MY NAME IS KONG

Beast!,Beast!,Beast!"
The sound of their chants filled his ears. His arms felt  heavy from holding them up for so long.He didn't know which was worse, the intense heat of the mid day sun or the pain in his head.


He wiped thick sweat mixed with blood from his face.His nose was broken, he could barely see with his left eye. His lips were torn up and he could taste the warm blood from where some molars used to be.If he were any wiser, Kelechi would've realised that the intense pain in his side was an indication of a broken rib.

"Beast,buss im head!!!"Came a maniacal scream from the crowd around them.

With his good eye,he stole a glance at the faces cheering them on.They were faces he knew: Neighbours,Carpenters,shop owners, friends....and the rest of Beast's crew.
He saw horror...even sympathy in some of the faces.

But none spoke up.

Their horrified faces watched his humiliation amidst the yells and chants.
"Beast!Beast!Beast!"

Kelechi's opponent was aptly nicknamed. Beast was a dark-skinned, 6ft5 muscle-bound monster of a man. Aside his size, Beast was also a skilled boxer. He had put more than a few men in the hospital in his time. So severe was his brutality, that he'd been banned from boxing after nearly killing someone in a street fight.

Having lost all hopes of ever becoming a professional boxer, Beast started his criminal career. At first, it was petty stuff;phones,laptops and jewelry.But with time, he became a full fledged armed robber. Soon, he joined the Black Brothers, a group of thieves, rapists and kidnappers. They were the muscle of politicians and any who could afford their services.

"U don taya?" Beast screamed at him. The monster of a man had his arms stretched as he bathed in the cheers and chants  he was receiving from the crowd.

The entire neighbourhood had come out to witness the fight. They'd formed a large circle around the two bare chested fighters.

Beast was smiling at his admirers,doing his signature triumphant dance whilst Kelechi could barely stand. He had no injuries on him.It was a fact he often boasted of. No one had ever succeeded in landing a punch on his face.

"Beast! Beast! Beast!"
Kelechi knew in his heart he had lost the fight. His opponent was too strong, too fast, and too skilled.

"Biko,make I beat dis boy scarra"Beast smiled. Then he charged towards Kelechi like a bull. He feinted a left hook to the ribs. On reflex,Kelechi tried to block it . But he had dropped his guard, opening himself up for a vicious right cross. Kelechi never stood a chance. He blacked out the instant Beast's fist made contact with the side of his face. The impact knocked him off his feet, sending his body across the circle into the dirt with a loud thud.


"AAAAH!! The crowd went.
The triumphant Beast threw his bloodied knuckles into the air.

"BEEEEAST!!" His comrades yelled in delight.
There was no need for a ten count. Kelechi wasn't even conscious.








"Kong!.....Kong!"

Richard rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was to be disturbed. He'd been working on this particular post for hours and it still wasn't ready.

"Kong!" Ugo yelled again. He heard very loud  tapping on his bedroom window. For some strange reason, his best friend never learnt that knocking didn't have to be a violent gesture.

"You missed a great fight oh!" Ugo yelled through the mosquito net. He sounded excited.

 "hmmm?" Richard responded without looking up from his Phone.

"Dis Mumu blog you've been blogging, we haven't seen one Naira o!"

"Don't you have something better to do, like Kissing Beast's a**?"
Long pause.

"Which kine talk be dat?" Ugo sounded offended." Do you think I enjoyed watching Kelechi get beat up?"

"You sounded that way"
Ugo sighed.
"Do you want me to leave you alone with your blog that no one reads?"
"Yes!...please do"
Ugo lingered at the window for a few seconds. Then with a  heavy sigh, he started to leave.
"Ugo Boss!" Richard called out, rolling his eyes again.
Ugo stopped in mid step.
"Sorry, no vex abeg"He sighed."Come inside and tell me about the glorious fight"

The excited Ugo ran round the house towards the front door.
Richard heard him greet his mum and younger sister. Seconds later, he heard his room door open.
"Kong! If you see fight eh?Ugo said with a lot of gestures.
"I told you to stop calling me that." Richard placed the phone on the bed.Knowing Ugo, he wasn't going to get any more work done now, anyway.

"Okay, tell me about the fight" Richard said folding his arms.
Ugo spoke with alot of wild gestures, telling him how Kelechi received the beating of his life. His explanations of course wouldn't have been complete without sound effects.
"Then,...POW!" Ugo was saying."Beast punched him and Kelechi flew into the air, like say na motor jam am.Then he hit the ground, GBAM!and that was the end"

"Hian!" Richard shrugged."So after all that noise,Kelechi still lost?"

"My broda, no be small tin.Beast said that because Kelechi dared to challenge him, the taxes are going to be doubled"

"HA!!!" Richard placed his hands on his head."Are you serious?"
"You're there trying to be Linda Ikeji, when there is wahala in your neighbourhood."

Long silence.

"So what did the people say?Did anyone protest?"

"Protest fire!" Ugo exclaimed. "Do they want to die? Have you forgotten that the Black Brothers run everything in this part of the City?"

Richard remained silent. Ugo was right,there was nothing anyone could do. For years, the Black Brothers had ruled their district. Everything from  curfew to electricity was determined by Beast and his followers. No one could oppose them. Even the police never came to this part of town. The Brothers ruled the streets. That's all there was to it.

They talked awhile about the Black Brothers. Then they moved on to other topics; football, money ....and of course women.

"So have you bought Stella's phone yet?" Ugo asked finally.

Richard frowned.

"Nope" Richard shrugged.

Stella was his girlfriend, and he'd promised to buy her a phone for her birthday. But the Phone Repairs business was slow and the blogging business was slower. His page views were so low, he was almost certain Google adsense would ban his site for applying in the first place.There was just no money.

Stella was an awesome girlfriend; beautiful, kind, sweet, supportive, loving and loyal. But therein lay  the problem. Because she was so awesome, it made breaking a promise to her painful....very painful.

"No worry," Ugo gave him a playful nudge" Money go come"
"Yeah, right"
"Which one be 'yeah right?'..." Ugo arched an eyebrow. "Abi Liver dey fail you?"
"Liver no fit fail me. Don't talk like that"
"Then why you dey doubt yourself?" Ugo Playfully shoved him. "C'mon receive Liver jor"

They both laughed.
Richard hated his current financial status more than he hated what the Black Brothers were doing to his neighbourhood. But there was nothing he could do about either for now.
The next morning, he made his way towards his shop. He cursed himself for not waking up on time.
Why?
The  some of the Black Brothers usually spent their mornings at an Aboki shed nearby. The air was usually  thick with  cigarette smoke and vulgar talk.
Waking up early meant, Richard didn't have  to see or exchange pleasantries with them . They usually called him 'Kong'  which he hated. The truth is, Richard was born with slightly Apelike facial features. Hence the name, "King Kong" or "Kong". It was a burden he'd learnt to live with. Even as a child, it messed with his head.

He sighed and prepared to cross their path. But what he saw as he passed by, chilled him.
"Let me go!!" A young woman was screaming.
 At first, he couldn't believe his eyes. Squirming and struggling in the arms of one  of the ' Brothers' was a smallish girl. Her terrified eyes were unmistakable. Richard's heart froze.
Stella!!

Without thinking, Richard lunged at the figure holding her without even contemplating the consequences. Stella was the love of his life. He'd be damned if he any of these riff-raffs was going to maul her.

Richard's fist connected to the side of the assailant's face. The large man tossed Stella aside like a rag doll. The figure turned around. I

If Richard's heart picked up speed when he saw his girlfriend struggling in a strange guy's hands, it approached the speed of light when he saw whom her assailant was.

Beast!

Richard gulped.

"Na me wey you scratch for face?"  Beast's menacing voice asked.


to be continued.....







LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIENDS
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID