The Forest
(Episode 7)
Five of us kept running deeper and deeper into the forest. The boy was on my shoulder, and Mother-in-the-Lord waddled after us. We did not wait to consider how far we had gone; there was no time for that. The deeper we went, the more the sound of the battle was swallowed up by the rustling of leaves and the snapping of dry twigs. Our frantic run for escape, no doubt, unsettled the peace of the forest but we cared less. Sleeping animals ran helter-skelter. Birds took to the sky. Leaves scratched our bodies, and shrub branches slapped our faces. Our breathing became heavy and loud. Yet we neither stopped nor slowed down.
Suddenly, Mother-in-the-Lord stopped. She doubled over and wheezed as she hyperventilated. “Ah, I’m tired … I cannot go on again,” she complained.
We all stopped. “Madam, we cannot stop now, and we cannot leave you here like this. Please, try some more,” I urged her and gave her my hand.
Instead, she sat on the ground and was looking like a sheep that was ready to die.
“No … I … cannot do this again. Hian! I cannot come and kill myself—”
Just then we started hearing gunshots again and footsteps thumping towards our direction.
“Ye! Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus!!!” Mother-in-the-Lord adjusted her beret, jumped to her feet, and took to her heels, leaving us behind. It was a funny scene, yet no one could laugh. I never knew she still had that amount of energy left in her.
The gunshots grew louder. It seemed some of the robbers had fled into the woods too in a bid to escape, and the soldiers were in hot pursuit. Adrenaline rushed through our bodies, and our pace doubled. Before long, we heard screams, and the footsteps retracted. It seemed the soldiers had succeeded in taking down the fleeing robbers and had retreated.
We continued until our legs grew tired. And when we eventually got to a clearing we knew we were safe; at least momentarily. We stopped to catch our breath and plan our next move. Mother-in-the-Lord collapsed to the ground and started panting heavily. Her weariness did nothing to tame her loquaciousness nonetheless. While the others sat on the ground, I rested my back against a tree just to be on guard. Leaves started to rustle near us, and heavy thumping was approaching. My expression grew stern, and I braced up for whatever would come out of the thick. Fiona picked up a piece of wood she saw close by and prepared herself too.
The closer the footsteps got to us, the deeper chills ran down our spines. To our relief and surprise, Biggie and two other ladies burst out into the open. Biggie doubled over and waited to catch his breath before saying anything. We watched on with our mouths wide opened. After he could manage to talk, he raised his hands for us to see the big hole on his sleeve under his armpit. He explained that the bullet did not hit him. He only pretended to be dead to save himself. At that moment, two other persons—a man and a woman—also ran out into the clearing. They were also escapees from the bus.
The joy we felt at seeing each other was as if we had known each other all our lives. We took stock. We were ten in all. Nobody had taken anything from the bus, so we had no water or food. That was when I learnt that Biggie’s name was Onowvurie and just as I suspected, his nickname was Biggie. Mother-in-the-Lord’s name was Elizabeth—oh, sorry—Sister Elizabeth. She preferred to be called that way. The little boy, her son, was Amitabh. There was Shola, a middle-aged man whose me-first attitude didn’t take long to rear its head, and Ubong, a young man from Akwa-Ibom who spoke through his nose. There were also Amaka, Fatima, and Lilian.
We had no clue of where we were, so we decided to ask Uncle Google Map for answers. I brought out my phone and discovered that the screen had cracked. I shook my head. Sadly, there was no network signal on it just like on those of others who still had theirs with them. No doubt, we were far from civilisation. The time was seventeen minutes past three in the morning now and with no map to guide us, we resorted to our instincts to navigate our way out of this jungle.
“Mummy, I want to drink water,” Amitabh requested. His voice was very faint, and his lips were dry. I pitied the little boy; he was only eight years old. He was tired and thirsty, just like everyone else. His mother looked at me, and I looked at Fiona.
Sister Elizabeth drew him to herself. “Darling, we don’t have any water here right now,” she rubbed his head. “Can you still manage some more? I’m sure the Lord will provide us with abundant water soon, and you will have enough to drink,” she assured him.
“Okay, mummy,” Amitabh responded in a dry voice and nodded.
Amaka dipped her hand into a small bag that hung across her shoulder. I wondered how the bag managed to survive the whole ordeal. She brought out a half-filled 50 cl bottle of water and handed it over to the little boy. Amitabh’s lips curved up into a smile, and his eyes brightened up. He stretched his hand to collect it.
Shockingly, Shola sprang forward and snatched the bottle from Amaka and quickly gulped down the water before anybody could do anything. Amitabh looked on helplessly. Tears fell from his eyes.
I grew red hot with rage. “Are you mad? Have you no conscience?!” I yelled at Shola and dashed forward. I slugged him so hard that he fell on his butt.
He sprang up and shoved me hard. “What is your business?” he shouted back at me. “Does the boy have no respect, ehn? How could he expect to take something before his elders? Where I came from children wait for the older ones to pick first!” He began to walk away.
“You are a heartless, stupid man.” I made to rush at him, but Amitabh held my hands.
He looked up at me and said, “Uncle, leave him alone. I will be fine.”
The little boy’s gesture melted my anger. I bent low and hugged him, assuring him that I would get him water no matter what it took. Everyone else reprimanded Shola, but he waved his hand dismissively and continued walking away. Biggie tried to broker peace. He pleaded that we remained united as we would need each other at a time like this instead of unnecessary bickering. Surprisingly, Mother-in-the-Lord—sorry—Sister Elizabeth didn’t say a word; entirely unlike her. She must have been too heartbroken to say anything.
At this point, we all needed to rest, but it was dangerous for us to pitch our tent here. We needed somewhere safer. We didn’t know what kinds of animals were lurking around in this thick forest. More so, we needed water to survive. So, we continued moving. Then, we started hearing the sound of water splashing from a distance. There must be a river up ahead; I could smell it. Our insides erupted with joy. I knew this because I saw it on everyone’s face. We laughed and quickened our steps.
Fortunately, we saw the river ahead. Sister Elizabeth began Praise Worship. Shola shoved everyone in front of him aside and started running to the river. What was the dude’s problem? There was enough for everyone to drink. I lowered Amitabh from my shoulders. The broad smile that appeared on his face gladdened my heart. He too began running towards the river.
As we neared the river, we heard a series of gunshots fired into the air behind us. We all scurried to the ground, shivering like we just came out of the freezer. The shootings didn’t stop. We blocked our ears as the sound continued.
“Maggots!!!” we heard.
I almost fainted.
To be continued … Watch Out for the Next Episode!
