The Externals- Chapter Five

While I thought the guy would choke me to death, he let go of my neck and resolved to inflicting pain on me with his gang members till Appa comes around. They took turns in whipping me with a horse whip and each time, the level of pain increased. I didn't know how much longer I'll be able to endure it, and if Appa was going to come save me since they claimed to have sent him videos of what happened.

"Is your beloved Appa not coming to save you?"The guy that captured me said and blew cigarette smoke on my face while he rested a bit.

"We can't keep on waiting here forever!"His boss pulled the trigger of his short gun and directed it to my forehead.

Right then, I realized how precious life was. Not only to me but everyone else. Even if we're experiencing all kinds of unpleasant situations, we still have a strong desire to endure, so we'll able to enjoy it when things get better.

"Is this really going to be the end of me? Is there absolutely no way to save myself? Was I really meant to die in this pitiful manner? What's going to happen to my family members who love me dearly? How will the news of my death going to be relayed to the populace? Will they say I got killed while messing around with cultists? Will I be tagged a girl who lacks home training?" Different thought crossed my mind when I saw him pulling the trigger. My head was in a quandary state. Neither my hands, feet, or eyes could function properly. Every part of my body went numb.

"You shouldn't have bring her here", Appa could easily be identified by his erroneous English. I saw him when he walked into the hood majestically even though part of my eye was already swollen. His dark natural hair had been replaced with gold dreads, and a tattoo was also inserted close to his left eye.

"Why did it take you so long to come here? Were you scared?" Don laughed with other members of his crew.

"Let her be going. We can settle this man to man", Appa replied calmly this time.

"You no fit come my zanga con dey yarn dust. Na me dey run his town", He widened his big eyeballs unconsciously as he spoke.

"Wetin you want?" Appa was back to being in an angry mood.

I thought he came to blaze them away and save me like heroes do in action movies but I was wrong.

"I want you and your people to plead on her behalf and accept the fact that we're your bosses", Don replied chidishly.

"E be like say craze dey worry your head!" Appa became more furious.

"If you don't bring them here in less than five minutes, she's going to be a dead meat", Don returned to his seat.

"Don't worry, we'll send you part of the suya we use her to make", The other guy patted Appa's shoulder.

"Please, God don't let them kill me! I'm begging you in the name of God!" I mumbled with my heart in my mouth My hope in Appa failed me so I had to find another way to save myself.

"Hands up, everybody", Three policemen finally entered the building discreetly."If you try to do anything funny, I'll blow your head off!"

After ensuring the members of both cult groups were unarmed, the policemen handcuffed our hands and led us to their van which took us to their station. On our way, I tried explaining my innocence so I they could set me free, but they insisted on interrogating me at the police station. And even after hearing my story, they didn't release me. I also refused to give them information about my family so they wouldn't have to  pay a huge amount of money as bail so they decided to me lock me up with the cult members. I wanted them to think I was a homeless person, that detaining me would bring them no financial reward.

Yeah. Don't be surprised. In our beloved Nigeria, a minor can be locked up. Policemen wouldn't hesitate to use anyone to satisfy their selfish desires.

In jail, Appa told me how sorry he was for putting my life in danger, but I couldn't accept his apology or pity him in my angry state. Afterall, he should have thought of the consequences of his actions before deciding to be a cult member.

"Son, you must not join a bad gang so you won't end up like these wretched kids", I heard the voice of the DPO approaching our cell ten minutes later and immediately covered my face due to shame but I was a bit early. By the time I tried to see whether he was gone, I was met with humiliation.

"Yes, sir", A familiar voice replied then our eyes met."Oh my God! What the hell are you doing here, Lily?"

"You know her?" The DPO was displeased with Kenny's response.

"Yes...but she's not this kind of person, Uncle, I swear. There must have been a mixup somewhere", Kenny defended me.

"Are you sure about what you're saying?" He insisted.

"I'm surer than ever. I tried wooing her in JSS3 but she didn't agree to be my girlfriend. She's the holy holy type", Kenny added.

"Alright, then. If you insist, let's hear her side of the story", He ordered a constable to bring me to his office instantly.

Fortunately for me, my story touched Mr. Mohammed also because I knew his cousin, he permitted me to go home after warning me to be more careful not to fall victim of the same situation next time. Well, I planned on doing the same because I didn't want my loved ones to fall victim of law enforcement agencies in the country, who enjoy living off vulnerable relatives of young criminals.

When we got out of the police station, Kenny took me to a nearby clinic where a cruel-looking nurse sew the injury on my face and administered some pain relief drugs. I was expecting her to at least say some nice words to make me feel better, but she maintained a cruel face which was typical of most Nigerian nurses.

"Thanks for everything", I said as we approached the spot where we were to split up after we left the clinic.

"You should have just listened to me", He said angrily. "I hate being identified with a criminal!"

"Yet, you stood up for me", My lips blushed unnecessarily.

"Another person could have done the same", He didn't seem as excited as I was about him being my superhero.

"Can't you just pretend you did it out of love?" I murmured and rolled my eyes.

"Wow! So you can actually talk to me about love?" He made fun of me.

"Who doesn't want to be loved?" I replied.

"Well, you'll always find someone to love you either you want it or not", He looked into my eyes.

"Oh! So did you really fall in love with me then?" The question popped out of my mouth for no reason, then our moment of awkward began till an unwanted third party ended it.

"What's going on here?"My Aunt approached us.

Hearing her footsteps alone frightened me. I searched for subtle words to use in explaining the situation to her but didn't find anything to say till her thick palm landed on my right cheek!

Before sending him off to his parent's house, my Aunt said insulting words to Kenny because she knew how naive I was and thought he was trying to take advantage of me. When we got home, she also called my dad and siblings to explain everything that happened to them, not minding the amount of money she spent on airtime to make that possible. Since we started living together, she's always suspected me of being a wayward child but didn't find any action to justify her claim till then.

My loved ones had high expectations of me and I wasn't ready to hear them say how disappointed they were, so I pretended to be asleep when she called for me to come speak with them. For a couple of hours, I kept swaying from side to side on my bed because I couldn't stop thinking about Kenny. I felt bad that he was embarrassed despite everything that he did for me but things didn't end there. I imagined how things would have been if I agreed to date him, and was fantasizing about our fairytale wedding when my Aunt's loud voice woke me up.

"Hey! Are you going to sleep there forever?" She banged my bedroom door.

"I'm coming, ma" I stood up and walked to the spot where she was sluggishly.

"I remember telling you last week that we have to do environmental sanitation this Saturday, didn't I?" She yelled.

"Yes. I'm sorry for waking up late", I said with a remorseful look.

"Just go and get a cutlass from the store so you can join me in cutting the weeds growing all around the house, Ole Oshi(lazy person)!" She left me.

"I'm very sorry for what happened last night. Please forgive me, ma" I followed her around, and held her legs at some point, just to get her attention.

"Do you want me to fall down ni?" She moved away from the spot I was kneeling.

"No, ma", I withdrew my hands from her a bit."I just wanted you to know how sorry I am, and I won't stop until you forgive me".

"I don't have anything against you oo", She looked me in the eye."It's your life so you can do whatever you want with it".

"How can I do that when you're here to guide me on the right path? Please forgive me, mummy", I cried.

"It's okay. I've forgiven you but you have to promise me you'll stay away from that stupid boy because he doesn't have anything good to offer you", She told me.

"I understand. Thank you very much ma", I embraced her.

"Oh my God! What happened to your face?" She finally noticed the injury on my face.

"I fell when I was coming from school yesterday so..." I lied to her.

"Oh..pele oko mi", She examined it closely. "Have you taken any painkiller?"

"Yes, but it still hurts" I replied her.

"Sorry, ehn. Just go back to your room and rest. What do you want for breakfast?" She asked.

"Yam and egg, ma", I replied excitedly.

"Don't worry, it'll soon be ready", She went to the kitchen.

"Thank you, ma" I shouted so she could hear me well and smiled.

It took me a while to realize it but that didn't change the fact that my Aunt was someone who trusted her instinct over facts. If it told her Kenny and I were standing alone in a corner even on a bright afternoon because we're lovers, no amount of explanation or evidence can change how she feels. So, had to allow her have her way for peace to reign. 

After eating the breakfast Aunt Tolani made, I returned to my bedroom for a nap as she instructed. Thirty minutes later, I woke up to have my bath, put on my favorite Mickey mouse top with a jean as usual, and walked to Halima's house so she'll help me plait my hair. On my way there, I contemplated going to Kenny's house to apologize because I still felt bad for what happened but feared what would happen if I did so. My Aunt had friends all over our community, and I knew they wouldn't hesitate to inform her if they saw me going to his house since they already knew she warned him to stay away from me.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Halima said as I walked into her grandpa's compound.

"Hey, how've you been?"I gave her a brief hug.

"Fine, dear" She pulled away from me.

"Good evening sir. Good evening ma", I greeted her grandparents with my knees on the ground.

"How're you, my daughter?" They chorused and beckoned me to sit on the blue plastic chair their granddaughter got for me.

"I'm fine, thank you..."They didn't even wait for me to reply, before continuing what they were doing before.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit and what happened to your face? Do you have a problem with maths?" Halima continued braiding one of her neighbor's hair.

"You're not serious! Can't I just come to check on you? About my face, it's a long story" I told her.

"Pele dear", She gave me a pitiful look which I hated.

"You're wrong sha. I came here so you could help me plait my hair", I let the cat out of the bag.

"Really?" She laughed."Who talked you into it?"

"No one!" I smiled. "I decided to do this on my own".

"That's cool, but you'll have to wait for some time because I still have other people to attend to", She explained her current situation.

"It's okay", I heaved a sigh.

Soon, another classmate of ours who lived next door came in with her hair kits so she could make her hair as well, and we received her warmly. We attended the same elementary school before enrolling in GMC for our secondary education but weren't that close. Regardless, the three of us talked about how excited we were to be final year students and we things we would do during our valedictory service till Kenny startled us with his appearance. Immediately, my Aunt's warning started ringing in my ears!!!

A/N:
Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed as I enjoyed writing and editing it? 😁😍If you have questions to ask about it, please don't hesitate to message me. Also, remember to share or recommend it to other teen fiction lovers that you know. Thanks and God bless.