CHAPTER 25

"Yeah, i know" He said.

Not knowing what conversation to have with him, she awkwardly sat with him and kept admiring mother nature in her night glory. And much to her dismay, he didn't even attempt to engage her in any conversation and soon, she grew comfortable with the silence, even though she was still a bit nervous around him. Soon, he noticed that she was beginning to nod off. And to avoid her dozing off and plummeting to her death, he told her that the y had to return to the camp and when she came to the camp she fell asleep immediately.

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"I just can't tell how very excited I'm" Onome was saying to Dorathy the next evening as she folded and piled her clothes and that of her daughter into a bag she had been provided with. She was finally going to leave the camp the next day and test freedom again and she was over joyed that she could not contain her joy. She had styled her daughter's hair and the girl was as excited as she was. I don't know the good Samaritan that paid my ransom, but may God continue to bless whoever they are".

"Amen" Dorathy simply smiled.

"Awwn....my friend" Onome paused her parking to take Dorathy's hand in hers as she earnestly said. "I wish there is something i could do for you too. We had become too close like sister and i won't like to leave without you. I wish the Samaritan had paid for you too...but i guess ten million naira is such a huge amount of money he or she couldn't afford to lose twice.

"Don't worry about me, i will get out if here eventually" Dorathy assured her, possibly next week".

"I hope so...., i also hope that once you gets out of here you will try to reach me" Onome entreated.

"I give you my words" Dorathy replied. "Once things fall in place and i gets out of here, you and Jane are the first people i will come looking for".

"Thanks" Onome suddenly pulled Dorathy into a hug in her sitting position and squeezed her eyes shut.

As Onome resumed packing her stuffs into the bag, The peace was suddenly disrupted by the arrival Of their arch enemy. "Una no dey hungry abi? Eight O'clock don nack and nobody don start fire" Sandra harshly asked the hostages when she approached them.

Ever since the fight with Onome, she had refused her cook anything else and had also not spoken to her since then. Without waiting for a reply, she suddenly asked. "Na who else sabi cook well well for here?" She deliberately asked since she had tried Adanna and another woman but the food was not half delicious as Onome's. There was always too much salt and the rice had end up mashed. "If una never tire to dey chop rice, me i don tire. This night, i dey in the mood to eat Semo and egusi, nothing else, and na only for me and my colleagues, na garri una go drink sleep this night, everyday no be Christmas. See as una don dey add weight sef"". After looking around, her eyes deliberately settled on Dorathy. "Ehn.....you stand up!"

She hesitantly obeyed without a word.

"Come out here!" Sandra Ordered and Dorathy obeyed still.

"You can cook Semo and Egusi, can't you?" Sandra asked, maliciously running her eyes over Dorathy from hair to toe.

"I'm not that used to the delicacy you want but i can try". Dorathy said.

"Try? You think say here na Amsterdam?" Sandra snickered. "If you go waste the ingredients cook rubbish for us, you no go like wetin you go use your eyes see!" All do you think its actually easy To go all the way from Jungle to market?. If you mess the food up, i go mess your pretty face! I don't have time for disastrous cooking!" Sandra said, revealing a switched blade and holding it in a menacing manner close to Dorathy who leaned away from her immediately.

"You don't have to threaten me, like i said earlier, i will try my best, Onome can help me". Dorathy said.

"No, i don't want that witch coming anywhere near this food" Sandra snapped. "Who knows what she has up her sleeve, to poison us all".

"I don't think she'd like to do that when she and her daughter had to eat from it too" Dorathy said.

"It's like you didn't hear me the first time, this food is only meant for me and my colleagues. The rest of you can drink and soak garri." Then a sinister smile appeared on her face as a thought occurred to her. "Speaking of help" She turned to face Onome "where is that little brat of yours?".

"Onome, hesitated. "What do you want with her?, she's sleeping".

"I can see that you are a dotting mother who could rather spoil a child than teach them what they ought to know". Sandra Retorted. "At her age, i already know how to cook a lot of delicacies for my family".

"You wish! Even now, you don't even know how to properly light firewood" Onome shot back with a scoff. "My daughter could hurt her self by going too close to the blazing fire and am not risking that" One remained adamant.

"You sees to forget your place here and who is in charge!, One, am not asking you but am ordering you to wake up that child and tell her to come out now!"

"No!" Onome stood up now, and walked out of the enclosure to face Sandra while Dorathy helplessly watched the two women exchange words. "You can treat me however you want but I'll not let you extend the cruelty towards my daughter! You are cold, bitter and miserable that you transfer your aggression on others! If you know what it mean to be a mother, you won't be this insensitive by trying to punish a young girl who had done nothing, and this behavior of yours i won't be surprised if you end up without having a child, and worse, no man would want to keep you!".

Sandra slowly took a step towards Onome. Her words had hit home and they all hurt deeply. "What did you just say to me?" She asked with an angry whisper.

"Yeah.., i said what i said" Onome Said yo her face. "I said that you probably don't know how to treat a child right simply because you don't have one or might never do! You probably do not know how to keep a man enough to be a mother!" Onome spat ruthlessly and before any one could think, there was a fine shut and One fell with a thud to the ground, blood pouring out of the bullet hole in her eyes where Sandra had shut her. The gun shot had startled and terrified the others while Dorathy gasped in shock. Too frozen to move. Even Pascal and others had rushed to the scene from where ever they had been and they slowed down in confusion when they saw what had happened.

"Talk na!" Sandra yelled down at Onome's body. "Shebi you think say you be Benin babe and you get mouth! Talk again nah, thunder fire you!" She angrily kicked the in the ribs. "Na see finish dey make you run your mouth like tap, you think say here na you papa house? God punish you for there! Na see finish be this so! If no be Capone wey dey say make we dey patient with una until una people pay, we for don waste una finish" She rented to her colleagues while had run to the scene.

Pascal pulled closer to see who it was and when he found out it was Onome, he almost broke down.

"Sandra, which levels, you dey mad?!" He suddenly burst out. "Na wetin she do you?! Why you kill am?! Which kind nonsense be this na?! Oh my God! Oh my God!" He started to use his hand to rub his head as he lamented bitterly. "Why you kill am?!" He lamented in a teary voice now while others stared at him in surprise and confusion.

"Shut up my friend! No ask me any stupid question!" Then she directed her aggression to everyone. "God punish all of una! Una think say na play we dey play here?! Una life no get value, i fit kill all of una here and nobody go do me anything! No shaking!" She bragged.

"Una think say police go come save una? Na them dey work with us. If any of una know say una wan go meet God for heaven, make una try rubbish with me again.

!" She pointed down at Onome's body with the gun.

"Na example one! You hear wetin i talk so? Na example one!make any of una disrespect me again, ago show una say craze pass craze, and i no dey carry this gun for fashion, i dey uses am! Una father! Una don turn kidnapping business to charity show! Make any of una try me again! I double dare una!".