Last night;
Four men lay on the concrete floor lifelessly in their pool of blood. A sorcerer recited incantations by an altar, and suddenly a quick breeze blew out the candles and turn over pages of the book he read. He picked up a Dagger and cut his hand, then drain his blood inside a stainless bowl while still whispering something.
Thick black smoke arose from the ground and formed an image of a person attached to dozens of heads and arms, smoky, they moved briskly towards him, making weird wails, and suddenly ran into his body. The man fell to the ground, unconscious for almost a minute, his bones made strange cracks, black blood moved in his veins and his eyes popped open.
He consumed the bodies on the floor, then he left the uncompleted building with a bloody mouth and hands. It was past 9 pm and a couple strolled down the street holding hands while they stared at a video on their phone giggling.
"She's really pretty, look at her eyes," the woman said with her arm tucked into her lover's.
"Yeah, her eyes are fake, she's wearing contacts, " the man said firmly and his fiancee suddenly halted. "What?" He asked
"Look…" She pointed ahead; it was the sorcerer, he stood right under the warm street light, about a few steps ahead of them. "what's wrong with him… is… is that… blood?"
"Are you sure, come on don't be dramatic," he said with a smirk.
"excuse me!" The sorcerer hailed, "please, I think I'm lost."
"Here," he handed the phone to his fiancee, "Where exactly are you going?" He asked, "wait here sweetie," he approached the sorcerer. As he got closer he saw blood stains on his hands and mouth. "What the fuck—"
The woman screamed as she saw his mouth widen, devouring her fiance to his feet, she screamed and ran as fast as she could, taking the quickest turn in-between two buildings. But it met her ahead and ate her up too. Her phone fell, still playing the video they were watching on YouTube.
He picked up the phone and saw the video. It was the video Chiamaka posted earlier in the day on her new channel, he took a closer look at Niola in the video and grinned.
Present day,
Tolu carefully helped Ifadahunsi get in the car, while kunle arranged their bags in the trunk. They had to get to Lagos to Niola, Ifadahunsi shouldn't have come along because he was blind, but it wasn't a debate anymore. All hands have to be on deck. Whatever the evil was, they had to stop it from getting to her daughter, and not just for her daughter alone, the world is doomed if demons are released from hell and purgatory. She scoffed as she thought of it all again. Everything Ifárànmī told her about Eniola being a child of a demon, was too hard to believe. Something felt chintzy about the whole idea, but it was good Ifadahunsi was coming with her, she could find out more from him.
Kunle sat at the front beside the driver, while she sat with Ifadahunsi in the backseat. There was a long silence for almost an hour, then Ifadahunsi decided to break the silence.
"How's she like? Tell me about her," Ifadahunsi said, as they drove across a tiny bridge.
"She's delicious," Tolu said, and her face lit up the moment she thought past all the mess on the ground. "She's very smart, ambitious, loving, kind, and stubborn of course," she smiled wistfully, "she's an artist, she has her studio, her place, she also does this art stuff on the internet…she had plans to travel out of the country this year you know." She sounded as proud as any mom should be.
"Why me?" She sniffed blinking back tears. He place his hand across her shoulder and gave her a warm pat.
"Everything happens for a reason, my dear. I lost my family, and my sight, and yet who I'm I to question God? To be honest, I stopped being a spiritualist long before I was blind, when Ajoke died, I was in a rage, I dug for answers, and reason, I tried everything I knew, but it was all pointless, I couldn't get to the bottom of it. Instead of me finding answers, it led to questions and questions and questions. And then juwon died tragically. I became empty, hopeless, and lost. I didn't even know where to find you, looked everywhere I could… and just gave up. Then I found Ifárànmi and his son." A warm smile curved his lips with teary eyes, "And they gave me hope and purpose from the words they said to me… no matter what Tolu, I'm never leaving you guys again. Ever."
A tear dropped from her eyes and she hugged him.
Chiamaka rushed into the bathroom in her bedroom, panting, she locked the door behind her; she had lied that the pizza had upset her stomach, so she could be alone. Something was wrong with her, she felt uncomfortable in her own body, it was like a furnace in her soul, only if she could pull off her skin like her clothes. She grunts and opened the tap in the jacuzzi, then walked back to the sink, she stared at herself in the mirror, but instead of her reflection, she saw something horrible.
Gasping in fear, she stumbled back, and her body suddenly started to convulse.
Danielle and Niola were outside, having a little chitchat by the pool.
"Would you like some?" Danielle pointed at the bottle of vodka, and she nodded as she turned back to get another glass from the mini bar around the corner. Then poured her a glass, as she thanked her.
Niola sat looking at the blue and white streak across the sky as she drank a glass of vodka, stretched out on a deck chair.
"So you said your Mom was English, what part of England?" she asked as Danielle sat on the chair right beside her.
"A little town just outside London, we moved to London when I was nine. My father was an EMT, and my mum was an author. I had a very middle-class upbringing and a very normal home life as a kid. My dad had a thing for culture blah-blah… that's why I came to Nigeria, did my junior school, and part of my senior school here before going back. My parents were horrified I dropped out of med school and when they knew my sexuality… my dad was furious." She grinned at her. " So I came to Nigeria to think about my aspirations. I stayed a few years before going back."
"At least, it all turned out great, you've got quite enough relative around you."
"Yeah, well I got all the annoying ones too," She laughed. "Your mom is cool, I had a few chats with her that day at your party."
"She's awesome." Niola smiled wistfully.
"What about your dad?"
Niola paused a bit then shrugged, "well, he's not in the picture."
"Oh... I'm sorry I asked… I was just—"
"Hey… it's okay, you have nothing to be sorry about." She picked up her hand with a smile, "I'm not sorry." She said and her phone rang. "Excuse me." she got up and walked back inside the house to receive her call; it was her Mom again.
"We have left Oke-osa, so we would get to Lagos before nightfall." She explained
"Um… ok, that's er… good. Mom?" Niola scratched her head as she glanced around to make sure she was alone.
"Yes dear, what is it?"
"See… Err, don't freak out okay, I'm fine I don't feel anyhow, but I just wanted to tell you that… um…" Niola sighed trying to put the words right so they wouldn't sound as bad.
"Tell me what, Eniola?"
"Yeah, you were talking about something about markings earlier, right?"
"Mm-mm."
"So, I had this dream the day you left and… um, I think I've been marked."
"What?" her mother screamed from the phone, and her heart began pounding, she heard her crying over the phone as she explained to the person there with her. "Mom… mom, listen I'm fine ok, I feel fine."
"No! You are not fine!" Her mother yelled, startling her, she glanced around again and then grimaced.
"Mom, I'm sorry ok, I should have told you since I was just—"
"Yes! You should have told me since." She sounded extremely furious. "Now, wherever you are, just go home now, and stay put till we arrived."
"Mom, but—" Before she could say any other thing, her mother hung up."
Now what? She asked herself, scratching the back of her head. She glanced at the time and it was just a few minutes to twelve.
"Okay," she muttered, then ordered herself an Uber and went back outside.
"What happened?" Danielle asked looking concerned.
Niola gave a questioning look and Danielle pointed at the large glass door, "I saw you, didn't hear you… but, you looked quite worried."
She turned back to look at the door and then back to her, "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, it's just you know, mommy issues," She grinned and Danielle chuckled, "She wants me to go check on her shop."
"But today is Sunday."
"Yes… um… Jerry opens on Sunday after church services."
"Oh, ok, sure… you should go. Do you want me to drop you off?"
"Oh no, not at all, I mean, it's fine, I've ordered myself an Uber, and it'll be here any minute."
Danielle got up and wrapped her arm around her neck, "Ok, if you say so," she kissed her and Niola forced a smile, then her phone chimed.
She glanced at her phone and met her gaze, "I gotta go, ok," she kissed her back. "My ride is here, I'll call you," Niola said and left.
After she left, Danielle went back inside the house, she looked around and there was no sign of Chiamaka.
"Hey, babe!" Danielle called waiting for a response, then she remembered Chiamaka went upstairs earlier to use the bathroom. "Are you sleeping in the bathroom again?" she chuckled as she approached her room.
"Chiamaka!" she knocked, and when she didn't hear a response she opened the door and stepped in, and there was no sign of her, then she went towards the bathroom door
"Don't tell me you are still in the bathroom," she smiled and opened the door to peep, but it was empty, no sign of her and she snorted. "where is she?" She muttered under her breath.
She stepped back and closed the door then turned around.
*Gasping. With wide-eyed horror; she saw Chiamaka hanging on the ceiling like a spider, Snarling. She looked horrible, her skin was pale and her eyes were all black, and her teeth, it was scary, they looked sharp and dirty.
Screaming Danielle ran out of the room and Chiamaka followed her, crawling like she had more legs as a crab, and she was as fast as running on both legs. Danielle brought out her phone as she ran, calling the first contact her eyes caught on the call log, she looked back and saw Chiamaka coming after her closely, screaming at top of her lungs she headed for the stairs.
*Snarling, Chiamaka almost got her then she tripped off the stairs, shrieking, she rolled down the flight downstairs fast and hit her head hard on the tiled floor, then passed out.
Niola was in the car heading home when her phone rang; it was Danielle. She answered it, holding it to her ear.
"Hello?" She said waiting for an answer, but nothing.
Danielle lay lifelessly on the floor, and Niola kept waiting for a response as she said hello again. Chiamaka stood upright and smashed the phone then dragged Danielle away holding her legs, and there was a little blood stain on the floor, from a little cut on her head.
The line cut out against Niola's ear, she tried calling her back but the number was switched off. She shrugged and sat back.