Chapter One

     Emerald Secondary School was described as the best of it's kind in Lagos State, and was known as one of the best in the Nigeria. Well known scholars had graduated from there, which consequently boosted the school's reputation over the years. E.S.S. was also notorious for scooping trophies from competitions all over the state and across the country due to the intellectual capacity it's students boasted. It was the complete private school: spacious classrooms that could occupy more than a hundred students at once, fully equipped laboratories and student workshops, sporting equipments and playing fields for different kinds of sports, well furbished hostels for boys and another for the girls, with well qualified teachers from all over the country and beyond. It was the kind of school that the politicians, top government officials and successfully wealthy businessmen took their children to. Friends of the students who attended the school were prone to be envious, many parents were ready to sacrifice all they had just so they could send their children there. And they did. As long as they could pay the outrageous fees required. E.S.S. was the perfect institution . . . or so they all thought. No one knew the dark secret it had kept for so long. Unfortunately, the students were about to find out in a rather gruesome way . . .

 

Mondays were always particularly slow, and this one was no different. Morning classes dragged on like a crawling snail, and just as Daniel was about to die from the boredom, the bell went off. Lunch break period. Now he sat in the cafeteria, observing the activity all around him.

     The cafeteria was a single, but huge bungalow meant to house every single student as they sat for lunch. It wasn't compulsory though, as some preferred to remain in their classes or play out in the field. Daniel was one of those who stayed in their classrooms during the break, but he decided to try something different today. Looking around him, he noticed how orderly the cafeteria was. There was a queue lining up in front of the counter to get served. After getting a portion of the meal, the person moved to a table of his/her choice. There were a lot of tables, and they were all occupied. Some tables bore 2 students, others had up to 3 or even 4. Daniel was the only one at his table. Funny enough, he liked it that way. His Mom would have accused him of being anti-social, but he couldn't help it. He just didn't fancy having friends, he preferred to be alone. Friends seemed like emotional baggages anyway.

     He looked down into his plate. They were having Monday's menu: cooked beans with a small loaf of bread. As the aroma waffled into his nostrils, his stomach vibrated to remind him how hungry he was. He wasted no more time as he grabbed his spoon and dipped it in his plate.

Just as he was about to eat, he noticed a person walking towards his table.

Oh shit, he thought.

It was Bayo Ayedele, the socialite.

     Bayo and Daniel were complete opposites. Bayo was dark-skinned with big laughing eyes; Daniel was fair-skinned pointed ears. Bayo was a loud fellow that always wore a smile; Daniel was really quiet and always frowned at everything. Bayo was the famous guy with several friends, both male and female; Daniel was the introvert that preferred to be alone. Bayo was the average kind of student who never failed but never really passed either; while Daniel was the brilliant one that no one knew because he never boasted about it. The only thing they had in common was the fact that they were in the same class, and that they were roommates. Oh, and the fact that they were about to share the same table.

Daniel scowled. He didn't have anything against Bayo, but he was popular. And popularity meant attention. And Daniel hated attention.  Due to such statistics, he didn't see Bayo as friend material. But he still watched helplessly as he approached his table.

     "Guy. What's up?" Bayo stood in front of Daniel's table grinning broadly. Before he could say anything, Bayo slid smoothly into the chair with his tray of food. Too much drip, Daniel imagined.

     "This beans go well sha!" Bayo smacked his lips hungrily.

     "Yeah," Daniel said slowly. He simply stared at Bayo, he knew why he was here.

After 5 long minutes of loud chewing and swallowing, Bayo finally gulped down some water. He then dropped the bottle, laced his fingers on the table and continued smiling at Daniel.

     "That was some good stuff, huh?"

     "Definitely," replied Daniel. His jawline tightened as he patiently waited for Bayo to reveal why he was really at his table.

     Bayo cleared his throat. Oh boy, thought Daniel. Here it comes . . .

     "Ok, Daniel. The real reason I'm here is because I need a favor from you."

     Ha! I knew it! Mr. Popular just wanted a favor. Daniel just smiled at him.

     "And what exactly might that be?" Daniel asked, sipping his own bottle water.

     Bayo sat up, excited that Daniel seemed interested.

     "I need you to accompany me to the girls hostel." He said quickly.

Daniel immediately spurted the water he was just about to swallow. He had a feeling Bayo was going to ask for a favour, he just didn't know it would be that outrageous.

     The girls hostel! The most dangerous place in the school for a guy to be; and even worse were the punishments that came with being caught. If a student wanted to be expelled with immediate effect, all he had to do was to waltz into the girls hostel. There was a reason the male students referred to it as the "Forbidden Kingdom". And now Bayo wanted him to accompany him there?

     "That's not going to happen." Daniel said firmly.

     "Why na?" Bayo asked desperately.

     "You know how dangerous going there is for us. Once we're caught, there's no amount of begging or pleading that'll save us. The best that could happen to us would be probably be a three week suspension. Worst case scenario, we could get expelled!"

     "I know, I know." Bayo said. "But who said anything about getting caught?" He smiled at Daniel mischievously.

     "What do you even want to do there?" Daniel demanded.

     "I need to see Esther, man. It's been a while since I heard from her."

     "And you can't simply see her here in school?"

     "You know she was suspended na. For two whole weeks! I can't stay that long away from her." Bayo explained.

     "And you want me to follow you into the lion's den? Why me?"

     "You know you're my main guy," Bayo winked at him. "All these other guys are too scared. It takes a guy with god-sized balls to do this."

Daniel was having none of it.

"I'm not going with you. Period."

     Bayo frowned for the first time. "I didn't want to bring this up, but you've left me no choice. Remember when I . . ."

At that moment, Bayo's voice faded into the background. The air around Daniel was getting hot and uncomfortable. And Bayo wasn't helping matters. Daniel was just about to dismiss whatever he was blabbing about when his eyes caught a flash of red. He stretched his neck as he peered behind Bayo. Standing at the entrance to the canteen was a young lady.

     She wore a flashy red dress, without sleeves and a low neck line. Her make up seemed too much for Daniel, although he knew girls that would have said it was perfectly balanced. One thing was for sure though. She was really pretty. With high cheek bones, a cute little nose and  big eyes, she had a beauty that could enchant anyone.

She must be a teacher, Daniel thought. But come to think of it, Daniel never remembered seeing her prior to today. He continued to stare at her. She seemed to be looking for someone. Her eyes scanned the congregation of students in the cafeteria . . . until they fell upon Daniel. He was stunned to see her looking at him, but he couldn't help but stare back. Her gaze lingered on his face, then she started smiling. There was something about that smile that just didn't seem right. It was almost . . . murderous. Daniel tried to look away, but she fixed her gaze right at him. She didn't even waver.

     "Guy," Daniel interrupted Bayo, who was still talking. "Do you know that woman? The one standing at the entrance wearing a red dress?"

     "Huh?" Bayo turned around. "Dude, there's no one there."

     Wait . . . what?!

     Daniel looked at the entrance again. Truly, there was no one there. It was as if Daniel was the only one who saw her. She just . . . vanished.

     "But a lady was just there," he said, confusion etched all over his face.

     "Don't try to change the topic." Bayo's frown deepened. "I was saying you owe me one. Remember when I saved your behind from being whipped? Mr. Ayo was bent on thrashing your sorry little butt to pieces. I was the one who begged on your behalf. And you remember what you said to me? You told me, ‘I owe you one’. Remember?"

     Daniel rubbed his forehead. Thanks to his misplaced gratitude, he said some words he didn't mean. And now Wonderboy here thought he owed him a favour. And he was still trying to figure out what just happened with the strange lady. He didn't have the strength for this.

     "You know what? I'll go with you. Just know I ain't staying more than ten minutes."

     Bayo grinned broadly as Daniel finally conceded defeat.

     "Thanks a lot, bro." He got up quickly and was gone before Daniel could change his mind. The bell finally rang. Classes were to resume. As Daniel walked past the entrance, he glanced at the spot where the lady stood. It gave him the chills just looking at the place. He hurried out immediately.

     After classes were over for the day, Daniel walked back to his dorm. He had had a long day and just wanted to sleep it off. Then he spotted Bayo with a couple of his friends. He was cracking jokes laughing loudly as usual, the others also laughed along. When Bayo saw Daniel, he winked.

     "We roll out at 10." He whispered to Daniel as he walked past.

   

  Oh . . . shit.

     * * *

    

10pm. Lights out. The night was dimly lit by the moonlight from the full moon. And in it's dim light, two boys could be seen quietly running towards the wall that separated the boys hostel from the girls. It was a single, thick, long wall that stretched far south of the school compound, right into the fence that surrounded the school. Scaling over the wall was impossible as the school authorities had placed spiked barbed wires on the top which heavily discouraged any intentions of such. But the students had found another way. There was a spot in the wall that had developed a hole, due to poor bricklaying. Over time, due to natural and artificial causes, the hole grew bigger and bigger until it was wide enough for a person to pass through. This secret passage was used only by the bravest, unscrupulous students; and it's where Bayo and Daniel ran towards.

     Daniel struggled to keep up with Bayo as they jogged forward. He didn't know he was that athletic. They ran for about 5 minutes before they finally arrived at the spot. It was carefully hidden with wooden planks, all one had to do was put them aside. Once Bayo moved them out of the way, the entrance to the "Forbidden Kingdom" glared at them. It was low to the ground, so they had to crawl through.

     "Ladies first," Bayo joked.

Daniel only glared at him. He chuckled nervously and proceeded into the hole. Daniel sighed.

I can't believe I'm about to do this. Daniel got on his knees and started to crawl in. Then he heard something. He quickly looked in the direction which they came. The wind blew fiercely, lifting dust and debris from the ground. Something had snapped in a distance, like a twig. But what would a twig be doing out here when the closest tree was several feet away? Daniel squinted.

     "Guy!" Bayo whispered fiercely from the other side of the wall.

     "I'm right behind you," Daniel whispered back. He took one last look, then crawled in.

     "I missed you so much," Esther said, with her arms on Bayo's shoulder, draped around his neck. Bayo's smile was wider than usual.

     "I missed you too," he replied.

Just as they were about to smooch, Daniel looked away. Not that he didn't like girls, but he didn't really fancy being in a relationship. As far as he was concerned, he hated stress. And with girls came enough stress to end a guy's life. Instead, he decided to focus on his surroundings. They had to meet Esther underneath a steel tower that carried a borehole water tank. In the open, even if they were far away from the girls hostel proper, the probability of them getting caught was still very high. The wind had picked up pace, making Daniel feel all the more uncomfortable. He felt jittery ever since they left their hostel. But now, he felt worse. It was as if someone, or something, was watching them. And it disturbed him that the oblivious love birds weren't bothered. Just 3 minutes after they arrived, Daniel couldn't take it anymore.

     "That's it. We gotta go."

Bayo turned around with a confused look on his face.

     "We just got here," he said.

     "I don't care!" Daniel exclaimed. "I don't feel uncomfortable about this one bit."

     "Shhhh!" Bayo hushed. "Stop raising your voice. "What do you mean uncomfortable? You agreed to this remember?"

     "It's not like you left me a choice," snapped Daniel. "It's almost as if something is watching us, man. I can feel it."

     Bayo looked at him for a second. Then he made an effort to supress the laughter erupting in his chest. Even Esther was smirking.

These lunatics think I'm crazy!

     "You know what? I'm outta here. You can stay and get into trouble, but I'm not up for that." With that, Daniel started making his way back.

     "Guy! Wait na..." Too late. Daniel was already far gone.

     Daniel emerged from the hole, but left it open. Just in case lover boy ever wanted to crawl back. He walked back to his dorm alone. There were bulbs mounted on the wall that lit up the concrete path he took; so he wasn't in complete darkness. The wind was noticeably violent, like a storm was brewing. Daniel was determined to get to his room before the storm arrived. So he walked faster. Suddenly, the lights went out. Daniel was in complete darkness; even the moonlight was shrouded by clouds. Daniel frowned as he turned around blindly in confusion. There was always power at E.S.S., so frequent that an outage seemed strange. It was so dark, he couldn't even see his hands in front of his face. Then, a bulb flickered on in a distance. It was the only bulb that shone, creating a circle of light on the ground a few feet in front of Daniel. All this time, the wind still howled loudly. He walked slowly towards the light...then stopped a few feet from it. He heard footsteps. Really loud footsteps. Whoever it was wore high heels, he could hear the familiar "koi koi" sound. As much as he wanted to bolt, curiosity and a strange force kept him still. The steps were slow and deliberate. Then the person slowly stepped into the light. Daniel saw the red high heels first, then from the knee upwards, he spotted a red dress that had no sleeves with a low neck line.

Wait. That dress...

Daniel swallowed hard as he looked at the face. His eyes widened. It was the strange lady he saw at the cafeteria earlier that day; although she looked very different. Her red dress was soiled like she rolled in the mud. And her face! The pretty face he saw in the cafeteria was gone. What he saw now made him gag. The left part of her face was badly mutilated, so severe that her left eye was missing. The other eye, however, glowed like the burning end of a cigarette. To top it all off, she wore a wicked looking smile. It was like looking at a character from a horror movie.

     "You've not been a good boy, Daniel."

Daniel was in shock. She could speak! And she knew his name!

     "You cannot escape the punishment for your actions," she continued.

Then she stumbled forward.

All this time, her left hand looked longer than her right. Under the light, however, Daniel realized it wasn't her hand. It was a nasty looking machete. And It was already dripping with blood.

I have to get the hell outta here, Daniel thought. He tried moving. The strange force that held him had multiplied. He couldn't even scream for help.

     "You cannot escape punishment," she repeated with an evil smile. Daniel looked at her helplessly as the cutlass dangled dangerously in her hand. She stopped suddenly.

      "Consider this your final warning."

All of a sudden, with unthinkable speed, she rushed at Daniel.

* * *

     When Daniel woke up, it was already day time. His head exploded with a terrible headache as he tried to remember where he was. The air was heavy with the smell of medicine. The sick bay. He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes. How did he get here? The more he tried to remember, the worse the headache became. Just by the window close to his bed, he heard voices. A female talking to someone else.

"The security guard found him unconscious on the ground close to the wall that separates the two hostels. Luckily, he was breathing just fine. The only strange thing was a cut on his forearm. It seemed deep..."

Everything came rushing back like a wave. The wind, the lights going out...the evil looking Lady in red. Daniel raised his arm up slowly, then gasped. His forearm had a large bandage that covered an injury he didn't remember having. He wondered why she let him live, he thought he was as good as dead. Daniel laid back, thinking. Something was going on in this school and Daniel didn't like it at all. Something told him that that won't be his last encounter with the lady in red.

     I have to get out of this damn school, he finally thought.