by Abby Osuna
A sudden poke in my arm broke me from my train of thoughts.
I turned and saw a limp body of a snake just inches from my eyes. My scream could’ve torn my
throat apart.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
“I just wanted to make you conquer your fear!” He dropped the snake on the ground and he
wiped his hands off his lap. “I’m sorry.”
This time, the glare was successful. I was really pissed by what he just did. It was rude. So
rude!
I was about to stomp my feet and enter the house once again when suddenly a sound from the
woods made both of us stop whatever we were doing.
I looked at Anthony in alarm and he bolted toward me. He grabbed my arm and we dashed
toward the house. Anthony left me by the door and he went directly to somewhere inside the
house. I tried to follow him. I stepped my foot forward but he was suddenly back, carrying a pail
of water. He quickly poured it on the fireplace, extinguishing the fire, leaving us in complete
darkness.
I think I heard sounds of footfalls from the outside. I was so engrossed with my time alone with
Anthony that I forgot we were supposed to be planning on how we can successfully escape.
Now, we’re even barely holding on to dear life.
There were faint voices from afar. I saw Anthony stick his ear on the door. My eyes have
adjusted to the darkness now, and I could make out his face. I do not know whether he was
even aware of our proximity. Again. Maybe he was unaware. Ugh. Why am I having these kinds
of thoughts now? Focus!
Shrugging off my inappropriate thoughts, I pressed my ear against the door too. Taking the
pace of the footfalls, I guessed that there was a maximum of three people outside. But since
their steps were somehow muffled by the grass outside, I real y couldn’t tel .
What now? What if they discovered us here? What if those were men of Zed and Carley? Of
course they’d bring us back. Hard. But then again, maybe those were just innocent passersby
hunting for food or heading someplace else. Or… worse, maybe they were the owners of the
house?
But by the looks of the house, the last time anyone has even stepped on the doorstep was
maybe a few months ago. Five? Four? I really suck at observation, let alone estimation.
We listen intently to the movement of the people outside. My heart skipped a beat at the next
vivid sound I heard.
“There’s the house.”
My hand jumped to Anthony’s arm. It was kind of amazing how I managed to locate it despite
the dark. I felt his hand on mine, as if trying to tell me that he was there. That we would make it alive.
Then the worst happened. The movement outside grew louder and louder. They were coming
near. WHAT NOW?
We backed away from the door and tried to grope our way inside the house. Why didn’t I have a
flashlight with me? But we wouldn’t be able to use it either since it would give us away. Anthony
had his hand on one of mine and his other one on my waist. We were starting to panic and right
there and then I knew that it was the worst move we ever made. We bumped to a chair I
remembered was lying awkwardly on the center of the living room. Stupid chair!
“Shoot,” I muttered.
Anthony’s head turned downward, looking at the chair. From the corner of my eye, I saw him
shake his head in frustration.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
But the consequence was fatal.
“Hear that?” someone from outside shouted.
“They’re here.”
I swallowed hard and tightened my grip at Anthony’s arm. We edged inside the house but
stopped dead in our tracks when suddenly someone kicked the door open and flooded light
inside the room. Like my guess, there were three people. Their flashlights were directed toward
us like we were a bunch of criminals.
“Don’t move!”
That completed the simile.
I knew that this was no time for a laugh but somewhere inside me, I felt like doing so. Then it hit me. The accent.
“You’l pay for the uncalled-for scare, Mr. Andrew Joseph Hamilton.” I inched forward, letting go
of Anthony’s arm.
“You always have to spoil my fun, don’t you?” The light in the middle lowered, revealing the tall
Englishman I have for an uncle. “Come here.”
I jogged forward and wrapped my arms around him. It felt so good to see him. With everything
else going crazy, I felt normal once again. Drew was the only person who made me feel like a
little girl.
I didn’t know when they started but tears welled up in my eyes now. They started falling and it
kind of annoyed me since they made me look weak.
Drew pul ed away and wiped them. “No need to cry now, you’re safe.”
I cringed at the word. Safe? When will we be ever safe? They found us in school, they found our house. And now this. Anthony thought it was safe in Carley’s only to find out that she herself
was a member of the syndicate. It’s kind of funny to think that we willingly led ourselves to the
predator.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Anthony join us. “How’d you find us?”
“I saw Zed earlier at the mall. Since you said that you were staying at Carley’s place, I thought I could ask him about how you two are doing. But with the way he’s been acting, I got a hunch
that there’s something going on.”
“What do you mean? How was he acting?”
“Strange?” I heard Anthony supply.
Drew shrugged. “I could say that. He looked nervous and he’s been fidgeting on his phone. A
moment later, I saw two suspicious-looking guys come up to him. From then on, I assumed that
something was wrong.”
“Wait, that was earlier today, right? Why hadn’t you come to find us? Why try to locate us just
now?” I tried to hide the impatience in my tone. But what took him so long? If he real y had the
hunch, why wait until night?
“Because I tried to contact Lea. But I couldn’t reach her. And Jonathan. I tried to find him
everywhere, until before I went here, but I couldn’t find him.”
“How did you know we were here?”
“I had someone follow Zed.” Drew motioned to the guy to his right, who returned a bit smug
smile. “But I told him not to make any move until I get back.”
I processed his words. Where was Mom? Jonathan? Calming myself down, I silently convinced
myself that Mom was just caught up with whatever it is that’s been keeping her busy for the past
months. As for Jonathan… Maybe he’s stuck with Kristine again.
I was about to verbalize my thoughts when suddenly the man standing behind Drew dashed
forward, giving Drew, Anthony, me and the smug-smiling unknown guy an unexpected, very
rough shove. A second later, the guy shut the door close and took the flashlights. He
immediately turned them off.
“What’s happening?” Drew whispered. Only then did I notice that he had his hand on mine.
“I heard sounds from the outside. And I think they’re approaching.”
My stomach twisted. So much for safety.
I unconsciously gripped Drew’s hand in fear. We’re so doomed.
He squeezed it back, trying to calm me with the simple gesture. All five of us were stuck in
complete darkness, standing very silently, careful not to make any noise, even the sounds of
our very breaths.
What now? If we would grope our way toward the backdoor, there’s a big chance that one of us
might make unnecessary noise. That was the last thing we want to happen. If we’d wait here
until they’re gone, there’s stil a chance that they would stay outside until morning or until God
knows when. Staying here is less likely an option.
My eyes suddenly widened as Drew let go of my hand. I tried to grasp for it again but he was
gone. He was somewhere in the room I can’t seem to locate in the darkness. Unlike earlier, my
eyes have not adjusted to the darkness that I could not make out even a single thing.
“Drew?” I whispered.
“Shhh!” Two voices answered back, obviously from the two unfamiliar people in the room.
I mouthed a “Sorry,” which was obviously not seen in this darkness. My responses become
inappropriate under this kind of pressure.
There was a sudden flash of light in the middle of the room, giving me a start. It was one of the
unknown guys. Just as abrupt as the light started, it was gone by the next millisecond. With a
fraction of a second of illumination, he was able to tell us that we should near him. I noticed then that Drew was by his side.
When I reached them, someone grabbed my wrist, making me jerk at the sudden touch. “It’s
me.” I heard Anthony’s voice.
I could hear the movements of the other people in the room. I was praying that the people
outside did not see the sudden illumination. It was one risk that we should take if we want to get
out of here fast and alive. Now that we were moving, I was hoping against hope that they were
not yet within earshot, or they’l realize that there were people inside.
After a few steps forward, I realized that we were by the backdoor already. After exactly three
seconds, not that I was counting, one my companions opened the door and one by one they
bolted outside, closing the door behind them as they went. After the first two, a third one
followed, which meant that that was Drew since Anthony was still grasping my wrist.
“Ready? We’l go together.” He whispered.
“Okay.” I whispered back and gave his hand a squeeze.
“Go!”
We opened the door and dashed outside. I did not exactly know where to go, but I was
pleasantly surprised to see a car waiting for us outside, door opened to our side, with Drew
holding the door open, ready to close it once we were inside.
That sprint seemed like the longest in my life. And once we were inside, I let out the long breath
I did not notice I was holding in.
Chapter 29
“Drei!”
I turned and saw a familiar blonde from our neighborhood. He wasn’t that ugly, but there was an
air of uneasy confidence in him that I just couldn’t tolerate. When he’s around, he acts as if
everyone is attracted to him. And since I belong to that everyone, he puts up that act when I’m around too.
I glared at him. He approached me with an incredible speed and I blinked at him when he
suddenly draped his arm around me.
“What are you doing? I’m gonna call Drew…”
“Who? You’re uncle?”
He leaned in that his face was inches from mine and I almost shouted, “Yes, my uncle Drew!”
“Drei?”
“Go away!”
“Drei? Are you okay?”
“Drew!”
“Drei, wake up!”
Then the ugly, full-of-himself blonde was nowhere in sight and I felt my back resting against
something soft. Then it hit me. I dreaded opening my eyes. I realized that we were still in the
car, fresh from a getaway from Carley and Zed’s men. What was worse, I realized that there
were two more people in the car, whom I wasn’t so familiar with. Which only made my actions a
little more painfully awkward.
I willed my eyes to open. And they did. But I peeped first to make sure it was just Drew waiting
for me to wake up. But to my dismay, I also saw Anthony peering over at me.
I opened my eyes fully, and straightened myself in the seat, slightly stretching in the process,
then I laughed under my breath awkwardly. “Nightmare.” I muttered, wishing they’d just look
somewhere else, and not at my slowly reddening face. I dared to glance at Drew, and he eyed
me with an amused expression. I wanted to wrestle with him at this very moment just to wipe off
that degrading expression but I know I couldn’t. I’ve had enough embarrassment for one night.
I heard Anthony clear his throat beside me. I was jammed in between him and Drew, and the
two unfamiliar people were in front. I pretended to stretch my arms when all of a sudden,
Anthony spoke up.
“Is Mr. Hamilton real y your---“
“Uncle, yes.” I heard Drew supply for him.
Then my mind went in flashback. What was I saying in my dream again? That Drew was my---
“Sorry if we didn’t tell you immediately Anthony,” Drew apologized.
I scratched my head. I was planning to tell him but not this way. What just happened was way
too awkward.
“Yea, sorry,” I echoed Drew’s words. My mind felt so drained. I just woke up from a nap, didn’t
I? But I felt like I just finished a triathlon.
Then out of the blue, I heard Anthony laugh. A genuine one.
I covered my face with my hands. I know he would react to my disadvantage, but not this way! I
wanted to melt now. I felt Drew beside me shift in his seat to get a better look at Anthony. Then,
much to my discomfort, Drew chuckled. Yea, I know that I should’ve told him earlier. I almost
gasped. Or maybe he already knew it and maybe he was just pulling this trick on me? But
wasn’t it rude to laugh at someone who just happened to do something that would complete her
hal of most embarrassing moments? At least he should’ve saved me some of the scrap left of
my dignity!
Glaring at Drew, I mustered enough courage to face Anthony.
“What’s so funny? If you knew that already, at least you could’ve told me! Don’t laugh at me like
that!”
He shook his head, stil caught in his laughing fit. “You--- just don’t know how relieved I am!”
I blinked at him. Did I hear him right?
“Relieved?” I repeated.
He nodded, unable to hold his laughter. I heard Drew beginning to laugh on my opposite side. I
nudged his side with my elbow, and he neared me. “That’s almost like an indirect confession
Drei. He’s probably laughing because he can’t help it. I was a bit of a competition.” I stared at
him and he winked, a bit smug.
I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged.
Feeling the need to escape this almost implausible situation, I slouched in my seat and
prepared to take a nap (or at least look like I was taking a nap; I wasn’t in for more sleep-talk)
when suddenly the man behind the wheel pulled into what looked like a small inn.
“Where are we?” I asked Drew.
Good thing, Anthony sobered up now. But stil , I couldn’t look at him. Wait, why was I so
ashamed? It’s not that I was acting like Drew was more than family friend. I just sleep-talked.
And was practically screaming that Drew was my uncle. Ugh. I sighed. Thanks to that annoying
blonde in our neighborhood back at London.
“We should stay here. Tanner and Riley would dispose the car and return here after the task.
I’ve called up another car to take us but it is
n’t ready until tomorrow.” Drew explained.
I paused, taking in his words as the people in front got off the car and we followed suit. “Another car? From who? Wouldn’t it be dangerous if you called up your friends or even car rentals?”
Drew was now in front of me, Anthony following closely behind me. Drew looked over his
shoulder. “What do you suppose your Mom’s been doing all the time she wasn’t with us?”
I stared at his back, then on the ground, lost in thought. “Dunno,” I muttered.
He suddenly stopped, making me smack against his back. “Ow!” I protested.
“Sorry.”
I felt Anthony’s hands on both my upper arms to steady me from behind. “Gee.” I whined,
rubbing my nose.
“Sorry,” he repeated, facing me now. I realized we were about to enter the reception area of the
inn. The two men were inside now, based on what I glimpsed from around Drew’s arm (he was
that tall that I couldn’t peek over his shoulder). “Your mom has “contacts” if ever this time should come,” he gestured the quotation marks.
“Oh.” I muttered, realizing how much my Mom has worked while she was gone.
I was suddenly pul ed from my thoughts when Drew pul ed me forward. “Now let’s get you a
room.”
I looked up at him and saw there was a trace of a smile on his features. I narrowed my eyes at
him. That look always signaled mischief.
I heard Anthony trail behind us. He was still silent since his laughing fit in the car. I wonder what his silence meant.
“Has Mr. Tanner and Mr. Riley left?” Drew asked the man at the reception. He looked like he
has been working at the inn all his life. I bit my lip. That was a rude thought.
The old man nodded.
Tanner? Riley? Those surnames sound foreign. But the two men don’t look even the faintest bit
foreign. I bit my lip again. That was another rude thought. But this time, the bite was a little too painful than intended. I grimaced. Anthony noticed it. “You okay?”
Stil with the grimace, I nodded, “Yea.” Shoot. I shouldn’t have bitten it that much.
“I understand that you have an ample number of rooms here even on peak seasons,” I heard
Drew say to the old man. I turned toward them. I felt Anthony stay close behind me.
The old man nodded again. “But, most of the rooms are under renovation now.”