Eni~girl:
Yes, y nt? Since u brought more popcornz. Damex wil buy 3 more vijuz so we can enjoy it well.

actually, i am bringing a dozen of viju, cos i wouldn't want the viju to finish during the course of the story. Oya tex join us o.

Oga Mynd update seriously nided besyds its high tym yhu finishd BURNING COLD

Damex333: actually, i am bringing a dozen of viju, cos i wouldn't want the viju to finish during the course of the story. Oya tex join us o.

dat kul. Wherez mynd na? We nid mre updatez oh.

The perfect morning, the sun was peeking from behind some clouds which had sufficiently hidden it which made the heat not. Perhaps it was still morning and as the day progressed, the sun will become a lot more prominent but as at then, it seemed to be too lazy to cause any damage. The clouds were not so heavy to cause any hint of rain later in the day so it was all good. The wind was blowing against the windows of the cars passing on the Old Ife road on both sides of the lanes has fun driving through the road which even as the years passed by has been maintained to perfect shape.

A blue Honda Accord was one of the many cars running on that inter-state road carrying five people including the driver. The car sped along the road almost recklessly getting past other automobiles with ease. Who could blame the driver, the road was great and smooth and the road was wide enough to allow for all types of stunts. She held on to the wheels with one hand only and enjoying the cool temperature of inside the car with the air-condition turned on to the maximum. The passengers of the vehicle on the other hand were not so comfortable. The combination of the reckless way they thought she was going and the cold within the car was causing damage to them and they grew worried as the journey continued.

The driver was Shade Olugbesan, a third year student of Historical studies in Olabisi Onabanjo University. The passengers of the car were actually her classmate except for the young man who sat down where is called the ‘Owner’s corner’ he was not a student but he had volunteered to be their guide on their fact finding mission on the history of a village in the area.

The driver was twenty years old and an impressionable young woman at that. A lot of people would call her beautiful and she tended to draw attention of both lecturers and students. She has a charm which was undeniable and with a brain to match, she was the perfect student, the perfect friend and the perfect social person all rolled up in one hot body which made most people either jealous or drawn to her.

Her father is a an accomplished contractor with the Federal Government and also a sitting senator in Ogun state which also gave her a confidence since her father always back her on almost all the decisions she took. She had always topped her classes since primary school and the university was like a breeze to her. She had brains naturally and she also has a thing for displaying them although most times arrogantly but with so much working for her, a lot of people who surrounds her don’t complain.

Next to her was her classmate and long friend from secondary school. He although seemed to be sharp did not always make his own decision. Emeka was the type who seemed to go along with what most of his friends think and said he was always happy to kiss backside and not share thoughts of his own which was exactly the type of people Shade enjoyed having around her. Through their friendship, he had been too happy to tell her what she wanted to hear and in return, she stood by him and made him look cool. He got most of his girlfriends from girls who were so desperate to be noticed that they flocked around Shade and he was a sure guarantee to bring them to her.

He also had the money to throw around: perhaps even more as his dad sat on the board of a lot of companies. He is the last born in a family of four children, and all of them had joined in the family business. He had no problems with money but he lacked the confidence and the brains to pull off anything on his own. In fact when he was called to join a fraternity which most of his family had been a part of while in university, he failed the initiation despite the fact that he could pay his way in. the only place he found that he could shine was when his friends shone and he could share in their glory.

The other two people behind were just classmate, Tayo and Zainab who Shade just dragged along on their field trip. They had been given an assignment to find out the history of a village in the South-West. They were allowed to choose any village of their choice and write about their culture and traditions, also write a little on the early settlers of the village and how the village has moved on from traditional life to the modern one. The lecturer had cancelled out the village close to the school since he knew most people would have just gont there out of laziness to do their research.

Shade had never been one who had taken to village life, she had never even visited one all her life and the closes she had been to one was watching them on television anytime one of her dad’s friends came around the house and the station was tuned to African Magic so she found herself at a desperate position but Emeka had a chat with the young man who was their guide.

Kayode is definitely not the type of student who would have been in company of Emeka or Shade on any occasion. He is not one to lie to anyone to be in their company neither was he interested in becoming friends with anyone except the two people he walks with, a third year student of Zoology who although intelligent never gets attention because he is always looking as though he has seen a ghost. He overheard Emeka discuss the issue of finding a suitable village that no one was already writing on and he suggested the location they were going as that was close to his village but he never knew he would be going for the trip.

He merely mentioned it in passing and went back to studying for his paper on the effects of poachers on the dwindling number of African elephants. Emeka told Shade about the village Kayode mention and she showed interest in it because when they went online to find more information about the village, it showed that the village was once an economically viable one ten years ago, it was poised to be a centre for mining as most of the hills around had granite which would have brought the village into prominence but a mining accident had occurred which lead to a gas explosion and the village was burned down. Most people died in the fire and those who did not, died due to exposure to some kind of gas and the government closed everywhere down. The company did not even go back to retrieve their equipment and no further questions were asked.
She saw it as an opportunity to write on; a village which was cut down just when it was on the edge of getting developed seemed like the perfect thing to write about. She pounced on the idea and Emeka took her to Kayode. Kayode initially did not want to go on the trip. He had agreed when he was promised twenty thousand naira for his effort by Shade. The money seemed like a lot to him and he thought it would also go a long was in getting himself a new phone and perhaps buy some food to prepare for the forthcoming exams so he agreed to show them the way there and help them in whatever way they need.

They set off early in the morning, picked up Kayode and hit the road. Kayode had been describing the road and where to turn but Emeka could not stand him sitting in front; he found it necessary that he shows he also has a say just like always and so Kayode sat down at the back shivering in the cold inside the car but also giving the description perfectly. He saw the familiar roads that lead to his hometown and he said;

“Shade, can you slow down a bit?”

Emeka who had been looking for a chance to say something that would give him some semblance of courage said;

“What’s wrong dude? Are you scared that we are going to crash and you will die?”

Emeka was used to making snide remarks when he could but Kayode who was used to his likes said;

“We are almost there, you should just take the third exit there and it will lead us straight to where we are going”

“Are you sure?”Shade said. I would hate to pull in and have you tell me it is the wrong exit” she added almost indifferently

“Yes I am sure, next exit leads us straight to mine”

“Okay if you say so” was Shade’s reply as she swung the car, switched lanes and got in front of a truck. She switched lanes and she was on the outside lane. She saw the exit Kayode was talking about ad pulled up in front of it. She stopped and looked back towards Kayode;

“How can you call this an exit? This is a frigging jungle”

“As I told you and you must have found out from the internet, this place had not been inhabited for a long while, no one comes here because they think it is cursed or something. There was a story that there was no gas explosion here but a curse was what killed everyone here.”

“And what do you think about the curse?” Shade asked

“I am a born again Christian, I don’t believe any curse can affect me”

“That’s great” Shade said then she thought to herself “Curses, that’s a better angle to write on than what I got from the government’s website”

She pulled off the road and into the bush. She was expecting that at some point she would hit a tree or find something that would obstruct the car but surprisingly, she found out that the car kept going. It became obvious to her that Kayode had been telling the truth as she saw that there were trees on either side of her but none in front. It was almost like a path had been made and she was following that path. It was difficult to know where to pass but the trees on either side told her where to go. The trees formed a sort of straight line on either side as she just kept to the middle and she drove on.

Tayo who was directly behind Shade could not believe how lucky she was this lucky. A chance to actually study the life of a old village settlement and she did not have to pay for it; even better was the fact that she could get to be close to Emeka who although she secretly liked, she could not get him to notice her. She drifted off into a sort of fantasy in her head when the car went into a ditch on the uneven path. Her head hit the side of the car and she was painfully brought back into reality. She looked out the window to get a glimpse of the village and all she saw were just trees and grasses but behind the grass, she saw something brown. It looked like a brick wall which could be part of a building but she did not get a good look as a tree blocked her view.

The car continued slowly and she could see the house clearly now. She said excitedly;

“I think I see a house, a really old one”

“Where?” Shade said

“Look to your left; behind those trees”

Everyone looked in the direction she said and they saw the wall. It was obviously part of a building which has fallen under circumstances they did not know yet but Shade was determined to find out. She thought of stopping the car but decided against it as if there was really a village there, then there would be a lot more houses to see. She looked to her side and saw that Emeka already had a camcorder in his hand zooming in on the house and looking exicted.

The road took another turn and she found out that she could not go any further after a minute as there was a huge rock blocking the path. She looked back at Kayode and said;

“The road is blocked, what do we do now?”

He answered almost happily;

“Well this was not supposed to be a drive through you know, we will have to walk the rest of the way there so I suggest you get your bug spray”

Am starting 2 like Kayode

Ms Spaqs: Am starting 2 like Kayode

really?

**makes a note**

Kill Kayode first

What? you will do no such thing

Ms Spaqs: What? you will do no such thing

did you forget? I love it when characters die. Especially a gruesome death like having their soul sucked out or smashed by a huge rock

Lol,leave Kayode alone oooo

Ms Spaqs: Lol,leave Kayode alone oooo

**yimu**

uhmm nice update.....waiting for mre

Mynd_44:
really?

**makes a note**

Kill Kayode first

thats why i like you. Can you make him crush inbetween two heavy big rocks!

Mynd_44:
did you forget? I love it when characters die. Especially a gruesome death like having their soul sucked out or smashed by a huge rock

you could make a good director of game of thrones. Seriously am beginning to suspect you.

What are these ones going to look for now? enh, they wont let sleeping ghosts rest...cant wait to see what will happen to them.

Grabs a seat 4 d ryd.m so lovin dis.cnt wait 2 c sango in action 1c more

Mynd_44:
really?

**makes a note**

Kill Kayode first

wat?
If i hear say kayode die peren!

D horror sef iz becoming too much.. Kilode? I hate snakes mehn!

Ghen ghen!!! luving it more..hope they die in an intersesting way

zenie: Ghen ghen!!! luving it more..hope they die in an intersesting way

you wicked small sha

Shade did not smile; her expression was more of anger as she noted the note of Kayode. He spoke as though he was making fun of them for some reason she did not know. So she said;

“Watch that tone man, you might be the guide but I still have the keys to the car and except you want to walk back, you will watch how you talk to me”

Kayode was taken back a little by her sudden confrontation as he has thought she would be the type that would get worried about walking around a village that has been rumored to be cursed. She was looking at him straight and not blinking as if her eyes could bore holes in his body and he became uncomfortable. Behind those eyes of hers, he saw someone who could do exactly what she had said without feeling an ounce of remorse about it.

He said;

“Well are we going to sit down in the car and look at one another? Let’s get down and do what we came here to do”

Emeka said;

“Do you think this is a good idea? I mean this place could be dangerous, wild animals and all sorts of things might be moving around without us knowing”

Shade felt disgust inside her but she knew that Emeka always had his uses so she contained it, rather she looked at him and said;

“There can’t be a lot of wild animals around except you want to count the monkeys and the mosquitoes. This place is a ghost town so let’s do what we came to do and go back to school”

The mention of the word ghost seemed to make Zainab jump and she said;

“Can you guys go ahead while I stay in the car? Someone has to watch it you know”

Shade could not believe what she was hearing form the people around her. to think that they were actually going to reap out of this expedition and they were acting like children was annoying. She turned to her and said;

“Why would someone need to watch the car?”

“Someone might try to steal it if we leave it”

“It has an alarm system, when you start the engine, you will have to enter a passkey which I am the only one who knows so don’t worry about anyone stealing it, the car will be fine. Now everybody get the crap out of the car and get your camera or notepad; I want to get this done with and head back home”

She pushed down the knob to the central lock and Kayode was the first person to get out of the car. He got down and walked to stand beside a nearby tree as he looked around trying to see if he could recognize any landmark.

Emeka did not want to get out of the car, the coward part of his was beginning to control how he acted but he looked towards Shade and the look he got told him it will be better to be facing ghosts that staying back in the car so he opened the door and got down too. Tayo and Zainab also got down with Zainab clutching a rosary for muslims as she said a silent prayer. All three of them came to stand besides kayoed waiting for Shade to come down. They had thought she was she was locking the car up until they saw the car go in reverse very fast and the car backed away from the rock.

The look on Emeka’s face changed immediately as he left the tree side and was going after the car when he noticed that the car turned around and came back with its back so it was turned with the front facing the exit and the way to the highway.

Shade got down and said;

“My dad told me that when you go somewhere you are new to or not sure of, you should make sure you have an exit and make the exit as easy as possible”

She swung a bag ove her back and looked towards Kayode and said;

“Lead the way”

“Kayode looked at her and tilted his head a little;

“Why should I lead? You’re the one who wanted to come and see this place”

“Well you dummy, I am paying you to be the guide and so you lead or are you too scared to take a walk in some old deserted village? Don’t you believe that being born again will save you anymore?”

Another thing she learnt from her dad is to know what makes the people around her tick and use it to her benefit. Most times when she meets someone for the first time, she tries to figure out what they have that she can twist and take advantage of and with Kayode mentioning that he was born again, it was the perfect tool for her to use against him.

Kayode knew he was cornered and she had hit a spot he could not talk his way out of so he said;

“Open the boot, let me grab my bag”

“Okay, take it then”

She opened the car with the remote and he pulled out a little bag and from the bag, he brought out a small machete. Tayo jumped back when she saw it and Zainab took some steps backwards as she clutched her beads tighter while Kayode came closer. Shade pulled a machete similar to the one Kayode had produce from her little bag except hers looked a lot more sharper and it was obviously new as the stainless reflected the rays of the sun which was beginning to rise fully from the clouds that once blocked it.

Kayode said;

“I see you came prepared, that’s nice to see”

Emeka who was almost whimpering where he stood as the look on Shade’s face did not show anything like she was joking said;

“Shade, what’s going on? Why are you both carrying those?”

Shade answered with the disgust in her;

“You are telling me you intend to go strolling around the forest with nothing to clear a path with Emeka? Stop embarrassing yourself.” She turned to kayode and said; “I guess we can move along now”

Kayode did not say anything, he just walked towards the huge rock and he walked around it. Emeka who was still holding on to the camera, followed him, Tayo walked side by side with Zainab and Shade walked behind them all clutching her machete like she has done a jungle walk before not allowing her grip on the handle even reduce for a bit.

Kayode did most of the work as being in front; every now and then he cut some grasses in front of them to make the way a little easier to pass through as ten years of weed had made the road develop a think undergrowth that made it almost impossible to pass through. The cloud covering the sun’s rays had thinned out and the heat was beginning to build but they kept walking following the path laid out. Huge trees appeared in the forest and every now and then, they would notice a huge rock which was out of place. The rocks seemed to have been moved from where they had been to the new destination but since no one had an explanation, they did not really ask.

“How long is it until we get to the village itself?” Zainab asked

“I don’t know but by the looks of it, we are getting really close to it” Kayode said

Emeka looked around trying to see why Kayode would think they are close but he saw no evidence so he asked; “Why would you think we are close to the village?”

An angry Shade replied from behind him;

“Because the tress up ahead seem to have disappeared dummy, the road was probably created by action of large earth moving machines which is why there are trees on either side of the road, since there but in the settlement itself, there would be less trees as they would have been cleared out to give space for more important things like houses for people and other stuff”

Kayode was actually trying to make Zainab feel better when he said they were almost there but when he looked ahead, he saw the point Shade made and he could not help but smile. She seemed to know a lot about what she was doing and saying and it actually made a lot of sense too because when he looked ahead, he saw that there were fewer trees in the distance. He began to think of what they would see when they got to the village itself. He imagined it will be filled with houses and possibly dead bodies in various form of decay since the rumors that surround the village said they were all cursed and they all died in one day. The information from the government also said they were all killed the same day so it is possible there will be some bodies lying around.

He was deep in his thoughts and attacking the bushes instinctively when he heard a whimper behind him. The sound brought him back and he turned around to see Emeka making a run through the trees. He was confused as to what will make him try to run away and then he saw Tayo and Zainab frozen to a spot and their eyes fixed on the ground in front of them. Tayo had her hands spread out while Zainab just clutched her praying beads harder. It was obvious they had seen something scary enough to make them freeze right on the spot and he thought it was a body.

Tayo’s left legs was bitten by a bug and when she bent down to rub the spot that was bitten, she saw a huge snake coiled on the ground with its eyes fixed directly at them. She stood slowly and pulled at Zainab’s arm and pulled her back. Zainab turned to see the snake and she could not scream or move, she just found herself looking in those eyes and fear took over her. a sound escaped her lips that got Emeka’s attention. He turned, saw the snake but unlike the two of them, he did not freeze, the first thing that came to his mind was to run and he obeyed that instruction.

He darted towards the right hoping to get away from where the snake was coiled up just as Kayode’s eyes caught him. He looked towards the group and did not see a rock in his way. He tripped over it and fell to the ground with his camera flying away to the distance. The sight was almost so laughable that Kayode had half the mind to laugh but he did not really understand what made him run. He calmly but cautiously walked towards the girls and saw what was making them scared and he felt him grip on the machete tighten.

Shade was busy soaking in the surroundings, her mind always tended to take in a lot of information at the same time and she was busy soaking all that information into her brain. She noticed some cocoa trees while they were walking and she made a mental note to include that in her report. She also noticed that most of the trees they passed were really not fruit bearing tree but the type that would be used for timber. She saw some remnants of a maize farm which had been overgrown with weeds, a whole patch of land with leaves that looked like yam. She did not really know what yam leaves looked like but from agriculture in school, they branches spread and most times, the farmers built structures or put stakes in the ground for the branches to wrap around and she took note. She had already taken samples of the leaves she could quietly take into her bag which she hoped she could show some students of agriculture and help her understand what kind of farming the villagers practiced. She had already started picturing the type of life that the villagers had when she saw the two girls in front of her suddenly stop.

She was puzzled and when she saw Emeka take to the bushes, something told her to follow him but she wanted to see what would make him run. She walked to where the girls stood and she saw the snake. The snake was just motionless and coiled up with its head barely visible. She saw kayoed appear behind the girls from a corner of her eyes but she did not even wait for him to take any action before she walked in front of them and brought down her machete.

The blade of the machete was very sharp and in one clean sweep, it severed off the snakes head and part of the body. The different parts the snake was cut into slithered and was fighting to live while Tayo, Zainab and Kayode watched her take her machete up. She saw the damage she had done and did not bother to make another blow.

Tayo sighed while Kayode looked in the direction he saw Emeka run.

“Where were you running off to?” an angry Shade asked raising her bloodied machete and pointing it towards Emeka

“I was trying to get some stones to kill the snake with when I fell”

“Yeah right” she replied as she saw Tayo and Zainab walk away from the carcass obviously relieved that the danger had passed. Emeka picked up the camera where it fell and he saw something else where the camera was. He picked it up and showed it to everyone.

“What’s that?” Tayo asked

“Snake skin” Shade said looking at Kayode to back her up

“That is the skin of an Atheris Chlorechis: the Western Bush Viper. It is commonly found around here so you might also want to keep your eyes opened for those too

Don't tell me mila don born plenty pikin o. Wow, now let me get my car, Mynd send me their location please.

Kayode my husband is very intelligent

Damex333: Don't tell me mila don born plenty pikin o. Wow, now let me get my car, Mynd send me their location please.

What do you need their location for?

Ms Spaqs: Kayode my husband is very intelligent

Really?

Yes

Ms Spaqs: Yes

Well lets see where that takes him

Mynd_44:
What do you need their location for?

i need to get there and see things for myself.

Damex333: i need to get there and see things for myself.

Let me ask the oracle first

Spaq plz yhu can continue dis love talk wif Mynd indoorrs....For nw he z buzy preppin updates for us.Distractions nat permitted.