EPISODE 10

As you brave your way in this evil forest, you must stay alert. Keep your eyes open for the signs that others do not see. You will likely become lost, and doubtless you will find yourself getting deeper into the secluded parts of this evil haunted forest, a forest with all kinds of ghosts, black sucking creatures, they are all hungry, hungry and angry for revenge. Hungry for your fresh brain, yes, hungry for your warm blood, soft tissues from your body, but take heart, as this is only bringing you closer to your goal. True revenge knows the meaning of patience. Ones inside that frightening forest, you will be on your own and return to your land is impossible. You must persist now, whatever should come your way. Night in this place is not friendly to any human beings, and the seething things that splitter and click in the dark places of this part of forest are always hungry. It may be a chilling long distance, or it may be miles, but eventually, you will come across a thick glade of ancient oak trees. There will be no mistaking this location. As you pass through the trees, you will hear eerie sounds, don't look back, you are on your own, don't be distracted. Just buckle up your guts and keep moving. As you reach the edge of the wood, you will find a skull, still fresh, freshly cut, blood oozing out, like maggots, but it will smile at you, "My name is Matendechere welcome to the land of the spirits." It will wink at you and point at the axe that sacked its life out. Yes, an axe, it has fresh blood and some hair on the sharp edge. The axe will appear to be swinging, as if someone is raising it up, unclear figure, but too unfortunate. Keep moving if you believe that you are still alive, keep moving faster for your life. They are watching you, you don't when they will sack up someone's blood. No it may not be you, or maybe it is you. Keep moving until you reach an open into a large, rectangular field, surrounded on all sides by the forest. The ground itself will be withered and barren, ringed by the blighted remains of plants that foolishly grew too close to this sanctuary. The air here will be cold and acrid, and you will likely begin to feel weak as the very ground you stand on repels the life burning viciously inside you. It is here, in the Centre of this place, that you will find the ogrism tail. However, be able to make out the distinct form of a human body, rising up in mock crucifixion, Its flesh all rotted out and dried. Over Its head. Its face will be completely obscured to you. This is an ancient and sacred thing, an altar and effigy to a thing older than the ground upon which you stand. It will not do to dwell upon its nature, as this is something far beyond mortal comprehension, and to glimpse upon It would be to see into the very primordial ether of creation itself. In Its right hand, you will see, clutched tight, an axe you just saw with a handle carved from bone. Remember the magic sword, hold it tightly in your hands. That's the sorcerer's sword. Take a good revenge for her, avenge for her horrible death, you will send her spirit to eternal peace and you will have an ogrism tail to avenge for your land. You are free to go, if only you have fought, and fought dirty, but make haste. Doubtless you will have little time left before the dying sun sets beyond the horizon. As you make your way back out through the forest, you will no longer hear the tranquil silence. The air will be filled with whispers, with the recitation of sins and wicked deeds Imboko did. Do not linger here. Run as fast as you can toward the direction of the setting sun. The shadows of this place will begin to grow and shift, but if you have followed these directions perfectly, just as the sun sinks down, a blinding flash should consume the horizon, and when it fades, you should be back in the ogrism cage waiting to cut its tail as they feed on the flesh of the only sorcerer who was left in Igodo forest. Abednego was so keen, his eyes were curious waiting to accomplish his mission. But he was told to be on the watch to the surrounding, it shall out at any given moment. That's when the magic knife will do magic, it has to cut, a single cut through the ogrism tail. He will not know how it shall come out of the cage to also avenge, but he has to be careful. They are everywhere now, some are coming, they smelled their food, the voice could be heard, it rendered the air. Suddenly an ear splitting scream pierced the air, shaking the silence of the woods in to shock and causing Abednego to panic. He gasped and quick as a flash took cursed aloud and spat, frustration clouding his head. It was a good few seconds before he even stopped to think where the scream had come from. Then like a falling tree it hit him. He sprinted back up as fast as he could. It came straight from the cage. It took him about two minutes to reach the spot, next to the weird pile of rocks. Abednego's brow was covered in sweat, his hand gripping the sword firmly. He yelled out, his voice travelling through the woods and echoing off the trees. It was getting darker and tall shadows were being cast all around him like a net. Abednego stood and looked around to see if there was any other that might have come outside the cage. He was just about to run further up to the safe place when he saw it making its way towards him. On the other side of the cage about fifty yards away it stood, tall as the lowest branches of the oak tree next to it about seven foot up. It was covered in black rags, ripped and torn across its thin, wiry body with a hood pulled tightly around its head, obscuring it’s features. Two white, pupil-less eyes stared at Abednego from the shadowed recess and he spied the flash of teeth. Long slender arms with hook like fingers spraying off of stumped hands almost dragged against the floor by its sides. He suddenly noticed an over powering smell and wondered how I’d missed it, I’d smelt it before, it was the smell of death, thick and despairing. Abednego almost choked but his mouth wouldn’t make a sound, he just kept staring at it, petrified, blood running cold through his veins. Even the birds had stopped yelling in protest and now there was nothing but silence, it and Abednego; locked in a gaze that he would remember to the last point. He don’t know how long he was standing like that, it felt like minutes but it was probably only a few seconds. Suddenly, it shifted its weight and hunched down. For a brief second he thought it was going to start running at him and he almost threw up, uncontrollable fear racking his body, but then he noticed it had stooped to collect something from the ground. Abednego took out the magic calabash, aimed at it, it connected with it’s thigh, knocking it back. He took the distraction and spun around, leaping for the edge of the depression and grabbing a hold. He has to fight and overpower it, it has no strength, the food was weakening it slowly by slowly, its tail has grown and ready to be cut. Any delay and the tail will vanish causing it to regain its strength. Abednego has to act quickly, otherwise, it will be too late for him. "Poor Abednego, pick up your self and fight like a warrior!" He heard encouraging voices from the blues. "Fight for your life, fight for your village, fight and avenge for the innocent souls that were burned to death," the voice rung vividly in his ears. He felt hooked fingers brush the bottom of his skin shoe. The whole while he could hear it crashing through the trees after him. If the magic calabash hadn’t hit it in the thigh he don’t think if he would have stood a chance. He felt adrenaline coursing through him so violently. The ogrism was now panting heavily, with range, sprinting faster to grab Abednego with its claws. Suddenly, the ogrism was gradually gaining and changing into something else, its head was a perfect sphere while its body was like a worm, it shuffled towards Abednego emerging from the shadows, it was now in a size one can't describe. Then a pair of tail sprouted from its back. The tail worm (as I will now refer to it) hovered momentarily, its seemingly never ending number of claws that now forming. It staring at Abednego. "When you it changing, run...for your life, you may not be able to cut its tail." Abednego remembered what Matendechere told him. "No, this is the moment, it is either now or never," Abednego boldly declared, though he was paralyzed with fear. He didn’t know what it was up to, what it was going to do with him, all he did know was that he was all alone, in a place he might never leave. It began advancing towards him. His shaking legs began to c***k and split as an unfathomable amount of claws shot out from this unbelievable ogrism. Abednego ran to cover to protect himself, his eyes glued on it. It had huge glowing red eyes. Its skin was now the tone of rotting flesh. No hair on it now, this beast has stripped bare but only the torso and above were visible, the rest were still submerged. It stretched its two pairs of arms. Abednego was unable to move he was sandwiched in between the trees. It stretched its hands to grab him.Abednego garnered all his strength, turned to face it and with a swift flick of the wrist cut the hands that were almost grubbing his neck. It staggered back. A bit further back than he wouldn't have imagined. It fell. He don’t remember if he hit the creature, he do however remember, falling and falling and falling. Until he was completely absorbed into the ditch some meters from the cage. He lay down unconscious, no one to help, no strength, he was hit on the log and blood was gushing out profusely. He opened his eyes but he couldn't see anything, only flickers, he heard it coming, something holds his leg. It is ogrism, it drags him on the ground making its way into the woods. The back bag still intact on his bag, though he is faint, no strength left in him. It drags him mercilessly through the woods and thorns, his entire body was now full of blood. "I have to do something," he was collecting himself. If he can't figure out something so first he will be finished and Igodo forest will never be at rest. Many will end up losing their lives as Imboko feeds on them. He has been dragged like eight meters away from where it came for him. It leaves him there on the ground and goes for Abednego's sword that was on the ground. Abednego took out the magic calabash, aimed at it, it connected with it’s thigh, knocking it back. He took the distraction and spun around, leaping for the edge of the depression and grabbing a hold. He has to fight and overpower it, it has no strength, the food was weakening it slowly by slowly, its tail has grown and ready to be cut. Any delay and the tail will vanish causing it to regain its strength. Abednego has to act quickly, otherwise, it will be too late for him. "Poor Abednego, pick up your self and fight like a warrior!" He heard encouraging voices from the blues. "Fight for your life, fight for your village, fight and avenge for the innocent souls that were burned to death," the voice rung vividly in his ears. He felt hooked fingers brush the bottom of his skin shoe. The whole while he could hear it crashing through the trees after him. If the magic calabash hadn’t hit it in the thigh he don’t think if he would have stood a chance. He felt adrenaline coursing through him so violently. The ogrism was now panting heavily, with range, it lifts the sword in the air swings it to s***h him, poor Abednego, this is an evil forest, Igodo. He opens his faint eyes, looks at the sword that is now close up above him, he closes his eyes as he bids the sky above farewell. Silence closes on him followed by a loud thud. A voice is heard, he opens his eyes ones more, looks up in the sky to where he had seen the sword swaying above him, death beckoning him. There was no one, but there it was, the ogrism. It has fallen down beside him with a loud thud, its head splattered on the ground. Whatever that had happened, heaven knows better. All he knows is that he was still alive, the breath of life was still in him. The voice came. "Cut the tail, do faster!" he heard a familiar voice. Before he could realize what was going on he was already on his feet, frightened and his hand shaking the knife was thrown at him and he did as he was instructed. He cut the ogrism tail, lifted it up and his eyes brightened. To his amazement, there he was, standing upright with a calabash in her hand. "W...what, h..how did you get here and where is Kipili?" Abednego was astonished. Nina shouted at him and told him they don't have time, rather they should get moving away from the evil forest. Nina got another magic calabash from the old woman, Matendechere. The calabash was to give them power against any evil spirit in the forest of Igodo. Nina saved Abednego from the ogrism. So, all they do is to run as fast as they could. They were to run away from Igodo forest before other ogrisms realized what has happened to one of them. The long road seemed to go on and on. The road continued to stretch in front of them endlessly. The light that shone through the branches of the tall, green trees danced across the forest in random patterns, and every once and a while, obnoxiously shining in their eyes as they run. The surroundings were full of deep green trees forming a forest around the road. The only sound was the sound of the groaning ogrism as it traveled down the path. It was frightening and left a frenzy feeling. Nina's facial expression was gloomy and sad by the time she was searching for Abednego, although she genuinely looked like someone who smiled a lot by the time she met Matendechere. Her skin clothes she had worn before were so shredded and bloodstained that they weren’t wearable anymore. The right side of her face bared a few cuts along with a split eyebrow. Her right arm was having a scar all the way to the shoulder, which had been shredded when his right side hit hard at the ogrism. Her injuries appeared to be painful, when in reality she couldn’t feel anything. This was just one of the glories of being a determined woman. One of the challenges she had to face while growing up was growing up with a rare disease that caused her to be completely numb towards pain. Never before had she felt herself get hurt. She could have lost an arm and felt nothing. The other major disorder she had faced, which was the one that deemed her many insulting nicknames in the short time Abednego wasn't around. She would c***k his neck uncontrollably and twitch every once in a while thinking about her life. The neighbours would take advantage of her, they mocked her with exaggerated twitching and laughing. It got so bad she had to figure out how to revenge. It was too hard for her to be in a common cruel environment with seemingly every neighbour poking, or more like stabbing, fun at her. Abednego with his limping leg thought about, unconsciously replaying everything he remembered before he blacked out, over and over again. He had been the one; his wife came to his rescue. When the thought of being rescued by his wife came, he couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes. The horrible memories replayed in his mind. Her screaming that had cut off when the ogrism was wrestling him down smashed in. It all went blank for a moment before he opened his eyes to see ogrism body, it's forehead pierced with glass shards, it's lips and legs crushed under the force of the impact and its torso pushed in from the ground. That was the last thing he had seen as the wife shouted at him to cut the tail. The road in the deep forest of Igodo continued on for what seemed like forever. The hours passed slowly, and Nina couldn’t quit tossing and turning. Every time he let his imagination take over, he heard the ogrism screaming behind them. They had run so miles away from the attacker, so they decided to rest down. After a few seconds Abednego stood up, hunched over, holding his head and breathing roughly, tears streaming from his eyes. He couldn’t help but cry. He tried to keep it in, but he couldn’t stop the whining and whimpering as he sat there shaking. He inhaled before he stood up and walked around the place they halted to rest taking deep breathes trying to calm down. He rubbed his eyes and looked out at the group of tall pine trees across. He stopped suddenly, and his gaze slowly centered on something standing under the stree. He heard ringing in his ears and couldn’t look away. The figure stood beside the tree about two feet shorter than it did, long arms draped at its sides as it stared up at him with non-existing eyes. The figure had no facial features to speak of. No eyes, no mouth, no nose, yet it held a hypnotized stare, seemingly peering into his very being. The ringing in his ears grew louder and louder each second he stared before suddenly it all went black. Nina struck the magic calabash on the ground, the second time she strike they found themselves out of the forest but in a certain unfamiliar place. They were exhausted, they went to a certain house which they saw, entered in. It was a deserted house but looked somehow safe. She went to a another room saw a bed, though it was total darkness. She lay still in the darkness, not daring to make a single sound. For hours she had lay awake in that black room, shivering with terror. She held herself tightly as to not ruffle the sheets which she griped with vise-like strength. She chewed on her tongue as to insure that her teeth not chatter, ignoring the taste of her own warm, salty blood. She dared not make the softest whisper for fear of the place, they were still in the territory of the beasts. She awoke hours ago to a faint breeze, which tingled down her spine, rattling her core and suddenly was shook by a hot burst of air rushing against her skin. The shock of the chill and sudden burn startled her as she awoke to the sight of bright yellow-green eyes that watched over her that night. For hours now, she had gripped some sheets she found on the bed, depressed on her tongue and has been sweating drops of terror from her skin. She felt the heavy yellow glow press down upon her like a mega-tonne, perversely watching her cower under her soft quilt. She began to grow tired and her eyelids dropped and she was finally at rest for the first time in hours. When she opened her eyes again the yellow light blinded her and without a sound, her demonic intruder was face to face with her; in this moment she shrieked out a primal scream of sheer terror which the creature bathed in with great pleasure, as it seemed to feed on her very fear. The next morning she awoke perfectly fine as if nothing had occurred that night. She assured herself it was simply a nightmare. As she stood up she realized that the window was open, and in that moment she felt the cold breeze that awoke her last night. That’s when she saw the claw marks which scratched the window frame and ran up and down the bricks of the side of that strange house. She took a deep breath and prepared to let out a scream like the scream she unleashed that night but, to her horror she was incapable of uttering a single sound. The creature had devoured her voice. "This is still a haunted place," she told Abednego. "We are still far deep in the forest, but at long last we have an ogrism tail so we don't have to be afraid," she went on. "Have you ever had a dream where you were somewhere you did not belong, perhaps. you panic as you’re unsure what you are supposed to be doing and everything seems off?" She asked Abednego. "If reality seeps its way into your dream and you remember you don’t belong here. As I tell you my story I want you to keep such feelings in mind because it is the only way I know that may describe what I went through," Anednego answered her. That very moment they heard a familiar sound of my Matendechere calling them. she called several times. They didn't know that Matendechere will follow them in the spirit after getting an ogriam tail. They slowly got out bewildered. Looking around Nina felt nostalgic. Matendechere was there in a spirit form. She told them it was now time to rush back to Namamali village and save them from that ccruel king Imboko. That it was time to liberate the people of Namamali village and those whose blood was shed. She gave them a secret on what they were to do with that ogrism tail ones they reach the village. She performed some magic on Abednego's wounds and Nina's woumb. To their surprise the wounds dried and the skin became soft as if nothing had happened. Matendechere assured them that all shall be well and that she will avail herself whenever she will realize that they are in trouble. "I missed the scorching wind of Namamali. How it pours sunlight onto your face, toying with eyelashes, flattening dry sand against cheeks and milling around hair. I missed the smell of the valley and that ripening softness glistening in the afternoon breeze," said Abednego. From up from where they were they could see their house, the calabash has worked magic. This is how they got up here, to the top of this hill, where they were standing now. The climbed all the way up there, so they can finally end it all – all these years of vagrancy and fugue, exile and fear. This is where it’s all going to come to an end. Matendechere an old woman spirit has indeed by the use of calabash magic enabled them to get out of Igodo forest. Now, they have an assignment, assignment to set the village free from the hands of the evil king Imboko. They were instructed use the ogrism tail. But for now, they were enjoying the view of the valley unfolding below. They were sipping the air of what could be their welcome to a new assignment of liberation. She will show up soon. She always does. Like a shadow, she’s been following them right on their footsteps, always there, behind them. And there she is! Her limping figure appears behind the sharp bend off Abednego. Nina looks up and she sees them, then stops for a moment to catch her breath and leans on the calabash, as if assessing the remaining trajectory for this final stretch, then resumes her walk reassuring them that it is going to be well. Years of endless chase took a toll on her body. She now believes her ghost will go to rest ones Abednego and the wife Nina accomplishes the mission. Finally, they started laying strategies to go get the king and secure others trapped in the kings courts. "Kipili will be back to me," smiled Nina. Imboko was having a magical powers too, he has a spirit guiding him but with ogrism tail in ones hand you can strike it with knife. Ones eliminated the king will be powerless. Imboko pulled his cigarettes, got one from the case, he put it in mouth as the lady working as a helper steps in to light for him. He puffed and blow out smoke in the air with a sigh of relief and settled into a very comfortable chair behind a large writing desk. Late afternoon sun filtered in through the bay window but couldn’t defeat the darkness of the his refurbished house, nor the drowsiness of his mood. Luckily, he had had the mind to call his soldiers and gave them some instructions. The place had no lights so he asked one of his men to pack a few battery-powered lanterns, and one of them now provided enough illumination to take around the palace. He reminiscent how he poured the bowels of his brother to take up the kingship. Imboko has killed so many people, he has subjected many of them into total t*****e, but he loves it. Every tickling second, he loves seeing someone writhing in pain. His magic powers can't be argued, he has total protection, all around the palace. He squeezes his big magic wring on his index finger, he goes as far as squeezing the bridge of his nose and releases an exhausted breath. He had admittedly taken the loss of his brother very hard, as he was a kind, bright, thoughtful man taken way by him before his time, but he was a lucky man, raising to the kingly throne. He wings at something that can't be seen by n***d eyes, it is his guardian spirit. The one that protects him from being haunted. The spirit posses same qualities of death and had been giving the king Imboko protection of all kinds. the entire moment had been nothing more than a dream. Yet, as a large hand rose from the inky waters to engulf his own, Abednego felt his hope slip away just as easily as the the rock he had held so firmly in his grasp. As another arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him roughly against a hard chest, Abednego found he had lost the will to fight and instead he dangled from the man’s arms as pathetically as broken doll. The other wasted no time as he pulled them both from the lake, pausing only to toss the rock back into the murky lake. Before he threw him to the ground once again. Grunting in pain, Abednego turning over onto his back to looking up at the man who now stood towering above him so threatening. The spirit can tell if there's any negative plot against the king. It can smell, it can sense and it can also repel any charms send to the king. The guardian spirit has genes that seemingly came from the woman believed to be an ancient woman who used to boil little children, drunk their soup and ate their flesh every evening.