Campus Tales: Episode 11 (The Conspiracy - Oga Don Vex)

OGA DONE VEX

Slowly, I regained consciousness to realize I was on a small, hard bed in a small room. I noticed something that could pass for blood stains on parts of the walls, and my heart raced. Where in the world was I?

There was a small table close to the bed with some powdery substance and a knife on it. I noticed how worn-out and torn the carpeted floor was, coupled with a fowl stench in the room. I jerked from the bed, but was immediately restrained by a sudden throb of pain that swept through my leg, and a slight headache.

Then I realized the bandages that wrapped my leg, and the police invasion of the previous night returned vividly. I recalled the gun shots, and how close to death I was. This was probably a hide out, away from the police. But where exactly was this? I tried to seat up, when I heard the sound of footsteps, a twist on the door knob, and the door flung open, revealing a lanky man with goatee and a chiseled jaw, on torn jean trousers.

“Ha!” he exclaimed. “You don wake?”

“Where am I?” I asked. “And who are you? What am I doing here? Have I been kidnapped?” I was getting really agitated.

“Baba calm down,” he replied amid laughter. “Why you feel say them don kidnap you?”

I requested that he explained where I was, and what I was doing there, and he did so with humour. He came close to the table, and took a stick of cigarette from a pack that lay there.

“You go smoke?” he asked, offering me a stick from the packet, after placing one in his mouth.

“I don’t smoke.”

He shrugged, and lit his, pulled on it, and exhaled gracefully.

“How did I get here?”

“Hmm… baba last night been bloody o. Oga dey vex!

Oga dey vex well well!”

I enquired about Oga, and he explained that he was the birthday boy from the party, and that he had gone into hiding, and sent out his boys to find out how the police must have gotten information about the party.

He further explained how gory the police invasion was, and how they’d lost about three of their friends, but fortunately kill a police man in the shootout.

He pointed out that I was very lucky I’d been found, if not I would have been among those that were either arrested or shot.

He was really chatty and got me up to speed on everything, but the smoke from his cigarette was really disturbing.

“No worry. Your brother been commot with Oga,” he said, drawing from the cigarette. “Them go soon come back.” The smoke came out freely as he spoke.

“My brother?”

“Yes na, Salient Chameleon!” He answered, leaving the room.

That must be James. I heard some people from the party call him that.

Few hours later, I woke to the voice of James as he stepped into the room. He had a long face.

“Where have you been?” I enquired, “I want to leave this place.”

He didn’t answer, but went straight to the table, pulled out a chair, and sank into it. He looked dejected and different.

“What’s with the long face, man?” I enquired.

He still didn’t answer, and this made me restless. He stood up, dipped his left hand in his back pocket, pulled out a box of cigarette, and lit a stick from it. He threw the box on the table, and dragged from the cigarette.

He smokes now? Well, I needed to leave as fast as possible, and so I enquired further.

“Guy what’s wrong? I need to leave this place.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“What?” my heart skipped a bit.

“You’re going nowhere.”