Darkness E. 3

Continue From Darkness E. 2 

When did Bola change her old Toyota Camry to a black SUV with tinted windows? Things must be getting better, she thought, turning in her seat to get a good look at the car gunning down the dusty pathway at top speed. Suddenly dust billowed into the air as the SUV screeched to a halt several yards away from her.

Why is she stopping? Just then her phone started beeping. Grabbing the phone, her eyes darted to the screen and Mercy muttered before reluctantly answering the incoming call;

"Hello baby."

"Where are you?" Ben's deep voice grated out in her ear. She could hear the suppressed anger in his voice;

"Sorry baby, I didn't want to wake you up. Actually have a brief meeting with Bola. I will soon be..."

"Mercy Oni, bring yourself back here RIGHT NOW!" He interjected furiously.

Mercy internally shrunk away from the phone plastered against her ear and massaged her temple with her free hand. Being home with Ben for nearly three weeks was driving her up the wall. They had met four months ago. It was love at first sight or so she thought. Ben had proposed last month when he took her to his family house for a dinner with his parents. That night was their first and last night together as a couple and he had suddenly became too busy especially when it had anything to do with her.

With the Covid lock down, he had moved into her flat temporarily. According to him, her house was bigger – that's not true. He only wants to keep an eye on you - the tiny voice in her head pointed out. She had wanted to turn down the offer until he claimed he would not survive being apart from her for the two weeks. That was when she gave in. Initially she had found the idea intriguing and loved him for putting her first after a long time of being cold but she just wasn't sure anymore especially with his Covid paranoia, persistent refusal to touch her or allow her anywhere near him and the recent possessive macho man drama. He was beginning to drive her insane and that reinforced her determination to put as much distance between them as possible.

“Which Bola?" He laughed out drily. Her ear buzzed. "I am not a kid Mercy! Tell that man you are engaged to me! Tell him!” He mocked.

Did he just add trust issues to the growing list of turn offs? Unbelievable! What is wrong with this guy? 

Turning up the A/C, she freed the top buttons of her white lacy blouse. Pulling the mask off, she tossed it behind the car. Her plan was to briefly meet up with Bola, stop  over at an utility shop for some supplies and head home before he would notice her absence. Obviously nothing seemed to be going as planned.

A part of her wanted to yell at him for accusing her wrongly. Instead Mercy placed the phone on her lap and ran her fingers through her short hair as she tried to ignore the pain in her heart. Sighing deeply she looked ahead. Just then, a dark shadow flickered through the deserted rooms of  the abandoned house directly facing her car.

Mercy squinted her eyes as she tried to focus. Her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Trying to swallow the lump that had suddenly lodged in her throat, she glared at the skeletal structures which would have turned out to be a truly beautiful estate if it had not been abandoned.

She scanned the windows, taking in the shriveled timber limply sticking out of them and how the sun caressed the weak walls that had seen too much rain and looked like they would collapse any minute. Nothing seemed to be out of place. But she could swear something or someone had moved in one of the rooms upstairs.

There's nobody up there, hunger must be making me see things. I really need to stop scaring myself. She dismissed the thought and tried to calm her ragged breathing.

"Mercy are you still there? I am not joking with you. Don't make me come for you!”

Ben's voice coming from the phone on her lap pierced through the quiet car and pulled her away from her worried thoughts. She felt the onset of a major throb in her head and wished she could shut out his invasive voice. A single tear trailed down her cheek as her fingers hovered above the phone.

Why am I crying? She was not usually emotional. Crying will only make me weak and Bola can’t see me like this. 

Hurriedly wiping her eyes, her mind went back to the SUV as she wondered what Bola was up to. She looked up to check out the SUV in the rear view mirror and froze. A surge of fear and panic ran through Mercy's body as she stared like someone in a trance.

Her instincts had been right. There was a dark silhouette standing visibly in one of the rooms. The darkness around the figure expanded as if it was coming to life. Mercy felt a terrified shriek rising in her throat when it dawned on her that it was looking directly at her with unseen eyes.  READ ON 

Pic credit: unsplash.com