Virus

by Ifedayo Akintomide

  “But the sight did not manifest the way I expected. Father explained that in his own case, he saw visions, with great clarity. I on the other hand never did. All I experienced was deep, somewhat strong irrevocable feelings about something. Even though these feelings usually always turned out to be real, I still refused to let myself believe that the creature was real until the day Chike was bitten.

  “Only then did I accept that the thing my father told me many years before was truth. The darkness had returned. As the days passed, I discovered my ability kept getting stronger. The feelings began to turn to visions. I kept fighting it, which was why it appeared I was mumbling to myself and had lost my sanity__” He directed the last bit of his statement to Tunrayo and Wole.

  Their eyes were wide, as they listened intently to his words. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to continue when__

  “Sir that is the sunflower bakery just up ahead.” The driver called.

  Everyone in the truck leaned forward looking at the large tree where Baba Adora usually sat to mend shoes. The road beside the bakery was empty stretching towards Wole’s street where thick clouds of black smoke filled the air. The houses were no long burning but the burnt remains still smoked.

  “They did not get our message.” The policemen at the back of the truck gasped looking really frightened now.

  The silence in the truck grew grim as the driver pulled the truck to a halt beside the large tree. Taiwo leaped out of the truck staring at the tree with an angry look on his face. Several moments passed in silence before he turned facing the others who still sat in the truck.

  “I think we have to come to a decision__” He began slowly. “Their absence changes things. We have no ammunition, and without ammunition, we cannot defend ourselves. What say we head out of town? With the truck we should be able to escape from the town and at least save our own skins.”

  A heavy silence greeted his words. His frown grew harder as he continued. “Think fast people, we don’t have much time.”

  “There is a hole in that your plan__” Baba Adora began slowly ignoring his furious look.

  “__truly we can escape from Oraromi. But what you don’t understand is, if we don’t find a way to stop this darkness, it will continue and spread beyond the boundary of Oraromi. The EVONSO spirit cannot be contained or controlled. That was why the ancestors of Oraromi sealed it in that cave. We have to put it back there and seal it up again. If we do not, no one anywhere is safe.”

  “What in the world is he going on about?” Taiwo growled turning to face Wole.

  Wole sighed and quickly gave him a run down of what Baba Adora told them in the cafeteria. When he finished the looks on the faces of the policemen became even more frightened and horrified.

  “So you are telling me that the virus the chief hematologist from Kargo hospital told me about and the EVONSO spirit Adora speaks of is one and the same?” Taiwo asked swallowing.

  It was the turn of Wole and the others to look puzzled. “What do you mean by the virus?” Anike asked leaning forward.

  “Chike’s blood work was sent by his doctors to a teaching hospital in the next state. A few hours ago, one of them visited me at the police station saying that we had a possible epidemic on our hands and that we should evacuate the town.”

  “Where is the man now?” Wole asked leaning forward.

  “He is dead!” Baba Adora answered. His voice was low and lifeless.

  “Dead???!!!” Taiwo gasped. “How did he die?”

  For a couple of seconds Baba Adora did not answer. Then his eyes grew distant as if he was seeing something only he could see.

  “He was escaping from the town__ when ___” He paused his eyes becoming wide and horrified.

  “WHAT?” Taiwo cried. His voice was high pitched and squeaky.

  “The EVONSO killed him. It flipped his car over___ it does not want anyone uninfected to leave the town. It plans to make everyone its own.”

  The fear in the faces of the people surrounding Baba Adora grew even greater. Suddenly Baba Adora’s eyes focused and he stepped out of the truck walked forward and grabbed Taiwo by the shoulders.

  “Listen D.P.O. I know you do not like me, but how you attend to what I am going to tell you will determine if we survive this scourge. Everything can still be salvaged for those of us who have not been bitten or infected. We need to put the EVONSO spirit back under the spell our ancestors trapped him in, and to do that we are going to need the help of you and your men.

  “We need to get to the shrine in that cave you discovered. I know the words we have to speak once we lure him into the cave and I have the descendants. Once the spirit is trapped, the dead will truly be dead and the living can go about their lives once again.”

  “But we have no weapons. How do we defend ourselves?” Taiwo asked looking frightened and helpless.

  “Is there no way we can get weapons to defend ourselves?” Baba Adora asked turning to face the rest of the men still seated in the back cab of the truck with Alaba and Joke nestled between them.

  “There are still weapons and ammunition in the police station.” The bulky sergeant said with a grim look on his face.

  “Then we must go back to the police station. Once you arm yourself, we will head to the shrine.”

  “But how do we get the spirit to follow us?” Taiwo asked looking unconvinced.

  “Once we approach the shrine with the descendants, the EVONSO will follow.”

  “Then we better get moving__” Taiwo barked his eyes becoming hard and resolute.

  He and Baba Adora leaped back into the truck and they were off a moment later heading back into the center of town.

  Chapter Thirty – Five

  The drive to the police station was short and uneventful. Besides a few pockets of burning houses and small groups of marauding undead creatures, they saw nothing.

  Both trucks swirled to a screeching halt in front of the police station and the policemen immediately leaped out rushing into it while the others remained in the truck.

  “They better hurry up__” Baba Adora said in a grim voice.

  “Why?” Wole asked turning to face him.

  Adora did not respond for several minutes. By which time Taiwo and his men burst out of the station holding more guns and plenty of ammunition. As soon as Taiwo was inside the truck and the door slammed shut behind him. Adora repeated his earlier statement.

  “D.P.O we have to hurry__”

  “I know, I know__ we are on our way.” Taiwo growled glaring at Baba Adora.

  “You do not understand__ he is coming.”

  “Who is coming?” Taiwo asked looking faint.

  “The EVONSO SPIRIT!” Baba Adora replied, his voice a terrified screech.

  Both truck drivers quickly gunned the engines even as a loud earth-shaking roar rang out a few moments later. Tall trees, fifteen kilometers from where the trucks were parked, deep within the thick foliage in front of the station fell down with loud crashes. It seemed as if the trees were pushed by something, something huge.

  Not waiting to see more, the drivers sped away from the police station leaving thick clouds of white smoke and the sharp stench of burning rubber in their wake. All had terrified looks on their faces.

  A thick mist poured out of the bushes flooding the road with white blindness. The policemen turned on the lights of the trucks and mashed their feet down hard on the accelerator.

  The trucks leaped forward keeping ahead of the blinding white mist by a hair’s breath. A tee-junction loomed up ahead. With screeching tires, the trucks turned left speeding down the primary road leading out of Oraromi, heading to the outskirts where the hills were.

  Another roar rang out. It sounded much closer now. The men on the back of the truck stood up and raised their weapons, prepared to fire if need be. However, they could still see nothing. The bulky sergeant eyes grew wide as what he thought were two large horns and flaming red eyes suddenly rose out of the top of the thick cloud of mist. It
stayed visible for the briefest of seconds before disappearing once again.

  “Did you see that?” He barked turning to the man standing beside him.

  “No I did not. What did you see?”

  The sergeant shrugged keeping quiet. He kept his eyes fixed on the white mist behind them.

  “Look!” Wole cried pointing.

  They turned to see what he was pointing at. Their eyes widened in shock when they saw the mangled bits of metal and communication equipment with the burnt shell of the Camry lying in the center of it.

  “So that’s why we can get no cell signal__” Taiwo murmured. He frowned taking a closer look at the Camry.

  “Wait, that looks like__”

  “Yes it is__” Baba Adora growled grimly. “That is what remains of your hematologist’s car.”

  “So you were right__” Anike gasped. “It did kill him.”

  Before anyone could respond to that, loud bursts of gunfire erupted behind them. Taiwo whipped his head back shocked to see his sergeant and two other men firing into the thick mist racing after the Hilux trucks. He leaned out, on the verge of yelling at them to stop firing when he saw it.

  It was a giant of a creature, more than nine feet tall with huge bluish black limbs, reddish eyes and two long horns on its head. It was visible for the briefest of seconds before it disappeared into the mist once again.

  “GO FASTER!!!” He yelled at the driver beside him with wild panic in his eyes.

  The truck leaped forward again as the driver drove the pedal down to the floor. The bushes around them began to shiver and shake. A few seconds’ later scores of undead creatures burst out sprinting after the trucks.

  “EIEEEEIEEIIEEEIEEIEIIEIEIEEIEIEEEEEEEIIEEEEIIIEIEEEE!!!!!!” Tunrayo screamed as she saw them, her voice reverberating through the darkness.

  The EVONSO spirit gave an answering roar from the cover of the mist behind. Its head became visible once more and the boom of the policemen’s guns rang out again.

  “There__” Baba Adora gasped pointing at a small hill ten kilometers into the thick foliage on their right.

  Taiwo gulped. This was the point where they parked the trucks the first time they came here proceeding on foot. He glanced back at the mist. The undead were still racing after them. In seconds, he came to a decision.

  “Plough through!” He yelled at the driver.

  “But sir, the landscape is rough. We don’t know whether the trucks will reach the hill.”

  “Plough through you FOOL!! Even if they do not, the trucks will carry us as far in as they can. Or do you want to DIE???”

  The driver shook his head and turned the wheel violently. The truck burst into the thick foliage, its entire frame shuddering. The second truck was only three feet behind.

  The ground beneath it was rough and uneven, shaking everyone inside very badly. They got about half of the way before the suspension of both trucks gave out and they ground to a smoky halt.

  Everyone leaped out of the trucks instantly and began racing to the shrine. Two policemen lifted Joke on their shoulders as they did in the hospital and raced after the others with Alaba and two others bringing up the rear.

  They could feel the tremors surging through the ground as the EVONSO thundered after them. They still could not see it because of the thick mist. Baba Adora who was ahead looked as if he was on the verge of collapse.

  They were now running on the uneven orange rock. The glow from the opened graves was much brighter. It lit up the darkness around it for miles like red Christmas lights; before they reached it, scores of the undead burst out of the shrine in front of them. Taiwo and one other police officer surged to the front and opened fire-bringing dozens of them down. Three other police officers stood at the back with their weapons raised after lowering Joke to the ground. The civilians were crouched in the center with the police officers surrounding them like shields.

  Baba Adora stepped to the front of the police officers at the back and raised his staff speaking some unintelligible words. Green light burst out of it lighting the land for miles around. The undead and the EVONSO behind the mist drew to a halt.

  “SILENCE VILE PESTILENT SEER!” The EVONSO spirit roared.

  “do you for one second think that your cheap spells will save you from my wrath!!! The weight of a thousand spells will not keep me contained this night!!!!

  “I know you feel anger. But you can still make the right choice__” Baba Adora replied, his voice shaking with his fear.

  “__ slaying these people will serve no purpose. Spare them.”

  “how dare you speak to me of purpose? Did their ancestors consider purpose when they trapped me in that shrine in the permanent sleep???”

  “You were going to wipe them out. Like you are determined to do now. this is not the way__ killing scores of innocents will not justify your cause.”

  The spirit laughed at Baba Adora’s words. His laughter shook the earth all around them.

  “foolish mortal!! How quaint it is that you with your relatively ignorant mind could believe you could understand the workings of a mind such as my own?

  “This, you insipient fool is my time!! Does your religion not say that in the end times gross darkness will cover the earth, and an unending darkness the people? Well I am that darkness!! And I fully intend to spread this darkness to all corners of the earth and nothing you or your petty spells will do will stop me!!”

  The creature’s last words were barked out in a roar, but he and his minions made no move to come forward.

  “Baba Adora!!” Taiwo barked pointing forward.

  Still holding the staff up, Baba Adora glanced back relieved to see that all the undead in front were truly dead.

  “Go in!!” He yelled.

  With Taiwo leading the way, they surged into the cave. Baba Adora waited a couple of seconds and raced in after them. Before he disappeared into the cave, he felt something sharp rake into his back instantly robbing him of all his strength. He staggered into the shrine with what remained of his strength and collapsed on the orange rock covered floor.

  Chapter Thirty – Six

  Anike and Wole rushed to his side instantly with worried looks on their faces.

  “Are you alright?” Anike gasped holding his hand.

  “No time__” He croaked. Reaching into the pockets of his trousers, he brought out two balls of chalk.

  “Pick one each___” They grimaced because he sounded as weak as a newborn kitten. “Go to the center of the hut and draw a circle, one that will be large enough for each descendant to stand in. Inside each of the circles, draw an X. The X must not go beyond the edges of the circle.”

  “You haven’t told us who the rest of the descendants are__” Anike began slowly.

  “The descendants are Tunrayo, Chike, Collins, Judith, Alaba and Wole.”

  At the sounds of their names, Collins, Judith and Alaba surged forward with puzzled looks on their faces.

  “What the devil is he going on about?” Collins asked frowning.

  No one answered him. Anike and Wole instantly began to draw the circles. “How will they be arranged?” Anike asked looking over her shoulder.

  “Draw the five circles in a wide circle. You see those large runes on the roof?”

  She looked up, just noticing the red and pinkish colored runes painted into the roof in a wide circle.

  “Draw a circle beneath each rune.”

  She nodded as she and Wole got to it. As they worked, a trickle of mist entered the cave slowly. Baba Adora stiffened when he saw it.

  “He is shrinking himself__ you have to hurry. Once he gets in he is going to kill us all.”

  Taiwo and his men raced over holding their guns at the ready, the barrels pointed into the mist. Heaving deep sighs Anike and Wole continued working. By the time they had drawn the five circles, the mist was a tower shape, the top reaching the roof of the cave.

  “Each person stand in a circle__” Baba Adora croaked once again.

  Seeing
the old man had no more strength in him, Anike took charge ordering Collins, Judith, Alaba, Tunrayo and Wole to a circle. The instant they stood inside the circle, the runes on the roof lit up beaming a glowing pink light down on each of them.

  Anike gasped turning to Baba Adora for guidance. He was as white as a sheet and sweat streamed down his face in torrents. His mouth opened but no sound came out. She realized he did not have the strength to speak again. He fumbled with his pockets again pulling out a long sheet of paper. There was a long line of words written with an untidy looking scrawl. Sort of like chicken scratches in the dirt.

  Anike turned to face him with her eyes widened in shock. Since he could no longer speak, he mouthed the words read it and let them repeat after you. The Evonso spirit had taken shape and was now solidifying. Taiwo and his men opened fire.

  The burst of gunfire made the undead outside the cave howl. The sound was so eerie that it drove chills down their spines. For some strange reason, the undead made no move to enter the cave.

  The bullets ripped into the EVONSO’s torso, bringing out blackish green fluid. It swept its arm in an arc, knocking Taiwo and his men aside like skittles, sweeping their bodies against the wall with dull thuds.

  Anike screamed in fear and began to read the words on the paper.

  “Evil spirit from yonder past, your season of terror shall no longer last, ancient devil of the ether’s blast, heed the power of the runes at last__”

  The descendant’s eyes glowed with an eerie red and pink light and they began to say the words after her. The EVONSO spirit roared in fury and surged forward driving a hard blow into the circle of descendants. Before its fist reached them, a pulse of energy burst out of each circle, shielding them from the blow. The force field drove the EVONSO spirit back smashing it into the rock wall just above the entrance.