A Broken Truth

12: Order

I saved Arthur's contact, then I put my phone away. I lay in bed, hugging my pillow.

What is he going to make me do? What if he tries to hurt me? Kill me?

"Finley, you need to calm down. If he wanted to kill you, he would've done it by now. If he tries to hurt you...let's just say, he has another thing coming." Isaac reassured me.

My phone rang and, of course, it was Arthur.

I don't want to answer it, but...

I reluctantly answered the phone. I had to know how to get to Jewel without having to run into other Entities, especially Edward. He was unpleasant to be around.

"Hello?" I said in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Hello, Finley. I have a small task for you." Arthur seemed pleased that I answered the phone because his tone of voice was cheerful.

I rolled my eyes and looked down with an angry expression, "Do you really think I'm going to do your bidding?"

Arthur laughed, "Yes, I really do believe that you'll do as I say not just because you hate me, but also because you fear me. If you weren't afraid of me, then you wouldn't have answered the phone. Even so, I know you won't listen to me that easily and there's no point in using my influence on you. It takes too long to be in effect for my liking. So, lucky for you, I can't influence you all the time. But, either way, I shouldn't have to use it."

I sighed, "Well, someone seems a little impatient. Why don't you spare everyone the trouble and let Jewel go? Why did you take her in the first place?"

"What's important right now is to do what I ask of you. As long as you do that, Jewel will be safe. If you are defiant, then your friends, along with Jewel won't be safe. Your defiance may cost one of them their life. You don't want to walk on thin ice, do you? You know if you walk on thin ice, your friends go with you and the ice can't handle all of you standing on it. It cracks, then it breaks. You don't want to put your friends in danger, do you?" His voice was deeper and less cheerful than before. He was serious.

Thin ice...his patience is fragile. I should be careful. The lives of my friends depend on it...

"Ok, fine...what do you want me to do?" I asked in a hushed tone. I felt defeated. I hated the thought of following his orders, but I didn't have a choice.

Arthur's voice went back to being cheerful and light-hearted, "That's the spirit! Your first task is simple: Get the report from Drama Queen and report her findings to me via phone call. She should be at a place called, 'Rain City Park.' Oh, and if you don't know, Drama Queen is the Entity of Gossip. Anyway, I'll call you back later to check your progress. Best of luck, Finley."

Arthur ended the call and I put my phone away. I clenched my fists.

One day, I'll make him pay for all this...