They set out in the middle of the night.
The boys wore all black, hoping fully to blend in the covered of nights darkness. They moved quietly as around this time the community was filled with an eternal silence, as the wind whistled coldly.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the faith house, its fence no higher than Victors shoulders-who was the shorter boy.
Scaling the fence proved not difficult as they landed quietly in the moonlit compound.
Almost immediately, Chike felt it- an intensity, unlike before, invisible fingers pulling at his chest. He turned towards the direction of the pull….it was the center tower-the one used for baptism.
Victor took the lead. There were no guards--as expected, their community was a deeply devoted one. Trespassing in the faith house was the last thing anyone would dare.
Inside the main building, they moved carefully, behind the shadows. Then suddenly, voices echoed down the corridor.
They froze.
Chike's hand flew to his chest--the hand grip sensation surging--pulling him and clouding his senses. Victor paid no attention to his as he observed the two figure, now standing in the alter: the Priest and someone else-cloaked, masked.
He tugged on Chike to observe them, as he was an expert in lip-reading, but the gripping sensation made it impossible to focus. He only caught the last words:
"Everything is ready now."
Then the priest headed out, with the masked man ambling behind.
Victor again couldn't contain his excitement as they were alone in the hall, he nudged Chike to the door at a side-- he too was excited to see the room of fire with his own eyes. For the only time he had only passed through once before, blindfolded.
The doorway leading to the baptism room was behind the pulpit. Even blindfolded, Victor could tell it was a narrow tunnel like walk way of about 50 meters, the first half contained the holy water, which they are dipped in for 2 minutes, and then a penance walk through the room of fire- consisting of 6 huge pillars on each side, lit with fire. The fire was said to have never been put out and doesn't emit heat as it burns. The doors are only opened once a year- and members who are to be baptized are blindfolded.
Now Victor could see it with his own eyes.
Chike hesitated.
The NO ENTRY sign screamed at him. But it wasn't the fuel of his hesitation, something was off. The room wasn't just restricted--it was forbidden.
And the gripping sensation, stronger now than ever, pulled him in harder, nearly ripping his mind from his body.
The old wooden door creaked open as Victor pushed against it, the eerie groan filling the great hall, reverberating round the walls. Then there was silence.
Chike caught movement in the great hall--the Priest again heading their way. Victor didn't see who it was.
It had been one of those dejavu moments, but this time Chike didn't fight the memory but followed instinctively, a jolt of panic surging through him-- he grabbed victor and slammed the door shut-- just in time.
Victor frowned. "What."
"I know," Chike cut in. "I just….knew someone was coming."
Victor blinked, confused but before either of them could speak again, voices rose outside.
Footsteps. Then shouting.
Chike pulled Victor into the Room of Fire-- the vast circular chamber with walls lit in burning flames. Was more than victor had imagined. The light from the flames warped the surrounding in brightness, the symbols on the ground shimmered, ancient and point in a direction behind the last pillar.
The door creaked open again, and footsteps soon followed. Heavy and quick.
Chike stumbled back, the grip in his chest now a burning sensation, and invincible hand grabbed him, yanking him towards the rear wall-the last pillar. The flame on the pillar decreased, as if reacting to his stretched out hands--the flame split in two and inside something glowed. An object no bigger than his palm wrapped in white linen. Wrinkled and old.
He reached for it, without thinking.
The moment he touched it, everything went black.
In the void, a vision unfolded.
His mother-- alive.
She turned, smiling.
He ran towards her, as fast as his legs could carry him--heart pounding, no matter how fast he ran he couldn't cover the distance between them.
Then.
A strange figure stepped between them. Its face unfamiliar, but its eyes….they were burning gold.
Then the vision shattered.
He awoke in Victor's arms, slumped behind the pillar.
The object in his arms was gone.
Victors eyes were wide with fear. "Bro.... you blacked out. For like two whole minutes."
Before Chike could answer, the door burst open. Four men stormed in--armed with guns. Scanning, searching. They walked slowly towards, where they hid.
Chike held his breath, heart racing.
Then, suddenly---another flash.
A memory? In it he saw a glimpse--A pathway beneath the room.
He grabbed Victor's wrist. "There's a tunnel."
"What?"
"Trust me."
They slipped behind, into the darkest, further away from the pillar, Chike led quietly, Victor wondered where he was headed. But fear didn't let him question.
Chike found the concealed panel--a crown, he pressed it--it opened, revealing a narrow underground passage lit my flickering torchlight.
The vanished inside.
Victor's mind was spinning with questions as the walked. But he chose silence--the fear silencing him even more, and he had pushed his cousin into real danger. He thought about the armed men, why would they need guns in the faith house.? it didn't make any sense. What were they even protecting? They didn't find any valuable in the Room of Fire.
His thought paused, that object.
The one wrapped in white linen.
He'd seen Chike take it. Just before he collapsed.
Then it disappeared.
His thoughts haunted him till his bed, and no matter how he turned he couldn't sleep. The faith house bell chimed-- three times…two more than the normal time. Only in the most dangerous situations, has it ever happened.
Victor was tortured until morning.
As for Chike he slept peacefully.