Vengeance Unbound

Chapter 1: The Chase

Chioma’s POV

1:30 a.m. – Lagos Mainland

The night was too quiet for Lagos. Too still. Even the breeze felt wrong.

“Helppp!! helpppp!!!” My scream tore through the empty street as I ran, barefoot and trembling, the cold harmattan wind slicing through my thin shirt. My voice echoed, but no answer came–just the rhythmic thunder of footsteps behind me.

Three men chased me.

One had a patch over his eye.

The other two wore ironed, button-up shirts like office workers returning from a late shift. But nothing about them felt normal. They carried darkness with them, something hungry and violent.

Around here, nobody opened their doors at night. Lagos Mainland had its own rules–if you heard someone running, you looked away. If you heard someone scream, you shut your window tighter.

Tonight, I was one of those screams no one dared to claim.

My foot slammed against a pile of scattered trash, and my body hit the ground hard. A burning pain shot through my ankle. “Ahhh!!” I gasped, forcing myself up despite the throbbing. My breath came in short, sharp bursts, every inhale like glass scraping my lungs.

Their flashlights cut through the darkness behind me, slicing across walls, sand, broken bottles.

I staggered into a narrow alley, swallowing my sobs. My legs felt like jelly, my mind buzzing with panic. I spotted an old, torn tent abandoned by street kids–the kind used for shade in the daytime, now sagging like a forgotten memory.

I crawled inside, heart hammering so violently I was sure it would betray me.

“Spread out! Check everywhere!” one of them barked.

Their footsteps grew closer–heavy boots kicking cans, shattering bottles, shifting the silence.

I pressed a shaking hand over my mouth. Tears rolled down silently, warm against the cold night.

Then…

Silence.

A dangerous, heavy silence.

With one swift motion, the tent was ripped from the ground. My lungs seized.

“Found her.”

A hand clamped around my arm, dragging me out. I fought–kicking, clawing, screaming–but my strength was nothing against them.

“Let me go!” My voice cracked, raw with fear.

They laughed. A cold, merciless sound.

“You thought you could run?” one sneered, his shadow towering over me.

I slapped him–more out of desperation than bravery. “Get your filthy hands off me,” I snapped, even though my whole body trembled.

Their expressions shifted. Amusement faded. Something darker took its place.

They pinned me against the damp, cracked wall..”wonder what she tastes like, red velvet?” One laughed.

“Get your nasty claws off me, you imbecile” . I yelled with a stern look and slapped him across the face. They started touching me – one grabbed my breasts with both hands, they dragged my trousers down to expose my skin “L–Let goo” I cried.

He forced my legs open and put his c**k inside me “ Argh–ah, please, stop” I screamed, I begged. My legs kicking wildly against the ground, but he held me down with ease.

He started off slowly, then faster. I placed both hands on his head and pulled his hair. “ Urgh–mm, ahh” I moaned really loud.– When he was done he pulled away, the other two took turns, they did it multiple times over again.

What happened next…

I remember in flashes.

Cold hands.

Harsh breathing.

Powerlessness crushing me like a weight.

My voice breaking again and again until it was barely a whisper.

I remember pain–intense, tearing, wrong.

I remember their shadows leaning over me.

I remember the night swallowing my cries whole, like Lagos itself refused to witness it.

Time stopped meaning anything. Minutes felt like hours.

When it was over, my body felt like it didn’t belong to me anymore–just a shell lying on the dirty ground, shivering uncontrollably.

I could barely see. Everything was hazy, spinning.

Then–

A sharp sting at my neck.

My vision blurred instantly. The world dimmed, folding inward.

As consciousness slipped away, I heard one of them speak, his voice low and satisfied.

“Job done.”

Darkness claimed me before I could scream again.