BLOOD OF GOD (CHAPTER SEVEN) Fear is all around us. And all our activities are exerted towards escaping our fears. We go to school because we are afraid of the consequences of ignorance. We go to church because we are afraid of a life without the support of God. We get married because we are afraid of being alone. Fear is all around us. It is a constant motivator for the choices we make. Standing on shivering legs behind a shelf, Kunle was afraid of the unknown. What was that thing that that had blood all over its mouth? What did he want from them? Why was the beast inside the library? To those questions, he had no answer. And one of the most terrifying horrors of fear was the unpredictability of unfolding circumstances. Our life’s most fearful periods are those times when we did not know what to do because we did not know how to do what to do. Kunle knew the beast or whatever it was must be gotten rid of; but he did not know the ‘what’, how could he know the ‘how’. Then footsteps started to approach. Gladys froze against his body, tears streaming from her eyes but she dared not twitch a muscle. Noiseless agony. The footsteps seemed calculated, measured. Those of a man who knew where he was a going and how to get there. The footsteps kept getting closer and Kunle thought of running again. But that would be stupid, he thought. They were behind a fairly wide shelf in a dark corner and it would be extremely difficult for the beast to find them there. Anyway, making a move now would mean giving away their position and ultimately their temporary advantage. He was not ready to lose that. So, he chose to wait. Pressing Gladys’ head tightly to his chest, her tears soaking up his drenched shirt, he pictured, in the eye of his mind, a future of roses and choice flowers. A future where they could walk together in everlasting romance. Where he would kiss her soft, wet lips and she would chuckle in pure pleasure. Where their love would grow like the cedars of Lebanon. Where everything would be perfect and no hate or cursed fate would appear. Where she could kick his ass and he would groan in playful outburst. Where . . . He heard a hand scratching across the book on the shelf they were standing behind, and before he could fully jolt his mind back to the present, a figure appeared in front of them. Blood dripping from both eyes, nose, and mouth, the beast leaned stood in between shelf opening and muttered in a gentle, almost kind way, “I see you.” The last Kunle heard before a powerful darkness overwhelmed him was the faint remains of Gladys megaphone screaming. CHAPTER EIGHT He opened his eyes. He was now in an open space in the library, well removed from the rows of shelves. His hands were tied to the back and his knees hurt badly standing on them. The library was semi-dark, shyly courting the effulgence of daylight and the obscurity of darkness. The beast was standing in front of him, distanced by a length of mere meters. No, it was not a beast. He knew this man. “Welcome back Kunle James.” The gentle, almost angelic voice announced. He recognised the voice. The drawl of its gentleness. “Professor Sanni?” Unbelief was palpable in his almost rhetorical probing. “Yes boy. Don’t look so surprised. We all keep secrets.” He checked his watch. “I don’t have much time, the dear librarian would soon be through. Let’s start our lesson.” Which lesson, Kunle wanted to ask. But instead, he said, “Where is Gladys?” “Oh! You mean your wimpy little girl-friend. She’s my insurance.” “What do you mean insurance.” His voice was getting louder. “WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?” “Oh! Trying to save your princess. Isn’t it my boy? Well, I would give you a fair chance to do that, by expecting you to be a good boy during this brief lesson we are going to be having very soon.” “Where is she?” “Left.” Kunle turned left and he saw Gladys tied to the floor. Her mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth. “Shit! Let her go!” Professor Sanni seemed to be getting impatient. “Let us start.” “LET HER GO!” Sanni looked stunned. “Who’s in charge here? I’m a vampire.” He roared, baring his bloody fangs at Kunle’s face. “I’ve got you tied up. I’ve got your girlfriend tied up. Now, tell me who the boss is IN THIS ROOM?” Kunle went dumb. A vampire? But that was in the movies. Vampires don’t exist. Or do they? He felt his skin grow numb. He was tied up, kneeling in front of a sanguinary monster who happened to be his professor. Oh God! “I’m sorry sir.” “Better.” Sanni said, now making short paces within the perimeter where Kunle knelt. “This lesson is going to be like a test assessing your knowledge on how much you know about vampires. Every question you miss, I would deal a blow to your girlfriend. If you miss more than five, I would start cutting her parts one by one until she’s dead.” He checked his watch again. “And you have only fifteen minutes.” Kunle blinked and astonishingly, Gladys was now standing beside Sanni . She was now awake, her eyes groping fearfully in their sockets. He looked at his left where she had been previously, and she was no more there. “How did you – “ “Your time starts now.” Kunle closed his eyes. And he let the knowledge of Wikipedia and some other internet pages he had devoured in class earlier that day, drown him in their muddy river. CHAPTER NINE Sanni was a man who thought himself as a righteous man despite his many failing as a man. He believed he was just like the erratic righteous man in Proverbs who fell seven times, but rose the eighth time. He was a man who believed in moral justice, but failed to keep up with his own expectations. “Do vampires die from sunlight?” “Yes. Vampires die from sunlight.” Sanni smiled as he dealt Gladys a blow to her cheek. Blood spurted to the floor. When he saw the look of horror in Kunle’s eyes, he said. “I don’t like hurting people but a deal is a deal. You were wrong. If sunlight killed us, you think I would be standing here after working half my life on the terrible sun in Benin. Think again boy!” “Do vampires drink blood?” “Yes they do!” “Easy one. What can kill a vampire?” “A stake. Silver.” “I thought you would say cross or holy water.” Sanni laughed. “That’s Christian mythology.” “Yes. Who is the first vampire?” “How do you expect me TO KNOW THAT?” Gladys cried in mumbled agony again. “How do I expect you to know that? Why should you not know it?” Sanni was beaming with smiles. He knew there was no way Kunle would get the question. Sanni was so sure of that that he made up his mind to run away and not harm them if he answered correctly. He was going to forget about turning the boy into a vampire. Yes! He was happy to make the deal with himself, because he knew that Kunle could never be wise enough to produce the right answer. He checked his watch again. “Your time is almost exhausted and it seems this is going to be the last question. If you don’t get it, I’ll kill your girlfriend. Who is the first vampire?” Sanni meant his words. He went behind Gladys and grabbed her neck. “I’ll count from to ten, if you don’t answer me, I would make her my dinner.” And he also thought of finally making the boy a vampire. “One.” His bloody eyes twinkled in the semi-darkness. CHAPTER TEN Kunle closed his eyes. He heard a voice say ‘Go backwards.’ Pages of history flippantly flew past his memory. Napoleon in the battle of Gettysburg had been defeated by vampires according to some historical sources. No, he had to go backward. Nostradamus, the man who saw tomorrow, had also been associated with vampirism. No, he had to go backward. The kings of ancient Rome. No. He had read somewhere that vampirism had started . . . the trail of memory vanished. Three. He could hear Gladys whimpering, pleading. But he could not listen to her if he wanted to save her. he had to concentrate. He had to focus. Go backwards, a voice in his head kept ministering to him. Five. What else was there? The pharaohs of ancient Egypt also wrote about vampires. But who was the first. Then, like a wave of hot air, two things became clear to him as Sanni mentioned EIGHT! The first revelation was the Professor’s voice during his last class: “it is widely believed that pre-historic man had been conversant with blood-sucking creatures even before the invention of writing.” That meant the first vampire was definitely beyond the scope of history. He was in the beginning. The second thing was the tense of the question. Sanni had said: “Who IS the first vampire.” That meant the first vampire was still alive. Nine! He was in the beginning. Quickly putting crunching the logic in his head, Kunle was amazed at the answer he had come up with. Ten! But it was his only shot. “Wait, I know the answer.” “What is it?” “The answer is God.” EPILOGUE The sunlight rays flickered lightly as Kunle turned the last page of the book. He was outside Shoprite, leaning beside his car, waiting for his wife to come out of the salon. The book he had just finished made him remember a momentous event that happened ten years ago at the University Library. Of course, the authorities had not believed him and Gladys when they explained that they were ambushed by a vampire. No one believed. And the Professor was also never found. The book, titled ‘Blood of God,’ had talked about the relationship of Christianity to blood. The author, who claimed he was a devout Christian, argued that blood was the epicentre of the Christian faith. He pointed out the last supper where Jesus urged his disciples to ‘keep drinking his blood as an observance of his memory.’ The author finally concluded that all Christians who wanted to be really perfect must understand the place of God’s blood in the perfection of their faith. He threw the book into the car, annoyed with its heretical leanings, and picked up his phone to tell his wife to hurry up. Women and their time-wasting antics! The phone rang twice, then a gentle voice spoke into it. “Good afternoon my boy, we’ve not finished our lesson.” THE END Stay with EKUS for more. Next story: TOILET
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 18:18:43 +0000
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