NIGHTCLUB CHRONICLES
CHAPTER 11
THE END
You won’t believe this but I was spending my second month in jail. My politician in law lost the election and lost his powers to be able to free me. My friend Philbet came from a wealthy home and they had long secured his release. I was still behind bars, awaiting trial that never came.
I had been removed from solitary confinement and brought back to the general cell. I had somehow managed to create a connection and friendship with the Chef de Celui. He had realized that we both needed each other. He could use my fighting skills to preserve and maintain his power and I could use his experience and influence to stay safe in jail. He was serving a long twenty years sentence.
Linda had visited me every week and I was grateful for her. If not for her, I would have died long ago. For someone who had lived a soft and comfortable life, every minute behind bars felt like eternity in hell. May God bless her. I had decided that, I will never fight again, except in great need.
One day, the Chef de Celui sent for me. I went to see him immediately because he never sent for someone if it was not urgent.
“Did I ever tell you why I was imprisoned?” He asked in perfect English as soon as I sat down beside him.
“No.”
“I am actually a doctor. A trained gynecologist with many years of experience under my belt.”
He revealed. I was dumbfounded.
“Wow!!!” I exclaimed. “So, how did you end up her, Doc?”
“Abortion. I was a veteran abortionist. Almost every girl in town had passed through my clinic. I have don terrible things. No abortion was too difficult for me. Even if the pregnancy was eight months old, I handled it, with ease.”
“Damn!!” That was bloody work?” I said.
“Yeah, I made a lot of money. Had a lot of girls at my disposal. I slept with some of the girls who didn’t have money to pay for their bills. It was one hell of a life I lived out there.”
“So, what happened that you got arrested?” I asked. I was impatient.
“I was coming to that.” He said and wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead. “One day, a lady was brought to me and she was in a serious condition. I didn’t know her father was a high court judge. She had committed abortion using a crude method and the whole thing had become complicated. I did my best but she died. You know the rest.” He lamented.
“Oh my gosh!!” I exclaimed. “Now I understand.”
“Anyway, that’s not why I called you here. I called you here to inform you that we are planning an escape. A prison break.”
“What?!” I almost screamed.
“Yeah, I will let you in on the details because I have realized that you can be trusted, but remember it’s top secret.” He said.
He told me everything about how the plan was going. He said they have been able to secure some nails, very big ones. Every night, after lights out, they take turns using the nails to scratch the wall. They have made a large circle and the hole around the circle is already deep. Soon, they will be able to make a passage and escape. In the day, they use a large cloth to cover that part of the wall so that the guards won’t notice.
Dear readers, the plan did succeed. We escaped one fateful, dark and rainy night. However, unfortunately, the guards were alerted and there was a shootout between the guards and some inmates who had managed to overpower some guards and took away their guns. It wasn’t easy. Unfortunately, the doctor was killed. He was one of the people exchanging fire with the guards. The doctor, actually, was no ordinary gunslinger. Three guards lost their life in a blazing arc of fire before the men found their mark. I was with him when he gasped his last. He told me to run and never look back. I abandoned his lifeless body in the rain and melted into the darkness.
I had no time to spare. I went home and got my documents. That was the only thing I needed. I took my backpack and put my documents inside. I opened my safe and removed all the money inside. I took my phone and realized it had low battery. It hadn’t been on in months. I closed the door and disappeared.
I knew that by dawn there would be a manhunt for all the escaped prisoners so, I had to be fast, very fast. I went to the park and since it was late at night, I didn’t find any car going towards Mamfe. My plan was to get a car to Mamfe, from Mamfe to Ekok, which was a border town with Nigeria and then get into Nigeria and freedom. Unfortunately, there were no cars.
However, there were bikes, commercial bikes in front of a nightclub that was close to the park. I went there and immediately; the thoughts of my clubbing days came to my mind. I resisted the temptation, got a bike and told the rider I would give him 50,000 Frs. in cold hard cash if he would get me to Ekok by dawn. We haggled for a while and finally settled on 60,000.
We sped away and fortunately for us, there were very few check points. The few that stopped us got settled hurriedly and we left. It was 5 A.M when we reached Ekok, the border town between Cameroon and Nigeria. I paid the bike man his due and he began the return journey. I went to the immigration office, afraid that word had already gotten out and there was already a search for me and my other runners.
Thankfully, my passport was stamped without any hesitation. A few minutes later, I was at the Nigerian side of the border. They didn’t hesitate to stamp my passport because I have some Nigerian names. I had names from both Cameroon and Nigeria because I was a Cameroonian with some Nigerian roots.
I got a cab and entered Nigeria without any incident. I was kind of sad because I had left my entire life back in Cameroon and was going to start from scratch. However, there’s nothing as sweet as freedom. I missed Linda terribly. As soon as I got to our family home in Calabar, I wrote a message to her on Whatsapp, using my younger sister’s phone. This is what I wrote.
“Hi babe. Just like I told you last time you visited me in jail, the plan worked well. I have escaped and presently in Nigeria. I am not coming back, so you should get ready to join me ASAP. I will send you some money to enable that. I miss you terribly. Please don’t go to my house. It’s now a trap. The landlord will use my property as a settlement for his rents. As for my car, luckily, on the day of my arrest, it was parked at my jobsite. I have given instructions on what they should do. I have to go now. Can’t wait to see you again. Greetings to your mum and dad. No matter what happens, know that you are always in my heart. See you soon. Love you lots. Bye.
THE END
