The Witness of Usehjiki

By the time the sun came up, Osa was standing in a field of bodies and destroyed cars. A lot of them could have gotten away, but some of them chose to stand and fight. Osa was burning in rage, but she wasn’t too foolish to realize the actual problem. Enechi’s tota.

The woman had conducted the cleansing and led the ritual beside Enechi. If there was anyone who knew how to subdue a witness, it was her. As it stood, anyone who could or wanted to lock Osa up in the witness’ cage was a threat.

The tota was an old woman with a bunch of assistants. They all had to die. Osa hunted them through the compound, cutting three down before she found the rest of them inside the building. The tota, herself, had tried to enchant Osa into unconsciousness but it hadn’t worked. She hadn’t felt any bit of remorse when she ripped the woman to shreds with her bare hands.

As for the guards who opened fire on Osa for a second time? She unleashed hell on them, flinging their bodies into the forest and pounding a few of them into the ground and she used a truck to crush some of the guards who tried to run. Their bosses were dead, but they were going to keep coming after Osa if she didn’t stop them. They had to go. They had to die.

And Osa was going through a therapeutic rage.

Inside the house, the scene wasn’t much different. A lot of household staff had fled but Osa let them go. Including the pastor. She hadn’t planned to kill him. If his injuries didn’t do that, then maybe his God was working after all. There were more pressing things on her mind, anyway than worrying about a broken man.

She scoured the building searching for books and laptops and personal computers and anything that information could be stored on before she doused the entire library with fuel. The books and wooden tablets were going to burn, eventually, but the stone tablets had to be dealt with first. Utilizing her new speed and strength, Osa tore down the tablet shelves and pummelled them into broken pieces. She cracked them and scattered them, hoping that no one would ever decipher their secrets.

Satisfied, she tossed a lit match and dropped it at the mouth of the library, rejoicing internally when the fire caught and raced towards the books and shelves.

The fire made it out of the Izeh Custody of Usehjiki’s ancient knowledge and all their history, sometime in the afternoon. Osa wasn’t sure how long it would take before the fire engulfed the entire complex, but she took satisfaction in the fact that every single book in that house, every tablet, every laptop, every agent of Jiki literacy, was in that fire.

Osa couldn’t afford otherwise. Who knew who would come looking for a way to subdue the witness again? Enechi and Ahimad had siblings, cousins... extended clan members. The Prime Minister would ask questions. Also, Kuwin had a clan, too. When the news of dead clans-blood broke out, the clans would go looking for answers. The last thing she wanted was for them to show up in Izecha and find a solution, wrapped and ready in an Izeh scroll or tablet.

Her next stop was Dr. Mowung’s office. The book in his office had information on the witness. God knew how many more books he had. She would have to torch the entire place, just to be sure. And then her mother’s office. Osa wasn’t going to take any chances on the matter.

Clad in clothes she’d rummaged out of a room, she selected a car key from the row of keys in the garage, found the car to match, and drove out of the garage just as the fire swooped into the place.

Immortality. Forever.

Osa had always thought she’d die surrounded by family. It broke her heart to remember that they’d all died trying to save her. She wiped a tear from her eyes as she neared the gate. Osa would give anything to be able to share this with family. With her mother. With her father and her sisters, but if this was her fate, she would welcome it with open arms.