by Sourav Deka
We went inside our home. All the bodyguards were lying dead in the living room with their blood spilled all over the floor.
“Oh my god!” Aaron’s eyes widened. “Where are they?” he said.
Our hearts began to beat faster. Did Sam and Bristy attack our home? Where is mom and dad? We looked around and searched for them in all the rooms, but they were nowhere to be found.
“They are not in their room,” I said.
“Damn it! What if…….,” Aaron said.
I shook my head nervously. “No, no, no, no, they are fine. They are fine. Don’t freak out.”
The phone on the table rang. It was an unknown number, I picked it up.
“Hello,” I said.
“Looking for your parents?” a familiar voice said. I haven’t heard that voice for over a year. I recognized it. It was Ambrose.
“Ambrose?” I said.
“So you do remember me. Do you also remember how you murdered my father?”
My jaw clenched. “Where are my parents?”
“They are fine, for now.”
“If you hurt them I swear………….” I shouted, pressing the phone.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Keep your threats to yourself,” he sighed. “I am texting you the address. Come with your brother. If you bring someone else or tell someone, they will be dead. I will be waiting,” he hung up.
“Wait! Wait! Ambrose, wait!”
“Did you just say Ambrose?” Aaron asked.
I nodded and put down the phone. “Yes. He kidnapped them.”
Aaron tightened his cheeks. “He wants revenge.”
“Yes, I should have killed him when I killed his father. I should have listened to Michael back then. Damn it!” I kicked the table in anger.
“We should call Michael,” he gestured to me to give him the phone.
“No, no,” I shook my head. “I think he is spying on us. If we try to contact anyone and tell them, he will kill them. We can’t take the risk. We have to go alone.”
“That’s what he wants, Ross. If we go alone we will end up dead.”
I clenched my fists. “But we don’t have any choice.”
“We can’t just go there without a plan. We need to think of something.”
“But we can’t do anything,” I rubbed my temples. “We can’t ask for help, he will know. We can’t risk it.”
Aaron went to his room and brought his gun. “You meet him and keep him distracted. We will have to use the element of surprise,” he reloaded his gun. “I am going to kill him.”
I grabbed his shoulders. “No, he will know,” I looked around the room. “He is spying on us.”
“We have to try something,” Aaron raised his voice. “We just can’t go there to die.”
I sat on the couch and put my hands on my head. “Shit! I thought I have finally got my dream life,” I slammed the table. “These problems never seem to end.”
He sat beside me. “You have killed people, Ross. They are going to show up for revenge. We knew there would be consequences.”
“Michael took care of all the witnesses. He wanted to kill Ambrose too, but I begged him to let him live as he was my friend,” I lowered my head and sighed. “That was a big mistake.”
“Don’t worry, we will get through this,” Aaron put the gun on his jeans’ pocket. “We can do this, let’s go.”
We couldn’t waste any more time. We had to save our parents. There was no point in going to Michael or the cops, Ambrose might have planned this for a year. We couldn’t risk our parent’s lives, so we went alone to the address Ambrose texted me.
********************
It was an old factory that closed down years ago. Since then it was abandoned. We climbed a water tower nearby. It was tall enough to look around and survey the area. We looked through our binoculars at the factory’s windows but couldn’t notice anyone.
“He must be inside,” Aaron said, putting down his binoculars. “You go and keep talking to him. I will sneak into the factory. When I get the chance I will take him down.”
I nodded. “Be careful.”
“Always,” Aaron began looking for some other ways to go inside.
I climbed down the water tower and walked inside through the main door. It was a big room with two round tanks inside which were covered in dust and spider webs. In the middle there was a small staircase leading to the next room. The windows were all broken, their glasses were shattered on the floor. I guess some riot happened here years ago. The whole place smelled like rotting meat and dead cockroaches. Some rats were running around on the floor in search of food.
“Ambrose,” I shouted. “I am here.”
Ambrose showed up. He looked the same as the last time I saw him, the same guy with curly hair, blue sharp eyes, and a pointy nose. He was wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans holding a gun. “Finally, you are here,” he half smiled.
“I killed your father,” I said. “Let my parents go. Your quarrel is with me, leave them out of it.”
Ambrose chuckled. “I have planned for this, Ross.” Two of Ambrose’s people who had big arms and round faces brought Aaron, they were holding him and Aaron was trying to protest. “You think you can fool me?” he gave a smug smile.
“Ambrose, you were my friend…………….”
“Yes,” he yelled. “You both were my friends and you killed my dad just to get the seeds.”
“Your dad’s sacrifice won’t go in vain,” I said. “See what the seeds have done, it is changing the world. Now no one gets sick.”
“That doesn’t change anything,” he yelled and looked at his people. “Bring him to the 1st floor.”
His people grabbed me and Aaron and handcuffed us. We were helpless. No one knows that we were there. No one was going to come to save us. We were on our own. Aaron and I exchanged a look, we both needed to come up with a plan or else Ambrose was going to murder my whole family.
They took us to the 1st floor. That room had multiple broken windows and their glasses were shattered around on the floor. The wall at the end was a bit broken, it looked like someone bombed it a few years ago. Mom and dad were there tied up with two silver steel chairs.
“Mom, dad??” I said.
“You shouldn’t have come here, son,” mom said.
Ambrose took out a knife from his jacket and stabbed mom’s hand with it, she screamed in pain.
“You son of a bitch!!!!” I shouted.
Aaron kicked one of the guards and ran towards Ambrose. He pushed Ambrose with every ounce of energy he had and they both fell on the ground.
Ambrose’s knife fell. He quickly grabbed it and stabbed Aaron’s leg. Aaron screamed and fell on his knees. “I will kill you,” he shouted as his throat clenched. He tried to get up but Ambrose kicked him.
“How does this feel huh?” Ambrose said, as his face reddened. “Tell me,” he shouted and turned to me. “How does it feel when someone you love gets hurt?”
“Please Ambrose, listen to me,” my breath quickened. “I know you are angry and you have every right to be. But I am the one who killed your father, they are innocent. You want your revenge? Kill me, let them go.”
“No, Ross, no,” Mom and dad said together.
“Kill you?” Ambrose laughed. “Killing you will be a mercy,” he walked up to mom. “I want you to suffer,” he cut mom’s neck with his knife.
“No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I screamed.
She gasped for breath and vomited blood. Father couldn’t endure anymore. He tried to stand up with the chair, but Ambrose kicked him and stabbed the knife in his eye. The knife went through his brain and he died instantly.
“See, that’s what I wanted,” Ambrose said, widening his hands.
I fell on my knees and froze. Aaron kept struggling with the ropes and screamed. My parents were lying dead in front of me. The floor was covered in their blood. My whole life fell apart. They were dead because of me. A tear ran down my cheek as I kept staring at their dead bodies. I felt hel
pless and powerless.
“It hurts isn’t it?” Ambrose half smiled. “For you, it’s easy to take someone’s life, but when you feel like the victim, your whole world falls apart.”
I was in shock, couldn’t even move. It’s like everything ended. My dream that I fulfilled shattered in pieces, I was an orphan again. My lips were shaking, wanting to scream but I couldn’t. Ambrose was crying lying on the floor, he was devastated.
Ambrose leaned down and stared into my eyes. “Now you will know what real suffering is.”
“I will kill you,” I said in a heavy voice.
He scoffed. “Good luck with that,” he turned around and left the factory with his people.
Aaron kept crying. “It’s all over,” he said.
“They died because of me,” I wiped my tears and stood up. “I am not ready to give up. We know magic exists. Maybe they can be brought back. We have to ask Michael.”
“No, are you crazy?” Aaron said. “No one comes back from the dead. There is no magic for that.”
“Maybe there is. We have the seeds now.”
He wiped his tears. “The seeds don’t bring back people from death, Ross.”
“I know, I know,” I massaged my forehead. “Maybe with the help of magic we can find some solution.”
“There is no solution,” he sobbed. “They are gone, dead people don’t come back.”
“I will ask Jensen, he may know something.”
His forehead creased. “That ghost? He died, Ross. If he would have known how to reanimate the dead, he would have brought himself back from the dead.”
I gulped. “I have to try.”
He looked away and clenched his jaw. “No, it’s useless. We have to kill Ambrose. Focus on that.”
“We will kill him, Aaron, we will have our revenge. But I am not ready to give up. I have to ask Jensen.”
“But how will we escape from here?”
I noticed his leg, it was bleeding as Ambrose stabbed him. “You need to stop the bleeding. Put pressure on the wound.”
Aaron took out his handkerchief from his pocket and tied up his wound to stop the bleeding. “This will work for now,” he said. “First we have to get off these handcuffs.”
“There is no other choice. We have to walk like this with the handcuffs.”
He sighed.
“We have to. We will go to Michael’s place and get help.”
He turned around and glanced at our parent’s bodies lying on the floor. “We shouldn’t leave their bodies like that.”
I gulped. “I know, we will come back.”
We left the factory and walked to Michael’s mansion. Mom and dad’s faces were flashing in front of me. It was all my fault. I have to bring them back. There must be a way. I know magic exists, witches exist. Maybe there is a spell or some ritual that can bring back the dead. I saw Sam and Bristy coming back from dead, it is possible. I had to try. I knew Aaron wanted it too but he didn’t believe that there was a way. He has given up hope, but I didn’t, because that’s all I had now.
CHAPTER 4
I rang the bell. After a few seconds Michael’s wife opened the door. She was a slim woman wearing blue frock. Her hair was blonde and had curvy grey eyes. I never visited Michael’s home. It was my first time. After we got the seeds, he invited me multiple times but I never went as I was busy helping Savors to grow more seeds.
“Hi, is Michael home?” I asked.
“No, he went outside,” she said, noticing the handcuffs on our hands. “What happened to you two?”
“Please call him, it’s urgent. I am Ross and this is my brother Aaron. Call him, he will know.”
She nodded. “I know who you are. Come inside.”
We stepped inside and sat on the sofa in the living room. She took out her cell phone from her bag on the table and called Michael to come home. He was in his factory where the immortal drink was being manufactured.
“Can you break this?” I asked. “Do you have a hammer?”
She went to the basement and brought a hammer. “I am not sure if I can do this,” she said. “I may break your hand.”
“You have to focus. It's okay, you can do it. Hit it in the middle,” I sat on the floor and placed my hands on the wooden table. “Hit it hard.”
“I have never done this,” she said, holding the hammer. Her hand was shaking.
“You can do this,” I said. “Focus on the middle and hit it with every ounce of energy you have.”
She hit the handcuffs in the middle very hard.
“Good, once more. Come on! Try again.”
She hit it again and the handcuffs broke. I felt a sense of relief. Deep Down I was scared that she might end up smashing my hand, but she didn’t. I took off the handcuffs from my hands. “Okay, give me the hammer,” I gestured to her to give me the hammer.
Aaron placed his hands on the floor and I broke his handcuffs.
“Oh thank god!” She took back the hammer and went back to the basement.
We stretched our hands and arms. Our hands were aching staying in those handcuffs for over an hour. She offered us some coffee, but we politely refused. We were not in a mood for coffee. Our parents were killed mercilessly in front of us, coffee was the last thing we could think of. We kept waiting and waiting, after half an hour Michael arrived.
He stormed inside the room. “Ross, Aaron, what happened?” he said. “My wife said it’s urgent.”
“Ambrose, remember him? He killed our parents,” I said.
His eyes widened. “What?”
“Yes, he is here.”
Michael tightened his cheeks. “Damn it! I told you we should have killed him there.”
“I know, I made a mistake,” I gulped. “But we have to fix it. I need to talk to Jensen.”
“Jensen?” he raised his eyebrows. “What is he going to do?”
“He helped us during the hunt for the seeds. You told me he helps when we need him. I need him now, Michael. I need to bring my parents back.”
“What?” a line etched between his eyebrows. “No, that’s not possible. No magic can do that.”
“I told him, he doesn’t listen,” Aaron said.
“Look, because of me they are dead,” I said. “I have to try, maybe there is a way. I just need to talk to Jensen, Michael. Please I need to.”
“Okay then call him, now.”
I shook my head. “No, not here. I tried a few times before when we were coming here, he didn’t answer. Take us to one of those places where savors used to contact him. Maybe then he will answer.”
Michael sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Okay, I will take you there.”
We walked towards the door.
“Wait! Our parents’ dead bodies are in the factory,” Aaron said, stopping at the middle. “We have to preserve their body in case we succeed in bringing them back.”
Michael nodded. “Okay, I will send my people there. They will take care of it.”
Jensen showed up during our hunt many times when I called him, but now he wasn’t answering. I needed him, but why wasn’t he answering? Maybe the connection wasn’t strong enough. So I thought those Savors old places where they contact Jensen might help. So Michael took us to one of those places where we can contact Jensen. It was an old auditorium that Savors used to use. Like I did the first time, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and called him. “Jensen, I need your help,” I said.
He didn’t show up.
“Jensen, please, this is very important or else I wouldn’t have come,” I gulped. “I need your help.”
“Hello Ross,” Jensen said. As usual we couldn’t see him. We could only hear his voice as he was a ghost.
“Do you know why I am here?”
“Yes, what you seek is not possible by magic.”
“What? I saw Sam and Bristy come back from dead. It’s possible. Don’t say that there isn’t any magic in the world that can’t bring back people from the dead.”
“There is, b
ut that requires many sacrifices which you shouldn’t do and I will not allow it. That’s why I didn’t want to answer you.”
“No, please don’t say that. I will do anything,” I begged.
“No, I am sorry.”
Aaron looked at me. “I told you, no one comes back from the dead, Ross,” he looked down. “They are gone.”
“No, there must be a way,” I clenched my fists. “Jensen please help me, you know a lot of things. I know you can help. They didn’t deserve to die.”
“I didn’t tell you that it isn’t possible.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Then?”
“It’s isn’t possible with magic. But it is possible with science.”
“Science?” Michael’s forehead creased. “If anyone would have discovered how to bring back people from death, we would have known it.”
“You will know it in a few days,” he chuckled. “Everyone will know.”
“What is it? Tell me,” I said.
“Your enemy has made a product.”
“My enemy?”
“Yes. Ambrose, who killed your parents. He even brought back his father from the dead.”
“What?” I was startled, my eyes widened. “If he got back his father, why the hell did he kill my parents?”
“He wanted revenge, Ross. You killed his father, that didn’t change for him.”
I sighed and massaged my temples. “Okay, tell me what did he make.”
“He brought the immortal drink when it was launched. He was doing experiments with it for days. With the help of the juice he developed a new product, another juice which can heal corpses and make them alive.”
I was shocked. “What?”
“He is going to make the product public tomorrow. He is going to be rich.”
“But if he launches that product, everyone will bring back their loved ones who died,” Aaron said. “We will have a population crisis on Earth.”
“Yes, it is possible,” Jensen said. “The population will increase drastically, and with the immortal juice people won’t die easily, which will make the situation even worse.”
I turned to Michael. “We have to stop him,” I said.
“I will talk to my people,” Michael said. “We have to find him,” he took out his cell phone and went outside.