Goléta, Wednesday, December 8

She cast another sweeping glance around the room without getting up. Something had come into this room (or someone). She was certain of it. Lisa was also sure she had been awake for a while already. She felt as if she had been stuck between sleep and wakefulness. A kind of parallel reality in which her limbs no longer obeyed her. Despite her efforts and the signals sent from her nervous system, she couldn’t move. It had all started with a dream she had had. Was it a dream?

Lisa found herself in a strange house with other young girls. It was a gloomy room with cold walls, dimly lit by lanterns hanging on the walls. The floor was damp. Lisa didn’t recognize the faces of the people with her. But she remembered being chained up like the other prisoners.

A jailer armed with a machine gun stood in a corner of the room. Lisa noticed he wore a black balaclava and military fatigues. On his left sleeve, a pentagram was drawn in blood-red color. An atmosphere of despair reigned in this place. Every half hour…

Lisa knew because it was her dream, a jailer would come and forcibly take one of the girls away. They would throw her back a little later, unconscious and utterly exhausted. Lisa understood she must not linger in this place. The dream felt so real she feared for her life. The prison guards could come for her at any moment. Lisa needed to leave as soon as possible. At some point, she noticed her chains had broken. She wanted to take advantage of it to escape. But she saw the guard was still there, watching with his piercing red eyes.

Certainly, he was not human. Lisa knew any movement would reveal her. Suddenly, the jailer fell to the ground as if struck by someone. This was the chance Lisa Awalé had been waiting for. She stood up and headed toward the exit. As she left the room, Lisa glanced at the other girls. “Help us,” they moaned. Unfortunately, Lisa couldn’t save them all.

She approached the girl who had been brought back a few moments earlier. Too exhausted to walk on her own, Lisa helped her by putting an arm around her shoulders. She thought they would spend hours wandering this prison, but to her surprise, they managed to leave the building. They found themselves in a forest.

Minutes after their escape, an alert was sounded, and trackers were sent after them. After a few meters, the two girls tripped and fell into a ditch. One of the jailers approached and removed his mask, revealing the hideous face of a monster straight out of a science fiction movie.

Realizing she was dreaming, Lisa tried to wake up. That’s when she found herself in this parallel dimension halfway between sleep and wakefulness. She could neither move nor speak. She was aware of her physical surroundings but couldn’t reach them. Panicking, Lisa wanted to shout Jesus’s name, but no sound came out of her throat. Her voice was blocked. She prayed to Jesus in her heart, begging for deliverance. “Jesus save me, save me. Save me.” The scene lasted a few minutes.

Half-awake, Lisa noticed a presence in her room. Yet she lived alone and had carefully locked the door before sleeping. So where did this presence (clearly not human) come from? The thing whose shape Lisa could barely distinguish stretched out a black, dry, clawed hand toward the young girl.

Lisa started wriggling all over. She absolutely had to regain control of her limbs. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t. She again implored Jesus’s help in her heart. Suddenly, she fully woke up. The room was empty. No presence. No sound. Except for the fan that kept slowly turning. Sweat had dampened her satin camisole. Lisa slowly sat up on her bed.

The room was empty and a bit too quiet except for the fan’s noise. She put her face in her hands and pressed her palms against her eyes.

— What is this story? she whispered.

Can’t you just let me go? The sound of the fan stirring the warm air was her only answer. A silent anger took hold of her. — Jesus! You are the one I chose to follow. Please, take your place in my life. Don’t let them take me back. Her voice was firm enough to suddenly dispel the fear that tried to envelop her.

Slowly, the shivers stopped, and the atmosphere lightened. Lisa could feel it. She sighed and got up. She was now convinced that someone or something had really come into the room while she slept. And that thing was watching her. She thought she heard a distant faint voice whispering as if from a place far from reality, “You belong to us. You all belong to us.”

Lisa burst out into hysterical laughter.

— Too bad, I already belong to Jesus.

The agronomy student went to the bathroom to rinse her face. She also took the chance to brush her teeth. Back in her room, Lisa sat at her desk and turned on the table lamp. She switched on her computer and searched for her prophetic instrumental folder. She scrolled through the titles and finally found what she was looking for: “Darkness has receded before the work of the Lamb.” Lisa, who had been baptized in the Holy Spirit since age thirteen, began to pray in the spiritual language.

***

UST Cabin D5

Harris felt different this morning. What had happened during the night had transformed him, and he knew it. Looking at himself in the mirror of one of the building D’s bathrooms, he felt the hatred and coldness he had carried in his heart for years had multiplied. His emotions were gradually being absorbed by the thing he had let inside him. Harris had talked with the demon that night. A conversation he was not likely to forget.

The medical student had joined the morning twilight not only because spiritual things interested him but also because he needed to quickly gain power. A lot of power. He didn’t know he would be forced to sacrifice humans to the dark forces he had made a pact with.

However, Harris had learned to silence his empathy and conscience to focus only on the goal: power. Harris Ekora’s real motivation was not curiosity. His real aim in joining the morning twilight was to become increasingly powerful to finally stand up to his uncle Benoît Ekora, responsible for his father’s death.

Harris’s uncle had always been known as a true sorcerer, master of occult arts, and he did not hide it. People who had conflicts with him often died under very strange circumstances. One day, Benoît and his brother had a dispute over their grandfather’s inheritance.

The case lasted nearly five years and brought the two brothers to court several times. At some point, Benoît decided to use his occult power. He repeatedly warned his brother to drop the case or be responsible for what would happen. But Harris’s father was not one to give in. He refused to yield. He did not think his brother, as evil as he was, would cast a deadly spell on him.

Initially initiated into witchcraft, Benoît Ekora later joined a shadow fraternity where he learned ancient black magic, which greatly increased his mystical powers. Harris was 14 when all this happened. Before his grandfather’s death, his uncle often came to the house, and they shared meals prepared by his mother. But even then, Harris saw him as a malevolent and cold being whose smile hid cruelty and unscrupulous ambition.

Years later, after yet another trial between Benoît and his brother Hector, the latter returned home complaining of severe stomach pains. He was rushed to the hospital and admitted to intensive care. Despite all the care he received, Hector Ekora, Harris’s father, passed away, leaving behind a wife and three children. Everyone knew who was behind this premature death. Benoît Ekora played the grieving brother, but no one was fooled.

From then on, Harris harbored an indescribable hatred for his uncle. It was this hatred that pushed him toward occult forces. But what drove him further was seeing that his uncle also gained power over the years, likely due to his cruelty and wickedness.

That night, Gonnors made a proposal to Harris. The demon from the limbo appeared as a nearly two-meter tall man. The claws on his hands and feet were at least five centimeters long. He was bare-chested, and Harris noticed a necklace with seven teeth around his neck. Harris couldn’t say exactly what kind of teeth they were but thought they looked like shark teeth.

The young black mage wondered why this monster wore a shark-tooth necklace. Were there sharks where he came from? Then the medical student realized the teeth were too small for a shark. So what were they? The monster also carried the foul stench common to most entums when they don’t hide it. It was a smell of sulfur and sewage. No wonder, since these horrible creatures came from a world ravaged by blight and corruption.

Around his waist, Harris saw he wore a belt and a sword sheath. The sword, black, emitted a dark red smoke. The thickness of the blade was impressive. Gonnors could have cut a small 2005 Toyota Aygo in two with a single blow. Fixing Harris with his piercing red eyes, Gonnors immediately guessed what motivated the young man to venture so far into the dark world.

Harris had told no one. Not even his mentor, Doctor Robert. If Harris wanted to avenge his father, he had to be ready to “renounce himself.” That’s what Gonnors told the young black mage. Harris knew what it meant. He had summoned the demon of chaos and despair over Goléta according to the morning twilight’s instructions. In exchange for obedience, he could quickly climb the ranks in the secret society and gain more power.

But that night, to his great surprise, the demon proposed another pact. Contrary to what Harris expected, Gonnors spoke with a perfectly normal man’s voice. Calm yet firm.

— I’ve noticed in you a power greater than most mortals, he said. Otherwise, you couldn’t have summoned me alone, even with the Orix stone. This is exactly the kind of body we need to operate in this dimension.

— I already have a Guardian spirit, Harris replied. Bob. He is inside me.

— That’s not a problem. Bobiel will share his space with us. He won’t mind.

— Us?

— I won’t be alone. I’m never alone. But don’t worry. You have nothing to fear. You won’t even notice us.

He said this with a small smirk distorting his face. Except regarding power. You will be powerful. Very powerful. That’s what you want, isn’t it? No one will dare resist you. Not even your uncle. And if you let me possess you, I will tell you how to defeat him and his guardian. I know them.

Harris remained silent for a moment. He had read enough of the mystic book to know entums were not known for their kindness. They always had an agenda.

— What are you doing in Goléta? Harris asked. For a moment, he saw fury and rage flash in the monster’s red eyes. Yet his voice remained calm.

— Our mission in Goléta is none of your business, young man. Now, make a choice. Will you join us or remain in the dark forever?

Harris knew he was cornered. If he wanted to avenge his father, he had to accept the deal. He bowed his head in silence. The monster smiled again.

— Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.

They merged. Harris felt a tremendous power flowing through his body and mind. But a part of him was lost to darkness forever.

Gonnors was becoming increasingly impatient.

“My brothers are waiting for us. Decide now. You didn’t summon me here to negotiate. And I won’t leave empty-handed. If you make a pact with me, you can ask me for anything you desire in return. And in your case, I know the only thing you want is power.”

“If I agree, I want to keep control,” Harris said. “If you enter me, I want to remain in control.”

The demon gave another predatory smile. “Of course, young master. Of course.” Standing three meters tall, he extended one of his clawed fingers toward Harris.

“Touch me and we will become one.”

Harris obeyed. The moment he touched Gonnors, the spirit, taking the form of black smoke, spread into him through his ears, nose, and mouth.

***

At 9 a.m.,

Lisa went to take a shower before heading to campus. Coming out of the bathroom, she heard her phone ringing. She had left it on the table in the living room. With her towel wrapped around her chest, Lisa followed the sound and picked up her phone. It was an unknown number. Lisa knew it was her ex-boyfriend Roland. He hadn’t stopped texting her since the day before. And that morning again, she had received messages from him. It was certainly him hiding behind this unknown number. Lisa could no longer risk seeing him again. She wasn’t ready to talk to him now either. The best for both of them was to keep their distance for a while.

She thought that Roland had probably come by the house the day before. At that time, she had been with Angela’s brother at the public square in Goléta. A wise decision that had spared her from seeing Roland. She wouldn’t have been able to resist him. With a small pang in her heart, Lisa Awalé put the phone down on the table and went to get dressed in her bedroom. When she returned, the ringing had stopped. Her challenge now would be to avoid Roland on campus.

Fortunately, UST was large enough if you wanted to avoid someone who wasn’t in your department. Lisa knew her ex would certainly try to talk to her after class. She couldn’t avoid him forever. But at least she wasn’t in danger meeting him at UST. Lisa put some things in her backpack. She took her botany book and her large notebook. She also added a water bottle filled with fruit juice and the detective novel she had started a month earlier.

At that moment, her phone rang again. Exasperated, she was about to reject the call when she saw it was someone else. The name “Mom” appeared on the smartphone screen. It was strange that her mother was calling her again today when they had just talked a few days ago.

Lisa wondered if there was a problem. She was still happy to be able to talk to her mother, especially now that she no longer needed to pretend. She was no longer in a hurry to end the call when her mother asked her how her prayer life was going, if she was still attending church, and if she persisted in meditating on the Word and communing with God.

During all those months away from God’s will, Lisa had unconsciously distanced herself from those who reminded her that her life was not truly in accordance with God’s will.

Among them were: her father, her mother, her younger brother Robert, and some of her sisters from the church in Katia. Cheerful and lighthearted, the young girl answered the call.

“Hello, dear Mom.”

“Hello, my darling, how are you?”

“I’m fine, Mom, and you? I’m so happy to hear your voice this morning. Really happy.”

She heard her mother laugh on the other end of the line…

This text is an excerpt from the book SENTINELS: FIRST WATCH written by Charles SANDAH.

We invite you to read the following article: “Breakup.”

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