The Python-Man

1 - The Research Centre

Nneka woke up with a start. She was having a light nap when she realised she had left one of her memory cards at the village. That memory card was precious to her. She went through her pockets, bags and cabinet just to be sure. There was no way she was going to return to the capital without her memory card. She had been filming for almost a week and only switched to another memory card when the first one got filled. The first memory, which contained all of her works, was the missing memory card.

“Sola,” Nneka tapped her colleague awhile changing her clothes.

“Yes…” Sola murmured, annoyed by the disturbance.

“I’m going to the village. I left one…”

“You’re what?” Sola interrupted, partly alarmed.

“I said I am going to the village to retrieve my memory card.” Nneka announced as she slide down her bum shorts and began to wear her jungle shorts.

“At this time of the day?” Sola asked, lifting her back off the bad. “Why don’t you wait till the morning?”

“Haba. The helicopter leaves at 6 am tomorrow morning. Already, the staff here are tired of me. Each time we go to the village, they complain that I spend more time than I need to. Imagine how they would treat me if I were the one delaying the helicopter. Besides, our flight leaves at 8:00am tomorrow. Even if the helicopter waits for me, we might still miss our flight.”

“Hmm. Let one of the staff follow you…”

Nneka laughed. “Who would follow me? They all hate me. Especially that Mr. Thompson. Don’t worry; I’m a big girl. I’ll be back before nightfall.” She ended as she walked out of the room.

2 - The Forest

Nneka had just left the village when she noticed the sky pulled the sun into its pocket. Soon it would become dark, she murmured to herself. She decided to follow a bush path one of the villagers showed her a few days ago. It was a short cut to the research centre.

Just as she entered the bush, she noticed how dark it became quickly. The further she went, the darker it became. She didn’t mind. She continued working until she heard a child crying. She turned aside and walked through the midst of very tall trees. The leaves of those trees formed a canopy that make it hard for light to penetrate. Nneka decided to return to her path. She turned around but she didn’t see any direct path. All she saw were tall trees around her. She decided to continue walking.

“Nneka, you have a very beautiful head.”

Nneka nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked around hoping to find someone familiar but she saw no one. Instead, she heard a laugher. It seemed to be coming from the ground. The ground? Nneka turned to her left and looked among the large roots of the trees around her. It was then she saw him. A man buried with his head above the ground. Nneka had heard of such punishments but she didn’t think they were real. She bent to get a closer look and realised the man wasn’t buried at all. There was no body. It was just a head.

Nneka stumbled backwards until she hit one of the big roots and fell. Just then, a very large python crawled a few inches from her feet. They was something about the python that sent cold shivers down her spine. What happened next made her stand up at once and run for dear life. The python didn’t have a head. It moved to the body-less man and merged with it at the neck. Nneka had neither seen nor heard of such a creature before: a python with the head of a man. She couldn’t even bear to check if the python-man was behind her. She ran as if her very life depended on it.

Nneka bended a corner only to see the python-man waiting for her. “No! No!” She screamed, her limps paralysed by the frightening sight. She wanted to shout “Jesus!” but she was an atheist. She didn’t believe in God. She didn’t believe in supernatural creatures. She couldn’t believe what was happening to her. “Jesus! Jesus! I believe in you” She shouted all the same, eager to believe in anything or anyone that could save her.

“Nneka, where are your manners? I told you that you have a beautiful head and you ran away. Aren’t you supposed to say ‘thank you’? Where are your manners?” the python-man chided as he slowly approached her, knowing she had nowhere to run to.

“I’m sorry. I’m very sorry sir” Nneka pleaded, hot tears rolling down her cheeks. Her hands were shivering and her feet were suddenly struggling to bear her weight. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted to shout for help but she didn’t want to provoke the creature.

“Now you are sorry? Is that how you want to raise your son?” the python-man asked, moving closer to her.

Nneka clutched her stomach. How did he know about her three weeks pregnancy? Even her boyfriend didn’t. She felt a tight squeeze around her legs and fell to the ground. The python-man had began to coil around her. With each coil, she left life leaving her in rapid breaths. The python-man got to her face and she could see him clearly. It was Mr. Thompson.

Nneka woke up with a start.

Word count (including headings): 921 Words

This is my entry for the Celebrating A Milestone | 22.5 SBD Giveaway Contest by @julietisrael

Image source: Wikipedia