''Nna, na wetin dey go on hear, see as una just gather dey mourn like say person die''

Emeka talk as him enter room see where all men just keep their face dull. Na so him just look round from Tompolo face to John Togo. When nobody answer am, he just waka go fridge, open am come carry one bottle of small stout, open am come begin drink.

''See, even if na una mothers wey don die come re-die again, make una tell me na, all men don tay wey e eat funeral food jor''

He yan. This one come make everybody look am like say na from planet of ape im comot from. Emeka sometimes na big wahala but im bravery na im dem dey depend on top.

''Nobody mama die for here, you just kack no know the news wey dey gulivate dey dilate around say because your head na for kpekus you bury am put. Na amnesty na im government dey talk about for here''

Tompolo answer am with vex im eyes red like say dem soak am for igbo water, all im vein just stand like bamboo tree. Na so the beer Emeka dey drink just turn like water for im mouth.

''That one dey impossible na, na there ma some government dey carry chop, our militancy na for Aso rock e dey jor, dem no fit stop am''

Him conclude.

''See this wan di ara, na wetin you know, na Vice imself na im carry the news come here sef, how you take want make we tell am no since na him initiate us sef. That malam don give am fura da nono shack well''

John Togo come yan finally. The whole talk no just sweet Emeka as im just carry im self comot from dia come go outside. E don tay wey im leave him land after Bakassi come dey begin kill people as anyhow, even people wey him know say no dey thief like am don die. Na so im eye waka round the whole place.

Na the place wey him don dey call im house be this, he even plan say na Juliana, that fine Ijaw girl, na her e go marry but see am now. After he just think finish, he carry leg waka back enter room go meet Tompolo and John Togo.

''Na wetin come be the plans now?''

Emeka ask the breeze wey dey blow hoping say e go carry the message enter their ear as them just siddon like plywood wey dey Onitsha.

''We no get anyone for now, but e go hand to cut hand comot from wetin dey satisy all men. Me know how many house I don erect for mainland and VI but I still dey appear jungle cos na my work be this''

Tompolo come lament. John Togo just look am like say na dust just comot from im mouth. Vex stand up com enter the next room where them SK dey pam. Na so him grab one M16 waka come outside, Emeka and Tompolo just dey look am to see wetin him wan do. John Togo cock the gun come waka go outside.

''tatatatatatatatatta''

Him release shots enter air. The signal say meeting dey be that as the sound of SKs just dey sound dey enter deep inside the creek. John Waka go back room go drop gun, him chest dey shake up and down like say him heart and lungs wan jump comot. Come outside come siddon back. Nobody ask am why him order for meeting as na silent agreement between them not to dey question their own actions.

''Eleluwe, nnamdeli no va!!! Water na sky e plenty pass, shit no do oath with nyash, man pikin no dey go school of fvcking''

Na so chants full air as people start to dey appear for the meeting. John Togo, Tompolo and Emeka just stand up waka go outside go meet those wey dey come. Young men wey dia heart don waka go dia back, fear no dey dia eyes and na so all of them hefty. Bullets design some of their body for criss-cross while some na juju dey dia own. Na so them gather dey come dey chants war songs both in vernacular and pidgin. As them reach where the leaders stand na so them stop come raise their hands up to salute them, carry am come back come hit their chest.

''Who say mosquito no get preek, no be mouth bat dey take shit from, breeze no blow but cloud still dey waka for sky, moon no shine for night but light still dey... Our blood na one, no mama or papa fit come between us.... We remove our knicker for our big bros dem''

With that they bend down go on one knee, their hands raised up go sky.

Emeka look them for their head, smile come dey dance for im mouth. These na boys wey im don train for years to make dem reach this level, now fear no dey dia blood and blood na wetin be their food.

As if them plan am, the three of three of them just raise their own hands go sky. Their heart just dey beat as one.

Disclaimer

Names and locations used in this write-up are but figments of the writer's imagination. Any semblance to anyone living or dead is mere coincidence...

To be continued....

Please give me your take on it as it will be my new project after completing ''Attai... The Player from Kano.''

Thanks....

Please tell me what you all think...

U try, e make sense, since its a project,it will be interesting,but d pigin too strong,sometimes i no understand wetin u dey talk.

Damex333: U try, e make sense, since its a project,it will be interesting,but d pigin too strong,sometimes i no understand wetin u dey talk.

Me dey try wan sound like southern pikin.... No vex, with time you go begin flow.....

Pardon me to say, but after reading through this, I have resolved to continue by mixing both pidgin and english.

I hope it comes out fine....

Lol at mosquito blokous
Following

Stella_Bella: Lol at mosquito blokous
Following

stella u don spoil finish, wetin b blokous?

Choi !!! The story look like something way go sweet ooo. But to talk true, dis thing hard to read small oooo. Anyway, we don carry chair tanda. No shaking. We dey ur back.

olenyi: Choi !!! The story look like something way go sweet ooo. But to talk true, dis thing hard to read small oooo. Anyway, we don carry chair tanda. No shaking. We dey ur back.

Encouragement number 1... Me go mix am like the other threads... I find am difficult ma when I try read am out....

@Damex333 and olenyi, no be say d pidgin strong or hard, him dey write d pidgin in a poetic form dats y e be like say e strong. (nobody speak strong pidgin reach warri people )Like me i no get problem with am because me na pidgin i take learn history and biology for secondary skul. So oga foxy, just put d pidgin 4 simple and storytelling form, or u fit also do codemixing as u suggest. All join, anyone me i dey.

Anyone dey okay,but if u choose pigin try soften d pedal

Having concluded ''Attai.... The Player from Kano...'', I will like to say I will continue this one God willing tomorrow... Do not leave because it promises something I can't say...

Ok.
I no go buy novel again.
Oya nack tori.

Hian......so I know sabi pidgin Men dopeness dey do u oh

movmentish: Hian......so I know sabi pidgin Men dopeness dey do u oh

Haaaa... As Peter pointed out, na poetic pidgin.... Make I use am continue jor....

I looked at the clock on the wall, it was already some moments past midnight and the sky outside was cloudy. No trace of the moon and the stars seemed to be having a swell time peeping out of the clouds that sailed past to an unknown destination. Soon the wind came, followed by flashes of lightning accompanied by thunder. I had one thing for thunder, I had always feared them but had to do away with the fear when I found myself in the creeks. Rains come without warning and the tall trees always hide the sun from view while inside the forest. It is only the clouds and moon with a few stars that can be seen at a particular time when the moon embarks on its journey across the earth.

I looked at the clock again, this time getting angry and wishing I had join the others in going for the meeting, now all I have to do is seat idly while awaiting their return. I cursed under my breath and wishing it was not my turn to cook that night. My cabin mates always looked forward to my cooking as I had stayed a long time at home with my mother as the only son doing chores and menial jobs but had to leave the village for the creek when she had succumbed to cholera.

“Who go see us remain asleep# who go hear of us remain deaf# our name na poison# our voice na weapon”

I adjusted my sitting position as I heard their voice. The boys are now coming back and it would be uncalled for to find me sleeping or in a weak position. During orientation and initiation, we had been told not to give sleep a chance whenever we are alone, so fighting sleep has become something I always looked forward to. I had conquered sleep in numerous battles that sleep had gone to reinforce just to defeat me. The door to the cabin opened the same moment I dished out the food I had prepared. Yam porridge with lots of fish caught from the sea. The aroma that emanated from the pot a while ago had tempted me in tasting directly from the pot but I held myself. After all, Baba whose charm I had come to believe in had told me with a shaky voice:

“A..tt..ai, mak..e you no con..sume food wey op..keke gallivant prepare or waka enter pot directly without moving the edible first enter plate. The day wey you do like that na fasting for 1 week with only palm kernel and water get you.”

I had looked at baba incredulously that night. I could still remember it vividly.

After the initiation ritual that involves being kicked around, beaten and tied upside down. Soaked in a drum containing oil and water to see how long you can stay underwater and left alone in the jungle for a week with nothing but a knife, a pistol and seven bullets for each day and other drillings that are inhumane to mention which you must pass as a test to your manhood. We were all bundled in a straight line to Baba’s shrine which was located deep in the creek with only our underpants on. Baba’s shrine has this mysterious look round about it, blood of humans or animals splashed on a once white cloth that is used to create a covering for it. We stood outside as we were only allowed in one at a time.

My turn came and I walked into the shrine my heart already hardened from the numerous drills I had received. I looked at the shrine and took the whole scenario in at once, my mind taking a photograph of where every fetish item is located. On the wall just above where Baba sat down were human skulls, tooth missing from some of them while others look broken in at the cranium. I shuddered, not because I had not seen a human skull before but from the fact that Baba handed something to me in a human skull to drink. I collected the skull and looked inside while Baba voice filled the scary shrine:

“Drink and you will know no fear, your body shall be invincible to steel and in dire situations you will find yourself at the first image that crops into your mind”

I looked hesitatingly at the human blood mixed with what looks like human brain and other things I can’t divulge before hardening my mind and drinking it all in a gulp. As the liquid passed through my throat, I felt the strong urge to throw up but remained seated my face contorted, while Baba laughed, whether in amusement or wickedness I can’t tell. He stood up from his position and performed a kind of dance, wriggling his waist and stamping one foot to the ground as he made his way towards me with a knife. He used the blade in making deep incisions on my chest that gave way to my blood flowing freely while he blew a foul smelling powder into it. I gritted my teeth to prevent me from screaming as the powder stung me deeply but stopping the blood from flowing.

“Oya, carry hand rub your chest make I see the effect”

Baba commanded. I did just that and was amazed to see that the knife cuts was no longer there instead in its place were scars feeling years old and vanishing as I touched them. Baba then stroked my head with a feather that was tied round with a red cord and bounded firmly in a slim calabash. As the feathers touched me, powers surged through me and every vein in my body stood in expectancy. Baba then proceeded to mark me on the head with a red substance. This calmed me down and my breath and temper which had soared came back to normal.

I shook my head and smiled as I scooped the food into a tray as this was the custom. Brothers eating from the same plate are hard to separate even on the battle field.

“Attai, you waist time pass woman wey dey do makeup jor, na now na im you go dey dish food? After you don hear our voice like five hours ago as we dey come back”

Mustapha queried. I shook my head; Mustapha had always been like that. Nothing is always done too fast for his liking. Slim, tall and with a finely cut face, he possesses the strength of a horse and is always the one to lead us into doing something. He starts a fight and expects us to finish it which we always do as one.

“No mind am, na to dey here dey count the number of stars wey dey flash for sky like say im dey see wetin dey inside”

Ekoja chipped in. Ekoja and his ever flowing talks which had put him in trouble more than it had removed him. Short and dark with a slight bald hair that makes us laugh each time he is told to do the drill of planting his head on bare rock. He is slow to anger but dangerous when pushed over the edge. He had looked at a senior and told him to go eat shit when asked why he came for the morning exercise late, which he had done because Mustapha prepared some herbs and told him it will help loosen him up a little bit. And it did loosen him as he purged for a whole week.

“If na Attai case una dey, make una forget because him no go ever change”

Ndubueze the prophet spoke out. He was nicknamed “The Prophet” after saying things that comes to pass after some time. He is reserved and only talks when asked of his opinion in an issue and the few times he exchanged words with someone, he had done it with punches. Slim and fair with a coloured hair and yellow looking beard. His plans were always welcomed by us as it always worked when followed to the latter.

“Una papa there, I look like una house girl wey una go dey come dey expect food from after una comot? If na any of una turn now, una go first delay make we come house so that we go put hand for the cooking”

I mused. I had always been the leader from the first day we were given the cabin to serve us. It was like a silent agreement and my word was always respected but then, we are all equal.

Arranging their guns on a shelf that was provided for that purpose, they all sat down to eat. We all ate silently until the last piece of yam which we left for Ndubueze since he is the youngest. We all drank with the same cup from a pot that was kept at the door side buried into the earth which left the water inside always cool and welcoming. I dressed back to the extreme wall picking my teeth with a tooth pick while I looked at the boys who had all gone to listen to the voice from the leaders.

“So, wetin be reason why dem announce meeting this night after e be say we hold meeting yesterday”

I asked while smacking my tongue and giving a long belch. Ndubueze looked at me with feigned disgust written all over his face, hissed and answered:

“Na to tell us say make we lay low for the main time say dem dey try sort things out with government to see if we go leave this work wey we dey do go find work for the capital”

I sat up quickly and looked at the three faces who all wore grave expression while Ekoja bit his lower lips releasing it to suck on it again.

“Finally these people wan comot food from our mouth abi? After na we secure this part of the country, no wahala sha. I go really lie down but I hope say the government of Bongo ma go lay low”

Mustapha said from between his teeth. Ekoja just kept on sucking on his lips until I rebuked him.

“Stop jor, that sound wey your mouth dey make dey turn my belle jor. But if na wetin them masters say be that, na to lay low na because I trust their decision”

Ekoja spoke and bit his lower lip but did not suck on it again. I stood up, paced up and down, counting the number of holes on the old zinc while thoughts ran through my mind. I had come to take this place as home because the three of them are the only real family I had come to know. Even if we should leave this creek, I wasn’t prepared for the outside world; I had no skill in me, the only one being the art of killing. I finally spoke:

“Make we sleep, tomorrow na another day”

This update is kinda long o... Your comments are welcomed... I'm trying to reconcile two different personalities.

Did i hear u say long,after days abi. U don try soften ur pigin small as i read everything witout racking my brain.

Early the next day, John Togo and Emeka went out leaving Tompolo to oversee the early morning drill. Both of them remained silent as they made their way down a footpath which only they can see as it was invisible to the normal eyes. Their guns slung on their shoulders with a bag containing magazines and other ammunitions on their back.

The forest was cold that morning as they made their way through it in a rehearsed form as they had trekked that road severally. No one else know that path but the three leaders. Anyone following them gets lost in the forest mysteriously only to be discovered days later floating in the creek his face torn off. The early morning mist was soon to settle and the water contained in it provided a comforting hug to the travelers who are already accustomed to it. The sun never really shines in the forest but you can tell when the sun is out by the number of thin light falling straight on the decayed leaves that litters the forest. Even when it rains, the forest is relatively dry but smells that tingles the nose and endears one to the forest flies with the air.

Soon they came to an opening on which a river flowed at the center carry along weeds with it. Emeka remained at the bank while John Togo turned back and went into the forest. Soon a splashing sound was heard as Togo emerged with a raft from a bend at the river. Emeka quickly got onto it as Togo paddled deep into the creek. Soon the river started to open and the sound of big waves was persisted as they came closer to the opening but instead of going to the open sea, Togo diverted to a corner where they both came down. Looking round to make sure none was watching them, they made their way to a cluster of pushes which the pushed aside. They pulled a speed boat from underneath the bushes which they pushed to the river and climbed on with Emeka driving it through the river into the high see with speed.

As Emeka piloted the speed boat through the sea, Togo who sat stood by his side sighted the vessel they had come for. It was far in the high sea, its flag waving and giant mast towering the rest of its body. On it were boldly written the word “Virgin of the Atlantic”. He smiled, the foreigners had kept to their word, now is the time to keep theirs.

Damex333: Did i hear u say long,after days abi. U don try soften ur pigin small as i read everything witout racking my brain.

Ehm... I am racking my brain here o...

Reading without commenting...

No vex, but those boss they hide tinz 4 their guys,why na,wel no qualms,nice work foxy,but u re using attai here too.

Damex333: No vex, but those boss they hide tinz 4 their guys,why na,wel no qualms,nice work foxy,but u re using attai here too.

Erhm... I know... Had to do it so I don't have to get lost....

Kai... No comments up till now... Well... I dey patient...

Foxy and his love for comment sha........no worry if e reach fp u go get comment
I'm still following sha......nyc stori and why u reduce the pidgin

continue joor.

And tnx for reducing d pidgin

ok,i waz kinda hesitant to open this story coz i thout it wuld be borring,but afta readn dat attai story....

Tovot: ok,i waz kinda hesitant to open this story coz i thout it wuld be borring,but afta readn dat attai story....

Please what do you think.... I need your honest opinion

movmentish: Foxy and his love for comment sha........no worry if e reach fp u go get comment
I'm still following sha......nyc stori and why u reduce the pidgin

Ehm.... Because I was finding it difficult to read it too...

albacete: continue joor.

And tnx for reducing d pidgin

I dey sorry o.... But then, me dey look to upgrade am... I'm searching for the right combination of wafi slangs

oya dere's comment but no new update!

Tovot: oya dere's comment but no new update!

Ehm.... No vex, I don hit concrete wall... Just hang on sha... My inspiration na just 50 Naira per wrap