“Finish him off” he commanded. “Hey you!”
“Me?” I questioned as my heart beat Usain bolt style.
“Yes you!” He said, emphasizing on the ‘you’. I slowly retrieved my pistol with shaky hands and pointed it at the whimpering bloody man who had nothing but pleas on his mouth for his life . At that moment a thousand and one thoughts ran through my mind. Pablo( for that was his nickname) our boss, had snapped this man’s wrist bones in two like it was a pencil. He screamed in pains, this infuriated Pablo the more, he brought out a screwdriver and stabbed him countlessly in the stomach. I prayed he would die fast because his screams were getting louder and this left me wondering how excruciating the pain could be. It took a lot of manly courage in me not to have flinched. This is where me finishing up comes in.
As I tried to pull the trigger, my hands became slippery owing to the sweat on my palms. Then in that moment I remembered, her tears, the times we were left high and dry, his words,then all I could hear were the sound of the bullets falling to the ground.
The next day I was chilling off in my apartment when a call from Pablo came in. It was a call for a job. I left that instant. When I got there, it was strangely quiet and that got me anxious. Where did everybody go leaving me behind. Then as I fished my phone from my back pocket to call Pablo, I heard a familiar voice say hey!.Looking up it was Pablo himself. He was beckoning me to come in, then I did.
“I know you would be wondering where everyone might be. Don’t worry I didn’t call them ”he said.
As I opened my mouth to speak, he took advantage of the silence. “ There is a job tonight to kill a girl.”
“I want just the both of us to go”
“why me” worry laced with fear got the better part of me.
He chuckled “ don’t worry newbie, I mean no harm, I saw the way you wasted that man yesterday and you so much remind me of myself when I was new too. I like you and I want to train you specifically”.
We stayed there till it was 11pm. By 12am we were ready. As we were about leaving, Pablo found out he’s rid his gun of bullets cause of the man yesterday. He went inside.
“ aarrgh, shit !” he screamed. I ran in.
Turns out, Pablo had accidentally shot himself while loading and unloading the gun. As I helped him take out the bullet on his thigh, he kept groaning in pain. Then he told me that I has to go on without him. I was scared I had to go alone. I felt anxious but I had no choice. I took Pablo’s old Mercedes and left. I got to my victim’s house by 12:30. As I waited in the car, I lit a cigar and stared at the girl’s picture.
Just like a fox, I walked swiftly from the car, headed to the her apartment. Then it occurred to me, their doors would probably be locked. So I tried the front door, holding unto the knob tightly to know if I could yank it open but it didn’t budge. Then I turned around to the back door,upon my first shove, it gave way for me as if the heavens were on my side. I got in, and became still. It felt like there was no proof of Life there until I heard someone sleep talking. So I made my move, after entering rooms I found out that my victim was the only one in the house, smiling to my self I whispered piece of cake. We were told when killing if everywhere was quiet either you use a revolver or a pillow. My best option was a pillow because I obviously had no revolver. So I got one of her pillow, looking again at her face to be certain it was her. I pressed her face into it and she started struggling. She had long nails and made good use of them on my skin, but that didn’t deter me. Suddenly the struggling stopped, as I relaxed I heard footsteps approaching. When I turned around it was another girl. She screamed and ran . With all the strength I had in me, I lunged at her, covering her mouth. She was a fighter. We struggled for a while.
She hit me in the groin area and that hurt as hell. She headed to the door but because it was locked she couldn’t go far. when I got to her, I gave a blow and that ended everything. I sat nursing my balls to life for a while then I picked my gun and checked on my victim, to be sure she was dead. So Mission accomplished.
As I was about leaving the house, something emitting light caught my attention. Then I got there it was a phone and it was ringing. So I left but on a second thought came back again and stared at the number. It looked so familiar, then I took out my phone and checked. Surprisingly it was Pablo’s number. Then I wondered what his number was doing in this phone. Only for me to hold up the phone and saw it saved as Dad. Then I became terrified. I checked her screensaver, I saw Pablo and a girl smiling. I went back to the girl I just gave a blow that probably would have her dead in hours. Turning her face, I looked at her phone then at her and my fingers began freezing. Did I just kill Pablo’s daughter?? I asked myself.
I checked for her pulse and then I found it. With strength from nowhere I carried her and left the building, half walking, half running. I dropped her at the back seat and started the engine. The tyres screeched as I drove off in double Time. I took her to my house. Dropped her on the bed and went to get something cold in the fridge. By that time it was already 2:15am. So I sat waiting for this girl to wake up, just then Pablo called me, and I started my sweating session again. With shaky hands, I picked the call, he asked outrightly if the job was done, I answered affirmative. Then he asked me if I had loose ends that I better tie them up. As he was saying that I was staring at his daughter half dead on the bed. Then I told him I have no loose ends. When I got off the phone, the girl had began to stir up. This lifted my spirit. Immediately she opened her eyes and saw me, I knew that a lot things must be running through her mind but words like safe, or harmless didn’t make it. She stood up and started screaming, I lunged at her and tried to make her shut up, then we started struggling again. She hit me on the head multiple times, damn! Her hands were strong. She somehow found my gun as she was about pulling the trigger, I beat her to it because I had longer arms. I got my gun and used the butt to hit her on the head three times, then her body became limp underneath me. I dragged her to the bed and sat at her feet, rubbing an ice pack on my head . Just then I got a knock from my door.
“Festus, no kill that girl oo” he chuckled and left. It was my neighbor probably thinking I was having sex.
I hissed, turning to the girl. This time I couldn’t find a pulse, I looked at her wrist so hard, that my vision became blurry. Fear didn’t do justice to how I felt at that moment. Watching her there felt like watching grass grow. it was so agonizing that I didn’t know when a tear dropped from my face. I cried so much like a baby. I remembered my poor mother who kept saying whatever you do in life, be the innocent one.
I cried the more. I wasn’t actually crying because I have killed besides that was my job, but because of the particular person I had just killed . If you remember I was told to finish up someone at first. That person was not a victim we were paid to kill . That was Ehis, one of us. Ehis made a mistake and killed the wrong person, and he was killed mercilessly and gruesomely by Pablo. I didn’t just kill the wrong person I killed Pablo’s daughter.
I cried myself to sleep, as I was having dreams of me all bloody, begging for my life. When I woke up it was 4am, I wanted to stand up to take a piss but something cold brushed my skin. I turned and found out it was the girl. I started crying again, somewhere at the back of my mind, I was thinking of where I kept the insecticide (sniper). I just wanted to end it all.
So I got up and started searching cupboards. I finally found it . In a hurry to kill myself I had forgotten something. What if she wasn’t dead. What if I had concluded too quickly. Maybe if I had looked properly, without tears in my eyes I would have seen that it was the ice pack behind me that made the girls leg cold.
Just a glance on the bed could save me but I was already opening the bottle of insecticide.
Arueze Chisom Precious, a passionate writer can be reached through sommytilly1402@gmail.com
