Everywhere was dark as it has always been in previous nights. Some were sobbing and some were crying real loud that their noise was shrieking. I had cried all through the day, but just summoned courage and wiped my tears. Amidst the noise made by my fellow schoolmates in agony, I could hear the voices of some of the armed men winning and dinning.
‘‘This is the valley of death,’’ I told myself. I was lost in thought until I heard my name ‘‘Aminat, Aminat, come over here’’. It was my school friend Mariam whom we were now held together with our fellow schoolmates as hostages. I moved closer to were she was.
‘‘Mariam what is it?’’. I asked her.
‘‘I was thinking if we could both escape from this place’’. She whispered with an exhausted voice.
‘‘That is impossible. Have you forgotten what happened to those girls who tried to escape? The whole surrounding is been heavily guarded by armed men how do you want to get past them?’’ I replied.
She heaved a sigh and then burst into tears. I moved closer to her and made her lean on me as I patted her on the back.
‘‘Its okay may God see us through ’’. I said to her.
My words of sympathy was not helping as she was now crying very loud.

I went in thought again but this time I recalled how Mariam and I ended up in this hell. I wondered what the...