Copyright ©2016 by Akinkudin

Email: bluedmond@gmail.com

No part of this story may be reproduced or
distributed by any means without the prior
permission by the author. Anyone who wishes to re-
post this story to any other online forum, Facebook
group, blog or any other website should endeavor to
acknowledge the author's identity and kindly notify
the author by sending him a mail.

PS: Drop a comment

***

'Kene! Kene! You this boy all your mates are buying cars and building houses. You are still here sleeping, continue'

He just turned over on the bed, he had been out drinking with his friends all night and wasn't ready to wake up.

Kenechukwu Charles Okolie was a 24 year old graduate of one of those *pointless courses that universities offer with no practical societal applications. He had finished his youth service the previous year and there were no job prospects in sight even after submitting his resume to various offices and filing a bunch of online applications. Kene was a what any enlightened (not to be confused with educated! Don't be silly) individual would call a product of a failed system (note: author may be biased). So he had resigned to fate and joined the ever-growing number of jobless graduates that roamed the streets on a daily basis (some stay at home and watch TV or browse facebook, twitter, nairaland etc). He lived with his parents and two siblings. His father was a civil servant who had dedicated his life to the civil service for 30 years, while his mother was a secondary school teacher (cliché alert!)

He finally got up after a long period, his head aching with a serious hangover. One of his guys (Dele), had asked him to join for a painting job today. He wasn't receiving any allowances, so he had to engage in various means to get some cash in his pocket. The damn recession was some serious stuff. Lara didn't understand situation and would always want one thing or the other (oh! Lara was his 'babe'. She lived on the next street and they'd been seeing each other for 10 months).

**Just saw a potential idiot dude wearing a sandal on one foot and a shoe on the other. Different types of crays (crazy). Would take a pic but he would see me. LOL

He stood up and went to take a bath (not shower o! He used 'pail and rubber'). After putting on some random clothes, he got an old short and singlet, put them into his bag and headed to the kitchen, he was really hungry. He checked the pots and saw the porridge yam his mum had left for him. The food was quickly downed with a sachet of pure (packaged) water, then Kene locked the house and went in search of Dele.

***

It was quarter past 7 when they closed for the day (longer days shorter nights). His muscles ached from all the continuous motions of screeding and painting. His share of the money was 5k, good times he thought. It's not every day he sees such money. His account balance with GTB was N320.59 and he had N250 before so all his 'life savings' right now was N5,570.59 although he hasn't removed transport to go home. On his current budget, first first was subscription for MB. He hadn't been on online for 2 weeks and was experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

**Update: just saw the different shoe guy again. He was with same shoes now, perhaps he was testing the sandals.

He would buy the recharge card at the joint where he was going to hang with his friends. He was on form today so at least pepper soup must go down. Maybe he would visit Lara tomorrow. He and Dele trekked to the junction where they would enter car to their area and joined the struggle before jumping into a vehicle.

His phone started ringing, he checked the caller. It was 'Isaac MTN' (every group had a car guy; in this case Isaac). 'Isaac how far?' Kene said answering the call.

'Guy, where you dey like this? Match go soon start oh!' Manchester United was playing Fenerbahce and they had decided to watch it at their usual place.

'O'boy I dey inside moto oh! We go soon reach there sha. Reserve seat for normal table' he told Isaac.

'Kene, no be only seat. I reserve full table for you. Hurry up oh!'

Kene wasn't going to miss the match. He had staked a cumulative bet on nairabet with N500 and stood a chance of winning N5,438,400 (bonus included) if Man U scored over 3.5. All the other matches had entered. In his mind he was like 'mehn, if this match enter I don hammer no be small. Flexing things on point. Levels go change!'.

Some minutes later he was at the joint watching the kick off. He joined other man u fans in chanting

'Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
As the reds go marching on, on, on.'

You can check what the scores were if you don't already know (20th October, 2016).

Account balance:N...

End..?

SheWrites:
@all... I will be posting a new story next week.

Watch out for 'Heartstrings'

*winks*

Good job! just finished the story.

Nice short story Ishilove

***

(Two days earlier)

The Secretary of Defence was pacing in the Presidents waiting room. He was a well built man, with a balding head, in his early sixties. He had a stern looking face and was as mean as his countenance.

He had been waiting ten minutes and it seemed like forever. He had arrived a little earlier than expected and the president was still en route.

But the urgency of the issue put everything else out of context. The other defence chiefs would be arriving shortly, so he wanted to have a one-on-one before the emergency meeting.

'Sir, the president just arrived and will see you now' he looked towards the door, it was a young lady he recognised to be an assistant. He immediately started for the president office.

'Good afternoon Mr President' he said entering the office.

'Come in George, what's going on?' the president said sitting on the edge of his desk.

'We've received genuine intelligence that enemy forces are preparing to attack within the next two days. Sir with your permission I'll like to commence project swarm, it's ready for field application'.

'Last briefing on swarm mentioned some glitches, have they been fixed?'

'Yes sir, last two tests were 100% successful and there were no incidents'

'Very well George, you can commence field operations. So, were at red alert right now?' the president asked.

'Yes Mr President, you would receive full briefing once the joint chiefs arrive. Excuse me for a moment sir, I have to make some calls'.

***

Hi readers, any thoughts?

Just read your story PamelB and loved it! Nice one

Just read your story PamelB and loved it! Nice one

Nice short story!

Nice update. Get well quickly Angelsss

Old news in a week!

The greatest story has not been told, for it is still being written. Live it, Love it.

***

Jasmine awoke to the wailing of the sirens. This was not a drill as there had been no prior announcement. Her mother came rushing in through the door, looking terrified.

'We have to move now, there is an emergency announcement on the television. We are under attack and have to head for the shelters'. She had barely finished talking when Sophia and Kat also came in. Then their phones started buzzing at once. It was the government alert notification from the telecom provider instructing citizens to head for safety. Every phone within the geographic location would be buzzing right now.

Due to the threat of nuclear war, the government had constructed bunkers in strategic locations around the cities and suburbs where people could take shelter. Each could cater to a hundred thousand people for three months.

They immediately picked anything that might be useful and rushed out of the house. Fortunately, Jasmine's disaster luggage was handy.

It was an idea by the government, that individuals or families have cases packed with essential items so that in the event of natural disasters or war, they could just grab it and get to safety.

#EurekaAnyone #Idea #KeepReading

Outside, people and vehicles were heading in different directions. They got notifications on their devices on which direction to go, they chose the vehicle route and got into Kat's car.

Majority of the traffic was heading in one direction and marshals were controlling the movement and parking. They were able to find a parking space a couple of blocks away from the shelter and the rest of the distance had to be covered on foot.

They were soon inside the shelter, got identified by the automatic registration protocol and were notified where they were supposed to go.

More and more people were pouring in and in about an hour the doors were sealed. Then there was a voice over the speakers urging people to remain calm.

Jasmine looked around and the realisation dawned on her that life as they knew it had possibly come to an end.

***

***

Louise was a very meticulous woman, she had a system for everything. Heck she even had a system for systems. She was in her mid twenties and had completed her doctorate degree. She had gotten married four years earlier and was a mother to two children.

She loved everything about her job, the travel, the challenge, great pay and especially her boss. He was young, brilliant and full of great ideas. He had founded his company right out of college and made millions of dollars. It had grown into a great corporation. She couldn't have asked for a better job.

She had noticed he was acting different at the office, when she asked he had told her about the abducted lady he had found earlier that morning.

The meeting they held with their partners was not conclusive as there had been some disagreements on the contractual terms and it had to be redrafted.

She had already sent him the completed draft and he asked to be reminded.

That was three hours ago and she was video-calling him.

'Hello Louise, thanks for the call' he answered.

'How are you doing sir? You know the incident this morning could shake anyone' she replied.

'I am alright. Already going through the draft' he said.

She thought for a second and asked if he would like to postpone the meeting but he declined.

'If you noticed, all the modifications have been highlighted and the first page contains the pages that have changes, so you don't need to go through the entire document'

'I did notice, thank you'.

He was not at home as she could see he was at one of the eateries that he often visited 'Bob's kitchen'.

Bob's kitchen was a nine year old highly successful franchise and he had been a founding customer at the original establishment during his student days. According to what he told her, he had seen how great they were and their desire to expand so he had assisted them in streamlining the model so it could be easily replicated in various locations. So, one of the perks he got from that was free meals for life. Not that he couldn't afford to pay for his meals.

'Everything is under control here Louise, talk to you tomorrow. Ok'

'Good night sir' she said and then cut the call.

***

There was a man sitting across the table from him suddenly.

'Hey, go get your own table. This one's taken mister'.

The man slided an envelope across to him and beckoned he take it. He looked at what was scribbled on the envelope it read 'OPEN AND READ'.

'What's this about?' He said returning his gaze to the man but there was an empty seat. He stood up, looked around and tried to find him but he was nowhere.

'Hey' he motioned to a waitress, 'did you see where the guy that was sitting here went?'. She looked at him not understanding.

'You have been sitting here alone, I didn't see anyone with you'.

He went back to the table picked up the envelope, felt it a little (he wasn't about to be letter-bombed). It contained a flat hard item, most likely a card. He tore the envelope across the side and tried pouring on the table. No powder! So he took out the card and there were some inscriptions on one side.

It read...

***

***

Jasmine had narrated the events to her mother, who just stared in apparent disbelief. 'How could this have happened to her daughter?' She thought.

'I knew something was wrong when I couldn't get you last night' her mother said. 'I could feel it in my bones, but I did not know what it was, so I called Kat and Sophia and they told me they had been with you earlier. So I believed you were alright' her mother said.

Jasmine looked at her friends, then remembered they told her to call her mum but she was still thinking of how to tell the story without getting her mum freaked out.

'Thank God you're fine', her mum said checking all over her body. 'They didn't do anything to you, did they?' She asked looking really worried.

'No mum, I'm fine. Just shaken up. Besides, God didn't allow them to harm me and I was rescued before anything bad happened.' Jasmine replied, she didn't like worrying her mother and here was this major event. Good thing she came around where I can look after her.

Sophia spoke, 'so what about the guy that rescued you, I think we should call to thank him'.

'Yes, that we should do but I don't have his number.' Jasmine said. 'Although, I think I can trace the way to where he lives. Maybe we can take him a cake or something'.

Her home phone started ringing, she answered and it was the detective investigating the case. He wanted to inform her that her car had been located with some of her personal items and they were currently going through it for any clues that might lead to her abductors. He also told her that they had obtained the CCTV footage from the mall during the incident and their forensic team was also working on it. He told her to get some rest and assured her that a squad car would be parked outside her apartment all night.

She would go by the police station tomorrow to pick up her belongings. For now, she needed to relax and thankfully she was with the people who made her happy.

Sometime later she went to sleep.

Then she heard his voice 'you're going to be fine', but she didn't know his name. Who was her knight in shining armour?

***

***

Car horns blaring, the DJ on the radio was talking about some new VR entertainment studio, but he wasn't really paying any attention, he just wanted to get out of this traffic.

His phone rang, he switched on the hands free car system. It was his special assistant on the line.

'Hello Louise' he spoke.

'Good evening sir', she replied. 'I just sent you the final draft from the legal team. I've already cross-checked it, but just in case you want to make any adjustments'.

'That's good, I'll have a look at it later, remind me in three hours' he said and cut the call.

He had been on edge all day. For starters, he had discovered a woman tied up and dumped during his morning run, he had spent a better part of the morning assisting the police with their investigation, the meeting with the partners had been inconclusive & had to be continued tomorrow and now he was stuck in traffic.

Suddenly, he was jolted forward and he slammed on the brakes.

'What now?' he screamed and switched off his engine. He had just been rear-ended by a SUV.

***

There was no visible damage and the other driver had been apologetic, so he had just gotten back into his vehicle and continued his journey.

The lady he rescued came to his mind again, he had been thinking about her all day. He didn't get her contact details as she had just been in a traumatic situation, but was wishing that he had. He wanted to know how she was doing.

Their walk back to his community had been rather silent, but just in holding onto her for support it was like their souls were connected. There was a name for it, but he felt this was beyond logic.

He would get in touch with her somehow.

***

voca:
i want to start writing stories for the first time in my life am thinking twice about it sha..
i need all the support i can get

That's nice! Go for it, you'll never know how good you are unless you try.

I'm also trying out writing, you could check it Random Story

***

He was on the return lap of his run when he heard a terrifying scream in the distance. His senses flew into high alert as massive amounts of adrenalin rushed through his body. Then he heard it again. 'HELP ME!', the voice was shouting. Looking around he couldn't see anyone. So he moved cautiously towards the direction the screams were emanating from.

He got to the point and he could make out the body of a woman lying in the shrubbery, bound hand and foot with a bag covering her head. 'Hey, I'm here' he shouted back. He quickly got down, removed the bag from her head and reassured her 'you're going to be fine' he said before proceeding to release her from the bonds. She was crying as she held onto him, 'get me out of here' she told him amidst her continuous sobbing.

'Do you think you can walk' he asked as he examined her for any injuries. 'Yes' she replied. He assisted her onto her feet and put his arm around her to support her.

He could feel her shivering from the cold, she only had on shorts and a tank top. They walked briskly as he didn't want the people who had dumped her there to return and find them.

***

Max had just fixed himself a cup of coffee when he saw two people heading to the security office. It was unusual as it was still really early in the morning and nothing serious ever happened by this time.

It was a man and a woman, he immediately recognised the man, but the woman was totally unfamiliar to him. He sensed there was a problem from the way they were approaching and the fact that the lady wasn't wearing any shoes.

'Good morning Sir and miss' he offered and the man responded 'yes, call the police right away, we need to report a situation and also do you have any blankets here?'.

***

Jasmine was back in her apartment with two of her friends, Sophia and Kat (Katherine in full). She was still going over the events of the morning in her head and had just narrated everything that happened to them.

The last thing she remembered before waking up tied in the bushes was picking up some groceries from the mall and walking to her car. After that everything else was blank.
She looked up at her friends and noticed Kat was just staring at her blankly, this went on for some seconds. 'Kat, stop scaring me' she said, but Kat just turned away.

It was a moment before Kat spoke, 'just like that! I could have lost you just like that' tears were in the corners of her eyes.

'Hey, I'm the one who was abducted' Jasmine replied reaching over and hugging Kat. She knew what Kat was thinking, she and Sophia were the only family Kat had.

Thinking of family, she was still conceiving how she was going to call her mum and tell her that she had been abducted. Her mother would totally freak out, she would probably be on the next available flight.

Barely had the thought crossed her mind than the doorbell rang. Sophia went to check who it was.
'Hey Girls, I've missed you so much' the familiar voice sounded from the door.
'Mum' Jasmine exclaimed, 'how did you? when did you?...' She screamed and ran into her mothers arms.

***

Copyright ©2016 by Akinkudin

Email: bluedmond@gmail.com

No part of this story may be reproduced or distributed by any means without the prior permission by the author. Anyone who wishes to re-post this story to any other online forum, Facebook group, blog or any other website should endeavor to acknowledge the author's identity and kindly notify the author by sending him a mail.

....Here goes....

5:00am

There was a faint disturbance in the perfectly harmonic tranquility, it continued to grow louder and louder like it was getting closer. 'What's with the constant ringing' he thought. That's when his brain identified the sound as an alarm which he had set to wake him up.
Today was going to be a really great day.

Getting out of bed, he reached for his phone which was on the bed side drawer and switched off the alarm. He then headed for the bathroom to relieve himself and wash his face. This had become a morning ritual to him.

In five minutes he was out of the house for his morning run. Staying in peak physical condition was one of his many priorities. 10km before sunrise was always a good way to start the day.

***

Max was driving back to the security station, his shift was over after a long and uneventful night. The road was empty except for the early birds that were leaving for work and the runners.

He had been working as a security guard for the gated community for a little over four years, so he easily recognised each of the runners. He had respect for people who had the self-discipline to get up everyday and work on themselves.

He turned into the parking area of the security station and brought the car to a halt, before turning off the engine. It was in moments like this that he reflected on all the choices he had made, which brought him to where he is today. 'No regrets' he said to himself, 'life ain't got time for regrets'.

***

Throbbing pain! That's all she could feel in her head. She tried opening her eyes but everything hurt. What happened? where am I? The questions kept revolving in her mind. The last thing she remembered was walking to her car. She could feel the shrubbery around her with her hands, on opening her eyes everywhere was still dark. The air was shallow and she was running out of breath. She tried to feel her face with her hands, but somehow they couldn't get there. She realised her hands were restrained behind her. She tried kicking out and discovered her legs were also bound. Uncertainty turned to terror and she screamed as loud as her lungs could carry.

***

First NL writing attempt.

Could be short or long depends...

Constructive criticism accepted. No trolls!

Enjoy!

PS: Make sure to drop a comment

Sent you a mail Angelsss

Crixina:
guys the truth is when i was doing this story, i had all the time in the world, but now, a week could go by without even visiting this forum. i swear no be my fault. but hopefully...

Yea, I totally get you! haven't even logged in for months! But, just to be sure, you are going to complete this story right? Whatever you decide, really like your writing.

October Crixina! October 2016!
Still following with sense...lol

Brilliant write-up, was following this piece before 'the world ended' in nairaland. Just started all over today & read all available posts. Great job Royver!

Though I haven't officially finished it!

Good morning people...Nice one SammyHoe

Good one Sammy

SammyHoe:

Fine brother. I hope you've read this story up to date.

Yes o! Just caught up yesterday...so seriously following..
Just when we think we've seen your best work, you come up with another masterpiece..thumbs up

PrinceAdepoju: @Akinkudin, longtime bro.

Howdy?

I'm great, just a little busy.
How have you been?

Good morning, we are able!

Nice piece SammyHoe

Nice one SammyHoe...as always