₦airaland Forum

On the first of January, I stumbled on Whitemosquito's of Nairaland post about the number of stories she intended writing. This is not to make me feel special or something. It's a way to let someone out there know they can do better this coming year.
I made this inventory to help me know my weaknesses and my strong points. Here is an analysis of my writing journey.
* Numbers are word counts
* Numbers in brackets are total words

Total Word Count for 2018: 444242
Personally
Flash fictions and short stories ( 2302
Novels: (1) Wura of The Waters: 5538
Writertain:11256
Menvocate:4000
Others
Proposal For A Reading Initative: 1211
Travel Blog: 854
Today's lift: 792
Short stories Competitions (not posted online): 13231
Unedited stories:11616
Writing Competitions Entered:17
Writing Competitions Won or Finalist: 0
Writing Competition Missed (Lack of reminder, procrastination or time): 57
Books Read: 48
Worksop Attended: 0
Online Classes: 1
Grammar Improvement Sessions: 8
Styles Improvement Sessions: 3
Number of works sent to publishers: 5
Number of publishers reached: 5
Number of rejection letters: 8
Number of time I wondered if I was a writer or just someone with a desire: 100+
Longest Period without writing, editing or reading: 4 days (Movie Break of the year)
Total Breaks in days: 17
Novels Edited (and Published Online) 4
1. A Dread in The Spine
2. Grabbing The Hot Gate
3. Purified Tomorrow: The Mad Awakening
4. Crawling in The Mud (Not Yet Published Online)

Freelance Work I Failed to deliver: 15
Freelance Work rejected: 19
Item bought most: Browsing Data Bundle
Most Disturbing Issues: Weakness and Electricity.



Freelancing
Ghost-written Books
Total Number: 227,596
Motivation Book- (7) 121791
Cryptocurrency- (2) 16578
Publishing Book (1) 14985
Erotica (2)11511
Sci-fi (1) 8753
Propanga and Theory(2) 22,736
Dating: (1) 7288
Health: (2) 11,764
Science: (2) 3542
Psychology: (1)12954

Articles
Total: 115,697
Finance and Business: (15) 6983
Health (13) 5800
Digital Marketing (23) 29245
Fashion (1) 897
Travelling: (5) 5306
Products Reviews (46): 66,692
History: (3) 754

Fiction (Short Stories)
Total: 50,149
Historical: (1) 1300
Detective: (1) 529
Children: (35) 33660
Erotica: (5) 3286
Romance: (3) 11,374


Highest Words Finished in 24 Hours- 10000 words.

nastynic:
I thought the Chief would Maintain being a villain,Chioma would stop Bugging Jerry and Stick to the Side of the Assassin that saved her..
But Fuuuuck that
Your Storyline is Better, predicting a Literary piece and watching it unfold as Predicted is a Huge Turnoff for me..
There is this Rush of adrenaline that comes with an Explicit Suspense, Painstakingly crafted by the Author that always keeps me Enchanted to that Piece..
The feeling can be likened to an Ogasmic-bliss
Thanks for This interesting Piece Bruh...

I'm happy to have met your expectations..

nastynic:
Not what I thought but..
Xclusive all The Same.. More Grace More Funds And Unlimited divine Inspiration

Amemmm..
What did you think..

Eberechi24:
Chioma

Chai.. Na Once cause am...

LightQueen:
Well done Divepen1
Continue the great work

Thanks ..

germaphobe:
so touched by martha's last words "you're a very special man". But this chioma na something else oo

As in.. Real something else

skubido:
Tanks for the update

You're welcome..

Ann2012:
Hmmmmm... Interesting
Thanks for the update

You're welcome...

queenitee:
Ah Martha, Martha, rest in perfect peace.
Please where's the chioma I know? Chioma my lover, warrapend?
Kukuma let's all go to chief together. Btw, please release our pastor abi who will be in charge of crossover tomorrow?

Chioma... she was a very good girl .

Chapter 35
The End of Freedom
Jerry stood and ran towards the car that entered the compound of their hideout. He had been lucky to deceive his follower. When Rachael came out of the car, he was surprised. Grace was helping her into the house.
‘What happened to her?’
‘She was shot’, Grace said.
‘Chioma…. She sent men after me’, Rachael groaned, her bag dangling by her side. She held her lower lip with her teeth.
‘Chioma betrayed me. I’ll show her’.
Jerry stared at her and at Grace as if he was hearing that for the first time of his life as he looked at her and helped her inside. He looked about and felt the need to do more. So, he took a handkerchief and gave it to Grace.
‘Take this’, he said to Grace as her hand shook. He held her hand firmly to the cloth. ‘apply pressure to the injure part’.
She nodded severally and pressed the cloth hard against Rachael stomach.
‘I’m going out to get a doctor’. ‘
No… you can’t go…’
‘Why?’
‘They will follow you… Chief's men will follow you’, Racheal moaned.
‘Don’t worry’.
‘Bidemi’, Grace said as Jerry took the car key and went for the door, ‘Why are you bent on going? I don’t want to lose you again ‘
‘Do you want her to lose her baby…?’
Rachael and Grace looked the themselves. Then Grace looked at Rachael’s stomach ‘Do you mean you are pregnant? ‘
Rachael stared at Jerry.
‘I have to go…’
‘Jessica is coming, Bidemi…’ Grace said as she helped Racheal up from the ground to a chair.
‘Jessica is coming with a doctor... I mean she went to get a doctor’ Racheal said, her word coming out in a breathy state–‘.
A car drove into the compound and screeched to a halt. Jerry opened the door and widened his eyes as though his eyes would make the next events fast. Jessica led a man towards them. Her crazy jean trousers made her weird as usual and her face, though adorned in the antitragus earring style, looked as if she was haunted by the ghost of her ancestor’s enemy.
When they got inside to the door, Jessica removed the blindfold of a fat man and brought him forward. Martha held a bag and pointed a gun to the man’s head. They hurried the man past Jerry and headed towards Rachael.
Jessica cried and shook. ‘Oh! My Rachael’.
‘Jessy... No move near am. allow the doctor do in thing’ Martha said, casting a quick glance at Jerry. And gritted her teeth.
Jerry retreated as the doctor began to attend to her. ‘You should have brought her to the hospital instead of kidnapping me. I would have done it for her’.
‘Idiot! Who’s kidnapping you? Won’t we pay? We just didn't want you to start negotiating with us and there was no time to do any work. No time...Do your work and shut up your mousy mouth before I blow your head off’, Martha shouted at the doctor.
Even, Jerry felt his breathe stopped the moment because she said it all in one breathe. The Doctor bent over her after asking her to lie and tried to make the bleeding stop.
Jerry had a feeling in his throat as if he had a jagged stone within it. He swallowed and swallowed hard.
‘He did it’, Grace said, pointing at him.
Rachael became stabilized. After resting a bit, she took up her bottle of coffee
‘Mat. Help me pour some coffee into this bottle’ she gave Martha the bottle.
After drinking it, she looked at Grace for some time, cocked her head to a side, and frowned.
‘What happened...?’ Grace said.
‘Did Chioma or anybody do anything to you? I mean did they put anything?’
‘Who’s Chioma?
‘The fair foolish girl-‘Martha said.
Rachel sat straight, straining, and shouted.’ Did she put anything in your body?’
Grace stared at her and at Jerry and back to Racheal and nodded severally. She pointed to her left arm.
‘Oh no…Jessy… Take that hand and remove the chip. We need to leave here as fast as possible…’
Jessica moved towards her as though she had just seen her most irritating insect and must kill it.
’Let her remove it.’ Rachael said as Grace shifted back.
‘They’ve planted a chip in you that will give them a direction to where we are. Oh! Why did I not see this coming?’
‘Oh God! Jerry said, sighing.
‘There is no time for that right now’, Jessica shouted as she rushed to Rachael and lifted her. ‘They will be on to us any minute from now’
‘Then everybody should get out’, Rachael said, she said as she tried to get up. Martha was already by her side to help her stand aright. They rushed out of the room and into the car.
‘Rachael’ The others shouted as Rachael turned and limped towards the house.
‘What-?’ Jerry said.
‘My bottle of coffee’.
‘Are you for real?’ Jerry said, stood and saw her defiant look. He rushed for the bottle and came out to meet that the others had returned to help Rachael back towards the car.
He ran towards the ladies who were getting near the car. He took a side-glance at the ark and its workers. There was no one to supervise them. It looked as if the men weren’t aware that Pastor Matthew had been arrested and that he and Chioma wouldn't be around to supervise their work.
He ran towards the car that the others were running towards but changed his direction to the one Grace was running to. He preferred to be around his wife when anything happened to him than to be with another person. He was about to catch up with her when five black cars drove in, scuffling the sands and making Jerry cough as he covered his nose. He dove for the door and was about to open it when someone shot the handle of the car. He withdrew his hand in a haste. He turned to look at the shooter and saw it was Chioma. She was putting on a black bum short and a blue blouse. She smiled. And she blew the edge of the pistol she was holding.
She shook her head and grinned. ‘Don’t try it. You know,’ she turned to a guy with dreamy eyes. ‘I think I’m becoming rusty. I wanted the gun to touch the middle of that handle, it hit the side’.
Jerry rose, turned towards her, and kept staring at her.
‘Do we have all of them here’, she said as her men rounded all of them up.’ Good… Who want to deal with some idiot? I need someone to remove those idiots from the fruitless work they are doing, put the fear of God in them’.
She looked at a hefty guy. He grinned and a wicked smile took the place of the smile. He headed towards them. Chioma pointed at three other guys,’ follow him’.
Chioma turned to the dreamy guy and winked. He shot the hefty guy first, the bullet hit him on the back of the head, he yelled and slumped. Then he shot the others and didn’t miss their head even as they turned hurriedly.
‘Why… why…’ Martha shouted as she vibrated with anger. Her eyes roamed from the dead guys to Chioma to the guy with the dreamy look and then back to the dead guys and back to Chioma.
‘What…. What…?’
‘Oh! Those ones, they are the fools that still see Chief as the evil of this world’.
She laughed loudly and pointed at Rachael, ‘that’s the evil of this world.’
Jerry swallowed hard as he watched the expression changed and their head towards Rachael.
‘All these things you are seeing... All the ideas I got and the one I used to help chief build this world. The one I used to start world war III, she gave me because she doesn’t have the guts to do it herself because she wanted to remain a saint’.
Everyone except Jerry turned to Rachael, she cringed from their eyes.
‘Do you mean she wrote the cause of the things happening in the world?' The Doctor asked.
Chioma turned to him.’ Who are you?’ She said, disgusted.
The doctor shook like a leaf.’ I’m a doctor. ‘
‘You are a doctor’.
She shot him.
‘You are crazy’, Jerry shouted as the fat man landed on the dry bare floor. Jerry was infuriated that he rose from his kneeling position and ran towards Chioma, one of the assassins shot him, but Martha, who wanted to stop him, saw the assassin trying to shoot Jerry.
She pushed him away. Jerry stopped on his track. His body stiffened. Everything went silent. He looked at his body expecting himself to fall in pain, adding to the pain from the previous gunshot. He shouted as he saw blood gushing out Martha’s eyes. She had taken the hit for him. She was breathing hard as blood gushed out of her eyes.
The others, not minding the guns pointed at them, rushed to her side. She was panting and blood was rushing from her eye to the floor.
She touched Jerry’s cheek. 'You're a special man'.
She stopped breathing.
‘No….’ Jessica cried. The others also shouted.
Jerry wished he could be the one dead at that time so that he wouldn't see what he was seeing or stop thinking of the number of people that were willing to die for him.
‘Round them up’, Chioma said, her feet wide apart. ‘Get up, everyone. We’re going to my dynasty’.
‘My father’s dynasty’.
Chioma laughed. ‘You are still the arrogant fool you are. I will be putting your father in the same prison as you’.
Rachael stared at her bottle of coffee. Chioma went to the bottle. And she kicked it away.
‘uhhh… Tut…Tut… You’re going to be missing your coffee for a long time’.
The men forced them up and they headed for Chief’s house. Although Jerry didn’t like Chief, if Chioma became the owner of everything, then there would be much trouble. He looked back as he sighted the men going to meet the men working on the ark. The sky rumbled and little cloud formed.

Ann2012:
Thanks for the update

You're welcome...

queenitee:
Awwn, welcome to my hotel guys, our services are the best.


Wait, what happened to my Grace?

thanks for more info...

skubido:
Can't laugh jhor.




Jerry need to carm himself and listen to Rachel cuz i tink dey need good plan not that Jerry strong head.. ITK. Cuz Rachel knw their in and out..


OP was here jhor.. Ur head is dere..

Help me tell am ooo... Hmmm...

Thanks boss

Eponymous:
Divepen, isn't having more than 50 cities on an island a little implausible?

50+ Stories...

germaphobe:
wey my remote, wey my remote!! Who collect the damn thing i need to fast forward this to see sharp sharp the suspence dey too much. Uncle divepen1 i wanna say this is wonderful but then i realized that wonderful is an understatement..

Thanks baba.. We gats buy battery for your remote..

Imagindat:
I am loving this. Thanks for the update

You're welcome boss...

Ann2012:
See tension everywhere
Thanks for the update OP

It just got real...

Chapter 34
Confused
Jerry woke up with a nagging headache. He looked about and felt a hand on his body. He tried to rise but the pain was surging through his body. He looked at his side and saw Grace sitting there, her eyes closed. He looked far in the distant and saw Rachael sitting there. Her left hand held her bottle of coffee and her right hand was stuck into a black bag. She stared at him. She came to him, and they kept staring at one another until he smiled at her. She rushed to him and hugged him. Grace winced and rose from her sleep.
‘What?’ She said as her vision became clearer. ‘Rachael, you know who this is to me and you are romancing him, not minding the fact that he is my husband’.
‘But-‘
‘Leave you for me? Do you think he would leave me for you? Do you want to injure him? Don’t you see that he is not fine’?
‘I was only happy that he is alive. So, I went to… Forget it-‘Rachael said and headed out.
Jerry stared at Grace, who didn’t look at him until Rachael banged the door behind her.
‘You shouldn’t have done that …’ Jerry said.
‘How can she?’ Grace hissed and turned towards the door.
‘You know- At least she saved our lives. She brought us here and had been the one watching us, I presume.’
‘Ehn....' Grace said, grumbling.
‘Go and meet her'.
‘I’m not sorting things with her. She of all people should know better…’
‘She of all people ? Why should she know better?’
‘Don’t you remember Rachael?’
‘I know who she is’.
‘Eh ehn… So she should know I had been having crush on you since Jss3…’
‘Me? I remember her only after I woke up last years…’
‘I mean everything she had done'.
‘Oh!’
‘I know Racheal. She is or was my half-sister for just two years before she was kidnapped and we didn’t see her but once in a while. She has become something else …’
Jerry stared at her. He wished he had all this knowledge but he knew it would be a waste of time to strain himself because if the information was needful it would push itself forward and he would remember everything vividly. Or maybe he needed to think harder for it but he wasn't ready to do that at this time. He was feeling weak.
‘Please can you get me something to drink?’
She nodded and raised her head as she headed out of the room.
‘Women’, Jerry said and sighed.
Jerry wondered what would happen if he died. The many women he would have made cry over him. He was happy he didn’t know his family; it would have worsened the case.
His Family
He had never thought of them for once. In fact, he needed Rachael to answer some questions but she wasn’t here to talk about them.
Time crept on but Rachael and Grace didn’t come in. He smiled that his plan had worked; they were sorting things out. With that knowledge, he slept off again.
Two hours later, he woke. Rachael was seated at the corner now.
He looked at the chair beside him to either feel Grace’s eyes or hands but none of them were there for him. He looked at Rachael and saw that she was dozing despite her effort not to.
‘Erm. Rachael…’
She sat up.
‘Oh- I’m sorry for disturbing you. Erm. Where’s Grace?’
‘Grace? I don’t know. I came in few minutes ago but didn’t meet her here. Maybe, she had gone to the toilet’.
Jerry nodded and took his head to the other side. He didn’t want Grace to return to the room to meet him talking to Rachael. Although he wished he could talk to her, he deemed it wise to stay out of Grace’s trouble especially now that he needed them to work together.
‘When did you sleep?’
‘I slept almost immediately you left…’
‘Was she here?’
‘No? No’ he said, shaking his head.
‘‘Where did she go?’ Rachael asked as she shifted forward to the edge of her seat.
‘I told her to get me something to drink. But when she didn’t return on time, I assumed she was with you. And I slept off…’
‘With me? No. She wasn’t with me. After I left you I went out. For how long have you been asleep.?’
‘I said I slept almost immediately.’
‘Almost immediately? Oh God that was about two hours ago’, she said as she scrambled out of her seat. ‘Oh God… ‘Rachael ran out of the room, her black bag dangling by her side. Her feet pattered on the tiles as she ran with all her might. Her feet began to fade away.
Jerry stood, with pain gushing through his body en-mass. He moved to the door and was getting nearer when Rachael’s feet became louder again as if she was running back.
’You’re going nowhere’, She said as she picked the bottle of coffee and closed the door. ‘I’ll be right back…’
‘Rachael’, Jerry shouted as he moved towards the door, hoping he would be strong enough to pull her back, strong enough to pull the door back, but he was weak.
Something rattled in the keyhole. He wondered what was happening. He stood up again and tried to open the door but it was locked.
‘Rachael’, he shouted and banged the door but it didn’t open.
’Rachael’, he shouted again as he began to pull the door. He promised himself he wouldn’t stop until he could go out himself to find his wife. She was everything that remained from his past. Even, if others knew him she claimed to have known him since Jss3. So, he must keep her near and question her little by little.
‘Rachael’, he shouted again.
He must not lose Grace. He had regained some of his memory and everything he knew about her had been reflected in his brain. He just couldn’t let her go like that. She was his love, the only one his heart clung to. He pulled the door until he became weak. So, he sat and wished for a miracle.
One of the nurses should just pass or someone-a cleaner- should want to enter the room. He was restless, yet weak. He just couldn’t seat there while his wife was being kidnapped.
He knocked. Nobody heard him. He knocked harder. But no one answered. He got vexed and knew there was nothing he could do at that time so he sat and wondered what would happen to Grace. He knew where they were taking her. And he knew why.
If the reason he came out was now back at he escaped from wouldn’t it be wise to return to that same place. He knew Rachael wouldn’t want him to go but he had to save her.
He moved towards the door again and knocked harder. He sat again. He looked about, searching for anything that could be of help him in breaking the door. Time ticked, infuriating him.
Racheal had been wise enough to remove anything that could cause her trouble, when she was away from the room. He was angry and banged the door.
‘Rachael’ he shouted.
‘Who is that idiot’, a woman’s voice asked in Yoruba language.
‘Please, help me open this door…’
‘Who locked you inside?’
‘I don’t know….’
‘Let me call the doctor for you…’
‘No… ‘ He did not trust that the doctor hadn’t been hinted by Rachael. ‘Collect the key and bring it to open the door. Please.’
‘I can’t do it…’
‘‘Please…’
‘‘Oga will talk And me, I don’t want trouble for myself. The last time that’s how he was talking that me I’m behaving like a baby’.
He felt like pulling the woman through the door and slapping her face for talking when he needed to save his wife.
‘Mama. Fifty thousand.’
‘What happened to fifty thousand’?
Jerry was tired of shouting over the door. His voice was cracking. He gently hit his head on the door. Heat of anger raced through his body.
‘I’ll give you fifty thousand.’
‘Where will you see it…?’
Jerry hit his fist and shook angrily. He felt like strangling this woman for wasting his time.
‘‘Madam, I’ll give you… I promise. How much is fifty thousand that I can’t afford?'
‘I’m coming’, the woman said and her feet scuttled away.
He turned towards the little chair in the room and took up Grace’s bag. He searched it and was able to find her wallet. She had up to thirty thousand in it. It gladdened his heart. He smiled at the bag, ran towards the door, and began to count time for the woman.
When he counted to five hundred, someone began to open the door. He smiled as he expected the woman; instead, Rachael entered.
‘They’ve taken her to Chief’s place.’
‘Then I’m going there', he said as she limped away, brushing past her. He held on to his stomach and entered the long Hospital passage.
‘Going there? Come back here. Can’t you see that you are injured?’ She said as she pulled Jerry back.
He was adamant and wriggled out of her grasp.
‘Leave me alone. I must save her. I came out of there because of her. Do you want her to be there and they will put me back there and also do you want something to happen to her?'
‘Don’t you know anything? Chief will not kill her or do anything to her. He loves beautiful ladies. He doesn’t hurt them.’
‘How do you know he won’t hurt her…?’
‘Chief cannot. He needs to make those cars because soon we will need it’
Jerry stopped in his track as she tried to pull him back. ‘Leave me…‘ He shouted and headed for the door. Something dropped to the tiles and rolled. The nauseating smell of drugs and injection filled the air.
‘Jerry’, she shouted, her voice rocking the whole passage. He didn't look back but kept walking on.
‘I have a gun pointed at you. If you move an inch, I’ll kill you myself. I said I would get her'.
‘Madam, you are-‘ A nurse said as she came out of the ward but had to stop talking when she saw what Racheal was holding.
Jerry felt compelled to go. He stared at the other part of the ward and wished he wasn’t injured. If he stood there, he wouldn’t be of help to anybody.
’Nurse, go inside and come out in ten minutes’.
Jerry turned and saw her firm grip, the gun pointed squarely at him. He looked about in the passage. He wasn’t strong enough to run away and any movement might provoke her. Her beastly look gave him all the warning he needed.
‘Rachael’, someone said.
Jerry turned to see Pastor Matthew coming inside the hospital ward. He looked Pastor Matthew over. He was still his size, and his bald was still shining as ever. Only that this time his eyes were reflected food deprivation.
‘Rachael, why are you pointing the gun at Bro. Jerry...
‘Pastor, he’s frustrating me’ She said, stomping her right feet on the floor of the tile as tears rolled down her face. 'We are all trying to save him but he keeps running away, disrupting every of our plan. He almost got himself killed and now he’s going to Chef’s place because they’ve taken his wife away’.
‘Bro. Jerry. You are not fit to fight the battle of the mighty. A hunter who has only one arrow doesn’t shoot carelessly. You need to rebuild the cells of your body before you can go for any attack mission. Please, follow me. Let us go into my car. Racheal will be going to their place. She would find a way to bring her back’.
Jerry looked at Pastor Matthew and looked Rachael as tears streamed down her face. The gun she was still pointing at him. He moved towards Pastor Matthew. Then, he turned.
‘Where are you going?’ Pastor Matthew said.
‘My wife’s bag.’
He picked Grace’s bag and left. He avoided looking at Rachael’s face as he left the hospital with Pastor Matthew.
They left her, standing there.
The moment they were about to enter Pastor Matthew’s car, three police van drove into the hospital compound, stopping in front of the car.
‘Pastor Matthew, you are under arrest for causing massive panic’, one of the policemen said as they stepped out.
‘Massive what?’ Jerry said.
‘Yes. Massive panic and you’ve been cutting down trees illegally bla bla bla. And for these reasons we will be arresting you‘.
‘But….’
‘You have the right to remain silent because anything you say here would be used against you in the court of law…’
Two of the police officers came forwards and dragged him. They placed a handcuffs on his hands and pushed him towards the van. He went gently, saying nothing to Jerry.
Jerry stared at the car, opened his mouth and closed it again as he wondered. He watched the black van turn and leave the compound. He moved back. Pastor Matthew had been taken. There was nothing he could than to go home and wait for Rachael but if she returned alone he would go after his wife, Rachael’s promise notwithstanding.
He should follow them but he would wait for his wife before taking any action. However, he thought it was wrong to leave Pastor Matthew, so he followed them. But he had to change course when he discovered a car was following him.

, Chapter 33
Payback Time
When Jerry got to their hideout, he wondered if he should really go inside because he was still angry at Pastor and he didn’t want to talk to the man of God rudely. Also, he didn’t know how to face Rachael especially now that he knew she was pregnant for him.
The trees around were all gone and men were working hard at finishing the Ark. It was now big and was near completion. In fact, the only thing remaining to fix were the windows and the door. Jerry stared at the ark, amazed. He moved towards it and looked it over. The ark was big and could contain about 50000 people. The length and the height of it made Jerry’s mouth open again. The colour reminded him of cookies.
Jerry stared at the ark and wondered what it would be like to be lifted on water in this large ark. The feeling was eerie. He looked the ark over and shook his head.
‘What a waste of money’, a silky voice said, jolting him.
He turned and saw the beautiful night thief, Racheal. She was still as beautiful as she had always been. He wondered how Pastor Matthew would have coped with her beauty dangling in front of his eyes. Even though, she wasn't as beautiful as Grace nor was she as tarty as Chioma, she had a beauty that could make any man want to remain by her side for long years. Her stomach has protruded. She had a bottle with her.
‘Rachael…’
‘It’s nice seeing you too’, she stared at him as if she was drawn-back by a force not to hug him. She stretched her hand and he took it. Jerry would have loved to hug her but he didn’t. He had learnt his lesson from Chioma and thought it wise to abstain from women.
‘Let’s go inside’.
‘Where’s Pastor?’ Jerry asked as they moved on.
‘Ermm… He’s been doing crusade of late…’ She said as she drank from the bottle. He knew she was drinking coffee again.
’ Crusade?’
‘A sort of end-time crusade.... He’s been sort of telling people about the return of Jesus, the return of the rain and the desire of the lord to save their souls. You know how that had been; In fact, he’s convinced me and I started following him’, Rachael said laughing as the entire field now looked to Jerry as though he had been thrown into a world he couldn’t reckon with.
. ‘So, why are you not with him today’.
‘Nothing much. He wanted me to oversee this business and I wanted to be here when you return.’
‘Oh yes… How did you manage to make Jessica help me out? She couldn’t’ have done it before’.
She smiled at him. And faced the house.
‘And why are you back? Shouldn’t you be hiding or something. Not that I’m not glad to see you. I have a lot of questions for you but I will like to know what brought you back? You wouldn’t have gone through all the stress of running from here and returning without a reason’.
They entered the house and Jerry felt the house drawing him towards itself. The hands of a lady were felt on the aesthetic of the house and one could see the effect. The place was now designed with wallpapers and there were flower vases.
Jerry was sure Pastor Matthew would have said that those were frivolities and that they were vanity since he wouldn’t be there for long.
‘Wow… Pastor Matthew didn’t object to this?’
She shook her head. ‘He didn’t have time to object. He was obsessed with the building of ark and with the preaching that he would give up anything for it. He has been going out most of these days, to convince people that the rain would come soon and that when it comes, it is not coming in small quantity, that it would come in a great quantity. He said the government should restore planting of trees; yet, he is cutting trees to build an ark’ She laughed. 'Is that man not funny? I wondered how you endured living with him… ‘
‘But I thought you said you do follow him’.
She nodded, her face holding the amused look.
‘So, why are you thinking he’s wrong?’
‘I’m not saying he’s wrong. I’m saying he’s doing the exact opposite of what he’s preaching’.
‘You’ve not answered my question…’
‘You must be hungry… ‘Rachael said. She raised the bottle.’ You know you should continually drink coffee. It makes you happy’.
Pastor’s Matthew’s song wasn't playing now; instead, Adekunle Gold's music was coming from the stereo player and Jerry could understand whose it was.
Jerry stared at Racheal as she came back with noodles and fruit juice for him. He smiled as he devoured he food. He wasn't supposed to be hungry but he was agitated that morning that he refused to eat the food he was given.
‘Bidemi, we need to get your wife and Pastor Matthew into safety’.
Jerry stared at her.
‘Yes, I know about your wife from the beginning’, She said, her eyes fixed on the floor.’ Your wife had been working hard to bring Chief down, she has the second best-selling Newspaper in Fortune City now. Things are going bad. And she’s providing evidence that is showing Chief as the person doing the evil. And if I know Chief well, he hates publicity even for good things. When the Governor of Fortune City was to be elected, he was the one who provided money that changed the mind of many of the people, that made them decamp to the Governor's side. He’s the one we call the evil of this world. His main goal was written by one person’.
‘Chioma…’
Racheal shook her head.’ Me…’
Jerry stopped his hand in the mid-air as his eyes scrolled over her body. He swallowed.’ How? Why? But I thought Chioma…’
Rachael shook her head.
‘I am the one. I wrote everything and gave Chioma everything to handle. I made her the custodian of the evil of this world. I wrote out the plan of how to overcome all the systems of this world. That’s why Isis and many of her terrorist groups are striving, because I taught Chioma how to win the defense of all these country. And because Chief had been the one giving them the idea and money, they all pay him obeisance and they give him loots… Do you see how he get his money, and how influential he’s?'
Jerry stared at Rachael as if she was a wallpaper. He didn’t believe her.
‘But you can’t possibly know all these things’.
Rachael smiled and rubbed her hair. ’ Chief was a very influential man even before he started training us assassins’.
‘He trained you people…’
Rachael nodded.
‘Wow’.
‘Yes, and that was how many of us became assassin. I was the first in the series. He paid ex-militants from several countries to train me. Have you noticed that it was rare to catch assassins in Fortune City? I won’t go into that,.. He paid top computer gurus to train me. I went to many psychology classes and many focus classes. I did yoga, I learnt judo, Taekwondo and all…'
Jerry couldn’t believe that the lady with this stature would have such trainings.
‘But how many years did you spend that you are now trained and good enough to be the one to write all these plan?’
‘I was kidnapped when I was thirteen, and I had been in training since then. Even yesterday, I still trained myself ‘.
Jerry stared at her as the heavy machines outside began to disturbed the silence that infested the house. He shifted forward.
‘Yes... I was that good. As I was saying this people gave me a good training that helped me know all the system of America. Chief bribed many of these people to teach me how their system works. I was his greatest asset and would have remain so, if I didn’t push Chioma to him.’
Then, a phone rang. He stared at her, wishing he could push her to answer the biggest question. Rachael answered the phone and it was Jessica on the line. She had received an intel that Pastor Matthew was to be assassinated at the event he went to and Grace was to be abducted.
‘Oh God…’ Rachael said as she rushed into the room, returned with a bag hanging across her body, picked her coffee bottle, and rushed out. Metal clang within the bag. Her speed surprised Jerry who expected her to be slow.
Jerry stood and followed her.
‘Stay back… ‘ she shouted.
‘Where are you going?’ he shouted after her as she ran with all her might towards the black Kia rio parked in a corner of the compound. Her movement was faster than a hare, Jerry didn’t want to be taken out of the loop again. He ran towards her and surprised himself at the speed with which he ran after her.
‘Who’s that… that?
‘They want to kill Pastor Matthew… And they’ll kidnap Grace.’
‘Call him… Tell him to leave’.
‘Call him? They’ll trace him and kill him then my effort would be fruitless…’ She drove off.
‘Take me with you’ he shouted after her.
When she got to the gate, she stopped the car and he was by her side in no seconds. The clanging sound of the gate wasn’t as loud as his heartbeat were to his ear.
‘Take me with you’
’Take you with me? Are you nut? I should… Get back inside and don’t come out till … don’t come out ‘. She entered the car and raced off.
Jerry stared at the door, wondering if he would forgive himself if anything happened to his wife especially when he knew about it. Rachael would do something. He moved back to the room when he remembered his son would be there.
Jerry ran to his car and drove after Rachael. He must find them. He didn’t know where she headed but he traced the mark of her car’s tire. However, the ground was hard and tracing her was difficult. In fact, they would need back-up especially when the people they would have to help would be many.
He drove fast but didn’t see Racheal until he got to the end of the village. He saw her car slowing down when it got to a sloppy ground.
He reduced the speed of the car because if she truly got her training from those she claimed she got it from, they would have taught her how to spot a follower and he wouldn’t love her to stop him from getting his family to safety.
He followed her all the way, his heart beating fast, wishing he knew where they were. The question he needed answers to right now was how did his wife and Pastor Matthew become acquainted? He wondered if she was close to Pastor Matthew too.
Rachael drove into the University of Greencity, and stopped when she got to Light House Hall. The whole compound was filled with people. Even, outside the hall, people kept pushing one another, making him wonder if those people really loved the word of God or if it was their fear of what Pastor Matthew was preaching that brought them there.
He needed to see Pastor Matthew and for the first time he would forget the fact that he was a man of God. He would tell him the truth. Pastor Matthew wasn't seeing his vision well. He was the one who encouraged him to visit Rita’s house. If he had not gone, maybe he would still be in their hide out, enjoying himself. Maybe, he wouldn’t remember he had a family and even his family wouldn’t be in danger at that time because they wouldn’t be used as a means of getting to him.
He stopped at the right door that led to the main hall and was not ready to listen when some of the school guards, Abefele, called him. He ran into the hall and searched everywhere for his wife.
He squeezed his way to the front but the door was locked. Then, he saw the Abefeles surrounding something and he loved to know what it was. It was a big container.
'Why are people facing this direction?' He asked himself.
' Na water', a woman said. Her blouse looked as if it was hanged on her. He shifted back as a foul smell emitted from her mouth.' Na water... Water dey there’.
‘Join the queue’, someone was shouting.
The person came to the woman beside Jerry. 'Madam, join queue why you dey do like watermelon…?’
‘You dey craze… No be here I dey since, wey person no get chance move. People dey enter my front. Dem dey enter for front. We wey done dey here since seven this morning, we never get the chance to take water’.
Jerry watched the woman and felt bad for her.
‘My baby never chop anything’, the woman said as tears rolled down her eyes.’Dem dey call me since. I no get water…’
‘If you no fit join queue, go fetch well now… If you no fit follow order, you no fit do …’
‘Idiot, na your mama you for talk sey mey she go drink well water… Na you go die of well water… abi something dey worry you?’
‘Na my mama you dey talk to so… If I whoze you.. Na tomorrow you go know wetin do you...’
‘Abeg park well. Wetin dey do this sugomu…’
‘Bros…Calm down’, Jerry said.
‘Abegi leave me. See how she dey like do fried crayfish. Him kon dey sey na im get craze for head… My own craze don waka pass aro own…’
‘Madam… Join the queue…’ Jerry said.
‘If you no get wetin you wan talk, shut that hole wey you call mouth ooo…’
Jerry sighed and focused on his search for Grace. He ran towards the door, when he got the chance to do so.
‘Bidemi’, someone shouted with glee and hugged him.
He closed his eyes because his nostrils were flooded with the vanilla perfume she used. The smell made him go back in time. He suddenly remembered so many times he had the opportunity to smell this perfume especially from a lady like this.
‘Bidemi… ‘ She said and withdrew. He looked at her face and couldn’t help feeling the warmth in his heart. He had seen ladies but had never felt love towards anyone like the one he felt for Grace. Ever since he began to regain his memory, he had been thinking of her only.
‘We need to leave now… There are some people here to take you… I mean they want to kidnap you…’
Grace looked about.
‘’They are not here but I don’t even know but we have to leave…’
‘My people’, she said and wanted to run inside. Jerry held her and gently pulled her towards the door.’ C'mon, we need to leave now. Chief’s people are coming. What’s wrong with you? Let’s go to our house. ‘
‘Why are we going to our house?'
‘We must pick Ade before-'.
‘Take me wherever you want to but we don’t need to go my house...our house- ‘.
‘Won’t we pick our son for God’s sake. If they want to get us who will they use at as a ransom for us’.
‘He’s dead’.
Jerry’s head suddenly became void of sound.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘That night you were caught. There was a bomb-blast... He died… He died..’ She said as tears flowed down her face.
Jerry stared at her and couldn’t comfort her because he was at that time like Job of the bible, there was no one to comfort him. He watched the front.
Then Jerry felt a flash of someone. He looked up and scanned the crowd. It seemed there was someone there he had seen before. He was about to give up when he saw one of the assassins.
‘Move’ he shouted.
They ran off towards the gate. He looked back and saw the guy bringing out a silenced pistol.
‘Duck ‘, Jerry shouted as he pushed Grace out of the way. Something sharp bore into his arm. 'Argh…’ He exclaimed. The scent of gunpowder filled the air.
Grace reacted faster too. She dragged him towards the parked cars.
‘Where’s your car...?’
‘There…’. He said as the pain began to get to his whole body. The pain was too much to bear: He slumped but Grace was faster, she lifted him and dragged him towards the car. Luckily for them, the door was opened.
‘Work… ‘, she cried as she stepped on the throttle fiercely but the car didn’t bulge. Tears poured down her face.’ Work’, she cried, frustrated.
The assassin came to their side and pointed the gun at them. Blood welled into Jerry’s mouth. The taste was different from anything Jerry had ever tasted.
‘Get down… Get out of the damn thing’, he yelled, pointing his gun at them. People around ran into hiding when they saw the gun.
As though he was hit by lightning, the guy yelled and crumbled to floor. Racheal rushed to the driver’s seat.
‘Oh! My God… Bidemi… Bidemi….' She cried. ‘Move over’.
‘Oh! Rachael…’
‘There’s no time for this now. Move over. Go to the back….’
She got into the car and drove off. Jerry went unconscious.

skubido:
OP comma continue oooo

You'll get what you ask for...

germaphobe:
gan gan gan kirin kirin, this is the part in movies where i fast forward it with the remote so that the escape would be over soon.

Loll

LightQueen:
Well done Divepen1

Gracias..

By the way, are you sticking to Light House

Happy birthday to thee Happy baiday to thee Thou Yewande of the house of Literature section You have slept with dragons And dined with wildlings It's high you became as rich as those in the vale As tactical as those in landings meant for king And to be as great as it's heard of the wolves..

Chapter 32
New Chapter
Rita swallowed hard as she walked down the street of Malachy. The filth was unbearable. Tears dropped out of her eyes as she kept holding her breathe. She needed to buy razor blade across the street. Everything looked brown.
The smell of unflushed toilet choked the air. Passers-by smelt like rotten egg. The water was gone. The Month of April was here. Nevertheless, she knew better.
She bought the razor blade, and was hurrying away from the street when a little black girl trudged toward her. Her cheeks had caved in and her ribs had bulged out, showing under the skin of her unclothed body. She moved as if the wind was blowing her.
‘Mummy, God will bless you. Please give me money’.
Rita eyed her and shifted back. The stench from her body was enough to make Rita vomit, pour out her intestine. She looked like a 5-day bread.
‘Please ma’, the girl cried. Her voice came out more in whispers.
She kept her head forward. There was nothing she could do to help the girl. She was not with enough money.
Her eyes darted from one house to the other. She felt the urge to stop.
‘Mummy, please. I use God beg you. Water. Water.’
‘Go and meet your parent now.’
‘Please.’
‘Where’s your mother?’ Rita said as she covered her mouth. The stench was too much. She wanted to rush to Kayode’s house and enter into the fresh air she had been living in for three months now. She spat.
The little girl pointed towards a direction. Rita’s eyes followed the direction of her hand and frowned. The girl was pointed at bush.
‘Go to her’.
‘Water.’ The girl said again. Her eyes were fixed on Rita as if she was her only hope.
She couldn’t waste her time in the stench any longer. She shook her head and moved away, telling herself she did the right thing.
The gate to the house suddenly became stuck or was she feeling bad? She told herself she couldn’t feel bad. The girl would get help from somewhere else. Help would always come to those in need of it if the help was really meant for them.
She sat and rose again. The thought came to her again. The same thought that had been propelling her to be good for years. She can’t by-chance be like her father. She rushed to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Kayode had used a generator to supply electricity for the freezer and that was why the water was cold. She carried a bag of water and ran out.
She rushed to the street and scanned for the girl. She was lying on the floor, her arm stretched and her eyes widened.
‘Don’t die’, she shrilled as she rushed with the bag of water to the girl. The girl looked up at her and a ray of hope filled her eyes. Her oesophagus went up and down as she moved nearer. Not minding the dusty floor, not minding the stench, Rita fell to the girl’s side and tore the bag of water. The girl suddenly longed for the sachet water and gulped it like a vampire that had been deprived of blood. She took another and drank it.
She breathed hard. Her body heaved as if she had just finished a race.
‘Mama…’ She said in a low voice as she caught her breathe.
‘Take me there…’
She took four of the sachet water. The girl took three sachets and ran off, and she followed. As she left the side, she saw people running towards the bag of water with all their might but she was not concerned. She wondered what had come over her. She shouldn’t let people die as her father would.
They entered an uncompleted building, which was surrounded by bushes. The place was silent. And the only sound was a buzzing sound from within the house. The girl was faster. She rushed inside, shouting ‘Mama…’
When they got inside, Rita dashed back outside because the stench in the room was overbearing. Dirty plates stacked in a corner. And maggot crawled on them. She held her breathe as she saw an open-pot of soured rice. The woman lying on the floor looked as if she not had her bath in months now. The little girl crawled towards the woman, her eyes fixed on the woman’s chest as Rita returned to the room. Flies buzzed.
‘Is she alive?’ Rita said as she avoided the dirty cloth the woman used as a covering.
The little girl nodded severally as she ran to the woman, tore a part of the sachet of water, and tried to open the woman’s mouth.
‘Is she alive?’
The girl kept forcing the water into the still mouth of the woman. Effortlessly, the water kept pouring on the body of the woman.
‘Maami o’, the girl wailed. She pulled the woman’s cloth, rocking her stiff body more in realisation that she would be lonely, that the fact the woman she called her mother was dead.
Tears dropped down Rita’s face. She had killed someone. She had neglected a woman in need and had sent her to her early grave. Shaking from guilt and grief, she moved toward the girl and hugged her. Their body shook in grief. The young girl kept trying to wake her dead mother.
Every sound in the world went off from Rita’s ear as she heard only the girl’s cracked crying-voice. She pulled the girl away from the dead woman.
‘Look at me...’ She said, holding the girl’s greasy head.’ Do you have any family?’
The girl shook her head, sniffing hard.
Rita inhaled. ‘Let’s go. I’ll take care of you’.
‘Maami…’ The girl said, looking at her.
‘I will call people that will bury her. They will bury her…’ Rita burst into a fresh round of tears. The little girl joined her and they wailed for another ten minutes. The guilt of not answering the girl lingered on her mind. She held the girl firmly as she watched the dead woman. She had never been this close to a dead woman.
‘Let’s go…’
The stench was becoming overbearing. Even, the girl needed a very hot bath and good food. She took the girl away with the determination to help the few people she could, she was wealthy and it was time to use her wealth to help people.
They were about to enter the house when a black car stopped beside them. The driver, a woman who looked somewhat familiar, came towards them.
‘Oh my God… You’re alive… You’re alive.’
She remembered the woman, Jerry’s wife, with whom she went to the police station that night. She glanced at her missing finger and back at Jerry’s wife. Now, she had someone they would destroy things together. They will destroy Chief.


***
Jerry stared the door as he counted numbers in his head; he checked the time. He wondered what was keeping Chioma waiting. He hit a part of the engine to look busy. Nothing could stop him again. Every plan was in motion. The radio in the room cackled and the station casted news.
The news had been the same of late and had made bad things normal. The ISIS, Bokoharam and every little terrorist groups have finally done good in destroying the world. Many of them had come out of their hiding and had gone rampant in destroying many countries. According to their belief, they had gone far to create a biochemical weapon.
For now, one of the few safe place in the world was Greencity, Fortune city. He loved such news. He knew reporters hyped information, and make people fear for nothing. Can anybody destroy the mighty United Kingdom, United States, China, France, Russia and the big names?
He sneaked to the door and peeped for any sign of Chioma, she didn’t come. He hit the front of his head with the edge of his hand and returned to the car. The car was frustrating; he was not getting the logic any longer. The one he did before must have been good but this one was nonsense he didn’t even get close to making the car produce a sound.
The news had been talking about Grace, his wife, of late and he needed to be at her side. Even though he didn’t know where they lived but he knew that he could help stop whatever thing was happening, and that he would get a means of reaching her once he was outside, safe. The killing was becoming rampant since Chief caught him. And that made him wonder if there was any connection between him being in the custody and the evil that had been happening.
‘Ouch’, he said, touching the back of his head as something hit his head. He turned quickly to catch whatever it was. A white paper was wrapped around a stone. He took the stone and unwrapped the paper.
She’s coming
He went to the door of his tool room and knocked it twice, and was about to knock the third time when Chioma entered. He stopped his hand.
‘Bidemi… Guess what today is?’
He smiled at her like he had been doing for five months now, since the beginning of the year. ’Today’s your birthday’.
Her eyes widened. She covered her mouth and turned. 'God… You are good... Bidemi, you are good... I always know you are better than Rachael, and that you could fathom things easily but God, you are good… How did you know?’
‘I guessed… You’ve never come to me to guess before. And you’re looking exceptionally beautiful today’. He moved nearer and rubbed her head, staring at her scalp. If he had his way, he would hit the scalp with a wrench but he controlled his emotion and kissed her head instead. She wriggled. He smiled. The deed was going as expected.
Jerry bent and kissed her lips. As expected, she responded. He pushed her to the door and began kissing her like a hungry man who was given an orange.
Then, he knocked the door thrice. Chioma started but he didn’t give her the chance to decipher what was happening as he began to take his hand to the sensitive parts of her body. She moaned. He didn’t withdraw; instead, he pulled her cloth.
‘So, you’ve been dying to have me’ she said as he kissed her neck and drew her from the door.
He moaned and took her mouth with his. The door opened. He concentrated on her face and made her pay full attention to him. Martha came out of the room and covered Chioma’s nose with a white handkerchief the moment Jerry withdrew. Chioma tried to turn, but Martha was stronger. Her body vibrated as it sought for air but Martha didn’t allow her go until she went limp.
‘Let’s go’ Martha said. Her leg was healed and she was faster for Jerry who had gone on such expeditions in long time now. Jessica had done everything that was needed to be done. The road was clear and they were out in no time.
‘Go through that bush, you will see a car you will use to the place you were hiding before. For no reason… I repeat, for no reason… you are not to come out of your hiding for any reason until Jessica gets to you. You’ll meet Rachael there’.
Jerry’s heart went numb. He felt like running to their hideout immediately. The beautiful night thief was there. He now saw how the plan worked well. She was the brain behind his escape.
He felt like hugging Martha but her face scared him. He looked at her for some time and smiled at her. She turned from him hurriedly but not before, he caught tears swelling in her eyes. He had to thank her. She sacrificed herself by watching over him when he first recovered and she was the one that had tried to take him out of the house, putting her neck on the line for him.
He couldn’t go to her, so he moved towards the bush.
‘Bidemi’, Martha called. He turned and had to steady himself quickly when she ran into him.
Her full black hair covering his face as she hugged him tightly. He opened his palm, confused. Then slowly, he took his hand to her back and hugged her.
She pushed herself back quickly.’ I’m sorry, I don’t know what got over me’, she said and turned.’ Go…’
Jerry watched her as she covered her face with her palm and said,’ wetin dey do me?’
He trudged into the bush and drove off. He didn’t know the way but he would ask.
As he entered the car, a phone rang. Jerry was caught by surprise that he ran out of the car and calmed himself when he got outside. He moved slowly towards the car. Martha didn’t tell him a phone was in the car.
The phone stopped ringing. Then, it rang again.
‘Hello… Bidemi… It’s Rachael’
‘Rachael?’
‘We’ll talk later… I’ll be directing you home...To Pastor Matthew’s place…’
He nodded. His body tingled to hear her voice again. He wished to see her and wished it could happen immediately.
‘There’s a black hands-free in the airbag. Use it.’
‘Okay I’ll meet you …’

Chapter 31
The Return
The time ticked on. Darkness hovered the city of Greencity. Rachael drove-in at the nick of time as the bigger gate was sealed as she entered. She smiled. People were rushing out of Greencity. She shook her head as she kept driving. These people didn’t have the slightest idea of what they were going to face outside.
She couldn’t help them. The very thought of the events to come sent a shiver down her spine. She shivered headed for Queenitee hotel she booked for the night. She took a sip from her bottle of coffee and lifted it as she fought the desire to gulp it. She shook her head and faced the road.
There was only one grand plan. She was there to put an end to what she started. She would destroy Chioma’s Laptop and anything that might be a storage device.
She checked the monitor again but couldn’t see Once's signal anywhere near the house. He had been around Eleyele for three weeks now and if she guessed right, something was wrong. Once would never stay in a place for that long.
‘Once… Nothing must happen to you’, Racheal said, murmuring as she sped past some tricycle.

crownaayam17:
Bidemi,i know if you leave or not,Divepen1(a god) had killed you at chief's villa.

so keep raiding the girls

Ahh.. This is what God face ooo.. Hmmm.

germaphobe:
thanks boss for the back to back update and "malachy road" big thanks for that too.

Lol.. You're welcome.. A Road and Town it is then

IFEOLUWAKRIZ:
Please, can we submit poems too?

No...

queenitee:
I want a street in my name too. I hope asking for a hotel and mall isn't too much and I don't mind being the first lady of our country

What name do we give them...

queenitee:
I want a street in my name too. I hope asking for a hotel and mall isn't too much and I don't mind being the first lady of our country

Lollll.. Nothing is too much except having a position there..

LightQueen:
Wow!! Divepen Divepen... Abeg carry go

Coming! Coming!

LightQueen:
White house

White house ... ? Ngwanu why na