Chapter 4 - Into The Shadows

The whir of the overhead drones merged with the distant hum of trams speeding along their elevated tracks. The night air of the Lagos terminal buzzed with a mix of voices, horns, and the faint clatter of vendors peddling their wares, all under the neon glow of a city that never truly slept.

Tayo stood at the bustling transit station, a bag in each hand. Daniel was beside him, his expression showing a reluctance to let his friend go.

"I still think you should stay over for the night," Daniel said, crossing his arms.

Tayo shook his head, his gaze fixed on the approaching transit pod. He was determined to leave. It was time for twelve years of following and failing at a dream to end and this realization gave him a sense of peace.

"Thanks, but I need to leave," he answered. "I'll be back someday," he assured his friend even though he knew the chances of that happening were incredibly low.

Daniel hesitated, then patted him on the shoulder. "Message me when you get home."

"Will do."

The tram's doors slid open with a soft hiss, revealing its brightly lit interior. Tayo stepped inside and found a seat near the window. The automated voice of the transit system announced the route and stopped as the tram began to glide away from the station, merging into the network of glowing rails that crisscrossed the city.

The cabin's interior was quiet, populated by a mix of tired professionals, a few students, and the occasional lone traveler. Tayo leaned back in his seat, staring out at the cityscape. Towering skyscrapers wrapped in shimmering LED displays flashed advertisements for the latest gadgets, entertainment, and government programs. Below, the streets teemed with people, the chaos of the city kept at bay by the orderliness of the elevated transit system.

A woman and her young son sat beside him. The bright eyes of the kid as he stared at him with curiosity. The kid looked so much like him. At that time, he had been in the same situation as the kid was in right now, riding the transit system between New Lagos City and Ogun State.

The gaze was so uncomfortable that he turned away and focused on the passing scenery. Unfortunately, it seemed anything could trigger his thoughts, causing it to go into a spiral; so he decided to watch a movie.

As the movie started, the kid turned away, realizing Tayo wouldn't engage. The unease in Tayo's chest faded, if only slightly.

The journey was smooth so far. Having gone through half a movie, dozens of social media clips, and much more, he was relaxed enough to fall asleep, and for a while, he slept soundly.

The lights inside the tram flickered. It did not look like much and could be attributed to a minor glitch, but then the tram jerked to a halt. Its smooth glide was interrupted by a violent lurch. Everyone was thrown forward, many hit their heads against the seats in front of them, causing them to be dazed for a moment. Tayo had a headache as he was woken up by a painful collision with the seat in front of him.

"What happened?" he heard someone ask as he rubbed his forehead.

Everyone had the same question and no answers, so when the tram's announcement system came on with a chime, they all looked up.

An automated voice chimed: "Emergency override in progress. Please remain seated."

The announcement did little to calm the tense passengers. Some of them even contemplated checking other cabins to know what was going on.

But the hissing of the doors as they opened made them pause and when they saw a group of masked individuals storming into the cabin, armed with energy rifles and wearing dark uniforms that bore no insignias, they froze.

The situation made sense now and fear took over the cabin. They all shrunk back and the words of the masked men did nothing to alleviate their fears.

"Stay calm, we won't hurt you unless we have to," one of them barked, his voice distorted by a voice modulator. "We are looking for some people," he added.

Hearing that, one of the passengers stood up. "Who are you people? You wear no insignias, are supposed to trust your words when we don't know who you are?" he shouted at them.

None of them responded, but one of them lifted his energy rifle, aimed at the man who now had wide eyes as he tried to crouch, but he did not make it.

He had been sitting next to the window and the moment the energy blast hit, he was painted onto the wall, causing some of the passengers to gasp, and others to scream as they shrunk back and lowered their heads. The man's colleague who had been glaring beside him covered his mouth as he suppressed his scream.

"Any other questions," one of the masked men asked. He appeared to be the leader of the group. No one responded for fear of death.

Tayo was terrified. He could not help taking another glance at the wall. The dark red sludge that was the man was splattered all over it. Beside him, the woman was shivering as she covered her son's eyes, trying to shield him from the horror.

Hearing no other questions, the group started their work. Just as they said, they were looking for people. They held a scanner in their hands as they took readings from the passengers one after the other.

From his place in the back of the tram, Tayo could see their movements, especially the scream of the woman who was chosen first by the masked men. The scanner had made a ping that rang through the cabin. She was terrified as they dragged her to the front, tied her hands behind her back, and told her to kneel.

With that done, they continued their sweep of the cabin. Around the middle of the cabin, three people were selected, each receiving the same treatment as the first woman. These three were relatively young and could not have been older than twenty years old.

They continued until they reached the back of the cabin where the scanner made another ping when they took a reading on the boy. She raised her head in horror when that happened and was about to jump at the masked men when one of them hit her in the face with the butt of his rifle.

The blow bruised her forehead, causing her to bleed, while the kid cried for his mom. The masked men did not care about this and simply dragged the kid to the front of the cabin, giving him the same treatment as the others. He was unlike the others because he kicked and punched with his little arms as he tried to run to his mother.

Tayo watched this sight, frozen in fear. He could barely think as the scanner passed over him. The boy looked at him, his silent plea clear. Tayo clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. What could I even do? What difference could I make?

'I don't want to die,' he shouted at himself.

"Hey," the masked figure who had just passed by him said.

Tayo froze.

Another masked figure approached; his rifle slung casually over their shoulder. "What's the holdup?"

The masked figure hesitated. "This guy… something about him feels off." He whispered to the other masked man.

Tayo's heart pounded. "What are they talking about? Off? What does that even mean?"

"Raise your head," the new arrival ordered.

Tayo's stomach dropped.

'What did I do? The scanner did not go off' he lamented as he raised his head slowly.

"Call it in," the second masked man said as he dragged Tayo out of his seat.

Now, he understood some of how the other captives felt. The men were strong and his resistance meant nothing. One thought popped into his mind that he could not shake.

'They have void abilities'

The first one stepped aside, speaking to the leader of the group his voice muffled. Tayo couldn't make out the conversation, but he didn't need to. The unintentional nod when he received a response told him everything.

The leader of the group, a tall figure with a commanding presence, approached. He was intimidating, and his voice carried an unsettling calm.

"This one," he said, gesturing toward Tayo. "He comes with us."

"What?!" Tayo blurted out, panic seizing him. "I don't—"

"Move," the masked man snapped, cutting him off, his protests drowned out by the terrified silence of the other passengers.

The other captives were being moved out of the cabin as well. It appeared their job was done. With that, Tayo was shoved toward the open doors of the cabin and onto a hovercraft parked beside the tram.

He could see the tens of wide-eyed faces staring back at him, frozen in fear and helplessness. His hands were bound behind him as the transparent doors of the hovercraft closed and the vehicle pulled away from the tram.

'Why me?'

His thoughts were agonizing. The world was unfair. The scanner did not make a sound, yet he had been kidnapped.

The masked men had left the place and left them locked in. As they flew further away from the tram and any semblance of freedom, he imagined he could see the survivors in the tram jubilating because they escaped.

Some of the captives squirmed in their bonds. They were locked in from every direction, but that did not stop some of them from trying to free themselves.

They saw when the tram jerked forward and began to move, that moment felt like death; then, a blinding flash consumed Tayo's vision, followed by a force that made hovercraft tremble beneath them.