A PLACE OF TERROR Episode 2 – Blessing-Enejo Abrahams Elleywrites
…Okpa’s flung his torchlight into the air as soon as we saw the image, and then we struggled to enter back into our room cos we actually wanted to force ourselves in at the same time despite the fact that the whole place was very dark we still found our way to the entrance, and the entrance wasn’t so wide to allow us passage. We finally did after applying so much force and I slammed the door all of a sudden as soon as we made it in and then we clung to each other again.
“Yeee! I’m dead ooo!! Ah who sent me here!!!?” Dare lamented but Okpa’s despite the darkness was still able to trace his mouth using his voice and then covered it.
“Shut up! Shut up please!!” Okpa’s r@ged in a low tone.
We were all there trembling as we held each other so tight and rubbing our sweats on each other at the same time.
Then I felt something climb my leg, I slammed my leg on the floor all of a sudden holding both of them in a very tight grip.
“Jesus! Jesus!!” I screamed dragging both of them to another corner of the room.
“What is it?! What is that?!” Okpa’s questioned gripping my hand so tight.
“Snake! Snake!!” I let out still slamming my both legs on the floor.
“Mummy! Mummy!!” Dare cried out all of a sudden struggling to climb my back despite the darkness in the room.
“Who is that? Shut up! Please both of you calm down, just calm down” Okpa’s whispered with his trembling hand still gripped to mine.
We obeyed but I didn’t stop slamming my legs on the floor. When Dare was not able to climb my back he hugged me tightly instead and I felt drops of water on my right leg immediately. That startled me again and I lost balance and was going to fall down when Okpa’s held me up all of a sudden. We remained so till dawn. It was in the morning we found out that what I had actually felt on my leg was Dare’s urine.
As soon as it was dawn we packed our bags hurriedly and then dashed out of the room. We reached the main road and saw a middle aged woman carrying a polythene bag and walking towards us on the other side of the road.
“Good day ma. Please ma can you show us the way to the secretariat?” I asked looking at her.
“The secretariat?” she asked with keen interest running her eyes through my body.
Blessing-Enejo Abrahams Elleywrites
“Yes ma” we all chorused.
“Over there. Just follow that path over there, you will find a cemetery. Follow the path beside it down you will find the secretariat by the right ” she said.
We turned swiftly to look at each other as soon as we heard that.
“Hope everything is ok?” she questioned.
“Yes ma” we chorused and then picked up our bags without hesitation and we proceeded to the seceetariat.
As soon as we reached the path to the cemetery we felt this coldness and goosebumps all over our bodies. Okpa’s paused all of a sudden.
“What kind of a place is this? I don’t like how I’m feeling” he said.
“Me too o. Guys I’m so sc@red aswear. I don’t think I can pass through this place with you guys” Dare let out looking around.
“Will you stay behind then?” Okpa’s questioned.
“Stay behind? Stay behind where? I can’t o”
Dare let out already clinging to me.
“Guy shift now, stay on your own first you’re not a woman” I lashed.
We finally summoned courage, passed through and then we arrived at the secretariat. We met with the state coordinator and after explaining to him all that had happened, we then told him we needed a relocation and he promised to do something about it but after three months.
“Three months?” we exclaimed and he nodded.
“Stay in this dunge0n for three months? How sure are we that we are still going to be alive by then if we stay here? ” I questioned rhetorically with popped eyes.
“There’s nothing I can do I’m afra!d” the state coordinator said leaning his back on his chair with a hand on his jaw with his gaze fixed on us.
“You mean we should go back to the corpers lodge?” Okpa’s questioned.
“Yes for now, till I think of what to do ” he let out.
” It’s not a do or d!e affair, I’m done with this youth service thing. I just want to go back home” Dare said busting into tears.
“Go back home? That’s not possible” the state coordinator let out.
“Why?” I questioned.
He sighed.
” This is Ekpo, the land without exit route” he said with his hands on his desk.
We turned swiftly and looked at each other.
“We don’t understand” Okpa’s said with curiosity.
He let out a deep sigh again.
“Look, you will soon get to understand what I mean. I will do something about your accommodation but as for the relocation, it’s takes a while” he said.
“Today?” I queried.
“Yes, later today” he said.
Okpa’s and i looked at each other and then we nodded but only Dare looked away.
On our way back before the cemetery, we felt this coldness again and then we doubled our pace.
As soon as we passed we noticed this young lady walking towards us with hands glued to her body and her gaze fixed into the air like an angry ghost.
“Guys , guys, leave the road” Okpa’s whispered and then we moved to the side of the road clinging to each other with our heads down.
The lady passed us with her gaze still in the air without even noticing us and as soon as she did, we heard a voice all of a sudden from nowhere.
“Eniola!” the voice called.
We turned and looked at each other.
“Eniola!” we heard again and then we took to our heels forgetting our bags.
Our bags were later brought to us by one of the guys in the village who refused answering all the questions we threw at him.
Few hours later we couldn’t go out. We were all famished but didn’t have the nerves to do so. We were in our room waiting to hear from the state coordinator when we suddenly heard a knock. We jerked up grabbing our bags thinking it was the state coordinator but lo and behold, they were two new corp members.
After exchanging plesantries we introduced ourselves, one was Osas and the other Pius. We narrated all that had happened the previous night and how we were waiting for the coordinator before they came but Osas busted into laughter all of a sudden.
“What’s funny here?” Okpa’s questioned rolling his eyes while Dare sat hugging his bag and looking out the window. He wasn’t even interested in the conversation.
“Na that small thing una just dey fear like that wey una pack bags front and back (Did you guys pack your bags cos of that little occurrence)?”
Dare turned swiftly as soon as he heard that.
“Terminator! If you were here last night you would have understood better” he let out.
“Heaven nor dey fall, las las we go dey ok (Nothing is going to happen, we are all going to be ok)” Osas said rubbing his chest but Dare looked at him from head to toe and then h!ssed.
We waited long hours for the state coordinator but he didn’t show up and it was already past 7pm. We didn’t have food or water. Osas who had taken a stroll against our warnings finally arrived, unpacked his bag and then brought out a stove.
“As for me, I have taken few wraps of ganja (hem-p) already and I’m alright. But it’s not nice seeing you guys this way. I brought rice and ingredients, let me make food for you guys.”
“Thank you but I swear we are not hungry” I said.
“I’m so sc@red. How are we going to pass the night in this room? My heart beat is gradually increasing already” I said.
“Swears I’m confused. I’m trembl!ng in fear already. I wish there was something to take to just sleep off and wake up the next day. I just want to go home” Dare lamented.
As soon as Osas heard that he smiled broadly.
“That’s what I’m talking about. Let me add some ganja for you guys and you’ll forget your sorr0ws and s@dness. You’ll not only sleep off and wake up by morning, you’ll end up so strong and feeling ok” said Osas
“Serious? Please I’m interested” Pius said.
“Me too” said Dare
“I think I’m interested too. I don’t want to be awake when that little girl comes selling jollof rice again tonight” Okpa’s said but I kept mute.
Osas looked at me.
“Bros, how far? (What’s up) Yay or Nay?” he questioned.
“Nay” I said
“Really?” Okpa’s questioned and I nodded.
Osas made dinner alone outside the compound without fe@r. He brought it inside the house and everyone rushed up and picked up a soon but I refused. Pius later gave me some biscuits and that was it for that night. They all slept off in no time like log of woods snoring like toads while I was the only one finding it difficult to sleep. I covered myself from head down with the wrapper my mom had given me and after like an hour, I started to hear strange sounds like that of a cat. I clung to the next person beside me as my body began to shiver.
Then all of a sudden, something landed in our room like a big bird.
“Jesus!” I muttered, trembling and peeping through a little space from under the wrapper but the room was quite dark, Osas left his torchlight on but under the pillow.
The image changed to an old woman tying a black wrapper on her chest with long hairs, paraded the room and then paused.
My heart was nearly in my mouth. I thought of screaming but no. She stood there for almost 30 minutes watching us and then she later dis@peared. I tapped the next person to me but all were busy snoring. I was awake till dawn.
The next morning we got up to find Pius’s body dangling from the ceiling with bl00d gushing out of his mouth…
#OpraDre A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR A PLACE OF TERROR PLACE OF TERROR PLACE OF TERROR PLACE OF TERROR
To be continued!
