I wiggled against the new binds. The ropes were wound around me so tightly that I could barely breath. I took in shallow breaths, trying to maintain a steady heart beat. The grey walls loomed over me, the small candle at the corner unsheathing the smell of wax. The orange flame threw shadows against the moss stained floor. I scrunched up my nostrils as I noticed decayed rubbish off to the side, underneath the barred window.

  I drank in another shallow cup of air. The pungent odor was less but the temperature was now much colder. In Nue, despite the heavy rains, it was usually mildly cold if not somewhat warm. I shivered slightly, the crash of waves also didn't assault my ears which was louder than the sound itself. I focused on my thoughts as only the trickle of streams kept me company. I remembered ma, now she would think I had escaped. I bent low, the ropes pressed into the tattered layer of my jumpsuit.

  Never had I felt this disgusted with myself. The putrid smell caked my body. The rhythmic sound of the patter of drops bled through the air once in a while. This was the tenth time. I licked my lip. A coppery taste filled my tongue to which I sighed.

The cut must have been when the two had man handled me.

Thinking back to the two, my shock still remained evident. They had not been captured by the recovery squad. That alone was a fear to be reckoned with and they had killed one of the five. I thought back to all the snippets of the action I remembered. There were no laser proof vests at all, I am not sure they even existed. I licked my lips again. No single explanation could equate to the feat that had  happened.

I could only reason that they may have bribed the recovery squad to just fake an attack. Though, the more I thought about it the more impossible it seemed to be.

Why would they  bribe the very people that they want to instill fear into?

I mulled over the question. No other possible solution crept up to mind and that made me feel very uncomfortable. I wiggled slightly, blood losing its steady build up in my arm. Dana. I took in another breath, wondering if what I had done was correct. I turned my eyes to the floor. I felt my mind being dragged back about how ma had taken the blame for most of Robert's mistakes when he first came into our lives when I was 11. Ma had revealed they were high school sweethearts back in her day before he had moved off to the US.

My ma was born into a rich line of powerful business men. So she had never been the one to see poverty, but my own dad had lived in the lesser class of the Upper region of Nue. They had met in one of my ma's father's parties, they had gotten a acquainted and about a year or two later, they had gotten married.

  Shortly after my ma had given birth to me, my grandparents came up with the claim that my father had embezzled money from their business. My ma had not believed the notion and they had argued a lot about it. That caused my grandparents to move away to NC, which was formerly called Canada which led to a huge rift in their relationship.

  My ma had discovered my father in the act when I was 10 years old. She had divorced him immediately, throwing him in one of the prisons towards the east of Nue. A lump formedin my throat. After which she had realized all the other things he had been stealing from her, he said soon after that he had only married her because of her filthy money. That had caused ma to fall into depression and drug abuse with drinking on the side. During that time, she and Robert had newly reconnected once again.

  But one day after a rather heated arguement over the phone with someone, she drunk again. I swallowed harshly again, taking in gulps of air. She had driven intoxicated that day, I could still remember how her vehicle had collided with a truck on the end. Wails of sirens echoed in my ears as I clamped my eyes shut. No one had been hurt seriously but the goods, the truck was transporting had been damaged.

  And thanks to my father's case, with the already embezzled money and the money she spent on drugs and alcohol, there was barely enough for me to survive. But Robert had come to our rescue, he had helped pay off the damages incurred from the accidents and helped reduce her punishment to hard labour for a month or two. I shook out of my tale, the two men my ma had married were been nothing but crooks.

  I allowed the tension in my joints to seep away as I slumped. I couldn't completely say that I hadn't acted stupid as a result of love.  Outside of the bars was a lonely hallway, entrenched with darkness save for  ancient torches. I couldn't help but have my eyebrows furrow.

People hardly used torches in 2019, talk-less of now. 

The walls had some weird carvings into it but I didn't have enough time to decipher it before I heard a clang. The rain of footsteps trailed down the hall. I listened in to the rhythmical patter, the sound of splashes alerted me there were puddles along the hallway. The man from before came into view, his face shrouded with the same mask. This time he wasn't wearing the ankara but he had on a yellow shirt with yellow shorts.

Why are they always in yellow?

The man grunted as soon as he reached the bars. I squirmed slightly under his gaze. He fished out a key from his pocket before he put it into the lock. A click resounded the metal padlock, the padlock fell with a loud clang. My eyes remained on the padlock.

So if the girl was as rich as I thought, why do they use those?

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as he drew closer to me. He had a knife in hand as he walked to my back. Sweat formed down my side as I looked gingerly at the knife. It wasn't the sharpest I had seen but it wasn't so blunt either. I gulped.

"Na rich people like you that go question where they dey take them." I watched as he sided me, his body smell engulfing my nose. My nose scrunched up. I tensed as he grabbed onto the ropes, pulling on them as he skillfully used the knife to cut through them. The slash of material crawled through my ears. I only fully relaxed when he stepped away from me with the knife back in his pocket.

"And if you try anything I go use this knife to pierce you so if you lack sense better find am buy." He walked forward as he pushed a hand into his pockets. I followed behind him as he led me through a series of dark hallways, all clothed in a monotonous grey. Moss covered the walls which made it feel like wherever I was had been built from a large cave. The trickling of water became louder as we ascended a couple of steps.

Maybe we were underground?

  I thought through it as we stopped at a door clamped shut. Mummurs grew from the inside, the scent of strong herbs drifted past my nostrils and down the dark stairwell. The man grunted. The door clicked open as I took notice of the door. Wooden and obviously bare from any form of motion sensors, grey weathered the top lightly. The woman from that day still had her mask on, she smiled brightly at us.

"Oh welcome naive boy, come in." She squealed. She swept her now purpled braids to her left shoulder before she dragged me inside. Different smells slapped my face. I coughed slightly, the herbal scent now more concentrated. I stumbled as she pushed me forward. The room was large and was furnished the way it must have been in the 20s. Two chairs stood at my left four sat at my right, than a small table stood at the middle. Behind those seats were an assortments of sofas, each opposite to each other. It didn't take time for me to notice the tears in the orange leather.

Not in good condition, why am I suprised?

  The walls were illuminated by a torch, the flames burned brightly. And unlike the other parts of this place, the walls were plastered with white ..... I squinted at it. Paper?

The person hadn't done a good job at all.

  I jolted out of my reverie when the girl began to push me. I protested, my muscles tensing. I tried to hold form onto the the dry wooden floor but she outmatched my strength, pushing me to one of the seats by the table. By the time we had reached it, she forced me to plop onto it.

"Can't have a new family member standing."

"Wait. What's that supposed to mean?" The tall guy marched from the door with the knife slightly raised. I bristled under the intensity of his gaze. The orange light tinkled on the metal, I could see my head on it. Instinctively, I rubbed my neck, hoping that he wouldn't sever it from my body. Tingles rushed up my spine again.

"If you talk I go blow your head o." The girl looked at Atsu pointedly. Atsu gave her a look as if she would be the next to be blown.

"You don't treat a family member that way. It's not nice."

What?

"See me see wahala oo," he turned to look up before he looked back at her. "Someone we just brought in like day before yesterday, you dey talk as if you know am for years. For this rubbish wey you dey do you don enter my blacklist." I tried to interject as they traded words, the man's voice getting louder even as they bantered childishly. I looked away from them and noticed the door being flung open. Three others stepped in, the only guy in the group, whom was taller and lankier than Atsu, held onto what looked like a rolled map and a cellophane bag. I breathed deeply, something sinister lying under this group of misfits.

What did they want from me?

Is this the infamous gang she was in?

What were they planning?

"You guys are back already, that was so quick!" The girl passed by Atsu whom just grunted again. She grabbed a cellophane bag from the tallest, bowing a little. The girl with dark cropped hair allowed her eyes to stray to me. She walked up to the other one with the mask before slapping her back.

"Can't you tell someone that one of your kidnappee is here? Afua don't annoy me." The girl hissed.

Another African name.

"Even me sef where I no go school know that kidnappee no be word, it seems like the hair way you go shave still no allow book enter, it dey commot even faster." The other girl's mouth opened as Afua began to cackle loudly. I would have laughed if I wasn't in the situation I was in, Atsu proved to be funny, when he didn't look like he wanted to kill you.

"I knew I liked you since-"

"Abeg the feelings is not shared. I no won catch whatever they disturb you rich people." The bustle of chatter continued, arguements and insults flying among the four as one of the guys that had come earlier came to sit on the chair opposite me. He had on a yellow hoodie, matching joggers followed also. Though what made him stand out wasn't his square shaped jaw or his lanky stature. It was his black eyes. I had heard of how people had gotten tattoes in their eyeball which usually led to something like this.

Despite being creeped out, curiosity made me tilt my head.

Could he see me?

  "I can see you." I tensed again, shifting into the plush chair. The guy snapped his finger, the other arguement faded as they all turned to him. The guy ran a hand over his growing stubble as he licked his black lips. I already knew he was an advent smoker, something that churned my belly even more.

"So you're the guy that took the fall for Dana's crimes?" I swallowed.

Was he their leader?

I nodded, unable to find the words. The man smiled slightly showing tobacco stained teeth. I hoped I hid the bristle I must have made on seeing his smile.

How did anyone not feel disgusted when they saw that?

I know I was being a hypocrite in a way but it was still disgusting all the same. He asked Afua to pass him those things she had carried before, she did as their chatter descended into quiet. I looked at Afua for a moment before she locked eyes with me. Afua sent a wink my way which made chills crawl down my spine.

The man dropped the cellophane bag on the table before he spread the map. I could see the outstretched of Nue as I had studied in school but not on maps.

What century did these people live in?

"Taking the blame for people's crimes has always been a noble deed," his voice sounded hoarse, "but yours is one of a kind. Dana is the only person out of the four others that had been recruited that is still alive and that shows great skill. Don't you think?" My blood ran cold. He smiled widely again which made me shudder. Something about the way he said her name made me feel weird.

"Get to the point."

"You this boy sef-"

"Atsu, don't." The man dropped his formerly raised hand and crossed it over his small chest. For someone so thin, he exuded more power than the muscular hulk standing too close for comfort.

"Taking the blame for her crime means you will take her responsibilities not only in prison but in our group." He smoothened what I I now realized to be hand drafted map of Nue.

My brows raised slightly as I looked at the precision. It looked almost the same as the one displayed over holograms during geography class.

Now that was skill. Too bad that wasn't the person that did their decor in this room.

Series of red markers were boldy crossed on different sections, some had green ticks though. The lower region had most of the green ticks while the upper had most of the red ticks. Apprehension gripped me tightly as a sense of foreboding loomed over me. I inhaled sharply, noticing a red mark on the museum.

Were these the places they planned to strike? Did the red markers mean they had failed or had they just lost it?

"So...... I expect you to fill her role as the burglar in the squad since you aren't too muscular, you should be able to do her job. So to prove your loyalty, you will be robbing this supermarket." He tapped at a green tick at the lower region which bordered one of the cities, Laga  towards the southern part of Nue. I stared at him, my eyes glued onto his face. Silence drenched us.

"Loyalty? I think you have yourself gravely mistaken, I will not be doing that." I almost stood up if not for the muscled hand that pressed down on my back. Pain assaulted me, pushing me onto the table. I winced as I heard the clatter around me. My world turned slightly as I tried to rise. I struggled against him, saliva almost sputtering from my mouth. The coarse table pricked the sides of my face, drawing blood at the different corners.

"Atsu." He called and the hold on me left. I rose, rubbing my jaw. I felt saliva dribble down my face. I licked my lips to gain some sort of good outlook, although I already knew I looked to razzled and dirty to look any good. Disgust piled in my gut as I blinked.

"Now,  Stanley is it? Will you be willing to lend your loyalty to us if you had some kind of reward for it." I narrowed my eyes, not liking where this was going.

"Like what?"

"Dana's life. If you don't do as you're told, Dana will be killed." My breath quickened. I tried to smile despite the threat.

He had no evidence.

I reminded myself as I prepped myself for what to say next. "You're bluffing. I know she's safe, she can take care of herself." I said despite the lump in my throat. He smirked as he chucked the cellophane bag at me, I narrowly caught it. My heart beat loudly in my chest.

"I know all you science types. I can't believe my sweet Dana befriended someone like you." The way he said that made my blood boil but I kept my mouth shut. He looked at the bag in my hand, silently urging me. I did open it, deciding against touching it with  my hand, I turned the bag upside down to allow whatever was in it to fall out. Something heavy hit the table, with shaky hands I removed the nylon.

   A cry escaped my lips as I looked back at the monstrosity before me. Punctured brown eyes, blood stained yellow cheeks, pale red lips, light hair all packaged in a severed head, blood splattered onto the table and down my jumpsuit much to my horror. My heart leapt in my throat as my breathing quickened. The dripping tainted my ears as my world turned and toiled. Bile crawled up my throat as my goosebumps grew down my arms.

"You know who this person is?" I gasped as my world turned. Black dots brimmed my vision as tears filled my eyes. My world became a blurry turn of dots, coming into view before shifting back. I could feel myself shake, relinquishing in the fact that these fiends had murdered Dana's little sister.

"If you don't want the same fate for Dana better do as we say. Not wasting any more time, welcome to the Black Scorpions."

I want to thank God for giving me the Grace to write this. Black Scorpions, that still sounds weird. They killed Dana's little sister. Who would have thought that the very person he tried to save would still suffer in the end. If you liked this vote and comment, read on to see more of Stanley's story.

WORD COUNT: 11,173


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