Edwin "Caesar" Clark took a long, leisurely drag at the cigarette and let the smoke hiss through his pursed lips in three quick, short squirts. He was unbelievably bored. Staring through the near opaque louvers of the only window in the small room, he wondered whether bloody murder was actually worse than the purgatory he found himself in. Granted his enemies would have to be near telepathic for them to find him in this godforsaken town called Roni where he had taken refuge. This small town in Northern Nigeria was the kind of town that might miss being on a good map. In this town time stood still like a forgotten photograph.
He had done his one year long National Youth Service in this town some years back so he wasn't unfamiliar with the environment. It's just that he never thought he would ever be back for any reason whatsoever. It wasn't that he hated Roni- he actually enjoyed the serenity of the place and its locals- it was just that boredom was rife in the town and he regarded boredom with the same affection as lung cancer.
Caesar was on the run. His occupation as a freelance journalist had got him in trouble plenty of times. When he was still a staff writer at a newspaper in Lagos, his editor had sent him to England to interview an exiled Nigerian politician who had embezzled state funds only to run into a racist serial murderess. Another time he had traveled to the Niger Delta to investigate a string of ritual murders and had nearly been buried alive. Now he was being hunted by hired assassins after exposing a white slavery ring run by a powerful Nigerian senator. A reporter's job in Africa wasn't a happy job.
He heard the door open and he heard the loud, boisterous voice of his friend calling his name. Caesar smiled. Sadiq Usman was semi-drunk again. He had wondered whether all those little bottles of Vodka he saw in the cupboard followed the police officer to work. He couldn't blame Sadiq for his vices. The crime rate in Roni was probably the lowest in the world. The jail cell in the small police station rarely had an occupant. Most times the only law breakers that spent a night in jail were goats or sheep. They were usually arrested for trespassing when they wondered into someone's farm to nibble at some crops. The owners of the offending livestock had to then pop down to the station to bail them out.
"Caesar, my boy, I have some friends here that would like to meet you!"
Caesar sighed and shuffled out of the bedroom. He suspected his 'friends' were girls and that most likely enrolled in the present batch of National Youth Service Corps after graduating from some Nigerian university. Any other females in this town would be strict Muslims and discreetly covered from head to toe. Sure enough he saw Sadiq standing in the living room with two other ladies. He was smiling sheepishly. Caesar ignored him and appraised their guests.
One was dark and slim and not too pretty even though her body seemed supple and flexible. Caesar had no interest in her even though she was eyeing him hungrily. The other one however was very fair with an excellent figure. She was a bit plain but her eyes were dark and smoldering. She looked even more bored than Caesar and eyed him with mild disinterest. He could detect a malevolent undercurrent in her. He was immediately hooked.
Sadiq made introductions and Caesar learnt that his lust interest was called Amaka. An Igbo girl he mused. His mother was Igbo. Preliminary conversation with the girl revealed to him that she was well educated and quite enlightened. Caesar didn't take long to let her know from his body language that he would dearly love to screw the daylights out of her but she smiled thinly and kept him at bay.
Sadiq took them to another small town in his car where they found a chalet that sold alcohol. In Northern Nigeria Sharia law was in full force and the sale of alcohol was prohibited. However the woman who owned the chalet wasn't Muslim and made good business catering to the alcoholics like Sadiq and company. As they drank beer, smoked endlessly and slurped pepper soup the couples divided and immersed themselves in their own conversations. Later Sadiq took Caesar aside and they conspired to book two rooms for each couple. As the night wore on each man took their prospective lays to their individual rooms.
***
"So what do you do in your spare time?" asked Caesar, his eyes glued to her splendid cleavage.
"I'm a dream walker" she replied with a small smile.
"You're a what?"
"A dream walker."
Caesar stared at her. She seemed serious. Great, he thought. Another nutter. My kind of girl.
"I'm not crazy" she said, still smiling, "I can actually dream walk."
"Please explain."
"I like to move around while I dream, visit places and even people."
Caesar smiled exasperatedly.
"What are you, some sort of witch? Fly around on a broomstick and all that?"
"Some people like to call me that but no, I'm not a witch. I'm just someone who has... ah... what shall I call it? A free spirit."
Caesar laughed.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"Would you blame me?"
"No, I won't but don't you ever have dreams that seem so vivid you could actually have sworn that it was real?"
"Yes, I have" Caesar said thoughtfully, "But then again, I woke up."
"Not all dreams are just dreams. Some are actually what you see as your essence roams free."
"I like the concept but sorry, it's a bit too much for me to swallow."
"Okay, then, I'll prove it to you. Dream walking isn't just about moving about aimlessly, you can do more practical things... like inhabit a person's body."
Caesar nearly spilled his beer.
"What?"
"Yes, it's possible. For someone in my level it's actually very easy."
"What do you mean by 'your level'? Do you mean there are others like you? Some sort of cult?"
"Maybe but not in the way you think. Let's just say I'm not the only one with such abilities."
"But it is impossible for you to give me any evidence of any so called powers you have."
"I have abilities and I'm going to prove it."
"This I would love to see."
"Alright then, do you see the proprietress of this shit-hole?"
"Yeah... what about her?"
"Would you like to sleep with her?"
Caesar did spill his drink this time.
"Excuse me?" he spluttered.
"I know you want to bang me, Caesar... you can't take your eyes off my boobs but don't you want something juicy first? She has nice tits doesn't she? Even if they are huge..."
"I like huge tits."
"Yes, I know, you perverted bastard but I am giving you the opportunity to sleep with her."
"There is no way she is going to sleep with me. That's a wedding ring on her finger and never mind she's selling booze, she's still dressed quite conservatively."
"Good then, a challenge. Tonight while we're in bed she's going to visit us and ask you for sex. I will be in her body while she will be sleeping in mine. Just don't try waking me up."
"I think this is going to be an interesting evening but if she doesn't come I am still going to screw you senseless."
"I'm all yours."
***
Caesar reclined on the sofa smoking while he resentfully watched Amaka's back as she snoozed on the mattress. He had to admit she had a fantastic body and her milk white lingerie emphasized that.
Dream walker, my ass, he thought. Why did he always get the crazy ones?
There was a tentative knock on the door.
"Come in" Caesar answered automatically thinking it was Sadiq coming to ask for more condoms- his friend and his partner had been making a din for the past one hour.
The door opened and a large figure walked in. Caesar's mouth fell open.
