Nnedi Okorafor - Lagoon

Jacobs put his arm around Fisayo. “Relax. It’s—”

“No,” she said, throwing his arm off. She sat down on one of the desks and began to sob. Jacobs put his arm back around her and looked at Seven and Rome.

“She’s just upset and tired,” he said.

“No I’m not , I know what I saw.”

“Well, how do you know they didn’t bring them back?” Seven said carefully.

“I heard that noise and I saw those people get taken. That’s all I needed to see.”

“Let me see it again,” said Rome.

All of them watched the footage, even Fisayo. After it finished, none of them said a word, yet in their minds, they saw plenty. Jacobs saw an end to living with parents who refused to accept him. His sister Fisayo saw all of Lagos in flames. Seven saw infinite possibilities and a people from outer space that could make the world embrace and love everyone. Rome saw the rise of Rome.

“Let’s get the Black Nexus together tomorrow,” Rome said. “We’ve been hiding for too long. Tell me you don’t feel it. This is it. This is revolution .”

Jacobs did feel it. And if there were more of these aliens, then the Black Nexus could definitely come out of hiding, whether they came out to meet the one at the girl’s house or some other one. Jacobs could see it clearly. He could be a part of the money-making kidnapping scheme and the Black Nexus revolution. He’d have his cake and eat it, too.

The drive to Agu’s barracks should have taken a mere half hour, but extreme Lagos traffic stretched it to two. Agu couldn’t believe it was already four o’clock. Everyone was trying to get somewhere, be it a church, a bar, home, or out of Lagos. Then there was the exodus of people from Lagos Island, Ikoyi and Victoria Island to the parts of the city that had the least chance of flooding if the water rose too high. Almost all the lanes in both directions were packed with people moving inland, which was in the opposite direction to the one in which Adaora and Agu were going. In the one lane they had, they were forced to constantly swerve around people using it to bypass the traffic heading out of the city. By the time they arrived at the building for Lagos military personnel, they were exhausted, sweaty, hungry and nervous.

Adaora turned the engine off and sat back.

“You don’t have to go in with me,” Agu said.

“Oh, I’m going,” Adaora told him. She smiled and held up her notebook. “I brought my notes, too.”

Agu sighed and shut his eyes. “How will I face the man after punching him into unconsciousness?”

Adaora frowned. “He was going to rape someone.”

“You don’t know the army.” He rubbed the side of his forehead that didn’t have a Band-Aid on it. “Adaora, is this really happening?”

Adaora slowly took his hand from his forehead. It was rough, and there were tan scars on two of his knuckles. She wondered if they were from fighting. He did say he’d been in a lot of fights. “You don’t want to start that cut bleeding again,” she said quietly. She looked into his dark brown eyes. “Thank you for stepping in front of my husband.”

Agu smiled tiredly. “I was already beaten up. I had nothing to lose.”

Adaora laughed, still holding his hand. “Is that the only reason?”

He grasped hers now. “Thank you for cleaning the cut on my face,” he said. He leaned forward and she did not lean away. It was a sweet kiss. So sweet that neither of them noticed the car that slowly drove by on Agu’s side.

Chris’s window was open as he passed. He’d been following them on a hunch since they’d left the house and now his suspicions had been proven. He gazed at his wife as she proved to him what he’d suspected for over two years. Somehow he managed to stay quiet and keep driving instead of jumping from the car, dragging his wife out and beating her senseless right there in the street. This time, his rage would certainly have overpowered any black magic she might have practiced on him. But instead, he decided to wait, to tell Father Oke about what he had seen. Chris was sure Father Oke would agree – Adaora needed harsh punishment. Witches needed to be vanquished and cheating wives needed to be beaten down. So Chris drove on. And when Adaora pulled away from Agu, the road beside them was empty.

“Oh my God, what have I done?” Adaora gasped. She grabbed the handle and opened the door.

“I’m sorry,” Agu said quickly. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Adaora paused, the door half open, as dread washed over her. “I’m a married woman.” She was crying now. She hated how the tears came but she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t an adulterer. Even during the worst moments, it had never crossed her mind to cheat on Chris.

Agu reached out and touched her face. She slapped his hand away and sniffed. “Don’t.” She pushed the door wider but didn’t leave. “In less than twenty-four hours my life has fallen apart,” she whispered.

“It’s the alien’s fault,” Agu said softly.

Adaora tried but couldn’t keep the smile from her lips. She shut the door again. “Maybe my husband is right,” she said. “Maybe I am a witch.”

When Agu took her hand, she didn’t snatch it away.

“Your husband is a fool,” he said. “You’re stronger than this. Got your notes?”

“Yes.”

“Then come on,” he said, opening his door.

Lance Corporal Benson was a large, middle-aged hulk of a man in need of a vacation. He wanted time away from his wife, away from his three young children, and away from his job. And then there was the madness yesterday. He didn’t know why smoking weed always made him get crazy, but it did. The first time he’d tried it, he’d run wild in the streets for five hours, harassing women and talking shit to anyone who’d listen. Then he’d passed out and wound up in the hospital with an IV in his arm. Yesterday, he’d smoked with some of the younger privates. He’d been bored and annoyed with his life. He needed excitement. He hadn’t meant to attack that girl. He felt horrible about it… and not just because the left side of his head was swollen and his belly felt like it had been crushed with a hundred-pound weight. Thankfully, the medics said his ribs were merely bruised, praise Allah.

The last thing he wanted to see right now was the self-righteous mug of Private Agu. Benson watched intensely as Agu entered his office. He glanced at Agu’s hands. They looked normal enough. A curvy woman with a notepad followed behind him. Agu saluted Benson. Benson didn’t salute back.

The moment she entered the office, Adaora knew they’d made a mistake. She and Agu stood in awkward silence as Benson stared them down. Angry energy radiated from the burly, swollen-faced man behind the desk. He looked ready to wring Agu’s neck. Despite the large fan blowing right behind him, he was glistening with sweat.

Benson sat back in his leather chair, twiddling a pencil in his hands. The silence stretched out between them.

“I didn’t come here to talk about yesterday, sir,” Agu finally said.

Benson chuckled deep in his throat. “Are you sure?”

“This is Adaora,” Agu said. Adaora gave him a quick nod. “She is a professor of marine biology I met last night after the… I met her on Bar Beach.”

Benson’s eyes grew wide before he gained control of himself. “You were there? When it happened?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sit.”

Agu and Adaora sat.

“Sir, we know what caused the sonic boom and what is causing the water to rise. We… we met one and…”

Benson frowned. “One what?”

Silence. Adaora looked at Agu after no one said anything for several seconds. Agu and Benson were staring at each other.