Looks like we may be in for a surprise in this episode. Let’s see what it might be…

It was 2 am, and Ambradu lay on his bed, unable to get even five minutes of sleep, as he thought back on the day’s major event.

His fight with Faisal and the subsequent split of the Slash Kings.

This was not what he would have anticipated a few weeks ago. That he and his boys would not be on speaking terms.

But, things had changed. And now he had decided things had to change.

Enough was enough.

All those things he said to Jake were no joke. Now he was fed up with all the madness they had been engaging in. It was time to bring this to a screeching halt.

He had exited the Slash Kings WhatsApp group chat when he got home, believing that was a sign of his seriousness. Jake had not messaged him privately to convince him to come back, and he was somewhat thankful for that. He had no intentions of going back to this.

In any case, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with Faisal now. The kind of contempt that dwelt in his heart for that boy was off the charts now. He had always secretly thought Faisal went a little overboard every now and then with his sharp tongue, but now he really could not stand it. And boy, was he glad he taught him a good lesson earlier that day.

Next time, he go think before he go fool around plus me. Stupid fool! He thought to himself as he turned on his side.

But that was in the past now. Time to think about what exactly could be done as a sign of his new beginning. After all, actions had to back up his claims.

And it didn’t take him long to figure out what the first step was.

Finding that young boy and apologizing to him for the cruelty unleashed upon him for no good reason.

***

Time check: 4:32 pm, and Ambradu was around the ever-secluded Barnes Road.

He had been moving around the flats for a while, and after half an hour, it seemed like the idea to search for the youngster had sounded better in his head.

Considering how they had no idea what his name was or which school he went to, locating him was a harder task than he had anticipated. Simply describing him as a young boy around the age of ten didn’t do much help, either; those he asked were unable to have a proper idea of who he was looking for.

Thinking about it, the two times the Slash Kings had found him were just two times they got lucky. What if the boy didn’t even live within the vicinity, to begin with?

Sighing loudly, hands on hips, Ambradu shook his head. “Seems like this wasn’t a good idea after all. For all I know, they boy no dey stay for here sef.”

Or there’s always a possibility he’s in a hospital. After all, the boys really must have hurt him…

That made sense, as it crossed his mind. Maybe the little one had been admitted to a hospital.

“Alright then. Lemme start with the Benikay Hospital,” he said to himself. “That’s the closest one to these flats. Make I buy some apology card on the way sef.”

Ambradu moved past the two flats he had already visited when he noticed something on the floor, near one of the benches around.

Looked like a picture.

Curiously, he walked over to it and picked it up.

It was a picture of a young boy. Possibly between the ages of 5 to 7.

He squinted as he looked at the picture. This youngster looked pretty familiar…

Ah, it’s the boy I’m looking for! This must be a picture of him from when he was younger.

He turned the picture and found a name at the back.

“Kingsley Doe,” he read out loud. “So that’s his name… wait, that’s it! Lemme move to one of these homes and ask for the Doe household. I’m sure they’ll know which side of this area they’re at. Then I can set things straight.”

***

Fifteen minutes later, he found himself in front of a simple bungalow a couple of meters away from the flats.

The first home he had been to knew exactly who he was looking for, and the elderly woman who answered the door directed him accordingly.

As he stood before the door, he could feel his heart pounding furiously.

This was a lot more nerve-wracking than he thought. Obviously, he was going to be met with a lot of anger and disgust from his parents or guardians. They’d find him to be a despicable young man and drill the living daylight out of him, demanding why he thought he had the authority to lay a finger on their beloved child.

But he was prepared for it all.

He was ready to admit that he had been an atrocious and callous human being and that his actions were deplorable, to say the least. He was ready to receive all the backlash in good faith, and atone for his behaviour where necessary. It was time for the new beginning to take full effect, and accountability needed to be taken.

So he knocked on the door.

A couple of seconds later, the door opened and there stood a man, possibly in his late 40s, with a white beard, glasses, and a slightly tired and haggard expression on his face.

This must be Mr. Doe, Ambradu thought. Poor man. We’ve done so much wrong to his son…

“Yes?”

Ambradu cleared his throat and scratched his head nervously. “Umm, good afternoon, sir. Please… is-is Kingsley around?”

The look on Mr. Doe’s face changed to a rather stunned one. “Huh?”

“K-K-Kin-Kingsley,” Ambradu stuttered. “Kingsley Doe. P-p-please, is he around?”

Utter shock was written on the elderly man’s face for a moment.

And then it changed.

If Ambradu had never seen amazement switch to unbridled rage in less than two seconds, this was his first time. And it was not a pretty experience of any kind.

“What kind of stupid prank is this? Haven’t you children done enough? Huh? What makes you think it’s acceptable to come and play stupid jokes like this on a poor old man like me? Look, don’t annoy me. Get out of my face! Come on, get out of here! Foolish boy!”

The door slammed in Ambradu’s face with quite a rage that would even frighten Faisal.

Stunned and confused, he stood there, unsure of what to do.

With that show of ire, walking away and never returning seemed like the wiser option. Understandably, the man was not happy that some youngsters were hurting his son, and it was a wonder that he hadn’t grabbed him by the throat and rustled him Homer Simpson style.

However, Ambradu was determined to get his apology across. He had done enough, and he needed to get this off his chest. If Mr. Doe wanted to punch him in the face and stamp on his testicles, so be it. As long as he permitted him to apologize and see Kingsley.

He timidly knocked at the door again.

The footsteps which grew fainter a moment ago were suddenly getting louder. And the pace at which those feet moved conveyed the fury with which Mr. Doe was approaching the door.

He might have been determined all right, but he was certainly scared.

The door flung open.

“I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO-“

“Please, Sir, please. I beg you,” Ambradu pleaded mournfully, going down on his knees as he clasped his hands together in a praying position. “Sir, please. I know we’ve done your son dirty. I know we’ve been nothing short of wicked to him. And I swear to God I regret the things I’ve done. But please Sir, I’m here to make amends. To apologize for what I’ve done. So please, Sir, give me a chance to right the wrongs I’ve done. Please.”

Remorse mode fully activated and working to an extent.

From the moment the door opened, Mr. Doe looked ready to strangle the living daylight out of Ambradu. But as he watched the young teenager pleading for forgiveness, he calmed down somewhat. Although there was no friendly look on his face.

“I have just one question for you, young man. Why now?”

Ambradu didn’t hear him too well. “Please, sir, you said?”

“I said why are you coming now? Or you didn’t know it’s too late?”

It’s too late??!! Oh my God!

Those words shot through Ambradu like a bullet. His hands now lifted to his mouth as he covered it in horror.

So Jake and Faisal beat him so hard, that he succumbed to his injuries?

Terrible news!

F**k! I knew this wouldn’t end well!

“Oh my God! I can’t believe this!” he cried, tears beginning to form in his eyes. “Y-y-you mean he’s… he’s dead? Kingsley’s dead? Oh, God, I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry, sir!”

Mr. Doe stood there, giving him a very puzzled look, which he had no notice of as he squeezed his eyes shut in agony, hands on his head, right on the verge of a fully-fledged bawl. How could they let this happen?

Faisal, you stupid murderer! I hope you’re proud of yourself, you –

“Herh, what’s the meaning of this? Kingsley’s been dead for like two years now.”

Ambradu’s cries were cut short. His eyes popped wide open.

Now that was not what he expected.

“Wait a minute. What?”

“Look at him, as if you don’t remember that Kingsley died two years ago. After you bullies from Judyson International School tormented his life and told him he was worth nothing and made him hang himself. As to how you kids of today are so cruel to cause a sweet 10-year-old boy like my dear Kingsley to give up on life, I’ll never understand.”

This had to be some dumb joke. This just had to.

Surely this man had to be pulling his leg or something. This could not be real. If Kingsley had kicked the bucket, it must have been due to those terrible injuries from the previous day. Not from a suicide that occurred two years ago.

But Mr. Doe did not look like someone who had time for jokes. And joking about the death of one’s son definitely could not be something any sane father would do.

“Look, I dunno how you found me. But whatever it is, it’s too late for any tears and apologies. The damage is done. He’s dead. Leave me alone and let me heal. Have a good life!”

The door slammed shut in his face again, and this time, he didn’t even flinch.

Stepping away from the door, his legs were wobbly, his mind was spinning and an open mouth could not utter any intelligible word.

Shock.

Amazement.

Bewilderment.

Stupefaction.

All appropriate adjectives to describe his state of mind.

Two years? Kinglsey’s been dead for two f**king years? What the hell?!

***

Walking all the way back to the uncompleted building where all the pummeling had taken place, he stood in there, simply shaking his head.

This did not make an iota of sense, and how could it? That was a living, breathing human being they had beaten up in this corner. Not a ghost.

“But… but… but he was alive when we beat him,” he muttered, rubbing his temples as he squeezed his eyes shut. “He had skin. He had bones. H-h-h-how is he dead? Th-th-this doesn’t make sense…”

Taking out the picture from his back pocket, he looked at the picture of the boy, then at the back of the picture. No doubt about it, that was the boy they had beaten, and that was his name.

Shaking his head vigorously, he then slapped the sides of his head furiously. “Aaargh, f**k it, this doesn’t make any sense!”

“I know, young man. I know.”

Ambradu instantly froze. That was a deep, unrecognizable voice. Who was it?

He slowly turned to see who it was behind the strange voice.

Seeing who it was, he screamed and fell to the floor.

It was the boy. Kingsley.

In a clearly different kind of frame.

His head hung low as Ambradu fell down. Raising his head, he opened his eyes.

Red, evil-looking eyes.

His straight face slowly formed into a wicked grin.

“You thought I was joking, didn’t you? I told you you’d regret this…”

If those eyes weren’t enough to terrify the daylight out of Ambradu, the voice surely was. It was much deeper and slightly distorted. A far cry from the voice of the little boy they had mercilessly pulverized.

Ambradu sat on the floor, fright muting him as he stared helplessly at the otherworldly entity before him.

Kingsley began to laugh. A low laugh that slowly but steadily grew in volume and eeriness.

Not even the intrusion of cockroaches at Stephanie’s house had Ambradu’s heart pounding as hard as this. He trembled, not knowing whether to scream, cry, run, do all three, or something entirely different.

Suddenly, a loud “RAAAGHHHH” rang in his ears.

And without warning, Kingsley’s terrifying demonic face was right in his. Only a mosquito’s finger separated the two.

A real-life jump scare without a sound effect to back it up.

Anyone near Barnes Road would have heard the sounds of running feet and a frightened scream as Ambradu ran as fast as he could from that area.

***

“Oh, sorry, sorry,” the cleaner sympathized, patting Ambradu on the back as he vomited into the dustbin.

The young man had sped to some old Catholic church nearby, with the pressure he had exerted on himself in trying to run as far away from that demon boy as possible resulting in him violently retching out the contents of his stomach.

“Come, come, take a seat. Relax for a minute, okay?” the cleaner said as he led him to sit on one of the pews. He patted him on the head as he assisted him in sitting down before leaving him to continue his cleaning job.

Ambradu lay on the pew, curled himself into a fetal position, and began to cry bitterly.

What had they done?

They had only gone and messed with the wrong person.

For all their belief that they were untouchable and nobody could get back at them, they had crossed this evil demon boy, who had something higher and more powerful than their cruel ways, and they had been on the receiving end of it all along.

It was crazy. But it all made sense now.

The blacking out and Jake’s sudden illness. Faisal’s weird ‘bird in the hole’ encounters. That terrifying daydream. Jake’s numerous nightmares. That cockroach invasion. And every other strange thing that recently happened.

It wasn’t a coincidence or bad luck. It certainly wasn’t any figment of the imagination. This demon child was orchestrating it all as his revenge plan.

This was NOT what he had anticipated in the slightest. Never did he expect they would be dealing with a spirit being with scary powers.

And the most frightening part was that it didn’t look like he was done with them. Not by a long stretch. Especially after the second beatdown.

Oh, what a terrible mistake they had made!

If he had wished they had not laid a finger on the boy when he got out of bed that morning, he utterly regretted it now.

“God, please, forgive me,” he whimpered as tears ran down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. Please, please, forgive me…”

Well, this is one massively crazy discovery! What’s going to happen now that the others aren’t on good terms with Ambradu?