Dark Love (Complete)

5

Inara called Zee's phone but there was no response from her. She contemplated paying her a visit in order to confront her about the strange message but instead, she rode home, unable to control the constant pounding of her heart.

At home, after handing over Amara's pringles to her, she went straight inside her bedroom and locked herself inside so that she could think or more like hide from the world. Flopping herself down onto her bed, she curled herself into the comforter, wishing that she didn't exist. To her surprise, her phone rang and it was Zee, so she picked the call and listened.

"How many nightmares have you had?" Zee asked, going straight to the point and Inara was surprised. She didn't know that Zee knew about that.

"How can you know about that? Did you have any too?" She asked, her voice a hoarse whisper due to the fear that she was feeling.

"Yes." Zee answered. "How many have you had?"

Inara cleared her throat so that she could find her voice.

"What does it matter?" she asked, gratified that her voice was more audible.

"This is important Inny." Zee said gravely.

"One nightmare." Inara informed her.

"My God, she was right." Zee exclaimed.

"Who?" Inara demanded. "What are you talking about?"

"Inny, listen to me very carefully." Zee said in a voice that sounded crucial. "You are two nightmares away from dying in a horrible way if you fail to perform your dare."

Inara froze for a few seconds, goose bumps marring her skin. "I don't understand." She said finally.

The line went dead and before she could think, her phone was ringing again. It was Zee, but this time, it was a video call.

When Inara picked the call, she saw what looked like Zee standing in front of the camera in what looked like a low class hotel room. She wasn't sure that it was Zee because Zee looked advanced in years, with pale, swollen eyes like one who wasn't getting enough sleep.

The sight was too unsettling for her to keep lying down and Inara had to leap off from the bed and onto the floor where she managed to stand, though her legs were shaking.

"Zee, is that really you? You look like you're eighty years old."

"Seventy eight" Zee corrected. "This is how you will look if you don't perform your dare."

A rush of mounting dread enveloped Inara, freezing her.

"But I'm recovering." Zee explained. "After your second nightmare, thirty years will be added to you as a warning. The third nightmare adds another thirty years after which you will ...die Inny."

Inara couldn't control the rapid rising and falling of her chest, as her heart pounded with a sick feeling of horror.

"How...how did you know all this?" she asked.

"I saw a spiritualist after I started changing and she told me. I've run away to some hotel to recover after I performed my dare because my parents will be back soon. I don't wanna scare anyone. Recovery is a day after you've done it."

"Did you know the consequence of this dare?" Inara whined.

"If I did I never would have tried it." Zee said regrettably and Inara wondered about how Zee had gone about the dare she had given her.

"So how did your dare end?" She asked.

"Let's just say that he declined."

Inara was afraid but still felt bad for Zee at the same time.