THE COME BACK

Shoot the beast

She sat down beside him, fidgeting with her hands. "I thought you were dead" he started by saying. She smiled knowing that it was a joke"I..I.." You had a nightmare" he completed the words for her. For the first time since their conversation, she looked at his face wondering how on earth he could guess that. "Don't look at me like that" he said smiling. It was obvious" he continued, studying her face. "When Parie came to drop your breakfast she noticed you were muffling cries. She knocked several times but you were not answering. So I came to check on you and found that you were breathing so hard that I thought you were losing life so when you spoke I was surprised at how lively you sounded" he said not taking his eyes away from her even for a minute. Susan shifted uncomfortably not knowing what to say. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked since she wasn't saying anything.

Susan thought about it for a while she knew she had to confined to someone but talking to the street lord? She was not very sure if he was the right person. But on second thought, he was her foster father, her mentor. With that, she opened her mouth and narrated to him her nightmare. Saying the story of how her father was shot to death, how her mother was beheaded and how she was r***d was not easy to say. She cried. Her heart ached, it ached so much that she wanted nothing but to kill all her offenders.

Jude hugged the broken girl to comfort her. He let her cry on his shoulder. He could feel the rage in her heart, and the hatred that consumed her. He felt a growing connection between them, the responsibility of a father to her, so he asked her to call him dad. She nodded her head accepting it without hesitation or questioning. That was what she needed a father like him to protect her and to mentor her. A sudden surge of excitement crept in. Being a father was something he had never done before.

After she had gotten hold of herself, he stood up and left the room. "Parie would send in your breakfast" was the last thing he said to her. Susan felt a bit of a relief as he left the room. She hurriedly changed the bed cover with a new one she found inside the wardrobe. Scanning around, she found a laundry basket and dunked the blood-stained bed cover and nightgown inside. She would take it out later in the day and wash it.

She went into the bathroom for a shower. She stood at the door of the bathroom, taking in the whole surrounding. Everything was just white and shiny. She gaped at the sight of the jacuzzi the only place she had seen one was in a hotel magazine. She made her way towards it, trying to figure out the foreign gadget. After a minute of accessing the gadget, she knew she needed help.

The person turned around to face her, it was Parie. "It's me my dear" she assured her. " I'm sorry aunt my mind was just wondering about?" she laughed, realizing her mistake. " I brought your food for you," she said. "The bedspread in the laundry basket, should I take those out for you?" She offered. No aunt I'll do that myself" she rejected. "Mmmm aunt?" She called with uncertainty. Mmm, I don't know if you can help me with the bathtub...I don't know how to use it she asked. 'Sure" Parie agreed. she smiled at how embarrassed she was, asking for her help. She went to the bathroom and did what she did. Susan thanked her as she showed her some other things and how to use them.

"If there is any other thing you need please do not hesitate to bring it to my knowledge" she offered politely. And to all her offers, Susan nodded 'okay'. When you're done, the master wants to see you. 'Master?' She questioned in her mind. it was the first time hearing her refer to Jude as a master she wondered if it was what she usually called him. Okay, aunt thank you so much. She appreciated. Aunt Parie was nice and she loved her. When Parie was done passing the message, she left Susan to the silence and comfort of the room.

Stepping into the foamy water, she laid down and let the Jacuzzi massage her. She felt like staying a little longer but she had Jude waiting for her. After her bath, she went and ate the already cold pap and moimoi. She wished she had eaten it before her bath. Even in its cold form, the moimoi still tasted delicious. The milky pap was what she could not finish. She blamed herself for letting her get cold. Finding cloth to wear was not a problem as her wardrobe was already filled with dresses of her size. She did not know how they got there and she did not bother herself about it. She took out the purple little gown with a flower design.

As she climbed down the stairs, she met with the messenger boy. The boy had an annoying smirk on his face. " Innocent hu," he said. Well, my name is Michael he introduced I'm not a messenger boy I'm the boss right-hand man. Susan stared at him she had not called him a messenger boy to his face so how did he know? seeing the confusion on her face, Michael answered her thought. " don't be surprised I heard you when you said that to the boss" he paused to eye her from head to toe. She won't even tell me her name" he said referring to her as she. How rude" he scuffed Susan continued to glare at him without any word. When he noticed she wasn't going to say anything, he waved her off. " I already know you, Susan," he said walking off with both hands in his pocket. Susan smirked watching him climb up as she continued her way downstairs.

The street lord was not in the living room as she expected. She saw that as an opportunity to have a look at how the outside of the house looked like. She has been indoors since her arrival nobody cared to show her around. The fresh harmattan breeze greeted her as she stepped outside. There were flowers everywhere and a water fountain in the middle of the compound. The compound was much bigger than she imagined. She started to take a work around the building. At the back was a swimming pool, very large. She stood there for some time admiring the pool when she heard voices coming from another building, a bungalow. Curiosity took her steps to the house and her hand to push open the door.

Books of different types surrounded the room. it was more like a library there was nobody there, but she could hear people's voices. She turned around to leave when she heard her name. The sudden mention of her name startled her. When the familiar voice laughed at her. " How did you find your way here?" He asked. "Oh dad" she found herself call him. The name came out too easily yet foreign. " I was looking for you" she answered. He gave a smile that made him look younger than his forty-year-old self, a smile that masked the hardened and rough face she dared not to look directly at. He led her by the hand, to a seat in the study room. "How are you now," he asked when she was seated and he too was seated beside her. " I'm fine" she replied. We still have a lot of work to be done on you especially your look. He paused then continued you will leave this house as my niece and come back as my daughter. Only Michael knows your true identity" and Parie too she wanted to add " do not trust anyone here" he warned. She wanted to ask him about his relationship with Parie but thought against it. " I hope you haven't spoken to anyone else about your identity," he asked suspectingly. "No" she lied.

She liked aunt Parie, she felt warmth around her so she saw no reason not to trust her. But that same decision to trust was what caused her a loved one's life. After the two were down talking, they walked out together, back to the mansion. When they got to the living room, he informed her of her outing. A wave of excitement rushed through her body it was the first time leaving the gates of the house since she came here. The next thing he said was what spoilt her mood. " Michael would be going with you" he informed. She gave him a questioning look. " you're changing your look and he's the only one that should know about it" he explained to her. " you better start getting along with him he's going to be your trainer. He said smiling. " why not you?" She asked. " of course I will but not always. So he's going to be your teacher" he said.

Michael came down to meet them but he did not come alone. He along with a girl the same girl she saw him with when she was wondering about. She wanted to know who she was in the house. The girl had a mean face, with a manly body her braided hair packed up in a ponytail. She looked completely different from the embarrassed and angry girl. The girl folded her arms together like a fighter ready to pounce on anyone at any time. " this is Bianca she works for me too. You mean she's a fighter too?" She couldn't help asking. " she's more than that," he said. " wow" she exclaimed. She brought out her hand to shake her but she eyed her hands and pretended not to see them. Susan took back her hand she looked at Jude for an explanation but he only smiled at her. "My niece is going back home. You will take her" he said to Bianca. "And you will pick up my daughter from the airport" he directed at Michael. " yes boss, " the two said in unison. Jude hugged her farewell and she left, following behind Bianca.

They drove in an old model Camry car. That was the strange thing about Jude. He had a mansion with no flashy car to compliment the mansion. She sat quietly inside the car as Bianca drove like a mad bull not minding the traffic sign that said '45km'. ' I'm no girl ' a Karlie Robin song was playing on the car radio. She toned the volume to the highest, screaming the song as she drove. Such a mad person Susan thought but she dared not to complain. The girl was a scary one. . She had no idea where they were going to the only thing she knew was that she was going to a place that's supposed to be her home. She decided to ask but hesitated she did not want to be the first to break the silence between them. Not minding about that she asked. " "where are you dropping me," she thought the girl would ignore her and blame it on the loud music but luckily for her, she answered her. "I'll drop you at Holy Road junction from there you'll take a bus home." Oh, she said even though she was very ignorant of a place called Holy road. The name sounded weird to her ear but not as weird as Skull: a Street in cross wood. Jude had planned it that way she knew Michael would be there already waiting for them.

She watched Bianca as she shouted to the song. She was so loud that she covered her ears with her hand. As the song finished playing, another song started playing Susan's favorite, 'die for me' by Karlie too. She took that as an opportunity to pay back especially since Bianca was just nodding to the song. It was obvious she did not know the song lyrics. Susan started to clap and shout making sounds like 'hoo yeah' worst of all she had a very bad voice that ruined the melody of the playing song. The car screeched as Bianca applied a forceful brake to it. The action jacked Susan from her seat. " shout up that bitchy mouth of yours" she yelled. " Jesus" Susan exclaimed. " I thought we hit something" "yes we did and that was your voice" Bianca responded. She started the car and began driving again but slowly this time. After some minutes of silence she said chuckling, "Christ, you sing like a frog". That had both girls laughing. rest of the journey was full of chattering and laughter.

The car came to a stop when they reached Holy road junction. She came out of the car and took the little luggage that Jude had prepared for her. Bianca was still seated in the car. When she was ready to leave, Bianca drove off. She did not say a word to her it happened as if they had no friendly conversation on the way. Susan shrugged it off. People are weird she thought. She opened the sheet of paper that Jude had given to her on what to do. she looked around the place to see the little path that Jude had written about. She took her tiny luggage and made her way to the place. She saw the green Mercedes parked around the corner, the one Michael was supposed to be in. She made her way to the car.

Michael was at the driver's seat he had sunglasses on with a black face cap that slightly covered his face. When she drew close to the car, he got down from the car and opened the passenger seat for her to get inside. Surprised at how professional he was, she got into the car without a word. When the door was closed, he ignited the car and started driving. He drove smoothly unlike Bianca. He did not say a word to her since she entered the car and Susan did not know whether to be grateful for the silence or hate it. As they drove, he slides in a cassette in the cassette slot that began to play country songs. She sighed a sigh of relief as she made herself comfortable in the car. She did not know when she dozed off.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she saw Michael standing outside the car holding the door for her to come out. She looked around to see that they were now parked in front of a big shopping mall. Wherever they were, was not Delmar. This place was more civilized. " where are we?' she asked stepping out of the car. "Cross Wood" he replied dryly. Cross Wood? She couldn't believe it. "That's why you should hurry," he said seeing the confusion on her face. He gave her a pair of sunglasses sunglasses sunglasses to cover her head. She put them on and then they made their way into the building. They used the elevator that took them to the fifth floor. They reached a door and Michael knocked at it to have a chubby woman answer to it. Oh Michael, your welcome she greeted smiling at them. Susan couldn't help but smile back at such a lovely woman. This should be the girl she asked referring to Susan. "Please come in" she invited making way for them to enter inside. The woman kept on smiling her to show her dimples. Even though she was chubby, she was still one of the most beautiful ladies Susan had seen.

It was a make-up shop the place looked classy probably for the ladies of the high class. Susan continues to admire the shop. Everything had its place, the lipsticks, weapons, powders, creams, and other cosmetics products. "Please sit down here dear" the woman ushered her to a seat in front of a large mirror. I want to give you a lovely surprise so you're going to face me instead of the mirror" she said grinning from ear to ear like an excited child. Susan did as she said and turned her seat around. Her eyes grew big when she saw the woman pick up scissors. "Don't panic dear but I'll have to cut your hair" she informed. She squats down in front of her staring into her brown eyes. "Do you trust me?" she asked. Susan nodded and that made the woman smile. "Well let's go back to work then," she said rising to her feet. Susan saw her hair drop to the floor. To live the life she wanted to live, this was the sacrifice she had to make.

After the woman was done with the makeup, she asked her to turn around and face the mirror. She was shocked to see the transformation. She touched her face to be sure she was seeing her reflection and not somebody else. "Do you like it?" the woman who she later found out was called asked, eager to hear her response. The question brought her back to reality. "Yes," she answered, a smile forming on her face. She looked even more beautiful than usual. She turned to face Michael who had been silently waiting for them the whole time. He just mopped at her taken away by the new look. Sherly laughed at the lost Michael while Susan blushed.

They made their way to the elevator. Susan was so excited that she didn't mind starting up a conversation. Miss Charlie, she's very jovial" she said. Michael smirked at that. Yeah, she is when you give her lovely pay. He said. The elevator beeped when they reached the last floor. There was a commotion downstairs. Two women were fighting the caused such a scene that they pulled the whole crowd. Even She and Michael stopped to watch. "Better watch your mouth you gossip let your husband find a job for you so you can start minding your business" the second woman yelled. She backed Susan so she could not see her face. The first woman raised her hand to throw a slap at her but was blocked by the security men. The women were dragged out of the mall. The scene was so embarrassing for two classy ladies to fight in the open. When the show was over, Susan and Michael left the mall. When they reached outside the mall, the two women were still pointing hands at each other. The second woman turned around to make quick eye contact with Susan it was so brief but Susan did not fail to recognize the woman. "Mrs. Williams" she called silently. They two made their way hurriedly to the car to avoid any more eye contact.

As they rode Susan continued to see the face of Mrs. Williams. Seeing her brought back all the painful memory. A family she had come to trust destroyed her whole life. She would come back and she would surely have her revenge. The ride was quiet she was lost in her world and even when Michael asked her if she was okay she just nodded. Seeing Mrs. Williams had affected her. She was awake this time, she looked outside the window watching every tree, building, and the person they passed by. When they came out of cross wood to enter Darlma, the air changed from being fresh and cool to become hot and dry. Poor houses and streets were what made up Darlma with rough-looking boys and men. The nice-looking ones that owned shops and bars. She could see men with yellow teeth, from too much drinking of beer and smoking of cigarettes playing chess outside the bars and the young guys hanging out on streets puffing cigarettes smoke. Come hang out with girls on mini skirts and singles. The women and the old women were traders who sold foodstuff. She could see children and some teenagers in blue and white uniforms returning from school, Darlma Internationa, the only primary and secondary school in Darlma. Susan observed everything in silence she wondered where the government was, to abandon a little town. It was not her first time coming to Darlma she used to come here with her mother to deliver food for an old couple who later lost their lives in an accident. She could view the mansion as the reached the Methodist Church. It was one of the buildings that stood out in the midst like the savior of the obsolete town. Michael blew the horn of the vehicle when they reached the gate of the house. One of the men opened the gate to let the car, drive into the compound. As they reached, her stomach began to rumble. "Have" she breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the car. Welcome to your home sweet home Jude called out as he made his way to hug her. He looked nothing like the notorious street lord she used to know, his soft features made her smile as she hugged him. " Dad," she said.

They walked hand in hand as they entered the house. "How was your journey," he asked. Before she could answer that question, her stomach made a rumbling noise. She blushed shyly embarrassed by the noise. " wow, you must be really hungry. Didn't you stop by to get some food for yourself?" He questioned. " no, I just wanted to come home first," she said to cover up Michael's negligence. Tell Parie to come and serve her food" he told one of his men standing close to the kitchen door. Susan looked around the house to notice that there were men in black suits standing at different points around the house. Why are there guards standing all over the place, she whispers to Jude? "They've always been there" he replied casually. Though I allowed them for a break yesterday. "That's why you did not notice them" he added. Parie walked in with a tray of food in her hands. When she dropped the food on the dining table, she walked up to the two in the living room to inform them that the food was ready. She made eye contact with Susan and smiled at her, a smile that made her uncomfortable.

They two went to the dining. There was only a plate of rice with lemon juice on the table. Susan looked up at Jude and asked "won't you join me to eat? He smiled as he sat on one of the dining chairs. " no, I'll just watch you eat" he said. That made Susan shy and throughout the meal, she picked her food carefully as if she was to be given an award to eat like a queen. When she was done eating, Jude left her to go and freshen up asking Bianca to show her, her room. Her new room was not so different from the previous one. Everything was the same. The size of the room, the queen size bed, the Jacuzzi, and the same curtain design. The only difference was that the new room was painted pink instead of white. And from that day, pink became Susan's favorite color. She freshened up and changed into another rosy gown that made her look sixteen. She accessed herself in the standing mirror, her new look still overwhelmed her. Having checked that she was okay, she made her way downstairs to me her father.

She reached downstairs, but Jude wasn't in the house. One of the guards walked up to her and accessed her dressing. " please miss you will have to change the dress to this" he handed her a shopping bag. "Okay?" She nodded slowly not understanding the reason for the new clothes. She took the bag from him and went back to the room to change. "What a waste of time," she said to herself. When she reached the room, she opened the bag to bring out a packaged cloth she was eager to know the kind of cloth Jude had for her. She opened the package to bring out a pair of black pants and a black suit jacket. "Hmmm," she exhaled, pouting as she examined the set of clothes. She put them on and came to stand at the front of the mirror. "Wow," she blurted. She looked like an iron lady. Wondering what other surprise that Jude had for her, she left the room hurriedly.

She got downstairs to meet the same guard that gave her the package. The guard gestured for her to follow him and she obediently followed behind him. They came to the study room. Susan wondered why they were in a room filled with books and calendars. Suddenly, the bookshelf separated to reveal a line of steps leading underground. A secret passage she said to herself and nodding. She did not see the guard press anything the shelf just parted to make way for them. They climbed the steps that led them to a large training room. There were punching bags, swords of different types lined perfectly on a sword ledge. Curiosity and enthusiasm tugged at her heart. She wanted to lay her hands on every weapon in the room. In her throbbing heart, she found satisfaction.

Jude was lifting a shoulder weight lifter on his right hand. Michael too was there. He dropped the lifter on the floor to look at Susan when he noticed her presence in the room. Hey, you're already here. You look great" he complimented. She smiled. "thank you she accepted her compliment.” Well you got me this” she shrugged. “wow, here is very big," she said to him. Yeah, you start your training today” he informed her. He turned to Michael and said. "you can rest, for now, I will coach her today" Michael nodded his head and went to a corner in the room to watch them. When Jude stood up, he took out a gun from his pocket and hands it to her. She scuffed out air from her mouth, shaking her legs nervously. It was her first time holding a gun. She couldn’t believe that this was the life she signed in for. Jude chuckled. "relax okay, you're not going to shoot yourself, or are you? He joked. She smiled at the joke and tried to be a little bit calmer.

A tiny puppy ran out from somewhere. Susan did not know the place it had come out from but it had come from Michael’s direction. The puppy was hairy and adorable. She ran to Susan, panting with her tongue out. She wagged her tail at her playfully. Susan fell in love with the little dog instantly. She bent down to brush her hairy body which the puppy enjoyed as she shook her head. “number one lesson on her to be a killer” Jude commenced with the lesson ignoring her and the puppy. She stopped playing with the dog to look at him. She wanted to ask him where the puppy had come out from. But seeing his serious face, she knew she had to keep the question for next time so she listened to him instead. “number one lesson…” he stretched. “you must not have any form of attachment with something or someone” he said moving about.

She looked at him seriously not understanding what he meant by that. “I don’t understand you?” she asked. Jude smirked at her question. Okay, so let’s have a practical example of that, that way you will understand” he said. You’re with a gun” he asked. “yes” she replied. “good, shoot the dog” he commanded. “what?” she exclaimed not very sure she heard him right. “I said, shoot the beast” he repeated more seriously the second time. Susan looked at the puppy lying innocently at her feet. “no I can’t” she refused. “you’re not ready yet” Jude retorted. "I'm very ready but I can't take the life of this dog" she countered back. You want to revenge your family's death. You watched them behead your mother, shoot your father, and r**e you. You were innocent, yet they did that to you. And here you are, saying you can't. tears began to roll down her head as she remembered the painful past. Jude continued to vex her. "and you know what? With this attitude, they will get away with it while your mom and dad will remain dead forever. Forever, Susan. he reminded her. The hand on which she held the gun began to shake as she pointed the gun at the puppy which whined at her.

Uncontrollable tears began to pour through her eyes. She shook her head finding it difficult to shoot at the dog. “shoot the beast or let your parents’ murderers get away with it. Jude continued to ignite her anger. “shoot Susan shoot” he said. “this puppy didn’t do anything she said in tears. “you too did not do anything neither did your dead parents” he stressed the dead to remind her that her parents were gone. She closed her eyes, scrunched her teeth, and pulled the trigger. The whole room was quiet. And when she opened her eyes, the dog was lying in a pool of blood.