"There's no escape from this place."
"Once you're trapped, there's no escape." "This is a house of death."
"A labyrinth of horrors."
"I hope someone manages to escape."
Nina struggled futilely to free herself from the metal cuffs that bound her wrists, but it was hopeless. Nothing seemed to work. She attempted to sit up, but her belly was secured to the rickety trolley with a thick leather belt. She turned sharply to the other side and saw a familiar figure hiding behind the tattered curtains. The translucent, ghostly apparition revealed it was Grace. Nina could hear her sobbing and joined in, realizing she was doomed like the others.
"Grace," Nina whispered in a low tone, trying not to attract the attention of the malevolent spirits or Michael. Grace phased through the curtains and glided towards Nina, her ethereal foot barely touching the ground. "Please help me," Nina sobbed, struggling to break free from the cuffs. "They're going to kill me." But Grace shook her head, placing her transparent hands on Nina's cheeks.
"There's no escape from here," Grace whispered, gliding towards the windows and staring out into the desolate yard. "They won't kill you until midnight, during your wedding and the bloodletting ritual." Grace's soft, ethereal tone sent chills down Nina's spine. Nina remembered her wedding was supposed to be tomorrow, but she had no idea about the sinister ritual.
"What ritual?" Nina asked, abandoning her futile attempts to escape. "It's a dark ritual where Michael and his family slaughter the bride and harvest her blood to sustain their undead existence for another year," Grace explained, wrapping her hands around the iron bars. Nina listened intently, tears welling up in her eyes. She realized there was no hope, no escape.
She closed her eyes, resigned to her fate, but a disturbing question crept into her mind. "Why aren't the other brides like you?" Nina asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Grace's voice trembled with grief and nostalgia as she replied, "Their souls are trapped within their bodies, unable to move on."
Curiosity got the better of Nina, and she asked, "Why are you still lingering here, Grace?"
Grace's response sent shivers down Nina's spine. "I didn't succumb to the same fate as the others," she said in a haunting, ethereal voice. "I took my own life before the ritual... oh, the foolishness of my actions," she added, her voice cracking with emotion as she sniffled.
Nina's eyes widened in understanding. "My friends have long since passed on to the afterlife," she said, sucking air through her teeth.
Grace turned to Nina with an expressionless face, her voice devoid of emotion. "They don't belong here. Only the brides, the ones who suffered the same fate as us, are trapped within these walls."
Nina nodded, offering a wry smile to the ghostly presence. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Grace," she whispered audibly.
Desperation crept into Nina's voice as she implored, "Please, save me from this place." But Grace's response was laced with hopelessness.
"I don't possess enough psychic energy to stop them," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You see, Nina, ghost energy is a finite force, and I've depleted mine over the years."
Nina shrugged, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "The other brides could have helped, but they're trapped too, their souls bound to this place."
Grace's words offered a glimmer of hope, but it was short-lived. "They can be freed, though," she said.
Nina's eyes snapped open, her heart racing with anticipation. "If only you called them by their true names," Grace continued.
But Nina's hope was crushed instantly. It was useless; she'd never escape the house. She had no idea if the other brides even had names, considering they'd been dead for years, their identities lost to time.
Grace's voice was laced with fear as she warned, "It's almost time; they're coming for you." And with that, she vanished into thin air, leaving Nina alone and desperate.
*. *. *.
December 22nd, 2023, was a night that would forever be etched in Nina's memory. The old white mansion, nestled within the sprawling Maple tree layout of Ógozi Abriba, now separated from Mkporo, loomed ominously in the darkness. As the clock struck 11:39 PM on that fateful Sunday night, Michael pushed Nina's trolley to the center of the room, where his necrotic family awaited with bated breath.
The air was heavy with anticipation as Michael slowly and creakily positioned Nina's trolley within the red-drawn trifecta, adorned with burning red candles at each end. The night's breeze whispered through the room, but the flames remained still, burning with an intense, fierce glow. The dead family of five began to chant in unison, their voices weaving a haunting melody that sent shivers down Nina's spine.
An older male voice boomed through the darkness, echoing off the walls of the dimly lit room, illuminated only by flickering electric bulbs and the ritual candles. "And today, just like any other year in the Odeghe's, we gather to witness the wedding and bloodletting ritual of our bride, whose name is of great irrelevance to us."
Nina's heart sank, her silent sobs shaking her frail body, already weakened by her fruitless struggles to escape. "God, please, I don't want to die," she whispered, her voice trembling with fear.
An older woman's voice pierced the air, her words dripping with malevolence. "We die to live!" The others echoed in affirmation, their murmurs a chilling reminder of the horror that was to come.
From her helpless position, Nina's gaze fell upon the stainless, glittering knife, its steel reflecting the faint light on the ceiling. The big, old grail sat ominously in the center of the trifecta, awaiting its gruesome purpose. Everything about this night was horrid and horrific – the room reeked of decaying carcasses, and the necrotic family seemed to embody death itself.
This, was a night that would forever be marked in Nina's memory as the night her fate was sealed. Within the crumbling walls of the old white mansion in Ógozi Abriba, a sense of foreboding hung in the air like a dark cloud. As the clock struck 11:50 PM, a loud, banging voice echoed through the room, making Nina's heart skip a beat.
"This night, we pronounce you both husband and wife!" The Man declared, his words dripping with malevolence.
Nina's eyes welled up with tears as she realized all hope was lost. She could feel death's icy grip approaching, and a sense of resignation washed over her. At least now, she thought, she would finally find peace, away from the haunting memories of the murderous dead girl and her family.
As Michael approached her with a knife, Nina's gaze locked onto the blade, her heart racing with fear. The once handsome and innocent face now turned pale white with jagged skin, a testament to his desperation. He was dying, and he needed her to survive.
But just as Michael raised the knife to strike, a scream pierced the air. "The ring, it's not on her finger!" Trish wailed, her voice laced with panic.
The room fell silent, the only sound the collective gasp of the lifeless family, their guttural sigh a mix of frustration, fear, and surprise. They knew that history was repeating itself, and Nina reveled in the fear etched on their rotting faces. She was happy to know that if she was going to die, her death would be useless to them.
"Where is the ring, you whore?" Michael yelled, his anger boiling over as he pressed his neck against Nina's, choking her.
Nina struggled to catch her breath, her voice barely above a whisper. "Kill me already, because the ring is gone." She spat the words in hatred, defiance burning in her eyes.
"Kill her, it's useless!" The old man's voice boomed in anger, his words echoing off the walls.
In the midst of the chaos, a small voice squealed, "Dad, what's happening?" Cora's innocent question hung in the air, a stark contrast to the horror unfolding around her.
"Michael, kill her already!" the adult woman yelled in anger, her voice echoing off the walls.
But before Michael could strike, a ghostly voice sounded, accompanied by a gust of heavy air that knocked him to the ground. "Leave her alone!" Grace's ethereal voice commanded.
The woman's voice sounded in an agitated tone, "Now I know where the stubbornness comes from. You think a little ghostly psyche can stop us?" She laughed mockingly.
But the old man's voice boomed in a loud tone, "Trap her!"
Nina cried out in despair as the adults circled Grace's ghostly form, though transparent, they managed to hold her with a sort of metal clank. "Please leave her alone, haven't you done enough?" Nina pleaded, but they ignored her until she was clanked with the same metal restraint.
Almost giving up hope, Nina remembered the names on the tablet, the female names encrypted on its dusty surface. She recalled their names, if not all, and began to call them out one by one. "Georgina! Oyidiya! Tare! Ngozi! Samantha! Aisha! Bimpe! Wura! Essiele!" She wouldn't stop anytime soon.
As she continued to call out the names, the room began to rumble, and the presence of unearthly bodies could be felt. Ghosts filled the room, their screeches of freedom and happy ethereal whispers echoing every angle. The ghosts attacked the necrotic creatures, tearing and tossing them in every corner of the room.
Yet Nina wouldn't stop mentioning more names. "Esther! Glory! Chinyere!" Everyone was going to be free, including herself. The ghosts grew more agitated, their whispers turning to screams of joy as they broke free from their shackles. The room was a whirlwind of chaos, but Nina's voice remained steady, calling out the names of the damned, setting them free one by one.
As the last of the ghosts vanished, the room was left in a state of utter carnage. Rotting chunks of flesh, bones, and dark fluid from the family's bodies littered the floor. The once-ominous mansion was now a scene of macabre desolation, devoid of any signs of life or supernatural presence.
"Thank you for freeing me," Grace whispered in a soft, ghostly tone before fading into the air like the other liberated spirits. Nina nodded, tears streaming down her face, and jerked her hands free from the already loose cuffs. She would miss Grace, the ghostly presence who had become an unlikely ally in her desperate bid for survival.
Nina's thoughts also turned to her friends, her best friend who had betrayed her in her time of need, and her fiancé, Michael, who had lured her to this fate. She wiped away her tears and stood up, avoiding the dead bodies scattered across the floor. She was alive, and that was all that mattered.
With a fierce determination, Nina set her eyes on the dismembered head of her fiancé. She crushed his skull with the pointy shoe they had forced her to wear for the twisted wedding ceremony, laughing maniacally. "You see, Michael, you can't hurt me or anyone else," she declared, her voice echoing through the desolate room.
In that moment, Nina felt a sense of liberation wash over her. She had overcome unimaginable horrors and emerged victorious. The darkness that had threatened to consume her had been vanquished, and she was free to start anew.
*. *. *.
December 23rd,2023
Maple tree layout,Old white mansion
Ógozi Abriba
5:21AM
Nina stood before the old white mansion, its grandeur now a haunting reminder of the horrors within. With a burning log clutched in her hands, she gazed up at the house with a fierce determination. She had poured petrol from the rented bus all over the mansion, determined to take matters into her own hands. If no one else would stop the evil that lurked within, she would.
This house had harbored unspeakable atrocities, and it was time to bring its dark legacy to an end. Nina loosened the corset on her bloodied wedding dress, the fabric now a grim reminder of her narrow escape. With a swift motion, she tore the gown away, tossing it into the gates like a discarded shroud. Only the blood-stained lining and corset remained, a haunting testament to her ordeal.
With a fierce cry, Nina hurled the burning log into the yard, watching as the flames consumed everything in their path. The house, once a symbol of elegance, now became a raging inferno. Nina laughed, the sound tinged with a mix of triumph and pain, as her wounded ribcage protested. She turned away, a satisfactory smile spreading across her face.
"Fuck you all," she spat into the burning house, her words carried away by the growing flames. With that, she took to her heels, disappearing into the streets as the fire engulfed the mansion, purging the evil that had dwelled within.