by Nzondi
I coughed once more and found myself on my knees, naked and cold. The floor was marble, white as snow, and a body fell into me.
It was Lamp.
“You’re alive,” I said, and hugged her naked body.
She pushed me and we both fell to the floor, laughing.
“He did it!” I said. “Dad did it!”
In the distance, someone sniggered, and I sat up on my elbows and searched for the source of the sound. The entire area was one giant space of nothingness that stretched for infinity. Like a tiny stain on a brand-new cotton sheet, Kofi sat on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chin.
He was grinning and mumbling to himself.
“I made everyone pay,” he said and laughed. “I made everyone pay!”
An oversized shirt draped across my body, and I glanced up. It was Dad, shirtless. He was grinning like a young boy who had just passed his rites of passage. I wrapped part of Dad’s humongous shirt around Lamp and helped her up.
“Thank you, sis,” she said.
“No, thank you, sister,” Lamp said.
“So what’s wrong with Kofi?” I asked.
“He’s stuck in the game,” Dad said. “It was the only way I could defeat him by rewriting the entire program. He was a very formidable hacker.”
“I couldn’t have solved the case without you, Lamp.” I said.
“Why would you ever try, Examiner?” Lamp said, pushing me in the head.
I acted like I was going to hit her. She dodged my swing, making me laugh.
Kenya stepped in the room, with two GAF officers, and gestured to Kofi. They nodded and went to him, placing him in handcuffs.
“Call his mother,” I said to the officers. “Tell Auntie Yajna, he’s coming home.”
“Home?” Lamp said.
“Yeah, home,” I said. “He’ll be under house arrest. But I’m sure he’ll be no problem for anyone, anymore. I’ll make sure of that.”
“We'll see what IGP Sibaya Bete says about that,” Dad said.
Lamp smiled at me, and said, “Because taking care of your family is one of the most important things we beings could ever do in life.”
I hugged her and kissed her cheek. “So right, sister. So right.”
About the Author
Nzondi (Ace Antonio Hall) is an American urban fantasy and horror writer. He is best known as the creator of Sylva Slasher, a teenage zombie slasher who also raises the dead for police investigations. His non-fiction book, Lord of the Flies: Fitness for Writers was published by Omnium Gatherum.
Among his many short stories published in anthologies and print magazines, Hall’s short story, “Raising Mary: Frankenstein,” was nominated for 2016 horror story of the year for the 19th Annual Editors and Preditors Readers Poll. A former Director of Education for NYC schools and the Sylvan Learning Center, the award-winning educator earned a BFA from Long Island University. Hall currently lives in Los Angeles with his bonsai named Bonnie.
Table of Contents
The Oware Mosaic
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About the Author