Lilian_Nkunga

"Kelvin... If I leave, Zula will kill everyone," I said in a shaky voice, before breaking down into sobs. I closed my eyes and allowed the tears to flow freely. If I were to leave, then my previous experiences would come to pass.

"What are you saying? You don't have to be a hero! Someone else can do that!" His voice was already rising. "I don't need a hero... I-I need my sister," he pleaded in a small broken voice. 

Hearing his pained voice shattered my bruising heart into a thousand pieces.

"I love you all," I managed to say.

"What? NO!" he screamed but I cut the connection.



***



A ritual has governed Aromes since its existence.

Every fifty years, the first born child of a family has to face Zula and die.

This year, Xena is chosen.

The morning after her eighteenth birthday, she wakes up to meet her home island devoid of all its inhabitants; including her family. She searches everywhere for all the people but she is unable to find them anywhere. The situation is hard for her to comprehend. At first, she thinks its a joke. She hopes its a prank. She refuses to believe that she has been abandoned. Until she finds the first dead body. The dead mutilated body of her father.

Then she starts hearing and seeing things that aren't meant to be. Horrifying screams, a manic creature, a cloaked figure that only comes when she takes off her glasses.

Only then, does she realize that there is no escape and her inevitable death patiently awaits her.

ALONE: Retold

As the cackles start, I could feel my heart beating along with them. Each increase in frequency acted as another hope that my brother could be the next sound. Each jolt was another build of intensity that reminded me that the world wasn't a bed of roses. Trouble could loom at any time. I had to be very vigilant.

With the walkie-talkie still clutched in my hand, I threw my head around the perimeter to make sure Zula hadn't sent something to me yet. This was one of her tactics. Most times, Zula waited for me to get distracted before she acted. She was like a hungry lioness waiting for her prey to make a running move before she attacked.

"Xena, are you there?" Kelvin's voice suddenly brought my mind back to the device in my hands.

This time I could hear myself loud and clear. I clutched the device and brought it close to my mouth.

Xena: The Ritual