in by one of the terrorists. He had sworn
that he will not give the code to the
terrorists no matter what. But now he
was not so sure. His wife looked at him
and he looked away. Whatever her face
going to say, he was not ready to see.
“So Mr President, now we have your wife
here. What do you say?”
“Don’t give them anything they ask for
Johnson!” His wife shouted. “They’re
going to kill me anyway.”
“She’s right, we will kill her anyway, if
that’s what she wants. But do you want
her to suffer before she dies?”
Lange kept his head down. There had to
be another way. He heard some
movement and he looked up; the terrorist
approached his wife and put his hand
around her head.
“Wait! Take your hands off my wife you
filthy animal!”
“I don’t have time to waste Mr President,
give me what I want or…”
Lange said and sighed. “Alright, here
goes.”
“Smart decision, Mr President. Let’s hear
it.”
“Seven, Lima, Yankee, Echo, Two, Eight,
Foxtrot.”
“Thank you Mr President, you are my
hero.” The masked terrorist said.
Lange shook his head and looked up at
his wife, she was crying. He knew he was
the reason she was in so much trouble.
Even if the terrorist did not kill them,
there was no way he was going to be
able to face her anymore.
He had given the terrorists a code but he
knew it was only a matter of time before
they were back. And this time, he would
really have to make a choice between his
wife and the whole world.
***
Eric could feel their gaze, he hated that
the whole world depended on him dying
– or worse.
“Alright, I will do it.” Eric said and he
saw their faces light up.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Orunmila asked.
“Want to? Nope! But I realise what it
means, so yeah, I will do it.”
“Okay then, there is no time to waste,
you have to head to the portal right
away.” Orunmila said and paused. “This
is the might be the last time I see you
all, only Edumare knows what will
happen out there.”
“Wait a minute, you are not coming?”
Ogun asked.
“No, I cannot interfere in these matters. I
will be watching you and if Edumare
agree, I will send as many Aljanus as I
can.”
“Before you go Orunmila, I need to ask
you something.” Eric said and walked
towards Orunmila. “If I die, where do I
go?”
“You are coming home to Edumare. Not
as a god but as human.”
“Hmm, and if I go to Hades, do I have a
chance of ever leaving?”
“I’m sorry but no. Only Ibilis has the keys
to Hades from the inside.”
“Okay, I’d better die then. Let’s go.”
***
There was a bounce in his step as he
walked to the transmitting device.
Everything was coming together for him
and soon he would have the world in his
hand. There was still the challenge of
outwitting Ibilis but he would cross that
bridge when he got there. For now, he
had to get the darkness into as many
countries as the device controlled.
“Alright, Professor, give us your code.”
“Okay sir!” The professor said and
handed a paper to the man seated in
front of the device.
The device was not very big; it was just a
small electronic and magnetic device
connected to a computer. But the people
who built it had no idea what powers it
had – Ibilis did. It would not be as easy
to get other Presidents to surrender as it
was with Lange but he already had a
plan to counter that.
But first, he had to get the device
working.
“How is it going?” Sarkin Aljan asked the
technician working on the device.
“It’s taking a long time to activate sir.”
The technician said.
“Of course, it is. Do you think it is your
blackberry you are trying to activate?”
“Okay sir.”
He turned away from the man and looked
at the Professor. When his men told him
he was going to help them, he was
surprised. But really he should not have,
loyalty was a rare virtue among humans.
Gods were not any different, he knew
that from his personal behavior. He had
betrayed Edumare by agreeing to work
with Ibilis. He turned away from the
professor, he reminded him of himself,
reminded him too much. There was no
way the professor would last long.
“Sir, there is a problem!” The technician
said.
Sarkin Aljan rushed to his side, he could
not afford to have a problem, not now
when he was so close.
“What is it?”
“One of the sets of codes was wrong.”
Sarkin Aljan turned and punched the
wall! “He thinks he can mess with me.”
“We have only one more try or the device
goes into full lock-down!”
He stormed out of the room and walked
towards the president. He would not
allow a common human trifle with his
plan.
He entered the room and grabbed the
first lady. He motioned to one of his
men.
“Grab him, he gave us the wrong code.”
He would torture both of them till he got
what he wanted.
“Listen up Mr. President. I should have
known you will pull something like this,
so here is how it will go. I will torture
your wife till you give me the correct
code, and whatever pain you thought you
felt, it won’t even be compared to what
she will feel.”
He placed his hand on the woman’s head
and she began to shout. Lange was
shouting alongside her but he did not
stop. He wanted her to feel the pain, he
wanted Lange to see her pain, maybe
then he would realize he meant business.
“Stop it! I will give you what you want!”
“Okay, I will pause. But if you give as
much as one wrong digit or letter, you
and her and everyother member of your
family will live with pain the rest of your
life. Believe me, you don’t know the
beginning of the pain I can bring.”
“You won’t have to. I’ll give it to you.
God help us.”
Good.
***
“This is it!” Eric said.
They were not very far from the portal
now. Anne looked across the space that
separated them from the building
housing the portal. It would not be easy
crossing, there were men, several of them
pacing around the house – heavily armed
too.
“They were not this many earlier.”
Damola said. “Well, I guess I’m to blame
for this number of men then.”
“There could be another reason.” Eric
said.
“Are you sure you are up for this?” Anne
asked Damola.
He was well built, she knew he could hold
his own in a fight but she feared for him.
Ogun could stop the guns the men
carried so the fight was going to be
fought by hand, but still the terrorists
had the advantage of their numbers.
“I am fine.” Damola replied. “I think you
are over-thinking this. We have a plan,
let’s follow it.”
Anne sighed and stepped forward. She
raised her hand and stretched it towards
the building. A gentle wind started to
blow in front of the building and then it
started to increase in speed. The men in
front of the building protected their eyes
from the dust that was thrown up in the
wind.
It was time for Ogun. Anne kept her eyes
on the men. Ogun needed to get close to
them before he could knock off their
guns, it was her duty to keep them
distracted. It appeared she was doing a
good job, the men did not look in Ogun’s
direction until he had their guns bent and
knocked out of their hands. It was easy,
too easy.
“It’s time to get you into that room Esu.”
Esu and Damola joined her and they
moved towards the men.
“What the hell is that?” Esu esclaimed.
Anne looked ahead and shivered. It was
the damn dog – Manzo!
“What do we do?” Anne asked.
“We fight it!” Damola said.
“Not you Damola.” Anne said. She could
not bear to see him fight the monstrous
beast. “Stay behind please.”
Damola rushed towards the dog before
she could stop him. She screamed and
ran after him. A hand grabbed her and
pulled her to a stop. She pulled away
from the hand and towards Damola but
the hand held her still. She looked up at
the owner of the hand, it was Ogun.
“Get Esu into that building, I will take
care of the dog.”
“But Damola is…”
“I will take care of Damola too. Just
make sure Esu is able to end the portal.”
Anne held Esu’s hand and they ran
towards the building. They crashed in
through the door and stopped just before
the barricade.
“How do I get in?” Esu asked. “I need
Ogun to get in.”
“Okay, I will get him. Stay here, don’t
leave!”
She turned back and opened the door.
She felt a sharp pain pierce through her
stomach and she staggered backwards.
She looked at her stomach, there was a
dagger sticking out of it. She looked up
and saw the man that had put it in her.
She pointed her hand towards him and
he was blasted away by a burst of wind.
She fell to the ground and groaned.
“Anne!” She heard Damola’s voice shout.
She leaned a hand on the wall and
pushed herself to stand, the dagger
turned and she fell back to the ground.
Damola got to her and picked her up.
“Anne, stay with me.”
“I love you Sango!” She said.
“Stay with me please.” He shouted.
She smiled and closed her eyes.
***
Sarkin Aljan looked at the device load.
Lange had been wise enough to give him
the right code this time. He would have
access to all the commonwealth
countries in two minutes. It would take
another ten minutes for those countries
to start getting fed the darkness.
He looked away from the screen and
began to pace. Soon he would have all
he wanted since he got to Earth. He still
had to deal with Ibilis but he knew that
would work for him. Once the whole of
mankind was at his mercy, even Edumare
will reason with him.
“It is completed sir!” The technician said.
“Good, connect to the portal.” Sarkin
Aljan said.
“In ten minutes, I will have the world
jumping at the snap of my fingers.”
All he needed now was for the portal to
do what it was created for. Everything
was going great!
***
“Esu, if we don’t get this done now, we
will all be dead!” Ogun shouted.
Damola wanted to get up and rip the
man’s head off. But no, he could not let
go of his Oya. His body shook and the
tears streamed down his face. He could
not lose her, not now when they finally
had a chance to stay together.
“Esu! The barricade is open, it’s time to
go!”
Damola looked up at Esu, he saw the
reluctance in his face. He did not blame
him, it was a difficult thing to do. He
would gladly take his place, especially
now that his only reason for living was
no more, but he could not.
“Are you going to do this or not?” Ogun
was getting more agitated.
Esu walked towards him, his eyes on
Anne.
“If she somehow survives this, tell her I
was glad to meet her.” Esu said to him.
“She is a very nice person. And if she
doesn’t, then I guess I will be seeing her
on the other side then.”
“I can’t take this crap anymore!” Ogun
said
Ogun walked towards them, grabbed Esu
and carried him towards the portal.
“What are you doing?” Esu shouted.
“I’m throwing you in the portal, I suggest
you do what you have to.”
“What? Wait a minute.”
Damola tried to stand but he was held
down by the weight of Anne. What was
this crazy man doing? It was dangerous.
“Hey, stop it!” Damola shouted. “Hey!”
Ogun threw Esu into the portal and the
room suddenly became filled with smoke.
Damola carried Anne and struggled to his
feet. He stumbled towards the portal, he
got to the barricade and stopped.
The portal had darkened. He looked
around for Esu and Ogun, they were not
in the room!
Had he really lost all the other gods?
Was he the only one left, and without any
power? Was this Edumare’s plan? He
looked up and screamed!
***
Something was wrong! The portal had
suddenly lost connection. He had shot
the technician in a moment of anger and
panic. He had no idea what was
happening and he had no way of finding
out. He pulled his phone out of his
pocket and dialed the number of one of
the guards stationed with the portal.
He waited and listened as the phone
rang; there was no answer. Something
was wrong, he knew it! He redialed. What
could have gone wrong? He had made
sure Sango could never get through to
the portal and the Professor said he had
had somebody take care of Esu.
“Hello.” His man finally answered the
call.
“You idiot, where have you been? What’s
going on with the portal?” Sarkin Aljan
screamed into the phone.
“Sarkin Aljan…” The voice came through
the phone softly. “It is over. The portal
has been destroyed!”
No way!
“Who is this?”
“I advise you to run because I’m coming
for you and I won’t stop till I kill you!”
It was Sango! He ended the call and
dropped the phone.
It was over for him. He had to escape
into a place he could not be found by
Ibilis. He looked at the President and his
wife passed out on the floor, he stepped
across them and ran out of the room.
It was great that he had a Plan B.
He had lost the battle but he would still
win the war!
EPILOGUE
“This was your plan?” Orunmila asked.
He knew he could and should never
question Edumare but he had to, just this
once!
“They lost to Sarkin Aljan! I could have
done something about it! They lost!”
“Did they lose Orunmila? Do you really
believe that they lost?” Edumare asked.
“They are all destroyed. Even Sango who
still stands is nothing but a good-for-
nothing human.”
“Is that what you think humans are?
Good for nothing?”
“I did not mean it that way my Lord.”
Orunmila said, bowing before the throne.
“But surely my Lord cannot be pleased by
this outcome.”
“They saved the world even if they gave
themselves doing it.”
“So they are lost forever my Lord?”
Edumare looked away from him and into
the distance.
Orunmila knew that look, there was
something coming. He smiled, there was
something coming, something great!
There was something coming!
.
.
.
Author’s Note: Thanks to everyone who
followed this story. This is however a
first draft of the first draft, so I will be
making several adjustments to the plot,
the structure everything. Thanks for
following though.
