Addicted To The Chronic

By Madubuike Michael

St. Ignatius college is known for her high teaching and learning standards that surpass every other schools' in the precinct. She prides herself with highly trained academicians and scholars as teachers and instructors. One of such is the schools' guidance counselor, Mr Martin, a handsome young man, neatly trimmed and always on his black suit and red tie to complement the white shirt under the jacket. 

One morning a black Escalade truck pulled up at the schools parking lot to allow a young boy alight to attend classes for the day, other students walked on by, some in pairs, others in groups- chatting as they walked into and out and of the gigantic and oblong college building, no body took notice of the new face standing to take a look at the surroundings of his new Alma mater.  

Inside the course advisers' office the new student was being interviewed and given documents and pass' to use in the school premises.." Welcome to Jesuit college, Mr Thompson." The two shook hands and the younger went his way. 

Some months later, the college instructors started noticing abnormal student behaviour, some of the college staff took it as pranks and funny behaviours of students towards the end of a semester, no one took into consideration the strange activities going on around the college vicinity until a student turned up dead.

The body of a female student was found behind a dumpster around the college parking lot, the cleaner who have found it screamed her lungs out. It was a cold morning that day not because of the weather but because of the incident, it was the first ever recorded death around the school premises. The precinct police did their best to investigate the matter as quiet as they can but parents were scared and wanted to know why a student turned up dead in a highly renowned tertiary institution. From the information gathered the corps could not ascertain the real cause of death, but ruled it off as cardiac distress- for a teenager that was rare.

Little over a week another body turned up. No conclusive cause of demise. The police commissioner had to show up for this one as his job was on the line because of the threats of scared parents. The police engaged in wide and long questioning of all the students and lecturers, a lie detector device was brought in for this reason. Students were called into the rectors office one at a time, it took a lot to go through a fraction of the students, academic activities were almost on a pause. 

Finally after a week of tedious questioning, the police came up with nothing but a few names that had inconclusive results, still the investigation was leading nowhere. As the student guidance councilor I was partly in charge of the questioning process so I had access to needed information. Had permission from the police commissioner to go through the list of names for the inconclusive results, going through it i came across the name Ekong Thompson. 'Thompson...Thompson, was trying to place the name... Yes! I remember, I had a talk with him shortly after he enrolled in the college, he had been reported for alcohol consumption during a lecture and was remanded to come for counseling twice a week as punishment. He is not the talking type from what I gathered, he was a brilliant young man, he has good grades but something was off about him. 

Weeks later, the college resumed normal activities with maximized security, the patrol came around every few hours to check on things around the school. 

I was in my office one evening when I heard a scream outside my office, I rushed out and saw no one so I decided to walk down the passage to the end, it was empty, classes I walked by had no students in it. I kept on moving until I heard another scream, I ran towards the direction of the sound and rushed into the science lab, what i saw threw me off - It's not normal, they were all moving really fast, dazed students moving so fast that they couldn't control their movement and knocked things over. Their faces were almost being blurred from the speed at which their bodies vibrated. I found the screaming girl but she wasn't running away - she was watching and screamed at every fast movement that came her direction but she refused to run. 

"Who did this? Who is doing this" I asked half scared and half angry - mixture of emotions. 

"Young lady, come over here you need to leave this place" I said, just then one of the vibrating student ran past me roughly knocking me off balance, the girl was still screaming.  I looked around at the laboratory, there were six of them running around in a crazy vibrating motion. Still confused I wanted to know what was happening to them, to know what way to help. 

"Young lady! come here I said" She got startled at my call but started making her out from the corner she was hiding before she paused and was starring wide eyed a something or someone behind. Just as I was about turning around a syringe was jammed in at the back of my neck. This time the screaming girl ran away throwing away her books screaming as she ran. In a matter of seconds sounds from the surroundings got drowned out by the heavy pounding of my  blood pumper. Overwhelmed by the strange sensation that took over me i sat on the ground- the room was moving and the colours around got brighter, I could feel my eyeballs rolling to the back of my head. Ekong pulled up seat and sat in front of me.

 " Welcome to our party Sir, hope you love the drink i just poured you, its 'the chronic' my invention, a new type of high." He laughed as he looked around at the other occupants in the room who were mostly now lying on the floor. " Let me tell you whats going to happen to you for the next few minutes - First you should know that if you have a strong thumper, you will survive and if you don't you might just end up like the other two people. Your heart is already pumping really fast, you need to control it, breath normal otherwise you will not know when you have run 200 miles and your heart gives out. You will feel a tingling sensation all over your body, don't worry it will all make sense to you soon  cos that's the fun part. Then you float away like superman."

"Why did you do his to me?" I managed to wheeze under my breath.  Slowly I felt this surge of immense of energy, my body was vibrating rapidly and it felt good, really goooood. I have not felt this way before and somehow I did not want it to end,  but in reality I was seizing according to the doctors report I read later in the hospital.  Ekong was arrested for illicit drug use and peddling, murder and a few other crimes, he will be locked away for a long time.

Few days later, I'm in my apartment, I've been put on mandatory leave to recuperate, in a way I felt like I was fired. Day after day, night after night, I realized my system has changed I  was craving energy drinks for no reason, I knew it was the drug, it was still in my system but the doctor told me there was no harm that I should feel better in no time. 

The energy drinks were not giving me what I wanted, subconsciously I was craving for that sensation that sent me to the hospital.

Friday morning. I am standing at the gate of a county jail. I hear a buzzer sound off, the gates open, and I enter. I am led by a warder on brown kaki holding a wooden baton. I'm given a form which I filled, moments later I'm sitting in a see through counter. Ekong on his blue on blue prison uniform came out with chain hand and ankle coffs on him, seeing me he smirked. We are sitting face to face separated by a glass frame, I did not know how to start my inquiry. 

"Mr Martin, I haven't got all day." Ekong said smiling wryly.

"Why did you do this to me?" I asked feigning anger.

"That's not why you are here." he replied.

"What kind of drug was that." I asked.

"That's not the question, ... Sir." his face was without a smile now.

"How do I get more." I asked in a low tone

"Now, that's why you are here." he replied and started laughing sadistically.

I knew the meaning of that laugh, I've gotten addicted to an experimental drug that accidentally got into me once, and I need to feel that surge again. It woke up things in me that I did not know existed.