Chapter 6: The Ghosts Inside the Base

The base get one kind feeling wey no pure. Things scatter everywhere, colonial soldiers corpses dey ground, the way dem die just strange. Na only skin remain, inside empty. The skin still full, but from the buttocks reach neck, one big cut dey. From how the skin tear, e show say the thing burst from inside come out. E resemble how cicada dey leave shell. E even resemble wetin happen to the archaeology team member, but still get difference. E get link?

For corner, one soldier dey vomit small. Major Bala just look away, wipe sweat for face, but e no shake. Army man get mind.

From the things wey remain and uniform, e clear say the base dey do research.

The tables full of old test tubes, papers wey don brown, and one big radio with wire everywhere. Some places, blood stain still dey wall, dark like palmwine wey don dry.

"Researcher Chima, abeg come here." Major Bala wave me, then tell soldier, "Carry Professor Okey come."

He no raise voice, but everybody obey sharp sharp. The way him command dey sound, e show say he don see things before.

I clear my head, "You find anything?"

My heart dey beat, hand dey sweat. Musa stand behind me, no wan miss any gist.

Major Bala face serious, carry me go the deepest lab. The room big, one wall get plenty morgue drawers.

If to say na Nollywood, this na where juju man go appear from wall. But this one na real life—fear get weight.

"Human experiment?" The thought just enter my mind.

The air thick with dust and old kerosene, as if the ghosts of white men still dey inside. The air get chemical smell, like hospital for midnight. E make my head light.

"I no even sure," the army man talk, "dem no really look like human..."

His eyes dey hard, but I fit see small fear for inside.

He open one drawer. Inside, one corpse dey, at first e look normal, but if you look well, the mouth full of sharp teeth like dog. I shock, I open more drawers. The bodies all different: some get seven fingers, some get eye for forehead, some get tail for backbone...

Musa spit for ground, whisper, "Abomination." I dey remember stories wey my grandma dey talk about bush babies and forest spirit.

"Fit be... false ones?"

My chest dey cold. I dey remember prophecy—2012, false ones.

More wahala be say, the lab workers wey die look normal, different from the skin outside. Plus, all of them die the same way: dem use gun kill themselves.

One old soldier for corner just sit down, dey pray with rosary, sweat full him face. Even tough men dey fear for this kind place.

As confusion dey my mind, I remember something, I go the main lab table. Na there the main thing dey. I search, then find one old work log under one dead body. The log still correct. Na colonial language write am, but we fit understand the content.

As dem translate the writing well, the thing wey I read make me begin doubt wetin e mean to be human.

For one second, I touch my own hand—skin still dey, bone still dey, but who I be?

Descendants of Oduduwa and ancient kings, Nigerian blood... we really be human? Wetin be human?

The log belong to one Dr. Otani, foreign scientist. Otani na biology expert for army, and na him head this No. 936 base, where colonial army do plenty biology experiments. Because the log long and get plenty wahala, we summarise the main points:

July 23, 1939: Researcher Sato see one bear-like animal with human face for bush, about 300 meters from base. No evidence, e fit be lie.

If na Nigeria, we go say na mammy water or ogbanje, but oyibo call am "bear-like animal." Story for tortoise ear.

July 28, 1939: Soldier Shimizu, for night guard, say he see monster wey get human face, bear body. Same as Sato own. E fit be coincidence? I dey worry, I go investigate.

……

For local side, elders go say, "No go bush for night, spirit dey waka."

September 3, 1939: We catch the human-face bear. The thing fit talk. I shock say this kind thing dey. I must study am well.

If na our own, dem for carry am go native doctor sharp sharp. Here, dem put am inside cage.

October 16, 1939: The human-face bear, even though we call am bear, e resemble human well well, even get human intelligence. Inside body and gene still be like human own. E be like say na human wey strong pass normal. E dey fear me. I wonder, for Okpoko Hills, na only one dey? Or dem plenty? I release am to observe again.

……

Dem dey observe, but we for village no dey watch juju like that. We dey pray make e waka pass.

February 9, 1940: After almost four months, we see more of the human-face bear kind. Dem no all be bear, some get human body and long tail, some get scales, some get seven fingers, some get two heads... Because dem resemble human but still different, I call them false ones or humanoids.

If all these things dey waka for bush, maybe na why hunter Musa no dey go Okpoko alone.

May 11, 1940: These false ones seem to come from the same place. Wetin fit create them?

Even Dr. Otani dey ask spiritual question now. My grandma go say, "No be all bush get monkey inside, some get spirit."

September 29, 1940: We find where dem come from, under our base. Na ancient, mysterious ruin. E get link with old legend, Oduduwa.

……

So all the stories wey we dey hear for childhood, e get root for ground. Okpoko no dey finish story.

June 4, 1941: This one pass science, na power from myth. The people wey dey this land na hidden monsters. Nigerian people sef no know wetin dey under their skin... If I fit use this power, the Empire army go get strong soldiers.

This one heavy for heart. If oyibo scientist dey fear wetin dem find for Okpoko, who I be to say e no fit reach me?

July 1, 1941: Research still dey go. To some extent, all of us don dey mutate. But for the sake of Empire, we fit sacrifice everything.

……

Sacrifice no be new thing for our land, but this one get another taste. Even Musa just shake head as I read am out.

The rest of the log don tear. For the last page, we see Dr. Otani last words:

[We don fail, nothing matter again. No matter as we try, by 2012, humanity as we know am go finish.]

[If you see this log, whether you be soldier or another person, no try investigate. If you don reach here, abeg comot.]

[To disappear quietly na the last dignity for us "humans".]

For small moment, I close the book, look my own hand again. For Okpoko Hills, the ground get tongue, but na only the dead dey hear am.