#CASSANDRA_S2
Episode 12
David’s side of the story;
As narrated by David
At exactly 7am, I picked up Chinedu and together we headed to the teaching hospital to see Jessica.
You can’t imagine how anxious and nervous I was that moment. The guilt all over me was severe. I was very much responsible for putting the young girl in danger. I equally couldn’t help but pray for Nora and her baby to be safe at least till I return from the journey. I felt they were the next target.
Chinedu was the first to break the silence between us as he slowly narrated how he tried to reach Jessica on phone the previous day.
‘’I kept trying her phone numbers all through yesterday but couldn’t get to her. You can’t imagine how scared I was. I couldn’t even sleep and early this morning a girl answered her phone as I called, breaking the unfortunate news to me ’’ he slowly narrated.
‘’This Edwin is something else, I can’t believe he went that far’’ I breathed with regret as my thoughts centered on Nora and my son.
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We finally arrived at the hospital to see the poor girl very much unconscious. A young guy quickly approached us, thinking we were her relatives.
‘’hello, Good morning; my name is Stanley, the student leader for all students living within the ******* community’’ he introduced politely.
‘’You are Jessica’s brothers?’’ he asked curiously.
‘’not really but we are like family to her. Of course we will pay the bills and take charge of everything. So tell us what actually happened to her?’’ Chinedu quickly chipped in, taking over the conversation while I silently listened on.
‘’yesterday evening, about three cult boys broke into her room with the aim of robbing and raping her. Surprisingly she fought them off like a tigress, resisting their every move. As they struggled, she bravely shouted, risking her life in the process and leaving the guys with no other option than to try beating her to death, perhaps in an effort to shut her up. Luckily her screams caused a big uproar within the neighborhood, which mobilized every student. We all bravely came out to confront the hoodlums. But unfortunately they escaped before we could get to her room. Our action saved her life and till now no one can tell how they escaped.’’ He narrated.
‘’but can you identify the people behind the attack?’’ Chinedu asked pointedly. The young man quickly drew back..
‘’no I can’t identify them. I didn’t see them’’ he answered guardedly.
‘’listen young man. I was once a student like you. Back then we knew all the cultists even though we never associated with them. As a student leader, I’m very sure you know most of them’’ Chinedu quickly pointed out, while the boy frowned.
‘’To be sincere I really don’t know if the boys that did this to her, are the cultists living within our neighborhood. But even if it is so, most of them are not students. Some are touts, claiming to be students. A whole lot of them have been there before we even moved into the neighborhood. The country’s election is just around the corner and that kind of made them more active than they used to be in the past. They are now very rich and noisy and no one dares confront them. Even if you try to get them arrested, they won’t spend a night in police custody before coming back for your head. All we do is simply to avoid them and I think the girl must have done something to provoke such treatment because they hardly disturb any student living within the neighborhood. I have to confess that they hardly terrorize us unless maybe one way or the other you did something to get their attention’’ he explained nervously.
‘’How about the guy called Edwin?. I presume he is one of the cult leaders? How much do you know him?’’ i asked breathlessly, quickly describing Edwin’s look. The boy instantly grew pale.
‘’Yes he is one of the leaders and equally very rich. He is very powerful within and outside the campus. He even has people outside the state. He claims to be a student but he isn’t and the school authorities are really keeping a blind eye on his activities’’ he answered slowly.
‘’you know what?. I want you to discreetly spread this message. Tell anyone who cares that we are willing to pay fifty thousand naira just for information on how to find Edwin. Yes we are serious’’ Chinedu slowly offered, leaving the young man totally stunned..
I equally was surprised with Chinedu’s offer because we never discussed anything about it and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually doing it for me or for the girl who just got attacked.
Nevertheless his plan was a good one and within a week, a guy offered to tell us everything about Edwin.
Anyway that’s a story for another day .
To be continued
