Nocturne of Nightmares (Fanfic)

Chapter 22

Just as Leila was casually thinking about how cool Mina was for quickly picking up on the fact that these guys are here to keep the truth about Bluebells a secret, Ray questioned them back.

"By the way, what are you gentlemen doing out here?" He asked. "With those work clothes on, you don't look like you're here for a silly teenage dare."

Ray's probing question instantly put Leila on edge, her joints locking up.

The countenances of both men suddenly changed.

"Oh, um..." One of the men fumbled for words. "Nah, we're just...uh..."

"Nah, we were just hired to look after this building." The second man said, though he looked a little stumped as he signaled to the other man. "We were just asking because y'all looked like you were in a pickle. We thought your car might have broken down."

"If your car needs some fixin', we got some tools back here." The first man offered.

"Thank you for the gesture, but we're fine." Ray said.

"Well, that's good then. It's not safe 'round here, so y'all best get going." The second man said.

"We'll stay here a little longer. We came all this way, you see."

"Can't let you do that. It may be abandoned, but this here is private property, y'hear? We could have y'all prosecuted for trespassin'."

"Ray, we should probably get out of here for now." Leila spoke to him quietly.

"Oh no, we don't intend on going inside. We're just going to look at the outside." Ray said. "There's nothing illegal about that, right? If you gentlemen have work to do, by all means head inside. Rest assured, we won't get in your way."

Ray gave the men his winning smile and the men ground their teeth with a hint of frustration.

"Is something the matter? It's your job, correct?" Ray asked.

"We, uh... got some other business to take care of. C'mon, let's go." The second man said.

"Y-Yeah, right..." The first man agreed.

With that, the two men left.

"That's awefully suspicious." Nalalie said.

"They definitely have something to do with the orphanage." Subaru agreed.

"It's certainly strange that they can't do their work just because we're around." Mina said.

"They're either here to cover up Silas's murder or take care of the body." Ray said.

"Take care of the body...?" Leila repeated.

Ray was silent for a moment before he spread his arms over the roof of the car with a yawn.

"Anyone up for breakfast?" He asked.

'He must have suspected that I'm hungry.'

The group all got back in the car and left the orphanage for now.

****

The group pulled into a diner on the road for a meal.

'I've been so out of it, I actually forgot about eating!'

Leila watched as Subaru took the seat beside Nalalie, who was on her left, while Ray settled down with his food across from them beside Mina.

"Is that all you're eating?" Mina asked as she pointed to Leila's plate with her fork.