What's up, friends?!! It's been ages!!

Some active members may remember me as the writer of this once popular paranormal book : DARK MYSTERIES which was written five years ago. I'm glad to say the book was finally completed and it's available on Wattpad to read for free.

However, I want to share one of my works which is also available on Wattpad. It's a horror/Paranormal novel titled THE SYMBOL. Since it's complete, there wouldn't be much hassles on delayed updates.

Leggo

Synopsis:

Julian Fernandez. A man in his late twenties who is antisocial, stoic and pessimistic. However, his life takes a twist when it's evident that he is caught up in a generational curse. It all begins when he notices that he's the only one who can see a strange tattoo that randomly appears on people. Believing he's going insane, Julian seeks help from friends and professionals. The problem is the tattoos are the least of his worries. There's something more menacing that's after him.
It's up to him to know who's the friend.....


And who's the foe.

ShegzDave, Yungbanks, mondaypemisire, iamL, kinalo, moonsledge, Chemicalreaction, remzychizzy, jhay1122,prosper19, Larrysun, pyro10, retake89, horeofe, Obinnau, Divepen1, ishilove, Haynnie, pablobellins, Adiscopele, Jullyrosy, Dibixxx1, ice4jez, Bam17, Mixbar.

Kindly fall in

If you're old friends of mine here and I didn't mention you, please signify

Chapter 1

It seemed to rain endlessly. It had been like that for the past five hours. Julian leaned into the sofa as he shut his eyes and tried to tune out the excited chatter around him. He would open his eyes at intervals when he heard a laugh or a shout from Sam. The latter was definitely having the time of his life. He had gained promotion at work, hence the mood for a celebration.
Try as much as he could, Julian knew it was fruitless. He was going to be part of the party whether he liked it or not. The living room was just prepared for that. The large mahogany table in the centre was adorned with all sorts of liquor. Few metres away from where Sam stood talking with his girlfriend, Cheryl, was another large table with lots of snacks on top. Nancy, Julian’s colleague, was seated at another sofa with Trish, flipping through a magazine. Julian watched as her eyes would narrow behind her glasses every time she flipped a page. Beside them was Randal ransacking the fridge for a beer. Julian couldn’t help but shake his head at his best friend’s ever growing enthusiasm for the beverage. He watched as the brown haired man frowned at not seeing his preferred brand.
“Hey, Sam.” Randal turned his head towards the chatting couple. “You didn’t get Goldberg?”
“Sorry, man.” Sam replied off-handedly. “Skipped my mind. Why don’t you try Star?”
“Sure, why not?” Randal whispered as a frown appeared on his face. He was clearly disappointed but what choice did he have? He grumbled as he picked the mentioned brand and slammed the fridge shut.
Julian sighed and leaned into the sofa for about the hundredth time. He didn’t want to be here. There were better things he would rather spend his time doing. Watching a movie. Eating all sorts of junk food. Anything but being in a gathering. Apparently the rain had other plans as it never stopped even when he closed from work and made his way home. He had no choice than to give into Sam’s persistence at making him stay over until the raining subsided. Which did not seem like happening anytime soon. Rather, to his fury, it intensified.
“How can it rain for five hours?” He grumbled.
“Julian?” A soft voice was heard just as he shut his eyes.
He opened them again to see Nancy standing right in front of him. She gave him an inquisitive gaze as she rubbed her forearm. An habit she was used to since they knew each other from high school.
What baffled Julian at that moment though, was how he never heard her approach at that moment.
“Yeah? What’s up?” He enquired.
“Nothing serious. I just thought I could keep you company. You look bored.” Nancy said as she sat beside him. She adjusted her glasses and tucked a few strands of her raven hair behind her ear.
“I don’t just look bored, Nancy. I am bored.” Julian frowned.
Nancy sighed as she tugged at the sleeve of her red blouse. Sometimes she wondered why she always bothered trying to get him to lighten up. He was always a walking personification of depression. Never laughed. Rarely smiled. Anti-social. It was like he was trying to shield himself from the world. Her only consolation was that he spoke to her at least. Her and few other people.
“Well, you could join Randall for a beer?” She half joked.
Julian gave her a blank stare.
“Sorry, my mistake. I forgot you don’t drink.” She gave a nervous laugh.
Julian was about to reply when he spotted Trish walking towards them. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He knew at that moment that the blonde was about to make things worse for him.
“Hey, Nancy. You left me hanging back there. That’s low.” Trish pouted as she sat at the other side of Julian.
“Sorry?” Nancy replied. Her raised eyebrow mirrored her confusion. She was quite sure she remembered excusing herself before leaving Trish to ogle the magazine alone.
“It’s okay. I forgive you, honey.” Trish giggled in a girlish manner. She then turned her attention to Julian.
“What’s the matter? You’re not enjoying the party, Julie?” She gave him a wicked smile.
“I’ve told you several times not to call me that.” Julian glared at her.
“Call you what? Julie? Come on, it’s a cute name. I know you love it.” Trish laughed as she ruffled his ebony hair playfully.
Julian said nothing but Nancy could hear a faint rumbling. It sounded more like a low growl from within him. It was no news that Julian and Trish didn’t get along. She always tried to find a way to rile him up. Nancy knew it was just her friend’s way of having fun but she could tell Julian was particularly a living time bomb today and any slight provocation could cause chaos at Sam’s party.
“Trish.” Nancy gave her friend a warning glance.
“Fine.” Trish raised her hands in surrender. “I’ll let your boyfriend be.”
Nancy blushed hard while Julian cleared his throat and brushed his hair back into place. Trish knew they weren’t in a relationship but she couldn’t help teasing the topic, considering the fact that she knew of Nancy’s feelings for the lone wolf. This was just too much fun.
“You know what? I have an idea on how to make things enjoyable for everyone.” Trish said.
“Should I even ask?” Julian mumbled.
Trish ignored him and turned her attention to the remaining participants of the party.
“Hey guys!” She cried out, gaining everyone’s attention. “ How about we play a game of truth or dare?”
Sam and Cheryl were intrigued. Randal’s eyes lit in glee. Nancy rolled her blue eyes from beneath her glasses. Julian groaned in agony.
“Glad to see everyone is interested.” Trish smiled, ignoring the scathing look Julian sent her way.
“Gather around everyone.” Sam said as he walked over, hand-in-hand with Cheryl. Randal tossed him a plastic bottle which he caught.
“Let the fun begin.” Trish grinned.

Everyone on board?

Chapter 2


The scowl never left Julian’s face as everyone gathered around the table and Sam placed the bottle on top of it. Of all the things Trish could think of, it had to be truth or dare? From what Julian knew about the game since time immemorial, it always ended badly. Relationships shattered and personal secrets revealed. He wasn’t keen on it and made it an obligation of his to stay away from such activities. Besides they were supposed to have outgrown such ridiculous games. Then again, he never associated Trish and maturity in the same sentence.
“Alright, I’m going first.” Randal declared.
He spun the bottle and it stopped with the top pointing at Nancy.
“Terrific.” She whispered.
“Nancy, truth or dare.” Randal said.
“Truth.” She replied quickly.
“Oh, come on. You really had to start with a truth?!” Trish cried out.
“Hey, it’s not against the rules.” Nancy retorted.
Trish rolled her eyes in return and mumbled something no one could hear. Julian narrowed his eyes at her.
“Moving on.” Randal cleared his throat. “Nancy, are you still a virgin?”
“Say what?” Nancy squealed as her face became heated. She shrunk further into her seat as all eyes were on her.
“Answer the question, sweetheart.” Trish winked with a malicious grin.
“Fine.” Nancy muttered. She scanned the faces and her eyes met Julian’s. He quickly looked away.
“Yes.” She said after what seemed like minutes.
“I knew it!” Cheryl cried out as she tapped Sam by the arm.
“I told you so.” She added.
“Can we move on?” Nancy frowned as she grabbed the bottle. She spun it and it landed on Trish this time. A grin that rivaled the Cheshire cat’s appeared on Nancy’s face.
“Trish, truth or dare.” She said.
“Dare of course.” Trish replied. “Truth is for babies.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Nancy replied, half offended and half amused.
Staring intently at her friend, Nancy unleashed her weapon.
“Trish, I dare you to strip to your underwear, step outside and dance in the rain.” She smiled.
“What! You can’t be serious!” Trish shrieked. “I could get hypothermia.”
“You could forfeit.” Nancy replied with a shrug. “But you know what that would mean.”
Trish glared at her bespectacled friend. She definitely didn’t see that one coming. Nancy smiled sweetly in return.
Letting out a huff, Trish stood up and slowly began to UnCloth. She took off her sky blue blouse to reveal a lacy red bra. A smile appeared on her face as she spotted the intense stare of Sam at her chest area much to the chagrin of Cheryl. Randal stared like a lost puppy. Julian however had a blank look on his face. She then took off her black skirt and tossed it aside, revealing a matching red lace panties. Standing akimbo in her semi nude glory, she stared at the exit of the living room.
“Don’t just stand there. Get outside and dance.” Nancy laughed.
Trish groaned and sauntered towards the door, her barely covered backside wobbling at each step she took. Cheryl slapped Sam on the arm on seeing where he obviously had his eyes.
“What.” He whispered.
She didn’t reply. Instead she folded her arms and looked away with a frown.
Within seconds, Trish was outside and welcomed harshly with the cold drops of water meeting her skin.
“It’s freaking cold!” She shrieked as goose bumps appeared all over her skin.
“Quit complaining and dance.” Nancy replied.
They had all gathered by the door to watch a thrilling show with the exception of Julian who decided to stay inside. Randal took out his phone and switched on his recorder.
“This should be fun.” He grinned.
Trish began to dance. Defying the harsh rain, she twirled her body and moved her hips from side to side.
“You go, girl!” Randal cheered as he recorded the action.
Pausing to give him the middle finger, Trish continued to dance. This was so humiliating. To think she was the one who suggested this game for a chance to mess with Julian and Nancy only for it to backfire and put her in this situation.
“Okay, that’s enough. You can come in now.” Nancy called out after a while.
“What? That wasn’t even up to ten minutes.” Randal whined.
Nancy didn’t get the time to reply as Trish quickly barged through them and entered the living room. Her teeth clattered together as she stood in the middle of the room, shivering. A scowl crossed her face as she caught the slightly amused look on Julian’s face. The remaining four entered the living room and Sam shut the door.
“Great. I’m so cold.” Trish complained as she wrapped her arms around herself.
“It was so worth it.” Randal grinned as he stared at his cellphone.
“Totally.” Nancy agreed.
“To hell with you two.” Trish spat.
“Enough with the teasing.” Sam said as he walked towards them.
“Come on. Let’s get you dry.” He added as he put an arm on Trish’s bare shoulder and steered her towards his bedroom.
Cheryl sent a heated gaze as she watched the both of them made their exit. She had always kept a suspicious eye on her boyfriend when he it came to other women. He had never given her the reason to suspect him of infidelity but there was just something that couldn’t leave her mind. He was faithful to her. Maybe too faithful.
About six minutes had passed and neither Sam nor Trish had returned. Cheryl clenched her fist until her knuckles became white. Nancy, who was standing beside her, saw the rage and quickly moved to sit beside Julian. Randal, none the wiser, followed and sat at Julian’s opposite side.
“Really?” Julian frowned. “Did the both of you have to keep me sandwiched?”
He gestured to the other two empty sofas a few feet from where they sat. The sofas happened to be beside the furious looking Cheryl.
“Apparently, that’s not a good idea.” Randal replied.
Nancy nodded.
Julian huffed. He could care less about whatever drama was about to unfold. Relationships were overrated to him anyway.
A few minutes later, Sam and Trish made their way into the living room.
“What took you guys so long?” Cheryl asked in a low voice.
“I had to find the right kind of clothes that could size her.” Sam replied.
Trish wore one of his tank tops and basketball shorts. The outfit still looked big on her which made Cheryl doubt Sam’s explanation even more. Before she could voice out her thoughts however, it suddenly stopped raining. Julian sat upright quickly as a surprised expression appeared on his face.
“That was strange.” He whispered.
“Yeah. It didn’t reduce to a drizzle. It just stopped.” Nancy replied. Her blue eyes scanned the window as she adjusted her glasses.
Cheryl’s anger was momentarily forgotten as she also echoed their thoughts. Something like that had never happened before. It had never rained heavily only to just stop all of a sudden.
Heavy silence filled the room. No one made a move. Sam however decided to cut the tension.
“Will everyone just calm down? Let’s resume the game and not let a minor thing like this spoil the fun.” He said.
“Yeah, I’ll pass. Great party and congratulations on your promotion.” Julian replied as he stood up.
“Come on, man. The party just got started.” Sam grinned. “I don’t want to believe the reason you’re leaving is because you’re spooked.”
“No. I have to get up early. You do realize this is a working week.” Julian replied.
He made his way past Sam and was getting to the door when something caught his attention. Something he didn’t see earlier. Retracing his footsteps, he made his way back to Sam and saw it.
Encrypted by the side of Sam’s neck was a tattoo. Julian was very certain that he did not see it since he came to Sam’s house that afternoon and that tattoo was definitely not there before Sam went to his room with Trish about fifteen minutes ago. It was shaped like a bulb with the number 1 in the middle.
“Hey Sam, when did you get this tattoo? ” Julian asked.
“What tattoo?” Sam was confused.
“This one. The one on your neck.” Julian pointed to his neck.
“What are you talking about? I don’t have a tattoo. Julian, if this is your first attempt at a joke, then I’m sorry to say it’s horrible.” Sam frowned.
“I’m not joking.” Julian mirrored his actions.
Cheryl and Trish stared at Sam’s neck.
“There’s nothing there.” Cheryl said.
“Yeah, I don’t see anything.” Trish agreed.
“You guys are joking, right?” Julian stared at the ladies in perplexed fashion.
“No.” Trish shook her head. She turned her head towards Randal and Nancy.
“Hey guys, come over here.” She called out and they walked over.
“Randal. Nancy.” Julian turned to them. “Do you guys see that tattoo on Sam’s neck?”
“Tattoo? Where?” Randal squinted his eyes at Sam’s neck.
“I’m not seeing anything.” Nancy said as she narrowed her eyes through her glasses.
“Exactly.” Sam folded his arms and stared at Julian, giving him a strange look.
All eyes were on Julian now. Each held different expression. Nancy and Randal’s were one of worry. Trish and Cheryl’s mirrored amusement.
“Julie.” Trish exploded in laughter. “I thought you don’t drink.”
Julian stared at all of them in surprise. He couldn’t believe this. The tattoo was right there on Sam’s neck in plain sight for all to see. Or was it just in plain sight for him to see? What was going on? First the sudden ceasing of the heavy rain. Now this. Why in heaven’s name was he the only one seeing that tattoo?
“You know what ? Forget it. I’m out. See you all around.” He sighed.
He made his way out, ignoring the calls of his name from his friends, and shut the door.
This was one of the strangest nights of his life.

Longest time .in the front row with my puff puff and cold sprite .Interesting but pls don't stop the drive like the last time.thanks

Jezzz I remember you
It's been ages, DARK MYSTERY was one of hell story
WTF man....welcome

Cool
Lit Up Ma Loud
Front desk occupied

everton4life:
ShegzDave, Yungbanks, mondaypemisire, iamL, kinalo, moonsledge, Chemicalreaction, remzychizzy, jhay1122,prosper19, Larrysun, pyro10, retake89, horeofe, Obinnau, Divepen1, ishilove, Haynnie, pablobellins, Adiscopele, Jullyrosy, Dibixxx1, ice4jez, Bam17, Mixbar.

Kindly fall in

If you're old friends of mine here and I didn't mention you, please signify

Abdulreheem:
Longest time .in the front row with my puff puff and cold sprite .Interesting but pls don't stop the drive like the last time.thanks

Lol, trust me bro. That will never happen again. I made sure I wrote and competed it offline first.

pyro10:
Jezzz I remember you
It's been ages, DARK MYSTERY was one of hell story
WTF man....welcome

Yeah. It was later completed on Wattpad.

It had a tragic ending though

Read all


The new update is taking time

everton4life:
Yeah. It was later completed on Wattpad.

It had a tragic ending though

Chapter 3
Sam sighed as he entered the bedroom. Cheryl lay on the far end in a tank top and nothing else. If Sam’s mind wasn’t clouded at the moment, he would have made an amorous move on her.
After Julian had left earlier, along with Nancy and Randal following shortly afterwards, Cheryl decided to pass the night. Sam had no objections to that as his mind was on something else.
He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right. Why did Julian act strange earlier? He rubbed his neck as he looked into the mirror in front of him. He was still yet to spot the so called tattoo that Julian claimed he saw. Julian was never a prankster or joker and if Sam remembered correctly, Julian never drank alcohol. Or at least he didn’t see Julian take one that night. Or was Julian hallucinating?
With all the unanswered questions in his head, Sam made his way over to the bed and lay down. Cheryl took her eyes away from the novel she was reading the moment and glanced at him.
“Something wrong?” She asked.
“Nothing really. It’s just Julian’s out-of-the-blue character today.” Sam replied.
Cheryl stared intently at him as she tried to make out his countenance. The ginger haired man looked either confused or passive. She couldn’t tell which. She still hadn’t gotten over her earlier suspicion of him possibly doing something with Trish when they both left the living room. She might be wrong but she was the only person who spotted a tiny red mark at Trish’s nape when they were questioning Julian’s possible hallucination. That mark was close to the resemblance of a hickey. God help her poor boyfriend if her suspicions turned out correct.
But now wasn’t the time for an investigation.
“Maybe Julian drank a little too much?” She responded to his statement.
“He didn’t drink at all.” Sam gave her a blank stare.
“Be that as it may, I don’t think you should worry about it. This is Julian we’re talking about. Just forget it and let’s get to bed.” Cheryl said.
She dropped the novel at the bedside table and turned her back to him. However, her movements caused the bottom of the shirt to slide up her waist, exposing her bare backside to his view.
Whether it was deliberate or not, Sam didn’t care. All worry and concern slipped off his mind as he reached out and ran a finger along her thigh. Cheryl flinched momentarily as the cool texture of his finger brought goose bumps on her skin.
“Seriously?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper. “Right now?”
“You did say ‘let’s get to bed’ ” Sam grinned cheekily in response.
His hand slipped around her waist and moved upwards. He cupped one of her soft endowments and let out a hiss in response, shutting her eyes tight. Any feeling of anger and resentment she had towards him were now thrown out of the window. She moaned in pleasure as he pinched her hardening bud.
‘I guess there is no sleep for me this night.’ She thought.
That was just the thing about her boyfriend. When it came to moments of passion and he got started, there was no stopping him. She only hoped he would be lenient enough to stay on one round this time.
Meanwhile Sam had leaned over and began to plant kisses at the nape of her neck. Feeling her submit to his touches, he rolled her over to her back and made to take off the only garment she was wearing: his shirt.
Suddenly, the lights flickered above. Sam was the only one who noticed as Cheryl’s eyes were still shut tight. He gazed up and the lights became stable. He shook his head and made to take off her shirt again when the lights flickered the second time.
“What the hell?” He frowned.
Cheryl opened her eyes just in time for the lights to become stable again.
“What’s the matter?” She asked.
“Nothing.” Sam replied, forcing a grin to his face.
He leaned forward towards her lips when it happened. This time it wasn’t the lights but something else. A voice from behind him.
“One of the men.”
Sam blanched as he turned around. There was no one there.
“Did you hear that?” He turned to face Cheryl.
“Hear what?” Cheryl scowled at the sudden pause of his actions. “ I didn’t hear anything. What’s the matter with you?”
Sam made to retort when he heard the voice again. This time it was deadlier and sounded like it was reciting a poem.
“One of the men.
Where your fate lies.
What shall happen then.
You are sacrifice.”
Sam broke out in cold sweat and jumped off the bed. Cheryl sat up in surprise at his sudden action.
“Sam!” She cried out. “What’s gotten into you?”
Sam didn’t reply. He looked around for the source of the voice that recited that perilous poem. Soon it was heard again and it sounded furious.
“Sacrifice!” It bellowed. “Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice!”
‘Shut up!” Sam yelled as he clutched his head tight. He shut his eyes tight as he willed himself to endure the torment.
“Sam?” Cheryl’s voice echoed her concern. Why was her boyfriend acting strange all of a sudden? She was torn between staying put and moving closer to him. He was unpredictable at the moment.
Sam released his head and opened his eyes. The voice had stopped. But that was the least of his worries. For standing beside his bed and staring at his petrified state, was a hooded figure clad in black. There was nothing that could suggest the figure was human. The only thing Sam could see was the burnt hands of the figure. They were so charred that it looked like they would disintegrate at the slightest of contact. The figure’s cloaked face was blank and dark with the exception of two small bright circles which were assumed to be eyes.
Sam gasped as the figure pointed a charred finger at him and began to laugh. It was a laughter laced with venom and malice.
“No.” Sam shook his head as his eyes widened. “ You’re not real.”
The figure suddenly stopped laughing. It then let out an angry cry and charged towards Sam. Sam had little time to react as the figure went through him. It was like smoke passing through a window. The figure disappeared shortly afterwards.
At first, Sam felt nothing. Then it happened. A sudden pain in his lungs and heart. He screamed and dropped to the floor, writhing in agony.
“Sam!” Cheryl jumped from the bed and rushed to meet him.
She was too late and met a horrifying sight. Cheryl screamed in terror at what her eyes beheld.
Lying on the floor where Sam’s body was supposed to be….was a burnt skeleton.

Nice one......

Why is your update taking days .....

pyro10:
Why is your update taking days .....

I dey wait for audience o.

Chapter 4

  It was a new day. The sun rose from the east, bright and beautiful. Julian rose from the bed, gloomy and irritable. Running a hand through his hair, he felt like everything and everyone should just go to hell. The alarm clock beside him read 6:30AM. He was thirty minutes early from his normal wake up time. He lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
The previous night was still fresh on his mind. He didn’t exactly leave Sam’s place in good spirits. He was so angry that night that he didn’t bother eating anything when he got home and just went straight to bed. Right now, the consequence manifested in form of a growling stomach.
Julian ignored it as he pondered on the actions of his friends the previous night? Did they plan to play a joke on him? He doubted it because he was very sure Nancy wouldn’t be part of it. All the years he had known her, he had always seen her as the nerdy bookworm. Yes, she had her moments where she could be funny but pranks were not a trait of hers. Randal, his childhood best friend could be cheeky and foul mouthed but he wasn’t a fan of pranks either. Cheryl was out of the equation because Julian barely interacted with her unless Sam was involved. Trish? The less Julian thought of her, the better. Sam had seemed very serious.
The sound of the alarm went off, interrupting Julian’s train of thoughts. Setting it off, he picked up his phone. A look of surprise crossed his face as he saw lots of missed calls and a text message. Five missed calls from Randal, ten missed calls and the text message from Nancy.
He opened the text message from Nancy and read it:

‘Julian, I’ve been trying to reach you but you’re not picking your calls. Randal can’t reach you either. Cheryl called in the middle of the night. Something terrible has happened. Sam is dead.’

Julian was petrified in utter shock as he read the last sentence. Sam was dead? How ? What happened? He had to find out and fast. Jumping out of the bed, he made a beeline for the bathroom.
Within minutes, he was dressed and ready to go to work. He decided to skip breakfast as he made his way out of the house. On getting to his car, he sighted his next door neighbor, Mr. Wyatt stepping out of his house. The balding old man waved to him.
“Hello, Julian! A good day it is, am I right?” He called.
“Sure.” Julian barely replied and swiftly got into his car. He switched on the ignition and zoomed off.
A good day? Far from it. Julian knew the old man made such remark when his mind was on one thing; Bringing in a woman later in the night to cheat on his wife. Julian never understood how a man of Mr. Wyatt’s age managed to invite young buxom women into his house every two days. Each woman different from the last. His wife travelled at least eight times a year leaving him to have the fun of his life. Julian attested the reason his lecherous neighbor could get so many women was the fact that he was financially buoyant. But Julian could care less about that at the moment. He had more pressing issues to attend to.
On getting to work, he went straight to Nancy’s office and knocked.
“Come in.” A voice was heard from the other side. It sounded muffled and disjointed.
Julian opened the door and stepped inside. Nancy was seated in front of her laptop but she wasn’t working. She had a faraway look in her eyes as she stared at a pile of papers on her desk. Her glasses was balanced on the bridge of her nose and her hair was tied in a messy bun. As he approached her desk, Julian noticed the bags underneath her eyes.
“Hey.” He said.
“Hey.” She replied, still staring at her desk.
Julian sighed and leant on the opposite side of the desk.
“I saw your text.” He said. “I just saw it this morning. How did it happen?”
Nancy said nothing for a few seconds. She reached into her suit jacket and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping her forehead with it.
“Honestly Julian, I still don’t understand till now.” She faced him. “Cheryl said he got burnt from the inside.”
“What?” Julian was taken aback. His eyes widened as he tried to process the news.
“How? Did she know what caused it?” He asked.
“No.” Nancy sighed. “She just said he was freaked out and yelling at something. Then next thing he was screaming in pain and he died. Just like that.”
Julian ran his hand through his hair and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling an incoming migraine. Nothing was making sense right now. As Nancy studied him, a thought appeared in her head as she remembered something.
“Julian.” She called out to him.
He looked at her expectantly.
“You said you saw a tattoo on Sam’s neck yesterday, right?” She asked.
“What do you mean ‘i saw’ ?” He frowned. “Nancy, we all saw it. I’m not doing this again.”
“That’s the thing, Julian. I didn’t see it. And you saw yourself that the rest admitted to not seeing it either.” Nancy said.
“You know what? I think I need a breather right now.” Julian moved away from her table and walked towards the door.
“Julian.” Nancy called in a pleading tone.
Julian ignored her and made his exit, shutting the door after him. Nancy sighed. She could never understand why little things could set him off so easily. Why was he so difficult sometimes?
The rest of the day was uneventful. Julian managed to get through it all as he made it his mission not to interact with anyone. Not even Nancy. His mood was already ruined to begin with and it all stemmed from her. As soon as work was over, he didn’t bother checking out. He just left.
He arrived home just to see another car make it’s entrance to Mr. Wyatt’s driveway. Julian came out of his car and observed the unfamiliar vehicle. It seemed brand new. A lady stepped out of the car. She looked like she was in her early thirties. She had blonde wavy hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a skin tight brown T-shirt which revealed the shape of her large bust and dark blue jeans hugging an equally large and firm behind. She wore heels that seemed to add at least three inches to her height. On sighting Julian, the lady smiled and waved.
“ Hello.” Her accent sounded southern.
“Hey.” He shrugged indifferently.
The sound of the door was heard as Mr. Wyatt made his way into the front yard. The lady let out a delighted squeal and ran to him, engulfing him in a tight hug. Julian shook his head at the silly grin that appeared on the old man’s face as he was enjoying the contact from the buxom blonde.
“Back from work, Julian?” Mr. Wyatt finally noticed his neighbor and waved.
Julian stood rooted to the spot. He broke out in cold sweat as his eyes became wide in fear. Not because Mr. Wyatt waved. But because of what he saw imprinted on Mr. Wyatt’s wrist. The tattoo. The bulb-shaped tattoo. That same tattoo he saw the previous night on Sam’s neck. There it was again. Unlike Sam’s tattoo which had the number 1 in the middle, the one on Mr. Wyatt’s wrist had a number 2.
“No.” Julian gulped in fear, his voice barely audible. “Please, no. Not this again.”
“Julian?” Mr. Wyatt raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” Julian managed to find his voice. “Please excuse me.”
He made his way quickly into the house and shut the door.
“Your neighbor is weird.” The blonde said as she stared at Julian’s door.
“Well tonight is not about him, darling.” Mr. Wyatt wrapped his arm around her slim waist and steered her towards his house.
“It’s about us.” He added with a perverted grin.
Inside his house, Julian leant against the door and stared at the ceiling in the living room.
“What’s wrong with me?” He asked no one.

Baba only me na audience so....

everton4life:
I dey wait for audience o.

Chapter 5

“Mr. Wyatt, you have a lovely home here.”
The blonde southerner raised her eyebrows in admiration as she surveyed his living room. It was quite large and spacious. It housed several large sofas, a large glass table, a stone fireplace at the far end underneath a hug flat screen TV mounted on the wall. The crystal floors sparkled as the blonde noticed she could see her reflection in them.
“Thank you, Kate. And call me Ted. I’m not that old, you know?” Mr. Wyatt joked.
The blonde, Kate, ignored his comment with a wry smile and walked about the living room to continue her survey. Mr. Wyatt’s eyes dilated in lust as he caught side of her bouncy backside when she walked past him. She stood in front of the fire place, staring curiously at a photo frame. The frame displayed Mr. Wyatt standing beside a woman with his arm around her shoulder. The woman looked ten years younger than him. Kate guessed she must have been in her late forties. The woman was a bit plump had brown hair which was graying at the side. She had oval green eyes that reminded Kate of a cat.
“ Your wife.” Kate’s statement almost sounded like a question.
“Yes.” Mr. Wyatt was close to her now. He wrapped his hand around her waist as they both stared at the photo.
“It’s not the same anymore.” He added solemnly. “She travels a lot. Even before the travelling, the spark was gone. After the birth of our second child, she locked up her legs and threw away the key, if you know what I mean. I still don’t get it till today.”
Kate studied his face. He had that look. The look of a man who gave into infidelity. Not by choice. By force.
“ You never filed for a divorce?” She asked.
He was silent and that gave Kate the answer she needed.
“You still love her, don’t you?”
Again he was silent.
“I understand.” She smiled softly. Turning fully to face him, she grabbed hold of his two hands and placed them firmly on her backside. He involuntarily gave it a squeeze. She giggled and wrapped her hands around his neck, staring at him straight in the eyes.
“How about I soothe your pain? After all, that’s why you called me here.” She winked at him.
Needing no further invitation, Mr. Wyatt scooped her into his arms and dashed up the stairs to his room. Lamentations about his wife’s negligence would be attended to later. Kicking open the door to his bedroom, he moved towards the bed and placed her gently on it.
Kate giggled as he kissed up her neck. He cut her off as he got to her lips. She moaned into his mouth as his hands crawled underneath her tight shirt. Moving his hands around her back and upwards, he expertly unclasped her bra. He pulled it from under her top as they continued kissing and tossed it away. Off came her shirt next and her large breasts were in full display. He took his lips off hers to marvel at the sight of those twin fruits. They looked so firm despite their size and surprisingly defied gravity. Not wasting anymore time, he attached his lips to her right breast and sucked on her nipple.
Kate let out a hiss of pleasure. This was what she craved so much. Pre-intimacy. Her sex life was a huge disappointment. Most of the men in her past just cared about themselves alone. Get into the action, have an orgasm and that was it. But here was someone who was patient and willing to please her body. And as she felt Mr. Wyatt’s hands slip into her jeans and into her panties, she made her mind on one decision. Hell would freeze over before she let him go. He was a bonus package: wealthy and good in bed. His age didn’t matter. After all, the men in her previous relationship were way younger.
She squealed when his rough fingers slipped into her. Mr. Wyatt grinned as he felt his ego soar. This was what he loved about the women he had fun with. He loved their submissions to his touches and their sounds of pleasure. It made him know that at his age, he still had it in him.
Taking his hand out of her jeans, he tugged at them. Getting the message, she lifted her hips off the bed and he pulled the jeans off. With a satisfied smile, he made to take off her lilac panties.
“One of the men.”
A hoarse voice resonated through the air. Mr. Wyatt paused in his actions and stared down at her.
“ Did you say something?” He asked.
“No.” She replied. “Why?”
“I thought I heard,” He paused and shook his head. “Never mind.”
He reached down to resume his earlier actions when the voice came back in full force.
“One of the men.
Where your fate lies.
It shall happen then.
You are sacrifice.”
Mr. Wyatt shrieked as he jumped off the bed in horror. He looked around the room but he didn’t see anything.
“Ted?” Kate sat up the bed and stared intently at him.
“Didn’t you hear that?” He asked frantically as he brought his attention to her.
“No.” She shook her head. “Ted, what’s the matter with you?”
Mr. Wyatt opened his mouth to respond. Before he could, however, the voice was heard again. This time it was a whisper to his ear.
“Sacrifice.”
“Who’s there?” Mr. Wyatt jumped and looked beside him. There was no one there.
Kate had dressed up fully now. A scowl was visible on her face.
“I don’t know what this is, Ted, but it’s not funny at all. Not one bit.” She hissed.
“I’m not joking.” He replied. “Believe me, there is someone here.”
“Oh?” She folded her arms in mock fashion. “Someone besides us? This should be intriguing. May I ask who?”
Her answer manifested immediately. Unfortunately, only Mr. Wyatt could see it. His eyes went wide in horror as the hooded figure appeared in a puff of smoke beside Kate. The figure pointed at him and let out a laugh.
“Bloody hell!” Mr. Wyatt cried out. “Kate get away from that thing!”
“What thing?” Kate looked around, confused.
“That thing in black. It’s right there! Right beside you!”
Kate’s confused expression deepened as she stared beside her and still didn’t see anything. Her countenance changed to worry. The hooded figure however folded it’s arms in amusement.
“Simple ancient one.” It cackled. “She cannot see me. She is not one of the men. You are one of the men. You are sacrifice.”
Those menacing words sent a chill to the spine of Mr. Wyatt. He swiftly reached into his pocket to grab his phone. He needed to call for help. The police. Julian. Anyone. The figure watched as he pulled out his phone. Although it was hard to decipher it’s expression due to the dark void beneath the veil, the two white tiny lights which served as eyes twinkled, reflecting amusement.
Mr. Wyatt soon dialed the police. Before his phone could ring, it exploded, startling him and Kate who had been silent till that moment. He looked at the now burnt device in disbelief.
The figure shook it’s head.
“ Do you now see the futility of your actions?” It growled. “ Your fate is inevitable.”
The figure swiftly charged forward and ran through Mr. Wyatt in a puff of smoke.
That night, nothing was heard except the screams of terror from Kate as she witnessed a devastating sight.

Chapter 6

The incessant pounding of the door roused Julian up from bed the next day. It was a Saturday and he wanted nothing more to do than to sleep till noon. Grumbling in anger, he ignored the knocks and placed the bed covers over his head. The knocking didn’t stop. It became louder. Julian tossed the covers away from his head away, got up swiftly from the bed and walked out of the room.
“I guess the universe keeps devising new methods to provoke me.” He grumbled as he stomped down the stairs.
He reached the door to his living room and opened it to find Randal at the other side folding his arms. And Randal did not look happy at all.
“Randal?” Julian scratched his head in confusion.
“No, it’s Don Quixotte.” Randal muttered dryly. “Of course, it’s me. Julian, what’s wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?” Julian frowned.
“I’m talking about yesterday. I’m talking about Sam. You didn’t answer my calls. And then when Nancy tries to reach out to you, you blow her off?” Randal said, his scowl deepening.
Julian let out a sigh as he avoided his friend’s eyes. He did not know where to start.
Randal stared at him for while before his expression softened. They had been friends from childhood yet he always found him complicated sometimes. He couldn’t tell maybe Julian’s actions were a way of grieving or just being his typical self.
“ That’s by the way. I think something happened at your neighbor’s.” Randal said.
“ What?” Julian turned to face him.
“Over there.” Randal jerked his thumb to the side.
Julian stepped out of the door to look at where Randal was pointing. Sure enough, he spotted a van parked by Mr. Wyatt’s driveway, a few feet away from Kate’s car. A group of paramedics in white were gathered around Kate who stood by the door, trying to answer their questions. She had her arms wrapped around herself as she looked shaken. Her face was pale white and her hair was disheveled. Her lips moved on heir own but it seemed like she couldn’t make a coherent sentence, as Julian noticed from the confusion on the faces of the questioning paramedics.
“What happened? An accident or something?” Randal asked as he stared at the scene.
Julian shrugged in response.
At that moment, two more paramedics made their way out of the house with a stroller pushed between them. On top of the stroller was what looked like the shape a body wrapped with white cloth with the edges nearly touching the floor. The two friends stared at each other for a moment and brought their attention back to the stroller.
Just then, one of the paramedics pushing the stroller tripped and nearly lost his balance. The movement caused a hand to slip out from under the white sheet. The hand was burnt. The paramedic quickly adjusted the body, returning the hand within the sheet. It was a quick action but Julian saw it.
“No. Mr. Wyatt.” His voice was barely audible as he felt a wave of dread wash over him. Randal barely heard him and turned to face him.
“Sorry, what was that?” He asked.
“That’s my neighbor.” Julian pointed to the stroller which had now been rolled into the back of the van. He quickly stepped into the house with Randal following behind.
“Man, why are you acting strange?” Randal asked as he closed the door behind him. “You’ve been like this since two nights ago. Is there anything I’m supposed to know?”
Julian sighed as he dropped to the large arm chair. Randal sat at the adjacent chair facing him.
“I don’t know, Randal.” Julian finally replied. He stared at his best friend straight in the eye.
“I don’t know anymore. Weird things have been happening for the past two days.” He continued.
“Weird things?” Randal leaned closer, his interest piqued. “Like what?”
“I can’t really explain it. It’s almost as if Sam and my neighbor died in the same way. I believe Nancy must have told you what happened with Sam.” Julian said.
“Yeah, she did. That’s why I called you. That was part of the reason I showed up here, remember?” Randal had a sarcastic edge in his voice.
“ Something tells me my neighbor died like that. He must have combusted from the inside.” Julian said.
“That sounds crazy. How could you tell?” Randal asked.
“I saw his hand. It was burnt.”
“Burnt?”
“Yeah.”
Randal pursed his lips in thought. The whole thing sounded like a huge bucket of balderdash.
“ I’m not really an expert at these kind of things but I think maybe you should try to find a way to relax your mind and body. The whole thing could be a co-incidence. I’m still not sold on the cause of Sam’s death as it stands at the moment. Something is fishy about Cheryl’s story. But for now, you look like you haven’t slept well in days. I’ll check up on you later.” Randal said.
He stood up and moved to the door. As he reached out to open it, he paused as he suddenly remembered something.
“ I think you should also talk to Nancy when you’re done resting.” He turned to face Julian.
“Why?” A frown appeared on Julian’s face as he stared back at his friend.
“You know why.” Randal replied.
With nothing further said, he made his exit and shut the door gently.

_______________________

Nancy hummed in bliss as she dusted the counter in her kitchen. The sweet aroma of her apple pie in the oven wafted through the air. This was how she enjoyed her weekends. Cooking, cleaning and finally relaxing with a novel. Her novel was her reprieve from the world of reality which continuously served her all sorts of disappointment and depression. Deep within herself, she knew what she was doing today was an act. She needed to pretend that everything was fine. She wanted to believe that nothing bad happened within the last forty eight hours. It was all a dream.
A knock on her door brought her back from her moment of bliss. Curiously, she dropped the napkin and moved out of the kitchen to her living room. Opening the door, she raised her eyes in surprise as she saw the last person she expected. Julian stared back at her. Quickly regaining her composure, she folded her arms and gave him an inquisitive stare.
“ Hey.” He said.
“Hey.” She replied.
The duo fell silent after that. Each for difference reasons. Nancy, wondering the reason for his sudden visit. Julian, being surprised for seeing her in a different state of dress for the first time. From the first time he met her, Julian had never seen her look this way. She wore a dark tank top with white shorts. Julian swallowed as he stared at her long creamy legs. She followed his eyes and suddenly felt conscious of her body. It was good to know he wasn’t as dense as she thought. And as much as she was slightly glad he was finally taken a notice to the opposite gender, she was still upset with him. She cleared her throat and he brought his eyes up to meet hers. It was then he noticed another thing. This was the first time he was seeing her without her glasses. Her blue eyes looked even more brighter.
“ I know my coming here is unexpected.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“ Considering the way we parted ways last time, I’ll say you’re not wrong.” She responded.
“About that. I’m sorry.” He muttered as he looked away.
Nancy was sure she did not hear him right. Did he just apologize? Stone cold Julian just apologized? Truly something was wrong somewhere. She stared at him to decipher if he was joking. She couldn’t see any trace of humor in his features. Instead, what she saw was remorse and fatigue. He had the expression of a lost child. There were also bags under his eyes. Her anger gave way to pity as her expression softened. She unfolded her arms and rubbed her forearm sheepishly.
“It’s okay.” She said. “ You can come in.”
She shifted to the side. Julian walked in past her and she shut the door.
“ I’m making apple pie. You want some?” She said as she strolled towards the kitchen.
Julian opened his mouth to answer but his stomach beat him to it with a loud growl.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” She chuckled at his slightly embarrassed expression and stepped into the kitchen.
Few minutes later she was out with a plate of the dessert. The were two forks on each side.
“Sorry, I only made for one.” She said, placing the plate in the on the table in front of him.
“It’s okay.” He replied.
She sat beside him and they both dug into the dessert.
“ It’s been a while you came here, Julian.” She said after swallowing a mouthful.
“I know. I just wanted to talk about something.” He paused in his eating. He stared at her and made to say something else but he clamped his mouth shut.
“Julian.” Nancy stared at him in worry. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
“Julian, what’s wrong?” She added in a softer voice.
After a moment, he heaved deeply and stared at the ceiling.
“It’s Mr. Wyatt.” He said.
“Your neighbor?” Nancy raised her brows. “What about him?”
“He’s dead.”
“What?!” Nancy nearly jumped in her seat, her eyes wide in shock. “How?!”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know how. But from what I saw, I have a feeling it’s the same way Sam died.” Julian’s voice was hoarse.
“You mean.” Nancy paused.
“Yeah.” Julian clarified. “ He combusted from the inside.”
Nancy felt bile running up her throat and she almost had the urge to throw up.
“I don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense.” Her voice was almost a whisper.
“There is one other thing you need to know.” Julian turned to face her.
“Yes?” She listened attentively.
Julian hesitated. Should he reveal it to her?
“Julian.” Nancy had a pleading look in her eyes. “You can trust me. Please.”
“ I saw it.” Julian said. “ I saw the tattoo on Mr. Wyatt’s wrist last night.”
“You mean the same one you saw on Sam?” Nancy tilted her head sideways.
“Yes. I know this sounds strange and you might think I’m crazy but you have to believe me. Something is wrong somewhere. It’s not just mere coincidence.” He replied.
Nancy looked at him curiously. She knew he never took things for granted. And right now, the topic of death was not something to play around with. A thought occurred to her.
"How does the tattoo look like?" She asked.
"It has a bulb shape with numbers within. Sam's had a number one. Mr. Wyatt's had a number two." Julian replied.
“I believe you.” She said.
“You do?’
“Of course I do. Julian, I’ve known you for twenty years. You’ve never joked around. While your claim sounds bizarre, it is not entirely unrealistic. Maybe you are the only person who can see that tattoo for a reason.”
“ You think so?”
She nodded.
“I might not be able to help you professionally on this issue but I know who can.” She said.
“And who’s that?” He asked.
“ A parapsychologist.” She replied.

Nice one

everton4life:
Chapter 6

The incessant pounding of the door roused Julian up from bed the next day. It was a Saturday and he wanted nothing more to do than to sleep till noon. Grumbling in anger, he ignored the knocks and placed the bed covers over his head. The knocking didn’t stop. It became louder. Julian tossed the covers away from his head away, got up swiftly from the bed and walked out of the room.
“I guess the universe keeps devising new methods to provoke me.” He grumbled as he stomped down the stairs.
He reached the door to his living room and opened it to find Randal at the other side folding his arms. And Randal did not look happy at all.
“Randal?” Julian scratched his head in confusion.
“No, it’s Don Quixotte.” Randal muttered dryly. “Of course, it’s me. Julian, what’s wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?” Julian frowned.
“I’m talking about yesterday. I’m talking about Sam. You didn’t answer my calls. And then when Nancy tries to reach out to you, you blow her off?” Randal said, his scowl deepening.
Julian let out a sigh as he avoided his friend’s eyes. He did not know where to start.
Randal stared at him for while before his expression softened. They had been friends from childhood yet he always found him complicated sometimes. He couldn’t tell maybe Julian’s actions were a way of grieving or just being his typical self.
“ That’s by the way. I think something happened at your neighbor’s.” Randal said.
“ What?” Julian turned to face him.
“Over there.” Randal jerked his thumb to the side.
Julian stepped out of the door to look at where Randal was pointing. Sure enough, he spotted a van parked by Mr. Wyatt’s driveway, a few feet away from Kate’s car. A group of paramedics in white were gathered around Kate who stood by the door, trying to answer their questions. She had her arms wrapped around herself as she looked shaken. Her face was pale white and her hair was disheveled. Her lips moved on heir own but it seemed like she couldn’t make a coherent sentence, as Julian noticed from the confusion on the faces of the questioning paramedics.
“What happened? An accident or something?” Randal asked as he stared at the scene.
Julian shrugged in response.
At that moment, two more paramedics made their way out of the house with a stroller pushed between them. On top of the stroller was what looked like the shape a body wrapped with white cloth with the edges nearly touching the floor. The two friends stared at each other for a moment and brought their attention back to the stroller.
Just then, one of the paramedics pushing the stroller tripped and nearly lost his balance. The movement caused a hand to slip out from under the white sheet. The hand was burnt. The paramedic quickly adjusted the body, returning the hand within the sheet. It was a quick action but Julian saw it.
“No. Mr. Wyatt.” His voice was barely audible as he felt a wave of dread wash over him. Randal barely heard him and turned to face him.
“Sorry, what was that?” He asked.
“That’s my neighbor.” Julian pointed to the stroller which had now been rolled into the back of the van. He quickly stepped into the house with Randal following behind.
“Man, why are you acting strange?” Randal asked as he closed the door behind him. “You’ve been like this since two nights ago. Is there anything I’m supposed to know?”
Julian sighed as he dropped to the large arm chair. Randal sat at the adjacent chair facing him.
“I don’t know, Randal.” Julian finally replied. He stared at his best friend straight in the eye.
“I don’t know anymore. Weird things have been happening for the past two days.” He continued.
“Weird things?” Randal leaned closer, his interest piqued. “Like what?”
“I can’t really explain it. It’s almost as if Sam and my neighbor died in the same way. I believe Nancy must have told you what happened with Sam.” Julian said.
“Yeah, she did. That’s why I called you. That was part of the reason I showed up here, remember?” Randal had a sarcastic edge in his voice.
“ Something tells me my neighbor died like that. He must have combusted from the inside.” Julian said.
“That sounds crazy. How could you tell?” Randal asked.
“I saw his hand. It was burnt.”
“Burnt?”
“Yeah.”
Randal pursed his lips in thought. The whole thing sounded like a huge bucket of balderdash.
“ I’m not really an expert at these kind of things but I think maybe you should try to find a way to relax your mind and body. The whole thing could be a co-incidence. I’m still not sold on the cause of Sam’s death as it stands at the moment. Something is fishy about Cheryl’s story. But for now, you look like you haven’t slept well in days. I’ll check up on you later.” Randal said.
He stood up and moved to the door. As he reached out to open it, he paused as he suddenly remembered something.
“ I think you should also talk to Nancy when you’re done resting.” He turned to face Julian.
“Why?” A frown appeared on Julian’s face as he stared back at his friend.
“You know why.” Randal replied.
With nothing further said, he made his exit and shut the door gently.

_______________________

Nancy hummed in bliss as she dusted the counter in her kitchen. The sweet aroma of her apple pie in the oven wafted through the air. This was how she enjoyed her weekends. Cooking, cleaning and finally relaxing with a novel. Her novel was her reprieve from the world of reality which continuously served her all sorts of disappointment and depression. Deep within herself, she knew what she was doing today was an act. She needed to pretend that everything was fine. She wanted to believe that nothing bad happened within the last forty eight hours. It was all a dream.
A knock on her door brought her back from her moment of bliss. Curiously, she dropped the napkin and moved out of the kitchen to her living room. Opening the door, she raised her eyes in surprise as she saw the last person she expected. Julian stared back at her. Quickly regaining her composure, she folded her arms and gave him an inquisitive stare.
“ Hey.” He said.
“Hey.” She replied.
The duo fell silent after that. Each for difference reasons. Nancy, wondering the reason for his sudden visit. Julian, being surprised for seeing her in a different state of dress for the first time. From the first time he met her, Julian had never seen her look this way. She wore a dark tank top with white shorts. Julian swallowed as he stared at her long creamy legs. She followed his eyes and suddenly felt conscious of her body. It was good to know he wasn’t as dense as she thought. And as much as she was slightly glad he was finally taken a notice to the opposite gender, she was still upset with him. She cleared her throat and he brought his eyes up to meet hers. It was then he noticed another thing. This was the first time he was seeing her without her glasses. Her blue eyes looked even more brighter.
“ I know my coming here is unexpected.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“ Considering the way we parted ways last time, I’ll say you’re not wrong.” She responded.
“About that. I’m sorry.” He muttered as he looked away.
Nancy was sure she did not hear him right. Did he just apologize? Stone cold Julian just apologized? Truly something was wrong somewhere. She stared at him to decipher if he was joking. She couldn’t see any trace of humor in his features. Instead, what she saw was remorse and fatigue. He had the expression of a lost child. There were also bags under his eyes. Her anger gave way to pity as her expression softened. She unfolded her arms and rubbed her forearm sheepishly.
“It’s okay.” She said. “ You can come in.”
She shifted to the side. Julian walked in past her and she shut the door.
“ I’m making apple pie. You want some?” She said as she strolled towards the kitchen.
Julian opened his mouth to answer but his stomach beat him to it with a loud growl.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” She chuckled at his slightly embarrassed expression and stepped into the kitchen.
Few minutes later she was out with a plate of the dessert. The were two forks on each side.
“Sorry, I only made for one.” She said, placing the plate in the on the table in front of him.
“It’s okay.” He replied.
She sat beside him and they both dug into the dessert.
“ It’s been a while you came here, Julian.” She said after swallowing a mouthful.
“I know. I just wanted to talk about something.” He paused in his eating. He stared at her and made to say something else but he clamped his mouth shut.
“Julian.” Nancy stared at him in worry. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
“Julian, what’s wrong?” She added in a softer voice.
After a moment, he heaved deeply and stared at the ceiling.
“It’s Mr. Wyatt.” He said.
“Your neighbor?” Nancy raised her brows. “What about him?”
“He’s dead.”
“What?!” Nancy nearly jumped in her seat, her eyes wide in shock. “How?!”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know how. But from what I saw, I have a feeling it’s the same way Sam died.” Julian’s voice was hoarse.
“You mean.” Nancy paused.
“Yeah.” Julian clarified. “ He combusted from the inside.”
Nancy felt bile running up her throat and she almost had the urge to throw up.
“I don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense.” Her voice was almost a whisper.
“There is one other thing you need to know.” Julian turned to face her.
“Yes?” She listened attentively.
Julian hesitated. Should he reveal it to her?
“Julian.” Nancy had a pleading look in her eyes. “You can trust me. Please.”
“ I saw it.” Julian said. “ I saw the tattoo on Mr. Wyatt’s wrist last night.”
“You mean the same one you saw on Sam?” Nancy tilted her head sideways.
“Yes. I know this sounds strange and you might think I’m crazy but you have to believe me. Something is wrong somewhere. It’s not just mere coincidence.” He replied.
Nancy looked at him curiously. She knew he never took things for granted. And right now, the topic of death was not something to play around with. A thought occurred to her.
"How does the tattoo look like?" She asked.
"It has a bulb shape with numbers within. Sam's had a number one. Mr. Wyatt's had a number two." Julian replied.
“I believe you.” She said.
“You do?’
“Of course I do. Julian, I’ve known you for twenty years. You’ve never joked around. While your claim sounds bizarre, it is not entirely unrealistic. Maybe you are the only person who can see that tattoo for a reason.”
“ You think so?”
She nodded.
“I might not be able to help you professionally on this issue but I know who can.” She said.
“And who’s that?” He asked.
“ A parapsychologist.” She replied.

Chapter 7

‘DR. LORETTA TORRES.’
Julian stared at the name on the rectangular gold frame nailed to the door. Nancy had somehow managed to convince him to come here. After looking up different professionals on the internet, this was the only one they could get that was within town.
Parapsychologist? Each time Julian tried to roll it off his tongue, it sounded strange to him. Like an Arabic language. Where did Nancy get all these kind of ideas?
Julian did not realize he was staring at the door for almost five minutes until a voice called out to him.
“ I think she’s ready to see you now, Mr. Fernandez.”
Julian turned around to see the secretary by the desk. She had an amused look on her face. Probably wondering why he hadn’t gone in five minutes ago.
“Right. Thank you.” He replied.
He knocked twice before he entered the office.
A woman sat at the table looking over some papers. Julian deduced she was either in her late twenties or early thirties. Her hair was dark red. It almost reminded Julian of the color of blood. It was straight and flanked her slightly oval face which had pouty red lips and blue eyes underneath thin red eyebrows. It was clear that she was a natural redhead. He compared the color of her eyes to Nancy’s and deduced that hers were darker.
“Mr. Fernandez.” She stood up and offered him her hand. “It’s good to meet you.”
Julian took notice of her accent. It sounded Hispanic.
“The feeling is mutual.” He accepted her hand in a brief handshake.
“Please, sit.” She gestured to the seat at the opposite side of her desk.
Julian sat down and surveyed the office. There was a huge bookshelf beside them and a large refrigerator at the other end of her office.
“So Mr. Fernandez. How may I be of help to you?” She sat down.
“It’s something that has been happening to me for the past two days.” Julian began. He stared at her and she nodded her head for him to go on.
“Of recent, I’ve been seeing something strange. A tattoo.” He added.
“A tattoo?” She propped her elbows on the table and leaned her chin on her fists, her interest piqued.
“Yes. It just randomly appears on people. People I know. The problem is no one sees it except for me.” Julian said.
“ Are you sure?” She raised her brow.
He nodded.
“And it gets worse. Less than twenty four hours later, those people bearing the tattoo die. And in a gruesome fashion.”
“How gruesome are we talking about?” She asked.
“It’s very complicated. It’s like they burn from the inside.I never witnessed the incident with the first victim. But the second,I saw with my own eyes. I only saw the corpse though. But I know it was connected somehow." He said.
Loretta stared at him without saying anything. Julian could not tell if she was trying to scrutinize him or she was just plain confused. She squinted her eyes as if she was trying to peer into his soul. Julian found it unnerving. After seconds that seemed like eternity, she leaned back into her seat.
" Mr Fernandez, I'll have to admit this is the first time I've heard of a case like yours." She said.
Julian didn't know what to make of her statement. His left eye twitched suddenly as a slight frown appeared on his face.
"Wait just a minute," He said. "Are you insinuating i'm-"
"Far from it, Mr Fernandez," She said calmly, raising her hands in surrender. "I would never have that kind of view against my clients. Especially one I'm just getting to know."
Her answer seemed to placate him and the frown vanished from his face.
"Now concerning your case," She resumed. " I have no doubts about your story. Just because it sounds bizzare doesn't mean it's not true. There can be only two ways we can handle this situation. The first one-"
Loretta paused and stood up abruptly. Walking towards a drawer beside the shelf,She opened the top layer and pulled out a pendant. Julian stared at it,raising his eyebrows in curious fashion. It was silver and had a small green ball at the end. Smiling slightly, she sat down and dangled it in front of his face.
"Hypnosis." She said.
"You're being serious right now?" Julian questioned.
"Believe me, Mr Fernandez, some ways to deal with paranormal occurrences is to believe they don't exist. Once your mind becomes synchronized to a particular belief, it tends to ignore contradictions and set your emotions at ease."
Julian said nothing in response as he tried to process her words. The more he tried, the more they ended up not making any sense to him. However, since this was her profession, he had no choice but to wait and see how it all panned out.
"Now I need you to stay still and don't move." She instructed.
Julian obeyed and sat still. He kept his eyes open and looked straight at her.
" It is all an illusion," Loretta began,her voice sounding like a low drone as she dangled the pendant in front of his face. " It is not real. The tattoos you see are not real. You will leave this place after the session and go home in peace. You will have a great time at home and forget you ever saw them. It was all nothing but a dream. A very strange dream."
Loretta ended her action and speech and stared at Julian. He had a blank look on his face. It was almost like someone else was in control of him at the moment. A smile of triumph was about lighting up her face when he suddenly shook his head and blinked back to reality. He gave her a disappointed look.
" Well, that didn't work." He said.
" Are you sure?" Loretta was surprised.
He nodded.
Her look of shock gave way to a smile as her lips twitched upwards in amused fashion. She stood up and dropped the pendant on top of the drawer. Sitting down once again, she sent a studious glance his way.
" I'll have to admit that I'm quite surprised, Mr Fernandez," She said. " That method usually worked for my clients."
"Probably because their cases were not as severe as mine." Julian said dryly.
" Okay then, we move to option two."
"And what's that?"
Loretta didn't reply at that moment. Instead she stared at him with the smile still drawn on her lips. Julian rubbed his neck nervously at her gaze. Why did she keep giving him that look? As if deriving enjoyment from his discomfort, her smile widened.
"Option two," She finally broke the silence. " We talk more about this over dinner."
Julian almost fell off his seat in shock. Was she suggesting what he thought?
" I'm sorry, I wasn't sure I heard right, " He said, regaining his composure. "It's almost as if you're suggesting we go out on a date."
" That's because I am. " She laughed.
"Mrs Torres-" Julian began.
" It's Miss, actually. " She corrected.
"Miss Torres, " He continued. " Isn't this deviating from the very reason I'm here? It's almost as if you're not taking this serious."
" Of course, I'm taking this serious, " She replied, her smile lessening a bit. " Which is why I'm suggesting we talk more over this. I have a feeling your state of mind has something to do with this issue. I'm using this outing between us a a means of a part time interview. "
"Isn't that what is happening right now?" He asked.
"Yes, " She replied. " But let's try a change of scenery. "
Julian shut his eyes tight as he contemplated her offer. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to see reason in her logic. How in heaven's name was a date going to solve his predicament? Was she trying to toy with his mind? He had never been on a date in his life. Was she aware of this? Because this was too soon. Way too soon. He finally opened his eyes to see her expectant gaze on him.
"Fine," He conceeded. " Let's try option two."
"Wonderful." Loretta clasped her hands together in glee.
Julian gave her an inquisitive look and she quickly cleared her throat.
"Sorry," She giggled nervously. " I almost lost myself there."
She reached beneath her desk and pulled open a drawer. She picked up a card and handed it to him. Julian collected and inspected it. It was a complementary card.
"That's my number," She said. "I'll be expecting your call next week Saturday."
"Thank you, Miss Torres." He stood up and offered her his hand.
" Please, Mr Fernandez," Loretta accepted his hand. " Call me Loretta. "
Julian noticed his hand was still in her grip longer than normal.
"Right," He pulled his hand away abruptly and cleared his throat. "I'll see you next week Saturday."
Nodding curtly, he turned around and left her office. Outside he sighed and stared at the card containing the contact details in his hand. What was he getting himself into now?

Chapter 8

The cell phone rang on the desk as Julian was typing away on the laptop screen. It was a very early morning and he was one of the first few to arrive at the office. He picked up the phone and saw Randal's name across the screen. He clicked the answer button.
"Hey man," Randal's loud, excited voice almost made Julian drop the phone. "Happy Birthday!"
'Birthday?' Julian thought. He checked the calendar on his PC. He slapped a palm over his forehead as he realised his friend was right. Today was indeed his birthday.
"Thanks," He responded. "You wouldn't believe I forgot."
"Actually I would," The mocking tone was clear in Randal's voice. "You were never keen on things like this."
" Quite so."
" So birthday boy, how are we celebrating? "
Julian sighed heavily as he rubbed his forehead.
"Randal, you know I don't celebrate birthdays. They are a constant reminder that I'm getting closer to my grave. Besides, where is the joy in celebrating the day one was brought to this corrupt and evil world?" He said.
"Not this again,man," Randal retorted,the irritation clear in his voice. "Not this again. Can you just think positive for once? Just this once. It won't kill you, you know. We can't start this wonderful day with brooding. The past week was terrible enough as at that. Let's use this as an opportunity to move on."
" Alright, fine." Julian snorted.
Either Randal did not detect the tone in his voice or he chose to ignore it.
"Good. Like I asked earlier, how do you plan on celebrating? Any ideas? " He asked.
"Not really. You're more of an expert on these things than I am." Julian said.
There was silence for a few seconds. Julian assumed his friend was racking his brains for an idea.
"You know what? I don't have anything for now. I'll leave this one on you. But if I get any ideas, I'll give you an update. I need to attend to something. I'll call you back. " Randal said and cut the call.
" Good talk." Julian muttered. He frowned at the receiver before placing the cell on his desk.
A knock on his dooor was heard as he moved to resume his work. He groaned lowly at the second interruption within twenty minutes.
"Come in." He said.
The door opened an Nancy walked in with a cheerful expression on her face.
"Morning." She piped as she stood at the opposite side of his desk.
She was dressed in a grey suit and skirt with the some buttons of the top left open to reveal a pink blouse within. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail and her trademark glasses was ever present, magnifying her bright blue eyes. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she looked radiant.
"Morning,Nancy," He answered casually. " What's up?"
"Nothing much," She replied. "Just thought I could branch in and wish a happy birthday to a certain someone."
She stared intently and waggled her eyebrows, giving him a cheeky smile.
"Thanks." He sighed as his eyes averted hers and went straight to the screen.
"So how are we celebrating?" She asked.
" You too? Did Randal put you up to this?" He narrowed his gaze at her.
"Randal? No," She shook her head. " Did you guys speak earlier?"
"Yeah. About a few minutes before you walked in."
"And you haven't gotten any ideas?"
" No."
Nancy put her left index finger on her chin as she stared at the ceiling in thought. Her lips twisted and her eyes narrowed as she hummed. A bemused expression appeared on Julian's face as he stared at her. She reminded him of a young child at the moment. A young child in a store trying to decide which brand of candy to buy. After a while, she snapped her fingers and turned her gaze to him.
"I got it," She said. " We're celebrating at the fair."
"The fair?" He scowled. " Thanks, but no thanks."
"Oh come on,Julian," She pouted. " When was the last time we went to the fair?"
"Approximately fifteen years ago," He replied. " And they don't hold good memories for me."
"Please." She persuaded.
"No."
"Please." She persisted.
Her eyes widened behind her glasses. Julian hated when she did that. It was her biggest weapon in her arsenal. That compulsive gaze she had used on him several times. He groaned.
"Fine." He muttered.
Nancy's eyes lit up and she smiled in triumph.
"Yes!" She cheered.
" But we won't stay long." He said.
Nancy pouted again as her mini celebration was cut short. She shrugged. At least it was better than him refusing.
" Alright," She smiled as she backed away from the table. "This evening."
She left his office at that moment. Julian sighed as he faced the system. For some reason, he couldn't resume his work. Letting out a groan of frustration,he leaned back into his seat and thought about the events since his visit to the parapsychologist.
It had been three days since then and everything seemed normal. Nancy had asked him how it went and he answered affirmatively. However, he omitted the part about the dinner date between them. Till now, he couldn't explain why.
But one thing was certain at the moment. Everything was going well.

-------------------

Julian eye's twitched as he stared at the smiling figure standing in front of him.
"What is she doing here?"
The person he was referring to was none other than Trish.
After Julian had closed from work that evening, he had put a call across to Randal, informing him about the new development. The two best friends, along with Nancy, agreed to rendezvous at the fair. Julian had arrived first, Randal five minutes later and finally Nancy. What Julian didn't expect was Nancy inviting Trish along.
" Oh will you simmer down?" Trish's smile widened. "Don't act like you're not happy to see me, Julie."
"I'm not." Julian replied flatly.
"I know you're lying," Trish said,ignoring his heated gaze "Happy birthday by the way."
"Thanks." He muttered.
Looking around the fair, Julian noticed the vast difference. The place had changed a lot since the last time he was here. Then again it was fifteen years ago. The place was even more livelier. A new popcorn booth was by his right. An area that housed bumper cars wasn't far behind. A large roller coaster stood to his adjacent right where the screams of people could be heard as they enjoyed the ride. His eyes lit up as he spotted a tossing booth which housed a lot of prizes : Stuffed teddy bears, goldfishes and parrots.
"I'm going to try my luck." He said to his friends.
Turning his attention to the tossing booth, he walked away from them.
"Win something for me?" Nancy called out.
Julian paused. He turned around and stared at her. She stared back and gave him a small smile. After a while, he nodded and resumed his stride.
"Just ask him out already." Trish shook her head at her friend, a cheeky smile on her lips.
"What are you talking about?" Nancy said in a low voice. She rubbed her arm and averted her eyes.
"You know what I mean, sweetheart, " The blonde teased. "You two have been doing this back and forth for almost twenty years now. It was adorable before but it's getting sad."
" I-I still don't know what you're talking about." Nancy stuttered.
She walked over to the bumper cars, her strides quicker than usual.
"Typical and predictable," Trish giggled as she saw Nancy nearly trip. "This never gets old."
Randal had been quiet all the while. As he took note of Trish's teasing of Nancy and his best friend's relationship, he couldn't prevent a frown from appearing on his face at that moment. Staring at Nancy as she entered a bumper car, his frown deepened. It was always about Nancy and Julian. Always about them.
Julian picked up a small white ball and aimed it at the target. His aim had always been accurate. Participating regularly in a game of archery back in high school would do that to someone. The attendant however had a bemused smile on his face as he observed Julian. Several had tried earlier and failed, leaving him with large grin as he counted the money and observed their disappointed faces. Julian caught sight of his amused expression and frowned. Surely, this man clearly underestimated him.
Julian reared back and swung his hand backwards, preparing to strike.
"Julian?"
He paused and turned around. Trish stood there staring at him with a blank expression on her face.
"Trish," He sighed. " What is it this time? Aren't you supposed to be with Nancy or something?"
Trish didn't reply. Her brows furrowed and her expression was unreadable. Julian didn't know what to make of this strange behavior.
"Trish?" He tilted his head sideways.
"It's nothing serious," She finally said. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."
Julian opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by someone clearing his throat behind him. He glanced swiftly behind him and saw the attendant staring impatiently.
"Well? " The attendant snapped, tilting his head sideways in the direction of the target.
"Right." Julian said.
"One moment." He whispered to Trish.
Julian gripped the ball tight and narrowed his eyes at the target. Changing his stance to a pitchers, he threw the ball with all his might. The attendant stared agape as the ball struck the target and a ding was heard.
"Nice!" Trish squealed.
Sighing defeatedly, the attendant turned his gaze to Julian.
"Pick your prize." He said flatly.
Julian scanned the the booth until his eyes landed on a large pink Teddy bear. Pink. That was Nancy's favourite colour.
"That one." He pointed to the stuffed toy.
The attendant let out a low grumble and handed Julian the prize.
"Thank you. Come again." He muttered in an unenthusiastic tone.
"Oh, I surely will." Julian said dryly as he snatched the prize and walked away, Trish following closely behind.
"So what do you want to about? " Julian glanced sideways at her as soon as she reached him. They were now walking side by side.
"I don't really know honestly, " She sighed. "It's about what happened last week."
"What about last week? "
" Sam. "
That single word made Julian pause in his stride and stare at her. She had an expression he could identify as guilt.
"Cheryl was arrested the next day." She sighed in a low voice.
"What?" Julian's eyes went wide.
"Nancy never told you? " Trish asked.
Julian shook his head. It was strange. How could Nancy forget to tell him something like that? He thought hard about it then remembered their conversation that was left unfinished the day he stormed out of Nancy's office. Would she have told him if he had stayed a bit longer ? Looking back, he realized he was to blame. She had probably forgotten.
" The police didn't believe her story," Trish continued. "She's awaiting trial."
Julian's heart softened as he saw the expression on Trish's face. She looked like she was about to cry. He ran his hand through his hair. They were trying to have fun while their friend languished in the cold cell. Alone and frightened. This was not right at all. Julian pursed his lips and held the giant toy under his left arm as he put his right hand gently over Trish's shoulder. Memories of their constant bickering and disagreement were forgotten for the moment.
"Trish I-"
Julian paused as he caught sight of something behind her a few feet away from them. His green eyes went wide in fright as he discovered it was a figure. The figure's skin was burnt to a crisp and it's hair was devoid of any skin. There was nothing on it's face. No eyes, nose or mouth. Out of it's darkened fingers sprouted long sharp nails.
" Julian?" Trish said.
He didn't reply as he kept staring at the figure which seemed to stare back ,despite the apparent lack of eyes. The figure's body began to tremble and Julian deduced it was from laughter. A very evil laughter.
"Julian!" Trish cried out, snapping her fingers in his face.
He shook his head, blinking back to reality and stared at her.
"You were about to say something," She said. " What were you staring at?"
Julian shifted his gaze from her to where the figure previously was.
It was gone.
"No," Julian whispered as he looked around. " This is not happening. This is just not happening."
Why was this happening to him right now? Everything had been going well and fine for the past few days. There was no way he was going to explain this one to his friends. The tattoo sounded partly believable but this one was definitely going to sound ludicrous. There was only one person who could help him out now.
"Julian?" Trish gave him a curious gaze.
"It's nothing," He said quickly. " Let's get to the others."
They joined Randal and Nancy who were eating pieces of cotton candy. Nancy squealed in delight as Julian handed her the Teddy bear. However, before she could show her appreciation, he began to swiftly walk away.
"Hey Julian," Randal called out. " Where are you going?"
"Home," He replied behind his shoulder. " Thanks for the party. It was nice. See you guys around."
With that said, he was out of the fair in the blink of an eye.
Nancy gave Trish a cursory glance.
"I swear I didn't do anything," Trish raised her hands defensively. "You know if I did,I wouldn't have any problem admitting to it. This one is all Julian."
Nancy glanced at the exit where she last saw Julian. Her eyes filled with worry. What could have gone wrong?
On his way home, Julian reached frantically into the pigeonhole of his car and pulled out a card. He stared intently at the contact details written on it. It was now or never.
He dialled the number on his cell and placed it on loudspeaker.
" Hello." A familiar feminine voice was heard from the other end.
" Miss Torres," Julian said. "It's Julian on the line. Mr Fernandez. "
"I had a feeling I might hear from you sooner or later. " Her voice had a teasing edge to it.
Julian raised his eyebrow as he pondered her statement. Quickly shaking his head off any questions, he continued.
"About that. It's concerning our date on Saturday."
" What about it?" She asked.
"I think it's best we push it to a nearer time.
"When?"
"Tommorow."

Chapter 9

Fear.

Julian was familiar with that word but never submitted to it. All he went through from his years as a kid till the present hardened him and thought him how to deal with fear. He had seen all sort of horror films.He had read all sort of horror books. Horror and thriller were basically his field of enjoyment. But yet as he sat across the beautiful parapsychologist, he couldn't focus on anything at all. Despite the cool air that wafted around the restaurant, he was sweating. His movements were jittery as his fingers kept drumming on the table. His eyes darted left to right at intervals. Earlier that day, he had taken permission to close from work early. He barely had the chance to speak to Nancy throughout. Even if he did, he wouldn't know how to give an explanation for his actions the previous day. He knew Nancy had her own disturbing thoughts:Cheryl. As nice as she was, adding his problem to hers wasn't a logical thing to do. Besides, the solution was sitting in front of him. Literally.
"Julian." Loretta called out to him.
She was dressed in a purple strapless gown that revealed a great proportion of her chest. Her red hair was tied upwards neatly in a bun. There was no makeup on her face. She didn't need any to be precise. Her natural beauty was enough to turn heads her way as she walked into the restaurant earlier with Julian. If Julian's mind wasn't disoriented at the moment, he would have noticed too.
"Julian." She reached out and placed her hand over his.
"Yes." He answered.
"I need you to calm down," She squeezed his hand softly. "Put your mind at ease."
Julian shut his eyes tight and breathed deeply. Opening his eyes seconds later, he stared at her.
"I'm fine." He said calmly.
"Good." She smiled, letting go of his hand. " That's a good start. Now may I know why this meeting was shifted to an earlier date?"
A deep furrow appeared on Julian's forehead as his eyes narrowed.
"I saw something yesterday." He said.
"The tattoo again?" She asked, tilting her head sideways.
He shook his head.
"No. I saw-"
"Excuse me, sir, ma'am, " Julian was cut off by the waiter who arrived at their table. "Your food. Sorry for the delay."
The waiter placed their food on the table along with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Bowing slightly, he left. Julian had ordered grilled fish and mashed potatoes while Loretta opted for roasted beef with salad.
" So," She picked up her knife and sliced a part of the beef "You were saying?"
"I saw something," He said. "A figure to be precise."
"Figure?" She said after swallowing a mouthful.
"Yes. I saw it yesterday. It was so abnormal and distorted. There was nothing that could classify it as human. It was so burnt and had long nails." A shiver went through his spine at the last sentence.
Loretta opened the bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. She twirled her finger along the rim of the glass, staring intently into it.
"And again you were the only one who saw it?" She asked, not looking at him.
"Yes." He nodded.
For a while, Loretta said nothing her hands still busy with the glass. Julian gave her an inquisitive look, wondering why she found the glass of wine interesting at the moment. Was that her method of getting a solution? She stopped abruptly and picked up the glass, taking a sip. She then turned to him, giving him a blank look.
"When was the last time you watched a horror movie?" She asked.
Julian was surprised. She took all the time in the world and that was what she could ask?
"Last week." He replied.
She paused again and shut her eyes. Julian began to get very angry and impatient. He ground his jaw and clenched his fists until his knuckles became white. Why was she behaving strangely? To be honest, he should have expected this kind of behavior after he met her the first time.
"You need to abstain from watching anything horror for a week." She opened her eyes.
"That's it?" Julian nearly cried out. "That's your solution? Is this a joke?"
"No Julian, " Loretta replied, all trace of humor absent in her voice "I'm as serious as death right. Now there's something i need to clarify.I want to ask you a question and I want you to be perfectly honest with me."
Despite his upset demeanor, Julian nodded.
"The first time you saw that tattoo, " She said, leaning back into her seat. "Did anything strange happen that day?"
Julian stared upwards as he thought back to that fateful day.
"Yes," He said. "It rained heavily but it stopped all of a sudden."
"Only that?"
"Yes."
Loretta stared at him with a thoughtful expression. After a while, she smiled.
"I guess I was right after all, " She said. "Your problem is a solvable one."
"How?"
"By doing what I said earlier."
"You mean staying away from horror movies for a while?"
She nodded.
"Look, I know it sounds ludicrous," She said, noticing the look of doubt on his face. "But you have to trust me. The time you watched horror movies, the day you first saw the tattoo, coupled with the rain and now this strange figure you saw,is not a mere coincidence. There's something linked between all of them. Right now your mind should be calm and devoid of anything fear."
Julian pondered over her statement. It sounded like a load of balderdash. Horror movies were the cause of his current predicament? That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard in his life. But right now, he had no choice but to trust her. This was her field. He never believed in the paranormal and yet there he was, facing it. He didn't have a choice.
"Alright." He said.
He opened the bottle of wine and poured a glass for himself.
"I'll give it a try." He added.
It was just one week. What was the worst that could happen?
"Excellent!" Loretta grinned, raising her glass towards him. "Cheers?"
He stared inquisitively at her. Her smile did not waver. He shrugged.
"Cheers." He said.
They clinked their glasses together.

----------------------------

The cold air hit Julian's face as soon as he stepped into the apartment. Loretta's apartment. He couldn't fathom how she was able to convince him to stop by at her place after their date. She said there was something important she still needed to teach him. An additional technique to use to calm his nerves. He didn't understand why he needed that as she had already given him the solution.
"Make yourself comfortable," Loretta gestured to a seat. "I'll be right back."
She made her exit soon after. Julian reclined on sofa and observed her living room. It was quite lush. It seemed she had an affinity for purple. The rug on the ground was purple. The glass table in front of him was purple. Even a part of the living room was painted purple. Before he could think of his next action, footsteps were heard and Loretta soon reappeared. Julian swallowed as he saw her change of attire. She was wearing a plain white T shirt which seemed too large for her with purple shorts that barely passed her thighs. Staring downwards, Julian discovered her toenails were painted purple. She held a bottle of whisky under her arm while her opposite hand held two small glasses. With a smile on her face which he couldn't explain, she sauntered towards him and sat beside him. She placed the whiskey on the table and set the glasses.
"Want a shot?" She tilted her head sideways at him.
" Sorry, I don't drink." He declined.
"Really? " Her nose scrunched up as her face showed confusion. "But you drank wine earlier."
"Non-alcoholic wine. Fruit wine to be exact." He clarified.
He suddenly felt uncomfortable at her close proximity, despite the alluring scent of her perfume.
"Miss Torres." He cleared his throat.
She frowned.
"Sorry," He blinked and shook his head. " Loretta."
She smiled.
"Why am I here again?" He asked.
"Isn't it obvious? " She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you have a girlfriend? "
Julian blanched as he caught the look in her eyes after that question. She was now in his personal space and slung an arm around him.
"No." He replied.
"Have you ever been in a relationship?" She asked again.
Julian was perplexed at this state. Why all the sudden questions? Was this an interrogation of his personal and private life?
"No, I haven't." He replied.
He shifted backwards but she only leaned in closer, maintaining the small distance.
"Loretta, I think-" He began.
"Don't speak," She whispered, silencing him with her index finger to his lips. " Just let this happen. I'm trying to help you."
Whatever statement he wanted to make next was interrupted as she claimed his lips. Julian was immobile with shock as he experienced his first ever kiss. It wasn't for long as he relaxed and kissed her back. All reasoning left his head and he tugged at the bottom of her shirt. Getting the message, she gripped her shirt and raised it up.Julian opened his eyes as they kept their lips in contact. It was at that moment that he saw it. A purple cobra tattoo at her torso beside her navel. He couldn't explain it as the sight of the serpent made him easy. Something about this felt wrong. He quickly pulled away from her to get surprise.
"I'm sorry," He quickly stood up. "We barely know each other. It doesn't feel right."
He ran a hand over his dark hair and looked around, avoiding her gaze. When he managed to look at her, he saw a strange expression on her face. Her eyes were focused squarely on him and there was a coy smile on her red lips.
"It's okay, Julian," She smiled. "I understand perfectly."
She stood up and walked towards him. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she whispered.
"Have a good night. Don't forget to try my method."
She nodded towards the door. Julian stared at the door and back at her.
"Good night. " She repeated. Julian noticed her smile faltering a little. The atmosphere suddenly felt different.
" Good night. " He mumbled.
Before he closed her door behind him as he left, the last thing he saw was a blank look on her face.

one of the nairaland great writers . welcome back sire.

littleguy444:
one of the nairaland great writers . welcome back sire.

Thanks, man. It's good to be back

Chapter 10

Julian stared at his phone as he drove along the road. Ten missed calls. All from Nancy. How did he not see them? He sighed as he remembered that he put his phone on silent mode during his date with Loretta. He felt a twinge of guilt fill his heart as he knew he inadvertently ignored Nancy. The same Nancy who was responsible for the meeting with the parapsychologist.
Speaking of whom, Julian could still not understand Loretta's strange personality. She intrigued and confused him at the same time. What was the whole idea behind the dinner between them. Their relationship was supposed to be strictly professional. What she told him at the restaurant was what she could have just done at the office. And then came her actions at the apartment. Why invite him over to the apartment only to seduce him? She claimed she was trying to help him but it just didn't tally. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a migraine coming. He needed a pain reliever. To his relief, he sighted a supermarket a few metres away.
He stopped the car and alighted quickly. Pulling out his phone, he dialled Nancy. As if she was expecting his call, she picked up almost immediately.
"Julian," She said. "Thank goodness. I thought something happened to you."
Julian couldn't explain it but he found her voice soothing at the moment. Like fine silk.
"Sorry," He said. "I was a bit occupied."
"I don't need to ask," He heard her laugh softly. "I'm sure you were doing 'Julian' things."
He was tempted to smile but suddenly remembered something.
"Nancy," He said . "Why didn't you tell me about Cheryl?"
There was silence at the other end. Julian knew she was contemplating on what to say. It was a deep subject.
"Honestly Julian, I wanted to, " She said solemnly. "I wanted to tell you the day you left my office. The other time I didn't want to dwell on it. I know Cheryl and I weren't that close but it still hurt to think about it. "
Julian sighed as she confirmed his earlier assumptions. All the smiles she gave him and the attempt of having fun on his birthday was her way of getting a distraction.
"I understand." He said.
"Thanks," She replied.
There was more silence again and Julian knew there was something disturbing her. He knew there was something she wanted to ask him.
"Nancy? " He said.
"It's nothing," Her voice was low. "I just wanted to check up on you."
He knew that wasn't the complete truth. But right now wasn't the time for questioning.
"I'm okay," He said. "We'll talk later. Take care."
"Bye." She said and cut the call.
Julian stared at the phone in his hand like it was a strange object. This would be the first time Nancy had been the one to cut the call. It wasn't like she was rude or anything. It's just that he was always used to ending the call. It was almost like an unwritten rule. He knew at that moment that something was bothering her deeply. And it was more than just Cheryl.
Suddenly he felt quick movements behind him and he quickly turned around. His actions were a little too late as a fist collided against his face by the side of his jaw. Losing his balance at the impact of the unexpected contact, he fell unceremoniously to the ground, landing roughly by his side. He held his jaw slightly, his blood boiling with rage as he stood up slowly to see his attacker. His rage shifted to fear as he saw the person who attacked him.
His attacker was a man who looked to be in his late thirties. He was a bit bigger than Julian with dirty brown hair. He wore a dark worn out coat above dark blue jeans that were torn at the sides. Above his bearded chin, his dark eyes reflected viciousness and murder. But it wasn't the appearance of the assailant that frightened Julian. It was the weapon the assailant processed. A pistol. And that very pistol was pointed squarely at Julian.
"Hand them over, lad." The man barked in a gruff voice.
Julian accessed the odds of survival. It was ver y slim. It was quite late in the night and his car was the only one parked in front of the supermarket. Shouting for help would be silly. Trying to attack the man would be much worse. It was quite clear that he would be outmatched even without a weapon. The man in front of him had the stance and presence of an experienced predator. This was a fight he clearly would not win.
Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He stretched his hand over to the man.
"Not that, " The man snapped impatiently. "Your keys. Your car keys!"
"You're taking my car?" Julian stared at him incredulously.
"No, I'm giving you chips and ice cream," The man replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. " Of course I'm taking your car, you bone head. Hand the keys over!"
The man tightened his grip on the gun and his scowl deepened. On seeing he meant business, Julian quickly fumbled into his pocket and brought out his keys. As the man reached out to grab them, Julian saw it. He saw it again. The tattoo. It was on the man's exposed wrist. That cursed symbol now took in the shape of an upside down bulb with the number 3 inscribed within.
"Oh, no." Julian's voice was barely audible as the man snatched the keys away.
He watched, petrified in fear, as the man drove off with his car. That feeling returned to the pit of his stomach and his heartbeat multiplied. He had to be seeing things.It had to be an illusion. It was just not possible. He wasn't supposed to see that symbol again. Loretta said it was solved. And this was not up to twelve hours. For the past twenty minutes, Julian stood still on that spot, overcome with fear for the inevitable that was about to happen. His only consolation at that moment, was that he had two cars. And now only one was left at home. However, that was the least of his worries.

Seriously....what's really wrong with Julian?
I feel for him sha, it's not easy to experience paranormal activities,

pyro10:
Seriously....what's really wrong with Julian?
I feel for him sha, it's not easy to experience paranormal activities,

I swear down

Chapter 11

The car sped across the road, the loud roar of it's engines disturbing the peace and serenity of the night. Driving inside was a man who was filled with joy. A joy of a successful raid. It was Julian's assailant. The man who had struck him and hijacked his car. The man smiled as he looked around the passenger seat and then to the back of the car. He had indeed struck gold. And all he just had to do was point his beloved gun towards the victim. That was it. No negotiations. No bargain. No sweat. No stupid contract signings. That was how he survived for the past ten years since he lost his home and family. He had delved into the underworld and joined the demons disguised as criminals who robbed people of their hard earnings. This car could cover a lot and sustain him for a very long time. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled a number. It rang for a few seconds before it was answered.
"Hello, Earl." A throaty deep voice called from the other end.
"Lorne, my man," The mugger, Earl, smiled. "Have I got a deal for you."
"Deal?" Lorne questioned. "What are we talking about here."
"I'm talking about a car," Earl replied with a laugh. "Got it from a poor young sucker."
" Are you serious?"
"Of course I am. The car is a moving piece of mint. You're going to love it."
"Now this is what I like to hear. Where are you?"
"I'm on my way to your place. Have your boys ready."
"Will do."
There was a clicking sound on the other end. Lorne had ended the call.
Earl reached over to the radio and switched it on. A smile appeared on his face as a familiar song began to play.
"Now this is what I'm talking about," He cheered. "It seems the universe is with me today."
He drummed his fingers steadily on the steering wheel as he sang along.
Midway into the lyrics, a screeching sound was suddenly heard within the radio.
"What in the blazes? " Earl frowned, reaching over to smack the radio.
The screeching sound persisted and soon a voice was heard within the radio.
"One of the men."
"What in heaven's name is this?" Earl sneered as he changed the station. To his utter surprise, the next station replayed the same voice.
"One of the men." The voice was darker this time.
Earl's anger was quickly replaced with fear. He frantically hit the next button multiple times but each station gave the same result. Cold sweat broke out all over his body as he heard the next words.
"One of the men.
Where your fate lies.
It shall happen then.
You are sacrifice. "
The voice sounded louder each time. Earl looked around in fear. He was alone in the moving car. Suddenly the radio sparked, startling him.
"Holy mother of-" He shrieked.
He barely completed his sentence as smoke began to come out of the radio. Within seconds, it filled the car. Coughing slightly, Earl marched the brakes but the car did not halt. Instead, it accelerated. The movement sent him reeling backwards with the back of his head hitting the seat.
"What in bloody hell is this?! " He cursed, squinting his eyes as he tried to see through the smoke. "What's wrong with this car?"
The smoke dissipated within seconds. Earl looked to his side and let out a cry of terror at what he saw. The dark cloaked figure sat beside him staring onwards at the road ahead as the car sped. The figure's cloak was pulled back to reveal a burnt and distorted face. It's eyes were plain white, devoid of pupils. Maggots and worms crawled out of it's skin. Turning sideways to Earl, it smiled widely, showing sharp white teeth that shone in the dark.
Earl jumped in his seat in terror. Reaching for the door, he tried to open it. He didn't care that the car was speeding. He had to take his chances. However, the door did not budge. Earl swallowed and turned around to meet the horrifying figure's face mere inches from his.
"Sacrifice!" It shrieked.

That's all for today