GHOST (The Shadow in the Dark)

part thirty four

  They started moving close to her like they were being controlled by an external force.
“Oyibo are you alone? Nobody followed you?” half-naked guy asked.
She turned to look at them revealing part of her breast.
“I can take care of myself. Why will someone follow me? This is a free world. Guys you’ve not answered me if the water is safe cause I really want to swim.”
“The water is not safe Oyibo.”
“Ouch, that is disappointing to hear.”
She turned back to stare at the water and Half-naked guy slapped her buttocks. I had been completely ignored and Sabrina acted like I was not there. She turned to look at the guys who were now very close to her.
“What was that for? That is sexual harassment. I think I should leave, since I can’t swim because the water is not safe.”
But they blocked her path. I turned to see if anyone was coming to the river but nobody.
“Excuse me, I want to go” she said looking like she was scared. I was beginning to believe she was not acting and she was not the same Sabrina.
“You know you are beautiful, you are not supposed to walk without escort. We know a short cut to town. We will escort you.”
“Oh really! No problem. Wow I get escorts” she said excitedly.
They looked at each other and nodded. Half-naked guy pointed at a direction and she followed them but stopped when they got to the large trees of bamboo which was acting as a wall. It would prevent anyone coming to the river from seeing the other side of the bamboo trees, a perfect spot to rape her, it was also where they were taking me to.
“I don’t feel this is the right path. I don’t need any escort, I change my mind. I am going to swim.”
She turned to walk back to her former position but she was obstructed by two of the guys.
“No. I get better solution” Half-naked guy stopped them from using force on her. He brought out a pistol from his pocket.
“What the heck…”
“Shut up, just shut up. If you don’t want me to blow your head up, just quietly follow me. My guy won’t be able to block people from coming to the river for that long and I am never going to miss this opportunity.”
I became afraid and worried, no one was invisible to a bullet. Even Ghost had been shot. Her back bag was still on her back and her gown was hanging on her shoulder. I had no idea what to do, they were not even looking my way. The bulge in their trousers was disgusting to look at. She looked at them but she was no longer acting, only the guys did not notice the change.
“You are planning to rape me by threatening to shoot me if I don’t cooperate?”
“Very clever.”
“I don’t want to follow you and put that gun down. You don’t know the meaning of courtesy? If you want me, you ask not force.”
“I don’t want to ask, I don’t have time, move, now.”
“And my answer is no. I am free and can go wherever I want. You have no right to take over a place and threaten whoever you want because you possess the cheapest pistol available in the market. Excuse me.”
She pushed the two people blocking her path. Half-naked guy cocked the gun. It was obvious he was not going to fire but use it as threat because he was too lustful to just kill her but it was as if Sabrina was waiting for it.  I could not fathom how she did it because she summersaulted kicking the gun away from Half-naked with her booth, same time knocking two down before her feet touched the ground without stumbling. She did not notice she was wearing a high booth and it could make her loose balance because she knocked the remaining two guys down with same booth. It happened so fast, like less than eight seconds. She did not pause to take a breath before she hit half naked guy then stepped on his groin with her booth same time twisting the booth on him. The piercing scream was horrible. I never knew a man could scream that way. She did not even glance his way but leapt on two of the guys already standing up and running to pick a knife on the bamboo chair. I was amazed how she pulled the hand of the first one she got to, then crossed her right leg on his neck, and then cracked it. He went limp and sprawled lifeless on the ground. The other picked the knife and waved it at her. She rushed at him, seized his hand midway, elbowed his arm, then sent her left pointed booth to his groin. The knife fell from the guy's hand and as he bent from the pain, Sabrina flipped him to the ground but before she could crush his groin, the yellow shirt guy pointed the gun at her. Beside him was the last guy who was just standing up his hands on his head.
“Cowards.”
She tapped her wrist watch, it looked like they all had that device.
“Leave him and I will let you live” Yellow shirt shouted.
“Or shoot and die.”
She said crushing her booth on his groin provoking another animalistic scream. The yellow guy fired but it was diverted. He looked shocked. He stared at the pistol and tried firing again but Sabrina was just too fast, she was on him. She seized the gun and bent his hand. The pistol was now pointing at the yellow guy’s chest. He joined his left hand to help regain control but Sabrina was having no issue overpowering him with just one hand.
“You have no idea about martial art or any fighting skills, you just have a stupid believe that being a man makes you stronger than the female and being a gang makes you stronger than your peers and you depend solely on drugs and cheap weapons to keep you in power.”
The last one that had been holding his head must have decided she was not human because the fear in his eyes was contagious. He had picked a stick but threw it away, then started running. The only truth DPO had told me was how deadly Ghost and his unit were because she was out with a rope from under her bag. I had watched people hook and catch someone by just throwing a rope but seeing it in real life was another thing. That rope was not ordinary. I only knew it was a rope when it came out of a baton-like gadget, it curved around the guy preventing him from running away. She must have pressed something in the baton that produced the rope because he started convulsing, falling to the ground as he shook.
“Okay, I was saying?” she asked the guy who was still struggling to overpower her hand.
“Please.”
But her response was to hit him on his groin with that sharp pointed booth. His scream was more of fear of what was coming next than the pain he felt. She used both hands to hold the gun but she did not fire, she knocked it out and bent his wrist. I heard the crack from where I was standing and his scream was deafening. She still stepped on his groin increasing his screams. The others were still groaning, struggling to stand up but falling back from the severe pain except from the one that was still knocked out cold.  The one she had attacked with the rope was standing up when she attacked him. She knocked him down and still stepped on his groin.
   Their scream must have attracted the person sent to prevent people from coming to the river.
“Wetin dey happen, I…” he paused trying to comprehend the scene before him.
“Welcome to the party” Sabrina said bringing out a pistol from her bag and pointing it at him. He raised his hands up in surrender, staring at the gun and glancing at his groaning friends.
“Come over and sit down let’s talk.”
“I am not with them, I swear.”
“Sssh, one more word and you will become impotent for a long time like them.”
The guy started walking close, shaking with fear. Sabrina pointed for him to pull all his friends to sit down under the bamboo trees close to where I was standing. I wondered why she completely ignored me.
“What did I miss?” The voice came from the river.
I turned and saw him. He was like a river god like in movies rising out to the surface of the river. The handsome fair guy Sabrina had called Mark. He was not wearing any top, I could see his perfectly shaped muscled body. He had a bag on his back. He looked my way and I quickly turned when our eyes met.
“I definitely came late. But what was all that groaning and shouting for. I hate lazy guys.”
“Mark stay out of my business” Sabrina said.
“You are my business.”
He went underwater. I tried to locate him but could not.
“Keep quiet, your cries will soon attract locals and by then I would be gone, just make sure you tell them what you did.”
She brought out a very sharp knife from her pocket. I remembered what Ghost said she did to rapist.
“Please” the new guy said.
“Ssh, I believe you were not schooled about good behavior. It is important for you to know that when a girl says no, she means no. Okay I won’t argue with you that in some cases they mean yes, that’s is for girls you are acquainted with and it’s better to believe she means no, but for this particular case, she said no. She said she did not want to sit down with you and she meant no. Only cowards show their strength to the weak. What were you planning to do with her? I castrate rapist…”
“Please..” they chorused and repeated, all looking scared.
I wondered the kind of pain they were having that they could no longer fight. The other was still unconscious but they were still five.
“Sssh, of all the cowards I have met, you guys are the dumbest. How on earth will you decide to rape a strange lady, looking different from the normal girls you see in broad daylight? And you were really going to rape me. Unbelievable. This is why you should stop taking drugs, it gives you a false impression of yourselves. You need to stop harassing people and feeling powerful because you are nothing.”
“Yes ma” one of them shouted.
“I have been instructed to allow you go without castrating you that is if she forgives you guys.”
She pointed at me. She actually knew I was there but was just ignoring me. They turned to look at me. First thing I noticed was the fear. These men were all powerful and in control just few minutes ago. I never knew they could scare easily. They started pleading. One tried to hold his manhood but removed his hand groaning. They were already terribly injured. I was not sure they would be able to function in the next three months.
“Ella should I? Although some would need surgery to get back in shape but I can make it permanent.”
I was distracted from answering by Mark. He was on the surface but moving towards the dangerous creek.
“No, it’s dangerous. They said it has taken a lot of people”
I said.
He turned to look at me. I just did not know why I spoke.
“Water moves from a higher level to a lower level, it becomes what you call dangerous when there is a sudden great depth or depths causing the waves and foam. That alone can drown someone because the person descends to the depth and will not be able to come to the surface except he is floating that’s after death. But if there is a goddess or god that lives there, I better pay a visit” and with that, he disappeared into the wave. I became afraid for him.
“Lady they are waiting” Sabrina called.
They started begging me. I shook my head.
“Meaning?”
“Don’t castrate them.”
They started thanking me. I just did not want to see blood and the fear in their eyes was enough trauma for them. I turned to try locate Mark but he was nowhere in sight.
“I don’t give a damn how you are going to pack your balls along with, get out before I change my mind. And you carry your comrade with you.”
They started thanking us but Mark came up to the surface to stop them.
“Wait, don’t move yet” he said swimming to the hill side. He climbed up. He was on trousers.
“I did not meet any god, but that hole is deep, it’s dangerous.”
But he had entered and came out like he went for a walk. They really fitted each other as Ghost said.
“And you guys. Just let me clear you before you go.”
He brought out a tab from his bag and looked at it for some time, then put it back in his bag. He went close to half-naked guy.
“What pleasure do you derive from rape? You are not ugly, you can take time to woo a girl. I just don’t get it.”
“Please sir we will never do it again.”
“That’s her business but my business is her and you messed up badly. You don’t know she is red Venus flytrap? You are not to touch but only to admire?”
I had no idea what he meant and why he was targeting the half-naked guy.
“You touched her.” He punched him, held his right hand and bent it. He was very fast, like in a second. He punched the guy’s mouth before he could scream.
“Any noise and you die.”
And he was damn serious. I remembered he was the one who had slapped her buttocks. Sabrina did not intervene, she turned and looked at me and I felt like running.
“The way you are feeling now is same way your victims felt. Now out” Mark said.
I could not watch the way they tried staggering out because I was shifting backwards.
“You are a fool, idiot and I have no idea what Ghost saw in you. How dare you use that hand band?”
My back hit a bamboo tree. I was afraid but I wanted to find out if he was alive. If she wanted to kill me, at least I wanted to know what happened to Ghost.
“Is he dead?”
I felt a piercing pain in my chest as I asked my question. She was on me almost immediately. She pushed me to the ground and I could feel the anger emanating from her. Mark was on her to prevent her from striking me.
“Sabrina, Wild was not joking with his instructions” Mark said to her ears.
“Give me the hand band.”
I opened my bag and brought out the hand band. She snatched it away from my hands.
“I had in mind to strangle you no matter the consequences but after seeing the misery in your eyes, I change my mind. I wish you become more miserable than you already are. You have no damn idea the trauma he went through when he could not get to your family on time, my mum had to place him on induced sleep, you idiot. You don’t deserve death, live and enjoy the misery you created with your foolishness. You will never be part of my family, you caused it with your stupidity. Get lost.”
“At least tell me if he is alive or dead” I cried but she rushed at me.
Mark held her and told me to run. I did not want to, I wanted to stay, to provoke her to kill me but my mind and my body rejected that idea. She was right, I needed to live in the misery I created.