The beautiful mermaid stared vacantly at the two.

Chris shifted his gaze back to Walidah’s bent corpse over the beam and then back to the vivacious creature that sat the large rock. Their hairstyles were different, but the mermaid was also Walidah, without a doubt. He looked over at an enchanted Andre. “What the hell is going on over here?”

Andre turned to him with a smug smile.

“Wait, you two are from Cameroon, right?” Chris said. “Of course. You guys ended up with the Jengu Relic.” His mind was filled with the Sawa art of Cameroonian mermaids. Merfolk with bewitching beauty that his uncle showed him once. He reminisced about their legend. A group of them, which is called a Miengu, act as intermediaries between the world of spirits and worshippers, and they can bring good fortune.

Good fortune and Chris never seem to cross paths, though. He glared at Andre. “How does the Relic work?”

Andre’s smug smile grew wider. “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” He crossed his arms. “I’m not telling you shit about how it works.” He chuckled. “Your move, Chris.”

“What happened to not wanting to kill me?” Chris asked.

“We don’t. Just give up your Relic and we leave you alone,” Andre said. “That’s if Walidah doesn’t get the sudden desire to end your life well, then… that’s too bad. Any specific requests for your funeral arrangements?”

Chris snorted at Andre. The Moussa twins were the fourth to be recruited by Adisa and Mayumi. He considered the twins to be the least scummy of Post-Mortem, but the self-satisfied look on Andre’s face beaming back at him may have the twins jump to third place in order of scumminess.

“But you’re not just going to give up your Relic, right, Chris?” Andre added. “This will be your watery grave—!”

A golden fin slammed into the side of Andre’s face. He flew off to his right, skipped across the water, and then splashed into it.

Walidah floated near Chris with her eyes fixed on Andre. She moved in the air with seamless movements, just like her woolly hair, it was as if she was underwater.

Andre sat up, staring back at his sister with a confused look. “Walidah? Why?”

Walidah slowly raised a finger. “You…” her voice sounded ethereal. “You! You… liar!” She grunted and then shouted, “Upanga!” A pair of jagged swords conjured in her hands.

The mermaid swam her way through the air and swung the weapons madly at Andre as he evaded to the best of his ability.

There was a rumble in the distance.

Chris watched in awe until he felt something slimy touch his ankle. He looked down and there was a glowing eel in the water. He eyed it as it slithered around by his feet, and then there was a ticking sound, prompting him to look around in search of the source of the ticking as more eels populated the water.

The ticking quickened. Chris glanced over at Walidah as she was trying to slice her sibling into bits, and then pulled his eyes back to the water. The ticking got even quicker.

Did someone lose their egg timer down here or something? Chris focused on the sound and kept his eyes on the ever-growing number of eels in the water. He noticed they didn’t have dorsal fins or teeth. The ticking was now getting louder.

Chris’s eyes widened in horror, understanding the situation, and made a break for it.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He sprinted toward the first rock in his line of sight as the ticking reached its limit. Chris jumped onto the rock and hastily climbed his way to the top as the ticking stopped.

One second passed.

The glowing water electrified.

Chris lied on the rock on his stomach, breathing rapidly as he stared at the electric streaks jolting out from the water. He stood up and scanned the area for the twins.

Walidah was floating in the air and had Andre trapped in a water sphere. Blinked twice upon looking at it, and then just accepted the situation.

Andre gurgled in a panic as he was submerged, and then Walidah poked the sphere with her swords, making it burst. Andre fell onto a rock as she flew off, screaming.

She put her hands on her head and started to fly around frantically in circles.

Chris watched Andre get back onto his feet, glance at Walidah, and then focus back on him with a pitiful look.

“Th-There’s something wrong with her!” Andre yelled. “Please, you have to help us!”

“You’re just all over the place…” Chris rasped as he gave him a scowl.

The water returned to normal. The two glanced down at it and then back at each other.

“Please! I think the Relic is messing with her head, you have to help me save her.”

“Why would I help you?”

“Because we’re both in this together, whether you like it or not,” Andre said. “We won’t survive these death traps or her attacks unless we work together!”

“I’m sure I can find a way out of this mess by myself,” Chris said. That is what he sought to do with the Trials in the first place. It’s not like he was lying to himself.

Andre’s expression changed once again. Taking a more pathetic look. “I’ll do anything!” he implored. “Even give you the Jengu Relic and forfeit our place in the Trials.”

Walidah halted in the air and scowled at Andre for a second before letting out a demonic scream. She charged at him again, swinging her swords.

He launched a side kick at her, and she started charging in Chris’s direction.

“Lukwata!” Chris summoned.

“You better not hurt her or I’ll kill you!”

Chris gave him a look. This was getting exhausting. Walidah banged into the shield, knocking herself back. She floated in the air, disoriented.

There was rumbling.

“You heard that, right?” Chris asked.

“What?”

Chris harrumphed, putting his shield aside, and looked down at the water. He cautiously perched onto the edge of the rock and then, after taking in a few quick breaths, he let himself drop. He stood up and the eel-infested water was up to his knees. “The water level is rising,” Chris announced.

“Oh crap,” Andre said, staring at the water in horror.

A catfish swam past Chris. “And more creatures are showing up,” he added. “There must be some sort of hatch or door that is letting more water and creatures in.”

The ticking restarted, catching the boys’ attention.

Chris snarled. “And the timer starts again—”

A curved wall of water arose around him. Chris looked up and as soon as it closed, all sounds from the outside were cut, leaving him just with the echoes of his labored breath. He teetered as he was elevated. The sphere he was trapped in began to fill with water until he was submerged.

Chris swam towards the end of the sphere and was pushed back as soon as he hit the wall. It was like hardened rubber. His ears filled with the sounds of panicked gurgling and the whooshing made from his flailing arms and legs.

Then,Walidah came at him, extending both blades forward.

Chris moved his body to the side and everything exploded around him, filling his vision with white and the sounds of guzzling rapids booming into his ears. He dove back into the water.

As his ears began to register the speed of the ticking sound, he sprung up and ran. Walidah glided at him from his side, stretching both swords back. He evaded the double slash with a forward dive, dunking face first into the water. “Lukwata!” Chris called out as he got back up. He locked his eyes onto a nearby rock. Halfway through turning around Walidah came at him again.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Chris focused all his energy on blocking Walidah’s rush.

Over the sounds of blades cutting away at wood, Walidah’s dreamy voice could be heard. “You know what you’re doing is wrong.”

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Chris glanced over at the rock and then shouted, “What’re you talking about?”

“These Trials aren’t good for her and you know it. You know she left out something when she told you about her past, that being the real reason why she walked away from bo staff fighting.”

Chris pushed her back with a kick to her gut and stared at her, baffled.

“You’re using her!” Walidah screamed. “You know you can’t win without her. Anything to know the truth, right? You always need the whole truth, don’t you, Chris? You can’t handle the unknown.”

Chris scrunched up his face as he held her misty glare.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Chris startled and pulled his chin up. There was no time. “Amazzi-go!” he said, turning into water and shooting into the air.

The water gave off its angry shocks as it electrified. Right after, Chris turned back to normal in the air.

Walidah flew up to Chris as he fell.

“Amazzi-go!” Chris commanded his Relic once again and dashed to his side. Walidah caught up to him quickly, this time charging with a spinning slash. Chris blocked the attack with his shield mid-air, but then took a fin slap to the face, falling toward the electrified water. “Amazzi-go!” he screamed with his head a pinch away from being electrocuted and dashed backwards. He propelled back into the beam where Walidah’s main body rested and crashed into it. They both fell towards the water.

The electricity dissipated right before the splash.

There was another rumble just as Chris stood up. The water level rose to his waist.

Andre dove into the water and swam in Chris’s direction.

“Thanks for your help,” Chris said.

Andre shoved him out of the way and picked up Walidah’s corpse in his arms, looking at her warmly. “Walidah…”

A swarm of neon jellyfish popped up in the water. The boys tensed up.

“We need to find whatever the opening is that lets in more water and creatures.”

“Do you think it could be in the water?” Andre asked.

They both looked down.

“Maybe,” Chris answered.

“We will never be able to find it that way!”

“I’m afraid we have no other choice.” Chris made a face and then looked around. Jengu Walidah was gone. He looked back at the original. “Is she breathing?”

Andre put an ear to her chest and nodded with a smile on his face.

Chris put a hand over his Relic as it floated near him, turned it over, and pushed it over to Andre.

He placed Walidah gently on the shield as Chris moved up to the two. Andre and Chris grabbed onto the end of the shield and paddled across the glowing pool, pushing Walidah forward.

As the ticking restarted, Chris’s mental stopwatch was set. His paddling slowed as his mind went into full gear. 1 second… 2 seconds… 3 seconds…

The shield hit a rock, bringing the two to a stop. Andre clambered up the rock with ease and reached for Walidah, pulling up her unconscious body by the wrists.

Chris climbed his way up and sat on the edge while he fixed onto the aquatic death trap, ignoring the confused looks he was getting from Andre.

25 seconds… 26 seconds… 27 seconds…

Chris stood up and counted aloud this time, “28… 29… 30…” A prick in the back of his neck wavered his focus a bit, but he powered through it and reclaimed his concentration. “35… 36… 37…”

The eels, catfish, and jellyfish halted at once.

“38… 39…”

The water electrified.

“We’ve got 40 seconds,” Chris said despondently.

Andre laid Walidah onto her back and leapt back as the water zapped at him. “40 seconds to find the opening? Are you serious?”

Chris imagined Tayte smiling at the daunting situation. Maybe channeling a bit of unhinged insanity wouldn’t be such a bad idea—No!—Chris clenched after screaming in his own head. The minute you choose to act reckless is when you lose your life. There are too many real-life examples of that. He promised himself that he would only move when he was absolutely sure.

The water shifted back to normal.

“Andre! Watch the sea creatures, pay attention to the direction they are swimming from,” Chris ordered. “That’s how we will find where they are coming from.”

“How many tries do we have for that, though?”

The rumbling sound arose.

“Focus!”

The water level swelled and the number of voltage producing critters spiked. Andre squealed with distress as the rock they were on was almost submerged in its entirety.

As their eyes were gifted with the enchanting vista of the glowing sea and its inhabitants; the cold sense of imminent death spread from the inside.

Like having Death’s scythe scrape down his spine, Chris shivered at the thought of coming face to face with the unknown very soon. He was focused on the water creatures, but their movements told him nothing. They were popping up from every direction, giving him no clues about where they were coming from.

Tick… tick… tick…

Chris flinched at the omen, looking around in a panic. Death was near and wasn’t moving slowly. “Let’s wait for the next and try again. After we’re sure, we wait for another turn, so that our timing will be perfect and we will have exactly 40 seconds—”

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Andre let out a whine. “Is it just me or does it sound really quick now?”

The ode of death accelerated, making Chris’s face grow grim. “It probably gets quicker every turn.” He slapped his forehead. “Of course, why didn’t I think of that! We need to figure out by how much.”

Andre took off his shawl and stuffed most of it in his back pocket. “By the time we figure that out, it will probably be too late.” He wrapped his arm around Walidah and stared down at the water. He let out a scoff and dove in.

Chris gasped with widened eyes. He was having another rude awakening. The perfect timing probably doesn’t exist. He took in a deep breath, filling up his lungs, and dipped into the pool. His ears were plugged with rushing sounds as he looked around. Among the shoals of fish, Andre was making powerful strokes with one arm while the other kept a dangly Walidah close to his chest.

Chris pushed himself and did his best butterfly, covering as much distance as possible. The bottom was nothing but rocks. He plunged deeper and patted the rocky surface as he moved forward.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. The muffled sound was enough to make Chris switch strategies and move through the water in a fret.

As his chest squeezed tight, a gaping hole in the ground appeared, but it was many strokes away from him, while Andre swam towards the hole without looking back.

Chris let out a burbled scream and kicked and pushed the water behind him, exerting every cell in his body to its limit. His bones cried for him to stop with every wide stroke he made, forcing his stiffened limbs to move faster than they ever had before.

Trying to not think about how much time he had left, the surrounding water thickened like swimming through a pool of glue. Trying not to think about his bad luck finally winning over him, his face clenched to the tight pain in his chest. Trying not to think about never knowing the truth about his uncle, his scoped gun floated up before him.

He grabbed it, and the doors of the hole began to close. He let out another burbled scream as Andre and Walidah swam past the hole. Chris kicked with everything he had, but distance from the hole wasn’t getting more forgiving.

In that moment, absolute hopelessness took over and wrapped around his soul like a blanket.

Chris made his most moronic decision yet to challenge his luck. He hurled his gun forward. It barely moved. The firearm floated slowly across the water.

Then, the doors of the hole stopped. Sandwiched between them was the rusty, scoped gun. Chris stared at his jammed gun again in disbelief and then laughed—and instantly regretted the waste of oxygen.

The fishes stopped moving.

Chris exchanged looks with an eel right as a faint spark sputtered on its side. He swam to the hole, slipped through the tiny gap between the doors, and pulled the gun from them. The door slammed shut.

Once again, he was swallowed in darkness and was being pulled through the water in a single direction. He was moving fast, trapped in a merciless stream; he was powerless and had no choice but to be a victim to the turbulence. He spun rapidly, feeling his neck twist and the back of his eyeballs ache as they were pushed forward and back.

Then, he was chucked out of the water and glided through the air gracelessly.

###

Chris woke up to a screen of darkness that felt soft, but a little prickly. He raised his head and stared down at the bed of black sand he was resting on. He got up and was impressed with his gun still clenched in his hand, and then holstered it with a newfound appreciation for the faulty firearm.

Chris surveyed his surroundings. He was at a beach, but still inside the dark cave. The sea glowed colorfully while the sand he stood on was pitch black. Overhead were more fluttering, glowing moths. Chris dragged his soaking wet body across the sand. He groaned at the sores that worsened with every step. His lungs were still adjusting to breathing normally again.

He came across Andre sitting on the sand, cuddling Walidah in his arms, both of them drenched. Chris pulled out his gun and aimed it at her.

Andre tightened his hold on Walidah and glared at Chris. “What’re you doing?”

“Wake her up. Get her to give up the Relic.”

“We’re not out of the pit yet!”

“You tried to leave without me!”

“My sisters come first at all times!”

Chris growled. “If it wasn’t for my thinking, then we wouldn’t have gotten out of that mess and I stopped Walidah, too. I’ve done enough. Wait… did you say ‘sisters’?”

Andre scoffed angrily and looked back at Walidah. “I can’t get her to give up the Relic…”

Chris forgot about his question and pulled down the hammer.

“I don’t know how!”

“Well, you better figure it out! I’m not stepping another foot in this giant collection of death traps with someone who could try to kill us at any moment!”

Andre stared back woefully. “Don’t do this…”

Chris quivered. Something about his pathetic look was so convincing. He lowered his gun and growled once again. “Damn it…”

Andre let out a sigh of relief and hugged his sister.

“As soon as we find the checkpoint. You’re giving up that Relic.” Chris gave it some thought and stole a glance at Walidah. Maybe he would be better off without it…

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I know.”

Chris holstered his gun. He studied the two, and the itch in his brain prompted him to inquire. “Why do you two want to beat the Trials?”

“Huh? Why does that matter to you?”

“Just tell me!” Chris snapped.

Andre pulled back and stared at Chris. He sighed. “It’s for our sister…”

Chris raised his brows. “What do you mean?”

“We’re not twins… we’re triplets,” he affirmed.

“Where is she now?”

“Right here,” Andre said caustically, like he should’ve known.

Chris looked around and gave up in seconds. “Does she have a Relic that grants her invisibility?”

Andre’s face grew hostile. He jerked his head to the side. “She’s right here,” he said. “She has been with us the entire time. We told her to stay back, but she really wanted to see the adventure for herself. It’s my job as the oldest to do whatever I can to make my sisters happy.”

“What?”

“Only Walidah and I can see her.”