Chapter 1

Escaping To Nowhere

"Halt now! This is a manifest cowardice! Challenge them to a combat! You’ll win!’’ summoned one side of Adrian’s mind.

‘’Do not pay heed,’’ said the second part meekly. "Can you defeat two people armed with dangerous weapons?’’

"I’ll run for my dear life." Adrian concluded finally. "We live to fight another day, my father would say."

Across Adrian’s face, into his eyes, brushing his ears lobes, a gust from the wind blew. But it was as if it was blowing on a dead tree. He was not aware or feeling it at all. He had better escape from the aggressors trailing him! That was what occupied his entire mind at that moment.

The Melina trees that graced the college two-stadia-sized vicinity were dancing to the rhythm of the gentle September wind, too. And the numerous leaves atop them swayed towards a single direction. This gave the trees the looks of giant men with long, flowing hair racing in the wind. They also looked as if they were racing with Adrian but could not catch up with him.

"Stop there now!’’ Like a bell, the high pitch voice of one of his dreaded aggressors ranged out, straight into his ears.

‘"You won’t like what will befalls you if you’re caught!’’ The second voice said. "It's better you stop running now!’’

Adrian paid no heed to their distant warning. His run was a weave or zigzag as would a mouse escaping from a hungry cat. He has flew pass the football pitch, pass the school Administrative Block. Breathlessly, he short towards the corridor of the class rooms blocks. There were some broken and unbroken wooden chairs and desks outside the classrooms, flung everywhere carelessly, swiftly, he leaped over them. He did not see them until he has come closer. The bushy lawn was partially hidden them. Therefore, their sudden appearance almost knocked him down. But like a racing car on the country’s potholed roads, he staggered and stood his ground again, bolting without looking back!

As his feet were hitting the green lawn, something spirally crawled across his way in full sped. It was long, thin and green like an electric cable. Adrian did not stop like as he would on a normal day. Though the object was the harmless green snake, he would have stopped and killed it. A true village boy he was. In his village, all snakes, harmless or not, were termed dangerous and would not be spared. They would be killed and roasted for food. And the ones which were poisonous and not good for eating are thrown away.

"I’m tried tired of running! Let’s leave him for another time!...’’ Adrian was hearing one of his chasers telling another again. But the addressed seemed not to pay attention. The voice sounded distant away, indicating that they were tired and would not, could not catch up with him. But that did not hold much water in his mind. It might be a trick to make him slow down or stop running so they could catch up with him.

Having gotten nearer to the expanse building with the inscription "MULTIPURPOSE HALL’’, Adrian’s mind relaxed a bit, realizing he only needed just little more efforts to reach his destination. Near the hall, various flowers were dancing to the weaving of the wind. And colourful butterflies were perching on them. The beautiful insects were having dry season feast, mainly on the blooming hibiscuses. But suddenly, they flew away to different directions. The cow-cow sounds of Adrian’s worn out soccer boots scared them away.

As a sharp knife would easily pass through a soft loaf, Adrian burrowed into the hall’s front door and burst out in the backdoor, overlooking the expanse building with the bold blue paint inscription: DORMITORY-A.

As he was about getting to Dormitory-A, he saw some junior students playing seven-a-side football match on the extended plain ground, adjacent of the building.

"Give them hard tackle!’’

"Don’t allow them to dribble you!’’

"Wonderful run, boy! Pass the ball here!’’

"No, don’t shoot yet! The opponents are many in the defense!’’

"They’ll block your shot!’’

The noise of the junior students rented the air.

Adrian scampered towards the juniors and mindlessly overrunning their "football pitch’’. Abruptly, they all stopped playing. They simultaneously gave way as he sliced through their midst, falling apart one of their two mock goal posts in the process. On both ends of the red earth playing ground, the juniors had gathered some stones and their school sandals into four pyramids. But it was a pity; the mock goalpost went dismantled before their naked eyes. And they could do nothing absolutely! Standing at alert, their eyes occupied more space on their innocent faces, fear mixing with curiosity on their minds.

"What could be chasing a final year senior student so wild?’’ That was the only query riddling the junior students’ tender minds. Maybe they should bolt for safety too! To be forewarned they say, is to be forearmed. So, one after the other, they started picking up their sandals, utterly dismantling their goalposts.

Adamu has the urge to run after Adrian to ask him why he was running so but he feared and declined. Others were having the urged too but were equally scared. The senior could punish them for being unnecessarily inquisitive.

"Boys…boys,’’ Chika said with shaky voice, ‘’don’t you think Mister Cow-tail should be the one chasing senior Adrian?’’

He was a dark, stout boy. He has a large head that stood atop his body, giving him the looks of a newly sprouted mushroom. He managed to interrupt the frightful silence, lingering among them.

"That’s possible,’’ Effiong said, nodding his egg-shaped head in support. He was slightly tall, slim and fair in complexion boy. *The housemaster might’ve just arrived the school premises, saw him on the pitch as usual and chased him to go back to the dining hall to conduct the usual evening devotions…’’

"Can that be possible?’’ Adamu questioned, his small eye balls widened in their sunken sockets in disbelief. "The college hasn’t selected new prefects yet! We all know only the senior prefects had the duty of conduction the morning and evening devotions.’’

"But…But it’s rumored that he’ll be selected as the senior prefect if the school resumes…’’ Effiong was trying hard to prove his point.

"No, no, that sound so incredible!’’ insisted Adamu, shaking his baseball-shaped head as would an aggressive ram, ready for a showdown. He was trying hard to wave Effiong’s words aside.

"I heard it from a reliable source!’’ Effiong countered, stamping his feet in the ground irately.

"Your source is unreliable!’’ Adamu shouted. ’’If the information is true I should be the first to know. Have you forgotten I’m his roommate? Nobody knows who will be the next senior prefect yet. Rumours are nothing but fake news!’’

"There are some elements of truth in rumours!’’ Effiong screamed back; his eyes stared at Adamu angrily.

"You’re totally wrong, Effiong!’’ Adamu screamed back at Effiong in annoyance, pointing his pen-sized fingers towards his eyes. He was tallest among the boys and also the thinnest. Though they were all belong to the same range of 14. "Rumours are nothing but bunch of fallacies! Perhaps, how come Mister cow-tail is in the college while he should be with his new bride? Have you forgotten the house master just traveled for his honeymoon and won’t be back soon?’’

‘’Hey, Adamu!’’ quipped another fair in complexion and slim-shaped boy, his name was Bolaji. "Are you his brother or wedding best man? Who told you when his honeymoon will come to an end?’’

"Well, I just thought about the whole situation and arrived at that conclusion,’’ Adamu defended himself, glaring his eyes towards Bolaji . "Perhaps, I’m entitled to my opinion. ’’

"Your opinion is wrong, Adamu! Bolaji insisted, "it’s totally wrong!’’

‘’And Mister Know-it-all,’’ Adamu ranted at Bolaji, his eyes widened and red, "if you think I’m wrong, give us the real gist, stop shouting my name! Okay?’’

"But…But…listen boys…listen…!’’ all the boys wanted to say something at the same time. There was a rising commotion among them.

"Boys listen, please calm down!’’ Chika was able to suppress the commotion, having gotten the loudest voice, "I just gave my own opinion, everybody could give his. It’s a free world. I don’t think we should flare-up or make much ado over this minor issue. Whoever was after him doesn’t matter now. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, we would soon know…’’

Chuck suddenly stopped talking, his eyes wide and fixed towards vacancy. Slowly, he gestured towards a far direction. ‘’Oh look, boys!’’

All the boys gathered around Chika like a group of hungry chicks that are jostling for a thrown corn seed.

"Black scorpion!’’ the juniors intoned in unison, their voices heard by themselves alone.

Adrian has stopped running now, bringing his race to a grounding halt as would a bicycle with a faulty break. He was at the dormitory staircase now, and about climbing the 3-storeys Dormitory-A building. But thought came to his mind. So, breathlessly, he stopped to glance back. Oh yes! He wanted to see may be his chasers had turned back or still following him from afar.

"Silly boys,’’ Adrian cursed silently, still breathing hard, ‘’I wonder what they actually want from me. They didn’t know besides being a winger for the school team, I would be a fast runner too.’’

His face cracked into a tiring smile.

Though Adrian was not the type who loves telling teachers tales or what happened between him and other students. But he had no choice this time around. Those boys’ trouble has gotten hooked to his throat like a big morsel of unevenly prepared Semolina. He could not swallow it. So, he would throw it up. Yes, he would tell the sport master the next day. And he trusted him. A no-nonsense man the sport master was. Severely, he would caution them to stop their unjustified onslaught.

Only the juniors could see where Black scorpion was hiding, besides the wall of Dormitory-A. Adrian could not. So, he rooted to his spot, resting a little, gathering momentum to continue mounting the staircase. His room was in the third floor. To climb to such height after that long race would not be bread and butter. So, he needed to rest a little first.

Meanwhile, a question sprouted in Adrian mind, why was he even running so wild, anyway? His assailants might’ve backed off long ago. Another thought sprang up in his mind to counter the former. Who knows, they might not have relented if he had stopped running earlier.

He smiled again.

The last time they waylaid him, it was sheerluck how he managed to escape from their claws. Yes, he did the right thing by running nonstop. A tiny smile appeared on his sweaty round-shaped face. How could a single, harmless person handle two persons, armed with harmful objects like knife and big stone? He wouldn’t go out until the second day. Yes, he would go upstairs and stay indoors till the next day. When the sport master comes around, he would tell him everything. The boys might be planning for another type of deadly attacks on him. Another thought sprang on his mind. Could they come and break the door and attack him in the room? He found that too unheard of to belief. It’s a serious crime to fight inside hostel rooms in GBC. But Martin was almost above the law of the college. His father was a wealthy and influential politician in the country. Well, he would see what become of his plan. He would carry it out first and watch as event unfolds itself.