I sat there for what felt like hours. My muscles ached from where they had been bound. My stomach growled from hunger. The rain had once again stopped, the gloomy clouds still remained a constant tableaux of depression. The sunlight that once seeped through began to reduce, alerting me of the incoming nightfall. The pungent odor still lingered around me but it was faint. I whipped around, the darkness growing thicker with every fading ray of the sun. The crash of waves rocked where I was, the foundations creaking loudly. My mind whirled with questions.

Then I heard it. A soft whir in the distance, the foundation creaked once again, dust falling out of multiple places. Some other roofing tiles fell before clattering to the creaking wood. Light seeped through, faint orange rays illuminating more of the room.

"It's time." The woman's voice came from across the room, I turned to her. She was wearing a yellow Ankara shirt with matching yellow shorts. She had a pistol in hand, her face shrouded by the mask. The tall man standing beside her held a small pistol, his fingers hovering above the trigger. The man wore the same Ankara like yesterday, his thin pink lips drawn in a thin line. The whir of machines and voices grew louder, heavy footsteps sinking in from further down.

"Are you two really going to try to battle them with nothing but two pistols?" Disbelief grasped me with sharp talons. I looked between the two whom continued to look forward, their eyes trained on the wooden door right across from where they stood. I was sure that it wasn't locked from the slight movement on its hinges.

"Oh sweet boy, are you that stupid?" She turned to me, a smile once again adorning her full lips. I gave her an incredulous look. The whirring became louder. The crash of waves consumed my ears again.

"You're the one that's about to challenge a group of highly trained and well equiped officers and you're the one calling me stupid." I took a deep breath as anticipation filled me. The footsteps loudened, the foundation shaking. My stomach growled again, my tongue aching for moisture.

When I was about to open my mouth to counter, two shots rung through the air. My heart leapt in my throat, my muscles tensed. The door was kicked down harshly. The loud bang flew across the room. Dust rose up, shifting through the slight pungent breeze. I coughed. I struggled against my bounds, noting the five officers in customized human mech suits. The body gleamed with a light of its own, silver stripes bouncing onto the walls. The officers' eyes were covered by sunglasses with red highlights. The recovery squad.

They all had laser guns in hand, slightly crouched as whirring filled my ears. The first officer with full afro hair said in a slightly warped voice,

"You two should stand down, drop your guns and take a step back. No harm would be done to you if you do as you're told." I remained glued to my seat, somewhat fascinated by the mech suits in full power, the whirring taking part in each of their steps and the way it made the building shake. It made my heart beat so quickly with fear and unmasked delight. I casted a glance at the two people at my side. The ferociously determined faces they had on made me doubt their sanity.

What would they gain from this encounter?

"How thoughtful of you to care so much about our well being," the woman began talking, her lips widened in a manaical smile. "But what's the fun in surrendering?" She tilted her head, her boots clinking against the floor. They were a shiny leather.

Did she steal these or is she that rich?

"Surrender and I can say that you won't be charged for attempted assault on officers of the law." The officer with the afro repeated, his warped voice as a result of the small speaker hovering over his mouth which was connected to his mech suit.

"All you people do is blow big grammar, come follow me talk and I go show which side of Nue you don enter." The tall man hollered, his grip on the pistol tightening. I stared at him, mouth agape, my eyes not leaving his towering frame. Not a single shake nor a single falter.

This is a sealed death wish, don't these two know that?

"I can clearly see you're both delusional people who have planned to get yourselves killed without wanting to do the act. I would get you both enrolled in the NRC if-"

"Oh, gentlemen I'm bored now, let's get to the drama." A shot rung through the atmosphere, my blood pounding as the bullet merely ricocheted off the mech suit. It plunged into the opposite wall, a loud bang reaching my ears. Dust filtered in, water slowly seeped in, the tainted overflow creeping in slowly.

Another shot rung from the pistol and another, each flying past my skin as it continued to be deflected by the superior armor of the mech suit. I would have smiled proudly if I wasn't trying my best to dodge, my breathing hitching as the smell of burnt wood and the heat of the bullet grazed my skin. The officers looked confused, staring at them as if gauging what to do.

"Not to make this-"

"But the fun's-"

"You're bullets are-"

"Hit us!" The woman screamed. She tossed her pistol to the side. It hit against the already shaky wall, sending a light creak. She bounced on the balls of her feet. The fumes filled my nostrils after which I coughed before looking back up.

What in the world is wrong with her?

The officer with the afro jabbed a hand in her direction,

"You definitely need the NRC."

"Shut up oo. Do your own and I go show you the fight you come look for." The officer with afro sighed, shaking his head slightly as he walked away. He touched the side of his head, walking as he talked to someone over the faint crackling of what I thought was an earpiece. He pushed past his other comrades, entering into the dark corridor which was illuminated by the light of his suit. Before he left he said,

"Just get this over with." I took a sharp breath.

They're done for now.

They charged the laser guns, red lines swirling in its middle as it glowed, adding a red hue to the silver stripes thrown against the walls. The heat slapped against my face as my heart continued its fast prance.

A laser shot out of one of their guns, aiming at the middle. I closed my eyes, smelling the heavy scent of smoke and my heart plummeted. A quiet descended over. The sense of death waved over me before I allowed my eyes to flicker open. A cloud of smoke surrounded where they once stood, their ashes shrouded by the the black blanket. Despite not knowing them, I knew this was the best death they could suffer since this was the most painless.

"Let's take the boy-"

"Did you think that would kill us." My jaw dropped, my eyes looking past the thick fog. They both emerged from it, a wide smile on their lips. Disbelief gripped me tightly. I bobbed my head, searching through them for scratches.

Had they jumped away from the laser in time?

Or did they use a faulty laser gun?

Doubts of the earlier question filled me. Most missions undertaken by the recovery squad always had the same result. The recovery squad was too good to make such minor mistakes. I turned to the scene again, watching their forms. Apart from their clothes being stained by dark stripes with several tears they looked more than fine.

How was this possible?

I swallowed harshly as the other officers began to stare at them as if they were ghosts. They blanched before they began to shoot again.

Then chaos.

The officers began to shoot erratically, laser beams deflected of the duo's bodies to nearby walls, the floor and ceiling. The beams flung through the air, erratic in their movements as they threw into the walls. The smell of burnt wood plunged into my nostrils, my body churning with unease. The water that had begun to walk in, sloshed back and forth. My stomach tumbled as the foundation continued to shake. Icy nerves worked its way to my joints.

How?

Lasers hit against roofing tiles which clattered to the floor, opening up to the canvas of the black night sky with shades of grey clouds. I breathed loudly as some lasers grazed my skin. I held down my lips, holding back a cry as the red beams came out in a never ending blight of red. The odor of blood made me feel lightheaded. My mouth was soaked with a bitter taste. My world turned as I felt another laser make contact with my skin. I doubled over, jolted upright once again by my bound hands. Pain flared down my sides. My stomach flipped as my world was splotched by dots. The sound of the lasers bolting lessened to an infuriating hum.

After what felt like hours the blur left but in its wake, icy chills consumed my body. I shivered, the cool air sinking into my clothing as I finally refocused on them. I watched as a hand to hand began amongst the opposing sides, the presumably weaker ones taking full control of the ferocious battle. I searched the two as they dodged, kicked, punched and did several manuevers around the recovery squad yet they didn't have any wounds.

How is this possible?

I breathed out. The blank of this event created within me even ask felt the foundation shake, distant screams and loud blows ricocheting through the dark walls. The trickle of blood made a splitting headache to ensue. I quickly allowed myself to focus against the blur that threatened to revive itself once again.

Chills crept down my spine when I watched three out of the four scamper out with dented mech suits and bloody faces while their counterpart lay in a heap of his own blood, his mech suit damaged beyond repair.

My mind quaked as I stared at the person. Bile rose up in my throat with despair. The man lay on the ground covered with ashes, the usually invincible mech suit slightly damage but his neck was slit. Blood rushed down the floor, red against the ashy ground.

I gagged. My limbs began to shake, my world tumbling. Dots splotched my vision as the smell of blood caused me to quake. Goosebumps rose up my arms. Shivers glided down my body. I sat still, my head bent as my heart pounded loudly.

They had killed him.

My world did all sorts of somersaults as cold fear grappled me. I took deep breaths which did nothing to elevate my peace. My confidence shattered by their work, I tried to stop hyperventilating. I breathed in and out repeatedly. I looked up after everything came back to me. I took a look at the both of them, fear encasing me. The darkness was back, the light from the mech suits gone. Their figures were somewhere around and the heavy scent of blood was thick in the air. My lips trembled, dry all of a sudden. The only other thing I could notice was the trickle of water.

"That was so much fun." The woman suppressed a giggle which tightened my pits. What made it worse was the darkness that loomed over me, filling me with all kinds of dark emotions. Even if I could no longer see the rubble, the blood, the ashes, I could smell it. They toyed with me, an extra exclamation to my shifty unease.

How could they feel so easy with what they had done?

I fought away the lump in my throat.

"How- how did you do it?" I finally croaked after battling so long to get the words out. A question that now sidelined the other questions that my curious mind usually hoarded in its depths, now a headline while the rest of the questions were mere nonsense. The woman laughed loudly while the man grunted.

"Now you won know our secret after we don finish your guys. Abeg go sit down." My eyebrows raised and I almost told him that I was seated but realizing his very dangerous abilities, I kept them shut. My eyes still shifted through the dark nothingness.

"Atsu don't be so grumpy. This is the beauty of it all, them underrating the strength of the underdogs and then having their butts kicked." Another round of giggles from the woman. My eyebrows furrowed slightly. Atsu. Most citizens of Nue, if not all, now have only English names after being under the Chinese and although the streets of the cities still had Chinese names backing them, the government had not wanted us to take up such names. And with our culture and religions already in the ruins, it was decided to just adopt English names. I tilted my head slightly in the darkness, gauging this new found discovery.

"And of course you can know our secret well-"

"Is like you're not well."

"Oh posh posh don't use such a tone on me. You're no fun at all."

"It be like say all you know how to do is play. Your craziness dey reach levels I know dey go."

"But crazy is good."

"That's the new-"

"Abeg make I hear word all you rich people dey take person by surprise every time and later you go think say the rich people you dey look up to are alright upstairs. Abeg let's get the man out of here before they send more people." At least I had one piece in the jigsaw puzzle.

This woman is an inhabitant of one of the cities in the Upper region of Nue.

I want to thank God for giving me the Grace to write this. Stanley had been through a lot and a lot more is coming so stay tuned. If you have any thoughts on what could happen next, read on to see what awaits Stanley.

Word count: 8599