Written by Chibuzor Iwobi (@JeSuisChiby)
I stood still out of fear, so still I could have been mistaken for dead. I couldn’t muster enough courage to take another look at the heads, praying this horrid dream would be all over.
“Mo…th…er,” I barely made a sound.
The psychotic man stood there like he was expecting an invite into my home. There was splatter of blood on his face which he later smeared all over. He stared at me with so much evil intent that I felt his eye gaze at my soul trying to rip out whatever essence I had left. His white kaftan was stained with blood, in a weird way looking artistic. His tobacco stained teeth were on display as he kept a smile that instilled more fear.
Sam had taken to her heels pulling my right arm in the process bringing me back to my senses. I hurriedly shot the door but he stuck his left foot and pushed the door ajar.
“Let’s make this fun, for me at least,” He said, “RUN!”
And I did, running only to find myself backed into a corner in the kitchen.
“Run all you want kid,” He shouted, “Run like your mother ran all those years.”
Finding myself in such a situation meant I had to man up; Kill or get killed and the latter wasn’t an option. I selected two of the sharpest knives in my kitchen and prepared myself for a do or die battle. After 30 seconds when I was a bit calmer, I realized I was all alone, which wasn’t supposed to be.
“Fuck! Where’s Sam?” I asked myself.
Suddenly, there was an ear deafening scream.
“SAM!” I shouted, at the top of my voice.
She’s upstairs, shit! In a hurry, I ran to her rescue climbing the stairs frantically. I gripped the knives harder ready to thrust him a billion times. My race on the stairs seemed to take forever, hearing Sam’s cry. On top of the stairs, the horror my eyes saw, I wasn’t in no way ready. Sam was pinned against the wall with his left hand on her throat and his right hand fist pounding her face.
The clanging sound from dropping the knives got his attention. He took a ten second break from his pounding but didn’t take his eyes off her, not moving either.
“No!!!” I screamed, “Get the fuck away from her.”
At the sound of my voice, he resumed bashing her face like she was nothing, laughing in a bid to infuriate me. Seeing the damage to Sam sickened me. I picked up my knives and ran towards him in an attempt to save her then I stopped myself. My brain took over control of my body from my heart. The word, survival, clouded my thoughts and before I knew it, I was going down the stairs.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” I whispered under my breath.
An avenue for my escape opened up, It was either Sam’s or my life. I did the right thing, she’s already dead, I thought, making excuses for my cowardice. With the knives still in my hands, I ran out of my home and into my car. I turned the keys in the ignition but it didn’t start. Two more failed attempts led me to inspect my bonnet; My battery had been sabotaged.
“Fucking bastard!” I screamed.
I noticed the bloody mess that was at my gate. My security guard was dead and there was another body I didn’t seem to recognize. I moved closer, seeing the police uniform startled me.
Police? Did Alfred send him? Omg! Alfred! I tossed the knives away and quickly brought out my phone from my pocket. I dialed Alfred’s number.
“James!” He answered, “I’ve been trying your-”
“He’s here, Alfred. I’m going to die.”
“You and Sam should get out of there,” He replied, “I’m almost th-”
A loud crash caught me by surprise making me fall on my back landing on my security guard’s lifeless body. My phone fell out of my hand but I didn’t pick it up, I was more interested in finding out what caused the crash.
“James! James!” I heard Alfred’s voice like a loud whisper coming from my phone’s receiver.
Slowly, I picked myself up not minding the blood I had just fallen in. I crept to my car and saw a hand stretched out. Each second, I got a step closer and found out what caused the crash was Sam.
“Oh my God!” I gasped.
That beautiful face was now a bloody pulp, barely alive. I was filled with pain and guilt as I held her hand, crying and begging forgiveness.
“Run,” Her lips mouthed.
Her failed attempt to grip my fingers broke my heart further.
“I shouldn’t have,” I cried, “It’s all my fault.”
I fell on my butt sobbing like a child forgetting he was still around.
“James!” He shouted, waiting until I looked at him.
I shot up immediately, my red eyes looked in the direction of his voice. His white kaftan was a canvas a child had spilled red color paint on. He stood at the window smiling knowing he had gotten my attention.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” He asked.
“Fuck you!” I cried, “I’ll kill you, I swear. Come down now!!”
“Relax, kid. Don’t hurry to your death,” He replied.
I went in search of the knives and took my stance, “I’ll rip your fucking throat out.”
“Thank you, James,” He ignored my rants, “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long long time. My obsession with your mum gave me minimal time to do anything. But, James, you are the MVP, the host of this beautifully tragic night. You didn’t only gift me her on a platter of gold but your numerous girlfriends and for this you will witness Omniscience.”
He noticed I was raging aggressively.
“Calm down, son, enjoy your last moments,” He chuckled and continued, “I’m sorry. Where are my manners? You just lost your mother, again.”
He let out a disgusting loud laugh and licked his fingers.
“I see, she tastes good,” He laughed again, “I’ll be down in a minute. I’ll put you out of your misery.”
My blood had boiled hot, I wasn’t thinking straight and I couldn’t even if I wanted.
“James, he may have already gotten to her. Don’t go.”
My mother’s words echoed in my head. I fought hard to avoid being emotional because I couldn’t help but feel guilty for my mother’s death, Sam’s, Tina’s and Temi’s. Consumed by my emotions, I didn’t realize when he was in my front dispossessing me of my knives by tossing them aside like I did earlier. The realization of my sudden disadvantage caught me off guard and before I could react, two jabs, left and right, were planted on my face and I staggered.
“She put up more of a fight. Tell me again, who was the man in the relationship, I mean her name is Sam, sorry…..was,” He teased in an attempt to get me riled up which obviously worked.
Again, I was filled with rage and attacked him head on without thinking. He dodged my feebly attempt to hurt him, grabbed me by the throat and smashed my head into the gate, twice. I groaned hard.
“Stay down son,” He said, “I’m not in a hurry to kill you, again. There’s something I need to tell you.”
I tried to get up but he kicked me hard in the chest.
“But, you’ll be dead before your boy Alfred comes.”
My eyes shot wide.
“You think I haven’t been watching you? What did you think the police was going to do? Stop me?Catch me? I’m a ghost, kid.”
My phone rang, the caller ID displayed Alfred.
“Speak of the devil,” He said.
He smashed the phone and repeatedly kicked me in the stomach. I cried out in pain.
“I had a dilemma: to use you or your sister. I obviously made the right decision. You see, I’m a nice guy, a really nice one but I am misunderstood, so, I will get your sister, Absiola. Her name is Abisola, right? I will get her to join you and your mother. What a family reunion!”
“Leave her out of this?” I groaned.
“How mighty selfish of you,” He replied. “You want to have all the fun.”
He grabbed me by my shirt pulling me to my feet. First, he landed a punch to my already bruised stomach followed by punches to my face, kneed me in the stomach and pulled me closer which made me cough blood onto his face. He let out an evil grin. I saw the excitement on his face. Blood, Anger, Death, Fear, they all invigorated him.
In my defence, I brought a pen out from my pocket and drove it right through his arm. He winced and released his grip making me fall to the ground. I tried to move but my body failed me in my dire time of need. So, it seemed after my first act of courage all night, I waited for him to batter me again. It was more obvious than ever, I wasn’t going to see the sun rise up again but this wasn’t how I dreamed It would end for me. Thinking of a possible future, in a way, felt like I was reminiscing; three kids – Two boys and a girl, my lovely wife, possibly Sam. A family I would love so much to the bone. With that thought, I unfortunately reminded myself Sam was dead turning my dream to a bloody nightmare.
He giggled as he pulled out the pen from his arm. He really was enjoying the moment and In quick successions, he landed five blinding blows to my face, breaking my nose and jaw. The punches left me with deep cuts and also broken teeth, covering my face with blood
“Pathetic!” He shouted.
The generator noises in the neighborhood provided the perfect cover for him. The crash on my car, bangs on the gate, screams, I doubt they were all heard. So, I didn’t anticipate anyone coming to my rescue. I resigned my fate into the hands of a psycho mass murderer.
“You’re so pathetic!” He cried, spat on me and continued, “You don’t deserve to be her son.”
That angered me, I felt a surging burst of energy. I retaliated, although weaker, I landed a couple of punches on him managing to do a little damage.
“Don’t you dare speak of my mother,” I cried, landing a blow after each word.
His nose was broken and there was a cut on his lip. Unfortunately, that burst of energy dissipated fast and before I could life my hand again, he struck me hard on the face, using his right foot to sweep me off the ground. I was on my back once again. He stood over me.
“You’re so pathetic, you don’t deserve to die,” He said, “You don’t deserve to witness omniscience.”
“F-fu…” I coughed, “f-f-fuck you,”
“You know,” He wiped his bloody hands on his already blood stained kaftan, “I only wanted your mother. I never wanted you, Temi, Tina, Sam and everybody else I’ve killed to get here tonight.”
His hausa accent making his pronunciation a little off.
“I only wanted her,” He continued. “But you amused me. You live a funny life. I always wondered why Tina put up with your shit. You treated her bad, cause you didn’t really love her, did you?”
He waited for a response and smiled.
“Never mind, no need to answer that. I hope you can have the balls to face her when I send you there.”
He laughed. I wanted to say something but every time I tried to talk I groaned with so much pain. A hand was on my stomach as if nursing my bruise, breathing was difficult for me and at irregular intervals, I spat blood out of my mouth. All I could do was lay back and enjoy his show.
“Your mother deserved more than that. She didn’t deserve to die like a goat,” He paused, for a moment, turning his back at me and not saying a word. The generators were making a noise, an awful one at that but I enjoyed his silence. It was weird that he shut up all of a sudden, and to my surprise, when I listened properly, he was sobbing. I couldn’t believe it!
“You made me disregard her,” He shouted, facing me and pointing a finger at me like a child.
Despite the pain, I laughed out loud, hysterically. Unbelievable!
“Don’t you dare laugh at me!” He flipped.
He walked to the gate banging his head on it.
“Don’t laugh at me,” He shouted again.
“Now, who is pathetic?” I asked
The banging stopped and he laughed. He walked back and stood over. His actions frightened me, one second he was losing it and the next he was laughing. He indeed was psychotic. Alfred, where are you.
“I loved your mother. I loved her so much, much more than your dad ever did.” He continued.
“Shut up,” I shouted, causing me to groan. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re saying. M-my father loved her!”
He laughed.
“You don’t know do you,” He laughed again, “You never wondered how I got your mother in the first place?”
“You…. you took her… you wrote it down-”
“Half Truth!” He laughed again, “You see, let me let you in on a little secret. Your father,” He paused, for dramatic effect and continue, “Was a cheating bastard.”
“Say one more word and I’ll kill you,” I yelled.
“He beat her, treated her like a piece of like you do. Like father like son.”
“I’ll fucking kill you!”
“She had bruises all over. Your bastard of a father violated your beautiful mother,” He screamed angrily, stomping my chest.
My chest burned as I writhed in pains. Breathing was nearly impossible. My rib cage felt compressed. Alfred, where are you? I’m going to die.
“Go to hell,” I whispered.
“I wanted to kill him, your father,” He said, ignoring me. “That monster of a man.”
The irony, I thought.
He took a deep breath and exhaled, “Like I said, I’m a nice guy, just simply misunderstood. There was no way I would let you and Abisola be orphans.”
He knelt down by my side, bringing his mouth close to my right ear.
“Yes, yes. It was me. I caused the accident,” He whispered, achieving the dramatic effect he wanted. “I made him feel the pain he gave your mother all those years.”
“You tell lies about my father so easily,” I said.
“Lies?” He replied. “I have proof for you.”
He got up and rubbed his palms together.
“Remember your Aunt Emem?” A wide smile slapped across his face.
And then it hit me, I had caught my father in very awkward situations with with my Aunt Emem. I was too little to understand but now I did.
“She was always around comforting your father,” He continued. “I saw them, I watched them. Your mother told me she noticed certain things after I made my revelation to her. So, she begged me to get rid of her.”
“My mother wouldn’t have,” I said, defending her honor.
“But you never knew your mother, did you?” He asked.
.
He gave himself a minute to calm his nerves, walked into the house and returned with my mother’s head.
“I loved your mother, James. I did. I would have been your father,” He smiled excessively, “You would have called me dad.”
He planted a kiss on her dead lips.
“God…f-forbid,” I spat on the floor,” I’ll rather die,”
He smiled, “Be careful with what you wish for.”
He stepped away to were the dead security and police man were and returned with my knives.
“As you were saying?” He asked.
With the knives in his hands, he crouched beside me and for a moment I saw a pair of black wings appear. The angel of death. Using a knife, he carved the letter X on my body.
“X marks the spot,” He said
He drove the knife right through the X mark
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” I cried.
He held the back of my my head and whispered into my ears,
“Tell your mother I said Hi.”
Using both knifes, he thrust my stomach simultaneously and with every thrust, my body jerked and jerked with less energy.
“James! Sam!” A voice shouted from afar. It was Alfred’s. His voice was almost being swallowed by the blaring sounds of police sirens.
“Alfred,” I could barely whisper.
I could feel life depart from my body. A white light shined bright ahead. Two figures stood in the light. This is heaven, they must be angels, I thought. They walked towards me and a hand stretched forward to me.
“James,” a feminine voice called, “Take my hand.”
As I was being pulled into the white light, I found peace within myself. I caught a glimpse of her face.
“Mother, is that you?” A tear drop ran down my cheek.
The second figure said, “James, let’s go baby. Join me on the other side, to be together forever.”
“Sam? Sam! Oh my baby. I’m so sorry,” I cried.
This must be the omniscience he spoke of. He was right, He isn’t insane.
“James!” Alfred continued to shout.
Alfred ran into my compound and almost lost his footing when he saw the blood that welcomed him at the gate. Alfred exhaled deeply followed by the sign of the cross when he saw his dead young officer. He gasped and threw his hands over his mouth once in saw what was left of Sam.
“Oh No!” He shouted, with so much pain in his voice. “I’m late.”
Once he spotted me, he ran to me, lifted me into his arms and hurried to place me into his car. While police officers searched my home for the psychotic man, Alfred drove frantically trying to figure out the best route to the hospital.
“Hold on James! I’m going to get you some help, okay?! Don’t sleep man! I’m right here!”
All Alfred heard in response was a slight moan and the sound of blood gurgling from my mouth. I sounded almost lifeless. I was losing control of my body, feeling numb. Alfred pulled into the ambulance parking for the emergency wing of George’s Memorial Medical Centre and almost ran over a nurse on her smoking break in the process.
Alfred ran around to the other side of the car and screamed,
“Nurse! Get me a gurney. He’s bleeding out!”
Alfred opened the rear door on the right and I was placed on a gurney. Alfred held my hands as I was wheeled into the hospital.
“Stay with me James, stay with me,” Alfred cried.
Written by Chibuzor Iwobi (@JeSuisChiby)
Edited by; Gbadebo (@Oaa148) and Oladoyin (@Miss_Ola_D)
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