02/05/2025
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐
๐ข๐ซ๐ (๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ ๐)
Aisha didnโt stop running until her legs gave way beneath her. She collapsed near the shrine at the edge of the forest, the baby still clutched tightly to her chest. Her feet were torn, bleeding. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Behind her, the village slept in a silence that felt... complicit. No one came out. No one lit a lamp. No one answered her screams.
As she lay on the ground, trembling, she heard it againโthe hiss. But this time, it wasnโt alone.
Drums.
Low, rhythmic, ancient. They came from the forest. And with them, voicesโchanting. Not loud, not urgent, but steady. Calm. Ritualistic. Aisha forced herself up and peered through the trees.
Firelight flickered in the darkness.
Figures in red robes circled the sacred Iroko tree, each holding a staff carved with serpents. And at the center stood himโPriest Doma. The same priest who told her to drown her unborn child before it was too late. The same priest who once whispered to her husband, โIf the child is born, she will come.โ
Aisha crawled closer, hiding behind a thick bush. She held her breath as Doma raised a calabash high and poured its contents onto the roots of the tree. The liquid sizzled on contactโblood.
โShe is born,โ he declared. โThe carrier of the mark. The one who binds the Old One to this world.โ
The crowd of red-robes answered in unison, โMay the serpent feed and be satisfied.โ
Aisha felt bile rise in her throat.
They knew. They were expecting it.
Then, the earth rumbled. Not a quakeโbut a movement. Something massive, ancient, and angry stirred beneath them. The tree split at the base, and from it slithered a smaller snakeโonly the width of a manโs armโbut it had the same black shimmer, the same red eyes. It stopped, sniffed the air, and turned its head toward the bush where Aisha hid.
She didnโt wait.
She ran againโinto the deeper forest, guided only by moonlight and fear. Behind her, the chanting grew louder, more urgent. The baby began to cry, the mark on her chest glowing faintly blue. The air changed. Cold. Electric. The trees seemed to lean in, listening.
Suddenly, a voiceโclear, female, ancientโwhispered: โThe child must be hidden... or all will be consumed.โ
Aisha spun around. No one.
But in front of her now stood a woman draped in silver cloth, her eyes glowing like the stars. She held out her hand.
โThereโs still time,โ she said. โBut only if you choose the path the serpent fears.โ
To be continuedโฆ
Follow Kylan Medson for Episode 3. The night is only just beginning.
