Insanely tired and possibly in another world, Marty was in a deep slumber oblivious to the world around him. The energy drink he had ordered did nothing to derail the sadness he was feeling. The tension during the car drive was as palpable as humidity after a rainstorm. He had waited till night time when Katie's plane left for Nigeria. She had missed her proposed scheduled flight yet due to her adamant spirit she stayed at the airport till the next flight instead of yielding to Marty's plea to return to the hotel. One thing was for sure, Marty would never try to offend Katie as this was their first serious fight. He could imagine how a second might turn out. His body shivered as he pulled the cover over his head. And he missed seeing her face. Hearing her voice. Imagining her body beneath the covers. A loud ringtone just from beneath his pillow woke him. Sitting up grudgingly, he felt a piercing headache due to his sleep deprivation and intense intake of coffee. Despite the ache, he
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2021 by A.E Ilupeju. Alll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Author. The After-End - The amnesiac monk who tries to remember his memory as he journeys through hell in search of his family. The Cursed Grave - A de
He journeyed through the land, keeping track of the days spent. He didn't know the route but trod on the path with his instinct. Although he sensed a familiarity with the plains and mount surrounding him. As if he had once walked the path before. After walking for a very long time, he came by the path that led to a small village. This village was hidden behind thick and dense greenery comprising of wild bushes and trees. Seeing the remote setting of the small houses with tree houses hanging above them, brought back a memory. He had been here before. The small houses were made from bamboo and dried palm fronds, the thatched roof was woven from stacks of dried up hays, fallen palm leaves, and tall stalks of dead brown grasses. He remembered how they had dug small holes into a gigantic tree of strong roots and great height. His people had carved out the inside in any way that suits them. His friends had stayed in these treehouses throughout their lives.&
He has never run like this in his life. He could recall when he was little and a boar had pursued him to the end of the forest where he had jumped into the ocean causing the boar to leave him. He glanced back and noticed that he was still being followed, the hot breeze blew through his wet hair. Arrows flew past but he was able to dodge very quickly. Breathing heavily, he kept running, he pushed himself to keep moving although he was getting tired, more reflections roamed into his mind. I should just surrender, they will take me to my family. He began to slow his pace. His parent's words echoed in his head and kept replaying. It's no use going after them, there's nothing you can do I need to save my family,
The moon changed to orange and hid among the cloud, he adjusted his sister's body on his back. The more steps he took, the heavier she became. As the pains on his back and arms proved unbearable, he decided to discard her body secretly in a nearby bush. He made a prayer in second bracing himself, he saw a path in the bush and continued.Along the path he trudged, there were hundreds of huge bare shadowed trees deprived of leaves and fruits. The trees could be assumed dead but the black hard trunks puttered with cracks that released some brown slimy substance. He walked through and came across a stream, it extended further into the land to its opposite side like a delta. The land had mountains of its own, it was vast and dense. Suddenly, a herd of catamount strode towards the creek. Their heads were round and their bodies were covered in tiny black spots leaving the tops of their ears, long tails, and
"I killed him, and my father" Maybe what they have said is true, I now know what I was but I'm nothing that now. The high priest has said that our past does not matter but the present is. Brother, I'm sorry, Father I'm sorry. I don't understand what's happening but I will get to the bottom of this. Swear it. The voice spoke I can't swear, it isn't good to swear, but my yes will be yes and my no will remain a no. I must get to the bottom of all this. What could I have stolen? Whatever it is, has to be mine. I can't take what isn't mine. I'm sure of it. He cut a piece of his head cover and wrapped the strands of fabrics around the dagger blade then he
The intricate patterns of ice hovered weightlessly dancing in the air like a dry feather. Each white flake glittered in the red moonlight, it drifted down to his left cheek. He stood up and observed his surroundings. He noticed a thin blanket of snow on the trees and ground as clumps of wet flakes continued to drift down endlessly. The icicles on a tree dropped with a loud smash, like glass cracking and shattering raising his adrenaline level with the false alarm. He admitted that he was scared, jumpy probably because he just had a dream but when he started to feel too much cold around him he glanced down at his clothes. He realized otherwise when he noticed the cut patterns on his cloth at the front and the faint red scratches on his chest affirmed his fears. It wasn't a dream. I'm safe. He thought and he puffed out in relief. He felt faint a
He took the liberty to burry the bushman's body, placing the spear he had used to kill the brute as a marking. He continued on his journey. Finally, he found himself getting closer to the Grand Master's abode. He came across a camp filled with tents surrounded by a long pointed bulwark. Many Soldiers in the GrandMaster uniform matched around the camp-keeping guards. As he moved closer, he noticed the two hefty Archers that had been pursuing him and also killed his sister. He tailed them as they entered a tent. After a long while, they came out again. They look different but he couldn't understand why. He continued to monitor the camp activities in hope of seeing his daughter. As he started to doze off, a loud cry from the camp sent away his slumber. He noticed a man struggle with some soldiers. He was cruelly beaten, his face bashed as he continued to accommodate their beatings. More soldiers watch on captivated by the man's resilience to withstand th
The site before him came like a de ja vu. An occurrence of his very existence, he could not put a name to it. But, seeing all the tents in the camp destroyed, people fighting he knew that a war had begun already. People in black garb carried stone axes, some that are rougly dressed had farming tools as weapon. He wondered what stance they had against the grandmaster soldiers.Aren't you in the same boat as them? The voice said.Clouds of feathered arrows shoot through the air bringing many to their death. Javelins whistled past and pinned a soldier to a chariot through his head, his brain split into a clean cut two. A lifeless man in a black religious habit was dragged on the ground by a black horse through the field. His garb getting torn along the way with a missing limb already decapacited ready to fall off. Some bodies lay hooked on the pointed wooden bulwark their blood spilled out, running in lines into a blood puddle on the ground. The cries of men and screams of in
Insanely tired and possibly in another world, Marty was in a deep slumber oblivious to the world around him. The energy drink he had ordered did nothing to derail the sadness he was feeling. The tension during the car drive was as palpable as humidity after a rainstorm. He had waited till night time when Katie's plane left for Nigeria. She had missed her proposed scheduled flight yet due to her adamant spirit she stayed at the airport till the next flight instead of yielding to Marty's plea to return to the hotel. One thing was for sure, Marty would never try to offend Katie as this was their first serious fight. He could imagine how a second might turn out. His body shivered as he pulled the cover over his head. And he missed seeing her face. Hearing her voice. Imagining her body beneath the covers. A loud ringtone just from beneath his pillow woke him. Sitting up grudgingly, he felt a piercing headache due to his sleep deprivation and intense intake of coffee. Despite the ache, he
The doctor affirmed that Mitchell seemed stable though he seemed to be in a comatose yet his face looked paler comparer to the white bed sheet covering the bed he is laid on. His breathing was supported by the oxygen tank placed beside him. On the way back to the hospital, he had called his Dad about the doctor's report. It's funny how you see a person hale and hearty one minute then the next minute such person is already bedridden.It seems Mitchell had contacted the Lyda virus his Dad had told him about as some of the medical issues were still unexplainable. Although Marty didn't know much about his love life, he only knew that he loves partying as to those he sleeps with or goes around with he had never met them. Mitchell had not for once introduced anyone close to him either. Marty had always perceived him to be dece t and not promiscuous.Sighing deeply, "
ACROSS town on the lower East side of Singapore, Marty was back in his hotel room which wasn't exactly a luxurious suite like he was used to while staying with his parents. The room was like a monks with living necessities. The not too tiny room had a couch and a bed. Other amenities included a sink and a half height white refrigerator. At least the bathroom had a bathtub, his one necessity in life and his most favourite place.He strolled pacing non-stop checking his black leather wristwatch as well as tapping in the screen of his smartphone. Holding the phone close to his left ear, he placed the phone on a call mode yet the phone went to a voice mail. In anger, he flung the phone on his spring induced bed and continued to pace the room. He could feel his throat close up in a thirst as his tongue felt heavy in his mouth. He moved towards the refrigerator to take a sip of water from the already opened bottle in the fridge. He had drank a few sip before leaving to see hi
The next situation occurred when Terry came to see me asking for a headache tablet as he was having a severe headache which he said could be a migraine. He further disclosed that he has been having sleepless nights since the death of Ugo. He was so incensed with guilt and strongly believed he was at fault. That same evening, he came again shivering, complaining of body ache and his diagnosis was malaria so I injected him with some dose of aspirin for the fatigue and then some drugs which he took. Instead of going home, he decided to stay at the hospital and Tema took care of him After spending about 2 days in the hospital he seemed to be getting worse and other symptoms began to reveal themselves. He had difficulty urinating then he was getting dehydrated. I couldn't do anything because what I was faced with was beyond my knowledge. At first, I thought it was a toilet infection then it drastically c
I was almost like your age when I went on a compulsory service year. Though at that time it was meant to be a voluntary service the incessant killing and unreasonable manslaughter made many to be wary of traveling wide in my home country. Hence, a lot of graduates decided to get exemption letters instead of serving. I had gone to the NYSC camp. The camp was a paramilitary camp indicted by the President to create unity among the ethnic groups in the country. I was posted to the Up North where we graduate spent about three weeks in the camp after which we were redeployed. In the camp, we were about 9,000 graduates who didn't know everyone except a few familiar faces from the university I graduated from. Those I eventually knew were my Platoon members and room members. It was the last day in the camp and our deployment letters were handed to us. Reading the letter, I was posted to a Village called Doun. I haven't been to a village before as I spent all m
It was as dark as night when the clock suddenly chimed 8:30 p.m. He stared up with his worried eyes looking away from the slide he was working on. He flipped the light microscope off. Standing up, his chair scrunched back cutting off the silence in the room. Removing his lab coat he moved away from the table and placed it on the cloth hanger. He signed heavily, he had been reaching roadblocks for some weeks now. Every time he did he gets so worked up that even his journal did just a little to calm him. Still, he hadn't been able to discover a matching antibody as the proposed toxin keeps changing its sequence and mode of operation. At first, he found out that the illness was a virus, then it began to act like a bacterium. It's frustrating because it kept changing. Although what he was seeing on the slide felt familiar it also was strangely supernatural. It was not normal but science doesn't believe in the abnormal. After taking a little break studying
The stress call he had gotten just before dawn had kept him awake. He decided to study just to while away the time. No, that's not it. The distress call has been forwarded on his line for the past months stating updates on the latest epidemic yet the causative agent hasn't been discovered. He wanted to calm himself so that he could think. Studying does that to him, it takes him on a ride from the present. He took out one of his favorite black leather journals from the shelf you can tell from how old and battered it looked. He opened it and began to read, his writing was a beautiful italicized Calligraphy that connects words with a measured space showcasing elaborate writing of the small letters g, p, q, and y. He swept his soft moderately cut fingernails tips on a page as he began to read. He was so lost in his world that he hardly noticed the morning lightening up around him from a tiny gap from his bay window. He was slightly startled when his beaut
The consistent slamming of something hard on the ground jolted me awake from a deep slumber but my eyes remained closed. My ears caught little traces of a heated conversation, I could not decipher what it was about but it seemed like a war was about to begin. What war specifically, I couldn't say. I'm still trying to grasp what the situation is. What my situation is?"What's going on?" Forcing my tightly closed eyes to open. I could see my cloudy vision clear up slowly.I was as confused as the day, my father was telling a story after visiting the native doctor. It was like I was intoxicated by the strong drink concocted for me to drink. But I didn't even drink yesterday, after all the water that I had almost drowned in. I only ate the meat the beautiful lady gave me."Where is she anyway?" I looked arou
Though the distance between us was long. But the tides and currents were not helping my course. My log kept drifting into the surrounding woods. Ronia had told me that if I ever get caught I will be killed immediately. I wondered if Julie has been killed. The intense wind caught up again. Why didn't I think of a stick to paddle, I thought? I looked into the river, jumping into the river was suicidal. I glanced back they seemed to be gaining upon me.Alas! My log got caught up in a web of dried twig held together like a barricade. No matter how hard I pulled I knew it was going to be futile as I could step into the water. I decided to rush into the forest. The heavy steps and panting revealed that I was been pursued. I increased my pace and leaped swiftly because my staying alive depends on it. I made a silent prayer as I jumped over a small bridge. The sun orb had moved and the sky seems to be getting dark