Two Rungs Below

03 • Attack of the Sewer Grates

Please be aware that the following chapters are currently undergoing revisions. If you feel as though you may have missed an event, check the previous chapter as you may find some chapters have been combined.

"Lila? Is that you?" I called out into the darkness. This seemed to be impossible, Lila was supposed to be dead . . .

"What happened to me?" Lila asked. She almost looked like a ghost, which is a bit unnerving considering the connotation.

"I dont know. . ." I replied, almost feeling guilty for not being able to supply a proper answer. It had to be a bit odd to be lost in the sewer with someone you may or may not know. 

"Who are you?" Lila asked, which pretty much confirmed she had no clue who I was.

"Oliver, I sit behind you math . . ." I offered.

"Ah, nice to meet you Oliver. My name is Lila, although it seems like you already know me." She seemed rather calm for someone who was in the sewer, which I did not quite understand myself. Maybe the whole 'two rungs below' business really was a prank after all.

"Yeah I kind of do, but not really-I mean I only see you once a day right?" I said rather clumsily. For now at least I intended on avoiding the fact that she is supposed to be dead.  I don't know too much about romance, but I do know that telling someone you thought they were dead isn't much of a turn on.

"What are you doing in the sewer on a school day?" Lila questioned, letting out a small laugh in the process.

"I was about to ask you the same-" Before I could finish the sentence Lila placed her hand over my mouth. She then pointed at the mouth of the sewer. A pair of hiking boots were stepping in and out of view, it looked like someone was deciding wether or not they should come in. My heart began to pound. I heard the blood rushing through my ears. It was him, it was the trench coat killer.

She nodded her head in the direction of a passage going deeper in the sewer. She began to walk into the darkness and I followed.

When we were a reasonable distance away from the assailant we rested. Lila began to start up our conversation again. We began to exchange stories, share jokes, and laughed together. Considering I came here to investigate a murder my day turned out fairly well. It didn't really matter that there was most likely a sociopath outside of the sewer waiting to kill us, we were happy. For the first time in a long time, I was happy.

After about an hour of small talk I decided it was time to fill Lila in on what was really happening. As I told my story she responded in nods, a grave expression upon her face. I told her everything from the note to the vomit, and I think she believed me (I did however omit the bit about the flowers). When I finished we sat in silence for a moment. I starred at the ground, while she continued to look forwards, her expression never faltering.

"I thought it was a dream." I looked up from the ground as she said it. "I saw the same man you described." She paused for a moment, she seemed unsure as to wether or not she was willing to continue.

"He was watching me. Watching from the street. He came to my door and knocked. He knocked for so long. . ." Her voice began to trail off as she continued. I noticed her eyes watering, it became apparent she was struggling to tell the story. I reached over beside me and held her in my arms. We sat in this position for a few minutes. Silent but loud at the same time, it was like we were communicating through our minds.

"You're cute for a geek." She joked, holding back tears as she did so. For the first time, I felt like I was winning. Like I was two rungs above. I don't ever recall feeling this happy. Feeling this human. And then I heard it.