Fear 2

The possibility that the unknown man she slept with might have used her for money ritual, plus the life of pain and misery she might have unknowingly condemned herself to made Emma felt like the whole world had crashed down on her.

'This is the height of disappointment. Grandma will no doubt washed her hands off me this time.' She sadly thought to herself, feeling crushed and dejected.

She felt the floor moved from where she was sitting on the chair. Thinking it was her imaginations, she didn't pay more attention to it until it suddenly caved in and she felt herself sinking. Desperately, she reached for something to hold on to but the force pulling her down was just too strong to struggle with.

Panic-stricken, she opened her mouth to call for help but nothing came out. Wordlessly, she stretched her hands towards Abby, pleading with her eyes for Abby to save her. Calling in her mind for her grandmother and asking for forgiveness.

The wages of sin they say is death. Is this the consequence of my disobedience? To be swallowed alive and live the rest of my life under the ground in pain and misery!? Emma wondered as she fell deeper and deeper into the abyss of nothingness.

Abby could understand the fear on Emma's face. Who wouldn't be frightened with the thought of being used for money rituals?

Then she saw as Emma suddenly became panic-stricken, grabbing and clawing at the small dining table as if she was struggling against something.

"Are you okay!?" Abby asked with concern. She watched as Emma let go of the table and stretched her hands towards her, her eyes pleading for something Abby had no idea about, before she slumped back into the chair.

Emma appeared to have suddenly grown smaller. She seemed to have shrunk into the chair she was sitting on, staring into space like a sightless and lifeless doll. Wordlessly, she stood from where she was sitting and made her way towards the bedroom area.

Abby watched Emma as she walked past her like she was in a trance. There was something different about this Emma that Abby couldn't place her hands on. It seemed as if something vital had gone out of her. She seemed like an empty abandoned old house.

"Emma we need to inform your grandma about what happened to you immediately," Abby said half-heartedly. This sudden switch in Emma baffled her. She moved with concern towards the girl who was looking around like she was lost or couldn't quite decide where she was heading to.

She stopped midway to the bedroom looked around and resumed walking without replying to Abby who was following closely behind her.

"Emma!?" Abby called again, staring with concern at the vacant look on Emma's face.

"You're acting strange, what is the matter with you!? What has suddenly come over you!?" Abby almost shouted.

Emma entered Abby's bedroom, pull back the duvet, and laid on the bed, covering herself from head to toe with the duvet like she was in a cocoon.

***

"Emma is in distress!"

Mama silver who had finally fallen asleep on the sofa while waiting for Emma to come home or at least call her back suddenly woke up with that message flashing through her mind.

Her heart was pounding hard like she just finished racing. She willed herself to relax before closing her eyes, picturing and focusing on Emma's face.

She wanted to listen to Emma's heartbeats. After some minutes, her eyes flew open. The heart's rhythm that she heard was so erratic it was frightening.

"This is not good! God, I thought everything was okay before!?... What exactly is happening with you today Ayinke!? What!?" Mama silver was exhausted. She was talking to herself while dialing Emma's phone.

***

"Emma I know everything will be okay if we call grandma. Please come out from under the cover and let's call her... Don't be like this please, you're scaring me... Isn't it hot in there?... If you don't come out right now I'm going to pour iced water on you..."

Abby knelt beside the bed, worriedly watching over Emma's rigid form under the cover. She has done everything within her power, continually begged and cajoled for the past fifteen minutes to get Emma to respond to her but nothing seems to be working.

A phone started ringing from the kitchen. Abby knew it was Emma's phone since that was not her own ring tone.

"Emma your phone is ringing and I think it's grandma calling" Abby called out again hoping she could get some kind of response if Emma heard it was her grandma calling. But nothing! No form of movement whatsoever.

She even tried to remove the bed cover without success. Emma refused to let go of it. Holding on to it firmly like her life depends on it.

The phone stopped ringing and started all over again. Abby rushed to the kitchen praying it was Emma's grandmother calling. She saw the caller id was 'Momsie'

As soon as Abby picked the call, an elderly woman's voice shrilled into her ear...

[Ayinke, I've been so worried about you! Are you okay!? Why weren't you picking your calls?... Are you in any kind of trouble!? It's Saturday and you were supposed to be home by now, do you want to kill me!? You want me to die of worry, eh!?...]

[This is not Emma... Good afternoon ma] Abby interrupted the voice that would have gone on and on if she had not said anything to stop her.

When Mama silver realized it was not Emma that picked her call, the relief she felt washed over her when her call finally connected to Emma's phone immediately disappeared and the fear she felt before started coming back with full force.

[Who are you!? Where is Emma!? Is she okay!? How do you come to have her phone!?... What about her friend Diane?... She's also not picking her calls... Are they both okay!?] Mama silver asked Abby in rapid succession.

She could no longer hear Emma's heartbeat since she needed absolute concentration to do that. She also needs absolute concentration to have access to her own supernatural gift, which was mind reading.

She and her group members had swore not to use their gifts unnecessarily, especially her own. She didn't consider reading the mind of the girl that just picked her grandaughter's phone invasion of privacy. All what matters is saving her granddaughter's life.

She badly wanted to know about Emma. If only she could calm herself and concentrate on the girl's voice long enough to be able to read her.

[Grandma, Emma is fine. She's in my room and Diane is not with us. I...]

[If she's fine like you claimed then why couldn't she pick her calls!? I've been calling her's and Diane's phone for the past ten hours! Please be honest with me and tell me what the problem is because I felt she might be in danger!]

[I don't know how to explain this ma... She's not harmed or anything like that okay... One moment we were talking because she had something she needs to talk to you about... Then the next moment she just suddenly went out of it!]

[What do you mean by she suddenly went out of it!?... Kindly speak the kind of English my generation would understand...]

[I'm sorry about that ma! What I'm saying is that she was just staring into space. She was neither talking nor responding to sound. I've tried everything in my power to get her to snap out of it to no avail...

Right now, she's lying in bed and completely covered herself up with the duvet despite the heat... I think you should start coming immediately ma!"

"Is there a way that you could check her temperature for me, please? Just check through her feet if she refused to let go of the bed over]

'Now, why didn't I think of that before?' Abby thought as she removed the end of the duvet that was tucked into the bed

[Impossible!] Abby exclaimed into the phone.

[What!? What is the matter!?]

[Grandma, she's freezing. How is that possible!? We are in Nigeria, how could she be freezing like she was kept in the freezer!?]

[Text me your room number... I'll be right there with you] Mama silver said and promptly disconnected the phone.