09:40a.m, now just two minutes after Boneface and Demetrius started their battle...
The Soldiers posted at the school gate were partially distracted by the distant sounds emanating from the car park, but their attention remained focused on their tasks.
A couple of them dragged the lifeless bodies of the dead school guards, repositioning them around the perimeter, preparing them for the fog-body decomposition ritual.
This ritual was used in order to cause a mist to appear. This was done by slitting the neck of a recently deceased corpse, then applying on the cut, pieces of the roots of a baobab tree, sprinkling ground cattle teeth powder mixed in black pepper and finally igniting it all with gasoline to speed the reaction. As the neck burns and the fire spreads, the body begins to emanate a vapour from all of its openings, including the slit throat.
As the soldiers prepared the bodies, nearby onlookers, their eyes wide with shock, scattered, creating chaos in their wake. Leopards hill area became dangerous.
"Ehe bafikala(plural of chikala which means dickhead) ran, dip you bitches. Atase! Panyo(Rubbish! Pussy's)" muttered one of the Soldiers, Bill Tendai, his voice tinged with annoyance as he stood by the Leopards Hill Road entrance.
"Eh, iwe, Nanga iyi chongo?"(You, whats with the noise) Beef Jiggies, his partner, shot back with a wry smirk.
"Iwe naiwe Jiggies, problem uchita kwati ulibe matu. Bafikala wapanga chongo elo vanikola. Suona?(you also Jiggies, problem is you're acting like you don't have ears. These dickheads are making noise and it's irritating me. Can't you see?)" Bill Tedai snapped. "Is it time already? I can hear Boneface making noise from here, and I wanna know why it's taking him over three minutes to finish up."
"Mwaiche that's not our problem. He'll handle it. Naise tilinavochita(we also have what to do). We've got our orders," Beef Jiggies replied, her tone matter-of-fact. "Elo Boneface ninjomba(strong and mascular). But ah—if it's taking this long, maybe he has pressure, kaya."
"Waona ka?(you've seen) So, you wanna cover for me some? I'll be back just now."
"Hmmm... Alright, Bill. Because I'm so generous, I'll give you five minutes. Elo ukachedwa uzaona (If you delay, you'll see)."
"Tell you what, Jiggies," Bill Tendai said with a grin, "If I make it back in under two minutes, you're taking me to Soho."
"Fine. And if you're late, we're eating at Sarova, elo nifuna shrimp ya 5 pin.(and I want shrimp worth 5K ZMW)"
"Deal. See you in a few." Bill Tendai shot her a playful wink, then leapt into the air, vanishing from her sight.
Meanwhile, upstairs by the new lecture hall restrooms, in one of the male toilet stalls...
"Man, Lana Del Rey music really hits different when I'm high." Mandamus said to himself as he flushed the toilet. After washing his hands, he left the lecture hall floor and descended the staircases into the eerie silence of the reception area, the stillness pressing on him like a heavy blanket.
Mandamus glanced through the transparent exit doors, where thick fog clung, swallowing everything beyond. With a quick motion, he pulled his Air-pods from his ears, snapping them into their case with a satisfying click. Stretching his arms, a smirk tugged at his lips.
"Damn, I can sense the fatigue from here. Mhm, that's definitely the scent of low energy. Dem niggas ain't got stamina" he thought, the thrill of the moment stirring his pulse. "Perfect timing for my entrance."
His eyes drifted to the right, landing on the door to Classroom seven. He scratched his head, an idea forming. "Ah ha," he muttered to himself, then strode into the classroom.
Inside classroom 7, a handful of students sat frozen, fear etched into their faces as they turned toward him.
"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through," Mandamus said, weaving through them with exaggerated care, making a show of avoiding their wide, terrified eyes.
He reached one of the sliding windows and with a dramatic flourish, he slid it open. Then, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, he yanked the window door off its ledge with a loud clang.
The students' eyes went comically wide.
"Uhm, don't worry, the school will fix it," Mandamus called, offering a casual wave and a thumbs-up before stepping through the opening and into the fog-covered battlefield beyond, carrying the window door.
The students remained motionless, unsure whether they had just witnessed a bizarre reality show or if they'd slipped into some surreal nightmare.
Back in the parking lot, Boneface stood his ground, facing Demetrius and the mysterious student, a bloodstained grin spreading across his face. He spat blood onto the ground, his voice dripping with contempt.
"You! What's your name?" Boneface demanded, eyes narrowing.
"My name just here. Walah bro." Came the sharp retort from the mystery student.
"Wanya (You'll see)" Boneface hissed, taking off into the air, vanishing in a blur of motion.
The mystery student's eyes glowed with a deep purple hue, and in an instant, his entire body became engulfed in darkness. Then, like a shadow, he too disappeared.
Reappearing mid-air by the new hall windows, the two assailants' collided with synchronized kicks, shattering the glass windows in an explosion of sound. The onlookers pulled back and screamed in terror, their panic escalating as they caught a fleeting glimpse of the fight. Boneface and the mystery student dropped to the ground in the foggy arena below, circling each other like predators.
Boneface moved with the speed of a shadow, darting around his opponents, creating multiple illusions of himself. The real and mirrored versions twisted and turned, disorienting Demetrius and his classmate. The two braced themselves, anticipating the next strike.
Suddenly, a large object came flying at breakneck speed, crashing into Boneface and shattering upon impact. His startled exclamation, "What?!" rang out just before the object's edges tore into his suit.
The attack was so swift that Demetrius and his classmate barely registered it. The two exchanged a glance, Demetrius still clutching his injured arm. Looking behind, they turned their attention toward a figure emerging from the fog.
"A friend of yours?" Demetrius asked, his voice wide with confusion.
"Man, I just got here—I got no idea. Infact, who are you?" his classmate responded.
"Demetrius. You?"
"Dante," came the reply with a nod.
Mandamus, the new figure to join the battlefield, strolled up scratching the back of his head. "Damn, my head's killing me," he muttered to himself. "Benja that chikala. Maybe the bastard has powers." He thought glancing at the sky and noticing something. "Eh. What's that?" he muttered then ignored it and continued on.
Approaching his fellow students, Mandamus spoke. "Wagwan fellas. You mandems look like you could use a hand. I'm Mandamus."
Demetrius and Dante exchanged a look and then stared back at Mandamus.
Boneface lay sprawled on the ground, dazed by the impact of the door. As he looked up at the darkening sky, his mind raced. "Hmm. Mwati izaloka lelo? (Will it rain today). Shit. How'd I end up here?" He wondered. "Eh, what's that in the sky?" He blinked, eyes widening in realization. "Wait, is that Tendai?"
Twenty seconds earlier, near the school courtyard entrance on Leopards Hill Road...
After leaving Second Lieutenant Beef Jiggies at their post, Second Lieutenant Bill Tendai soared higher and higher, gaining a bird's-eye view of the scene below. He paused at the peak of his ascent, scanning the fog-covered battlefield beneath him. Through a fleeting gap in the mist, he spotted his counter part, Boneface, lying prone on the ground. With a swift motion, Bill Tendai angled himself downward, plummeting toward the earth. His descent accelerated rapidly, his form a blur as he neared the ground.
Approaching the ground, just before impact, Bill Tendai bit down on his thumb, activating the Ndembo of Misisi, and with a fierce roar, unleashed a devastating punch into the air. The shock-wave tore through the battlefield, scattering combatants like rag-dolls caught in a storm. Bill Tendai drew the air pressure back into himself, then lightly touched his fingertips to the ground, flipping to his feet with effortless precision.
The force of Bill's landing cleared the fog, revealing the battlefield to the watching students, who stared in awe at the spectacle.
"Fuck. So I did see something," Mandamus muttered under his breath, refocusing his attention on Bill and Boneface.
"Mandamus, was that you who threw the sliding door?" Demetrius asked, tying a strip of cloth he tore from his clothes, around his arm.
"Yeah, what's up?" Mandamus replied nonchalantly.
"No reason. But thanks. That guy you hit is strong. But this new guy looks even stronger." Demetrius mentioned.
"Hmm. I think I can handle him," Mandamus grinned, his confidence radiating. "Watch my back, I'll watch yours."
"Eyes sharp, everyone. Something's coming." Dante spoke.
The three classmates dropped into battle stances, eyes narrowing as they braced for the confrontation ahead.
Bill Tendai, cool and calculating, sized up his opponents—Demetrius, Mandamus, and Dante. With deliberate slowness, he removed his mask, revealing three identical scars etched across his face, marks that mirrored those of Boneface. A dark, knowing smirk curled across his lips as he clenched his right fist. The air around him stirred, and then, with a sharp gust of wind, he vanished.
"Stay alert! He'll strike from above!" Demetrius barked, his voice sharp with warning, staring at Bill, who was now mid air. But before the words even left his mouth, Bill Tendai reappeared beneath him. A devastating uppercut slammed into Demetrius's jaw with bone-shattering force. The crack echoed through the air as Demetrius crumpled, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Mandamus froze, eyes wide, unable to tear his gaze from the Demetrius. "Shit," he muttered under his breath.
Bill Tendai vanished again, leaving only a fleeting afterimage. Two more Bills materialized—one charging toward Dante, the other beside Mandamus.
Mandamus swung a punch, but it passed right through an empty space, an illusion. "He's that fast" Dante thought, realizing too late that he had already made a mistake. "Mfinzi! Maklone Yaweelee!" (Darkness: Two clones) he chanted, conjuring two clones to deceive Bill.
But Bill Tendai was already upon him. A sweeping kick shattered the clones into wisps of smoke before Dante could even react. The real Dante was sent crashing backward, the wind knocked out of him. Without hesitation, Bill Tendai pursued mid-air, spinning into a back-heel kick that struck Dante square in the chest with an earth-shaking thud. Dante's attempt to block was futile—the sheer power of the blow shattered his guard and cracked his ribs. He fell, unconscious before he hit the ground.
"Son of a bitch!" Mandamus muttered, eyes darting between Bill Tendai and his fallen comrades. He could sense his time was up.
Bill Tendai let Dante's unconscious body slump to the ground and began walking toward Mandamus. With a steely focus, Mandamus dropped into a defensive stance, keeping his eyes locked on his approaching adversary. But before he could blink, Bill vanished again, instantly reappearing behind him.
"Levels youngster. I'm not your size," Bill Tendai said, his voice cold as ice.
Mandamus's eyes widened. The speed of Bill Tendai's movements left him stunned. He turned slowly, meeting Bill Tendai's gaze, and in that instant, the weight of Bill Tendai's aura pressed down on him—terrifying, oppressive. His mind raced. "What power..."
"Take your friends and enter the building now. Before I change my mind." Bill remarked.
"Ufuna chani naise?(What do you want from us)" Mandamus asked, his voice tinged with a mix of defiance and fear.
Bill Tendai's gaze remained unwavering. "I won't repeat myself."
Mandamus, shaken but still resolute, nodded with a quiver in his voice "Alright". He quickly hoisted Demetrius and Dante, one under each arm, and with a burst of speed, disappeared into the main building.
Bill Tendai turned and began walking toward Boneface, his expression unreadable.
Boneface, having risen to his feet, dusted himself off. "I didn't need your help" he muttered, re-adjusting his gear.
"This isn't about you, Daka. We have orders." His tone was sharp, his focus unyielding. "It's almost time chikala. Your job is to secure the hostages and prevent any interference. The plan must proceed without disruption. Focus chikala. Ulibe nzelu?(are you dull?)"
Boneface, mask now securely in place, gazed up at the shattered windows of the new hall building. Through the glass, the terrified eyes of students watched, confused and horrified. They couldn't have known what was coming next, but the fear was palpable—each of them wondering if they would make it out alive.
With that, Bill Tendai leapt into the air, soaring out of the school parking lot. He landed back at his post with a deafening thud, the force of his arrival shaking the ground beneath him.
"Wachedwa kembo(you're late pussy.) Thirty seconds late, means late" Beef Jiggies's voice rang out with a snarky grin, her tone laced with playful challenge.
"Ah Fusek (Get out)," Bill Tendai muttered, his voice low and irritated. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a Mojo energy drink, and cracked it open. With a single quick gulp, he drained the bottle in one go. A satisfied burp escaped him as he tossed the empty bottle to the ground, the mild frustration evident in the way he clenched his fist.