"The owner of the Bravery alcoholic drink company lost his only son and gateman who were killed brutally last night. They were pierced through the chest by an unknown ruthless murderer. The police force have vowed to get to the bottom of the murders", Francis Ebuka reported at the news.
Joseph was watching the news. He saw the pictures of the murder victims and gaped at the screen when he recognized the boy. "This boy is a student in my school", he was taken aback, "Why would someone kill him?", he thought, extremely confused and worried.
* * *
A JS1 male pupil entered his classroom. He heard murmurs amongst his classmates. Though he did not get what they were talking about, his sixth sense told him it was bad news. He went for his seat to ask his friend who sat right next to him at his left.
He tapped his friend's back, interrupting the friend's chatter with a girl who sat next to the friend. The friend was so happy to see him.
"Samuel what's up?", his friend extended a hand for a handshake and they shook hands.
"Jonathan what's going on?", he asked, a little bit petrified. Jonathan kept a thoughtful look, not fathoming what exactly Samuel was talking about. "I'm talking about what everyone's talking about", said Samuel desperately.
"Wait! You haven't heard about it?!", Jonathan gaped at him, "Your namesake died last night. It's all over the local news", he revealed.
"Oh My God!", Samuel reacted, saddened by the news already.
"That's what Jane and I have been talking about since she came", added Jonathan.
"Hello!", Jane waved at Samuel, wearing a pleasant smile.
"You know what happened to him?", he inquired of her.
"Heard from the news they were pierced through the chest with a thin pole rooted to the ground", she replied, fumbling with her hair.
"If it's not a mistake, I heard you say they", he pointed at her.
"Yes! Even the gateman was killed with him the same way", she replied quietly. Samuel faced his front, perplexed by everything he heard.
A teacher suddenly walked into the classroom and he greeted the pupils. "Good morning class", he kept his bag on top of the big table in front of the class.
"Good morning Sir", they replied in unison and stood up.
"Sorry for coming late. My car broke down on the way", he apologized.
Joseph knocked on the opened door and asked the teacher;"Can I come in?"
"Of course Sir", the teacher replied nervously, "Good morning Sir", he greeted.
Joseph drifted into the classroom, counting his steps, with his hands to his back. He gazed at every pupil as he went to the centre of the classroom. Silence reigned as he stood on the spot, looking at the pupils awkwardly.
They were beginning to feel nervous, wondering if the owner of their school was studying them or something. The teacher also was surprised at what was going on.
"Did we do anything wrong?", Samuel asked Jonathan, trying not to move his lips.
"I don't think so", Jonathan replied with uncertainty.
Joseph finally broke the silence of nervousness. "You all know what happened to a classmate of yours right?", he asked in a husky voice.
Everyone responded they knew about the incident. "I was there last night. He was celebrating his birthday last night", said a boy.
"Birthday?", he kept a pitiful look, "That's really bad", he soughed, looking downwards. After a while, he looked up at the pupils. "We're going to see the parents right now", he informed them. They showed interest in going.
"So no classes today Sir?", asked the teacher.
"Yes! You can get going", he replied casually. The teacher walked out of the class. "So...see you outside in the school bus", he said to the pupils and drifted out of the class. They got up at the double, keeping their seats in order, putting their books in their school bags and carrying them along.
* * *
The police were investigating the area where the two victims were brutally murdered. Some were blocking the way of some journalists that wanted probing into the incident.
While the victim's Dad was having a conversation with the Detective, Joseph walked out of the house with the victim's Mum. The children who came with him were on their heels.
"The Police Force won't rest until we uncover the truth behind their mysterious deaths", the Detective promised the bereaved Dad.
"What did my son do to deserve this?", he tried not to shed tears.
A female Detective joined them, revealing a bad news to them. "I hate to admit but we found nothing that could be useful for the investigation. The killer is really an expert", she said.
The male Detective glimpsed at the bereaved Dad and noticed the depression on his face and sighed out of pity. "It can't be possible, there must be something", he said to his colleague, "I'll talk to you later Sir", he excused himself. Both of them left to go continue on their investigation. Dad sighed and as he turned back to go back home, Joseph with his wife and the children approached him.
"I'm so sorry for your loss Sir", Joseph expressed his condolence, and the bereaved Dad shook hands with him in return.
"Thank you very much", he responded, "You must be the founder of my son's school right?", he asked, glamorizing his mood with a smile.
"Yes Sir", Joseph answered.
"Thank you for coming. At least my son has been remembered", Mum appreciated, forcing out a smile.
"Ah! I had to come. Your son was a very good boy. I knew him personally", Joseph explained.
"Oh really?", Dad's mood brightened up a little bit.
Samuel watched Mr Joseph as he fumbled with his necklace while replying to the victim's Dad. He felt something fishy about the necklace because it looked weird to him. A necklace consisting of a chain of tiny human skulls was more them enough to raise a suspicion on Joseph's motives.
"Do you see something fishy about Mr Joseph's necklace?", he asked his friend Jonathan, who was standing right beside him.
"This is no time for your probing questions", Jonathan replied, disappointed with him.
"Why did I even ask?", he hissed. Jonathan did not give away a notion for what he said. Samuel stared at Joseph's necklace intently.
* * *
Two teenagers, a boy and a girl walked together on a lonely road at night. They were chattering about something as they arrived at the home of the girl.
"It's time to say goodbye", she said to him, opening her arms wide for a hug. They hugged each other warmly.
"See you tomorrow in school", he whispered. The girl opened the gate and turned back to wave at him. He waved back in return and she went in.
"Where have you been?", the gateman's voice was heard behind the gate.
"Relax Sir! I'm okay. I had some important stuff to take care of", she replied.
The boy giggled;"The gateman's really a pain in the arse." He sighed and began the lonely journey home.
The chirping of crickets were heard, wind blowing a bit violently all of a sudden. This gave him the creeps as he rounded a bend at the left, into another road.
After he had walked a pretty long way from the bend, he had an intuition that someone was behind him. He spun on his heels and saw someone concealed by the darkness of the night standing at a spot close to the bend.
He swallowed dryly with fear and began mincing away. As he minced away, he turned his head backwards and saw the unknown person coming towards him quickly. He gasped with fear and ran away immediately, yelling for help. He turned his head back again, but did not see the person this time. As he faced forward, he saw the person not far away from him. It was the one and only Father Christmas!
"Father Christmas?", he gasped out in fear and shock.
"What do you want for Christmas?", he asked with a nebulous smile.
"Thought you were dead?", the boy became perplexed. He then saw blood gushing out of Father Christmas' chest and gaped at it. "You're certainly dear", he said.
Father Christmas gawped at him, bristled with what he said. "So that means you won't make a wish?", he growled.
The boy yelled;"Somebody should please help me!!" He then walked two steps backwards with a stagger.
"Forget about it...I promise you no one will hear your cream", Father Christmas gave out an unusual giggle, "Now what do you want?", he asked with a stern look. The boy said nothing and ran away for his life.
"Where are you running to?", Father Christmas asked in a stentorian voice. He was furious.
The boy looked behind as he was running away and saw Father Christmas still standing at the spot, concealed by the darkness of night. But, as he turned to face forward, he bumped against Father Christmas, who immediately gripped him firmly at the neck.
"Seems I'll have to grant you something without you asking", he spoke with a cracked voice. He pressed the boy's neck and blood began flowing out of his mouth, who was now becoming weak as he gasped in pain.