Blood on the Marina

The Trap Beneath the Water

The ground vanished.

There was no sound of stone cracking, no warning rumble from the earth. One second my boots were standing on the damp brick of the tunnel, and the next second my stomach hit my throat as I fell backward into empty air.

Amina! I shouted, reaching out into the dark.

Gravity pulled me down fast. The air rushed past my ears, cold and wet, smelling heavily of old mud and stagnant water. Above me, the light from Amina's glowing spear became a tiny blue dot shrinking into the distance.

Before I could brace myself for the impact, my back slammed into a wall of rushing water.

The shock knocked every ounce of air out of my lungs. The current caught me instantly, a fierce, heavy torrent of water that tossed me around like a piece of paper. I kicked and flailed in the dark, my mouth opening by accident and swallowing a mouthful of bitter, foul-tasting water. I choked and coughed, my limbs growing heavy.

I am going to drown here, my mind screamed. In a dark pipe beneath Lagos.

Just as the water closed over my head and the darkness started to blur at the edges of my vision, a hand grabbed the collar of my shirt.

A sharp jerk hauled me upward. I burst through the surface of the water, gasping wildly and sucking air back into my burning lungs. I coughed, wiping wet hair out of my eyes, and found myself hauled onto a narrow concrete ledge inside a massive circular drainage chamber.

Coughing and shaking, I looked up.

Amina stood beside me, wringing water from her tactical jacket with a fierce expression. Her glowing spear rested against the wall, casting a steady blue light over the small space. A few feet away, Tari was already standing, casually shaking the water off his black blade.

You need to pay better attention to your footing, Tari said, a teasing edge in his voice. For a supposed vessel of ancient power, you swim like a rock.

Shut up, Tari, Amina snapped, turning her cold gaze toward him before looking down at me. She stepped closer and held out a hand.

I ignored her hand, pushing myself up off the wet concrete and leaning against the damp wall. My whole body ached. My clothes clung to my skin like a heavy wet blanket.

That was not a natural trap, I said, my voice rough from the water I had swallowed. "The stone just gave way. Someone rigged this path.

Obviously, Amina said, retracting her hand without any sign of offense. She walked to the edge of the ledge and pointed the tip of her glowing spear down into the center of the chamber.

The blue light illuminated a massive open pool of dark water swirling below us. In the middle of the pool sat a rusted metal platform, and on that platform lay a single object.

My breath caught.

It was Yetunde's glowing glasses. The left lens was cracked down the middle, reflecting the blue light of the spear.

They want us to see it, I said, a cold anger building deep in my chest. Every trace of fear I had felt a moment ago vanished, replaced by a sharp, burning focus. They are playing with us.

They are leading us, Amina corrected, her jaw tightening. She stepped back from the edge and looked right at me. "Whoever set this trap knows we are tracking them. They want us to go down to that platform. They want to see how much of your power is actually unlocked.

Then let us go down, I said. I raised my hand and clenched my fist. The dark black blood pulsed under my skin, glowing brighter now, casting a faint shadow against the wet wall. The ache in my palm was gone, replaced by a steady, powerful hum of energy that felt like a second heartbeat. I am done running.

Tari stepped forward, his eyes fixed on my glowing hand with a strange look of respect. For the first time since we met, the mocking smile was gone from his face.

Careful what you wish for, Kelechi, Tari said quietly. Once you cross that water, there is no turning back to your quiet little cleaning job.

My normal life ended the second my roof caved in, I replied, stepping past him toward the edge of the ledge. Lead the way.

Amina did not hesitate. She leaped off the ledge first, her body cutting cleanly through the air before landing with a soft thud on the rusted metal platform below. Tari followed right behind her, his black blade drawn and ready.

I took a deep breath, measured the distance, and jumped.

The air rushed past me, and I landed hard on the metal platform beside them. The iron beneath our boots groaned under the weight, echoing loudly across the empty drainage chamber.

We stood in a tight circle, the dark water swirling all around us like a living thing. In the center of the platform, resting on a stone block, was Yetunde's cracked pair of glasses. Next to them was a small, black metallic device blinking with a steady red light.

A countdown.

I stared at the blinking red light. Numbers began to tick downward on its tiny digital screen: 0:15... 0:14... 0:13...

It is a bomb, Tari said, his eyes widening. Get back!

Before Amina or I could move toward the edge, the black device let out a sharp, high-pitched beep that cut through the sound of the rushing water.

From the shadows across the pool, a voice echoed through the damp chamber, bouncing off the concrete walls. It sounded distorted, robotic, and cold.

Welcome to your true home, Kelechi Vance. The experiment is finally complete.

The countdown hit zero.

A blinding flash of white light erupted from the center of the platform, and the floor beneath our feet shattered into a million pieces.