In The Dark Of The Night✓

5. In The Dark Of The Night

I raced through the eerie paths of the village. The little torch I wore around my neck was my only source of light.

The dark sky resembled a widow, for it lacked any star or moon to decorate it. The aura of fear lingered heavily in the air. The road was devoid of people, even the men that weren't forbidden from going outside.

I kept staring hysterically around me. I had walked for a few miles and I hadn't found any pharmacy. I was beginning to think I was lost for I was surrounded by thick bushes on both sides. Chichi and I never walked to school, we always took a tricycle.

The beating drums which I had long gotten used to hearing, suddenly changed rhythm and got harsher. Like in a trance, my legs developed a mind of its own and started leading me through the thick bushes by my right.

I wanted to stop myself from going any further but I could do nothing. Part of me wanted to find out where this was headed and the sensible part wanted to run home to Chichi.

Thorns scratched against my skin as I maneuvered my way through the bushes. Twigs broke as I noisily walked through. Normally, I'd be scared of snakes or any night creatures that lurked around. Yet all I wanted was to get to the drums. It was as if the drums were luring me in, pulling me like a magnet.

The farther I got, the louder the drums got. At a point, deep masculine voices joined in. Ululating with the harsh rhythm of the drums.

With time, burning torches became visible ahead of me, dancing above the bushes. I had to turn off my light, out of fear of being spotted.

I emerged before a large clearing, but quickly dashed behind thick bushes. I had to stay hidden from what was before me. For what I saw was evil.

Men dressed in red wrappers around their waist, with skin as dark as coal; stood in a great circle. Drums made from animal skins were strapped to their chests. They kept beating it fiercely and ululating with the rhythm. Red pieces of clothes were banded around their heads. White thick lines were drawn across each man's face, all the way down to their hands, chests and even the visible parts of their legs. Behind each man stood a tall burning torch. There were five men standing in circular form.

In the middle of the circle, stood a man more scary than the rest. He had the aura of danger lingering around him. He was as tall as the men who circulated him. He had similar clothing, the only difference was the fact that his red cloth covered half of his chest and he had no drum.

He was muttering incantations that I could not understand, as his hands hovered above the body of a young man. The young man's waist was wrapped with a black clothing. The young man's body was placed on an altar made from tree branches. His blood quenched the thirst of the altar and formed a pool around it. The blood had drained from a puncture in his chest.

He was getting to the peak of his chanting. His voice hovered above the sound of the harsh drums and the ululating men. Bright crimson light began to emerge from the young man's chest.

I stared with wide eyes. My mouth went dry and my lips began to tremble. It was only a matter of time before I wet myself. What I was seeing wasn't meant to be. It was supposed to be impossible. No man was meant to behold such powers, yet here I was seeing it all unravel before my eyes.

The light became brighter with every rhythm and chant that came from the men. Then suddenly, a piercing shriek broke out. It caught me off guard that I forgot to stay silent and I screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

As if my scream disrupted their rhythm, the light exploded and all the men were sent off their feet into the bushes!