The Bridge
“Breaking news; an accident that occurred in the early hours of this morning on the third mainland bridge has led to over thirteen casualties and counting. According to hospital reports the remaining five survivors are in critical condition. This tragic event was caused by an accidental collision of a trailer with an omnibus carrying inmates from the Ikoyi correctional centre. In more unfortunate news, six inmates are reported to have been missing from the scene and are suspected to have escaped. The police are advising the public to be on guard and to protect themselves from this possible threa—“
“Ah ahn, Timi, radio too?” Dupe exclaimed.
Joshua let out a loud belly laugh from the passenger seat and slapped the back of the driver seat where his bestfriend was seating, “Dupe, it’s like you don’t know your brother’s car, the radio was probably draining his fuel,”
“Ha ha ha,” Timi said sarcastically, “It’s not draining my fuel, it’s running down my battery. The map says there’s traffic up ahead so if you don’t want us to breakdown at the side of the road, you better wind down and enjoy the natural AC and radio of the streets,”
Joshua just laughed louder.
“Maybe we should just get down and push the car home at this point,” Dupe said snarkily, crossing her arms in feigned haughtiness.
“Keep talking like that and you just might,” Timi said, returning her haughtiness with his own. With a loud hiss Dupe reached forward and slapped him on the back of the head.
“Okay, okay, enough of the sibling spat. And you, Dupe you should even be grateful we chose to pick you up from your interview, technically you should be hopping buses,” Joshua said cutting in.
“She still might,” Timi added.
“Ugh, because I asked you people to pick me, you are now forming superior. Oya, sorry ohh,”
That made Timi laugh, “Humility fits you,”
“Whatever, lets even see if this your stupid car will make it to the house,” she grumbled.
As if in agreement with her words the car started sputtering and began to slow down.
“Ohh no, don’t tell me…” Timi said in clear frustration.
The car came to a slow and excruciating halt right at the intersection at the entrance to the third mainland bridge.
“Come on, come on…” Timi muttered to himself as he tried to start the car back up again, repeatedly turning the key in the ignition. His only results were a faint clicking sound of the key flipping back and forth but nothing from the engine. After a while he gave up and slapped his steering hard.
“Lets just check, I’m sure that engine just needs a tap,” Joshua said, in his ever the voice of reason, and got out of the car.
“Yeah… yeah maybe,” Joshua said, still sounding frustrated, before he popped the hood and got out of the car too.
Dupe stayed inside, and stuck her head out of the window instead of getting out, “Do any of you even know what you’re doing?” The boys didn’t reply her, they were too busy exchanging mechanical words like “carburetor”, to hear her. She sat back looking around suspiciously, all the scary stories of being stranded on the highway started playing in her head. She opened her phone and started scrolling for her Bolt app.
The boys fiddled under the hood for a while, shut it and came back into the car to try to start it but it still refused to ignite.
“So what now?” Dupe asked.
“I saw a tow truck a while back, I’m sure it’s not far, maybe we can just walk there,” Joshua offered.
“You mean that tow truck,” Dupe pointed at a familiar yellow and black pickup truck, speeding its way past them and onto the bridge.
“Okay, we can just call an Uber or something,”
Dupe pointed her phone in his face, her Uber app open, “No available rides,”
“What about Bolt?”
“Checked that first, it says the same thing,”
Joshua let out a sigh but he still wouldn’t give in, “We could always wait for a bus to pass and hop on,”
“Omo I no get cash ohh, you?” Timi said, finally chipping in.
Joshua dug in his pocket and brought out a two hundred naira note, the two boys turned to Dupe. She checked her purse and brought out the one thousand Naira bill she had saved for transport just in case her brother and his friend decided to disappoint her.
“Okay then it’s settled, we’ll flag down a bus,”
The boys made a move to get down from the car, “Wait!” Dupe stopped them, “Are you sure it’s safe?” she asked, there were cars passing but it was still a lonely place for people using their legs as transportation.
Timi laughed, “Nothing can happen jor,” he said and got down.
Joshua turned around and smiled, “Don’t worry,”
Not convinced but not wanting to look scared, Dupe got down from the car too. They stood at the side watching a lot of cars zoom past them, but no yellow buses, “What are we going to do with the car, just leave it here?” Dupe asked.
“You can carry it on your head if you want,” Timi replied sarcastically, this time she didn’t have snide comments to make so she just looked away without a reply. Feeling a little remorseful, Timi added, “We’ll drop at Obalende and look for a mechanic there. Then we could another bus or a bike or something back here to fix it.”
She nodded her head, Dupe looked around feeling uneasy when noticed they were not completely alone on the bridge. Across the road from them was a young man who seemed to be lurking. She could have sworn he wasn’t there a second ago or maybe she missed him. He looked up catching her staring so she quickly looked away. She looked at her companions deep in a discussion about where in Obalende they were most likely to find a mechanic and pretended to listen. Her eyes wandered across the bridge again, this time she noticed a friend had joined the strange man. She also noticed for the first time how rough they looked, in ripped jeans shorts and colourful t-shirts that hadn’t seen a wash in a long time. She looked away again worried she would get caught staring again. This time it didn’t take her long to look back and to her surprise there were three more men there now. She realized why she felt so unsettled by them, they seemed to be in conversation with each other she a distinct premonition that her and her mini crew were the topic
.
Dupe moved closer to the boys and whispered, “Guys… uhh… we can’t get robbed in the middle of the afternoon, right?” They looked at her in confusion but that didn’t last long because the group of men started making their way right for them, “Timi…”
Her brother, noticing the men, yanked her behind him, “Stay here,” he said then faced the incoming group with hands raised, “Ogas, how una dey?”
The strange men stalked closer, eying the two young men, the girl behind them and the car behind her very curiously, “We dey ohh bro, how far, your car don spoil?” The man that spoke was missing an eye and he had a teardrop tattoo on the bottom corner of his good one. He had to take the cigarette he was smoking out of his mouth to address them.
“Yes ohh, abeg you know any mechanic for this side?” Timi asked again, he sounded calm, friendly even but from her position, her front pressed onto his back she could feel him shaking and that terrified her.
“Ahh no ohh, mechanic no deyy for this side at all at all, abi Kamiru I dey lie?” One eye said.
“No boss, nobody dey, na only us for this area,” the man that spoke up was extremely scruffy, he had a full beard that looked like it had never seen a comb or soap. His voice was very deep and gruff, he spoke with such a reckless abandon she suspected he was drunk.
“Ehn, no problem… ehh we fit find one for Obalende,” It was Joshua that piped up now spotting a yellow bus and trying to flag it down. The bus came close to them and slowed down, but on realizing just the kind of situation the potential riders were in it sped up again and left them behind.
Kamiru let out a loud laugh and two of the other men joined him.
One eye, whose gaze never left his prospects, proceeded to stand directly in front of Joshua, “See, even for Obalende you no fit see any mechanic, I dey tell you,” he said conspiratorially, slapping his hand on the young man’s chest in a supposedly friendly way, but from the way Joshua winced it was clear it did not feel very friendly, “But it be like say I fit help you sha,”
The boys kept quiet at that.
“Abi, you no want make I help you ni?” Uncle One Eye asked.
“No… yes… yes….” Joshua stammered.
Dupe watched one eye smile and nod then look at Kamiru who hadn’t stopped grinning since the bus incident. Kamiru looked up and caught her staring.
“Ahn ahn, aunty, why you dey hide for back? Abi you no like my face? I no fine to you abi?” he goaded, caressing his face to emphasize his words.
Dupe’s heart was beating so loudly she was sure they could all hear it, she looked down on the ground and didn’t say a word.
“Ahh see Kamiru, the girl no even want look your ugly face at all,” One of the guys from the back said and the whole group started laughing, everyone except the three hostages.
“See aunty, me I know fine but if I give you that tin, your eye go change,” Kamiru said in a voice filled with laughter.
Mortified, Dupe continued to stare at the ground.
One eye laughed and turned his attention back to Timi, “We go help you fix am.”
“Fix what?” Timi asked boldly.
One eye smiled at that then gathered spit in his mouth and shot it out on the street, “Your car, we go fix am for you.”
“Ahhh thank you but…”
“I want play good Samaritan for you today, give me key,” he said, then stretched out his hand, palm up to Timi.
Timi didn’t budge.
“I say give me key wey dey for your hand, abi you don deaf,” One eye’s voice was slowly raising to an alarming point.
“Timi give him the keys,” Dupe whispered behind him.
Timi still didn’t move.
“Abi this one one don mad? Oga you dey craze? My boss say make you give am key, you no gree? Ahh e be like say you want die this night.” Kamiru began to bounce restlessly then busted out in sudden range and shoved Timi back making him bump Dupe and she fell on the floor.
In an instant Kamiru was at her side yanking her up by her elbow, “Fine girl no vex jare,” He said his mood back to happy and jovial, “This your boyfriend want make I break in head but na because of you I just calm myself,” She didn’t for a second doubt his words, that he would indeed break her brother’s head. When she was on her feet, Kamiru still had his hand firmly wrapped around her elbow.
“It be like say you no want make I help una?” One eye said looking between them, then with a smile he nodded, then brought up his hand and slapped Timi loudly across the face.
“Ahh please… stop… please…” Dupe didn’t know when she moved but before she knew it she was in front of her brother trying to protect from an onslaught. She was a poor excuse of a barrier but she couldn’t watch them hurt her brother, “Timi, give him the keys,” she pleaded.
Joshua took a place beside Dupe, “Abeg… oga abeg take it easy…” he addressed one eye.
Timi didn’t reply, she turned around to see her brother, still in a state of daze. He put hand on his face and looked away.
“Timi… Timi… the keys… please…”
“Bro, just give them!” Joshua raised his voice. She could hear the fear mixed in anger in his voice.
Kamiru started laughing and so did some of the others in the ragamuffin group, somehow their laughter sounded more menacing than their words.
“It be like say this your bro want problem sha,” Kamiru said and lifted his shirt to show the knife hidden in the waist of his boxers.
“Please Tim—“
Dupe’s words were cut off when a car came speeding at them, Dupe, Timi and Joshua jumped against their car as three of their assailants got run over. The other two jumped into the bush under the bridge. The car reversed, so close to the trio that they were worried it was trying to finish them off. The car came to a halt beside them and the passenger door came open.
“Get in,” A man’s voice said from inside.
Joshua didn’t hesitate, he jumped in the passenger seat and yelled, “You guys, get inside, now!”
The other two hopped in and the car sped away. When her heart stopped beating so fast Dupe looked back at the formerly lively men laying stiff on the floor as they drove away.
“That was close, Bro…” Joshua said and let out a nervous laugh, “Bros thank you, thank you man,” he let out a sigh of relief.
“This bridge is very dangerous, all these boys just hang around here waiting for people like you,” Their savior said.
“They were trying to take my car…” Timi said.
“They still might, but thank God I saw you guys in time so they didn’t do you any bodily harm. It seems I got there just in time,”
The man spoke English very well but Dupe didn’t know why she found that odd, “Are they dead?” she just blurted out, the thought just popped in her head and then out of her mouth.
Joshua was quick to reply her, “I don’t think they’re dead—“
“That’s not our business,” The stranger said more forcefully, cutting Joshua off.
Dupe looked up for the first time to catch a glimpse of him but all she got was a clear sight of the back of his head. She looked into the rear view mirror and his eyes were already on her. She looked away feeling weird about his staring.
“So where are you guys headed?”
“Obalende, we were hoping we could find a mechanic there? But I don’t know how we can go back,”
“Ohh no I’ll take you to Sura, we’ll find someone who will go back and get the car for you and fix it. They know all these boys around. Then I’ll just take you home,”
“Wow bro, you’re a real lifesaver,” Timi said with a laugh.
Dupe looked up at the rear view mirror again and he was still looking at her, she wondered what eyes he was using to see the road.
Though it was shielded from the view of all his passengers, the driver leaned forward to adjust the gun in the cup holder by the door and he pulled his Ikoyi correctional jumpsuit over the metal to completely shield it.
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