Beckoned Through The Dark

83 // Abigail // Trapped

By the time I left home, I was convinced that I was catching a cold.

After that strange encounter with Karabelo, I ran a warm bath for Claudia even though she was out of it.

I just wanted to keep her warm, so I changed her into warmer clothes and added more blankets to her bed.

Once I was done taking care of her, I took all my things outside to dry, and then I mopped the house.

Only then could I take a hot shower, and then changed into warm clothes.

Even after all that hassle, I still felt cold. Karabelo had done something to me, and it was slowly eating at me.

My plan was to stay indoors all day so that I could keep an eye on Claudia, but Lesego said Sihle was insisting on meeting, so I had to leave and meet with him instead.

I didn't want to put Lesego in any danger more than she already was.

On the other hand, Clay kept calling me. I'm sure he must have found about the new detective in town.

That woman was bound to bring everyone to their knees, she'd already started with Ryan.

She took over all his cases, and he was currently under investigation. His hearing was supposed to be next week, but he decided to quit before then, because they were going to fire him anyway.

He knew this day would come, but he was still devastated, and what made things worse was that it seemed like he'd fallen back into the arms of the enemy.

The moment Lesego handed me that necklace and told me what he said, I knew it was his way of saying goodbye.

Since my unplanned stay here, I had to use Claudia's things, including her car.

I only hoped I didn't have a run-in with the police, because the details around Funeka's death and her case were still unclear.

Lesego sent me the address Sihle sent her, he wanted to meet in some park near their old school or something.

The fact that he wanted to meet so far, was enough for me to conclude that something was fishy here.

Sihle had kept a low profile since he got out of prison, why surface now suddenly, and most importantly, how did he know that Lesego was still alive?

I really had a bad feeling about this, Karabelo would really go a long way to assert her dominance.

When I arrived at the park, it was empty.

It was so creepy, it fitted to be one of those places suited for criminal activities.

It was bare of any recreation, the only thing that showed it was once a park was the old swing and the few benches on the sides.

I waited for about fifteen to twenty minutes before a red Polo Vivo pulled up at a distance and parked in a way that implied, they didn't want to be seen.

The car windows were tinted and there was no number plate even though the car looked old.

My phone beeped with a message from Lesego alerting me that Sihle said he was at the park, I sent her a message telling her to send him the description of Claudia's car.

But apparently, she didn't have to, because when I looked up, there was a hooded figure approaching my car.

I turned on the ignition and unlocked the doors, and he stepped in before I locked again.

I knew he was bound to freak out the moment he realised I wasn't Claudia.

He took off his hoodie jacket and turned in my direction, freezing when he realised that I wasn't the person he expected.

"Hi," I greeted, but he looked around the car and park like he had fallen right into an episode of Wrong Turn.

"What's going on here, why are you–" He asked in a hushed voice, barely hiding his panic.

"Were you expecting someone else?" I asked calmly and leaned back against my seat.

"I thought you were Claudia," he said hastily.

I tilted my head and faced him. "Why would Claudia be here?"

"You think you have it all figured out, don't you?"

"On the contrary, no, I don't," I quipped, "but one thing I'm sure of is that you were expecting to meet with Lesego." He tapped his foot restlessly while biting on his nails. "We both know she wasn't going to make it out of here alive, and now that you have failed, you aren't going to make it either," I said suggestively, "So, why don't you tell me what you know? What is Karabelo up to?"

He buried his head in his hands and sucked in a deep breath. "Karabelo and Lesego were not separated at birth, they grew up together, but were separated at the age of 12." So, Lesego had another life before this? That's why she couldn't remember much. "Their grandmother, Betty's mother left them a fortune, and in the will, it stipulated that if anything was to happen to one of the girls, their wealth was to be transferred to the remaining twin."

"I don't understand," I stated, confused.

"Karabelo blew all her money, she's bankrupt. Since she and her mother were also getting money from the company, they are about to hit the ground. Betty and Karabelo cannot access Lesego's money without her permission."

"So, why don't they just ask her?"

"Because, if Lesego ever remembered that part of her life, their mother and everyone else will be exposed."

"I still don't get it."

"Look, their company is currently under investigation, because they committed a lot of crimes. And besides that, with Lesego dead, they both stand to gain more than they lost."

That made sense, their grandmother must have signed up under a few policies before she died.

I got the fact that Karabelo hated her twin sister, but I didn't understand Betty's motive for wanting her own daughter dead besides the money. Was it possible that she didn't even have an ounce of love for her?

"I can see your head ringing with questions," Sihle spoke up. "But if there's anybody in this world who could tell you everything, it is Zack. I can't tell you anything else." He unlocked the door.

"Wait!" I said before he could open. "Why did you want to meet up with Lesego?"

He rummaged through his sweater and took out a memory stick. "I wanted to give her this, it is a combination of videos showing exactly what happened at the school that day, as well as a video to prove Zack's innocence. You have to get him out of prison before she can get to him, if Karabelo kills Zack, you might as well forget about everything." He dropped the stick on the floor and got out of the car before I could say anything.

But I wasn't done with him.

"Sihle, wait!" I chased after him as he rushed to his car. "Listen, I just want to ask about Claudia!" I yelled, and he stopped with his back turned against me. "I know you have been in contact with her." He instantly tensed.

"She should never have been a part of this, but her obsession with Lesego and–"

"And her feelings for you got the best of her, I know."

He sighed and turned around. "I'm sorry." He said heavily.

"She's trapped and has no way out."

He ran a hand over his head and sucked his teeth. "She does, there is a way." Once more my heart filled with hope. "You can end all this by emancipating Karabelo's powers. Without her gift she's just an ordinary human like everyone else," he said.

I already knew that. "But how, how do I do it?"

"There's a priceless ring that belonged to her grandmother, it has the power to suck out negative energy." My heart hammered fast in my chest as if something was going to burst out of my ribcage. "Hey, are you okay, you look disorientated," he asked in panic.

What's happening? I wondered as I clutched my chest.

Out of nowhere, Clay's car pulled up, and Sihle made a run for it while I dropped to my knees.

Clay jumped out of his car and ran towards me. "Abigail, are you okay? Where's Lesego?" He asked, but I was having a difficult time breathing. "Tommy, watch her!" He yelled before running after Sihle.

I wanted to stop him, because he was headed for danger, but I couldn't speak; it was as if something was blocking my voice to stop me from speaking.

'Fascinating, isn't it?' My hands stilled when I caught sight of Karabelo from my peripheral vision.

She was here, but in spirit.

"Hey, Abby, are you okay?" Tommy keeled next to me.

Where did he even come from?

I could see Karabelo was also confused, but to cool her wounds, she forced to face the guys in the distance, she had me under a trance.

Couldn't Tommy see her?

'I loved him; you know?' She said after some time. Clay and Sihle were arguing, but couldn't make out what they were saying, and it got violent when Clay slammed Sihle against the car and held him by his shirts and sweater.

After some time, he let go of him and fixed Sihle's clothes as if nothing happened, then he jogged towards us and squatted in front of me.

"Hey, is she okay?" He asked Tommy.

"She hasn't said anything, have you heard anything about Lesego?" Tommy asked.

Clay nodded solemnly. "She didn't come, she's safely home."

'Let's go on a little tour, shall we?'

What?

Before I could say anything, a scream ripped out from my mouth as Karabelo ripped my soul away from my body.

Clay and Tommy had no idea what was going on, they kept asking if I was okay, and Tommy opted to call an ambulance when my body hit the dirty ground.

"What are you going to do with me?" I asked her as I followed her like a Zombie as we floated towards Sihle's car.

'Oh, nothing!' She chirped, a glint of humour in her hollow voice. Just then, a loud noise burst into the surroundings before Ryan appeared next to Sihle's car on his bike.

No! What's he doing here? "Whatever you do, please don't hurt him!"

Karabelo laughed. 'You still don't get it, do you?' She asked with a dreamy sigh. 'Why would I kill the man I love? I just wanna show you something.'

I felt like my soul was on fire. She was lying, she did not love him, and she knew it. Ryan, Sihle, and Clay – they all didn't love her.

No matter what she tried, Ryan loved me, and the other two were very much in love with Lesego.

Ryan knocked on Sihle's window, and the guy rolled it down in annoyance. "What is it?" Sihle grumbled.

"I'm looking for Karabelo, do you know where she is?" Ryan asked blankly.

"How am I supposed to know, she's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

"Listen, I know she was supposed to be here. There's a new detective in town, and she's not playing around; she just apprehended Zack at the highway on his way here. I need to warn her!"

For the first time since she arrived, I felt some disturbance in her soul. To say Karabelo was rattled would be an understatement, she realized she couldn't be in two places at once, no matter how powerful she was.

Even if she could, unlike Ryan and everyone else, Tiffany was resourceful and open-minded; she didn't solely believe in the supernatural, but she acknowledged their existence and had her own ways to ward off bad spirits.

"What's with you? Instead of worrying about your wife who could as well be dying, you are out here acting like a maniac and trying to protect Karabelo," Sihle said, and that caught my attention, because Ryan did not seem bothered by the fact that I wasn't well. "Why do you care so much about Karabelo?" Ryan did not answer, but the ticking of his jaw told me that he was bothered by the question. He didn't care, at least not for Karabelo, but he cared about something else.

Surely it had nothing to do with his hearing, because the new detective already had everything figured out.

What was he trying to protect?

As if reading my mind, Karabelo said, 'You see, if there's one thing you need to understand about men is that if you give them the one thing they want the most in this world, they will bow at your feet. Sihle and I were in love, but when he met Lesego he realized he was in love with her and not me; he wanted all her attention, love, and care, but soon learnt that all that was reserved for Clay. So, he stuck with me because I catered for him in all ways possible. Clay, oh, Clay!' She sang. 'Clay was in love with Lesego, but she chose to stick to Sihle for some reason, so I stepped in and gave him all the love I could. It's a pity he's still hung up on her though.' She clicked her tongue and then sighed, turning her eyes in my direction. 'What is the one thing your husband wants the most in this world?' A cold feeling settled in the depths of my stomach as everything started to fall into place piece by piece. 'He had the perfect job, the perfect wife, a house, and all the money in the world. But what was the one thing he lacked and wanted the most?' She whispered in my ear and then laughed.

No. I shook my head.

"I need to find her," Ryan said wilfully before getting back on his bike, and then he sped away.

It felt as if my heart had shuttered to pieces, but I didn't even get to dwell on that.

The fear that sunk deep into my bones made me forget about everything when Sihle's window rolled up without his push.

His eyes widened in horror as his window shut tightly and the door locked with him inside, while the petrol tank opened, causing the petrol to leak out.

My eyes widened in horror when I realized what she was planning to do.

'Everything in this life has a price,' she muttered, 'even love.'

"Karabelo, no–" Everything stopped with just a flick of her fingers.

One spark and the car went up in flames with enough force to push me back into my body.