“It can talk.”

Is…is she dreaming or something? Abeni reaches up to her right ear as she stands still.

No. The top of it is still gone. This must be reality.

“Yes, I can. But I am not an it. I’m an ẹda,” What’s going on? This ẹda is speaking Derin?

According to her parents, the underground region that contains her village, Pessimum Path and the maze are all beneath a country called Libya and use Derin as its main language.

Not Yoruba, her native tongue, not English or Arabic which were common languages that used to dominate this region, or the language the villagers said the amon ẹda speak called Edeeda, but Derin. A 50-year-old language heavily influenced by all four languages.

“H-how can you speak…Derin?” Abeni asks in the aforementioned language, trying to seem confident but her stutter gives her away. She can’t help it. This is a killing machine she’s talking to!

The ẹda flexes its body made of wrinkles, leaning down to look at her and raising its eyebrow. “Oh. It may be hard for a child like you to understand, but we ẹda speak both Edeeda and Derin. It’s not that difficult.”

Woah… “It really can speak Derin…”

“Oi!” Abeni winces at its raised voice. “I’m an ẹda. A female ẹda. Not an it! Anyway—”

But the shock of having a conversation with the female ẹda distracts her. “So, you have separate genders…”

“…Yes? Why wouldn’t we? But more importantly, weren’t you on your way to your precious village? Keep moving, little eniyan. Hurry it up.”

“Oh…” Abeni remembers now, rubbing at her dry yet tearstained cheeks once more. How could she forget the whole reason why she started their conversation in the first place? Sure, it uttered “Fine”, but does that really mean it will “follow her home” and “protect her”?

So, she resumes walking down Pessimum Path and after only two steps in the right direction, the female ẹda slithers beside her without a word.

There’s her answer.

The white-haired girl stands still, hesitantly looking up to the massive being. To its piercing coral eyes, its large mouth, and its grey body which she now sees also has some vibrant coral marks on it, almost like the paint she heard some village children used to play with.

There must be a way out of this. No matter how curious she is, she still wants to go home safely. Alone. And her safety is in jeopardy the longer she spends in this female ẹda’s presence. “Why are you…following me?”

Does it know?

“Hm. Well. I guess, I don’t know. No, I just feel like it, OK? Don’t question me.”

So, it doesn’t.

Alright, she takes a step forward and it slithers along.

Wait.

No!

This is not alright! That means that even if Abeni manages to explain that she and her unused, unstable ability has done this to the female ẹda and convinces her to leave, it will still be forced to follow and protect her.

Plus, it will then know what her ability is and may use that knowledge to its advantage in the future.

What exactly is her ability, anyway? Now that she’s used it twice, she doubts it’s something that causes something like simple confusion. Is it suggestions? Commands of some sort?

Abeni sighs and decides to figure out a solution as she walks, finally bringing her sporadic stepping to a consistent pace as she journeys down Pessimum Path, looking for the first checkpoint. Moss-covered gravel. Right.

If she recalls, it should take her just over an hour to find it. That’s a whole hour to figure out a way to get this female ẹda off of her back. OK, she can do this.

Abeni looks to her side and flinches when they meet eyes. Man, she is seriously going to have a heart attack at some point. “So…w-what were you doing before this?”

A raised eyebrow. “That’s none of your business, little eniyan.” She already hates that nickname, but how can she protest it?

The female ẹda is right, it isn’t. They’re strangers, forced together by her mistakes. Not that the female ẹda knows that. What can she say to that? That’s right, nothing.

So, they continue moving without a word, the sound of footsteps made by black sneakers and loud slithering filling the space.

She’s somewhat lucky there hasn’t been an eniyan that has passed them yet. They must be quite a pair. But on the other hand, maybe they would be her ticket out of this mess.

“I was with another ẹda. A male,” comes a hesitant voice minutes later.

Abeni’s head snaps towards the female ẹda in shock.

“There are more?” Please say no!

“Just one…” the female ẹda admits before glaring. “you eniyans killed the rest of us back in the maze.”

But Abeni shakes her head, the hunts are…defensive. To protect the village. At least that’s what the villagers said. “No…the creat— amon ẹda always attack us first. And…I-I think it’s ‘amon eniyan’, by the way. Not eniyans,” that’s what her parents taught her.

“Perhaps in your language, but not in Derin. The plurals are ‘ẹda’ and ‘eniyans’. And believe what you want to believe. I don’t care.”

Then it goes quiet again…until, around ten minutes after they exit the maze, something unpleasant happens.

The ẹda…transforms.

Now, its form was already terrifying with all the crusty skin and the fearsome statue but just as it’s transforming and it pulses up, for a split-second, Abeni glances around and considers running away. But decides against it.

One, she’s way too tired to get anywhere far, and two, who’s to say that it won’t be able to catch up with her just as fast as before? Who’s to say that it can’t protect and follow her after hurting her?

Abeni shivers at the thought, fidgeting with her hands as she watches it…shrink. Its nails and teeth become smaller and less sharp, its skin becomes smooth and its face looks less…intense again. A memory comes back to her then. This is the form this female ẹda had when Abeni first saw it in the outer tunnel. Five times smaller than before. A form only slightly bigger than her.

And now...after watching this display, she finds herself wanting to understand it better. If only to find a good way to get rid of this female ẹda once and for all. So, she throws it a bone and hopes for the best.

Instead of commenting on the almost inaudible transformation, probably an ability that all the ẹda have, she tries to lower its guard down. “…I’m Abeni. What’s your name?”

But receives nothing. Not even a glance as the significantly smaller female ẹda slithers up beside her and they continue to move along Pessimum Path as if nothing just happened.

Well…what else can she say—?

“…I don’t have one.”

“Oh,” and while – according to the eniyans she knows and used to trust – no ẹda deserves an apology, for some reason, Abeni has to quiet the urge she has to give one. Call it manners or something.

“Yup.”

“Do you have…” The white-haired girl swallows. “parents?”

“No. They…” They died, didn’t they? Was it because of an eniyan? “…live in another place. I’m much, much older than you, so I don’t live with them.”

“Above ground?” Abeni can’t help but ask.

“No, underground, stupid. There’s nothing above ground.”

“Oh…oh right,” she remembers being told that. But for this to really be everything. These rocky grounds…this scary fate…this gradual darkness…

Abeni can’t tell without a watch or a clock, but she suspects that it’s night time. Especially since the already mildly lit pathway is slowly becoming pitch black as the torches die. Sixty minutes swiftly passing by in silence.

And just as they decide to set up camp, due to overexertion and the fact that she is used to going to bed early, Abeni collapses. Falling asleep to the feeling of a wrinkly tail cushioning her head and a moss-covered path beneath her hands.

 

[Current Total Beings In ‘Abeni’s Army’ – 1]