In The Dark

16 - June 26th

"This is the worst feeling in the world," Pauline sighed as she stared at the TV screen with images of Melanie pasted below text, reading 'still missing'. Alan, Melanie's father, squeezed Pauline's shoulder and nodded in agreement. Melanie's mum, was pacing in the corner of the room, speaking tearfully on the phone with various family members, keeping everyone updated with the progress of the small group of people that was continuing to search for her daughter. Dennis, Melanie's stepdad, was sitting next to Pauline and staring blankly at the TV. They were all thinking the same thing. The people out searching in the woods were no longer looking for Melanie; they were looking for a body.

Various family members of both bands were scattered throughout the hotel. Most were occupying the rooms that had been designated for each band member while others were wandering around, unable to sit and wait any longer.

Pauline gently stroked Emma's hair as she cuddled close to her daughter. Emma had finally come round once her mother had arrived to take care of her. Pauline had convinced her to eat and had brought back some take away for everyone to share. There were boxes of half eaten Chinese food, pizza, and trays of vegetables sitting on tables in each of the rooms.

As the news reporter informed the viewers about the accident and Melanie's disappearance for what seemed like the thousandth time, the sound of hurried footsteps were suddenly heard rushing through the hallway outside the hotel suite. The door burst open suddenly, startling everyone within the hotel room, and Simon appeared with an elated smile on his face.

"They've found her," he said with an excited smile.

Alan immediately put his hand to his mouth and sobbed with relief. Paul and Stuart, Melanie's brothers, stood next to him for support.

"Is she ok? Can we see her?" Paul squeaked. Dennis quickly stood up and raced to Joan's side to hug her as she broke down, overcome with relief.

"Not yet, I'm afraid," Simon replied. "The poor thing came in with a nasty head injury and doesn't remember anything."

"How long until we can see her?" Emma asked desperately.

"I think it's going to be a while," Simon replied. "The doctors would like us to wait until they've finished treating her. Apparently, the tests they need to do take a few hours and Melanie hasn't been too cooperative so far, so it's taking a bit longer than normal. They found some sort of drug in her system that's making her a bit loopy, so they had to sedate her to keep her from hurting herself."

"Do they know what she got into?" Joan asked.

"They didn't say," Simon replied. "I'm assuming she probably ate something she shouldn't have."

He excused himself, wanting to let the others know that Melanie had been found. As he opened the door of the hotel room, Brian, AJ, and the remaining Spice Girls appeared at the door, all of them looking excited.

"They found her!" Mel squealed. "It was on the telly. They took her to the same hospital they took Brian and AJ."

"We know," Emma replied, her excitement had dwindled after the news Simon had given them. "We can't see her yet, though."

"Fuck that!" Mel scoffed. "We've got a car waiting downstairs. You lot are coming with us." Emma smiled and raced over to the door, hugging Mel and squealing excitedly.

"Come on, then!" said Geri. "Let's go!"

Earlier

Melanie sat within a dark cupboard, her wrists bound tightly with rope and chained to the wall. After a few hours of tugging at the ropes and rubbing them against a plywood shelf, she'd finally managed to break through and free her hands. Crimson shadows moved along the walls surrounding her, emitting low growls and high pitched shrieks. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut them out enough to concentrate on her escape.