GHOST (The Shadow in the Dark)

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

I never knew death could come in many ways until my life ended and the last chapter was splattered in different newspapers, the broken heads of Efe and Maro my kid brothers, my step Mum's battered naked body though blurred but visible, then my father's butchered hands and chest, the only person missing was me. I was supposed to be there but Grandma had delayed my travel. Then the final sentence of the last chapter of my former life ended with Grandma's death. I did not die physically but I died mentally.
After the perpetrators were brought to book, I tried to start another life but I soon discovered not all were brought to book.
It started with a tingling at the back of my neck, then I saw them, same people I had been seeing around me for a week, I quickly contacted the Divisional Police Officer who had helped bring their murderers to justice. He promised to handle it.
Two days later, they were surrounded by armed police men. The DPO said they were looking for something. They thought my father left an evidence that could nail someone but I had no idea. Later, undercover policemen were put on my trail. I still did not like being watched. I found a way to evade them, about three of them but everything changed from fear to dread just few days later.
I was going home after staying in campus to read for a test. University of Benin, Nigeria to be precise. I knew something was wrong when I saw people gathering around the dead body of one of the policemen. The others were nowhere to be found. Fear gripped me and I started running.
As I ran home, I felt his presence, I could not see him but I knew he was there, another one, he radiated danger. The hairs on my skin stood up and I could taste dread. I was good at noticing something unusual but I could not tell where he was, then suddenly, the feeling stopped. I had evaded him, but I was very wrong because the moment I entered my room, I knew someone had been inside. The door was not broken, there was no sign of a break in but my bed was no longer where I placed it, it had been shifted to the right. I tried to calm my fears, to think of a way out. I contacted the DPO and he told me he was on it, he told me to stay clear of the night and that was what I did, until few days later.
I had seen one of the policemen, he was with six others; they had increased their numbers. It told me more than enough. And for the first time, I did not evade them as they trailed me from a distance. Immediately I got to the less busy Edo Street, I started running but same time, the dread came again. He was following me, I turned to try locate him but there was no one. I changed to another street but I was suddenly being lifted. He was very swift, I knew I was first on the roof but before I could comprehend it, I had landed on the ground and my body was being pushed to the wall same time my eyes were covered. I wanted to scream but my dread froze my mouth. He was tall, very tall and masculine. As he used his body to push me further to the wall, my adrenaline kicked in and I tried to wriggle myself out of his grasp but I was not sure he knew I was fighting him. He let me struggle for a while and just when I opened my mouth to scream, he gaged my mouth and pushed me further that I was almost suffocating. I was going to die, my second miserable life was about to end in the arms of someone I could not see. He never spoke he just held me till I gave up struggling. Then he wrapped me with his arms. I stood there waiting for what he would do next, I wished he would be quick. He bent his face to my neck, then he dipped his right hand in my jeans pocket. Immediately his hands touched my pocket, I felt heat all over my body, followed by a sweet tingling sensation in my stomach. I had no idea what the feeling meant. I had been raised by a very strict Christian Grandma and in all my life, this killer was the closest I've ever been with any male. I tensed and waited for what he would do next. It was my phone he wanted. I tried to look, even though it was dark, I wanted to see something about my killer but he held my hands and pulled it up, then used only his left hand to keep my hands on the wall. I had no idea what he was doing with my phone or what game he was playing.
Soon my phone was back in my pocket but his hands remained there. Fear gripped me when I felt his hands leave my pocket and moved to my waist. He was going to rape me. I should fight him but my body had its own mind. I had never felt fear and excitement at the same time. He must be doing something to my brain. He moved his hands slowly burning anywhere he grazed. I did not want him to continue, neither did I want the desire he was awakening to stop but I found my will and struggled. If he was going to rape me, I would not give him the satisfaction of making me a willing partner.
Suddenly, I felt empty, like really empty. He was gone and I knew he took my sanity with him. He did something to my body because I felt like I lost something. As I struggled to remove the gag, my sanity returned because the dread was back in full force. He was still there watching me. I hated being watched.
"Show yourself and just kill me. Just end my miserable life" I shouted but there was no response, not that I was expecting any.
I still felt being watched until I got to my hostel gate. I felt a temporal relieve that he had decided to let me be. He must have gotten what he wanted. I was very wrong because my body froze the moment I entered my room. Not only was he in my room, but he had arranged my scattered bedspread, my books and my clothes. As I shook from fear from the invasion, my phone blinked. With my hand shaking badly, I slowly brought out my phone from my pocket. There was a message. I did not want to read it but I found myself opening it.
'Hello Ella. I will be with you till I get what I'm looking for. Keep your mouth shut if you want to live- Ghost.'