CHAPTER TWELVE: AFRAID TO BELIEVE
1742 Words
Kevin trembled from his knee as he looked up at its mask. Its dark, hollow eyes sent a cold shiver racing down the length of his spine. Only an inch separated him from the masked figure, who stood still with its arms folded and eyes fixed on him.
Kevin shuffled away from him. The figure, who seemed almost inanimate, remained unmoved, and he wondered why. With his hands still pressed on its chest, he doubted if really the masked man was there with him. A sudden curiosity grew within him that left him wondering whose face was behind that mask. Was this really the same figure that kidnapped him a year ago, or was someone pulling a prank on him?
Kevin started towards him, raising a hand to his face—to take off his mask. Only an inch close, he spread out his finger to pull off the mask, but then, much to his horror, the figure clutched his arm, pulling it away.
Gasping, Kevin fell back and scrambled away quickly, pulling back his wrist. And when he turned to look up at the wall where the masked figure stood, he found nothing. He was gone.
He looked around the room. No sign of him anywhere. He was really gone this time. Kevin held his wrist. He could still feel the pressure from the tight grip—the only indication that the masked figure was there.
He painfully remembered the circumstances surrounding Mrs Lena's death. The images of Lena hanging from the ceiling.
What if Lena wasn’t really insane, as we were all led to believe?
###
Frank opened the door to William’s office and walked in. William was on the phone when he entered. Frank sat on an empty seat in front of the desk and waited for him to finish.
William finally hung up and dropped the phone on the table. He quickly apologised to Frank. “Sorry for keeping you. I had to take that call. That was Elena. I’m sure you remember my wife.”
He let out a breathless gasp, lifting an eyebrow. “Been long since we spoke. Wasn’t she enrolled in a military school? How’s her training coming along?”
“She just called to inform me that she has completed her training programme at Fallout’s military camp and will be coming home tomorrow.” There was a slight tone of excitement in his voice.
“Excellent news! This calls for a celebration,” he cajoled.
William’s laughter was controlled. “You did not come to my office just so we could talk about my wife, did you?”
The smile on Frank’s face slowly vanished. Then he adjusted to get closer. “It’s about the lab experiment to create a shifter that’ll work with us on the field,” he spoke, his voice sounding low.
William leaned forward. “How’s that coming along?”
“As we speak, he’s undergoing medical procedures to ensure that nothing goes wrong when he is out on the field.”
He raised an eyebrow. “He?”
“I went for a male specimen this time since the feminine species are feeble. He is a lot stronger and faster than the previous test subject, Mrs Eulich. I assure you.”
###
It was almost midnight. The air was deadly still and cold. The full moon drifted high in the sky, glaring down at the scanty trees below. Armed uniformed men marched through the forest, crushing several tree branches in their path.
Scott and Derik marched at the frontline, leading the troops to battle. They were deep in the dark forest, had walked nonstop—ear pricked, eyes peeled. They’d not found anything out of place yet.
Kevin stood beside Derik, steering the course through the scanty, dark forest. He could barely remember the route he took the last time he was there since he’d been following Cedric.
Some of the towering oaks seemed familiar as he proceeded. Then Kevin plotted a mental map of the forest in his head, trying to remember the path he’d followed before stumbling across the warehouse. He looked around at the huge machine guns and rifles they had carried along with them. And memories from the previous night flooded his subconscious.
The masked figure who was floating in the air was already on his tail, its bony fingers stretched forth to grab his collar. Another loud gunshot sounded, and the masked figure collapsed behind him.
Kevin caught the headlights of a car driving through the forest towards him. It only worsened his anxiety. The car stopped in front of him and its headlights bathed his face. He scampered to the side to run past, but then—much to his surprise—he saw Derik through the window.
Derik hollered out to him to get in, aiming his gun at the masked figure running behind him. Having gotten a clear shot of his target, he fired. The hooded figure dropped, wilting in pain.
Another hooded figure jumped off a tree branch above them, coming down. Derik shot him away, and its blood spilled on them. “What the hell are these things!?” he sneered, quickly putting the gun back in the car and driving away after Kevin got in.
The sight of blood smeared all over him appalled Kevin. “I have not a clue what they are.”
Huffing and puffing, he turned to glance backward as Derik drove off. He blinked in surprise when he saw the two hooded figures Derik had shot earlier getting back on their feet. They huddled together. All three masked figures remain rooted to the ground, glaring at them through their masks. Again, Kevin felt a shiver go down his spine. He felt like he almost escaped death.
“For some reason, your gun did not harm them the last time we were here,” Kevin uttered, worries clouding his features. “What difference would all these guns and rifles you brought along make?”
“I had a lot of time to think about that, trust me. I finally understood why my gun had no effect on them. The last time, I went for the heart and the bullet struck between their chests. They could quickly heal from that after they’ve transformed.” Derik turned to him and smiled. “This time I’m going for the head, something they can’t recover from. I have briefed the troops on this already.”
He saw the fear on Kevin’s face. “Don’t fret over it.” He pressed a thoughtful hand on his shoulder. “Cheer up, because tonight we’ll put an end to T-Murek along with his confreres. We shall get justice for all those people he murdered. We shall get justice for Landry. It all ends tonight.”
Kevin looked at him as he spoke with so much confidence, a feeble smile crossing his lips. He really wished he could take his word for it. He wanted to find solace in Derik’s words, but every voice in his head was telling him to turn around and flee now that it wasn’t too late. He felt a shiver go down his spine after he remembered what had transpired yesterday.
After several minutes of marching through the forest, they finally came upon an old warehouse. This was it—the wooden house he’d heard the loud chanting. The men quickly surrounded the building. Some troops walked up to the door and leaned on the wall beside it, waiting for Scott to give the signal.
Kevin looked around the building. He had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. He didn’t hear any chanting coming from the building—like the last time he was there. The whole surrounding was awfully quiet and appeared deadly still, and it scared the hell out of him. He could literally hear his heart throbbing within his chest and slowly retracted from the building.
Scott finally gave the order, and the troops kicked down the door. They quickly rushed in with their guns pointed in every direction. The room inside was poorly illuminated and empty. There was not a single person in sight, not even the tables or the chair that’d been used the previous night.
“There is nothing in here, sir,” one of the men announced to Scott.
“It’s almost as if they knew we were coming,” Derik—sensing that something was wrong, said, eyes darting about suspiciously. His eyes narrowed as he glanced about. For a long second, the whole place was left in absolute silence. That’s when he heard it—a faint continuous beeping.
Derik blinked in surprise, his eyes widening when he realised what it was. “Retreat!” he thundered. “Retreat!! We’ve been set up!!”
One of the soldiers spotted a bomb wired to the door. “Run!” he warned the others in a loud cry, quickly rushing for the door.
Before they could all reach the door, the bomb exploded, and the building went up in flames. Some men ran out through the door, screaming, with the fire burning behind their backs. The rest were trapped inside.
“Fall back!” Scott cried. “Fall back!!”
They fell back and ran into the forest. Suddenly, a sharp knife, almost invisible to the eyes, whizzed past and plunged into Scott’s chest. Gasping, Scott’s legs buckled. He gurgled as the knife moved in on its own free will, slicing his chest and breaking his rips. Blood dripped from his mouth.
The rest of the troops stopped to watch in horror as the knife moved about his chest. Seemed almost as if something invisible was holding it. Scott shrieked from the torture as he dropped to his knees. The knife drew blood as it pulled itself from his chest.
Scott collapsed on the floor, dead. His blood pooled around him. The footsteps moving on the patches of leaves that lay on the floor caught Derik’s eyes. It left Scott’s side and started walking towards them.
“It’s him,” Kevin stuttered, his body trembling. “It’s the masked man with the C mark.”
Derik cast a sceptical eye. “You can see him?”
A line appeared between Kevin’s brows, and he turned to look at him. “You can’t see him?”
“It is only his footprints I see.”
Kevin’s eyes widened.
- Writer
