They Took A Trip: The Invitation

By J.C. Nova

Enter the mysterious world of Mutumbiu...

The plan was simple; a few exceptional Nigerian students would get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of an exciting adventure. There would be some rigour, but it would be largely first-class treatment, luxury suites, remarkable gifts, the works. This excursion would take them away from the city - and everything familiar - to Mutumbiu, a secluded commune in Taraba State.

Things take a turn soon after they arrive. Something, or someone, is making people disappear. As new secrets are uncovered, which rock the group’s bond, they each have to answer a difficult question: Is the mythical character they been told about true? Is it flesh and blood?

Or is it one of them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Nova
• Release date: Jul 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463600863

J.C. Nova

J.C. Nova is a passionate, multi-talented speaker and writer with regular posts on various platforms, many articles to his credit and author of KISSING SNAKES and OUR FAVOURITE DEMON. Besides writing, he serves as a Business Consultant, performs Positive Rock Music under the stage name XTsamurai, and spends time mentoring and being a counsellor to young men. He lives with his wife and kids in Lagos, Nigeria, and is an avid lover of tea and long walks.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

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Mutewi squinted in the glare of the hot African sun before bending his head to go into his hut. The interior was cool and quite dark, but that didn't bother him; he knew his way around. This hut, in this part of the forest where he saw into the future, was like a second home and he was used to it all.

All around were the familiar sounds of chirping crickets, the rustling of rats in the thatch roof as they scouted for palm fruits, the heavy silence that almost pressed against the ear and the scurrying sounds of rodents on the damp earth - he knew it all.

He finally found what he was looking for and the ritual began. Muttering under his breath, he dipped his hands into the bowl that contained his bag of bones. With time, he had come to trust in the forces he knew so well to guide him as he practiced his ancient craft. Whispering the last line of this peculiar incantation, he flung the bones with the dexterity of a practiced bowler across the circle of native chalk like he had done many times as a native priest. But this time was different.

First, there was a whoosh out of nowhere. And then, everything else stopped: the rustling of rats in the roof, the cry of the crickets, the sound of the wind overhead, even the chirping of birds. It was as though time itself stood still and all of nature held their breath in response to a silent conductor.

Behind him, Mutewi felt a ghastly presence and goosebumps broke out on the skin of his shoulders. Despite the urge, he knew that in times like these, one did not turn. Moments later, he felt a horrible insidious fear that tugged at his stomach and caused his hair to stand on end. Cold sweat, for no reason, broke out on his forehead.

And then he smelt it. It was a slightly sickening, yet sweet odour that wafted past his nostrils, and then a powerful stench of rottenness engulfed him. Threatened to drown him. As he fought for consciousness, faint drumming sounds began somewhere in the distance, the stench got stronger and now he could also hear, from what seemed like a place far away, the faint buzzing of an army of flies. Flesh-consuming flies.

Now, Mutewi glanced at the bones he had flung only moments ago. As a shudder went through his being, he almost doubted why he had remained in this land. For one as experienced as he this was new, and though he was trying to force a brave smile onto his face to counter the terror that was almost suffocating him now, all he could manage to say, with quivering lips, was one word:

"Evil... Evil!"

PART 1.jpg

The only difference between

genius and insanity is success.

Unknown

...He longs to sit in darkness

Smoking a cigar lighted in hell

With demon babies in a circle

Chanting a dirge:

‘The sole soul of those bold

Is sold,

(And) sheathed in folds of chains

So cold.’

Melancholies (I.J.)

ONE

––––––––

Patrick opened his eyes and yawned, then sat up slowly. He was tired. The fact that he had slept soundly for eight hours appeared to have done nothing to change that fact. Everything was neat, just the way he liked it, except for the bed. The bed was a mess and so was her hair. Yewande... Her back was turned to him and he could not help looking at her voluptuous body one more time before using a part of the duvet to cover her nude form.

Exquisite Tiger, he thought to himself and smiled again, and then his smile gave way slowly to a broad satisfied grin as images of her from the night before rushed through his mind in full colour. Gosh, he thought to himself, her sexual prowess was really godlike! The only person who he could think of that matched her in skill and strength was Yinka. Well, he shrugged to himself, considering they were sisters, it wasn’t difficult to figure out that their ability was probably genetic.

At that thought, he almost burst out laughing, but held back. He did not want to disturb the sleeping figure beside him.

And what would you do to a man if you found out that he was sleeping with both your daughters?

The smile stayed on his lips for a bit longer, but it had lost some of its verve. It had been a while since such thoughts had come to his mind. Anyway, he thought to himself, it's just the way life is, and he shrugged as though responding to the accusation of someone else in the room. When he had his own kids, he would start to worry about that – if he ever decided he was going to have kids running around him in the first place.

He walked wearily towards the cloth rack, glancing out of the window as he walked past, then walked back to the window. There was a slight chill in the air and the warmth of the early rays of the sun engulfed him like a comforting cloak. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to bask in the warmth of the sun as its rays cut through the window panes.

A soft ding pulled him out of his reverie and he turned to the clock. Already eight in the morning, he thought again to himself and then stole one last glance at the sleeping figure. Now, he felt a dull ache in his nether regions. For some reason, seeing her made him want her sister even more; and despite the accusatory thoughts he had shoved out of his mind earlier, he picked up his phone from the table and began to send a quick text to Yinka.

Actually, he owed her an apology, he thought to himself, because last night was supposed to be their night together. Well, he’d simply say he had not been able to travel down to Abeokuta to see her as scheduled because he had been stuck in Lagos sorting out some issues related to anatomy, and considering he had been so immersed, it had been impossible to come over. A sly grin lit up his handsome features and he couldn’t help...

Hey, stranger, what’s making you smile like that?

He jumped. For a split second, it was as though the voice had come from nowhere. But then it was just Yewande. Gosh, why was he so jumpy today? He turned to her and suddenly he felt tired. Another strange thought, that he could have gotten some sort of infection, came to his mind, but he quickly pushed out the notion. But why am I feeling so tired, so...weird, he thought to himself. Perhaps I should go back to bed.

On the bed, about ten feet away, Yewande lay on her side staring at him at with an intense, yet playful expression on her face, head propped on hands that now acted as pillows, a slight smile on her lips. It was obvious she had been staring at him for a while, but he was so lost in thought he had not noticed her stirring.

Though she was smiling, he could see that her eyes went from the phone in his hands to his eyes. She wanted to know what he was up to. Damn! They always wanted to know! He was skilled at deceit, he knew that, having honed a significant amount of that dark skill and wielding it with amazing dexterity over the years. He had come to believe deceit was a necessary part of human existence and interaction. But in addition to deceit, his other skill was learning to be sensitive to intuition. The only challenge at the moment was that the person with him right now, seemed to have an intuitive feeling that something was off.

It’s been said that females are more intuitive than males and often, people can sometimes get a vibe of what is going on without having real evidence or proof. Some say it is spiritual, whatever that subjective word means. Well, whatever it was, he figured his day would go a lot better if she didn’t tap into the knowledge that he was talking to her sister. Now, that would be a real situation! Patrick, she called out again, Is there something you are not telling me?

Oh, I just got a message from Dr. Rufus, he said with a blasé attitude that was quite convincing. Judging from the way he sounds, I feel he doesn’t quite want to let on, but I can tell he is very impressed with the materials I put together for my dissertation. Actually, just thinking about him drooling over my work gives me a hell of a LOL moment! They both burst out laughing, Yewande throwing back her head and closing her eyes, while he looked at her thinking, Yeah, there she goes laughing her head off, munching happily on a load of concocted bull.

Gosh, Patrick, you’re really something. No lecturer has ever called me with regards to anything academic, she said, giving him a knowing look and