by Ethan Marsh
XXIV
“Henry, I gotta-”
“Go Roman. Go.” he replies which makes me think if he knew where I was going in the first place. I run down the staircase and out of the doorway. I run all the way down Elm, passing by many strangers, some even bumping them on the shoulder. I feel bad for doing this, but I have a lot more on my mind right now. I pass by all of the shops that I previously went to, before I found out about Connie working with Tedd. Before I found that Tedd was a liar. An idiot. A demon.
Every time I think of this, him, her, it angers me. Thankfully, the anger gives me a burst of speed. The adrenalin helps a lot with speed too.
Eventually, I see the turn to Main Street. At this point, my sweat turns into a garden hose, spraying all over the sidewalk. I fall and scrape my knee as I turn onto Main Street, tumbling as I turn the fast corner, and immediately recover. A little scrape wasn't nearly as bad as some of the other injuries that I had received in the past couple of times.
I freeze my tracks as I see it. Main Street is so beautiful. It makes me even more angry at Tedd. I continue to run, faster and faster. I watch the houses as I sweep by them:
Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five.
Four.
I stand in front of the house. The house where I thought I was the happiest I could ever be. It makes my cry, bawl. I fight back the tears, though. Now is not the time to start getting emotional. I walk slowly up to the door. I don't knock. I carefully twist the knob only to find that the large, fancy door, is locked. I have a solution, though. I do not have the big, brown key that opens it.
Lighting my hands with embers seems to be much easier this time than the two times before. The adrenalin seems to work easily with anger. I press my hands against the door, and automatically see the piercing burning in the door, the ashes falling to the ground. It is a beautiful sight.
After I know that the door is weak, I pull my hands away. I walk back about twenty feet, then charge at the door. I hear the wind in my ears. I run faster than I ever have, and I bring my fists up and charge at it with my side.
More splinters. I fall onto the floor once I am inside. Pieces of wood fall on me and give me scrapes, but I barely notice them. I run down the foyer and open the door to the story below. I inhale, wait seconds, but do not exhale.
The staircase is very dark. I cannot see. I light my hands and use them as a torch. I slowly walk down the stairs, trying my hardest not to creak the rather weary wood. Tedd and Connie are down here. I can feel their presence. They are being careful not to move, so they can perform a sneak attack. I won't let that happen, though. I am being cautious. Very cautious indeed.
I continue down the staircase. I look for a switch to turn the lights on. There is one at the bottom of the staircase.
I have to move quickly. I exhale my breath, then jump down the remaining of the stairs, and land on my feet, crouching the slightest bit. I slam on the light switch. The lights roar to life and I turn around to find that Tedd is not here.
Connie is, however. She is hanging from the ceiling in chains. A piece of paper like material is in her mouth, tied around her head, so she cannot speak, or request help. Her left hand is still bleeding out horribly from the knife. Someone managed to pull the knife out, though, probably Tedd if I had to guess.
The room is painted all chrome, very much like the building that Henry took me to where I first met Connie. There are many machines and scanners crammed into a room too small for all of the equipment, in my opinion.
I walk over to Connie and pull the soggy material out of her mouth.
“Roman!” she yells in relief.
“Save it. I don't have time for this.”
“Tedd tied me up here. He used me.” This doesn't surprise me. I know now that Connie is not as nearly as bad as him.
“Where is Tedd now?”
“He said he was going to a circle. That's all I know,” she replies, which is not that helpful. I try to think back to everything that has happened to me. Where have I seen a circle? Circles have no significance to me. I have never been to a circle. That I know of...
“Also, he told me if you came here, to give you something,” she blurts, and I can tell that she didn't want to say it, guilt reaching her face, as well as fear.
“What?” I ask.
“It's in the box on the shelf in the corner.”
I jog over to the corner and pick up the box. It is not sealed shut . There is a basket inside of the box. In the basket, it is filled with red berries and a card. I open the card and it says simply:
Behind the Woods.
-You Know Who
I have no clue what this means. It has to be a place. I scavenge through the box more, hoping something else is in there, giving me an obvious hint. I find something. It is in a small leather case. I open the case to find my prized possession, the wind beneath my wings. My compass. Not the knock off that Tedd had “given” me, but mine. The one my guardian gave to me.
Then I thought of the tent where I woke up after I lost Henry. The same berries were in the same basket, they tasted the same. But where did a circle come in? Then, I look to see the small note again. I have seen this handwriting before. Tedd wrote that letter from supposedly Henry. More lies.
It comes to me.
“I know where he is. I know exactly where he is.”
XXV