Chapter One
I stay on the bustling streets of Lagos. My name is Emeka, and I'm still a student. I have three friends: Daddy, Julius, and another friend. Daddy and Julius have been my childhood friends and have always been by my side to support me in whatever I do. We were the best trio anyone could ever wish for.
And so it began. One day, I was the only one left at home. I stayed awake throughout the afternoon, playing games, chatting, and doing all sorts of things on my phone. I didn't know when I dozed off around 6 p.m. Only to wake up around 11:30 p.m., very late at night.
I got very hungry and decided to check inside the fridge. I found out we had nothing left in the fridge. My mom was supposed to stock the fridge today before she traveled. I guess she forgot, or perhaps the person meant to deliver foodstuffs couldn't make it today.
I decided to go out to the junction to at least get Indomie from the aboki at the junction. He doesn't close until 12:30, so I checked the plate rack, took a plastic plate for my Indomie, and a bag to put it in. Then, I went out without taking my phone with me.
As soon as I got out, I couldn't find anyone walking on the street or any car moving. Although the streetlights shone brightly down to the end of the street, it was actually empty – not even a rat was in sight. Taking my breath, I decided to run to the junction, with the fear of getting kidnapped in my mind.
I was like, "How will I save myself if something happens, or who do I want to call or tell?" I didn't even take my phone with me, so I kept on running, keeping up the pace on getting to the junction. The aboki wasn't there. I was shocked and surprised, cause it was unexpected. The aboki has never closed early around the time I got there before. That's unusual.
Sighing, I decided to head back home and just starve throughout the night. Suddenly, the streetlights flickered, and everything went off. My heart started beating fast. "Oh no, this is the wrong timing for such a thing to happen." I'm in the darkness; I can't even see my feet, talkless of the path I'm meant to take back home.
But nevertheless, I decided to just keep going back the path I came. I started running and running and running. After running for a few minutes, I saw a light up ahead – not too bright and not dim. I decided to go towards that direction; perhaps there's someone there, or it's one of the vigilantes (watchmen) that works in the street.
On getting there, rather than meeting a vigilante or anything, all I saw was a building. There wasn't any light at all. I thought to myself, "Was I hallucinating?" I knew I saw a light, and here I am in front of an unknown building – no light, nothing, just a dark building.
The wind increased, and the atmosphere was chilly, and I could feel goosebumps all over my body, like I'm being watched by a presence, but I couldn't see anything in the dark. I decided to approach the building with just one mind and one soul. Technically, in most horror movies, you don't approach an unknown place you know nothing about, and here I am approaching a building I know nothing about.
Crack! I heard a sound coming from the same building I'm approaching. I asked, "Is someone there?? Hello?? Anyone?" But I didn't get any reply. The more steps I take towards the building, the more goosebumps I feel on my body.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. My soul almost left my body at that moment. A hand on my shoulder in the darkness – ahhhhh! I screamed, falling on my butt. Only to turn around and see it was one of those watchmen that works in the street.
He asked me, "Ahan, what are you doing outside late by this time? Where are your parents, and why will you be here of all places? Haven't you heard that building is haunted? No one goes in and ever comes out the same." I was surprised. "In the Streets of Lagos?? Wow, that's new."
I apologized to the man and told him everything that happened, and he offered to help me get back home. I decided to take one more look at the building, and I felt the same presence watching me – a dark figure at the window, one I wasn't meant to see in the darkness. Or was I just hallucinating again?
I said to myself, "So many thoughts came to my mind about the building while I was being escorted back home that night.