DEATH'S BOX 

FIRST CLASS WRITERS ASSOCIATION (FCWA) 

The home of quality and trusted writers of the nation.
~ Assalamu Alaikum ~
~ I am back with a brand new book. It is my fervent prayer that just as I begin this journey in peace, the Almighty grants me the ability to conclude it in safety. ~
This chapter is specially dedicated to my beloved fans, wherever you may be. I love you all so much! ❤️❤️

Page 1–5

A woman sat inside a room; she could not have been more than thirty-five years old, and one could instantly tell she was pregnant by the way she positioned herself on the woven mat spread across the floor.
Her abdomen was heavily distended, indicating she was due to give birth any day now. Resting her chin in her hands, a deep look of anxiety clouded her face. She let out a heavy sigh and murmured to herself, "Oh, woe is me, Hajara. Ever since I conceived this child, my heart has been locked in a constant grip of dread and anxiety, and I cannot understand why. Even though this is my first pregnancy, I know this isn't how expectant mothers usually feel. I feel a persistent intuition that a horrific tragedy is looming over my lineage. Whatever it is, I must guard my heart and persevere in prayer, for I know that even if I tell Brother Umar, there is nothing he can do about it."
As she was engrossed in her thoughts, a man walked into the room. He appeared to be around forty-one years old, fair-skinned, and tall. He didn’t bother to utter a greeting; he simply barged into the room like an untamed bull. Hajara, however, was already well-accustomed to her husband’s abrasive habits.
"Brother, welcome back," she said softly.
"Yeah, my sister. How are you feeling, and how is the loneliness treating you?"
"Well, Brother, Alhamdulillah, my body is managing. As for the loneliness, I've grown used to it. We have been living out here for almost ten years now, so what loneliness is left for me to feel?"
"That's true, my sister. By Allah, I am just eager to see you deliver safely. I hope the child turns out well too. You know how much I love children. If I hadn't been forcing you to abort your previous pregnancies, we would probably have about five children by now," he finished with a hollow laugh.
"Hmm, Brother, let's just hope so. May Allah grant me a safe delivery."
He didn't offer an "Amin" to her prayer. She already knew that would happen; whenever she prayed around Brother Umar, he never joined in. His only desires in life were to eat and sleep. Religious devotion didn't concern him in the slightest; he only performed his prayers when Hajara fiercely nagged him, and sometimes, he wouldn't even do it then.
His voice suddenly snapped her out of her reverie. "Did you cook any food today?"
"No," she replied. "Brother, you already know how much I've been struggling with my body. I'm fine today, and sick the next. Whenever I suggest we go to the hospital, you never agree. I don't understand why you brought me out to this dreadful forest to isolate me from everyone. It's just you and me, and even then, you leave the house and abandon me here like some kind of witch..."
"Shut your mouth right now!" Umar barked, interrupting her. "Look at how that tongue of yours wags despite your condition! Why must you always nag so terribly? How many times do I have to tell you that no one can force me out of this forest unless I choose to go? Yet every single day, you pester me with the same complaints. By Allah, you better watch yourself. Do you think just because your belly is big, I've stopped beating you? I only hold back because I want to see my offspring enter this world. If not for that, by Allah, the dead in their graves would be having a better day than you right now. Foolish woman!"
With that final insult, he stood up and stormed off toward his own room, leaving Hajara sitting there wiping away her tears. Realizing that crying would accomplish nothing but worsen the heartache she suspected she already suffered from—sometimes her heart pounded so loudly she felt anyone nearby would hear it—she painfully dragged herself up. Her heavy abdomen weighed her down as she slowly made her way to her room to lie down.
Deep within the same forest, two drunks were stumbling around aimlessly. One could tell from a single glance that they were heavily intoxicated, babbling completely incoherent nonsense.
One of them turned to his companion and said, "Hey, Baaba, by Allah, this poverty is completely draining me. Every time I want to get a drink, I have to resort to stealing before I can afford it."
The one called Baaba chuckled. "Listen to me, Gaye. By Allah, you are better off because at least you manage to steal something and share it with me. My only hope right now is that Allah drops some meat from the sky so we can devour it. I swear, I’d handle it properly."
They both burst into loud, drunken laughter. Gaye then muttered, "Let me step into the brush over there to urinate. There are too many people around here watching me, and I don't want anyone staring at my nakedness." They laughed again as Gaye began stumbling deeper into the forest, muttering to himself.
He walked quite a distance but still couldn't find a suitable spot. A sudden gust of wind rose, rustling the dry leaves on the ground. Gaye kept walking until his foot violently caught on something that felt like a rock.
He stumbled to a halt and cursed, "Look at these wretched people! Even though I came all the way out here to pee, you still followed me? Well, I'm going to deal with you, I swear!"
He was about to walk away when he noticed the object resembled a chest. Bending down, he touched it and confirmed it was indeed a box. He broke into a wide grin. "Aha! So it's true! It's me, Tanimu Gaye! It turns out the stories I read are real—the ones about people coming into the forest and finding boxes filled with money! It's actually true!" He let out an ecstatic shout. "Lucky Tanimu Gaye! Tonight, I am going to drink myself to sleep!"
He attempted to prize the box open but failed because it was secured with a heavy padlock. Noticing a large stone nearby, he picked it up and began bashing the lock. He started eagerly, but as fatigue set in, he had to exert every ounce of his remaining strength. Finally, the lock snapped. He flung the box open, only to find it completely empty except for a skeleton.
Tanimu recoiled in horror. At that exact moment, a blinding bolt of lightning cracked across the sky, accompanied by a terrifying, unnatural gale that whipped up instantly. A horrifying, blood-curdling shriek pierced the air, dissolving into a gruesome, agonizing weeping that sent chills down the spine.
A monstrous entity materialized. One look at it was enough to ensure no sane person would ever wish to look upon it again. In an instant, the fierce wind lifted Tanimu Gaye into the air and slammed him violently against a nearby tree. He was hauled through the air like a piece of laundry and repeatedly dashed against the hard ground.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, "For the love of God, please have mercy! You can see us, but we can't see you! I swear I don't want the money anymore! I'll stop drinking alcohol entirely! I'll even greet my mother properly every day! Please, have mercy!..."
Suddenly, a sickening crack echoed through the clearing as his neck was snapped, silencing him forever. The entity erupted into a wicked, booming laughter and spoke in a harsh, grating voice: "From this day forth, my hunt begins, and no living soul can stop me! For a hundred years, I was trapped inside that box, and today, someone has set me free! Hahahahaha!"
With a sharp pop, the creature vanished into thin air.
At that very moment, a violent wave of dread washed over Hajara. Ever since she had gone to her room, sleep had eluded her, leaving her trapped in a cycle of anxious thoughts. She watched the wind howl outside while the faint, distant sound of weeping echoed through the night.
Meanwhile, Baaba stood waiting, hurling typical drunken insults into the darkness. "What is taking him so long just to urinate? It’s getting incredibly late, and everyone is starting to leave." (The author chuckles: Honestly, Baaba, you must be completely wasted. What 'people' are out there in the middle of a deserted forest? Only God knows!)
Tired of waiting, Baaba began to walk away, muttering, "If you ever return, you can find me at home. I’m exhausted."
Suddenly, he spotted a dog charging toward him at full speed. Its eyes were bloodshot and glowing, looking as though they had been rubbed with hot chili powder. The moment Baaba realized the beast was coming straight for him, he quickened his pace, breaking into a frantic run. But like a sudden gust of wind, the dog instantly cut him off, blocking his path.
Backing away in terror, Baaba stammered, "Don't come any closer to me! By Allah, I'll destroy you! I mean it!" But the hound paid no heed to his drunken threats. With a feral leap, it lunged onto Malam Baaba’s chest.
Baaba shrieked, "Someone help me! It's going to bite me! I told you don't start with me, I'll destroy you!..."
With a swift, horrific snap, the dog clamped its jaws around his head and severed it cleanly. Baaba's headless torso collapsed to the ground, twitching violently on the dirt as if doing a disco dance. The demonic dog vanished into thin air, leaving the clearing as silent as the grave.
When morning arrived, Hajara could barely move due to an excruciating pain in her lower abdomen. Summoning every ounce of her willpower, she dragged herself off the bed and went to the bathroom to perform her ablutions. She emerged, spread her prayer mat, and began to pray.
As she bowed with great difficulty, she suddenly felt a violent force push her from behind. She crashed heavily onto her stomach. A piercing scream tore from her throat as a torrent of blood immediately burst forth. Labor had arrived with terrifying intensity.
Through the miraculous intervention of the Almighty, she managed to give birth right there on the floor. She screamed out again, hoping Umar might hear her, knowing he usually hadn't left the house by this time. But there was only silence. He was nowhere to be found, and the blood continued to pool beneath her like a flowing sea.
Using the last of her failing strength, she managed to sever the umbilical cord. Only then did she look down and realize she had given birth to a baby girl. She stared at the infant, a profound wave of pity washing over her as a strange, cold sensation began to take over her body.
Within five minutes, Hajara took her final breath. She passed away right there, clutching her weeping newborn daughter in her arms...
Maryam H.

Page 11–15

They walked together until they reached the front door of the house. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, and she followed him. He gestured toward a chair for her to sit down and offered her some water, which she accepted with a nod.
He went into the kitchen, grabbed a cup, and retrieved a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator. Returning to the living room, he handed it to her. She thanked him, opened the bottle, poured the water, and drank.
Once her thirst was quenched, she set the cup down and said, "Servant of Allah, I am deeply grateful for your help. If I hadn't gotten this water to drink, I honestly don't know what would have happened to me."
He nodded and replied, "It's nothing at all."
She opened her mouth to speak again, but the sudden cry of a newborn baby echoed from the bedroom. Umar bolted to his feet. "I'll be right back," he said hurriedly, rushing into the room. He picked up the baby and began rocking her gently to soothe her cries.
Meanwhile, back in the living room, the mysterious female stranger broke into a eerie grin and vanished without a trace.
Her disappearance coincided exactly with Umar’s return to the living room. He froze, staring at the empty space. "Did she just leave because I took too long?" he muttered to himself. He sat down, completely at a loss for what to do. He felt a deep pity for the poor baby; she hadn't been washed, let alone fed.
Deep down, he knew he needed to call his mother and family to figure out a solution. To make matters worse, Hajara’s corpse had inexplicably vanished, and he had no idea where to find it. On top of that, he was still replaying the terrifying events that had occurred right before he fled the forest.
Deep within a sinister forest—a place so vile that even seeing it in a nightmare would leave you shaken—lay a massive, ancient wooden chest, showing signs of extreme age. Scattered around it were the severed heads and torsos of the dead, long since reduced to skeletons.
A terrifying, ominous wind began to howl, kicking up a thick shroud of dust that obscured everything. A chilling laughter echoed through the haze as the wind slowly began to die down, revealing a monstrous entity.
She wore tattered white garments, and her hair stood completely on end, resembling the twisted roots of a dead tree. Her eyes were a sickly green color, and her mouth was shaped like a wide cup. She had no nose at all; the center of her face was completely flat and smooth, as if plastered over.
Approaching the ancient box, she raised a hand toward the sky and chanted a bizarre, incantation. The chest creaked open. She chanted again, and a corpse flew out and hit the ground. Another followed, and then another. Once three corpses had been ejected from the box, it slammed shut. The bodies belonged to Hajara, Tanimu Gaye, and Baaba.
The entity let out a piercing shriek and spoke in a thundering voice: "I will never rest until I have slaughtered everyone, just as you slaughtered my kindred and locked me away in this box! I shall use it to hunt down every single lineage on the face of this earth until I have wiped them out completely!" With those words, she vanished with a sharp pop.
Back at the house, Umar sat with his head in his hands, completely overwhelmed by despair. He decided to grab his phone to call his mother, but it was nowhere to be found. He suddenly remembered it was inside his car—and his car had mysteriously vanished without a trace.
Now, his only thought was how to escape this house and get back to the city, and how to save this poor baby girl who had entered the world only to be met with immediate calamity. For hours, he had been trying to leave the compound, but every time he approached the gate to open it, it felt as though a massive, immovable boulder had been placed against it. Furthermore, he kept hearing what sounded like Hajara's voice calling out his name.
As he caught himself in this loop of agonizing thoughts, the ceiling suddenly began to vibrate violently, as if it were about to collapse. He leapt to his feet, grabbed his daughter, and held her tightly to his chest as he ran into the living room.
The front door burst open, and a skeletal figure marched into the room, followed closely by several others. Without a moment's hesitation, one of the skeletons lunged forward, grabbed Umar by the throat, and lifted him high into the air. Umar choked and coughed in agony, desperately trying to hold onto his baby girl, who was on the verge of slipping from his grasp.
As they struggled, the monstrous entity suddenly materialized before them. She barked an order in a strange tongue, and the skeleton instantly released Umar. He crashed heavily to the floor, barely avoiding landing on his baby, while the skeletal figures retreated into the shadows.
Let us return to Umar’s parents.
Ummah was urgently speaking to Abba, insisting that they quickly drive out to check on the children. Umar had neither arrived nor called, and whenever they tried to reach his phone, it was switched off.
Abba emerged, grumbling, "By Allah, Fatima, your nagging is getting out of hand. Fine, I'm ready, let's go."
They walked outside and got into the car. The driver started the engine, the security guard flung the gates open, and they drove out. Ever since they departed, Ummah’s heart had been pounding with anxiety, and she kept reciting prayers under her breath.
As they began to penetrate deep into the forest, even Abba began to feel an eerie sensation creeping over him, though he maintained his composure and kept praying.
After driving for a long time, they finally arrived at Umar's house. Abba stepped out and opened the compound gate so the driver could pull the car inside. Ummah got out of the vehicle, leaving the driver behind, and led the way toward the house. Just as they reached the living room door to open it, a horrific scream tore from Umar inside—the phantom entity had just plunged her sharp claws deep into his neck...
Maryam H.

Page 16–20

"Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un! (Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return!) What on earth am I witnessing?!" Ummah shrieked.
Startled by her sudden appearance, the phantom immediately released Umar's neck and vanished into thin air. Umar collapsed onto the floor, and the baby girl tumbled to the side, letting out a sharp cry of pain.
Abba and Ummah rushed to their sides. Ummah scooped up the crying infant while Abba ran over to Umar, who had already lost consciousness from the sheer agony.
Ummah burst into tears, crying, "What is the meaning of this? Where is Hajara? Why did she leave the baby in his care, and what kind of monstrous creature was that? What did you people do to it?" she wailed.
Abba quickly ran outside and called the driver. Together, they lifted Umar's limp body and carried him to the car. Returning to the house, Abba told Ummah to quickly go and fetch Hajara so they could abandon the cursed property. However, no matter where Ummah searched, there was absolutely no sign of her. With heavy hearts and growing dread, they were forced to hit the road without Hajara, each of them plagued by terrifying thoughts.
As they were trying to exit the forest, a figure suddenly appeared, looking as though it had been dropped directly from the sky. The driver slammed on the brakes so violently that Umar was nearly thrown from his seat.
The figure stood up and began stalking toward them—but it had no head, only a torso. It was the walking corpse of Baaba.
The moment they saw the gruesome sight, Abba yelled at the driver, "Step on the gas! Get us out of here right now!"
The driver revved the engine and sped forward. As they swerved past, Baaba’s headless body lunged toward them, a voice echoing from the void: "Since you came to this place today, I am going to deal with you! You understand, right? I won't just let you leave this place scot-free without handling you properly!"
The driver accelerated wildly, tearing away from the scene. Inside the car, Ummah and the others could do nothing but pray fervently, completely paralyzed by fear. The moment they cleared the area, the headless corpse of Baaba Gaye erupted into a wicked, booming laughter as a sudden vortex of wind whipped up into the sky.
By the time they reached the safety of their home, they felt entirely drained, like defeated soldiers returning from a brutal battlefield. They carried Umar inside and laid him down. Ummah rushed to her room, grabbed a wrapper to strap the baby to her back, and then went into the kitchen to boil some water.
Once it was hot, she poured it into a basin, tempered it with cold water, and gave the newborn a thorough bath. The poor little girl closed her eyes in sheer comfort as the warm water hit her skin. After dressing her in clean clothes, Abba returned from the store with baby formula. They prepared a warm bottle and placed it in her mouth. She latched on hungrily, sucking down the milk until she was completely full, and then drifted into a deep sleep.
Umar remained unconscious, completely oblivious to the world for three whole days. On the third day, he finally opened his eyes and let out a blood-curdling shriek so intense that Ummah nearly dropped the baby she was feeding.
Terrified, she rushed into his room, and Abba arrived right behind her, having heard the scream from down the hall. They found Umar thrashing wildly on the bed, delirious with fear. "Don't kill me, please! Just bring back my wife's corpse! By Allah, even though she is dead, I love her!" he wailed.
Abba quickly rushed to his side and began reciting protective prayers over him, spitting lightly onto him. Ummah broke down into loud sobs. "So Hajara is truly dead? But then, where is her body? Who took her?..."
Abba glared at her fiercely, forcing her to cut her words short. Through the grace of the Almighty, Umar finally stopped thrashing, his frantic mumbling subsided, and he drifted back into a deep sleep.
Once he was stable, they quietly left the room and sat down in the living room. Abba sighed and turned to his wife. "I utterly fail to understand how you women think. You see a man waking up in such a fragile, traumatized state, and you immediately bombard him with thoughtless questions! Why couldn't you wait until he completely regained his senses before asking what happened? My greatest fear right now is that he went seeking dark charms and ended up provoking jinn. He explicitly demanded they return his wife's corpse, which means Hajara is dead and those entities carried her body away. We must strengthen ourselves with constant prayer. Tomorrow, we will sacrifice a ram for this baby girl and name her after her late mother."
Ummah simply nodded in agreement, silently wiping away her tears.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a wealthy young man sat in his lavish bedroom, surrounded by high-end luxury items. Looking at the room, one would swear that death didn't exist. Several bottles of alcohol sat before him, and he was drinking heavily, tossing empty bottles aside as soon as he drained them.
As he sat in his drunken stupor, he suddenly saw the apparition of a woman standing before him. At first, he thought the alcohol was finally playing tricks on his mind, but he quickly realized it was no illusion.
He stared at her, mesmerized. She was breathtakingly beautiful, looking as though she had been hand-crafted to absolute perfection. She stepped closer, sat down beside him, and began to speak in a soft, hypnotic whisper that instantly made him feel drowsy.
"Oh, Salim, why do you never tire of drinking alcohol? Come on, get up and take me out for ice cream."
Salim felt completely powerless to resist, as if he had been placed under a spell. He didn't want to go out; he didn't even know who this woman was or how she had suddenly appeared in his bedroom, and he had already settled in for the night. Yet, he found himself unable to utter a word of protest. Like a camel led by a rope, he stood up and followed her out of the room and into the main living room.
The main house was incredibly opulent, practically out of this world. They walked out to the driveway and got into his sports car. The security guard flung the gates wide open, bowing respectfully. "Safe travels, Your Excellency! Where to?"
Salim didn't even glance at him; he simply drove out of the compound. The guard muttered to himself, "May Allah guide this boy. He acts like an infidel. Every single day he comes home completely wasted, and his parents don't care at all. To them, it's just a lifestyle. Where is he even heading by himself at this time of night? Only God knows." (The author widens her eyes: Wait a minute, Mr. Guard! Didn't you see the two of them leave together? Why are you saying he's alone? Where did his mysterious guest hide herself that even the guard couldn't see her?) The guard finished his grumbling, locked the gate, and went back to his quarters to sleep.
Who is Salim?
Salim Shazali was the only son of Alhaji Shazali Muhammad, an immensely wealthy tycoon residing in Kano. Alhaji Shazali dealt in luxury jewelry and owned three major boutiques in Kano, along with several high-end gold shops in the United States. He was married to Hajiya Falmata, the sister of his close business associate from Maiduguri.
Because Salim was their only child, his parents had spoiled him rotten, overindulging his every whim. He attended both secondary school and university in the United States, which only provided him a license to dive deeper into degeneracy. There was no vice Salim hadn't mastered—drinking alcohol, womanizing, and all sorts of wicked habits. Yet, in the eyes of his parents, everything he did was perfect, and they never scolded him. He couldn't recite a single verse from the Holy Qur'an, but if a new secular song or a trendy beat dropped, he knew every single lyric by heart.
Back to the story...
Once they were out on the main road, Salim asked her where they were heading. She simply told him to keep driving and that she would give him directions when they arrived. He sped down the asphalt like a professional race car driver, completely under her control.
They drove far out of the city limits until they reached a desolate, forested area. "Stop here," she commanded. He immediately braked.
She instructed him to get out of the car and follow her. He complied, tailing her into the woods until they came upon a large, dark lake. She stepped straight into the deep water, and Salim followed her without hesitation. They walked until they reached the center of the lake. Suddenly, she reached out, grabbed him by the neck, and forced his head deep underwater.
Salim began to thrash violently, kicking his legs and flailing his arms. He fought with everything he had until his body finally went limp, signaling that his soul had departed. (The author notes: We can only pray that Allah has mercy on his soul. Salim's life was like a flash in the pan—he came fast and left even faster. Since the day you were born, you never accomplished a single good deed, and your final act on earth was sinful. Now you have gone to the realm of no return. Our only hope is that Allah grants us the grace to die as believers, engaged in righteous deeds. Amin).
Seeing that he was dead, the creature morphed, shaking her body until she assumed Salim's exact form. She let out a wicked laugh and muttered, "Now, it's time for your parents."
She got into his car and sped back toward Salim’s family mansion. By the time she arrived, the security guard had already started to doze off. The aggressive honking startled him awake, and he hurried to open the gate, silently cursing Salim and his parents' lack of discipline.
She pulled the car into the driveway and headed straight toward the parents' wing of the mansion. At that hour, Alhaji Shazali and Hajiya Falmata were fast asleep, completely oblivious to the world. As soon as she stepped inside, the entity shook her body, reverting to her hideous, terrifying form.
Chanting her sinister incantation, the entire mansion suddenly erupted into a raging inferno. She let out a malicious laugh and...
Maryam H.
(Note: The text cuts off mid-sentence at "sannan..." in the original Hausa version).