4. Buyers

CHINYERE FELT STUPID. She felt foolish. She felt like an idiot. No amount of insults could describe how she felt about herself. 

Her hands were tied behind her back and her feet were tied as well. Her hair was all over the place but that was the least of her worries. 

Where was she? Was she far away from home? Where were they taking her? 

Chinyere huffed as she struggled to sit up. She had faked being asleep for the past three hours and not only her head, but her entire body, was aching. 

"Look who's finally awake," the man who had knocked her to the ground said and walked up to her. 

The truck was large and it hadn't stopped moving since she had woken up. 

She wasn't the only person in the truck. There were other several kids and teenagers, both boys and girls. 

Some were crying, others were sleeping, while others were shaking with fear. 

There were two benches on both sides of the truck. Muscular men occupied the seats. Tobi was sitting alongside one of the men. 

The man crouched down in front of Chinyere and held her chin, "This one is a pretty one. She'll bring in millions?"

Bring in millions? We're they planning to sell her? 

Chinyere's eyes widened and she jerked her head out of his grasp. 

The man chuckled and stood up, "She needs to learn some respect."

Chinyere tore her eyes away from the man and they landed on Tobi.

Tobi. The person who betrayed her.

Chinyere wanted so much to blame her misfortune on Tobi but she knew it wasn't his fault. 

It was hers. 

It was her fault for trusting someone whom she'd never met before.

It was number one on her list of 'What Not To Do', a list she'd created in her head as she faked being asleep. 

What Not To Do 

1. DO NOT trust strangers. 

"Don't worry," the man announced to the hostages and stepped away from Chinyere, "we'll be there soon. I received a text and the customers are excited to meet you."

After the man sat down, a young boy let out a loud cry. 

The boy was just a few centimetres away from Chinyere.

Unlike Chinyere, his hands and feet were not tied.

The boy was looking around with tears streaming down his eyes. 

Chinyere looked at the boy with pity. He looked to be around nine years old.

"Shut up!" one of the men seated beside Tobi yelled and the young boy immediately kept quiet but he was shaking. 

Chinyere grew the courage to speak to him, "What is your name?"

"E-Emeka," the boy stammered. 

"I'm Chinyere," Chinyere said, even though she knew that the boy didn't care. 

They had other things to worry about than finding out what her name was. 

Silence filled the truck for about two minutes before Chinyere spoke up again, "How old are you, Emeka?"

"Eleven," Emeka answered.

Chinyere was shocked. He most definitely looked too small for an eleven year old. 

Chinyere wanted to ask him how he'd found himself in the same position as herself but she was terrified of the muscular men who were listening to their conversation.

Emeka was bald but his bald head suited him. He was wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt and his feet were bare. 

Chinyere's thoughts drifted to her family. 

Had they found out she was missing? Were they worried about her?

And her friends? 

She should have listened to Tunde. He was right. Why hadn't she just listened to Tunde and Teacher Johnson? 

While Chinyere was still questioning her stupid decisions,  the car came to a sudden stop. The force made her fall onto her back. 

"Tobi," the man who had knocked her to the ground stood up, "open the door."

Tobi stood up without a word and opened the door to the truck. 

Chinyere assumed that the man who had knocked her to the ground was the boss because of how everyone obeyed him. 

"You four," the boss said to the muscular men who occupied the seats, "get them ready. I'm going to bring in the customers one by one."

Tobi and the man jumped out of the truck. 

One of the muscular men walked up to Chinyere and pulled her into a sitting position. 

The rest were taking care of the others; waking them up and threatening them that if they didn't stop crying, they would kill them. 

When the men were done with their task, they went back to their seats and Tobi returned with his boss but they weren't alone. 

There was a long line of men in expensive clothing following them.

"Are they ready?" Tobi asked once he entered the truck. 

"Yes," the muscular men answered.

Ready for what? Chinyere asked herself. 

"Papa, bring in the first customer," Tobi called out to the boss.

Papa? Is that his father? 

Chinyere felt her heart beat faster, as though it wanted to jump out of her chest. 

A wealthy looking man climbed into the truck with help from Tobi. 

He analysed each one of them carefully. 

When his eyes landed on Chinyere, she felt a lump grow in her throat. 

Fortunately, he moved his eyes away from her but they landed on Emeka. 

Emeka seemed to be frozen as he looked up at the man. 

"I want that child," the man pointed at Emeka. 

"How much do you have?" Tobi asked. 

"How about... Fifty thousand Naira?"

Tobi folded his arms, "Do you think kidnapping children is easy? Biko, that amount is too little."

Were they seriously discussing the price of a human being? 

"You and your father really mean business," the man chuckled and glanced at Tobi's father. 

"Prices have increased, oh," Tobi's father said, "we have people to pay and we also need food to eat."

At the sound of food, Chinyere's stomach grumbled. She was hungry but hunger was the least of her problems. 

The man walked up to Emeka. Emeka looked at him with fear, fresh tears brimming in his eyes. 

He studied Emeka and put his hand around Emeka's arm. "He's quite small and so thin but I can train him. How much do you want for him?"

"Eh... What about six hundred thousand Naira?" Tobi asked.

The man tapped his chin as though he was deep in thought before saying, "Deal."

"Prince," Tobi motioned to one of the muscular men, "take the boy out."

Prince stood up from his seat and walked to Emeka, stepping on a few of the hostages. 

He lifted Emeka by his arms effortlessly and threw him over his shoulder, "Lead the way, Boss."

Emeka's buyer nodded and walked out of the truck with Prince following behind him. 

Emeka kicked and screamed but Prince did not seem fazed by the boy's actions and instead gripped him tighter as he jumped out of the truck. 

Chinyere saw the fear in Emeka's eyes as tears freely dropped from them.

If they could do this to a young child, what more her? 

She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. 

"Papa," Tobi said, "bring in the next customer."

"Okay."

Tobi's father helped the next customer to climb onto the truck. 

Chinyere studied the second customer. 

He was also very well dressed and looked sharp in his blue suit but he was older than the first customer. Way older! 

Probably fifty years of age and he wore thick glasses. 

He looked at the faces of each hostage in the truck carefully but there was only one person who caught his eye. 

Chinyere prayed that he wouldn't notice her but immediately the old man saw her, he did not avert his eyes.