DEATH JUNCTION

16

ANDREW POV

I stared at the man that Zara had called Pastor Chris. The word pastor made my stomach churn with disgust and hatred. I gripped the door handle tighter, the urge to slam the door in his face flooded over me but I decided to exhale, breathing out the anger that careered through my system. The chill in the air did nothing to quell the heat in my chest.

"What does a pastor such as yourself want in my house?" I didn't bother to hide the annoyance in my voice. A serious look replaced the smile he had just held a few minutes ago.

"I just want to check up on you, both of you." The man looked at me intently as he said this and I almost scoffed.

"Check up on us, really? Don't you have any holy-spiriting to do? Or is your ministry perishing, that's why you're looking for innocents to dupe, huh?"

He was silent for a few seconds before he spoke,

"I understand that your parents were duped by a pastor and for that, I am truly sorry but you shouldn't judge the multitude because of one's misdeed."

My eyebrows furrowed.

How would he know that?

My throat tightened when I recalled how much they had lost to that pastor all because they had wanted another baby.

He must have worked with that thief. How despicable.

"I don't need your pathetic apology."

"Yes, you don't need my pathetic apology, what you need is to forgive. The pastor and yourself."

I stared at the man with narrowed eyes, looking him up and down.

"If this is what you wanted to do then this is worse than preaching your Jesus Christ."

A wide smile graced his lips, "At least you know the reason why I am here but there is more to my coming." He paused again as though gauging what he was about to say, "There is an entity that is ransacking this land, these deaths are not being perpetrated by a murderer-"

"I don't want your superstitious beliefs polluting me, there is nothing else to it. These deaths are caused by people or a person that I would soon catch. It's only a matter of time." The words didn't sound convincing in my own ears, knowing fully well I had been on this case and nothing had changed.

Do you really think you can make up for your misdeeds by catching the murderer?

You are unforgivable, no matter what you try to do you will always remain the father that abandoned his lover and child.

I shook out of my reverie, pulling away from the depressing thoughts that shrieked in my head. I met Pastor Chris's gaze and he studied me as though he could see right through me. And at that moment, I felt naked. I cleared my throat, trying to chase the discomfort that sprung on me.

"You want to seek out the person who killed Tayo, am I right? You think by killing the person that killed her you would be able to ease the guilt that lives in you."

My shoulders tensed, not liking the way he could see into me as though we had known each other for ages. I narrowed my eyes, the atmosphere around me becoming suffocating.

"Who are you?"

"Just a man after Jesus that wants both of you to survive, you and your daughter." He gestured to Zara who was now seated on the chair, lost in her own world. Her outlook mirrored the way I would have looked when I was little, often also lost in my world of fantasy. I felt his hand brush my shoulder, snapping me out of my reminiscence. His sharp gaze made me exhale.

"Whether you believe it or not, the entity will come and if you are not careful, you both will be added to the list of deaths. I am not a harbinger of doom, I have just come to offer you a wa-"

"You may have somehow known about things that you shouldn't normally know but these things won't make me take up your stupid offer on surrendering my life to your silly Jesus." I balled my hands into fists, my chest burning.

"Andrew, don't do this. Jesus loves you-"

"Don't lie to me! I know he isn't real and even he was and he really did love me why then would he let Tayo die?! Why couldn't he allow me to beg for her forgiveness at least?" My throat ached for moisture. In the background, I could still hear her melodious voice, I could still see the fight in her spirit, I could still feel the love that she had for those that had been casted aside. I could still hear her whispered dreams of us. All that and so much more had ended because of me.

"You can be free from the guilt just-"

"Get out." I managed, my chest heavy with emotion. Pastor Chris eyed me sadly, he opened his mouth to say something else before deciding otherwise. I tried not to think as he dropped a paper on the floor before casting another glance at me and walking down the tiled steps. He walked into the blanket of darkness, his frame vanishing out of my line of sight.

I allowed my gaze stray to the floor where the paper sat, slightly wrinkled. I fished it up and stared at it and I noticed he had scribbled his name and number onto it. The urge to throw it into the dustbins that stood directly behind the door filled me but despite myself, I pushed it into my pocket.

I turned to see Zara already asleep, sprawled on the couch, snoring loudly. I went over to her side and carried her and went to my room. As soon as I had laid her on my bed, a soft whimper escaped her. Her face scrunched up in a frown, creases forming along her forehead. Guilt caressed my chest, fanning the flame of discomfort within me as I wondered how many birthdays I had missed, how so much of her childhood had gone by without her own father.

You mess everything up.

I gently caressed her hand, my chest tightening as I felt the numerous calluses that had formed on her palm.

"I'll make this up to you." Somewhere within me, I heard a voice mockingly say that I was a liar. That I would mess up this chance like I had messed up the future we had looked forward to, everything had come crashing down because of me. I walked out of the room before closing the door behind me. I slid to the floor as soon as I had done that. I brought out a sharp kitchen knife that I had stashed between the gaps in the door. I hardened my resolve.

Even if Pastor Chris was right, I still wouldn't let anything happen to Zara. Even though I couldn't protect Tayo, I would protect Zara because that's what she would have done. That's what I should have done when they needed me the most. I had missed my chance then but I won't waste it now.

Let's see whether you'll keep your word then.

I waited until I felt the tiredness take hold of me. The chilly breeze swept me in its embrace, my languid eyes felt too heavy, my head pounding with a deep dull ache as I felt the urge to sleep. I nestled against the door and soon fell asleep, my memories of Tayo following me down the abyss.

***

A scream jolted me awake, breaking through my slumber. My heart stuttered, my eyes wide now. I barged through the door. She cried, her eyes screwed shut and her face pale.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Her face scrunched up with pain when she tried to answer. Instead, she turned over, moaning and then raised her shirt slightly. My breathing hitched when I saw a single lash mark at the base of her spine, the same that Tayo and every victim so far had.

Chapter Word Count: 1351
Word Count: 24690
I want to thank God for giving me the Grace to write this. So, how was Andrew's pov? And how did Zara get that mark? Vote and comment if you liked.