The Fall

chapter 5

In the North..

Soldiers are on standby in a roadblock, armored vehicles and trucks are  parked randomly. The soldiers there are both Northern and Western soldiers forming an alliance against the resistance. The Northern soldiers are dressed in a brown "kaki" with scarfs across their faces exposing just their eyes. Some of them have turbans on their heads. The Omo Odua soldiers are dressed in a native camo of different fabrics. Their scalp is neatly shaved and they have white tattoos around their faces.

A news reporter from the West and her camera man approaches the road block and the camera man is ready to roll. She stands before the camera and starts reporting. The soldiers notices this and one of them approaches them.

"Today on Omo Odua news, we are live here in the North-"

"Madam, you need to go away from here it isn't safe." A Northern soldier interrupts.

"We are live sir, and this is official, we have permission of the Government." She turns back to the camera. The soldier taps her on the soldier again.

"Madam am telling you this for your own good, you and your camera man have to leave here now, it isn't safe!."

He's talking louder than before. Two more soldiers joins them, the commander, a Northerner and another soldier. The Omo Odua soldier speaks first.

"Good afternoon madam, what is going on here.?"

"I was telling her this place isn't safe for broadcasting."

"He's right madam, we have Intel that the insurgents are coming towards this area to seize control of more health centres at the other side."

She is about replying when the other soldiers at the roadblock starts yelling, they all turn to look, a white van approaches at a very high speed. The soldiers are alarmed and takes position guns ready. One of them waves the vehicle to stop but it doesn't. The commander runs to the road block.

"Get away from here now!." The northern soldier yells before turning and running to join the others.

The news reporter is stunned and asks her camera man to record whatever was going to happen, but they keep their distance.

"The van is not stopping sir!." A soldier yells at their commander.

"Ready your weapons!."

"Aim!." The commander looks through the scope of his rifle, the van speed increases and it's heading for the roadblock.

"Fire.!"

Guns starts blazing, the driver of the van is hit and loses control. The van keeps coming towards the block and when it was very close the soldiers retreats from the roadblock. The van hits the blocks and stumbles upside down, the soldiers approaches the crashed vehicle slowly in a formation with the commander leading.

He clenches his fist in the air, a sign of a halt. The van door opens and the driver crawls out halfly. Mortally wounded but still alive, he points at the soldiers and manages to speak.

"You support evil, and you most pay the price, all of you!." He yells, spitting out blood. Then he raise a device and starts laughing.

"Stop him!" The commander yells and starts shooting the man. The man push a button and there is an explosion. The wave blast sends the soldiers to the air and back on the ground very hard. The other vehicles are affected and are ablaze. All the soldiers died in the blast, some of them without hands or legs, some of them in half.

The reporter and her camera were affected by the explosion, with a head injury she manages to get on her knees and holds are head, there's a loud ringing noise in her head and she's dizzy. Her camera man lays down he's injured but alive. She looks around at the massacre of the explosion, the black plume of smoke coming out of the destroyed vehicle, the remains of the soldiers that once stood strong and active.

She crawls to the camera man and pulls his shirt, he doesn't move but she can see his stomach rising and falling with every breath he takes. She sits on the floor and begins to cry.

Meanwhile..

Kunle is sitted on the couch in his seating room, he holds the remote of his TV in both hands and his body his bent forward. A news report is going on about the explosion in the State. Then suddenly the TV goes blank and comes on again, this time it's a live feed. A man comes in view, just his head is visible, and his wrinkled face shows that he's of age. Kunle is shocked and leans further with surprise.

"Good afternoon fellow citizens of Omo Odua, you don't need to panic, for I am a patriotic citizen of this great State."

"It's no news that you all now feel insecure ever since the bombing. Well there's no need to be afraid because that bombing was for your own good, the good of this State in a whole."

Kunle picks his phone and dials Micheal's number, after a few rings the later picks.

"Are you seeing this?"

"Yes, it's being broadcasted every where." Kunle drops the phone. The man continues speaking.

"We have watched quietly as we noticed our leaders changing, the government, president and the king are now corrupted."

"Our leaders are planning to destroy us, they want to kill us off. They want to have all these riches we enjoy to themselves alone."

"we heard of the evils done below the building that was bombed, and so we bombed it. Those that died will be remembered as heroes in the cause of this fight of freedom."

Kunle can hear the yelling of his neighbors.

"More innocent blood will be shed in this fight for freedom and justice. People of Omo Odua I give you all a chance to join this fight  against the Government."

"As soon we will not know this State for what it is now."

"soon some of you will wish you were dead"

"soon the evil of our leaders shall be upon us like God's wrath, we will be reaped of our peace, our families, our happiness, our loved ones-"

The TV goes blank again and returns back to the normal news reports. Kunle can hear the yellings and  clamouring of people outside, people are afraid of the message the man was passing.