New Era Ghosts
1250 Words
"Kenny! Wow! you came around and refused to come see me. That's cool of you", Tanna said to Kenny, feigning anger.
Kenny smiled. "Sorry, Tanna. We had pretty serious issues to discuss. Life-threatening. I promise to check on you first when I return".
"You're leaving?"
"Yea", he replied. "I have been here for a while and I have to go back before trouble finds me"
"Wow! You're leaving now. That threatens my life"
"I will save you", Kenny chuckled.
The others sat there, watching with amazement as their eyes darted from Kenny to Tanna, over and over again.
Kenny stood up and Tanna followed him to the gate.
"That's how a love story starts", Idris yelled as he approached them.
"How many hours did it take you to make s**t go down?", Alex yelled back.
"I missed something... First, I was done and then, I wasn't. I was done again and then, I wasn't, again"
"In summary, he was purging", Chuma said.
"Oh! Didn't know there was an English word for that"
"Don was part of my dream, I think", Ada said as she saw Don, approaching with Kalu.
"Kalu was in mine", Alex said. "And many other weird faces. Yea, that guy, over there, sitting beside Odogwu"
"And the one kissing the ugly girl", Chuma added. "Eeewww! I'll puke".
"No, you won't", Kalu said as the two sat down. "Good morning".
★★★ ★★★ ★★★
At the sight of an oncoming vehicle, Joe swiftly hid in the bush, camouflaged by the entangled green leaves.
It definitely didn't look like a vehicle for the soldiers but he had to be cautious.
Joe sneezed.
"Bless you", Toby said.
"They are around; the soldiers. I can sense it"
"Well, that's why we're hiding"
"Not in the car", Joe said and stood up. There was a dull golden glow in his eyes. "In the bush".
A soldier, who was urinating in the bush, turned and saw Joe. There were four other soldiers sitting in there. They stood up, immediately and shot at Joe, without hesitation.
The bullets came at Joe and disappeared, halfway. He didn't close his eyes. He didn't point his hand. He stopped the bullets with his mind.
Joe moved closer as the soldiers stepped back. The bullets became visible and they swiftly shot through the legs of three of them. Two of the soldiers ran into the bush.
While running after the soldiers, Joe found two girls, lying dead, on the ground. The soldiers had r***d and killed them. He threw a ghost at one of the soldiers making him stop and he ran after the second one.
The second one was pretty fast so he threw a ghost from a far distance. Joe watched the ghost move after the soldier but it stopped, in front of the soldier. The soldier stumbled on a wood and fell.
"Why did you stop?", Joe asked.
"There's another person in there, already", the ghost replied.
Joe grabbed the soldier by the shirt, lifted him up and punched him in the face. "Who are you?!"
"Your nightmares!", the soldier replied. Joe threw another punch at him.
"Who are you? Who gave you the right to possess him?"
"It's probably the same ghost that walked through you", Toby said. "You might have given him the right to possess"
"Hell no!", the soldier said. "You think we need a conduit to get here? No, not when we have Neron"
"Neron?!!", Joe exclaimed. "How many more of you are here?"
The soldier began to laugh, hysterically. Joe could smell evil in the air as the evil laugh got louder. The soldier began to bleed from his eyes, nose and ears, while the laugh still went on, echoing. His body became stiff as the laugh ended. The soldier was no longer breathing. His evil smile remained fixed on his dead face.
"What- what happened to him?"
"The soldier must have been a living being. Possessed bodies don't bleed", Toby replied. "The ghost left the body"
"So they can possess living beings too?"
"This is the first time I'm seeing this", Toby replied. "Neron is probably strong enough to help them".
"So the ghost gave up his life to protect his master?"
"If Neron is powerful enough to give them a new life, he might be powerful enough to take it", Toby replied. "Besides, they have multiple chances before they end up like Neron".
"The soldiers in the car... They didn't stop, did they?"
"That can only mean one thing", Toby replied. "It wasn't a soldier"
Joe could hear a rustling sound, like a movement in the bushes. "I can still smell something. It wasn't the ghost".
"I can feel it too", Toby replied. "Let's get out of here before-"
The rustling sound became louder and the leaves and flowers began to move, encircling Joe, mysteriously.
★★★ ★★★ ★★★
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, Kenny", the major general said. "I need one of your juniors to lead the supply of cotton to Maiduguri... I'm thinking of calling... Hakim!".
"Hakim!", the major general called, loudly. "Where is he?"
"Which of them, sir?", Kenny asked.
"Not the new one. He's not used to our system here, yet"
"I'll get him, sir", Kenny said and called Hakim.
Hakim received orders from a major general and picked some of his fellow soldiers to go deliver the cotton to Maiduguri camp. They took some food and other necessary things, preparing to spend more than a day on the road.
"We don't need much, do we?" Akeem asked. Hakim had chosen him as one of the few who would follow him but Kenny requested that Akeem should be left behind for undisclosed reasons. "There shouldn't be any roadblocks or traffic problems"
"That's true", Hakim replied. "But you're not going with us. I think Kenny wants to see you"
"Oh... ok"
★★★ ★★★ ★★★
The car turned, left and right, like it was controlled by a drunk driver. The driver was definitely not in his right senses as he drove the car into the mall.
The man stepped on the brakes, after already destroying things. He staggered out of the car and headed for the drink section.
He grabbed a fresh yoghurt from the shelve, opened the package and poured it in his mouth, without second thought. The yoghurt came out, immediately it entered his mouth. He spat out the spoilt yoghurt.
Clawing through the cobwebs, he staggered to the hot fridge and pulled out an old bottle of water.
"Water don't spoil", he said to himself, staring at the water through the transparent plastic bottle. He emptied the bottle in his mouth and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
"Finally", he said, closing his eyes for a few seconds.
As his eyes opened slowly, he could see the shadow of a man approaching.
"Stop! I know your goal", he said and got up, quickly. He looked at the shadow and continued. "I am a man. I know their plans and I can help you. I won't be able to ruin their plans if you are the one inside, controlling".
"Quiet!!!", the ghost said. "Why should I trust you?"
"I'm tired of everything, also", the man replied. "I want an end to pain. Besides, they will trust me as a civilian and a living being".
"They will also trust me when I'm wearing your face".
The man smiled. "For a short while, yes. You won't be wearing my brain and my memories. I know how to end their plots".
- Writer
