THE EVIL TEDDY Episode 10 – The Mystery Man
“Mum stop kidding me .” Lilley said smiling and crying at the same time . “Come and feel my stomach .” Jessica said , Lilley put her hand near her mother’s navel ,she could feel the little legs kicking inside .
“It’s true mommy ?” Lilley said looking at Jessica in the face, her mother nodded , Lilley threw her hands around her mothers waist , and wept so hard ,until her mum got confused. “Why are you still crying?” Jessica asked Lilley plucking her arms from around her waist .”Mummy it’s like am dreaming, it’s hard to believe that you’re finally pregnant .”Lilley said , Jessica bent next to her ” You’re going to be a big sister , so stop crying.” Jessica said ,Lilley nodded ,Jessica kissed her forehead, Lilley embraced her mother and refused to let her go .
Lilley became a bodyguard for her mother not letting her lift a pin, she chaperoned her mother all around ,she couldn’t take Eddie with her, whenever she decided to sleep in her mother’s room, she would take Bestie, that really displeased Eddie .
Jessica was in bed sleeping, when felt a presence around her , Michael had traveled to Japan , to import finalize the import of various Toyota cars , for his Port Harcourt ,Lagos and Abuja dealership.
She woke up ,Eddie was standing beside her bed , by her back with red blazing eyes , it’s claws were drawn out , and ready to tear her into shreds,Jessica jumped out of bed ,Lilley sleeping next to her, she turned on the light and Eddie was gone .
Lilley was soundly sleeping with Bestie under her arms , Jessica kept down and said some prayers before returning back to sleep .
They woke up the next morning to a trashed kitchen , the stew the chefs had prepared the previous day was poured on the floor ,the whole ceramic plates were broken to pieces .
Surprisingly the next morning Rachel Lilley’s new Nanny quit, Jessica tried to know why she suddenly wanted to leave the house , the lady couldn’t retell the horror she had experienced the night before .
When Eddie was done trashing the kitchen , he branched into her room and gave her a good beating , apart from the red menacing eyes that bore a hole through her soul , it’s sharp claws sank into her skin , as it tore it open , her bed was soaked with blood .
Lilley helped her mother and the chefs to clear out the broken plates and pots from the kitchen . “Be careful Lilley so your hands don’t get cut by those glasses.” Jessica said ,Lilley couldn’t stand by to watch her pregnant mother work .
“Okay mum I’ll be careful.”Lilley said , she had left Lilley on her bed , after taking her bath , when they finished cleaning the house , she went upstairs to get Lilley the black Barbie doll was lying on the ground , it’s head had been ripped off , the body shredded into several pieces .
“Mummy ! Mummy see what they did to Bestie.” Lilley said sobbing . “Who would do such ?” Jessica asked confused “could Rachel had done it before leaving ?” she wondered .
“Please baby don’t cry , we’ll get you a replacement.” Jessica said,at this point Lilley broke into an acrimonious wailing .
“Mum I don’t want another Barbie I want my Bestie.” Lilley wept . “Please baby I’ll call your dad to get you another black barbie, when he stops by at Uncle Rays place in the US .” Jessica said , Lilley was not having it .
“Mummy I want my Bestie!”Lilley wept .
“Shut up Lilley! Shut up for the love of God! Why are you so selfish? You wouldn’t listen to anyone, you stressed Paula until she left! You cannot Change ! those stupid dolls that you keep talking to , don’t you think you’re too old for that? Your dad won’t replace the barbie, if you disturb me , I’ll take away your toys!” Jessica yelled at Lilley , she ran up the stairs wailing.
She was in bed crying , she began to hear a deep masculine voice laughing, it sounded as if it came from Eddie , but when she looked at it , the Teddy was inanimate , it lay by her bed .
Lilley slept early that evening without food , Eddie got up from the bed , it walked out of the dark room , quietly opening Lilley’s door ,it made tweaky sound , it walked down the long and dark corridor , then went down the stairs .
It gazed at Jessica she was sitting in front of the big flat screen television,watching African gospel songs , Eddie came and stood right behind her , red eyes blazing, when Jessica turned to see who it was that was standing behind her , she couldn’t find anyone .
The chefs were busy making new stew , when Eddie Appeared with a big grin on his face ,chef Johnson saw Eddie standing before him , with red blazing eyes , he was frozen with fear , he tapped his colleague.
“Frances see , Frances see.” He held chef Frances hand and pointed to the door way where Eddie was standing , but the brown Teddy bear Was no longer there .
“What is it Johnson ?” Frances asked . “did you not see Lilley’s Teddy bear ? it was standing there , staring angrily at us .” Johnson said , shaken he had never experience a thing like that in his life .
“That Igbo you have been smoking is what is causing you this hallucination, stop to smoke your head cannot carry it , you said no , now see your life.” Frances scolded his colleague , Johnson didn’t take his colleague’s sly remark lightly.
“What kind of nonsense talk Frances? Is it today That I started taking Igbo that I won’t know what I saw ?” Johnson barked . “Do I know what they mixed in the one you took , can you hear yourself ? like Martha And Paula, Teddy did this and that , Oga leave Igbo!” Frances said , Johnson suddenly went quiet ,he could see Eddie walking towards him when Frances turned his back , he opened his mouth to call his colleague but decided to keep quiet, because the teddy would run if he spoke , he tried to grab the teddy .
Behind its back Eddie had a sharp knife it had taken from the kitchen table . “You want to grab me ?” Eddie said , Johnson’s eyes were focused on the teddy. He tried to run away when he saw the glittering knife , it sank into his lap , Eddie opened its jaws to laugh at Johnson scream in pains,He pushed Eddie with all the force in his arms , the teddy bear fell beside the door , it got up ran away from the kitchen before Frances could turn to it .
Johnson’s white trousers and shirt were all soaked in blood , his screams made Jessica run into the kitchen , the young man was writhing in pains , blood had covered the floor around me .
“What happened here?” Jessica asked ,Johnson was in too much pains to talk . “Take me to hospital oh madam I don’t want to die oh .” Johnson cried . “Talk to me Frances what happened here?” Jessica yelled.
“Mama I don’t know I turned my back I don’t know how he got injured.” Frances said . “Please call Innocent so you can rush with him to the hospital.” Jessica instructed .
“Madam it’s Eddie oh, Eddie attacked me oh.” Johnson said crying, from the intense pains . “Eddie as in Lilley’s stuff toy or another Eddie ?” Jessica asked , Johnson couldn’t answer the question . “Madam don’t mind this boy, I’ve told him to stop smoking igbo, but he would never listen. Igbo is dealing with him .” Frances chided Johnson.
“Madam it’s not Igbo oh! That your daughter’s toy is the devil oh! Eddie attacked me with the knife.” Johnson cried rolling on the ground , Jessica stood confused, she didn’t know who to believe, Frances told her not to worry , that he thought Johnson stabbed himself .
“Please call innocent to take him to the hospital, He’s bleeding.”Jessica instructed.
Frances called the driver, they helped Johnson into the car , after tying his lap to stop the bleeding , it was at around ten P.M when the black Land cruiser left the compound, Jessica went back into the house to clean the blood that spilled over the kitchen floor .
She couldn’t see Eddie he was standing in a dark corridor, Jessica was frozen when before her eyes the iron Bucket she had brought to wash the blood on the tiled floor , began to move on its own accord , the plates that chef Frances had replaced that morning flew off the shelves and crashed unto the tiled ground as if somebody had thrown it , the light on the house began to twinkle, going off and on indiscriminately, Jessica dropped the bucket and mop , she ran upstairs to grab her bible.
“The Lord is my portion I shall not want , he makes me to lie down in green pastures , even though I walk through the shadows of death I shall fear no evil for though at with me…” There was a loud screech on the corridor , the heavy metal door began to bang , close themselves and open violently, the like continued tripping off and on .
“Jesus Christ Jesus Christ!” Jessica cried glueing her Bible to her chest , she ran into Lilley’s room and woke her up , Eddie was lying on the bed .
Lilley felt the negative energy in the house , she saw the pale white girl , lurking in the dark corridor she pointed her out to her mother, Jessica took Lilley into her bedroom and locked the door , the house became quiet for a while,then the doors began to tremble under intense force. the doors shook so hard until their hinges came off .
“Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!’ Jessica cried,Lilley wrapped her arms around her mother. “The child in your womb it shall die!You cannot use me and dump me !” The white spectre said before melting into the night ,the doors began to shut themselves one after the other.
“Lilley we cannot sleep here tonight , we need to go to the hotel , until your dad comes back.” Jessica said after the house had become quiet , she went with Lilley into her room to gather some of her clothes, in the horror Jessica didn’t see Lilley take Eddie with them , she got into the car and they drove out of the mansion .
”Please babe you have to take the next flight to Nigeria.” Jessica said over the phone when her husband picked her call .
“What’s the issue babe , I am on the other part of the world? Are you okay? Is the baby okay? Is Lilley alright?” Michael asked. “Baby just get on the next available flight come back to Nigeria ,we were attacked by something evil , something…”She said .
”Jesus attacked ? babe by what ? Hope you’re not harmed?” He asked with dried lips.
“We are okay for now , just come back home , we’re going to lodge into a hotel now , we can’t stay in that house .” Jessica said and hung up the call .