Dawn Of No Return—Pride Of The Secret

The bell's clang came with dawn. Sunrays crept into Grey's shadowy room, the unusual wooden clock made a click, he started with his face pressed to the pillow mumbling something like 'Bevilwoodwarming,' then aimed for the plastic table by the window, going on his knees.

"Open thou my eyes oh Lord, that I may behold wondrous things, out of Thy word, for Christ's sake. Amen."

Grey rose, took his seat rubbing his eyes—ready to begin his morning ritual with his Bible.

He was raised in a strict Christian family with high standards, the kind that don't accept fiddles to pure moral behaviour. Grey was the first of three children, and a graduate of the University of Port City, the very one his younger brother had applied to, while his younger sister was in her Junior secondary class three, preparing for her Junior West African Examination (JWAE).

Grey was a fair, healthy twenty-five-year-old with small brown eyes, black hair, a lean muscular build, and a beard.

"Thank you for the illumination of Your word. Guide my path that I may know Thy precepts. Keep me safe from harm."

His prayers had shortened with each passing day since the dawn of reality. He rose with a sober face, not for this day being a Sunday, but for the next—he would begin his mad walk through the busy streets of Port City, job hunting under the glaring hot sun and sweat-soaked suit with the angry face of a persistent, worrisome landlord screaming in his mind, "I'm not running a charity here. Pay your rent."

He undressed, had his bath, walked to his cloth hanger, picked out a lace material he donned on. He didn't care so much for his looks these days, that was the least of his concerns—a miracle was all he needed.

Grey walked over to his table to find his Bible study manual. And in his search, a leaflet slid from the table to the floor—his eyes followed it. The search for the manual ceased, he picked up the fiery coloured leaflet reading the contents:

The Fiery Serpent Church

No. 34 Beryl Avenue, Port City, Rivers, Nigeria.

Such an unusual name for a Nigerian Church, he thought. Grey spotted the red faded serpent on a cross with the reading:

Numbers 21:8

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.