Chapter 40: A Chilling Encounter
2332words
They return to Olumide mansion, a place before it felt like home but now it seems creepy and strange. The failure to reach Dapo was a big worry for them, together with always being afraid of those men in black chasing them and an angry spirit troubling their thoughts.
"We must know what the secret word is," Eki spoke softly, her voice nearly lost in the sound of crackling fire. "It is important for calming the spirit and breaking the curse."
Olajumoke bent down beside an old trunk, her keen eyes examining the unusual symbols carved into its surface. "Perhaps there is a clue here," she murmured while tracing the symbols with a calloused finger. "These markings look similar to some of the ones in the hidden contract."
Eki came closer, her heart beating fast against her ribs. Every noise the old house makes seems much louder in the quiet air full of tension. Suddenly, a loud knocking sound filled the room. The noise seemed like it came from behind an old and dusty cloth hanging on one side of the wall.
Kunle felt very nervous, his hand quickly grabbing the crowbar he took when they hurried out of the underground parking area. "Who is there?" he called out, his voice a strained whisper.
No reply came, just more knocking sounds that did not stop. Eki looked at Olajumoke with worried eyes. They could not act like they did not notice it, but who was hiding behind that dusty curtain? Could it be the men in black suits, or maybe something even more dangerous?
Eki took a deep breath and moved forward, eyes locked on the ancient tapestry. "Who is it?" she called out, her voice trembling slightly.
Quiet. The next moment, with a soft moan sound, the tapestry bulged outward and moved away from the wall like something unseen pulling it. A narrow passageway, shrouded in darkness, was revealed.
Eki's breath caught in her throat. Curiosity warred with fear inside her. Even with a big fear growing inside her, a strange strong will make her continue. She has to discover who or what was hiding in the dark place.
"Eki, wait!" Olajumoke's voice cracked with concern, but Eki was already moving. She took a burning stick from the fire; its flickering light made weak brightness in the very dark night.
With care, she stepped into the passageway. She could feel the damp and old air cling to her skin. Kunle and Olajumoke were right behind her, their steps creating strange echoes in the tight space. The passage twisted and turned, deeper into the hidden bowels of the mansion.
The air becomes more cold, and small candlelight makes strange shadows dance on rough walls. Suddenly, a noise began, very quiet at first and filling the room – it was a low and sad sigh. It sent shivers down Eki's spine, raising the hairs on her arms.
Suddenly, they entered the small room. The walls were full of old scrolls and ancient things. In the middle, there stood a stand holding a shiny ball. The surface of this ball was moving with strange light. When they came closer, the candle flame seemed to flicker oddly.
"What is that?" Kunle whispered, his voice filled with wonder and a little bit of fear.
Olajumoke squinted at the sphere. "It looks like some kind of crystal ball," she whispered, her voice very soft.
As Eki comes near, the sphere starts to make a gentle humming sound and fill the room with strange light. She feels nervous like this thing has ancient powers that better not be disturbed.
But then, something happened that made her feel very afraid. The sphere began to rise, lifting slowly from the pedestal while it made a strange whirring sound. Eki stepped back fast, making a sound of surprise. The candle she was holding shook hard and then went out, putting them in complete darkness.
Eki felt terror take control of her senses. She heard Kunle and Olajumoke breathing heavily and knew they were close to her, but all around them was dense darkness that nothing could be seen through. The only sound disturbing the silence was spooky buzzing from a hovering sphere and gentle, sorrowful sighs that seemed to come from deep inside the room walls.
A cold wind blew in, smelling of wet earth and decay, filling the room and taking away any hope Eki still held. It felt like a real sign of the spirit's anger, a chilling touch that made Iya Wura's warnings feel true. Panic threatened to consume her, but a voice, surprisingly calm, cut through the terror.
"Do not move," Olajumoke said in a very low voice, almost like whispering in the dark. "Be quiet, no matter what happens."
Eki stopped moving, concentrating deeply to hear any sound other than their heavy breathing. The sphere emitted a peculiar light that made everything around them appear pale and ghostly. In that spectral glow, Eki could barely make out shadowy figures shifting around them.
"Who's there?" Kunle's voice trembled. "Show yourselves!"
Silence. Then, a voice, cold and raspy, echoed through the chamber. "You dare disturb the resting place of the wronged?"
The sound was like coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, shaking their bones as if a ghost's echo. Eki felt something there, very cold and heavy, pushing down on them. It was the spirit, its anger a tangible force in the confined space.
Eki closed her eyes very hard, tears making them hurt. She felt very scared and almost could not move, but then a tiny feeling of fighting back started inside her. She wouldn't give in to this unseen terror.
Taking a deep breath, she let her voice out with hesitation, making a shaky request in the darkness. "We did not come to trouble anyone," she said loudly. "We're here to help. We want to appease you, to break the curse."
There was a long and cold silence after that. Then, the sphere began to pulse faster, filling the room with lights like a strobe which made moving shadows look even more frightening. Then, the voice spoke again, this time with a hint of curiosity.
"Help? You? You who are descendants of the one who stole my dreams?"
Eki gritted her teeth. "We understand your anger," she said, her voice stronger now. "But we are not the same as our ancestors. We want to fix mistakes made in the past." We have the hidden contract, the one your grandmother signed with my grandfather."
Olajumoke made a tiny gasp, almost quiet in the dark. Eki couldn't figure out if it was because of what she said or for some other reason entirely different.
The spirit did not talk, but the light from the sphere grew brighter and pointed more directly at Eki's hand where she was holding the rolled-up parchment. Maybe it can feel like there is a secret contract in her hand. Perhaps this is what will make it calm down?
Suddenly, the dark shapes nearby started to change. Eki prepared herself for an attack, but then she noticed these forms became two transparent women, their bodies shining with a ghostly glow. One was older, her face showing the marks of many unhappy days. The other one looked a lot like the woman in the photo – Ayana.
"The contract," Ayana's voice echoed, filled with a melancholic longing. "Show it to me."
Eki slowly opened the old parchment, its faded ink glowing a bit in the eerie light. The two figures came closer, their forms shining and flowing like waves as they carefully examined the paper.
After what felt like a very long silence, Ayana began to speak again. "It is true," she said in a quiet voice, sounding somewhat relieved. "The unspoken term, it is broken. The Olumides failed to uphold their promise."
Eki's heart pounded with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Was this it? Was this the answer they were looking for?
But before Ayana could speak further, the ghostly room began to tremble. A low growl, much more frightening than the spirit's sorrowful noises, reverberated through the walls. The shadowy figures stiffened, their forms flickering with fear.
"Not so fast, child of the oppressor," another voice boomed—deep and rough—it made everyone shiver. A new figure stepped out from the shadows—a monstrous form filled with dark energy. Its bright red eyes focused directly on Eki.
"This spirit is not yours to soothe," the entity snarled. "Now it has a greater purpose, a role of revenge on all who exploit it!"
Eki felt very afraid. The spirit they tried to calm was not the only danger now. They now find themselves in the middle of a struggle between two powerful beings, both filled with anger and bitterness.
When the big monster leapt at them, the light ball began to shine brighter, making the room very bright. The see-through figures of Ayana and the older woman appeared in front of Eki, Kunle, and Olajumoke. They used their glowing bodies to guard them from harm.
At that moment, the world broke apart around them. The room disappeared into a spinning mix of light and darkness, with the monstrous creature shouting in anger as an invisible power pulled it away. Everything turned into a confusing mix of colours and feelings – the chilly touch of wet stone, the sharp smell of smoke, and Eki's heart beating wildly.
When the world becomes normal again, they lie on the floor of the secret room. One candle, now burning like magic, was on a pedestal near the sphere that was not glowing anymore. Air had a small buzzing sound from a strange experience that just happened.
"What... what just happened?" Kunle said with a stutter, his voice unsteady as he got up and rubbed his head.
Eki quickly stood up, her sight unclear, and thoughts in chaos. Olajumoke stayed sitting down, looking very pale with a serious thinking expression on her face.
"There is... there is another presence," Olajumoke whispered, at last, her voice almost too quiet to hear. "Something much more evil than the spirit caught by Moonlight Lease."
Eki's stomach felt uneasy. Just when they believed there was a hint to break the curse, another danger appeared—a larger, even more menacing monster that fed on revenge.
The chamber door slowly made a creaky sound as it opened, letting in just a thin line of moonlight on the dusty ground. In the doorway stood a shadowy figure, and you could see the shine of the crowbar it was holding because of the moon's light. Dapo.
Relief washed over Eki, quickly followed by a surge of anger. "Dapo!" she exclaimed, her voice loud in the tense silence. "Where have you been?"
Dapo's face did not show any feelings. He walked into the room, his eyes looking at the sphere and all the scattered papers on the floor before he finally looked at Eki and everyone else in the room.
"I follow you after the warehouse," he says, his voice quiet and tense. "I see the men in black." What's going on here? What's with the strange light and the… ghosts?"
Eki took a big breath, not knowing where to start. She told the story about meeting with the spirit, finding a secret contract, and facing a scary monster. As she spoke, Dapo listened intently, his face giving away nothing.
When she finished, a long silence took over the chamber. Only the soft sound of a candle burning out could be heard. At last, Dapo talked with a very quiet voice almost like whispering.
"I... I trust you," he said, making everyone surprised. "The ghost, the being... it makes sense for my bad dreams and weird things happening in the big house." He gazed at Eki, his eyes showing new weakness. "We did not know everything about our family history."
Eki feels small hope. Maybe Dapo can help understand the secret word, and what is the true meaning of Moonlight Lease. But then, his gaze shifted, landing on the hidden contract lying on the floor.
"The secret contract," he whispered, his tone becoming sharp and threatening. "How did you discover that?"
The question stayed in the air, making Eki feel even more unsure and suspicious. Was it possible that Dapo had something to do with the scary creature? Or was he genuinely trying to understand the truth, just like her?
"We find it in one of the family archives," Olajumoke says with a firm voice, moving forward to take the parchment. "Looks like the Olumide family has many secrets they need to explain."
Dapo's jaw tightened. "Secrets that can make a whole family empire fall apart," he said, his voice filled with a bitter reality. "Secrets that could put all of us in grave danger."
A tense quiet came over them again. The weak alliance that was between Eki, Olajumoke, and Kunle now seemed very fragile. Dapo, their family member, and a potential ally, was also a source of suspicion.
As they stand there, trapped in the secret room with a soft glow from their recent meeting with the spirit and scary creature, Eki sees one thing clearly – finding the truth has now turned into a tough fight to stay alive against hidden dangers inside and outside of the Olumide family. With knowing about this new danger, everything is more serious than ever before. The future of the mansion, their family heritage, and maybe even the whole city were now in their own hands. The big question still is – could they rely on each other enough to fight against the darkness together?
