The Sonorous Timer

Chapter 48 - I put him in danger

I couldn't listen to that guy Shane anymore, he only made things worse. Why should I trust him anyway? Isaac and I just took off and we were now walking in the rain, far from home. Both of us were soaking wet and freezing. "Hey, Elaine," Isaac said, taking my arm. "Yeah?" I answered as I  turned to him. "I live right outside of the city, we could stay at my place till the rain stops?" he suggested. "What time is it?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulder and brought his jacket tighter around him. "I think that'll be the best, but how do we tell the others?" I asked. "I bet they're used to you coming home at different times, right?" he raised his eyebrows. "Not really, we usually return not long after we're taken." "Really?" he stuttered. "Yeah?" I nodded. "My boyfriend and I return at variated times." "Perhaps it's because of Manu's lock prying skills?" I said as I glanced up at him. "Yeah, probably," he answered. I could see he was gonna say something more, but loud thunder caught his attention. "Holy!" my eyes widened. "Let's go," he said, grabbing my hand as he started walking. I followed him, making sure I wouldn't get lost.

The whispers that I heard in the corridor, I couldn't get them out of my mind. It didn't sound like any humane sounds, and it for sure wasn't English. We were walking through a cozy little neighborhood by now. "I live there," he said, pointing to a little red house in-between two other houses. "Really?" my facial expression lightened. "Yes," he answered, smiling. Each house had its own way up to a small staircase, made of light coloured cobblestone. There were lots of flowers and bushes here as well. "This is probably the coziest place I've ever seen," I said. He let out a chuckle as he turned to me: "Oh really?" "Yeah," I nodded. "I quite like it here," he agreed, heading for the door. "It's so beautiful as well," I looked around. "You can watch it from the window, come inside now," he said, unlocking his door. I unhesitatingly followed him inside even though I don't know him all too well. "Since we're both soaking wet, you can borrow some clothes from me," he offered. "That would be great." "I'll go get something, just wait here," he said as he locked the door from the inside. Probably to keep the security up or something, which I appreciate.

Isaac returned with a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. "Tried to find the smallest I had. These haven't been worn much," he said, handing the clothes over to me. "Thank you, Isaac." "You have the mark on your neck as well?" he frowned at me. "Oh, that... I got something weird on my neck and went crazy, so Manu took it away in the most painful way," I let out a sigh. "Something like this would have happened if he wouldn't have though," he said as he pulled the neck of his white-grey polo sweater down. "Oh my God!" I gasped. On the lower part of his neck he had a bad looking mark that looked like burnt skin. "The fluid is kinda like acid, you know. Just that you need to activate it yourself," he told me. "By scratching it?" I swallowed oddly. He nodded before he covered the wound. "Does it still hurt?" I asked. "It's getting better, but yes, it does still hurt." "Did it happen to your boyfriend as well?" I asked. "No, because I didn't go crazy. I hid it from him." "How?" I stuttered. "Because I knew what he would do, and imagining a life without him, it's something I just can't do. It said: "that's the spot" along with his name on my neck, after one of the captures. So I knew, they wanted for something to happen. They are using psychology as a way to get what they want, Elaine. I'm just glad I realized that." "Psychology? How?" I tightened my grip on the clothes unknowingly. "They knew everyone would just rub it away from their hand to either their neck, stomach, chest or at least a hurtful place. It is normal to do such," he answered. I'm so stupid. That must be why it said so on Manu as well. They expected one of us to react like the majority of people. And I did so... Shane was right, we're just an experiment to them.

I got to shower as well as I got warmth from the clothes, such a wonderful feeling. "I really appreciate your kindness, Isaac." "It's just who I am, but you're welcome," he smiled. I sat in his kitchen with my hands wrapped around a cup of tea. The rain was still pouring outside, and the wind only worsened. "You hungry?" he asked. "Actually, I'm starving," I said,  turning to him. "Do you like cooked vegetables with seasoning? It's basically what I've got," he chuckled as he looked through the fridge. "I'll eat anything right now, to be honest." "Oh, okay, good," he answered. I spotted a picture hanging on the wall right by the entrance of the kitchen. It was a picture of the boy who I saw laying in the corridor, the dead boy. "That's your boyfriend?" I asked, studying the picture. "Yeah," he nodded. "What's his name?" I questioned. "Noah," he told me. "Nice name," I said. "Yeah, kinda odd that he's Elijah's brother though," Isaac said.

The freckles, the eyes, they were the same. I could see in the picture that Noah's eyes were brown as well. Also, I could see the resemblance between Noah and Elijah. "Is his hair colour naturally dark orange?" I asked. "No, he coloured it to be different from Elijah." "That makes sense because I haven't seen anyone with orange hair and that dark brown eyes," I said. "Neither have I, but it looks very nice." I moved my sight further to the left, to the clock on the wall. It was 6 AM now. I suddenly felt a vibration coming from my pocket, which was my phone. I forgot I even had it on me, so I jumped when it suddenly vibrated. I brought it up and unlocked it quickly. Caleb had sent me like thirty messages and called me ten times. "Jeez," I said as I raised my eyebrows. "What?" Isaac asked, but didn't turn around. "Caleb's been trying to get in contact with me." "Oh? Perhaps it's better if he doesn't know what's going on. You know what Shane said," he said, leaning to the kitchen counter. "I think it would be the best if we told him that we're okay at least," I answered. "Yeah, do that."

Finally, after three attempts, Caleb picked up. "Is Manu with you?" he asked the second he picked up. "No," my voice almost trembled. "What? Why?" he asked worriedly. "He had to stay behind, we didn't get an answer to why," I told him. "Ugh, where are you?" Caleb asked. "At Isaac's place," I answered. "Why's that?" his voice lowered as if he was a bit annoyed. "We were soaking wet and it was cold," I told him. "I could've picked you up!" he sounded dejected of what I said. "It was early in the morning, Caleb. We found it easier to go to his place instead." "I'm alone with Akira, Elaine. She's got both of us running crazy, and you expect me to just wait to hear from you? I've spent hours worrying!" Caleb blurted out. "Where the hell is Elijah?" I asked, feeling my heartbeat quickening. "I don't know. He's been away for quite some time now." I went quiet, from the shock that hit me. My hand automatically went up to my mouth as well.  "Elaine?" Caleb spoke. Isaac took the phone from me and walked out since I couldn't get out a word anyway. I put my head in my hands and rubbed my eyes, in hope that I would wake up from this nightmare.

It wasn't a nightmare, it was a reality. Isaac told me that both Caleb and Akira were out looking for Elijah now, and thinking of what Shane told Isaac and me, it's a chance that they'll find him dead. All because of this stupid and evil circle, Elijah's in danger now. My phone was laying on the table, it's truly a wonder how it didn't break earlier. I stared at it with an empty look for what felt like ages. Then it suddenly started vibrating and the screen turned on. An unknown number showed at the top of my screen, along with the 'accept' option further down. I hesitatingly lifted my phone up before I let my finger glide over the screen. "Very well. You picked up, a wise choice, Elaine," a dark male's voice spoke. "Shane?" I whispered so that Isaac wouldn't hear. "I need to speak with you," he said. "You've picked the worst time to talk. I really can't speak to you right now." "I'm sure you would show interest in what I want to speak with you about," his voice went more serious. "Shane, I'm not in the mood," I sighed. "Not in the mood? Not even when it's regarding your friend Elijah?" his voice lowered.