PROJECT LIVING-DEAD 3

Diya had been walking and running for the past five hours. Strangely, she did not feel fatigued. It felt like she had some sort of extra strength. Attached to the sudden strength she felt inside, came the feeling of being watched. She couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling of being followed and watched at the same time.

Stopping to study her environment, she looked around and realized she was some blocks away from her street. “It’s almost dawn,” she thought to herself. Just to confirm her thoughts, she heard the Muslim call to prayers, causing her to hasten her movement towards her street, as she didn’t want to meet anyone. She couldn’t trust her actions around people anymore.  

Standing in front of her apartment, Diya sucked in as much air as her lungs would allow at one time. It felt good to be home! Finally, here was somewhere she was familiar with. Raising her foot mat, she took her spare key and opened the door. “I need a hot shower and a good sleep,” she thought to herself as she pulled off the dress she had on and headed straight for the bathroom. 

“Doc, it seems she is back at her apartment; I just picked up a reading from there.”
“Good! just keep an eye out for her. We’ll let the General handle the job of bringing her back here, understood?”                                                                              “Yes sir.”
“I need to go freshen up and have a little rest; I’ll be back here by 11:00am. Keep an eye on things till I get back and call me only if there is an emergency. ONLY AN EMERGENCY, Tunde; hope you get that?” Dr. Bayo said, deliberately picking his words and pulling his ears to show his seriousness.
“Yes doc! No calls except there is an emergency,” Tunde replied, as he stared at his boss existing the building, while he tried to mask the annoyance almost contorting his face.

He was the better scientist and not Dr. Bayo! Heck, the idea and research on making a protoTYPE-C was his brainchild; but, because he needed funding, he had been forced to talk to his boss, Dr. Bayo, who had now taken over his entire work. “Anyway, all that would be remedied now,” Tunde said to himself.

Reducing the dosage of TYPE-C’s serum had been a brilliant idea, likewise the afterthought of leaving the mechanically locked room housing her, open, so she could escape. That was only the first step of his plan. Now, all he needed to do was send some men who would go get her and then, he would call the General and tell him of his exploits, which would only serve to further convince the General, how incompetent Dr. Bayo was and then, have Tunde, put in charge instead.

“I’m a genius and all is about to fall in place!” Tunde let out a sinister laughter as he threw his head back in abandon.

Diya stepped out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. However, her mind never stopped wondering how she got to that part of town so late at night and what she had seen and done to those men. The mere thought of it creeped her out. Shaking her head, she pushed off the thought from her mind and moved towards her kitchen to get something light to eat before she would take her usual long nap. Looking through her cabinet she could only find a half-empty pack of coco-pops and milk which she settled for, while making a mental record of things she needed around the house.

As she munched on her bowl of cereal, she suddenly sensed the presence of someone coming towards her front door; it was a female in her early twenties, quite stocky and unarmed. She put down her bowl and held on to her metal spoon which she hid at her back. She moved closer to the door.
The lady knocked on the door.
Diya stood there, hoping the lady would leave.
Tap! Tap! Tap! She knocked again.

“Diya open the door, it’s me, Flo. I saw you come in this morning.”

Stepping aside Diya, opened the door and was met with a tight embrace which she didn’t return.

“Where have you been? I have been worried sick about you! You’ve missed a lot of classes! No calls! nothing at all! What happened? It’s been 3months, Dee! 3months!” Flo, her full name, Florence, poured out without waiting for an answer to any of her questions and enquiries.

Diya stared at her with so much surprise, wondering how a human being could say so much within so few seconds.

“Well, are you going to answer me or you’re just going to stare at me like a statue!” Flo said as she pushed Diya slightly with her shoulders and returned to her akimbo state, waiting for an answer.

“Ummm…I’ve been sick,” Diya blurted out, hoping Flo wouldn’t pick up on her lie. Truth is, she didn’t know she had been away for that long. Everything was becoming more complicated than she thought it was.

“And...?” Flo questioned further, drawing Diya back from her reverie.

Feeling a little irritated at the many questions, Diya returned back to her cereal which was now soggy and put in a mouth full to prevent herself from answering more questions.

“Answer jor!” Flo questioned, more like a kid whose candy had been taken away.

Seeing her unwanted visitor was never going to let her be without an answer, Diya finally decided to give her a concocted story on how she had fallen terribly ill and how there were no good doctors there in Gusau who could treat her, hence her decision to go home.

“Hope you are better now?”

“Yes, I am; I just need to rest now and take my drugs,” Diya said, feigning weakness so she would get her to leave.

“Alright, I’ll allow you to rest. I’ll come check on you later and also, get your notes so I can help with them.” With that, she stepped out, leaving Diya to the quietness of her apartment.

Diya put away her unfinished bowl of cereal and shut her eyes so she could get a little sleep but, her head was flooded with Flo’s chatter about being away for 3months. Where the hell had she been all that time? Why couldn’t she remember? 3 months of her life gone! Just like that! 

Then, it happened again! She could sense them. Seven men, all heavily armed with automatic rifles silenced at the nozzle, were headed towards her apartment. Two of them were headed for the exit door at her backyard.
“Who were they? What did they want from her?” she asked herself.

Feeling the surge of that strange strength fill her again, she stepped into her kitchen and armed herself with a kitchen knife. “This is going to be a messy one,” she said to no one in particular as she hid behind her front door.