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Story Time

WHO MADE DAVID MAD? (EPISODE 4)

Alfreda looked into David’s eyes and saw dread. The issue at hand is no joke, right then and there she was determined to try everything possible to find out and discover all about this wrecking game, this mess he got himself into.

“They were just empty threats, Dav. You could have just told me before you got in too deep, to this point of no return, or just reported to the right authorities.” Alfreda said on the verge of tears but no single tear dropped. She needed to be composed and get to the root of this.

“I wish they were empty threats, Al. Those people are evil, they are the devil himself. I made friends with a guy, Tunes. His name is Tunise, he was in deep shit as much as I was, and we planned to leave together. We threatened the owner of the apartment we use for the night game, Mr. Shoke, with recorded videos of the murders that had taken place there, he promised to halt the game and claimed he was not aware of such taking place in his building. We made Him swear and recorded a video where he confessed to not being aware of the game and promised to halt further activity,”

He paused to cough and continued,

“I and Tunes left feeling relieved but we both had our doubts, we did not trust him entirely. Believe me Al, there was no way we could have reported to the police, we were being watched day and night and any suspicious movement could have led to instant elimination. That was the instructions the tails watching us were given. We were warned. I and the guy were able to see the owner of the building because the tails knew we were still within the vicinity of the game house and they did not suspect anything, if they had known we went to see the man, we would have been killed. But they got to know eventually, somehow the man betrayed us. Yes, we stopped going to the game house as soon as we spoke to the owner, Mr. Shoke. Three days later, I got an email with a video attachment…In the video, I saw someone who looks exactly like me brutally murdering Tunes, hacking him to small pieces.”

David paused to look at her face and saw the shock, vivid over her face. He rushed towards her and was about to touch her when I raised her hands to stop him.

“Dav, I’m too stricken enough to not want you near me, just move back and tell me everything else there is. I need to know my next line of action”

“I just wanted to be sure you are okay, Al. I did not mean for you to get shaken by all these.”

Alfreda laughed and answered,

“You did not inform me of when you were about to commit this atrocity, you did not before you got in too deep neither did you when you were an inch away from being ruined but now, that you’re too far away from being redeemed, you chose to tell me and you expected me to not get shocked at this folly of yours? You had high expectations, my dear. I hope you do not expect me to find solutions or is that why you are telling me now?”

His expression gave him away. He can’t be for real. Alfreda shook her head and laughed that sad laughter once again. He wants her to find a way to help him out. What can she do at this point? She does have to find out what to do. It seemed like Tunise died but how? God knows she would lose her mind if David died.

With a straight face, she asked David,

“Is Tunise dead?” She asked.

“Yes, they killed him. Those evil people manipulated the recording of his murder, making it seem like I killed him. If the video gets out, all everyone will see is not the real perpetrator but me killing him. Under that video, I got a message saying, ‘That is the exact punishment for those who make any attempt to break free and betray them. I was warned to not try anything suspicious or they will kill you, kill everyone at my place of work, kill your mother, and make me a wanted criminal. They…they came here”

He was no longer speaking, she was not surprised to see him dabbing at his eyes. About time he shed tears. If possible, he should shed enough tears for both of them. She felt like screaming and crying out loud herself but she was too numb to move, not to talk of doing the others.

After a few minutes had passed, David continued speaking,

“They came to throw his corpse in our backyard, they informed me it was there. I did all I could to be careful while disposing of it but somehow, they captured me in the act and sent me the recordings to further warn me. Al, what do you think we should do? I have tried all I can, I have gone to beg them to let me go, I have borrowed some more loans and given them more money yet, they want me to keep on with the game and kill you as a punishment for desiring to leave or they will Kill me like they killed Tunes. You see I’m in deep shit, Alfreda. What do we do?”

She gave no response.

Alfreda’s heart slammed against her ribcage and she almost peed in her panties and was fuming with anger. She looked lost and miserable. The room was hot, her insides were burning and she needed to escape the room. She was taking off the thick clothing she had on when David asked again,
“I need you to answer me, Al. I didn’t mean for any of these to happen to us… I knew… somehow, you’d find a way for us out of this mess. I’m out of options, what should we do? Where are you going? Answer me, Al what should I do!” He cried.

Alfreda was at the door, her hands on the doorknob before she replied and said,

“It seems too late, David”

She opened the door, closed it gently, not paying heed to the urge to slam it shut, and went down the stairs. She needed to vent her anger on something…somewhere. Okay! What she needs is to take a drive with ear-blasting music playing from the car’s speaker.

In the room, she had seen blood drain out of David’s face, he looked like he had seen a ghost and she knew. She knew it was because she had called him David. It has always been anything else lovely, except David.

STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 5

Continue reading “WHO MADE DAVID MAD? (EPISODE 4)”
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Story Time

WHO MADE DAVID MAD? (EPISODE 3)

Alfreda had taken a seat at the edge of the bed while still laughing hysterically, she felt like punching David in the guts, maybe watching him double over and groan in pain would have eased the pain she felt at that moment. She touched her chest, and moved her hand up and down her chest in a bid to calm herself. David stood there looking so confused and lost. The realization that she had been coupling with a kid who could not make sane decisions for himself and was easily pushed about like a wheelbarrow hit her like a wave. He has never made good decisions for them, she has always been the one looking out for them. How couldn’t she have known all this while? Is love truly, blind?
He just stood there scratching his brows, saying nothing.


“David? What game brought this ruin upon you? What silly game did you squander all our money on?.”

She was looking directly into his eyes and was at the brim of bursting into tears. Several minutes passed and David still had not said anything in response to the question. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she stood up abruptly and said,

“Don’t Tell me you gambled with all that money?” She got no response.

“Answer me David before I pluck your eyes out!” She cried.

His shoulders dropped, he sighed and said, “Something like that. It’s not really gambling, it’s just a sophisticated game of the rich. That is the name for it”


“Sophisticated game of the rich? Interesting. Tell me about it, Dav.”


“See Al, I thought I would be able to do it once, get a whole lot of money off it, and never indulge again according to how the leader of the group described it to me, it was supposed to be easy. I never knew it would turn out this way.”


“It’s no use crying over spilled milk Dav, and I have been patient enough with you at the moment, what the hell was the game you played?!”


“I’m not supposed to breathe a word of this to anyone who is not a member, for all I know there might be a monitoring bug on me, in my phone, or even in this house but since I am totally ruined, I have to tell you. It is called ‘the game of lords.’ It’s a large network of people and all the members are rich, I mean stinkingly rich but there are different categories of the rich there…those still looking for more money, those looking for pleasure, and the ones who make money off the other two. Ermm… we made big money offers on…on…peo…people’s life.”

He went silent, she saw his worried look and his eyes frantically searched her face for any reaction. What should she have done? Cry? Scream? All she felt like doing at that moment was laugh, laugh at the misfortune David had tabled before her and how unbelievable it seems. Isn’t this the kind of occurrence that one only see in movies? Maybe she has been jilted by David. Maybe he was a jigolo who had planned to ruin her alongside his scammer friends all this while? Has she become a victim of scam or?… Her thoughts were interrupted when David asked,


“Are you okay Al?”


“Of course I am, at least your head is still intact and not on the floor in pieces. A very good evidence that I am still very okay.”

There was a long pause and she had to scream at him to continue.


“Calm down Al, I will” Another agonizing silence then he continued.

“We gather at THE NIGHT’s galore, you know that big apartment at the east side of Johnsbuggert City. At first, we were placing hefty sums on animal fights. Each night, we get to pick sturdy animals of choice to fight against opponents for the night, I noticed they were fed substances, I don’t know what it is but it seems like drugs, they said it is meant to energize them. The winning animal takes home the prize, and the other one ends up dead or gets shot dead if injured. I wanted to opt out because the sights of this were too horrific for me. But the anchor persuaded me that it takes getting used to and I was going to lose the money I have invested without a dime returned to me if I opted out that early, so I stayed and kept losing each game. I won on my fifth trip to the club but several games later, here I am about to be a destitute.”


He paused, searching her face, she noticed the genuine look of concern on his face and she just shook her head and glared at him.
She had wasted years loving a foolish man.
He sighed and continued,

“It got worse Al, after my first month there they started bringing in human beings and we started betting on humans, able-bodied men. I wondered why they were taking such a risk, my guess was they were sweet-talked and promised heaven and earth and a truckload of profit like they did to me. The GOATS, we call them GOATS, they also ingest the powdery substance before they wrestle. It was no ordinary wrestling, they wrestled one another until death. The rule of the game was ‘You kill or you die’ It was as if everything was programmed. They let you get comfortable and they show you their true colors… the bets on the animals were like an initiation into their group and there is no turning back…it’s like…like crossing the Rubicon bridge. I tried hard to escape, to opt out but I was completely damned.”


He coughed, took a glance at my face, and continued.


“All I could do was keep playing, watch the gruesome game take place, loose and lend more and more money from other members and keep watching all over again as they wrestle relentlessly with one another, clawing blindly and breaking bones with each blow, none of the two fighters must rest, any slight attempt to rest from your GOAT is inviting death from the opponent and you, the GAME LORD losing money and the profits. It became a routine. Believe me, I tried but I was threatened, they threatened to falsely accuse me of all sorts of crimes so, I had to give in.”


The sound of Alfreda’s phone ringing had jolted the both of them. She looked across the bed at her phone and saw that it was the alarm she had set for 4 pm. The time had passed so quickly and David was still telling her what seemed like rubbish and seemed like the truth at the same time.

“You gave in to empty threats? Just like that?” Alfreda asked, she was about to reach the limit of her patience at that moment.


“I wish they were empty ones!” He cried.

STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 4

Categories
Story Time

Who Made David Mad? (EPISODE 2)

Alfreda knew immediately she saw the look on his face that David was in trouble. Big trouble. He is not difficult to read especially when something is bothering him and somehow, she is always quick to detect just like this moment.

She took a step away from the window planes, and turned to face him,
“David, you can’t pretend nothing is bothering you, it’s all over your countenance and I know deep down that something is wrong, this was further rooted when you raised your voice at me over the phone today. what exactly is the problem? I need to know,” She asked in a barely audible and persuasive tone.

A low groan escaped his lips and he pushed himself up against the pillow. She noticed he was trying not to make eye contact with her and that made her more agitated.

“Al, I’m deeply sorry for raising my voice at you. I don’t know how to begin telling you this, I’m so scared and afraid. Saying this might cause a rift between us and I don’t want that, Al. I would be able to bear this burden alone,” He said while still making efforts not to make eye contact with her.

“David, you not speaking to me about whatever is going on means only one thing, and it is that you do not trust me. I need to know what is eating you up, baby. Do you know how I feel? As if you built a shell around yourself and you’ve withdrawn into that shell, shutting me out. What you seem not to know is, that I’m not happy when you are not, Dav. So please, talk to me,” she pleaded.

“Sweetheart… er hmm…you see…one thing I want you to know is that I will never intentionally hurt you, you’ve always been my rock, always been there when I need you most, you prioritize me over anything else even your career and I feel like I am the luckiest man on earth every single day and I pray earnestly to God that I do not want to hurt you because I love you with all my heart, without you, my existence is meaningless, my life had a turn around when you came into it.”

At that moment She had struggled to even breathe as a blush crept up her neck and spread widely across her cheeks. Oh, how he has a sugar-coated tongue, he has always been that good with words, words that made her insides tingle.

She snapped back to reality, beginning to get impatient and it seemed as if he was deliberately stalling time. Was he pulling her legs?

“Baby, I know all this, just tell me what has been bothering you.”

“Al, you see…ermm…,” He paused to clear his throat

“I have wronged you, all we have built is down the drain..be..be..because of my stupidity. All our savings are gone, I sold off my car and yours, the new owner of your car is not yet here to pick it because I told him to wait until I have informed you. I’m sorry I did not do so before going ahead to sell it. Al, there’s no hope of getting a proper apartment again, I sold my position at the office too, and I took out loans in my name and yours. We’re in a huge debt and we’re back to square one.” Then he went silent.

She said it! He was pulling her legs or he was simply playing a prank on her like the videos she has been seeing all over the internet nowadays where people play pranks on their loved ones while a camera records somewhere across the room.

She stood up to ransack every nook and cranny of the room, scattering things along her trail, looking for the hidden camera. Surely, this must be a prank or if it turns out not to be that, then it must be a dream.

“Al, take it easy, what are you looking for? You’re scaring me this way, Al. Al?…Al?..Al!”

She turned towards him suddenly and snapped,

“For God’s sake, where did you hide the camera? Where is the damn camera? I know all this is a prank but it is not funny, when did you start shooting videos for comedies, Dav? You know I hate surprises like this and you should have told me beforehand. So, where exactly did you place the camera?”

While doing all that, her heart was slamming widely against her chest. She had looked straight into David’s eyes and what she saw horrified her. She saw guilt, anguish, and woe.

“Dav, you were playing a prank, right? You were trying to see what my reaction to that news would be, right? Are you being serious?”

“Yes, Al. I’m damn serious”

Her throat became dry and painful.

She sat on the bed next to him and said, “It’s no problem, all you spent was for the investment of your start-up company, right? The one you started alongside, Jide? Is it not moving according to plan? Do not worry, I understand. Everything will get into place soon. I know all this is to make our life and that of our children better and it’s not easy for a start-up company to boom immediately. We just have to trust God and put in more effort to make it work. Do you need more money, then? I can take out of my savings for you, baby”


“No, dammit! There was never a startup company Alfreda. Our lives are ruined!.”

“Our lives are ruined? Oh no, darling, I trust you”

Suddenly, something dawned upon her and she rushed towards her vanity table, opened the drawers, and ransacked it from top to bottom, she moved to their wardrobe, ransacked it, and still could not find the documents to both her car and his. She rushed downstairs and searched everywhere for her car keys but found nothing.

She had picked up the phone to call David’s friend, Jide, and cunningly asked Him about the start-up company and he denied having started something of such and even laughed at the idea of a start-up company.

She ended the call and put off her blouse to create a source of air herself as a wave of heat came upon her from nowhere and her throat felt tight. The atmosphere had been cold but it seemed as if she was in an incinerator.

This is a dream and she needed to wake up.

“Somebody wake me up,” she screamed

“Alfreda!” David called rushing down the stairs toward her

“Get it together, Al you’re not helping matters, you’re rather making it worse with your display. You know, I didn’t want to tell you. If I had known you’d go berserk like this, I wouldn’t have told you” He said with a straight face


“Make it worse? My display? You say all that to me? You sold my car, spent all our savings, did all sorts of things on only-God-knows-what without informing me and you dare say those words to me? I trusted you to know what you were doing but there was no company to start with. Oh God! I have been fooled. My head… My head is hot. Where did all the money go, Dav?”

She got no answer.

“What did you spend that money on before I go crazy? A mistress?”


“It was a game that was supposed to make me rich, The game took it all”

Right at that moment, she indeed went berserk

Then she laughed. She laughed like she never had in her entire life.



TO BE CONTINUED…