The Thorny Path to Europe - Episode 13

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Tunde couldn't take his mind off what just happened even as they rested their heads

'We will die', Pastor shouted. 'But what will be our end? Where will we spend the rest of our lives?

We need God. Where do you want to spend eternity? I want to spend it in the kingdom of God. Where will you spend yours?'

'Guy', Ade shouted . 'Ask Google'.

‘Leave him’, Lizzy said and turned to Pastor.’ You're calling us sinners'.

'No. I d....'

'Forget it. You're the worst of all sinners. Hypocrite. He is going to the place with us. If you're not aware, Pastor Heaven, we've paid a bribe on the way and we will pay more. We will be smuggled into the river and smuggled to Europe. We are sinners’, Lizzy shouted.

'For God so...'

'Forget all these and conserve your energy’, Jude advised but Pastor didn’t stop.

When night came, everyone rose to leave again. On their way, they got to a stream of dirty water. How the water got there they couldn’t tell, but Ade was the first to bend over the stream and begin to suck water. Many of them filled their bottles with the hope that the sands would settle and leave them with a clean bottle of water. One of them, whom many called Jaguar, rose and wailed.

They rushed to him and tried to help him, while he pointed to a scorpion that raised its sting as if it was ready for the others

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-thorny-path-to-europe

. Some of the men among them, who had been looking for someone to lash out, went after the scorpion and trashed it as if it was its fault that their van broke down on the way. Although Jaguar didn't dead, he was feverish. One of the ladies kept tending to his wound as he kept crying like a baby.

'We have to go', Jude said

'Ah!'

'Yes. We have to go or we will be in trouble. We will die soon'.

Jaguar kept crying like a baby. Everyone was too weak to help him. Jude stopped near him and sighed despondently. Jaguar got his message and wailed. Some people hugged him and left some clothes, as that was the only thing they could leave with him. They spent another day on the road, with Tunde trying to get over the death of the people he had encountered on the way and the evil he had seen on the way.

He wondered how the other guy could have fallen without him being aware alongside the other lady, how the other guy could have strangled his friend to death and they all could have been callous to leave the Jaguar. They were taught from childhood that people were evil and good. Now, he was thinking otherwise. Everyone was surviving.

As they began the next day’s journey, Tunde refused to eat because he had no water to quell his thirst. However, Ade cried that he couldn’t take it anymore. He searched his bag, brought out the last piece of bread with him. The bread looked drained of anything liquid that could have been in it. Lizzy nodded tiredly and rested on him, watching him munch the bread.

He heaved heavily and sat in the sun, relieved. He felt compelled to eat more and the way he did it attracted Tunde but he held his calm. Nothing would make him eat without water. They kept on their journey. The woman with the blood became forced to breastfeed her son, despite the pain it caused her and that he was old. Some hours into the night, Ade began to choke. He grabbed his neck and screamed for help. Tired though, Tunde, Lizzy and Cecilia ran to help him.

Not knowing where the energy came from, Tunde rushed under him and placed Ade's head on his laps. The ladies were saying all sort of things to calm him down. Lizzy was fretful and kept running to meet people for help, but everyone had finished their bottles of water.

'Help him', the woman with the child said. Her son was beside him looking hungry. Tunde cuddled Ade and cried as he realized he was about to lose Ade too. Everything became hazy, even his voice and all he could do was to croak like Ade.

Tunde yelled. ‘Somebody do something. Any liquid. You shouldn’t have eaten the bread. Gather spit or anything’.

'Bring bottles out', Jude shouted and people began to run to him with the bottle. Ade kept choking, his eyes bulging in the torchlight. Lizzy was crying as if she was the one dying.

Somebody get me help. You shouldn't have eaten that bread'.

After gathering the bottles, Jude rushed to a side and urinated in it. Most of the men too began to force themselves to urinate into the bottle. Jude hurried back with it and Tunde couldn't even fight him because he was only trying to help. The stench drowned them but they had no choice.

'Take it', Jude said and pushed it towards Ade’s mouth. Tunde felt like vomiting despite holding his breath. Ade grabbed it and gulped it down. Meanwhile, Lizzy and Cecilia were crying as if it was the end of the world.

Stretching with everything in him, Ade swallowed the urine and exhale at each gulp. Then, he raised his hands to let them know he could take no more. Tunde closed his eyes, realizing that Ade wouldn’t die from choking, happy that he wouldn’t have to be the one to tell his parents how Ade died on their way to the greener pasture.

 Lizzy hugged Ade and cried into his chest. After Ade managed to release himself from Lizzy’s clutch, he turned to Ade and hugged him. Tunde was so tired that he couldn't help but fall as they hugged each other. Tunde rose and turned to everyone, especially Jude.

'Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you'.

By this time, his voice was hoarse but he kept thanking every one of them.

'How was the taste of the urine?' Cecilia said.

'It was...Yuck. It feels worse. The taste but I feel fine'.

Jude turned and shouted. 'Hey everyone, don't throw away your bottle of urine'.

They murmured their agreement. The next day met them dropping some people behind with Jude encouraging and telling them they will get to the end. Tunde wanted to complain about all these being Jude's fault. He left his group and now they were in trouble. But he kept calm because he was weak and wouldn’t dare taste that horrendous urine. The slim lady and the guy that chose her as a partner were still holding on to themselves, whispering encouragement to themselves.

They stopped to rest and finally slept off. Tunde couldn't tell how much he had slept but when he turned, he saw Cecilia leaving the side of the slim lady's partner. He closed his eyes and opened them but couldn't make out her features again. He guessed he was beginning to hallucinate. He closed his eyes and dozed off. When he woke in the morning, Cecilia was still asleep, clutching her bag as if it meant the world to her than any other thing.

However, it was another case for the guy. He shouted that he could find his bottle of urine. As ridiculous as it sounded, everyone felt bad for him. The slim lady rose to help search for it. Tunde wished he could help too but he was too weak to lift a finger. Later, they found the bottle in the sand to everyone's relief. Tuned shook his head that they had been degraded to taking urine as precious.

They spent the greater part of the day crawling to keep themselves active. When the night came again, they were ready to move. However, they didn't move very far before the slim lady's partner wailed, holding his stomach. Before long, he was vomiting and the slim lady tried to help. She called on Leo and Jude for assistance but they told they had no help to render. Tunde could only shake his head in pity. She cried that he hadn't drunk the urine when everyone was doing so. People rallied around him again. The lady tried to help as she did everything to make sure he survived. Tunde watched the whole event and burst into tears. He didn't know where the tears flowed from but he couldn't stop crying. Cecilia hugged him and kept mumbling comforting words into his ear. In a little while, the guy that was choking for breath and then he took a last deep breath and exhaled. At that point, everyone became silent even the slim lady. She wheezed and tried not to cry into the night. Many of them stared into the night while others could only sniff. Jude tried talking on the body of the guy and told the slim lady to say something about him. She talked about how they met and how he had been the only confidant she had.

Tunde stared at the guy for a while and closed his eyes. The sand on his body made him look more like a skeleton. His hands were in the sky as if he was holding somebody for support.

After the lady returned to her seat, Jude said. 'Tonight, we miss another soul from among us. And our numbers have dwindled drastically This alone is the reason we have to keep going. We are hungry and this is it. The next bus we see; we will hijack it.'

'Hijack', Pastor said.

'Yes. Hijack. We will take any van we meet on the way'.

'What will we use'.

Jude looked around and called Pastor, Leo and the slim lady with the glasses to a corner. They were talking in silence for a while but Jude escalated the matter by shouting, 'what stupid cover. Let your cover be blown or you'll die with us. You Pastor, you were formerly a soldier. Leo can shoot. You too can shoot. Period'.

They whispered for a while and Jude led them back.

'We have these men. Pastor was …'

'I'm not a Pastor'.

'That's your own concern. He was formerly a soldier and he's agreed to help us. Leo can shoot. And this lady, I know she can use any gun'.

'Gun?'

'I have guns in my backpack', Leo said and revealed guns.

'Hey!' Tunde yelled and jumped back. Despite his weakness, he couldn't help the force with which he jumped back. Oher people around him too had their mouth agape.

'We will do the hijacking', Leo said, while Pastor looked away as if he didn't want to look at their eyes.

'And one of you would do the job of getting them to slow down'

'Rather, two...'

They agreed after a bit of disagreement from others. But there was a difference in making a plan and actualizing it. No vehicle passed them that day. When the evening approached and they got set to leave, another person decided to urinate into the plastic but was soon emitting blood. People exclaimed their wonder and horror. Many began to hope and pray aloud that a van would happen. They called on different gods and God himself but it was a worthless effort. Tunde wasn't sure God would want to intervene since they all did something wrong.

Some of the weak ones were helped but, after a while, were left behind.

Tunde was one of the weak one. He reduced his pace and was urged on by Ade and Cecilia. Lizzy whispered something to Ade and he shouted with a hoarse voice, 'what's wrong with you? Why are you callous? I thought he used to be your friend. Has that flame of friendship died? Even if it was dead, what about your human feelings? What's join them... In fact, that's a brilliant idea. You go. Follow them at a pace. Keep flashing your torchlight to the back. I'll also keep up with you from a distance and that will make us not lose them. With that, Tunde will catch up with me and we will catch up with you and all of us will catch up with everyone. Go'

'No'.

Yes. Baby, now. Cecilia will help Tunde and we will catch up. All of us will'.

Lizzy cried as her hand slipped away from Ade's hand. She ran up to a place she could still meet the others. Ade moved forward and kept crashing into the sand as he was too exhausted. Cecilia was crying, and supporting Tunde, and didn't stop until Ade was at a distance.

 

She held Tunde and whispered. 'Wait'

He couldn't disagree with her. She hurriedly brought out a bottle of clean water from her bag. She stared at it, shook her head, and gulped down a smaller part of it, looked away and handed it over to Tunde.

'Take'.

Not minding what would happen to them, Tunde gulped it and tried to remain some parts of it for the future.

'All...'

'No. For later. '

'I have more for later'.

Tunde stared at her for a while and shook his head. He would keep it for Ade. 'You had water all this while. Ade was dying...You had water. People died. The guy at the other end died. You had water. God. What are you?'

'I don't know him. I don’t them'.

Tunde stood straight at that sentence. 'Ade is my brother. You were getting close to me. Were we just friends for the event?'

'I would have given you. Anytime. We were getting close. I like you. I gave you'.

'My brother almost died'.

'And I'm sorry for all this. I'm sorry but every man had to fight for himself'.

Tunde blinked as he imagined how she had been fooling everyone that she was feeling faint.

'You've been deceiving us. All this while'.

'I had to… I had to. Everything that had happened to me wasn't my fault'.

'Like hiding water… I said that bag is something', Tunde said and shot at her bag. She did too but not before he got to it. She fell flat as he was faster. He turned the bag, pointed a flashlight at it and saw different things that made him fear for his life. Her bag contained a pistol that had a silencer on it, a knife, gloves, some galas, small bottles with pills in them, and several bottles of water. His assumption had always been that her bag was full of clothes. He was so surprised that he didn't know that she had gotten up.  He bent over them, mystified. She kicked him in the groin, falling him.

He groaned and tried to stand up but she was faster this time. Like a pro, she pointed the torchlight at him, blinding him with the light. All he could was to cover his eyes from the ray of the torchlight.

'I like you. No. I love you. Although we've met for a few days, it wasn't easy not loving you. You were the only man I've met that hadn't wanted to touch me or sleep with me. That's why that man in the van had to die'.

'You killed him'.

She cried for a while and shouted. 'Yes. He had to die. Even that second guy'.

'But that other guy wasn't trying to touch or sleep with you'.

'No. He is with that lady. They are just pretending to meet here. They are detectives. I changed everything about me. Was it my fault that my father raped me from childhood and I decimated him and stuffed his mouth with his penis'.

'Oh God!' Tunde said and rose to run away, but she shot a place around him. The shot came like pop and he yelled as he scrambled back to his original position. "You did that… Oh! God!"

'I can shoot you. But I don't want to'.

'So, you're a killer'.

She laughed. 'A killer? No. I'm a serial killer. At least, I've killed four men. Oh! If I add these two, six. But the ones that bore my mark of vengeance are just four'.

Tunde could feel his mouth shake as if the cold was internal. His pant was wet already.

'I've killed a lot of people'.

'Then, kill me already. Why are you telling me?'

'I love you. And I've noticed that you're not a snitch'.

'I am a snitch. Kill me. I want to die'.

'Not in this lifetime. Moreover, your death will look suspicious especially after I poisoned that guy. I know you saw me near his bag'.

Tunde sighed and placed his hands on his head.

'Let's make a pact. You might stop liking me, but I won't. Men like you are rare. Given such opportunity to touch this sexy body, but you refused even when you're not an S.U', she said and pointed the torchlight at her body. Then, quickly pointed it at him. 'I won't kill you, but any day, no matter when you rat me out, I'll kill your brother'.

Tunde stared at the floor for a while and nodded. 'Agreed. Kill me. You won’t have to kill him'.

'To what end? I want you around me. Now, look up into the light and tell me you agree'.

He looked up with tears gathering in his eyes. 'I will keep your secret'.

'Good. Now, drink', she said and gave him the bottle of water he didn't finish.

Read " Grabbing The Hot Gate " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. Tunde poured it into the ground.

' Your last chance of having a brother. Drink', she said and gave him another one. He collected it and gulped it down grudgingly. 'You will also be my hostage will I kill that woman and escape. So, no escape for you, bro. Move ahead', she said and waited till he rose and move on. 'You have to do better, we have to meet up with them'.

They met Ade, who was weak from pointing the torchlight. They helped him till they got to the weak Lizzy. She had dropped on the way. Luckily for them, the group were also tired and were resting. It was easy for them to catch up with them.