I sat there for what felt like hours. My muscles ached from where they had been bound. My stomach growled from hunger. The rain had once again stopped, the gloomy clouds still remained a constant tableaux of depression. The sunlight that once seeped through began to reduce, alerting me of the incoming nightfall. The pungent odor still lingered around me but it was faint. I whipped around, the darkness growing thicker with every fading ray of the sun. The crash of waves rocked where I was, the foundations creaking loudly. My mind whirled with questions.

Then I heard it. A soft whir in the distance, the foundation creaked once again, dust falling out of multiple places. Some other roofing tiles fell before clattering to the creaking wood. Light seeped through, orange rays illuminating more of the room.

"It's time." The woman's voice came from across the room,  I turned to her. She was wearing a yellow Ankara shirt with matching yellow shorts. She had a pistol in hand, her face shrouded by the mask. The tall man standing beside her held a small pistol, his fingers hovering above the trigger. The man wore the same Ankara like yesterday, his thin pink lips drawn in a thin line. The whir of machines and voices grew louder, heavy footsteps sinking in from further down.

"Are you two really going to try to battle them with nothing but two pistols?" Disbelief grasped me with sharp talons. I looked between the two whom continued to look forward, their eyes trained on the wooden door right across from where they stood. I was sure that it wasn't locked from the slight movement on its hinges, back and forth.

"Oh sweet boy, are you that stupid?" She turned to me, a smile once again adorning her full lips. I gave her an incredulous look. The whirring became louder.

"You're the one that's about to challenge a group of highly trained and well equiped officers and you're the one calling me stupid." Disbelief clouded my tone. The footsteps loudened, the foundation shaking. My stomach growled again, my tongue aching for moisture.

  When I was about to open my mouth to counter, two shots rung through the air. My heart leapt in my throat, my muscles tensed. The door was kicked down harshly, it clattered down. Dust rose up, shifting through the slight pungent breeze. I coughed. I struggled against my binds noting about five officers in a customized human mech suit. The body gleamed with a light of its own, silver stripes bouncing onto the walls. The officers' eyes were covered by sunglasses with red highlights. The recovery squad.

  They all had laser guns in hand, slightly crouched as whirring filled my ears. The first officer with full afro hair said in a slightly warped voice,

"You two should stand down, drop your guns and take a step back. No harm would be done to you if you do as you're told." I remained glued to my seat, somewhat fascinated by the mech suits in full power, the whirring taking part in each of their steps and the way it made the building shake. It made my heart beat so quickly with fear and unmasked delight. I looked to the the two by my side, concerned about them.

"How thoughtful of you to care so much about our well being," the woman began talking, her lips widened in a manaical smile. "But what's the fun in surrendering?" She tilted her head, her boots clinking against the floor. They were a shiny leather, the fresh smell wafted into my nostrils.

Did she steal these or is she that rich?

"Surrender and I can say that you won't be charged for attempted assault on officers of the law." The officer with the afro repeated, his warped voice as a result of the small speaker hovering over his mouth which was connected to his mech suit.

"All you people do is blow big grammar, come follow me talk and I go show which side of Nue you don enter." The tall man hollered, his grip on the pistol tightening. I stared at him, mouth agape, my eyes not leaving his towering frame. Not a single shake nor a single falter.

This is a sealed death wish. Don't these two know that?

"I can clearly see you're both delusional people who have planned to get yourselves killed without wanting to do the act. I would get you both enrolled in the NRC if-"

"Oh, gentlemen I'm bored now, let's get to the drama." A shot rung through the atmosphere, my blood pounding as the bullet merely ricocheted off the mech suit. It plunged into the opposite wall, a loud crash reaching my ears. Dust filtered in, the foundation creaking slightly as nightfall came forth.

   Another shot rung from the pistol and another, each flying past my skin as it continued to be deflected by the superior armor of the mech suit. I would have smiled proudly if I wasn't trying my best to dodge, my breathing hitching as the smell of burnt wood and the heat of the bullet grazed my skin. The officers looked confused, staring at them as if gauging what to do.

"Not to make this-"

"But the fun's-"

"You're bullets are-"

"Hit us!" The woman screamed, tossing the pistol off to their side. She bounced on the balls of her feet, her lips wide in a crazy manaical smile.

What in the world is wrong with her?

The officer with the afro jabbed a hand in her direction,

"You definitely need the NRC."

"Shut up oo. Do your own and I go show you the fight you come look for." The officer with afro sighed, shaking his head slightly as he walked away. He touched the side of his head, walking as he talked to someone over the faint crackling of what I thought was an earpiece. He pushed past his other comrades, entering into the dark corridor which was illuminated by the light of his suit. Before he left he said,

"Just get this over with." They charged the laser guns, red lines swirling in its middle as it glowed, adding a red hue to the silver stripes thrown against the walls. The heat slapped against my face as my heart continued its fast prance, suddenly feeling sorry for then both.

The laser shot out of one of their guns, aiming at the middle. I closed my eyes, feeling the heave scent of smoke and my heart plummeted. A quiet descended over, I opened my eyes. A cloud of smoke surrounded where they once stood, their ashes shrouded by the flames. Despite not knowing them, I knew this was the best death they could suffer since this was the most painless.

"Let's take the boy-"

"Did you think that would kill us." My jaw dropped, my eyes looking past the thick fog. They both emerged from the fog, a wide smile on their lips. Disbelief gripped me tightly.

Had they jumped away from the laser in time?

Or did they use a faulty laser gun? 

Doubts of the earlier question filled me. Most missions undertaken by the recovery squad always had the same result. The recovery squad was too good to make such minor mistakes. I turned to the scene again, watching their forms. Apart from their clothes being stained by dark stripes with several tears they looked more than fine.

How was this possible?

  I swallowed harshly as the other officers began to stare at them as of they were ghosts.

  Then chaos.

  The officers began to shoot erratically, laser beams deflected of the duo's bodies to nearby walls, the floor and ceiling. The beams flung through the air, erratic in their movements as they threw into the walls. The smell of burnt wood plunged into my nostrils, my body churning with unease. They hit against roofing tiles which clattered to the floor, opening up to the canvas of the black night sky with shades of grey clouds. I breathed loudly as some lasers grazed my skin. I held down my lips, holding back a cry as the red beams came out in a never ending blight of red.

After which a hand to hand began amongst the opposing sides, the presumably weaker ones taking full control of the ferocious battle. I searched the two as they dodged, kicked, punched and do other several manuevers around the recovery squad yet they didn't have any wounds.

How is this possible?

  Chills crept down my spine when I watched three out of the four scamper out with dented mech suits and bloody faces while their counterpart lay in a heap of his own blood, his mech suit damaged beyond repair. The pungent smell of blood filled me with unease. I took a look at the both of them, fear encasing me. The darkness was back, the light from the mech suits gone.

"That was so much fun." The woman suppressed a giggle which tightened my pits. What made it worse was the darkness that loomed over me, filling me with all kinds of dark emotions. Even if I could no longer see the rubble, the blood, the ashes, I could smell it. They toyed with me, an extra exclamation to my shifty unease.

"How- how did you do it?" I finally croaked after battling so long to get the words out. A question that now sidelined the other questions that my curious mind usually hoarded in its depths, now a headline while the rest of the questions were mere nonsense. The woman laughed loudly while the man grunted.

"Now you wan know our secret after we don finish your guys. Abeg go sit down." My eyebrows raised and I almost told him that I was seated but realizing his very dangerous abilities I kept them shut. My eyes still shifted through the dark nothingness not entirely noting their figures.

"Atsu don't be so grumpy. This is the beauty of it all, them underrating the strength of the underdogs and then having their butts kicked." Another round of giggles from the woman. My eyebrows furrowed slightly. Atsu. Most citizens of Nue, if not all, now have only English names after being under the Chinese for so long plus the cultural and religion  ruins of the country not helping much. I tilted my head slightly in the darkness, gauging this new found discovery.

"And of course you can know our secret well-"

"Is like you're not well."

"Oh posh posh don't use such a tone on me. You're no fun at all."

"It be like say all you know how to do is play. Your craziness dey reach levels I know dey go."

"But crazy is good."

"That's the new-"

"Abeg make I hear word all you rich people dey take person by surprise every time and later you go think say the rich people you dey look up to are alright upstairs. Abeg let's get the man out of here before they send more people." At least I had one piece in the jigsaw puzzle.

This woman is an inhabitant of one of the cities in the Upper region of Nue.


I want to thank God for giving me the Grace to write this. So how was the fight? The characters didn't die as we would have thought, how come? It's so strange though. If you want to find out more let's continue onwards. Vote and comment if you like.





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