THE LAST SURVIVORS
Episode 32
Michael was scared, as he retreated from Osoba, he saw Austin sleeping like a baby under the bench with his head in place. He was certain that just some seconds earlier he had beheaded Austin. As Michael stood watching in utter shock, he felt being chocked inside Simon’s body. He called out to elder Okunowo who was inside the swirling cloud of darkness keeping an eye on Melinda. Okunowo raced out to him for help, when he drew closer, Michael raised his machete in his hand and lumped off his head. He didn’t want to do that, but he did it. Michael jumped into the cloud, kicked Melinda out of it and vanished. Melinda landed on the floor and woke up with a fit of anxiety. Her eyes darted about as she breathed heavily. She didn’t even know when she slept off or how she ended up at the spot she woke from. She sprang to her feet and then saw two dead bodies on the floor; she noticed they were dressed like persian priest. “Austin! Verah!” Shouted Melinda. The alarm in Melinda’s voice startled all of them.
They woke up thinking they were under attack. “Look at these! They must be from Circle of Stars”, announced Melinda. “If I am right, these are some of the elders of Circle of stars”, said Osoba. “Christ! They came here to kill us; but what could have killed them?” asked Austin. “This much we know, they are dying; someone certainly is killing them. I think we should head down to their temple and finish this off”, said Etim with enthusiasm.
Without much ado they gathered their stuffs and went into Osoba’s bus.
Early that morning when Michael returned to the temple of the Circle of Stars, he met a commotion. A swarm of shadow scorpions had invaded the temple and were devouring the elders. The prayer said at the hospital had turned Ayari against them. The elders were happy to see Michael back at the temple. They were hopeful he would use his enormous power to banish the scorpions; but much to their shock, Michael needed help as well. He seemed uncomfortable in Simon’s body and moved nervously. With unsteady steps he moved into the inner chambers of the temple, and when he returned, he had in his hand one of the persian blades which adorned the temple. He gave the elders no chance at all to escape. He moved like ghost. One after another he took their heads. The elders were confused they didn’t know who to run from; whether the shadow scorpions which devoured them or their lord who had gone mad. What the elders did not figure out was that Simon had retaken his body; he was having a fight inside his body with Michael and was winning. He made Michael do things he would ordinarily not want to do. When he was done with the elders, he staggered back into the chamber where Michael’s body was kept in a cone-like coffin and pushed out the coffin into the temple.
He dragged out Michael’s body from the coffin. At this point, Michael’s voice could be heard in the temple but not from simon’s body. Simon had gained a greater control over his body. He found a few priestly garments in the temple and dropped them on Michael’s body. Michael could tell what Simon was about to do; Simon was going to burn his body and those of the dead elders.
Michael’s voice grew louder in the temple and objects flew about at his command. Simon was undeterred, after gathering materials he felt could make a bone fire; he set Michael’s body on fire. Amazingly he didn’t hear Michael’s voice after he set his body on fire. He still wasn’t done; he went back into the chambers and found gallons of oil (only God knew what they used them for) and emptied them all over the temple. As the rays of early morning sun shone into the temple, Simon discovered that what he had mistaken for oil was actually blood; the elders stored human blood in gallons. Though he was disappointed that the blood won’t help him start the kind of fire he hoped to start, he was however glad he poured them out on the floor. He had to make do with the veils and curtains in the temple to set the temple on fire. Simon stood outside and watched as the fire grew and feverishly overwhelmed the temple and all the things in it. He smiled, happy that the fight had finally come to an end, but he was wrong. The gallons of blood he emptied on the floor had awakened Michael and all the dead elders. With fire on their bodies, they dragged themselves out of the temple and came after Simon.
Simone was shocked to see them alive. Most of the elders had no heads, their bodies just dragged toward Simon. Michael was in the lead, with his eyes flaming. Simon’s only detense was the blade in his hand, the wall and the gate were too high for him to scale. There was little time for him to have a plan; he just threw himself into the battle.
To be continued
