
It happened all within 1 smooth strike.
He took out 4 men at once.
There’s no hesitation, no mercy.
The leader pushed 6 men towards the scary looking butcher who had coiled up the chain around his right arm while his friend fought.
The butcher’s roar could be heard through the glass panels and the late night commercials that is showing on TV after the prime minister’s speech.
Blocking metal rods and machetes with this arm that is encased with metal chains, he swung his cleaver, separating limbs from bodies as easily as a sushi chef removing chunks of fish for your dinner plate.
A man suffered his kick and the force knocked him back on his bottom before he did a backward roll.
The butcher’s chipped cleaver lodge itself in one of the man’s shoulder, spilling blood all over his screaming friends as he fisted another in the face with knuckles of metal chains.
A gungho terrorist ran and jumped into mid-air with his machete raised as if he was a samurai going for a critical strike.
The only thing greeting him was the blunt end of the kwandao, fracturing several of his ribs. The terrorist fell face first onto the floor and kwandao repositioned his head and shoulder at a new 30 degree angle while spilling blood all over the hall.
Spending time lodge in a person’s body is never the intent for the massive weapon in play in the hall.
I trembled and took a step back as the horrifying screams of the men in the hall pierced through my ears.
The chain uncoiled itself and swept through the air at a 1.5m height as the butcher used it as a whip.
He didn’t care who was in the way.
He swung it even when his friend was in the way, the heavy metal split flesh immediately when they came into contact.
They must have fought together often, the butcher’s friend dropped to the ground at the last minute, landing firmly on 1 hand, displaying nothing short of a perfect 1 arm push up position before bouncing right up and shoving the blunt end of the kwandao into another terrorist’s stomach.
The leader and another man circumvent the fight in the middle of the hall and went for the teachers and the kids instead.
With the 2 masked men pushing forward, the space behind them had opened up, leaving the teachers and the kids exposed.
Jackson : WATCH OUT !!!! BEHIND YOU!!!!!
I don’t know if they could hear me as I hammer on the glass door that was just redecorated with a fresh squirt of blood.
The leader went for one of the teacher.
The teacher with the remote control moved at the very last moment, sliding low like a defender tackling the striker of the opposing team.
She tripped him off balance, rotated her body around him like she was a ballroom dancing with her partner only in this care, the completion of that swift rotation positioned her arms around the leader’s neck.
The teacher leaned back, avoiding the wild swing of the leader’s knife. She brought him down to the ground like predator tackling a bigger prey.
With the leader on his knees, she danced around his shoulders and before you know it, has her thigh gripping onto his neck while her free arm locked onto his weapon wielding arm.
I saw the abrupt snap of her body, like a opera artist snapping their head towards the audience with their eyes wide apart and the leader went limp immediately.
The other terrorist went for the other teacher and suffered an equal fate.
He suffered a flurry of punches and kicks the moment his weapon was knocked off.
With each punch, I realised the teacher’s white top gets more and more splattered with blood. Only when the terrorist fell backwards like a tree being cut for it’s timber did I realised that his face is all ripped up with flesh hanging loosely off it.
The knuckles of that teacher stained a deep shade of red and I could see she was wearing something that looked like a customised knuckle duster. Perhaps one that is decided to rip flesh and skin.
I backed away again as the remaining terrorist in the hall dwindled to a few screaming and crying ones clutching their injured limbs and friends.
The butcher severed the head of one of them and blood began to floow out form under the glass panel, spilling into a miniature waterfall down the steps I was standing on.
I backed down the stairs all the way as the horror I just witness replayed itself again in my head.
They fucked with the wrong people.
Teng is fucked.
What Welly Chin said on TV is right.
Not only did they wake a sleeping lion, they tried to fuck with his den as well.
I jumped onto the ground floor and ran out into the porch.
This is not your everyday childcare.
It’s not a place where your office going parents send their kids to school.
It’s the place where the men and women who do their work while wearing that same black masks send their kids to be taken care of.
A place where they know their kids will be safe as they do what they do for a living.
A place where they know no one can ever threaten their love ones.
And if anyone is dumb enough to try, they will not live to tell the consequences.
As I climbed the gate to get back out, I saw 2 more vans approaching.
I saw the flash of headlights from the other end and within seconds, the cars on the right were speeding towards the vans approaching from the left.
The 3 cars of men which were earlier recalled by Aaron reappeared.
The sound of metal meeting metal broke the silence of the night in the neighbourhood as men emerged from both sides and immediately engaged each other.
A 4th car from La Bella vita screeched to a stop shortly after and I saw Aaron, Hong , Cindy and Candy jumping out of the vehicle.
One of the terrorist came at me but I disarmed him and sent him headfirst into the mangled remains of a car bonnet.
Aaron hung back and while Hong ran towards us, kicking a man who just received a blow in his head by a metal rod. Cindy’s fingers closed around the neck of one of the attackers and literally ripped him from the ground which he was standing on, sending him into a lamppost.
The impact was strong enough to shake the structure, causing all the shadows on the ground cast by that lamp to shake for a second or two.
Aaron remained by the car, shouting instructions to the men who did not look like could hear him, he held onto Candy to stay back as he jabbed angrily at his phone.
Cindy took the position in front of the gate, making sure no one enters the compound again, not the terrorist, not La Bella Vita’s men either.
Hong : Are you ok Jackson ?!!
Jackson : I’m ok… I’m ok…. What’s happening… ?
Hong : we came as fast as we could…. I was out at the medical centre with Aaron when we saw the cars coming back…..We quickly approached them to find out why……. The driver told us they were ordered to head straight for the warehouses but quite a few of the guys wants to be dropped off to use the toilet…..
Jackson : I was told Aaron redeployed all of them to the warehouse….and shortly after that, the attackers came…..
Hong shook his head.
Hong : No… I don’t think it’s Aaron….i was with him all the time…he was as shocked as me when he saw the men back at the castle…. He asked them who was the one who told them he gave the order to pull out…. No one could answer…. It was then they realised 2 of the guys who needed to use the bathroom were gone….
Someone just passed the message and the rest bought it.
Hong : we immediately grab a car and sent everyone back here….
Hong told me they barely started driving when Yiling called and was screaming over the phone about where the fuck everyone is and why is the lion’s den unguarded.
Jackson : This don’t make sense…. So it’s not Aaron who called them back…. ? then who…. ?
Hong : Doesn’t look like it…. We were talking to Kamal all the time and none of us even touched our phones…. Aaron was still bragging to us about how he managed to schedule the guys to make sure there is always an overlap during shift change…..and that he would …. Chop…. If anything happened…
Hong did a self-castration gesture before adding that Aaron was eager to redeem himself after he bolted on us, he’s not going to fuck something as simple as keeping a shit load of guys at the lion’s den up.
Hong : Aaron may be a coward… but it doesn’t make sense for him to redeploy.
Jackson : … then… who… ?
Hong shrugged his shoulders.