My weary eyes remained transfixed to the cracked grey ceiling. The orange light scram down the length of the ceiling, accentuating the jagged cracks that stretched across the surface. The familiar crackling of flames flew past my ears as my throbbing shoulder blades were moistened by running sweat. The plush sheets underneath me almost reminded of my life before all this.

  The grey ceiling faded out of existence as I was pulled into memories from before the incident.

It almost feels like another lifetime.

  My shoulders sagged as fuzzy memories clouded into my mind. I slowly exhaled allowing the gathering tension in my body to dissipate.

Everything will be fine.

The dark memories that shuddered to life said other words. A brutally severed head filling my mind with all it's horrors.

  Like a tatto, the horrified expression on Daniella's face spoke more words than anything else ever could. The other thoughts slipped through my mind like water slithering down the cold dusty slides of memory lane. A loud ding traced its through the air, drawing me put of my thoughts. My eyes ventured to the grandfather clock at the middle of the east wall. The familiar brown casing was etched with deep marks that was so deep that it looked like though it had lived for centuries which would have been very true.  The black hands of the pastel clock signalled midnight before venturing into the early morning  race. The pendulum within the brown casing shielded by glass doused with hints of cracks swayed slightly. For the unpteeth time, I rose from the bed before a splitting headache threw itself down on me.

  A yawn escaped my lips as I struggled to see beyond the blur. Remembering the bucket of water at the edge of the bed, I leaned over the edge then dipped my hand into it. The familiar slosh of water twisted through my ears as a cold sensation burst through my almost numb palms. I splashed the water against my face.

I blinked rapidly as the drops slid my eyelashes before deftly running down my face. My vision was strewn by faint splotches of blue before my world shimmered back to sight.

  The familiar paper covered walls shone once again. A wardrobe, old and willowed by termites stood at the leftmost corner. The doors hung off the faulty creaking hinges, it remained ajar despite the amount of times I had tried to close it. Remembering the cobwebs threading the interors, my nose wrinkled again.  I allowed my feet to stretch down to the floor before pulling myself off the bed.

  The creaky floors shuddered underneath me as I took each step. I walked to a corner of the east wall where my boots lay. I quickly carried it before pulling it on and heading out the equally creaky door. A large dimly lit hallway greeted me one too many times I had snuck out to see if Robert had made an appearance. My shadows glided against the walls as I ascended a couple of steps before continuing down the long corridor. I tried to push my mind off the dark memories of the past few days that stayed at a corner in my mind. A shudder grew down my body.

  Through the corner of jaded eyes, I saw a cluster of black form slowly. Stopping in my tracks, my head snapped to that direction. Nothing. I stared at the grey walls for a moment longer, watching the flicker of my shadow that mirrored the movement of the crackling flames.

I turned away before I traipsed down another bend and a nipping wind drenched my whole. Goosebumps grew down my arms as the temperature dropped. My eyes flitted around, the howling of the wind disrupting my fragile bubble of tranquility.

How is it possible that there would be currents this strong underground?

I shook my head to remove the thoughts and banish any form of conclusions my bleary brain wanted to jump into. Despite trying to be negligent about it, I still felt the slightest bit of foreboding hover above me. I turned another corner as the cold made me regret wearing the cotton clothes that had been pushed into my hands by Afua. I took another step. The faint pitter patter of drops bled through the silence that was momentarily overshadowed by the renewed howling of wind. I exhaled to calm the sense of unease that wanted to take flight within me.

Stop overeacting.

I internally chided. Another collection of forms grew at the corner of my eye. I turned to see the same stoic wall with the torches burning lowly. My heart palpitated in my chest as I felt the crazy idea that I wasn't alone.

Stop overreacting.

  I took a few more steps before I heard laughs. My body bristled. Shivers ran down my spine as my eyes skittered around my surroundings. I wrung my hands as my bleary eyes began to lose the weariness that once held it down.

Calm down, you're just tired.

Another ferocious blast of wind whipped past me. My body collided with the wall. I jerked as pain bounced off my face. I stumbled to the floor, startled by the sudden occurrence. I ignored the ache in my butt as I pushed myself to my knees before rising up once again. My heart thumped loudly in my chest followed by a distant ringing. Nerves formed within the depths of my belly. I shakily stood up again before another round of laughter flooded through my ears.

   My eye caught a movement to my right. My head rived to that direction so fast that a faint snap bounced around the walls. Ignoring the twing, I looked about with alert predatory eyes. Nothing still. Feeling a bit antsy, I broke into a walk, tension clouding around. A hiss emanated from my back. I swung myself around to meet an empty hallway. I dug my fingers into my palms as I backed away before twirling back to continue my walk down. Alarm knelled in every nook and cranny of my body. Another hiss from the right followed by a rustling of wind, fidgeting, I turned to the west wall.

  An inkling of me that painted the wall mirrored my tensed posture. I gripped my knuckles as my heart continued to thump ridiculously fast.

You see, you're just tired.

  Then I saw the shadow snap a finger. It was so quick that I had barely caught it. Then the torches simultaneously blinked altogether, plunging into a silent death before being revived. Then I ran. I tore down the hallways, my limbs shaking as the grey walls passed by me in a blur. My fretting heart kept me from looking back as I ran into the hallway that led into the intersection where I had eavesdropped on Robert's conversation with the man. Hearing the familiar sound of his voice, I eased my loud steps faryer down the hall.

I hope they didn't hear me.

  I looked behind me, stilling my breathing, the hallway remained normal as if nothing had happened. I shakily tip toed down as their voices got louder. I flattened myself against the wall, the stones at the entrance jutting out a little to obscure my frane though the dim lighting also helped. Robert as always was in a two piece suit, his black hair shaved lowly and a gold chain around his neck.

  His presence brought fresh waves of anger but my curiosity to know what was happening pushed away that anger for a moment. The man from before stood with his back to me, in front of Robert . He was still clad in the clothes that he wore earlier in the day, the same funky smell followed him also.

"Are sure this would do it?" Robert held up a tiny vual that looked out of this world.

Everything in this whole place looks like they belong in an entirely different century..

I allowed my attention to draw back to what he held up. An unsure expression crossed his gaunt face.

"If you dey mean whether it go kill am then yes, it go finish am sharp sharp." A gasp almost escaped my lips as Robert stared at the vial in hand with a doubting look evident in his hooded eyes. My breaths shallowed as my heart tightened. Blood galloped down my veins as my chest constructed. I shakily held a hand to my chest. The fatst paced fall and rise of my chest told me that I needed to calm down. I stilled my heavy breathing as soon as Robert's eyes ventured to where I was. I held my breath, he looked away and allowed a breath to escape my lips.

Who were they planning to kill?

  The thought left a foul taste in my mouth as the vision of blood sauntered into my sight. Bile formed a clump at my to throat as my trembling increased. Robert sighed as if not sure of what he would do. "The election of the divisional executive officers in the Upper region will start few days from now and it is absolutely paramount that I eliminate Rudy before the elections begin. I can not possibly win unless that is done." The old man laughed before quietening down at the look that Robert threw at him.

"My boy, the gods of the land no dey fail. Where humans for fail they dey stay hot and fresh so this thing wey I prepare for you contain the most dangerous poison that go chop him from inside out. Why you still dey doubt them or the times wey you don come, dey dey fail?" 

So he has been here at other times.

I tried to stifle the loud breaths that escaped my lips. My heart bled with fear as I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. I allowed my eyes to shift to the corridor nervously, regristing that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I allowed my eyes crawl back to them. Their conversation trickled through my ears. 

"-I didn't like Martha is all, a man should be allowed to do whatever he wants." I heard Robert quip. My ears perked at the mention of my ma's name. The old man shook his head at Robert.

What in the world was this man up to?

"After telling to evoke the gods of the land to cause problem in her household, you still go leave her. I don't know wetin men don turn marri-"

What?

I shifted, taken aback this story. Confusion wove its way into me as questions sprung up to mind.

"I said you're not the boss of me. So drop it." The man placed a hand on his pudgy hips before he let out a grunt. Robert placed a hand on his red upper lip, lost in thought before his eyes flipped back to the older man's.

"I think your subordinates should be the ones to deliver the poison. Inasmuch as this could kill the man within seconds, they could still trace it all back to me if not careful, after all the superior nature of the tech-"

Was he talking about us?

"Abeg, don't come down here to be talking techno-nonsense. Leaving out the wahala wey the Chinese go place on traditional worshippers, technology have also made people lose their roots in their true African heritage-" Robert snorted.

"So is this heritage supposed to be your traditional worshipping?"

"Yes-"

"You don't have to play this hero charade, you're just in this for the money."

"How many times I go tell una? I no want mone-y, it be like say I go gain anything when I go better as a priest and servant to the angered gods of our land-"

Traditional worshipping?

  I didn't allow myself to be immersed by my questions for too long before I was pulled back to their argument.

"Sure sure whatever makes you sleep at night."

"How my talk talk go make me sleep for night, me I no get th-"

"Illiterates." Robert muttered before sighing. He rubbed his temple before moving to push his hands into his pockets. The old man also shook his head before saying in a monotonous voice,

"As the gods told me ehn, you go bring person wey you go sacrifice because you know as they dey work by law of substitution. Better open ya ear now, if you no settle the gods just know they go hunger for your own blood."

"Sure, that's not going to be a problem. Martha will fill the role perfectly." My heart plummeted immediately. My body went rigid as a ringing cascaded in my ears. I raised a hand to my mouth as I began to shake.

He's going to use ma as a sacrifice?!

  The gruesome words toyed with me as fear melded with my confusion to cause a cacaphony of nonsense. Anxiety pinned me down as I basked in this reality. They continued their idle chatter as I fought to keep down this surprise that stirred through me. Pushing through this, I allowed a burst of resolve to grow in me.

I can't let him do this.

The two men left the same way as before, their baritone voices hitting against the dark passageways as they faded out of my sight. With piqued questions, burning trepidation and a tiny shimmer of resolution, I jetted down the dark corridor with the lives of two people bordering on my decisions and actions from today.


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