Chapter 25

Melissa was lying on the sofa in her parent’s living room watching a program on the satellite that was teaching about girls’ empowerment.
“Well, this is good,’’ she thought.
The thought of not seeing Divina for a good few days now crossed her mind and she stretched across the table to get her phone and dialed Divina’s cell. The summer was supposed to be the two off them hanging out and partying. Yet she had hardly seen the girl.
“Ding ding,” the phone rang on continually.
“Hey Melissa,” Divina finally answered the phone.
“Hey Pumpkin,’’ Melissa answered her. She had once heard Amy call her that. She had found it funny; the way Divina had rolled her eyes at the baby name.
“Divina where have you been? No calls?’’ Melissa interrogated the girl. She needed her friend. Boredom had set in, and she wanted to have some fun.
“Been busy, lately,’’ Divina said not willing to discuss her ordeals with Melissa. How could she? It would only bring her trouble. Keeping her distance was for the best.
A tap was heard on Melissa’s door, and she moved to answer the door still talking to Divina.
“Hey Darren, this is a surprise come in.’’ She said delightfully. She had met him a few times when she had been to the city to see Divina. Yet he had Divina had split more than two years ago.
“I wasn’t expecting you. I am just talking to Divina on the phone,’’ she said gleefully. Perhaps he had come to confess his is undying love and she could watch a romance unfold with her own eyes instead of on a TV screen.
The mention of Darren’s name sent shivers down Divina’s spine; she tries to warn Melissa.
“Melissa listens to me don’t-” she was about to warn her before Melissa cut in.
Don’t worry Divina,’’ she replied.
“You don’t understand Melissa don’t-’’
Darren rushed to Melissa and grabbed the phone from her hand in the process knocking Melissa out with one meaty fist.
“Hello Divina, I got her,’’ Darren said with some excitement and a manic laugh.
“Darren! Please don’t do this, she is-” She couldn’t complete her sentence as the phone went dead.
A confused Divina prayed silently for the safety of Melissa. Still holding the phone to her ear tears welled in her eyes. What was she to do? They had taken Melissa. She wasn’t a part of any of it.
Back at Blackclaw’s compound, Melissa woke up with a big headache and pains running all over her body. She opened her eyes slightly to see Darren and the other followers of Blackclaw jumping around in the courtyard. She wondered where she was but was too tired to move or say anything. Blackclaw entered from the inner room and the courtyard fell silent as he walked towards Melissa.
Instantly she got the impression that he was the ringleader. He looked like death himself with his sheer white skin and ugly veins that poked out over his face. When she caught a flash of his red eyes she screamed. A blood curdling scream that sent her whole body into a frenzy.
Before long, her energy was spent and Blackclaw gave her a cunning smile.
“How are you feeling lil girl’’ he asked in a not so caring tone.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Melissa said forcing the words out of her mouth.
“No worries little girl. On the contrary, we are here to help you. Mellissa! You have been empowered,’’ he said to the cheering of his followers.
“What do you mean?”
Melissa pushed herself from the floor and as she stumbled to her feet, she noticed the bite on her neck it pulsated like crazy. She wondered what it was as she looked around the courtyard searching for familiar faces, she saw none except Darren and she looked at him expecting some explanations, but none was forthcoming. She was blind folded and was moved to a van to take her home.
***
Divina moved with extreme caution as she approached Melissa house, she was surprised to have gotten a call from Melissa telling her that she was afraid, and she didn’t know what was happening to her. She immediately jumped out of bed and promised Melissa that she would come over to her house as soon as possible. There she was walking cautiously because she knew going to Melissa’s house could be a trap but the distress in Melissa’s voice was poignant for her too discard. She parked her Peugeot awfully close to the lawn and alighted from the vehicle sensing a presence watching her in the vicinity. She shrugged off the feeling of being scared because she had been taught some powerful spells by her mother that was capable of paralyzing any supernatural beings even Blackclaw. Coupled with that, Aiden had taught her some moves in physical combat, she was more than ready. She felt more powerful than before. No longer the helpless witch. She was ready to end the shit that had been handed to her.
But unknown to Divina, Kane was there. He was desperate for some answers, and he was hoping to talk to her in the expectation of getting some answers on the way his live had been rotating round the same spot, especially his dreams. Watching from a good distance he noticed the way Divina turned briefly to look around and he wondered whether she had seen him.
Impossible.
“No, she can’t. She isn’t a vamp’’ he concluded for himself. He watched as she held her body rigid like she was expecting a fight. What could have gotten her back up? He asked himself.
Divina got to the front door and tapped the wood quietly reciting the spells her mom had taught her. This was a case of praying for the best but expecting the worst. She was eager to see Melissa safe and at the same time she knew it could be a trap laid for her by Blackclaw and Darren.
“Come on in Divina,” Melissa said ushering her friend in with a forced smile. One look and Divina knew something was wrong. She was deathly pale.
Divina hesitated before going in, but she eventually entered and quickly took a glance at the room trying to find any clue of a vampire or a werewolf fight. She saw none. She hugged Melissa tightly and exclaimed,
“Oh, Melissa thank God you are safe’’ still holding onto her friend in a death grip.