Chapter 7

The evil presence Mam'Duma felt surrounding her premises unsettled her. She got up on her feet from the grassmat and strode towards the broken window. The lightening visualized a girl standing in the sudden heavy rain gazing towards the hut. Mam'Duma suspected it was the witch. Mam'Duma should've known the witch would acknowledge the banishment conspiracy between her and one of the witch's family members.

Mam'Duma stepped outside the rain without a nervous heartbeat, she'd no apparent reason to be afraid of what beneath the young girl. Yes, the witch's vicious stories were appealing; she'd accepted consequences that'd come her way when she made a decision to help Zizwe.

"You're not welcome here" said Mam'Duma, shouting her voice over the noisy rain.

"If you hadn't involved yourself in my affairs then maybe I wouldn't be here. But you had been apt to get rid of me" said Gogo.

"Mqanqala has no accommodation for someone like you. Your absent had been a fresh breath of air. It won't be long until you return wherever you're coming from."

"Is that so?" Gogo released her evil smirk.

"Your own devine beings had gladly enlightened me of how to banish you" said Mam'Duma.

"And yet the people you sent had failed you. For a prophetess you're quiet slow to realise your messengers are dead. Now for Interfering in my business, surely you're smart enough to know your life will be a death penalty."

Mam'Duma became agitated. The emergency message to Zizwe was arbitrary. She should've felt her daughter's death, but she didn't. She forced her tears back. It was her fault both Mthethwa and her daughter were dead. Now she was about to die too; for that she was ready. Ready to die in her own terms though. She had a tiny bottle in her hand that was filled with poison liquid, to stop her heart from pumping.

As Mam'Duma opened the bottle and closed her eyes about to drink, one of the two demon charred bodies had displayed behind her, grabbing both of her arms, the bottle falling down and spilled out the poison.

"Oh no," said Gogo. "It doesn't work like that. You betray me. You die my way."

The other demon corpse came behind Gogo, walking like a zombie towards Mam'Duma who was trying to escape the tight grip from the other demon. The grip squeezing tighter on her wrist.

With Gogo turning and walking away, she heard Mam'Duma's painful groans. The corpses of the aged couple was feeding on her flesh.

*

This time Carol cooked for a different reason, using holy water for dumplings and fish curry. Apparently that meal used to be Gogo's favorite. The appetite that Carol had seen this morning, surely Gogo wasn't going to resist the pleasant aroma of the dumplings. The plan was for Gogo to eat in honor for the holy water to banish her out of Aneliswa's body.

As Carol was occupied with steaming pots, she couldn't suppress the intimate thought about her and Zizwe. He'd made love to her smoother and softer. He'd done it powerfully good that it made her regret to give up her pride for a man she had once trusted thinking he loved her dearly.

Carol wanted to go back to his bedroom when he felt his presence behind her, putting his hand gently on her shoulder. It wasn't an official relationship as it wasn't the right time with the current circumstances that made it difficult for them to entangle on their feelings.

"Thank you for getting some food for us" said Zizwe and Carol flashed a smile.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nope" Carol shook her head as she turned off the two plate stove."I'm done. All we can do now is to wait for her."

"Or we could just return to my bedroom."

They smiled flattery at each other. Zizwe pulled her close to meet her lips, but the knock on the door drummed viciously on their hearts, pulling away from each other.

"You think it her?" Said Carol.

"I don't think she's the knocking type. And technically, this is her house. I will go get it."

Zizwe opened the door for a middle aged man who was wearing a black cassock, vested with surplic and stole, preaching bands attached to the clerical collar. A leader of a christain congregation in the hamlet of Mqanqala.

"Pastor Msomi" Zizwe frowned surprisingly.

Zizwe had never been a member of his congregation. His mother had forbidden him to ever step his foot on his church. She'd once been thrown out like a gabbage. She'd thought after Gogo's death the people would accept her, but it hadn't happened that way. She was labeled as the abomination daughter of a witch. It was one of the reason she spent most of her times in the shebeen, where she founded happiness around other drunks.

"Evening my son. I do apologize for the visit at this hour. I'm coming back from the congregation and I was hoping I could have a minute of your time" said the pastor.

Now it's not a good time, Zizwe wanted say; he didn't want to sound disrespecting. As far as he knew, Pastor Msomi never had a problem with his family. In fact, he'd been preaching regularly to his congregation about the removal of hatred towards the innocence, who shouldn't be punished by the sins of one in the family.

Carol was always there, every Sunday, listening, and inform Zizwe about the pastor's kind heart towards his family, although none had listened, shoving his words into the bush.

"Please come in" Zizwe invited him in, hoping he wasn't there to give him advice or counsel.

"I would offer you some tea or coffee but I don't have any" said Zizwe as he closed the door.

Then, Carol displayed in the room, astonished to see him."Pastor Msomi. What are you doing here?"

"Carol. Thank the lord. Your parents had been worried sick. When I didn't see you today at the congregation I asked what had happened to you. I know how much you love the service. Your mother told me she haven't seen you since the morning, rushing over here but you never came back" said the Pastor.

Carol had sneaked back into the house for her little savings to buy food for Zizwe and his sister. She'd been also a successful thief at the kitchen for stealing cereal, flour and some maize meal, leaving no trace of evidence that she was ever there. Her mother been having a bath then.

"They sent you to look for her here isn't it? Zizwe asked curiously.

"Yes my son" Pastor Msomi glanced at Zizwe. "I was just going to ask if she was here or if you know where she might be. Not that I was suspecting anything illegal with you."

"Urm, Pastor Msomi. As you can see I'm alive and well, you can please go and tell my parents that I'm fine and I will see them soon."

"My child. I think it would really be a good idea if I go back with you by my side. Don't you think it's a little too late for you not being home."

"I'm a grown woman. I will go home whenever I want to. Now please, you really need to go. You can't be here" Carol said politely.

She saw the confusion on the Pastor. Probably a burning question of the reason she wanted him out of the house so quickly. She couldn't tell him about Gogo Dumakude being back to life. What agitated him and Zizwe, if Gogo finds a Pastor in her house, she won't hesitate to kill him.

"It just that there is really something Carol and I are busy with" said Zizwe. "It desperately need our full attention. As soon as we're done, I promise to take Carol back home."

As Pastor Msomi smiled and nodded sharply, sadly it was too late. The door creaked open and Gogo stood in the rain with a scowl on her face.

*

"I think we should call the police. What's taking Pastor Msomi so long' said Mrs Vilakazi, Carol's mother.

"Honey. It's only been a minute. Let's wait for another minute. Maybe he's giving the boy some counseling" said Mr Vilakazi.

His shaved face made him looked younger than his age. It's wasn't because Mr Vilakazi didn't admire his facial hair, his wife forced him everytime to remove it as it displayed the young handsome man she fell in love with many years ago.

"I don't understand why Carol would do something like this. Disappear all day and leaving her cellphone behind. That Dumakude boy is a bad influence to our daughter" she said angrily.

There were seated in the front room. Three cups, one for the pastor when he comes back, a teapot and some scones placed on a table.

"She should've came back after seeing what's wrong with that girl" said Mr Vilakazi.

"She wasn't even suppose to go there from the beginning. She probably used her money to take her to the damn hospital" said Mrs Vilakazi.

While Mr Vilakazi clucked his tongue shaking his head dismissively, a bang on the door startled them both.

"Who the hell is that trying to break my door!" Mr Vilakazi rosed up from the couch angrily.

The bang continued wrathfully; Mr Vilakazi went to his bedroom to take his sjambok. As Mrs Vilakazi waited quietly, shocked at the sudden disturbance on her home, the door broke down and she screamed running towards the bedroom where she stood behind his husband who came out with a sjambok in his hand.

It was the two demons. Mrs Vilakazi screeched in shock again, tremendously as she ran inside the bedroom closing and locking the door under the orders from her husband. He was ready to whoop the charred bodies bravely.

The heavy leather whipped one of the demons, several times on it horrendous body while the other stood and watched. The sjambok was useless, causing no harm as the demon clapped Mr Vilakazi on his face. He smashed and groaned against the wall. When he got up on the floor, the demon was on his face. It gripped his neck and shoved his head against the wall. Revealing the rotten bloody teeth, it sank them on his neck, feeding on his flesh.

Mrs Vilakazi in the bedroom, she could hear her husband groaning in pain. She criss-crossed as tears flooded from her eyes. When the groan faded down, she tiptoed towards the door, wheeping silently. She saw opened the door ajar and she saw the two demons consuming her husband's flesh on the floor.

She screamed fearful again, this time alerting the demons of her presence. One of the demons stopped feeding; it sprang towards her.