Chapter one

Andrew needed to give himself hope of surviving against all odds. He turned to Susan who laid on her side and her head covered in his denim blue jean jacket. The desert wind and scotching sun had sapped every moisture left in them, all he worried about was his beautiful wife who was already dying of thirst and there was nothing he could do.

It had been a week already since the ambush on their desert jeep conveying some land travellers through the desert by
masked Arabians. Everyone else was murdered except Andrew and Susan who escaped due to Andrew's daring confidence to risk runaway amidst flying bullets raining on their jeep.

For one week they lived on insects and managed four bottled water in Andrews traveling backpack which he escaped with. After five days, Susan drank the last drop giving them no other choice but hoping for a kind of miracle.

"sweetie, did you hear that?". Susan said tiredly lifting herself up from the white sand.
Andrew immediately went to assist her as she looked desperately around.

" what is it sweetie?". Andrew's voice laden with emotion.

" I hear voices coming for us!". She said pacing around, then suddenly stopped and looking in front of her, like she could see something in a distance.

" what's it, what are you showing me?". Andrew asked with tension brewing under control in his gut.

"cant you see them? Help is on its way!". Her voice dry as she beamed a lunatic smile standing up using Andrews arm for support. And then she abruptly stopped, the spark faded into despair. " where are they? I saw them I swear!". Her voice husky almost in a whisper.

Andrew knew his wife was hallucinating, he believed her the first time, but after she repeated it an hour ago and now, he felt helpless and hugged her trying to form words instead hot tears ran down from his eyes , he immediately wiped it off and hid his face from her as she kept looking the direction as if expecting them to return muttering.

"I swear, I saw them".

Every night he tries to cover some distance due to the unfriendly desert sun hampering their movement during the day. But this very night Susan was immobile, she could only move herself faintly speaking gibberish putting the worn-out Andrew in precarious state .

He buried all plans to move that night and cuddled her trying to sing to her, but his voice produced a distant unfamiliar whisper. He too was tired and thirsty but he kept reminding himself to be strong for her.

Andrew and Susan first met in high school, it was love at first sight and they have remained inseparable ever since. Susan even declined her admission twice because they planned on entering the university together.

Immediately after school they got married but had jobs they barely got by with.

One day, on their way back from church, the lovers bumped into Musa, Andrews childhood friend who had lived overseas for 10 years, he and Andrew had a catch-up and he voluntarily promised to help only if Andrew could find his way to Italy.

After that meeting, Andrew lost all sleep, everything felt meaningless even his job, kicking against Susan's advice to be cautious. He saw this as a god sent avenue to give Susan the life he had always promised her.

One Tuesday afternoon, Susan's phone rang at work, it was Andrew calling.

"baby guess what!". Came an excited Andrews voice over the phone.

She turned to her colleague with a smile, the pregnant middle aged lady returned it and adjusted her antenna to know what's sparking her friends mood.

"what happened?". Susan asked circumspectly rolling her eyes.

"I have found an affordable way to travel!". Andrew shouted into her ears.

She let out an excited giggle and asked." How did you do it?". This time she was facing her colleague who was smiling with her.

"don't worry, when you get home I'll tell you!!". Andrew said.

Now hot tears ran down his cheeks as he remembered Susan's warning against his plans due to the ill stories her colleague shared with her about travelling on land. It all fell on deaf ears to the anxious Andrew who perceived her caution as fear.

After futile attempts to stop him, Susan obstinately decided to come with Andrew. She needed to protect him and tenaciously objected every attempt to stop her.

A thought flashed through his mind suddenly while he was still holding her "blood is water!". He said out loud, then gently moved away from her and immediately started looking for what to cut himself with. He found a rock, came back to her, knelt beside her, cut his wrist open and blood pumped out like a burst pipe of water. He quickly rushed to her mouth and put the cut in it, gently placed her head on his thigh.

" drink baby, drink!". He said as he positioned his wrist in her mouth.

She started moving her mouth slowly, then accelerated abruptly and grabbed his wrist partly unconscious sucking hungrily, though it tasted awful but it felt reviving having a liquid resuscitating her.

Her clinched grip and mouth on his cut sent a shivering pain through him, but he felt better knowing he could do something at least.
To be continued...

Yeeeeh Topher is back again with another one. Awwn God bless you for doing this again...Nairaland has been boring without your stories.

Topher is baaaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkk.
Yeeeaahhh....

Topher welcome!
Hardys come and have a taste of this oo...

To all the gees wey wan go abroad through sahara desert, like sunkoye..
Lolz..

Yippee!

Topher's brought me back to nl...

skyblueking:
Topher welcome!
Hardys come and have a taste of this oo...

To all the gees wey wan go abroad through sahara desert, like sunkoye..
Lolz..

I dey gidigba..

skyblueking:
Topher welcome! Hardes come and have a taste of this oo...
To all the gees wey wan go abroad through sahara desert, like sunkoye.. Lolz..

Thanks man.

.

lemme just manage at the back.

From the first chapter i can boldly say

This is a satirical story about the dangers of illegal migration through the desert and sea.

An issue that has and is still bedevilling this country

It is a pity that despite the costant awarness on the dangers awaiting these illegal immigrants.

Thousands continue to emigrate leaving this country in search of greener pastures.Which most of them end up not finding.

I must commend the writer whose style of writing. I love so much that i follow his works.

It is important that this story is put on the front page. As this is what we need to see. Not Celebrities with little or nothing to emulate from their fake lives


Lalasticlala
Seun

Topher my G! Local man is sitted

Thnx to you guys, the ban has been lifted

Chapter two

Andrew woke up in an exquisite furnished room, he laid in clean white sheets and in his front hung on the wall a large flat screen TV displaying musicals on MTV.

When he came to full consciousness, he impulsively jumped off the bed and discovered he was only in white boxers.

"Susan!". His subconsciousness called before it dawned on him to search for her. " Susan!". He eagerly called, cautiously looking for the exit in the large snow white room with every furniture plated in gold. Then a thought flashed through his mind; perhaps he was dead and in heaven, that would mean Susan isn't here with him?

He took a quick glance around and spotted a golden door knob shooting out from between a red velvet curtain. Immediately he ran towards it and was about reaching for it when the door flung open and Susan surfaced carrying a tray of fruits: Apples strawberries and bananas. At first glance he didn't recognise her in white silky handles gown that revealed her white underwear,her hairs dark and shiny, lips glowing red , her light skin polished enough to serve as mirror and her neck, ears, nose and hands adorned with golden jewelleries.

"you're up! Sleepy head". She teased shooting him that captivating smile he loved about her as she walked passed him.

Andrew was yet to digest scenario. He watched his wife walk towards an impressive large white dinning table with golden chairs and dropped the tray on it, then turned facing him with a flirtatious smile, grabbed an apple and took a bite fixing her eyes on him. This version of her was strange to him.

" what's going on here? How did we get here?". Andrew asked moving closer to her.

She smiled again and dropped the apple back on the tray " we are in our presidential villa in Italy. Come and take a look". She picked up a remote on a white shelf beside the dinning and pushed a button; immediately the curtains flung open to unveil a flamboyantly decorated terrace with mirror floor, golden rails, white exotic cain chairs and a swimming pool by its side with a view of a beautiful city that looks like something from a 3D picture.

Andrew walked slowly with her to the terrace and looked down from the skyscraper then turned to the clean blue swimming pool with some white swine floating on it.

" how did we get here?". He asked still in shock.

" we made it to Italy and we own all these". She said with a girlish smile tilting her hair to a side.

Then it suddenly started drizzling with the weather still bright. He turned to Susan and was about pointing it out but abruptly stopped when she started cat walking towards him and slowly taking off her gown, this left him speechless but he was liking this version of her.

To his surprise, she held his shoulders firmly and shook him rigorously."you can't be dead!". She yelled and her countenance changing into fear. "you can't be dead!".

Andrew was startled and tried to fathom her reason for saying that, but her grip on him and the strength of her impact confused and scared him even more.

"stop! You're hurting me!". He cried trying to break free.

Suddenly, she started disappearing into white light still shaking him. He closed his eyes from the brightness, then a shadow stood in front of him shielding the light, he opened his eyes again to meet reality; Susan looking completely pale kneeling beside him in tears sprinkling water on him with a dry grass and her body shielding his face from the sun.

"you can't be dead!". She cried, still sprinkling water on him and then stopped when she noticed his head moving.

"Baby? Baby?...". She called looking enthusiastically, her face spreading into a smile. Quickly, she dropped the grass and little cup of water by her side and fell on him excitedly, kissing his face all over.

Andrew felt a sting on his wrist and turned away from Susans fervor to notice the cut had been attended to.

"let him rest a little he is exhausted". A strange tiny little voice said.

Andrew weakly nudged Susan aside and tried to see who it was but felt woozy, then laid back.

"don't try to get up". The tiny little said again.

A man surfaced from behind. Andrew tried to see the face but he could only make out what the sun allowed him to: very slim legs shooting out from a gray or maybe black folded trouser and massive feet in a black slippers made from motor tire.

" Don't worry , you'll be fine". The man said squatting beside Andrew giving him a clearer view of his face; a bearded, skinny black man with an eye missing from the socket, his red sandy head bald in the middle, his remaining teeth had turned brown, looking like a mental patient in his dirty brown worn-out singlet.

The strange man opened a dirty old yellow plastic water bottle and made to put some of its contents into Andrews mouth but Andrew turned his face away looking suspiciously at him.

"it's okay baby, he's fine". Susan assured Andrew, then moved closer taking the left position beside him.

Andrew obliged the strange man following Susans eye approval, raising his head up slightly. And as soon as the water met his lips, he realized how thirsty he had been. In tremulous hands he hungrily held the bottle to his mouth but the fun was cut short as the man retrieved the bottle from him and casually corked it. Getting to his feet he said.

"my tent is not too far from here, it's up that mountain". Pointing towards a very high mountain faintly in view some distance away.

"what?" Susans voice wobbled unbelievably.

Andrew struggled to sit up and Susan immediately assisted him. They didn't notice the man indicating silence with a finger between his lips, a hand stretched towards them and his ear tilted upwards like he was trying to listen to something.

Andrew turned to the strange man and curiously asked. "what's going on?".

Suddenly, the man turned to them and said hastily. " we have to get out of here!".

Susan and Andrew were totally oblivious of what he meant.

"what's going on?". Susan asked In a weak tone standing to her feet".

The man looked regretfully at both of them, shook his head, hesitated as if trying to drag Andrew by the hand, then took off the water bottle from his neck and tossed it on Andrew saying.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to help!". Then started racing towards the mountain.

Andrew and Susan were both crushed with fear, they looked frantically around the dry land touching the sky with the only thing in view is one mountain.

They could now spot dust raising some far distance away and a faint sound of a motor engine.

Andrew struggled to his feet and held Susan by the hand." We have to get going?".

She looked completely petrified . Andrew felt his heart stabbed when he looked at his beautiful wife and couldn't recognize her anymore: Her face was completely dried, her eyes sockets and cheek bones vividly visible. Her use to be red lips had turned pinkish white, with her hair crazily unkept. Her blue jean that hugged well on her hip now saggy and her collar bones shooting out from the use to be white singlet now brown with a slim neck two times its usual size.

" lets go!". He said pulling her by the hand staggering towards the direction of the mountain.

Behind, the sound of the car was getting louder, Andrew had lost every strength to keep up but he managed as they both stumbled due to the much sand impeding their movement and fell occasionally.

They had not covered much grounds when Susan fell on her tummy and looked behind her at the approaching van. Andrew ran back to her and tried to pull her up." baby get up!". He said under his breath with strained effort.

She shook her head in tears." Go! Save your self!". Her voice weak with hint of dryness.

Andrew ignored her trying with every strength he could mutter to lift her up but fell instead with her.

" go! Get the hell out of here you!". She stormed with every strength left in her, slapping his face." Get the hell out of here you fool!".

Andrew looked at the black pick-up van that was now few close by, in his frustration he sat beside her waiting for the van.

Susan looked at him as though he had gone mad. " what are you doing?". She asked.

" I got you into this mess, lets die together". He said trying to hold her but she pushed his hands off her and sat up to face him.

" I will never forgive you for this!". Her tone coiled with anger.

They sat in silence and waited for the van to approach them. Four Arabians in jalamia whose faces were cover with muffler jumped down from the back of the van heavily armed speaking Arabic. Susan looked at Andrew as they pulled her up and then they dragged Andrew by his red Jessy collar yelling in Arabic.

Interesting.


Come and continue OP.

topher052 oyoyo

Welcome back bro
Hope I never late ooooooo

Chapter Three

Andrew and Susan were blindfolded before hauled into the van. They were made to sit on the floor apart from each other with the men bridging the gap between them.

After driving for hours, they arrived a settlement with mud bricks fence habited by Arabians. Most of the men armed and their faces masked with muffler, every part of their women's body practically concealed up to their eyes, and tents of different shapes struggling with the harsh wind.

The van pulled over and the men jumped off hastily, one of them forcefully dragged Andrew down by his shirt and held him still while they resolved something with each other before a hand aggressively pushed him forward still blindfolded.

They led Andrew through different turns, stopping at intervals to exchange what looked like pleasantries. Andrew kept whispering Susans name hoping she would reply and straining his ears for a hint of her.

They took Andrew a few distance away from the settlement to where two roofless large squared cages facing each other with six prisoners; four in one cage and two in the other, mostly blacks; two Asians and one Caucasian was constructed, guarded by five heavily built men all masked up and fully armed.

A hand held Andrew still and the blindfold removed. Immediately, he looked out for Susan.

"where is my wife?". Andrew cautiously asked while taking a quick environmental survey.

The three men with Andrew blatantly ignored his question and said something to one of the guards, the guard replied pointing towards another cell opposite him. They insisted on the one he was guarding. He took a quick look at the men briefly, then slowly suspended his gun at his back, opened the cell and one of them pushed Andrew inside, waited for the guard to padlock the gate before they left .

Andrew grabbed the wooden bar peeping through for Susan, but everyone in the opposite cell were all men.

He returned to the two dejected men in his cell and asked the black man whose blue sleeve on red trouser had worn-out, sitting with his back on the wooden bar, legs folded in his arms, his black skin looking white from long exposure to harsh weather and dehydration, his hairs and beards overdue. "please, where do they keep the ladies?"

The man looked at him as though trying to grasp what he meant. Andrew immediately turned to the other, a Caucasian man in a dirty t-shit on a faded blue jean lying on his side with hands under his head looking demented in his middle bald overgrown hair and full beards. "do you have an idea?".

"he's deaf". The man said in a foreign ascent sitting up.

"who?"
"he's deaf". The man said in a foreign ascent sitting up.

"who?"

"his name is Jude, they shot a gun to his ears at close range. He couldn't hear you". The mans eyes looking pitifully at Jude.

Andrew followed his gaze but felt nothing for the pathetic looking black man. Again he tried.
" my wife was brought here with me, do you have any idea where she is?".

The man gave Andrew a look that knotted his stomach.

"she's no longer your wife as far as this place is concerned. I have been here long enough to have seen enough". He said, laid back in his previous position and closed his eyes.

"what do you mean? Talk to me!". Andrew said nudging the man's arm.

He tiredly opened his eyes . "I don't know anything more than what I just told you". Then shut his eyes again.

Andrew sat hopelessly on the floor , tears running down his cheeks, he began praying to a God he hasn't spoken to in years.

The presence of a short bulky man drifted Andrews attention from his prayers. The man walked up to one of the guards, said something and walked away. The guard moved to the cell opposite Andrew, the inmates moved frighteningly away from him. He stood in front of the clustered petrified men and fixed his gaze on the youngest; an Asian boy with a smirk .

"No! No!". The boy cried pushing himself into the midst of his mates.

The guard with zero strained effort pulled him out of their midst dragging him away ignoring his resistance.

Andrew stood watching how wholeheartedly the boy cried and struggled with ample pertinacity as the guard bundled him off. The look in the faces of every cellmate settled Andrews curiosity.

Susan sat in bound hands behind a large triangular tent alongside two other African girls and an Asian lady looking as every other person; women and children going about their business with little or no interest in them.

The Africans were of same stature and age except Susan who was light skin and the Asian; chubby, nudging her late fifties.

A lanky dark tall Arabian man with full beards, coyly hairs and two armed men walking behind him came from around the tent to inspect the newbies.

He stopped in front of the first girl, smiled, nodded and joked about something the men behind him laughed at, then he moved to the next, one of his men pointed out a cut on the girls left knee. The man frowned at it and seemed pissed with someone, again he nodded and came to Susan. This time he leaned looser, looking into Susans face as if searching for something his eyes couldn't catch giving Susan the creep. Then he turned towards a well adjacent them where a teenage boy stood watching with keen interest, he said something that brought a smile on the boys oval face, he enthusiastically grabbed a bucket and ran with it to the man whom one of his men him called Abdul.

Abdul parted the boy on the shoulder and said something that made the boy blush and his men laughed. Then he fetched water from the bucket with a cup from the bucket and handed it to Susan, she grabbed it with both hands precipitously and hungrily sent it down her throat. Abdul said something jokingly about it which and his men exploded in an hysterical laughter.

Then he moved to the Asian lady. The sight of her transmuted his laughter into an ominous frown and his breathing accelerating in rage. With an agitated impulse, he took out his revolver from under his jalamia and shot the Asian in the head startling Susan to spill the water all over her body. Everyone around took a glance and returned to their business like it was a normal occurrence.

Abdul turned to the men with him yelling, wielding his gun aimlessly. He suddenly levelled his anger on Susan pointing the gun at her, visibly hesitating, biting his lips. Like an invisible being whispered something to him, he dropped his hands and walked away.

Susan had died and resurrected, she was still trying to catch her breath when one of the men pulled her up, ordered her and the other African girls forward towards a tent with two ladies covered in black waiting at the entrance.

Chapter Four

It was already getting dark, the naked cell experiencing a taste of the night's coldness, which is a direct contrast to the day's weather like literally walking in a fire. Andrew laid on his side with his hands buried under his legs. The sound of the cell gate opening woke him from a deep sleep, he was completely engulfed with fear and rushed backwards praying it wasn't him the guard was coming for.

A tall heavily built guard with full thick beards and long hairs hanging on his shoulders came in with a silver bowl, threw it rakishly on the floor and walked away. Andrew was still trying to understand what the white mashed thing in the silver plate was when his cell mates attacked the food with fierce animalization. Andrew knew he had to join in but feared the rage at which the men diminished what was not enough for one man. Instinct propelled him but he could only scoop a hand full before the food finished.

" only God knows when next we are going to have another". Said the white man who was licking off what tasted like potato from his fingers.

This revelation made Andrew regretful. He wanted to take the plate from the black man who was wiping it clean with his tongue but was refrained to caution by the mans stern stare.


"what do they want with us?" Andrew asked the white man who had settled back in his position.

The man smiled and said." organs are very expensive in the black market".

Andrew winced at this and felt goosebumps flooding his skin. "you mean that is what they did to the boy this morning?"

" what is your name?". The man asked.

"Andrew".

"Now listen...Andrew. Do you believe in God?"

Andrew wasn't expecting this, even though he was more of a practical person than religious. " what does it have to do with anything?". Was the word he found himself saying.


"do you have any idea of how to escape from here?".


Andrew thought it through and shook his head.

"then you need God". The man said and closed his eyes.

Andrew examined the twenty inches thick and nine feet tall wood with a three cm gap between them and the squared cell at ten feet length and fifteen feet breadth. He turned to the guards that looked always alert and sensitive to any movement. Then he moved closer to the white man whose eyes were shut and asked." Has anyone tried escaping?".

The man opened his eyes, eyed Andrew suspiciously and adjusted his back on the wooden bar. "yes, and he was roasted alive in front of us" he closed his eyes and shook his head regretfully. " I can still hear him screaming". Opened his eyes and turned to Andrew." Every Friday they abandon their duties for prayers..."

"that's when we should go?". Andrew impatiently asked.

He smiled. " that's your greatest mistake".

Andrew suddenly discovered he was starving and thirsty, but that felt little compared to how he was feeling about Susan's where about.

Susan and the two African girls sat on the sandy floor in the tent, watched as the men loosened their bounds and walked away.

The interior is a simple circular shaped covering with two openings serving as windows and one entrance. A 22 thick rod stood tall in the middle suspending the roof upwards and six squared arranged rods supporting the tent balance. At the right side, three Ghana-must-go bags of different colours lodged on the floor, beside it, some rolled mat rested on the canopy. Two kerosene lanterns hung on a wire above illuminated the room dimly. Under the middle rod, laid an old worn-out mat where two ladies covered in black burka sat with a pot, some silver plates and a bowl in front of them.


"how are doing?". The lady in the left asked with an ascent.

One of the African girls nodded but Susan and the other girl remained mute.

"I'm Ablah and Zahra". Ablah said pointing to the lady beside her. " I know you girls are hungry, you must eat".

Zahra opened the pot and served little portions of mashed potato into three plates and fetched water from the bowl, put beside the plates. Then she returned to her position beside Ablah facing the girls.

"eat and gain strength". Ablah's voice with a hint of smile.

The girl who nodded earlier rushed over and attacked the food pouring water all over her body as she hungrily drank. She's Fifi, an extravertive and spontaneous girl from Ghana. She too was a land traveller but was kidnapped in Libya and sold to her present captors. Fifi has always been an extremist and an adventurous individual who would rather dare and face the consequences, hence the reason for conceiving the idea of land travel.

The other girl's name was Mary, a beautiful, intelligent, gentle and reserved girl from Liberia. She was promised a job abroad by her fathers younger brother who eventually took her through land but she got robbed on her way and while stranded met an African man who promised to assist her but sold her off after subjecting her to several sexual abuses.

The girls finished eating and a sudden overwhelming tiredness engulfed Susan, but she managed to stay alert resting her head on a rod.

Ablah stood up and Zahra followed. " you may have your rest now, we'll be back tomorrow". Ablah said.

"what is going to happen to us?". Fifi asked.

Ablah turned to her. " if you behave, maybe nothing will happen to you". With that they left leaving the ladies to ponder in absolute obscurity.

I was expecting to see Sandra among the names but it seems like Topher and Sandra are separated.

Thanks for the update.

Since Susan is not "a sandra", she'll survive. If u know

Vizzy4u:
Since Susan is not "a sandra", she'll survive. If u know

The last Sandra survived remember.

greatme2good:

The last Sandra survived remember.

yeah I remember but that sandy vex me plentiful eh