in the rise of the dark

creepy creek

For more than two months now we've been on the go. Amaka have been our main source of concern, sometimes I feel like she's going to transform to a scathed. I almost stab her from behind, a certain morning she was throwing up and giving a creaky kind of sound, breathing effortlessly and coughing wheezily. I was scared, very scared that I stood behind of her, with my spear,  waiting on any eventuality and would strike. Moments later she was okay, and coincidentally every morning she was almost and always like that, though not in the same manner. One morning, she told me that she doesn't want to be a scathed, she implored me to save her from her misery, and do her the onus of taking her life.
- I can't take your life, I did not give it to you. -
- but you take that of the scathed -
- are you a scathed? -
- but I will be, if you don't -
- and you are not yet. See madam, scathed is manmade, take that from me now, it's not natural, so killing scathed that disrupt us is no big deal for me, but killing human could be, especially if their life is not lived like a scathed. -
At this time, I had became distraught, troubled by her need, am equally worried.
- why do you ask of this from me, whom am younger here, okay, older than Emeka and Ebere. -
- but, you are the leader here, kill me -
Lotanna, looked at her again frowning his face, Ebere laid her back on the floor, crossing her right leg over the left, while Emeka climbed a tree sitting on it, Uche walked past us speaking Ibo, as if struggling with it, cracking his Ibo in a skillful manner, though can be insulting, but not derogatorily.
- this woman is pregnant! Biko nu. -
- what? -
Amaka was shocked to hear that. She has never been pregnant before, according to her.
- how can you tell that, are you a doctor? -
We have been living in this creek, the past one week now, is sweet a home. The water is pure, the garden is rich in fruits, and the trees are close to each other, though can be scary. The incident with Norbert and Sarahdina, has injected a new character in me. I have found it extremely difficult to trust anyone around me, and suspicious of any shadow that moves anywhere around. It is so serious that I can tell of any fly that flies past any corner around me.
It has not been easy getting to where we are now as our abode. We were seconds to losing Ebere, a day after we left Umuaja. We encountered some scathed beings, luckily we were all quiet at the time. Luckily, because of what we learned about the scathed, after that nothing.
We walked into them while we were about negotiating a bend, there are good number of them hanging around. At first we thought they did not see us, we stood on the edge of the bend. I and Ebere were at the front, while other are behind. Immediately we stopped after seeing them, I raised my left hand signalling others to wait. Few more seconds we realized that they aren't coming at us. We back tracked to others. There are just one way to wherever, this guys have blocked the road. Going back we really don't want to, me in particular, I just want to make sure I walk farther away from Sarahdina, anything than forward spells trauma to me, she have planted an emotional torture in me, and the farther away we move from her, the better I feel. Ebere is filling the vacuum she left very well, she follows me the way bees follow it comb, and it kind of giving me a sense of responsiveness. I have someone who my primary concern, who guarding her is my first priority. But I must confess, I refuse to trust, not even her. To me I don't have family not anymore, they've all sold me out. I am only trying not to be seen as those that betrayed me by being nice to all and after that, I don't owe anybody any thing. Ebere I took more care of and paid more attention on, because, to me her stories is all like mine. The last of her family was crushed before her, just as mine was too.
I decided to go first and see what the reaction of this beings would be. Wow! I can't honestly believe it, they were all asleep standing on a spot, though moving back and fort, as if they were going to fall backward, or face facedown each time they do. They stood almost closely to themselves, one will be forced to believe that it was deliberate by them. I called Ebere to come with a good signal, and I wanted to run mad when she wave at her head saying no. Emeka entered them and was the fastest through them, Uche did everything to cajole Ebere, but she wouldn't, Amaka did not even care. Amaka did not wait after passing, but walked further off, sitting a distance waiting. Lotanna waited on Ebere, offered to back her and she refused the offer. I had to come back to her, she holding tightly at my left hand, she followed. We'd not moved ten meters away from them, maybe about that, and the next thing we noticed was Ebere slowing down, I know she was slipping off her hand from mine gripping at it, I never gave it a suspicion, maybe she was being careful, then I reasoned it unnecessary, we are out of danger already, so what is she up to? Lotanna has just past us when Ebere gave us a shocker, turning and was going to a scathed.
- mommy!!!!! -
She screamed running to meet a woman, I ran after her, all the scathed had woken up. So they do sleep? I caught Ebere and drags her off what would have been the grip of the woman. There is no way I am going to face this things with this girl that believe she has seen her mother. She kept on crying for her mommy, begging me to let her go meet her mommy. Lotanna and Uche is taking on them, Amaka came to join forces with them, Ebere will not stop.
- she is my momny, my mommy, leave me alone I want to go and meet my mommy, brother Somadina! My mommy.... -
She shattered my heart with that last part, so i broke down myself, I cried so bereaved that I hugged her, lifting her up my chest level, holding her up tightly, and also turning her face away from the fighting, making her back away from the scene, while she continued to cry. No one was moved to killing the woman, they all shied away from doing so, and each time she charged at any of them, they would push her away. Ebere killed me , when she began snorting, calling out to her mommy, she escaped from me, I attempts to pursue her but slipped, falling badly. She was close to running into her, when no one, but Emeka pushed a long stick into her chest, she stood like someone electrocuted, all cry and shouts of my mommy from her disappeared, she couldn't believe it, even me was numb. For some while, we were just all but numb, we couldn't believe it, until Ebere screamed mommy, so loudly that it echoed I can say well far away from us. She had all the while seen the woman, and was contemplating within herself,  if really the woman was whom she had seen, her mother. After we past them, she took a second look and it was her mother. She couldn't bear it any longer, and had to result to what she did. We waited a while, until I hand over my bag to Emeka, backing Ebere as we continued our journey. As we move she kept mentioning the words " my mommy " into my ear, till she slept off. As she was saying that, I couldn't but cry within, tears strolling down freely.
.          .          .          .          .
After Uche teased Amaka with being pregnant. He said to her face that she inconsiderate and selfish. At once Lotanna supported him saying that she is a wicked girl.
- You knew what Sarahdina was doing all this while and kept quiet about it, when you could have told us. But because of a selfish interest, you allowed her delilah on Somadina. Honestly I don't feel safe with this woman around us, I think she should go her own way. -
Lotanna saying was a punch on the jaw of Amaka. She at once fell on her knees begging. Uche spoke for close to thirty minutes, if not the whole day. They spanked her with their mouth, until she began crying, they rained all sort of names on her.
I later that day, after all this while told them, what had happened. I couldn't trust them all the while. And I told them that, because if Sarahdina and baba can do that, after living like brothers and sister all this years, far away from Morocco, then anyone will.
- they called us twins, people are used to calling us twins in Morocco, most people know us as twins. Taw'am! That is what they call us. -
The heat became unbearable to Amaka, as she collapsed while I was still telling of my relationship with Sarahdina and her father. We were able to resuscitate her. Lotanna, carried her on his legs, her head on Lotanna's legs and Emeka fanning her. Uche naturally have this hard and loud voice. And because of long kept anger, he forgot and was blaring with his voice. Vomiting his anger at a very high volume, and at the same time telling the scathed to come have lunch.
I know what I heard, and asked all to be calm. The grunting and groaning and voicings can not be mistaken. They were raining toward us, and are going to encroach on us. I don't understand this ones, to start with, they walking so crapulously. And are coming at us with so much sensitivity.
- can you see what am seeing -
Is not the first time we are meeting with scathed beings that seem sensible. If they are then we are gone. We met sensible scathed days before reaching this creek. Sensible because, unlike others they do not come at us the same time, they wait in turns before attacking, as if they had a plan mapped out. When they attack, the female among them have a tiny voice like normal female voice, and their male folks comes with this muscular voice. They attacked us in twos that day. Each pair attacking after a split second of the other, from different direction they came at us. Their tactics at us made it so difficult for us to comprehend how to take on them. Though it came to us unawares, how they came at us. We are used to attacking the chest, but received a surprise package from them, seeing them rise again after stabbing at their chest. Initially we thought we are not hitting the target, but every shot at the chest proved abortive, multiple stab at the chest was futile, then we know that our hands are full, and can not readily think of what to do. There's this fluffy one among them that charged at Amaka, and angrily she stabs at its head, it fell with her cutlass, it was fear and tension that made her let go of her cutlass. And so we began to attack their heads. Attacking the chest we want believe is not just all, sometimes the thorax. But this ones are new, the head one will have to destroy. Who knows? Maybe the older they get the more dangerous they became.
- Amaka! -
- yea -
- are you gonna stay here and wait for them or? -
I threw my bag on my back, picked my spear, grab Ebere by the hand. They pursued us running like a crapulous man, their number was much. We all including Amaka that have been feeling sick took off on our heels.