The heavy glass doors of the Ibadan Central Library were shattered, but a metal security gate had been pulled down behind them, leaving only a narrow gap at the side where the lock had been broken. It was just wide enough for them to squeeze through.
They slipped inside, and the sounds of the city immediately became muffled, replaced by an oppressive silence. The air was cool and smelled of old paper and dust. The emergency lights cast a dim, ghostly glow over the cavernous main reading room. Books were scattered across the floor, tables were overturned, and a large purple fissure pulsed silently near the information desk, but the place felt strangely peaceful compared to the streets. It was a tomb, a sanctuary.
"Okay, let's find somewhere safe to hole up," Kai whispered, his leg throbbing with every step.
Elara nodded, her eyes scanning the vast, shadowed space. "This way. The non-fiction section. Smaller aisles, more defensible."
She led him through the maze of towering shelves to a secluded corner. They collapsed behind a large desk in the history section, hidden from the main entrance. Elara immediately shrugged off her backpack and pulled out the first-aid kit.
"Let me see," she ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Kai sat down heavily, leaning against the bookshelf as Elara carefully cut away the torn, blood-soaked denim. The gash was about four inches long and deeper than he'd let on. It was bleeding sluggishly. Elara worked with a focused intensity, cleaning the wound with antiseptic wipes and then expertly applying butterfly bandages to pull the edges closed before wrapping it tightly with a pressure dressing.
"You were always better at this stuff than me," Kai said, his attempt at a joke sounding weak even to his own ears.
"All those years of patching up your scraped knees from soccer practice," she replied, her voice tight with concentration. "This is a little different."
As she finished tying off the bandage, a quiet voice from the shadows made them both jump.
"You're pretty good at that. You a nursing student?"
Kai was on his feet in an instant, saber raised, placing himself in front of Elara. He stared into the darkness between two bookshelves.
A figure stepped out, hands raised in a placating gesture. He was a young man, maybe a year or two older than Kai, with tired eyes, glasses, and a university hoodie. In one hand, he held a heavy, hardback copy of 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' like a weapon.
"Whoa, easy there," the young man said, his eyes wide as he took in Kai's sword and makeshift shield. "I'm not one of them."
"Who are you?" Kai demanded, not lowering his weapon.
"Name's Ben. I'm a student. Or, I was," he said with a humorless laugh. "Was studying in here when all this... started. I've been hiding ever since."
Kai assessed him. He didn't look like a threat. He looked tired and scared, just like them. Slowly, he lowered his saber. "We're Kai and Elara. We're just passing through."
Ben nodded, his eyes flicking to the professional-looking bandage on Kai's leg. "Saw you two come in. Figured you weren't monsters when the girl started playing doctor. You two handle yourselves pretty well out there. I saw you fight that pack of... whatever they are."
"We're learning," Kai said grimly.
"Tell me about it," Ben said, running a hand through his messy hair. "I've just been hiding. But I've been watching. The streets are a death trap, but I saw something... something that might be important."
"What is it?" Elara asked, her curiosity piqued.
"About an hour ago, a military convoy. Two APCs and a truck, heading toward the city center," Ben said, his voice low and urgent. "They weren't stopping, but they were organized. It looked like they were setting up a perimeter around the government buildings. Maybe a safe zone. An extraction point."
A safe zone. The idea was so potent, so full of hope, that it felt dangerous. A place with soldiers, with real guns, with answers. It was a stark contrast to their desperate plan of hiding in a dusty antique shop.
"The city center..." Kai murmured, the location turning over in his mind. It was in the opposite direction of the shop. Further away. Through a part of the city that was probably crawling with even worse things than they'd already seen.