CHAPTER 10

.        In combat, the possession of a weapon had often served as an advantage to the side fortunate enough to have one, that was the universal assumption, and it was evident in common fightings, from a wrestling ring, to little kids playing sword fight, to the cult boys, as well as the troublesome bus conductors, regardless of the size of their opponent the possession of a weapon more often than not awakened a degree of confidence in them.

For Alice however, it was a different case scenario, she had the gun, but lacked the courage to fire, her eyes trailed round the men to the gas cylinder she had recently filled, that stood outside the kitchen a few metres away from where they stood, then she saw his arm tense as he prepared for his next kill, time wasn't on her side, nothing was.

" Four " he blurted out.

One more count would change everything, she had less than five seconds to make a decision, it was her life and Mike's or that of this cold blooded killer, then the echoes of a fifth count, that followed with his hand on the gun.

What happened next was sudden, it tore the look of satisfaction from his face, and left one of disbelief and surprise when the man beside him dropped to the ground, a straight, solid fall he made no attempt to break, lying face down on the ground as blood spewed from under him. Someone had indeed fired a gun, but it wasn't her, she was yet to pull the trigger and her target was still alive.

He had crept in like a ghost while they busied themselves with the hunger games, as fast as the first blast he shot again, and again, then the final bullet, the last one that brought the red eyed maniac to his feet.

Alice was still shaken from the unexpected blast of four simultaneous gunshots and her ears struggled to work their way back to full function, she could feel her fingers shaking vigourously, involuntarily, she stood petrified at the sight of four bodies that laid cold on her living room floor, lifeless and bloody, this was the real hell on earth she thought as she stood face to face with the man who had fired the gun and saved her life, he wore a pair of black jeans, a grey shirt, a black leather jacket, and a strong posture, he was nothing like the vagabonds that had invaded her house, he exuded a fair amount of control, discipline and looked somewhat familiar, she tried to place where she had seen him before, but her effort to figure out who he was washed away as he walked closer to her, eliminating the dots she had been putting together to place his face, the gun dropped from her hands, it hit the floor with a thud, and she could have sworn her heart wasn't far behind it.

He stood barely metres away from her, she could see he was in his early thirties, a handsome man, with a square jawline she found awkwardly attractive, whether the shock or fear of the stranger's intention's she seemed to have forgotten that she was still half naked. 

She needed the jacket more than he did, and with both hands he slung it over her shoulders, he didn't appear to be the slightest bit nervous about the dead bodies, instead checked their clothes as though he was looking for something, her eyes trailed him until they fell on Mike, for a moment she had forgotten about him.

He mumbled inaudible words behind the gag while she loosened his mouth and hands, and the second he was free he threw his uninjured arm around her, but she continued staring at the awkward man as he furthered his search through the pockets of the dead criminals, he seemed to have found something, it was a cell phone,  he had obtained it from the goon who had tried to rape her, and just after he kept it in his pocket he lifted his head and met her gaze. Her stare was so steady that it could have been felt by a blind man, and when Mike turned to see the person who had saved their life, what he saw was a rather familiar face.

" You ?, I thought you were dead, I saw them enter your house, how are you still alive ? " he questioned leaning against Alice as she helped him up to his feet.

" You know each other ? " Alice asked in confusion.

" He's the one that started all this, he led me to believe all those lies about stealing from Fasting and getting away with it. " Mike continued.

And at that moment the dots connected, she had been trying to place his face since he walked in, but the answer was clear now, Mike had introduced her once before, back when they still had a relationship, this was Joseph.

" I'm sorry I got you mixed up in this, I will explain everything to you later, but we need to leave, it isn't safe, more could be on their way as we speak ".

He sounded sincere, and whether or not he said, no one needed to tell them twice before they knew it was no longer safe to stay there, the stench of fuel could not be ignored, and it would only be minutes before the news would be at the door to catch the scene, this was another way to get her in the papers, what could possibly be worse than them finding the dead bodies of four criminals, believed to be associated with a cocaine dealer on her living room floor ? 

As they made their way to leave the house, Joseph in front of them while they followed behind him, with Mike leaning on Alice for support, Mike turned his face one more time to look at the dreadful scene, and that's when he saw him, the red eyed maniac, he wasn't so dead after all, in fact he had the gun Alice had dropped in his arms, blood still spewed from his right shoulder, but he had them in his sights, the gun pointed directly at her head.

He released the bullet, the sound resonated in her ears as she fell to the ground, shaking from the shock and the impact of Mike's push, he had pushed her out of his line of fire, and had taken the shot instead, there was a second, a third and then a thud, Mike's body hit the floor, hard, she could see his body shake, his struggle for breath, he was bleeding all over, he was dying, Joseph shot the maniac before he could do anything else, releasing two bullets into his body, just at the right places to give him a slow, agonizing death, he fell down, a smile still fixed on his face, as the gun fell from his arms. 

Alice had his head on her laps, his body had suddenly grown cold, her tears dropped on his pale face, he stared into her eyes as he struggled to make out words, Joseph was by his side as well, kneeling on one leg as he bent to Mike who suddenly gripped his hand.

" Promise m.ee, th.. that yo..you will keep her safe " he pleaded with Joseph , blood coming out of his mouth, but before Joseph could answer, he drew him even closer, and repeated himself.

" Pro..mise me " he said again

" No, don't do that, don't you dare, " Alice screamed in between the tears and the sobs.

Sadness crept over her face, there wasn't anything she could do to help, and the reality struck her even more with Joseph's reply.

" I promise " .

                             *   *   * 

The ixoras had started to bloom, they lined the edges of the road, elegantly showcasing a blend of yellow and red, but one look could disclose the last time they had a good trim, there weren't gardeners, this wasn't a garden, there were other flowers, hibiscuses, Christ thorn, some fresh, others wilted, the flowers grew amongst each other, struggling for space.

The air was a blend of smoke and dust, they had been on the road for almost an hour, but had finally pulled up at the rusted, broken gates of ikorodu cemetery, it was as though the gates were meant to prevent the bodies from escaping due to the poor condition of the place, the vegetation had overcome the tombs, making it look like a mini forest, a pile of trash had been heaped together not too far behind, awaiting the next rain that would wash it down the only path that had not been overtaken by harsh thorns.

It was evening now, Joseph had gone into the cemetery with Mike's body, he had been gone for a while, and since then Alice had not stopped staring into her palms, she could still see the blood as it trickled past her fingers, his sweat as he struggled to breath, and the way he gasped under her for words she would never hear, the tears flowed freely, the same way they had all through the ride there, she had pondered over the death of Mike, true, he had been shot by the maniac killer, but she couldn't help but think those shots were her fault, if she had killed him when she had the chance, Mike might still be alive, not having to be buried in a place where he might never be discovered again, she didn't know much of his family, except that he was an orphan, who had to fend for himself at the age when his mates enjoyed the love and warmth of their families, his life had never had meaning to him, until he met her, and now he was dead.

He had made many bad decisions in his life, some he could escape from, but this was one he couldn't save himself from. Maybe now he will find peace. Maybe, just maybe.

The sound of breaking bushes caused by Joseph's hard shoes would alert any creature to run off, there had to be snakes all over the place, the bushes were sufficient enough for them to hide, he finally got to the car, dusted the mud off from under his shoes against the tarred road and jumped into the driver's seat, he looked exhausted, dirty, but hadn't yet noticed the empty passengers seat, as he drew the seat belt across his chest, and turned to adjust the mirror, he discovered that his often empty seat was once again empty, as though in disbelieve he turned as if to clarify, it was true, the seat was empty, Alice wasn't in the car, she had disappeared into the cold, misty, dark night. That was one more problem to deal with, but somehow less than he had expected.

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