Fear Factor

But for Fear, Man would reach the ends of the Universe…

Book of the Majar

Beep! Beep!! Beep!!!

It was the sound of the alarm. He had set it to 5:00am so he could wake up early and get ready for work. He had become so accustomed to the sound of the alarm, that he would wake up just a few minutes before five to hear the sound.

Beep! Beep!! Beep!!!

The sound had become a part of him. The alarm usually woke him up at five; then he would have his bath, make breakfast, and head for work for six o'clock. 

The Lagos Island traffic was always very hectic and only the early risers could keep their jobs. Sometimes it would take him almost an hour to get to his workplace; a bank on Broad Street, Lagos Island from Surulere.

'Today is a great day, Seyi Majekodunmi,' he told himself in the bathroom. He usually did that every morning before going to work – the motivational speakers recommended it. Maybe one day he would become a motivational speaker too, he thought to himself. He had read enough motivational books, and he could recite over a hundred motivational quotes by heart. That should be enough to become a motivational speaker. Anything that would save him from the twelve hours a day, six days a week work at the bank was a welcome development.

It was already five thirty and he was yet to dress up, but thanks to the snacks he bought at a popular fast food the night before, breakfast wasn't a problem. All he had to do was microwave and 'bingo' breakfast was ready. 

He quickly ate his breakfast, dressed up and was on his way to work when he noticed something strange. The Clock…it was 5:00am. He looked at his watch and it was the same time, five o'clock am. Every hair on his body stood erect as he felt a surge of jitters go through his entire body.

He had woken up at five, and the last time he checked the clock, it was already just a few minutes before six. This was just plain scary, he thought. The clock was back to five, it might have been a, malfunction, but his watch too? That was too much of a coincidence.

It scared him so much that he wanted to just run out of the house and head for work. He took three giant strides to the door and tried opening, but the door was jammed. Strange, he thought, he didn't remember locking the door. He tried his best to force it open, but even that didn't work. He looked back at the clock and it was almost six, his watch also had the same time. But…they both read five o'clock just now, he thought. 

He forced himself to relax, taking deep breaths in and out. Relax Seyi, why are you scaring yourself, he asked himself. Then he started giggling, and then burst into outright laughter. A few seconds ago he had almost scared himself to death; he thought about how silly that was. 

He tried the door again and it opened. Maybe he had been too frantic with his previous attempts. A smile formed on his face. 'Silly me,' he told himself, 'today is going to be a great day, Seyi Majekodunmi,' he said to himself smiling, 'the motivator.'

He took everything he needed for work and headed for his car that he had parked just outside the building the previous night to avoid any unnecessary delays. He didn't want to have to call any neighbour to move their car before he could move out. He didn't like delays.

*

He checked his watch as he drove. It was just about a quarter past six and traffic on Third Mainland Bridge wasn't as congested as usual. His plan was to get to work before seven and with the current flow of traffic, that wouldn't be a difficult task.

He looked out of the window at the lagoon in the distance; it was beautiful, just like the day was going to be. The Sun was just rising and it projected an orange blue ambience from the sky into the lagoon below like an artist's paint spreading through the water.

What a beautiful day, he thought. He was diligent with his work and would probably get a promotion soon. To him, time was the key. A good manager of time would always make the best of time, one of the quotes he had mastered.

He remembered the earlier incidence with the clock and his watch. He tried to figure out what exactly happened. Could it have been a dream? But he was sure he was awake. Maybe a hallucination, but he hadn't taken any substance that could induce such, except it was something he ate because he had never taken any form of illegal drugs in his life. He always stayed away from anything that could make him loose control of his senses- alcohol, tobacco, any form of hard drugs; he even stayed away from coffee.

The more he tried to find an explanation, the more worried he got, because there was none, but he was sure the clock and his watch had gone back to five o'clock without any logical explanation, and it had corrected itself seconds later. Maybe he was tired and his brain was playing games on him. Yes! That was it, he probably needed more rest. He was pushing himself too hard, and now he was on the edge. He needed to take things easy with himself.

Honk! Honk!! Honk!!!

The sound of a car horn jerked him out of his deep thought. The driver of the car behind him was getting impatient, 'Move, man,' the driver yelled at him. Lagosians, so impatient, he thought. Come to think of it, he was also in a hurry.

He looked at his watch, 'God!' he yelled. The watch read nine o'clock, he was already two hours late for work.

'This does not make any sense,' he said aloud. His car clock also read nine o'clock.

This didn't make any sense, it was just about six a few seconds ago and suddenly the time was nine, three hours vanished; it didn't make any sense at all. He wondered if he was going mad. Even the Sun was fully out indicating it was well into morning.

This time he pressed his horn as hard as he could, he might be going crazy, but he still had to get to work immediately.

Honk! Honk!! Honk!!!

The car in front of him would not budge, and the car behind him also kept pressing his horn.

Honk! Honk!! Honk!!! Honk!!!!

He checked his watch again, and it was two minutes past nine. This did not just make any sense. His head began to ache.

HONK!!!!

This time he slammed his fist into the car horn. He had to get to work soon, but the traffic wasn't helping. Even if he was going to be late, it shouldn't be by a large time margin. He was breaking his own rules, time is of the essence, he was starting to get frustrated, seat flowed down his forehead as his head pounded harder…he took two deep breaths. He needed to focus and not loose his mind.

Then he saw the bridge. It connected to the main bridge at the right. It was some kind of alternative route, but there was something strange about it. Two things were actually strange about it. It was not there the day before, and no car seemed to take it though he could see it led to Marina, the same place the main bridge ended.

It was probably not opened officially, and he probably didn't notice it the day before. Damn all the consequences, he thought to himself. He reversed a little, and then turned the steering. He was going to speed right through the bridge to save him time. There was no time to waste.

The car roared forward, but instead of going straight on the bridge, it seemed to dive right through it as if nothing was there. It was as if the bridge was an illusion, there and not there at the same time.

His body jerked forward violently as the car went over the side of the bridge. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, he could feel the car suspended in the air, he had just driven over the side of the bridge. There was no other bridge, therefore no alternative route, which meant Seyi Majekodunmi had just driven into the lagoon and would never be at work that day, or ever.

As the car landed into the lagoon, he realised what had just happened. He checked his watch and it was just a few minutes past six, the Sun had just set. He could see the Sun's rays bathing the water at a distant giving off a golden glow on its surface. A beautiful morning he thought.

The car landed with a huge splash and water started rushing into the car. He tried to free himself, but his seat belt wouldn't budge, the car sunk deeper into the body of water, taking Seyi Majekodunmi with it.

People had gathered at the spot where his car had dived, watching, shocked.

As the car went in deeper, Seyi Majekodunmi's mind was filled with thoughts of a beautiful day he would never see.

A tear flowed down his eyes, as the car filled with water, blurring his vision. He only saw reflections of light through the water, the reflections turned to memories, and then to pure darkness.

Fear Breeds Insanity…

The Book of the Majar

Suzie Banjo stood in front of the mirror. She had taken her time to apply the right make-up in the most perfect proportions. She looked perfect.

Two years ago she had won the Most Elegant Girl in Nigeria contest, and as beauty queen she had never stopped looking beautiful, even for a moment, it was what she was born for. She was always at the best parties, with the best guys and usually was the prettiest at such events.

She was living her dream, a posh apartment in highbrow Ikoyi, a lovely Mercedes S-class convertible parked in her garage, regular shopping in Paris, London and New York. What else could she ask for; all the luxuries of life were hers and all that was because of the way she looked.

She knew she was stunning and all the guys knew it. Most guys felt intimidated around her and only the boldest and richest guys approached her. Life could never have been better for the beautiful Suzie Banjo.

Yes, she was vain, but if being vain had taken her this far, she definitely had no regrets.

She remembered as a kid, she would gather her mum's fashion magazines and study and practice all the fashion tips and make-up techniques, before she finished she had become a fashion icon in her school. She ended up becoming the prom queen, and since then it's just been smooth sailing all the way.

She smiled at her image in the mirror, the image smiled back and it was so pretty, she smiled at herself.

She went to the living room where her Gucci bag was waiting for her. She picked up her car keys and was about to leave but she was tempted to have one more look at the mirror, she just couldn't get enough of herself. She wanted to look perfect; she wasn't going to take any chance.

She took out her hand mirror from her bag, and opened it, what she saw sent shivers down her spine. Staring back at her was a monster…the most horrible face she had ever seen.

The shock almost knocked her off her feet; she didn't want to believe the reflection was hers. She dropped the mirror and ran into the bathroom, holding her face. She couldn't think…she dared not think…she didn't even want to think about it.

What she saw in the bathroom mirror was even worse. Her face was a mess, a colossal mess, her lips where big and swollen, her nose had the largest mole she had ever seen, and her face was filled with massive red sores.

She went hysterical, her whole world was falling apart; she ran around the house looking for nothing in particular. She was going to go mad, she had to…it was the only way.

There was no way she could survive another day, looking this way. Her whole life depended on her beauty, and she just lost it. She burst into tears, then laughter, and then tears again. She ran round the house yelling, screaming, and pulling down anything she could get hold of.

She stared into her plasma screen TV and saw the monster staring back at her. She had lost her mind and she knew it, what stared at her was a monster and there was no way she could cope with that. In a sudden fit of madness, she ran out of the balcony and jumped.

She didn't want to live, not looking like this. Beauty was everything to her, and without it she could not exist. She landed with a thud next to her parked Mercedes S-Class.

Neighbours rushed out to see what had landed with such a loud thump. They saw the contorted body of the beauty queen who lived on the seventh floor. The bloody scene made most of them cringe as they wondered what could have driven the beauty queen, whose face still looked as beautiful as ever except for the inexplicable terror in her eyes, plunge to her death.

They wondered why she had ended her life so abruptly at the peak of her career.

They wondered.

Fear drains life out of the living…

The Book of the Majar

He had just left the Owambe party his friend invited him to. He had to leave early for an appointment he had with some Chinese investors that afternoon. As he relaxed at the back of his chauffeur driven Mercedes E-Class, he recapped the events that took place at the party in his mind, though there was not much to recap, he had only spent twenty minutes at the party, the short time he spent there was memorable as usual.

Chief Ogunfemi always 'represented' at every occasion he attended. He could remember the respect on the faces of most as he entered the party. His late arrival had achieved the desired effect; all eyes were on the Chief who owned one of the largest Oil and Gas companies in the country. There would have been a lot of talk that the billionaire himself had attended their party, and word would go round from all that attended that the high and mighty Chief Ogunfemi was present at the same party they had attended.

Everyone on the high table had stood up to have a handshake one after the other with him, and he had met one of his old friends who had given him a delightful hug that might have ended in manslaughter had he not broken free of the hug. 

His Police escort stood behind him as he took the middle seat on the high table. His speech also seemed to enthral everyone present though he didn't see anything exceptional in what he said. The crowd responded with thunderous laughter at every simple joke and with an almost endless stream of applause at the end of the speech.

When it was time to go to the dancing floor, he stood up gracefully, ushered by his friend, the celebrant, and of course, his police escort. He took out a bundle of one thousand naira notes, and gave his friend while he danced. After dancing for a while, he took his leave and said the usual 'have a lovely day' and 'see you later' to the throng of people that came to him one after the other.

He smiled to himself at the back of his tinted bullet proof Mercedes E-Class. One can never be too careful; some people might actually want him dead.

As the vehicle approached the high-rising Ogunfemi Towers, he smiled to himself. He smiled a lot nowadays; maybe a lot of things were just working exactly as he had planned, even better. Ogunfemi Towers housed Ogunfemi Oil and Gas Company which he owned and other floors were let out to other organisations. More money into my pocket, he thought.

He alighted from the car after the door had been opened by his chauffeur; two security escorts accompanied him to the entrance of the towers, while one followed him in.

They passed the central reception area into the elevator, 'good afternoon, sir,' everyone seemed to chorus as he passed, more in fawning tones than anything else. He went into the elevator, with the guard by his side.

His office was at the top floor, it had the most perfect view of the city in the building, and he had made sure of that. Sometimes, he would stay by the window and observe the hustling and bustling in the city below. The view was wonderful, but it also reminded him of what he once was, poor- what he never wanted to be again.

He remembered those days like they were yesterday. When he had to work three jobs just to feed and pay for school. His parents couldn't just afford it, and besides, they had seven other children to cater for. Those were terrible days, those days when he would sometimes go a whole day without eating just to make sure his younger ones where okay.

He thanked God it was all in the past now. He was able to pay for his own school and also send five of his remaining siblings through school, two of his younger ones had died. One from malaria and the other from an illness they could not ascertain. He could as well say they had died from poverty, since it was the lack of proper health care that cost them their lives.

It was all in the past now, all his remaining siblings were doing very fine now, one of them was even contesting in the state's gubernatorial elections, and he was his brother's major sponsor. He knew he would reap the benefits of his investment once his brother became governor. He never thought of contesting himself, he liked his role, the king maker, he smiled.

He was very happy now. He was rich, very rich. One of the richest in the state, and that was all that mattered. He had money, he wielded power, and he commanded respect. He was living his dream, and that was all that mattered.

'Mmmhh! The great Chief Ogunfemi himself,' he said aloud, beating his chest proudly as he took a seat behind his desk. The seat was made of special leather and was ordered via special delivery all the way from Italy, exquisite and hand crafted. He enjoyed special things, he lived for them. The desk was also special, made of special marble made by the finest craftsmen in Greece. They were both very expensive.

He brought out his diamond tipped, gold cased Mont Blanc pen and scribbled a few things in his crocodile leather covered note book. Life was good and couldn't be better.

Then his phone rang.

'Yes, Mosun,' he picked the phone and answered the call; Mosun had been his secretary for as long as he could remember.

'You have a call from the field manager, Mr Ikechukwu,' Mosun replied, 'he says it's very urgent.'

'Please forward the call,' he told her, wondering what could be so urgent.

'Okay Sir, I'll do that right away,' she replied.

Before the call came in, a lot of things went through his mind. Was something wrong? Well, maybe nothing was wrong and he was just bothering unnecessarily. 'Calm down,' he told himself, his doctor had told him to take things easy, 'worries won't do your hypertension any good,' he had been told a million times by his Doctor.

'Hello Sir,' Mr Ikechukwu, his field manager's voice abruptly jolting him out of his thoughts. The tone of his manager's voice also gave him some concern, he had a feeling something was terribly wrong.

'Yes Ikechukwu. What is the problem?' the chief replied.

'There has been a terrible accident Sir,' replied Mr Ikechukwu.

Now he was worried. His thought raced back and forth thinking up various possibilities of the 'accident'. Had someone died in the refinery? What could have happened? He wondered. 'What exactly happened?' he asked, the tone of his voice was now raised. He almost didn't want to hear the reply.

'There was an explosion Sir,' Mr Ikechukwo replied.

'What! Explosion?' now he was worried. His refinery, explosion, his years of work, investors, investments…

Calm down…he told himself, taking deep breaths, calm down…

'How big,' he asked in a deathly calm voice.

'Very big sir,' the manager replied, 'the whole refinery is on fire, the fire service have been trying to contain it all day, it's a really big fire.'

He couldn't say anything…the chief wondered what sought of explosion could have caused a fire of that magnitude. A chain reaction…gas…petroleum...fire? He felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest- FIRE!!! 'Fire' was currently the worst word in his dictionary at the moment.

'Hello Sir,' Mr Ikechukwu called.

'How could you,' he replied, making sure that single phrase carried all the threat he could muster. His hands were shaking.

'Sir, there was nothing I could do. Everything seemed to be in perfect order just before the explosion,' Mr Ikechukwu tried to explain. He knew the Chief was not someone that could be messed with, especially when it concerned his business.

'Fix it, Ikechukwu, fix it. I don't want to know how you do it, just make sure the fire is contained and my refinery is in good condition,' he said, making sure the manager knew he was dead serious.

'But, but. Sir-'

'Just fix it,' the Chief said in a tone that was intensely final.

'Ye-ye-ye-ye-yes Sir,' Mr Ikechukwu stammered.

What was happening, the Chief thought. His multi-billion Naira investment was on fire and there was nothing he could do about it. He had laboured, and laboured to have been able to put up an investment of that magnitude, now all of it was about to go down the drain.

His heart beat had increased a quadrillion times after the call. He quickly brought out some hypertensive drugs he usually took to keep his blood pressure down.

'I must be strong,' he told himself, he wasn't about to die and leave everything he had worked very hard for. Even worse was losing all he had worked for while he was still alive.

He had to be proactive; he had to do something about it. He picked up the phone, dialled the extension to the reception. His secretary picked up the phone, 'Mosun, arrange a flight to Port Harcourt for me this afternoon, and call Mr Ikechukwu that I'm on my way to the refinery,' the chief said with utmost urgency.

I better calm down, he thought to himself.

'Breathe in…'

'Breathe out…'

'Breathe in…'

'Breathe out…'

'Relax…'

'Relax...'

'Relax…'

'Wow!' he exclaimed. He felt better already. Maybe he'll go home and have a swim before he left for Port Harcourt in the afternoon. Yes! A swim would make him feel better, he thought.

But first, he had to make a few calls- the emergency agency, his insurance company, anyone that would make him feel better. No! He wasn't meant to do those; his secretary should make all the calls, and inform him of the outcomes, right now he would just relax.

'Relax…'

'Relax…'

R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-i-i-i-i-i-i-ng!!!

It was the phone, he wondered who that was. The damned phone, it was his worst enemy at the moment- the harbinger of bad news.

'Hello!' he yelled into the phone.

'Sir, you have a call from a Captain Iheme,' the secretary told him in the most pacifying tone she could muster.

'I don't know any Captain Iheme,' the Chief barked, 'and besides, I'm not ready to speak with anybody at the moment,' he said in a harsh and emphatic tone. He knew he wasn't being fair to Mosun, she was the best secretary anybody could ever have, always attentive and carrying out every duty as if her life depended on it.

'Sir, he says it is urgent. It is regarding our three ships at Sea,' she said nervously, trying her best to sound as controlled as possible.

'Our ships!' he wondered what could be the problem this time, 'forward the call.'

'Yes Sir.'

'And I don't want to receive any other calls after this, and make sure you see me after ten minutes, I want to brief you on a few things I want you to do for me,' he really wanted to get some load of his chest which was hurting him at the moment. He promised himself he would go home and have a good's night's rest after everything.

'Hello,' the Captain's voice came through.

'Hello, Captain. How can I help you?' he just wanted to get over with the conversation and what ever it was about as soon as possible.

'There's a problem Sir,' the Captain replied calmly.

'What's the matter with my ships, all the documents are intact, and I don't think we have a problem with the government,' his voice was now raised; this was definitely one of the worst days of his life.

'Sir, we have no problem with the ship's papers,' said Captain Iheme.

'Then what's the problem, I don't have time for this,' he was getting very impatient.

'The problem is with the ships. Your three ships just exploded for no obvious cause, though it is currently being investigated, we still don't understand why three different ships would explode at exactly the same time, and all those ships belong to you. It smells like sabotage to us,' the Captain said.

Chief Majekodumi couldn't say a word. He had gone blank; his thoughts were suddenly in a million places.

'Chief! Are you still there?'

What the Captain didn't know was that the Chief was in the middle of a cardiac arrest. 'My Oil, My Gas, My Ships,' the Chief lamented as he held his chest in pain, 'All gone…all gone…my life…my-' he couldn't continue as the last breath in him left. The Chief lay sprawled on his seat, lifeless.

*

The Driver looked back at the Chief as he fought to catch his breath. He quickly stopped the car and rushed to the back while he made an emergency call to the Chief's Doctor.

The Chief was soundly asleep only a minute before and now he was dying right in front of him. 'Chief!' he screamed as people around gathered and tried to help.

'Chief! Which kain life be dis,' the driver couldn't believe the Chief was dying right in his arms. 'Chief,' he wondered why an ambulance couldn't just appear and save the Chief. Tears welled in his eyes as he felt the Chief go limp as life oozed out of him permanently.

Fear is in the heart of all…

The Book of the Majar

Chibuzor watched his parent's SUV drive off, on their way to a five day business trip. It was actually his father's business trip. Also their wedding anniversary fell between the trip and they decided to use the opportunity to get away.

They had put the maid, Lucy in charge of the house and she was supposed to take care of the kids for the next five days. He didn't consider himself a kid, he was going to be twelve in two months and he felt he was grown enough to take care of himself. He didn't know why his parents didn't put him in charge, he was supposed to be the man of the house in the absence of his father, and besides, he was the first son, a man.

'Alright boys, time to go back in,' Lucy beckoned Chibuzor and his little brother Chidi into the house. 'Your parents put me in charge, so you naughty boys will have to do as I say.'

This was going to be a long five days, he thought. A very, very, long five days for Lucy, he was going to make sure of that. He was not going to make it easy for her to boss them around. She would know who the boss is around here.

'You heard Aunty Lucy, let's go inside,' Chidi said apprehensively.

A smile formed on Chibuzor's face, 'Yes, let's go inside, I have some planning to do,' he said rubbing his palms together mischievously.

'What kind of planning?' Chidi asked excitedly as they both went in. Chidi worshiped his elder brother.

'You ask too many questions little one. Wait and see the maestro in Action,' Chibuzor said. He felt like a genius, and most people also did. He was an A student and was the top of his class every year. He had been the best student in his class for as long as he could remember, and he was already in his first year of senior secondary school at age twelve.

He had won several local and National competitions and had also won International Young Scientist two years in a row, and he had the highest score in the Junior Certificate Examination, but to mention a few.

He smiled as he thought about his achievements, a genius was what he definitely was, and Lucy would be small fish. Coming back to the task at hand, he thought about his plan.

'Can I plan with you?' Chidi asked excitedly.

The little boy just didn't have any idea of what was going on, Chibuzor thought. This was not just some silly prank; this was taking what was rightly his, it was a hostile take over. But he could always use an Ally, he thought, and that Ally was right in front of him. 'Of course, yes, little one, we shall plan together,' he patted his little brother on the back, 'it will be our plan, me and you.'

'What exactly are we planning,' Chidi asked in a puzzled tone.

'That, my brother, you shall find out in just a moment. Right now we need a secure place devoid of any possible infiltration,' Chibuzor said. He enjoyed the awe his little brother bestowed on him.

Chidi was even more confused, 'where could that be'.

Chibuzor laughed, he was enjoying this, 'don't you know?' he pointed his finger straight ahead.

Chidi traced the pointed finger to their room's door which was right ahead of them. He looked back at Chibuzor, 'Our room?'

'That, my brother, is absolutely correct. Now unto our base,' Chibuzor said as they both ran into the room laughing.

'Chibuzor!'

'Chidi!'

'Chibuzor!'

'Dinner is ready!' Lucy the maid yelled from down the stairs wondering what the boys had been doing in their room for hours, 'Come down before your food gets cold.'

'We're on our way,' Chidi yelled as himself and Chibuzor came down the stairs.

Chibuzor had a mischievous grin on his face.

'Go and have your food,' the maid barked.

'Yes Lucy,' Chibuzor said, bowing his head a little in a sarcastic manner.

'Ehn! Am I your mate? You call me Aunty Lucy,' the maid said, tapping Chidi's head.

'But you are not our Aunt,' Chidi protested, grumbling.

'Yes I am. I am older than you, therefore I am. I am in charge of the house at the moment, therefore I am, and I am definitely old enough to take care of you, therefore I am Aunty Lucy,' Lucy yelled.

'Aunty Lucy,' Chibuzor said sarcastically with a mischievous grin on his face, 'Thank you for the meal,' the smile got wider.

Lucy stared at Chibuzor disbelievingly, not sure what he was up to. She had expected Chibuzor to make the most fuss, and here he was smiling and being very obedient. She just couldn't believe it. He must be up to something, she thought, 'Chibuzor are you ok?'

'Perfectly,' Chibuzor replied. She looked at Chidi and Chidi smiled back.

'Can we eat now, Aunty Lucy,' Chidi said, also smiling along with his elder brother.

Lucy was not going to fall for whatever it was they were planning, 'I thought I wasn't your aunty.'

'You are now,' Chibuzor replied still smiling, 'don't worry we are going to be good boys,' he said.

She looked at both of them, then relaxed, 'good', Lucy nodded her head smiling, 'have your food and be good boys.'

So far, so good, Chibuzor thought. The plan was working, he winked at his little brother and Chidi winked back as they both had their meals.

If everything went according to plan, Lucy was going to beg to leave their house by the next morning. All he had to do was give her a very fearful reason to leave. He smiled at himself.

After they had finished their meals, they headed back to their room.

'Good night Aunty Lucy,' Chid waved at the maid.

'Goodnight Aunty Lucy,' Chibuzor did the same.

Lucy was not sure whether she was dreaming or if what she was seeing was real. God must have come down and touched these little devils, she thought, they had turned into adorable angels. Or was it all a trick? She asked her self. Where they up to something, she thought. Maybe they had truly changed, she relaxed. As long as they kept behaving themselves, she would have no problem with them. She could even turn out to be friends with them. 'Goodnight kids, but it's not exactly bedtime, are you sure you don't want to watch some TV before going to bed?'

'We're alright,' they chorused, 'Goodnight,' they still had the smile glued to their faces. They both entered their room and locked the door behind them.

'Yes!' Chibuzor jumped around the room excited. 'She'll never suspect the two innocent boys sleeping in their room.'

'So, what are you going to do now?' Chidi asked, excitedly.

'Brother, we are going to give our Aunty Lucy the scare of her life. Watch and learn little brother…watch and learn.' Chibuzor switched on his personal computer and opened the home system software. He had set up the system himself. 'Very soon, the magic and horror will begin,' he laughed a villain-in-your-average-super hero-movies laughter.

Chidi watched in awe.

He clicked a button on the keyboard and the image of the maid washing dishes in the kitchen appeared. An ineffaceable smile remained on his face, 'the party's just about to begin, Aunt Lucy…just about to begin,' he said laughing.

He had gotten everything that was going to be used to scare the nanny out of their dear Aunty Lucy. The microphones, the speakers, the holographic projectors, lighting, effect lights, sound generator, and little cameras to keep track of everything that was going down. This was going to be one good show. He felt like a film producer making a box office movie.

'Lights…camera…Action,' he clicked on the computer keyboard, excited.

'It looks just like a movie,' Chidi said, excited at what his brother could do.

'Of course, it's a movie, and even more. This is what I call Reality TV. What you see is what you get,' Chibuzor said. He could not wait to see his plan work, live and direct.

'Cool,' Chidi said, in awe.

*

As Lucy washed the dishes, she felt an awkward presence…a presence that almost scared the life out of her. She knew that feeling…she had felt it before.

At the village where she grew up, they had been exposed to beings of the other world from a tender age. Witch craft was a common thing, demonic possessions were also regular.

She had seen the strangest things in her village. A woman had turned into a cat in front of her, a child had spoken with a grown man's voice, and she had even seen a goat speak. But what she felt now was unlike any she had seen, she felt pure old evil, from within her and around her. Sweat beads dropped from her chin as she dropped a plate shivering.

She turned to face the door, still shivering. A strange light emanated from the sitting room. As she moved closer to the door, she saw a child standing right in the middle of the sitting room, singing and staring right at her. The child looked too defined, almost like a ghost.

 She froze right were she was. The child was smiling at her, beckoning at her. A chill of horror surged through her, shaking her. She had seen a ghost before, back at their house in the village. Her mother's ghost had waved her goodbye while she went out their living room door, while her mother's body was lying on her death bed, lifeless. She remembered what she felt; it wasn't joy, or sadness. It was fear, the fear of seeing a ghost.

'Aunty Lucy,' the high pitched voice came from the sitting room. The voice sounded like it came from all over the sitting room. 'Aunty Lucy,' the voice came again, coming from the walls this time, the furniture, the floor, the lights. The lights…

The lights suddenly went off.

'Aaaaaaaaah!' Lucy screamed in horror, tearing at her hair. 'Spirits leave me alone!' she yelled, running in the dark in a mad frenzy. She was going mad, she thought. She felt the rush of blood in her mouth. She heard voices in her head. Why her, Why did the Spirits chose to punish her? What had she done to attract their wrath?

She kept running into the street, far into the night. She felt fear engulf her, she knew what she felt, and it was real. A presence, so strong it wrenched at her heart as each moment passed. Fear itself had come to her, and had eaten her soul, but why her, she wondered.

She had no idea where she was running to, but she knew what she was running from. She wondered how long it would keep chasing her.

'Why me?' she yelled into the night. In her frenzy, she didn't see an approaching truck, and then just as she saw it, everything went blank. Darkness encompassed her, but one question lingered in her mind, 'why me?'…

*

He tried to disable the system, but it wasn't responding. What Chibuzor saw in the monitor was not what he had planned for. He just wanted to give Aunty Lucy a little scare so that she would leave them alone, but the horror on her face was far from what he had expected.

'Why won't this thing go off?' he tapped button after button, panicking. What he had seen in the monitor was a hysterical woman; it was almost as if she had crossed into the realm of madness. Guilt washed over him, and tears began to form in his eyes.

'What are you going to do?' Chidi asked, equally scared.

Chibuzor thought about Chidi's question and this time he had no answer.

'See, she's running out the door,' Chidi pointed to the monitor.

'Come on, let's go after her, we'll tell her it was all a joke,' Chibuzor jumped out of his seat pulling Chidi after him, 'it was all a joke,' his voice was visibly shaken.

'Yes, we'll tell her it was a joke,' Chidi reiterated, 'we better hurry.'

They dashed for the door, getting there, the door wouldn't open. They turned the key, fought with the door, yet it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, all the lights went off, the only light on was the light from the computer monitor.

They both stared at the blinking monitor in horror, suddenly it exploded. They both screamed and fought harder with the door, something was just not right.

'Chibuzor, I'm scared,' Chidi was beginning to cry.

Chibuzor was also shivering from fear, but he had to appear bold for his brother. 'It'll be okay, let's just get this door opened,' they kept struggling with the door.

After a while, they stopped trying, exhausted.

'It's dark,' Chidi said.

'Don't worry, we'll get the light back on soon,' Chibuzor replied, trying to assure his brother. As soon as he said that, a bright, almost blinding light came from the openings of the door. Then the door started trembling like it was being jolted by a tremor.

Then the shaking stopped all of a sudden.

The bright light also dimmed until it was totally dark again behind the door.

Slowly, the door opened, making a creaking eerie sound. There was no one behind it.

All Chibuzor and Chidi could see ahead of them was darkness, pitch black, and unreal. They couldn't see any windows, or any of the furniture ahead, just empty darkness, slowly, the darkness crept into their room. Both kids quickly moved back as the darkness came after them, it pushed them till they curled in a corner of the room. 

Chibuzor looked out their room's window and even the sky was gloomy, there were no stars and the moon was also missing.

'I'm scared,' Chidi said.

'Me too,' Chibuzor replied, his voice trembling.

'But I thought you were not scared of anything,' Chidi smiled.

Chibuzor saw the smile on his brother's face. He tried to think about what the source of Chidi's smile could be.

Amusement…? He didn't think that would be the case, maybe a little. They were both afraid; the whole house was in total darkness for no particular reason. A door that was previously locked opened on its own without anybody opening it.

He was scared, he admitted it. He had bragged to his brother that he was not scared of anything, now he was scared of the dark. Only babies where scared of the dark, he had told his brother after Chidi had confessed he was usually scared of the dark. He smiled at the irony of everything; here he was, shaken, shivering from fear, and even stuttering.

He amused himself, yes he did. He looked at his brother holding on to him, and he saw trust. The boy trusted in his elder brother who was to him a genius. 

The way Chidi held on to him suggested that the boy believed that as long as his elder brother was there, everything would be alright. He was scared, but as far as he was concerned, his brother was going to fix things. Chibuzor always fixed things- he was a genius- he knew that was what was going on in the young boy's head.

He had to make his brother proud, Chibuzo thought; he had to be bold, for his brother and for himself. He looked at his brother reassuringly, 'everything will be just fine,' he smiled, and Chidi smiled back, 'now let's get to the bottom of this,' he was now in detective mode.

'Alright,' Chidi hugged his elder brother. Chibuzor was now in his genius mode, and in that mode, he was capable of anything, he thought. Whoever was playing these tricks on them was going to get theirs. He was sure of that.

They stood up from the corner they had been crouching in for the last few minutes. Chibuzor held his brother's hand and they walked toward the door hand in hand. Ahead of the door was total darkness, but they kept walking, with no idea what lied behind the door.

Chibuzor turned to his brother, 'whatever happens, stay by me and don't be afraid,' he told his brother, 'no matter what happens, we are getting out of this house.'

Chidi held on tight to his brother. They walked out through the door and turned toward where they knew was the staircase though they could see nothing.

Then they saw something.

At the end of the corridor, a little girl stood, staring at them, saying nothing. Light seemed to radiate from her even thought there was no light source around her. 

Chibuzor felt bile rush up his stomach, the sight was scary. He had never seen anything like that in his life, he could not process what he saw, and he could only feel fear. He had no idea who the girl was, and why light came out from inside her, nothing made sense.

Chidi wrapped himself around his brother in fear.

The girl still stood there, saying nothing…just staring at the two boys.

Chibuzor wanted to say something, but nothing could come out of his mouth as he opened it. He could only swallow the saliva in his mouth.

The girl laughed, more like a giggle. The giggle echoed and reverberated all over the house.

Chibuzor could not explain any of this, this was beyond normal. The darkness was not normal, the girl was not normal, even the laughter had a sinister and evil feel to it. He had always liked to be able to explain things, understand things, but this was beyond his comprehension. Nothing seemed right.

'Let's play,' the girl's voice seemed to echo from the surrounding walls.

Chibuzor kept staring at the girl blankly, confused, while Chidi held on tightly to him. Everything seemed strange, nothing seemed real. The girl was not real, the darkness was not real, nothing was real…it was all a sceptre.

They were all illusions he assured himself. It is all in the mind, he told himself, all in the mind. Someone, or something wanted to scare them, and he knew this was not a game. This was serious stuff. Something had driven their nanny hysterical, but he was not going to allow the same thing happen to him…or his brother.

'You are not real,' he replied the girl, an image, because that was all she was, he told himself…An Illusion. 'Chidi, she's not real. Nothing you see here this night is real, do you understand?'

'Y-e-e-e-s,' Chidi replied, stuttering.

'I am real! I am real! I am real!' the girl screamed over and over, her voice echoing all over the house.

'You are not real,' he replied, 'cover your ears Chidi.'

His brother complied, covering his ears with his hands and shutting his eyes. 

The girl then stopped screaming. She tilted her head, sad, and then tears started flowing down her cheeks. The tears then turned to blood, and the blood continued flowing down her cheeks, to her neck, down to her white dress, that had turned crimson from the blood.

She suddenly looked up straight at them, with piercing dark eyes.

Chibuzor swallowed some saliva, while Chidi held on tightly to his brother shivering.

The girl started walking toward them, in slow, skewed steps. When she was about a foot from them, she stopped. Then she looked straight into Chibuzor's eyes. Her eyes were red…blood red. A disturbing twisted smile formed on her face.

Then she started to dissolve and in her place, thousands of cockroaches appeared, scampering around where she once stood. Chibuzor had never seen so many cockroaches in his life, they were everywhere. Goose pimples spread all over his skin.

Chidi screamed and quickly climbed up his brother, still screaming. Chibuzor could see the terror in his brother's eyes, he was terrified of cockroaches. He held on to his little brother.

The cockroaches were now everywhere, on the walls, and all over the floor.

'They are not real,' he whispered to Chidi who was crying and holding on to him tightly. He was also terrified, but he had to be strong for his brother. 'Chidi, stop crying. I told you they were not real. Just imagine it was all a movie trick, or magic trick, ok?' he tried to assure his brother.

'Movie trick…But we are not in a movie,' Chidi replied, still crying.

'THEY-ARE-NOT-REAL,' Chibuzor suddenly yelled, scaring Chidi, who quickly jumped off him, but still held on to him.

Even the cockroaches seemed stunned, because they all froze. They were not stunned for too long, because not too long after, they suddenly resumed charging towards Chibuzor and his brother.

Even Chibuzor now felt terror surge through him, he seemed to have lost hold of the boldness that he had summoned earlier. They both screamed as the cockroaches began to climb them. He tried to move, but he was petrified and couldn't move. The cockroaches were everywhere, and no matter how hard he tried to shake them off, he couldn't.

Chidi kept screaming, over and over. He had reached the point where insanity was inevitable. Everything they had seen had become too much for the little kid. He let go of Chibuzor and darted down the corridor, still screaming, over and over, in a hysterical tone. The little kid had finally lost it.

Chibuzor watched his brother run from him. He heard the madness in his brother's voice, he felt the dread, and he knew he had to do something about it. The cockroaches were all over him, moving, tickly, making all different kinds of sounds. 

He brought up his hands and looked at them, and he couldn't even see his own skin. That is when he noticed something he hadn't before. He felt nothing. He could see the cockroaches, he could feel the adrenaline pumping through him, he could feel his heart pound, he could feel his lungs pump, but he could not feel the cockroaches. He could not feel anything on his skin except goose pimples, not even one of the hundreds of cockroaches that crawled over him.

He looked up, and then smiled. 'It's not real,' he first whispered. Then he started jumping, hands raised and laughing, yelling at the top of his voice, 'it's not real! It's not real! All this is not real! An illusion, that's all it is, an illusion!'

He quickly went after his brother. As he ran, the cockroaches started falling off him until there was none left.

Chidi had crouched at a corner in the corridor crying. The cockroaches still crawled all over him. 

Chibuzor picked him up and shook him, 'Chidi stop!' he yelled at him, 'none of this is real.'

The boy just kept staring at him with a gaze that was miles away.

'You don't feel anything, do you? You don't feel the cockroaches, they are not real,' Chibuzor said emphatically. Chidi was beginning to slowly gain his composure, 'You can't have cockroaches crawling all over you and not feel them. They are not real!' Chibuzor screamed.

Chidi stared at his brother for a while, saying nothing. Then the cockroaches started crawling off him. One after the other they crawled away from him, until there was none on his body. The two brothers hugged each other, both laughing. 'They are not real,' Chidi said.

They looked around them and the cockroaches had disappeared, all of them.

Chibuzor nodded his head, 'This is crazy.'

'It's like a horror movie,' Chidi said, 'I hate horror movies,' he had gained back his composure.

'Let's get out of here,' Chidi held his brother's hands as they both went down the stairs. Nothing else happened till they walked out the door of their house. They stood out of their house until one of their neighbours across the street came to meet them. They still looked terrified, but they were now safe, safe from all the horror of that evening.

The Police had found the body of their nanny some streets away, a likely hit and run case since the driver that hit her didn't wait. That night the kids slept at their neighbour's, while their parents hurried back from their trip after hearing everything that had happened.

Etched into the minds of the two young boys was a memory that would stay with them for the rest of their lives, a memory very real, yet never real.

*

The Majaar had failed. His worst fears had come to pass. A thousand years had passed and he had fed on the fears of men, death was the only way, fear the only key, that was the only way to keep his soul alive. That was the only source of life for a spirit being like him.

Now, he had failed…failed. He had failed with two kids.

All the fear he had fed on engulfed him like a black hole, choking him out of his very existence.

Darkness covered him. Though he had known darkness throughout his existence, the darkness that covered him now was that of his own death…his own fear.

As life left him, he was able to inscribe one last sentence in 'the book', the book that would take its place in the Archives of the Spirits.

It is never real…Fear.

Book of the Majaar

The fire of his existence was quenched…forever.