Alice's pov

Nigeria, Lagos state, Ikorudu street, twenty twenty one, august eleventh, Saturday, nine pm.

It was raining, August eleventh when I made my way out of the car and tried finding the bar I was sent to.

I fingered my clothes as I nervously followed Tade to the bush bar. I shouldn't be doing this, I knew that. I shouldn't have let Tade cajole me into this gang shit, I knew that damn well but I couldn't turn back. My body trembled, probably from the chilling rain or most likely the fear of getting killed or caught but my mind couldn't back out.

I needed a fix so bad, I didn't mind what I was about to do, or the consequences of them.

Tade, being shorter than I was, easily entered the bar with a thatch woven roof over it's head, while I had to bend to enter the bush bar.

Music was booming from the speaker close to the bush bar, and a few of the drinking customers turned their heads in our direction before taking their eyes off.

"Keep your mouth shut, let me do the talking Alice, only react at my command." Tade muttered as we saw the Tiger brothers seated at one of the gatherings in the bush bar.

I nodded quickly. I wasn't planning to do much talking anyways, I'd only do what I was told, get the fuck out of the Tiger gang's area and get my fix before I lose my mind.

I glanced down at my balled fist. Purple and blue swirled around my fist and I mentally willed myself to make it go away so no one sees.

Only react at my command. I could do that. I could control my urges, and the shadows until I was asked to do what I came here for.

"Tade!" One of the guys with the much darker skin, skin shaved hair, dark eyes and nice jeans he let hang loosely on his waist with a white singlet and a gold chain around his neck said.

I watched Tade morph a bright, fake smile on his face. I had to control myself from gaping at him. Tade was smiling so brightly at someone he had very twisted plans for.

I would ask myself how I got involved in this gang bullshit but the trembling of my fingers explained damn well why I was here. I needed to get myself a dose before I lost control and blew this whole place to shit.

"Kzee G!" Tade exclaimed with a smile, then grabbed the hand of a now standing Kzee and pulled him into a side hug. "Wassup brother!"

Kzee nodded, sniffed softly, and then shrugged his shoulders. "You know wassup T, me and my brothers waiting on you," Kzee replied as he pulled away.

Tade drew out a plastic chair and took a seat on it. He glanced up at me and his brown eyes instructed me to take a seat next to him.

I complied, taking off my hoodie and pulling out a plastic chair for myself.

Kzee brought his dark eyes towards me, and a grimace formed on his face. "Who's this one?" Kzee asked, snapping his fingers at the man beside him.

Tade glanced at me and went back to Kzee. "This is Alice, he schools in the uni with us," Tade gestured at me and went back to Kzee.

Kzee's eyes locked on me. They looked so eerie with the small scar underneath his dark eye, and the sardonic smirk on his lips. I wanted to pull my hoodie back up.

"Hey, Alice from the uni," Kzee muttered, still staring eerily at me, I found myself swallowing spit.

The guy next to Kzee gave a wrapped stick to Kzee and scoffed. "What the fuck kind of a name is Alice?" The guy asked, with a disgusted expression on his face.

Kzee lit the wrapped stick as he chucked it in his mouth. "More importantly, what the fuck is Alice from the uni doing here, T?" Kzee slowly brought the stick that began to smell really awful out of his mouth and blew out the smoke.

Tade leaned back on his chair, grabbed one of the beers on the plastic table and popped the bottle's lid open with his teeth. 

Tade breathed out. "He's my roommate, and his rolling with me now, needs some cash to get shit straight– we're not here to talk about my roomy, Kzee, Bolanle wasn't happy about your little deal–"

Kzee burst into a dry laughter. "–I don't care about Bolanle, Tade, where the fuck is the package?" Suddenly Kzee wasn't smiling anymore.

Tade dropped the beer on the table and brought the backpack from the side of his chair then dropped it on the table as well with both eyebrows raised.

"Everything's in?" Kzee asked, pulling the bag closer to himself.

"The whole thing," Tade clarified with a smile, turning to me.

It's time, kid. His eyes told me. My body shook harder but I knew what had to be done.

Without another disconcerting thought I pulled the gun tucked in my shorts and pointed it towards Kzee. Bang bang I tugged on the trigger, releasing a series of bullets at Kzee and watching them bounce off of him like ants.

No surprise. The Tiger brothers were more than just a university gang, they were a cult as well, heavily reinforced by evil forces. That was why I was here.

I could already hear shouting and people running left and right. Kzee stood up abruptly and the rest of his crew stood up with guns pointed at me. My hands glowed purple and blue, and with the release I felt gush out of me I knew my eyes were already glowing their eerie purple.

Bang bang I pulled the trigger again and again, watching the bullet laced with the purple and blue material that seathed through my hands. The bullets went straight into Kzee's head, piercing it and releasing gushes of blood and flesh.

My body shook as Kzee's eyes widened and his body slumped on the ground as he suddenly became lifeless. More bullet noises racked all over the bush bar as Tade's shots fired and those of Tade's gang spies in the area.

My control was slipping through my fingers– literally. The colored thingys around my hands were seeping down to the ground already creating the shadows that lurked around me. I clenched my jaw and balled my fist harder trying to rediscover control. If I couldn't retract the colors around my hands they'd cause a massacre that would spread throughout this town.

I'd seen it happen before. It would happen again if I couldn't control myself.

I all of a sudden jolted when sirens blared. I still felt my control as well as the hot, intense power within me deep through my body. I could see my body releasing the shadowy colors that would soon turn this town red.

My veins popped all over my body and I raised my gun towards one of the policemen that got out of the official Hilux with a gun of his own pointed in my direction.

Tears gathered in my eyes. Everything had blown out of proportion. This wasn't in and out. The whole thing had gone further than I expected.

"Get away from me!" I yelled with a hoarse voice, my gun pointed at them, and purple eyes gleaming with tears.

They gained closer, ignoring my warning so I attempted to pull the trigger when I suddenly heard more bangs and then the sudden feeling of metal inserting deep inside me.

My grip on the gun loosened and it fell to the ground. My eyes dropped down on my stomach and chest that had blood dripping down from it. Everything felt like an alarm was ringing in my ears. I couldn't feel anything more than the pain of the bullets, and I could barely see when I slumped on the ground, with my hands pressured on my chest where it hurt the most.

I tried taking in a large breath as it almost felt like air was cut off from my lungs. My breathing became fast and long, while my heart was pounding faster than I could control.

I could see them. The shadows had generated, and I couldn't reel them back in as I was half lifeless at the moment. They were large, tall and blood hungry. Their red eyes glared at everything and everyone when they went for the kill towards the policemen.

Rounds of bullets were shot at the shadows but they only went through. They tore through humans. Blood rained and flooded the streets. I couldn't stop them as they roared loudly, turning back at me with a sinister smirk and running to the streets, looking for more victims.

I couldn't even see at the moment since whatever vision I had was clouded by tears. Everyone was going to die because of me and I couldn't stop it.

I felt myself slipping away when everything became silent, everyone around me was dead and the shadows left to hunt for more victims when my eyes fluttered open at a sound.

The sound of whistling. A whimsical melody, followed by loud patterned tapping on the ground. I managed a frown on my face and tried to keep my eyes open at the dark figure approaching me.

It started to become clearer when the figure stepped closer into the light, revealing their pale white frame.

A white person? Here? Now? They were dressed in a white long sleeve with a grey suit vest, a grey coat to go and a gold colored pocket watch hooked on his chest. For some reason my eyes flickered down to their legs, spotting the stainless black shoes they had on that tapped away on the ground as they came forward dancing and whistling.

Their hair was this ridiculous chest length black hair that they braided. As they came forward and the lighting illuminated their subtlety squared face I realized with their defined facial features they were a he.

His entire body was wet from the rain but he simply danced around with the red umbrella in his hand. His absurd pale blue eyes rolled around the environment, and his blueish slightly pink lips curved into a whistling position.

I'd never seen anything like him in my entire life. He looked... beautiful.

"A–are you a–n angel?" I asked, thunder clapped and lightning struck, highlighting his beautiful features.

He blinked. His scanty dark eyelashes wet from the rain flickered up and down. His face was perfectly defined and his hair so full it almost breached his forehead.

He cocked his head to the side with a smile hinting on his face. "No, I'm known as the magic man but you, my dear chap, can refer to me as Mr. Top Hat." He replied, an unfamiliar accent breaching thickly in his voice.

I would have laughed if I could but all I could do was lightly scowl at his words, and clutch my chest harder.

"S–s–" I stopped to take in a breath when the pain spasmed further in me, and the air suddenly became thick. "Seriously? Y–you don't even have a hat," I responded in a mere whisper.

He twirled his umbrella around, walking closer towards me with a rather mischievous grin on his face. "I thought it would go well with my outfit, but the magic man is just fine Alice." 'The magic man' replied.

My scowling worsened. "How do you–"

"How do you know my name? Not why am I here? Why aren't you helping me? Why didn't my psychotic murderous shadows kill you? I told you I'm the magic man Alice, and you, my dear guardian, have broken the rules," The magic man said, withholding his grin, but I could see the intent in his eyes. He had bad plans for me.

My eyelids dropped further and my breathing slowed as did the beating of my heart. "What rules?" I whispered.

He groaned softly, leaning on his surprisingly strong umbrella. "The rules of the guardians Alice, and when you break the rules it's my duty as judge, jury, and executioner to punish you–"

" –Wait, what? Executioner? I'm dying–"

The magic man rolled his eyes and tugged his pocket watch to his face with a conflicted expression on his face. "Well Alice Idohosa, in one minute you will be sentenced to a lifetime in Hells Teen institution for the damned." He said calmly.

I blinked, and managed to laugh ever so softly. "What are you talking about? Hell–"

"You seem like a good kid, Alice–" he cut me off followed by me cutting him off as well.

"Who are you–"

"Too bad you ended up in the wrong crowd –" he said, thoughtful, relaxing on his umbrella and boring his eyes into me.

"I don't understand what you are saying–" I rasped, feeling life slip away from me and my last strength wither.

"Do not despair though, I'll give you something valuable, something that can help you down there," he gestured at the ground by tapping his umbrella on it.

"Down where?" My question was like the wind.

He let out a laugh. "Hell Alice, down in hell. Murderous guardians don't make heaven duh." He even made a duh face to me. "But don't worry I'm going to gift you something special for your survival there."

I blinked, feeling myself sink into his pale blue eyes as I asked. "Wah?" I managed, feeling drowsy and ready to let go.

"Time," he whispered and suddenly tapped his umbrella on my chest.

Thunder clapped, and lightning struck so brightly that it lit up the whole world as if the sun had come up. I screamed out as I felt a strong part of me being ripped out forcefully from my body.

Lightning and thunder made their presence known, and the magic man simply stared at me with an excited expression. The ground tore open and I felt myself falling down and down.

My eyes squeezed shut and everything felt loud and heightened as I continued to fall.

"Down, down the rabbit hole he goes." The magic man echoed before everything instantly went dark.