Dark Mysteries

Daniel listened intently to the deep voice of the dean booming over the microphone. It had been almost three hours since he started his 'introductory speech,' and it didn’t seem like he was going to stop anytime soon. So far, it was talk of welcome, rules, how to excel in the university, and of course, the olden days speech about how he suffered in his youth and was able to break through with determination.

Daniel sighed for the thousandth time in annoyance, wishing the old man would just get it over with. Another thing he regretted was not eating before entering the big hall as the results began to manifest in form of a growling stomach.

He glanced at his watch; it read 2:30 pm.

Throwing his head backwards, he let out a frustrated groan, which caught the attention of his friend sitting beside him.

“Dude, just try to endure, okay?"

Daniel turned to him. “Easy for you to say, Jake. My stomach is killing me. You know I didn’t eat before leaving the dorm."

Jake chuckled. “And whose fault is that?”

Seeing the glare Daniel gave him, he became serious.

“Oh come on, we were already running late."

“You mean late for a speech that started two hours ahead of schedule?” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Well, pardon me for not realizing African time exists in universities," Jake said.

“It exists everywhere, man," Daniel replied.

“Tell that to your boss when you arrive late for your future job," Jake laughed.

Daniel leaned back in his seat and was just about to doze off when a sudden feeling overwhelmed him. That familiar feeling that he had felt for almost a decade now. The feeling that he was being watched. But by who? He sat upright and glanced around the auditorium, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. The auditorium was crowded alright, but his instincts never failed him in the past and they weren’t going to fail him now. He glanced to his right and his suspicions were confirmed. He saw her.

Sitting a few seats from him was a girl around his age with a no-nonsense look and sharp eyes. She was wearing a black t-shirt and tight dark blue jeans. She was dark in complexion, with a pointed nose and red lips. Red? He found that weird. Her long unbraided hair was tied back in a ponytail, and it glistened under the lights of the auditorium. What fascinated him was her eyes. They were a light brown, in contrast to the dark black of the average Nigerian. As soon as she saw him staring, she narrowed her eyes at him. He quickly glanced away.

“The hell is her problem? She stared first," he grumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” Jake turned to him.

“Oh, nothing. Don’t mind me," he replied, leaning back into his seat once more and closing his eyes.

Jake looked at him for a while and shrugged. Daniel was always one to keep things to himself. More of a reserved dude. He had been like that since primary school. It had stopped bothering him a long time ago.

“And finally," the dean announced, “remember that there is a difference between passing through school and letting the school pass through you. Have a wonderful semester; I wish you all the best. Thank you."

With that, he dropped the mic to a round of applause and relieved sighs. Daniel laughed at this. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one tired of the 3-hour speech. One by one, the students filed out of the auditorium to begin their normal activities.

“Hey, Dan," Jake said as they trotted to their dorm.

“Yeah?” Daniel replied.

“There’s a welcome party for freshers this evening in the park. You coming?”

“Well…” Daniel hesitantly replied.

“Before you start with your lame speech about how 'terrible things' always happen at parties…" Jake interrupted using his fingers to form quotes, “alcohol is banned at this party. Plus, it will give you a chance to mingle with people and socialize. I don’t want you graduating from this school a miserable old man."

"Screw you too," Daniel grumbled, and they both laughed.

“So, what do you say?” Jake pressed on.

Before Daniel could reply, his phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket. Looking at the screen, he sighed.

“It’s my mum," he said while turning to his friend. Jake nodded in understanding, and Daniel picked up the call.

“Hello, baby," the feminine voice of his mom came over the speaker. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Mum," he replied. “And you?”

“I’m alright. In fact, I'm in front of your dorm," she replied.

“Really?” He raised his brows.

“Yes, I brought some things for you," she said.

“Alright, hold on. I'll be right there." He hung up the call.

“Jake, she’s in front of our dorm." He turned to his friend.

“Good, let’s go," Jake replied.

The two boys hurried over and saw Mrs. Johnson standing by a Toyota Camry. She was wearing a tight white blouse and dark jeans that showed off her curves, and her hair was fixed in a Brazilian hairstyle. She held a big white nylon bag in one hand, and the other was placed on her hip. She removed her hand from her hip and started drumming her fingers on the hood of the car patiently. On seeing her attire, Daniel groaned inwardly at his mother’s attempt to once again look younger. Not to say she wasn’t good looking. She was still attractive at the age of 42, having had Daniel at a young age. But after the death of her husband, she still wanted to make sure men found her attractive—much to the chagrin of her son. He never hesitated to make his grievances known to her on this issue, which she found adorable. She would always just wave him away with a pinch of his cheeks, leaving him more frustrated than before.

“Good evening, Mum," Daniel said as he approached her. She smiled and drew him into a tight embrace.

“My baby." She smiled warmly, ignoring his protests as he struggled against her. Jake just laughed at this.

“Mum!” Daniel choked out, and he began to panic as their embrace drew a little audience. “This is embarrassing!!”

“Hush, boy," she replied with a giggle. “You don’t know how it feels to be all alone in that house."

She finally released him, much to his relief.

“Good evening, ma'am," Jake said, bowing a little.

“Jacob." She turned to him. “How are you? It's been a while. Wow, you are looking like quite the young man."

“And you look beautiful yourself, ma'am." He smiled back.

“Jake!!” Daniel glared at him.

“Lighten up, will you?" His mother replied. “It’s not every day I get compliments from the male gender."

Turning to Jake, she continued, “Thank you, dear. That means a lot."

Daniel rolled his eyes at that.

“Anyway," Mrs. Johnson handed the nylon bag to her son, “this is for you. Provisions—mosquito nets and other stuff."

“Thanks, Mom." He smiled warmly, collecting the bag.

Reaching into her purse, she counted out some money and gave it to Daniel. Then she offered some to Jake, which he politely declined.

“Ma'am, I don’t think…” Jake began.

“Just take it, dear." She smiled.

“Or will you pride be too injured?" She joked and he laughed.

Jake smiled and accepted the money.

“Thank you, Ma," he said.

“Okay, boys," she said as she opened her car door. “I'm off, but I will check in on you from time to time. Remember to study, and stay away from distractions. Make friends but sensible ones. Socialize and interact with people. Don’t join any gangs, okay? And always remember to pray." She hugged Jake and gave a tighter hug to Daniel, which he rolled his eyes at, but he smiled and returned her embrace all the same.

“You know..." she whispered in his ear, “you are the exact copy of your father. In image and character. Even though he isn’t here, I have you to remind me of him, and that's all I'll ever want. I love you, my baby."

“Love you too, Mum," he whispered and rubbed his hands soothingly over her back. Daniel never knew his father, as he had died two months after he was born, the cause of his death still unknown. His mom and paternal grandfather had been the only family he knew, and they made sure to take care of him. Overprotective? Sure. But they were the best people in his life, and he wouldn’t trade them for anyone.

“Wake up, wake up, wake up!! It’s time for morning devotion!!” came the voice of a random student as he went from door to door in the dorm, banging rather loudly on each one. He was met with curses from some of the rooms as the boys voiced their displeasure at being disturbed at a rather early hour.

Daniel rose from his bed and glanced at his phone screen. '4:30 am' glowed brightly up at him.

“Seriously?” he grunted in annoyance.

On the bed below him, Jake slept surprisingly soundly despite the noise. Unable to go back to sleep, Daniel hopped down from the bed and went outside to relieve himself. Knowing the state of the dorm toilets, he opted to use the gutter near the dorm trash chute. How grown men managed to make use of the toilet without flushing was still a thing of mystery to him. Yet, these same men acted like princes in order to catch the eyes of their feminine counterparts.

He had just finished and was about to leave the area when he heard the snapping of a twig. Glancing around, he saw nothing. He shrugged and was about to move on when he heard it again. With a cold sweat breaking on his face, he looked around again, but he still saw nothing. His dorm was surrounded by tall fences, which meant it should be well fortified. Plus, so far, he was the only one there.

“Hello?” he called out in the darkness. “Who’s there?”

There was no response.

He called out again and again. Still nothing. He was about to leave when a screeching sound came from above him. He glanced up and his heart missed a beat. Staring back at him from a nearby tree a few meters from the dorm was a bat. Its red eyes glowed menacingly. He stood rooted to the spot and kept on staring at it. There was something odd about it, and he suddenly felt his legs moving on their own. Overwhelmed by some force he couldn’t explain, he began to walk in the direction of the tree. The bat bared its teeth and spread its wings as Daniel edged closer. The only thing separating them was the fence, but that wouldn’t be any problem for a creature with wings. The bat was just about to lunge from the tree at his victim when a nearby stone hit the branch it was standing on, startling it and scaring it away. Daniel blinked and shook his head as he came back to reality.

“Okay," He said, surprised at his sudden change in location, “what the hell just happened?”

A few feet away from the tree previously occupied by the bat, a figure stood. The figure wore a dark hood and dark jeans, and it watched as the bat flew away.

“No one gets the boy. Not while I am alive," the figure muttered darkly before leaving the area.

***

“And that is it for supernatural mythologies," the history lecturer, Mr. Akingbade, concluded. “If there are no further questions, I’ll take my leave."

Daniel had been absent minded throughout the lecture, still shaken up by his ordeal early that morning. Truth be told, he had been absent minded throughout the previous lectures as well, and he was lucky not to have been caught by any of the lecturers. He received a nudge to his side and blinked rapidly before staring sideways into the eyes of his hyperactive classmate, Sharon.

She was a few inches shorter than him with a fair complexion and a lean build. She mostly wore her hair in braids. Her bubbly personality endeared many to her, and she was a joy to be with. Unfortunately, she could be quite naïve, and some took advantage of it.

“Hello?” She pouted at him. "Didn’t you hear me?”

“No. Sorry, what did you say?” he replied.

“I said I need your help with a that psychology course assignment. It’s more complicated than I thought. Can we meet in the faculty library later tonight? I will be busy the rest of today," she replied.

“Well, I'm not really…” He hesitated.

“Please?” She pouted, showing him her puppy-dog eyes.

“Sharon," he warned, “you know those don’t work on me."

“I can hope," she pressed on.

“Alright," he sighed, “I’ll try."

She squealed, pumping her left arm up in victory. Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle at her immaturity. It was kind of cute.

A voice snorted in disgust behind them.

“Keep up that lovey-dovey stuff and I am going to be sick."

They turned around and saw a dark-skinned girl with a mischievous look in her eyes grinning at them.

“It would be a relief to the whole world."

Sharon stuck out her tongue and was rewarded with a sharp tug on her braids.

“Ow! Tomiwa, why did you do that?!!” she cried.

Tomiwa grinned and stuck out her tongue at Sharon in response. Daniel shook his head with a smile and relaxed a bit. The class was noisy as Mr. Akingbade had departed. Jake and some other boys were arguing about football. Sharon and Tomiwa had jumped into the all-important task of gossiping, and they giggled incessantly.

He glanced to his left and saw her again. The same girl who had been staring at him in the previous gathering. And there she was, staring at him again!!!

“What is wrong with this girl?” he thought. “Doesn’t she know it’s rude to stare?”

***

An hour had gone by, and it was evident that the final lecture was not going to be held.

“Are you guys still waiting?” He stood up, glancing at the two girls, who were still conversing.

“No," Tomiwa replied, standing up along with Sharon. “Let’s go."

They moved over to Jake, who had given up in his own argument with the boys and was currently snoozing with his head on the desk.

“Jake." Daniel tapped him lightly and he woke. “We're leaving."

“Yeah, alright," Jake replied, stretching before standing up. Soon, the quartet left the class.

“Everyone ready for the test tomorrow?” Jake said as they walked along the sidewalk towards their respective dorms.

“Kind of," Daniel replied absentmindedly.

“Same here." Tomiwa shrugged.

“Not really," Sharon squeaked bashfully. “Which means you are going to need to tutor me longer, Dan."

Daniel groaned in response.

“Hey, don’t complain," she replied. “I'm a fast learner."

The other three coughed awkwardly at that proclamation and she scowled at them.

“Whatever," she mumbled.

They soon slowed down as a crowd caught their attention. The crowd seemed to be gathering around something. Or rather someone. Angling to satisfy their curiosity, the four ran towards the crowd.

“What happened?” Daniel asked a guy who had just come from the crowd.

“Someone was attacked," the guy replied with a panicked look on his face. “It doesn’t look like he was attacked with weapons though. That is the baffling part."

With that, the guy continued on his way. Daniel pushed through the crowd, apologizing in response to the complains that came his way. When he reached the front and saw what was causing the commotion, his heart skipped a beat for the second time that day.

Lying on the floor was a young man, not much older than him. He was still alive, as evidenced by his labored breathing, but there was a lot of blood pooling around him. What shocked Daniel was the cause of the injury. Peering closer at the injured fellow, his eyes opened wide as he saw the wound on the boy’s neck.

It was a bite wound.