The welts on my back ached as I winced. Blood gushed out from a few gashes, soaking my nose with the warm and moist scent. I choked on the vomit that fought to escape my mouth. The smell of herbs flooded through my nostrils as questions ran through my mind. A shudder spread down the length of my back. Fog pierced my line of sight once again.

  Tiredness flicked down my eyes before my limbs pulsed with a dull throb. My eyes drew to the cloth I held pressed to my knee. Hesitantly, I raised it enough to peer at the white cotton material.

It was now red.

  My breathing sped up. Jitters filed an even path down my body. I slapped my hand back but bile had already filled my mouth again. Speckles of black decorated my hazy world. Goosebumps grew down my arms, rough patches of pores jutting underneath my smooth clothes.

  Feeling my way over to where the bucket of water lay, I dipped my hand into it. I was met with the cool liquid that faintly rippled over my aching palms. Puke still threatening to break past my mouth, I quickly splashed some of the cold water onto my face. The fuzz around me twirled back to normal.

  Ebo, the guy with the black eyes, had sent me and Atsu to completely raid another store. My eyes shifted to the gains of our venture, chips, cans of food, some worn out clothes and  chains laid scattered along the bed. The clatter irked me but the pain emanating from my knee was enough to keep me still. I winced again as I applied more pressure onto it.

  A wham broke through the atmosphere. I shifted my eyes to the doorway. Zarkiya, one of the other members,  had her petite frame clad in a light yellow dress. She faltered in her steps when her eyes locked with mine, she looked away even as she trudged on, allowing her long black hair to shield her face.

  My eyes caught onto the first aid box she held tightly. Her footsteps echoed in the room. She laid the kit on the bed before slowly turning to me.

"Ebo talk say you go use that one to clean your wounds then you go come to the meeting room." Before I could answer, she plodded out the door as if in a haste to get out as fast as she could. I took a peep at the bed again.
The glitters of the chains and rings strewn across the rumpled linen tightened my belly as the begging faces of people flashed to mind. I had done my part quickly to avoid Atsu from doing anything like he did last time but I couldn't remove the remorse that came with my action.
  
  I took a deep breath as I latched onto the cool metallic handle of the greying first aid box. With a heave, I pulled it to my side. I quickly wretched it open which let out a dull creak, cobwebs were sprinkled around the sides. My nose twitched as I reluctantly placed my hand into it, swatting away the light silk away. Most of the products looked outdated, either some were expired or some could not perform what they were intended to do. I rummaged through it until I settled on a roll of bandages sealed in a transparent cellophane bag.

  I took it before I gingerly ripped it open and got to work. After five gruelling minutes of trying to keep myself from experiencing a fainting spell, I had finally tended to the wide gash and the other sprinkles of injuries that dusted my legs.  I stood up and almost stumbled back to the bed as a result of the numbness that gripped my leg. I patiently awaited the clamour of blood down my veins.

   "Hey, aren't you done?" I whipped my head towards the doorway once again. Afua dusted her yellow shirt before motioning outside the door. She pulled on the end of her hair which was now red and plaited in neat red cornrows. I nodded, my throat still parched as tension dawdled within me. I walked towards her before she led me down to the meeting room, which wasn't too hard to locate. The crackling of torches with the familiar paper padded walls filtered into my vision.

  Ebo, and the four others sat amongst the chairs around the focal point of the room which was the wooden gritty table. An image shuddered into my mind. Daniella's severed head. My throat strained as nausea washed over me. I fought away the urge to hurl all my guts onto the wooden floor. I shook my head before I strode  to the empty seat at the edge of the  table, the rest of the five were already seated, chatting lightly.

  "Without wasting much time, one of the master's clients came over last night." Ebo unfurled the map of before before pointing at the eastmost part of the Upper region.

Was the client Robert?

"The upper region's elections is due in a couple of days and our client has requested that we kill a target, one named Mr Rudy Lucky, with a pre-prepared poison that we are supposed to to inject into his heart, that is the only way the afore mentioned poison can take its course in the body." My heart thumped loudly. I swallowed as I tried to keep my harsh breathing in check which seemed futile.

So we really were doing this?

   Quakes of fear broke through my mind. I battled to keep my quivering hands still. My heart banged so loudly in my chest that for a moment I barely heard what they said. The fact that ma would be used as a sacrifice after this set me more on edge.

Anticipation formed a heavy weight in the air as Ebo locked eyes with me. It was as though time froze. A quiver stretched down my body. Although his eyes were completely black, it still caused the temperature in the room to drop down to a couple of degrees. Chills slithered down my spine then he looked away. Relief flooded through me from the break in the deadly trance. I wrung my hands to keep the trembling from rising above my fingers.

"More details on how we would go about this will be relayed before we leave tomorrow night. In the meantime," Ebo's gaze pivoted to me again, this time his lips widened in a smile. Now he held up a cigarette which caused my stomach to swamp with disgust. With bated breath, I listened closely to what he had to say.

"I think now we can fully call Stanley a member of the group."Afua clapped loudly, Atsu grunted, Zarikiya remained quiet while fiddling with her thumbs while Kakra, the girl with the cropped hair, smirked at me before she turned away.

"It's time for the initiation. Atsu, carry him over to the sanctum ." The scraping of chairs and chatter became a distant rumble as my brain tried to conjure a meaning to those words.

Initiation? What initiation?

I tensed as trepidation sped down my body. Before I knew it, Atsu grabbed me by the shirt before swinging me over his back. The pain momentarily made me forget about what lay ahead. After what felt like eternity with Atsu's grunting and complaints, we reached what I think was the sanctum. The muslin curtain entryway made my curiosity to rear its head once again. The curtain dragged over my head, making me bathe in its musky scent. Without wasting time, Atsu threw me down. My back throbbed with pain as a headache brewed to being.

  I shifted while I took a view of the room.The yellow walls were covered with scuff marks and long deep trench marks that withered from age. Candles burned in candle holders along candle holders overhead. The walls were completely bare save for a section of the room that was towards the north wall; a collection of pillows rounded the section which was created by drawing a circle around itself with pasty white chalk.

   At the inner part of the chalk, a gaggle of mortar and pestles, beads, some weird smelling things and all were gathered to a side even as there was another cushion at that side of the room. My eyes trailed upwards then I saw the yellow curtains, on which the tapestry of a scorpion was tattoed to. Something sinister loomed over the atmosphere but I knew it wouldn't be long that I would find out.

  Hearing the footsteps from the others, I peeked at them and saw them trailing into the room, dead silent. Even Afua was quiet, no smiling, no laughing as they stood behind me. My breath quickened. A loud creak bounced around the room. My eyes shifted to a red door that was at the very edge, there the man came out.

  The others started saying a language that I didn't understand which enforced my foreboding. I glanced at them as they remained stoic, their eyes downcast as they recited ominously. A pungent odour slapped my nose, my eyes met with the older man's bloodshot ones. Despite our difference in height, though I knew I wasn't too tall, he still caused trembles down my spine. He studied me the way a predator would study his prey, sniffing and getting in too close again. I jammed my clammy hands as I recited information I had learnt to myself.

Did you know that the ziricon had a-

"Una do well, you have learn am finish now." Only after some time passed did I realize he was talking to the others, lessening the pressure on my lowering brows. They remained so quiet that if I had dropped a pin it would have echoed in the room.

This man really was the leader in the group. But what exactly did he do?

Despite the fact that I wished not to remember, but from the earlier eavesdropped conversation I knew he could make a poison.

Was he the one that would carry out the initiation?

  Sweat slid down my brow in response. I swallowed the lump in my throat as his intense gaze was back on me.

"Ebo, this na the one wey you say like your cousin, abi?" My eyebrows furrowed.

What the...

"Dana is your cousin?!" I asked incredulously as I whipped my head to him. Before I could further process the finding, a hand drew my ear before a slap connected with my face. My ears rung as I used my sweaty hands to cup them. A sharp sting filled my left cheek as the livid man snarled,

"You no dey have respect?! All you city children they like say you dey own the place, better know your place! I be the mouth and ear of the gods in this rubbish generation, is it now you rubbish boy that go enter for this place and rubbish my command? Never. So na this boy you go bring for this place? You know try sef." He shook his head at them as I kept myself from babbling nonsense. He gave me another withering look.

"It be me that you  look like say you want beat?" I flinched at the invasion. He hissed as he stomped behind the circle, his footsteps echoing singularly in the room. I managed to hold my breath, for fear of him returning back here with another slap though I allowed my throbbing shoulders some slack.

"You don tell am the necessary information?" His eyes narrowed at me before he sighed.

"See ehn, when the Chinese dey here they dey talk say no religion should be allowed. Na for that talk make them execute most of people that dey remain true to what they stand for, because na dey talk say it be religion that dey cause am for war and other fight. For my papa family, we never dey allow this our religion die, we dey keep am well well. Now I dey send out these ones, wey go bring potential customer or member, that go bring back this religion to it former glory." I nodded slowly as I swallowed again.

I had heard of them talking about how there used to exist religions rather than a country full of atheists. According to the historian even, most religion followers had been persecuted to the point of death and torture by hangers, racks, both of old and the new.

So this was all for a religion?

He beckoned me over as he led himself to the yellow cushion inside the chalked section. I walked to one of the cushions he pointed that directly faced his. I sat on it quietly, trying but failing to muffle my breathing. Up close, I could now see the black scorpion tattoo that sat right at the palm of his hand, followed by a completely blank black that ate away at the rest of his wrist. It reminded me of the black of Atsu's eyes also.

Was it just a mere coincidence?

"We go do the initiation first, the blood oath na you go do." I bristled under his scrutinizing gaze.

Blood oath?

A splitting headache kept me down on the spot. I  He took out a mortar and pestle and set it on top of a white blanket. The tension that permeated the air quickened as he turned slightly and his hand reappeared, now filled with a white powder. He began to mutter incoherent words as he turned the powder slowly woth precise stubby fingers.

  He then took a knife from a pouch hung around his waist. Unlike the ones that Atsu had used to threaten this one was extremely sharp. I gulped. A weight hung over my chest making me uncomfortable. I almost turned back when I realized that there was a possibility that I would be slapped again.

"Bring your thumb." I looked between the man and the sharp but small knife. I struggled to put my hand forward as another line of sweat broke out under the watchful gaze of the flickering candles. The heat in the room soared a couple of degrees.

"Answer me before I backhand you!" I quickly complied. He bent over and I hoped within me he didn't notice the excessive sweating and shaking. The sharp blade was shoved into my thumb. I almost screamed as the man pushed it deeper. Tears came to the forefront of my eyes as my breathing quickened. Within the blink of an eye, he ripped it out which simultaneously mixed with my howl of pain.

  A gaggle of pain swarmed at my right cheek which made me almost topple over. The man hissed,

"Better don't shout here oo, I go give you slap." I nodded as he mixed the blood with the white powder. Bile filled my mouth, coating with a bitter bacterial taste. My body went down to a frigid temperature of the atmosphere. Black began to form splotches all over my flickering vision. The threat of his anger kept me awake and fighting to faint from the pain and thick scent of blood. He started muttering incoherently again.

Moisture fled down my cheeks. I firmly tightened my lips to prevent the cry that threatened to pierce the air as the pain that harassed me felt too much to bear.

"Drink this." Despite the haze, I could see the silohuette of the bowl that he held outstretched with his hand. I swallowed as I pushed down the bitterness that coated my tongue. With anticipation, I swallowed the contents of the bowl. A bitter sensation, like the one a packet of some malaria medcine gave, filled my tongue. I swallowed it down with the bitter feeling following suit. The little appetite I had managed to revive had fallen down the drain.

" You no go have to settle for just your  entry to the group ehn, but you fi go carry the power that they carry or anything else you want for the right price." A lump formed in my throat. Shudders grew down my spine again.

"What's the right price?" Luckily for me the man wasn't aggravated by the intrusion, he merely motioned for a stoic Afua, which felt unnatural.

"Jennifer, what did you do to get your new name and power?" She looked at me with all seriousness that made my stomach churn. 

"I sacrificed my sisters." She said it without a clench in her jaw neither a smudge of remorse on her. Everything surrounding her said she was okay with what she had done. My breathing hitched as I edged away from her.

Who was she before all this?

Why would she do that?

How did she even meet him?

"Now the sacrifice no be by force, anyhow you want am but you still dey do whatsoever we go talk or else things that you no go like will happen." The man leaned towards me, hia bloodshot eyes casting a shadow of fear upon me. I swallowed again as sweat slid down my neck.

  As soon as the man had raised a hand, the air of seriousness disipiated as they began to speak in quiet tones They went up to the man in group as I lingered on the sidelines . I held onto my hand gently as the pain that flicked through brought about massive amounts. I struggled against the blur that threatened to drop me to my knees. After some minutes of fighting, the blur wore off but the pain was still evident. Amidst the rest I realized the intimidating aura that Atsu brought absent. Cradling my fingers, I allowed my eyes to run around the room quickly.

Empty, how strange.

  I took it as my cue to leave, my mind still running with this new information.

Afua was actually Jennifer once and she killed her sister to-

The thought alone made me nauseous as a bitter feeling piled down my gut. The blaring pain of my thumb became a distant song as I pondered on all I had heard. A heavier load fell onto my chest, building the pressure in my system. I closed my eyes and for a minute everything was overrun by red. I blinked a couple of times before everything shifted out to the way it was supposed to be. I held onto one of the stones that jutted out at the corner that led towards the tunnel, steadying my numbing body.

Blood.

My attention wavered as everything sunk away.

How could they shed so much blood?

Before I was fully immersed footsteps prompted me back to the real world. I sighed and as I was about to enter the hall, I sighted Atsu carrying a plate of steaming rice.

  I licked my lips as I drew back, noticing how he looked back and forth before squatting down. He traced the floor with a finger as if searching for something. Sooner or later as though finding a break in the floor, he dipped his hand into it with a hollow grunt. My curiosity overrode my desire to not know any more surprises so I watched him keenly.

What was he looking for?

I caught onto the silver glint of a key. He straightened up before he inserted the key straight into the wall, the click that resounded told me it was actually a door. I watched as he drew a door open at breakneck speed, which fell forward in the silence. He dashed inside before the ajar door was closed.

Why was that over there?

Was there something they were hiding?

Despite the pain, I desperately wanted to know. So I had gone back to my room, waiting for a sufficient amount of time. I breathed out the tension as I had checked through the rooms surrounding the place to make sure it was empty before I stalked back to where he had come from. Using the pent up knowledge I had acquired, I stalked to the exact place I remembered him stand. Under the bath of orange lights, I bent low.

My throbbing thumb caused my vision to tumble into a disoriented world of dots. The bandage I had done over it quenched the heavy bleeding but double the pain remained on its wake. I breathed deeply before I felt my way over the floor as I struggled to keep myself upright. Soon enough I found a fault along the floor which gave way to jagged marks that bred down in a random way. I saw the key wedged between the blackened stone.

Using my other hand, I quickly took out the key which produced a couple of jangling noises. I squinted at the door for some time, looking to see where the lock lay. My finger that grazed the coarse wall, felt out what I hoped was the key hole.

I quickly inserted it before turning it in the lock, it produced a click before I pushed the heavy stone door back. Before I knew it, I was running down a singular path that was marked by black soot stained walls of grey dotted with candles and their ancient holders. After I had passed through the towering damp halls I reached another bend that led to a small cell.

  Chipped away walls, rusted iron bars, split concrete. The smell of urine and fresh blood made me nauseous, pushing me back to the days I had experienced in my own cell. I breathed out as I looked past the other features of the cell and instead had my eye locked onto the silohuette of the hunched figure under the near dim lighting.

  I remained silent as the person's sobs bounced along the walls. The person then looked up which made my heart flutter. Her green eyes widened slightly as she bolted towards the bars. Tears stained her red and bloodied cheeks, my heart rattled frantically. Surprise built within me as I stared at how mouth agape.

"Diane...I..." I stood awestruck as I stared at the very person that had led to this drastic change in my life. I studied her, unseeing as the cogs in my brain turned. I clenched my fists as I blinked to clear the fo wereg. She had on a tattered dress that was grey and hollow. The glow her eyes had dimmed even more, leaving her as a shell more than anything else. Her red lips were covered with blisters that gave her a haunting look that matched the shadows underneath her eyes.

Through the thin slits between the bars she pushed her hand forward, revealing hands roughened by days of killing. I stumbled back as a flash of bloody red stretched across it. Vomit rose up from the depths of my belly.

So she's been here all along.

Conflicting emotions rose back and forth within me as I began to match around. I clawed at my hair with my other hand as the blood from before sprung to sight. A lump lodged in my throat. Black speckles filled my vision as everything began to teeter.

What had happened?

I grasped her hand tightly as she pressed against the bars.  The tightness in my chest increased.

"Daniella." Then she cried, her sobs bouncing around the room. I held onto her hand, the only remnant to my old life. The only person that kept me grounded in this world of crime I had fallen into. I shook as she struggled against it. Despite myself, I managed to say,

"Everything will be okay." As though she was jolted out of the trance, she pulled back, almost stumbling over her feet. She wobbled and I noticed the injuries running up and down her leg.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes glazed over as though taken by another world then it came back with something that I hadn't seen before. Cold hard resolve. For some reason it made me feel unsettled inside.

"What I should have said and done a long time ago." She rushed to the bars then took my hand. The frigid note of her palms told me of long lonely night locked up in this dark place. I would have fallen to a blubbering mess if I didn't feel so alarmed by her initial statement and behavior.

What is she-

"I know they all have invincibility and  are practically inhuman but like every camera that has a blind spot, there is also a weak point. To get this weak point on their bodies, look for the part that is odder, darker, than the rest, something that doesn't seem to belong-" she was cut off when her body began to grow, as if taking in air it grew larger and larger, elongating like a balloon with every second that passed. Stricken by fear, I watched as she managed a weak smile.

What is happening?

The saliva in my mouth soured. Her limbs swelled up in an uneven way as if pulsing. Veins of black jutted underneath her yellow skin, making her skin darken.

  Her eyes rolled back as blood splattered past her now yellowed teeth before sputtering to the floor. It splattered against it which made an array of dots blink to sight. The aroma of decay oozed from her body as every part of her darkened. But my sight still remained, waiting in a deadly silence as I remained stuck, too afraid to run.

Then the biggest surprise of all took place.

  She exploded and all I saw was red.


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