The Inner Gate – Episode 12

THE INNER GATE
(Rising Bones)
Episode 12
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Written by Bright Daniel
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She went through an appian way into the inner gate because the gate itself cannot be opened by a human being. in,side of it was as dark as a charcoal, so she brought out a stick and made it lit at its edge. The flame burnt like fuel thus giving her a magnificent light. She began to move to the inner part of Defity’s domain. She could see very old footsteps, images on the wall and human bones on the floor. Many were complete human skeleton lying on the ground. The horizontal building was as quiet as a grave yard. Yet, she kept moving taking a step at a time.
Suddenly, a rat ran across her legs. She gasped aloud and jumped up. Her breathing rate changed after the rat went out of sight. If a rat could scare her like that, how much more Defity?
Nevertheless, she exhaled heavily and continued her journey. Sooner did she get to the end of the building. It was larger than the entrance. She raised the light up to the roof cemented with strange images on it. She later brought it down to see different type of cloths of whom Defity had killed. Some had started decaying while some like her mother’s was still fresh. When she saw her mother’s stained with blood, she took it up bitterly with tears in her eyes. She angrily dropped it back and shouted, “Show yourself you filthy bones! Show yourself, Defity!”
Her voice echoed in the sanctum, yet nothing happened. She turned round and round waiting for Defity to show herself. Suddenly, she felt the sand and the cloths on the floor shaking by the help of a wind. Therefore she stood at a s₱0t to know what happens next.
“I guess you don’t know where you are, young lady” a female voice came behind her. She turned swiftly to see Defity in human form blocking the only road which Olivia suppose to run through if actually she wanted to run. She was a goddess with extra beauty. Her hair alone was nothing to write home about. Its length was able to sweep all the bones on the floor away. Her br-ast and butt is capable of driving someone like Olande crazy. The colour of her l-ips was like that of a marine queen and her height it unspeakable. Olivia couldn’t believe she talks coz that was her first time of hearing her voice.
“I know where I am. Where is my mother?” she retorted unabashedly.
“No, you don’t coz if you do, you won’t be here especially at this hour. Your ancestors tried what you’re doing now, yet they never went home alive”
“But one man did went home alive”
Hearing that, Defity flashed back on the very day a man left the inner gate without being killed..
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FLASH BACK
Five men entered the inner gate holding a burning stick and swards. One of them was captain Joe. He had extra bag which he hung across his shoulder. None of the men knew the content of the bag coz he claimed to put the head of Defity in it after they must have killed her.
When the fight began between them and Defity as a tornado, all the men died in the process except captain Joe who started running out of the long horizontal building but was pursued by the tornado. At getting to him, Joe brought out a powder element which he blew in the air, thus, weakening Defity’s power; she transformed from a tornado to a human being then ran back to the inner building. Fear didn’t allow captain Joe to run after her and eventually kill her. All he did was to take enough human bones as fast as possible then ran out of the horrible place alive…
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CONTINUITY
Defity didn’t exchange more words with Olivia after remembering the incident. She attacked her immediately by first flinging her long hair round her neck. Before she could draw her down with it, Olivia cut it with the sward in her hand.
Defity turned into a tornado immediately that flung up almost everything on the ground. Particles of sand entered into Olivia’s eyes thereby getting her blind at the moment.
“Aaaahhhh!!” She exclaimed swinging her sward blindly in the air until the tornado carried her, stripped her unclad and began to break her. Luckily for her, Kacee, who monitored her movement that night arrived with the same powder captain Joe used. He actually stold it from his room. He blew it in the air then the tornado disappeared thereby hitting Olivia on the floor. Kacee carried her immediately running out of the building. He looked back to see another tornado not only forming but also running after them.
“C’ mon, open!” he whispered as he approached the burning gate. He hopped it opens coz he knew that since Defity was after them, the gate suppose to open by itself. Just as he hopped, the gate opened then he hurried up with Olivia unconscious on his shoulder. Before Defity approached, he blew the last powder which totally made the tornado vanished then everywhere calmed. He pulled his shirt and covered Olivia up before carrying her to the village.
Everybody had gone to sleep.
He carried her to her house where he laid her on a bed then got a bucket of water and a towel. He gently took off the shirt he used to cover her body then stared at her full unclad body. It was filled with bruises even on her face. He began to clean her up….
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Back to the residence of Joe, he laid face up on his bed thinking about Olivia’s recent threat to kill him if she discovers his secret. Without being told, he knew that any day his secret is known and Defity defeated, he will die a natural death because that was what he agreed for long time ago….
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FLASH BACK
Before the journey of the five men to the inner gate which captain Joe was among, he left the walls of Jezra to a spiritualist from another far away town. He sat before the deadly looking spiritualist and told him his mission.
“Defity cannot be killed” the man began. “She existed from the past and, many, right from your ancestors have embarked on this journey but never succeeded. Then how do you think you will succeed?”
Captain Joe bent his head down speechlessly.
“But there is something you can do” the man continued which made him raise his head up happily. “If you can be able to get any human bone left by Defity, grind it with the leaf of a poison oak, you might get to the inner gate and return alive”
“What shall I do with the grinded bone and poison oak?”
“Defity is allergic to the leftover bones, so when you grind it with the leaf of a poison oak, it becomes toxic to her and eventually weakens her power”
“Can’t it kill her?”
“It can’t but you can. Listen carefully..” the old man stood up. “If you succeed in getting the bones left by Defity, you’ve shared part of the sacrifice of a goddess. Therefore if you embark on this journey, and came back without killing Defity, any day she’s killed, you’ll die with her. You might come back alive and become the greatest man in the land but your life and that of Defity is one” he moved closer to him. “The good news is when this is done and the grinded mixture remains in your house, Defity will never come for your life. But I repeat, any day Defity is killed, that day you shall die. This will only work on you, no one else”
“Why?”
“Coz you will be the one to take the bones” he returned to his seat leaving poor Joe in a very deep thought.
“What if I’m killed by someone, will Defity die too?” Joe asked as an afterthought.
“No, coz her power is greater than yours” the man concluded..
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CONTINUITY
After remembering that, captain Joe stood up from the bed. That explains why he kept preventing any idea brought to defeat Defity. That also explained why he packed a lot of bones on his way back from the inner gate that day coz he knew his life has been attached with that of Defity.
He reached his sward which hung above a bucket. The content of the bucket was the grinded bones and the leaf of a poison oak. Rose didn’t have the idea when she saw it.
“No one must find a way to kill Defity as far as I’m concern” he concluded in thought and dropped back the sward.
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Back to Olivia’s, Kacee had cleaned her up and covered her before calling her friend, Dave, that night to look over her.
When Dave arrived, looked at Olivia’s body to see bruises, he asked Kacee who was at the door ready to leave, “What happened to her?”
“She went to fight a wind” he replied.
“What?” Dave opened his eyes amazingly. “She went to the inner gate?” he added.
“Yes”
“How did you know she was there?” he began to look at him suspiciously.
“I monitored her movement when I learnt she was going somewhere”
“Then how did you save her from the unbearable tornado?”
“It’s none of your business. Just take care of her” Kacee left the building.
*****
The next day in the city of Gillary, Elizabeth went to the residence of her boyfriend to know how he was fairing. She pressed the alarm door, waited for a while before it opened.
“Jesus Christ!” she exclaimed at the sight of Diego who opened the door.
He was covered with wound all over his body. Some part of his face had swollen up due to several predicament he had been having. He turned going back to his room after leaving the door open.
“Diego, which robot did this to you?”
“I would have been happy if robot was the one who did it” he replied from his room where he began to org-nize his traveling bag.
“Who did this to you then?” Eliza noticed he was parking his cloths. “Where are you going to?” the interrogation changed.
“To Jezra. I guess it will be more useful to die for them than to die for nothing here. Just take a good look at my body, I have been suffering from predicament ever since I refused to go to that godforsaken land”
“I’m going with you. If they gonna kill you, they have to kill me first”
Diego stared at her quietly. “You’re joking right?” he asked hopping she says ‘yes’.
“Do I look like a clown to you?” she removed her jacket and put it in,side his bag. “I’ll like to get more cloths” she concluded while the boyfriend stared at her speechlessly.
******
As Rose cried in,side her room because of what captain Joe might do to her if she refuses to marry him, so as Dave cried in Olivia’s house because of the next person he had seen to die.
He was at the windowside shedding tears when Olivia regained consciousness. Her head ached so as her body but she managed to sit up. She tried to remember how she got there but couldn’t. All she could remember was facing Defity in her domain. She turned to the window when she noticed Dave’s presence.
“Dave?” she called calmly.
He turned with tears in his eyes but didn’t say a thing. Not even good morning.
“What happened to me? I mean why are you crying too?” Olivia asked sitting at the edge of the bed.
“I’ve seen the next to die” He replied dryly while Olivia stood up to him managing to walk.
“Who?” she asked.
“Rose, she’s next in line” he replied then both stared at each other….
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TO BE CONTINUED

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