THE BLACK CAT
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jacob drove to Palm Grove city Lagos ,a high brow area in Lagos , were the super rich lived. He parked his Mercedes Benz Gle CLS outside the house as he got out of the house, and tucked in his heckler and Koch VP9 into his blue jeans and raised his black shirt over it .
He walked towards the front gate , it was as if the security man was waiting for him , he immediately opened the gate before the Jacob knocked on the door .
The gateman who had worked for his parents for over twenty five years was dressed in a black suit , a white shirt and a bow tie . He was wearing a stern look .
“Mr Jacob you’re welcome, your parents are waiting for you in the sitting room .” Jacob was shocked beyond bones , his lips immediately turned dry , for the first time in his life he was terrified of his parents .
He had not called his parents to inform them of the incidence at his house , he has been off the radar for two days , his phone and that of Margaret switched off . How would his father be aware of his coming .
That only meant one thing . He walked up to the sitting room, A vast hall , painted in cream white , with big upholstery chairs , imported from England, coffee brown in colour, a rich Turkish rug carpet sat in the middle of the cold and tiled floor.
Afonja was reading news of his iPad while he feigned to have not sin Jacob walk in, while Mrs Nike whose attention was on the television, she was seeing a Nollywood movie, about a family suffering witchcraft attack mumbled to himself .
“Ekaasan Mummy and Daddy .” Jacob said ,prostrating to the ground , his Yoruba upbringing was still intact.
“Jacob how are you doing?” Nike asked .
“How are you my son, how is your family.” Nike asked .
“Mum I bless God , dad I greeted you .” Jacob said to his father who grunted without taking off his face from the screen of his pad .
“So what do you want to eat Jacob , I’ll ask the chefs to prepare it for you now .” Mrs Nike said , Jacob whose stomach had twisted and tied together, he couldn’t feel the urge to eat , when his family was in danger .
“No mummy I’m fine , I don’t feel like eating , infact I came for us to talk .” He said , his mother squinted her brows and sat up looking at him .She could remember when she had the little puddle in her arms , now he’s a fully grown six feet man , just as tall as his father , but he was off course huge than his father , the muscles of youthfulness still visible for all to see .
“Mum and dad I have a very important question to ask the both of you. So many strange things have been happening in my family, off wish I decided not to disturb you with my personal problems.” Jacob said as he looked at his father who was still staring at his pad .
“Now you’re a man right Jacob ?” Nike asked, with downcast eyes , a drooping lips , she was so disappointed that her son would cause her family so much pains and sadness .
“Mama yes of course I’m now a man , I can’t be running back to you as I did while I was growing , now am a man with responsibilities to my family.” He said audaciously. “Or mummy do you expect me to be coming to fall down at your feet ?” Jacob asked his mother .
She shook her head vigorously in disbelief, seeing her son talk to her boldly without any reverence or shock shocked her .
“Nike don’t mind the fool , his stupid wife has put in his head that we are just , witches and wizards, that we are monsters wanting to kill them .” Afonja mumbled taking his face from the iPad for a minute .
He scratched his white goatee and returned back to his iPad .
“About that dad! ” Jacob said with a raised voice “That’s why I’m here! I want to know from you , what your connection to the predicament my family is going through.” He asked looking at his dad .
“Just say we’re the witches attacking your family ?” Afonja said with a raised voice .
“Jacob! what has come over you ? if we were witches and wizards as you think , why would you still be alive to this age ? we just want what’s best for you .” Nike said with a crestfallen face.
“What’s best for me ?” He asked. “Like trying to kill my first child ?” he asked perplexed.
“Nike stop petting this big f o o l , we need to tell him the truth to his face .” Afonja said dropping the pad .
“We are members of an African society black cats! I am a member , your mother’s parents her grand parents , my father and grandfather, it’s been more than ten generations now.” Afonja said furiously.
“you see the power you enjoy ? ” Afonja enraged . “The trips to Paris and New York, since you were a kid ? its wealth from the fraternity, we play our part , money and power come.om us.” Afonja said standing on his feet, pacing here and there , with his intertwined hands behind his back .
“You as my firstborn surviving male child , should have inherited my place and wealth when I’m gone! we’re worth more than five hundred billion naira , where can you have such powers if not from the devil ?” Afonja asked his his son .
Jacob’s knuckles whiten up , he felt like punching his dead across the face .
“So good people don’t have money ?” Jacob ask his father , with a surprise look .
“They’re no good people , there’s a sacrifice everyone must pay , to get to where they’re or what they have .” He insisted .
“So you people intentionally forced me to take the domestic help who are whatever you people are , to come to my house , and do your dirty job for you?” Jacob asked as he folded his palms under his chin .
“No what are you talking about Jacob ?” Nike asked her son, shocked to her bones that he would try to accuse her and her husband.
“What has come over you Jacob ? are you suddenly mad! we’re your parents, why would we wish you harm ?” She denied it with tears and frowns .
“Oh Nike stop with the drama , let us tell this i d i o t here his obligation to the family .” Afonja said pointing at Jacob furiously. “You owe an obligation to this family !” Afonja insisted .
.”You see me and your mother ? we had no choice than to continue where your grandparents stopped , or else calamity would visit all our siblings , we had to carry their burdens, the burdens of our siblings , and for that, we sacrificed our first son!” Afonja said, as Nike watched in silence with a crestfallen face .
“oh you thought you were our first child ?” Afonja asked sarcastically. “No you were not our first , second or third ! you are our fourth, we all sacrificed them to the confraternity! a sacrifice to keep wealth and ward off evil from our siblings and family .” Afonja continued.
“I was getting ready to initiate you to the fraternity , but I’ve seen you’re a weakling I wished I had given you to the cats for dinner .” Afonja fumed. “You’ve been a huge disgrace to my name , you’ve disgraced me by attacking and killing your own people !” Afonja fumed .
“So you sent the demonic agents to my house to kill my baby , because I wouldn’t kill him myself ?” Jacob asked looking at his dad .
“Yes , but you killed them , and other of our members , see Jacob you cannot escape us , we removed their bodies from the street , and from your house , we’re everywhere in government, you cannot fight us , we own this state , we own the money .” Afonja boasted before his son .
“I’ll also be correct to assume that you two had my accounts frozen to blackmail me Into doing your dirty bidding ?” Jacob asked looking intensely at his parents face .
“Yeah if you can’t do what we asked from you , then you cannot eat the fruit of our sacrifice .” Afonja said.
“Then that be it , I can’t be alive and watch my son be your sacrifice, the two of you can go to hell with your money .”
Jacob roared .
“So mum you’re on this with dad ?” Jacob asked not believing his ears .
“Yes I’m , if you heard your dad well he said we had no choice .” Nike said , ashamed for the first time . “We were initiated before we knew it .”
“No mum you had a choice , you did!” he yelled . “if dad here had sold his soul to the devil! you shouldn’t have ! you couldn’t have you’re a mother for God sake! why would you ?” Nike was speechless, she escaped her son’s gaze .
“I’m not going to join your generational occult group dad!” Jacob said getting up from the couch , he was looking like a mountain of man . “Neither am I going to sacrifice my son to your cult.”
“We’re going to die in the next one month if we don’t sacrifice your first child .” Nike begged . “Please Jacob you can have more children in this life , but if we die , that would be the end of it .” Nike begged in tears .
“Mum clean those crocodile tears , I don’t care if the both of you died today! I don’t care whatever happens to you , I’m not going to sacrifice my child or my wife , I guess you’re the ones trying to kill my wife and her mother ?”
They both stood blankly staring at him .
“I guess that’s true , but you failed , I have been so stupid not to believe Margaret! because I couldn’t bring myself to believe my parents could commit such abomination.” Jacob shook his head in disappointment.
“But I thank God,that they’re all alive.”
“Yeah! I wanted her and her baby dead! if you had agreed to marry Afolabi’s daughter who is already a member making her father proud , we wouldn’t have needed your approval , she knew what to do .” Afonja said .
“Oh her baby that just died was your sacrifice?” Jacob asked as it dawned on him the truth of who his parents and their friends are .
“You see Joshua, I’ll never sacrifice him to your cult or whatever you people are , I’ll be dead before you can touch him or his mother .”
“We know where they’re , you think taking them to the church would save them ?” Afonja asked “We’re going to come there and take our grandson for the sacrifice.” Afonja promised .
“You think all the guns and police can save your child ? We shall come in our numbers , And kill everyone in that church , tonight .”
“Dad please you should come ! I’ll be waiting for you, I’ll be dead before you can pluck his hair .” Jacob said , his mother held on to his huge bicep as he tried to leave the house.
“Please Jacob don’t let us die you can have another child, but if we died today, we would have gone forever.” Nike begged.
“Take your hands off my body you witch! I don’t care if you die , or if your husband dies! you’re evil people ! take your hands off me!” Jacob yelled at his mother and stormed out of the house .
His father’s head of bodyguards Rashid bumped into him , on the passage leading the house , they eyed each other .
“Sir should I follow him and finish them up ?” Rashid begged .
“No no Rashid , we’re cats we can sniff whatever we want to smell from a mile away , it’s only his family members who can kill the baby. For it to be accepted as a sacrifice, we’ll go to that church .” Afonja said as he took a sip of the cold dry gin. He was going to summon all the cats brethren in Nigeria if need be to get that baby.
“Nike you know you’re responsible for this rubbish , I told you, that we should not have allowed Jacob marry that girl , because she carried a strange fire, but no let’s allow our son to experience love , see the situation you have put us .” He hissed and went upstairs to his room with his bottle of Captain Jack .
Jacob was mad at himself for Being so stupid not to realise who his parents were , he kicked the tyre of his car several time before leaving .
He got into his SUV, and turned the engine on , and the tyres made loud crunching sounds as the car drove into the tarred road, as he made the one hour drive towards the church his family was .
