Content Warning: This story contains themes of supernatural horror, body horror (burning silver fang mark, bleeding from nose and ears), insect swarms (mosquitoes), blood, fear-induced physical reactions (wetting pants), demonic entities, marking/possession, and intense psychological distress. It also includes depictions of poverty, unemployment, corruption (man know man), and economic struggle. Reader discretion is advised.
Intro
Timothy is a graduate with no godfather, no connections, and no job. In a country where "man know man" is the only way to work, his degree means nothing. So he takes the only job he can find — night guard at a warehouse. The pay is good. The catch? No one lasts more than two nights. The mosquitoes are the least of his problems. On his first night, floating in the dark sky, he sees a white handkerchief carried by three birds. It lands on the warehouse roof and transforms into an old man with silver eyes and glowing fangs on his forehead. The birds become three identical women with snow-white hair and blood-red gowns. They bow. They enter the warehouse. And then a voice whispers behind him: "You're not supposed to see that." Timothy begged. He offered anything. The old man gave him a parting gift — a glowing silver fang that pierced his chest and left a mark no one has ever survived. But Timothy survived. And now he owes a debt he does not understand. Part 1 ends with a silver fang glowing on his chest and a question that will haunt you: what will the old man demand?
The Silver Fang 1
The Night Guard
He was sitting in front of the security house. He slapped at his neck, and his palm came away bloody. He cursed silently. "It's getting worse," he muttered as he slapped at his cheek, but missed the mosquito only to slap himself, and a loud thwack reverberated, breaking the stillness of the night.
This is madness, he thought. I shouldn't have taken this job.
"How can this small bugger bite this madly?"
A sudden piercing pain like the prickle of a needle hit him at the middle of his back. He swore and slapped at the annoying place, but he was too late; he slapped himself again. The pain was excruciating, and this made him stand up from his sitting position in front of the security house.
He picked up his torch and flashed it below his leg. It was like disturbing a bee nest as the swarm of mosquitoes took flight. Timothy could swear he even heard them complain that he should sit still and let them feed without interruption.
"This is getting out of hand," he thought as he felt at his exposed skin. He could feel the bumps — not just one, but a lot where he had been bitten had started swelling, and he could feel the beginning of itching starting from the middle of his back.
He started walking around the perimeter of the compound. The night was cold and dark. There was no moonlight, and if not for the torch he was holding, he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face.
After a little walk, he leaned on the wall of the warehouse he was guarding, and his thoughts drifted back to how it all started. It usually does when he grew bored.
The Graduate Without a Godfather
He had graduated from the university but couldn't secure any employment because he had no godfather, neither did he know anyone who could connect him. That had been the case right from when Nigeria started her democracy. It has always been "man know man" in order to secure a job. No matter how smart you are or whether you are a doctor with the best brain, the system doesn't care if you don't have any connection. And so the best brains started leaving the country for the United States, England, Australia, Germany, and France. Those countries openly accept these smart sets of Nigerian doctors and give them the opportunity their own country couldn't give them. And when others heard about it, the trend "Japa" started.
Timothy is a fair-skinned guy, tall with cropped short hair and eyes that glitter like emerald — not the green type, but those sprinkled with every color of the rainbow. He is handsome with a firm jaw, a perfect set of teeth, and a smile that will humble the hardest of hearts.
He came from a family where everyone is struggling. His father is a carpenter. His mother sells food on the street. She pushes it in a hand truck along the street, shouting her wares as she goes by. His siblings are all struggling. He has three siblings. Jerry, the eldest, is also a carpenter. He has those calloused hands that are made of iron. Ironically, Jerry used to be the softest of them all, with skin as soft as milk, but now Timothy shakes his head just thinking about it.
He was momentarily yanked out of his thoughts by a mosquito that had been sucking his blood at the base of his neck. He slammed it instinctively, and a splatter could be heard as his own blood splattered on him.
"This one na die oh," [This one is a problem, oh.] he muttered, cleaning his hand.
How He Got the Job
His mind drifted back to how he had gotten the job. He had followed one of his brothers, James, their second, to a construction site. Timothy is the only graduate in the family, but circumstances had pushed him to be doing menial jobs to survive and to support the family when needed.
James had told him to join him that day, claiming it would help in keeping him fit and active. He had claimed sitting about crying about lack of job would not solve his problem, so he had asked him to accompany him to the site so they could work together.
Timothy couldn't tell if it had been a mistake or a blessing for following James that day. The work had been back-breaking. The lifting of blocks had been endless, and anytime he had tried to rest, the supervisor would spring on him, shouting there would be no rest until 1 PM, and Timothy would check the time and swear.
He remembers how his throat was so dry. He could feel an ember in them. He had jokingly told his brother that his throat could start a fire, and his brother's eyes had gone wild. He had hurriedly bought him a bottle of water, and when Timothy had taken a sip, he could feel his throat hissing, and a gust of steam had even come out, making him cough. He had sat down catching his breath, and that was when he had heard the talk by two other guys who were working on the site too.
The Conversation on the Construction Site
"I dey tell you, no clean job," [I am telling you, it's not a clean job.] one of them was saying.
"How the job clean if nobody gree do am?" [How is the job clean if nobody agrees to do it?] the other asked him.
"How I go take know? Them say na clean job." [How am I supposed to know? They said it's a clean job.]
"Na WA for you oh, Isaac. Them say them say na dey put people for trouble oh." [It's a problem for you, Isaac. They say it puts people in trouble.] the second guy said.
"Calm down, Patrick. You too fear, abeg." [Calm down, Patrick. You are too fearful, please.]
"I no dey fear. Na cautious I dey." [I am not afraid. I am just cautious.]
"Them say na to just guard a warehouse," [They said it's just to guard a warehouse.] Isaac said, dusting his hand as he wiped at his brow. He glared at the sun and muttered a string of curses that turned Patrick's ears bright red.
"You still get bad mouth," [You still have a bad mouth.] Patrick said, shaking his head.
"So them say na to guard the warehouse, and them go pay well," [So they said it's to guard the warehouse, and they will pay well.] Isaac said.
"Wetin dey the warehouse?" [What is in the warehouse?] Patrick asked him.
"How I go take know! See wetin I no understand be say everyone way done work there no dey last two nights." [How am I supposed to know! What I don't understand is that everyone who has worked there doesn't last two nights.]
At this, Patrick looked up from the sand he was filling in a pan. "Wetin you mean?" [What do you mean?] he asked, frowning.
"Na wetin I hear oh," [That's what I heard.] Isaac said.
"So you mean e no clean?" [So you mean it's not clean?]
"I dey tell you say I don't know na, but the pay good." [I am telling you that I don't know, but the pay is good.]
"I no do, abeg. I no want to die." [I won't do it, please. I don't want to die.] Patrick said.
"You too fear," [You are too fearful.] Isaac said.
"Why you no go do am?" [Why don't you go do it?] Patrick shot back.
"Calm down na, no be fight," [Calm down, it's not a fight.] Isaac said.
"But where be the place?" [But where is the place?] Patrick asked, "you know, just in case."
Isaac smiled and told him the address. Timothy knew the place very well, and he stored it in his memory.
The Job Interview
He had gone to the place the next day and had met the manager, who had told him the job details: just stroll around the perimeter now and then.
"If you hear noise inside the warehouse, no go look. Just look only at the perimeter of the premises."
"So I no go look inside the warehouse?" [So I will not look inside the warehouse?] he had asked.
"Yes oh. Na just to waka round the perimeter," [Yes. It's just to walk around the perimeter.] the manager had said, and that had suited him well.
The White Handkerchief
He bent down to slap at his leg from the bite of a mosquito but felt something crawl on top of his leg. He stood still, not daring to move, and cautiously shone his torch and flashed it at his leg. He saw nothing. He sighed, but that feeling of being watched couldn't leave him, and he could feel his breath had started misting and the night getting darker. He could feel like the night was a void and he had entered another dimension.
He dismissed it and started walking again, and as his eyes lifted up to check the sky again, that was when he saw it.
At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He thought it was because he had stood too long and looked at nothing but the flash of his torch, but now he knew he wasn't imagining it.
A white handkerchief floating in the night sky and three birds accompanying it from a distance.
Timothy froze. His hands started shaking, and he looked down to see that he had wet his pants. The fear coming out of him could even be smelled. He watched as the handkerchief reached a platform at the top of the warehouse — he hadn't seen it before, he thought.
He watched as the handkerchief landed on the platform and formed into the shape of an old man. Not that old, he thought, because he couldn't see his face from where he was standing and the night was dark.
The three birds too landed on the same platform and transformed into three beautiful identical women, all having the same features: snow-white hair, red eyes, and they were all wearing material made from a blood-red color that glittered in the night.
They bowed to the man, who nodded, and then they all entered the warehouse.
Timothy couldn't move. He just stood there staring, not knowing what to do. The fear coming from him was too much. He knew he had seen what he wasn't supposed to see. He now knew why no one had lasted two days on this job.
The Voice Behind Him
"You're not supposed to see that," a voice said softly behind him.
Timothy's heart nearly exploded inside his chest. He stood rigid, not daring to turn. His body was shaking so violently, and he thought he could feel the cold creeping slowly from his toes upward.
"Please... no... kill... me," he stammered.
There was a mocking laugh behind him, and he could feel his blood freezing, and a few drops fell from his nose.
"Please, I go do anything," [Please, I will do anything.] he said.
"Now, that is interesting," the voice said.
Timothy took this as encouragement and said, "I no go tell anyone." [I will not tell anyone.]
The laughter came again, and this time he felt the blood drop from his ears. He fell on his knees, clutching at his ears as his head spun, and just like that, it stopped suddenly, and he could feel better.
"Wetin you fit offer me?" [What can you offer me?] the voice asked, now stepping in front of him.
It was the old man. How could he be here? He had just seen him enter the warehouse.
The Old Man
The man wasn't that old. He had grey hair at the temples that glowed even in that dark night. His eyes were silver, and he had fangs drawn in the same glowing silver on his forehead.
"You done look me well?" [Have you looked at me properly?] the man asked Timothy.
"S... sorry, sir," Timothy stammered.
The man waved his hand in dismissal. "I asked, wetin you fit offer me?" [I asked, what can you offer me?]
"I no know," [I don't know.] Timothy said, still on his knees.
"Then you no dey useful to me?" [Then you are not useful to me?]
Timothy's head snapped up. He had heard so many statements like that in movies before people were killed. He didn't want to die. He had dreams, and he had a family that he loved. He couldn't let them down.
"I dey useful," [I am useful.] he said.
"How useful?" the man asked him.
"I go fit help you in many ways." [I can help you in many ways.]
"I no need help. I can get wetin I want with just a snap of my finger." [I don't need help. I can get what I want with just a snap of my finger.]
"You fit use me. I can do anything for you," [You can use me. I can do anything for you.] Timothy said.
"I'm busy this night. I go collect my debt from you later. Here na my parting gift," [I will collect my debt from you later. Here is my parting gift.] the man said as one of those glowing fangs detached from his forehead and pierced Timothy on his chest, and a new glowing fang tattoo appeared.
The Mark
He knelt there looking at his chest, and then the pain came. It was like boiling silver had been poured on him. He tried to shout, but nothing could be heard from him. He spasmed in pain, and his eyes glowed red. He rolled on the ground shaking and wetting himself. All this was going on as the man watched.
"Interesting," he muttered. No one had survived his silver fang before, but this kid... hmmm.
After a few minutes, Timothy could feel the pain leaving him. He lay there panting on the hard ground. A face loomed over him.
"You have my mark now. You will be contacted very soon."
The Morning After
He woke up on the ground of the guard house screaming, and as his eyes cleared, he could feel the glare of the sun hitting him. He tried to stand but felt a tightness on his chest, and memories flashed by.
He hurriedly opened his chest, and right there in the middle was a silver fang glowing. He wondered what he had gotten himself into and what was in store for him as he lay there shaking his head, and a single tear dropped. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
He knew he had entered trouble that was bigger than what he had been facing all his life.
What This Story Teaches Us
The Silver Fang is supernatural horror on the surface — but underneath it is a raw, painful portrait of what unemployment and desperation do to a young Nigerian man with everything to offer and nowhere to go.
1. A broken system creates desperate people. Timothy has a university degree, good looks, intelligence and a willing heart. None of it matters without a godfather. "Man know man" is not just a saying in Nigeria — it is the actual operating system of survival. When a country wastes its best minds, those minds are forced into dark corners just to eat.
2. Desperation makes people say yes to things they should say no to. Timothy heard the warning clearly — nobody lasts two nights at that warehouse. He stored the address anyway. Not because he was reckless but because he was hungry and had a family depending on him. Desperation doesn't make people foolish. It makes them willing to gamble with their lives.
3. Some debts are made in moments of panic. "I go do anything" — four words that changed Timothy's life forever. He said them out of pure fear, not understanding what anything meant to an entity like the old man. How many people have signed their lives away in a moment of desperation without reading what they agreed to?
4. Poverty forces the educated into dangerous places. Timothy — a university graduate — was carrying blocks on a construction site just to survive. That is not laziness. That is a system that failed him. The warehouse job was not stupidity. It was the best option available to someone with no options.
5. Survival is not the same as safety. Timothy survived the silver fang when no one else had. The old man called it interesting. But surviving something dangerous doesn't mean you are free — sometimes it means you are now more deeply trapped than before. The ones who die quickly are sometimes luckier than the ones chosen for something worse.
6. The brain drain is a national wound. The story mentions Japa — the trend of Nigeria's best doctors and graduates leaving for America, England, Australia. Timothy couldn't Japa. He didn't have the means. So he stayed and ended up at a haunted warehouse at midnight fighting mosquitoes and supernatural entities. That contrast is not accidental. It is the price of being left behind by a system that only values you if you know someone.
Outro
And so Timothy lies on the cold ground of the guard house, the morning sun burning his eyes, a glowing silver fang tattoo seared into his chest. He survived the night — something no one else who took this job could claim. But survival is not freedom. The old man watched him spasm, bleed from his nose and ears, roll in the dirt, and still did not kill him. "Interesting," he said. Because no one had ever survived his silver fang before. Now Timothy owes a debt. The old man will collect it. The three identical women with red eyes are still out there. The warehouse still holds its secrets. And somewhere in the dark, a voice is waiting to make a call. Timothy wanted a job. He got a curse. He wanted to feed his family. Now he may not survive to see them again. Part 2 is coming. The silver fang is only the beginning. And the old man's patience is not infinite.
What To Expect Next
What do you think will be the demand of the old man?
Part 2 will reveal a lot. Stay tuned.
Pidgin English Glossary — The Silver Fang (Part 1)
| Pidgin Phrase | English Translation |
|---|---|
| This one na die oh | This one is a problem, oh |
| I dey tell you, no clean job | I am telling you, it's not a clean job |
| How the job clean if nobody gree do am? | How is the job clean if nobody agrees to do it? |
| How I go take know? Them say na clean job | How am I supposed to know? They said it's a clean job |
| Na WA for you oh, Isaac. Them say them say na dey put people for trouble oh | It's a problem for you, Isaac. They say it puts people in trouble |
| Calm down, Patrick. You too fear, abeg | Calm down, Patrick. You are too fearful, please |
| I no dey fear. Na cautious I dey | I am not afraid. I am just cautious |
| Them say na to just guard a warehouse | They said it's just to guard a warehouse |
| You still get bad mouth | You still have a bad mouth |
| So them say na to guard the warehouse, and them go pay well | So they said it's to guard the warehouse, and they will pay well |
| Wetin dey the warehouse? | What is in the warehouse? |
| How I go take know! See wetin I no understand be say everyone way done work there no dey last two nights | How am I supposed to know! What I don't understand is that everyone who has worked there doesn't last two nights |
| Wetin you mean? | What do you mean? |
| Na wetin I hear oh | That's what I heard |
| So you mean e no clean? | So you mean it's not clean? |
| I dey tell you say I don't know na, but the pay good | I am telling you that I don't know, but the pay is good |
| I no do, abeg. I no want to die | I won't do it, please. I don't want to die |
| You too fear | You are too fearful |
| Why you no go do am? | Why don't you go do it? |
| Calm down na, no be fight | Calm down, it's not a fight |
| But where be the place? | But where is the place? |
| So I no go look inside the warehouse? | So I will not look inside the warehouse? |
| Na just to waka round the perimeter | It's just to walk around the perimeter |
| Please, I go do anything | Please, I will do anything |
| I no go tell anyone | I will not tell anyone |
| Wetin you fit offer me? | What can you offer me? |
| You done look me well? | Have you looked at me properly? |
| I no know | I don't know |
| Then you no dey useful to me? | Then you are not useful to me? |
| I dey useful | I am useful |
| I no need help. I can get wetin I want with just a snap of my finger | I don't need help. I can get what I want with just a snap of my finger |
| You fit use me. I can do anything for you | You can use me. I can do anything for you |
| I go collect my debt from you later. Here na my parting gift | I will collect my debt from you later. Here is my parting gift |
Common Pidgin Patterns Used in This Story
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| "na" as identifier | Defines or confirms something | "Na wetin I hear" = "That's what I heard" |
| "oh" at end of sentence | Adds emotion or urgency | "I no want to die oh" = "I really don't want to die" |
| "no dey" before verb | Negates ongoing action | "I no dey fear" = "I am not afraid" |
| "fit" | Can / able to | "Wetin you fit offer me?" = "What can you offer me?" |
| "gree" | Agree / willing to | "Nobody gree do am" = "Nobody agrees to do it" |
| "waka" | Walk / move | "Waka round the perimeter" = "Walk around the perimeter" |
| "them say them say" | Rumour / hearsay | "Them say them say" = "People say that people say" |
| "wetin" | What | "Wetin dey the warehouse?" = "What is in the warehouse?" |
| "abeg" | Please / I beg you | "I no do, abeg" = "I won't do it, please" |
| "done" before verb | Completed action | "You done look me well?" = "Have you looked at me properly?" |
The Dialect of Defiance
Subject: Psychological Strains, City Rhythms, & Cultural Identity
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