2022-10-29 22:47:44The phone rang the second time before Boma answered it drowsily with her eyes barely opened.
“Who …who’s on the line?”
“I’m sorry to wake you up at his time, it’s me…its Tamunotonye.”
She immediately sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes and pushing away her blanket.
“How was it, what happened…you’ve been on my mind since you left.”
“Listen, I’m not ready to answer all your questions, but the freaky initiation went on well. ‘Stage one’ is complete, that’s all I can say.”
“So where are you now?”
“I’ll see you when the time’s right…”
“What do you mean when the time’s right, can’t you come over to my office?”
“Even if I came to your office, you won’t be able to see me.”
The line went dead, while Boma stared at the phone screen, which displayed the time duration of our conversation. The time on my wristwatch showed sixteen minutes past six in the morning. The initiation had taken the whole night and the entire morning.
Strangely enough, I neither felt tired nor drowsy, while I kept walking from Rumuokoro junction to the school my mother once taught – Federal Government College Rumuokoro. For a moment, I thought about the two security guards at the school’s entrance and how I was going to come out of the whole Marine Brothers Society affair after accomplishing my ‘mission.’
Soon, I reached the entrance, which comprised of two gates – one which served as the entrance and the other for the exit.
I hesitated as I looked around the whole place. It was so quiet, so calm, and so academic. I resumed walking again and passed through the gate like a ghost. I really did not realise why I was walking inside the school, but all I knew was that I walked past the Principal’s residence, through a tarred road and soon stopped inside a small field covered with grass.
The moment I stopped, very close to the administrative block, I suddenly felt calm and had peace of mind. Standing on the field, my whole attention was on the weather, as I expected another ‘mystery in the sky,’ like the one that took place before my initiation.
My right foot soon kicked a small black box on the field, which was large enough to contain a masculine wristwatch. I picked it up and thought maybe it belonged to a passer-by who had accidentally dropped it, or someone must have kept it there, hoping to retrieve it later…
What the hell, finders, keepers, I whispered too myself, unaware of the nasty surprise about to take place. Few moments later, I was taken aback as my eyes beheld an immaculate black and gold signet ring in a black plastic holder inside the box, with the inscription – Marine Brothers Society atop the ring.
I held the ring in my right hand, brought it closer to my eyes and observed it carefully. The main body was made of pure gold, while the top was black, but for the Marine Brothers Society inscription on the circular space, which was in gold. Examining the signet ring closely,
I soon observed that my first name: Tamunotonye inscribed inside the ring, in the form of a depression.
If I tell whoever is reading this narrative, that I realised when I slipped the ring onto the little finger on my right hand, I would be telling a lie and deceiving myself at the same time.
Immediately I slipped it on, it fitted perfectly and I felt an extraordinary power within me – indescribable, invisible and invincible. For a moment, I felt like a demi-god with limitless powers, but I knew I had lost something very vital as a human being – my emotions.
While the morning began to dawn slowly, I knew I would never lose the spirit of vengeance, because it was my driving force and the main reason I’d joined Marine Brothers Society. I looked at my wristwatch and it was seven minutes past seven in the morning as I began to walk towards the car park in front of the administrative block.
I wouldn’t want to describe myself as a heartless brother, as I touched the katana which now hung by a special belt on my waist. But I could confidently say that I could kill anyone without a second thought, or at the slightest pretext, without any feeling of remorse afterwards.
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TALES OF THE ATLANTIC CHAPTER TEN
I walked confidently with every stride, before stopping at the end of the car park. Students were nowhere in sight, as some of the non-academic staff could be seen walking to their posts and offices to resume duty for the last working day of the week.Almost ten minutes later, a blue SUV slowly rolled into the last space in the car park. On closer observation, I realised it was a Ford product, big, stylish with tinted glasses and definitely expensive.I couldn’t say this was part of the initiation ceremony, since the initiation had been concluded with congratulations from the goddess of perfection herself. I looked at the ring on my right hand as I brought the katana closer to my left side. Some moments later, I realised it was rather unnecessary as a lady came down from the driver’s seat in the SUV, came round and faced me after removing her sunglasses.“Good morning your…your utmost perfection…”“Good morning Mr Tamunoonye. A wonderful day it is… or would I say, a perfect morning?”
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The goddess looked sober as she stood akimbo, while scanning the entire compound.“From the moment an initiate joins Marine Brothers Society, he or she is to ‘deliver’ persons of certain categories whenever the ‘need’ arises.”“What are you talking about, your utmost perfection?”“What I mean is that an initiate does not ‘deliver’ any kind of person and expect the right results. The person to be delivered must conform to the category the initiate has been assigned to.”She soon turned and faced me like an elementary school teacher, explaining an important point to a confused pupil.“Take for instance your friend Timothy – he has been assigned to ‘deliver’ only single ladies, whether they’ve had children or not.”I smiled at her last statement, because as someone who knew Timothy very well, I didn’t need anyone to tell me that he’d been assigned to a befitting category…“You… since you are a new initiate and possess an age which is not a multiple of perfection…you’ll be assigned to del
TALES OF THE ATLANTIC CHAPTER TWELVE
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In the next four to five weeks that quickly went by, I began to learn a lot of amazing, frightening and horrible things about Marine Brothers Society, sometimes through the book that disappeared into my abdomen.There were ‘things’ which I came across, but I’d decided against mentioning all of them, and simply tagged them ‘wonderful.’ There were also things which I learnt from my fellow initiates, some of whom had been initiated years before and some who’d been initiated when I was still a crawling baby.One of these things was an event which happened in the first week of August. It all began when I walked out of an event centre after an art exhibition was concluded. A male caller informed me that my cargo from Europe had been cleared.Further, it was awaiting my collection at an automobile showroom, somewhere near Waterlines House. He also informed me that I had to get the key and particulars from a particular courier company, before I could get my cargo.For reasons best known to me
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TALES OF THE ATLANTIC CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN“I’m fed up with all these…my dear. I’m not going to that church again until this whole thing is over.” Chief Walter Amadi was surprised as he watched his wife pace the room looking frightened.“You heard your Pastor, everything is going to be fine, don’t scare yourself to death, it’s all a matter of time.”He soon gave her a bear hug which seemed to last forever, while her heartbeat soon returned to its normal rate, and thoughts of her vision and meeting with the goddess seemed distant from her mind that particular moment.It was the first meeting in October, as every initiate’s invisible double in the orb seemed to be rattled by the rage of the goddess of perfection. My invisible double believed he was the only ‘exception,’ due to the hatred I felt for her.My desire for revenge at that moment seemed to boil like volcanic larva with every passing second. Thirty minutes into the meeting, she let out a piercing scream, as her body exploded. Her body soon came back toge
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Sitting down on a couch in the living room, I fondled the Marine Brothers Society ring which I couldn’t pull off, on the small finger on my right hand. I’d never thought in my wildest dreams that I’ll ever be a ‘murderer,’ now I had the blood of three people on my hands. I felt bad to my marrow, while I kept looking at my katana hanging on the wall.I picked up my mobile phone and tried to call Boma, but soon thought better of it, as I stood up and begun to pace the sitting room.Moments later, images from the dream I’d had in which my late father was begging me began to race into my mind, while I pondered on the consequences of my actions the day before. There were so many families who had members in occult societies, and for some, it felt like a ‘usual’ thing to them. The man who was an initiate was sometimes known to be one by his wife, children and family members.Though not all occult societies might have devastating consequences upon the wealth of its dead members, the family me
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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Timothy knew sleeping was the least of his worries as he brought the bottle of McDonnell’s to his mouth the fifth time. It was three o’clock in the morning and he also knew most Marine Brothers Society initiates would be doing something similar to what he was presently doing, wherever they were.His apprehension seemed to escalate when he noticed his Marine Brothers Society katana was not on the wooden rack, after his invisible double had returned from the silvery orb. He wished drunkenness would lull him to sleep, so he wouldn’t think about the consequences of what had just happened.He brought the bottle to his mouth the sixth time and cursed himself for contracting only one assassin to get rid of me. He thought about his money, cars, company, girlfriends, investments and stocks, but didn’t think about penury.I woke up on the altar the next morning to see Boma kneeling beside me, peering into my face like a nurse.“Hope you’re better?” she whispered.“Let’s go home…it’s all over,”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Inside the church, despite the fading pains on my body from the accident, I knew I had no choice but to maintain that sedentary position, until my invisible double successfully concluded his ‘mission.’I ignored the heated prayers around me, while my buttocks remained ‘stuck’ upon a white plastic chair. It was a good thing the weather was cold and the mosquitoes were at bay, else we all would have been soaked in our perspiration before daybreak.I closed my eyes and opened them again, trying to imagine what was going on in the mind of my invisible double. Although I knew what he was presently doing, I knew there was nothing like the feeling of being there personally. Slowly, I turned my head towards Boma and saw her praying like her late mother.“You will die the same way you made my dragon die,” the goddess screamed at my invisible double before she slumped backwards onto the surface of the silvery altar and melted on the flat surface. All eyes were now on my invisible double as he r
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
At that moment, I felt sorry for Boma – for having to put her through the entire stress, knowing fully well she had to be at her desk tomorrow morning in the bank. Samuel Adefarasin had started praying in whispers, while Pastor Alozie opened his large leather Holy Bible.I never intended for anyone to get hurt in the process of carrying out my late mother’s wish. This was why I felt the weight of guilt, as thoughts of all the people I’d delivered since joining Marine Brothers Society, began to race into my mind.My eyes were still on the door which had since been shut. The circles of prayer warriors had just been formed, and Pastor Alozie looked like a ready medieval General for a much anticipated battle, he was sure he’d win. I only took my gaze from the door after Boma’s right hand held mine.She bent down and looked at me affectionately, while the other hand stroked my face.“It’ll soon be over Tonye…very soon,” she whispered to me in a soothing voice. I nodded as an usher went aro
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
I swore never to allow myself to be bothered by a woman again, when I was finally discharged from the specialist hospital, that fateful tenth day of July 2013, with a truckload of medication. Boma’s magnanimous branch manager had offered her official car and driver to take me home.I said goodbye to the Nigerian, Syrian and Indian doctors and nurses, who’d taken their time to cut and stitch me for more than three months. I was amused at Boma’s tears of joy, as we journeyed to her apartment that afternoon.“Please drive us to the church….” The driver looked surprised, while he stared at the traffic lights ahead.“Madam said I should drive you home from the hospital, not…”“I want to go to the church and thank God.”“Okay, just drop us and we’ll use a taxi to church-” Boma cut in. The driver seemed not to hear us until I made one last statement.“If you don’t take me to the church before going to her apartment Mr Kennedy, I’ll come to her bank tomorrow and tell the manager you drove us
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
After an intensive massage one afternoon, I thought about the other Marine Brothers Society initiates and wished they could witness everything I’d witnessed, especially Doris Onakposeba, in her present state. She was the least of my worries, since one of them had even tried to kill me, by procuring an assassin. Staying in the hospital was frustrating, due to the healing and recovery process, which went on at a snail-speed.Many things had improved in my daily routine, especially my feeding pattern. I now fed myself, though salty, spicy and fried foods were still disallowed from my diet. My body, especially my blood needed sugar, so I indulged in ice creams and sweets on several occasions.As for the portrait, I looked at it at every available moment. Sometimes, I imagined me and Boma as orphans who were running away from the goddess and dying in the process of surviving Marine Brothers Society’s pangs, while the time rapidly ticked away.It was the third Sunday in June as he itched fo
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
God had never failed or disappointed him ever since he became born-again two decades ago, and he knew he wouldn’t start now. As far as Pastor Alozie was concerned, the major battle at hand was the ‘third stage’ of the Marine Brothers Society saga he was now faced with. The ‘first stage’ was the attack by the naked demons in my house.The ‘second stage’ was the accident which incapacitated me and the ‘third and final stage’ was the proposed face-off between me, Pastor Alozie (any other ‘interested’ party and the goddess. On the day the last surgical operation was to take place, Boma and Pastor Alozie were given fifteen minutes to talk with me before I was reeled to the theatre.“I’ll come around immediately I’m through from work,” Boma whispered as she held my hands.I looked at her smooth face and thought of how my abdomen had been scarred with stitches. The psychologist had advised me to keep recollecting happy thoughts and memories before the surgical operation commenced.This made
CHAPTER THIRTY
If anybody had told me that my invisible double was still ‘alive’ and ‘functional,’ I’d laughed heartily at such a person. The door to my room opened slowly and I stopped laughing at the cartoon on the television. I thought it was a nurse and tried to prepare my buttocks for another round of morning injections.Instead of a cheerful feminine face in a white uniform, I was surprised at the huge, six feet figure carrying a hamper, while entering the room with a smiling face. He looked satisfied with the occupant he’d just met, as his right hand began to reach for the back of his waist.“Are you Tamunoonye?” he asked in a friendly tone. Before I opened my mouth to answer, I watched in surprise as his smile soon turned into a painful, ugly grimace. He began to stagger towards my bed, while the hamper and dagger dropped from his hands.The next moment, I saw his white silk shirt become soaked with blood, flowing from his mouth and nostrils. He began to gasp for breath as the shiny blade w
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
While Boma’s imaginary kiss landed on my forehead, Ibeabuchi put finishing touches to his ‘tools’ of work. As a former mobile policeman, he knew the modus operandi of the Police and Mobile Police respectively in the State. He was conversant with their nature and more importantly, how long they usually took to respond to a distress call.On the small table beside the window, two oiled pistols lay with a well sharpened service dagger between them. At that moment, he wasn’t concerned with the instruments of death before him, rather he marvelled at my picture, taken by a special camera inside the silvery orb.He tried to wonder why a handsome and suave gentleman deserved to die. Four hours ago, he’d received a message alert on his mobile phone.It informed him of his savings bank account with Union Bank, which had just been credited with Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira, by one Florence Adetuyi.. Upon completion of the assignment, he would receive the remaining half.Examining the p
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The goddess sat on one of the chairs near the pool of ash, while she kept observing the portrait, which was now held by three ‘perfect assistants.’ It depicted her utmost perfection in a ceremonial military uniform, inspecting the corpses of six men tied to six wooden posts. Their heads were bowed and blood was flowing from their ripped abdomens.“Tonye, Tonye, Tonye…you were going to make me proud by being an exceptional Marine Brothers Society initiate, but your foolishness will now lead to your painful ascension.”The three naked women remained stone-faced as the goddess gave out a loud cackle which shook the entire orb.“A new initiate would find this very useful…see to that.” She rose up and made for the silvery altar, with the three women walking silently behind her. They overtook her when they were a metre to the silvery altar, before placing the portrait gingerly atop it.“Tonye, you disappointed me terribly,” she whispered to herself as the portrait was slowly absorbed by the
