SWNOVELS Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
“Devon! I am being freaking serious dude. There is something extremely weird going on here. I swear people are going missing by the minute. This place is going to be a ghost town within 48 hours.”
Devon gave an exasperated chuckle, not sure how else to respond. “Well, I don’t know what to do. I’m not there to assess what’s going on.” He stared at his smartphone, which was on video chat as he spoke with me.
“I don’t know!” I growled out in frustration and then I sighed, “I wish you guys were here so you could all see what’s going on. Would you talk with Nic and Ali? Maybe you guys could come out for a long weekend.
“Alright, I’ll see if Dom and Al would come out with me. As soon as I know what they want to do and when we can come out, I’ll give you a call.” I nod my head in hopeful excitement.
“Okay,” I give him a smile. “I love you.” I added.
“I love you too.” Devon said in turn, giving me a wink. “Chat with you soon.”
Hitting the red end button on my phone, I stuff it into my back jeans pocket and head over to the cafeteria to get some breakfast before classes. Grabbing a lunch tray, I make my way through the food bar taking a few breakfast items and then head towards one of the many, empty cafeteria tables and plop myself onto one of the blue chairs. A few moments later Rifqa joins me, sitting on the opposite side of the table, across from me. We had barely begun to stuff our faces before we were interrupted by static noise coming from above, over the loudspeaker system.
“ATTENTION, ATTENTION! There will be no classes for today. All who can hear this message need to gather in the Grand Hall at nine o’clock.” Rifqa and I look at each other, both of our eyes having gone wide in anxious curiosity.
“Is it too much to hope that this gathering is about what’s going on in town?” Rifqa asked as we both stood up from the table.
I give my shoulders a shrug, “actually, I think they are realizing how serious the situation has become and this is the meeting we wanted.” Hesitating before walking away from the table, I snatch my bacon from up off the plate and then we head out of the room.
*
The noise from within the meeting room of the Grand Hall has me wanting to cover my ears with my hands. Out of an entire community, there are maybe a hundred people left in the town; all who are gathered here. Their voices, however, make it sound like triple that amount as everyone is shouting out questions, demanding answers to what has been happening the last few days and why loved ones have gone missing.
Standing at the forefront of the classroom styled meeting area, is Ms. Harris. Natalie’s strawberry-blonde hair is pulled back into a tight bun. With the black rimmed glasses she is wearing and attire of white silk blouse and black knee length pencil skirt, she looks more like a librarian than the current President of our ‘New’ Association. This thought causes me to smile a little as I watch her get ready to speak to everyone.
“Okay everyone, listen up!” She spoke loudly, drawing everyone’s attention to the front of the room. “First and foremost, from this moment forward, all classes for students have been suspended. We do not wish for anyone to get hurt or end up kidnapped because we had you continue with school. Secondly, I know everybody would like answers, but the truth of the matter is, we really do not have any, we are just as lost to what’s happening here as you all are.” At this statement, the entire crowd erupts in chatter. Their voices are deafening. Natalie raises her hand shouting, “SILENCE!” And amazingly enough, the room grows quiet almost immediately.
“We have chatted with the owners of homes on Cross street around the cul-de-sac and all have agreed to house all who remain. All of you will take up residence within these homes. As you all depart from here, you will be given a slip of paper, indicating which home you will be assigned to. You are to go to your homes, pack bags and whatever else you can take with you in one trip and then head to your ‘new’ homes. Once everyone is settled, we are going to have our fellow witches cast some spells to keep any demons that could enter here, out of this neighborhood and hope to God it helps prevent any further disappearances”.
I could hear everyone talking quietly amongst themselves at this news. “We want everyone to stay in as close proximity of one another as possible. For your safety and the safety of everyone else, do not go anywhere by yourselves, especially after dusk!”
~~
I have claimed Ali’s room as my own since one, she isn’t here anymore and two, I have spent more time and feel more comfortable in her bedroom than any other room in the Hopkins’ house. I tossed my bags onto Alina’s Queen-sized bed and then flop down on the edge of it myself with a sigh. Having forgot that Rifqa was behind me, I glanced up as I hear her gasp and see her standing in the doorway, staring into the vastly wide-open room, in awe. “Good lord, this place is the size of three dorm rooms!” She exclaims as she walks in slowly, ogling the spacious area.
Not that this statement is untrue or overly funny, but it caused me to laugh out loud anyway. Maybe because of all the craziness that had been occurring recently, I am not sure, but I laughed so hard that I ended up falling off the bed, which ultimately made me laugh even harder. Once I was able to reign in my emotions enough to respond I said, “yeah, I never understood why Ali opted to stay at the Academy. I mean, would you leave this place and move into a walk-in closet?”
Rifqa gave a lopsided grin and then shook her head no. “I mean, from what I’ve heard, her parents weren’t the most pleasant people to be around, so I guess I could understand why she would want out.” Shrugging her shoulders, she looked over to me with wide eyes and an expression of ‘I don’t know’ on her face.
For some reason I felt the need to defend James, “for the most part, it was Beth who was unpleasant and quite often mean to Ali. The expectations she held for Alina were unrealistic and asinine. But she was one who was always about appearance and concerned of what others may have thought about them rather than actually being a mother to Al.”
Just as I was about to dis Ali’s mother some more, both mine and Rif’s phones buzz. Glancing at the screen, I see a message from Ms. Harris asking for us to meet her in the entrance hall of the Hopkins’ home. By the look in Rifqa’s eyes, I can tell that she had the same message pop up on her phone. With a deep breath I said, “we have been summoned; I take it?” Shoving myself up from the bed, she and I head down the stairs.