The Missionary's Journey - Episode 4

 

A month had gone since Gabriel and his family moved to the village. He attended Nzube Grammar School in the heart of the village which was a mixed school. The village didn't have any other school save for it. Gabriel repeated senior secondary school two while his sister was in Senior secondary school three. It was difficult for him to adapt to his new environment . People stared at him and thought he acted weird, being a kid that came from the city. They felt he was strange and made rude remarks about him. Some made up false stories about him and mistook his solitude as a way of being superior and believing himself to be above them. He attended class and spoke to no-one. It took him a long time to figure out where the toilet, library and other facilities were as no one tried to befriend or help him. He felt utterly alone unlike his life in Lagos where he was the main man in his clique and enjoyed attention from being the pastor’s son. Here, they all stared at him and whispered amongst themselves whenever he passed as if he was an alien. He got lost most of the times but he eventually got to know his way around.

 Anita, on the other hand, caught the attention of most male students and became the envy of most girls. She quickly became the queen bee in the school as students were awed by her beauty, voice, and exposure

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-missionary-s-journey

. She, in turn, looked down at them and made them work for her to prove themselves to her. She made them believe they had to be worthy of her attention. When she sang, she did so in public so all eyes would be on her. Eyes constantly glared at her with envy and admiration. 

She kept her distance from Gabriel when she discovered he was a ‘dead guy’ in school. She had guys doing her homework for her, teachers treating her like royalty and commanding the respect of students. Gabriel envied his sister but nevertheless carried on with his life. Three months passed since he started attending his new school. One afternoon while walking home, he heard some students talking about a shortcut that led to the street where his house was. Looking at the time and feeling eager to arrive home on time, he decided to pass the route, quietly tagging along behind the boys but not too close to get noticed. As he walked, his shoelace came loose and he bent down to tie them back only for him to stand up and see the students he was following were no more in view. He ran, silently hoping they were in front and that he could catch up with them but he saw no one. Fear began to seep into his heart while he stared around him, observing only a narrow path ahead of him and thick bushes by the sides. 

I should just follow this path, maybe I will come out somewhere, his mind bulged him.

He got to a crossroad and looked confused on which path to walk through. He gulped down some spittle while he took a path he guessed was the right way. Fifteen minutes on that path, he heard the rustling of bushes behind him, he looked back to find three men advancing towards him.

"Well well well, what do we have here," a man with a scar across his face smiled at him with two other thugs giggling behind him.

Gabriel began to move back, shaking with fear. "I want no issue, I am just going home."

"And how that one take concern me?" the scarred face man said in pidgin.

"You look like a pretty nice boy. What’s in that bag wey you carry?"

"I... it's just books. See. Nothing else is here." Gabriel showed him his bag. "I have nothing else on me."

"That’s too bad o, even if you no get money, you suppose drop something," the man said. He circled Gabriel, licking his lips while he stared down at him.

"What?" Gabriel looked at him suspiciously.

"You will see," the man smiled. "Boys, hold him."

The other men held him by his arms, forced him into a kneeling position and began to draw his short down.

"Wait what are you doing? This is wrong, leave me, leave me alone please," Gabriel whimpered and struggled.

The men laughed still holding his head down and pulling down his short. The man with the scar started to unbuckle his trouser, all the while licking his lips and looking at Gabriel with lust.

"No please, someone help me, please don’t do this," Gabriel cried.

"Three rotten bastards trying to rape a poor boy. Wow, what will we not see in this world," an unknown voice shouted out of nowhere.

Gabriel and the thugs look back to see a girl no more than sixteen smiling at them.

"Leave here if you know what’s good for you," the scarred faced man said. 

*Oh I don’t think so. Stupid fool," she replied.

"Oh really? This one think seh she get sharp mouth. I go remove that tongue from your mouth, make I finish with this one first. I will deal with you." The scarred faced man signaled at one of his boys to apprehend her.

"Don’t even try it," she warned. 

The boy paused, rolled his eyes and hissed at her as he continued walking towards her. The girl muttered something under her breath and the man froze. The man was confused as he lost control of his body, unable to move or speak.

"Hey, what are you doing? I said to get her." The scarred faced man shouted.

Turning to the second thug, he said: "Grab her." The second thug frowned and walked towards the girl, sparing a glance at his frozen companion.

Read " The Dormitory (A Sequel) " by the same author ( Obinna Tony )

. He turned back to her and ran towards her.

"Kneel." The girl ordered.

The second thug froze, eyes widened, as he sank to his knees unable to move.

The scarred faced man stared in confusion. "Are you guys messing with me, what’s wrong with you?"

He pulled out a knife and walked towards her. "I will kill you, e be like seh you don mad," he shouted.

The girl smiled, lowering her head and mumbled something. 

"Know your place," she said and raised her head. The scarred faced man looked eyes opened and shocked. Her eyes were red and her pupils were slant and vertical like that of a cat. Her braids began to rise and at their tip and she began to make creepy sounds. She opened her mouth and her teeth were sharp and long, fangs protruding from her mouth and she waved a middle finger at him. The man looked at her finger and saw a claw growing from it. He stepped back and dropped the knife, trembling with fear.

"Wetin you dey wait for?" she said out croaking and smiled at him.

The three men screamed their lungs out, each jumping up and running into the bush. They ran like they were being pursued by lions. 

Gabriel still laid on the ground, unaware of what had happened. He quickly stood up, adjusted his short and looked at the girl, feeling quite embarrassed.

"I don’t know who you are or what you did but thank you," he shivered.

The girl, whose face looked normal, like a cute sixteen years old beamed at him and replied to his greeting.