_Omniscient POV_

~6:17pm~

Officer Denzel Ikechukwu knew from the very first time he saw her that she was trouble. He knew she would be stubborn and strong-headed. How he knew, he couldn't tell. Those kind of things weren't written on the forehead, but he knew that beyond her exterior facade was a woman with a strong will power.

That enough was endearing to him. He didn't mind being stuck with a strong woman, but now, she had gone and done something risky and life-staking. She had left the only secure place and gone to where he didn't know.

Her apartment was were the police officer was now. He had gone through every room in the house, everything was normal, no sign of struggle. Proof to his earlier theory, she had gone on her own will. Her devices were left on the center table in the living room, her laptop and the phone she used to contact him.

He proceeded to check her phone for any suspicious activity, wondering why on Earth someone would go somewhere with out a device. Noting the new app on her phone which read 'instant phonecall pick', he opened it and stumbled upon the recording, the one that he supposed was meant for him, but was relayed to the number that had called fifty minutes before he did. The number of a certain Rex.

Officer Denzel proceeded to probe the laptop for any other clues. He stumbled upon the mail from the unknown sender. He takes a minute to think. The sender said to meet by five. By five she received a call from Rex. A call that lasts only eighteen seconds. Followed by a subsequent call roughly five seconds later.

Officer Denzel knows only two things. Where Chidinma is, and who her captor is.

Leaving his house and jumping into his vehicle, he hit the road, heading for his destination, when his car was rammed into by a black Honda Odyssey that seemed to come out of nowhere.

The last thing he heard was the sound of cracking glass interwoven with opaque voices, before his world went dark.

~~~~~~

_Rex_

~

5:24pm~

I got there in record time to see a man knock Lillian unconscious. My heart  beat siezed as I saw her body drop lifelessly to the floor. I saw red. Part of me wanted to run straight into the clearing and tackle the man to the ground and beat him to stupor, but the rational part kept me in the shadows.

I silently and intently watched as the man picked up her body bridal style while a lady covered her face with a bag. They disappeared into an alley. I followed silently behind, blood rushing loudly in my ears as I was painfully aware of the need to be silent. I merged into the shadows using them as my cover.

They walked for some minutes and stopped when they got to a blue Camry. The burly man was carting Lillian's body into the boot of the car, when my feet hit an empty plastic bottle. I held my breath as they both looked up, and hid deeper into the alcove by side of the building I had hid against.

I stopped breathing entirely as I heard the man's heavy footsteps come closer to were I was hiding. The sounds stopped just a few meters from were I was. I was sure he would see me as I was already thinking of self defense tactics when I heard the woman say:

"Abeg, Gerald leave it. Maybe it's just a cat. Make we dey go. Time is going."

I heaved a silent sigh of relief as the footsteps inched backwards. I heard them start the engine and drive away from the alley, which was linked to the street. I ran back to my motorbike and tailed them.

~~~~~~~

_Chidinma_

~5:48pm~

I woke up and instantly felt a hot pain sear through my head. I felt dizzy and nauseated as whatever was below and around me rocked me up and down. The air around me felt vaguely stuffy and suspended, nearly chocking me. I slowly opened my eyes. They were met with complete and utter darkness, so thick it almost felt tangible.

I was rocked again, and the pain in my head increased. With hot tears in my eyes, I tried to will my brain to make out where I was. Through the screaming silence, I heard the faint sounds of car horns.

Using my hands that weighed like pieces of log, I tried to feel around me, which was almost impossible as I soon found out that I was in a compromising position. There was little leg space, so I was in a fetal position. For an instant I gave up and was about to be swallowed by the darkness again, when it all came back.

The mail.., The Lighthouse.., the alley way.., Fega.., being knocked out. I was jerked again. I was in a moving body. In a car. In the boot. Fega and whoever knocked me out were taking me somewhere. After this realization, panic set in.

"Let me out!. Let me out!!. Fega you godforsaken individual..let me out!!." I cried, the tears flowing freely, mixing with the darkness and silence.

I resorted to hitting the sides of the boot with my legs and hands, to draw attention. I did this for some minutes until the car jerked to a stop all of a sudden. My cries caught in my throat as I heard the car doors open and shut, heavy footsteps heading towards the tail of the car.

I heard the boot pop open. There was silence for a while until I felt my hair being dragged through the wig. I was being pulled by my hair out of the boot. I cried and twisted in agony, as I came in contact with the hard, cold floor. I couldn't see. I cried because I couldn't see. I cried because I could die. They could kill me and throw my body somewhere. I would never see my parents and Kelechi again. Bennie, Funmi, Samuel, Rex.. I would never see them again.

Hope surged through me as I was roughly lifted from the ground.

"Get up!. You think sey I get this kain time!?." I heard a gruff voice say.

I stumbled to gain balance on my feet, walking tentatively, my footsteps accompanied by the clacking of heels and heavy footfalls. On hearing a door creak open, my nose was instantly meet with the putrid smell of rotting wood and dampness. The variant footsteps seemed to bounce off the walls of wherever I was, drowning my whimpers.

I was push down roughly, my bottom forcefully hitting the surface of a chair, therefore knocking the wind out of my lungs. Deft hands proceeded to tie my hands behind the chair. This is how I die. With a slit throat. My whimpers died in my throat when I felt the presence of another hovering above me. The bag that had been covering my face was forcefully pulled over my head. My eyes took a second to adjust to the dim lightning in the room, light which was emitting from the torch of a phone being held by my captor. Fega.

"Why?..why Fega?.. why'd you.. do this to me!?." I asked, voice hoarse, feeling the need for answers. None of this made sense to me.

Fega could have blackmailed me and abducted me for her own reasons whatever they were, but I had never wronged her in anyway. Yet again, it could be what I had feared all along. She could be part of the 'they' that have succeeded in making my live a living hell.

Leaning on her haunches, Fega brought the flashlight light under her chin, casting an eerie look all over her face.

"To be sincere, I never liked you or Chioma. All through those days in secondary school, when two of you would walk around holding hands, doing things with each other, behaving like no one else was good for either one of you."

"Then, I had to meet one of you in the university. Chioma. I tried, I did, to turn my image of her right side up, but it ended up coming out worse." I gasped as she spat the words out with so much venom.

"She had to go and become good friends with him. Someone I had been trying to get to notice me. Fortunately, he didn't feel anything for her though, he just wanted what he wanted." She paused and glanced at her manicured fingers before glaring back at me.

"She had to be her, missus prim and proper, all ways do things the right way, bad things are just what they are. Bad. You two were just perfect for each other. She didn't comply so he killed her. Finished her off. And if you're not careful, you will be next."

I cried, my eyes red and dry. She gagged my mouth. I cringed, my entire body racking as she pulled my hair back granting her access to my ears, as she placed a cool knife on my neck.

"You see this knife on your neck?. One jerk of my hand and I've finished you off. But," she stressed lowering the knife, "we didn't bring you here to kill you. It would be too easy and not half as fun. You were brought here so you could be threatened and totured, just a little..."

"You know, we tried to warn you, to give you signs saying 'step off'; The video of the security man who claimed you were the killer, the cocaine in your place...but you are strong-headed I'll give you that. So I'm going to say it clearly to your face now. Stop whatever investigations you're doing. Stop every fucking thing!."

She stressed, brutally pushing my head forward. We all stilled when we heard an ominous noise echo through the room. Fega jerked her head at the burly man to go and check it out, as my breath stilled in my throat, hoping that it was someone not something. She proceeded to lean on her haunches again, in front of me, eyes gleaming with threats as she studied me for a while.

"Oh, and pretty girl?", She said all of a sudden, "don't think you can go crying to the police about everything little thing I have said here. We have even taken care of your little detective friend sef. If we heard pim concerning this matter, it's your family and friends that will suffer. We will finish them off, one by one, until there's no one left for you love."

It was after this I heard the gunshots.

~~~~~~

_Rex_

~6:07pm~

I parked my a few meters away from their vehicle, in a hidden nook. They had brought Lillian to an abandoned warehouse, a place where no one would hear her cries or see their deeds.

Getting there just a few minutes after, I waited in the shadows and gave them a space of five minutes to get comfortable. I was scared yes, for myself and Lillian. My heart beat uncontrollably against my chest, the sound filling my ears. They could be heavily armed.

A reasonable individual would have gone to the station for police assistance immediately he saw the mail, but me being who I am, I decided to plunge in head first. It was times like this I was grateful for experiencing the kind of life I had, that life had made self-defense my second nature.

Taking in a deep breath, I walked briskly but stealthily into the warehouse, hiding behind a few crates and barrels that graced the entrance. Far off, approximately thirty meters away, I saw the woman lower a sickly glinting knife from Lillian's neck, as her voice droned maniaclly. My heart broke infinitesimally at the sound of her whimpers and sniffles. I said a short prayer in my heart.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and kicked a piece of wood that lay on the floor beside my leg to draw attention. I heard all activities still when I did. Picking up and weighing the heavy wood in my hand, I used the cover of the barrels to run outside, stopping a few feet from the entrance. My heart beat twice as fast, as I heard the man's heavy footfalls echo around the room. As he inched closer, I gripped the wood in my hand tighter.

When he was within two feet of the entrance, I moved and merged with the shadows, hiding behind a roofing sheet that leaned against the wall. He came out and scanned the area, slowly walking towards my direction. I held my breath in anticipation as he walked past me.

Gathering all my strength and resolve, I stealthily crept out, balancing the wood in my hand. With a sudden surge of adrenaline, I came up three feet behind him and swung the wood, hitting him squarely on the face. I cringed in disgust as I heard the bones of his face shift. He twirled a landed with an audible thud on the dirt ground, a thud I hoped no one else heard.

I dropped the wood hurriedly, and collapsed to my knees in front of the body. One down, one to go. I frantically searched the body not knowing why. I stopped when my hand gripped the cold steel of a gun. Taking it and checking the magazine for bullets, I suddenly had an idea.

I walked stealthily back into the warehouse, my knuckles blanched white. The woman was on her haunches in front of Lillian and by the way Lillian's face drained of color, she was saying something horrid.

Abruptly coming to a stop in the middle of the room, I fired two shots.

~~~~~~

_Chidinma_

I lowered my head in fear and horror, my entire frame wracking as a menacing voice repeated in my head;

You will die.

You will die, Chidinma.

You will die.

You will die.

I heard grunts, of both Fega and whoever had fired the shots. Fega cried out in agony as at one point, as the other individual grunted occasionally. All of a sudden, the noises seized. For a minute, all I heard was heavy panting. Then, I heard heavy footfalls heading my way. Then person pulled the cloth out of my mouth.

"Please, please..please don't.. don't.." I stuttered, unable to make a coherent statement. My brain was in a wrap upon itself. I was scared beyond words. The footsteps went around me, and the person cut the cord that tied my hands. Hearing the footsteps come around to my front, I stilled when I felt a cold hand cradle my face.

"Lillian." I heard a disembodied voice say. A voice that sounded like Rex's. My heart involuntary skipped a beat. No way. It wasn't him. My mind was playing tricks on my heart. I shut my eyes tighter. I felt the hand caress my face, warmth growing in it.

"Lillian, please it's me. Please, open your eyes. Please." The voice begged, chocked with emotion. The hand left my face and found my hands, rubbing them slowly, calming the tremors that went through them.

Warmth upon warmth was what I felt. Rex. It is Rex. He is here. For me. Slowly, I opened my eyes. They adjusted leaving the black spots behind as I stared into his depths. Turbulent oceans.

"Rex." Was all I could whisper before the spots clouded my vision again.

~~~~~~

🤭

(In a tiny voice so as to not disturb the moment.)

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