IMPRISONED

CHAPTER ONE

The whole compound was surrounded by police officers.

Sirens wailed from the police vehicles, cutting through the quiet morning like a warning no one could ignore. People had gathered outside the compound, wondering what could have happened in their peaceful community.

Their faces were filled with shock as they watched the police drag a young man toward one of their vehicles. He looked familiar to some of them.

Then someone shouted after getting a clearer view of his face.

“Is that not the pastor’s son?”

The words spread through the crowd.

“Oh, he is the one.”

“How did he end up here?”

“What is he going to do now?”

The crowd remained at a distance, watching as the police officers took him away.

His name was Elijah.

His hands were cuffed behind his back, and they were covered in blood.

“Please, listen to me! I didn’t do it!” Elijah cried as he struggled against the officers.

“Move it!” one of them shouted.

Elijah lowered his head.

Shame burned through him as he felt the weight of the people’s eyes on him. Some looked shocked. Others looked disappointed. A few simply stared.

How was he going to explain that he had done nothing to the girl?

No one was listening to him.

Not even the police.

Everything happening around him felt like a dream. He kept hoping he would wake up and discover that none of it was real.

God, please, bring me out of this.

He prayed silently.

Deep down, Elijah knew that only God could save him.

His parents couldn't save him.

He believed the news must have reached them by now.

And just as he had thought, it had.

---

“What do you mean my son was arrested? Where?” Sarah shouted when she heard the news.

She couldn't believe it.

Elijah had only just left the house. How had he already ended up in trouble?

She paced around the room, looking for what was not lost. Her wrapper kept slipping as she tried to adjust it.

Elijah’s father, on the other hand, was too shocked to say much. He dropped everything he was doing and rushed with his wife to the place where they had been told their son was arrested.

---

Elijah was eventually pushed into the police vehicle.

He didn't know what else to do except clear his name and prove that he had been framed for murder.

The vehicle pulled away despite his pleas.

As they drove away, Elijah thought he saw someone he knew among the crowd.

He looked closely.

It was his father.

His mother stood beside him.

“Daddy!”

Elijah quickly moved toward the window.

“Mummy!”

He banged on the window, hoping they would hear him.

They didn't.

“Daddy! Mummy!”

His voice became weaker as the vehicle moved farther away.

His parents remained where they were, unable to see him.

The vehicle drove away from the scene while some of the officers remained behind to secure the area and gather evidence for the investigation.

Soon, they arrived at the police station.

Elijah was led out of the vehicle.

“Come down. Cooperate with us,” one of the officers said calmly.

“Sir, I am innocent. I didn't do anything. I was only—”

“Take him away,” another officer interrupted.

Elijah stopped talking.

He was led into the station.

---

He was thrown into a cell where other prisoners were being held for different crimes.

As he entered, nobody spoke.

They simply watched him.

Elijah held on to the prison door.

“Officer, I'm innocent. Please, hear me out. I didn't do it.”

He kept pleading, but his words seemed to have no effect.

“When you get before the judge, you can explain yourself then.”

The officer turned to leave.

“Children of nowadays,” he muttered.

“Please…”

The officer ignored him and walked away.

Elijah looked around the cell.

He wasn't the type to harm another human being. From a young age, he had preached the gospel to people around him and helped the needy in his community.

Being a pastor's son had also made people expect a lot from him.

Yet here he was, locked up for murder.

He continued calling for the officers' attention, hardly paying attention to the people around him.

“Shut up! You don't know where you are?”

The voice came from behind him.

“Shey you think say na your papa house you dey?”

Elijah turned around.

The person was barely visible in the dim cell. Only part of his face could be seen.

“Who be this?” another voice asked.

Elijah's heart began to race.

He looked around at the men in the cell. Their faces were difficult to read, but the way they stared at him made him uncomfortable.

He felt as though they were waiting for him to make a mistake.

One of the men stood up and walked toward him.

Elijah stepped backward.

The man was dark, fully bearded and heavily built. He was much bigger than Elijah, whose small frame suddenly made him feel even more helpless.

Elijah continued moving backward until his back touched the prison door.

He turned quickly, hoping to call one of the officers.

But the man was already behind him.

Elijah turned to face him.

“Oga, please… please…”

The man said nothing.

He grabbed Elijah by the singlet and pulled him closer, staring directly into his eyes.

Elijah froze.

“Why you dey behave like a mummy's boy?”

The man suddenly laughed.

It was a loud, disturbing laugh.

Elijah didn't understand what was funny.

The man continued laughing as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

Elijah swallowed hard.

He prayed silently.

God, please save me.

Images of everything he had seen, heard and read about prison flashed through his mind.

He had never imagined himself in a place like this.

He prayed that he would not experience the things he had heard about.

The man suddenly released his singlet.

Elijah took a deep breath.

He had been holding it without realizing it.

The man walked away.

Elijah remained by the door for a moment.

This was his first time in prison.

He had only watched prison life on television and read about it in books. But what he was experiencing now was nothing like what he had imagined.

It was worse.

Elijah slowly looked around the dim cell.

For the first time in his life, he wondered if he would ever see the outside world again.

His relief was short-lived.

Suddenly, something heavy struck the back of his head.

His eyes widened.

Before he could turn around, everything went dark.

He blacked out.