Countless - S01 E77

3 years ago

Countless - S01 E77

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 77

dedicated to Me, Myself and I as I embark on another endless 365 cycle of my life.

“What tha Hell!” That was the sound that subconcsiously escaped my lips when I turned around swiftly and saw a dane gun pointed at my handsome face by an elderly man claded in a brown khaki uniform with the word ‘VIGILANTÈ’ inscribed on the chest. An headlamp was straped on his forehead

“kneel down there! You this thief! Gawd don catch you today!” He snarled and moved closer to me as I quickly oblidged trembling with fear

His facial expression already pronounced trouble for me. He must be the vigilantè entrusted with the safety of this area

“baba, am not a thief o, am….”

“dake nbe! (keep quiet!).” The man curts in loudly in the local dialect and the sound was enough to wake up the entire neighbourhood. “Talo ni ko soro? (who ask you to talk?).” He pointed his gun at my nose and pretended as if to pull the trigger and blow my head off.
“you are definitely one of the thieves that’s been terrorizing this area! Gawd don catch you today.” He declared with a wacky look and began ransacking my pockets. “where’s your gun? Eh, your weapon? Where did you keep it?”

“gun? I don’t have any gun please….this is a mistake sir….am not a thief, baba am just coming from….”

“shut up! Shut up!!.” he curts in. “you are not a thief? I just caught you trying to rob this container and you say you are not a thief? Eh? What did your time says? Check the time!”

Still on my trembling knees, I checked my phone and saw the time. I looked at him and told him what it says
“its quater past 4 sir…” He smirked and confirmed it on his watch

“quater past 4 you say? You are a bloody liar!”

“baba am not lying, thats the time…..”

“keep quiet! I just checked the time here and it says quater past 3. You are a liar and anybody that lies is a THIEF!”

“ah! Thats a lie sir.”

“What? so am also a thief?” He questioned angrily

“no sir, but Past 3 ke? Baba your watch is not corr…”

“one more word from you and gawd help me if I don’t blow your head off!” He threatened in the local dialect again with a straight face. I was mute immediately and bent my body in a slumped posture

‘How can this man say the time is 3:15, when in actual reality its 4:15? What GMT is he using? Ghana? Togo or Burkinafaso? Is he trying to manipulate the weather to suit his accusations?

“if you don’t confess to what you are doing beside this container by this time of the day,” His baritone voice cuts into my thoughts and I look up at him. “see, when it is 5:30, I’ll call the chairman to come and take you to station…”

“baba, why won’t you listen to me? Am not a thief, am just a victim of circumstances here baba, I swear in the name of….”

“by the time I shoot your right hand and knee, you will tell me why you want to rob this shop.” He stated pointing his left hand at the container while his right hand was firmly holding the gun

I pleaded on and on but he wasn’t ready to listen to anything I say. He was very obstinate in his decision to torture me till I confess to being a thief. I was trembling and totally stiffened with fear

Scared that just a little squeeze made on the trigger could terminate my contract on earth, I quickly dialed the 911 of shango and an elusive trick teleported its way into my congested mind

I glanced around and saw a long black pipe adjacent the back of the container. A look at his stubborn face urged me to try my luck and I screamed ‘Snake! Snake!!’ loudly and he turned around abruptly, reached for his headlamp and switch it on as he began scrutinizing the ground with his gun firmly held in his hands

“where is it! Where is the snake?” He questioned while backing me and still looking around pointing his gun randomly at the floor

Seeing the opportunity that just presented itself to me, I rose up swiftly and took to my heels towards the path Jide and I was threading some minutes ago

The old man, probably realising that I just played an APC of Change on his Nigeria, started shouting ‘THIEF!’ and I became more aware of the danger I just got myself into when few men started opening their respective house’s front doors and joined him in the hot pursuit

I ran blindly as my legs could carry me for some distance till I saw Jide at a few distance ahead of me on the tarred road.

The sound made by my foot stamp on the road must have gotten his attention as he paused and glanced back hurriedly and without hesitating, he also took to his heels before I reach him and I wasted no time in following his lead

We got to the end of the road and was totally disappointed when we saw that it linked to a tall barb-wire fence. A thick bush aligned with the fence by the right hand side while the left was another tall and close fence

“oh! Sh!t” Jide cursed hitting his fist on the wall.

“how can this road end like this? Stupid road and architect!” I lamented after catching my breath.

There’s no other way out of this unless we head back to where we came from and that seems too risky as the people pursuing us might still be on our trail.

“ah! Ah don suffer today! And na you ah…..”

“guy silence abeg!” Jide cuts in and we both listened keenly as the noises made by the men pursuing us died down a bit and I feel a bit relaxed. ‘They must have lost our track and have headed back to their homes’. I thought

“so Jide…what next?”

He brushed past me to the left hand side probably to look for an escape route.
“you are not asking me that are you?” I nodded my head affirmatively. “then you be fool! You got me into this mess! So you better find a way for us to get out of here before I pounce on you.”

“don’t think you can scare me, if you try any rubbish here like the one you did at home, I swear ah go beat Ajax out of your europa league…..” He eyed me dejectedly and leaned over the fence. “and why shouldn’t I ask you? You were headed this way before I joined you so I guess you know this city more than I do…..” He seems unperturbed by my statement so I quickly added. “by the way you have a lot of explanations to give…..”

“hey dude, look here, I owe you nothing….you hear? Nothing! Get that into your thick canine skull!” He stated with gritted teeth

“You owe me nothing? Then care to tell me where you are coming from at this hour? And where you are headed to? Because it seems to me that you know this place more than I do! ” I queried with a raised eyebrow

He surveyed the fence and paced frantically around for some secs before he spoke up.
“last time I check, you are still a backbitting friend and not my Dad or elder brother….so I don’t owe you any debrief about my life!”

I moved closer to him and held him by his polo’s collar. His face was now at a Chelsea versus Arsenal with mine.

“you are right, but then I began to think, where were you coming from when you came inside the room yesterday morning eh?” He was silent. “You were at the brothel right? Thats how you knew that I was with Favour, isn’t it?”. He was taken aback with my accusation and wriggled himself out of my grip

“what if I was at the brothel? Are you the only one that got to enjoy himself after an hectic friday?” He questioned rhetorically after feigning a resilient look

“no dude…but where did you get the money to carry olosho? I don’t remember you having any money with you and…..”

“I seriously don’t have to explain anything to you Darous….so lets just focus on how to get out of this mess you brought me into before it gets any worse than this.”

“hmmmmm.” I pondered on his words for some secs and decided to let it go for now. I wanted to query him why he bought into my lie of attending a Vigil in the first place when he already knew where I was but I figured that I can always ask him that after we sort ourselves out of this present situation

“Jide, don’t think for one secs that this is over, am not gullible and I can sense that you are hiding something from me….but thats for later, you hear?.” He gave me a ‘suit yourself’ look and began walking towards the route we came from. I followed him and was simultaneously searching around the area to see if the vigilantè or the men were still lurking around

We got to the main road enroute the one we plied before and we could hear the discussing voices of the old man and the few people that joined him at a few distance ahead of us. ‘oh sh!t!’ I cursed audibly

“calm down!”

Jide said. We stopped and searched frantically around as the noises drew closer to us.
“lets dodge inside this house…hurry up” Jide said pointing to an uncompleted building beside the road. I was still glancing around sluggishly when he quickly pulled me by my arms and dragged me inside.

We got inside the house and hide ourselves at the secluded part of it

Few hours after, it was already past 7.am and the street was starting to get busy. I was already asleep inside the building when Jide woke me up and inform me that its time to leave. We managed to find our way to Mr Ifa’s house discreetly.

We got home and I informed Mr Ifa that we are leaving for Abk before noon. He gave me some mixed concortions to leak for 21days.

I thanked him and gave Bukky and her Mum some money.

I dialed Joke’s number to tell her that am coming back to Abk but it wasn’t reachable. I also called Jessica to inform her of my departure. She wasn’t that happy but wished me a safe journey.

Jide avoided me like a plague throughout our preparation to return to Abeokuta.

Is Jide a Friend or a Foe? Next update(s) will definitely unfold that.