I jerked awake, feeling the dirty jumpsuit sticking to my body. Through bleary eyes, I tried to peek through the thick wall of darkness. The lights that lined the corridors opposite the cells were off, the black blanket in full concentration. The pungent smell of urine and poop took my nose once again. A dim thrumming took my ears by surprise. I came down the bed, following the sound. I felt around my surroundings blindly, before settling onto the floor.

  The thrumming increased, my eyebrows furrowed, suddenly feeling a slight vibration overtake the place. From all I had read I knew for sure that when Nigeria was still standing, it had experienced only a handful of earthquakes and even after the effects of the global warming, it had almost none, the only aftermath was the flooding and constant rainfall. The thrumming grew louder as I noticed through the peeks in the reinforced steel, a blue surge of light.

  Soon the floorboards began to tip up, my eyes widened slightly. The faint whir of a machine threaded into my ears as a drill glowing light blue cut through the platinum boards, heavily announcing its presence. Heart in my throat, I moved back, the blue glow threw shadows against the walls. I squinted against the sudden glare as the whirring and vibrating stopped. The drill was pulled back, darkness enveloping the cell again.

   What in the-

A hand gripped my leg harshly. Before I could process it, my back was scraping against the dark floors. I racked in the hold, grabbing wildly at the smooth floor. Bile crept down my throat as I fell through the hole. My gut churned with queasiness, gravity pulling me down to an abyss of black. Soon I hit against the ground, my back arched forward with the pain ricocheting through my downside.

I moaned, my head throbbing loudly. Voices rose around me as I fought against the onslaught of pain that alighted my senses. Light filtered into my vision, revealing three other masked figures.

"I thought you said she was here." The one in the middle yelled to the tallest one, her feminine voice loud in the silence. In the tallest's hand, the drill that had been used earlier hung loosely from a black carrier across his chest.

"I did and she's supposed to." The hole that I had fallen from was high up, almost amassed in the clouds of black. The platinum floors formed a sort of ceiling, sealing off from the upside save from where they had drilled into. The smell of coal and soil filled my nostrils.

"Who are you?" The tallest said, grabbing the scruff of my jumpsuit. Fear drilled into me, unable to take in his eyes against the dim lighting.

"Let's calm down." I tried to shake out of his hold, his grip tightened to disallow the chance.

"Where's Dana? And who in the world are you?" The abrasive note of his voice made me shiver, reminding me of the times my uncle would fight. Before I could answer alarms flared up, catching on the event that was taking place. Underneath their masks, their eyes widened, exchanging glances before the man let go.

  I landed on the ground, feeling my bones shift ever so slightly. Red lights seeped through the hole as I heard the distant shouts, before I could move away I was grabbed once again. Soon after, I was crawling through a small tunnel, the corners grating against my nerves. My muscles cramped. The hairs on my neck stood, the earthen scent of soil wafting through my nostrils.

  My heart spun on its nose, reeling from what was happening around me. The others around me tightened the hole we crawled in, nausea washed over me. My fear of cramped spaces kicked in, juts of stone scraped against my jumpsuit, drawing at its threads. It got stuck, holding my body back. The man at my back, hit harshly against the sole of my foot. The tunnel like shape seemed to close in on me as we crawled.

My heart thundered loudly. I couldn't see past the two ahead of me. My throat clogged, sweat running down my back. The figures before me, crawled upwards, alerting me of the change in direction. Then they came out from the other side of the hole, light seeped in from somewhere above, lessening the crackling tension in my muscles.

  The tunnel rode upwards, the ground underneath becoming lumpier. I clawed at the soil, steadying myself as I tried to squeeze through. Before my breath and heart could fail me, I reached the top. I took a gulp of air, the stale smells slithering down my body and back into the tunnel.

  The tension in my joints slowly seeped away, my head bent over as I breathed heavily. Taking note of my surroundings once again, I realized we were a distance away from the facility, by the end of the thick walls of trees outside of the gate. The high black pines of the prison rose high up, mecury lights blared up with a jarring red. The grasses beneath me perked up, scratching with thin needles. My eyes widened as I looked down at it through the dim light of the moon, tiny silver stripes coated it.

  The trees around bristled, my heart leapt in my throat as I took a few steps back. The gnarled branches twisted in on themselves, evergreen leaves turning silver as several tiny hatches opened. The green fumes began to come out, swiftly pulling out in a thick fog.

"Run!" The tallest of the masked figures swung me over his shoulder. I wheezed, feeling my stomach clench as I watched the thick smoke cover the outcrop of grass in its wake, dangerously green tendrils galloping forth at horrendous speeds. The patter of footsteps lengthened the alarm seeping through my veins, the green caught up to us.

  The green smoke caught up to my nostrils, a wave of heat drenched down me. Cold shivers trailed down my spine, my body beginning to chatter. Aroused spots eagerly ate away at my vision, my limbs trembling as numbness washed over. The faint trickle of water enveloped my ears, before I felt an icy cold wash over them. My tongue swelled slightly, blisters forming down its length.

   The darkness hovered above me, my mind tumbling in different directions as all my senses were stripped away. Soon, my sight was gone, the deep blackness covering my whole.

***

  Something splattered against my face, I jolted upright. My world tossed and turned, dark splotches still ringing the sides. My head throbbed loudly, my belly churned with pain. I sat there for what felt like hours, my body bent over with my world beyond reach. Soon everything shifted out, skipping away from the blur that had backed it up.

  I squinted, faintly making out the rush of water. My nose wrinkled slightly as all sorts of smells slammed into them, the darkness almost impenetrable save for the light from a little crevice above. My body felt constrained, my hands bound behind the chair I was forced to seat on by what I felt could be handcuffs. The searing heat prickled them.

Numbers washed over my legs which were also bound tightly to where I sat. The rushing of water was much more, heavy crashing shifting past. My heart leapt after the sound of another crash, the noise reminded me of all the movies of the past I had watched where the protagonist was trying to fight through a torrential flood.

  Another crash resounded, shaking wherever I was slightly. I could feel the faintest trickle of dust. Something splashed on my face, droplets running down to my lip. I licked them. Water with a slightly harsh taste. A light pungent smell blew past me. A loud creak bounced around whatever place I was then another crash, a roofing tile fell away slightly, tilting from their attachment to their partners. Dust slithered down as more light walked down the opening.

  I could see through the gap, the dark clouds streaked by yellow lines, hiding the sun out of view in this dull painting of grey and yellow. My eyebrows furrowed. Due to the high concentration of industries in the lower region of Nue once before, sulphur had accumulated so much that the clouds now carried a yellow tint, water now being unhygienic.

That means I'm in the Lower region of Nue.

More water droplets fell through, sliding down with the faint pungent odor.

How had I gotten here?

  Suddenly, I remembered the earlier events that took place before I had inhaled the mod-tear gas. The crash of waves and sweeping of water toyed with my insides, making me itch to know of the disarray that took place at the outside. Patting came from outside the room I was in. Footsteps. I tensed up, analyzing my surroundings. Another loud creak emanated from the left, my eyes snapped to the direction.

   Light shone directly in my eyes, I squinted against it.

"Look who's awake." The familiar voice said and I looked past the flashlight aimed towards me and looked at the man from before. His dark skin tone shone from where he held the torchlight back. He was clad in jeans and what they used to call an yellow ankara shirt, my eyebrows furrowed.

I thought they didn't exist anymore.

  "Dana's lovesick puppy." A woman beside him said, playing with her short braids. A half mask, identical to the man's, obscured her facial features, leaving a sense of unease within me.

"What do you want from me?" I questioned, glancing between the two. The crash of wave broke through once again.

"Nothing." The woman crossed her hand over her identical ankara dress.

Are they twins?

"So why in the world did you bring me here?" Save from the light, the backdrop of darkness behind them still remained, not in the slightest hinting me at how I could get out. My wrists and ankles continued to throb as a result of the cuffs. I gritted my teeth.

"Well there are many reasons for that." Her dark full lips, being the only visible facial feature curled up. I made a mental note of that part of her appearance. She walked up to me, her boots clamping down on creaky wood.  She circled me, while the other stood back, watching us both.

"But since I wouldn't like to keep you totally out of the dark, I will give you one of the pointers. For bait." Her English was good, sliding cleanly out of her tongue in a smooth tone. No scratchy undertone that usually accompanied the occupants of the Lower region of Nue.

Who is she?

  "Bait?" She chuckled, placing a hand over my shoulder. My gaze snapped to it, her nails were painted a vivid yellow like the Ankara. The fresh smell of nail polish foamed into my nostrils, then at her wrist there was an expensive diamond bracelet. Obviously too pampered for someone in the lower region.

"More or less, yes. You see, we want to teach the police of Nue a small lesson. To announce ourselves to the whole of the Upper and lower region of Nue alike as criminals to fear." I stared at her before I chuckled lowly, humored by the claim.

"You think you could do that? The technology of Upper region far surpasses this region's. How would you even do that?" She smirked in spite of the fact which left a chill down my spine.

"Revealing all our cards would quench the suspense, off course we can't have that." She walked past me, curiosity to know these cards erupted within me. In a bid to make her talk, I continued on,

"I hope you know that the mod-tear gas has nano trackers embedded within it. And if this," I craned my neck, emphasizing the area. "is your hideout, then forget your budding villainous career, because by bringing me here, you've gambled your chances away." She smiled widely, her brown eyes donning a sinister delight. My belly churned at that look.

"Villainous? Strange use of words for someone in this century," she puckered her lips, though the look hadn't left her eyes. "Though it seems-"

"You no go finish your talk talk." Yep, there was the scratchiness I remembered. The man grunted again, impatience clearly ringing from his crossed hands and the tapping of his feet against the floor. The woman sighed, puckering her lips.

"All I can say is," she bent low, the glint in her eye shining brighter. A beaded necklace around her neck caught my eye, strange inscriptions written down its lengths. "you're getting the front row seat to all the fun." She giggled, rising once again.

  Soon after, she and her companion walked away leaving me with lots of unanswered questions.

 

  I want to thank God for giving me the Grace to write this. New characters have been introduced, what do you think about them? What do you think is going to happen next? I think the story is gradually taking flight by God's grace, anyway vote and comment. Have a wonderful day ❤️.

 

  


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