Unleashed.

“You knew that? H… How…” Martha stuttered.
“At first, I didn’t remember anything but as days went by, everything rushed into my head. How you treated me, things you do in my presence… Everything. You probably think I’d dîe this way, right?”
Martha closed her eyes shut, pressed her lips together, clenched her fist tightly, and then stood up slowly.
“Is that my fault then?” she frowned.
“What?” Theodore creased his brows.
“I told you not to go to the mountain eighteen years ago, but you refused. Am I a wood? You expect me to stay righteous for a whole eighteen years? Woah, you seriously have no conscience. Can you stay loyal if I were in your shoe?! No, you would have probably announced me déàd and moved on with your life by marrying someone else. If at all, you should be grateful that I didn’t announce you dead to the media, but no, you chose to be an ingrate!” She snapped.
“Woah, this is so rich coming from you,” Theodore chuckled.
“Would you explain the reason you tried to kîll me then?”
“I wanted to help you end your misery and I thought kîlling you were going to be better,” Martha answered and Theodore shook his head.
“I am disgusted by your words. I really fear being around you.”
“Then let’s end this. You have nothing to offer me anyway. Our marriage is still registered on paper, so let’s end our marriage,” Martha announced.
“Seriously?” Theodore raised a brow.
“Yes. I was going to keep up with you before, but now that I think about it, there’s no reason to do that. Let’s go our separate ways. I have your share of everything I’ve acquired for the past eighteen years so I’ll give it to you. You founded W-ONE gadgets, and I will return it to you.”
“Martha?” Theodore creased his brows.
“Trust me, I will not change my mind,” she shrug her shoulder and then turned to leave.
“I’ll be waiting to hear from your lawyer. It’s all for the best anyway,” he said as he watched her leave.
This wasn’t the life he wanted for himself.
He loved Martha so much and was still in love with her.
They got married twenty years ago, and he was only able to spend two years with her in twenty years.
He wished things were not going to head the way it was heading.
There was no way he was going to believe that he could change her mind.
Eighteen years had passed, and Martha had grown into another person entirely.
This wasn’t what he wanted for himself, and everything that was happening was his fault.
If he had stayed back that day, Martha wouldn’t have had a reason to send Nova to the mountain, and he also wouldn’t have been possessed by the demon.
Everything was his fault. Everything.
==
Orlando.
“Here, listen!” Mr. Collin clapped his hands to get the attention of the students who wouldn’t stop whispering and staring at Tiffany who was just announced to be the Senator’s daughter some few minutes back.
“I trust that our journey was quite stressful, so we’d go rest for a few minutes before we begin with our activities. The first thing to do on our list right now is…” He glanced at the students who were already watching him in anticipation.
“I’m sure y’all are aware of it. Wood fetching. We should go to the nearby mountain to fetch woods that’d sustain us for a week. Let’s gather as many as we can, remember it’s almost winter, we’d likely need to warm ourselves up with it,” he smiled.
“For those who don’t know how it is done. You are not allowed to go deep inside the wood. Once you hear the sound of the whistle that I’ll blow, move out of the wood hurriedly, okay?!”
“Yes!” The students chorused excitedly.
“Tomorrow, we’ll begin our activities fully, and the first on our list is treasure hunting,” he announced and watched the students jump in excitement.
“So, get ready to go fetch the woods, let’s gather outside in exactly twenty minutes.”
*
“Are you also going to fetch woods?” Tiffany asked Zoey as they walked outside with the guys.
“Yes. It’s going to be fun. Everyone would be teamed up and the teams will be together throughout the trip. It’s going to be fun, trust me,” Zoey giggled.
“I only find it stressing,” Declan groaned, browsing through his phone.
“Same here. Why should I waste my strength running around the wood?” Aiden hissed.
“I can’t go into the wood though. I’ve been warned not to go there,” Tiffany exhaled.
“Wait, that’s true. I remember,” Aiden snapped his fingers.
“Why?” Declan asked.
“That’s because…”
“Hey, dad,” Declan raised his index finger at Zoey who was going to explain.
“Dad?” Aiden and Tiffany raised their brows and moved closer to him.
“Dad, are you okay?” Declan asked, and then placed the phone on speaker after he had glanced at Tiffany who looked worried.
“Yeah, I am. I’m just returning home,” he exhaled.
“Dad, are you really going to step down?” Declan asked and turned to look at Tiffany who was picking on her nails.
“Yes. That is the best thing to do. Where’s your sister?”
“She is…” He had just started when Tiffany shook her head and waved his hands at him.
“She is not here,” Declan drawled with a creased brow.
“I hope she’s not shocked by the news.”
“Don’t worry, she’s quite collected,” he assured him.
“I’ll go see your mother. I guess she’s the most shocked to see the news,” Senator Han said.
“My regards to her. Marlie and I will go see her when we return from the trip.”
“Take care of your sister, okay?”
“I will, dad.”
“Why didn’t you want to talk to him?” Declan turned to face Tiffany after he had ended the call.
“N… nothing. I… I just…”
“Are you mad at him?” Declan asked.
“No. I just don’t think I should talk to him now,” she hiccuped.
“Why?” Aiden asked.
“I just…”
“Hola!” came the voice of Vanessa which interrupted Tiffany.
“Aish, here come the bîtch,” Zoey groaned.
“How do you feel being announced as the Senator’s daughter?” she walked closer, her hands folded tightly across her chest.
“But then again, you probably feel on top of the world right now. Right?” She stopped in front of them.
“What are you doing here?” Aiden rubbed his hand between his brows.
“You might not know, but I am standing on my father’s land. So, I have the right to everywhere here,” Vanessa spread her arms wide.
“So, your father sponsored this trip?” Declan raised his brows.
“I thought it was strange to see you show up here all of a sudden,” Aiden shook his head.
“So, you should not order me around. Especially you, don’t think you’re bigger than anyone here. You are just his illegitimate daughter,” she hissed at Tiffany.
“Nessa shut the…!”
“See… Your boyfriend just called me Nessa. He’s the only one that has ever called me that. Just him. You might not know, but he’s still into me,” she smirked and then turned to leave.
“What a bîtch,” Zoey gritted her teeth.
Tiffany only glanced at Aiden and nod her head.
There was no point arguing.
=
New York City.
Senator Han entered the hospital room slowly and then waved his hand at his guard who was going to enter the room with him to wait outside.
As he entered fully, he met with the angry face of his wife who sat at the edge of the bed, as if she knew that he was going to come.
“You scoundrel!” She yelled through gritted teeth.
“I’m sorry,” he sighed.
“You are sorry? Lawrence, you are sorry?!” She screamed.
Lawrence inhaled as he stared at his dying wife.
She had looked more lean and pale than the last time he had seen her.
Her hair had fallen finished and a hair bonnet was used to cover her head.
Now, he needed to sort everything out by telling his wife everything that happened and he was not going to leave anything out. Oh, maybe he was going to do that. There was no way he was going to tell his wife what was going on with his daughter.
**
The guardians’.
“I can’t feel Akilang’s aura in New York so I looked into it. Tiffany is in Orlando. She went on a school trip,” the mountain guardian reported.
“That girl is a problem on her own,” Tiger spirit sighed.
“You think so? Should she not go out with her friends because of Akilang?” Lion spirit, Chephirah hissed.
“Whatever. Move my authority to Orlando for the main while. I’ll watch over her myself. I must be the one to put an end to Akilang forever,” Tiger spirit smirked.
“Why? Do you have a plan?” Harengon asked.
“There’s a dagger I’ve been keeping for over five thousand years. Gawi gave it to me,” she answered.
“You went to Gawi?” Chephirah widened her eyes.
Gawi was a demon. A good demon.
And only he has what it takes to get rid of the most vicious demon.
“Yes.”
“How do you use it?” Harengon asked.
“I can only use it when Akilang is unleased. I’ll stab the girl on the chest, that is only when Akilang has taken over her.”
“What will happen if you stab her with it when Akilang is not unleashed?” Chepirah asked.
“She will die… and becomes a demon,” she answered.
“Huh?” Benroy widened his eyes.
“Akilang will wake her and they’ll become one. When that happens, it might become impossible to get rid of her,” she explained.
“This is…” Chephirah shook her head.
“I prefer the first one,” Benroy shook his head.
“Do you know how long you’ll have to wait for that child to be able to control Akilang?” Tiger spirit raised her brows.
“But…”
“I think Tiger spirit’s method is okay. She can strike whenever Akilang is unleashed. If we keep waiting, lives are bound to get lost,” Harengon interrupted Benroy.
==
Orlando.
Tiffany looked around uneasily for the umpteenth time.
She was feeling so hot inside of her, and she wished so badly to be out of where she was.
Declan and Aiden had left her and Zoey outside to do whatever they wanted to do and Zoey had moved away from her to talk to a girl. The students had already returned from the mountain they went to fetch woods.
All of a sudden, she took a step forward and then another, and then another till she was almost out of the compound.
This was strange, Tiffany shook her head. She kept walking even though she wanted to stop badly.
This wasn’t her walking, this was as if someone else was pushing her.
What was going on?
As she kept walking, she wouldn’t stop feeling her skin and inside of her burning as if it was on fire.
*
“Follow that bîtch quietly,” Lauren nudged Miya gently.
“Why? Do we still need something from her?” Miya frowned.
“She is Declan’s sister. If I can find something to blackmail her with, I can make her tell Declan to accept me. She and Declan have gotten quite close. Don’t you think?” She smirked darkly.
“Just let me know anything she does. I wonder where she’s going without Aiden though,” she creased her brows.
**
Tiffany halted as she reached the entrance of the mountain.
“I shouldn’t be here?!” She screamed inwardly.
“You should go. Are you not hungry?” She heard the unfailingly voice of Akilang.
“I should not be here…” She shook her head as she took another step further.
As soon as Tiffany entered the mountain, her eyes turned red instantly.
Meanwhile, Miya followed closely from behind. Now, she was getting curious to know why the lady had entered the wood.
Earlier when everyone had come here, she didn’t come with them and now that everyone was back at the house, she was going there willingly.
Huh, how does she even know the way to go there?
=
Now that they had reached the deepest part of the mountain, Tiffany stopped walking and then turned around swiftly.
“Come out, I know you’re there,” Tiffany smirked as she stared at the rustling leaves.
“Did you like me that much to have followed me?” Tiffany chuckled as she watched the lady walk away from the leaves that had covered her.
“Huh, like you? As if. I only… I…” She stopped talking and frowned her face as she stared closely at Tiffany’s eyeball which seems to shine from afar.
“W… What is that?” She shook her head, quite horrified.
This doesn’t look like a contact lens, and there was no way that was how her eyes looked like.
“Doesn’t she look tasty?” Akilang growled within Tiffany.
“She does,” her lips tugged into a smile, this time her voice had turned deeper.
“What… You…” Miya frowned and took a step backward.
“I personally think you’d be tasty,” Tiffany grinned darkly and took a step towards the girl.
“Don’t come closer. You… What are you? What’s wrong with your voice?” Miya stuttered.
Tiffany cracked her knuckles and smiled.
“What did you say?” she mumbled, her voice echoing, sending a shiver down Miya’s spine.
“What are you?” Miya stammered and stepped backward slowly.
What the hell was this eerie vibe the girl in front of her was giving?
Miya widened her eyes and fell to the ground roughly. What the fûck was she seeing at the moment?!
This lady in front of her is not human.
This new girl is a monster!
Her long black hair had suddenly turned into silver. Her nails had grown into claws. Her eyeballs were blood red and green smoke was coming already out of her body. At that moment, she looked like an ancient demon!
What the hell was this??
How could this be happening?!
TBC…
**
The worst is finally happening…
Writer;
Zohaa.