TAKEN

[27]

"Mustafa Suleiman is your father?" Carlos barged into our little two-aside pity party.

My brows furrowed and I pushed my head up to meet his long frame hovering over us. "I don't know any Mustafa Suleiman. This person here," I pointed at the picture in my hand,  "......is Jeremiah Ifemezuie, my father."

Popped eyes bulged out of the sockets that housed them. Carlos was already gifted with magnificent intimidating eyeballs, bulging them further as though an anomaly was beginning to originate on his face.

"Calm down..." Nurse Dima mumbled, robbing his tightly laced boots. He sucked in air and glanced over his shoulders, suddenly afraid.

"Why did you ask?" The sound of my voice pushed his face back to us.

"I think we must leave this camp right now!" He declared, seemingly angry and forceful.

I braced backward, more like I flung my body away from him. The way he bent over and said those words was like he'd seen death and tangled with it too.

"We must leave now!" He snapped his fingers and the rest of the team left Mama alone for a second. "I need everyone to gather what they can, we must leave this place now!
It's almost skylight and law enforcement should be on their way."

I heard murmuring, confusion, and maybe defiance. It floated in the air, in their words and their body movements.

"We destroyed them," Someone said. "We should be able to rebuild this place and make it home for all of us," the steadiness of the voice wavered like the ocean waves before the person added...." at least, for those who wish to stay."

The once overconfident leader was shuffling his gait back and forth, his head stuck seated uncomfortably on his right palm while the left hugged his body. "Nobody can stay here. What is coming is worse than what's come!"

Ezinne who refused to give Mama a breathing space was up on her feet, swaddling gently to the cluster of people. "Why the change of plans?" She spoke with difficulty, raising an eyebrow and clutching her sides. "You said you had everything in control."

Carlos released his head from the wedge of his right palm. "That was before I stumbled upon a new information." He had his fingers pointed at Ezinne.

She watched him loosely from her left eye while squinting the right. I'd never know how she did that, how her brain could function like that. "What new information?" She pushed. Her gaze stayed on him as the tone of her voice dared him to lie.

He went silent, studying the tile design used for Mama's luxurious bedroom. "We are in the path of the King Cobra and believe me, you don't want to find out what he can do!"

The room went into another bout of confusion, complaints, and disunity. "We must leave right this minute!" Carlos yelled and began marching out of the room. "We'll have vans ready in five."

"Vans to where?" Someone yelled back at him.

"Hmmm... I just hope we're not going from frying pan to the real fire!" Another spoke with a tone of defeat.

I only stared back at Nurse Dima and began following Carlos out, still holding onto my picture frame, Nma walking next to me. As for Ifediora, she was already on her heels right behind her boss. Whatever that meant.

"But what happened to her?" Ezinne yelled, tossing her hands in the air. No response came but some said, "Tie her up or better still, kill the old witch!"

We all trooped outside into the open space of the camp, the team already had themselves divided into units and there were hurried movements in the camp as people grabbed whatever was important to them.