Having spent two months with my parents, the holiday was over and it was time for me to travel back to my hometown where I was schooling.
A few weeks earlier, there were reports of armed robbery attacks along the 50 kilometers road that linked the two interstate towns.
My granduncle unfortunately ran into one of such attacks and he narrated is ugly experience.
"I was lucky that the robbers used hood facemasks. When they don't suspect that you have a glimpse of their identity, you can be rest assured that your money and other valuable materials are what you would be parting ways with. Otherwise, they would not trust you not to reveal their identities to the police."
The thieves were majorly known jobless youths in the community who took up crime instead of engaging in lawful jobs. The hottest spot along the road was just about 2 kilometers from my hometown where I was schooling. It was at that spot that the vehicle in which my granduncle was traveling in was robbed.
"I pray that you won't come across them on your way. If you do, do everything to avoid eye contact whether they wear masks or not else you are risking your life," he cautioned me further.
I wished that there was another option of traveling to resume my education apart from the plying dreaded road. Unfortunately, no water channel to consider water transportation nor was there an airport to consider going by air. Even in land, only the said road connects the two towns.
I took note of the advice and warning by my granduncle.
A few days later, I boarded a vehicle going to my hometown.
"Please be smart as you are going. Don't drag your property with anyone. If they stop you and request for anything in your possession, please don't hesitate to release it to them. Your life is most precious to me. I pray that they won't cross your path as you go." My mother offered me some words of advice and cautions.
My loads were arranged in the boot of the car and I joined the already seated five passengers in the car. I completed the required number and the driver drove on.
As we progressed into the journey while also approaching the dreaded spot, I noticed that the vehicular movements on the opposing lane ceased.
"The upcoming lane is free of traffic. I hope this is not a sign of a problem ahead of us," a woman sitting next to me let out her observation at a time that my mind was becoming agitated for the same reason.
"I think we should slow down a bit to study the situation so that we don't end up falling into the waiting hands of the men of the underworld." Another passenger sitting beside the driver added his voice.
In all these expressions of concern, the driver waved everything aside with his foot on the accelerator.
"Since I have been driving for two decades, I have never been robbed. If you know that you signed a pact with them, you can tell me so that I will stop for you to alight." The adamant driver attacked everyone that expressed fear.
"This is beyond fate," I told him. "You need to be the chief security officer of yourself before calling on God to come to your assistance. You can't wish danger away, you plan in every possible way to avoid it."
The other passengers were humming in agreement to all that I was saying but the driver was adamant. It was as if my sermon gave him more power to his foot to accelerate the car. To tell me that he cared less about what we were saying, he reached to the save of the car's dashboard and fetched his airpods. He fixed them to his ears and threw our words away to the dogs.
The vehicle ascended a hilly part of the road and on reaching the peak, we sighted some men in mufti with different types of guns in their hands. I needed no interpreter to tell me who they were.
"Turn! turn!! turn!!!" About three voices shouted at the driver.
With the impact of the sudden brake applied by the driver, I nearly hit my head on my knee. The mark of the turn was left on the tar as the driver maneuvered his way to turn back from danger.
It was too late to run. The car turned back into the waiting hands of four guys in masks who had jumped into the highway immediately after we passed the spot. It dawned on us that there was no escape route for us.
"Come down," one of them, with his gun on his shoulder, shouted at us.
We opened the car doors immediately and negotiated our way down from the car that had rammed into the bush while trying to avoid hitting one of the robbers that unexpectedly jumped into the road.
I crawled from my seat to the ground and immediately lay on the ground with my face down. All that was going through my mind was for the thieves to take whatever they wanted to take from me without harming me.
"Stand up and show me your bag," a heavy load fell on my nerves as a hand pulled me up by my waist. I could hear my heartbeat.
"Look at me my friend," the guy whose voice sounds familiar drew me closer to himself.
I held on to the caution of my granduncle. I kept my sight out of any of theirs. I was panting on my feet while making an attempt to show him my bag when the sounds of gunshots rented the air. I went down immediately to avoid being hit by a stray bullet.
After a while the whole place went silent. The military had come for our rescue and the robbers ran away on sighting them approaching.
We boarded our car and the military guarded us to safety.
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