Chapter 1 1

"Who from hell is responsible for your pregnancy?” her father roared. As a Preacher, he was furious after discovering that while he preached for couples to remain innocent of sexual intimacy till marriage, his own daughter had gotten pregnant under his roof. “No…nobody.” she stuttered and immediately realized how foolish she sounded. Her father realized it too. “Oh, so you just magically got pregnant?” he questioned, incredulous. At this point, Inara’s mind had started working fast. She knew that she had to pin it on someone. But who? Who in her class was easy bait? Eric? No. He was a nerd and hardly spoke to anyone. Victor? No. Everyone knew that he was gay. Her friend Mike? It would be a betrayal. He was a nice guy and had a girlfriend. It would ruin their relationship. So who? Alex in the choir? He was an alto singer like her and they often scored songs together. He would be devastated and it would ruin his reputation as a good guy in church. Besides, he had already told her that he loved her older sister Amara. So who again? She was on her knees before her parents in their bedroom as she always was whenever they interrogated her over serious issues. It was just how she and her sibling had been brought up. And this time, she feared that she had crossed the finished line. Her life was about to change. It was a tense atmosphere, the most it had ever been in her home. Her worried sister, Amara was outside the door, listening and her mother was mad with disappointment over her situation. It made her heart sink. “Speak up!” her father snapped, “or by God, I won’t care if you’re pregnant. This whip will remind you of whose daughter you are.” Inara was terrified and felt for her mother who was looking down at her with a disapproving frown across her face. Her mother didn’t talk much but her anger and disappointment was evident in her disappointed expression. Inara was deeply sorry that she had failed them. “Are you dumb?” her mother shouted and she heard the whoosh of her father’s whip in the air. Inara flinched and before it could land on anywhere near her skin, she whispered the name Lemuel . “What was that?” Her father questioned, his raised hand, pausing at midair. “Lemuel.” she repeated in a louder voice, her head down. “Who the sky is Lemuel?” he demanded, lowering the whip and tossing it aside so that it landed carelessly on the floor. Inara didn’t know how to explain it. This was someone who was in her Extra moral classes but did not fit in. He wasn’t of her age grade which was late teens. He was in his early thirties and from whispers around, only there because he wanted a high school certificate in business before he would get into business school. Word in campus was that he was already a Model and certified Civil Engineer. He had insisted on learning business from scratch. He hardly mingled with the students and often minded his business. Many girls were dying to be noticed by him which had never surprised her because of how attractive and coordinated he was but she simply saw his confidence as arrogance and self-importance. She saw him as a guy who saw himself as better than everyone else which was probably why he didn’t mix up with the other students. The only persons he really mixed up with were the Lecturers. Maybe they respected him because of his self-importance or something, she had always reckoned with irritation, which had never made any sense to her. “Who is Lemuel?” her father demanded again, cutting off her thoughts. “My classmate.” Her mother began to weep upon hearing that. “She disgraces this family. How will I show myself in church?”she wailed. “Oh my dear, we will show ourselves in church.” her father said in an ominous voice that was disturbing. “How?” her mother asked him. “How is that possible with what she has done? People will laugh at us. They will say that we can’t practice what we preach. This is bad.”“Don’t worry dear, our daughter is not having a baby out of wedlock. No way. That boy or whatever, is marrying her by fire or force.”“Daddy no!” Inara cried out and that was when she started crying, the enormity of her situation, completely sinking in. At nineteen going on twenty, she had not cried in a long time, except when watching emotional movies. Her parents had stopped disciplining them some years back so there weren’t such episodes. The reason they were so mad now was because of the current situation and she was overwhelmed with regret for putting herself in this sticky situation. It wounded Inara that she couldn’t turn back the hands of time. And the truth was that she was only in this condition because, she had been drawn into a game called The Last Dare .

Chapter 2 2

Memories of that night returned to her, vivid as sunlight rays casting their brilliant light upon the earth. What they called The Last Party had ended and all the guests were gone, leaving a messy living room for Inara and her friend Zee but that wasn’t their problem. Having nothing to worry about, they were seated over a deck of Whot Card game, willing to bet some part of their allowances already laid down on the floor as the house keeper in Zee’s home cleaned after the guests. Inside Zee’s room where they were, no one was winning and the game was getting boring hence, Inara dropped her remaining cards onto the furry rug in the middle of the room where they were seated. “I'm bored.” she complained to Zee. She was expecting Zee to demand for the backing out penalty fee but Zee didn’t do that. Instead, she seconded her move, laying down her cards as well. “Me too.” she admitted and they giggled about it. Inara liked Zee’s home because it was a free place. Zee’s parents were permissive and traveled a lot, leaving her with a lot of freedom. Inara herself barely enjoyed such freedom at her home except when her parents would travel for missionary work like now which had afforded her the luxury of partying and sleeping over at Zee's place. Her family did not like Zee because they believed that she was a bad influence on her. She had been forbidden from hanging out with Zee, which was why she often formulated lies just to be with her. As far as she was concerned, Zee was not a bad person. She was just this carefree girl who didn’t take life too seriously and Inara didn’t see anything wrong with that. Sometimes, Inara wondered if Zee did not really care about people’s opinion of her. Maybe she did care a little. Maybe she did not. Whatever the case, she had chosen not to judge her. Concerning being a bad girl, Zee smoked though and cursed a lot which was a sin but Inara had taught herself not to let it bother her and lately, she had started cursing too but only when she was not at home or her parents would kill her. Inara couldn’t help but think that while Zee was living her life, she was busy living a double life and she envied Zee who was who she was. Inara noticed that Zee’s countenance had become extremely meditative, her blue eyes, glued to the ceiling. “Penny for your thoughts.” she told Zee and watched Zee’s eyes fall back to her face. “Inny, this party marking our imminent graduation from high school was great but I want more.” Whenever Zee called her Inny, Inara always knew that whatever she had on her mind was serious, at least to Zee. “Okay, so what do you have in mind?” she asked. “What is the craziest thing that you have ever done?” Inara juggled her memory and could find none. She remembered when her father had caught her smoking papers behind their home when she was fourteen. He had grounded her for three days and she had never thought about trying it again, especially after his lectures about the health dangers involved. She did not want to have any heart disease and all. She relived the event for Zee and watched her chuckle with amusement. “Well, you were a kid then. How about like recently?” Zee pressed. “Apart from sneaking around to hang out with you, I don’t know.” Inara responded. “I thought as much.” Zee commented matter-of-factly and Inara realized that she was curious to hear about the craziest thing that Zee had ever done. “So how about you?” she asked. “You don’t want to know.” Zee responded and it made Inara more curious. “Tell me.” she pleaded, unable to mask her curiosity. Zee grabbed a cigarette and lighted it. Inara noticed that she didn’t shuffle away from Zee to protect herself from the smoke as she usually used to and Zee smiled knowingly, which meant that she had just noticed it too. “You did not shift away from my smoke.” she said. “I guess you’re getting used to it.” Inara shrugged and silently wondered about when the smoke had stopped bothering her. Maybe soon, she would start smoking too. But that was because, Zee had said that it was the smoke that killed her fat and kept her slim. She had recommended it for her and Inara had been contemplating using it to achieve weight loss for herself. Evil company corrupts good manners her mother would often say but she ignored those words of wisdom. She guessed it was true what her father usually said; When someone wants to do bad, they have already decided it in their heart and always have the perfect excuse to do so . Inara knew that she was getting out of control even though she was still fighting the battle of being completely lost in Zee’s world of craziness. “Fine, let me tell you about how I lost my virginity.” said Zee. “Have you lost yours by the way? I cannot believe that I never asked but I'm sure you have. All those boys you hang with.” Inara’s face colored red with embarrassment. She hated the subject of virginity and sex because she didn’t know how to explain that it was forbidden until marriage. Almost all the girls seemed to be having sex and because of peer pressure, she often acted like she was also sexually experienced, in order to feel accepted. “None of your business Zee, I am not a bloody virgin.” Zee threw her head back and laughed. “Who is a virgin these days anyway?” she scoffed and took a long drag of smoke. She took her time exhaling the smoke that she had dragged into her mouth and Inara watched her, enamored. She really liked Zee. Zee was so brazen and self-confident. It seemed like the house had gone very quiet and they could hear the house keeper whistling away as she worked, cleaning up the mess from the party. “Nuns are virgins.” Inara offered and they laughed. Silence followed their laughter and Inara spoke again. “Now seriously, how did you lose your virginity Zee?” She was impatient because of her eagerness to hear Zee’s story. Zee took another long drag from her cigarette and her exhale was faster this time. “How I lost my virginity huh? Well, long story short, I was in love with this boy some years back and he was busy cheating with some snotty faced bitch. I got mad and decided that I was done being a good girl who was saving her virginity for the right guy. I wanted to be free and have fun so I called a friend of mine to come and get rid of it.” Hearing what Zee had just told her, Inara was shocked, her mouth hanging open. “Just like that?”she asked, incredulous. “Yeah. I just said to him, please come over. I don’t wanna be a virgin anymore. Come and get rid of it. He was speechless at first because, he had been asking me out earlier and I refused. Anyway, he came over and gave me the forbidden fruit if you know what I mean.” Inara watched Zee laugh, still shocked. “Zee, that was crazy.”“I know right.”“Was he gentle?” Inara asked. Word on the street was that, first time sex for a female was painful. She had tried putting a finger inside herself to confirm the information. And she knew that it was true because, she had felt pain and had quickly retrieved her experimenting finger. “Very gentle.” Zee responded dreamily. “Where is he now?”“He moved to another state with his parents and that ended our bed sessions.”“Why did you tell me this anyway?”“Because I want us to do something crazy to mark our growing up. It will be like the icing on the cake after today’s party. Do you really wanna find yourself out there and when you’re asked about the craziest thing that you’ve ever done, you go mute? Nobody wants to hang around boring people. You’ve got to be more adventurous.” Inara thought about it. She didn’t think that she wanted to be the boring and inexperienced one in the crowd and for a fleeting moment, she wondered if perhaps Zee already found her boring. “No no no. Don’t get me wrong. I'm not saying that you’re boring,” Zee defended as if reading her mind, “I know you’re from a religious home but I just think that life is too short not to be free once in a while. King Solomon loved God but he wasn’t perfect right? What do you think?” Inara knew that she had been convinced as she picked up the half-empty bottle of vodka beside her and drained the remaining contents. “Bring it on.” she responded, replacing the empty bottle on the ground and what followed after, was Zee introducing her to The Last Dare.

Chapter 3 3

To ensure that the dare was not to be taken for granted, Zee had them seal their oath in blood. Zee pricked their right thumbs with a needle and as blood trickled out, they pressed their wounds to each other’s and Zee led her through the oath in a solemn way like an experienced priestess of some dark cult. “With our blood, we do perform the last dare. We seal an oath to perform the dare we give each other and we agree that the dare will not be one that drives the other to take a life.” Afterwards, they both wrote a dare to challenge each other, agreeing that the dare had to be life changing. After exchanging the papers, Inara watched as Zee’s eyes scanned the paper she had given her. Contact the guy who took your virginity and beg him to marry you. If he agrees, fine, but if he doesn’t, move on. Zee’s face registered deep worry, her brows coming together in a frown that clearly showed her displeasure with the dare. But then she quickly recollected herself and threw Inara a faint smile. “Well, I never thought you had it in you to go all out. This is some real mad shit.” Inara returned the smile, opened the paper Zee had given her and froze because the words her eyes read stabbed at her very soul. For real, frame a guy for pregnancy and follow it through to the end. This was bad, really bad thought Inara. When she tore her eyes away from the cursed words, she looked at Zee, her thumb still smarting from the needle’s sting. Inara didn't like the smile that played across Zee’s lips. It made her begin to wonder if perhaps her parents had been right to keep her away from the girl. “Why?” she managed to ask, realizing that her voice was a whisper. She couldn’t hide her disappointment and began to pace about. She stopped for a second and threw her hands up. “What was I thinking?” she blamed herself. “Like mine is any easier.” Zee snapped. “We shouldn’t have used blood Zee. It is a sin to swear.” Inara admonished, knowing she sounded stupid because she could have backed out earlier. “Oh please, tell me about it.” Zee said irritably. “What a self-righteous whore you are.”“What?” Inara was shocked. “You’re such a hypocrite.”“And you’re such a lonely hippie hiding behind a carefree mask. You go around pretending like nothing gets to you but you actually care what people think about you, otherwise you wouldn’t be so torn about performing that dare.” Inara almost regretted her words because she knew she had stricken a nerve as Zee’s eyes filled with tears. “I want you gone by tomorrow.” Zee shouted. “No. I leave tonight.” Inara shouted back and at that moment, the house keeper pushed the door open. Apparently, their shouting match had attracted her. She was a sweet faced middle aged woman and she looked concerned. “Girls, what is going on?”“We fell out. She’s leaving.” Zee responded carelessly and threw herself onto a couch. “Why? It’s almost 10:00 pm.” the house keeper pointed out. “Never mind, I’ll be fine.” Inara told her and reached for her sleep over back pack. She quickly thrust in the novel she had intended to read and the night dress she had already placed on Zee’s bed, zipped it and walked out. Remembering her money on the floor, she stepped back, picked it up and pocketed it before continuing on her way. On the driveway outside, she mounted her bike and turned the key. As her bike roared, the anger she was feeling intensified so much that she fought back tears from her eyes. “Blood is potent.” she heard Zee say from the front porch. She didn’t know the girl had followed her and she didn’t care. “Go to hell.” Inara replied and drove off, wishing she had never met Zee because otherwise, she didn’t think she would have been so down the rabbit hole; living in sin, cursing, gambling, beginning drinking, planning to smoke and now, taking a blood oath? To what end? she wondered. The answer was right before her; regret, loss of friendship and a brooding future.

Chapter 4 4

When Inara reached her home that night, her sister had come to open the door for her. “I heard the sound of your bike. I wasn’t expecting any rebel.” Amara commented. Inara forced a smile as she walked inside the house, doing a good job of hiding her pain or so she thought. “Trouble in paradise?” Amara asked after locking the door behind her and Inara was not expecting it but the weight of dismay and disappointment over the events at Zee’s place broke her down in that moment. She felt like crying and seeing her sister looking so concerned triggered a wellspring of tears. Surprised, Amara didn’t question her anymore. She just hugged her and Inara was reminded of why she loved her older sister so much. She was one of the most understanding persons she had ever known and she appreciated her more in that moment when all she needed was a shoulder to cry on without words, at least for now. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.” she told her sister. “Fine. I will go get my sleep mask.” Inara nodded and watched her go but then Amara paused just ahead. “Just tell me that weirdo didn’t hurt you. At least not physically.” Inara shook her head and watched her leave. “I’ll meet you in your room.” Amara threw over her shoulder and moments later, they were fast asleep in Inara’s bed. At some point in the still of the night, Inara felt the hairs on her skin rise to a wind of cold and her eyes fluttered open to discover an eerie wind blowing with the curtains and room window dancing to the erratic rhythm of the breeze. Her sister was still sleeping and she rose up, threw her legs onto the floor and approached the window. She pulled the glass shut, wondering if she had left it open. When she turned back to the bed, she bumped into Amara who looked like she was sleepwalking, her face expressionless. “Amara!” She yelped, startled. When did her sister start sleepwalking? “The last dare will no longer wait.” said Amara and the bed lamp began to flicker randomly like she usually saw in scary movies. She knew that something was wrong somewhere. “What…how did you know?” Inara asked, shocked because she knew that she hadn’t told anyone about the last dare. “Excuse me?” She wasn’t sure that she had heard Amara right. And why was her sister’s countenance so weird? “The last dare will no longer wait!” Amara thundered in a dark, distorted, malevolent male voice and in terror, Inara screamed to her wake. Her sigh of relief came slow. Thank God, it was a dream, she thought as her sister woke up to the disturbance. With a hand to her rapidly beating heart, Inara tried to calm herself down from the horrible memory of the nightmare. “You were having a bad dream.” Amara observed and she nodded. “Inara, should I be worried considering how you came home?”“I'm fine.” Inara responded. “I'm so sorry that I woke you.”“Hmn.” Amara commented with doubt. “I'm fine mom.” Inara said lightly in a bid to make light of the situation. Amara was a couple of years older than her and had always been so maternal. She didn’t want to cause her any worry. Amara sighed and Inara knew with relief that her sister would let it go. “Goodnight baby sis.” Amara told her and turned back to sleep. “Night night.” Inara’s eyes shot towards the wall clock and it was 3:00 am on the dot. Fearing another nightmare, she ardently wished that it were morning. Maybe she was dwelling too much on the blood oath, she told herself and tried to fall back asleep. It took her a long time because she was scared about the nightmare but eventually, she fell asleep and to her greatest relief, the nightmare did not return. *** Three days later when nothing happened, no nightmare or strange events, she decided not to worry anymore and put the past behind her. Inara attended choir rehearsals the fourth day and sang her heart out to Bringing in the sheaves , she and Alex, doing justice to the alto part of the song. After rehearsals, Alex caught up with her as she put an offering into the donation box just outside the church where she had parked her bike. “Inara, always good to see you.” he said to her. “Likewise Alex.”“Do you have a moment?” Inara already knew the topic and rolled her eyes. “Amara?” she said knowingly. “Do you even bother to put in a good word for me?” he asked suspiciously. “I’ve told you. Talk to her yourself. Do you even realize that she’s older than you?”“Two years is nothing.” he retorted and Inara mounted her bike. She was getting fed up with his lack of courage. “The fact that you can’t tell her yourself is a sign that she’s probably out of your league.”“Hey, I thought we are friends, pumpkin.” Pumpkin was the word he used to pick on her plump looks when she was not being too kind to him and she rolled her eyes to prove her indifference. “I really hate it when you roll your eyes at me. It’s disrespectful.” It was not the first time that he had complained about it but she did not care. “Who cares?”“So that’s it my pumpkin, come on.” Inara knew that he was talking about Amara now. “Alex, I will mention it today.”“Promise?”“I cross my heart. And I’ve told you to stop calling me pumpkin.” It irked her because Alex was also plump like her. “How can the pot call the kettle black?”“I’ll stop as soon as you lose the baby fat.” Alex stated. “After you then.” Inara responded. “Don’t wait too long because I’ve begun taking aerobic classes.” Alex informed her proudly. “Good luck pumpkin.” Inara scoffed at him but he simply laughed at her. “Don’t forget my message. See you.” he said and as he went to his truck, she wondered about when she would drop the laziness and start addressing her weight issues, not for anyone but herself. All her friends were fit. Her sister was fit too. And now, Alex was doing something about his. Well, that was thought for another day. Inara was about to start her bike when her phone beeped with a message from Amara. “Please can you get pringles on your way back from rehearsal? I’ll refund you.” You gotta be kidding me thought Inara who was just about zooming off to the house. Well, what are siblings for if not for inconveniences? Amara used to say. Changing her course, she rode towards the nearest supermarket. It was already 7:00 pm and she enjoyed the cool breeze of the evening, especially as traffic was low. When she drove into the parking lot of the supermarket and alighted, her attention was captured by the sight of her classmate as he exited his red SUV. It was Mr. higher than all as she privately referred to him but his name was Lemuel. One glance at him and no one would doubt if told that he was a model. He was tall, toned and possessed handsome features worth crushing after. Even in his simple jeans and tee-shirt, he looked like he owned the world. And of course, there was that look of impatience on his face as he kept looking at his watch and scanning the area during which their eyes met. They exchanged a simple I know you’re in my class wave and she entered the supermarket and shopped for Amara’s pringles. After paying for it at the counter, she hurried towards the door and bumped into her friend, Mike. The pringles package escaped the bag and rolled onto the floor but Mike rescued it and handed it over to her. “Inara, shouldn’t you be eating vegetables instead?” he asked and it took her some confusing seconds to realize that he was teasing her about her weight. “And shouldn’t you be eating pringles Mike?” They both laughed and Inara realized that something was off about Mike. It was the fact that the guy was always with his girlfriend so she found it strange to see him alone. “It’s kind of strange to see you without your girlfriend.” she commented and as though, invoked, Mike’s girlfriend, a skinny girl walked in, pushing straight towards him. “Hi.” Inara greeted her but the girl nodded dismissively and took hold of Mike’s hand, leading him away but he managed to throw her an apologetic smile. Inara knew that the girl was insecure. It was the least of her problem she thought and headed out of the supermarket. There, she was greeted with the sight of Lemuel kissing a female model against his car. He held her possessively as though she was  his property. The guy had no shame. The classy young woman, who looked to be in her late twenties with low heels, almost matched his six-foot one height. Inara stole a moment to consider her own plump look and briefly thought about how out of his league she was, just as Alex was probably out of Amara’s seeing how Amara had once told her that she wouldn’t be with a guy who was intimidated by her. As for Mr. higher than all, the guy certainly had class and taste, she thought and looked at herself. Five-foot five inches wasn’t bad at all she mentally praised herself as a text message beeped her phone. When she checked, it was from Zee. The last dare will no longer wait it read and with rising terror, her heart began pummeling against her chest amidst a fresh wave of turmoil.

Chapter 5 5

Inara called Zee’s phone but there was no response from her. She contemplated paying her a visit in order to confront her about the strange message but instead, she rode home, unable to control the constant pounding of her heart. At home, after handing over Amara’s pringles to her, she went straight inside her bedroom and locked herself inside so that she could think or more like hide from the world. Flopping herself down onto her bed, she curled herself into the comforter, wishing that she didn’t exist. To her surprise, her phone rang and it was Zee, so she picked the call and listened. “How many nightmares have you had?” Zee asked, going straight to the point and Inara was surprised. She didn’t know that Zee knew about that. “How can you know about that? Did you have any too?” She asked, her voice a hoarse whisper due to the fear that she was feeling. “Yes.” Zee answered. “How many have you had?” Inara cleared her throat so that she could find her voice. “What does it matter?” she asked, gratified that her voice was more audible. “This is important Inny.” Zee said gravely. “One nightmare.” Inara informed her. “My God, she was right.” Zee exclaimed. “Who?” Inara demanded. “What are you talking about?”“Inny, listen to me very carefully.” Zee said in a voice that sounded crucial. “You are two nightmares away from dying in a horrible way if you fail to perform your dare.” Inara froze for a few seconds, goose bumps marring her skin. “I don’t understand.” She said finally. The line went dead and before she could think, her phone was ringing again. It was Zee, but this time, it was a video call. When Inara picked the call, she saw what looked like Zee standing in front of the camera in what looked like a low class hotel room. She wasn’t sure that it was Zee because Zee looked advanced in years, with pale, swollen eyes like one who wasn’t getting enough sleep. The sight was too unsettling for her to keep lying down and Inara had to leap off from the bed and onto the floor where she managed to stand, though her legs were shaking. “Zee, is that really you? You look like you’re eighty years old.”“Seventy eight” Zee corrected. “This is how you will look if you don’t perform your dare.” A rush of mounting dread enveloped Inara, freezing her. “But I’m recovering.” Zee explained. “After your second nightmare, thirty years will be added to you as a warning. The third nightmare adds another thirty years after which you will …die Inny.” Inara couldn’t control the rapid rising and falling of her chest, as her heart pounded with a sick feeling of horror. “How…how did you know all this?” she asked. “I saw a spiritualist after I started changing and she told me. I’ve run away to some hotel to recover after I performed my dare because my parents will be back soon. I don’t wanna scare anyone. Recovery is a day after you’ve done it.”“Did you know the consequence of this dare?” Inara whined. “If I did I never would have tried it.” Zee said regrettably and Inara wondered about how Zee had gone about the dare she had given her. “So how did your dare end?” She asked. “Let’s just say that he declined.” Inara was afraid but still felt bad for Zee at the same time. “Wait a second Inny.” Zee said urgently and it made Inara feel like something horrible had just happened. “What?” she almost cried with heightened tension and panic. “I thought you said that you’ve not had a second nightmare.”“Yes, I’ve only had one nightmare.” Inara confirmed. She didn’t like the way that Zee was looking at her. It was a look of horror as though she was seeing something ghostly. “Are you sure? Because you just changed.” Inara’s eyes widened and she tore her eyes away from the phone and rested them on the mirror at her dresser, shocked to see that the reflection of herself was late forties. In that horrifying moment, time seemed to stop for Inara as she stared at her strange reflection, frozen. It was Zee’s voice calling her name that rendered her mobile again, jolting her out of her shock. “Inny.” Zee called again, drawing Inara’s attention back to the phone “Get a hold of yourself.”“Oh my God.” Inara whispered, feeling her body grow cold. She hoped that she would not faint from the terror that had wrapped around her like a second skin. “You have to hurry Inny.” Zee advised urgently. “But I never had…” Inara started and remembered the text message that she had received from Zee at the supermarket. “Did you send me a text message some moments back?” she asked. “No.” Zee responded, shaking her head. “It read The last dare will no longer wait ” Inara explained, doubtful about Zee’s response. But why would Zee lie about such a thing? She wondered. “As you must know by now, I am familiar with the words but I never sent them to you.”“Hold on.” Inara said and quickly checked the last text message that Zee had sent her. It wasn’t there. An uncanny realization hit her then and she brought the video call back to her screen. “That was my second nightmare.” She said to Zee who let out a gasp of alarm. And then Inara heard a knock on her door. “Inara.” called Amara from outside her bedroom door. “Shit, I have to go” Inara said to Zee. “That was your warning change Inny, please be smart.” Zee advised and ended the call. With trembling fingers, Inara placed the phone on the bed and cast her gaze upon her reflection on the mirror again. The older version of her stared back and she still could not believe it. She touched her face and every move she made was reflected in the mirror like it was normal. “Inara, open up. Mum just called. They are heading home.” Amara said from outside her bedroom door and the information hit Inara with a fresh jolt of panic. Inara couldn’t let anyone see her like this. She guessed that it was time to perform her dare but she knew that she couldn’t do it looking like someone else. When was the warning change going to end? she wondered and hoped that it would not be for long. Her parents would be home any moment from now and she couldn’t hide inside her room forever. “I’m using the toilet.” she said and heard the sound of a car zooming into their driveway. She also heard her sister’s footsteps shuffling away from her bedroom door and towards the living room door. She kept her ears pinned to her door and heard the sound of the car engine stop. “Mum, dad.” She heard Amara greeting them excitedly. Without being out there, she knew that they had their arms open to hug Amara. She suddenly realized that she missed that show of affection. But she couldn’t go out there now. It was true what they say; you never know what you’ve got till it’s gone . “Where is your sister?” she heard her mother asking. “She is inside her bathroom.” Amara was explaining as she heard the sound of the main door opening, their voices and footsteps growing closer. Pulling herself away from the door, Inara hurried into her bathroom and locked eyes with her new image on the mirror. It scared her and she sat on the lid of her toilet seat, frightened. She was contemplating running away to hide with Zee at whatever hotel she was staying and then returning home when the warning change elapsed when a knock sounded at her door again. “Inara, are you done yet?” Amara asked and Inara knew that she was back at her bedroom door. “Soon.” Inara responded, projecting her voice so that Amara could hear her clearly. “Mum and dad are asking for you.” They had been raised up to meet and greet their parents whenever they returned home. Even though they were sleeping, they had to wake up, meet and greet them before returning to bed. It was just their family culture and they were all used to it. “I’m coming.” Inara said to her sister. “I will be done soon.” She heard the sound of her sister’s footsteps as she strolled away and tears welled up in her eyes. She decided to escape from the house through her bedroom window. Inara rose up to gaze at her reflection in the mirror again and a gasp of surprise escaped her. She was back to normal but on the mirror, she saw the familiar words The last dare will no longer wait scribbled in blood. The words disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. “I’m coming.” She shouted from relief and a mixture of dread because she had no time again. Inara had no idea about when the next nightmare will come and she wasn’t waiting around to let it happen. With her eyes still watered, she exited the bathroom and into her bedroom, heading straight towards the door. When she opened it, she saw Amara coming towards her room. “Amara, I’m pregnant.” she said in a whisper. Amara stopped in her tracks and glanced around cautiously. “You don’t know what you’re saying.” Amara whispered back and moved closer to her. “I can’t hide it anymore.” Inara said quietly maintaining their hushed conversation. “Jesus. Dad is a Reverend. He will kill you.”“I know.”“What are we going to do?”“I think the question is, who is responsible?” The girls were shocked to find their father stepping out from the corridor of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand. “I…welcome dad.” Inara greeted awkwardly and he nodded curtly, his burning gaze full of disappointment. Inara had gotten her green eyes from him while Amara had gotten her blue eyes from their mother. “You just had to ruin the excitement of seeing you huh?”“I’m sorry dad.” Her father placed his coffee on the dining table beside him and began to pace about, left and right. He stopped for a moment and looked at her. “My daughter, my own daughter.” he lamented, unbelieving and Inara was awash with regret at the pain she saw him feeling. “Daddy.” she said pleadingly. “Go to our room.”“Daddy please.”“Now!” he roared and Inara found herself hurrying towards her parent’s room. At the door, she gave it a quick knock. “Mummy, can I come in?” she asked, her voice hoarse. “Of course sweety, I’ve been dying to see my baby girl.” She heard her mother answer excitedly. She wished that she could feel the same way but there was currently fire on the mountain and she had nothing to be excited about. Inara turned the handle of the door and pushed it open. Her mother was already approaching her, a smile on her face as she threw her arms open for a hug. Inara flew into her arms and quickly hugged her since she hadn’t gotten a chance to hug her dad. Besides if her mother knew what was going on, there would be no hug. After a brief hug with her mother and they had disengaged from each other’s arms, Inara went down on her knees, her body shaking. “Please forgive me mother.” Her mother placed a worried hand onto her shoulder in a bid to calm her down. “Sweetheart, why? What have you done?”“Mum, I’m pregnant.” She said and her mother’s hand flew off her shoulder from the shock of the information. Inara was not surprised at her mother’s reaction. It had been expected. “And we are about to find out who is responsible.” her dad said, stepping inside, a whip already in his hand. Inara was sure that he had already lost his appetite and abandoned his coffee, which made her feel very sorry. That was how the interrogation about her pregnancy had begun. And now, haven mentioned Lemuel’s name, her father ordered her to leave for her room and get ready because, they would be confronting him the next day. Inara couldn’t control the tremors that rocked her body as she fled from her parent’s room, whipping past a concerned Amara at the corridor and heading for her room as she dreaded what the future held for her on the path that she had chosen.

Chapter 6 6

Suzy moaned as she rode her boss’s rigid manhood with pleasure. His labored breathing behind her ear was pure music to her ears. His deep voice alone could make her come and she loved everything about him. She would do anything for their relationship to be more than what it was. When he was employing her as secretary, he had told her straight away that what he wanted was one who would also attend to him sexually whenever he desired and she had accepted. For that, her pay was high. He had also warned that she could see someone else only after she had told him and he would let her go but that while their mutual agreement was on, sharing was out of the question. She understood their agreement but given how hot she knew she was, she wondered why he wasn’t making their relationship more than what it was. As far as she was concerned, she was twenty-eight and not getting any younger. Suzy yelped as she felt the strength of his palm smack her butt, making her realize she was losing focus. “Where’s your mind Suzy? Get up.” he commanded, his voice gruff with his arousal. Before she could move a muscle, he was already rising with her from the chair, bending her over the table and kneeing her legs farther apart. She cried out as he took her with one hard thrust and another and another, grunting into her ear with his own pleasure, driving her completely wild with lust. She could feel her climax approaching and when he thumbed her clit, she came apart in ecstasy, climaxing. His grip on her waist tightened and feeling him tense he climaxed seconds later. They caught their breaths and he withdrew, rolled off the condom and thrashed it before zipping up his pants. “That was intense.” she said, giggling and he smacked her bum again. “Get yourself cleaned up. You’re leaving.”“But Lemuel...”“What?”“I wanted to pass the night.” she whined. “I’m sorry, is that a part of our arrangement?”“No but...” she began to protest and he startled her by swinging her around to face him. “No buts. Stick to the arrangement. That includes not making any attempt at calling me by my name again. I am your boss. That we have sex shouldn’t make you forget that. I don’t like complications, do you understand me?”“Yes...yes sir.”“Good. See you tomorrow. Don’t be late.”“Yes sir.” Suzy quickly gathered her dress that had been flung on a nearby chair, wore it, gathered her handbag, slid into her shoes and showed herself out of his bedroom as his phone rang. Lemuel reached for his phone on the table, surprised it was from the administrator of the high school he was attending for the certificate that would enable him get into business school. Why would the school be calling him at an unofficial hour? It was 8:30 pm. He hoped that all was well. “Hello.”“Hi, good evening, this is the administrator of Future High...”“I know who you are.”“Fine, Mr. Lemuel. I am very sorry to bother you at this time but I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t important”“Well?”“I am directed to inform you that an urgent matter has come up and the director needs to see you tomorrow by 10:00 am sharp”“Is there a problem?”“I myself I’m not sure but the director did say the matter must be resolved before your certification can be finalized. As you already know, your set graduates in a month.”“I am aware of that.” Lemuel snapped. “And I also don’t like to feel threatened.”“That was not my intention at all. I’m just a messenger sir.”“Message received. Is there anything else?”“No.”“Thank you Mr. Admin.”“Pleasure sir.” Lemuel ended the call, wondering what in the world could be the matter. He also thought well, it had better be damn serious.

Chapter 7 7

Inara had barely slept at night due to her fears about the next day. She was about to pin a fake pregnancy on Mr. High and Mighty, the model with hazel eyes, a guy who barely knew her. It was scary and she had no choice but to go through with it. By morning, she was quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans and black T-shirt. Then she pulled her hair back in a ponytail and slipped her legs into a pair of black sneakers. The colors of her outfit reflected her state of mind, which was beyond melancholy. Hence, physically, she was prepared for the day but inside, she was lost and wished that she could run away. Her sister had come to see her, advised her to be strong and left for the gym. She had also heard her parents arguing afterwards with her mom saying that they didn’t need to force their daughter into a man’s home if the girl was unwilling to go. Her father was of the opinion that if that daughter was willing to sleep with the said man, then she should be willing to be with him. Inara had thrown her palms tightly over her ears in order to try and keep out their voices. She could not bear the fact that she was the source of their disagreement. Her phone rang and it was a video call from Zee. Somehow, she was grateful for the distraction. When she answered it, she was a bit relieved that Zee had gone from looking seventy-eight to late forties. “Happy birthday.” Zee wished her but Inara was not excited about any birthday wish because of her troubles. “Thank you. Glad you’re recovering.” she said solemnly. “Yeah. So what’s up dear? Have you done it?”“I’ve told my parents that I’m pregnant. They are taking me to confront the res...responsible supposed res...”“I know what you mean dear.” Zee cut in, relieving her of the awkward sounding explanation. “This is all your fault, Zee.”“We’re past that stage, Inny. This is not the time to point fingers.” There was a bit of discomfited silence. “So who did you pin it on? What if they run a pregnancy test?”“My mum ran one last night. She is a non- practicing nurse. It was positive. That is the scariest part. I could hardly sleep last night. Right now, I feel like I have dug my own grave. I guess I have no choice but to fall inside.”“I am really sorry Inny.”“It is too late for that.” Inara responded and Zee sighed lamentably. “So who did you pin it on? Anyone I know?” she asked. Inara’s heart thundered at the question as she remembered the reality on ground with trepidation. “Le...Lemuel.” she whispered realizing that she always said his name in a whisper. She did not have the courage to say it well. Zee gasped at the information. “Gosh, not everyone in your class is your mate, Inny. This isn’t a child’s game. Couldn’t you have picked a lesser target? What were you thinking? Do you know the perfume brand, Men’s Aura ?” Inara had no idea, so her expression was blank. “Well, you’re going to be accusing its CEO. And for starters, his nick name is bastard and he revels in it. Even I as crazy as I am would not have picked him.” Inara’s eyes watered and she had no words to say. She was miserable about everything, including seeing Zee admonishing her and looking more than two decades her age. She was also heartbroken, knowing that the same fate awaited her if she didn’t jump between the devil and the deep blue sea. Indeed, she was in serious trouble and had no idea about how to get out of it. Another thing that saddened her was that, it was her birthday and while her sister had told her happy birthday and her friends had texted her, her parents had not bothered to wish her happy birthday. And the worst thing about it was that she felt like she didn’t deserve any birthday wish from them because of how deeply she had disappointed them. “Good luck Inny, you will need it.” Zee told her solemnly. Inara nodded and Zee went offline. Tears rolled down her face and she quickly wiped them off with the back of her palm and pocketed her phone. Then she heard the horn of her dad’s car outside, which said that her parents were already waiting for her. Another impatient horn blared from her father’s car and she hurried outside the house to join them, putting herself quietly behind them in the back seat of the car. “Happy birthday.” they both said. It was forced but it pleased her. “Thank you dad, thank you mum.”“Inara, you’re twenty now. And you’ve chosen your path. We didn’t choose it for you but I will only try to do what is right. You simply will not have an illegitimate child in my house. The father of the child must take responsibility.” Her father said conclusively. “Do you understand me?”“Yes father.” And with that, her father started the car and zoomed off, taking her to a future that simply was desolate.

Chapter 8 8

A t Future High, Lemuel knocked on the door of the Director’s office and let himself inside. There, he couldn’t quite figure out what he thought of the scene before him. The director, a somber faced man in his sixties, peeked at him from a pair of thick medicated glasses. A single seat was arranged at the left hand side of his table, while the right hand side was occupied by a couple and the plump girl from his class. What was she even doing here? he thought. There was a resemblance between the girl and the woman, so he figured that they could be a family. The woman was on the slim side though. Lemuel realized that he recognized the man as a Reverend who preached on Television. He generally didn’t like preachers because he had discovered that many of them twisted the scriptures to put money in their pockets. This one though had earned his respect when he heard whispers of how he lived an average lifestyle and spent most of his church funds on charity and missionary work. He also noticed that the girl had her eyes glued to her feet while she kept wringing her hands and fidgeting nervously. The Reverend and his wife however had their eyes on him and their gazes looked reproachful. The question was, what business did he have with them? “Good morning, I’m glad you could make it.” said the director, pointing him to the empty seat that he had noticed. “Good morning sir, Reverend, Madam.” Lemuel greeted and the Reverend and his wife nodded, somewhat curtly. The girl was avoiding his gaze so he ignored her. “Well, why am I here sir?” He asked the director. “Do you recognize this young woman over here?”“She’s in my class” Lemuel responded, still wondering what that had to do with anything. He really didn’t like this meeting because something seemed completely wrong and off. “Well, this here is Reverend Anthony and his wife. Miss Inara over here is their daughter and there’s an issue of...”“Young man,” Inara’s father cut in, directing his words to Lemuel. “What the director here is trying to say is that the examination you wrote with my daughter has produced a result, one you must be willing to accept responsibility for because you passed. You both passed.” Lemuel understood allegories but couldn’t allow himself to fathom that what was being said was real. “Excuse me sir?”“My daughter is pregnant for you. How can you be so aloof?” Inara’s father accused him. “What? I don’t even...Jesus, this isn’t happening. How can that be?” Lemuel had never been so shocked in his entire life and he was one who was open to surprises because he believed a wise man should never underestimate mankind. “Are you saying that you never had sexual relations with Miss Inara?” The director probed. “Of course I never did.” Inara broke into a sob and Lemuel was forced to really look at her. This was insane, he thought. “Miss Inara, look at me. Look at me damn it.” he snapped, impatient and she gave him a glance but quickly returned her eyes to her lap and continued to cry. “Don’t try to intimidate my child.” the Reverend warned. Inara raised her tearful eyes to look at Lemuel and his hazel eyes narrowed at her, causing her heart beat to escalate with fright and guilt. “Why don’t you tell the truth about whoever is responsible for your pregnancy? What exactly do you want from me?“Lemuel demanded. For a second, Inara considered telling the truth but when images of the consequences of ignoring the last dare flashed in her head, she painfully shoved that thought aside. She didn’t want to age strangely and die strangely. “The...the baby is yours.” she sobbed and quickly averted her gaze to her mother’s. “Please help me mummy, daddy, please help me.” she cried and her mother threw her arms comfortingly around her. “Young man, you must accept responsibility for your actions. How can you treat this innocent girl so?” The director was indignant. “I have told you that I never had anything to do with this girl. I’m shocked.”“That’s it. I cannot listen to this degradation against my own daughter.” Inara’s mother cried. “My patience is running out.” the Reverend shouted, rising to his feet and pacing about. Lemuel threw his hands up, unbelieving. The rage that overwhelmed him was so powerful that if no one was there, he probably would have killed the girl and made sure that he did it slowly. The thought triggered vengeful feelings from the core of his being and as soon as the vengeful thoughts entered him, he decided that he would do anything to ensure that this girl came to learn in a hard way that indeed, he was the bastard son of his father. The only way to do that was to let her into his world. She had come knocking right? Well the door was about to open. “Reverend, Director, Madam, I sincerely apologize for all the confusion so far. I have had some ponder and accept the result of our examination as you so proverbially put it sir.” Silence enveloped the air when he finished talking. It seemed as though the sudden peace was staggering because his positive response had been unexpected. “Well I am glad that this has come to a peaceful resolution.” said the director, his grim face, relaxing into a more friendly countenance. Inara had stopped crying upon hearing Lemuel’s words. It wasn’t from relief but from shock and she didn’t know what to make of the turn of events. When she stole a glance at Lemuel, his eyes were narrowed at her in that ominous way that overwhelmed her with fear, hence she quickly cast her gaze to the floor, her heart hammering against her chest. “My daughter will not give birth out of wedlock.” her father insisted. “I understand.” Lemuel agreed. “In that light, I will like a short moment with your daughter so we can talk.” The hammering of Inara’s heartbeat escalated with the fear of being alone with him but knowing that her parents were around the corner gave her some little comfort. “We’ll be right outside sweetheart.” her mother said, kissing her forehead before they exited the office, leaving her alone with Lemuel. She tensed as he rose up and drew closer to her with slow, calculated steps, his musky scent travelling towards her. She continued to avoid his gaze until she felt his hand lifting her chin, forcing her face upwards but she still wouldn’t look directly at him. Instead, she continued to sniff tearfully. “Look at me.” he demanded, his voice low to prevent possible eavesdropping. Inara swallowed hard and forced her gaze to focus on his for a moment. “How old are you?” he asked. “Twen...twenty” she stuttered. He felt like wringing her neck but he controlled himself. “You should know that you’re playing with fire.”“I...I don’t know what you mean.” she said, her eyes welling up again. “Cut the crap. Who really is responsible for your pregnancy?”“I...I already to...told you.” she stammered, tears rolling down her face again. Lemuel gritted his teeth in frustration and took a deep breath to calm his anger. “Listen to me very carefully. I am the last person that you want to have problems with miss. I am not a very nice guy so you have one last chance to end all this drama, right here, right now, regardless of what I had said earlier to the others and we can pretend that this never happened.” Remaining terrified, Inara chose to stay between the devil and the deep blue sea. She saw no other option which made the tears rolling down her face, intensify and her silence, unbroken. “Well, you’ve had your chance.” He drawled. “And I don’t know what your mission is but one thing is for certain.” Inara felt his breath on her neck as his last words were whispered darkly into her ear, “You will surely regret knowing me.” She visibly shuddered and wanted to call for her mother’s help but managed to keep silent and return her gaze to the floor with fresh tears rolling down her face as he released her jaw. “I don’t want to see those tears. Wipe them off.” She sniffled and he lifted her jaw again, capturing her green eyes with his. “I said, wipe them off, now!” his deep voice commanded and Inara quickly cleaned her tears with the back of her hands. “Good, I would hate to send the impression that we haven’t been making up.” With that, he strode to the door and opened it. The others reentered the office and everyone took their seats. “So what has been decided?” The director asked. “Oh, Reverend, I officially request permission to marry your daughter.” The preacher was relieved. “That is the right thing to do son. Permission granted.” The director nodded with pleasure at the turn of events. The Reverend shook hands with Lemuel and Inara’s mother hugged her close. “Well, congratulations to you all.” said the director. “I guess we can all look forward to a wedding.” Lemuel let his gaze travel to his so-called bride to be as she cowered in her mother’s arms and all he could think about was that she had better enjoy such comfort while it lasted because soon, there would be no hiding place for her.