The Combat

"What's this," a man spoke.

"Strange. Very strange!" Said another.

"This guy is more than just a human being!"

"Is he still breathing?".

"God. This can't be happening."

"Oluwa oh. Fuck shit!"

"What are you all talking about?" Eva asked, too scared to take a look herself.

Frederick turned back slowly like a mannequin and

looked at Eva. "The guy is not a human being."

"What?" Eva asked, confused and terrified.

"He's a human being, please!" one of the men said in anger. "What's not human about him?" He pointed at Frank and said: "This is a fortified man. He has a lot of charms inside his body. That's why he's healing."

"Charms?" Eva croaked.

"Eva! Let's get out of here!" Martha said, pulling Eva's arms.

"Yes! You all should leave now," Frederick said. "Leave him with us. We've encountered his kind many times. We know what to do with him."

At once, Eva and all the neighbours standing outside Jenna's apartment started scurrying away to their respective apartments.

"Why are the police not here now?" one of the fleeing women asked Eva.

"I'll be damned if I know," Eva said, galloping away, "don't you know how the Nibera police behave? They are probably scared that they would be hurt if they came here now. So they'll wait until it was all over before they come. That's their usual tactic. Unfortunate, idiotic lots!"

In a moment, it was just Frank and six bad men there. There were no longer scared; they had all recovered from the initial shock.

"We'll let this motherfucker know that we have charms too!"

"Don't attack yet," Frederick said. "Let's observe. Let's wait until he opens his eyes." Then he paused, after which he said, "Meanwhile, boys, break some bottles."

The men dashed outside, scouring the compound for bottles. They found an old crate containing empty Guinness bottles lying on the far corner of the compound. They picked bottles and began to break them, holding the other half which hard sharp, lethal edges. And they stormed inside Jenna's apartment again. They were loving the moment.

When they got inside, there were both happy and shocked to see Frank eyes wide open. The eyes were clear, bright, no longer swollen. His gash on his face was no longer there; his lips had come back together again, as if nothing ever touched it. There was absolutely no trace of injury on his face, only congealed blood that appeared to have no source.

"Wow," one of them said, delighted that he would flex his muscles again.

If only he knew what would happen to him in the next few minutes.

Frank was still sitting down, giving them a fixed, gentle stare. Calm was written all over his face. He even smiled at them.

"First of all," Frederick said, "to be sure we're not fighting one of our own, what cult group to you belong to?"

Frank smile widened. There was something dark about the smile that the men became a little scared again.

"Wa, are you mad?" Frederick said, "I asked you a question and you're laughing? Do you want to die? You think you have charms? Look, I have more than that! Look at my skin"—he tapped his left arm—"nothing can penetrate it, nothing at all, not even a sword or a bullet!"

"Egbon!" one of the men said impatiently, "you're wasting time. Let's descend on this motherfucker!"

Frederick narrowed his eyes at Frank, "Again, I ask you—what cult group do you belong to? I'm the leader of Aye in this entire Bariga. Tell me where you belong or I'll have to kill you right now and nothing will happen!"

"Shut up," Frank said calmly, very calmly with the unmistakable cadence of a man with immense authority, "and run, while you still can."

"Run? Are you mad?" Then he tuned to his men. "Boys, stab him!"

If he had used a other word instead of "stab," it would have been a little better because it might not have elicited that kind of beast-like response from Frank.

Over three months ago, some men had come to Frank's house in Port Harcourt. And Frank still remembered. He still remembered how they caught him unawares as he was coming out of the kitchen, holding a plate of fried eggs. He remembered the first blow which handed on his left ear, bursting his ear drum instantly. He remembered how he fell down, disoriented, dazed; how he lost consciousness briefly as his sense swirled, trying to make sense of what was happening, trying to frame the moment. He remembered how his initial reaction was one of cold terror that momentarily stilled his heart, and how he pleaded unintellibly, asking the men who stood above him to spare his life. He remembered saying, "What have I done? What have I done! What's my crime? Please don't kill me. I'll give you any amount you want." He remembered how the men had spat on his face and shouted "Fuck you and your money!" before they came down on him, hitting him really hard. At that point, he knew that no matter what he did, these men would spare him, that these men were all out to kill him. He knew they were assassins who never wanted his money, and he knew that if he did nothing, he would be dead in a matter of minutes. And then he remembered the words of his father telling him to be strong and to fight. Galvanized by this, he began to throw punches too—he against five men. When one of them saw that he was proving to be a little tougher than they had expected, he brought out a small knife from his pocket and gave Frank a vicious stab below his ribs. Frank shrieked in pain and staggered, but he kept fighting. Oh, he remembered how brave and strong he was.

"Boys, stab him!" the man instructed the others, and they all brought out their knifes and started stabbing at every space found on Frank's body. Until he died.

And now these men standing before him had just used that same word "stab," reminding him of the genesis of all his woes. What a huge mistake they just made.

Frank stood up and in split second, before any of the could even react, he was already at the door, shutting it, preventing any of the men from escaping.

"Jesu!" Frederick cried. All his confidence had instantly evaporated. It was clear now that the man they thought had charms actually possessed something more than mere charms. He wasn't a human being like the rest of them.