Ikenga

by Nnedi Okorafor

  “Why can’t you just drive?” Nnamdi nervously asked.

  “I would, but I’m small,” she said. “My feet still don’t reach the pedals that well. Trust me, it makes a difference. We need to do this fast; it’ll be better if I guide you.”

  As the Man, Nnamdi was more than adult size. His long legs barely allowed him to squeeze into the driver’s seat. “How do I turn on the car?” Nnamdi asked in his low voice.

  “You can’t drive?” Ruff Diamond exclaimed.

  “Relax,” Chioma said. “I know how to do it.” She reached over and turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life. The tank was nearly completely full. The thieves must have had special plans for Bonny’s car. “Now, see the two pedals?” she told Nnamdi.

  “Are you serious?” Ruff Diamond shouted. “There’s no time to learn how to drive. We need to get the hell out of here! We got lucky in the house. But they’re probably coming after us right now. Some of those guys are gonna hear these cars starting and driving off! They will kill us, trust me! All those guys care about is money.”

  “Can you drive?!” Chioma snapped.

  “NO! But I’m not a goddamn adult!” he screamed. “HE is!”

  Nnamdi turned around and looked Ruff Diamond squarely in the face. “No, I’m NOT!”

  Ruff Diamond’s jaw dropped open.

  “It’s Nnamdi, Ruff Diamond,” Chioma said. “He’s the Man. He’s strong, but he’s still twelve, like you and me! Nnamdi, that pedal is the brake and that’s the gas. Got it?” She put the car in gear just as a bullet hit the windshield.

  “Kai!” Ruff Diamond screamed, flattening himself on the back seat.

  Nnamdi mashed his foot on the accelerator and they shot forward. The next shot hit the car behind them. He hit the brake and Ruff Diamond nearly flew into the passenger front seat with Chioma.

  “Focus!” Nnamdi said aloud. “Focus!”

  “Touch the accelerator softly!” Chioma screamed.

  Nnamdi wrestled with the steering wheel as he lurched and drove the car around the other cars. He glanced in the rearview mirror. One of the men from the computer store was coming after them. He still had copper wiring on his arms and wrists, but he was aiming a gun at the car. Another three men were running into the lot from the other side, also with guns. The computer store guy was the most immediate danger. He was much closer and far angrier.

  Nnamdi stamped his foot on the accelerator and they shot forward again as they drove around another car. A shot fired. He heard the bullet zoom past Chioma’s window. Nnamdi gnashed his teeth, angry. It was one thing to shoot him; it was another to harm Chioma. He slammed on the brakes and opened the car door.

  “Nnamdi!!” Chioma screamed. She grabbed the gearshift and put it in park. Nnamdi glanced at the car, noted that Chioma and Ruff Diamond were okay, and then started running. He was in that zone again, but this time he was aware of himself. He felt in control. He was in control of everything. Even his anger. He was doing this for Chioma. He ran at the man from the computer store, seeing him in tunnel vision tinged with red. The world slowed down around Nnamdi. But he moved faster. In the darkness, he saw all things clearly and he knew the computer guy could not see him because he was blacker than shadow, like a slice of outer space. All the computer guy with the gun probably saw was the car door opening.

  Nnamdi closed the distance quickly and was on the man before he could fire another shot. He did all these things at once: grabbed and crushed the gun as he shoved the muzzle upward, grabbed the man’s neck, shoved a knee into his gut, and growled deep, like a lion. They landed in the grass and Nnamdi brought his shadowy face an inch from the man’s face and roared, “You get up and you die!!!” The man coughed, cried, and curled into a ball like a wounded animal.

  The other men had stopped where they were, staring as Nnamdi got up and stood tall. These were not the men who’d been in the house. These men most likely were not from Kaleria, so they knew little about the Man. And if they did, they certainly didn’t expect him all the way in Tse-Kucha. Most of them probably thought they were seeing a shadow monster. All the better to scare them straight, Nnamdi thought.

  “Change your ways,” he bellowed in his deep voice. “Stop the evil that you do here. If you don’t, I will come back and stop it myself. Go back to that house where the hostages were, see the men and woman who lie there. That is how I will do it.” The man Nnamdi had attacked started crawling away, coughing and weeping. The other men just stood there staring at Nnamdi. He turned, returned to the car, and got in. In the rearview mirror, he could see Ruff Diamond staring at him.

  “That was fantastic,” Chioma said, grinning. She looked at Ruff Diamond. “Don’t you think?”

  Ruff Diamond only looked blankly at Chioma and then at Nnamdi’s shadowy non-face. Chioma put the car into drive and Nnamdi gently pressed the accelerator. As they moved, Chioma reached for something on the floor of the back seat.

  “There was a pickup truck full of these,” she said, holding up a huge red-green mango. “I threw some in the car while I was waiting for you.” She tossed it at Ruff Diamond. He caught it and Chioma grinned wider.

  Slowly and steadily, they drove off, leaving the confused, terrified men standing there.

  Night Drive

  “HOW’S YOUR LEG?” Chioma asked.

  Nnamdi nodded, gritting his teeth. “I’m fine,” he lied. “I think . . . I think it stopped bleeding, at least.” That was the truth. And that was a good sign because, either way, there was nothing they could do about it. They needed to get home and he was the only one tall enough to properly drive the car.

  The more Nnamdi drove, the easier it got. As soon as they were on the paved road, he even picked up a little speed. A little. He was going thirty-five miles per hour. Then forty. He knew the way out of town, but that was it. And it was dangerous to use his GPS power while driving. They needed to get directions. At this time of night, stopping would be risky, especially since he’d been shot.

  “There,” Chioma said, pointing at a small house beside the road where an old man was shuffling into the front door. He’d probably just come from the outhouse, for this house didn’t look like it had running water or electricity. Chioma opened her window when they got closer and called out, “Sir!”

  The old man turned around. As they pulled up next to him, Chioma said, “Sir, please. We need some help.”

  “It’s late; you shouldn’t be out,” the old man said in a gruff voice. An old woman peeked out the door.

  “You are correct,” Chioma said. She paused and looked at Nnamdi. Then she turned back to the old man. “You live here and you are old,” she said. “Elders always know what’s happening. Haven’t you seen cars speeding past your house in the last few minutes?”

  The old woman now came out and stood beside the old man. “Shhh,” she said. “Yes. We both have.”

  “What is going on?” the old man asked. “Have they escaped?”

  “Yes,” Chioma said.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” the old woman said.

  “I’m one of them,” Ruff Diamond said. “They took me from my mother. My father is very wealthy and they were trying to get him to pay a ransom.”

  “This country, o, so full of corruption. We need a hero like Kaleria has the Man,” she said.

  You have no idea, Nnamdi thought.

  “That is interesting,” Chioma said. “In Kaleria, they treat him like a criminal.”

  The old man was squinting through the window at Nnamdi, trying to get a closer look.

  “That’s where we need to go,” Chioma quickly said. “Can you tell us how to get there?”

  “I was born there,” the old woman said. “That’s a five-hour drive. Do you have enough fuel?”

  “I don’t know—”

  “Who is this driving the car?” the old man asked. “Why doesn’t he say
anything?”

  They all turned to Nnamdi. All looking at him, in his shadowy shape. Never had he felt so real. This was all actually happening. They were all seeing him. He was glad it was the middle of the night.

  “He’s the one who saved us all,” Chioma said.

  The old woman was delighted and pointed at Nnamdi. “Is he—”

  “Yes,” Chioma said.

  “Would you mind if I used my mobile phone to snap your picture?” the old woman excitedly asked.

  Nnamdi didn’t know whether to smile or just sit there as the old woman took photo after photo of him. She’d look at her phone, frown, and take another. He didn’t know why he’d agreed to be photographed. After several attempts, even with the light on in the car, the old woman finally gave up.

  “He’s not meant to have his picture taken,” the old man said. He chuckled and nodded. “I could have told you it wouldn’t work. But, my wife, you always have to see everything for yourself.”

  “I still think you deserve to have your picture taken,” the old woman muttered.

  Not only did the old couple tell them how to get back to Kaleria, but the old woman wrote it on a piece of paper and the old man gave them a jerrican full of fuel, some bottles of water, and more mangoes. Ruff Diamond was especially happy. He’d eaten the three that Chioma had put in the car and he was still hungry. He hadn’t eaten in two days. Nnamdi and Chioma offered to give the old couple the rest of their money for the fuel, but they refused.

  As they turned onto the main road, Chioma said, “It’s always good to respect elders.” She bit into a mango she’d peeled. The crescent moon hung low in the sky, barely lighting their way.

  Home Is Kaleria

  NNAMDI’S MOTHER OPENED the door, Bonny looking over her shoulder. Her worn, red-eyed face lit up like the sun. “NNAMDI!” she screamed, grabbing and yanking him to her. She paused, holding him away from her and looking at the blood on the leg of his pants. “What? Are you . . . ?”

  “It’s not . . . I’m fine,” Nnamdi quickly said. “It was just a scratch. The bleeding has stopped.” When he’d turned off the car in front of his mother’s house and changed back to himself, the first thing he did was pull up his pant leg. He was afraid of what he’d see. Maybe it wasn’t bleeding, but there would certainly be a nasty hole. He could feel a wound on both sides of his thigh, which meant the bullet had gone through his leg. Right there in the car, the three of them watched the dark red hole in his thigh close up. It hurt horribly, but it was a small price to pay for healed flesh.

  Still hugging Nnamdi, his mother now looked up. She saw Chioma just as Chioma’s parents came running down the hall from the living room.

  “Nnamdi’s back?!” Chioma’s mother frantically asked. “Nnamdi’s back? Is . . . CHIOMA!!!”

  Chioma’s mother picked Chioma up before her stepfather could get to her.

  “Oh, Chioma,” she said, hugging her tightly. She started sobbing. Chioma’s stepfather threw his arms around them both.

  “Oh my God! And Debo Okunuga!” Nnamdi’s mother said, noticing Ruff Diamond. She pulled him to her with Nnamdi. Bonny held Nnamdi’s hand, tears in his eyes, too.

  “We brought back your car,” Nnamdi told him, his mother’s arm around his shoulders. There was a little blood on the seat from his leg and mango peels in the back seat. He held his breath as he watched Bonny run past him to go see.

  Bonny slowed when he got to his car. He walked around it. Then he pumped his fists in the air and shouted, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” He turned to Nnamdi and grinned. Nnamdi grinned back, relieved. People came out of their homes to see what the shouting was about. Mr. Oke was off duty, but several people had seen Nnamdi, Chioma, and Ruff Diamond pull up to the gate in Bonny’s car. And when they’d entered, they’d left the gate open.

  “Oh, my beautiful son,” Nnamdi’s mother wept. “We all thought the Man had taken you! Then you, Chioma Nwazota, sweet, sweet girl!” She turned to Ruff Diamond. “Your mother told me you’d been kidnapped. She wouldn’t let me go to the police because she didn’t trust them, but she thought I, of all people, would know what to do. We need to call her and your father immediately!”

  After contacting Ruff Diamond’s parents, she convinced them that it was all right to call the authorities. By noon, Nnamdi, Chioma, and Ruff Diamond found themselves sitting at a table face-to-face with Chief Okimba. They had discussed and agreed on what they would tell the police. No one was going to believe the real story, so they had no other option—they had to demonize the Man by saying he had kidnapped Nnamdi. And in a way he had, during the days Nnamdi was in the abandoned school.

  Nnamdi, who’d changed into a fresh T-shirt and shorts, wanted to slap Chief Okimba. He was exhausted from all that had happened and the drive through the night. He hadn’t had a wink of sleep; his patience was running very low. Okimba reeked of expensive cologne and had heavily manicured fingernails, and the lines of his hair were shaved so sharp that his hair looked painted on. What kind of chief of police wore a huge diamond earring in each ear? He interviewed them individually. Nnamdi was last.

  “Good morning, son,” Chief Okimba said. They were alone in the kitchen. The chief dabbed his forehead; he was a big man, it was hot, and for some reason, he was wearing his full uniform, medals, beret, and all.

  “Good morning,” Nnamdi quietly replied.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m alive.”

  “Well, it’s good to see you that way instead of another way.”

  “Yes.”

  “You look like your father,” he said. “Same eyes and chin. Looks like you’ll be tall like him, too.”

  “I hope so, sir,” Nnamdi said.

  “Yes, well, let’s hope when you get older, your claim to fame will be more than escaping from the Man,” the chief said.

  “Yes, sir,” Nnamdi muttered.

  “So he kidnapped you and the other two?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why? Is he some sort of crazy man? Was he going to sell you? Use you as child slaves?”

  Nnamdi shuddered. The media and authorities would not be kind to the Man. “I don’t know why,” Nnamdi said.

  “Do you know his whereabouts?”

  “No,” Nnamdi said. “He . . . he is good at hiding.”

  “If we get someone here to draw him, can you describe his face?”

  “No, sir,” Nnamdi said. “He kept his face hidden very well.”

  “Ugh, why can’t you kids be more useful? How is it that none of you saw the Man’s face?!”

  Nnamdi shrugged.

  “Where did he keep you?”

  “Um . . . it was dark when he took me, and he . . . uh, blindfolded me.”

  “Did he beat you?”

  “No, I—”

  “Did someone call the press?” Ruff Diamond shouted from the other room.

  “I know I didn’t,” Chioma said. Nnamdi heard the front door open and then Chioma added, “Oh, you’re kidding.”

  There was a knock on the kitchen door and Nnamdi got up and opened it.

  “Did you call the press?” Chioma asked the chief, peeking in the kitchen. Ruff Diamond glared at the chief from over Chioma’s shoulder.

  “Well, not me, exactly,” Chief Okimba stammered, looking away.

  “Why?” Nnamdi asked Chioma.

  “Look outside!” she said.

  A crowd of people had come right through the open gate, passing Bonny’s car. The house was now surrounded by journalists carrying cameras, hand devices, and notebooks. Some were already interviewing neighbors and some were filming the house, but most stood there waiting.

  “Excuse me,” the police chief said, getting up. He patted his perfect hair and tore off a paper towel from the roll on the counter. He dabbed his sweaty face and straightened out his uniform.

  The
chief, two of his constables, and the divisional police officer gave a press conference right on the steps of Nnamdi and his mother’s house, with cameras flashing and microphones recording. Nnamdi stood behind them, frozen as Okimba called the Man a kidnapper and Kaleria’s number one most wanted criminal. Nnamdi felt numb inside, but only because he needed a good ten hours of sleep. And the press conference wasn’t the end of it. The editor in chief of the Kaleria Sun himself, Ikenne Kenkwo, sauntered in and walked up to Chief Ojini Okimba.

  “Is this the boy?” he asked, glancing at Nnamdi. Nnamdi stepped forward to introduce himself, but then Kenkwo turned back to Okimba. Nnamdi felt his face heat with embarrassment. He balled his fists and pressed them to his sides.

  “It is,” Okimba said.

  Kenkwo looked at Nnamdi again. But this time Nnamdi just looked away. Kenkwo chuckled and said, “Oh, he looks exhausted.”

  Plan

  BONNY, CHIOMA, RUFF Diamond, and their parents, some neighbors, a few aunties and uncles and cousins, and a happy Mr. Oke (who’d returned to work when he heard of their return) all stayed at the house that night and a spontaneous celebration occurred.

  As the highlife music played in the living room and palm wine, mineral, and other refreshments flowed, the exhausted Nnamdi retreated to the bathroom and took a long hot shower, his first in days. The water felt so good on his skin. His skin. Well, except for the still healing cut on his chest where Never Die had slashed at him and the raised bruise on his leg from the gunshot wound.

  As he stood beneath the hot water, he shut his eyes and used his will to focus on what he knew was in him. I have to be able to change whenever I want so I can do what I need to do, he thought. Was he talking to the Man? To himself? He didn’t know who he was addressing, but he knew that “who” was inside him and a part of him. It happened quickly and smoothly, his head softly bumping the showerhead. His heart slammed in his chest. And the warm water from the shower felt like wind. He immediately made it happen again. And within a second, he was back to his twelve-year-old self. He smiled, dunking his head into the hot shower stream.