The Four

Chaper Five

ZOE

I had just settled down on the sofa with a mars bar and laid out all the supplies I needed for a spell to resurrect my pot plant on the coffee table when the doorbell rang.

I swept everything onto the floor and padded to the door in my slippers.

I opened the door.

To my surprise, it was Amanda.

"How did you-"

"Read it."

She thrust a folder at me.

The folder was a pale shade of yellow, with an official looking insignia on it.

"Official documentation of the experiments performed on subject one, Amanda-May Willson." I read.

"I didn't know about any experiments." She breathed "These government men were doing experiments on me and I had no idea.Zoe, please help me, I can't read the rest of it, it's in some sort of code."

She was hysterical, tears welling in her eyes.

"We'll take it to Emily at the hospital. She'll be able to decode it."

Amanda sighed in relief.

"Thank you."

Looking down I realised I was still wearing my moomin pyjamas.

"I'll just get changed first." I beckoned her in. "Make yourself at home."

I changed into suitable clothes as quickly as possible, and when I came downstairs Amanda was sat on the sofa squinting at the words in my Magic book. It was a good thing it was in Babylonian or my seceret would be out.

But if I was right, and Amanda wasn't human, then she had a right to know the truth about what she was and what else was out there, including witches like me.

Grabbing the folder we jumped in the car and drove to the hospital, stopping at Wills house to pick him up first.

When we reached Emilys dormitory the nurse drew the curtain around the bed so we could have some privacy.

Sitting by Emilys bed were her parents and her older brother.

Emilys brother was called Jamie. I must confess, when I was younger I had a bit of a crush on him, but that wore off years ago.

He seemed to be returning my affections, but about 4 years too late.

"Hi Zoe." he said.

"Hi. How you feeling Em?" I replied.

"Okay. My head hurts though."

Her parents stood up.

"We'll give you some time alone."

I suddenly felt guilty for making her parents leave her bedside, but I needed to speak to her alone.

"Ok. Thank you."

"We were actually leaving anyway because visiting times are almost over."

Once they were gone Jamie smiled at me and then followed them.

"Is your mega mind up to a challenge Em?" I turned to my best friend with a smile and handed her the folder.

"Finally. I'm tired of lying in bed useless." She said with a wide grin.

Usually Emily is just a small girl with mousy hair, but when she smiles it actually changes her entire face.

"Its a simple cipher. D'you have a pen?"

Within a minute the letter was deciphered and Emily read it out.

"At first there's just a load of dates, and then a bank statement transferring money from 'Anonymous' to Ms. Jenna Willson. It's a lot of money. And then it says 'Official documentation of the experiments performed on subject one, Amanda-May Willson. Day One: The Subject responded well to all physical tests. She was healthy when testing began. Day Two: Testing began. The Hailak was captured two days before testing began. When it was fully concious the Shamans- Zoe, this makes no sense. There's no such thing as Shamans or Hailaks. It's-"

"Just carry on reading Em."

I immediately felt guilty for not answering her questions but it was for the best. I didn't want her to know about the creatures under the bed, or for them to know about her.

"When it was fully concious the Shamans attempted to transplant the demon inside Subject One... oh."

She trailed off, staring at Amanda who's face was blank. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor, staring into space.

The room was filled with the awkward silence to end all awkward silences.

When someone finally spoke, it was Amanda.

"So," She said, her voice shaky."So, I have a demon inside me. And the people that put it there," She drew in a long breath. "Paid my mother to put it there. She... she gave me up for enough alcohol to keep her drunk for the rest of her life. And what demon anyway? Demons don't exist."

I took a deep breath in.

"Actually, I've been meaning to tell you. Demons exist. And Vampires, and Witches. Actually, I am a witch." Shifting awkwardly from foot to foot I could feel everyones eyes on me.

"So... Amanda's a demon, and you're a witch. But I still don't get where Will and I fit in." Emily said from her hospital bed.

I looked at Will.

"My parents were killed by demons when I was 10." He said quietly, looking just as confused as I felt.

"And you, Emily got involved when a demon possessed you in Maths this morning." I said, just solving one of our problems. "Lets go."

"The nurse said I could leave whenever I wanted... can I come?" Emily sounded desperate.

"Why wouldn't you be coming?" Amanda said. "We're all in this together. All four of us. So... safety in numbers, right?"

I smiled.

"Bring the folder Em."