THE LAST SURVIVORS
Episode 23
Melinda and the others were shocked by Austin’s words. Much more, Melinda picked something in Austin’s voice that made her suspect he was either on a spell or was entirely another person masquerading as Austin. Etim also lent his voice to support Austin’s view. “I think Austin is right; tell me how is prayer going to help a man in such pain? Don’t forget Ochuma’s arm was forcefully severed by a ceiling fan blade. I doubt any of you understand what he is going through. Let’s go to the hospital please!” “I don’t want to be taken to the hospital anymore. If it is suddenly wrong for me to be prayed for then I don’t want any of your painkillers”, said Ochuma while clenching his teeth in pain. Osoba was stunned and could not figure out why they were arguing over prayer. Prayer had always been their last resort whenever they were in a fire. He got angry and shouted, “Melinda pray jor! Who knows what happened to the two of you at the hospital you intend to take us to”. “You sure sey na Austin and Etim be these self”, said Verah. The two guys impersonating Austin and Etim drew closer as Melinda bent her head to pray. Ochuma kept his eyes fixed on them, he didn’t trust them. He had done the job of undoing the works of the dead and evil spirits that inhabit them for years. He was sure something wasn’t right about the two guys who had returned from searching for a hospital or drug store to take him to. While Melinda prayed, Austin leaned forward and grabbed Melinda by the neck and yanked her off the bus, Etim grabbed Osoba and also pulled him off the bus, leaving only one-armed Ochuma and Verah to attend their friends.
Ochuma was expecting the two guys to do something like that, so as soon as Austin grabbed Melinda, he lunged forward with his right foot and caught Austin by his jaw. His vicious kick sent Austin to the ground; Ochuma jumped off the bus and landed on Austin’s face with his both feet and Austin exploded into a black cloud and enveloped him.
Verah had no time to think about it, as soon as she saw her friends being dragged off the bus. She attacked Etim with her finger nails; burying them into the both sides of Etim’s neck. When her finger nails sunk into Etim’s skin, she felt a cold s£nsat!on spreading through her fingers to her arms and then to her chest. She resisted the cold s£nsat!on and pulled Etim close to her face as if to kiss him and then yelled in his face, “I bind you in the name of Jesus!!” Etim exploded into a thick dark cluster of cloud and dispersed with the wind. Ochuma was still in the midst of the dark cloud, they could hear his voice praying form within the cloud. Verah t—-t her right hand into the cloud and shouted, “Satan the blood of Jesus is against you!” Her hand felt an object and she quickly pulled it out of the cloud; fortunately for them, the object was Ochuma. Right after their eyes the dark cloud smashed itself against their bus, shattering some glass and disappeared into the dark sky. Melinda and Osoba had to slowly pick themselves up from the ground. When Etim and Austin grabbed them, they felt that same cold s£nsat!on which Verah had expericenced when she sank her finger nails into Etim’s neck. The cold s£nsat!on had immobilized Osoba and Melinda and made it hard for them to fight. The two of them felt extremely cold, so much so that their teeth were clattering like they had been in the cold for hours. Verah had to put Ochuma down on the bus to keep Melinda and Osoba into the bus. Their condition looked very grim; they felt so much cold that they thought they could freeze to death at any point. Verah was shaken by what she saw of her friends, ice drops were beginning to form on their faces of Osoba and Melinda. She began to cry; she ran to a mallam selling suya nearby, her thought was to scoop some coals into the bus to warm up her friends. The mallam refused her saying, “Kai!! Madam you wan born the bus? I no give you allah!” Verah was at her wits end; she ran back to the bus still crying.
Ochuma grabbed her with his one arm and shouted at her, “Verah pray for them! Use your faith!”
“I have no faith now! I can’t feel my faith anymore! My faith is gone”. “You are wrong Verah! I just saw you exercise your faith! By the way, faith doesn’t come and go; you don’t have to feel it! Just pray with the name of Jesus and you will get answer. Please pray for them, they are dying!”
To be continued
