Holocaust
Page 40
Wole, Baba Adora, Tunrayo and Anike gathered around a small battery powered rechargeable light in the sitting room of the house they were staying in.
All had their eyes fixed on it as Baba Adora spoke. None of the faces there were happy. They all looked sad.
“The Evonso virus has eventually been cured; but like I told Wole earlier it doesn’t really do us much good. What comes next is too frightening to even contemplate. It is my hope we will survive it but that I fear might be a false hope on my part.
“It is no secret the world powers have begun using nuclear weapons. Their continuous usage is going to take us into what some call nuclear winter.
“The air we breathe will become poisonous. This will happen on a global scale and Nigeria will not be exempted except for a few places. Ninety six percent of the world population will perish in the next two years. What follows afterwards only God can tell. There is no easier way to say this but this is the Holocaust we’ve been warned about for centuries. It is finally upon us.
“Tomorrow we leave this house and move to the hills and caves in the south west. We’ll carry as much food as we can. If we can get a car we’ll travel with all speed. Who knows? We might just live out the rest of our lives in relative safety and tranquillity.”
He paused looking around. The glum faces told him no one believed his words. They were staring death in the face and no one was in the least bit hopeful about what the future held for them. The cold silence lingered for hours after Baba Adora was done speaking.
The next day was one of the drabbest they’d seen in a long time. Thick gloomy cloud filled the skies; so thick it was impossible for the bright sun’s rays shinning behind to penetrate its thick cloudy depths. Tunrayo and Anike sat in a corner underneath a large almond tree a few meters away from the house.
Their eyes drifted over the large bags stacked in a corner which contained all their possessions. Wole and Baba Adora had left the house since the early hours of the morning, to look for transport. Their hearts were frightened and anxious. Their success or failure in reaching the hills west of the country would be largely determined on their being able to acquire a vehicle.
With the rampant rate of destruction plaguing the country, it was debatable they reached the safety of those hills even with a car. A deep sigh left both their lips at the same time and they looked up as Baba Adora drove or rather struggled to drive a gleaming maroon Honda accord.
He eventually managed to get it parked in front of them. They leapt to their feet and hurriedly began to toss their bags into the trunk he opened.
“You sure you can manage to drive this thing to the west?” Anike asked with an uncertain look on her face.
“We don’t have a choice __” Baba Adora growled breathing deeply. “If there was a more capable driver I’d gladly relinquish the controls to him, but unfortunately am the only one ___” He paused looking off into the distance as if some great powerful force had paused him.
“What is it?” Wole asked grabbing his arm.
It took several seconds for him to respond. When he did, his eyes had a wild eyed look that none of them had seen before.
“I have a little bit of good and bad news __”
They exchanged worried glances.
“Do I proceed?”
They nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and continued.
“I think I’ve solved our driving problem. Do any of you remember Collins? The guy we escaped Oraromi with. They all nodded slowly.
“Well he and his girlfriend Judith are holed up not too far from here. We have to find them.”
“Ok __ let’s go then __”
“I just hope we are not too late __”
“What do you mean by that?”
His only answer was to leap into the driver’s seat and start the engine. They set out a few minutes later.
Three hours later
Collins strolled to the window of the sitting room for the umpteenth time. He couldn’t place the source of his unease but his insides kept telling him that something wasn’t right.
He’d awakened around 3am and hadn’t been able to sleep since. A bright spot of light deep within the bushes ahead caught his attention. His eyes drifted to the clock on the wall. It said 7.15 am. Judith wasn’t up yet. As she drew nearer to term she’d gotten more tired and weary than she usually felt.
He picked up the large shotgun a few feet away and marched to the front door. The light brightened as he stepped out with the gun held at the ready.
The trees started to move as if something large walked between them. He swallowed raising his gun slowly. Forty eight seconds the trees were pushed aside and a Higuan giant stepped out of the bushes. He yelped in fear and opened fire peppering its torso with bullets. It had no effect.
The chamber gave a loud click as the gun ran out of bullets. He took several steps back struggling to load it. That was why he didn’t see a large shadow sweep his way. By the time he looked up it was already too late.
The hand came smashing down, luckily for him the giant’s aim wasn’t true and its palm collided with the earth about a metre from his foot. The earth shook and the impact flung him almost ten feet away where he smashed down hard three metres from the front of the house.
Bright lights lit up the sky above and he looked up shocked to see a wave of flame bearing down on him. He leaped to his left barely managing to make it behind the trunk of a large mango tree before it struck.
Heat flooded the trees trunk like a massive tidal wave. Sweat streamed down his face, back and thighs in torrents. He thought he heard Judith scream from inside the house. His eyes darted towards it and his heart started to race when he saw the front awash with bright red flames. Judith was still inside. He leaped out when there was a break in the surge of flames, slamming the final bullet into the chamber of the shotgun which miraculously he’d managed to hold onto.
He rolled and came up squeezing. The first two shots took off the heads of two dríegons while the last bounced off the chest of the Higuan giant. He lowered the gun slowly and swallowed. He was screwed. The thing came in fast swinging a foot the size of a football field his way.
He dived barely managing to escape the vicious kick. The foot smashed into the house flinging a great chunk of the front a hundred feet into the air. The last dríegon swooped in blowing out another wave of flame. The flame struck the ground in front of him and exploded flinging him backwards where he smashed into what remained of the mango tree.
The tee-shirt he wore was awash with flames. He tore it off flinging it on the ground in front of him. He saw it swoop round coming in for another pass. The Higuan giant’s red eyes scoured the ground looking for him. The mango tree’s thick branches hid him from view for the time being.
There was clattering sound coming from the house. Judith was still alive. His face hardened and he rose coming out from under the shelter of the tree.
It he had to sacrifice himself for her so be it. Fear greater than anything he’d ever known surged through him when he saw the Higuan giant’s red eyes focus on him. He was dead and he knew it. Out of the corner of one eye he saw a bright white flash light up the heavens.
The dríegon hovering in the distance dissolved into a thick cloud of ash. It’s dying scream reverberated over the landscape. The Higuan giant turned searching for what brought down the dríegon. There was a faint scuffling sound behind. He turned shocked to see Judith being helped from the wreckage of the house by a teenage boy.
His eyes narrowed. He’d seen him before. Oraromi __ he could never forget a face. The giant roared and walked off into the bushes its eyes fixed on something he could not see.
He raced to Judith and the boy. “We have to leave NOW! Baba Adora caused that distraction but I don’t think he is powerful enough to face a Higuan giant on his own.”
Collins nodded slowly hurrying after Wole who led him down a long narrow path in the depths of the bushes. They walked for about ten minutes before they
came upon a gleaming maroon Honda Accord. A woman in her fifties sat in the back biting her nails. She gasped as they appeared her hand pressed against her chest.
“You saved him __” She gasped.
“Not me __ Baba Adora did.”
Collins eyes narrowed when he saw the beautiful teenage girl step out from behind the car. He hadn’t even seen her standing there. He knew her as well __ they’d escaped from Oraromi together.
“What do we do now?” He asked quietly still shocked that he and Judith were alive. His eyes locked with hers and then drifted to her swollen belly. The silent question hung in the air. She smiled nodding. A relieved sigh burst from his lips. The baby was still ok it appeared.
“We wait for Baba Adora. He has a plan __”
“I hope it’s a good one __” Collins growled under his breath.
They didn’t have long to wait. Baba Adora burst out from behind the trees a few feet to their right startling them all.
“We best get moving NOW!” He tossed the car key to Collins as he said this. Collins caught it expertly and leaped into the driver’s seat. The engine roared to life and they were off, speeding off into the distance. Miles away Collins saw the giant come out of the bushes through the review mirror. It didn’t see them. Only then did his breathing slow.