Episode 2- VAGUE ENLIGHTENMENT

The rider man shifted and positioned himself on the left side of the entrance to the cabin. He calmly redirected his weight backwards and leaned against the cabin to avoid wetting his passengers' belongings.

He then calmly assured us that this part of the country was also safe but then fell back into silence, just as fast as he had started the talk.

It was almost six hours since we left the city. I was already feeling cramped up and so hungry. My stomach turned over and over, resounding again and again. We decided that a hearty meal would do and quickly pulled out the packed food. Personally I was chewing down eight pieces of roast meet. Cole poured out some gin and invited the rider to the table. As always in his jovial manner, he said, "Buddy you've got to have some of this down your throat if you are to keep warm for the night, a cold would really be worrying out here."

To this, the rider responded by taking up his portion of meat and gin, and set himself about in the business of emptying his dish in the shortest time possible. All this he did, while casting curious glances from one to the other of each one of us. He then broke the silence.

"Why have you guys decided to use this route to get across to the next village?" said he.

"Oh," said Cole, "We simply are in need of a special plant extract for research back at the facility in Vance."

"Oh, I see you look a doctor," said the rider, with a look of satisfaction across his face, which showed a feeling of a satisfactory guess.

"No, Iam not a doctor," replied Cole shaking his head from side to side.

"We're all researchers," he added. "We all work for the research facility at the heart of the city called The Universal Lab."

"Then that reminds me where I've often seen you from," he muttered. "Oh my, I'm always such a forgetful fellow!"

He further ventured to speak, "It must be great to participate in research and also all the handsome payment they give in return for your work!"

"I have a son on Royal merit at the Royal University studying with the aim of being a forensic researcher. He says that Janai inspired him."

Janai looked up in surprise at the mention of his name. He had been quiet all along the way that we had almost forgotten that he was around, save for the fact that he was just by my side. From what I knew of him, he had a manner of being warped up in his deep thoughts and always disliked unnecessary intrusion upon his thought process. For he usually told us that thoughts and ideas were more real than men, and that they cost lots of money which could make one a prince, if put to good use. Janai then gave a compliment about the rider's son and in no time was plunged back into solitude from which he had been suddenly aroused from.

Cole then chipped in, "We need the plant extract as rumor has it that they can be made into medicines necessary to correct issues of nervous breakdown, correct transmission of impulses and other cardiac problems!"

The rider gave a look of surprise, and told us that just a few days ago, a group of men had come looking for exactly the same extract. He told us that there were doubts among locals about its effectiveness.

He said, "I know of one man in particular, one murderous devil, who was part of that last cohort to come looking for that same thing!"

"He is one demon you wouldn't want to meet for sure!" he sternly warned us.

"Why would it be so?" I paused a question.

He replied, "Rumors in town suggest that he and his men killed all the researchers and escorts who had gone into the jungle with them. They then proceeded to escape out of the country. A hunt has been on for them, with high prizes promised from the Royal Vance Guards."

We looked across at each other almost in surprise but kept it to ourselves. I thought I had seen him once or twice back at The Universal Lab and for sure he was one man who could scare you to your wits end.

"Oh, what a scary tale, let's talk about something else boys. We need to keep cheered up!" voiced Cole.

However, as we talked delightfully about our old days, silence momentarily overtook us once again. At last, it was all in vain to try and cheer each other up, something seemed not right somewhere despite our efforts to stay cheered up!

The old rider then wiggled out a pack of cigarettes from his large coat pocket, just on the inside. He lit them up and offered them to us all. Then, as if realizing that he had brought our spirits low, he tried to calm us down and reassure us.

"I know everything is going to be hunky-dory, " said he. "I've been here a lot many times taking supplies to and fro, so you may count on me to guide you, I'll be happy to be of use."

"Oh sure, thanks." I replied at him.

"The only thing to worry about is the unpredictable weather out here, of which I see my buddies are well-prepared in case such occasion arose." He retorted. "We'll soon be there in no time, once this rain subsides," he added.

After what looked like a long silence, he told us of how peaceful the place had been except for a death which had raised some controversies among locals.

^^^"A retired general was found suspended by his legs at the top of a two -hundred foot tall tree. His throat had been cut; actually sawed, in his right palm a crossbow was firmly held and poised ready to shoot. In fact, the moment he was shaken, someone, a lady, among the spectators, fell to the ground. It was later discovered that the bow was from that crossbow in the dead guys palm. It had buried itself neatly into her heart. No one has ever been able to uncover the details of this death. A spectacular thing is that in his right palm, was written the name of his wife in a beautiful manner. The lady was Laree D'bloi. This left everyone clueless as to how all this happened. The lady fled to an unknown safe aboard, though some think she really was the mastermind behind all that mess and that it was the reason for her flight. "^^^

Cole and Janai paid keen attention to the rider as he disclosed a testament of the place. Janai took up the burden of scribbling down some details using the dim cabin light. From my experience with him, I could tell he was already collecting what he termed as initial clues. He always deemed every bit of information and never gave a damn about them. Janai was what you could call an exceptional detective, full of enthusiasm for his often murky work. He was usually juggling several complex cases at a go and surprisingly pulling off clues we needed, and not only that, he had surprisingly cunning ways of gaining evidence as much as needed to drop any clever-head behind the bars. His deductions were always, so complex, that he often had to play dynamic plans to overtake the criminals. All this seemed impossible to me, but he unlocked everything just as if he had worked with the criminals and knew about them and their actions.

Above all, he was deeply obsessed by investigating deaths; he was not the kind of man to be scared of anything. One time he singled out a treacherous murderer who had foolishly threatened him through an unknown stranger. He also took down a clever woman who had murdered her foster parents in an attempt to take over their empire together with her boyfriend. The duo were arrested just as they were almost leaving the country. All these was due to Janai's seasoned and well-timed deductions. He was so adept at his work that it was impossible for me to out him out of my list anytime I needed to handle a case.

I soon was involved deeply in my world of thoughts until I vaguely could tell what the rider was still yapping about. I only recollected myself when the rider was asking us to step outside and give a lift and push to the tricycle. For it had been stuck in mud all that time the rain fell. I stepped out and felt the cold air wind up through my nostrils and into my lungs. My breath then became heavy, I had difficultly breathing on cold nights. Despite the fact that I had thick clothing on me, I still felt unpleasantly cold.

We moved to the back of the small vehicle and gave a push. In no time it was back on track with the three of us once again back in our cozy nest. I imagined how the rider managed to stay out there in the cold, but then remembered he was doing it all for the sake of money.

"How surprising was the fact that humans can do anything for the sake of money," I thought.

Chills of fear ran down my spine as we rode up a hill. I could see the rider struggling; his shoulders momentarily heaving from side to side and his back arched forward as he peddled forward with a newfound energy. I looked at my watch - it was already 12:44 a.m. I knew it would be impossible to ride all night across the valleys and hills. Looking outside the small cabin window, I could see the bushes swayed to one side. This clearly hinted that a lake or swamp was nearby and hence the sway effect. I stopped the rider and asked him if we could once again stop by the roadside and wait till morning to which he replied saying that there was an abandoned house just at the top of the hill that could give us a warm shelter to safely spend the night out of the danger of wild animals. I then skipped back and humped into my seat as the rider got us moving once again. Likewise, I wondered how homely it would be to be received warmly by fellow humans after what seemed to be a day spent up travelling through the lonely roads, and seeing no living creature, not even the birds. For it seemed as though all creatures were aware of the silent deathly danger that loomed over the place.

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