Dioha tensed.
WHY WAS SHIT ALWAYS QUICK TO GO SOUTH ON HIM? He thought.
"HEY! EVERYONE CALM DOWN. YOU DON'T TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY, DO YOU?" Dioha asked looking round.
"WHY SHOULDN'T WE?" someone said.
"HE IS HUMAN!!" The raccoon girl supplied. Dioha couldn't tell if she was saying it in his favor or not.
"ALL THE MORE REASON WE HAVE TO BELIEVE HIM." Another quipped.
"WHY WOULD HE SINGLE YOU OUT? WHY NOT SOMEONE ELSE HERE WHO'S ACTUALLY NOT BEEN OUTSIDE THESE WALLS SINCE THEY WERE BROUGHT HERE AS KIDS?" A boy asked.
"YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO JOINED RECENTLY, ONLY ONE AMONG US WHO COULD HAVE PAID A RECENT VISIT TO THE HUMAN SETTLEMENTS." The last of the five remaining cadets said.
They circled him, all five of them. But Dioha could tell they all didn't want to fight him, at least three of them didn't want to. Dioha decided he had to speak up and sway the three in dissuading the others. He put the gun in his hand away.
"LOOK, WE SHOULDN'T BE FIGHTING AMONGST OURSELVES. WE DON'T HOW MANY HUMANS INVADED THE CHAMBER OF ECHOES. WE STILL NEED TO GO DOWN INTO THE LOWER LEVELS, CHECK ON EVERYONE."
Dioha said trying to regain control of the situation.
"US FIVE CAN DO THAT. WE DON'T NEED YOU FOR THAT. I SAY WE END THIS FUCKER'S LIFE." A big youth said advancing towards Dioha. He looked like an Enforcer, a Berserker to be exact. He reminded Dioha of Aganju.
"HE HELPED US TAKE DOWN THE TWO HELICOPTERS. HE IS ON OUR SIDE." The raccoon girl defended.
"AND HE'S SHOWN EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS. APART FROM GIVING ORDERS, HE TOOK MATTERS INTO HIS HANDS WHEN THE NEED AROSE." A boy also spoke in his defense. Dioha recognized the boy has the one who knelt and offered his back as a stepping stone for Dioha's springboard stunt. Two out of the three who looked reluctant to fight actually spoke in defense of him now.
"SO A LITTLE SHOW OF BRAVADO, ABSOLVES HIM OF THE DAMAGES HE'S CAUSED?!" The berserker-looking youth asked.
"AND IS THERE NOT A LAW FORBIDDING OUR CITIZENS FROM GOING OVER TO HUMAN SETTLEMENTS? A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY DEATH." One of his accusers asked.
"YES, THERE IS. BUT THAT'S NOT A MATTER FOR US TO DECIDE. THE COUNCIL WILL DECIDE HIS FATE. LET'S GET TO THE CHAMBER OF ECHOES." A beautiful girl said. She was too beautiful, a trait that betrayed where she was from.
"HOW DO WE DO THAT? THE ENTRANCES ARE BLOCKED." The other boy who served as Dioha's springboard asked.
"WE CAN DIG THE ROCKS AND DEBRIS OUT OF THE WAY." The raccoon girl replied.
"THAT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME AND ENERGY. WE NEED TO GET BACK INSIDE AND GET IN TOUCH WITH OTHERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE." The berserker said.
"LET'S USE THE HELICOPTER TO GET TO THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN. THEN ENTER THE MOUNTAIN THROUGH THE CATACOMBS, AND USE THE MAZE TO GET TO THE CHAMBER OF ECHOES."
Immediately Dioha made that suggestion everyone turned to look at him.
"ARE YOU MAD? OR JUST SUICIDAL?" The berserker asked.
"WE CAN'T GO TO THE CHAMBER THROUGH THE MAZE. THAT PLACE IS TREACHEROUS EVEN FOR THE MOST SENIOR CADETS OF THE ACADEMY." Someone supplied.
"NO ONE HAS SUCCESSFULLY GOTTEN THROUGH THE MAZE." The raccoon girl said.
"I HAVE." Dioha said.
Now everyone just looked at him as if he was mad. He, a boy of not more than fifteen years old, claiming to have crossed the maze before.
"HOW DO YOU THINK I GOT HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?" Dioha asked looking around at everyone's face.
"WAIT! WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY? HOLD ON, BEFORE YOU ANSWER THAT, YOU SHOULD KNOW HE IS AN EMPATHOS. HE'LL BE ABLE TO DETECT IF YOU'RE LYING TO US." A cadet who spoke signaled to another cadet who stepped forward immediately.
Dioha looked at them all, they reminded him of the Watchers council. They were exactly five in number like the current council members and were all from the different tribes with representatives in the council.
There was an Empathos, a Scavenger, a Femure, a Physio, and an Enforcer. And almost like the council, the Scavenger, the Femure, and the Physio were defending him against the Empathos and his own tribesman, the Enforcer. Dioha smiled bitterly and shook his head. It seemed these tribes were fated to be allies no matter the situation, or persons involved.
"YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY?!" The Enforcer fumed, taking a step towards Dioha.
"NO. I CAME THROUGH THE MAZE INTO THE CHAMBER OF ECHOES, TO BE REINSTATED ON MY SEAT WHICH HAS BEEN VACANT FOR 18 YEARS NOW." Dioha calmly stated. He was risking being known but he felt the situation requested he be truthful to these people.
"YOUR SEAT?" someone asked.
"VACANT FOR 18 YEARS?" another person asked.
"YOU ARE…" the raccoon girl began
"NO YOU CAN'T BE…" the berserker stated
"THE GOD OF THUNDER." the Physio completed.
They all spoke each trying to make sense of the information they'd just received.
"I AM AMADIOHA. TODAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE MY TRIAL BACK INTO THE FOLD." Dioha announced.
"YOU DIDN'T DIE 18 YEARS AGO?" someone asked.
"I DID. LOOK WE CAN'T LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW. THERE ARE PROBABLY PEOPLE COUNTING ON US DOWN THERE WHO ARE TRAPPED. WE'VE GOT TO MOVE." Dioha said.
Dioha grabbed the pilot by arm and led him towards one of the choppers. The Scavenger, Physio and Femure all followed Dioha. Dioha looked back at the other two cadets.
"YOU GUYS SHOULD HURRY UP." Dioha said.
"WE DON'T BELIEVE A WORD YOU SAY. WE CAN'T GAMBLE OUR LIVES AWAY ON YOUR WORD." the Empathos said.
"WE'LL FIND ANOTHER WAY INTO THE COMPLEX." the berserker said.
"SUIT YOURSELVES THEN." Dioha said.
The pilot guided the chopper off the ground and flew her down the side of the mountain. With Dioha's instructions the pilot located the entrance to the catacombs hidden underneath a street called Abubakar Way. On the way to the street as they flew, Dioha could not see any sign of life down below though it was still dark and early morning. The explosions should have woken the inhabitants of the city but no one was up or out on the street. Dioha wanted to check it out but the space to land proved a great hindrance. After hovering over several places they finally found a good spot they could set the chopper down. Dioha dashed into the closest house as he set foot on the ground. After knocking and getting no answer, he broke down the door and went in. The house was deserted and looked like a great fight had taken place in it. There were bullet holes everywhere, blood all over the floor, but no bodies. This was very confusing to Dioha and the other cadets who followed Dioha. They went into several houses but they were all the same; blood everywhere but no bodies. Dioha grabbed the pilot by the neck, yelled at him in a bid to understand what the humans did with the bodies but not a squeak came from him. Dioha would've killed the pilot there and then but the Physio advised that they might need the pilot for the chopper again. Dioha tied the pilot up in one of the houses making sure to cover his mouth with a cloth so he couldn't scream out for help.
The four young people descended into the catacombs and navigated their way to the maze with Dioha at the lead. As they got to the end of the catacombs, Dioha signaled for everyone to stop. They were now standing at the mouth of the dark and mysterious maze, all apprehensive of what lay ahead except Dioha.
"IF WE ALL STICK TOGETHER WE'LL BE FINE. JUST DO AS I SAY. OK?" Dioha assured them.
They all agreed and moved in with Dioha. Dioha moved quickly, sometimes jogging a little as he navigated turns and bends. Haste was essential to getting to the end of this maze. The walls were constantly shifting and readjusting themselves. Staying too long could lead to a dead end or worse, a deadly area of the maze. Dioha kept urging his companions to hurry after him. They got into another section of the maze and Dioha cautioned all of them to step only where he stepped. This section was hard because speed was also required alongside but soon they were all safely through and standing in another section. Traps waited in this section for them but again with Dioha's help they were able to complete it without losing anyone.
Throughout the whole maze journey the raccoon girl stuck close to Dioha. Though Dioha never once used his godlike speed in the maze but Dioha was considerably faster than the rest as an Enforcer. But the Scavenger was almost like Dioha's shadow, never getting left far behind. Whenever Dioha glanced her way she had a certain look about her, like she constantly blushed when he looked her way. After noticing that, Dioha reduced the number of times he looked at her. They all got into a large room with so many drawings on the walls. Dioha ordered everyone to halt.
"ONCE WE MOVE INTO THIS ROOM, THE WALLS WILL CLOSE IN ON US. THE KEY TO OPENING THE DOOR AT THE END OF THIS ROOM IS TO FIND AND TOUCH ALL 11 SYMBOLS OF THE NGAMÉ RACE, NO REPETITIONS SO WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER. IF YOU FIND A SYMBOL CALL IT OUT SO WE DON'T TOUCH SAME SYMBOL AGAIN. ARE WE READY?" Dioha asked. The cadets nodded and stepped into the room with Dioha.
Immediately the walls on both sides started moving, coming towards them slowly. They began searching the walls for the tribes' symbols but there were just too many symbols on the walls.
"IF YOU'VE BEEN IN HERE BEFORE, SHOULDN'T YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FOR THESE SYMBOLS?"The pretty one asked.
She was a Femure. Pretty and fair skinned girl with slanting eyes, she looked like an Asian princess. Her kind weren't the type who believed so much in hard work. She must have been pissed in the Academy to find out she only had to use her powers as a last resort. The Elite Force trained to be experts in physical, mortal combat. Powers and skills were also honed but these were to be used sparingly. Tribal magic powers were drawn from the gods or goddesses whom said tribe revered and could be used up quickly as only a small amount was made available to the entire tribe. The power is made available by the gods as a gift to the people as they offer prayers and exercise faith in their deities. The ratio is 60% for the god, 30% for the Watcher, and 10% for the tribe.
"EVERYTHING IN THE MAZE NEVER STAYS THE SAME. I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE MAZE OVER A HUNDRED TIMES AND NOT ONCE HAVE I MET THINGS THE SAME AS ANY OF THE PREVIOUS TIMES I PASSED THROUGH." Dioha answered.
Everyone's eyes' widened in surprise. The Physio called out that he'd seen a symbol and touched it. Few minutes later there was another call; another symbol had been found. This went on for three more minutes at which point the room was now a narrow passageway that wouldn't fit three people walking side by side. The walls kept coming together slowly.
"WE NEED TWO MORE SYMBOLS. WE HAVE LESS THAN TWO MINUTES BEFORE WE ARE SQUASHED." Dioha informed them.
Two more calls within the space of fifty seconds and they were able to wriggle out of the tight space. In the course of wriggling out, Dioha and the Scavenger brushed up against each other several times. This sent shivers down her spine every time it happened but she did her best to maintain a straight face. The Femure sensed there was something between the two of them but said nothing though her cheerful disposition soured mildly. The Physio largely just pretended not to know or see what was going on.
As they entered this new room, the entire floor was made of square tiles. The tile the Scavenger stood on immediately gave way, taking her down into a tunnel. Next, the Physio fell through his tile too leaving Dioha and the Femure alone in the room.