suspense filled

bravo! Love it.

Morrree

Bros abeg feed us more

Am feelin u, aswear down, more greese to ur elbow for dis,

Fire on bro.... Awaitin ur updates

TONYE001:
Una good morning oooo..

I hope you all slept well...

It's a busy weekend for me..but I'll try and do an update, at least..

Don't forget to drop your comments as you read through...support my growing ministry, please..

Je vous souhaite une bonne journee.. (have a nice day)..

abeg come update am na

kodded:
abeg come update am na

I'll make you all happy today...no worry..

I couldn't help it yesterday, I was quite busy..

..and I must announce to you that, this story will be completed..to the very last sentence..just a little patience..

Good morning..

TONYE001:


I'll make you all happy today...no worry..

I couldn't help it yesterday, I was quite busy..

..and I must announce to you that, this story will be completed..to the very last sentence..just a little patience..

Good morning..

mooore

God bless your source of inspiration. abeg pass me one bag of pure water + 2 basket of popcorn ma take enjoy d ride.

Chapter 9

The door crashed into the wall as I rushed in. It bounced back from the wall as it slowly returned to its frame. An alerted Mark disengaged his lips from Juliet’s and stared at me in obvious disbelief.

“Smallie!...., na you be this?”, he said as his gaze met mine.

I stood motionless in the room, panting and gasping for air, unsure of what next to do. Juliet turned to meet my gaze, her eyes wide open, her face expressing shock as though she could not believe that I was there, looking at them, doing nothing.

“Na wetin you dey do here?”, Mark questioned.

I turned dumb, unable to find the right word – any word – to use. His eyes met mine as we tried to read each other’s mind. In his, I saw surprise, a bit of fear, and confidence. The room suddenly became quiet, the sounds of the wall clock and our hearts were all that could be heard as the tension in the room built up gradually.

Ticktock…lubdub…ticktock…lubdub….ticktock…lubdub…

I located a fairly large flower vase resting on the centre table. I saw him trace the line of my gaze to the vase. We were at equal distances away from it. We both became aware that we only had violent intentions for each other.

In a split second, he pushed Juliet off from on top as he made for the vase. She fell violently on the bed, her head hitting the wall giving away a thud. She remained motionless, her eyes wide open, and her lower jaw slightly dropped.

I dashed for the centre table as I tried to beat Mark to it.

Mark was pulled back to the bed; it appeared that his sleeve was hooked. He struggled frantically as he tried to set himself free. With one last effort, he pulled his hand away from the frame of the bed tearing the sleeve.

I took advantage of the time he had lost struggling with the hook as I got to the vase before him. Now free, he tried to return to his feet but I met him midway as I smashed the vase on his head. He screamed at the top of his voice in pain but the sound of the background music killed his voice.

He fell back to the bed as his body bounced a few times. Bright red blood gushed from an opening on his scalp as it flooded through his head to the bed. He lay motionless with his big, muscular hands spread open.

I stood in shock with a portion of the broken vase still in my hand. There was a momentary pause of activities, even the air stood still. My knees suddenly became weak, unable to bear my weight. I reached for the table for support; I felt my stomach tighten as it ejected its contents choking me in the process. I coughed as I regurgitated, throwing my substance all over the floor.

Things had gone beyond the scope of my imagination. I looked back at Mark, then Juliet. Juliet! I rushed to the side she laid. I tapped and called her repeatedly; I shook her vigorously but there was no response. I tried to turn her to her side in an attempt to trace the source of the pool of blood that was collecting under her body. As I did, I saw a long, rusty nail painted in blood, fixed to the wall, slide off the back of her head as more blood oozed from beneath her long, black hairs.

Jesus! I panicked. I was scared and confused. Juliet was dead and I caused her death. I brought her to the club, I gave her this job, I was the reason why she was in the room with Mark at that time, I was the reason she was dead. What have I done? All I wanted was to get my money, I never bargained for all these; I never wanted violence; now I was in deep trouble. I was directly connected to the death of two more persons.

I sat on the floor beside the bed in frustration. I was lost in a complex of emotions. I cried silently as I shivered, I pressed my hand over my mouth as I fought back the urge to shout.

The room reeked of the intoxicating smell of blood. The atmosphere felt heavy as the air flowed sluggishly. I could not stand the sight of the two bodies lying lifeless on the bed. I could not stand the repulsive smell of blood that hung in the air. The whole scene was overbearing.

I knew I needed to leave the room, and I had to do that quickly. In no time, the bodies would be discovered, the police would be invited, and of course, preliminary investigations would commence. The security cameras would give me away. The police would eventually trace Juliet to her workplace and the testimony of her pot-bellied boss would cause further harm.

There was no going back. I had to stick to my mission: recover your share of the money and give all to mama. Mark and Juliet were just collateral damages. It was nothing personal.

I stood up from the floor as I made for Mark’s body. His face was pale with its skin tensed. His fixed eyes appeared to be looking right back at me. I jumped back in fear as I threw my eyes elsewhere. I searched through his pockets as I tried to avoid his face. I found some bundles of one thousand naira notes on him, a mobile phone,, and his car keys. I took a last look at Juliet; her fixed eyes remained wide open, looking into the emptiness of life from the land of the dead. I opened the door and left the room in quick steps.

Chai..not good. Kudos.

Missmossy:
Chai..not good. Kudos.

Missmossy? Long time! How have you been?

Thanks....I hope you are still enjoying your read sha o..haha

Yea, too bad that Juliet (and Mark) had to die..

We'll all miss them...haha

Your writing prowess is inevitable. Kudos

summerflame:
Your writing prowess is inevitable. Kudos

Thanks Sir for these words...I still have a lot of improvement to do though..

May God bless you..

TONYE001:


Missmossy? Long time! How have you been?

Thanks....I hope you are still enjoying your read sha o..haha

Yea, too bad that Juliet (and Mark) had to die..

We'll all miss them...haha

Long time bawo was here some days ago. I'm good btw. Lol won't miss them much

Is Osaze20091 still in the building?

He was the first to sign his presence here...

upon how 'powerful' Mark be, na common flower vase kill am
smh

Wow!!!! OP this is great. I like everything about the story. I wish you wouldn't stop


Come and continue ooo....

Kudo man

Smallie is tryna fix damages,
but at dsame tym creating more damages...

More brain to your skull

This is a wonderful piece, I must confess.
I'll keep reloading the page.

NICE JOB. PLEASE UPDATE.

This is a wonderful piece, I must confess.
I'll keep reloading the page.

*Shudders* Wow

wonderful @ tonye, keep it up!

One of the best I have read on Nairaland. Thumbs up brother.

this is getting hotter

...continued...

I exited the building as I returned to the compound. The cold morning breeze penetrated my skin as the branches of the trees that stood in the compound swayed in the direction of the breeze. Lines of lightening tore through the dark heavens as claps of thunder groaned in the floating balls of cloud. The rains were not far from the morning.

The security men in black suits were still out in their various posts. I tried to maintain a normal composure as I walked through the compound towards Mark’s car.

Mark’s car was a white-coloured 2015 Kia Sportage. As I approached it, I pressed the unlock button on its remote key holder as the jeep beeped and flashed its signal lights. I opened the door and settled in the driver’s seat.

I searched through the car under the illumination of the mild lamp that stood in the compound. I could not find anything out of the ordinary. There were folded pieces of used mobile phone recharge cards all over the floor. A packet of cigarette rested on the passenger’s seat and some bottles of alcoholic beverages occupied the back seat. I reached for the glove compartment. As I opened it, I heard something drop to the floor. I picked it up as I brought it to my view. It was a brown-handled revolver.

What do I do next? I had lost my only chance of locating Tiger and the Capon. Mark had died with all the information I needed so badly. All I had with me were his phone, some extra cash, his keys, and the handgun.

I tried to access his phone but I could not get past the security. The car was obviously useless to me. The cash would be useful; I estimated it to be over two hundred thousand naira. This would be more than enough in financing my upkeep.

I removed the battery of Mark’s phone as I retrieved the SIM card. I replaced the SIM card I had in my phone with that of Mark’s. My plan was simple: wait for Arrow to come out of hiding.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Saturday, 1145 Hours, Raphael’s Inn…

I was at the house watching TV. The sun was on a slow decent behind the red horizon making way for the emergence of a beauteous evening. Dad was back from work and mum was fixing dinner. Otokini sat on a short stool as she plucked periwinkle morsels with a needle.

“Nde e-ingi, Nene?”, dad asked after Nene, our first daughter, in our native tongue.

“A-rofori.”, mum replied stating that she was not in.

“Where has she gone to? It’s getting late.”, he said.

“She should be in the neighbourhood walking Max.”, mum said as she placed a portion of the eba she made in dad’s plate. Max was our dog.

Everything seemed perfect at home; we were all complete, living as any good family should. The little problem was that, “perfect” felt strange to me. It was as though I was in the wrong home. I looked at dad and mum, and Otokini, these were the faces I grew up to know as members of our family. What was wrong? Why was no one talking to me? Why did they not acknowledge my presence? Why was I always treated like a stranger in this family? This was becoming too much to bear, maybe it was high time I considered leaving home for good.

I remembered Rasheed’s visit last week. He was telling me about his good friend that took good care of him. He had mentioned that with his friend, he never lacked anything. He even went as far as inviting me to visit his friend any day I was chanced. I had wanted to go with him that day but on a second thought, I decided not to as I remembered dad’s warning words about visiting people we did not know.

Nene’s return was announced by the creaking sounds of our gate. She stepped in crying with her interlocked fingers placed on her head.

“Sita, what is the problem?”, mum asked calling her by her pet name.

“It’s….it’s…Max.”, she managed to say.

“Max? –“

“ – where is Max?”, dad interjected.

“He…he…ran off..”, she said.

“What!”, dad shouted.

“How?!”, mum queried.

“I….I…don’t know…..”, she said as she cried more.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”, dad said as he got angrier.

“I....I..don't know daddy...Please I’m…sorry…daddy..”, she said as she knelt on the ground.

I watched as dad rushed out through the gate giving Nene a slap that sent her falling to the ground as he passed her. As he exited, I heard him shout at the top of his voice startling mum and I.

“….he is very dangerous. If seen, please report to the nearest Police Station…”, dad shouted.

This did not make any sense to me. Max? Dangerous? Report to the nearest Police Station? I did not understand and from mum’s look, it was obvious she was as confused.

“…or you can call any of these numbers…”, dad continued.

I stood up with the intention of walking to dad to ask him why he was shouting and disturbing the neighbourhood. As I walked towards the gate, I saw Nene disappear into thin air right in front of me. I was shocked to my bones. I quickly turned to see if mum and Otokini witnessed what I saw.

They were all gone.

I was afraid as I felt sweat ooze through the pores of my skin. I reached for the gate as I tried to open it but to my surprise, it did not feel like the metallic material it was; it felt like a thick piece of clothing, like a blanket. Something was definitely wrong somewhere. Then a harsh wind flowed in in the form of a cyclone. I saw it carry debris and sand from the ground forming a whirl of dust decreasing visibility to a point below average. I saw the clouds above me rotate rapidly as dad’s voice ricocheted in my head:

“…he is very dangerous. If seen, please report to the nearest Police Station…or you can call any of these numbers……he is very dangerous. If seen, please report to the nearest Police Station…or you can call any of these numbers….”




I opened my eyes to meet the view of the rotating ceiling fan as it dangled in rotation. I was lying under a blanket on a small bed. The TV in the room was on, it was tuned to a local station and the news was being read.

“…he is very dangerous. If seen, please report to the nearest Police Station…or you can call any of these numbers…”, the voice of a female newscaster said as my picture was displayed on the screen.


...To be Continued...

The next update would be out much later in the evening.

I'm sure you all are having a nice day.

summerflame:
Your writing prowess is inevitable. Kudos

Inevitable? LOL.

Haven't u heard that before?