Purified Tomorrow: The Mad Awakening - Episode 8

 

 Richard watched the cars behind him perform their act of deceit as they tried to move in opposite direction. He stopped the car abruptly and reversed with such speed that woman screamed and clutched the sides of the chair.
'Who are you?' The woman yelled as she sat as if the chair was a doorway into a safe haven.
'I should ask you', he said with a big grin on his face. 'You came out of nowhere, pursued by some dangerous people and you didn't come to anybody, you came to the best PI in town'.
'A PI? What's that? Pie chart?'
 'Private investigator, woman . Don't you watch movies at all? Those things are meant to teach you things like this'.
'So I will watch movies in this era if you don't Please, don't kill me before they do', she yelled as he spun the wheel. 'Drive this thing carefully'.
'So what brought you here?'
'Go. Go. When we are somewhere safe', the woman shouted as she firmly gripped the seat.
'From what I'm seeing', Richard said as he watched other cars join them on the road. 'These people are after something big. Whatever information you have must be very big. They would never make you get to anywhere safe

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/purified-tomorrow-the-mad-awakening

. Well Unless I do'.
'I don't have any information. It was my Gabriel that did'.
'Gabriel who? Oh God', Richard said as he glanced into the rearview mirror. Whoever was after the woman had a lot of influence. They seemed to know where to go.  He drove into the dark and stopped at the edge of a forest. 
'Come down', he shouted as he saw the headlights of the numerous cars. He was surprised at the way they had increased within a few minutes. If he was a member of that team, his heart would literally burst from excitement. The funniest part was that they weren't acting like those ones that came after him at first. These ones were daring and didn't seem to care about the consequences. The drones were soon humming above him, and he knew he had been made.
 A red light played on the woman's chest. 'Get down', Richard screamed as he flew on her. She yelled as they both crumbled on the floor just as a gunshot hit the tree near them. He had never had such encounter as that. Laying on a woman. It felt... He shook his head. That was it; his claim was just proven right; having sex with a woman would ruin every little chance he had of thinking straight. A gunshot flew past them and struck a tree. Then the gunshots increased.
'Get off me, pervert', the woman shrieked and pushed him off her.
'Shut up! Follow me. I just saved your life', he grumbled as he crawled off into the wood.  That place was the only place in Nigeria that was being out-grown by forest. According to the world leaders, they wanted the ecosystem to increase. They said humans need the forest. Richard looked back, and tried to make a mental calculation of the situation on the ground. The shooter's view from where they were positioned would only be able to get to their waists up to their heads. A rock was blocking his view. 
'If you want to live, then you have to do as I say and stop seeing perverts. I'm a celibate'
 The woman burst into laughter and stopped herself. 'You're deceiving yourself'.
'Shut up and do be fast', he crawled into the bush as fast as he could.
 'What have I gotten myself into? Is it a bad thing to be loved by a wealthy man?'
'So, all this is for money'
'Money? Don't you see that these ones have enough money? They can take down the world'.
 Her rambling wasn't helping the situation at hand. Richard looked up and saw just what he needed. 'Run...'
They ran into the bush, where Tina was waiting for him. She wore black jeggings and a black sweater, a black hood, black hand-gloves, and black sneakers. She handed over a torchlight to him, and walked off into the bush with another torchlight in her hand. He didn't need to be told that her Glock 17 was in her other hand. She turned to him.
'Now, you owe me', she said and turned back towards the bush. 'Again'.
'Where are we going?' The woman asked as she hobbled to meet up with Tina. 
'To know what's wrong with you', Richard said as he walked past her.
'I know what's wrong with me? The second son of the world leader is missing and everyone that I hired to search for him is either disappearing or found dead'.
'But he's on TV'.
'Who is on TV?  Are you blind?'
Tina spun and grabbed the woman by the throat. The woman croaked until Richard ran towards them.
'Not now, Thin'.
Tina released her and marched off. 'You were saying?'
'You crazy'
'Quit talking and keep walking'
'He is not the one. Maybe he is a clone. I must find him because my friends that searched for him are dead'.
Tina turned again. 'And you want us dead too'.
 Richard stopped in his track as he wondered if he was making the right choice.
                    ***
'I think I found something', someone yelled. 'Yes, I found the rope'.
They gathered slowly round it. Since their hands were linked, it didn't take long before they all got to the place the rope was.
'So, who will volunteer to go first?' The authoritative lady said. Joyce was petrified. That wasn't the plan. The lady said she would be first.
'Why are you going back on your word?' Joyce asked.
'On my word?' The lady said, and Joyce could sense the sarcasm in her voice.
'Yes You said you would go first', someone else said
'I never said such I said would leave here by all means'.
'You...' 
'I'll go first', another lady said.
Joyce felt about in the darkness. No one knew who was going and what would happen to the person.
 'Are you sure you're ready?' Joyce asked.
'Yes...'
'All the best. Just know that whatever happens down there, I'll be the next after you and I'll keep to my word'.
'But wait...' One of them said. 'What if the light comes on?'
'If you are thinking well', the authoritative lady said. 'You will know that we have been here for hours. It's either we die of hunger or any other thing. But I prefer dying while trying'.
'I'm ready', the lady said.
 Joyce heaved a sigh and wished she could see her, but the darkness was too thick.
 The lady slid down.
'What do you feel?'
'Space... It looks as if we are on a mountain. As if we are hung in space'.
'So we will die', someone muttered.
Joyce was angry this time. 'Hey! Are you part of us? If you are not part of us, move away. We don't need anyone to dissuade us'.
'I am sliding down', the lady shouted in a singsong manner. Her voice began to fade. She yelled, and became silent. Breaths stopped including that of Joyce. Then, the lady shrieked continuously and became silent. They were beyond terrified. Many of them whimpered and shifted back, hitting one another.
 Suddenly everywhere began to buzz with their questions. But the authoritative lady shouted for order and they all obeyed again.
'Did she die?' Someone asked.
'What's her name?' The authoritative lady said and shouted, 'are you there?'
 Her voice bounced back. 
'Something is off', Joyce said as she found her way to the rail.
'What is off?'
'See for yourself', Joyce said and turned to the other side and shouted, 'are you there?'
 Her voice echoed. 'Can you hear that?'
'What exactly are we looking for?' The authoritative lady said.
'I think the ground is not that far. If she shouted and stopped shouting, then something is wrong with her'.
'How do you know that? It can also mean she is dead'.
'Ah... I shouldn't have gone to that party', someone lamented.
'Will you shut that hole?' The authoritative lady shouted in the direction of whoever was crying. The person kept quiet and no one else talked as if they wanted her to confirm their fears.
'I have to go and see if she is fine'.
'Accept my condolence in advance', the authoritative lady said. 'I'll come after you'.
Joyce gritted her teeth as she found her way to the rope. She pulled it as she carefully climbed the rail. She held the rope and began to move gently. She tied the rope around her waist and began to slide down the best way she could. 
'Are you still there?'
'Something like that?'
'Keep hanging on'.
Joyce glided down the rope, and was still hanging on until she got the end of the rope. Suddenly, the rope snapped and she shrieked.
'Are you okay?'
How would you know if she was okay? Desperately trying to control her breathing, she held firmly to the rope. Her hold was failing but now her life depended on it.

Read " Don't! Look Closer " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. She shouldn't have given that girl her words. The rope seemed to be lighter than when she held it and it had become less trustworthy.
 There must be a way down from this place. She must find a way. Like the first time, the rope loosened and she screamed louder, then it stopped again. However, this time, something oily poured on her face. She shrieked. Some things that felt like bees buzzed around her face, she screamed louder as the rope snapped. If not for the way she had tied the rope, she might have fallen. The rope loosened gradually. She squealed. Maybe that would be the last time she would ever shriek in her life.