Theresa woke up suddenly, not because of any noise or disturbance but because her dream had come to it's conclusion.
She opened her eyes to see everywhere bright. Uhh, what time is it? She thought before looking towards her alarm clock. It was just 3pm. A groan escaped her lips after she realised she had missed her lunch.
Tuesdays usually got her engaged. Most especially now that their school had to be shut down for a while. It was no longer a surprise to her how fast time moved. It was already two weeks after the fire incident.
She laid on her bed thinking deeply about how life could be mysterious. What was she destined for?. To be an engineer as her father as he dreamed of. She never got distracted over little things. Why now?. Her elder brother finished from high school without letting guard down for any girl. She didn't want this for herself either.
She groaned, rubbing her face with her hands. She had to stop thinking about them. And focus on her future. She sighed in frustration at her silly thoughts and desires. She pulled herself off the bed. She skipped into the kitchen, humming under her breath, and looked through the fridge.
"Its nice to see you all happy today." Michael called out from behind her. She let out a loud shriek and whirled around, clutching her heart as she tried to calm her racing heart down. Her brother stood a few feet away from her, his face curious.
"W-what?" she choked out. He pursed his lips and breathed out heavily. He moved towards her. He stared at her with his lips curled inwards.
"You seem so happy."
A breathless laugh escaped her lips as she turned to look at her brother.
"I took your advice." She blurted out.
"Which advice?" He looked confused as if he didn't remember telling her to focus first and not make the wrong choice.
"Never mind anyway,"
She ran outside. She needed fresh air. Her legs carried her into the bush located a short distance from her house. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. She was gasping for air desperately. She looked around to ensure she wasn't lost. She recognized the familiar surrounding of the clearing. It was still exactly the same.
A twig snapped behind her, causing her to wipe her face. She whipped her head to find no one there. She heard voices coming from nearby. Slowly, she got up, moving in that direction.
Theresa stopped when the voices were clearer. She saw five people all in black hoodie, staring at each other, in a circle. One of them moved to another. "Do you have any other plans?" he asked, scoffing before putting both his hands in his pockets. He removed the hood, giving her a clear picture of his brown eyes and face.
"For you? No, I'm better off like this." The other answered as he let out a loud laugh, that sounded familiar. She thought.
"What's your problem? Have you already gotten so attached to this place and the people, that you don't remember what you came here for." The first said as he walked away.
The loud noise of Theresa's phone ringing tore through the air, making her jump in her spot. She didn't even know she had her phone with her as she left. She twisted frantically, desperately searching for the source of the noise as it got louder and louder.
"Damn!" she exclaimed, as she landed on the floor with a thud. She found the energy to lift herself and reach for the phone in her pocket and silence it.
"…. Someone's in the bush," the first speaker said putting back her hood on. "Find the person. Kill the person." Immediately, all other four raced towards the direction the sound came from.
Theresa ran as fast as she could to avoid been caught by them. She twisted her ankle and fell. She cried, but she couldn't stop. She struggled and got up.
********
Stretching his limbs, he's rewarded with a popping sound of his dead, stiff muscles providing some relief after a long day of sleep. He slept almost immediately after coming back from the afternoon mass. Yawning, he got the taste of his afternoon breath, making him instantly cringe.
Christopher decided to watch a basketball match. Basketball was one of his free tickets to the university. He believed that he had to put in his best, but with Matthew in his way, it would definitely slow him down. Playing basketball fitted him perfectly.
Just then, Jude Usen's words flashed in his mind. "Your school is t the first they've attacked," he said looking straight in Christopher's eyes. "And they'll keep doing it."
Right here, Christopher was blank. "Huh? You mean people caused the fire explosion?" he wanted to know. His voice was so indignant.
Jude took a deep breath, hoping to make him understand. The fire explosion was caused by a certain occult group. My brother and I have been trying to track them down for three years. This is the fourth school they've put fire in and they'll continue." The broad gesture he made was an attempt to enhance an explanation. But he didn't explain. He just walked out and climbed over the fence.
"Perhaps I'm confused." His eyes were slate, opaque and unreadable. His voice matched them. "How many occult groups are there?"
"Seven that we know of." Matthew finally spoke out. He turned towards his brother. "This isn't the place for you . You should get going." His voice was rough as he climbed the school fence to fence his brother on the other side.
The doorbell rang, he was grateful for that interruption of his thoughts. But who could it be? He wondered, I haven't called anyone over. It rang again. Going to the gate, he heard the sound of a cars engine. Opening the gate, Christopher was filled with happiness, sadness, fear_ mood swings.
Christopher reached the back stoop before the three people , as he had been taking a long leisurely look at the yard.
"Mummy. Daddy. Lucy." Christopher felt awkward and rustic. He hesitated briefly before stepping away from the door. "Why didn't you call to inform me, you were coming home?"
"We missed our baby boy. So we decided to pay a surprise visit," his sister's smile was like that of his father that his heart lurched. "And it seems you're not happy to see us."
"I, I am." He smiled. Tears trickled down his cheeks as they embraced each other then entered the house.
"How's your basketball training going, son?" Again that smiled bloomed on his father's face.
His reaction was unexpectedly sharp and swift. He fumbled closing the door. "Its going great," He said quickly. He needed distraction to cover what he feared was much too noticeable, lying. "Our inter-schools games is coming up this Friday," He continued as they climbed the stairs. "There, I'll be able to express myself by playing well and I could be given a scholarship too."
His father listened. He hadn't changed a bit, still the same jovial, playful and exciting father. His mother was nearly the opposite. While his father supported him in playing basketball, his mother was against it. That Christopher could write the normal exams; JAMB. WAEC AND NECO and pass.
"That's my good son." He complimented, patting him on the back. "I'm hungry. Did you prepare anything?"