Home. - Eniyan

The island of Kirikiri

The boy looked in terror as the large hybrid rabbit fell lifelessly on the ground; a short throwing knife had severed it in mid-air, had that blade not cut the rabbit down, it would have gone for his throat. It might have finished him off in a matter of minutes. Then he asked himself the question, who threw the knife that saved his life?

“We’re sharing it, Gba! (Take)” A voice called from the background “The buffalo meat, we’ll share it evenly, after all, I saved your life”

The boy turned towards the source of the voice, the speaker emerged from the foliage close by with a grim smile on his face. Judging from the look of it, this newcomer had been on the island for some time. He had a rugged nature about him and judging from his clean-shaven face, he was still in the early stages of youth, yet he was about 6 feet tall, with a well-muscled and well-proportioned body. He would give a professionally trained wrestler a run for his money. The clothes he had on were far too small for him, he had some dried animal skin on, which made him look ancient.

“Why did you help me?” the boy inquired

“Because you have my eyes, jabi!” the newcomer replied,

“Your eyes?” the boy inquired as he observed the newcomer walk towards the dead buffalo

“The eyes of an innocent man, jabi no bi so? (Is it not true.)” The other replied, facing the boy, “Or have you committed any crime to deserve a death penalty?”

“No,”

“So tell me, my guy! since we are going to be staying together on this rubbish island. What’s your name?” the stranger asked

The boy did a double take, his name? The name that he once had is now rejected. The name of someone who is now dead, what he needs now is a new name, a new identity. He needs to recreate himself, to transform his nature into something that is not easily broken, to harden his heart into something that is always ready for a battle. He needs to change his will and sharpen his nature. To become something that no one will recognise, to leave the weakness behind and step into the new nature. This is not a time for him to fall into tears; now, he needs a soul of fire and a will of steel. Nothing should slow him down, and nothing will break his heart. His name must be a mystery that will shed fear amongst his enemies, a name that will give the god of death something to cause a lot of worry.

“My name is Eniyan” the boy replied. Thus, he changed his destiny at that very moment

“So you have also dropped your old useless name, correct!” the other said with a hint of humour “You can call me, Jagun,”

“Good name,” Eniyan smiled “Tell me, how long have you been on this island?”

“Five months filled with a lot of wahalla,” Jagun replied, “the hardest five months of my life,”

“At least you survived,” Eniyan observed, “I almost died on the first day,”

“Not only you,” Jagun added, “Old soldier saved my life, he was also a good old man, Gba!” he walks closer towards his newfound friend and strikes a match, “Fire, the only thing that these things…” gesturing towards the deer and the buffalo “fear.” he starts a small fire within the ruin building. “We’ll be safe here, as long as the fire is burning. Jabi! Now we have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I'm surprised that you can survive on this island for so long without any help from the outside world,” Eniyan observed, “What did you use as food?”

“These beasts.” Jagun mentioned, gesturing towards the dead buffalo, “Provide all the protein and meat we need, as for roots, seeds and leaves, I depend on the supply given by the dead prisoners like you. You as well, it takes a lot of power to escape a monster like this buffalo, my guy”

Eniyan sighed, “So I guess you usually scout the island for the dead and their supply sacs,” he observed, “I have two sacs hidden in a tree somewhere in the forest, you're welcome to share with me”

“Not to worry, by morning the hunt for the sacks will begin, by the end of the day we’ll have more than 10 sacks in our possession, Gba!” Jagun commented, “Enough food to last us more than a month”

“And those beasts?” Eniyan inquired.

“Drugged with an insatiable lust for human blood,” Jagun replied, “But evolution and genetic enhancement can never rid them of their fear of fire, we’ll be safe enough. That’s a nasty scar on your face”

“I’ll be fine,” the boy said, “It will heal,”

That was how Eniyan met and became travelling companions with his new friend and brother Jagun. The next day, with a burning torch in each hand, they scouted the Island and salvaged as many food rations as they were able to lay their hands upon. The local wildlife left them undisturbed, except for the ones that were trampled upon during the night; it seems like Jagun’s theory about their fear of fire had proved to be valid. Eniyan still felt uncomfortable using the burning torches as their only means of protection; they could easily and unwittingly start a forest fire, so he started to think of another way to protect themselves from the dangers of the Island. Jagun seemed to be a very lively person, to begin with, Jagun enjoys talking about the old days and his old exploits; the mischief that he was involved in in the days of his youth, the number of females he was able to conquer before his incarceration, and even how many hovercrafts belonging to his father he had crashed. Eniyan found it difficult not to laugh whenever he was in the presence of his light-hearted friend. Eniyan found himself telling Jagun about his life in the country of Abeokuta. How he had laboured in the forges of the weapons master and all he had learnt about the myth of iron, Eniyan spoke about the mineral-rich rocks of the Olumo Mountain, and how the people of the ten village settlements on the mountain had survived. He talked about the accidents that happened while extracting the potent Agbaran crystals and how youths sold these crystals to make huge amounts of naira for their families.

“So, what you're saying is that once the crystal shatters on the ground, it can blind everyone within a radius of 50 meters?” Jagun asked,

“Yes! One reason why I decided to become a blacksmith,” Eniyan replied,

“Gba!” Jagun exclaimed, “But a fist full of such a crystal can make you for life. I beg, it is worth the risk. No bi to make money”

“Will you take the risk,” Eniyan said biting into his huge chunk of meat, “I will manage my craft anytime,”

“If we manage to get off this Island, you go carry me go Abeokuta, Ote (Vagely means original),” Jagun said

“If we can make it off this Island,” Eniyan corrected,

“We will make it off,” Jagun said violently. “I need to do some women, I want wife, and I really miss the entertainment screen.” Eniyan laughed

“Then we must survive,” Eniyan said with a slight hint of realisation in his voice, survive, the same thing that the captain told him at the beginning of this adventure “We’ll need some weapons just in case the buffalo has a distant relative seeking revenge,”

“No weapons on this island my friend, the government made sure of that,” Jagun said on a sad note,

“We don’t need to find any weapons; I can make some. I have some skills as a blacksmith after all,” Eniyan smiled, “Plus, I believe I've found the secret of divine steel. The gift of Ogun the God of Iron and war”

“But, sho! I thought that knowledge died with the old world?” Jagun protested

“And where are we now?” Eniyan inquired with a sly smile, gesturing to the ruins that surrounded them.

Jagun smiled with the sudden revelation, “In the ruins of the old world, Gbabẹ!”

“You see to our survival in the form of food, and I’ll be in charge of fashioning some weapons,” Eniyan said with a smile, “By the time we’re done we’ll be armed with weapons like the warriors of old,”

The Strategist of Benin.

The great country of Ẹdo, a land filled with multiple business giants, drug barons, weapons dealers and energy merchants. A land blessed with multiple mineral resources and superior intellect, the northern parts of the great world called Nigeria might be filled with a lot of illiterates but the southern parts were filled with intellectuals, minds that defy the laws of nature. One of these minds is the purpose of his presence here; somewhere deep down in his gut, he felt like he was not here of his own accord for some reason; he was sent here by the very mind that he had come to recruit.

He was Honourable Olusẹgun, the president of the United Embassy of Abuja, the man in charge of keeping the peace between all the countries and continents of the world. The only way for him to achieve his purpose is to make necessary sacrifices for the better good of the world, but to visit a run-down dump like this, a place for the lowest of the filth of society, a place filled with criminals, executive fraudsters and drug dealers. No public official should be found in a place like this, yet! Here he is, risking his reputation for the purpose of multinational-peace.

To his immense disappointment, someone raised his hand to gain his attention, and then called out clearly, “Over here, Mr President!” Honourable Olusẹgun covered his face to conceal what’s left of his now exposed identity and quietly approached the table.

“When I placed my information on the grid network, I was hoping for an emissary but for the president to come himself. Incredible!” the stranger greeted as soon as the honourable reached his table.

“Are you trying to ruin my reputation?” the President growled, “What do you mean by emissary?”

“The reason why you're here is because you need a pawn in the game of politics,” the stranger replied with a sarcastic smile, offering the president a seat “I'm the one you're looking for, intellectually speaking. I loaded my details on the grid network to draw your attention. My name is Bissy Aluko Ṣeyi the information master mind, intellectually speaking, I am one of the best,”

“You lured me here,” the president whispered, realising that he was in trouble, “the information was bait and I fell for it,” refusing to sit down.

“Please, sit down Mr president, intellectually speaking, if I wanted you dead I would have killed you on the way here, like all citizens of Benin, intellectually speaking, I am only interested in the profit that I'm about to make” Ṣeyi said

“How can I trust you?” the president inquired suspiciously, cautiously moving forward to sit down.

“I guess it’s time for me to present my resume, intellectually speaking, this team you're planning on gathering together, needs a master mind to lead it,” Ṣeyi smiled, “I can be that master mind, intellectually speaking, I am the one to lead the team in and out of missions, with minimum casualties and maximum results”

“I don’t doubt your resourcefulness,” the president replied,

There was a brief silence as Ṣeyi remained silent gazing into Olusegun’s eyes intently, trying to read between the words of the president of the island of Abuja. “You wanted a face-to-face with me to see if I'm trustworthy,” he smiled,

“And?” the president egged

“I doubt if I can earn your trust with one meeting”, Ṣeyi said in a defeated tone, “but, intellectually speaking, I will try. First, let’s clear the room,” Then Ṣeyi suddenly jumped upon the table and announced at the top of his voice “, Get out!”

The response was so quick that honourable Olusegun nearly fell off his chair, the occupants of the lounge simply vanished, and the effect of his response drew a smile on Ṣeyi’s face.

“This lounge is located in a pocket dimension; anyone can have access to it from anywhere, but only with the permission of its master. Intellectually speaking, the master is the one who holds the key to the pocket dimension, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. This is my base of operation; no one breaks my rules without my ok”

“A pocket dimension?” the president cried in an alarmed tone “When did? This is seriously advanced technology! Not even my team of experienced scientists have been able to reach this far”

“As I said, I knew you were coming, or you would send someone, so I prepared a welcoming scene. A public place, which is really private, is crowded with a lot of people, but they are oblivious to our actions, and the vidcams lack the ability to record our meeting. Are you impressed yet?”

Impressed? The president was completely blown away with amazement and the look on his face said it all. “Wow!” he exclaimed,

“I obtained this technology from a computer hacker, he simply cracked the trans-dimensional code”

“A hacker?” he exclaimed in shock,

“Funny isn’t it? Intellectually speaking, the idea of thinking outside the box, like scientists, using power to bend the natural law instead of physics. That’s the problem of people who fail to think outside the box,” Ṣeyi laughed,

“This technology can solve a lot of problems,” honourable Oluṣegun observed

“So, down to business, how much?”

“What,”

“How much are you paying for my services?”

“One million naira per mission,” the president replied in full business mode, “You will be provided with the best equipment, facilities and identities. A free travel pass and you can have your pick from the best soldiers of Abuja. I'm sure of your…”

“Sorry to interrupt, but did you say I can have my pick of the soldiers of Abuja?” Ṣeyi inquired,

“Yes,”

“The soldiers of Abuja are not qualified; they are good but not good enough, for the purpose of combating the evolving nature of corruption in the society, intellectually speaking,”

“These men have sworn Allegiance to the purpose of international peace, I trust them with my life,” the president protested,

“As I said, they are good enough to guard your life but not good enough to combat the evils of this world.” Seyi pressed, “intellectually speaking, I'm not even sure they're ready for the horrors this world will expose them to, no, I will use my own men” Ṣeyi pressed

“I will not allow you to turn Abuja into a den of mercenaries”

“What you need is a bunch of dedicated warriors willing to do the impossible,” Ṣeyi continued, “the operation that you are about to embark on the day after tomorrow will be a total massacre. Intellectually speaking, you are going to lose a lot of good men,”

“How do you know about tomorrow's operation?” the honourable exclaimed in shock,

“I'm the master of information, nothing is hidden from me” Ṣeyi replied as he handed over a brown envelope to the president,

“What is this?” he inquired as he inspected the envelope carefully

“Those are the files containing the bio-data of all those qualified for the purpose of combating the ever increasing crime rate in this world” Ṣeyi replied

“This is incredible, most of these candidates are convicted felons 2 of whom have already been executed,” the honourable exclaimed after scanning the documents within the file, “Is this your idea of a solution? Combating evil with evil?”

“More like combating evil with the seeds of evil, intellectually speaking, these men are the real deal and will do anything to prevent what has happened to them from happening to anyone else”

“I will not be a party to this; it goes outside the norms of my standards”

“The evolving factor” Ṣeyi said more to himself than to the president “The good guys refuse to evolve while the bad guys develop more advanced methods to commit crime”

“If those on the side of good adopt evil methods then they are no different from those they are trying to judge”

“This is not an evil method, it’s just an unorthodox one,” Ṣeyi defended, “and I promise that it will work,”

“I've heard enough,” Oluṣegun said, “It seems we are not of like mind, goodbye!” preparing to take his leave,

“Do you think you will make any difference in this world with that mindset?” Ṣeyi pressed, “Nigeria might be a world filled with corruption, but it is the nature of the people who live within its borders”

“As the primary peace keeper, it is my duty to ensure that this planet becomes a paradise for all tribes and people,” Oluṣegun replied,

Ṣeyi actually chuckled at the president’s naïve reply, “intellectually speaking, if Nigeria is nothing but a country and every continent is actually a geographical zone and every country is actually a state and every state is actually a local government area, nothing will change,”

“Why do you think that?”

“We are all human beings, political animals who will only do what our instincts tell us to do. Imprisoned by the nature given to us by our ancestors; we can’t help it because it is the full meaning of our existence, an existence that a rich silver-spoon politician like you cannot understand,” Ṣeyi taunted,

“I will not crossover to the dark side,” the president declared as he gathered his documents,

“So you're not going to agree to my terms” Ṣeyi said in an off-handed tone “I promise you that you will change your mind after the failure in tomorrow’s operation,”

“How did you…”

“I'm the information master, we will meet honourable Oluṣegun again,” Ṣeyi declared, then he raised his right hand and pressed a button on his remote control device. To Olusegun’s shock, he found himself standing within his office in Abuja with the strange sensation as if he had never left; now he was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake in refusing Ṣeyi’s offer. Is it true that the nature of crime within this world has evolved to the next level? No, he was the president of Abuja, he will not accept this. So he walks over to his office communication device and dials the general of his joint army.

“I need 15 of your best men,” Oluṣegun commanded

“Yes sir” the voice at the other end replied

As he leaned back in his chair, the president consciously replayed his conversation with Ṣeyi. The boy might have good intentions, but his methods were wrong. The only way to get things done is the right way, and he’s not going to allow an inexperienced fool to teach him how to manage his own position.

The Mad Professor

Professor Ayorinde, popularly known as the smartest man in the world, sat before his cluttered table pondering on what experiment to work on next. The problem of being a genius-level inventor and the most highly paid scientist in the country of Lagos, with all the resources he needs at his disposal, soon gets boring. His scientific ideas and theories have revolutionised the scientific world; he has been invited to several seminars and symposiums to teach about some of his most recent scientific findings. There was nothing within the confines of his ambition, fathomed within the darkest confines of his mind, that he had not achieved; now life seems dull, it’s like the very purpose of his existence had faded into nothing. He needs an intellectual challenge, something to ‘be little’ his intellect and force him to evolve to the next level; if not, then he is doomed to expire from boredom.

The professor decided to work on some of his latest ideas, gathering several of the cluttered sheets of paper on his table and putting them in perfect order, most of the younger men would have preferred to save their projects in a computer or on the grid network, but for someone like him, the mundane means seemed more accurate. He is, after all, one of the smartest, most intelligent people on the planet, so it’s obvious that his computer would be hacked. Using paper should be safer, but it is messy and a big pain. There was a sudden knock on his door, which distracted him from his private thought.

“Come in!” he commanded, without filtering his tone.

A plump lady walked into the office dressed in a multi-coloured white traditional nurse’s uniform, she held a small file in her hand and wore a smile on her pretty face.

“I guess you came to give me a report,” the scientist grumbled, ‘those cursed reports,’ he thought privately.

“I'm afraid that the news I have to present to you isn’t pleasant at all,” the nurse replied,

“From which division?” he inquired

“The prison division…”

At the mention of the prison division the professor jumped to his feet, the prison of kirikiri was the place where he had placed some of his best creations, most of which had evolved to the next level. How can there be a problem there? The monsters on that island were his master piece there is no way the…

“Three of the Buffalos remain unaccounted for, and five are completely off the raider,” the nurse continued, “But the worst news was the first Buffalo that vanished 18 months ago has been found, or what's left of it…”

“You mean the sapient beast designed to hunt down and kill its prey? Good, I want her recovered for testing, she is due for another shut” the professor exclaimed

“We've found what’s left of her,” the nurse continued to the professor’s horror, “the bones have been stripped clean off the carcass. It was found in the abandoned industrial building impaled by multiple iron rods,” the professor swallowed in disbelief. “We also found the DNA of two prison inmates, for some unknown reason they have survived all these years”

“….” The professor remained mute,

“Professor?” the nurse called “what, are your orders?”

“Professor?”

“…”

“Sir?”

“Prepare the lab for project Z”, he finally voiced to the confused nurse. His brain was at 6 to function for 3 seconds, and then in the next 5 seconds, his brain was processing the challenge. This was definitely a new challenge. Whoever killed his beloved evolved beast is definitely no pushover; he must be in top condition if he is going to win this challenge of intellect. “Whoever or whatever killed those buffalo was still out there, and he has challenged me. I will make sure to eliminate them with my own creation, if it is the last thing I do,”

“As you wish professor,” the female acknowledged, then she walked away to carry out the professor’s orders

Finally, the professor thought, a worthy adversary. Now his only intention was to create a monstrosity far more impressive to destroy his newfound subjects, and this time, he is not going to use the herbivores as a test subject; this time, the carnivores will be far more suitable to handle the job.

⏪Chapter 3.6

Chapter 5⏩