“It can talk.”

Was…was she dreaming or something? Abeni reached up to her right ear as she stood still. No. The top of it was still gone. This must be real life.

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

According to her parents, the underground region that contained her village, Pessimum Path and the maze were all beneath a country called Libya and used 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 spoke called Edeeda, but Derin. A fifty-year-old language heavily influenced by the other four.

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

The ẹda flexed its body made of wrinkles, leaning down to look at her and raised 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 winced 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 distracted 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 remembered now, rubbing at her dry yet tear-stained cheeks once more. How could she forget the whole reason why she started their conversation in the first place? Sure, it uttered “Fine”, but did that really mean it would “follow her home” and “protect her”?

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

There was her answer.

The white-haired girl stood still, hesitantly looking up at the massive being. To its piercing coral eyes, its large mouth, and its grey body which she now saw also had 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 was, she still wanted to go home safely. Alone. And her safety was in jeopardy the longer she spent in this female ẹda’s presence. “Why are you…following me?”

Did it know?

“Hm. Well. I guess, I don’t know. I just feel like it, OK? Don’t question me.”

So, it didn’t.

Alright, she took a step forward and it slithered along, ready to head home...

Wait.

No!

That was not alright! That meant that even if Abeni managed to explain that she and her unused, unstable ability had done this to the female ẹda and convinced her to leave, it would still be forced to follow and protect her.

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

What exactly was her ability, anyway? Now that she used it twice, she doubted it was something that caused something like simple confusion. Was it suggestions? Commands of some sort?

Abeni sighed and decided to figure out a solution as she walked, finally bringing her sporadic stepping to a consistent pace as she journeyed down Pessimum Path, looking for the first checkpoint. Moss-covered gravel. Right.

If she recalled correctly, 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 could do this.

Abeni looked to her side and flinched when they met each other’s eyes. Man, she was 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.” Abeni already hated that nickname, but how could she protest it?

The female ẹda was right, it wasn’t. They were strangers, forced together by Abeni’s mistakes. Not that the female ẹda knew it was her fault. What could she say to that? That’s right, nothing.

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

She was somewhat lucky there hadn’t been an eniyan that had 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,” came a hesitant voice minutes later.

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

“There are more?” Please say no!

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

But Abeni shook her head, the hunts were…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 went quiet again…until, around ten minutes after they exited the maze, something unpleasant happened.

The ẹda…transformed.

Now, its large form was already terrifying with all the crusty skin and the fearsome statue but just as it was transforming and it pulsed up, for a split-second, Abeni glanced around and considered running away. But soon decided against it.

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

Abeni shivered at the thought, fidgeting with her hands as she watched it…shrink. Its nails and teeth became smaller and less sharp, its skin became smooth and its face looked less…intense. A memory came back to her then. That was the form this female ẹda had when Abeni first saw it in the outer tunnel. The form five times smaller than before, only slightly bigger than her.

And now...after watching this display, Abeni found 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 threw it a bone and hoped for the best.

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

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

Well…what else could she say—?

“…I don’t have one.”

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

“Yup.”

“Do you have…” The white-haired girl swallowed. “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 couldn’t help but ask.

“What?”

“Do they live above ground?”

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

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

Abeni couldn’t tell without a watch or a clock, but she suspected that it’s nighttime. Especially since the already mildly lit pathway was slowly becoming pitch black as the torches died out as the rest of the sixty minutes swiftly passed by in silence.

Just as they decided to set up camp, due to overexertion and the fact that she was used to going to bed early, Abeni collapsed. 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]