Chapter 18

I said that that night was rough because mom kept waking up and turning in bed because she had backaches. But it was also rough because I woke up around 2:00am with beads of sweat on my forehead and chin even though it was warm inside. I had had a bad dream, and I was so scared that I had to stir mom in her sleep so she'd wake up. I wanted her to calm me down, and tell me it was all a dream. It was dark because she had turned off the lights and I was afraid. The lights was one of the things that bothered her so much those days due to her pregnancy. She hated seeing any light at night; it made her very irritable. It must be really frustrating to have a bun in the oven.

When she opened her eyes, she held my hands and prayed. It was one thing she did regularly. She prayed, went to church and took me with her.

She also hugged me, with me avoiding her large stomach for fear of hurting the baby. I told her that I had dreamed that the baby in her stomach died. She prayed against it and told me that she was sure that the baby had come to live, and that nothing was going to happen to her. She instructed me not to worry too much, and just hope for the best.

"Mom, can we go stay up in Nora's house until you give birth to her?" I was worried that Cameron might return home while she was still pregnant and hit her again. I was really scared. But when dawn broke, my fear escaped out the window.

It was a new day and I chose to be happy and free. The morning was in fact very bright, and sunny and even brighter when Mike came to my window, whispering "Good morning child". I yawned twice before opening my eyes. It was his voice that woke me up. When I saw Mike's two eyes in the window frame, I got up excitedly. Mom was not beside me, and it looked like it was only 6am because everywhere was still quiet. I got up and went to the living room. Mom was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast already

"Good morning Mom" I said and she embraced me. She was preparing pasta and a pot of soup. Meat was boiling on another side of the cooker.

"I want you to have a decent meal this morning" she said, "I'm preparing your breakfast, lunch and dinner in case I do not return early" she said, and I nodded, almost forgetting that she would be having a day's out, with this new man that I hadn't met.

"I have run a bath for you, please go and get ready for school. It's almost 7:30am" she said, pushing me off gently.

"7:30!! Mom, why didn't you wake me?" I booed.

"You had a rough night" she said. "I wouldn't mind you not going to school today, but you have a test in the afternoon, remember?" She said and I nodded. "Go get ready"

"Will Sir Colin wait for me?" I asked. Sir Colin was our neighbor who drove me to school, on mom's permission.

"No, he won't be driving you today. Mike will." She said and I squealed in delight.

"Mike???? Mike Tony???"

"Yes baby. He offered to take you to school today since Sir Colin has a fever, and I don't have a car yet" she said, smiling. "He's such a kind guy" she said.

"Aww Yes!!" I shrieked with so much excitement. I would ride in Mike's new truck and have him by my side for many minutes. It was going to be a fun ride. I didn't want mom to change her mind, so I quickly got ready and in 15 minutes, I was out of the house and off to Mike's truck, with Mike waiting for me at the door. Mom had to run to catch up with me with my lunch box.

While driving to school, Mike asked me so many questions and I answered them all. Our conversation had in fact brought mixed feelings First he asked me if my mom was expecting a girl or a boy.

"A girl" i had replied excitedly. "I'm having a little sister, Mike" I said again rather too dryly .Then my face went gloomy all of a sudden. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy?" He asked, touching my face. He was driving with one hand, and holding me with the other. "I'm happy" I replied, looking out the window. There on the road, there were many kids in school uniforms different from mine, some were walking towards their parents'cars, some were running to catch a bus, 2 metres away, while others were trekking carefully, as if time was on their side.

"But I'm sad too"

Suddenly the traffic light turned red. Mike pulled the brakes immediately and trotted along with a long line of vehicles on the road.

He turned to me, holding my face in his hands. "Ariana, what's bothering you so?" He asked calmly. "You look like you're going to be sick" he said.

"Mike" i said and rested my head on his chest. He rubbed my long,thick black hair and played with it. "Tell me, little child. Do you want me to turn back home? You don't have to go to school if you don't want to" he said.

"No it's fine. I have a test today at school"

"Oh. So what's bothering your little pretty heart?" He said. "Pretty child" he added smiling. It dawned on me that moment how much I was going to miss Mike

"Mike, we're leaving" I said with a small voice.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Now the lights were green again, so every car started to trudge along, faster than before. Mike's truck followed, carefully

"Mom and I, with the baby are leaving. We are leaving Cameron and going to start a new life somewhere far away" I said. "You might never see me again" i added with a wave of nostalgia in my eyes and voice. He stared at me in what looked like shock and nostalgia.

He was silent. He turned towards the road and didn't say a word until we got to the entrance. And as I alighted from his truck, he bent over and kissed my cheek: "You live in my heart. Don't forget about that, and don't worry your head too much"

The words were soothing but I grew sadder. I was soon to experience another life which I did not know of. A life without the people I was fond of. I did not know if it would be better or worse. I waved at Mike until he zoomed out of my sight and I couldn't see his truck again.

School was boring, and dry. Two people were already missing in the school-Joe and Anita and everyone was panicking. No one knew who the next target would be. It was so clear that everyone was worried and scared, even though their lips were sealed. Some teachers actually refused to come to classrooms to teach students. It was a sad week. It was even more saddening because I was in the know about what happened to them.

In class, I heard my classmates and other students talking about Anita. I moved nearer to hear what they had to say. "Anita is missing but some teachers are talking about the Annual Camp. Can you imagine?" I heard one say to the other

"Really?"

"Yes I heard Uncle Robinson and Madame Florence talking about raising money for the Annual Camp. You know it comes up every August 15th, that's in three weeks time. Shouldn't we focus on finding the missing students first?"

"I wonder what is going on. Have you seen Joe anywhere?"

"No I haven't. We don't know where he is. I bet if anything else happens in this school, it'll have to shut down. I'm scared to come to school as it is now"

"Exactly. How can anyone just disappear like that?"

"Does that mean the kidnapper is around this school? Why does he target bright pupils? First, it was Joe, now it's Anita"

I listened to them mumble and argue and I could only sigh. I needed to see Joe. I needed to ask him questions. I needed to know if he was all right.

The students said "First it was Joe..", little did they know that the first target was me. Could it be that same kidnapper who took me? Or is it Uncle Robinson that held Joe hostage?" I wondered. I wished I could ask him. I wondered what could have happened to me if I wasn't released? If 'Martinez' liked me...

I wondered why that kidnapper or is it hired killer? I wonder why he wanted to kill my mom, or who sent him. The cops were yet to find out too. Everything was confusing, but one thing was not- the fact that it was "Sword"(Uncle Robinson) who killed Anita, and that she had been part of the Blue Wolf, against her will, and she had had to pay with her blood.

"Ariana" i looked up to see who had called my name in the middle of an ongoing lecture. It was Tory, a girl from Anita's class. My heart skipped a beat, because she stared at me with some warning look. "Yeah?" I muttered, barely above a whisper.

"Uncle Robinson wants you in his office after school" she said and made a flick of her fingers before turning away. "What??" I screamed in my head. I stood transfixed to the spot without knowing what to do or say. After a minute, I regained my senses and trotted after the girl. She was already back in her classroom and ransacking her bag for something.

"Tory! Tory!!" I called, tugging at her shoulders. "What did he say?"

"You heard me the first time" she said, dusting her desk for any dirt that might have settled on it. "Uncle Robinson needs your attention after school"

"Why after school? Why not now? And what does he want me for?"

"Last time I checked, I am not Uncle Robinson neither am I his bodyguard" she said, rolling her eyes. I knew this girl quite well. She was one of my big bullies. I think she hated me because my father is wealthy and popular and her own father is not. In fact, she was only able to attend Enchanting Promises High School because the owner of the school, the proprietress, Mrs Maureen was her father's side chick. Everyone knew that and taunted her for that, even though she tried to hide it. She was really bitter all the time. I should have taken that to be her normal attitude right? But no, I was scared! Why would Uncle Robinson send for me? And through this girl?

"Please Tory, did he say why?"

"Did you do anything wrong?"

"No"

"So, why are you fidgeting? Isn't it all normal for a teacher to send for one of his students?" She shrugged. So I left her.

But my mind was not at peace. I thought maybe Uncle Robinson saw me the other day when he had sex with, and killed Anita. It was even worse that that worry brought back the memory of her death. I wish I could clear it to this day. I thought of what I could do, to save myself. I could go to him when the school was still in session and ask him what it was he called me for, or I could refuse to yield to his call, and go home early. I was sure Mike would be back early to pick me up from school.

I decided to go to his office during lunch break. He was there, with the door locked. Somehow it felt like I was entering into a coven because this was a death scene, where Anita was maimed, massacred, murdered and mummied. I cleared my throat and said a short prayer before knocking.

"Come in" his voice was surprisingly hoarse and rough.

I opened the door and went in quietly. "Hello sir, you sent for me" I tried not to let the fear show too much. I wore a fake confident look on my face and stared at the ceiling. He was bent over thousands of books as usual with his glasses on his nose, and his pen scribbling nonsense on a platter. He did that all the time and he looked so dedicated, so innocent while doing these.

"Sir?" I said again because it seemed he could not notice me standing there. He hadn't lifted his head since I entered the room. "What do you want?" He asked without lifting his head.

"Sir, it's Ariana...you..."

"Oh Ariana" he said facing me now, all of a sudden. "I thought I said end of classes?"I wondered if anyone could be that engrossed or maybe was wrong with him?. I didn't say a thing.

"Please sit" he said warmly. If anyone told me this man could kill, I'd doubt it totally. He looked so down to earth , cool , calm and collected. I sat quietly with my hands on my thighs and with me looking above his head rather than his eyes.

He didn't speak to me for a while, and only stopped writing after some minutes.

"Ariana, you're the second best student in the whole school after Anita Jorgensen. You know that right?"

"I'm not sure sir"

"Of course, you're good at sports like her, maybe not as good but you're the next best. You're also intelligent" he said, smiling. I started to forget that I was seated before a murderer. I had to remind myself on different occasions in my mind. How could any murderer be so calm? Like don't you have a conscience?

"Thank you sir" i said, rubbing my fingers together. I actually was softening up to him, and I wondered what was wrong with me. I knew he hypnotized me but I was stronger that day

"Good. I called you to tell you about something crucial to this school and to me"

"Okay..."

"I'd like you to represent us in the Award Night at the Annual Camp. You'll represent our school in the Quizzes and race competition, okay?"

"I'm sorry sir, I don't want to" I said , standing up. I didn't know what annoyed me the most, the fact that he was trying to move me closer to him by giving me a role to play in the Award night, or the fact that he was even talking about the Award night in the first place.

"Why not? We need people like you there. Besides, your father is affluent, it'll bring a lot of affluence and influence to our school" he said. "I count you in"

"No sir, please choose a different representative, I already joined the top search team for Anita and Joe, and I want to focus on that for now" i said, bowed my head and left his office. You should have seen his face; he looked shocked. He probably never knew how smart I was, with thoughts and words.

"Stop there, Ariana" his voice suddenly stopped me in my tracks, and that moment I stared back at him and saw his hands grow claws and paws and on his face, there was the face of a wolf in split seconds. It turned back into his normal face within the twinkle of an eye, so I wasn't sure if it was just an imagination. I tried to move but I couldn't.

"You'll represent us. You'll do this school proud, won't you? Don't you wanna end up like Anita?"

"No I don't want to. Please" I begged, with my small voice. Many students passed by the office but I looked normal to them; they could not see the fear in my eyes or notice that I couldn't move an inch because Uncle Robinson's voice froze me to the spot.

"What do you mean you don't want to? Anita won eleven awards!" He blatantly uttered.

"Yes but she's missing. We can't find her, we don't know whether she's alive or dead" I said..

"That doesn't matter. Whether alive or dead, she has good history, worthy of commendation" he said, laughing evilly. I wanted to scream but I noticed I couldn't do more than whisper.

"Give me a yes and I'll let you go. Will I see you at the camp?" Just then, before I could say anything, Madame Florence walked up to the door and opened it. "What are you doing here, Ariana? You've got a teacher in your class" she said, with a look of confusion on her face. "C'mon, go to your classroom now" she said. I hurried out of the office immediately I found my feet..

Madame Florence and Uncle Robinson...those two..I wondered what bound them together. It was obvious they didn't like each other, it was so obvious. So why did they keep bumping into each other? I'd never find out until years later.

Well, It was a bad decision to have gone into Uncle Robinson's office after all. He must have found out that I knew about that massacre day..and the thing about secrets such as this is that, you would want to tell someone about it so bad because of the trauma it brings, but you wouldn't be able to. Like, I had tried talking to one of my teachers about it at a time, and mom too, but the words would not just come out. Not even because of shock this time, it was a force from the cult to keep your mouth sealed or DIE.. If you felt that way-your mouth could not utter the words but you forced yourself to say it, then you'd have to either murder someone close to you, who hasn't hurt you, to redeem your life, or pay with your own blood-DIE. That was what Anita had to do. It was eating her up, so she had to opt for the only 'best' solution.

It was something I thought I would live with forever. It was hard. I was only a little girl, but along the line, I knew that one day, I wouldn't be able to hold it for much longer. I'd have to tell someone about it and bear the consequences thereafter.