DEVIL'S PAWN: Simon Meets The Black Cats

Devil's Pawn is the story of Simon, a young undergraduate who is forced into a brotherhood he never wanted a part of and became accessory to a crime that would redefine his life, Cynthia who is murdered by cultists for refusing love advances victim and she seeks revenge, using Simon as her pawn; Judd, a cop, who must contend with the metaphysical as he seeks to solve the crime of his career; Emeka the murderer who wants to stay alive and escape the claws of Cynthia and Sylvan his employer....

It is a story of politics, power, love and the metaphysical all come together in a battle of many casualties.

Devil's Pawn,an unpublished novel by , will be published as a serial exclusively on Students Pulse section of Pulse.ng. Stay with us...

Prologue

He who holds the devil’s brass coin

To the warmth of his naked loin

Will pay with golden coin, double-

His journey’s end under the rubble.

Simon took four hours to gather enough courage, four hours of hiding in an empty lecture hall. He made his way to the door and stopped beside it in panic. He couldn’t stay hidden in the hall forever. The rows of seats that had held students in class all day felt strangely lonely. The quiet was scary.

He gazed briefly at the clock at the front of the hall: 7:45. The hours had flown past so fast, and hiding hadn’t calmed his nerves. If anything, he felt more jumpy.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out the door. The corridor beyond was slightly dark, illuminated only by the aura of a lone fluorescent at the main entrance. The other end of the corridor remained pitched in darkness, just what he hoped.

He made for the dark exit so fast, he almost crashed into the popcorn stall where students usually thronged in between classes. The near crash sounded so loud in the empty corridor. As he steadied himself, the smell of burnt sugar and maize from leftover popcorn assaulted his nostrils and unleashed a desperate rumble in his stomach.

He was hungry and the hunger spiked just then. His last meal had been a quick sandwich downed with a sachet of water. That was more than ten hours ago. The food was long gone from his system, and his stomach rumbled yet again.

Forgetting to eat was easy when faced with danger. He dismissed the hunger pang as he cleared the darkened exit.

Simon quickened his pace as he walked through the lightened hallway behind the lecture hall. Soon he was in another darkened corner of the Faculty. He paused there and took a deep breath.

Who knows, the arseholes could be out there watching out for me? Why can’t they just, just let me be?

From where he stood, Simon could make out some lighted windows of the school’s central library. Built in the 60’s, the library was an imposing structure, one of the oldest in the university. It had five floors and was reputed to be the largest university library in the continent.

Situated almost in the exact centre of the campus, it was almost equal distance between the four main faculties in the university and it never closed. It was the heart of the university, the only building whose lights never went out.

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A maze of footpaths, in between several faculty building would take him there in less than five minutes. Five minutes’ walk, this night it seemed more a decade on the devil’s own grail and Simon could wait forever to begin, if only he hadn't that assignment.

Shrugging, Simon took the first step unto the cobbled path and walked in short quicksteps towards the library. A few seconds later he stepped off the path and walked along the building walls trying to fade into the shadows they cast. He had deliberately worn a black distressed jean trousers and a zip-front navy hoodie to gain more invincibility. He needed it.

The classic blue slip-on shoes that he had on his feet were just perfect as they made no sound on the graveled ground.

Someone sneezed close by and Simon froze. He would have melted into the wall if he could. He held his breath as the sound of footfalls approached. A female student walked into view from the direction of the library hugging a bunch of books. He relaxed but stayed in the shadows.

Simon was pissed. It was annoying that he had to hide from them every day. Even more than pissed, he was scared.

The shadows that night looked particularly sinister. It looked as if some of the odd-looking shadows were reaching out to grab him. The scene where Frodo Baggins was attacked by trees in The Lord of the Rings movie suddenly came to mind. The thought scared him and he shook his head to dislodge it.

He looked up at the moon. Even it was in a somber mood giving little light like it was part of a conspiracy.

He heard the sound before he knew something was wrong. Crunch, crunch, crunch…

The steady sound kept time with his footstep. Someone had to be following him. But he wasn’t sure.

He stopped to listen, and the sound ceased. He held his breath and listened.

There was nothing still, nothing but the still shadows of buildings. He peered at some particularly funny looking shadows. A few looked quite human, but none moved and he could not dare to confirm.

He resumed walking and the sound came again.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, every time he took a step. But they didn’t come from his footfalls on the gravel. Someone else was walking with him – following him. The realization that he was being followed made the hair rise on the back of his neck.

Panicked, he walked faster.

The library loomed ahead of him.

He had to get to the library. He could be safe there. No one could attack him there.

All I have to do is to get to the library. They can’t be so foolish to attack me there.

He was scared. And he had reason enough to. Anyone in Buscan City University would be if the dreaded Black Cats were breathing down his nape? That was just the fix he was in at the moment. Truth is they weren’t really just after him; it had all been his fault. It was he who had gone to them.

He’d gone to Maxwell his friend after a member of another cult group the Blade Boys had threatened him after a small fight. Maxwell and his friends had told him they would deal with the Blade on the condition that he would join them. He’d agreed.

Simon had not for once imagined himself becoming a cultist, but lying in a hospital bed after a near fatal attack near the social centre, he had realized how much danger he was in. They agreed to leave his initiation until after his recovery. What they did not tell him however was that Blade would end up in an unmarked grave.

Now, a few weeks after, they were demanding his full membership. Simon knew many who would consider it a honor to be offered membership of the Black Cats but he did not feel that way.

He wasn’t cut for violence and he told them that. But the Black Cats were adamant. The last time Maxwell came around, he’d said something about him being the perfect figure of a Cat. They wanted him and there was no escaping it, at least not alife.

For the better part of a week now, Simon had walked in the shadows, dodging every possible avenue to meet up with any member of the fraternity. He walked in crowds and stayed indoors whenever it was possible.

Today’s trip to the library was unavoidable. He had an assignment on which had to be passed the next day. Professor Campbell was notorious for his habit of giving an F to whoever missed any his tests.

The library was close now. Simon walked away from the shadowy walls and jumped over an open culvert back to the path. He was at the last turn before the paved walkway leading to the library when he heard the crunching sound again.

This time, he was sure someone was behind him. He turned just in time to see three solid forms coming out of the shadows. The black berets they wore were all he needed to see to understand what was happening.

He could make out only Maxwell’s face and there was nothing friendly about it. He turned ready to take to his heels into the path of a large fist which smacked into his face. Something metallic tore at his skin drawing blood instantly.

He staggered backwards and dropped his back pack. Hands pushed him from behind and another punch landed on his face, breaking his nose and stunning him. Weakened, he let himself fall to the ground.

Simon was dazed. There was blood in his eyes but he could make out the face of his attacker. It was Skulls.

He covered his face with one of his hands expecting another blow as Skulls grabbed his collar. He saw a queer looking object around Skulls’ knuckles as they approached his face. That was the last thing he saw before the fist made contact.

He fainted.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEDNESDAY...

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