The four boys lined up with a smile waved goodbye and came out of the gate as they entered, while Mrs. Clara looked at them as long as she could see them and then she returned to her desk to continue her work.
--Can we go to see where those trucks are going?-- Zandi said, breaking the silence between the boys.
--Ok! -- Efia and Biko said, while Ima nodded.
-- It's not very far from here, it's right behind that little hill -- Biko continued.
-- But do not let us see, those people do not like to have intruders in the area,-- Ima said.
After a few minutes they began to see the first trucks that came from another street in front them, they parted just above the hill where they had a good view without making any effort to climb, with a wheelchair it would be difficult. So they climbed slowly on the observation point laying down on the ground not to be noticed. From that point they could see the entrance of the large field enclosed by high walls with barbed wire placed above, they can see the entrance where the lorries entered, there was a large open gate, in the middle there was a bar that rose at the passage of the trucks, at the ends of the bar there were two armed men and another one in a sentry box that controlled documents taken from the trucks. On the backside behind the sentry there was a kind of greyish and malodorous little river that with a series of channels was rising in the source.
--You see Zandi, they do not let strangers enter, that is the poison that they throw in our source, the same thing has reduced in this way Efia – Biko said in a low voice.
--What do they do inside? –Zandi asked.
-- From the land of our sacred mountain we get a yellow metal that they call gold, it is useless, it decorates the wearer, but it is expensive, because they are destroying our mountain, our trees, our life, -- Ima said.
--Do someone try to rebel? -- Zandi said.
--No one, they're all scared, only Demetrio tries to give them a hard time, but he's often punished, poor man -- Efia said.
--Demetrio? And who is he? – Zandi asked.
-- He is a boy who lives in the forest, he does not speak well our language, he lives wild like monkeys, he does not like live in the village, someone said he was born in the forest and he does not want to stay in another place, he is very grumpy towards everyone, and he tries to resist to the invaders, but his rudimentary weapons cannot do anything against them and at the end they hurt him, luckily he's a hard bone, not like my brother, -- Ima said looking at Biko.
--I will do it too but I know when I cannot go any further,-- Biko replied
-- Yes, your “further” is fear,-- Ima said.
--Stop it! – Efia admonished.
--Can we look for him and talk to this Demetrio?-- Zandi proposed.
--What do you want to do?—Efia asked.
--One man is not much but if we join we can do something,-- Zandi said, getting up and going down the hill.
The others followed her, when they were all on the ground, Efia sat in the carriage and Zandi continued:
-- If we find him, we can know something more about these people, what they do etc etc, he certainly knows more than what we could discover, he risked fighting and certainly he saw.
--But he's inside the forest, there it's very dangerous, there are scorpion, snakes, leopards and black panthers, we will not get out of there alive,-- Biko said.
--You are always the usual fearful,-- Ima said.
---Biko is not all wrong, no one dares to enter them since several years, and those who did not 'ever came back -- Efia added.
- I know, but if I'm here it's definitely for a reason and I think if I'm holding hands I will not solve anything, and someone has to do something. Look, everything's dying, first he's going to die what surrounds us and then we will die. No one is obliged to follow me, after all I have nothing to lose. Tell me where I have to continue and I will go there, I will have five hours of light or maybe more, if everything is okay I'll be back when the sun has not set yet,-- Zandi said.
-- The road is there! It starts right from those trees over there, from there you can get to the heart of the forest, but do you will really go there? -. Biko said.
--Yes!-- Zandi said starting to move but she was stopped by Efia.
--Stop! --
--Efia, I must go, maybe I'll find out the reason I'm here,-- Zandi said
--I do not want to stop you, I'm coming with you,--Efia said with a smile.
--Well, I come too,--Ima said.
-- Me too, otherwise who will push the wheelchair? You are girls -- Biko said starting to push the wheelchair taking the lead of the expedition, the other two girls with a smile moved in that direction.
After not even five minutes of travel, they heard a big roar and a cloud of smoke came forward on the road they were following, they accelerated their pace and after making a couple of bends they arrived at the scene, there was a dozens of people who watched, Mosi too. Immediately the boys approached the old father of Efia, they watched what everyone was seeing, from outside the enclosure where they were, they were able to see well the scene: there was a large pile of rubble that before were a house, there was a big bulldozer, the architect of this disaster, on the right side the fence had been thrown down by the entrance of the bulldozer, on the opposite side the thick woods began bordering to the plot of land of the unfortunate lord, behind the destroyed house there was another plot with a house near to the destruction, scattered near the mechanical means there were three soldiers armed with a machine gun, near the house a woman with her two young children watched her house destroyed crying in silence, her husband with Nassor (the chief tribe of Zebenjo) spoke with despair with one who seemed the higher than the three soldiers.
--Father, what has happened? -- Efia asked.
--Those bad people, those invaders have destroyed their home,-- Mosi said.
--Why do they these abuse of power?,-- Zandi asked.
--If I have well understood, another way must pass here to facilitate the arrival of trucks coming from the sacred mountain -- the old man answered.
--Why does the general state allow them to do that? Should not it intervene? -- Biko asked
--It cannot, because they are all corrupt, in exchange for gold they concede everything, they are selling our land to the stranger, they told me they are very powerful, this mine is managed by a very powerful international multinational -- Mosi answered.
Meanwhile, the animated conversation of the soldiers was heard.
-- Where will I go with my family? What can I bring them to eat? I had my field here, I cultivated it and with its fruits we lived in peace – the owner shouted crying.
--Our street must pass here, we have had the concessions, so you have to go away --the highest soldier answered.
--It cannot be that one morning you destroy a family, without telling anyone, and without an adequate compensation, this is steal –Nassor admonished in the direction of the soldiers.
--Silence! Do not you dare talk to us in this way!,-- the second soldier replied, threatening with the weapon.
--What problem is there?, he and his family can come and work with us, we will treat them well -- the first soldier answered looking at the others and bursting into a laughter.
--Yes, of course, work 16 hours a day, whipped, for a cup of rice just to make you enrich with our stolen land – Nassor made clear.
Meanwhile, Zandi began to feel a tingling that came from her chest. But it did not attract her attention, she made her way through the people present and she went in the middle of the dispute. Slowly everyone's eyes focused on her, when she was among the soldiers and the oppressed people ..
--Why