WHEN DARKNESS TREMBLED
The night was unusually quiet. Crickets hummed outside, and the faint moonlight spilled across the hostel corridors. Inside Room 211 of King Jaja Hall, Daniel knelt by his bed, Bible open, whispering prayers that rose like incense into the night.
"Father," he prayed softly, "thank You for Your presence today. Thank You for strength, for wisdom, for Your Word that never fails. Lord, as I sleep tonight, let Your angels encamp around me and my roommates. And if the enemy comes"
He paused, tightening his fists, his voice firm.
"let them know that Jesus Christ is Lord."
The other ten boys in the room barely paid attention.
Tomide snored loudly.
Tele was scrolling through Instagram, laughing at memes.
Tope was muttering about how Arsenal lost again.
Chucks, the Igbo boy, was on a late-night phone call with his girlfriend.
Kehinde whispered on the phone too, trying to woo a girl from the female hostel.
Taju lay on his bed, half-asleep, murmuring Yoruba songs out of tune.
Tomori had his head buried in a pillow, muttering.
Philip was revising notes, his glasses sliding down his nose.
The other two, Bode and Seyi, were giggling about a party happening the next night.
The room felt ordinary. Normal.
Until 1:45 a.m.
The Darkness Falls
It began with the flickering of the bulb. Trr…trrr…trrr…click!
Then - total blackout.
Not just in their room. Not just in the hostel. The entire block, the entire compound, and even other hostels were swallowed by thick, unnatural darkness.
"Chineke! Wetin be this?" Chucks shouted, sitting up.
The air grew heavy. The temperature dropped sharply. A foul smell, like rotten fish mixed with sewage, filled the room. Then came the noises, strange, watery, whispering voices echoing through the walls.
"Leave this place… leave this place…"
The wardrobes began to shake violently. The windows banged open and shut. The bunks creaked, lifting slightly off the floor.
Tomide jumped down from his bed with a scream. "Ye! Blood of Jesus! Dem don come!"
Tele threw his phone away. "Ha! I knew I shouldn't have watched horror movie before sleeping!"
Taju rolled off his bed, holding his stomach. "Mo ku ooo! They want to kill us ooo!"
Everyone was awake now, shouting, running, bumping into each other.
Daniel's Boldness
Daniel stood. Calm. Unshaken. His Bible in his hand, his voice thundered:
"Surely they shall gather, but not by Me. Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake!"
- Isaiah 54:15
He laughed. The sound cut through the fear. He hissed, then declared again:
"They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways!"
- Deuteronomy 28:7
The boys froze. Their teeth chattered. Their hearts pounded.
"Daniel, abeg no provoke them!" Tope screamed, covering his head with a pillow.
Chucks shouted in Igbo: "Daniel my boy! Nwanne, talk to them o! Don't let them kill us here!"
But Daniel only lifted his hands, speaking in loud, aggressive tongues:
"Shandare-kobashinda! Fire! Fire! Fire of the Holy Ghost!"
The atmosphere cracked like lightning.
The Room Erupts
Immediately, the entire room scattered with wind. The wardrobes flew open and slammed shut. Windows banged. Books flew into the air. The bunks shook violently as if invisible hands were shaking them.
The boys screamed louder.
Kehinde ran to the door, pulling the handle with all his strength, but it was jammed.
"It no dey open! The door lock by itself!"
Taju fell to his knees. "Ye! My mama warn me o! She say make I no come this school! Ahhhhhh I don die!"
Tomori tried quoting Psalm 23, but his words trembled. "The Lord is my shepherd… I shall not em…em fail… He is my light em…em…"
Philip slapped his head. "Shut up, you idiot! You want to kill us with your nonsense?!"
The others clung to each other, trembling.
Outside the Door
The commotion had drawn other students from neighboring rooms.
Samson, Roy, Richard, Nelson, George, Jonathan, Michael, Alex, Joe - all of them stormed to Room 211, banging on the locked door.
"Guys! What's happening inside?" Roy shouted.
"Open the door na!" Nelson banged with his fist.
George pressed his ear to the door, hearing strange voices. "Jesus! What is that sound? Wetin dey happen?"
Jonathan panicked. "Ah! They are gone. They are all gone. These people don die finish."
Michael started crying. "I knew it! I knew today was a bad day!"
Alex shouted, "Daniel! Are you people alive? Say something!"
Joe added, "If una no come out alive, I go carry my load go village tomorrow morning!"
Samson, his voice breaking, called out to his younger brother inside: "Tom! Tomori! Are you there?!"
From inside, Tomori wailed: "Egbon mi! Awon maami fe pa wa o! E gba wa oooo!" (My elder brother! Marine spirits want to kill us o! Help us ooo!)
The crowd outside gasped.
"Marine spirits?!" George screamed.
"Ah! Then it's finished. They will not survive," Richard muttered, shivering.
Roy shouted nonsense prayers: "God of Shango, God of iron, please help them!"
Nelson raised his hands dramatically: "Ah! Lord of thunder, if you are there, strike something!"
The others chorused wrong prayers, mixing fear and ignorance, until the whole corridor became a blend of panic and comedy.
Back Inside
The boys inside clung together, their eyes wide, their teeth chattering. Suddenly they all turned to Daniel, who stood in the middle of the room, praying in tongues, unmoved.
His voice rose again:
"He suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm!"
- Psalm 105:14 - 15
The boys cheered weakly, desperate for hope.
"Yes Daniel! Tell them!" Tope cried.
"Abeg shout louder o, maybe they will hear!" Bode trembled.
"My mama warn me, but I no listen!" Taju screamed.
"Chai, I dey regret my life! Who send me come this school?" Kehinde wailed.
"Piss dey catch me o, but I no fit move!" Tele sobbed.
Tomide held his chest: "We don die today! Ah God, I no even read my Bible this semester!"
Chucks screamed: "Daniel my boy! I dey with you ooo! Talk to them!"
The noise of their panic filled the room.
Then suddenly - SLAP!
A thunderous sound cracked through the room, as if a thousand thunders clashed at once. One by one, all ten boys received invisible slaps that flung them against the walls. Their screams pierced the night.
"Ahhhh! My ear!" Tope cried.
"Ye! They slap me die!" Kehinde wailed.
"Jesus! My face! My face don swell!" Tomide shouted.
Taju rolled on the floor: "Mo ku ooo! This slap reach heaven!"
Those outside the door heard the noise and screamed louder, some even running back to their rooms.
The Voice of the Queen
Then it came. A chilling, loud female voice that shook the walls, speaking directly to Daniel:
"Who are you? What kind of power is this in this school? We never expected someone to possess such great fire here. Who are you?"
The boys inside froze, trembling. Their hearts nearly stopped. But Daniel stood firm, fire in his eyes, sweat on his forehead, yet unmoved.
Smoke seemed to rise from his head and body, his prayers burning hotter.
"Shandare-kobarindosh! Fire! Fire of the Living God!" he thundered.
Levitation
The room went wilder. Books lifted into the air. Beds hovered slightly. Clothes swirled like a tornado. And then - the boys themselves began to rise.
They clung to each other, screaming.
"They are carrying us away ooo!" Bode shouted.
"My mama ooo! I never marry ooo!" Tele cried.
Chucks screamed: "Daniel my boy, abeg no let them take me! I still get debt to pay!"
Tope sobbed: "Arsenal must win league before I die ooo!"
Taju screamed: "Jesu ooo! Emi ti ku!" (Jesus ooo! I am dead!)
They kicked, struggled, cried - yet Daniel stood bold, fire in his prayers.
"By the power of the Living God, I declare: Every stranger shall submit!"
"As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places!"
- Psalm 18:44 - 45
At once, the room erupted with a violent wind. The marine spirits shrieked. The female voice wailed in fury.
And the battle reached its climax…