in the rise of the dark

discombobulated

Lotanna, assured us that we will have no problems whatsoever staying his place with him. He told us of how big his abode is, and thus we'll comfortably without any sort of stress, especially as his family has always been homey, warm to all.
He talked, all the way till we are passing a large square, he said is the village market. The place look deserted, and dumbly quiet. A drumbeat played in my head, when he said that the place always was a busy place till 7pm, and that this quietism is very unusual, and not only that, it's a Saturday and not Sunday. According to him, Saturdays are always a busy market day, when people buy stuffs against Sundays. On Sundays, the people stay at home to rest for the week's busy schedule. And so they cease the Saturdays to buying what they'll need for the next day's rests. The market scene looks so scary, and am becoming worried at the look of the environment, Sarahdina, physically looks very restless and troubled, with her lips mumbling things that I could not hear.
- how far from here is your place -
- let's say, nothing more a hundred meters from the back of the market -
His compound gate was left wide open when we got there, absolute silence was all that came to welcome us, and disappointingly so, comparing to how he described his family.
- nice bungalow, you've got here -
Baba, was impressed with Lotanna's simple but sumptuous home.
- thank you -
Stepping into the compound, the atmospherics feeling was powerful. The man must have built a humble and elegant home for himself.
- it was my father's -
- the old man must be a classy fellow -
- he was a former footballer, plied his trade in Asia, after leaving the country -
- hmm, no wonder, it has a bit of Indian touch, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra's people. -
Standing before the entrance door, Lotanna signalled us to keep quiet, walking in a tiptoe steps. The inside, was more silent than what a home is suppose to be like. A well furnished apartment, but a bit roughened, as when a child and dog played on.
- I think someone is in my kitchen -
- kitchen again? -
Was my reply, to him. He demanded we seat, while he check on who is it that's clanging the pots. We sat cautiously, suspecting even the chairs from behaving like the scathed.
Lotanna, opened the kitchen door.
- I know it, I know someone is around, Cindy! -
From the sitting room, the thick groan from the voice, demand suspicion, that all is not well. Lotanna, ran to us in the sitting room, screaming his thyroid out, crying cupping his mouth with both of his hands in surprise and shock, wriggling on the floor, he had tripped himself, falling before us. We rushed up on our foot. Crying and in disappointment, Lotanna protested pointing at the kitchen side.
- she is eating a live cat -
The supposed Cindy, came out from the kitchen, blood all over her. I must say she look pretty beautiful. I don't know why, but baba ran out of the building, I thought he was going to run away, instead, he jammed and lock the gate outside, bolting it up. We were running about the sitting room, trying to dodge off the attack of the Cindy. I was reluctant and confused at what to do, because I don't want to harm Lotanna's whomever, sister or wife. I drag Sarahdina along where ever I run to. Cindy was a bit faster than the other scathed we have met, or maybe because we are in a smaller place, she was closer to me and Sarahdina as we ran toward a double cushion, I jumped it over, and Sarahdina fell on the cushion slipping off my grips, then Cindy jumped also to land on her, she cried a loud scream, all I could utter was a loud "NO" and from nowhere a hard and long stick struck the Cindy's head, before she could land on Sarahdina. Sarahdina, ran off from the chair, to hug me behind the cushion. Baba held out the stick with which he struck Cindy, as she lay dead on the floor. We said all manner of things to ourselves, not hearing each other. Baba slammed the stick on the table, shouting us down to stop, we all did, and baba pointed the stick at me, asking me, what I was saying.
- what do we do now, and where do we go? -
He pointed the stick at Sarahdina, screaming at her demanding from her what she was saying.
- begging us to stop -
He turned to Lotanna
- baba! I and Cindy just got married two months ago -
We were all dumbfounded, and he was crying uncontrollably, resting his back on the wall. Sarahdina, too joined him crying and asked.
- are we all going to die baba? -
Sarahdina was still with her question, and the unbelievable took place. Cindy rose up amid a wildcat cry, walking like a cat, I tried turning the long cushion over her, it was heavy. I collected the piece of stick on the floor, but it's so short a weapon. Baba couldn't use the one in his hands, Lotanna story is heart wrenching, the next thing we saw was Lotanna himself wrestling the stick off the hand of baba, and buried it into Cindy's back forcefully enough that it pierced out through the chest. One thing is sure, the scathed don't bleed, but emitting a blue or green substance.
Lotanna cried the no word very loudly, falling on his knees. Then we began to hear bangs, more or less thumping on the gate. We all ran out together, afraid of being left with Cindy. We did, searching around us if a scathed would pop out from nowhere. We stood by the gate as the thump continued. Baba demanded to know who it was, and the person will not talk.
- is a scathed -
I said that sarcastically, with a wave off, of the hand, turning away, then a voice whispered to us to open the gate.
- it's Ebere, my kid brother -
- what if he is scathed -
I said coming back to meet them.
- he is a ten year old boy, can't overpower us -
Still, even him was reluctant to open the gate. Gently, I opened the gate, and  gradually pushed it open, I pulled him forcefully in, then pushed him down to examining his reaction, and how he was going to behave standing up.
- What's that for? -
Baba, rushed at the gate closing it.
- who else are we expecting? -
Sarahdina asked walking up to stand behind me. Moreover, the Ebere is still sitting on the floor, I picked up a big stone on the floor there, to break his head, but he asked if he could now stand up, I at once threw away the stone with me. The boy stood up, confused he looked. I and Sarahdina was right behind him, as baba and Lotanna walked ahead of us.
- baba, wait -
- what -
He stopped, walking back to me, Lotanna too suspecting my call at baba, stopped and turned to meet us, but Ebere will not stop, I pointed at him, the way and manner at which he walks.
- Ebere! Where are you coming from? -
Ebere stopped, slowly he turned to face us, he is looking perfectly okay, no suspicious look.
- where have you been? -
- I have not eaten anything since yesterday -
He collapsed on the floor, Lotanna wanted to rush at him, but I held him back from doing so.
- he is my only brother, we are just two, it took our parent years before they could have him -
I refused, and held on to Lotanna, baba, used his right leg to turn Ebere over, and he is still breathing. He went in to the building, coming out with one of the bag we came with, opening it, he handed Ebere a piece of bread, he collected at once and began eating. We waited on him, not wanting to take him into the building yet.
He sat up, breathing effortlessly.
- after you left for the coronation, I was with daddy watching the TV when we heard strange sounds from their bedroom, we went to check what it was, and mama and Bebe was pushing things off their positions, making this sounds repeatedly, daddy went to stop them. Brother! It was an eyesore, mama and Bebe were biting hardly at daddy. Aunty Cindy, seeing what was happening, shouted at them to stop, Bebe, grabbed aunty Cindy's hand biting a chunk off, she pushed Bebe away hushing me to runaway. She jammed the door, I stood by the door and watched as she walked back to the kitchen. She turned looking at me and commanded that I should go away, I have to climb the tree opposite us, her eyes had became pure red, I have to, I was afraid. -
- Who is Bebe? -
- My wife's sister, she is fifteen -
That simply means we have a task inside that building, if we must stay there. Even though Ebere sounds normal, I still but have my doubt of him. We all carried different weapon, standing before the said room. I was with a pestle I found in the kitchen, baba picked the cutlass laying on the floor there, Lotanna shattered one of the chairs at the dining picking a long part of it, while Sarahdina picked up the small flower vase beside the TV set. Opening the door, the site of his parents, one brutally wounded, and the other strange look, broke Lotanna, and he closed back the door.
- they suppose to be my parents. What's going on? -
They banged at the door till we finished eating. Lotanna brought a bedspread with which we disposed Cindy's body at the back of their building, setting it ablaze. We sat quietly, on the chairs watching the news, I kept on paying attention on Ebere, I don't know, but somehow, I don't trust him. Something keep telling me that he is not okay.
The lady over the news said a whole lot, educating the listeners about the scathed beings, but my question is, how they within this short a time knew all this, if there's no foul play somewhere.
According to the news, there are three  types of the scathed, the first are those that according to them, took the earlier vaccine wrongly announced, they act well sensibly, as if normal, but depending on how strong their immune system is, determines how long they live before being scathed, they could remember, hear, but would not understand, they can be a bit fast, they can be killed by destroying their gyrus, the pituitary gland. The second, are those bitten or scratched at by the first, or took the second dose of the drug of blood tonic, after doing the vaccine. They can be killed by a blow of force on their head, they are a bit slower than the first, but easily dispatches the first, the first willingly submit to them to feed on. The third are the slowest, they are the dead second. A blow to the chest from the third easily kills them the second, any dead person is a potential third scathed, a pierce on the chest through to the heart completely kills any of them, and so your best target, is the chest part to the heart, if you strike first and second dead by a blow on the head, you'll have to wait for them to cine back to life, so to completely kill them. I was lost into the news, that I forgot my monitoring of Ebere. I got back to my senses watching at his behavior. He consistently was at a interval scratching at his head, and his buttock. So I decided to pull a stunt on him. I asked of the TV remote from Lotanna, he gave it, so I reduced totally the volume of the TV set. I called at Ebere and he answered, by looking at me, he was seated beside his brother, Lotanna.
- if I ask you get me a cup of water will you be kind to oblige me that? -
- aunty Cindy, asked me to runaway -
We all looked at ourselves, and sat up on our various seats, baba in shock asked aloud.
- what? -
So I said to him again.
- if an apple is fruit to orange, what is orange to apple -
- aunty Cindy, pushed me out of the gate and asked me to runaway -
Cindy, most likely trying to save the boy, while pushing him away, gave him the scratch wound on his head, that informs my suspicion. Sarahdina, stood up.
- not again -
Lotanna, picked up his weapon, carries his own set of bag, I carried mine picking up the pestle also. Quietly, we left him there watching his television, and waited on him to change, standing by the door, he turned facing us, his eyes bloodshot. Lotanna, jammed the door, locking it.
- let's go -
We left Lotanna's place, completely discombobulated.