II. ... getting weird.

Port Harcourt Gardens Estate, Max's apartment...

04:46

Max opened his eyes slowly, disoriented at first as he dealt with the aftermath of a weird dream where a Monstrous-looking man with an X engraved on his chest made him drink his blood.

The first thing he noticed is he wasn't feeling his normal self after a rough night, he is a hundred percent better. The first thing he thought he should see was a bright blue sky and a beautiful Ahoada view, not a white ceiling, a bright brown wall, and a draped floor-to-ceiling window.

"Aw!" He groaned as a massive headache attacked him as he tried to sit up on his bed. And then it is gone, just like it came, the headache disappeared — an unwanted weed.

"Max!" He turned to see a distressed Cecilia jump out of the ridiculously lavish leather armchair that is supposed to be on a 360° movable floorboard in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, a meter or so away from the bed.

She jumped onto the bed, arms spread wide and ready to deliver a breathtaking hug, only to stop midway, and awkwardly draw back.

This baffled him greatly, but before he could complain about Cecilia's behavior, the door opened to reveal James with two cups in hand.

"Hey!" He all but shouted, excited. He dumped the cups on a reading table that is supposed to be in front of the armchair on the movable floor;

"My best buddy and crime partner, I knew you would come around, no meteor in the universe can keep you down." He joked, moving to hug Max, and then he stopped, just like Cecilia;

"Uh...although I was looking forward to keeping that Volkswagen armchair if…you know." He joked in a very awkward manner, an awkwardness that is very rare in James.

"What's going on?" Max asked, clearly baffled at his friends' behavior.

"What's going on?" James repeated, "We should be asking that question, bro, what in the world happened?"

"You don't have to answer that now, just rest all you need, okay?" Cecilia said rather awkwardly, although concerned.

"Okay, you guys are freaking me out," Max let out a fake laugh, "and besides, I am good. Better than ever." He said, jumping out of bed and skipping twice to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, exactly our point, you look goood," James stressed the last word, pointing at Max's unruly red hair that looked like that of Chucky. The three laughed for a moment and then back to an awkwardness that wasn't common among them.

"Okay, come on guys, you are freaking me out, did something happen when I was out? I mean, you two retreated when you ought to hug me. What's going on?" James and Cecilia exchanged a meaningful look and sighed;

"You mean you don't remember anything from last night?"

"All, but not after the meteor landed, I must have passed out then," Max said.

"Bro," James said with a serious face, "there was no meteor."

"Then what fell, a satellite?" Max joked, but he met dry faces, "what fell?" He said seriously.

"We don't know," Cecilia said and Max made a face, "I mean we didn't find anything in the crater."

"Except you," James said.

"Wait wait wait, you are saying whatever fell landed on me," James and Cecilia nodded, "and then disappeared without any harm to me?"

"Well, so far so good, you don't seem harmed," Cecilia said.

"Except you screamed and all your veins glowed, and you radiated something straight from a sci-fi/fantasy movie from your mouth and eyes," James said, recounting the events to him as though making a grocery list.

"And when Cecil tried to hug you, you kind of pushed her away like the wind blows paper," James paused to demonstrate, "and you didn't even move an inch, it's like telekinesis in its purest form."

"And also," Cecilia moved to touch his hand but retreated out of fear of being blown off again, so she sort to point at his left middle finger;

"You found yourself a ring, a really weird ring, it glowed all night long. And it won't come off," she paused, "trust me, we tried everything in an attempt to remove it, but it won't come off." Max raised his hand to look at it, and he could still see residues of grease on his finger;

'They really did try everything.

Max didn't know what to feel, the recount of the alien events had made him almost self-conscious, more so than he had ever felt.

He looked at the ring again, sitting perfectly on his finger, as though it was made just for him. Truth be told, the ring is one magnificent creation, in one second it would look like platinum, and then it would change into something like dull silver.

On it is an engraved 'X' in a circle that shimmers even without the reflection of light. And the space left of the engraved X seems to go deeper than sensible. In fact, they seem hollow and endless and wide and huge, he just doesn't know the right word to describe it.

To top it all, it looks like - in fact, it is - the same X on the monstrous man in his dreams.

"So this ring came from nowhere?" He finally said, gradually processing the situation.

"Well, kind of," James said, "and you know the funny and freakish part?" He said taking out his phone and putting it on camera, "It doesn't appear on camera."

The trio went silent for almost two minutes with all that could be heard, was the silent humming of the air conditioner in the background and muffled music playing from downstairs.

"In my theory, maybe the ring is what fell off the skies, I mean it would explain the alien stuff about it, right?" Cecilia finally broke the silence, looking from one to the other.

"And the ring found its way into my finger?"

"Oh oh, just like in the Green Lantern movie, eh?" James smiled with misplaced excitement that earned him a kick from Cecilia.

"Screw this," Max cursed, attempting to pull off the ring. And to his and his friend's surprise, it came off rather easily.

"That's weird!" James observed.

"Really weird," Cecilia confirmed.

***

Dodome Hill...

07:39

"That's it," James announced as they reached a taped-off area in Dodome Hill . Max had insisted on going back to check out the landing site where all his mystery started.

"You were kneeling right in the middle of the crater," James said, pointing to the spot the meteor - or whatever fell - landed.

"You were kind of unconscious, so we had to drag you to the car," Cecilia said, feeling a bit guilty at the remembrance of the crude way she and James dragged him to the car.

"With a rope." James said, grinning mischievously at the memory; "and a grappling hook. Actually, it was a bit tricky to get you hooked up since we could... Aw!" Cecilia jabbed his rib a bit hard, shutting him up.

"Okay okay chill," Max said, finally taking in the information. "So a ring fell off the sky and somehow found its way into my finger..."

"Like Green Lantern." James interrupted, and he got another jab in the rib from Cecilia;

"Aw!...okay, fine. Sorry." He said after looking at Cecilia's dead serious face.

"...and then I got all Star Trek." Max said. "I think my next course of action is to do a CT scan."

"Probably, I might need it too," James said.

"Or maybe not," Cecilia interjected, "or else you guys want to have an appointment with a psychiatrist once a week for six months clad in aprons."

"You mean hospital gowns." James corrected.

"Yes, and there are nothing more than aprons, dang it." James raised his hands in surrender, he knows how personally she takes the subject of hospital attire.

"We just have to keep this to ourselves and try to figure it out," Cecilia said softly, laying a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Hey, look on the bright side," James said, cheerfully taking a few steps forward with his arms outstretched beside him, "now we have our very own mystery to solve after all the idleness. And besides, you've got yourself a super ring."

"Indeed, brother," Max said with a small smile. He subconsciously tapped the ring in his pocket; "Just don't call it a super ring."

>< >< ><

__:__

Collins left his hostel and off to school. He checks over his shoulder like he has been doing for the past few days. He feels like he is being followed, like someone is stalking him which is weird because he is not a rich dude nor is he from a rich family;

So why would anyone stalk him? He is just another student at the University of Port Harcourt, Uniport.

Then he heard an eerie sound, distorted and inhumane. He stopped to investigate his surroundings but he barely stopped when he caught movement behind him, on looking back, he saw a flash of white and a wave of sharp pain produced from a hard knuckle, and the next thing he knew, he was falling to the ground and then nothing, good'ol black nothing.

>< >< ><

Ikodi, Ahoada…

09:17

Morenike had had one of those heated arguments she usually had with her grandfather, Pa Samson, whenever she visited him from school.

'But this one will most probably be the last.' She thought as she walked down Ikodi Street.

Morenike marched on in a light short gown that did nothing against the chill of the harmattan morning, but her knee-length boots helped a little. She kicked an empty bottle of water out of her way in frustration as she replayed the conversation with her grandfather.

She had traveled from her school upon her grandfather's millionth call, arriving later than expected around ten the previous night and she went straight to bed. Only to be awakened at 06:30 in the morning by Pa Samson to start their circling argument.

"...this isn't the time for irresolution, you have to make a choice, Morenike, you can't live uninitiated forever." Pa Samson had said like he always does ever since her fourteenth birthday. And like always she replied;

"I will not get initiated into that cult of yours."

"You know it is the only way for you to survive this world." Pa Samson said with a hiss and Morenike replied with as much hostility.

"Remind me again Pa, how did my parents die?" She said recalling the night that changed her life, the night her parents were murdered.

It was a night like any other, she was nine getting ready for her tenth birthday when a noise from the kitchen drew her attention, she went to investigate only to see a young man kneeling over her parents' dead bodies.

She froze as she watched the man stand up and move towards her with claws as long as they were thick dripping blood. The man had glowing blue eyes and long canines like fangs in those vampire movies.

He wanted to kill her but her grandfather had stopped him. But rather than calling the police and reporting the bad man, he hit her. It was so painful that she passed out for a very long time.

Morenike still gets very vivid nightmares from what her grandfather did to her that night, and when she woke up, her life changed like it was being controlled by the devil himself.

"There was no other way, he could have killed you."

"Or you could have killed him for murdering your son and daughter-in-law," Morenike had yelled with a hint of tear in her eyes as she once again recalled the nightmare she was trying so hard to forget.

"That would be treason!" Pa Samson had defended just like he always does whenever Morenike accuses him of letting the event unfold.

"See? You just don't get it," Morenike said, maybe it is the break up with her boyfriend or she is just at her breaking point, she couldn't take more heartache;

"If you think you will ever drag me into that cult or even see my face again, you delude." With that, she walked out of the house slamming the door with all her strength that the poor door almost jerked off its hinges.

Morenike marched on, wishing she could kill every last one of them. She wished she could put an end to everything but she couldn't. She would be lucky if they didn't kill her before she had any real chance of survival, but even still. Morenike is resolved to never see her grandfather again unless for a duel.

***

Football pitch, University of Port Harcourt…

11:02

"Hustle! Hustle!" Coach Toby yelled in a typical coach-irritated fashion as his players ran around the field in disciplined sync. The coach isn't satisfied, but of course, he can't be, the tournament is already upon them and his players are yet to learn more than one strategy he has for the season.

To add salt to the wound, his best players are acting up like a bunch of primary school kids; with John trying to prove superior to Max and Max playing like this is the first time he is kicking a ball.

<<< WHISTLE...! WHISTLE...! >>>

"MAX!" The Coach called a halt to the training, "What is wrong with you!" He yelled at Max even before he got close.

Max on the other hand has no sane answer for that question. He hasn't been feeling like himself since they came back from Mpape.

He has been feeling the fear of death as though it is any other emotion, he has tried to justify it as nothing more than paranoia, but even he knows it is not.

"There is no place for fatigue or sulkiness on the football pitch." Coach Toby complained, "You hear me, kid? If you don't think you are worthy of being in my club and can play the ball like someone who has bones in their legs, go join the community youth forum or something." Max could hear Coach Toby in his head, "Now get back in there and play like you mean it, or do us all a favor, and get out of here!"

"Yes sir!" Max forced and headed back into training, trying his best not to slack.

The next hour and a half felt like an eternity for Max; over-concentrating and not concentrating at all, all he could think of was the feeling of death all over his soul.

Then Coach Toby ended the training earlier than normal for a reason only he knows but Max couldn't be more grateful.

"You suck out there," Cecilia said as soon as Max exited the pitch. Football practice is a daily morning routine for Max and James. They had joined in just for the fun of it less than two years ago and they both have grown to like it.

Max is a good player and James is a good goalkeeper, Coach Toby had tried to talk them into considering a state club but neither was ready for such commitment so they stuck with the local football team.

"Yeah Max, you weren't yourself on the pitch, what is going on?" James joined in as Max packed his training gear. "John is going to rub this all over your face like peanut butter on coconut bread ."

"I don't know guys, I just need some sleep I guess," Max said as he finished packing his gym bag he slung it over his shoulder and walked away from his baffled friends.

"Max," Cecilia called, rushing to meet up. "Are you okay? Is this about last night? Do you need to be checked out?" Cecilia asked all at once without losing a breath.

"No, I'm...I'm fine," Max said with a wince.

"You sound wounded," James said from behind trying to catch up with the two.

"I am not, I have just been feeling weird after...you know," Max said before Cecilia started feeling him for injuries. "I will call you guys later, I am going home," Max said, leaving his friends behind.

"Are you going to walk home?" James asked with a confused frown.

"Yes, it's not that far," Max said, leaving James and Cecilia frowning at his weirdness.

"Do you think Max is acting weird?" Cecilia asked.

"Do I think...are you even listening to yourself, the guy is gloomy, indecisive, and depressed yet you ask if he is weird?" James said in his infamous annoying inquisitive tone.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He walked towards Cecilia's Blue Kia stinger, leaving her breathing in and out in an attempt to remain calm.

"The Lord is my strength." She murmured before following James. "I swear I will kill this dumbass someday."

>< >< ><

Somewhere in the southwestern part of Orashi forest...

--:--

All his life he knew one day he would die.

'Who doesn't?'

Throughout his career as a hired assassin, he knew he would die one day, but he never thought it would be like this. He had gone on an assignment to kill a rather stubborn businessman, and he chose a still moonless night to carry out his operation.

But to his misfortune, he was attacked by some inhuman-looking men, they kidnapped him — he, a hired assassin, was kidnapped.

'Who would kidnap a hired assassin? A client?

That was his thought.

He found out alright, and he wasn't the only criminal that was kidnapped. After he was knocked out cold on the rooftop he was to shoot his target from, the next thing he knew was waking up in a place that looked like an underground mine or a cavern.

The first thing that he noticed was how many people were sitting unconscious around him. Hundreds, maybe even a thousand.

Although he wasn't able to find out who was behind the kidnapping of hundreds of criminals, renowned drug lords, mafia bosses, even one or two terrorists.

'Who am I kidding?'

There could be dozens, if not hundreds, of terrorists there. Then he realized that something must have gone wrong because he wasn't supposed to be awake if every other person in the cavern wasn't, and he didn't wait around to find out what.

He found his way out through a dark tunnel, and the next thing he knew was the rush of wind on his face as he dashed through unfamiliar forestry.

He hadn't run for more than five minutes when he noticed that there were men on his tail, so he ran harder. But there is a limited distance a man can flee when he is running barefoot through a forest and being chased by inhuman kidnappers who seem to not get tired nor do they seem to be going their full speed; they seem to be enjoying the chase.

He must have been running for hours on end, and there is yet to be a sign of civilization anywhere.

Even though he could hardly breathe, it was all he could do to not fall on his face and go entirely unconscious or even to his death.

Suddenly, he burst into a small clearing, and like on cue, he felt a hard kick in the small of his back, the impact sent him sliding hard into a tree, and it was all he could do to not fall unconscious.

That wasn't his problem though, the two figures standing over him and blocking his line of sight of the morning blue skies, are his problem.

They flex their fingers which have inhumanly long and thick nails that would make a tiger shy. They let out a groan and their eyes shone a bright golden yellow.

Before he could catch his breath, a sharp piercing pain flashed through his chest running from his collarbone diagonally to his lower rib cage. He couldn't even let out a scream; he was too out of breath to try, he didn't even get the chance to reflexively grab his wounded chest when another pain threw him into oblivion.

He didn't even get the chance to register where the last pain came from before he died at the foot of the tree.

>< >< ><

Port Harcourt Gardens, Max's apartment.

12:36

Max got home even more unfocused than before. He practically dragged his feet in and up the stairs. The anxiety was killing him, the paranoia was at its peak, and Max could literally feel death lurking around.

And that is not even the weirdest part, the ring he had found after the meteor thing is the weirdest part.

When Cecilia had made the one-in-a-blue-moon offer to drive them to the School's football pitch for their routine football training; Max had been sure he left the ring at home in his apartment. But right before training started, Max found the Ring sitting perfectly fit on his left index finger letting off an ominous glow.

How the ring came to be on his finger, he has no idea. But it didn't come alone, it came with a powerful wave of inexplicably weird feelings.

First, it was anxiety in its raw form that Max tried to justify with football practice. Then paranoia and an irrational fear of death. Max was unable to concentrate one bit during training, flopping and tripping, kicking the ball like a two-year-old playing for the first time.

He entered his bathroom upstairs, setting the temperature unreasonably low, but then again, Max no longer had an idea what was reasonable.

The cold water splashing his blood-red hair and running down his bare back did help take his mind off the weirdness of the day. But only partially because even now he is being bombarded with an unreasonable wave of depression and guilt.

But, what is he guilty of?