Chapter Six

** CHIOMA **

I watched as Emeka fell off the top of the jet after the explosion. I would have given anything to reach out to him but the jet got blown in another direction and it was about to explode mid-air. I took my bag and jumped off the jet immediately. But instead of exploding, the jet just dissolved into nothingness. I guess Ogun did put some precautionary measures in place.

I was plummeting faster than I could imagine and I prayed to my mother the earth goddess for safe landing. Just as I was about to be turned into ketchup on the face of the earth, a hand golem made out of sand grabbed me from the air and set me on the ground. I did a silent prayer to my mom and thanked her for saving me then I looked around and noticed that I landed on the outskirt of a forest and I was thankful it wasn't in the middle of the forest.

Suddenly, I noticed people staring at me and I hoped they didn't see me dropping out of the sky which was impossible because normal humans saw things in a different perspective. I saw a man passing by and beckoned on him and asked him about the forest. Although his English was nothing to write home about, I managed to understand what he was saying. He warned me not to go near the forest.

"We wey dey live for this area no dey enter there oh, na Sambisa forest be that. So if you know wetin better for you, comot here immediately." The man said in Pidgin English and quickly walked away.

I turned towards the forest and wondered if Emeka had landed somewhere in the forest, but it was unlikely. I prayed to my mother for guidance because I was confused at that point. Suddenly, sand started swirling in front of me and my mother appeared in form of a sand statue.

"My child, I feel your worries, but do not fret for the one you seek is not in the forest. Going into the forest now will be putting yourself in unnecessary danger", she said.

I let out a sigh of relief, mostly because I didn't have to go into the creepy forest. "If he is not in the forest, then where did he fall?" I asked curiously.

"If he fell on the surface of the earth, I would have known, but he didn't fall on earth. It was as though he disappeared mid-air." She said and started dissipating.

"What should I do? I am so confused." I said feeling alone.

She smiled. "You must continue the quest, my dear child and if fate may have it, both of you will still meet at the crossroads of your destinies. Now go my child." She said and finally dissipated.

I stared at the road and shrugged as I started walking hoping to see a cab or a motorcycle along the way. After minutes of walking, all I saw was a trailer and I had no choice but to hop on.

The trailer stopped at a village and I alighted from it. I looked around and felt hopeless. I was just starting to miss Emeka, both of us would have figured out a plan already. I was so deep in thoughts that I didn't notice a snake coiling round my leg. I felt the cold sensation and looked down at it. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what I was looking at as my face contorted in horror. I screamed and kicked the snake away.

"Ouch!" A voice said from behind me and I jumped in the opposite direction. A man was scowling at me with his hands Akimbo. "That's no way to treat snakes in front of their guardian god."

"Umm… who are you?" I asked in between shock, mental trauma and confusion.

He only sighed and shook his head. "Kids these days don't know their gods anymore."

"I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect. It's just that a lot has happened to me today and I'm on a deadline, so I'm a bit out of it." I tried explaining.

He just laughed as though I had just shared a good joke with him. "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you. Actually, your mom sent me to help you. My name is Osumare, I'm the god of direct movement, the rainbow-serpent guardian of children, lord of elongated things and controller of the umbilical cord."

I realized my mouth was almost open so I closed it. "So I really need to get to the Biu plateaux. Can you portal me there?" I asked hopefully.

"No, I can't portal you directly to Biu, but I can send you to Chibok", he offered.

"How far from Biu is Chibok exactly?" I asked the weight of time weakening my legs.

"No, it's not far. It's just 77kilometres and it is just a two-hour journey from Chibok. Hopefully you'll find your way to Biu from there." Osumare said.

I felt a bit relieved. "Thank you. I was traveling with Emeka. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry dear, I don't know anything."

"Oh I see", I said in a whisper as my shoulders slumped.

He made a few incantations and the air began to shimmer. "I set the coordinates to a place people won't see you walking out of thin air. You best be on your way because time is ticking."

I thanked him and walked through the portal and came out behind a plantain tree that was just along the road side. So much for stealth. Butt thankfully, no one noticed me. I stopped a motorcycle and asked him where I could take a bus to Biu and he offered to take me to the bus station. I thanked him. We got to the park and I paid him and entered a bus which took about an hour to get passengers and finally, we were on our way.

All the while we were en-route, I wondered what happened to Emeka. I prayed for him to be alright. We already had one day left and I didn't know how I would continue the quest without him. I didn't notice that tears were dripping down my cheeks. I wiped it and maintained focus. I had to hold out as long as I could until Emeka got here.

Before I knew it, we got to Biu and I stepped out. I had barely stepped my foot on the ground when an earth quake rocked the entire place. People then began to run about. I caught one girl by the hand and asked her what was going on, but she spoke a language I didn't understand. I could see the Biu plateaux from a distance but smoke was rising from the top.

I walked towards a nearby village, but it looked deserted as though no one was around. I couldn't blame them though because nobody in their right frame of mind would sit around with all the craziness going on. I went into one of the thatched houses, sat down and took a deep breath.

"I can do it. All I have to do is hold out until Emeka gets here. I can do it." I assured myself as I laid on one of the beds and drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I heard footsteps and quickly woke up. I hid behind the window and looked out. I saw men dressed in some kind of red camouflage and they were gathering something around the village.

"Hurry up slow pokes! Lord Aganju said we need to gather as much as possible in order for him to put his plans into action." One of the men who I suspected was their leader said.

I looked closely and saw other people that weren't on camouflage picking and putting something in a basket and my eyes widened in shock. I saw men, women and children being used as slaves to gather whatever they were gathering.

"How awful." I said and immediately clasped my hand on my mouth.

One of the men flashed a light in my direction and I ducked to avoid being seen. He walked away to bark orders at the poor people.

A crazy idea popped into my head but I decided against it but my mind however, urged me to carry on with it. I sat on the ground and covered my ears with my hand and closed my eyes.

"Is that all of it?" the leader asked.

"Yes, I think that is all. We have about a hundred basketful." Another one of them said.

"Good. Lord Aganju would be very proud of you all. He may even reward you all if you are lucky." The leader said and laughed out so loudly that it echoed through the silence of the night. "Move out!"

They started moving out of the village. It was now or never. I snuck out from the hut I was hiding in and climbed onto the back of the truck that contained whatever it was they had been picking and I covered myself with a cloth. One of the soldiers came to double check. He flashed his light around and thankfully, he didn't see me.

The engine of the truck ignited and the truck moved. I brought out my phone and called Emeka again, but he wasn't picking up and this was the twentieth time. I wondered if his phone had landed in a ditch somewhere while he fell from the sky. I shook my head and tried to focus on the mission ahead of me.

It was a really long drive because it was almost dawn when we arrived at an area that was fenced with barbed wire. The truck far ahead blew its horn and the gates opened. We drove through. So far so good. But in my mind, I knew if I continued with them like this, I would get caught along the way. After we passed the gate and cleared a little distance, I jumped out of the truck and hid in the nearby grass while the truck continued moving. I followed stealthily through the grass, hoping a snake wouldn't crawl into my top.

At that point, I could see the volcanic mountain up close and it was huge. There was an entrance at the base and slaves carried their basket into the entrance which was guarded by four Amusu. Getting past them wouldn't be a problem, but the real problem was the vulture like creatures circling the top of the volcano. If I caused a scene, they would warn the others before I even had a chance to make it to the entrance. I checked my phone and the battery was empty. I gritted my teeth and mentally slapped myself for not asking Ogun to make me one of those phones.

I crept closer and closer to the entrance of the volcano. I continued for a while undetected until one of the vulture-like creatures sighted me and let out a screech giving me a hint that my cover was blown to bits. I jumped out of the grass and before the Amusu could react, I had already shot two stones into the heads of two of them and they exploded into dust.

The other two lunged at me and I evaded the attack and slapped one in the eye with my sling. The hideous thing cried out in pain. Before they could prepare their next attack, I had already shot stones in both of them and they exploded. By then, the soldiers were crowding around me and were getting ready to shoot. I ran towards them and they all looked at me as though I was crazy. I hadn't used my powers in a long time because there was no need, but I needed them now. I didn't have a choice.

I jumped up in the air and slammed my fist on the ground as I landed, creating a massive earth wave which sent the soldiers and their trucks flying high in the air. I ran towards the entrance of the volcano as one of the vulture-like creatures dove at me with high speed. I already anticipated the attack and I shot a stone between its eyes and watched it explode.

I knew already that the people inside were on high alert. I managed to get in and hide myself as both creatures and soldiers ran past and headed outside to check the commotion. When the area was clear, I came out and ran up a stone stair I saw and almost got doused with lava which I dodged by quickly jumping out of the way. I climbed up to the next level and this was where they were keeping the villagers hostage in cages. I ran to one of the cages. They were saying something in their language but then I heard footsteps approaching and I hid behind one of the cages. One of the soldiers came around and banged his baton on the bars of the cage and asked them to keep their mouths shut or risk a beating.

A stone sailed from behind the cages and hit him in between the eyes. He fell flat on his face. I dragged him behind the cage and wore his uniform which was a bit over-sized for me. I managed to calm the villagers down. I was about to continue my quest when one of the children grabbed me by the cloth and shook her head. I held her hand and nodded in the direction I wanted to go to and she let go of my cloth. I continued up.

Luckily for me, the soldiers wore caps and wrapped red scarfs around their face in such a way that only their eyes were visible and I did the same. I met a lot of soldiers on the way and they didn't even look at me twice.

"Thank goodness." I said and let out a sigh of relief.

I got to another level and peered through a hole and saw Sango bound by both his hands and feet and his essence was almost fading. I found the entrance and crawled through. As soon as Sango saw me, he began to shake his head vigorously. I was about to approach him to ask him what the problem was when someone draped a cloth over my face and the world went blank.

When the cloth was removed, I was sitting in a chair with my hand and feet bound to it.

"Let me out of here this instant." I yelled.

"No one can hear you my dear Chioma. After all, it's just you and me." A voice said from the shadows.

"Who is there?" I asked, straining my neck to look.

A bald man in his late forties emerged from the shadows with a mischievous grin on his face. He looked over my shoulder. "Where is your companion? Isn't he here?" He asked in mock concern.

I shot him a glare and looked away. "It's none of your business."

"Ooh! Protecting your boyfriend eh? Well it doesn't matter anyway. My plan is almost complete and there is nothing you or the gods can do to stop me." He said with a mischievous grin.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

He held his chest in mock shock. "What? Are you serious right now? You don't know who I am even after I told you about my plan being complete. I didn't know you were this slow."

"Aganju?" I asked as the realisation kicked in. I was indeed slow.

He imitated a buzzer with his hands. "Ding! Ding! Ding! It is I, Aganju, the god of volcanoes and deserts in the flesh."

I scoffed and looked away. "I thought there would be more to you. You don't look that impressive at all."

Suddenly, he started to increase in size and he grew to his full godly form.

"No one, except Sango, has ever insulted me like that and unfortunately for the both of you, you are my prisoners right now. So who is laughing now?" Aganju said

"Umm… No one?" I said sarcastically and he bared his teeth and returned to his human size and started walking away.

"You can't keep me in here!" I shouted after him as he turned.

"Oh really? Watch me do it." He walked away and slammed the metal door behind him.

Tears trickled down my cheeks as I thought about Emeka and our quest. I wondered if this was how everything was going to end with me tied down to a chair. I couldn't even wipe the tears from my eyes and it stung a bit. It was a really pathetic situation.

________

I didn't realise I had fallen asleep and was woken by the sound of the metal door creaking as it opened and Aganju walked in smiling.

"I hope you enjoyed your beauty sleep cause it may be your last", he said and poked me in the forehead.

"Whatever you are planning isn't going to work. I am going to stop you." I said trying my best to sound brave.

He let out a loud hearty laughter and I was tempted to follow him and laugh because with my current situation, I sounded so ridiculous.

"Really...You...Stop me? You and what army little girl?" He said as he brought his face uncomfortably close to mine.

Suddenly the sky rumbled with lightning and thunder. Just as he looked up, a bolt of lightning struck him through the small window sending him flying through the door to Lord knows where. I managed to turn my neck in the direction the lightning came from and saw the crater it created on the wall.

I could hear screeches and screams all the way down the volcano as lightning sounds filled the air. Soldiers ran around outside the door of my prison and I guessed someone was there and judging by the lightning, it was Emeka. It was surprising actually because I didn't know he could use a high technique lightning that was powerful enough to send a god flying. Not that I was underestimating him or anything, it just seemed too good to be true. Outside my door, I could hear screams and the monsters were screeching as they exploded into dust. The door of my prison was still open but I couldn't see anything that was happening outside.

One of the soldiers was sent flying through my door and he slammed against the wall right next to me and passed out. Emeka walked in with his quadent in his hand. He looked so cool. He walked towards me and undid the shackles on my hands and feet. He then extended his hands to me.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I nodded and took his hands as he helped me up. I broke into tears and hugged him so tightly that I almost crushed him.

"Woah! Easy there. I can't breathe at all." He managed to say as he struggled under my embrace.

I released him. "Oh sorry, it's just that I'm glad you are okay. I thought something bad happened."

He smiled and kissed me which was such a surprise. I couldn't speak as my eyes were wide and almost popped out of their sockets.

"It will take more than falling off a jet to kill me, now let's go finish this quest or die trying", he said with determination in his eyes.