₦airaland Forum

iamloyalty:
This dibia na fake big-time who knows if he is the devil.

Exactly!

prisiliveth:
thank for d update, the suspense is killing though!

Tnx for commenting and reading...I'd try to reduce the suspense but I myself am in the dark

Oyindawealth:
Souloho!! Weldone!! More mb 2 ur phone and more money in ur account.... But dis one dat the devil as turn to 'wind' I hope d dibia as not been bribed......imagine he was even asking 4 tobacco! Does d gods smoke

Tnx dear, lol dat one na dibia? Jah bless you, more wealth to ur name!

meneski:
these gods this days self... The gods forget Goldberg oh.

Lol I tell you, na step down

vakjay08:
Wow what a tongue speaking dibia. I never knew diabias do speak in tongue. Meanwhile souloho d soul dat fills d hole well done.

Bro that dibia na scam joor...
Jah bless you bro

I love mystery, nice one op..I'm hooked

For the sins of my parents

"Madam has arrived, If I hear you say anything I'll kill you!" Oga shoves me roughly as he buckles his belt. I run out adjusting my gown and manage to enter the kitchen before madam. "Welcome ma"
"Idiot! hurry up and wash the fish then put it on fire!"
I already turn my cheek, expecting the slap. Madam isn't one to talk without leaving an exclamation mark on my face. I rush to the zinc as my face stings.

My name is Mosurat and I know you feel bad for me but don't. When I'm done and you see this on front page you'll hate me.

You see, I have a box of rat poison in the cupboard and I'm going to use it as an extra spice while preparing dinner.

My freedom was stolen when I was 8 and brought here by my poor parents with the promise of quality education. Instead I've been abused and raped everyday for six years.
Now I'm 14 and I plan to run away.
But they have to pay first.

I guess in every sense my innocence was taken from me.

I shake the thoughts and dish the melon soup into the bowl. It smells delicious and I add extra fish and poison.

They like eating together and this is their last supper. I start to smile as they begin to eat but my smile falters as I hear the words that taunt me to this very hour: "honey guess what? I'm pregnant"


Say NO to every FORM of child abuse

"Hmmmm....aaaaaaaaahh.....hmmmmmm....haaaaaaa"
Osi looked cynical as the dibia wailed like a man in pain and stared hard at pieces of stones and cowries on the ground.
The dibia had arrived the compound just before night fall and he had arrived wrapped up in some kind of white material with some kind of white powdered substance painted on his body. A young boy of about thirteen accompanied him carrying a folded mat and some other strange items and Osi couldn't help but wonder about the young lad. How could someone so young be in this kind of life already? He whispered his thoughts to pastor Bartholomew who replied him with a look that conveyed 'silence would be very much appreciated'

Immediately the boy spread the mat and the dibia got down to business.
It was a taboo to be in the midst of women so the women had since left before the dibia arrived.

Osi wished he could leave too but pastor Bartholomew had advice him they wait till night.
Stevenson on the other hand looked on, he was intrigued by what was unfolding before his eyes and wished he had a note pad and pen or his camera. He would have to rely on memory. This was priceless for his book.

"Yeeeee....ooooooo......aaaaaaaa" the dibia threw a bunch of cowries on the floor and studied it intensely after which he asked for a bowl of water.
Pa Kenneth directed the boy to a keg and the boy proceeded to fill a bowl.

The leaders all looked on eagerly with hope and anticipation on their faces, this was it: they were going to know who the devil was.

"mamaseimamaseimamaseimamaseimamakoosai!!!
More silence
"Askentelebarabaralewa!!!!"
The dibia looked away from the bowl and nodded to the young boy who spoke in Igbo:
"This demon is just like wind...it is like the breeze..
One can not catch the breeze with a net..."

"mamaseimamasamamakosa...mamakosmamasei!!"
"Just as one can not see the back of his head with his eyes...this demon can not be seen"
The young boy intepreted again. He seemed to be the only one who could inteprete the dibia's words which to Osi sounded like gibberish and like a lyric from a Michael Jackson song.

"This is no man....its a spirit..we need to appease the spirit, the gods require sacrifice..."

°•°•°•°•
Osi was already in a foul mood when he finally got home. He had just witnessed something that troubled his spirit greatly.
Pastor Bartholomew had advised him "forget about the boy, forget about the whole incantation..sadly somethings can never change"

When he got home, he met the deacon on his high horse as usual, "we are leaving first thing tomorrow morning" the deacon announced announced.
"Leaving...leaving where?"
"back to PortHarcourt of course...this crusade is a failure, although its not all your fault"
Osi was not in the mood for this, he felt dirty from all what his eyes had seen today, from the dead body then the traditional exercise that has taken place with the dibia.
He went straight to bed without uttering a word.

°•°•°•
The reverend's call woke him up around 2 in the morning. He struggled to open his eyes, trying to locate the phone and hitting someone (maybe Gregory) in the face.
"H-hello"
"Osi...you were sleeping"
Osi knew what was coming next and so he said it along with the reverend "men ought to pray always and not faint...I know it sir, but yesterday was really overwhelming sir"
"Yes...the deacon left some disturbing messages for me..why don't you tell me everything that's going on"
°• °•
It was almost 3 when Osi ended the call. Talking to the Reverend always seemed to calm him down, he felt energized again as he got up from the bed, he couldn't sleep again. He knew what he had to do: pray...pray and plan!

°•°•°•
*Morning*
"Oga I don't want to go...I'd come back" Samuel assured Osi as he carried the deacon's bags outside.
The deacon was going, they were all staying. They still had five more days remaining for the crusade and they were determined to see it through.
"What do we do now?" Ovie asked as they watched the bus drive away.
"Pastor Bartholomew said, the girl would be likely buried this evening, we should help officiate and counsel the family"
"But before then? What do we do?" Bukky asked "I'm tired of staying indoors all day"
"I think you all should stay behind and pray for direction, I feel in my spirit we should prepare to have the Virgil service like we planned tonight"
They nodded in agreement but then Ovie asked "where are you going now?"
Osi stopped at the door "I have some directions I'd like to explore"
"You shouldn't go alone, I'd come with you"

°•°•°••°
Dé Nwachukwu and Pa Kenneth waited the arrival of Dé John in the latter's compound.

Pa Kenneth had a chewing stick in his mouth while Dé Nwachukwu smoked his pipe.
"So we need three native fowls, the head of an alligator 30 pieces of cocoyam, a pregnant bat and tobacco plants" pa Kenneth said as he paced round.
"Hmmm...old one, it is that tobacco I don't understand...so the gods smoke?"
Pa Kenneth sighed "one doesn't have to be colour blind to take the colour red as yellow...my brother let us do our part and let the dibia do his" the elder man advised "things are getting worse we need any kind of solution right now"

°•°•°•
Amara had refused to let her sister leave the house that morning just as her father instructed.
She turned a deaf ear to Joy's whining, shouting and rude remarks as her sister threw tantrums with vigour like it was an Olympic event.
"Amara you can not keep me in this house o......Esther's house is not far o...oya please na...I won't be long..its not fair....I hate you!!"

Amara only chuckled to herself as she busied herself with picking the melon seeds.
She heard someone open the gate of the compound and hurried, thinking it was her sister trying to sneak out.
It was Paul.
"My dear...how are you this morning?" He asked cheerfully.
"I'm fine...what of Oluchi?"
"Oluchi is fine, she's helping mother with something but she said she'd be here very soon"
Amara nodded and was about to turn but she stopped, she was not one to beat round the bush, never had been "Paul, please what are you doing here..?"
"Why..I came to see you" he sounded surprised
"Please Paul, I don't want to give you the wrong impression...you know I'm not interested in any form of relationship?"
Paul raised his hands "heeey...we're just friends, after what happened yesterday I had to check on you"
"But you asked my father for my hand didn't you?"
"Yes Amara..because I love you, but we are friends...friendship comes first"
She shook her head but suddenly a thought occurred to her "Paul...how did you know Chinaza's father was ill?"
He blinked "what?"
"Chinaza...the other night you asked her how her father was...how did you know he had fallen sick?"
"Sick...oh!...I was catching up with Oluchi about everyone and I asked about Chinaza...it was very sad"
Amara frowned, something was still not adding up. Paul was looking at her strangely and she was about to ask him why he had lied to her. His sister had told her just yesterday that he never asked about Chinaza..

Her eyes were drawn to the gate when she heard voices and shuffling of feet from outside.
She could see the outline of two pairs of shoes from underneath the gate.

She yanked the gate open just as the fat pastor had raised his hands to knock. The tall pastor was with him.
"Sorry to disturb you please is this Dé Nwachukwu's....you...Amara" Osi said when he noticed her.
"Pastor Osi..." She smiled "welcome..good morning" she greeted Ovie.
"Morning...is this Dé Nwachukwu's house please?"
"Yes he's my father...come in"
The two men entered the compound and she closed the gate.

Osi noticed the young man frowning at him and offered his hands. The man shook his rather grudgingly.

Osi gave Ovie a look he didn't have trouble deciphering 'engage this man...I need to talk with the lady'

"Hope your dad is around?" He asked Amara
"Actually he stepped out"
"Okay I'd like to talk with you then...just some questions I have, maybe you can help me out"
"Sure, no problem" she took his hand "let's go inside"
"Actually we were..." Paul's protest was cut short by Ovie.
"Mister, the Lord didn't bring me here by chance, I have a special word for you today"
And so Ovie held Paul back, opening his bible to read a scripture while the young man looked after Amara and Osi as they entered the house.

°•°•°•°•
"Would you like anything to eat or drink?"
"No..I had breakfast not too long ago"
"Okay...you wanted to see Dé Nwachukwu?"
"Yes...I spoke with him yesterday..." Osi's eyes flew round the sitting room and rested on a charcoal drawing of a woman.
She looked like an elder version of Amara, she was beautiful and the artist had managed to capture the intensity of her eyes.
"You saw my father yesterday..." Amara prompted, whenever a young man saw her father it was always for one reason. This time she was surprised she wouldn't mind at all.
"Yes..." Osi tore his eyes from the painting and focused on the younger version. "Yes...erm...about Ozioma, the first girl to be killed, did you know her very well?"
"Oh...we were friends...really good friends" she replied.
She and Oluchi had been the closest but Ozioma had been their friend, the trio used to do a lot of things together until one afternoon a farmer had gone to till his soil and found her dead body partially buried. Wicked things had been done to her.

Amara's eyes grew misty as she remembered and Osi felt bad "I'm very sorry to bring it up...I just have a strong feeling that a very important clue lies in her murder"
She looked at him strangely. "I thought you are a pastor?"
"I am...or I hope so but I feel this urge in my heart and I need to find out about her"
When she was silent he got up "if you don't feel like talking about it I understand, I'm sorry"
"No its fine...what do you want to know?"

Rodriguez12 tnx bro don't worry no matter how the story wan long reach it must end.

Politicalthug gentleman I sight you, welcome onboard and gracias

Countrygirl:
Souloho19, abeg come oo

Tnx joy, lemme see...

ProFuhrer:
Meneski and Souloho19

Get over here.

Tnx bro

Nostradamus:
I might join the writers too soonest.

Bro soonest have arrived o. I think another flavour is needed for the story. The diversity is the beauty of the thread but things have been monotonous for a while now and these agidi ghost readers are not aiding at all.
Cc: all writers- anyone willing to take the baton at least for a while.

streetwise relay to your boss:
Don Gucci And Don Peluzzini came up with the plan to double cross you after the hit.
I have information about their movements for the next one week. Let me help you get your revenge.
Reply.
Signed, Don Boffinjay Jefe


Her fingers danced over the keyboard as she typed the message. Her boss had told her to erase all traces of the mail immediately. She was Don Boffinjay's assistant and also his chief body guard she hit send.

°•°•
Williams bit the side of the blade to keep from shouting. Davina sat beside him digging into his shoulder wound with a blade, digging out the bullet.
Half a bottle of dry gin had been emptied on the shoulder and the pain was excruciating.
However he couldn't afford to frighten the two little girls in the front seat, wrapped in blankets with their father.
Streetwise manned the wheel expertly while Jemba and Ghost occupied the back with him. A kind of killer's bond seemed to be growing between the two.

"There's an incoming call to the Bluetooth device of the car..shhh.." Streetwise urged them and they all remained silent.

"Braham..what's your status...are the girls dead? Tell me you have the file, I want it first thing tomorrow"
"Braham? Braham do you copy?"
"Speak to me dammit...don't tell me you failed me"

It was Anderson who spoke up "the file is coming to you all right...coming to you in the form of a bullet."
The line went off immediately.

"Where you able to trace it?" asked Anderson
"Sorry...I only got two hands and they're kind of occupied"
"Finding Trump wouldn't be too hard he has aspirations...plans to run for Senate very soon" Anderson commented.

°•°•°•°
The Ghost had left. No one really knew when he disappeared except William and he wasn't talking.
Jemba noticed he was missing and asked "where's ghost?"
"He's moved on" Williams replied. He was lifting small dumbbells, trying to exercise his shoulders even when Davina had told him he needed to rest his muscles.
The ghost had only joined forces with Williams for the mission against Isaac Nystrom. But then the file had been found and he stayed a little longer, then the girls got kidnapped.
But he was gone now. Probably killing someone right now. He had played an important role and was pivotal for their success in all their battles so far but Williams wasn't worried.
He knew what he had to do. Kill Trump then begin taking down the Dons(dunce)

Just as he thought this, Streetwise appeared in the doorway.
"Boss, I think you need to see this"

°•°•°•°•
Ten minutes later and Williams sighed thoughtfully.
He knew what he must do.
"Arrange the trip to Washington"
"You're going after Don Gucci?"
"Yes...I'd kill the Don in Washington and while I'm at it where else would I find an aspiring senator if not in D.C?"

bigbauer:
meneski, Souloho19 has been unbanned, we need the update. Thanks, by the way, his other story "The devil wears Okrika" is cool too. https://www.nairaland.com/3946214/devil-wears-okrika/

Lol..thanks bruv Jah bless

Mama Ozioma was one of the women with the blank stares.
She had probably broken down and done all the wailing earlier in the month when the devil had started his rampage with her daughter as his opening act and now she looked drained!
Osi studied her as pastor Bartholomew rounded up the grace.

Mama Ozioma had her back on the wall, she constantly shook her legs and swiped a piece of her wrapper at her legs to ward off the mosquitoes that were quickly descending.

"Good evening mummy" Osi greeted her squatting down.
She only looked at him when he said mummy, with a painful look in her eyes and Osi winced as he realized it had been a very bad choice of word.
"The Lord grant your daughter peace and accept her soul in Jesus name"
The woman didn't reply. She didn't even look at him again.
Osi could feel stares boring into him from all directions so he hurried up.
"Mu- please ma..I need you to tell me about your daughter...how old was she?"
No reply.
"Please Its very important, please...what kind of friends did she have..how did people treat her..did you notice any strange behaviour before her death?"
The woman looked at him, staring into his eyes for some seconds. She was about to say something when they heard commotion from outside.

°•°•°•
Stevenson barged into the compound with such force that he fell to the floor. He sprang up immediately and ran for safety as big pieces of stones sailed in after him.

"What is going on!" Pa Kenneth shouted standing up from the bench.
"They're after me, they say I'm the killer!" Stevenson shouted, He sounded scared.
His shirt had been torn and his pale white skin had red bruises all over.
The noise grew louder from outside and Osi feared they would storm into the compound and he'd receive a beating.
"What's going on?" He said to pastor Bartholomew who had come to stand beside him.
"Don't worry they won't come in, its a taboo if they do" the pastor assured him when he sensed his apprehension.

The women who had been embittered few seconds ago began to complain on Steve's behalf about the ill treatment he had received and Osi marveled when he sat in their middle and they began tending his injuries.
"wow...they really care for him" he said to pastor Bartholomew.
The pastor shrugged

The three elders had hurried outside and Osi could hear Dé John's voice as he addressed the crowd.
The voice of the youths had lessened but there was still cries for justice every now and then.

"But wait...pastor...for how long has he been in the community" Osi asked pastor Bartholomew referring to Stevenson.
"Almost a year now"
"And there never used to be any incident like this before then?"
"Not at all"
"Hmmm"
Both men frowned deep in thought.

°•°•°•
Back at the house, the shouting had stopped. They had immediately reduced their voices when they heard the chanting of the youths and heard the breaking of sticks on someone's body and what sounded like the hooves of a thousand rhinos.
They had fallen silent and during that period each of them must have thought about the situation and calmed down because not a word was argued again. Or maybe it was fear that had calmed them down.

The deacon remained at the dining table, his pen in hand as he wrote what looked like a 1000 word composition on a note pad. It was no doubt his report.
No one cared.

Bukky had since returned to her room, the deacon had sent Samuel to his to "pack his clothes" while Gregory and Ovie remained in the parlour. They were getting worried about their pastor.
"Maybe we should go out and look for him" Gregory said.
"Okay..good idea, I'd stay here in case he comes but if you see him the both of you should return immediately"
Gregory frowned "why don't we all go together?"
"Hmmm...okay you and Sammy can go"
Gregory didn't bring up the suggestion again instead he said "the least we can do is pray for his safety"
They began to pray.

°•°•°•°•
Back in Pa Kenneth's compound, Osi was instructed to remain inside with Stevenson and the women while the leaders reasoned with the young men.

"Wait pastor..." He called pastor Bartholomew, halting him in his tracks as the man neared the gate. "Pastor..I really wish I could speak to them..I'm a youth pastor and I believe I'd know how to relate with them"
"Hmm..pastor that won't be such a good idea..please just remain here...see what they did to the European" he nodded towards Steve who sat with the women relaying his ordeal and showcasing his battle scars.
"Not to talk of someone they do not know at all...maybe later you could speak to them but not right now...too much tension"
"Okay, I understand...please do help me inform them about the communion service next tomorrow"
"Oh...no problem pastor, please remain inside"
Pastor Bartholomew went outside to join the three wise men, shutting the gate gently behind him.

"Pastor, I heard you say something about communion.."
Osi jerked when he heard the voice behind him. He didn't know when Steve had gotten so close to him.
"Yeah..yes..on Thursday we'd have a communion service"
"In the market square"
"No its supposed to be the church..but the market square might not be a bad idea I'd discourse it with my team and pastor Bartholomew."
"No problem I won't miss it"

They were silent for some minutes then Osi asked "how are you feeling, I know its quite painful to be attacked by people you've come to see as your family"

He shrugged casually "pastor I've spent my whole life studying history and culture..you don't get to where I am without studying human behaviour critically as well. Trust me it would take a lot to surprise me"
"Did you know Ozioma?" Osi asked directly
Stevenson didn't blink "Ozioma...who's that"
"The first girl that was murdered"
"Not really...I can hardly recall her face"

°•°•
Okudili was in a vibrant mood. He had hit the white fool the hardest and with the biggest stick and had been the fastest in chasing him down.
He wasn't paying any attention to the love and unity speech being broadcasted by Dé Nwachukwu at the moment.
His eyes caught a familiar jacket and he sauntered towards it with a frown on his face.

"One that does not know the meaning of the rattle of a snake would dance to the sound" he said as he watched the man with narrowed eyes.
Paul stood with his arms folded across his chest. He looked at the short man in disgust "I beg your pardon..?"
"You are always following Amara like fly follows the tail of a buffalo....better be careful"
Paul's eyes became dangerously red "what do you mean...what is your business with Amara?!"
Okudili looked like he was going to respond with a slap and Paul also looked like he was ready to fight but the voice of pastor Bartholomew caught their attention.
"The communion would come up the day after tomorrow...please let us endeavour to be present, its our obligation to break bread in remembrance of our Lord"

°•°•°•
The bargaining tool that had been used to calm the youths down was that the village dibia had been summoned. He was going to expose and/or afflict the killer. He was a powerful native man he would be able to help them.
And so they waited while Osi grew uncomfortable and wondered when he would be chanced to leave.

°•°•°•

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, then Ricin is released.
If someone swallows a significant amount of the poison, he or she would likely develop vomiting and diarrhea that may become bloody. Severe dehydration may be the result, followed by low blood pressure. Other signs or symptoms may include seizures, and blood in the urine. Within a few days, the person’s liver, spleen, and kidneys might stop working, and the person could die.
Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans.
It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid.
The devil wondered how it would dissolve in wine he suspected it would dissolve perfectly.
On Thursday he was going to find out. He had to take care of the tall obstacle.

Countrygirl:
You never update

Lol its still night na, 20 more mins
I dey smell antispam bot ban for this update sef

Tolezy001:
Dem Bleep up why dem go collect double red card

Bro the matter weak me

Smallville10:
bro you Are Very Good at this! Can I Add You On Facebook so We Can Talk

No problem bros tnx man

Frankenstein:
Please click, like and share my story at Sěun Osewa Flash Fiction challenge.

Thanks, people.

Souloho19, when is the next update?

Bro Chelsea just come disorganize my brain sha...
It should be ready by nyt fall

A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted
Because they are no more.
-Jer 31:15


°•°•°•
"The pastor found her body"
"What of her father?"
"He had a stroke and died when he heard"
"How did he hear?"
"No one knows"
"Why does God allow this kind of thing to happen?"
"Who is this demon?"
"Chimoooooooo!"

There were many questions plaguing the land of Amaife.
The double tragedy had shaken the villagers to the core. Chinaza had been their daughter. Beautiful and hardworking, she took care of her father and was known to be very serious minded and determined.
For her to be killed in such a gruesome manner had been almost to impossible to fathom.
When her father went into stroke and died few hours later, everyone lost it.

The women ran outside the streets, weeping and wailing, half naked and tearing their blouses and wrappers.

The young men held bamboo sticks, broke tree branches and marched round the village shouting. But there was no one to vent their frustration on. The devil was in their midst, not just a needle in a haystack but a unique kind of straw amidst the hay.

In Pa Kenneth's compound, there was plenty shaking of heads and sighs. The village was in a state of turmoil and it was up to them to find a solution.

Osi and pastor Bartholomew were present. Osi sat on a bench staring blankly at a lizard on the wall as the image kept on replaying in his head.
Pastor Bartholomew paced before a group of women. Their hairs were scattered their clothes were torn, their eyes swollen and their feet bare.
They sat on the floor. Some cried, some wailed, some cursed, some shouted incoherently while some just stared, looking lost into space.

They were the mothers of the victims. Three of them: Mama Ozioma, mama Uchechi and mama Chisom. They mostly stared into space, lost in their world of grief.
The remaining women had accompanied them, breaking off from the rest to join the march to their leaders.

Their leaders were clueless. Dé John had tried speaking parables after parables but had soon given up. He was as lost and as bitter as they were.

Pastor Bartholomew had done the talking, quoting scriptures and prayer points to calm the women. He paced, his bible in his hand and a painful look in his eye as he spoke.
He looked at Osi for backup but Osi was lost in his own world.

Someone tapped him on his shoulder causing his eyes to finally leave the lizard sunning on the wall.
It was Dé Nwachukwu.
He gestured with his head that Osi follow him outside.

°•°•
"You're pastor Osi aren't you?"
"Yes..yes I am"
Dé Nwachukwu shook his head sadly "as you can see we have a tragedy on our hands..its very unfortunate"
Osi nodded, that was the only reply he could think off.

"I know my people..they are getting more agitated by the second, they need someone to vent the anger but they can't...no one knows who is behind this..."
Osi nodded again, he didn't know what the old man was trying to say.
"The thing is..it would be better if you lay low...maybe if you leave, as a stranger you could become an easy target, the youths are frustrated things are escalating, there's just too much pressure"

Osi took a deep breath. "I understand sir, thank you for your thoughts..however I can't leave until he who brought me here tells me to leave"
Dé Nwachukwu looked surprised "pastor Bartholomew?"
"No...the pastor acted under a higher authority, I mean God sir...the God I serve"
Dé Nwachukwu shrugged indifferently. "This your God...anyway I'd advice you to be careful when mixing with the natives..you need to thread carefully"

°•°•°•°•
The girls conveyed in Dé Nwachukwu's compound. Oluchi and two other girls: mama and Ezinne as well as Joy and all her friends which numbered almost a dozen.

Amara and the three girls (Oluchi, Mama, Ezinne) sat in Dé Nwachukwu's favourite spot: under the pear tree while joy and her friends had gone inside the house.
"I can't believe Chinaza is dead" Oluchi said in disbelief.
"And her poor father...may who ever killed her never know peace" Ezinne said with much chagrin. She had been quite close to Chinaza.
"The thing is I saw her last night and Paul and I even walked her close to her home safely, I don't know why she went back" Amara said sadly
"Eeya..she used to like Paul, always asking about him all the time and telling me to greet him" Oluchi shook her head sadly "Paul hardly even remembered her, talkless of to ask about her!"
"Where is your brother by the way?" mama asked
"I think he's with the youths rioting in the market square" Oluchi replied.

Amara was still trying to recover from the shocking news of the death. But something her friend said made her frown. She couldn't put her hand on it at the moment, her mind was on poor Chinaza and her father. May they both rest in peace.

°•°•°•
Okudili smashed his bottle on a tree and joined the chanting. He tore his shirt from his body(which wasn't that difficult considering the material had low quality)
"Yeee! We no go go gree oo"
Benedict was seen as the youth leader, an unofficial title he carried because he had that leadership quality:in this case: strength, popularity and a penchant for violence.

He owned an abattoir in the market where he slaughtered and sold beef.
He had always liked Chinaza and even though she had turned down his advances, he had always given her extra chunks of beef whenever she passed by the slaughterhouse.

When the news of her death had spread, it had taken only minutes for him to round up young men in the market square. They would have destroyed some things, they felt like destroying everything they saw and they might have to, if it didn't belong to them and their parents.

"This killer must pay!"
"He must confess!"
"We no go gree o!"

Okudili joined them, the hot he had just swallowed burning down his lungs.
"My brothers...my people...think very well...we all know who this person is"
They all fell quiet as they looked at him.
"What is it? You drunkard...nobody has time for tricks, speak up or forever remain silent!" Benedict shouted. His eyes had a deadly gleam in them.
"This white man in our midst...the one everybody loves and respects so much...we never used to suffer this attacks before he joined us...I say it! I say that white 'baboon' is the killer!"

Everyone was silent..they all liked the man but Okudili had a point. Their chanting broke down as they looked to their leader for direction.
Benedict was heavily influenced by his emotions. Right now he was ready to consider any argument that even painted Pa Kenneth as the killer.

He hit the bamboo stick on the ground.
And started marching, shouting "we no go gree o..we no go gree...!
The dozens of young men followed him as adrenaline soared.
Okudili smiled when he realized they were going towards Steve's house.
Good.
He never liked the man.

°•°•°•°•
Osi held Dé Nwachukwu's hand when the old man tuned to reenter the compound.
"Sorry sir...if I may ask...was any piece of clothe found at the site of the other..the other girls?"

Dé Nwachukwu looked at him strangely but frowned as he thought hard.
"The very first girl to be killed had been blindfolded with this piece of rag...and there was some kind of clothe around the second girl also...but the third was found in the stream...wait why do you ask?"
"Hold on sir..you say the first girl was blindfolded?"
"Yes she was"
"Can you show me her mother in there? I want to ask her some questions"
Dé Nwachukwu looked at him strangely "are you sure that's a wise path to take? You could easily be viewed as the enemy"
"Please sir...I'd like to speak to her and pray for her, nothing more"
The truth was one didn't just wake up and start committing these kind of crimes out of nowhere. There have to be a tipping point, a stressor and Osi strongly believed the first victim could answer a lot of unasked questions.

°•°•°•
"The crusade is over you know that? Its spoilt..brought to an early end, at least we had a nice service last night" deacon Oforbuike complained as he attacked his lunch.
They were holed up in the house. The frightening shouts from outside had made the driver bolt the door.
"Samuel hope there's fuel in the bus? We leave first thing tomorrow" the deacon announced.
Bukky spoke up jumping to her feet "speak for yourself sir...I came here to make an impact and I'm not just going to jump and run when they need me the most"

"Hmmm...I'm writing a report about your attitude, all of you...the Reverend must hear of this lack of respect!" The deacon threatened as he pushed his empty plate away.
"The least we can do is wait two more days for the communion service" Gregory said helpfully trying to dampen the tension.
"Who are we to be making plans when our leader isn't with us?" Ovie asked.
"Pray, do tell me where your so called leader is?!" The deacon shouted.
"For God's sake he found a dead body today!"
Bukky shouted back.

The shouting continued, everyone was riled up. Everyone in Amaife was on the offensive and angry.Everyone.

And somewhere the devil smiled...

Lol oya lemme say the truth.
The devil is........













































Dé John

pls who is guruboi posting this story on waploaded is ur brain paining you

"That was a very powerful sermon Greg!" Osi gripped Gregory by the shoulders shaking him excitedly.
Greg laughed, shrugging modestly.

Osi turned around, he saw pastor Batholomew and called after him.
"Pastor..that your choir...the special number was on fire!"
Pastor Batholomew beamed with pride.
The service had drawn to a close at 9pm and everyone had left feeling refreshed. A certain kind of peace and calm had seemed to settle on the villagers as the overhead bulbs had illuminated the podium, the speakers pulsed with sound vibrations and the open sky afforded a view of countless beautiful stars whenever one looked up to the sky. For a minute, every thing had felt soo....so divine.
They had all left the service half an hour ago with the mentality: God is in town, the devil must flee..

Osi could hardly control his excitement, the crusade had started really well, he hadn't even realized the amount of tension he was in, or the amount of pressure he was under.

Few feet away, packing the chairs and taking down the speakers, his friends watched him talk to the Reverend.
"He's under too much stress" Bukky commented frowning.

"I agree, the weight of responsibility must be crushing his slender shoulders" the Deacon retorted. Not one to engage in the physical work, he stood a short distance away scrolling through his phone. He had overheard Bukky talking to Ovie and replied her.
Now he walked over menacingly and she fell silent.
"Can we hurry up and retire, we have a lot planned for tomorrow yet your leader seems to think the crusade has ended today"

Bukky continued folding the carpet and Ovie picked up the speaker he had been about to carry but he couldn't help it "sir..with all due respect your attitude towards us isn't right...I see no need for the hostility, we are a team. All of us"
"huh!" The deacon scoffed "I know how you young people are! someone has to keep you grounded all the time" he spat the words at Ovie's retreating back.

"So I'd meet you up for the evangelism tomorrow morning"
"No problem pastor..have a good night"
Osi shook hands with pastor Batholomew as the latter took his leave.

°•°•°•°•
Paul walked Amara back home that night. The sky was pregnant with stars and it just felt like a romantic night.
He took her hand in his.
"Hope you enjoyed the service?" He asked her
"Yes I did.." She gently removed her hands from his.
"Paul..." She began
"You know what...I think the weather is too cold for that shirt you have on" he interrupted her. Somehow he just knew where she was going and he didn't want to hear it. He removed his leather jacket and put it round her shoulders.

They continued the walk in silence, each of them lost in their thoughts. However, Amara's next question would be an indication of the region her thoughts had strayed.

"What did you think of the pastor?"
Paul blinked as he stared at her trying to clear his own thoughts. He had been going through different lines in his head trying to come up with one that would be perfect.
"Pastor....what pastor. Oh, the one that preached?"
"No..the first one that gave the opening talk"
"Oh..he's a pastor?"
"Yes"
He shrugged "Amara what do you have planned tomorrow?"

Amara looked at Paul and shook her head. She knew she had to make her thoughts clear towards him. They could only be friends, she wasn't ready for anything else. She was about to say something when she heard a noise- a rustle of leaves coming from the bushes she stopped, taking Paul's hand in hers and stopping him also.

Chinaza was a light skinned girl in her mid twenties. Friends was too strong a word to be used when describing she and Amara, they spoke to each other in the market square and whenever they saw but it was no deeper than that.

Now she emerged, carrying a log of firewood on her head.
"Chinaza, where to? Its too late to be out alone o"
She sighed "Amara, I had to get this firewood for something important..I need to prepare something overnight" she glanced at Paul "Paul....I heard you're back, welcome how was your journey"
"It was wonderful..long time Chinaza...how's your dad?"
She sighed, her eyes getting downcast "he's alright..."
An uncomfortable silence followed.
"Well...lemme be going, see you later Amara, Paul"
"Wait...why don't we walk with you till you get to your house path" Amara asked.
Chinaza was surprised "but its not along your own path"
"Don't worry I'll take the longer route, we have to look after ourselves and I'm sure Paul won't mind.
"Of course I won't..no problem" Paul spoke up hurriedly.

He led the way, walking slightly ahead of the girls while they talked.
But his shoulders seemed tensed. In fact Amara thought she could detect a little tension between Chinaza and Paul.

•°•°•°•
Osi and Gregory waited behind at the market square. The driver had carried the last batch of the chairs and carpet and instruments but the remaining space could only take three people.

Ovie equalled two already and Bukky was definitely the first choice, so Gregory and Osi had stayed behind, praying and thanking God for the service.

Just as Osi was finishing the grace, he felt a presence from the shadows. Behind a banana tree he saw a kind of movement, or was it his imagination?
He squinted hard pointing the flash light he held towards the direction.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Gregory asked
"Nothing, I thought I saw something?"
"Saw something?...who's there?!" Gregory called out.
"Relax..it must be an animal, no need to get worked up for nothing"

When Samuel returned, revving the engine of the bus and waiting for the pastors to get inside, Osi suddenly felt courageous to check out the tree from earlier. partly majorly due to the fact that the bright beam from the vehicle's headlights illuminated everywhere.

He pointed his touch behind the tree noticing nothing spectacular, just rubbish littered on the floor. A banana peel, an empty alcohol bottle, a cigarette butt and a basket of rotten tomatoes which must have been dumped by one of the market women. He decided that was probably what had attracted the animal, maybe a cat.
he directed the beam back to the bottle on the ground trying to remember where he had seen it before.
His phone rang breaking into his thoughts and causing him to jerk involuntarily: it was the reverend, from Port Harcourt. He answered the call and hurried towards the bus.
"Hello Reverend..."

°•°•°•
Chinaza's father was suffering severe arthritis. That was the formal medical term.
However it was rumoured that he had been afflicted by a dibia in the neighbouring village over a land dispute he had with his cousins from his mother side.

And truly, should one ever experience him shouting from pains and suffering from swelling of the joints that rendering him stiff and motionless, one would think the symptoms were too 'severe' to be severe arthritis.

Chinaza had been given the recipe and concocted a herb mixture every first few days of a week to last for two weeks. The procedure was stressful (she would have to boil a certain leave overnight, waking up at intervals to change firewood and pour the then coloured water into different jugs before refilling it) but whenever her father drank it, he seemed to feel better, the pains lessoned and he could sit up, talk easier and even stand.
She was the only child and the only one to look after her father as her mother was late. She performed her duties diligently, she couldn't bear to see her father in pain.

When she got home, after saying good bye to Amara and Paul, she hummed to herself as she thought of Paul, he had behaved so aloof..so indifferent...
She focused on the task at hand when she heard her father cry out in pain from his room. She arranged the massive pot, set the fire then put the leaves in the water.
She placed her hands on her hips, deep in thought as she studied the basin of water and then the log of firewood she had fetched. She knew she would need one more.

°•°•°•

The devil roamed in the night. He was an opportunistic offender, one that moved about looking for the right opportunity to strike. But lately he had been falling deeper into his horrible urges.
The interruption from earlier had left him feeling foul, he had been primed and ready, eager to strike then that man had shown up....that..that..
He kicked the sand in anger as he remembered the interruption.
He was tuned up and there was no way he could get tuned down...no...he had to hunt! He could lose his sanity(the irony) if he didn't get satisfied immediately. He walked round the village looking idly about but no such luck. He decided to head to the woods. It had worked for him before, if he could find any animal he would be fine. Bestiality had been a way out before, when the lust had been too much to bear. If not he knew he would make a mistake, slip up in public and he couldn't afford to let that happen...


°•°•°•°•
Amara knew her father would be waiting for her and she could tell he had been happy to see Paul bring her home. He even offered the extra room to Paul saying it was too late to move about but the young man declined his offer. He waved Amara goodnight with a smile and hailed Dé Nwachukwu with eulogies before taking his leave.
"Such a nice young man...he would make a fine son in law" her father commented as he shut the gate.
Amara rolled her eyes and went to bed.

°•°•°•
Chinaza walked the bushy path in the woods with her axe in hand. She couldn't help it as her mind drifted to the recent killings. The first girl had been her close friend.
But Chinaza was tough, she didn't grow up under the roof of a man like her father and end up soft.

She swung the axe with precision splitting the log. She wouldn't hesitate to use the axe in defending herself.
She stopped suddenly and listened....
Nothing...it was just the night.
She continued with her task.

°•°•°••°

The devil licked his lips as he watched her from the distance.
He knew he was going to have her


°•°•°•°
Chinaza was tying the logs with a piece of cloth when she heard a sound from behind.
She gripped the axe and turned sharply.

But then she relaxed when she saw him.
"Oh...I didn't expect to see you"
She relaxed the hold on her axe.

°•°•°•

The devil smiled...
"You shouldn't be out alone"

Countrygirl:
I think Steve is the devil

bakeuhappy:
I think Steve is the devil..

Castleberry:
Its either Steve or the drunkard.

Jazmiynne:
I'm almost certain its not Stevenson

Mobecs:
The devil could be Paul,

Maryclaire1:
everybody na suspect ooo

Damselbae:
Am suspecting everyone too

I'm soo loving this

meneski:
The devil is a bad guy... Dat am sure of.

Now this is very true

honourable356:
Souloho19 again with another double awesome update.. I take it that he didn't proof read it before posting.. so all grammatical and mis-spelt errors should be outrightly ignored.

No matter the delay, it is just worth the wait..
The updates always achieve what it was sent to achieve...
Your appetite would be unquenchable..
You will desire for more and more..
Every update is a hit..
With souloho19 on the wheel, you are on for one hell of an adventurous ride.
It is 100% guaranteed!


Hey countrygirl.... you ever read his first work?? I am sure you have!
It was not one you can easily predict especially whenever he is in his flow if I can recall accurately ... so think outside the box for a moment. probably another character could be introduced.

But...

You could still be right through as all direction point to Steve the white man.. In my opinion, the drunkard is out of the equation(i could still be wrong, you know?)

However having read delay diagonised carefully.. enjoying the intruges , I refused to take the bait here..

I think we all need more clues....to know who the so called devil is.

Ladies and gentlemen.. enjoy the fun!

Lool, thanks boss you're a wonderful person.
As for the devil...(evil laugh)
It could be Osi himself..who knows..

stephenGee12:
Abeg wu don see adesina12
Meneski, cyber5, alamiendagash, souloho19, creeza

Brotherly I full ground o