Tales of Light

WILDFIRE

WILDFIRE

©2024 by Praise Abraham

First published in the Christian Writers and Readers Club Anthology

~~~

BLURB

An unfortunate incident in a university escalates into an all-out war that spreads like wildfire through the country.
On the surface, it seems like a natural glitch, however, there are some supernatural opposing forces at war in this dystopian setting. What is to be the fate of three friends, each from the major tribes of the country, caught in the middle of this war?

~~~

As the glow of dawn lit the base of the Oyo hills, a dark sentinel, heavily clad in a dull armour that reeked of sulphur and ash, hovered above the city.
Powerful, bat-like wings sprung from behind his shoulder blade, beating against the ether, causing him to bob up and down haphazardly. His grotesque form was invisible in the physical plane.

He was Airegin, the dark prince in the air over Nigeria.

Serpentine eyes that glowed an unearthly green colour were fixed on a particular location on the vast tropical terrain.
Moyemi Heritage University, the most prestigious public uni situated in the heart of the largest city of the Giant of Africa.

The malevolent being's lips twitched in an evil smirk.
His dark minions were ready. All their little mischiefs here and there were strategies that boil down to this present day. The flames of chaos would be kindled, not just on the campus, but on a much larger scale. It would be a wildfire that would consume the entire nation.

Humans, especially these nitwits that dwelled in this part of the globe, were irritating. What the One Up High saw in them was a mystery.
Once they destroyed themselves with their own hands, with a little bit of help from his crew, Airegin was sure the Evil Lord would be so pleased with Him and elevate him to a more worthy cause of destruction.

And as icing on the cake, to spite the One Up High and His meddling Light Sentinels, he had selected the prime candidate that would be a trigger to the whole war.

Now, let the games begin.
He spread his leathery wings and, with a thought, vanished.

~~~

With a heavy thud that resounded through the hall, Bisi Alege, an undergraduate in the department of Dramatic Arts, crumpled to the floor. She hit her plastic chair and sent it toppling down with her.

Bisi lay motionless on the ground, her right arm twisted at an unnatural angle.

Her colleagues who had been standing around her raised an alarm. The entire class of 100+ students bored-to-death students, who were fanning themselves with their handouts to reduce the scourge of the sweltering heat, turned to the back to have a glimpse of the ruckus that had been made.

"Will you keep your dirty mouths shut? If you want to disrupt my class then walk out the door, and risk a zero for your semester test!" a paunchy man on the wooden podium barked.

The man was their History and Culture (HAC101) lecturer and a real pain in the ass. He'd asked them all to remain standing as they'd arrived five minutes late to his class because there was a big distance between this lecture hall and where they'd had their previous lecture.

The course was a mandatory one for all year one students. Many chose to 'stab' it because it was a waste of time to just watch the man shouting and trying to act strict instead of teaching. But the thing was, the man's brain could spark at times and he'd just do an impromptu test that would have a major effect on their GP.