What Happened In Hostel B2

1. It was cold, it was dark and the rains fell with so much alacrity on the roof of Ebuka's car as he sped down the road like a bullet tearing through the cold night air. By his left lay Somto, his wife, snoring like a kettle with boiled water and her nose whistling higher with every bump Ebuka jumped on the road. Ebuka looked back, his son - Nathan had his leg on his sister's face. Ebuka wondered if the little girl breathed fine. With one hand on the steering, he used the other one to remove Nathan's errant leg from his sister's face. The car's radio quickly morphed into a channel playing Everly Brothers' "All I have to do is dream". Immediately Ebuka looked at the road in front, a dim silhouette of a man was there. Ebuka grabbed the steering wheel quickly dodging the man. The car skidded down the rainy asphalt and Ebuka grabbed the steering wheel firmly and corrected the car's course on the road. He didn't stop, he kept going, the Everly Brothers sang loudly, the rain fell harder with occasional roars of thunder and flashes of lightning slicing through the night sky. Ebuka felt a sudden chill creep up his spine. He shook his head and took in a deep breath. His eyes went to the mirror overhead, for a fleeting moment he could have sworn that he saw the shape of someone standing in the middle of the road. The little skirmish on the road woke Somto as she drew in a long breathe and stared at Ebuka. "What the f**k happened?" She asked. Ebuka rolled his eyes. She spent just one month in America with the kids for a summer holiday and came back to Nigeria, ever since she returned she had been forming an accent and sprinkling "f**k" in every sentence she thought could contain it, even in front of the kids. "Nothing much, I thought I saw someone standing in the middle of the road" Ebuka said. "You saw someone in the middle of the road? By this time of the night? In such a lonely highway? Ebuka were you drinking and driving? What sort of a doctor are you?" She asked, bemused. "No! I have not been drinking. I thought I saw someone. I don't know what I saw, I must be tired" Ebuka said and looked at the trees as they zoomed past, their shapes look so weird and nightmarish. "Don't stop for anyone, imaginary or real! it's dangerous" Somto said with a bossy tone. "I know. I'm not entirely stupid " Ebuka said. "Yeah, I wish you had thought of that before you made us leave my sister's house this night. I knew you don't like her but this?...this doesn't scream smart." Somto muttered and rested her head back on the front passenger seat, grumbling and mumbling words Ebuka was sure were curse words. "It wasn't my fault that the rains didn't let up until a few minutes ago. And I don't hate your sister. I just think that she can be a lot sometimes. We will be fine. We've driven through worse weather, besides what's the worst that could happen?" Ebuka said. "And could you turn down that song? How old are you? I swear sometimes you act forty years older than your age. Please the kids are sleeping, use airpods if you want to indulge your fantasies" Somto muttered and went back to sleep. "I didn't switch it on, it changed by itself! Honestly sometimes you drive me crazy!" Ebuka chimed and immediately a mack truck appeared from nowhere and T'ed their Lexus jeep, sending it crashing down the road. For a brief moment everything felt like it was frozen to Ebuka. Everything felt like a movie on a pause, then the tumbling began followed by the screaming and then the final crash at the foot of an ụgbaka tree. A flash of lightning sliced through the dark clouds as the rains fell with all amount of undaunted agility. Ebuka opened his eyes slowly as cold, bone-chilling winds blew in from the cracked windows. Thunder roared across the sullen skies sending chills down his contorted spine. Dazed and bleeding from every part of his body that he could feel, Ebuka struggled to remove his seat belt. "Somto, Nathan, Nancy...." He muttered as he looked around the overturned car but it was too dark to make out anything. A spine wrecking guilt enveloped Ebuka. "Oh Lord. I killed my family. What have I done? Oh Lord! How did this happen?" He wailed and tried to remove his seatbelt and failing woefully. His heart began to beat faster. What if he never sees his wife again? What if she's seriously hurt? The last words he told her was that she drives him crazy and not the good kind of crazy. The radio flickered on immediately and Ebuka jumped in fright. "Dream, dream, dream, dream, when I want you. In my arms when I need to ..." The Everly Brothers sang loudly but from their voices, Ebuka began to suspect that someone was singing on his radio alright but it wasn't the Everly Brothers. The voices seemed deep and overlapped each other. "Help! Someone help!" He screamed and looked around the car again, everywhere was pitch black. If he wasn't seeing the red blinking lights on his overturned dashboard, he would have feared that he had gone blind. Ebuka heard a shuffling of feet a few poles away and looked left but he couldn't see anyone. A chilly wind ran down his spine as goosebumps ravaged his bloody flesh. "Is someone there? Hello? Help!" Ebuka screamed, kicking and fighting fruitlessly to free himself from his seat belt which seemed to be getting tighter with every ragged breath he took. He heard the shuffling of feet again and looked left. He saw a boot walk up to his overturned car. More chilly wind raced into the overturned car through the shattered windows, it was almost freezing as pellets of raindrops hit the exposed bottom of the Lexus jeep. "Help! Somebody help!" Ebuka screamed. The boot came closer and stood besides his car's smashed window. Immediately the individual squatted and looked at Ebuka. The night was as dark as death but something felt familiar about the individual squatting and staring at Ebuka. Although his face was obscured by the darkness, he smelled familiar. "Help....help me...help my children... please.... Please my wife is not moving, I think she's seriously injured" Ebuka muttered as he tried to turn his neck to look at his wife, Somto. His eyes slowly adjusted to the low lighting in the car. There was a large gash on Somto's head. She was as still as a dead tree. Ebuka's heart raced into his stomach. "She's not moving...help! Please! Why ain't you doing something?" He yelled at the individual squatting by his window. The individual extended a hand and touched Ebuka's left shoulder and with a gentle voice, the individual spoke, "It's Ọkày Erika, you will be alright..." The individual said and Ebuka's eyes opened quickly. In his entire thirty-nine years on earth, there was only one soul that called him Erika. That soul died fifteen years ago. Ebuka screamed out in fear as goosebumps ravaged his skin further. His teeth began to clatter from the cold as a wave of fear raced up his spine. "Calm down. You will wear yourself out. You are burning up" the individual said and touched Ebuka's forehead. Ebuka shivered in fright. The individual's touch on Ebuka's skin felt as cold as death.