CHAPTER ONE: The Return

Chad

He looked up to the deep blue color that embraced the clear evening sky as the dry harmattan weather of the Nigerian December descended on him and he inhaled deeply, smiling at the memories it brought him.

It had been seven years since that cold night of a thousand events and boys were now grown men. 

He marveled at how much he had changed since he left the country years ago and how one eventful day had changed the course of his life forever, changing even the good to somewhat mediocre, it's all life; life is the funniest joke in all of history, he thought.

He inhaled the humid air again with his eyes shut this time and it had that stink of corruption, insincerity, and dust lurking somewhere behind the humid odorless mess. He smiled because that was truly the smell of the home he knew, Nigeria, in all her glory.

He helped himself in and watched from the rear view mirror how his luggage was carried into the boot of a rickety, jerky taxi. 

The engines were still running, sounding like an old woman who was lamenting of how death had forsaken her, farting and coughing at intervals. 

"Oga, na twelve thousand naira, last,"(sir, your final charge is twelve thousand naira) the cabman repeated grudgingly as he grumbled into the driver's seat. 

He was saying that for the one-millionth time.

Does he think I am deaf?

"Fine, move this carton already joor” Chad replied and a smirk crept up his cheeks involuntarily as he stressed on the word 'joor', it pleased him to realize that he had still got hold of the Nigerian slang after seven years.

He could finally say he had burst out of every shell having finally grown into that tall, handsome young man graced with a chocolate skin, a good stature, and a crispy deep voice that blended well with his speech, a man his mother had always wanted him to be.

The funniest thing he observed about himself however was that after all these years he was still wearing those same old spectacles which gave him the looks of a responsible man at all times.

He had started to live the life he had dreamed of seven years ago; getting that dream job at one of the biggest medical firms in Australia and finally having the chance to live that life Uche would always sing about in their rhymes – to sleep, wake up, eat, shit, and repeat. 

Just Before everything went haywire!

He finally found that smartass beautiful girl he had always wanted who he was planning to marry. He was not even sure he loved her but she was all part of the dream.

So why was he really home especially after achieving his dream life? 

His world wasn't here anymore and although he had six siblings, he had not heard a word of them in years.

One thing was sure though; after five years of escape to the end of the world Australia, he was home and back to the chaos he'd left. 

There was already a rich looking young lady in the back seat of the car before he arrived and got into the front seat. She had just been busy with her phone all through, especially when the driver set his moving cubicle into motion. She looked like she had arrived from overseas too so he did not care to say hello.

They were on the road now with the driver whistling to some weird old 'bongo' song over the radio and soon Chad himself was lost in his own thoughts with his mind floating on the moon.

He remembered that particular night when that pretty white woman shot at him and how his heart beat faster and faster as he ran for his life and also that early morning when Senator Chris was assassinated with a snipe right before his son's eyes.

What about Uche? Where was he?

Who knows what had happened with Uche after that hell of a night, that same night at the conference when they were unfortunate victims of an out blown ' Medusa attack'. 

He remembered 'The Vampire', his eyes were red as blood, his face tattooed to the eyeballs, his soul dark as hell. 

How 'The Vampire' shot that rich old woman cold and Mac Donald their friend and classmate.

He still can not comprehend fully what had happened that night because it was overwhelming for a young teenager however, seven years ago that shit was so real.

Now his best friends Ronald, Uche and Chinny have now disappeared into thin air without trace.

'What the fuck happened to Life after that night?'

Maybe Ronald was supposed to disappear with his sister to be safe considering his dad had been assassinated and his mom murdered earlier but what about Uche? 

He was suddenly jolted into full consciousness by the loud screeching of tires and forced breaks of the car and with his eyes open he beheld a group of men standing in front of their black Mercedes Benz all dressed in black with faces masked and silver pistols pointed at them!

"Oh here we go again," he almost muttered as waves of fear travelled down his spine. 

He could hear the woman behind screaming;

"Jesus! Jesus! Sweet lawd!" As the driver tried to screech to a halt in the quickest possible time. 

The wretched car wasn't helping, it was too late when the car had finally halted, it was right in front of those hefty masked men. 

"Oga abeg..." 

"Shut the fuck up and get out of the fucking car, mate." Their leader interrupted, his voice loud and clear.

Something strange about his accent though, like it was British or something.

It was surprisingly clean and seamless, and yes, definitely British, Chad noticed. 

They were three in number, each fully covered with clothing - a tight black long-sleeved vase which revealed their appealing body features, dark camouflage pants, and bold military boots. He'd seen those before! Somewhere… 

"Get the fuck out!" He yelled

The driver was a bit reluctant but the woman quickly let herself out through the back door, trying to escape or run or something, screaming with her hands in the air.

And then... 

Kabooom!

A gunshot echoed! And in that second her body lay lifeless on the floor of the tarred highway with her blood drawing a map by her side.

It was a headshot! 

The second one had quickly got to the other side of the vehicle where Chad was seated and pointed the silver pistols on to his head (The window had been whined down ever since they were faulty). 

"Slowly..." the guy said with an evil low voice tone. 

Chad couldn't even see clearly because somehow the lights from the Mercedes Benz headlamp was interfering with his vision.

He lifted his hands in the air slowly and made his way out of the vehicle as the man opened the door with the gun still pointed at him. The third one rushed to the corpse to take a look. 

"It is her!" He cried,

"You fucking killed her, mate!" he shouted at the shooter. 

"What the fuck are we to do now? You fucking killed her!" 

"This is fucking over for us, do you understand that? We're fucking fucked!" 

"Shut the fuck up, cunts! this is over when we're over yeah, and that means dead!" Their leader thundered back as he stepped towards them, his voice towering over theirs. 

Chad was shivering in his bones and trying his best to stay calm now. He shut his eyes, trying to concentrate on his last prayers.

Kabooom!

Another gunshot echoed!

It must be me, I must be dead, Chad though to himself.

But no, it wasn't him, it was the cabman and another headshot! 

Suddenly they were all interrupted by a loud honking of horns, two long trailers were approaching them at full speed with their headlamp lights tearing through the dark highway. 

"Stop those motherfuckers!" The leader commanded and the one with the gun at Chad's head went to see to it. 

Chad opened his eyes and saw that they were all at the center of a lonely highway with two high-speed trailers approaching them without showing signs of slowing down, the picture was clear and a disaster was inevitable! Chad had to think fast. 

"No one is supposed to be on this road at this time, that was the fucking plan!" the cried “…They are not slowing down!"

"Aye, light them up!" the boss commanded and they turned and opened fire on the approaching trailers. 

It was so loud and unbearable, Chad had to act now… there were bushes with dwarf grasses by the side of the road but what if snakes, Or lions? Or... 

"Fuck it" he muttered as a wave of determination speared into him. 

He soon found himself prostrated on the floor by the side of the road.. He couldn’t tell if he was the one who dived, Or flew, he just shut his eyes and ears with his whole forelimbs, lying face down to earth and praying to wake up from this nightmare. 

It was too loud; sounds of gunshots, loud honking of trailer horns, screeching tires, and clasping of metal; those men must have been too distracted to notice his movement. 

Then suddenly he heard the sound of human bones cracking, voices screaming and a loud crash of heavy metals almost sounding like a grenade explosion and then... there was absolute silence. Only the sound of a running trailer engine could be heard. 

Is everyone dead? 

Then he opened his eyes, looking around like in a slow-motion movie and observing that only a dim light illuminated the area. The headlamp lights were gone, he could smell some pungent gas in the air. 

From his observation the police would think is was an accident scene but then he lived! Again! 

He suddenly felt some creepily soft hand touch his shoulder and he thought his heart would stop from the jolt of fear that evaded him.

"Jesus Christ!" he jerked as he turned instinctively to see if it was a Lion, Snake, or a late-night demon? 

"Chiadi Okorie!" the voice called in a soft, warm, and friendly tone. 

Crap!

He knew that voice!

"Uche?" Chad answered with a sober, tear-filled voice, "Is that you?" 

"No, it's not me, it is my grandmother's uncle, goat!" 

Oh and just then, he knew it was truly his best friend Uche and for a while felt safe and relieved as he grabbed his friend in a warm hug.

But wait, what's he doing here? And how did he know he was coming home? And would be here at this moment? 

"Thank God!" Chad heard himself saying as he took 

"What's going on bro?" He asked as Uche breaks the hug, he hated hugs, he was homophobic but Chad didn't mind, his life had just been saved. 

"What's happening"? Chad asked again. 

"Senator Chris is alive," Uche replied bluntly. 

Uche is never ever this bblun hence Chad felt his heart skip a beat. He knew that for Uche to be straight forward at telling him this, it meant that something as serious as death was lurking somewhere in the corner.

They both stared at each other for a while, they both knew what that sentence meant. It ran echoes in Chad's brains. It meant hell and death were on the brink of war and they were in for the long ride without a choice. 

"What?"