Many things in life bring sadness and pain but only a few things bring happiness. It is left for humans to create a balance between the two by assigning to the many sad events, just one good one that is capable of erasing every memory of the bad one.

Aaron has had cause to record one event in his book of ‘sads’ so the only logical thing for him was to find that which brought happiness to him and the only thing his brain could come up with was clubbing. With his friends, there was always no dull moments cause boredom always gets bored by their series of rib cracking jokes and jibes. Their caravan arrived at buzzers club at a few minutes past 10 and they all got out of their respective cars in high spirits.

‘’okay guys, anything you do, remember not to get into a fight with the bouncers’’ Kingsley warned.
It was an indirect jibe at Aaron who had once drank himself silly to the extent of wanting to fight one of the bouncers. A nicely thrown punch on his stomach was what fixed some senses into his brain.

‘’we can always fight the bouncers, as long as we have Segun by our side’’ Tobi said.

‘’Yes, I can always throw a handcuff on their hands and lead them to the station. Agbaya.’’ segun joked.

‘’I wonder why you guys are feeling safe behind segun, he was part of those policemen that ran from the station last month when armed robbers attacked union bank.’’ Kingsley reminded them.

‘’He who fights and run, lives to fight another day’’

‘’you ran without fighting bro.’’ Kingsley shouted from behind where he was struggling with the hook of his belt. ‘’shit, you could have at least put up a fight.’’

‘’Oh gosh, you guys are boring’’ Aaron said, even though he knew he was saying the opposite of reality. ‘’Who talks about police and thief in a club?’’

‘’well technically, we are not yet in the club, we are outside the club.’’ Kingsley reminded him.

‘’well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go in and catch some fun’’

In a single file, the boys went into the club, individually tipping the bouncers. The club was fairly large with boys and girls of different sexual orientations. In buzzers club, you could find homosexuals, bisexuals and hermaphrodites. Whatever it is you are looking for, you could find in buzzers club. The disco bulbs were displaying red, the colour that welcomes you to clubs and puts you in the mood for some real fun. The speakers were blaring on a very high decibel, forcing the clubbers to shout before passing a message across. ’Girlie o’ by patoranking was the song playing and the dancers were giving a good account of themselves. Aaron walked slowly to the bar but his other friends found the dance floor more inviting. Segun was the best dancer of them all, his slimy legs and his firmly fit body on the dance floor could give Michael Jackson a run for his money. Kingsley didn’t do much of dancing, he was rather jumping and hoping the beats fall in tune with his jumps. Before long, segun’s good dance steps earned him a beautiful girl. If dancing was one thing segun learnt being a police man, then Kingsley wouldn’t mind applying for police academy.

30 minutes later, Aaron was on his fifth glass of vodka when a young tall and elegant girl walked towards him. He couldn’t see much of her features because of the poorly lit room but he had a firm belief that a lady as tall as that must be good looking.

‘’is there a drinking competition somewhere you are preparing for?’’ she asked as she sat next to him.
He eyed her, a little longer than necessary, as if expecting her to repeat herself.

‘’you work for CNN?’’

‘’Are you a prophet? How’d you know? ‘’ she asked, getting more interested in the gist. She drew out a sit and sat. ‘’I actually work for CNN. Cuties Nigeria network. It’s a fashion network for young Nigerian ladies to learn the latest fashion trends.’’

‘’great! Perhaps you should broaden your knowledge to also learn when someone isn’t exactly in the mood for women talks.’’ He replied harshly and took another gulp from his cup.

‘’oh! Relationship issues, I get it.’’ She said like a psychologist. ‘’you probably shouldn’t be sulking yourself in drinks, just a good dance will drive all the memories away.’’

She pulled him up – although he was reluctant at first but later eased up, led him to the dance floor where she twisted her waist to the rhythm of the DJ’s beats. Aaron hadn’t seen a girl so complete in dancing like this stranger. The way she wiggled like a worm and the way she went down low at calculated intervals sent him to high heavens. The effect of the drink was already kicking in and he was finding confidence in strange places. He began to do some raunchy things like grabbing her buttocks and occasionally nibbling her breast. Before long, she whispered to him.

‘’it’s getting hot in here, would you like to chill outside?’’ she asked with a pleading tone. ‘’I have a car.’’
Aaron knew what she wanted but he wasn’t ready to give it to her. Even though he was a bit angry with Stella, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything that would hurt her. He was still insisting when the stranger brought her chest closer to his and whispered something into his ears. He wasn’t sure what she said but he knew it sounded seductive. Before long she was dragging him out of the club and he followed like a lamb that was been led to the slaughter.

Segun had already left the dance floor and was at one corner with his new catch whispering sweet nothings to her. He was sure she was going to follow him home if he played his cards right. Kingsley was still jumping on the dance floor while Tobi took his chances at the bar. Who knows, he might just be as lucky as Aaron.
After sitting and sipping his drink for close to 30 minutes without any catch, he decided it wasn’t his day. He walked up to Kingsley who was also having the same thoughts.

‘’Oboy make we the go o, today no make sense at all.’’

‘’na so I see am o, where Segun and Aaron sef? He asked.
Tobi pointed at segun and told him Aaron was outside.

‘’Ah! Time to spoil some fun’’ he said and dragged Tobi with him.
They went and informed segun they were leaving and he grudgingly joined them after collecting the digits of the pretty damsel. They all went outside in search of Aaron and saw him coming out of the passenger seat of a car that definitely wasn’t his. He was adjusting his belt when another lady came out with scattered hair. The boys were shocked. Aaron could be any other thing in this world but not a womanizer.

‘’I’ve seen too much in one night to last me a lifetime’’ Tobi said, ‘’let’s go home please’’

The boys lived in the same estate so they all followed each other until they all branched into their respective houses. Aaron’s house was the farthest so he was the last to reach his home. Adamu his gateman had gotten used to him so he was at hand to open the gate once he horned. He got inside to meet Stella fully awake and was waiting for him. He remembered Stella had the keys to his house but couldn’t understand what she would be doing there at that time of the night.

‘’what are you doing here?’’ he asked in the politest way he could think of not to betray the fact that he was drunk.

‘’I’ve changed my mind, we are going forest camping together.”
She didn’t know what changed her mind but she knew she wasn’t letting her boyfriend out in the cold all alone. She had made a decision to journey, a journey that would change her life forever.
Aaron slumped on the couch and closed his eyes. He knew the drink was playing a fast one on him but he’d be sure to ask Stella first thing in the morning. For now, his sleep was of utmost importance.

He drifted.

Jeremy knew it wouldn’t be easy convincing his parents and Michael that he had changed his mind considering the way he flared up when the issue was brought up. He had never seen himself so angry and fed up with life, to the extent that suicide even crossed his mind

‘’God forbid’’ he had quickly rebuked the thought.
He had always told himself that suicide was for cowards and sissies who were scared of facing the real world and would rather take their chances among the dead where there was nothing like death again. It definitely didn’t seem that way a moment ago when the thought had crossed his mind. How would someone even escape death by killing themselves? Sounds a bit awkward having to kill oneself to escape death.

Chukwudi’s words kept replaying in his head. He trusted chukwudi’s judgement to be of high wisdom and knowledge. Afterall, he was the oldest in their clique and had given life saving advice to him before. He knew he would be in Europe any moment from now so he had to enjoy Nigerian climate to the fullest.

His first place of contact was mama iyabo’s kitchen. In mama iyabo’s kitchen, you get the best of African delicacies at very cheap rate. Jeremy ordered for ewedu soup and semovita with kpomo to help move the food down. He wasn’t sure what he would have done without kpomo. He loved it so much that he was nicknamed kpomo by some of his friends.

‘’Mama this your food small today o’’ he had complained when served his food.

‘’costumer everything for market don cost o’’ mama iyabo replied him.
Somehow Jeremy didn’t get angry as he usually would when prices of things in the market skyrocket. After all, he would be leaving the country very soon. They can increase the price of every single commodity in the market if they wish, what does he care?

Two men there were arguing about who should be blamed for the high cost of stuffs in the market. The first man thought the government was to blame.

‘’In sane countries, the government regulate prices of things in the market. Such that one low-life wont wake up one day and decide to increase the price of goods.’’
Jeremy imagined how it would be if government should fix prices on all goods in the market. Although he had heard situations where the government placed cost on some commodities such as cement, rice and some goods of high economic importance, he had never seen the regulations been implemented.
The other man listened with rapt attention as the first man kept listing reasons upon reasons why he thinks the government should be blamed for the high cost of goods in the market. Somehow, Jeremy felt the two men were literates who had come to taste real African food from the stables of mama iyabo.

‘’my friend, what you just said can be obtainable only in a capitalist economy’’ the second man started. ‘’even though we are forced to believe that Nigeria is practicing capitalism, it is not what is really obtainable. The sellers and the sellers alone have the right to fix prices on their goods. If the sole right to price fixing rests on the shoulder of sellers and their union, then i don’t see any reason why we should blame the government for high cost of stuffs in the market. Rather, the greedy sellers should be blamed.’’

At the end of the argument, Jeremy could boast that he had learnt a thing or two from the men. After all, it wasn’t everyday you get to learn insightful stuffs from a food seller’s shop. He had wanted to chip in a thing or two – like when the second man had said Nigeria was practicing capitalist economy but had refrained from it so as not to be seen as a disrespectful boy meddling in the affairs of mature men. He was very sure Nigeria was a mixed economy.

‘’Madam come take your money’’ he had rather said when he finished eating.
He paid her and left the place feeling refreshed, it might be the last time he would visit mama iyabo before travelling ¬to Europe. Mama iyabo was definitely going to be one place he would miss by the time he was gone.

He walked home gallantly, not like someone who had left home in anger but like someone who would soon be leaving the shores of the country.
He went into the house and met his mum still begging Michael. He had left the house for close to an hour and Michael was still sitting comfortably on the chair while his mum was begging him like a slave begging the king to spare the life of her son who had been caught stealing from the shrine of Ife. His dad sat separately in his favorite chair with squeezed face nodding his head like he was enjoying the melody of an unheard song.
Immediately he closed the door, they all looked up with different emotions on their faces.

‘’where do you think you are coming from’’ Mr. Bassey was the first to speak. ‘’ better leave this house now before I strike you with this walking stick’’. He stood up to hit him but was held by his wife.

‘’leave him’’ she said, ‘’he is just a little boy, he’ll come around’’

‘’Actually mum, I have seen the mistake in what I did and I came to apologize’’
She looked at her husband who kept a straight face. Michael had a mischievous smile on his face, the type that said ‘I knew he was only bluffing, nobody can reject the prospect of travelling abroad’.
Jeremy went down on his knees. It felt like an unseen force was pushing him down. He didn’t plan to kneel down, atleast not in front of Michael.

‘’please forgive me ma, for all the things I said and did’’. He turned to his dad, ‘’daddy please forgive me. I’ve learnt my lessons. I promise to be a good boy and never talk back at you.

He stood up and said, ‘’I’ve decided to travel with Michael.’’
He wasn’t feeling any remorse at his decision of going abroad at all. It didn’t feel like he made the wrong choice. He had decided he was going to journey and that was his final answer. He didn’t know it was a journey that would change his life forever.
His father stood up and held him in a warm embrace, something he hadn’t done in a very long time. He looked at his wife and spoke.

‘’we have forgiven you my son. You have our blessing.’’

Wow!! Very impressive literary work!

Nelly21:
Wow!! Very impressive literary work!

Thanks, although we're still on the surface level, we haven't gotten to the interesting part.

When he woke up, he was in the rehabilitation room. Dr. Falcon so named it because it served to refurbish the subject any time he overcame the glitches. It was just a compartment created in the cave just some few metres away from where he slept last night. Where he had witnessed what had now become a daily routine – fall, change into a monster, sleep and wake up to find himself naked. It was an experience he wouldn’t even wish his enemy.

His eyes were still foggy as he couldn’t make a clear picture of the images he was seeing. Dr. Falcon’s oblong head was what aided in his identification. He was standing in front of what he thought looked like those computer-like machines found in hospitals. Besides Dr. Falcon was Newton, he was wearing his ever present smile which was always a pleasing sight to behold.

‘’How is his pulse’’ Dr. Falcon asked.

‘’it’s a bit low’’ Newton replied, ‘’but it’s expected considering we administered epinephrine to revive him’’

‘’When have you become a doctor’’ Dr. Falcon asked. ‘’epinephrine does not reduce pulse, it only reduces heartbeat.’’

‘’what’s the difference?’’

‘’This is not a medical class, Newton.’’ Dr. Falcon answered and quickly changed the topic. ‘’Check his heartbeat’’
Newton placed the stethoscope on the chest of the subject and fixed it in his ears. He could hear the heart beating slowly. He checked the computer to get the exact value.

‘’1bps’’ he replied. Somehow, he was enjoying himself. He felt like he had spent five years in college studying medicine.

‘’Are you sure?’’

‘’Very’’

Newton withdrew instinctively and started thinking as if he was having second thoughts.
‘’doc, do you think this procedure will work?’’

‘’I wish I could tell you that for sure Newton, but it is just an experiment and it has as much probability to succeed as it has to fail.’’
The subject sneezed, as if to tell them he heard what they were saying. He was still lying on the bed with some wires connected to his chest and head. The scenario had somehow gotten used to him and he didn’t think it was kidnap as he had thought the first day he woke up to find himself in such condition. It took quite a lot of reassuring from Dr. Falcon to calm him down that day.

‘’Raise your right hand if you can hear me’’ Dr. Falcon instructed.
He lifted his hand rather weakly. It was the greatest strength he could muster but the effort didn’t translate to adequate work done. His hand was as heavy as someone who had been struck with elephantiasis. Dr. Falcon raised his eyelid and flashed a ray of light to study his eyes. There were dark brown, a bit scary but Dr. Falcon knew he wouldn’t do him any harm as long as he was in the cave.
The subject mumbled something inaudibly. Dr. Falcon thought he heard something that sounded like ’kill’ in the sentence. He grew goose bumps at the thought.

‘’Get me the elixir’’ Dr. Falcon instructed.
Newton brought a bottle with red label and blue lid. Some scientific jargons were written on it that Newton couldn’t fathom. He handed it over to Dr. Falcon who pierced a syringe through the lid and drew from its content. He tapped the syringe gently with his middle finger and pierced it through the skin on the subject’s arm.

‘’We’ve been administering this elixir for the past one month without any improvement’’ Newton reminded the doctor.

‘’patience is a very important virtue in science. Some of these procedures take time, and like I said, it is just an experiment, there is no guarantee that it will be successful...’’ Dr. Falcon gave his regular sermon.

‘’…even at that, modifications are been made on this drug on a daily basis. We are hopeful that very soon, we will get there.’’
Newton thought the drug shouldn’t then be called an elixir since, for starters, it isn’t magical and secondly, it is not yet known to cure the ailment.

‘’do you believe in magic, doc?’’ Newton asked.

‘’we are in the land of magic and voodoo, only a fool wouldn’t believe in it’’

‘’then you believe this is magical, and that’s why you called the drug an elixir right?’’
Dr. Falcon sighed. He wasn’t supposed to reveal too much, this was supposed to be a top secret operation, a secret that should be guarded with one’s life. But on the other hand, he had to give Newton a reply, to at least make him feel like he was part of the team and not a lamp holding errand boy.

‘’magic and science are one and the same. We do our science, the blacks don’t understand it and they call it magic. They do theirs, we don’t understand it and we also call it magic.’’ Dr. Falcon explained.

‘’So you are saying that this is magic as much as it is science?’’

‘’I’m saying,’’ he paused. ‘’ we shouldn’t jump into conclusions just yet.’’
In situations like this, Dr. Falcon always had cause to re-evaluate his choice of career. If he had gone for the simpler sciences, perhaps he wouldn’t be in a far away Country, looking over something he wasn’t sure would be successful. He had studied medicine in his college but had digressed to study mythology as a second degree. But what if it were feasible? What if he got this right? He was very sure he would get a national honour back in his country. A Nobel price was far from it. A Nobel price could only be given for scientific inventions which doesn’t have evil as it bedrock. This one though, had evil as its origin, its sponsors were evil, and Dr. Falcon was very sure the end would also be evil, perhaps the obliteration of an entire Country. He wasn’t feeling guilty, he was feeling loyal. Loyal to a right cause. Sometimes in order to prevent a great evil, one must commit a smaller evil. Yes! He had some moral justification. After all, he was just a scientist. He wasn’t the one who put the entire plan in motion.

‘’I’ll like to get some air’’ he told Newton, ‘’stay with the subject.’’
He went out of the cave, into the beautiful green environment of the hill. They called it Ogbanike hills. What a bad name to give to an environment this beautiful and serene. He brought out his cell phone. One thing he liked about the hill was that, unlike most rural areas in the country, this one had a very good network reception. He dialed a number and put the phone on the ear. The voice of an answering machine asking for his access code was what came out of the earpiece.

Ne svoboden, kak ptitsa, ne khishchnik v pole zreniya. He said.

‘’welcome, doc, you’ll be connected shortly’’

Before long, he heard a beep and then the unmistakable coarse voice he had been waiting for came through.
‘’Tell me you have good news.’’ the voice spoke with a tone of power.

‘’Stage three failed’’ Dr. Falcon went straight to the point.
There was a brief silence before the person at the other end spoke. ‘’perhaps doc, you are getting a glimmer of belief that you are the one most suitable for this job.’’ There was another silence, this time, short-lived.
‘’perhaps we should bring in more capable hands’’

‘’There won’t be any need for that, I’ll deliver results’’ Dr. Falcon assured. As much as the job was a herculean one, there was a handsome reward at the end for which ever scientist saw it through.

‘’you better do, don’t let me lose faith in you.’’ The line went dead.
Dr. Falcon turned, heading back to t he cave but he immediately met the prying eyes of Newton.

‘’Who was that?’’ he asked.

‘’nobody you should be concerned about.’’ Dr, falcon replied and walked in.

welcome back brother Ade.

It had been one week since Jeremy made the decision to leave the shores of the country. Michael had encountered some hitches so the journey had been postponed till everything was sorted out. The enthusiasm Jeremy was basking in ended abruptly when he learnt of his mode of transport.

Ship? He had asked rhetorically that morning.Whatever happened to Planes?

Jeremy couldn’t believe the reply he had gotten, it sounded like a roughly cooked up lie.

Ships are the safest means of transport. Moreover, I’d be transporting some export Goods that wouldn’t be accommodated on planes.


Jeremy had a bad hunch about the whole set up but waved it off. After all, he wouldn’t be the first person travelling by water. Many people had done it before him and many would still do it after him. All he had to do was be patient, he was going to enjoy the journey if he eased up. He was going to see the sea. He was going to be a sailor.
Jeremy the modern Jack Sparrow. He laughed at that. His first laugh since the day began. Not that he liked frowning, he just had this feeling he was already missing home. His guys, his babes and even though he hated it, his mum. Okay you think his dad should be part of it right? You’ll lose a lot of money if you bet on that.

The port of Apapa was nothing like he had imagined. He had expected to see trucks of goods with the label ‘contraband’ on it filing out of the port but instead he had seen a few containers waiting for loading and a few cargos being offloaded. Michael brought out his phone and called someone Jeremy had no interest whatsoever in knowing. He was possibly Michael’s partner in crime.

‘’We don show o, where you dey?’’ Michael asked the recipient.
Wasn’t this the same Michael with a British accent? Jeremy had reasoned. Or was his grammar only accentuated in the presence of his previous friends and family?
Michael informed him that their guardian was waiting for them when he got off the phone. The term guardian gave Jeremy a mental picture of an angel, someone with shining wings who would lead them to Europe, perhaps by teleporting.

‘Over there!’’ Michael pointed.
Jeremy turned instinctively to see who it was Michael was pointing at. Okay truthfully speaking, he wasn’t expecting an angel but the amount of deviation this fellow had from his somewhat myopic definition of a guardian was seemingly overwhelming.
He had a tattered singlet on a big trouser which ended just about an inch above his rugged boots. An angel with this kind of boots. Jeremy scoffed at the thought.

‘’Dele my man, how fan na?’’ Michael shook hands with the ‘guardian’.
Jeremy just gave a smile, atleast to hide his inward hostility.

‘’Na him be dis?’’ Dele, the guardian asked.

‘’Na him. Him name na Jeremy.’’
Dele inspected him as if to check if any of his body parts were missing. When he was obviously done with his inspection, he asked.

‘’you don yarn am the koko?”

‘’I sure say him no go Bleep up’’
Dele raised his eyebrow at that. In their line of business, such risks were not worth taking. Many a time, new conscriptees had been given lackadaisical orientations without revealing the main role they were to play aboard the ship. Some of these ignoramuses had expected to somehow be with the crew of sailors.

Dele drew Michael to one corner from whence Jeremy watched them speak in hush tones. Dele was carrying a look of disappointment in his eyes.

‘’you suppose know as e dey be na, this guy na jew and e fit cast anytime.’’
Dele looked at Jeremy and smiled. Jeremy didn’t know why he smiled but if it was meant to reassure him then it did one hell of an awful job.

‘’this guy fit think say na him wan ride this ship, him no go know say na inside container we wan chook am.’’
Whatever it was they were discussing, Jeremy could see it had been concluded and even though Dele still carried his face like he had been given chloroquine to chew, he knew the journey would go on as planned.
Why was this Dele of a guy even acting like a neanderthal? By now he was supposed to be seated comfortably on that ship, gisting with his fellow sailors and probably eating smoked fish.

One thing Jeremy hated with all this agberos was that, they could scream their lungs out, do all sorts of things but just a little cash on their palm was all that was needed to keep them quite. Michael understood this language very well as he could be seen greasing the palm of dele who was only happy to lead them ahead. One thing that piqued Jeremy’s interest though was the way they were moving like criminals. They had to duck behind a container when a custom officer was coming. It didn’t just seem right.
The three men rigmaroled and walked clandestinely until they got to a container with a few uniformed men standing in front of it.

‘’give me the bar’’ Dele motioned at Michael who brought out a bundle of cash and handed it to Dele.
He gave the bundle of cash to the uniform men who counted it to make sure it was complete.

‘’Na which of una dey travel’’ one of the men asked.
Michael dragged jeremy who was clutching his backpack to the front and handed him to the officer.
The officer opened the container and shoved Jeremy inside. Jeremy was still trying to get his head around what just happened when he heard the voice of Michael.

‘’See you in Europe.’’
He looked around, he was surrounded by bags of groundnut. He wasn’t sure what ‘’see you in Europe’’ was supposed to mean but it didn’t sound good.

‘’your food, bed and everything you would need are inside this container’’ he heard the officer saying.
The container was closed, revealing the darkness of its inside to Jeremy. Only then did reality dawn on Jeremy – he was been illegally shipped abroad.

Dyoungstar:
welcome back brother Ade.

thanks sir

I am so glad I clicked this link. I'm sure I won't regret following.

And I think Jeremy just walked into the worst decision of his life.
That's why bad company leads to bad guidance and the cycle goes back and around all over again.

Well done sir and welcome back.

Few days after his show of disgrace in front of Stella following his state of drunken stupor, Aaron had succeeded in letting the events of that day slide and had focused on the future. There were many things he wished to quickly forget, top on the list was that jezebel of a girl. She had come as a savior who had wanted to put him out of his relationship misery. Okay she had succeeded a bit in loosening him when she led him to the dancefloor.

Damn! That body.

The way she wiggled and whined didn’t only loosen him, it also reminded him of the days he was bad. All that changed since he met Stella as
she completely stole his heart away. He became a good boy or at least he pretended to be. The jezebel had succeeded in bringing out his true colour. The colour he had been trying to conceal. The colour of the beast in him. He started to play with her breast like he would have done when he was bad but stopped after a while.
She did everything she could to arouse him and even though he wanted it, he was fighting against it. Even though he knew he was fighting a lost battle, he just had to fight. Atleast to convince his conscience he tried. Then she had said those words.

‘’It’s getting hot in here, would you like to chill outside? I have a car.’’
Aaron knew what she meant but was having a war of morals going on in his mind.
He shouldn’t be doing this, not with a stranger.
As if sensing that he was having second thoughts, the jezebel did some magic. She came very close to him that her breasts were pressing hard on his chest and whispered some seductive jargons to his ear.

Chai!

He wasn’t sure what her words were exactly but he was sure there were enchanted as he started following her like a lamb been led to the slaughter. The next chain of events that unfolded was what he wasn’t really proud of, it ended with him collapsing on his couch and Stella telling him something he thought sounded like ‘’I’ve changed my mind, we’re going forest camping together’’. He didn’t care, he just drifted.

All those happened about a week ago and he was now driving with Stella, heading to Ogbanike hills, hoping to give her the best treat of her life. He owed her that much. He could even tell her what went on at the club and beg for her forgiveness. He was sure she would forgive him.

‘’you’re not talking’’ Stella snapped him out of his thoughts.

‘’erm.. sorry.. excuse me.’’ Aaron mumbled. ‘’what was it you were saying again?’’
Stella eyed him suspiciously. She had sensed a change in his demeanor ever since he had come home about a week ago in a drunken state.

‘’What happened at the club?’’ She asked. ‘’You didn’t go with me and ever since you’ve been acting strange.’’
Aaron wished she hadn’t mention the club. He always went with her to the club and even though his friends had strong objections, he didn’t mind.

‘’I was just angry, that’s all’’ he said the only thing that came to his brain at that moment.

‘’owww..’’ Stella felt guilty.

‘’Stella, we don’t have to talk about that now. What matters is that you are here with me and we are going to have fun.’’

‘’you’re right’’ she said in surrender and leaned back, relaxing completely on the seat.
They drove in silence for the next 20minutes before Stella raised her eyebrow as if suddenly remembering something.

‘’We didn’t even come with camping equipments, how are we going to survive?’’

‘’You’d be surprised.’’

‘’you’re feeling mysterious right?’’ She asked.

‘’Mysterious doesn’t describe me and you know it’’ Aaron bragged. ‘’I’m more than that.’’
Stella kept quite. She didn’t know what to say, she wasn’t about to spoil Aaron’s mind so she didn’t have to go back and front with her several arguments.

‘’I present to you, OGBANIKE HILLS.’’ Aaron stepped on the brake to allow Stella feed her eyes a little.
She raised her head to see the most magnificent sign post she’d ever seen. It was so large that it prevented her from seeing the structure behind.
WELCOME TO OGBANIKE HILLS.

‘’waoh!!’’ she could only exclaim. The picture below was of a neat and lush environment.
Aaron stepped on the accelerator but not before she caught a post script at the end of the sign post.

THE FIRST FOREST CAMP IN NIGERIA.

She stared at Aaron who gave a knowing smirk. He was enjoying himself. They drove some few metres more before they met a large security barricade, Aaron slowed down and came to a halt. He came down and walked to a small building on the right were a uniformed man was standing. He showed his tickets and the bar was raised. He drove in and parked his car while the uniform man ran to catch up, this time with a middle aged tuxedoed man.

‘’Welcome to ogbanike hills, the first forest camp in Nigeria.’’ He welcomed them.

‘’’Thank you.’’ Aaron replied with a warm smile. He wasn’t sure of his next line of action so he kept the smile on his face. The uniform man sensing his reluctance to step out of the car spoke.

‘’you won’t be needing the car from here.’’ He informed them. ‘’Alex here is your camp guide and he will be taking you to your camping area.’’
Aaron came down from the car, rushed to the passenger side and opened the door for Stella. The camp guide smiled.
What a romantic pair.

‘’If you don’t mind sir, your trolley is over here.’’ He pointed to a golf cart parked at their left hand side.
They followed him as he ushered them into the cart while he drove them. Stella couldn’t help but notice the serenity of the environment. It was surely a trip to witness nature at its purest. She brought out her phone and started taking some pictures. Before long, they got to the spot reserved for them. It was neatly cleared with some tall trees sparsely scattered. They all came down.

‘’Have it in your minds that this is like a hotel, we offer you services such as feeding, security and others. Be sure to ring us any time you have a problem. Our numbers are saved on the phone we would be giving you’’ The guide read out their entitlements. ‘’first I’ll help you fix your tent’’

Stella was awed by what she was seeing. She was admiring the environment and taking pictures. She didn’t know when she left the camp guide and Aaron and started tracing the trees. They spanned deep into the forest. Tall, elegant and green, she walked a few metres before realizing how far she’s gone. She was about turning back when she saw it. A cave. Her curiosity got the better of her. she wanted to know what it was that was inside. She walked gently. As if been remoted, she walked into the cave. Her eyes brightened at what she saw.

kizzykeziah:
I am so glad I clicked this link. I'm sure I won't regret following.

And I think Jeremy just walked into the worst decision of his life.
That's why bad company leads to bad guidance and the cycle goes back and around all over again.

Well done sir and welcome back.

sure you wont regret it.
brace up, its about to go down.

Oh dear, I hope Stella won't be the next 'subject'

kizzykeziah:
Oh dear, I hope Stella won't be the next 'subject'

i hope so too

Adegwurulez, I'm back with another moniker... Still teepex man... Following closely boss...

LEGITLAYO:
Adegwurulez, I'm back with another moniker... Still teepex man... Following closely boss...

lol.. funny moniker

adegwurulez:

lol.. funny moniker

lol, as if yours isn't hilarious

LEGITLAYO:
lol, as if yours isn't hilarious

depends on your point of view

There is something about darkness that’s just… creepy. The feeling of uneasiness you get when you can’t decipher what’s in front of you neither can you figure out what’s behind you is just eerie. With the closure of the container came a thick darkness Jeremy had never seen. He suddenly felt this pang of fear, like he was in an abyss or something of that nature. He heard footsteps coming towards his container.

‘’Michael?’’ He called out but the unwelcomed echoes rang back.

He sighed.

Was he going to remain like this for the entire duration of the journey? He started recalling how he was told that ships from Nigeria sometimes take months before arriving in Europe. Was he going to remain locked up in a metal pack like fish for months? He felt betrayed. The footsteps started going in an opposite direction, from where it had come from. Just when he thought that episode had ended, he heard a thud on the roof of the container like something heavy fell on it. In a split second, the container started lifting up, taking all its content with it. It tilted sideways, making Jeremy to fall on his knees and roll until he grabbed one of the bags containing groundnut. The container dropped with another thud, sending Jeremy crashing on the hard surface of the metal. He held his back in anguish.

sh¡t

He held his breathe for what seemed like eternity. The container started moving, this time in the forward direction. Jeremy knew the ship had began its journey, he didn’t know if it was supposed to be a relief or a thing of concern, he just knew he was moving forward and forward movement was a thing to be happy about –at least in the outside world.
He brought out his phone and switched it on. Michael had categorically told him not to come with his phone but he had craftily smuggled it. He quickly went to the gallery to view some photos. His mum’s smile was very warm and calming, carrying an impression of a loving mother. He clicked on the next one, it was a group photo of him and his friends. He saw James, Charlie, chukwudi, Jude and himself. He smiled at the photo, it reminded him of all the mischief they’ve committed. He clicked on the next one and held his breathe at the captivating image that smiled back at him. It was a picture of Kelly, Michael’s younger sister. She was an epitome of indescribable beauty. She was pouting her lips which only made visible her dimple, enhancing her irresistible good looks in the process. Jeremy felt a tingling in his heart.

The past few days had been the earthly definition of bliss to him. He was just lying on his bed and thinking on that fateful day when a text entered his phone. He ignored it thinking it was one of those temper raising messages from service providers, how wrong he was. When he grudgingly opened it, he saw a text from Kelly.

Good to know you and my brother are getting along. Any chance I get to see you this night at ocean view? I’ll be there by 8:00pm.
Kelly.

Attached to the message was this beautiful photo he never got tired of viewing. He didn’t even wonder how she got his number or what she wanted to discuss with him, he just wanted to be with her. It never was to be though as his parents didn’t let him out that day. All the lies from the book of sin he told that day fell on deaf ears. His parents were adamant and he ended up disappointing Kelly. Ditching his date.
Was it really a date? Well, he never knew that for sure until he left.

And at that moment, several miles away from home, he looked deep into the photo and concluded it was a date. Why else was she smiling? Look at the way her lips pouted, she was trying to tell him to come for the date unfailingly. He felt like a fool for letting that opportunity pass him. He didn’t even call her back to explain things to her. The poor girl might have waited in the cold in futility.
He heard that familiar sound in his stomach that reminded him he wasn’t Jesus and he wasn’t in any kind of 40day fasting. He was damn famished.

‘’Everything you’ll need is inside this container’’ he heard the voice of the uniform man replaying in his head.
Well, it had better be.

With his phone as the only source of light, he searched the container for anything edible. Anything except groundnut. He found canned fish at one corner. He wasn’t sure it was going to last him for a month but it was something for a start. He sat comfortably and ate his meal. Water was also provided in a 25litre jerry-can.

How the hell did they expect 25litres to last him one month?

He took his time to devour his meal. After the meal, he knew it was time to sleep. His battery was also getting low so he brought out the candle he had earlier seen. He lit it, spread his mat on the floor and slept.

The heat and the hardness of the floor made him uncomfortable. He changed position, hitting the candle in the process. It fell on the grown and caught a little strand from the bag used in packaging groundnut. A small fire started immediately while he was sleeping. He was trapped in a container that was locked up and the key was at the destination point in far away Europe. To make matters worse, he was sleeping, completely oblivious of the inferno at hand.

---

Gathering fruits from the forest had become something of a hobby for him. Immediately Dr. Falcon and Newton finish with their series of tests and leave, he finds solace in fruit gathering. He had gathered enough fruits when he discovered that the sun was going down and if he doesn’t get to the cave, he might turn in the open and they would be no cave of solitude to prevent him from hurting innocent people. Dr. Falcon had said something about people coming to the forest for camp. That’s insane. How would any normal human being prefer the life in the jungle to the sweet life outside there? He’d give anything just to return to the town.
He shrugged and started heading to the cave. On nearing the cave he started perceiving that smell of fragility. It was a feminine cologne.

Someone else was there.

He creeped in gently and saw her admiring the cave. He recognized the person even from behind. The shape of her head and her standing posture was what he wouldn’t forget in a hurry, it really was her. His heart sank as it was filled with emotions. He started moving slowly towards her and when he was close enough, he stretched his hand, wanting to touch her hair but was stopped by a voice.

‘’Get away from her.’’
He recognized the voice.

The camp guide as Aaron later turned out to notice, was a very friendly fellow. He had explained pretty much everything Aaron needed to know about the place and Aaron confessed it was one hell of a great idea. Creating a camp with the hospitality of a hotel inside a jungle was a genius idea. No doubt many nature lovers like him will pay fortunes to visit the place. He was proud he was one of the first visitors since the place took off. The camp guide had told him that, he had even received a huge discount for that.

The security which should be a thing of concern to him was assured, according to the camp guide. Although he didn’t see any sign of security personnel on his way here, he was sure they were somehow watching. He was given a phone which he was told contained numbers of the management office as well as the security office. Anything he needed, he’ll get just by pressing one button.
The camp guide had helped him pitch his tent, it was standing taut with all the zippers closed.

‘’Isn’t this lovely, sweetheart?’’ He asked, moving backwards and admiring the tent. ‘’The camp guide has been most…’’ he stopped when he turned but did not find Stella.
‘’Sweetheart?’’ He called out.

There was no answer, at least none that both men could here. Aaron looked around, where could she possibly be? He turned back to the guide.

‘’erm… thank you for everything, if I need anything I’ll call.’’

‘’you sure you don’t want me to help you find your wife?’’

Aaron wanted to tell him she wasn’t his wife but what difference would that make?

‘’No thanks, I think I can find her.’’ he said.

The camp guide hesitated a bit but decided to leave. Immediately he left, Aaron set out to find Stella. He went towards were he last saw her. There he saw an array of well planted deciduous trees sprawl out into oblivion. He followed the path in between the walls of the trees until he saw a cave. Stella couldn’t possibly be in there, he thought. On a second thought, he decided to check it out. He walked to the entrance where he saw Stella lost in admiration of something and a mad man in tattered garments stretching his hand to touch her hair.

‘’Get away from her.’’ he shouted.

The mad man stopped, as if he was startled. He turned slowly and faced Aaron, something was strangely familiar about his eyes but Aaron couldn’t place it. All he saw was a mad man with unkempt hair and tattered clothes.

---

Two boys were seated on the tiled floor of an exotically furnished room, there were about fourteen years of age. A girl who was also in their age grade was on the chair with a glass of juice on her hand and a magazine on the chair. She seemed engrossed.

‘’checkmate!’’ one of the boys shouted. She looked up and smiled.

‘’How is it a checkmate?’’ The other boy countered. ‘’ I can move my king here.’’ He removed his king from where it was and dropped it on a slot labeled e3.

‘’Then it’ll be meat for my rook.’’ The first boy said, laughing mischievously.

‘’Greg, don’t tell me you won him again.’’ The girl spoke for the first time.

‘’Aaron is my boy, he just never agrees.’’
She dropped her juice on the table, walked over to where the first boy was.

‘’I’m leaving.’’ She said.

‘’okay.’’ He answered plainly. ‘’I’ll come over later.’’

She walked with charisma till she reached the door, she opened it and left.

‘’One day, I’ll kill you and marry Stella.’’ The second boy suddenly said.

‘’why would you say a thing like that? I’ll tell mum.’’

‘’Don’t you know when someone is joking?’’. The second boy pleaded with his eyes. ‘’mummy’s boy.’’

The first boy looked deep into his brother’s eye, he stood up angrily and walked inside. He didn’t report to his mum, that was his greatest undoing.

---

The mad man wanted to talk but nothing came out of his mouth. Stella ran towards Aaron. The man looked like a medieval hunter and that scared the hell out of Stella. She looked deep into his eyes, something in there was familiar. Well, she had seen a lot of eyeballs in her existence on earth. Maybe this one was one of those that had pricked her interest.

‘’Who are you?’’ Aaron asked.
Dumb question, Stella thought. How the hell did he expect a mad man to remember his name? The mad man whimpered, like there was an ocean of catharses about to be released. By this time, it was already getting dark.

‘’You two need to leave right now.’’ The mad man said in low tone.

Aaron and Stella were shocked. Not only was the mad man speaking, he also had an impeccable grasp of English. Again, there was a vague familiarity in his voice.

‘’you haven’t answered my question, who the hell are you?’’

‘’For your own good you have to leave this forest now.’’ Just as he was finishing it, he felt the glitch, it was time for his daily transmogrification.
Stella held Aaron tight, she wasn’t comfortable with how the first day of what promised to be an exquisite camp was turning out to be.

‘’You need help.’’ Aaron blurted out.

‘’Leave here you fool.’’ The man spewed, his voice slightly raised.

‘’I’m not leaving until…’’ Aaron was saying when the man suddenly dropped on his knees with his hands clutched tightly to his belly. His eyes were bulging out like they were about to be plucked. His bones cracked like they were been broken. At this point Stella felt uncomfortable, she went behind Aaron and was holding him by his shirt.

‘’baby lets go.’’

Aaron’s feet somehow felt numb and it was as if he was stuck to the earth.
The body of the man somehow started inflating, and two other limbs bulged out below his two hands. His teeth became fangs and his eyes were bloodshot.
With trembling fingers, Aaron reached for his pocket to bring out the phone the camp guide had given him but it wasn’t there. He raised up his head and he stood face to face with a monster.

---

The heat in the container was getting unbearable for Jeremy, it felt like he was in the middle of fire. A twig of fire broke off and landed on his arms, he Jumped up. He was surrounded by fire, just then he heard a gunshot. He stood startled. Another gunshot followed and there was shouting everywhere. Their ship was being attacked, he knew this. The flames from the fire rose ferociously, threatening to consume everything. He was stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, yet he had to make a decision very fast. He braced up, he was going to do what he thought was the best option.

Jeez! Great twist here.

Jeremy is already my favorite character probably because of our coinciding interest in the Originals movie but him being stuck in this sort of situation is certainly getting me worried.

As for Aaron and Stella ehn,............ . My lips are zipped

Adegwurulez, when this is ended, it's gonna be a master piece... You've just made my day

kizzykeziah:
Jeez! Great twist here.

Jeremy is already my favorite character probably because of our coinciding interest in the Originals movie but him being stuck in this sort of situation is certainly getting me worried.

As for Aaron and Stella ehn,............ . My lips are zipped

And here i was, thinking 'that boy Jeremy deserves to die.'

LEGITLAYO:
Adegwurulez, when this is ended, it's gonna be a master piece... You've just made my day

Dokita, hope when my head finally bursts, you'll be at hand to perform some medical abracadabra?

adegwurulez:

Dokita, hope when my head finally bursts, you'll be at hand to perform some medical abracadabra?

lol I really pray o

LEGITLAYO:
lol I really pray o

I pray so too o, cos the way i'm dancing sekem this night ehm, i might end up with dislocated joints.

Don't ask me what's making me joyous. Chelsea just left the stage for the men.

adegwurulez:

And here i was, thinking 'that boy Jeremy deserves to die.'

Don't kill the poor lad o Biko nu.

Jeremy had this big secret he had kept seal tight all these years. He was pyrophobic. Of course he didn’t go about screaming it to high heavens, not only because he felt it absurd but also because he didn’t want to be seen as a schmuck. Pyrophobia my asss. But now, in God-knows-where, he was stuck in between his greatest fear and a yet to be known threat. Life has a way of throwing your challenges right back at you doesn’t it?

He didn’t even give his brain much work to do, the decision was made with his heart, the decision to do everything possible not to die in the hands of his fear, everything including screaming this metal rack down, not minding whatever threat stood behind waiting for him. As if smelling his fears, the flames rose more than ever before, threatening to consume him, starting from his heart. He could hear his father’s voice loud and clear;

Son, fear releases pheromones into your blood stream, Pheromones that carry only one message – the message of hopelessness. Never let your inner self feel hopeless. For it is within you that a battle is lost.

Not as if his father ever cared, he’d probably have a smirk on his face if he were to be watching this.

Jeremy screamed with all the strength he could muster. So great the shout was that it practically added heat to the fire. The sound of the gunshot apparently didn’t let the outsiders hear him for all he could hear was the sporadic blaring of gun sound. He put his hand to good use. He started hitting the metal with all his strength. The noise emanating from hitting the metal coupled with the sound from the rustling of fire and the gunshots made the container one hell of a noise pollution epicenter. The fire was gradually progressing towards him.

‘’Help!!’’ he screamed but there was no reply. He retreated to fate. Whoever destined his death to become inevitable on that particular day didn’t tell him it was going to be in the hands of his worst enemy. He cursed himself for agreeing to go on a journey which he was pretty much sure wasn’t for the best.

He closed his eyes, he could hear the sound of death, it sounded like… a metal being hit. He opened his eyes. It wasn’t death. It was his rescuers cracking the damn metal. The sound came again, it was deafening but it was better than the sound of fire crackles. Those lazy asses better be fast. Well there were faster than he’d expected or maybe their equipments were sophisticated. He watched as they peeled off the metal like it was banana peel. Without batting an eyelid, he ran out to meet an army of angry looking men. They were armed to the teeth. European or American white, he couldn’t tell but he knew they were whites. They struggled to put out the fire. He saw the surprised look on the faces of the crew members. They obviously didn’t know there was someone in the containers. Not as if they had anything to do to him now considering they were on their knees with their hands tied behind their heads.

‘’well…well…well from hell fire to the abyss’’ One of the captors said, he had this thick Russian accent. This one definitely wasn’t a Christian, how else wouldn’t he know that abyss and hell fire are one and the same thing? Jeremy concluded he was their leader. He had this odd strand of hair extending to his forehead. He was not on the tall side but his body build aptly complemented his lack of height. He was holding an automatic rifle like it was toothpick. That should be an Mk.17. Jeremy’s eyes widened. He had this mad love for weapons and he could spot the make from afar.

‘’You like this?’’ the leader came close to him and pointed the gun at his face. For a moment Jeremy stopped breathing. He was staring death face to face. The man removed the gun from his face and placed it on his chest. He started sketching God-knows-what on Jeremy’s chest with the gun. Jeremy could hear his heart pounding. He felt a chill rundown his spine, this time it wasn’t caused by the cool sea breeze, it was rather caused by his fear and primordial lack of obstinacy. The leader lowered his gun and Jeremy swore he saw a look of disappointment in his eyes.

‘’let’s get this done.’’ he said.
One of the assailants came forward with a box in his hand. He knelt down in front of his captives and opened the box. Inside the box were syringes and a bottle, containing a whitish liquid. He brought out the syringes one after the other and drew from the bottle. He passed the syringes to his colleagues who injected them directly on the chests of the captured crew members.

Barely 2minutes after the liquid was injected, Jeremy started feeling foggy. He was struggling to keep his eyes open but it seemed like a lost battle. He succumbed to his dizziness. The last figures he saw before drifting were of his captors having a good laugh.

---

Never in his live had Aaron ever been this glad for daybreak. Last night was one he was sure would continue to haunt him for a very long time. He could barely sleep for a few seconds but that was expected considering he slept just a few metres from where a monster was sleeping. He couldn’t believe Stella was not taking this whole event seriously, she had slept lackadaisically like she was in some sort of el dorado. So like Stella to trust people easily. She had stopped him from calling the authorities yesterday after coming back from that cave where that guy… no need to start thinking about it. She had cited that the guy – no, scratch that – the monster didn’t hurt them after turning but had instead slept peacefully. As far as Aaron could remember, the monster didn’t do that out of goodwill, he was probably on some kind of fasting or diet control or… whatever.

Stella opened her eyes gently, she had somehow expected to wake up on her king sized bed with cool air caressing her skin courtesy of her air conditioner. At least that scenario would prove to her that the events on her mind were just a dream and not what she was thinking it was. She caught Aaron staring coldly towards the roof of the tent. She could tell he wasn’t happy.

‘’Good morning.’’ she greeted, sitting up.

‘’Good morning.’’ Aaron replied coldly. She couldn’t tell if that came out of his mouth or his nose but it wasn’t audible enough. She stood up and opened the tent.

‘’we need to visit him.’’ she suddenly said.

‘’Who?’’

‘’The guy from the cave’’

She went outside.

‘’Stella, I think we should let sleeping monsters lie.’’

Stella was already on her way before he could stop her.

‘’shit!!’’ He cursed, after which he got up and ran after her.

kizzykeziah:


Don't kill the poor lad o Biko nu.

he's safe with me

It will be unfair to read and not comment (at least word of encouragement)

Oga Adeg, U're one of a kind..


More grease to Ur pen

More wisdom and knowledge to Ur brain....


Expect more from U

Crownfullhouse:
It will be unfair to read and not comment (at least word of encouragement)

Oga Adeg, U're one of a kind..


More grease to Ur pen

More wisdom and knowledge to Ur brain....


Expect more from U

Thanks man.. once in a while i get urged on by kind words like this.

‘’Wake up… Wake up… Wake up.’’

Lying down with his eyes closed and his head facing up, he could hear the voice of Dr. Falcon reverberate throughout the cave. It registered deep in his brain. He opened his eyes, the rays of light falling directly into his eyes made him close it quickly. Then gently again, he opened it, making sure to fully acclimate the effect of the light. He saw Dr. Falcon waving his four hands – no two, okay he was still dizzy.

‘’Wake up!’’ There was a tone of impatience in Dr. Falcon’s voice.
He rubbed his hand violently on his eyes to clear his sight.

‘’Morning’’ Dr. Falcon greeted with a smile – a rare one. ‘’we are leaving this place.’’

He stood up at the sound of that. ‘’leaving? Where to?’’ he asked.
Dr. Falcon didn’t reply that, he just walked into the rehabilitation room while Newton and the subject followed behind, struggling to keep up with the doctor’s pace. Upon entering the rehabilitation room, the doctor picked up a remote which was lying carelessly on the table. He pointed it at a video monitor at the far end of the room. The monitor showed static for a while before coming to life. Showing on the screen was the subject obviously in pains during his transmogrification and a scared couple clutching to each other and watching the event unfold.

‘’It appears we had visitors yesterday.’’ The doctor turned and looked at the subject. ‘’were you ever going to tell me this?’’

‘’Was I supposed to tell you in my dreams? I’m just waking up.’’

Dr. Falcon saw he had a point. ‘’The fact is, we’ve been compromised. We can’t keep staying here. ‘’

‘’Where are we going?’’ This time it was Newton speaking for the first time.

The doctor paused as if carefully sieving his next choice of words. ‘’I have a place in mind. It’s not the best but we can make do.’’

‘’I’m not leaving here.’’
Dr. Falcon and Newton turned, it was the subject. ‘’One hour from now and we’ll have cops surrounding here. Three hours max and we are in some hell hole of a prison. And they wouldn’t have the faintest idea what they are in for.’’ Dr. Falcon rambled.

‘’You think if they wanted to get the cops involved we’d still be here?’’ the whole room was silent. ‘’they had the whole of the night to call the security department of this place but they didn’t and they won’t.’’

‘’You sound like you know them.’’ The doctor gave him an inquisitive look.

‘’It’s common human psychology. They are probably very far from here now and are least likely to return.’’
There was silence in the room. An echo from a distant voice broke the silence. They listened carefully to the voice.

‘’Hello!’’ a female voice called out. ‘’Anybody here?’’

‘’I told you this was a bad idea.’’ This time it was a male voice.

Dr. Falcon looked at the subject as if waiting for an explanation. ‘’Did you say ‘least likely to return’?’’ he definitely wasn’t expecting a reply ‘cos he immediately started pacing. He placed his right hand on his brunet hair and rubbed it hard, then lifting his head, he saw the subject already going out to meet them.

‘’Where the hell do you think you are going?’’ he was too late, the subject was already outside.

---

Waking up to find one’s self on good terra firma might be quite an adventure for some, especially when that terra firma isn’t a gutter. Jeremy wasn’t that lucky. First he was woken by the noise of kids and mature people alike, who were surrounding him in some form of sight-seeing charade. That wouldn’t have been much of a big deal if not for the exquisite bed he had slept on – a dirty and malodorous gutter. His mouth tasted like armpit, however it was that armpits tastes. He couldn’t recall how he ended up in the gutter, must have been too much alcohol. He staggered to his feet, the crowd moved back. Some people were taking pictures but he was too engrossed trying to give his feet a firm grip on the ground to care. He checked his pockets and surprisingly his phone was still there. He clutched his back pack and started moving, looking for a bus stop. The crowd was still on his matter but he didn’t seem to care. He walked a bit longer than he’d anticipated before finding a bus stop.

‘’Mushin…Mushin… Mushin.’’ He heard a conductor call out. He quickly jumped on the bus.

After series of stopping and moving, the bus finally got to his destination, he paid with the money he saw in his bag. The remaining journey wasn’t far again so he decided to go on foot. He connected through his series of short cuts before finally arriving at home. The sun was already losing its shine when he reached home. Nobody was at home when he got there but he knew where the key would be so he quickly fetched it and opened the door.

He plugged his phone and went straight to the bathroom to clean up and when he was through, he dressed up. There was a message on his phone when he came back. He opened it but was disappointed to see a message from his service provider. He wanted to close it but something caught his attention. It was the message from Kelly. He opened it and read it over and over again but couldn’t remember ever receiving the message. The message had a subtle sensual undertone and her pix attached. He rushed to the window and looked towards Kelly’s house and as if cupid was smiling down on him, he saw her heading out with a basket. He knew where it was she was going so he quickly used the back door and waited for her in the pavement very close to her house.

She was singing cheerfully and going when a firm hand grabbed her and pulled her very close.
‘’Jeremy?’’ she called, surprised. ‘’you didn’t journey again?’’

Jeremy didn’t remember ever telling her of a journey but he wasn’t concerned about that for now. He covered her lips with his. She was a bit resistant but later eased up. Jeremy turned her and pinned her to the wall, savoring her sweet lips. His masculine smell and his kissing expertise turned Kelly on so much. She raised her right leg and wrapped it round his waist, pinning his buttocks and pressing his body on her fragile feminine physique.

Jeremy was happy for the darkness, he was going to make good use of the opportunity. He put his hands to good use and started drawing an unknown symbol on Kelly’s nipples with her clothes still on. He was still on this when he felt something strange. His eyes started having seizures like a computer glitch. One minute he was seeing normal and the next he was having blurred vision. He disengaged from Kelly. He wasn’t sure what it was but he was sure it wasn’t God trying to send him some kinda divine message.

He suddenly felt himself gaining weight, he dropped on his knees and clutched his stomach. He had this burning sensation inside. Kelly wasn’t moved, she had seen a lot of guys get the jitters when about to get down with a lady but she’d come a long way with this whole ‘Jeremy must love me’ campaign – like she’d call it – to back out now.

‘’Wait a sec Jer,’’ she looked deep into his eyes. ‘’are you a virgin?’’
She heard a crack sound, like Jeremy just broke a bone. Actually he did break a rib, but it was just to make way for his developing limbs which started protruding from both sides of his thoracic region. His face started changing into something Kelly couldn’t recognize. His height started increasing exponentially. Kelly looked at his hands and they now had claws for nails. She wanted to run but it seemed like her legs were somehow glued to one spot. She looked up to behold a monster. This one had no hairs instead it had scales on its skin. The monster laughed, revealing its fangs. Kelly couldn’t take it any longer, she gave an ear piercing scream and fainted.

Looking down on his prey, Jeremy could smell her deep fragrance, it was so enticing. The way she laid like a price, waiting to be picked up – a well deserved price – even upped the ante on his devilish urge. He could hear her heart pounding rhythmically. The delicate organ sending blood first to the lungs and back to it and then to every part of the body through its network of finely channeled arteries, he could feel the blood separating down to the capillaries and then into thin-walled cells. That organ is life. Somehow he felt ripping off the heart and eating it would add to his years like some kind of immortality elixir. He bent down low, tracing her sternum gently, moving his claws through her breasts and gently through her smooth stomach until he got to her navel where he paused briefly. He continued this art of line drawing but this time in the opposite direction, moving up her stomach very slowly and stopped just before he reached the sternum. He applied pressure just below the breastbone, piercing deep into her skin. The sharp pain restored Kelly’s consciousness as she gave a frantic gasp and her eyes popped out in horror. This only urged him more. With his claws deep inside her chest, he began searching for the heart.

Kelly felt life leaving her gently but she wasn’t going to die without a fight. She hit him hard with her hand but his body was as hard as a rock and she felt pain in her hand. She added spurn to her list of skills as she kicked him on his groin with all the strength she could muster. The monster didn’t even flinch. Like he didn’t notice anything had hit him. He grinned when he finally found the heart, revealing his brown coloured fangs. He gently plucked out the heart, removing it as he withdrew his claws from his dying prey. He stood up and admired the heart in his hand, leaving Kelly for dead. Kelly laid down in the pool of her blood, taking labored breath before finally giving up the ghost. Having gotten what he wanted, the beast left with unimaginable speed.

Just a block away, a lady stood up with fright. She had seen all what transpired.

---

Aaron had a glass of wine in his hand, he was pacing impatiently. Stella was sitting with her head in her hands. Tobi, Kingsley and Segun were seated on separate chairs. 10:09am was the time on the wall clock.

‘’I’ve always hated these white punks.’’ Aaron finally said. ‘’guys you need to see the attitude na.’’

‘’So in essence, what you are saying is that you saw this guy turn into a beast and the next morning you went to see him…’’ Segun was saying but Aaron cut him short. ‘’Stella’s idea.’’

‘’I didn’t ask whose idea it was, I was asking if he really threw you out.’’

‘’Have you been sleeping all these while?’’ Aaron asked, irritated. ‘’I said he literally put me on his head and threw me out.’’

Stella wanted to laugh but the atmosphere was too tensed. Thinking about it now it wasn’t as bad as Aaron was painting it. After waking up the previous morning, she had gone to check up on the… guy. It’s actually hard not to call him a monster. Some other white guy was there and he was acting all secretive. He couldn’t even answer a simple question like what was really wrong with the beast. When Aaron suggested professional help for the monster, the white punk had quickly rebuked him and had asked them to leave. There was another white chap there. He had this poker face on – no emotion, just blank. That was the previous morning. Aaron said he couldn’t risk one more night in that jungle so they both came back. Learning of their return, Kingsley, Tobi and Segun rushed in to welcome them the next morning.

‘’That’s my boss,’’ segun suddenly said, pointing at the T.V where a man in police uniform was being interviewed. ‘’Please increase the volume.’’ He urged.

‘’…we haven’t received any report to that effect.’’ The pot bellied police officer said.
The camera turned from the police officer to a light complexioned news reporter.

‘’while the police are yet to receive any report on the incident that took place in the suburb of Lagos last night, residents are currently in panic mode. According to an eyewitness who spoke off-camera, a huge monster with four hands was spotted in the area. Whether this monster is responsible for the death of Miss Kelly Olabisi is yet unknown but the area vigilante commandant pegged the death on ritualists, citing the fact that the victim’s internal organs were removed. He however promised that the vigilante would get to the root of it. Reporting for TVC news, I am Ronke Iyama.’’ She concluded her report.

‘’Monster with four hands.’’ Aaron repeated and stormed into the bedroom, few minutes later he was back with his keys.

‘’Where are you going?’’ Stella asked, standing up.

‘’To that police station of course.’’ he replied. ‘’I’m reporting everything to the police’’

‘’That wouldn’t be a good idea’’ Tobi interfered. ‘’we need to find out why the white guy was keeping it a secret in the first place.’’

‘’Good idea’’ Segun agreed, ‘’let’s get concrete evidence before turning them in’’ the police in the house spoke.
So that was how they all stormed out at exactly 10:30am and smuggled themselves into chunkwam hills using a security loop at the rare end
which Kingsley had created with his computer expertise.

‘’remind me to arrest you when we are out of here’’ Segun had told him immediately they succeeded in entering the place. They navigated through the forest until they got to the cave. On entering, they met the three men standing, facing the wall of the cave. Falcon was trying to tell them something. Segun cleared his throat to get the attention of the three men. They turned to see four guys and a lady looking at them like they had committed a big crime.

‘’you couldn’t keep your mouth shut huh?’’ falcon asked Aaron.

Segun removed his I.D card and flashed it in falcon’s face.
‘’I’m an officer of the Nigerian Police force and the only reason I’m not arresting you is because I want to hear everything from you before taking any action.’’

‘’Arrest?’’ Dr. Falcon acted surprised. ‘’Excuse me can I see your warrant?’’

‘’You’d be surprised I don’t need that.’’ Segun looked at the only black man among them. That must be the beast. ‘’your beast killed someone at mushin area yesterday.’’
Falcon was quiet. He just ushered them into the rehabilitation room where they all sat.

‘’I can tell you for sure that my Subject was in this cave throughout the night.’’

‘’What exactly is this ‘subject’ of yours?’’ Tobi asked. ‘’Modern day incredible hulk?’’
Falcon contemplated telling the strangers the story or not. He decided he was going to tell them.

‘’In the late 16th century Scania was under the rule of King Ivar Vidfamne who happened to be a very harsh ruler.’’

‘’Oboy!’’ Kingsley sighed. ‘’Just when I thought my old man was the last story teller alive.’’
Dr. Falcon ignored him. ‘’He ruled with an iron fist and nobody dared oppose him. Nobody except the enlightened ones – the scientist of that time who were also custodians of various Norse gods. Enraged by this, Vadfamne set out to kill all the enlightened ones.’’

When tobi was getting impatient, he said. ‘’could you please skip to the part where this guy…’’ pointing at the beast, ‘’came into the picture.’’
Again, the doctor ignored him. ‘’The enlightened ones got wind of this and came together to form a society known as the society of Scanian scientists(SSS). The first meeting of this society was held in the Norse shrine of Loki, where it was agreed to take the battle to king vidfamne. The society was led by a man named Asger Erling – the chief priest of Loki…’’

‘’...According to ancient norse mythology, Loki was the god of mischief, so when Asger Erling called unto Loki for a solution, he provided them with an element of mischief, something they named the Loman, meaning ‘’creation of Loki.’’

‘’I suppose this subject of yours is a Loman?’’

‘’Damn right, yes. Lomans have been extinct until recently when a national research institute authorized their resuscitation.’’

‘’Wait a minute, a national research institute?’’ Kingsley asked. ‘’what kind of demonic country is that?’’

‘’Ironically, they call themselves God’s own country.’’

‘’America?’’
Falcon nodded in the affirmative.