Grace's POV

What do you do after buying a dead body?

For me, I went back to my quiet little apartment. No parents. They died five years ago and the closest person I had as a guardian was my elder brother who was barely around due to the nature of his job. 

Efe, my brother was a journalist and you couldn't make it being a journalist in a small boring town like Ketu so he moved around a lot in search of bigger stories. 

On getting home, I quickly heated the noodles I had made earlier that morning before heading for school and headed straight for my bed. 

I did my best not to think about anything that happened as I ate quietly that night. We weren't caught. I'd sleep it off and by tomorrow I would be over it. 

Just then, my phone vibrated from a text. 

'Hey, how u holding up?'

It was an unknown number. I sat up, wondering who it could be. 

My phone beeped again. 

'It's Veronica'

It only increased my curiosity. 

'How did you get my number?' I asked. 

'I have my ways' She replied with a winking emoji. 

I scoffed. 

'You're crazy.'

'I know.'

I chuckled.

'Thank you for today.'

'You're welcome. Goodnight.'

'Night.'

Everything didn't blow over as I had thought. I for one was extremely worried about what was going to happen next. I mean, Sylvester had died exactly the way Margret said he would, and she claims she did it. If the same thing was coming for me, I had to stop it somehow. 

I tried researching the game and for any case where something like this had happened, nothing useful came up. It all seemed like fairy tales on the internet. 

Great! My life was turning into a movie. 

I decided I needed help but everyone seemed distant after that night. Margret wasn't returning my calls and I was avoiding Joana's because June begged not to tell her about the game. There was no one else I could meet but fortunately, Veronica sought me first. 

She texted me again on a Saturday afternoon asking to meet up with me. 

'Hey, meet me at my place ASAP. It's about the game.'

When I got there, I met Veronica's uncle in the same position as yesterday, in front of the TV with a beer in his hand. 

"Good afternoon sir." 

He nodded without taking his eyes off the screen. At least this time he didn't give me a weird stare. 

"We will be upstairs Uncle Kim," Veronica said then took me up to her room.

"So why did you want me here? Do you have anything?"

I couldn't tell her I was doing my research because I didn't know if I could trust her. I had taken a glimpse at her driving license when she was handing it to the policeman at the checkpoint. It read 'Veronica Badmus' and not 'Bello'. If she was hiding her real surname then there was something else to all this.

"Well, I have been thinking about what happened. What has been happening." She said sitting on the bed.

"Because of the game." I pointed out resting on the desk. 

She shrugged it off. 

"But if I was thinking, if Sylvester had died the exact way Margret said she would, we can't just sit wait until your guy what's his name again?"

"Raymond."

"Yeah, Raymond. We can't wait until he turns up dead."

My face went pale at the picture of her statement.

"So what do we do?"

"Well I looked upon the game and it is pretty normal, although there were cases about demons and games coming to life it's all fiction, and even if it were, it couldn't apply to this case." 

She was only telling me things I already knew. 

"So?" 

"Be patient na, am driving somewhere." She pleaded. "Margret said she killed Sylvester or remembered doing it anyway."

I sighed. 

"What's your point?"

"She said she did it but what if she didn't? She was sleeping up in her room in the night but woke up in the living room with blood all over her."

"So you're saying someone else did it?" I said with a tone of confusion.

"I'm not sure. But what if someone else was with us that night, and decided to turn our silly game into a horrific madness. it's the only hunch we have right now and I have a plan on how to catch the killer."

I was beginning to think Veronica was crazy. 

"What the hell are you talking about? We were the only ones here that night. And why would someone what to kill the people we wanted dead and then frame us for it?" 

"Well someone could have been here without us knowing, it's a big house. Also, the world is a pretty dark place and the sooner you understand that, the better it's going to be for you."

"Not here in Nigeria. And you better keep all this your crime novel logic to yourself."

I stopped. What if that was it? What if all these were just a sick way of Veronica engaging her fantasies.

"So which would you pick Huh? That someone else is behind this or that your best friend that you have known for over three years is a cold-blooded killer." She said staring at me. 

I seemed to lose my tongue for a moment. 

"I don't know okay," I said moving away from the desk and started pacing back and forth. "This wasn't what I expected when I started searching for fun and now someone is dead and it's only a matter of time before another body drops too. I don't know what to do..."

Veronica got up from her seat to calm me down.

"Okay breath... That's why we are here right, to think of a way to stop this before it happens." 

I nodded.

"As I said before, mine is just a hunch. And since we have no major clue on what all these is yet, I'm suggesting we work with this for a while and figure out where it all leads."

"Okay, so what do you have in mind?"

Veronica smiled. 

"We're going to use you as bait. But the others have to get involved in this too."

*    *     *

I still couldn't get through to Margret and the rest during the weekend so I figured we would get the chance to talk Monday. Joana got to me first. 

"We need to talk." She said pulling me out of the class immediately after the assembly. She had dragged me out to the end of the corridor before she stopped.

"So spill it, what exactly happened that night?" She asked crossing her arms.

"What?"

"June didn't say anything when I asked her and she has been avoiding me ever since. And I know you were too over the weekend. You better start talking."

I sighed. I narrated everything to her about the game started and how Sylvester had died exactly the way Margret said she would kill him. 

She gasped in shock. 

"My God! But that would mean... Who did you say you wanted dead? And who did June mention too?"

My tongue froze. I wasn't going to be the one to tell Joana her sister fantasized about getting her killed.

Luckily, we both keep quiet as two students passed us. 

"You know what, that doesn't matter right now." She said immediately after, "What were have to do is find a way to stop this from happening again... And am beginning to believe what everyone else is saying about Veronica."

"And what's that?" 

I was starting to lose count of the names the school had given Veronica.

"That she is a witch."

I was shocked that Joana, as logical and factual as she could be about everything, was so quick to believe in magical theories. 

I laughed.

"Really? That's what you are going with."

"What else do you want me to think? You are not starting to support her are you?" She gave a stony look. 

I gulped. 

"No, but am just saying, there should be a more logical explanation to what is going on."

"What is logical about any of this? She invited you to her house didn't she?"

"Yes."

"She wanted you guys to play a game right?"

"Yes, but--"

"Can't you see? This was all her plan to get you guys and add to her list of eaten souls or something. Babe, reason being." She said finally. 

I wanted to reply but soon sighted our teacher coming towards us. 

"Mr. Shittu is here, let's go back in." 

During the class, my mind kept going over what Joana had said. It sounded bogus at first after reflecting on it for a while, it sounded even more concrete than what Veronica had told me on Saturday. What if she was a witch? 

First of all, she was hiding her real identity from us. Also, this all started because of her. What if her hunch was part of her to keep us away from her before she could finish us off? 

I cringed at the thought that I brought this all on myself and my friends. It had to stop. 

Immediately Mr. Shittafter u left the class, I had dragged Joana out with me. 

"Okay, I believe you. But what do we do now?"

"Uhm, I was thinking... We have to confront her. It's the only way she can get her to tell us about her plan." 

"Confronting her? Won't she kill us at the spot if she finds out we are onto her?"

"No, I don't think she can do anything to us unless the other people are dead."

I reluctantly nodded to her logic. 

"Okay, so when do we do it and how?"

"We don't have time to waste." She said and paused as if to gather her thoughts together. "We're on the free period right now. Go get Margret and June and meet me in the Chemistry Lab. I'll be there with Veronica."

I nodded and went back into the class, my eyes searching for June and Margret. They weren't in. I threw a glance at Veronica who was at her usual spot by the window, Joana was already approaching her. 

I came out of the classroom and headed down to the right stairwell.

Walking down, I heard moaning sounds down below and I shook my head. Kunle was at it again. 

I wanted to see the girl that was foolish enough to fall for his sly charms and to my surprise, I saw Margret. 

"Margret, what the fuck?!"

They left each other immediately. Kunle smiled as he adjusted his uniform while Margie looked away in embarrassment.

Kunle started walking away and made a click sound with his tongue as he passed me. 

I hissed. 

"I'll call you Margret." He yelled at a distance away from me. 

"Useless boy," I said glaring at him till his view faded then turned my attention to Margret. 

"What's going on?" I asked placing my right hand on my hip. 

She didn't reply, her head still bowed down.

"Can't you hear me?"

She still didn't say a word. 

"No, you can't keep quiet. I mean, why would you make out Kunle? Kunle of all people! Because of a bad we--"

My choice of words seemed to spark up something in her. 

"Because of a bad week?!" She yelled "You call last week a bad week? I fucking killed someone and you call my actions a result of a bad week?!"

I could feel the blood leave my face. Margret wasn't okay and instead of comforting my friend, I was out looking to save myself. 

"Margret I-"

She scoffed. 

"No, you don't get to judge me. Not after you and the girls stayed away."

"But I tried calling you."

"Yeah, on Sunday night, after you finally remembered me. After I tried called you that night that I couldn't sleep... I never did after that night you know." She said with her eyes in tears. 

"I'm so sorry Maggy, I didn't know," I said moving closer. 

"Well, you should have." She said sniffling. 

I hugged her. 

"I'm so sorry. I've been a horrible friend and I can't take it back. I should have done better- I'm going to do better. Please don't stay mad at me."

She remained silent but I knew my apology was working. Margret was the one with the big heart among us. 

"I won't leave you until you say something. You know me." I said smiling.

She gave a short laugh.

"It's okay. I forgive you."

I released her for my arms. 

"And I promise from now on to be by your side till we get through this, together."

"Together..." She replied wiping her face with her hands. "Now, why were you looking for me?"

"Oh, yeah," I said remembering why I came downstairs in the first place. "We have to go find June, Joana has a plan."