---
Kola and Tomi sat in the car, the engine running as they prepared to leave the ruined village. The evidence they'd collected wasn't enough to make any conclusions, but there was a growing unease in Kola's gut. Something wasn't right. He had seen enough in his career to know when a case didn't sit well.
"Do you believe him?" Tomi asked, breaking the silence. She was still looking at the charred remains of the village, her expression thoughtful.
"I don't know," Kola muttered, his voice tense. "Bayo is hiding something, but whether he's guilty or just a victim... I can't tell yet. We need to dig deeper."
"Do you think the fire was an accident?" Tomi pressed.
Kola shook his head. "I'm not convinced. We need to talk to the villagers—see if anyone else knows anything."
They drove to a nearby village where rumors had spread about the fire. There, they found a few survivors who had witnessed strange happenings leading up to the event.
---
The first villager they spoke with was an elderly woman named Ireti. She had lived near Odo Aso and had heard of the unusual behavior from its people. She described whispers of a group performing rituals at night, gathering in secret places deep in the woods.
"It's always been strange there," she said, her hands shaking as she handed Kola an old, faded photograph of the villagers. "I heard they believed in something... in a god that lived in the shadows."
Kola studied the photograph. It was a picture of Odo Aso's village council, but one face stood out to him—the same face as Bayo.
"I never paid much attention to it, but things were never right in that village," Ireti continued. "It was always quiet... too quiet."
Tomi glanced at Kola, her brow furrowed. "Could it be connected to the fire?"
Kola was already thinking ahead. "It might be. We need to look into these 'rituals' and this god they worshipped. Whatever it is, it's not just a fire—it's something deeper."
---
Later that evening, Kola and Tomi returned to Odo Aso to investigate further. As they walked through the village, Kola couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. He stopped abruptly, motioning for Tomi to be quiet.
"What is it?" she whispered.
Kola scanned the area, his eyes narrowing. "There's someone here. I can feel it."
Tomi glanced around, but there was no one in sight. She shivered. "You're sure?"
"I'm not the only one who feels this way," Kola said, looking at her sharply. "Something's wrong. Stay close."
They continued their search, but the oppressive silence of the village was unnerving. As they neared Bayo's home, Kola noticed something that sent a chill down his spine—a small, unfamiliar symbol carved into the tree near the doorway.
"What the hell is this?" he muttered, kneeling down to inspect it.
The symbol was crude, but unmistakable. It resembled an eye—one that had been drawn repeatedly on the village's houses and trees, hidden in plain sight.
--
The next day, Kola decided it was time to confront Bayo again. The symbols they had found disturbed him, and he was sure Bayo knew more than he was letting on.
"Bayo," Kola said sharply as he walked into the makeshift home Bayo had been staying in, "we need to talk. You know something you're not telling us."
Bayo flinched, his eyes darting nervously. "I... I told you everything I know."
"No, you haven't," Kola replied coldly. "What's this symbol? It's all over the village. Why didn't you mention it?"
Bayo's face went pale, his hands shaking. He opened his mouth to speak but didn't. The silence between them was suffocating.
Tomi stepped forward. "Bayo, this isn't just a fire. People are talking about rituals, about a god... What do you know about it?"
Bayo swallowed hard, his eyes brimming with fear. "I... I don't know what you're talking about. I just want to forget all this. It's not... it's not my fault."
Kola wasn't convinced. Something about Bayo's desperation felt off, like he was teetering on the edge of breaking.