The Skull Read online

The Skull

  by

  MiCH OLORUNFEMi

  The Skull

  by

  MiCH OLORUNFEMi

  Copyright 2012 Mich Olorunfemi

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  About MiCH

  Connect with MiCH

  I

  The four young men waited behind the double doors to the gents until the sound of a hundred shuffling feet dwindled and eventually faded to a deafening silence.

  Mark—the leader— listened with ears pressed against the wooden door. “Coast is clear.”

  Godwin had to ask himself what he was doing amidst these guys. A small price to pay for popularity. He reminded himself.

  Mark spoke again. “All right, we had exactly thirty minutes to locate the skeleton. Waiting for the coast to be clear has already taken…” Mark checked his watch.

  “Twenty-two minutes,” Godwin spoke.

  Mark nodded in acknowledgment. “We have just eight minutes before Mr. Poju comes back into the hall. Let’s do this and be out in a flash.” With that briefing the four guys filed out of the gents, keeping their head low, navigating the now forlorn halls of the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

  The bones of the John Doe they had used for practicals still lay limp and fleshless on the stainless steel table in the center of the lab.

  “Dare, cover the exit.” Mark ordered one of his men to stand watch. He did.

  “How much time?” Uche asked.

  “Six minutes.” Godwin responded.

  “Make that thirty seconds,” Dare started saying. “Mr. Poju is already down the hall talking to the Janitor.”

  “He’s six minutes ahead of his schedule today. Boys, everyman for himself!” Mark grabbed at any bone he could get his hands on.

  Uche also grabbed at what he could, too—the skeleton’s right clavicle. They made for the door cautiously. Dare was about heading out, he hadn’t bothered to take any part there was no time. The others were already out when Dare—at the door—realized that Godwin wasn’t out yet. He spun to see Godwin tugging at the skull.

  “Godwin!” He called out in a hoarse whisper.

  “One minute.” He tugged more.

  Dare slipped out of the lab, leaving Godwin behind.

  Pop!

  The skull was out! Godwin raised the fleshless head to eye level, marveling at the—

  There was a sound from outside the door; the dean’s shoes, clanking on the marble floors. Godwin’s heart quickened. If he was found in here vandalizing the skeleton he could kiss the rest of the semester year good-bye. That would prolong the time he would spend in University of Abuja studying medicine.

  No! He wouldn’t let it. He forced his legs free of whatever adhesive had kept them glued to the floor and tore for the entrance—his exit.

  He crashed into the door, which in turn crashed into the dean, who in turn crashed to the floor.

  Godwin peeled through the hall without even taking so much as a glance at the toppled dean. He only hoped the man was in too much a state of shock to have noticed who had just gone past.

  Dean Poju obviously hadn’t seen Godwin bolting out of the lab last night, otherwise he wouldn’t have told the entire 100 level boys to “own up or wait for the hands of justice to catch up with them.”

  They had all opted for the hands of justice to catch up with them.

  After the dean’s authoritative address, the students flooded out of the hall like ants from an ant hill. They were all talking about the dismembered skeleton, wondering who was responsible.

  Godwin needed to make his way to the baobab tree the gang frequently rallied under. Mark had some vital information for them.

  He was the last to get to the venue.

  Mark sat with his arms folded. Uche and Dare only stood, staring at him as he approached.

  “Nice of you to join us, Godwin.” Mark—don in the making—said.

  “I got held up,” was all Godwin could manage.

  “Jennifer?” Uche chuckled.

  Godwin scowled at him.

  “Down to business.” Mark said, rising to his feet and clasping his hands behind his back. “Dean Poju has gotten everybody in school talking. I only called this meeting to make sure we are all sworn to secrecy.”

  “Why wouldn’t we be?” Godwin spoke. “We did it after all. Even Jesus didn’t say ‘Here am I, crucify me’” Godwin mimicked the sign of the cross, spreading his arms wide in either direction.

  Dare laughed.

  “I know.” Mark said with not so much as a smile on his face. “But you see, one of us was too chicken to take any part of John Doe’s bones.” Mark cast a side glance at Dare.

  Dare seemed flustered, grin totally wiped off his face. “Oh no! You don’t think I’m gonna rat you guys out do you?”

  “I don’t know.” Mark said walking up behind Dare, his hands were jammed deep into the pockets of his denim pants. “You’re the only one who doesn’t have anything to lose. You didn’t take any bone.”

  Dare put his hands up in guard of his rights and spun to face Mark. “Hold on. I watched the exits to make sure we weren’t spotted.”

  “My point exactly. That’s all you did. If you tattle on us you’ll get the least punishment—if any at all.”

  “Mark, you know I won’t do—”

  “Oh, your life will never remain the same if you do. And trust me, I’m no pastor. I mean that in the most malevolent way possible.”

  It was the first time Mark had candidly threatened anyone on his team. Godwin’s throat was tied in a knot even though he wasn’t on the receiving end of the threat. The sinister look in Mark’s eyes told a story of both sincerity and fear.

  The gang dispersed without any other word.

  There was no power in the hostel building that night. Godwin and Uche were depleting each of their laptop’s batteries, watching movies. Their room was lit only with the blinking light of the two laptops.

  The door to the room came open and student body president, Earnest Osakwe—a bespectacled young lad with an afro—peeked in.

  Godwin and Uche simultaneously paused their movies and looked up at the visitor.

  “Earnest, what’s up?” Godwin said, pulling out one of the ear phones that corked his ears.

  “You guys might want to pay the clinic a visit.” Earnest said.

  They both sat up.

  “I hear Mark fell of a motor bike and sustained some injury this evening.”

  “How bad is it?”

  Earnest shrugged. “Doctors, say he’ll be fine, he did break a rib, though.”

  With that, Earnest adjusted his glasses and closed the door.

  “We best pay him a visit.” Uche said as both guys began frantically dressing up.

  “Hold on.” Godwin said, mind suddenly clouding with eerie suspicion. He was in the middle of doing his zipper. “What bone did Mark make away with?”

  “A rib. Why?” Uche said. Then his eyes suddenly went wide with realization. “No, man. You don’t think he lost a rib because he took the rib off of that John Doe? How’s that possible?”

  “I don’t know, but don’t you find it strange that one evening he steals a rib and twenty-four hours later he loses a rib?”

  “That’s why man created the word coincidence.”

  “I don’t know, Uche,”

  “Exactly, yo
u don’t know. Let’s just go and see him at the clinic.”

  Godwin left the room with Uche not knowing what to believe. He was a superstitious person. Then again, this was Nigeria. Who wasn’t superstitious? He could only hope his theory was off the beam.

  TO BE CONTINUED…

  II

  Godwin lay on his bed, bobbing his head erratically to the blaring strings of The All-American Rejects. He was playing it on his ipod. He was alone in the room.

  Mark was still in the hospital though he was alright now. It had been almost twenty four hours since he lost one of his ribs in a bike accident.

  Evening crept up on the hostel building, and for some reason there seemed to be more students around. Evening was the time students of University of Abuja spent with their chicks in the girl’s hostel. Why so many had decided to stay back today, Godwin didn’t know. Godwin didn’t care.

  The door suddenly burst open and in came Dare. He swiveled and slammed the door shut behind him. His chest was heaving with his heavy breathing. His eyes were wide.

  Godwin plucked out his earpiece from both ears and stared at Dare; the one whom Mark had threatened, in Mafia fashion, to keep him quiet from telling on them.

  “Well, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Godwin said.

  “And you look like you’ve seen an Angel. Why are you so calm?” Dare asked, flinging his backpack unto Godwin’s bed.

  “Is there a reason I shouldn’t be calm?” Godwin sat up.

  “You haven’t heard the news, have you? There is a riot going on outside the school.”

  “Riot?” Godwin jerked up.

  “Let’s get to the common room. It’s all over the news.”

  The common room was filled with boys. Some topless, some half naked. Every one sat