Echoes of the Forgotten

CHAPTER 5: The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

The unconscious nervous Clara of the underground tube echoed in the ears of Gray, because she was standing, keeping her notebook closer to her chest. London was alive as usual, it had a stir with energy on the streets, but tonight it felt different. The wind was thick with anticipation - and danger. The Cryptic Map Evan helped indicate an abandoned chapel outside the city. Clara could not feel that something - or someone - was looking at him every step.

Evan Hale was waiting for her across the platform, scanning his gaze. His demoner was shifted since his narrow escape from the safe house compromised in Bloomsbury. The sudden attraction he showed initially was replaced by a sign of sharp focus and discomfort. Clara found herself surprised, not the first time, whether Ivan was really his colleague - or another piece in a big game.

"The next stop is ours," Evan said, his voice was less in the train station as a train.

Clara nodded her head, followed her in a train car. He chose a seat near the door, his fingers trace the leather worn by his bag. Inside was the notebook, a map, and a recorder that he hoped that Isla would be the key to unlocked the mystery of Durham. Nearly every step of the diary brought new questions- and new risks.

The train ride was uneven, but Clara's views were anything but repeated the events of the previous week in her mind, discovered the pattern, replying, doing anything that she is doing anything to make an understanding of that whirlpool. Isla Durham's diary was not of any ordinary artifacts. It was a puzzle, a weapon and a box of the mysteries of Pendora, which was rolled into one. Clara had become a reluctant protector of his mystery, and the weight of that responsibility started taking its toll.

Evan broke the silence. "Are you terrible calm. Second idea?"

"Not a chance," Clara said, his voice firm. "I just don't like to walk in unknown."

Ivan smiled. "Unknown is the place where all good stories hide. Also, you are not walking alone."

Clara was not sure if his words were to assure her or manipulate her, but she hung them in the air. For now, he had no choice but to trust him.

The abandoned chapel sat on the edge of a dense forest, its silhouette is barely visible against the moonlight sky. Clara trembled, went to her bones on the night of the night. The building was a remnant of a forgotten era, its stone walls rose with ivy and its stained glass windows torn and faded.

"We are here," Evan said, his voice said.

Clara stopped at the threshold, her eyes scan the darkness for any signal of movement. She could not feel that she was being seen. The map took him to this place, but was not explained why - or what they were to find.

Evan pushed the door open, the creek of the bite hinge through silence. The air inside was musty, heavy with the smell of decay. Clara stepped inside, her pulse was intensifying because she was taken into the environment. The chapel was terriblely empty, save some broken puys and to a collapse altar.

"Start looking," Ivan said, his voice stress.

Clara nodded, pulled out the map and studied it closely. The clues were unclear - references to symbols and sites that may be hidden within the chapel. She moved towards the altar, scan the stone wearing her eyes for anything outside the ordinary. Ivan took the opposite side of the room, calculation and method of its movements.

The minutes passed, and Clara began to doubt the validity of the map. The way disappointment began to uproot, his gaze fell on carving carvings in the base of the altar. It was unconscious, barely visible, but it matched one of the symbols from the notebook. Clara traced the carving with her fingers and dropped down.

"I got something," he said.

Evan joined him, his eyes narrowed because he examined the symbol. "Good work. Let's see if it goes anywhere."

Clara pressed her hand against carving, felt for any hidden mechanism. For her surprise, the stone moved under her touch, which detected a small compartment hidden within the altar. Inside was a bound journal with leather, its edges were combined with age.

Clara's breath was caught. "Is this ...?"

"Not a diary," Evan said, his voice was disappointed. "But this can be a clue."

Clara opened the journal, its pages were filled with handwritten notes. The writing was dirty, in a hurry, as the writer was running against time. Clara scanned the entries, combining the pieces of the life of Isla Durham together - their thoughts, their fear and their secrets.

Suddenly noise disrupted him before he could be deeply. It was unconscious, but infallible - the sound of a map of the chapel.

"We are not alone," Evan said, his voice is barely above a whisper.

The next few moments were a spot. Ivan grabbed Clara's arm, pulling him out of the back of the chapel. They left quickly but carefully, their steps were surrounded against the stone floor. Clara caught the journal tightly, his mind was running with questions. Who was outside? How did they find him?

They emerged in the forest, the shadow swallowed them completely. Evan inspired Clara to follow him, his movements accurately and practiced. Clara struggled to keep up, her heart became fast in her chest. The sound of chasing increased loudly, to shut down the branches and close the leaves.

"We need to lose them," Evan said, his voice is necessary.

Clara nodded her head, kicking her adrenaline and pushed himself to push himself. The forest was a labyrinth, its trees were moving like Sentinels. Clara focused on Ivan's figure, which trusted him to lead for safety.

After feeling like eternity, Ivan stayed in a clearing, his breath became heavy. Clara held the journal, as it was his lifeline. The sounds of the chase had faded, but stressed.

"Who were they?" Clara asked, his voice is trembling.

"who do you think?" Ivan replied. "Those who do not want to reveal the story of Isla. Those people who will not stop anything to keep us in the dark."

Clara's resolve became hard. "Then we have to keep going."

Ivan nodded, his expression was serious. "We will. But we need to be more careful. It's not yet about the diary. It is about existence."