The misfits

chapter 14

Alisan

I wake as if it's an emergency, as if sleeping had become a dangerous thing. My heart beats fast and there is a buzzing in my brain and together they are as panic with jump-leads. Only now my brain is as a flat battery, the exertions of the night being a marathon of erratic problem-solving. My brain is hazy, scrambled to find the pieces of an unknown puzzle. I find myself in Evelyn's arms, enrolled in her smell. The only thing I know is that the two man that kidnapped me are no longer alive. The thought that someone could have killed me just as easily as them made me shiver, even though my body was burning like a lit up fire. She calls my name once, twice. But Evelyn doesn't open her mouth. My gaze goes to the woman next to her feet, glaring at me. Or through me. There is weird smell in this room, mixed with the one of cold blood. The generator hums in a steady breeze, unbothered from our weird states and slurred words. I want to stand but for the moment my legs have given way to gravity, shaky, weak. The retching goes on for so long I lose track of time and then I realize what the stench is. Someone is poisoning the room.

-Umm... guys, I know we are all sentimental right now, but I think we have to go, - the young woman looks at the both of us as she pushes open the doors, and Evelyn has me in her arms in a swift motion, running over the gates, hallway to hallway. In the moment I absorbed the situation, memories of everything that happened some hours ago flash through my mind, and for a moment I wrestle them down in fear. There was no way this was all a coincidence. Brian was not here.

-Brian... he...- I ran out of breath, my whole body pulsing with regret. - Someone took him.. on the other side. Evelyn.. I think his sister... is here.

-No, no, no ,no...- she kept repeating the words as if more to accept it herself, but she couldn't. We all stopped in the spot, Evelyn shaking me in place.

- What happened, Alisan? Why did thinks turn like this? - Her eyes begged for answers, but I could never satisfy her thirst. I only knew one thing: Imogene was now looking not only for him.

- I heard, those men..talk about Imogene, and I tried to alarm either of you, but they took me before I could do anything. - Now steady on my feet, we were changing direction as fast as the wind. - I gained consciousness again in the room, and all I could see was the silluete of a woman and the voice of..oh god that couldn't be it, - Evelyn had no reaction, instead looking back feverishly.

- Whose voice was it? - she asks.

-Brian's.

That moment engraved itself in time, the seconds passing in slow motion. The shock, the fear, the enthrallment of each and every passing second entirely consuming everything. Over the top of our heads, a gunshot rented through the air, as yells of anguish pierced the walls. I could hear many voices, until there was none. The silence was scarier than the sounds, as everything had stopped in track. The night had muted everything, but Evelyn was determined to break the silence. She started moving faster and faster through countless of halls, following the now silenced noise of the gunshot. I could hardly keep up with her, but she wouldn't flinch at my attempts to slow down. Instead she took my wrist and walked faster, incoherent sounds coming from her in broken sentences.

-There has to be a way for us to reach him. I know he is here. Where could he have gone if not to find Imogene?

In the moment, Brian's words interrupted my train of thoughts. " If she wasn't able to find me for 2 years, than I had to find her myself." He knew. But to imagine that all of this could had been planed was too painful. Suddenly, that pain was located in my hand, a strong grip taking me out of my streamline, Evelyn's nails pushing in the backside of my wrist.

-Where is Asya? - she asked me, repeating it again and again. I turned back to see that she want behind us, instead he only thing accompanying us were our own shadows. A moment of realization washed over her, as she stepped back, gasping for air

-Evelyn, are you...- I was only greeted by a whimper, her voice cracking up as her eyes swallowed her own tears back in.

- What if they're all dead now? Everything we have done till now would be pointless. Everything! Please. - All her words ceased as she saw a light flicker in the distance, and there was such a change in demeanor I was left wide eyed.

She felt too much too fast, and there was nothing to prevent her from breaking down. Instead, She shook her fists and stood up, eyes flickering from one side to the other with a unfulfilled anger that could burn holes through concrete. It was hard to stay intact with everything happening around us, but she, in spite of everything, was fearless. I admired her courage the way a child would admire a newfound gem. Now we were so close to finding him, as if Evelyn had a compass inside of her with all the directions and routes and their absolute ends. I looked back once more. Nothing. There was only a door, leading to what I suspected would be the buildings platform. The night was still young, when her piercing eyes acknowledged us:

-It looks like your little friends are here, Brian.