This will be a short story...just about 3,000 words in length. I will post it in a couple of days. I know I am still posting a story, but this will be quite short...a quick read.

Seat claimed

Waiting!

Yeah, he's Mojo is fully charged now..
Am anticipating bro..

Let me mark attendance. We eagerly await bro.

present

So, I am going to divide the short story into three parts. I will post the first part now...it's quite short. The second and third parts are longer, but the story is still just a short story of between 2,000-3,000 words.

I will post the remaining parts of the story tomorrow.

Midnight Love

By

Kayode Odusanya

© 2020 Kayode Odusanya


2:22 am

The moon was at its fullest, and it lit up the forest like floodlights at a late night football game. Wind whistled as it blew through tree branches. They were at a clearing in the forest that looked like a temporal home to a nomad. The whole place was tense. Wale was on his knees, with his hands tied behind him. A rifle was pointed at his head by a heavyset man in army fatigue, and he was hyperventilating as blood dripped from his mouth and nose. On the ground a few feet to his right was Nkechi, holding up her torn clothes while she let out muffled tears. Her once white polo top was now a muddy mess. A lanky soldier was standing over her with a rifle pointed at her. The third man was scanning the surrounding bushes. After a few minutes of surveillance, he came back to the little clearing in the bush where everyone else was. He was just as stocky as the man with the gun pointed at Wale, but he wasn’t as tall. He looked at Nkechi for a few seconds and then said in a silent voice, “Kill them.”

Nkechi’s cries went up a notch, and Wale looked at her from where he knelt. He couldn’t believe everything was going to end this way. There was nothing he could do. The men had guns, and there was no way he could overpower them with his hands tied. He closed his eyes to say his last prayers, and just then he heard some movements in the bush in front of him.

“How many of you are remaining?” The man standing over him asked in a low voice. He pressed the barrel of the AK 47 to the back of Wale’s head as a threat, but Wale still didn’t say anything. The men were alert now, standing with their guns pointed at whatever or whoever was coming.

A white cow came into view, grazing nonchalantly. After a few seconds, a few more cows appeared from the bushes. Everyone was quiet; even Nkechi stopped crying. When two herdsmen appeared from the bushes with guns raised, Wale’s heart skipped a beat.

Nice one

What could have resulted to the current travails of Wale and Nkechi?

Are they Innocent??
Are they guilty??
Where did they go wrong?

I don't have to wait for long because am sure Kayo80 will give me the answers to all the numerous questions going through my mind.. Still, I wait..

BRAVO KAYO80..

More please.

6 hours earlier

Wale was one of the passengers in a 14 seater bus, heading to Ibadan. He had come into Lagos the day before for the wedding ceremony of a close friend. He had spent the night at his parents’ house after the wedding, and left in the afternoon, hoping to get to Ibadan in the evening; little did he know he was in for a wild day.

The traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan express was not new, but what he was experiencing on the road today was hell. They had been in traffic for 8 hours now, and it was already night time. He undid the first two top buttons of the denim shirt he had on as the heat was becoming unbearable in the bus. He was a slim guy and his bum also hurt from sitting for too long. He had his earphones plugged in, listening to afro-beats music on the loudest volume, looking out the window every now to know how far they had gone. When the bus started to slow down and veer off the road, he looked out the window and saw they were at RCCG’s Redemption Camp main gate. Apparently, the person sitting beside him was coming down.

The man was struggling with slide opening the door, and the driver came down to help. As the man came down and the driver was about to close the door, Wale saw someone approach the driver from the corner of his eye. After a few seconds of discussion, the driver slid the bus door open, and a girl got into the bus beside Wale. Her sweet scenting perfume arrested his attention. It was so familiar. When he turned to the side to look at her, he was shocked to see it was the petite, light skin girl from his best friend’s wedding he had attended the day before. The floodlights of the Redemption Camp gave him a good view of her face. He had been thinking of her all day and it was funny she would end up in the same bus with him, sitting beside him.

He heard her mouth move, but didn’t hear what she said. Simi was singing ‘Duduke’ in his ears. The first thing he heard when he took off the earphones was the sound of the driver struggling to put the car in gear, and then the murmuring of the people in the bus. “Sorry. I didn’t hear what you said.” He said to her.
“I said you should please move a bit.” Her voice was like sweet music to his ears.
“Okay.” Wale said and moved a bit to create more sitting space for her. She had her big handbag on her lap, with her hands resting on it. He recognized the same silver swatch he had seen on her wrist from yesterday. It went with the silver satin dress bridesmaid’s dress she had on yesterday. It was also a perfect blend with the stonewash jeans and white polo top she was wearing right now.

What are the odds that the girl he was crushing on yesterday and thinking of throughout his trip was now sitting next to him? He felt the universe was sitting things in place for him. He hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her yesterday, but now he had a second chance. When he plugged his earphones back on, Davido and Chris Brown’s ‘Blow My Mind’ was playing. It was like the artificial intelligence controlling the playlist on his phone was in tune with how he was really feeling.

Wale had been sitting in the bus for hours, not talking, and didn’t trust his breath would be fresh. He pulled the Tic Tac mint pack from his pocket and popped one of the mints in his mouth. He licked it for a few minutes before turning to her and saying, “Hello, you were at the wedding at Hallmark event center yesterday, right?” She looked at him confused, and he realized she might not know the name of the venue the wedding was held at. “You were at Femi and Joy’s wedding yesterday in Lagos, right?”
Her face lit up as she said, “Yeah.”
“I saw you there yesterday. You were part of the bridal train.”
“Yeah, I knew your face was familiar, I just couldn’t place it.” She said and smiled. A few seconds of silence went by before she added, “Joy, the bride and I are course mates at the University.” She was a really friendly person. That was one of the things that had gotten Wale’s attention at the wedding party yesterday.
“Oh, that’s cool. So, you are based in Ibadan?” He asked her.
“Well, actually, my parents live in Lagos, but I have an apartment in Ibadan, because of school.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah. School is not in session right now, but I already paid for the year, so why waste the rent money.”
“True. You have a point.”
“And I am working on my final year poject.”
“Okay.”
“So, you know Joy’s husband, the groom?” She said after a little silence.
“Yeah, we are very good friends. We went to school together.”
“Okay. You were one of the groom’s men?”
“Yes. I was the best man actually.”
“Yes. I remember you now.” She said as she turned to look at him with a smile on her face. “Well, I can’t see your face well right now, but I saw it when I was getting into the bus earlier.”
“Yeah. My name is Wale by the way.”
“I’m Nkechi.” She said and he loved that she hadn’t given him her English name. “You gave that funny speech, right?” She said all of a sudden as if she had just remembered it.
“Yeah.” He said with a little laugh.
“Joy really thought Femi was the Uber driver she ordered?”
“Yeah. She entered the front seat and asked him to drive please.”
“Are you serious?” She said between muffled laughs.
“Yes. I was actually with Femi that day. I had gone to buy something from across the road, and when I came back, I was shocked to see a girl getting into the front seat of the car.”
“Please tell me the full story.” She said between laughs. And that’s how they spent the next couple of minutes talking about their individual friends. After a while, they started getting to know themselves, and were amazed that they had so much in common.
They both loved to go to the cinema on Mondays, when the least people were there. They loved horror movies. They didn’t like romance novels, but they loved romance movies. And they also found out that they lived five minutes apart from each other in Ibadan.

He had never kicked it off with anyone so fast, and now she had fallen asleep with her neck resting on his shoulder. He felt so alive. He was still basking in the euphoria of love when he heard the bus engine backfire a few times and the bus come to a halt by the side of the road. Because of the traffic, the driver had passed through a new alternate route. It was an inner road that had been constructed by the construction company working on the expressway for motorists to pass while the road was being worked on. But the problem right now as that it was 11 pm, and there were no houses close by.

People started cursing out the driver, and bombarding him with questions. He assured everyone that it wasn’t a big issue, and that it would be fixed quickly. He parked by the side of the road, and politely asked the two passengers seating in front with him to get down so he could work on the engine. To access the engine, he had to lift up the entire front row seat. The passengers cursed him out a few times before getting down, and the rest of the people in the bus also came down.

Nkechi stuck by Femi’s side, quiet as she gathered her thoughts. She had just woken from her sleep and was still a little disoriented. A bus drove past and slowed down when people waved at it. A few people ran towards it, and two people got in. Wale watched the bus drive away, and wondered if that would be the last bus to pass through the route. Their driver worked on the bus for several tens of minutes, always reassuring the passengers that he was almost done. He would start the car, and then when he fired the engine, the car would die.
Every now and then, a vehicle would drive by and stop to pick a few people. Before long, it was just Wale, Nkechi, another female passenger and the driver left at the scene. After a long wait time, another bus finally drove past and they waved it down. At this point, it was clear the driver was probably not going to be able to fix the bus, so Nkechi, Wale and the other passenger ran to the bus. There was space for one person, and the girl got and volunteered to carry Nkechi on her lap. “Go. Don’t worry about me.” Wale said to her, but she shook her head. “It’s real late Nkechi; this might be the last bus. Just go.” He said as he slowly pushed her towards the bus.

“I can’t leave you here.” She said with a stern look on her face. He felt touched. For someone he met just a few hours ago, that was a lot. But right now, they had to make up their mind fast, and the driver of the bus was already complaining.
“Please. It’s quite dangerous for you to be here right now.” He said and looked at her real long before saying, “Please. I’ll be fine.” She reluctantly got in the bus, and he watched as the door slide shut and the bus moved along. They hadn’t gone far when the bus stopped, and Nkechi dropped from it. “Shit.” Wale cursed under his breath.

Well done OP

nice job kayo80 bt your story most times is full of suspense or tragedy, anyways lets see how this goes.

So this is how Nkechi and Wale met.. Could it be love at first sight? Still, I await as the whole story unfolds..
BRAVO KAYO80..

Wow, nice beginning.
She has to get down from the bus , when it's late already . What a feeling.
Thanks for the update Mr Kayo80. More grace

YINKS89:
nice job kayo80 bt your story most times is full of suspense or tragedy, anyways lets see how this goes.

Lol!

EkopSparoAyara:
So this is how Nkechi and Wale met.. Could it be love at first sight?
Still, I await as the whole story unfolds..

BRAVO KAYO80..

Thanks.

Humbleness:
Wow, nice beginning.

She has to get down from the bus , when it's late already . What a feeling.

Thanks for the update Mr Kayo80.
More grace

Thanks.

Hello guys...I have been holding back on posting the last part/concluding part to get more views on this story. It hasn't gotten the kind of attention I had hoped for.

Once it hits a thousand views, I will drop the last part. Or...when this particular comment of mine gets 11 'likes.' Whichever one comes first.

kayo80:


Lol!

abi.. we re waiting for ur update thou, your story is one that I always look forward to

@Kayo80 You always blow my mind everytime you write. I love the fact that it is very easy to picture the scenarios you paint without much difficulty. How you explain the environment and the characters, I still stand on the fact that you are the best writer I have ever come across here. Thank you Mr Kayo80 for always giving us something to read about we end up living together in the story like we were there. God bless you

dammyd46:
@Kayo80 You always blow my mind everytime you write. I love the fact that it is very easy to picture the scenarios you paint without much difficulty. How you explain the environment and the characters, I still stand on the fact that you are the best writer I have ever come across here. Thank you Mr Kayo80 for always giving us something to read about we end up living together in the story like we were there. God bless you

God bless you too. Thanks for this comment.

kayo80:
Hello guys...I have been holding back on posting the last part/concluding part to get more views on this story. It hasn't gotten the kind of attention I had hoped for.

Once it hits a thousand views, I will drop the last part. Or...when this particular comment of mine gets 11 'likes.' Whichever one comes first.

5 likes to go...or 202 views to go.

kayo80:
Hello guys...I have been holding back on posting the last part/concluding part to get more views on this story. It hasn't gotten the kind of attention I had hoped for.

Once it hits a thousand views, I will drop the last part. Or...when this particular comment of mine gets 11 'likes.' Whichever one comes first.

11 likes gotten. Last part of the story is coming up.

kayo80:


11 likes gotten. Last part of the story is coming up.

thanks bro

..........

Wale and Nkechi were now sitting in the bus alone, waiting for the driver to get back. He had walked off, saying he could get to the express and get some help from fellow drivers. Wale suggested they call it a day and find a tree to climb up and sleep in to avoid robbers. Nkechi laughed at the idea, and felt she would feel safer staying in the bus. So, they locked the doors, and sat in the front seat talking.

About half a kilometer straight ahead was a T junction; a left turn at the junction led straight to the express way, but they didn’t know how long the walk would be, or if they would get any help at the express at midnight. They had exhausted all they could talk about and silence took over the bus. He could hear her breathing. Was she scared he would do something to her, or was she excited about what she thought he would do next, he thought to himself. “You know something?” She said, and disrupted his train of thought.

“What?” He asked and turned to look at her. Her natural light skin shone under the moonlight. He could see a smile forming on her face.
“I actually recognized you right away when I got into the bus.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm. And I couldn’t read it in your body language. You’re a great actor.”
“Most women are.” She said with a little laugh. There was a little silence before she went on to say, “But it was so strange to see you in the bus when…when I was literally just thinking of you before that bus stopped in front of me.”
“I guess my joke at the wedding made a great impression on you.”
“Yeah. I guess.” She said and turned to look at him. There was silence for a few seconds, then he cupped her chin and went in slowly for a kiss.

Car headlights ahead made them end the kiss. A black Mercedes had come to a halt at the intersection up ahead. A few seconds later, a white Hilux truck with military men in it came into view and parked a few meters behind the Mercedes. “Should we go and see if they can help?” Nkechi said, and Wale shushed her as he watched the activities of the men. The bus was parked real close to the bushes on the side of the road, so the men hadn’t noticed it.

The driver side door of the black Mercedes Benz swung open, and a fat man in white native attire came down from the car holding up something in his hands. When they heard the cry of a baby, Nkechi and Wale looked at each other for a second before turning back to look at the man. He walked to the middle of the intersection, what Yoruba people call Orita Meta, raised the baby up to the moon, said some incantations, and then he pulled at the baby’s head with all the force in his arm till he decapitated it. Wale’s hand was fast enough to cover Nkechi’s mouth, but a little sound of shock still escaped her mouth before he did so.

Wale kept his face on the man, and his hand on Nkechi’s mouth. The soldiers jumped off the back of the van and started heading towards where the bus was parked. They were about five of them, holding up AK47 rifles. The fat man said a few more incantations, and then drank the blood dripping out of the baby’s severed head. When the soldiers noticed the bus, they quickened their pace, and Wale quickly opened the front door of the bus, jumped out, and pulled Nkechi out with him. As they ran into the bush, he had no idea how he was going to get out of this situation.

Thick tree branches slapped at his face as he made his way through the deep forest. Thanks to the moonlit night, he could see enough to navigate through the bushes, but he still didn’t know where he was going. After running for about 5 minutes nonstop, he stopped and leaned on the trunk of a thick tree. Nkechi’s back was on his chest; he had one hand around her waist, and another covering her mouth. Nkechi’s whole body shook. The adrenaline was pumping at a high rate. She would have been better off running right now, but if they kept running, the men would tack them down easily because of the noise they would be making.

Wale was in flight or fight mode now, and he was ready to get into the latter in full effect. One of the men walked passed them. The tree was a perfect cover. When the man was a few feet away, Wale slowly let go of Nkechi, reached into his pocket for his Nokia Lumia phone. He had always cursed out Nokia for making the phone so heavy, but it was a perfect weapon for right now. He held the phone like a dagger and snock up behind the man. With all his strength, he hit the man at the back of his head with the phone. There was a loud cry, and the soldier went down. Wale grabbed Nkechi and moved to another part of the forest quickly, but silently. Using another tree as a camouflage for him and Nkechi, he watched two of the soldiers get to the scene where their colleague laid on the ground unconscious. One of them ordered the other two to run off in pursuit while he examined the man.

With the mind that they had run off deeper into the forest, Wale and Nkechi silently made their way back towards the road. They were at a clearing now, and their shadows could be seen on the clear ground of the forest. If he had seen the punch coming, he probably would have braced himself up for it, but it came out of nowhere, and the shock, more than the force, knocked him out. He felt himself let go of Nkechi and fall to the ground.

The next couple of seconds were a blur. He heard her scream, but it felt like he was dreaming. He was slipping out of consciousness until she started repeatedly shouting out his name. And then a surge of energy came over him and got him fully conscious again. He lay on the muddy ground for a few seconds to fully regain his strength and plan his next move. When he got up, he picked up a rock the size of a socver ball from the ground, walked over to the man, who was deeply engrossed in pinning Nkechi down so he could rape her. The man let out a shrieking sound when Wale hit him in the temple with the rock. He fell on Nkechi, and she pushed him aside to get into Wale’s arms as he knelt down beside her. She held on tight to him, crying, and then she went quiet when she realized some more of the men were still out there.

He pulled her up, and just as they were about to start heading out of the clearing, the three men appeared. He knew they was no outrunning them, so he put Nkechi behind him and was ready to fight to his last breath. Just then, he noticed the rifle on the floor beside the man he had just knocked out. He didn’t know how to use it but they didn’t know that. He tried to reach for it but stopped when he heard, “move and I fire.” He stood still as the man approached him with an AK47 rifle pointed at his head. The man stopped a few inches in front of Wale, and the two other soldiers approached. The lanky one pulled a screaming Nkechi away from Wale, and the other heavyset man walked up to Wale and gave him a resounding backhand slap. Wale tasted blood as he hit the floor hard. They pulled his limp body up, put him in a kneeling position, and tied his hands behind him. All the while, they were asking him how many of them were left in the forest. Wale was still hearing a buzzing sound in his ear and was too disoriented to answer them. The man that appeared to be their leader walked up to his front and gave him a punch in his belly. Wale leaned forward. The pain was unbearable, but not as much as the punch that came next; it connected with his nose, and he fell backwards. He could hear Nkechi’s cries, as she struggled to get out of the lanky man’s grip. The man got tired of trying to make her stay still, got up and pointed his rifle at her. She became still immediately.

Wale was pulled up again, and they kept asking him how many of his people were left. Damn, if you gave me a minute to speak before hitting me, I would answer you, he thought to himself. He didn’t know if they thought he was some sort of tough guy because he had maimed two of their men. But he had done that in survival mode.

The leader got tired of questioning Wale and went around for a little surveillance. When he came back, he gave orders for Wale and Nkechi to be killed.

Wale was saying his last prayers when cows started coming out of the bushes to the clearing. He held his breath when two herdsmen came into view, with guns pointed at them. A lot of shouting ensured. One of the men understood the Hausa language, and Wale couldn’t understand what was been exchanged, but he knew it wasn’t a friendly conversation. He got a gut feeling to fall to the floor, face first, and just as he did so, the first shot rang out from one of the soldiers. It was gunfire afterwards from both sides.

Rata-ta-ta-ta! Blacka! Blacka! Rata-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta Blacka! Blacka! Blacka! Wale didn’t know if the bullets weren’t hitting target, but the men remained standing, and shooting at each other at close range for longer than he thought the gun battle would last. His hands were still tired, so there was little he could do. He lay there and watched Nkechi cover her ears with her hands as gunfire lit up the place.

The gunshots reduced and bodies started dropping one by one, till there was just one man standing. And then there was silence. After a few seconds, the heavyset man dropped on his knees and fell to the ground, with his dead eyes staring at Wale. It freaked him out.

After a few seconds, Nkechi got off the ground and limped over to his side, holding her ripped up clothes with one hand. She knelt by his side and untied his hands. They both got up, supporting each other as they headed out of the forest.

They reached the road after about 15 minutes of walking. They had run all the way earlier and Wale hadn’t realized how deep into the forest they had gone. When they got to the t junction, the white Hilux truck was still there, but the black Mercedes Benz was gone. Wale and Nkechi kept walking with intentions of getting to the expressway. They had no idea what they would do when they got there, but that was the only thing they could think of right now. They had not gone far when a truck carrying tubers of yam drove past them. It slowed down at first, but then continued moving. And then it stopped again, and reversed. “Please help us.” Nkechi shouted out when the truck stopped beside them. The front door opened. There was only space for one, and the driver asked in Yoruba if they could manage the seat. Wale said yes, and the teen boy sitting next to the driver stretched out his hand to pull Wale up. Afterwards, Wale helped Nkechi up into the truck.

The driver had a worried look on his face as he noticed their injuries and asked them if they had been in an accident. They were quiet for a while before Wale told him they had been robbed. “Ah! The man exclaimed, but thanked God they were at least not killed. As he drove off, Wale went through what had really happened in his head. Were the men really military men or thugs in military uniform? He couldn’t say. He felt a squeeze on his hand. It was Nkechi. She was on his lap. He held her tight by the waist. They had known each other for less than twelve hours, but what they had gone through in that time frame had created a bond that Wale felt would last for a long time.

The End

That's all folks. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I will get back to the story I was posting before this soon.

what a suspense we wouldn't know what would happen next but ill finish the rest in my head

kayo80:
That's all folks. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I will get back to the story I was posting before this soon.

Intriguing.... well done boss

Ann2012:


Intriguing.... well done boss

Thanks

For a moment there I felt like Wale, displaying some The Rock moves, lol..
Indeed a bond has been created, Nkechi saw him as his Saviour, of course he is, if he didn't put up that fight, maybe the reverse would have been the case..


Kayo80, your stories are always, concised, intriguing and educative..

BRAVO KAYO80..