Chapter 19: Delivery For…Childhood. The joy that comes with going through that stage of life is so underrated. I mean sure, some people didn't exactly have it good growing up, and might just be doing a whole lot better now that they’re all grown up. But others? My God, that was the life. To have people at your beck and call, attending to you and you could just choose whether or not to give a fuck? To have almost everything you wanted at the tip of your fingers? To have so many people care so much about you and the slightest sneeze or cough could get you a warm bath, hug or snack. Damn, that was definitely the life. Nowadays my adolescent ass gets stared at, not even "bless you'd" when I cough a little too hard. My point though, living as a small kid, maybe even a baby, was ironically enough, living large. The slightest stuff could easily garner attention. Nowadays the struggle for attention is infinite, and the attention you actually get, infinitesimal. The responsibilities, having
Chapter 20: Don’t Do Drugs Kids"You've got to be shitting me. What the fuck are you doing here? Thought you were some deli–""Don't. Don't even start with me" she said, looking at Robert brazenly. "You think I'm all butterflies in my stomach to see you either? How’d you even get employ—Oh. Never mind” she said with a sudden change of demeanor. “This is not the time or the place to have this conversation. So if you could just focus on your job, and me on mine, I bet we can both act like that day never happened. Deal?" She said, stretching out her hands. "Deal. But I'm pretty sure you’d be better off not shaking my hands. At least not now" he said. "Any washroom around h–""Second room to your right. And get back soon, your first couple hours at work aren't going to be a walk in the park. I promise you that." She said facing her desktop and continuing her work. "Okay then" he said, carefully getting up from his chair, for fear that he would trip over his high self and mess up his pre
Chapter 21: SEE"Yours truly, Your dearest Uncle, Jonathan" he concluded, dropping his pen, closing his jotter and slipping it under his bed. He was about to take short nap before "the moment" when…"Jonathan. The suited-up guard called, knocking on his cell. "It's time" He remarked with a serious countenanceWithout a fuss or argument, he slowly sat back up, walked towards the opening of the cell, and put his hands through the bar, as if to say, "cuff me". And that's exactly what the guard did, pretty reluctantly too."Odogwu! Odogwu! Odogwu!" the other prisoners in their respective cells kept chanting the popular Nigerian praise as the tall, dark, 'cyclops' gradually made his way down the prison to the 'site' where he was to be executed. Chains on both his hands and feet, a long, unkept, almost dreadlock-looking hair, and a pinkish glow to his right eye. This indeed looked like a monster of a man. As he gradually made his way to the guillotine, he slowly took what was definitely one
Chapter 22: W…W…Wasted“So, will that be all sir?”“Something stronger please. Just give me something way stronger. I need to get the taste of the ass I’ve been kissing all day off my lips”, he emotionlessly said, dropping his empty shot of tequila.“Will do sir.” The bar man professionally answered, heading to the back to source for something that would match the gentleman’s low spirit. “Thanks” he feigned a smile, trying to get the taste of bitter alcohol out his mouth.“You shouldn’t force yourself to take it if you don’t like it” a light voice chipped in from the seat beside him.“Yeah well when life’s got you by the balls, there’s really not much shit you can do. You just force yourself to like it at this point”, he said, without even glancing to see the young brunette beside him. “True” she chuckled lightly, patiently waiting for the bar man herself, so she could take some shots too. “My name’s Olivia by the way.” She smiled, trying to waste time but at the same time seem huma
Chapter 23: Realms“Robert where the hell have you been? I’ve been screaming like a mad woman all over the fucking office. Running up and down just looking for your ass.”“It was lunch time and I went to get off a li—”“Shut the hell up. Are you trying to get your punk ass fired right now? Cause I can make it happen. I can make that call right fucking now and have your ass out of here in next to no time.” He stared at her for what seemed like eternity but what was actually about five seconds. He didn’t even know what to do at this point in time. Shove a foot up her ass, make her eat her own words or stab her with one of the syringes that laid on her table. All this in five seconds, and in truth, he was about to let his tongue fly till he saw Olivia walk past, a number of steps behind ever paranoid Keyla. She didn’t even stop to glance at him. Probably didn’t even notice his frustrated figure, but my did he take his time to notice her. Light-skinned black and about sixty kilograms of p
Chapter 24: Race Horse"That's enough tv for a night now, don't you think" she said watching her kids willingly get lost in the comfort of the age old "How I Met Your Mother" series."Guys? Guys?" She said, still leaning on the opening to the living room trying to get some attention from them, but failing woefully. "okay then" she walked up to television set and turned off the switch, the entire tv screen going back to blank in next to no time. "But mom–""No Raymond, you've got school tomorrow. And you, don't even start" she said, pointing to her daughter with a defiant stare on her face. "Come on now, off to bed." She said, accompanying her kids to their room as the moon gradually ushered in a cold night. She unhurriedly watched her kids tuck themselves in, taking every second she had, to appreciate the time got to spend with her kids, at least for now. "Goodnight guys" she said, about to leave the room."Mom" her daughter whispered just as she was about to walk out, "could you te
Chapter 25: Just Hold On, We’re Going Home"Okay guys, let's begin to wrap it up. It's getting late outside, and it looks like a storm is not too far away either" the store manager said, trying to rush everybody out of the lab before the rain and the night dawned on the island. He noticed Robert looking a little slow and sluggish in packing up his stuff. And considering his "stuff" was merely his new lab coat, and his 'drugs' for his usual panic attacks, as he would often refer to them, he was definitely taking his time. "Robert!" he chimed in an enthusiastic voice, much to Robert's disgust, though he didn't make that overtly visual. "Mr. Morale" he replied, not even bothering with returning the same energy. "Ouu who told you my name?" he smiled, trying to reach for a handshake."Just asked around" he replied, forcing himself to participate in the uncomfortable handshake. "That's very social of you. So how was your first day at work?" "Well… he looked at Keyla who was giving him
Chapter 26: Tick Tick BoomBefore he could get the words out, he was on the receiving end of a right paw that sent him flying across the room, his back slamming against the wall of the store. "Come on Robert, you can't blame this on anybody but yourself. I told you to run" he said, almost playing with his prey. Tracking his every move, like a leopard about to devour his target. Only difference is this 'leopard' looked thrice the size it was supposed to, and it was previously human Robert tried nursing himself as quickly as possible, back to his feet, but as soon as he raised his head, the image vanished."You're a fucking animal man. What the fuck is going on?" he hurled, not knowing what part of the room he was going to be attacked from next. All of a sudden, the echo of a catlike purr sudden filled the halls, and before Robert could make out what exactly was happening, he got blindsided and payed for it dearly, his right leg battered by a paw swipe. "Ah fuck", he said, almost dro
Chapter 40: Fate He sat completely still, gazing aloofly at the plain door of his room. Sitting in wait of whatever was going to walk through the door. Of whoever was going to walk through the door. Hours passed, but his focus never once shuddered. He knew what was coming. All he had to do was keep his eyes open, no matter how tired he felt, even if took the entire murky night. All of a sudden, his door creaked open, and he couldn't but shudder at what was on the other side. But in movie-like manner, it unveiled itself with a graceful pace. First his left hand slowly, finger by finger, crept on the door. His nails about five inches long, and skin, pale and scaly. Then his body slowly but surely made its way through. He was still in his uniform. The usual long-sleeved shirt covered by a white lab coat and blue jeans. And then his faced slowly poked through. His skin looked pale but smoother than his scaly hands. His chapped lips a little smaller, same for his nose. But the real touri
Chapter 39: Newton’s Third Law"Would you look at that Kay? This is what's become of the elders now ayy?" She smiled, looking at the tall gated building that lay in front of them. "They have grown weak and weary sweetheart. This is the best time to take advantage of th–""But remind me why we're doing this again?" she said, in a rare moment of hesitation."How many times do we have to go over this one Mar–""I just want to know why exactly I'm walking into a den of old men that have nothing to do with what I'm here for."If it could sigh, it probably would. But his dark, deep, and frightening voice (even for Mary) chimed with unquestionable fury as he said, "The elders are the only people with enough power and wisdom to put an end to you in seconds Mary. You can either have this all planned out, thinking your plan to get back on your siblings it okay, then watch it fall to pieces when they come knocking. Or, you could deal with these bastards right–""Chill chill" she said, with a sm
Chapter 38: There’s More than the Eight"Come on Dr. Draymond, I'm the worst person to ask about stuff like this.""Yes, I understand Mr. Barrison, but the reports are concerning your body. Stuff that you swallowed, and/or injected yourself with. Virtually no one can answer these questions better than…" he took of his glasses, showcasing his piercing set of weary blue eyes and delicate wrinkles"...better than you" He completed, with the most inquisitive yet calming demeanor. Raymond settled himself, for fear that in a fit to say something honest, and push the spotlight off him, he'd offend the doctor that looked like someone in his early fifties. So he took a deep sigh, closed then opened his eyes, trying to calm down, and said in a voice betrayed by exhaustion, "Fine then. What do you want to want to know Doc?""Great!" He put back on his glasses, the picked up the set of files he had earlier dropped. "You haven't had a history of drug abuse, have you Mr. Barrison?""Woah, woah, woa
Chapter 37: Now you see me, Now You see what I want you to see"What do you mean we're fucked?""How else do you want me to explain it to you Kayla? We … are… fucked" he slowly enunciated, stressing every single syllable. "Repeating we're fucked doesn't make me understand the situation any better. So, if you could just explain to me what you saw, and what exactly is going on, maybe I'd understand why exactly we're fucked.""Okay" he walked over to one of the couches and hurriedly took a seat, Makayla following suit almost immediately. "You remember Mary, right?""Umm Mary? She was… like, she's the one that… she…""Short hair, loveable girl, beautiful smile…”“Can’t really put my finger on it” she said, trying to jog her memory.“She was the youngest one of us in the foster home when we were–""Oh yes, now I remember" she said, the name finally ringing a bell. "Fair, fine, loveable and sweet. How could I forget Mary?" she smiled heartily on remembering the fond memories she had of her
Chapter 36: We’re fuckedThere wasn't any audible response, making her anxiety levels go through the roof. Instead, the gentle knock repeated itself, and this time, even calmer which made her tense up even more. Her fingers started twitching and her eyes glowing but somehow, she sounded even more frightened. "I said who's–" "Open up Makayla, it's Jonathan." The instantly recognizable voice echoed up from the opposite side of the door. "Shit" she said, finally loosening up both her posture and breathing. Carefully, but speedily making her way to the door, she unlocked it, and there he was, not all that mystical and awe-inspiring this time."So you didn't die or disappear this time" she joked, lightening up a little with a smirk on her face. "if I didn't know better, I'd think you–" before she was even able to complete her statement, he walked in without saying a word, and plopped down to one of the couches in the living room."Sure, you can come in" she gently locked the door behind
Chapter 35: This Wasn’t No Ponzi CartelTo imagine that something happening more than ten kilometers away was having such profound effects on a community like this would be almost unfathomable on a normal day. However, this was no normal day. And this once quiet community became even more quiet after the events that had taken and were taking place elsewhere but at that exact moment. Even the usual chirping birds hanging on the lovely oak trees around stood still for fear that a single whistle could get them on the list too. This all came to an abrupt end when a beat-up Toyota zoomed as fast as its engine could afford into the driveway that led up to the cul-de-sac, a gathering of bungalows just a couple steps ahead. It screeched to a halt just in front of a lightly gated house and out stepped a hassled, fidgeting character. "Come on, let's go" she said, slamming her door shut and quickly making her way to the opposite side of the car. She hurriedly opened the passenger door beside h
Chapter 34: Chaos“For there to be universal peace there must first be universal chaos”. Sounds real murky right? Yeah, that one was from mission impossible: fallout. You tend to learn stuff from most of the movies you watch right? More or less. However, as dark as it sounds, it’s also quite intriguing, that concept. And now that I think about it, it may have some layer of factuality to it. Maybe in fact there must be great suffering for unquestionable order to be imposed. But this shit right here, was a whole different level of universal chaos. He watched from up above, floating in the air, as the facility slowly burned to the ground. To imagine that there was in fact something that could make the most hardened criminals run for their lives was scary. Just the thought of it, the inferno that made the low but mighty scurry to safety, made demons look like pathetic fools. And he enjoyed every piece of the action, floating up high and watching the magic show.But there’s always ‘the o
Chapter 33: Shotgun“Who’s ready to go to the park?” she said in a light voice, trying to get some adrenaline rushing.“Okay. Let’s Gooooooo!” the young teenager said enthusiastically. The complete opposite of the demeanor his elder sister had on. “Really mom, the park? I feel like I’m too old for that” she said, crossing her hands in front of her. “Wow. So, you’re too old for parks but just right for bed time stories?” she said, trying to get Raymond all ‘suited up’. “They’re not the same mom” she said, plopping to the couch beside her. “I don’t want to go.”"Oh. Well that's fine" she stood up, hand over her son's back. " I guess I'll just have to tell Marcus you said hi.""Marcus is coming?" She said, almost too eagerly. "I mean. 'oh, he's going to be there too?" She rephrased, trying to tone down the enthusiasm. "Of course he's coming" she smiled, softly stroking the tender hair of her son. "I invited a couple families for a kind of 'multi-date' type of thing. A few matters con
Chapter 32: The MurkiesThe dark, resonating voice sent a trickle of fear down her spine, and without thinking, she immediately got up from the floor and was about to head back to the hospital. When just as she turned, another murky figure slowly came out of the darkness. “Come on, it’s kind of rude not to answer when someone says ‘hi’ sweetheart” he said, slowly etching closer to her. Seeing that she really had no options, being cornered from both sides, she made a break for the space in the middle. Running as fast as she could to wherever her feeble legs could take her. The two dark figures met side by side, watching her run off, crossing the empty, streetlight-filled road and into a field that was virtually a cul-de-sac. “I’m not going to chase you” they both echoed in disturbingly similar fashion.Running through the field, maize crops smacking against her from every side, she maintained a steady pace. Refusing to give up nor relent until she made it out. And thankfully, she did