Story: ...

She had just returned from lectures and is very tired. She expects to meet her roommate at home but gets home to meet a locked door. Thank God she has her key with her she would have been stranded. And the naughty girl texted her earlier that she had finished her lectures and will be home when she comes back. Anyway that is her business she can stay wherever she is for now because the last thing she needs is someone that will bore her with endless talks. She is so exhausted and what she needs right now is a hot meal and a cold bath. The latter she can easily do but the former will have to wait until Vera gets back. She just need the cold bath and a good sleep so by the time she wakes up it will be time for dinner and she can prepare something then and if she's lucky Vera gets back early, then they could do it together or better still Vera do it alone because cooking is her hobby.

After the bath, she's on her bed about to take her nap, her phone buzzes. "What again." She murmurs and picks her phone to check. It's a reminder that the next day's her birthday. She doesn't remember setting a reminder for it. It is no special day to her. It only reminds her of what she had lost and probably what she's about to lose and will never get. So she had put it at the back of her mind that it's an evil day that only God can change for her. So for four consecutive years now she fixed that day for a special fasting to avert any evil that's lurking around to befall her.
And it had worked. For those years she had been living in peace and shoved her birthday  and all incidents attached with at the back of her mind. She looks at the reminder again and wondered. Who could have set this on her phone? She doesn't  remember imputing it there. Or maybe it is Facebook that synced her information. But wait, she never entered her date of birth on any of the few social media she had joined. Who could have done this without her even knowing? Another yawn reminds her that she needs to rest. Mehn..., she is so tired. All she needs right now is a good rest. She can solve the puzzle when she wakes up. And with that decision she dozes of into the sleep land. Little does she know that trouble was right there beside her waiting to happen.

The bang against the door startles her from sleep. It had coincided with a nightmare that she had. The room is dark and she can hardly see what is in front of her. She moves her hands around like a blind bat, searching for where she dropped her phone. Then she remembers she left it on the old cupboard beside the bed before she drifted off into oblivion. She moves her hand on the old cupboard but it isn't there. She could have sworn that, that's the place she dropped the phone before she slept off.
Then the bang comes on again. This time it sounds more urgent and it's like it isn't just a person that is at the door.

Oh, God. Why now?

It must be very late now judging from the darkness in the room and with no light coming from outside at all.

Where is Vera sef? She thought. Is she not back yet? Or could she be the one at the door? That girl has started keeping late nights again abi? After all the advice she had given her. Hmm, well it's her life. Let her live it the way she wants.

She picks up the little torchlight under her pillow and flicks the light on. She flashes the light at the wall clock hung on the wall opposite the bed. It is 2:30.

What? At this ungodly hour. Then the hoarse voice of a man comes on "Will you open this door or not?"

She flashes her eyes in horror. This can't  be happening. It feels like a dream, she just hope she'll wake up from it soon. Then she hears other voices. The man is not alone then.

Oh God, who will she call at this time of the night? Who will come to her rescue?

At that moment she detested Vera. She hadn't told her that she won't be coming home that night. Or did she know this would happen? Had someone hinted her about it? "Oh God.." She burst into low sobs. "I don't want to die now, please save my life this one more time. I promise I'll dedicate my life to serving you alone."

Then the voice comes on again, this time sounding calm. "Are you saying your last prayer? Well, you better do. Because I'm coming in now. And I've my friends here with me."

With that she hears him drive something into the keyhole of the door. A cold shiver ran through her and she knows her time is up but she'll not give in just like that without a fight. So she runs towards the toilet door and into it she runs to her escape, into freedom. There's a way she can escape but she has to be very fast.

The intruders break in but she's no longer in the room. With the toilet door slightly ajar they know she had to be in there. So they hurry to catch up with her, to stop whatever she's planning. She's sure planning an escape. With that they rush in there but are cut short in their steps when they find something. What they see was not what they had planned at all. It's way more than they can handle. It is doom itself.

The escape door is shut but on the ground lies her lifeless body in the pool of her blood. Shards of louvres all around her but a larger one is buried deep inside her stomach.  Her eyes are wide open. And it registers surprise, shock or is it of mockery? Yes, she's mocking the situation they got themselves into.
The look on her face says,
Okay, now deal with this!

Hmmm... Stay tuned.😉 The continuation comes up next Saturday.