𝔼𝕂𝕀𝕃𝔸

31

The scream that erupted from Chidiogo was unintentional and instantaneous and so was the sudden black out. The only difference was that nothing about the black out felt unintentional.

Her head throbbed, her vision already  knocked out even before the blackout. She held onto the side of her head, unable to get used to the pain which threatened to split her head in two.

She hadn't recovered from the hit when another swipe of the object in her direction sent her diving to the floor.

The object grazed her face, the breeze from the swift movement tickling her skin before her cheek collided with the floor, the grains of sand tearing through her skin at different angles.

She winced as pain shot up her jaw, the one in her head amplifying. She was too concerned with the pain spiking through her whole body to be grateful that her reflexes had kicked up at just the right moment, saving her from another fatal blow.

Tears trickled into her sockets, filling her eyelid. Her breathing had not even returned to normal when the same object landed on her back.

The scream that left her throat was bloodcurdling, capable of sending chills down anyone who heard—if anyone could hear it.

The object left her back, filling her with momentary relief. It didn’t last longer than a second before the object landed on her back again, shattering any form of relief that had built up in that moment.

Her voice gave out as she screamed, almost certain that her spinal cord had been dislocated. Pain spread throughout her body like a liquid left to disperse in a container.

She managed to roll over, in spite of the pain, and just in time to stop the object which headed straight for her face. Her fingers felt numb as they wrapped around the object. She was still unable to tell what it was and the growing ache which wrapped around her body like a vise made it even more difficult for her senses to work.

Her grip on the object tightened when she noticed her attacker trying to free it from her hold. Led by instinct, her eyes went up at that moment and it was only then that she saw the glowing blue eyes.

Crystal, sparkling, almost blinding and definitely not a mistake. A chill ran through her, crippling her thoughts and paralyzing her body. Her grip on the object loosened on impulse and she remained fixated on those taunting blue eyes that stared at her.

Her mind jumpstarted the moment she felt the object slip out of her hands, her senses heightening. She rolled over, having sensed the object heading for her again.

The object landed on the floor, raising dust in its wake. The particles made its way into Chidiogo’s nostrils, eliciting bouts of cough from her. She choked, each cough forcing its way through her parched throat.

The constant coughing rattled her chest and her heart burned. Compared to all the torture she had been through that night, this had to be the worst. 

The tears that had gathered in her eyes earlier cascaded down her face, making her situation more unbearable. In spite of her agony, she noticed one thing: the attacks had ceased.

She glanced around only to see darkness. Even the blue eyes had disappeared but it was all temporary. The sound of someone coughing filled her ears, a long dry cough which certainly didn’t emanate from her.

Her own coughs had gone down, the urge to clear her throat the only thing forcing them out every once in a while. But the coughs she heard were steady, incessant, and worrying.

The realization hit her like a truck. Her attacker had also been affected by the dust. And from the looks of it, she was either asthmatic or had a strong allergy to dust.

She decided to take the chance to escape but luck wasn’t on her side. The blue eyes reappeared immediately, impeding any further movement. She remained still, not wanting to alert the attacker of her location.

Her mind quickly raced with thoughts as the eyes moved around, in search of her. She tried to form an outline of a human in her head based on the position of the eyes. She hardly came up with anything before the eyes landed on her.

She could have almost sworn that those pair of eyes could function properly in the dark. In a desperate attempt to save herself, her instincts perked up again and she sent her feet flying in the direction she guessed would be the person’s leg.

Her guess turned out wrong and her feet landed on something else. She didn’t know what it was but it had managed to distract the attacker, giving her enough time to scramble to her feet.

She heard something in her body crack when she stood up and she almost fell back to the floor but she managed to keep standing, aware of the painful spikes from broken bones tearing through her skin.

She dragged her incompliant feet along as she attempted to run. It didn’t lead her far, not up to a feet at least, before the attacker caught up to her, grabbing a hold of her from behind.

The grip stung, worsening the ache which had taken residence in all her body parts. Her haphazard breathing only worsened as she struggled to free herself, thrashing about while the grip only tightened. It was as if her thrashing only encouraged her assailant to prolong the torture.

Her thrashing soon began to dwindle, her muscles weary from all the torture. The attacker's grip on her also grew lax when her thrashing reduced, sparking an idea in her head.

She stopped thrashing entirely and when the attacker least expected it; she rammed her elbow into their belly. She heard a yelp before the person loosened their grip on her.

It registered in her head that the voice was feminine but she waved it aside as she started running. The attacker didn’t let her get away before dragging her back.

This time—fuelled by both rage and frustration—she shoved the person as hard as she could. It worked, much to her surprise. She heard the rustling of leaves nearby before her feet picked up pace.

She ran as fast as she could, brushing by bushes and trees, with branches slapping her face but it didn’t stop her from running. The lights came on the moment she got to the front door.

She ran up the long flight of stairs, driven by adrenaline. She dashed through the double doors the moment she pushed them open. She was panting by the time she got to the living room.

She fell onto one of the cushions, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the room. She heard Amelia’s scream before everything else became a mishmash of concerned voices, questions and people blocking her vision.

Amelia seemed to be the most worried person there, bombarding her with questions she could hardly keep up with. Just when she began to feel lightheaded, she noticed Mmachi slipping in through the doors unnoticed.

On a norm she would have ignored it but the moment she noticed her muddied shoes, she saw red.

A/N: WELL HERE'S ANOTHER UPDATE. I GUESS THIS ONE IS IN RECORD TIME. IT'S NOT MUCH, THE SHORTEST I'VE WRITTEN IN A WHILE BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT❤️.