THE BLACK CAT
LAST CHAPTER
“How did it go with your parents ?” Margaret asked her husband seeing how tired and stressed out he looked .He walked in with packs of instant meals, and provisions.
“Hey baby you can talk to me , tell me what happened where you went to .” Margaret insisted , as Jacob tried to assuage her . “Did they admit to it ?” She asked .
“Yeah baby we just have to be here for a while , maybe tomorrow.” Jacob said cracking up his knuckles. “we’ll go to Calabar, I’ve somebody preparing your Visa, and that of your mum , we can’t stay in Lagos till then .” Jacob said unable to stare at his wife’s face .
Margaret embraced Jacob , while sitting on one or the hospital beds , she threw her arms around his broad shoulders, and gently kissed his lips .
“I love you Jacob , I was just not happy that you didn’t believed me …” He put a hand to her mouth .
“I have to apologize, for not believing you babe, how in my weirdest dreams would I believe my parents…” He paused as tears shot out of his eyes . “My parents doing such atrocities, killing people to stay rich , they had the gut to even tell me to my face to sacrifice my baby , that we are still young , we could have more kids ? that their life depended on mu sacrifice, they’re going to die!” Jacob said as he chewed the nails on his finger .
“Do you think we’re safe here ?” Grace babbled . “Are they not going to attack us here ?”
“I would think that they would come for us tonight , but don’t be afraid baby , I’ll die before they lay a finger on you and our baby .” Jacob said as he got up from the bed , and walked to the room where Mrs Grace was .
“Hey mama how are you doing ?” He said as he squeezed her shoulders. Margaret’s mum was with the baby .
She smiled . “I am doing better than yesterday, I just pray this all stops soon .” She said calmly, she was looking emaciated, she lost half her weight since she came to her daughter’s place .
“Don’t worry mama it’s going to be alright soon .” Jacob promised . He collected baby Joshua from his mother , the baby immediately began to giggle , he was so big for his age , at two months the baby looked like he was five months old .
“Josh baby , daddy is gonna Protect you and mama , and grandma okay ?”The baby giggled again, grabbing Jacobs big finger , he was so emotional , he couldn’t believe he was the father of such happy , healthy bundle of joy , he would die a million times over before he let anything bad happened to his child .
He would give up the whole money in the world to have he wife and child .
“I need to see the pastor .” Jacob he said as gave the baby to his grandmother, the baby began to scream, crying and wriggling out of Grace’s hands , wanting to go back to his father .
“its so funny how a baby just two months and three old ,can be so strong , and could recognise you from afar off.” Grace said chuckling.
“Lol he has a big and strong father .” The baby kept shouting and bellowing , so he had to collect h.from his grandmother”Oh my kitty Kitty you don’t want me to go away ?” Jacob chuckled. “Well your mother Is here , I’m going to back shortly .” He handed her Margaret before leaving .
The church was massive structure , with several floors , Jacob had to drive to see pastor Dotun.
“What up Jegs!” Dotun Chortled . “You were gone all morning , I came around to check on your mother in-law.
Pastor Dotun said shaking hands with Jacob .
“Bro it was a long one with my parents .” Jacob said to the pastor .
“Let us go to my office and talk .” Pastor Dotun said . Jacob told the pastor the gory details, of his parents activity, the pastor was left in shock .
“They want the baby , and me I’ll die before I let anyone touch my blood .” Jacob vowed .
.”So what are you going to do ?” Pastor Dotun asked .
“I have my travelling agent preparing my visa application to America , for Maggie and her mother, it’s going to take up to a week .” He put hands across the chest . “Dotun my parents are desperate, they have a short time to give my son as sacrifice .” Jacob mumbled .
“And you think they’ll attack before a week time ?” Pastor Dotun asked .
“Yeah , my father threatened me to my face , I am not sure of tonight , I think they’ll come tonight .” Jacob said as pastor Dotun was turning the wedding rings on his fingers .
“I’ll get more police men to protect the church , we can host you till you’re ready to leave .” Dotun said .
“No I can’t put you and your church in danger , I’ll be gone by tomorrow morning, if they don’t attack today .” Jacob promised .
“Brother you’re my friend , remember how you stood up for me back in our days in Covenant University , if not for you those bullies would have had mad my life a living hell .”
Jacob got up and embraced the pastor .
“have you had something to eat ?” He asked .
“Don’t worry Dotun , I’m going to get my family something to eat .” Jacob left his office .
As the sun was setting so was Jacobs heart beating , others saw the joy of night rest , he worried for the fangs of night creatures . He just sat outside the clinic with his Heckler and Kosh VP9 tucked under his belt .
He had spent a lot of time at the Lagos shooting range , with his friends who were senior military officers . He never thought a day would come when he would pull a trigger on anything, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.
He had gotten his family fried rice and chicken for dinner , from Drumsticks, Margaret had push for him to eat , his stomach was knotted like ropes.
true to his words pastor Dotun had called for police men , ten mobile police men where posted to the church , the men were behind surprise finding out that the church didn’t have any program for that night , just a few prayer intersessors, were called to pray for God’s deliverance and intervention , pastor Dotun was with them , he refused to go to his house at banana Island , he couldn’t abandon his friend when he needed him .
Jacob dressed in his hoodie , the night was very cold , in the month of October , he sat in the dark watching the Nigerian flag close to the hospital flap , as she wind tossed it about .
“God I know am not a very prayerful or strong believer, but God you know my heart , that I always try to do right. please don’t let my parents succeed I plead in the name of Jesus .” Jacob prayed in his heart .
He could hear the occasional sounds of vehicles running up and down the express way .the night was definitely quiet , Mrs Grace was sleeping in her hospital room, Margaret and the baby were on an adjacent bed to theirs.
It was about eleven PM in the night , when a Jacob heard the growling sounds , like of the beast , He became apprehensive , he went into his car and retried his short gun .
“What’s the problem sir ?” One of the Mopol asked him .
“Just be vigilant.” Jacob said to him .
There was a screeching sound of a vehicle trying to apply automatic breaks and then a thudding sound of soft skin against iron, and finally a loud banging sound of the car hitting the concrete pavement.
Hundreds of the Cat people, were trying to cross the express way , but because of their dark furs , the drivers couldn’t see them , and a vehicle collided and killed one cat , the rest of the Cats descended on the vehicle pulled out the driver and chewed off his head .
They surrounded the church , their cries were so loud , like a lion protecting its territory , people in the church began to tremble . Jacob rushed to clinic room .
“Maggie wake mama up, I need to get you to safer place .” Jacob said grabbing the baby’s bag as Joshua started crying .
He took them to the upper floor where pastor Dotun had his guest house .
“You should remain in this place , do not come outside until I call for you , don’t open the door .” Jacob instructed his wife and mother in-law , he ran down , to meet pastor Dotun and his prayer warriors .
“Pastor what are you doing outside ?” Jacob asked .
“Well we want to help you Jacob .” Jacob chuckled as he squeezed his friends shoulders .
“Dotun you have helped me enough , if there’s anything you can do for me , is to call for military back up , from their noise you can see they’re more than hundred .” Jacob said .
“No! I can’t go inside , I will help you fight , you think because I’m a pastor I am too weak to fight ?” Pastor Dotun insisted .”I am going to fight with you as you fought for me .”
Jacob begged him . “Dotun Janet and the babies need you alive , just go in tell all your workers to hide themselves, this monsters are not like anything you have seen .” Dotun refused to leave , though be called an army commander and described the situation on ground , the commander promised to come with his troops .
“Don’t worry Jacob the perimeters of the church is surrounded by electric fence.” pastor Dotun said to Jacob .
The compound was well lighted . The first cat beast climbed the fence , immediately his skin touched the wire , it let out a shrieking scream , as it landed in the compound dead .
Afonja stood behind commanding them to climb, more climbed and were also shocked , but the wire cut off , then the beast began to crawl up the war .
the mopol opened fire , the beast began to attack the lighting of the compound , they preferred attacking in the dark it was to their advantage.
pastor Dotun was frozen when he saw heinous beast , with black fur , standing erect like a man , yellow eyes that flowed in the dark , shark claws like daggers , how they ripped through human flesh was unbelievable.
The more the police men shot down more replaced them , Afonja who was the biggest amongst them , their Alpha commanded them , as he searched for the baby .
The flashes from the Ak47 riffles temporarily lighted up the dark night , about twenty five of the beast had been killed , they killed four police men .
Jacob picked a cutlass pastor Dotun had brought out , he got into the midst of the beast , shooting and slashing with his sharp cutlass .
A female cat was trying to bite of the hands of one of the police men , she Dotun came behind her , when she had the click of his short gun , turned to him with her menacing eyes ,she looked familiar he shot her at point blank range , she screamed, Afonja jumped off from where he was and returned to the dying beast , he grabbed her in his arms .
“Aaaaaooooooorhhhh!” She screamed, as she beast began to shift back to its human form . Afonja too changed , the whole beast stopped attacking . “Jacob you kill your mother ?” Afonja cried , Jacob felt sorry for his mother , but he could do whatever he would do to protect his family.
“Kill them all do not let any living being leave this place !” Afonja yelled to his soldiers of man cats . they went on rampage killing and destroying things , pulling people out of their hiding places and killing them in the most horrendous ways .
pulling head of screaming people , The soldiers drove into the church compound , the shooting was endless , Jacob went after his father , as he returned to the church building, to get Jacobs family , the beast kept attacking Jacob he would shoot and kill as many as he could , some knocked him down , he fought them with his bare hands when he ran out of bullets .
Afonja sneezed the air , and knew the floor where Margaret and her baby was , but he didn’t know the room, so he began to smash through doors and after doors looking for Margaret and her son .
whatever room he broke into , he killed all the occupants , enraged by the death of his wife , his life meant nothing to him .
He was standing just outside the door of the room, where Maggie was , he could hear the heartbeat of the baby , he growled, ready to to burst into the room .
Margaret and her mother huddled together, Grace had been praying , begging God to spare their life , their heart beat like horse hoofs .
Afonja’s beast , fangs soaked in blood , class stained with blood , moved back ready to ram into the door , he ran towards the door as he was ready to burst into the room .
Jacob rammed into him ,and grabbed him, slammed him against the floor , The best struggled to break free, Jacob was a strong man , he grabbed his father and slammed his head on the ground , the sharp claws on his father’s hands sank into his collar bones .
“Aaaaaaaar! Jesus!” he screamed so loud , as his father grunted , laughing loud in a scary voice . Maggie and her mother prayed .
“Foolish boy you think you can stand against me ?” Afonja mocked him . “get up and fight!” Afonja said as he kicked Jacobs head , and he began to bleed from the nose .
“You killed the only thing that ever matters to me , I’ll make you watch as I rip off the head of your beloved son , and then your wife , I’ll throw your mother in-law down this window .” He pointed five floors down .
Mrs Grace heart began to beat, as Afonja slammed against the door the first time , the hinges began to give way .
Jacob fought to get up. his strength failed him, he watched his father hit the door again and again , the door Burst open on the fifth attempt, Afonja got into the room , and began walking towards Grace and Maggie , who had used her body to cover the baby , they heard everything Afonja had said .
“give me the baby ?” Afonja ordered Maggie , she couldn’t look at his terrible face she hide her face .
“No! leave my baby alone .” She cried .
“Your baby is our sacrifice! I’m going to kill all of you now !” Afonja growled . “Give me the child…” He said walking towards Maggie and her baby , Jacob got up from the ground at the last minute, and dived at his father , pushing him towards the glass window, the glass shattered , as the weight of the giant man and beast was too much for it to bear .
They fell five flights of stairs , Afonja feel through a metal pole on the ground, that impaled his chest , he lay there grunting in pains, as the man cats heard the voice of their leader dying they began to climb out of the fence carrying some of their dead .
Maggie was still in shock she couldn’t believe what had just happened, she and her mother were still shaken from the close call to death.
“Mummy Jacob !” She said as she pointed towards the shattered window . she ran to the window, she couldn’t see anything, just darkness.
“Mummy Jacob.” she wept .
“Maggie don’t go out those things are still there .” Mrs Grace begged her daughter.
Maggie left the baby with her mother and ran down the stairs, jumping over carnage, bodies lying away from their head , slippery corridor, soaked with human blood . More body.
“Jacob! Jacob!” She screamed running through the carnage below , the soldiers and police men were busy gathering their dead and injured . they had caught some of the man cats , they video and put it online . Maggie saw Afonja , now in his human form he was naked , like other if his cat men , who had changed back into their human form after their death . She saw the iron pierced through his chest .
She saw Jacob lying not too far from him , his eyes wide open , blood coming out from his mouth and ears , he was trying to say incoherent things as she got to him .
“Jacob ? Jacob please don’t die on me !” Margaret cried .
pastor Dotun had called to a doctor friend of his from the University teaching Hospital, they came and carried Jacob to the ICU unit .
The doctor told Maggie not to cry , that Jacob had a sixth percent chance of surviving . he was placed on oxygen, he had fractured so many bones . But he had a chance of survival.
THE END
Wooow, what a great story I really enjoyed reading it