The unstoppable Achiever - Episode 6

 

Sammy…..

Years back on Campus... 

Some memories better be forgotten . This is one of them. But I would rather talk about it to relieve my heart from this indelible dent in my life.

I  was an introvert , very studious. My classmates  in 300 level in the university used to call me effico., an acronym for efficiency...don't mind them. I passed all my courses very well and as an off campus student, I was living just close to the university.

*Sammy, I'm not going to sleep in the room tonight . See you when I come back."

 Gabby , my roommate, said and  left in a hurry with his sling bag over his shoulder before I could ask where he was going. I didn't really bother because that would offer me a quiet room to respond to loads of assignments and term papers I had, rather than walking to the campus to do my work and coming back at night as usual.

 By 10 pm that day ,  a lady I've not seen before, with blond hair ,opened my room door and walked in. Dame it! What a beauty! I wet my lips with my tongue. This is a missing Angle landing in my room when I'm all  alone. She looked round and I was about to ask her what she wanted when a group of young men walked in after her, all wearing masks on their faces."

"Shocked ! My fantasy evaporated like a block of ice inside a hot pan

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-unstoppable-achiever

. I didn't bargain for this. Who are they and what do they want? I was too scared to ask, but transfixed at a point, staring at them.

"Where is Gabby" One of them bellowed as if he was upset with me.

"He is not here". In Trepidation , I answered quickly, with a quivering voice, not wanting to look up to their faces.

"Where has he gone to" the tall young man asked, "or are you hiding something ". 

"No Sir, I , I…" he slapped me twice on the cheek before I could make out the sentence. Such a calculated slap that will spin someone 360  degrees. I saw a thousand stars that will brighten a lot of horizons and before I could recover, he yelled at me.

 "Talk to me you frustrated pig and give me the answers I want right now or you die in his place" he yelled at me.

Die? Oh no!

It was then I knew I was  in no games with this fellas. Oh no , why didn't I sleep in the classroom as I used to sometimes when I have too many assignments. Why isn't Gabby here to answer these queries by himself? Many unanswered thoughts raged through me like a running water cascading in a cliff to the deep valley below. How can life be so mean to someone caught in between as this. Lord send help. Let someone knock that door right now.  I silently prayed.

'Sir, I swear, he left in a hurry early this evening after receiving a phone call".

The tall man got out his phone and dialed.

"Hello Boss, Gabby is not in the room. His roommate is here and said he left hours ago in a hurry , what should we do"

He is not here, please go away. That's what you Should  do or What else do you want to do? Go away and leave me alone. I screamed within me in frustration all alone with the bandits.

There was silence as he was listening on the phone

"But Boss, the assignment was to silent Gabby, not another innocent victim who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." He queried

Silence again…..

"Yes Boss , Guillotine is here" 

"Gully the Boss wants to speak with you" he said

"He handed the phone to Guillotine and I was watching the horrible drama with  trepidation trying to swallow saliva in my dried throat. My head started anticipating their next move to no avail. I wondered if they were going to kidnap me , asking Gabby for a ransome so he might come out. But Gabby won't budge. Gush!, what do I do? Should I start a fight, that wasn't a good idea. They were more than me and with dangerous weapons .I wished I had a gun. Oh yea!... Self defence would have ended the episode in a beautiful note to my favour.

" Ok Boss, but is it his right or his left" Gully asked

"Ok Boss" right away he said

"Hey guys, Boss said we should separate his left hand and bring it to him as a warning to that fugitive son of a Bi**h, Gabby and then leave the scene fast and come back to base....get hold of him right now" he commanded.

I didn't understand why I should be punished for another man's error or offense.Like a horrible scene in a movie, they went into action in a united frenzy. With no option, I  started to plead. I told them I was an orphan struggling in medical school alone, doing every conceivable odd job during holidays to see myself through school.

I begged, from begging to struggling with them, shouting but the noise from my neighbours generator and the drizzling rain, a very united combination, blocked the pandemonium in my room from being heard outside by my Neighbours. They overpowered me, held me down and the one they called guillotine cut my left hand and they all ran away. The girl, who seems to have been there as a spectator,  in panic, screamed and ran away too."

 I opened the door with my last strength and severe pain, screamed, fell down, writhed with lots of pain and passed out in the corridor.

When I came to, it was in the  hospital surrounded by so many people including policemen, nurses, fellow tenants and doctors.

"He Is awake, he is awake",one of  the nurses shouted , beckoning the doctor to come as if that will restore my lost hand.

 I could perceive the smell of drugs all over me.

"Sammy, how are you?" a man in a police uniform asked me. Half asleep and half awake l muttered some incoherent words…

"I, I …". I was choked with pain so I couldn't complete the sentence.

" Leave him for a while officer " the doctor said but I needed to say something, partly to prove  my innocence and partly for them to apprehend the gang before I fell asleep again, so I struggled to maintain being awake.

"I didn't do anything bad to them and they cut my hand. I was saying and crying." Ahh!!! I" I shouted as the pain was hitting hard.

" Did you see their faces, any of them "? The policeman asked.

"No, they were all wearing masks," I answered wearily.

"Then what happened "? he queried further

I narrated how four masked men came into my room and ask for Gabby, and when they couldn't see him nor have any satisfactory answers,  turned their venoms on me

"You said there was a partially masked lady,  have you seen her before

"No," I answered

"Who was she looking for" he asked

"I don't know" 

"I gave a short reply as I  writhed with pain on the left hand though I was given anesthesia to relieve me. 

Could this lady have been a spectator or coincidentally, was she caught in the room and they refused her to go out. Lots of questions to answer. Several  thoughts clouded my mind afterwards. Her identity must be known to solve this riddle.

" Did you….* 

" Officer, enough for now, let him rest " the doctor interrupted.

I couldn't continue in that campus  any longer partly because of my disability and partly because of fear of another attack. I went to a polytechnic in another state to study fine and applied arts and discontinued with medicine I was studying in the university.

Gabby was no nowhere to be found even in their house. His whereabouts was unknown.