Fatal instincts.

"The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear - fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. What he wants above everything else is safety."

-H. L. Mencken

Leticia.

She tried to open her eyes, but she could barely tell the difference because the only thing she could see was darkness.

Where was she?

Leticia attempted to pick herself up, only to fall back as a result of the way her head was throbbing. It felt like a thousand drums were being beaten in her brain, on the left side. A migraine was one thing she never fancied.

She buried her head in her hands, massaging the side that hurt. Her hands could barely carry the weight of her head as her whole body was weak.

In the process, she tried to search her brain for how she got there.

Where she was smelt rancid and mouldy, nothing like her and Maverick's apartment which always smelt of roses and lemons. Neither did its scent of lavender like her mother's house. And the smell was not one to wake up to.

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit. She recalled what transpired between herself and Maverick, then her mother, and those men.

The men! But she thought they killed her? Or was she not alive?

She winced as her palm came in contact with her cheeks, it stung, and the headache felt like it increased ten times more.

-proof that she was very much alive.

"Ughh!"

Leticia jerked in alarm at the sound of the groan. There was someone else in the room with her.

Who was the person?

"E-excuse me, please er... who... are you?"

Silence.

There was no reply from who or whatever it was.

At that point, she felt goosebumps on her skin. What if it was a wild animal? Maybe they wanted her death to be more painful.

Or maybe a ghost?

Terror coursed through her veins, the hair at the back of her neck stood and she crawled back slowly, with gentle steps so as not to let the creature aware of her presence any longer.

Her movement was halted when her back hit a wall. She froze, mentally praying that it did not hear the soft thud.

"Who are you too?"

Leticia heard the soft voice question. She breathed a sigh of relief but quickly regained herself. It could be a ploy for her to fall into if she answers.

She pressed her lips together, refusing to reply for fear of her life. She had escaped death once, she might not be that lucky a second time.

"I know you're still there. I won't bite, let's just say we're in the same situation."

The voice spoke again. It seemed to be the voice of a woman, even though it was a little hoarse.

Maybe she should loosen up a little.

"How do you mean?" Leticia asked.

"We were both abducted. They'll sell us soon." The voice explained further.

Her ears perked up as she heard the last statement.

"What?!"

The person let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah. They are human traffickers."

Human traffickers?

Leticia shook her head from side to side in denial, flinching when her head hurt from the action.

"You're joking right?"

"I wish I was." Came the abrupt reply.

A cold shiver ran down Leticia's spine. If they were truly going to sell them, then they would either be handed over for prostitution or to ritualists who would kill them for their organs.

None of the options was better than the other.

"So...how did you end up here? Oh! My bad, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Hannah, your... Roommate... I guess. What's yours?"

Leticia was not sure she could trust the girl she met or rather had been hearing her voice for less than fifteen minutes.
What if the girl was one of them?

But what was the worst that could happen if she spoke to her?

Oh, she could lose her life.

Whether or not she spoke to the girl, if they planned on killing her they still would.

"I'm Leticia."

"Hmmm, that's a beautiful but rare name for a Nigerian. Or are you not Nigerian?"

"I'm Nigerian," Leticia affirmed. The headache had subsided, but her stomach kept rumbling.

"You're hungry," Hannah stated.

Leticia clutched her stomach, embarrassed that the sound was loud enough for another person to hear.

"Don't feel ashamed, it's a normal thing. Unfortunately, you have to get used to it because they bring food once in three days, sometimes once in a week."

The information was hard to take in. She had no idea how many days she had been there, and before those men took her, it was more than a whole day since she last ate. Judging from that, her body had not received any food for probably four days or more.

"How long have you been here?"

A shuffling sound was heard before the reply came.

"I don't know. Perhaps a month? Or two? I have no idea. I hardly see the light, so I can't tell if it's day or night, and as a result, I can't count the days."

Leticia cringed, wondering how one could survive without knowing where she was or what time of day it was. That was pretty much her own case too.

"So, do you know when I was brought here?"

"No. Maybe it was when I was sleeping or something."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So why are you here? Is your case like mine?"

Leticia's brow furrowed at Hannah's question.

"How do you mean?" She wanted to know more. That would be the first lead to getting answers on why the men captured her.

"My father was owing them, so he gave me to them as payment. What's your story?"

She couldn't believe her ears. A father giving his daughter as payment for a debt?! When it was not the fifteenth century. That was the most preposterous thing she had heard as far as she could remember.

"Your father gave you to them?" She questioned in disbelief.

"Yeah."

She felt so bad for the girl or lady. If she thought her life was awful, she had just seen someone whose life surpassed hers in being dismal.

"That's terrible, I'm so sorry."

Hannah chuckled. "There's no need to be. You're not the one that did it."

Since it seemed like she was going to be hearing much from Hannah, it would do her good to be open.

"I don't know why they took me. My husband said I took his company's funds, he sent me out of the house. My mother did the same. I was roaming around when the men surrounded me, and I couldn't escape. The last thing I remember was getting a shot on my neck." Leticia explained.

"Oh. Then someone probably sold you to them. They don't usually abduct people just like that," Hannah said.

Leticia stopped trying to adjust her sitting position when Hannah's statement sank in her brain. Someone sold her? Why? And who?

"How old are you?"

Leticia sighed as she was distracted from her thoughts. She was not used to talking so much, but from the conversations she had been having with Hannah, it was clear that she couldn't avoid the girl's inquisitive nature.

"I'm twenty-three. What about you?"

"I'm twenty. How are you married at twenty-three?"

Another sigh. She was too hungry for the questions being thrown her way. Wasn't Hannah famished? She seemed too energetic for someone who hadn't eaten for a while.

She answered the question anyway.

"I got married at nineteen. My mom said I should marry him."

"What? That's weird. Nineteen? To a man, you don't know? I would never do that. Did you later like him or something? And did you have children for him?"

Those were the questions that reminded her of her woes.

"Yes, I liked him. But I don't have any child for him."

She felt a pang in her heart. How could Maverick ever like someone like her?

There was no immediate response from Hannah, unlike other times.

"That must hurt a lot," Hannah said in a lower tone after some time.

Leticia nodded in agreement, forgetting that she couldn't see her.

"Don't worry, he'll come to take you away from here. I'm sure he must have felt something for you too. He's not made of stone, except he likes someone else though."

The statement provoked certain thought that hadn't popped upon her mind for quite a while.

She thought back to the day she was accused. Maverick was in the room with Lara. What were they doing in the room together? Was her speculation that he harboured feelings for Lara right all along?

"Why are you suddenly silent? Was he a cheater?"

Hannah's voice dragged her from her reverie.

"Sorry, no. He wasn't, at least not to my face."

"Oh. It could-" 

Hannah's statement was cut short when light accompanied by a strong breeze suddenly engulfed the room.

Leticia used her hands to block the sharp light. Shivering from the cold.

Gradually, she adjusted to the light and started to take in her surroundings.

The room was small, cubical. And very dirty. The walls were smudged with mud and spirogyra, even the floor had spirogyra on it.

Her eyes came to rest on a very beautiful girl sitting like ten metres away from where she sat.

The huge bags under her almond-shaped eyes could not hide her beauty. The chocolate skin of her oblong face was smeared with some mud, and she looked quite sickly, but she was still very eye-catching.

"Wow. You're really pretty. There's no way your husband could not have loved you." The girl said. She was Hannah.

Leticia chuckled. She and pretty were words that could never match.

"Thanks, but there's no need to -"

"Una gist don do. Make una nyash up follow me (Your conversation is enough. Both of you stand up and follow me)," a gruff voice said, interrupting her speech.

Leticia was too weak to get up, so she ignored the command until the man stepped fully into the room.

His frame was massive. A large scar ran from the top of his eyebrows to his chin. One eye was blind.

He was not a sight to behold.

He cocked his gun and it didn't take twenty seconds before they rose to their feet.

Leticia's stomach twisted with dread in anticipation for what was coming next. Whatever it was, she could only hope and pray that it wasn't going to be as bad as her instincts were telling her.

*sighs* what's up guys? Hope the new week is going well?

I honestly did not expect this chapter to be this long, but the spirit led, so here it is😅

I'm so glad I can update this early, and I hope it would continue this way.

I'll challenge myself for that.

Chapter song is quite rough😂 but I feel it expresses the content better. If you have a better song please suggest🙃

Alright, so that's that for now. See y'all next time.

Chubiley😘