In The Dark

14 - June 19th

Geri walked quietly through the hotel corridor and tapped lightly on Mel's door. She could hear Mel shouting at her to wait and the sound of things being shuffled around the room before Mel opened the door and invited her in.

The room looked like a tornado had gone through it. Mel's clothes were scattered everywhere, there was a plethora of cosmetic items cluttering the table, the dresser, and the counter in the bathroom, and most of the blankets were on the floor next to the bed. Geri looked at Mel in disbelief, knowing housekeeping had cleaned Mel's room only a few hours before.

"How does this even happen?" Geri laughed.

"What?" Mel asked innocently. Geri rolled her eyes and motioned toward the door.

"There's a taxi waiting downstairs. Are you ready?" Geri asked. Mel nodded, taking a moment to locate her purse and her boots before following Geri out of the room. On their way to the elevator, they ran into one of their body guards, Andy. The two girls looked at each other, knowing he wasn't going to let them leave the hotel without his company. There was far too much public and media interest in them for them to be out alone. Andy made arrangements for his post to be taken over and offered to accompany the girls on their excursion,.

The girls sat silently in the car, both gazing absently out of the windows as they thought nervously about what they were about to do. They hadn't told anyone where they were going or what they had planned, not even Andy. They knew some of their friends would think they were being stupid, but it was something they both needed to do for their own sanity.

The taxi pulled over and the driver got out to open the door for them, smiling politely and taking their money before driving away and leaving them alone on the quite, suburban street. Andy looked at the girls curiously, but remained quiet. He could tell they didn't want anyone to know what they were doing and as long as he could ensure they were safe, his job wasn't to prevent them from going about their business.

Mel pointed to the apartment matching the address they had gotten from the phonebook back at the hotel and the trio walked toward the door. A few minutes after pressing the call button on the panel next to the entrance, a short woman with purple hair opened the door and invited them all upstairs to her suite. Andy offered to remain by the door, wanting to give the girls a bit of privacy.

"Have you brought any items with you?" the woman asked, sitting at her kitchen table and inviting the girls to join her.

The apartment was small and smelled strongly of incense. There were beaded curtains over every door and exotic art on every surface and wall. While Mel looked over at the fish tank in the sitting room, Geri rummaged through her bag to retrieve the Liverpool jersey of Melanie's that she had brought with them.

"We just want to know if she's still alive," Geri explained softly. "And if you have any information that might help us find her."

The woman took the jersey and ran her hand over the embroidered Liverbird crest before setting it neatly on the table in front of her and scribbling on a notepad with her eyes closed. The girls watched curiously, trying to make something of the random loops and lines the woman was scrawling across the paper. The woman's hand seemed to focus on one section of the paper, outlining the same circle over and over and putting more and more pressure on the pen.

"This is the girl that's been on the news," the woman stated. She stopped moving the pen and looked at the girls.

Geri and Mel looked at each other before nodding back at the woman. The woman sighed and closed her eyes, resting her hands on Melanie's jersey. They sat in eerie silence, waiting for the woman to speak. They both had mixed feelings, wanting to hear what the woman had to say, but not wanting to hear that Melanie was dead. The longer they waited, the more Geri felt she was going to break down. She gripped Mel's hand, desperately fighting back tears.

"She's not here," the woman stated, finally breaking the silence. Both of the girls looked at the woman worriedly. "Normally, if someone is deceased and family or friends coming looking for them, I hear them. I'm not getting anything from Melanie that would indicate she has passed."

"She's still alive?" Geri squeaked, watching as the woman picked up the pen once more and resumed her scribbling while concentrating on the pictures in her mind

"Yes," the woman replied. "But she's lost in both body and spirit."

"I don't understand," said Mel. "What does that mean?"

"Are we looking in the right place?" Geri asked, talking over Mel.

The woman nodded and slid the jersey across the table to Geri. "She's hidden in plain sight," she replied. "There's a block. Something that's keeping people from finding her." She frowned and stared intensely at the table. She put the pen to the paper and began drawing a number of different symbols, none of which the girls recognize. As the paper became filled with the symbols, the woman suddenly gasped and dropped the pen, staring down at what she'd drawn and frowning.

"Was your friend involved with anyone that practices witchcraft or somehow connected to the occult?" she asked, looking up at the girls curiously.

Both girls shook there heads and looked at one another questioningly.

"Melanie's not really into that kind of thing," Geri replied as she scrutinized the symbols. The woman tapped the paper and looked at it intensely before shaking her head and releasing a disappointed sigh.

"Where is she?" Mel asked desperately, close to tears as she realized the medium was losing contact with Melanie. "Please, can you tell us where she is? Do you have any idea where we can find her?"

The woman looked at her with sympathy and shook her head regretfully. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I can't tell you that because she doesn't know." She frowned and stared off into space for a moment, looking deep in thought. "She's in a horrible place with very little light and crimson shadows. She's scared... and she knows she's running out of time."

"Please, don't let her go," Geri whimpered, tears streaming down her face as she took in the information. "What's happening? How long do we have left before it's too late?"

"I don't know," the medium replied regretfully as she placed her and on Geri's. "I'm so sorry." Mel burst into tears and stood up, grasping Melanie's jersey and taking it from the table.

Geri sat silently for a moment, still looking at the paper, hoping that some information about Melanie's whereabouts would suddenly appear, but only the cryptic symbols littered the page. She choked back a sob and rummaged through her purse for money to pay the woman. She slid a few bills across the table and softly thanked her for her services as she stood up to follow Mel back to the door.

"Take this with you," said the woman, holding out the paper to Geri. "Perhaps it'll make sense to someone else."

Geri took the paper and nodded, looking at the symbols once more.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help," the woman stated regretfully. "If anything comes to me, I'll call you. I wish you the best of luck in finding your friend."

Geri thanked the woman and silently left the apartment with Mel and Andy. Although curious as to what had happened in the apartment and why the girls were distraught, Andy remained quiet, not wanted to push them for information. He arranged for a car and waited with the girls until it arrived in front of the building. He sat up front and looked back at the girls to make sure they were all right as they drove back to their hotel.