His Promise

Chapter 23

A long walk home. Tears streaming down my face. Strange looks. A sense of final defeat. Rage boiling in the pit of my stomach. Sirens. A knock at the door. An escape with only my important items. Leaving behind the only other home I've had. Swears and vows under my breath. A dark alley. Hiding, plotting, feelings of disbelief. A small spark of determination.

Those fragmented memories are the only things I remember of this morning.

I hugged my knees to my chest as I stared blankly at the wall in front of me.

Why?

Why was the only thing I could think about. Why him? Why not both of us? Why not just me instead? Why then? Why had they done this? Why were they following darkness? Why was I chosen? Why, out of all the other people? Why was I useless? Why couldn't I have done something to help him? I wanted to understand.

Tears of frustration rolled down my cheeks. I wished for a way I could save him.

A thought sprang into my head. It was a stretch, and I wasn't sure if it'd even help me, but it was something. A little grain of hope I could hold onto.

The day I first saw one of the followers. I was at the park. No one was around. He came up to me, plain white robe, expressionless white mask. I had blacked out. Zack saved me. He had taken me to the place he was staying.

I had to go there. I wasn't sure what I'd find, but I might just find something that would help me.

I jumped to my feet and ran out of the alley. I couldn't remember exactly where the place was, but I had to try. This was the only thing I could do. If this failed, I had no other ideas.

I kept running as fast as I could, passing confused strangers while trying not to trip on the slick slush. Past the park. Down a small hill. Close to the waterfront. The lone street lamp.

I was there. This was the neighborhood. I racked my brain for what the house looked like, but I couldn't quite remember. I looked up and down the street. I thought about knocking on doors, but quickly shook the thought away. "Hello, did a strange homeless boy used to stay here?" didn't really make a good question. They'd probably call the cops on me.

Turning the corner, I stopped. There it was. This was the house, I knew it. Holding back a yell of delight, I sprinted up the front steps. Luckily for me, the "For Sale" sign was posted in the front lawn, giving me access to search it. After a quick look around, I got the front door unlocked and stepped inside.

The front room was large with no furniture in it. The carpet was pure white, and was soft with being freshly cleaned. I remember being downstairs in a musty basement when I was last here. So I found a staircase, ran downstairs, and looked around.

It was the same I remember it being. Dark, musty, no windows. After turning the light on, my search began.

I looked on every shelf, in every corner, under every object for something that might give me any clues.

I was about to give up when I saw something in the corner of my eye, shoved way far back against the wall under a bookshelf.

Yes! I thought as I pulled it out. It was a small book. The cover was plain brown leather with a few tears in it. It didn't have a title, or even any pictures. I started to flip through it. The first couple of pages were empty, but then words started to show. Random things, like "I had a good day." or "I met some new people today." I was beginning to think it was just a useless diary when I started finding more things.

"I learned about the people today, and why I have been training." One passage said. My curiosity was increasing.

"I can't wait until I can meet the gifted person. I'll be best friends with them. Dad says I can't have any friends right now because we're trying to hide, and he doesn't want me to get attached to anyone." The passages got increasingly longer and more detailed, and the writing grew more sophisticated.

"They nearly found us today. We managed to escape in time, though. It was close, but me and my dad did it. We have to be more careful next time or they really will find us. Dad took me on a mission to their base. I drew a map of the part we explored." My hopes soared, while thoughts clicked in my brain. Training, gifted person, hiding, base, mission.... I realized this must be Zack's diary. I just knew it had to be. Maybe this was his old house, and he hid it  here hoping no one would find it. I read on.

"The base is located somewhat out of town in an underground area. It's quite sneaky, and no one has seemed to be able to find it but me and dad so far." This was it. This was what I needed. I knew coming here would be a good idea. I stuffed the book in my pocket and ran outside. It would have been so much easier if I had just been paying attention when Zack brought me home from there the first time... But it didn't matter now.

I knew where I was going. It wouldn't take long to get there, and when I did, I'd save Zack and end this, once and for all.