Holocaust by Ifedayo Adigwe Akintomide

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Wole’s eyes drifted across the plain from his perch on the thirty foot outcrop of rock a few miles from the house. Baba Adora crouched a few feet away looking at the scores of infected trudging across the plains in a slow staggering fashion.

  Wole glanced at Baba Adora and back to the plains again. His eyes repeated this action six times before he cleared his throat and spoke.

  “Why did you bring me here Baba Adora?”

  A deep sigh burst from Baba Adora’s lips. His troubled gaze fixed on a spot on the hard rock beneath him before rising to meet Wole’s inquiring one.

  “You worry about leaving Tunrayo and your mother alone right?”

  He nodded slowly. There was no reason to say anything. Many people might have been surprised by Baba Adora’s deep insight but he wasn’t. It was to be expected, he was a seer after all. And the word was seers knew most things.

  “They’ll be fine. I wouldn’t have left them otherwise.”

  His words were followed by a long pause. Wole waited patiently never taking his searching gaze off Baba Adora’s face for a second.

  “Remember the old woman we swung by to see before we went to save Tunrayo?”

  Wole’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement. An impatient sigh burst from Baba Adora’s lips.

  “The dark frightening one ___ the one who’s been alive for centuries.”

  Fear flitted through Wole’s eyes as he remembered. A shiver ran down his spine. He masked it by shifting position. A knowing look came on Baba Adora’s face and he knew he hadn’t fooled him. Anger flooded his insides. The seer thing could be a bit annoying sometimes.

  “What about her? She isn’t here is she?” just asking made the shakes come even more.

  “No she isn’t ___ at least I don’t think so anyway __”

  “You’re saying you’re not sure?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Baba Adora snapped with an impatient snort. “What matters is __ she and her kind are coming together to make a stand.”

  “Stand? Stand for what?”

  Baba Adora’s eyes rolled around in their sockets. “Turn the power on Wole __ honestly!”

  Baba Adora’s disparaging tone stung more than he cared to admit. He quickly quelled the urge to smack him on the face.

  “Wise choice __” Baba Adora said with a hard tone. For a second Wole had no idea what he was talking about until the itch in his hands returned. He was tempted to scream. This seer thing was way past annoying.

  “__ to stand against the forces of the darkness, and perhaps shield Nigeria from their incursion.”

  Wole’s eyes grew sceptical. “Do you honestly think that’s possible?”

  Baba Adora shrugged. “We will simply have to wait and see.”

  A few seconds of silence followed as Wole waited for him to say something more. He spoke when Baba Adora showed no sign of speaking again.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you brought me here Baba Adora.”

  “I brought you here to see Wole __”

  “To see what???? There is nothing here __”

  “To the casual eye that might appear to be true __ but if I do this __” He waved his right palm in front of Wole’s face in a wide circular motion.

  Nothing happened for about a minute. Wole’s eyes drifted across the now empty plain but he couldn’t see anything. A few more seconds passed and it was as if a veil was removed from his eyes.

  There was a great host gathered, at least two thousand strong. They all wore black ragged robes with yellowish red glows for eyes. If it wasn’t for their smooth easy movements there was nothing to differentiate them from the infected.

  A bent extremely haggard form stood dead centre. The eyes of this one were black.

  “Yes __ that is her.” Baba Adora whispered, knowing when Wole spotted her.

  Her lips kept moving as she swayed her arms in an angry defiant motion. They couldn’t hear what she said but it was obvious she was prepping them for a fight.

  “She is insane.” Wole got out in a breathless whisper.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Does she actually think she can win this war?”

  “She wouldn’t be prepping them for battle if she didn’t __” there was a sardonic lilt to his voice.

  “But if all you’ve told me about the darkness is true __ what chance do any of them have? Not to mention the fact that __” He paused, his brow scrunched up as if he was trying to remember something.

  “What?”

  “Nothing __ it’s just something my mother always says__”

  “What is that?”

  “Don’t really remember how it goes __ mum has so many parables and wise sayings it’s difficult to keep track of them all.”

  “Try __” Baba Adora growled sounding impatient.

  “Well __ it’s something about two of the same thing fighting against each other never works well.”

  Baba Adora’s face grew blank for a few moments before the implication dawned on him.

  “Oh! I think I know what you’re trying to say.”

  “Good! Cos I am not sure I do anymore.”

  “Is it a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand?”

  “Yes __ that’s it!” Wole cried clapping his hands.

  “Sshhhh!” Baba Adora’s hands were over his mouth in a flash. “Silly goat! Do you want to alert them to our presence?”

  Wole shook his head slowly. Giving him one harder glare, he slowly lowered his hand from his mouth.

  “Usually they’d join him ___ when I say him I mean the darkness __” He said shooting Wole another hard look.

  “I know what you mean __” he snarled. He couldn’t understand it. Baba Adora was being more annoying than usual, which was so unlike him. He tended to keep the annoying gauge level; it was probably stress.

  “___ but the reason they’ve chosen to fight it, if the darkness is allowed to continue its suppression of earth, it will destroy EVERYTHING!”

  “When you say everything ___ do you mean __ EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING?”

  The grim look on Baba Adora’s face could not be misinterpreted. There was no need for him to speak.

  “Then by all means let them fight __ even if they lose, more of those dark frightening stuff will be destroyed.”

  Baba Adora nodded again but did not speak. A flurry of activity on the plains drew their eyes back to it. Something was happening __ they were taking off.

  They turned into dark shadows and took to the skies faster than any bird of flight.

  “They’re off!”

  “Where do you think they’re headed?”

  “If I were to guess __ I’d say they were off to find the Evonso spirit first.”

  “Why him?”

  Baba Adora shrugged giving him a long look. “Because he’ll be easier to deal with___”

  A cold silence surrounded them like a shroud. The quiet was disturbing and more than a little frightening.