CHAPTER 25

Ezinne fanned herself with her hand as she cursed Kelechi, the thief who'd stolen her car, for the umpteenth time.

Because of him, she was in a commercial bus. Ordinarily, Ezinne had nothing against public transport, but the bus she was in was jam-packed with passengers, stuffy and rickety. It kept breaking down inconveniently causing the driver and his shirtless conductor to spend time fixing it.

People who complained were asked to shut up or get off the bus. The route from Okoagu to Owerri wasn't popular and the bus driver knew it.

Whenever he fixed the bus, he drove speedily as he tried to make up for the time he'd spent repairing the vehicle.

Ezinne just prayed to Ala for the journey to end quickly and without any casualties.

Her prayers were interrupted when the bus hit a gallop, causing the occupants to rave at the driver.

“It's like you all don't want to get home today!” The driver defended himself.

“It's better to be late than be the late!” A passenger retorted and Ezinne concurred.

The driver snorted at what he considered an effeminate notion and continued driving as if he hadn't been chided.

Ezinne sighed. Some commercial drivers took illicit gin and felt like the kings of the road while driving. She usually avoided those types of drivers but in this case, she didn't have any choice.

To distract herself, Ezinne turned to Ejike who looked deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about?” Ezinne asked him.

Ejike shook his head as he replied, “I'm thinking that there need to be more people like Julius in the world.”

“Huh?” Ezinne asked as the bus hit a porthole, causing her breasts to jiggle.

“Julius as you know, was my assistant. He was an undergraduate who need money to pay his tuition fees. He agreed to work at a low rate and I decided to take him up on his offer.” Ejike said guiltily.

“And?” Ezinne asked curiously.

“And the young man hero-worshipped me. He wanted to be like me. I knew this and still, I treated him like something that crawled out from under a rock. I was too hard on him. I remember making him the butt of my jokes countless times in public.” Ejike said, running his hand over his face shamefully.

Everything in Ezinne wanted her to shout at Ejike for treating his assistant in such a poor manner but she refrained from doing so. The man was beating himself up already, he didn't need her help.

“When the governor's son died, my life as a popular Evangelist ended. I was so devastated. At that moment, I didn't even stop to think about how Julius would be affected by...it.” Ejike continued, “Thankfully, Julius wasn't detained in a police cell overnight like I was. He didn't have to go through what I did.”

Ejike stopped talking and shuddered in fright as he remembered.

“I'm glad he was able to rebuild his life and get a job at the Heroes' Square exhibit. I kept tabs on him but I never reached out to him.” Ejike concluded.

“Why?” Ezinne asked, fanning herself once again.

“Because I felt too guilty. I didn't know what I would have said to him. Also, I was scared. What if I reached out to him and he rejected me?” Ejike asked in a quiet.

“If you haven't made contact with him since then, why are you confident he'll aid Ogadi and Phillip?” Ezinne put forward the question.

“Because I know Julius. He won't put his hatred for me over something important.” Ejike said confidently.

“People changed. You did.” Ezinne remarked.

“Then for our sakes, I hope Julius hasn't.”

They descended into companionable silence which Ezinne broke moments later.

“When this is all over, you should re-establish contact with Julius.” Ezinne advised.

Ejike nodded grimly.

Suddenly, the bus lurched to a stop and Ezinne, like other occupants of the bus found herself pressed against the seat in front of her.

“Ah-ah! Driver, do you want to kill us?” A particularly angry passenger asked.

“What's wrong?” Ejike asked the driver irritably.

“Nothing.” The driver replied dismissively and tried to reignite the engine.

The engine coughed, gained momentum and the stuttered out.

“I ask again! What is wrong?” Ejike's tone was more forceful this time.

The driver was forced to look back.

“Sir!” He said respectfully, “The bus has broken down!”

“Again?” Ejike thundered.

The bus suddenly became quiet as the other passengers watched Ejike put the unruly driver in his place.

The driver squirmed a bit before he replied, “Yes sir! But don't worry, my conductor and I will just get down and repair it again.”

“Since we set out on this journey, your bus has misbehaved. You were aware your vehicle wasn't in optimum condition, yet you decided to put us through this torture so you could make a little money!” Ejike accused.

The passengers made agreeing sounds.

“It's not like that!” The conductor replied defensively, scratching his hairy chest.

“I swear, if you two don't get your filthy selves down and get this bus moving, I'll do something you won't like.” Ejike threatened in a voice that left no doubt he'd carry out his threat.

“It hasn't come to that. We're on our way.” The driver said, smiling uncomfortably.

He and the conductor descended and crawling under the bus, they began to tinker around.

The other passengers thanked Ejike for scolding the bus driver but Ezinne remained silent.

“What? Do you think I was too harsh?” Ejike asked when Ezinne didn't put in a word.

“No. Not at all. That man deserves all that and more.” Ezinne asserted.

“It's just that I think you probably scold yourself the same way.” She finished.

“Yes, I do.” Ejike sighed.

“Well, you shouldn't.” Ezinne said.

“A young man died because of me.” Ejike said, poking himself in the chest with his fingers.

“I know. But beating yourself up won't bring him back to life.” Ezinne replied.

“I deserve some punishment for that. If no one is willing to punish me, then I must punish myself.” Ejike said solemnly.

Ezinne shook her head in defeat. She knew nothing she said would convince Ejike to stop his mental self-flagellation.

She looked outside and saw three men materialize from the bushes. They looked untidy and had dust all over them. It seemed like they'd walked a long distance.

The driver and the conductor left the bus and began to converse with the men. It looked like the men were asking for directions.

Soon, one of the men stepped into the bus. He was wearing an ill-fitting t-shirt that showed off a huge paunch and jeans that were a little too tight.

Some of the passengers began to complain.

“How could the driver let this man on board? Doesn't he know there isn't any space left?” A woman asked.

“Don't mind him. People can be so inconsiderate. He's already packed us like sardine in this bus, yet he wants to add another person.” A man concurred.

The man who'd boarded the bus paid the comments no mind. In fact, it looked like he couldn't hear them.

Ezinne couldn't put her finger on it, but she sensed something was off with the man.

He continued walking down the aisle until he came up to Ezinne and Ejike. He then smiled at them.

At that moment, Ezinne felt the dark aura surrounding him. Without looking into his eyes, she already knew he was possessed by a demon.

Before Ezinne could speak, the man reached for her and Ejike's throats. His right hand clamped around Ezinne's throat but as he tried to strangle Ejike with his left hand, Ejike lowered his head and bit the thick fingers.

The man cried out in pain but didn't release Ezinne. He decided to forget about Ejike and focus on the woman firmly in his grasp.

He added his left hand to the right and squeezed harder.

Ezinne tried to cry out but couldn't. Her throat felt compressed.

Pandemonium broke out in the bus. The passengers began to run around. Some went over to help Ezinne, others ran out of the bus while others took pictures and videos of the spectacle.

Two men came up from behind and forcefully drew the demon away from Ezinne with Ejike's help.

Ezinne took in as many deep breaths as she could, thanking Ala for coming to her rescue. The demon angrily shoved the men holding him down away and made for Ezinne again.

Ezinne stood up from her chair and walking backwards, began the incantation to exorcise the demon.

The demon stalked her, smiling maliciously. Ejike from behind gave the demon a punch to the back of his head.

The demon turned around and backhanded Ejike, sending him flying into the arms of the two men who'd come to help.

Meanwhile, the two men outside tried to enter the bus, but the driver and the conductor were having none of it.

“I told you there's only room for one more person. Your friend climbed in. If I let you in, my passengers will kill me.” The bus driver complained.

The demon-possessed men were not perturbed by his words.

“We have to enter the bus.” One of the men said with finality.

“Are you deaf?” The conductor asked, flexing his muscles, “He said no.”

Right at that moment, some scared passengers hurriedly got out of the bus, shouting phrases such as “Holy Ghost fire!” “God forbid!” and “Run for your lives!”

The driver and the conductor were perplexed and the two demons used the opportunity to shove them aside and enter the bus.

They climbed in after the demons, wondering why the bus was in such a state of disarray.

Ezinne immediately sensed the two new demons and sighed mentally as she finished her incantation.

The demon that had her cornered had placed a beefy arm on her when she yelled, “By the power vested in me by Ala, I command you to return to Ala Mmuo in the most excruciating way possible!”

The man's hand on her went slack as he began to scream uncontrollably. He backed away from her and ran headlong into the remaining demons. They shoved him aside and he fell on one of the passengers who was getting a video of what was happening in the bus.

The young woman let out a cry that was equal part surprise and terror. Her scream spurred on some of the remaining people in the bus and they abandoned their efforts to take pictures or help Ezinne and Ejike and ran.

The two remaining demons advanced on Ezinne, flexing their arms.

“You'll come with us!” One said in a husky voice.

“Yesssss!” The other hissed, “You've stood in our king's way for too long.”

Ezinne didn't reply. She was busy incanting. Before she could finish, one of the demons gave her a punch to the mouth.

Ezinne cried out as she felt her head snap back. She got to her knees and used her tongue to check if all her teeth were still intact.

She tried to resume her chant but her jaw felt too heavy and it was much too painful for her to speak.

The other demon pulled her up forcefully by her hair, and Ezinne was forced to scream, hurting her mouth even more.

The demon chuckled and grabbed Ezinne's throat, wincing with exertion as he tried to asphyxiate her.

Ejike tackled the demon holding Ezinne, and his legs collapsed from under him. In his surprise, the demon released Ezinne and she scrambled away. Or so she thought. The demons accomplice grabbed her blouse.

Ezinne tried to get away from him and in the process, her blouse ripped.

Great! Bare my underwear to the world! Ezinne thought hysterically. She couldn't believe she was about to die and she was still worrying about appearing indecent in public.

She gave the demon a sound slap which seemed to have no effect on him.

She decided to try again and this time around, he caught her arm and twisted hard.

Ezinne cried out and instantly regretted it. Her jaw was getting worse by the minute. She struggled to get out of the demon's hold to no avail.

She wished Ejike would help her but he had his hands full with the demon he'd tackled.

Ezinne knew her arm would snap at any moment so she continued struggling, praying the demon would get tired and release her.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound and Ezinne thought, there goes my arm.

It took her a moment to process that there was no debilitating pain racketing her from the arm and that the demon had released her.

A second later, he crumpled to the floor.

“What happened?” Ezinne asked no one in particular.

Ezinne found herself looking into the reddened eyes of the conductor. He held a huge spanner in his hands.

She saw that Ejike had managed to knock out the other demon, probably with the aid of the driver.

“You two will pay for all of this, you know.” The driver said in a hoarse voice.