Chapter One

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The morning was cold, the leaves were
wet, it wasn’t a pleasant time to run. The
city was still asleep and it did not look like
it would wake up anytime soon. Sweat ran
down his face as he ran, his muscles
ached, his heart raced but he kept on
running.


Nicholas wasn’t an athlete but he ran like
he was. If he was an athlete, he probably
would have stopped running. No athlete
needed to run this hard, no athlete needed
to run at this time.
“Just get home” he said to himself. Home
was an old room with rusted roofing
sheets. It did not have the clean toilet, the
cozy kitchen with the gas cooker and the
always cold refrigerator he was used to. It
was home nonetheless. And it was the
place Nicholas had to get to.


As he ran he looked at his now familiar
race track. It wasn’t a race track until this
morning but it was familiar. It was a bush
path, a narrow bush path, rarely used by
people. It was one of the reasons he chose
the path. The path looked especially lonely
that morning but it wasn’t going to set him
back, he had to get home.


A light shining in the distance caught his
attention, judging by the distance it had to
be coming from his house. That was
strange. He lived alone. He had no friends
and he definitely wasn’t expecting
anybody. He reduced his pace. A lot of
thoughts crowded his mind. He still had to
run, but it was not right, a light?
He moved closer. There was no doubt, the
light was coming his house. In the dark his
house looked nice. The old structure had a
beautiful silhouette. He had been thinking
of putting up window curtains but he had
not gotten around to it. So now he could
see inside his room. There was nobody
inside as far as he could see. He decided it
was better to solve the puzzle of how the
light got to his room than to stay out in the
cold early morning.


He was now very close to his house. He
slowed to a walk. Everywhere was quiet, no
sound came from his room. He could hear
his heart beating. He tried to calm himself,
but no part of him understood what calm
was anymore. His feet kept moving, but
every other part of him seemed to be
numb. He moved closer to his house, his
eyes seemed to have snapped out of their
numbness because now they darted in all
directions looking for any sign of
movement. As he approached his doorway,
he noticed his door was open. Now
everything was becoming weird. First he
thought all he had to do was get home,
now it looked like someone had been in his
room.


He entered the room slowly and quietly,
looked around, everything looked fine. The
light he had seen came from a candle
burning by his bed. It was good he came
when he did, his house would have been
burnt by morning.
He put down the candle and lay on the
bed. He had lived a simple uneventful life
but no one will describe his life as
uneventful now. And he was sure it wasn’t
going to be simple anymore either.
Then he saw it. It was getting closer. The
hair on his neck stood, his palms were
getting wet, what was happening to him. It
was close now, but he could not move.
“Corper” he had a voice call out.
Then everything went dark.
.
.
.
.
To be continued.

Chapter TWO


Kate loved children, but this afternoon she was in no mood for her students. It was a hot afternoon. The sun seemed to be at war with the earth, and Arandun seemed to be its target at the moment. Arandun was a nice place and Kate loved living there. Its serene village environment suited her. She loved the simplicity of the villagers and their fascination with her vast knowledge. She looked around her, the staff room where she was sitting was small and sparsely furnished. The room like every other room in the school was made with clay bricks.It was roofed with aluminium sheets but it might as well had been open roofed when it rained.

Kate rocked her phone with her fingers. It was a pleasant surprise to find a mobile network signal in Arandun. The surprise she received in the early hours of the morning though, wasn’t a pleasant one. It was pleasant at first. Nick never called her, she did not even know he had her number. Most would have thought they would be good friends but they were not.

“Kate, look, I’m in trouble. I don’t understand what happened but they might be after me.” “They? Who is they?” “I don’t know. Somebody. And i think Kemi is dead!” “Wait! What?! Nicholas! Are you running? Just stop, i can’t hear you. Hello, hello… Nicholas?”

The conversation kept playing in her mind.Who was after him? How could Kemi be dead? What did it have to do with Nick? Why did he call her?So many questions, not a single answer. “Kate, what are you… never mind. The LGI wants to see you.” She had not realised Emeka was standing in the room. He was her friend. At least that was what she believed. He was a good guy. But right now, not even him could take her mind off Nicholas.

“You heard me, right?” “Yeah, i did. Sorry.”Why wasn’t there news of Kemi’s death yet? Maybe Nicholas was wrong. Maybe he was mistaken. “Emeka, did you hear anything about Kemi?” “Kemi? No. Why?” She could see he was surprised by her question. Kemi was not her favorite person. “Kate what is happening? You’ve been in this office alone for hours and you are clearly distracted by something.” He turned to face her, blocking the doorway. “It’s nothing. I was just asking.” She wasn’t a good liar. He must have bought this lie though because he moved out of the way. “Whatever you say. Just make sure you see the LGI” “Ok Emeka. I’ll see you at the lodge” She looked around her. It was only a few weeks that she had spent in the Arandun Community College but it was already a big part of her life. She could not imagine harm coming to anyone in Arandun. She was about to lock the door when her phone rang.

“Nicholas?” “Nicholas? I sent for you. Didn’t you get my message?” The LGI? Nicholas and the LGI calling her on the same day. Something was definitely happening. “I’m on my way sir. I was just trying to round…” He dropped the call. Strange man. It wasn’t a surprise no one liked him. Her phone rang again. What! She already said she was coming. “Hello sir, I’m on my way” “Kate, don’t go near my house. Somebody is watching the place”Nicholas? “Nicholas? Where are you?” She sounded more agitated than he did. “Just don’t go to my place. Promise me you won’t.” “What are you saying?” “Shhh, someone is coming. Please don’t…”

She had received two scary calls from a guy who a few hours ago was just a colleague. He wasn’t even a friend.The LGI. She had forgotten about him. She was not afraid of him right now. She was scared enough already. She had so many questions her head was almost bursting. There was one thing she knew she had to do, one way to get some answers; check Nicholas’ house.

* * *

The phone by his bedside rang. It rarely did, but when it did he had to answer . “What do you have for me son?” “We have a problem sir. A girl sir.” “Have you taken care of it, the problem?” “No sir. Just wanted to give you the information first sir” “Oh, thank you information officer.” He said with a scoff. “Take care of the problem.” There was only one thing he hated more than unsolved problems, foolish people who had the nerve to tell him about them.

* * *

Darkness. It was one of the twelve plagues the Egyptians suffered as recorded in the bible. He had always wondered why darkness was considered punishment. Now he understood. It had a certain torture that pushed you to your wit’s end. Nicholas was definitely at his wit’s end. A few more hours in the darkness and he would lose his mind.

He wondered how he had not lost it already. Twelve hours ago he was a normal twenty four year old, living a normal life and staying out of trouble. Now, he had woken up on the same bed with a dead girl, put an innocent girl who wasn’t even his friend in trouble, been knocked out cold by something he didn’t still understand and now was in darkness so thick he saw better with his eyes closed. How long was he knocked out for? He could have been out for hours or days, he had no idea. All he could think about was the blackness and darkness that surrounded him.

“God, I need light!” he screamed in frustration. “There you go boy” He was momentarily blinded with the sudden light shining on his face. “I have to tell you, I am not God. I just answered your prayer on his behalf” Nicholas couldn’t believe it. Had he been in the room all along? Then he must have heard his call to Kate. “What’s going through your mind boy? You must think I’m a ghost passing through walls right? Well, you probably won’t believe that i opened the door and entered. See I’m very stealth. It’s one of my best qualities.”

Nicholas was still lost in thought not paying much attention to the man speaking. “Okay boy, let’s go. The boss wants to speak with you.” Nicholas, still not speaking, stood up. “Are you dumb boy? You’ve got nothing to say to poor old Dele?” He wasn’t a people person. At least that was what he was told. He was here, scared, and poor old Dele was complaining because he wasn’t exchanging Christmas stories with him? “Mr Dele , I’ve got more on my mind right now. I’m really not interested in your qualities. Well except killing is one of them.” Dele chuckled. But he did not reply.”Something I’ll like to discuss with you Dele, is your boss. Who is he?” “So now you wanna talk? Very funny. Well, I’ll let you form your own opinion about my boss. You’ll meet him soon.” And he did not say another word.

They walked through a corridor. The walls were painted white. There wasn’t much to see. ‘The boss’ obviously loved darkness. The light available was just enough to aid movement. He had been more relaxed than most would be in his situation but a certain feeling of dread fell on him as thy neared the end of the corridor. He could see three doors. As they moved closer to the doors he stared hearing voices. One of the voices sounded familiar but he could not place it.

Dele seemed to have grown very silent. He did not make any sound. Almost as if he was not breathing. He looked behind him and Dele was not there. The guy must really be stealth. It looked like he was supposed to enter through one of the three doors.

For some reason he started getting scared again.Just open one of the doorshe told himself. The voices were gone.Just open one of the doors. What door was he supposed to open?Just open a door, d--n it! He moved towards the first door. The lock looked newly made.On to the next door, new lock? Obvious trouble.

The second door was slightly open.Move to the next door, slightly open is slightly fishy. The third door was normal.This must be it. It is time to meet the boss.The sweaty palms were returning. He steadied his hand on the door handle. The last thing he wanted was to look weak. Slowly, he turned the lock. It didn’t open. Then he heard the voices again.Where were they coming from?

He turned suddenly. A sharp pain pierced through his neck. The pain eased and he felt really happy. A smile spread across his face as he dropped to his knees.Lovely! Oh I love you too Mom. His eyes wee closing. He felt like sleeping. As he went to sleep he saw a dark figure. “He’s down sir” What did he mean by down? He just wanted to sleep. Wait, Dele?

Chapter Three


You don’t get to meet the Local Government Inspector very often. Not outside Omu-Aran, the local government headquarters and definitely not personally. She had been waiting for him outside the town council office. She had been offered a chair and she had politely refused. She was too tensed up to sit. She still could not figure out why the LGI would want to meet with her. And then there was the matter of Nicholas.His house was been watched? By who? What was ….? “Corper” Her thoughts were interrupted.”Get inside the car, I’m leaving for Omu-Aran. I’ll drive you to your lodge, I need to ask you some questions.” What questions?She wondered as she walked towards his car.Wait, is he going to ask me out?She had heard rumours.Oh my God! No! Not me!She entered the car and shut the door. His car was very neat.Very neat people always have something to hide. “Okay Kate, are you friends with Nicholas?”This is about Nicholas? He is not asking me out, thank God! “Not really sir. We teach in the same school though.” It wasn’t a lie. They were not friends.Why the sudden interest in Nicholas? “Okay. Does he have friends here? Fellow corps members or the people of the town?” Her heart was beating faster now.Did he know about Kemi?Nicholas did not have friends but she had seen him with Kemi a few times. Other people must have seen them too. “No sir.” She answered, trying her best to keep a straight face. “He mostly keeps to himself” “Okay” he grunted. They rode in silence for a while. It looked like he was done with his questions.”Your lodge is down that road, right?” He pointed in the wrong direction but she nodded her agreement.”You can come down here” he said stopping the car. She stepped out of the car and he drove away without saying another word. Well, that was weird. How could I think he would ask me out?She was still a long way from her lodge.Nicholas’ house is close though.

She walked towards Imoji. It was a part of Arandun she did not visit often. Most of her students did not have parents who could afford properties on that side of town. Nicholas lived very close to the richest people in the town.Surely they will notice any strange person lurking around. Nicholas’ house was closer than she thought. She did not see any strange person lurking in any dark corners so she moved closer. Suddenly she stopped. She could not believe what she saw. Oh my God, who is that?

* * *

“Sir I don’t understand why you would want us to do that. We can take care of the problem once and for all. My men are already….” “Faruk, listen to me” His voice was always calm. It was one of the reason his men feared him. He never showed his anger. At least not in his voice.”Are you my boss?” “No sir. Oga, I’m sorry, i just don’t understand sir”He obviously wanted some explanation. “Okay Faruk, how about i give you a short explanation. 250,000 Naira every month. You see, that makes me boss. You understand that?” “I understand perfectly sir” “Good” He threw his phone on the table.He doesn’t understand. Foolish boy.

* * *

Lion King was his favourite cartoon. The story was centered on the Lions; Simba’s Father, Simba then Simba’s son. They were great characters but his favourite character was Timon. He loved the character in a way no adult should. And he was always part of his worst nightmares. He had had many nightmares where he saw a hyena tearing Timon apart. He would wake up from these nightmares scared. He had no idea what the time was or even if he had seen Timon in his dream but he woke up very scared. His eyes were still shut as he tried to figure out where he was. He was lying on something soft, probably a mattress. The scent of the place was really familiar. A grinding machine started in the distance, it sounded just like his neighbour’s machine. He opened his eyes.Am I at home?All windows were closed. But he could still recognise his room even in the dark.How did I get home? Dele? I was going to meet the boss.He opened his windows. Everything looked normal.Who kidnapped me? Why would they return me?Everything was exactly as he left them. He looked outside the window again.Is that… is that Kate? What is she doing here? Oh my God, she is coming here?She already saw him. She was already at his door. “Hi Kate” he said opening the door. “What are you doing here?” She stopped mid step. It looked like she was going to hug him. “I’m sorry, please come in” She came in without saying a word. He kept his eyes on her as she sat down on his reading chair. He knew what must be going through her mind and he had thought about it himself. Why did he call her? He still did not know why. He had called her and here she was. “How did you get back?” That was going to be the first of many questions he assumed. “I have no idea. I just woke up and found myself back in my room.” She still looked confused. He was too.

“Nicholas, as you can imagine, i have lots of questions to ask you. I’ll ask only one for now. Why would anyone want to kidnap you?” She had a very serious look on. Why did she care what happened to him? “Of course I’ve had time to think about that. And to be honest I don’t know who will want to kidnap me. My Mom is not rich, I’m obviously not rich. I’m not the only Corper here. By the way the kidnap looked personal” He realised he was talking to himself. “Sorry Kate. I just don’t understand what’s happening.” “Do you have maybe, an uncle or something? Your Dad? You didn’t mention your Dad. Is he… I don’t know, you didn’t mention him” She had a point. Why had he not considered him. “My Dad, wow! Why didn’t I think of him? First, I’ve not seen him in years. I’m kind of an illegitimate son. You can imagine the kind of life I had.” He could see pity on her face. He did not like being pitied. “No, it’s not like that. My Mom took care of me. But the thing is my Dad was rich. He was a politician. A big one” She looked surprised. “Nicholas, you’re saying ‘was’. Why are you talking about him in past tense? Is he… like dead?” She said the last part in a whisper. “Yeah Kate, he is. He’s dead. Recently actually. Three months ago. But that can’t have anything to do with this. I don’t even use his name. Wait what is that?” He moved towards the window. He heard footsteps. They seemed to be running. “Nick, is that Kemi’s Father?” She looked at him. “Oh my God!” Nobody saw me at her place. How did they know? What do I tell them? “Kate, what do I do?” She looked confused. They were close now; Kemi’s Father, one of the town’s chiefs and two men he did not recognise. “Kemi, they’re close” He was really scared now. “CORPER COME OUT O. COME OUT”

He had to face them. He had to leave the room, he did not want them to see Kate. He stepped outside, it was time for Timon to face the Hyenas.


What happens next？

following o..

Nice work