Kaycee9242:



James it has to be me na, remember am ur man.

Welcome back bro and thanks for this wonderful update, i think i like what is about to happen.

Lol! You are my man sha.

But you dey fight me nau!

yungbanks:
Wow nice one more please

Thanks, yungbanks.

Don't worry, update is on the way.

doctorbrainy:
Thanks for the update

You are welcome to My Story... My World, doc.

Tominix:
Wow a nice piece.
"Seem the gods have not left us,
To stumble in pain.
To be a sport in the eyes of the enemies.
To falter in pain and anguish. Tears of sorrow falling from our eyes.
even with our last breath we can boldly say we tried.
We can warn the generations ahead not to trust anyone.
No one is innocent we are being punished by mother nature, but the innocent get punished too".
(I can't even think straight after reading this episode).

I love this, Tominix!!! What a poetic commentary. I've always known you've got it in you.

Keep it up, bro.

Khriztarl:
welcome op. Give us bonus update na?

Khriztal, bonus on the way...

Tominix:
let it be Me oh, i will buy you puff puff and kunnu from ann2012 if you do

Lobatan!

EkopSparoAyara:
.. and he still managed to tangle us in the web of suspense and uncertainties.. Jameskudooski should be arrested for any possible heart attack my fellow readers may suffer..

The owl arrived, a bird superstitiously believed to be of evil, what dreadful message does it carry this time, why did it choose to perch on Hayak's head..

Too many questions, too many answers could be conjured in our different minds but only one person has the right answers,the man with the ink,Jameskudooski.. Like everyone, I await they answers..


BRAVO JAMESKUDOOSKI
Good to have you back..

EkopSparoAyara, the king commentator himself!

What more can I say than you burst my head as usual.

Keep it up.

Tominix:
Her kunnu retail business is more thriving than the wine own, and jameskudooski loves kunnu

OMAIGOT!!!!

Ann2012:


My kunu aya (tigernut) is top notch

skubido:
Boss thanks for the update

Skuuuuuubidoooo! Wasere, baba!

You were off the radar for a while. Hope you're good?

EkopSparoAyara:
I just discovered that am part of the awards,for best commenter/reader, including Ann2012..
This is the link..
http://writertainpublishers.com/?p=2429

Woooow!!!!

It's well deserved actually.

Just voted for both of you.

Nice one bro.

Hello Guys,

Like play, like play, the long holiday has ended ooo.

But lemme ask: hope you folks enjoyed it?

No doubt, most of you have been following this story for some time now and I know a majority of us have been enjoying it. Some might have while some might have had their hearts in their mouths for the most part

Well, the The Last Bus is almost getting to its destination. We have just two or so episodes more!

But, what do you think? Are there going to be more deaths? I'm particularly concerned about Amitabh. Would he survive? What about Lilian? Fiona or Mother-in-the-Lord, oh sorry, Sister Elizabeth?

If you asked me, I would tell you I don't know too But what I do know is that we will get answers to those questions before today ends.

When exactly? I may not know

What I can tell you is to brace up for the scintillating climax that follows.

Peace. Stay safe.

Your budding author,

Qudus.

EkopSparoAyara:


Thanks for drawing their attention.. It's been long I saw a thread from the literature section grace the front page.

Abi oh, it is those live porn abi bbnaija they will be hawking up and down like purewater

We r waiting o.

Chai op u never finish? Thought u said update soon nah

Tominix:
Abi oh, it is those live porn abi bbnaija they will be hawking up and down like purewater

It's a very crazy show..

yungbanks:
Chai op u never finish? Thought u said update soon nah

Khriztarl:
We r waiting o.

Oh, sorry guys. I actually wanted to drop the updates last night oooo only for sleep to drug me early.

Don't worry, I will drop them today.

Cheers.

Chapter Ten
The Betrayal
(Episode 25)

The chief priest raised the dagger high above Lillian's head. Lilian closed her eyes and held her breath. She did not want to see the dagger sink into her chest. The drummers beat harder until the sound reached a crescendo. The drums only added to the trepidation that hung in the air. But before the dagger could come down, an owl flew into the temple and perched on Hayak's head. It hooted three times, and the chief priest's hand froze in mid-air. He turned around. The crowd hooted and immediately became apprehensive.

“This is a bad omen,” the chief priest's voice shook.

“Do it!” Hayakramah yelled, baring his brownish teeth.

The chief priest hesitated, and Hayakramah grew angry. He threatened the revered older man.

“But, Hayakramah, you know it is not a good sign for an owl to hoot three times during the HAYAKUNNAH let alone perching on Hayak's head. What are you trying to do? You want us to incur the wrath of Hayak?” Hayakharet's father shouted at the supreme commander.

Hayakramah grew red hot with anger and slapped the dethroned king with the back of his hand. The crowd became repulsed by his action, and they began to murmur.

The drama bought me some time. I intensified my effort, and before long, the rope snapped. I slid my hand into my pocket and brought out the pistol. I had not held a gun in my life, but at least I had seen people use it in movies. I broke loose and yelled to catch their attention. I fired two shots right above the head of Hayakramah. The blast flashed across the temple, and the noise thundered and echoed several times as it ricocheted about the temple. The crowd screamed and ducked to the ground trembling.

“He has lightning and thunder in his hands. He is a god!” someone shouted from the crowd.

The people went hysterical.

Hayakramah ordered guards to seize me. The fools charged forward, and I taught them a small lesson. I shot them on their ankles. They both fell to the ground and held their legs, crying like babies. Blood did not waste time to flow out. Their clubs flew in the air and bounced off on hitting the ground.

“Awwwwww! He is a messenger of Hayak!” the crowd roared.

The disoriented usurper ordered two more guards to take me down, but they hesitated. Annoyed, he pushed them away and picked his spear. He came for me. Idiot! I spoke to my pistol again, and the obedient gun answered immediately. I buried a bullet into each of his thighs. Ew! One almost tore through his thing.

“WA-YOOO!!!” he screamed and jumped about like a chicken with no head.

The chief priest walked up to him and whopped his head with his staff. Hayakramah cried more and fell to the ground, and the people grew more terrified. He dragged himself to Hammerhead of Horror. Do you remember him? The big-headed traitor. The usurper held the traitor's leg and begged him to help him. Headward hissed and kicked him hard in the face. “I don't know you,” he told him.

Just then, Hayakharet's band of warriors—the ones that went for Annaukun—arrived. They presented to the people the gorilla's head. Shouts of joy burst forth from the people. The drummers increased the tempo, and the crowd went berserk.

“Behold, our saviours!” The general who had Annaukun's head in his hand announced, pointing at us. He explained how we told them we had killed the beast and how they found our words to be true.

The moon fully shone on my chiselled body, and the white paintings on my body began to glow. All the people hooted in awe and fell on their knees to bow down to me. “Bless us, messenger of the gods.”

I motioned to the priests to cut loose my friends and Hayakharet, and they did that immediately. Fiona ran to me and hugged me. Sister Elizabeth, Amitabh, and Lilian hugged like one family. The warrior princess ordered her warriors to round up the traitors and Hayakramah. She marched up to Headward. The traitor began to whimper and tremble the moment Hayakharet stood in front of him. His big head shook as if it had gone out of control. She sent a combo of blows and kicks into his stomach. He doubled over, coughed, and vomited blood and all the contents of his stomach. “Seize him!” she commanded.

The king and the queen both hugged and kissed Hayakharet. After that, the king, the queen, and the chief priest came to thank us, expressing their profound appreciation in no small measure. Hayakharet also walked up to my four surviving friends and me, and all of us embraced in one big hug. The people kept doing obeisance to us.

The king gave orders, and a huge party was thrown for us. The whole people gathered at the centre of the village and sat in circles around burning fire, eating and drinking. I must say that these people knew how to enjoy life. There were roasted boars and goats with enough sweetened drink to go along with them. We watched them dance. Though their dance steps were strange to us, they were fascinating to watch. They invited us to the dance floor. We loosened up and allowed the spirit of dance flow through us. We danced together—with ourselves and with the locals. Even the king and his queen took to the dance floor. We enjoyed ourselves throughout the night until our bodies ached.

The following morning after we had rested well, the king sent us forth with a royal parade. He volunteered his royal carriage to convey us. Princess Hayakharet insisted that she and her regiment would escort us. The king gave us many gifts, but their usefulness in our world was what we were not sure. However, if there was one gift I cherished most, it was the Ntunja seeds.

We eventually arrived at the point where the entourage had to return. The sounds of moving vehicles were not far ahead. Princess Hayakharet gave us one last hug and removed her royal necklace and wore it around my neck. We all said our final goodbyes and each party went its way.

We had not taken many steps when an arrow flew past my ear. We all froze.

To be continued ... Watch Out for the Next Episode!

NB: The book is NOW AVAILABLE on online stores. For those who may choose to add the book to their library, get the book here:


1. BAMBOOKS: https://bambooks.io/Book/BookDetail/The-Last-Bus/12725

2. OKADABOOKS: https://okadabooks.com/book/about/the_last_bus/33597

3. LITIRESO: https://litireso.com/library/B-530ykalgylh2

4. SMASHWORDS: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1024020


Àdùkẹ́!
...My Story, My World.

Like my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/adukestories/

Chapter Ten
The Betrayal
(Episode 26)

“Oh, not again,” I whispered. This time, I was sure none of us would survive this setback! We all turned around and lo and behold, Hayakharet was laughing.

“Just kidding,” she shouted and waved at us still laughing.

Our temperature came down. We laughed and waved back. Then we turned around and continued our journey. Fiona and I held each other's hands as we walked along.

She looked up at me and asked, “What about the job now?”

“Job?” I frowned. “The only thing on my mind now is that I didn't die in this mess.”

“Thank God, we didn't.”

As we moved closer to the expressway, I looked at these warriors that were with me—Fiona, Sister Elizabeth, Lilian, and Amitabh—and I shook my head. We had gone through a lot in the last few days. Indeed, we had spent three nights and three days in the claws of death!

We were about fifty-six that started the journey together and eleven that ran into the forest, but only five of us made it out alive. What happened to the rest? We did not know. They might have lost their lives in the shoot out. The soldier might have rescued them. Only the news would tell.



Definition of Terms

In Nigeria, just like with natural resources, we are blessed with hundreds of languages that are rich. And over the years, we have coined words, phrases, and expressions that add spice to how we communicate. These coinages and our local expressions have over time blended into how we use the English language in the forms of slangs and colloquial speeches. Below are some used in this novella in order of their appearance:

1. Tesko: A nerd.

2. Lepa Shandi: A Yoruba colloquial expression for an extremely slim lady.

3. Gbera: A street slang used to mean 'move on'. It is coined from the Yoruba word gbera which literally means stand up.

4. Chinko: A word coined from Chinese usually used to refer to low-quality merchandise/goods.

5. Mother-in-the-Lord: A deeply pious woman; sanctimonious.

7. Oyinbo: A white person.

8. Tey tey: A long time ago.

8. Koboko: A whip made from dried animal skin. Some are forked and can be very painful.

9. Ajebutter: Coined from the Yoruba phrase that literally means butter eater, ajebutter is used to describe the feeble, over-pampered children of the rich.

10. Bends-down-select: Usually used to refer to second-hand items, especially clothes, imported from abroad.

About the Author

Qudus Adeyemi Oko-Osi Is a public speaker, writer, poet, artist, and a financial and management consultant. He worked in the banking industry for eleven years with experience spanning three different banks before he resigned to join a financial and management consulting firm. Qudus brings into his stories his knowledge of banking and consulting as much as possible.

Over the years, he has written several articles and poems, some of which were published on Hubpages.com. In the past, he also designed textbook covers and did cartoons for magazines amongst others.

He hails, from Lagos-Island in Lagos State, Nigeria where he was born into a family with five brothers, four half-brothers and a half-sister. He spent his childhood growing up on Lagos-Island with his affectionate and caring siblings and parents.

He enjoys reading, playing scrabble, and spending time with his family.

He is blessed with a lovely wife, Glory and two wonderful kids, Jason and Janice. They presently live in Lagos, Nigeria.

This is his fourth novel. You can check the stores for his other titles.

You can read his interview with Smashwords here:
https://www.smashwords.com/interview/Jameskudooski

Connect with Qudus Oko-Osi:

Follow me on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/Kudooski

Friend me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/qudus.okoosi

My Instagram Profile: https://www.instagram.com/qudusokoosi/

Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qudus-oko-osi-a79b9a146/

Favourite me at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Jameskudooski

Like my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/adukestories/

JamesKudooski:
About the Author

Qudus Adeyemi Oko-Osi Is a public speaker, writer, poet, artist, and a financial and management consultant. He worked in the banking industry for eleven years with experience spanning three different banks before he resigned to join a financial and management consulting firm. Qudus brings into his stories his knowledge of banking and consulting as much as possible.

Over the years, he has written several articles and poems, some of which were published on Hubpages.com. In the past, he also designed textbook covers and did cartoons for magazines amongst others.

He hails, from Lagos-Island in Lagos State, Nigeria where he was born into a family with five brothers, four half-brothers and a half-sister. He spent his childhood growing up on Lagos-Island with his affectionate and caring siblings and parents.

He enjoys reading, playing scrabble, and spending time with his fam
He is

wow jameskudooski poetry loading. . . .

Phew! The Last Bus has finally gotten to its destination. Thanks to Jehovah that we could see the completion of the story.

What a long bumpy ride it was riding The Last Bus!

Like I said before, most of us have been following this story for some time now and I know a majority of us enjoyed it. Some might have while some might have had their hearts in their mouths for the most part

Well, I think we can now breathe well and bask in the joy that our little Amitabh and our beloved Akin and Fiona survived.

Guys, I really appreciate you all for sticking around to the end of the story and for tolerating me toiling with your heartbeats and my shenanigans as well

Thank you all for the wonderful comments too.

Though, the story has ended but discussions around doesn't have to.

Please, kindly share with us what you enjoyed about the story. Your favorite character(s) and what you like or dislike about them.

For those who are coming across my work for the first time, you may also want to read my other stories here:

Jewel from the Ghetto:
https://www.nairaland.com/4425189/jewel-ghetto-new-novel-release

Jewel from the Ghetto 2: The Return of Shakirah:
https://www.nairaland.com/5058481/jewel-ghetto-2-return-shakirah

Prisoner of Love:
https://www.nairaland.com/4665150/prisoner-love-story

Thank y'all and stay safe.

Your budding author,

Qudus.

Oga mi....Olohun after you na you
All your stories are top notch, educative and superb!!!

May God continue to increase your wisdom and knowledge, thanks Boss

@JamesKudooski, I doff my hat/heart ó! As always, you didn't fail to lift my spirit and morale while still entertaining me. Reading this only increases my wish to have a conversation with you one day. Once again, ẹkù ìṣe!!!

Las las. Wow thanks op. I honestly appreciate

Oga J, after you na you ooooh. I thank the Almighty that i didn't have heart attack cos of this wonderful story. I really enjoyed it even with the fast heart beat. Thanks

Agba u to much,,, gbayii

Thanks a lot ooooooooo, jah will continue to bless ya hand...


Nothing do you,, your head is there mehn

Daddy Jason!!! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful story with us. The suspense, action and every other part of this story is top-notch.

God will bless you sir, and He will give you wisdom to write more wonderful stories.

wow am speechless like wow the ride was awesome with suspens that keep u waiting and hungry for more kudos author u're one in a billion