No Control (Chris Motionless)

Chapter 33 - A Realization

Chris gave me a worried and confused look, but he followed my lead regardless as I wove my way back through the dimly lit tunnels. Most of the people in attendance here were all too busy to pay either of us much attention even now, but I couldn't shake the sensation that our every move was being watched anyway.  

My head was spinning as everything fell into place at an alarming rate. Seeing that Roy was in charge of the cult and these dungeon events, it gave him the perfect opportunity to pick out the victims for his twisted cause. I tried to make sense of what had just happened and did all that I could to keep myself from panicking, should I be fearing for my life right this moment? 

Chris clearly noticed this and the moment we were back in that small room, he pulled me to a halt to force me to face him. "What the hell is going on? You look like you saw a ghost or something."

"We need to leave and get the hell out of London as fast as possible."

"Why? What's going on?"

"That man that we were just speaking to is the leader of the cult that worships Jack the Ripper. I'm almost certain that he's the one responsible for the murders and with the way he just approached us, I'm fairly certain that he knows that I'm onto him."

"There's no way he can remember you from going to just one meeting-"

I cut him off, "But he can, because I've been to several of the meetings, and the last time I made the stupid fucking decision to speak with him." 

Chris's jaw set into a hard line at that as he muttered, "Let's get all of this together."

I silently assisted him in gathering up what little we had brought along with us. I knew that Chris was probably mad at me, but I couldn't worry about that right now. I could only hope that he would understand that it was to keep him out of the cult's clutches or at least that was what I kept trying to tell myself. My paranoia still resided in the back of my head that I couldn't truly trust anyone in this situation and I hated myself for it.

As I slid into my coat, something caught my eye. A slip of paper was resting just underneath the edge of the door. Chris glanced over at me and then to where my gaze was trained. He plucked the scrap off of the floor and then flipped it over, seeming to read something. I stood stock still as I waited for him to look up while a thousand warning bells went off in my mind. 

When his brow furrowed I couldn't stop myself from questioning, "What is it?"

He held the note out to me saying, "I have no clue."

'Your new God is closer than you might think. - R' 

I clutched the paper in my hand as I breathed, "He does know."

Without a moment of hesitation, I scooped up Chris's bag and grasped his hand as I dragged him behind me. He nearly stumbled over his own feet as he did his best to keep up with my frantic pace. I nearly got lost in the tunnels and caverns of this place as my heart tried to claw its way out of my chest from panic. With every step I took, I expected Roy to pop out of the shadows and slit our throats.

The second we were above ground and out on the cobblestone street, I sucked in a harsh breath of chilled air and nearly collapsed. Chris caught me right as my knees brushed the pavement. 

"Amber, what was all that? What does that note even mean?" He asked as he helped me back to my feet.

As soon as I was upright, I was moving away from the entrance of Hell's Haven as I explained, "He left that note for me on purpose. He wants me to know that he's aware of what I'm doing." 

"And what does that mean for you?"

"I'm not sure, but it can't be anything good if I actually manage to get in his way."