The Spirit Killer

CHAPTER THREE THEY KNOW ME!

It was Tuesday; Mark had gone to the school where he took part time classes. At midday he had gone back to his office to check on Glory and her later returned to take an afternoon class. By 4p.m., he was through with his class. He went downstairs and sat under a coconut tree in the compound; pondering over his new mission in life. Adept had promised to see him at home later in the evening to explain things further; but at that moment Mark was having a funny feeling that something was about to happen. He looked around him; there wa  s nothing out of the ordinary. He looked towards the gate which was to his right; and some meters away from him, a girl sat on the window sill of one of the empty classroom; staring at him. There were other students upstairs having classes but she seemed to be free. She probably wasn’t offering any of the subjects presently being taught. Mark wondered if she could be one of the spirits. Just then, she gently came down from the window sill; at that same moment, the gate swung open and three guys stepped through. They were of average height and build. One was light skinned while the other two were dark. Each wore faded blue jeans but their tops were different. Light skin wore a black T-shirt; one of the others wore a blue short sleeved shirt while the third wore black sleeveless round neck top. No one needed to tell Mark that this was trouble. The guys walked towards the girl who had stopped to observe their approach. The three surrounded the girl and harassed her. Mark preferred not to intervene in such matters but something propelled him to. He walked casually towards them. When he was close enough he halted, then spoke;
“Is there a problem?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
The three guys turned to face him. The girl seized the opportunity and escaped from their midst and stood behind Mark.
“I don’t know them, they just started harassing me.”She said in her light voice.
Mark turned to the girl and beckoned her to go inside the building. As he turned the guys, he was met by a fist that caught him straight in the chest. The force that followed the punch raised Mark from the ground; he was propelled backwards and crashed into the wall. He sunk to the ground gripping his chest. The guys walked towards him and light skin bent over him and said;
“Don’t ever intervene in our matter. You’re not good enough to defeat us. The last person that tried failed. You had better quit before you start killer.” He stood erect, looked at his companions; they laughed and walked away. All the while Mark was still on the floor clutching his chest. He watched them walking out of the gate; then slowly he began to rise to his feet. He was helped by the girl who had come out of hiding behind the door leading to staircase.
“Are you alright?” She asked.
“Yes, I’m fine.” He replied standing erect and dusting himself. The pain he felt had slowly transformed to anger.
“Are you sure you are alright?”She asked again moving back a little.
Mark finished dusting himself and looked at her. She was a bit shorter than Mark and very beautiful. She had a round face and beautiful brown eyes. She bounded her hair; and her black jeans skirt and blue shirt brought out her light skin. Mark didn’t smile when he replied. He rarely smiled these days, especially to girls.
“Seriously, I’m okay!” he said.
“The way you flew and hit that wall I thought that you would be…” she didn’t finish her statement.
“I’m fine.” He said for the third time but this time he managed to give her a slight smile. He turned towards the gate and he thought aloud. “Those guys aren’t normal.”
“Yes, they aren’t!” she concurred.
Mark turned to her;”Do you know them?” he asked.
“No, but I’ve seen them on several occasions doing…unusual things.” She replied. Mark turned to the gate again; he had heard enough. Those guys are worth investigating, but first he must see Adept.
“I have to go. We’ll see some other time” he said and walked away.
“Okay, thank you and…” She was saying but Mark was already out of the gate and gone.

           *                               *                            *                          *   
It was evening; in a mansion located on the outskirts of Lagos, somewhere in Matogun. A figure stood at the balcony watching a car drive through the gate pulled up the drive way. Two figures emerged from it but one stood by the car while the other entered the building. The individual stepped through the sliding the doors leading to the balcony.
“What do you have to report Kadeem?”Asked Mr. John Deacon without turning.
“Preparations for the master’s coming is in its final stage; we will be needing the final piece, sir.”Kadeem said, moving to the side of his master.
“All in good time, Kadeem.”He replied glancing casually at him.”And what of the spirit killer?”
“My boys had an encounter with him and they believe he cannot pose a threat to our plans.”He replied.
“So the new killer is a weakling or perhaps he has not undergone training yet?”Opined Mr. John.
“If he decides to start training now; he will not be able to stop us before he completes his training. Besides my boys have given him a taste of what he will encounter if he tries to oppose us.” Replied Kadeem.
“Good work” said Mr. John as he turned and headed through the sliding doors into the living room. “Now I must rest.” he said. “See that things proceed as scheduled.”
“Yes sir,” Kadeem replied as he followed in his master’s wake.

*                                *                           *                             *

“Let me get this straight; you were at work, a couple of guys were harassing a female student, you intervened and one of the guys hit you and later threatened you. Did I miss out anything?”Adept was standing in front of Mark in his apartment. Mark was seated with a glass of juice in his hand. “Yeah! That’s pretty much sums it up.” He replied calmly.
Ad3ept continued to gaze at him with a mixture of amazement and confusion on his face.
“You know what frightens me?” Continued Mark. “It’s the fact that they know who I am when I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
His words seem to bring Adept back to life.”What do you mean you don’t know who you are anymore?” He asked as he sat down on the chair opposite him.
Mark sipped his juice and turned towards the television set on and the seven o’clock news was being read. He turned back to Adept. “Before those guys attacked me, I could sense the evil in them, it was almost as though I knew they weren’t… normal.”Looking at Adept for an answer.
Adept relaxed into the chair before speaking. “Most of the spirits you will be dealing with have already acquired human form; there are others who have not but whatever form they appear in they are still powerful. As a spirit killer, you have the ability to sense them, no matter the form they take and you can also decipher if they are good or evil.” But the look on Mark’s face did not show satisfaction. Adept was concerned now; he moved forward a little and asked, “Is there something else the matter?”
Mark sighed heavily. He sipped his juice again then looked at Adept. “When he hit me
, I was lifted from the ground by the force of his punch and crashed into the wall; I felt my ribs crack, but when I got up, after they had left, my pain was replaced with anger.” Marked scoffed gently and continued. “By the time I left the compound to come here; there was no more pain.” He concluded.
There was genuine concern on Adept’s face even though he tried not to show it. “It is said that some spirit killers have inherent powers; and those powers are awakened at some point in time. In most cases, it is a force that awakens it; which is what happened to you, I believe.” He explained.
“That’s nice. What type of powers are we talking about?”He asked.
“Well, there is a general upgrade of all your senses and abilities; and one or two things extra. For instance, your ability to heal.” Adept replied as he got up and walked to the window.
“In essence, I will see better, hear, think, fight…” He looked at Adept,”… and fly?!” he looked with anticipation.
Adept turned to him. “No, you can’t but you will be fast and strong.” He said and turned away again. “There is also one special power that you will have which you must discover yourself.”
“Cool!” Mark exclaimed with a drawl but he knew there was something that Adept wasn’t telling him. He smiled to himself. “Not to worry, I’ll find out sooner or later” he thought to himself.