In light of the recent hullabaloo surrounding serialised stories on steemit, I decided to "un-serialise" my work (if that is a word). So here's my story, The Sleeping Volcano, from A-Z.
The leather belt slashed across his face, bringing him to consciousness. He writhed in pain, holding and rubbing his face to salve the stinging pain.
"You idiot!", she shrieked violently, then pointing at her left hand where a wristwatch should be, she roared, "It's 4:00 in the morning and you're still sleeping."
Like a programmed robot, Lanre stood from bed without hesitation. He knew a little hesitation could cost him dearly for Aunt Clara had little or no patience. He sometimes wondered if truly she was his father's sister. His father had been nothing like at this at least for the little time he had known him before his tragic demise while he was just five years old. It was perhaps due to sorrow and much depression that made his mother also die a year later.
He had lived with his grandma afterwards for the next five years, before coming to live with Aunt Clara after grandma died. It was now three years since he had started living here. It really felt like ten years. Everyday had been a living hell. He was just fourteen but sometimes felt like he was actually fourty.
Lanre was brought back to reality as the leather belt struck again but across his bare back this time. He had been working too slowly for her. Perhaps, it had been a mistake to sleep shirtless. The mark on his back would probably last a week. Aunt Clara was good with belts and better with whips. He had nicknamed her the goddess.
"Hurry up, you demon!", she snarled.
That was his name, demon. He wondered when last she had called him Lanre. He had actually begun to wonder whether she wasn't actually right about him being a demon. She believed he had killed her brother in connivance with his mother before turning on his mother and killing her too and finally killing her own mother. If so, why wasn't she scared to die. Shouldn't she be pleasing the demon instead of tormenting him.
He turned on the taps, blocked the drains and let the water fill both basins and then turned off the tap. Turning the liquid soap containing and squeezing it, he let the right amount of soap pour into one basin before put a sponge into it. He left the other basin with clean water. One for washing one for rinsing. He picked up the dishes and began to wash. Holding his breath and supressing his disgust at the dishes he was washing which had been used disgustingly.
They were animals, the whole bunch of them in this house. He had vomited the first two times he had been made to wash their dishes but after being made to lick his own vomit from the ground on both occasions (not like he had been sucessful, he only vomites more and fainted in his vomit then woke up to clean it up) and being starved afterwards, he had learnt to suppress his irritation.
Starvation was one of Aunt Clara's favourite punishment. One which she dished on him at any given chance. She always found a reason to starve him. Perhaps she didn't want to waste her food on him.
"A piece of meat is missing from the pot. You demon, how dare you steal my meat? (A knock on his head) No food for you this morning".
"Why is the floor of the house so sandy. A pebble just injured my foot. You demon, can't you sweep well? (A slap on his cheeks) No food for you this afternoon!"
" Why is the house so stuffy. Why didn't you open the windows (a punch in the face). No food for you tonight. You little demon."
He always knew better than to argue with her. Even when she was lying against him, he would simply apologise and receive his slap, knock or whatever physical abuse she deemed fit for him. Arguing with her meant calling her a liar and well, anyone who calls her a liar must be a chinese monk because he would walk on coal.
He had thought walking on coal was a figurative expression for immense suffering until the day she had made him walk on literal coal. He had learnt to take her by her words ever since. His callused heels were a constant reminder.
"Clean the entire house before we get back home. One speck of dust and you're in trouble. I'll send you back to hell where you're from", Aunt Clara instructed as her kids, his cousins walked into the car. She had two kids, Lola and Tony. Lola was around his age while Tony was just five. Lola was kind and often felt sorry for him but could do nothing to help him because she knew better than to offend her mother.
As Lanre stood there, receiving intructions from Aunt Clara, Tony ran back and punched him in the groin. Lanre ignored the pain while Aunt Clara giggled. He knew better than to react. Tony could beat him but he couldn't lay a finger on Tony.
"And wash all the clothes. Make sure they're neat", she ended her speech and got into the car. She would drive her kids to school then go to work while he would stay here and do the chores. The last time he had set foot in school was three years ago, before grandma died. He should be in Jss3(9th grade) by now but Aunt Clara would rather throw her money in the drain than waste it on him.
He walked briskly back into the house after closing the door behind Aunt Clara so he could get to starting his chores. He had to do his them twice. An habit he had picked up in order to be close to perfect. Nothing was ever done perfectly to Aunt Clara but at least by doing it twice, he would reduce the mistakes. He would do his chores as quick as he could so he could get to doing the assignment Lola had given him. She always sneaked to his room at night to teach him whatever she had been taught in school that day.
The light switch flipped on and Lola walked in. It was time for his night classes. Lanre smiled goofily at her and she returned the favour. It was only at nights, after Aunt Clara had gone to sleep and Lola was teaching him that he felt like an human being. He helped her with the heaps of textbooks she was carrying in her arms and they sat to the floor and began the class.
Halfway into Mathematics, Lola stopped abruptly and looked up at Lanre.
"What's wrong", Lanre asked
"Do you hate my family?", she replied his question with another.
Lanre stared into space.
"I mean my mum is very mean to you and Tony disrespects. My stepfather beats you too".
Her stepfather, Master, as he had instructed Lanre to call him was another level of evil. He was the devil himself. He might not have been so interested in making Lanre suffer as much as Aunt Clara was but whenever he wanted to he overdid it. Everybody knew whenever Uncle Tom was angry or fustrated he would lock himself in a room with Lanre and beat him silly. What they didn't know however was that he also did other things.
"It's only natural if you hate our family"
"I don't hate your. . ."
"Don't lie to me", Lola cut him off
"Okay. I hate your family", Lanre said, bursting in tears "I hate your mum because she's so damn mean. I hate your stepfather cos he's wicked as hell. I hate your brother because he's just like your mum." Lola was already in tears.
"But I don't hate you", Lanre said softly, "I love you".
Their faces became suddenly close and their lips locked. Instinctively, Lanre's hands rose and touched Lola's breasts, as he pressed, she pulled away.
"I'm sorry" Lanre said in mortification "We really shouldn't we're family."
"It's not that", Lola said, sobbing.
"What?"
"It's not about our blood relation. Just that. . . ", her voice trailed off
"Just that what?"
"Can I trust you to keep a secret?", Lola said looking into his eyes. He could see pain burning like a wildfire in her eyes.
"Yes"
"It's Uncle Tom. He knows i come to your room to teach you at night. When I get back to room, he would be waiting there for me. He would threaten to tell mum that I'm having sex with you and teaching you stuff. Then he would. . ."
The door swung open violently, cutting Lola off in the middle of her speech. Startled, both children looked up, it was the goddess herself.
"You demon", she yelled, walking towards him with anger. Lanre staggered backwards, crawling, till his back touched the wall. There was nowhere to run to.
A first slap landed on his right cheek then another on his left cheek in quick succession. His face was already numb and he didn't really feel the third slap, neither dis he know when the slaps stopped and the blows began. A right hook, a left jab, an uppercut, a right jab, a left hook. Finish him! She kicked him in the gut and began shouting some words. He didn't hear any of the things she said. His ears were ringing and his sight was blurry and bleary. He could barely see or hear anything.
"You . . . 'mon! . . .want . . .rape. . . daughter. . . Next. . . Catch . . . anywhere near. . . I'll. . .you. . .Bastard!", she howled in fury and left him whicing in pain
He could only make a few words from what she had said but he had heard one word quite well. "BASTARD".
His best friend, the leather belt woke him up as usual but this time more violently. He had been too weak to stand up and had slept on the same spot. He looked up, too weak to hold his thigh where the belt had crashed upon. It was Uncle Tom, Master, that explained the strength in the lash.
Uncle Tom grinned from ear to ear as he emptied a bucket of water on Lanre. Lanre shivered. It was cold as hell. Lanre knew this was punishment time. Uncle Tom wasn't here to vent his anger ir frustration on Lanre but to torture him. He had been sent by the goddess. Uncle Tom's left arm swung up with power and came down with force. He was holding an horsewhip (koboko) in the left hand and a belt on the right. Before Lanre could shout in pain, the right hand with the belt also landed on his wet skin. This was definitely going to leave a mark.
"Take off your clothes", Uncle Tom barked, spitting in Lanre's face in the process.
Lanre obeyed quietly and slid out of his clothes and receive four lashes from both hands as soon as he was done. He tried to let out a scream but couldn't find his voice. Uncle Tom, drew closer to him and raised up his chin and said, you're going to do exactly as I tell you to. He was already wearing no belt and only had to pull down his pants then signal Lanre to come closer. There was no punishment worse than this.
When Uncle Tom had climaxed, he left Lanre there, in pain. Aunt Clara walked in smiling and began ranting about how her brother had been dumb for marrying a woman who had already had a child for another man.
"Your mother was a witch who gave birth to a demon. Both if yoy killed .y brother before you turned on her and killed her. Yoy then killed my mother but I'll kill you before you kill me". Aunt Clara gnarled
Just then, her words the previous nights came back to him.
.
"You demon! You want to rape my daughter. I let you think you were cousins so you wouldn't think of touching her but it turns out you knew youre not related through your demonic powers. The Next time I catch you anywhere near her, I'll kill you. You bastard!"
No wonder she always treated him like an animal.
Lanre tossed and turned sleeplessly on the foam mattress he had for a bed. He had begun avoiding Lola and hardly saw her. She no longer came to his room at night. He would never forget and their kiss and couldn't feel guilty about it since they weren't related. It was now a month since he had known he wasn't related to Aunt Clara. Lately, her words and action didn't pain him. He now laughed when she hit him. It further made her believe he was a demon but for him, pain was now abstract.
He stood from his bed and walked to the parlour. He wished he could watch tv but knew better than to touch it. Not that he was scared of being caught and punished by Aunt Clara. He was actually scared of being caught and punished by Uncle Tom. Aunt Clara slept like a rock and wouldn't know if a party was being thrown on her head while she was asleep.
Lanre rubbed his eyes with his palms theb just then a scream came from upstairs. It was Lola's voice. He would recognise it anywhere. Ge wasn't allowed to go upstairs. His place was down. He ignored the scream but as he was about to turn to his room. He heard another and dashed to the stairs. The scream had stopped but he could hear moans and groans from what he perceived to be Lola's room. He pushed the door open.
Uncle Tom's heard turned backward and he barked agressively, "Get out".
Lola lay there naked beneath him, crying. He couldn't believe his eyes. Uncle Tom was raping Lola too.
"I said get out. I'm coming for you too. You idiot!", Uncle Tom backed in anger.
Lanre stood there, his gaze riveted on Uncle Tom.
In anger, Uncle Tom got up from the bed and Lola, covered herself with her blanket, sobbing. Uncle Tom dashed towards Lanre and threw a punch. Lanre dodged and Uncle Tom missed by a point, and crashed to the ground pushed by Lanre but mostly because he had exerted much strength into to missed punch. Intuitively, Lanre began kicking Uncle Tom, like a mad dog. No, like he was controlled by a demon. Afterall that was his name. He left Uncle Tom to struggle to get back to his feet and as soon as he did, he gave him a punch in the nose. As Uncle Tom held his nose which seemed broken, Lanre remembered Aunt Clara's beating. A slap on the right cheek, a slap on the left cheek, a right hook, a left jab, an uppercut, a left hook, a right jab. Finish him! A kick in the guts. Uncle Tom had ni strength left in him. Lanre wished he could fag Uncle Tom, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
His attention turned to Lola, who still lay there almost as if liveless. He ran to her side.
"Did he do it?".
"Yes", she said almost in a whisper.
He looked around for blood on the bed
"You won't find any blood" she said reading his mind. "He's been doing it almost every night for two months now."
"Was that what you were trying to tell me the. . ."
"Yes.", Lola said in tears, "He's been doing it with me every night after doing it with mum and letting her fall asleep. I couldn't tell mum her husband was doing thing to me and her."
"And me too"
"What?"
"He did things with me too. He's a hog"
"Hey you still remember that word I taught you", Lola chuckled.
"Hog?"
"Yeah, hog" she said and leaned over to kiss him.
He couldn't helo but think she was naked under the blanket but they were too young to do anything and he knew she wasn't recovered from Uncle Tom's abuse. He kept his hands to himself.
"Thanks", she said "For not touching me. For not being a hog",
"Hog" he smiled and the burst into a gale of laughter.
The door creaked open and Aunt Clara stood in front of it with a knife in her hand
"You demon!", She growled " I told you not to come near my daughter"
"Mum. Uncle Tom was. . ."
"Shut up. You prostitute. Your punishment is for later", Aunt Clara cut Lola off.
"As for you," she said pointing at Lanre with the knife as walking towards him.
As she drew close, Lanre smacked the knife off her hand and it fell the the ground and slid away. As she raised her arm to smack him, he caught her arm and stared in her face. She shivered with fear.
"Uncle Tom has been raping me for two months now and Lanre saved me. The same boy you've maltreated and called a demon all his life", Lola spat in anger and tears
Aunt Clara looked to the ground and saw her husband laying there, unconscious. She then looked into Lanre's eyes. She shivered again. There was something new she could she in his eyes. It burning with anger.
Lanre stared hard at Aunt Clara. He beat her if she tried anything. Damn the consequences because he didn't care anymore. She troubled the volcano and now that it was ready to erupt, she would feel the burn. The sleeping volcano was now wide awake!