The Peculiar Adventure of Mr Norton

Chapter 2

It took them another hour or so before they finally arrived at the town. Fred was progressing at an extremely slow speed, in fear of breaking the axle completely into two. When the carriage arrived at the entrance of the town, Fred uncontrollably gave out a sigh of relief. True enough, although not much larger than four or five blocks in length and breadth, this is a town. This does not particularly bother Fred, for he only wanted to have an inn to stay overnight and hopefully by noon tomorrow, they would be on their merry way. He carried on the main road of the town, eyes looking left and right for an inn.

As he continued on the main road, he cannot help but notice that this town is quiet, unusually quiet. As he rode past them, no one said anything, not even one word. In addition, no one seemed to carry any expression at all. From the little kid walking with her mother to the beggar on the junction of the street to the merchants selling his ware, all of them have the same dreary face. The only solace Fred has is that hopefully, their stay here would be brief. It was not long before he spotted an inn in the distant. With all the weight lifted off his shoulder, he urged the horses on with a slightly faster pace towards the inn. When the horses were finally lead to the stable, Fred carried the luggage and entered the inn with Edward and Geraldine.

"Good evening Madam," Edward politely greeted the receptionist at the inn counter. The receptionist appeared rather young in age, with long blonde hair. Upon hearing his greeting, she did not flinch nor did she have any change of expression. Unsure of whether she has heard him, Edward greeted her again.

"Good evening Madam. We are looking for three single rooms for tonight. I do pray that you still have such vacancy?" Edward proceeded to ask.

Without saying anything, the receptionist turned around slowly and opened the key cabinet. To everyone's relief, she grabbed three keys from within. She left the keys on the counter next to where Edward left his gold.

"Err...thank you very much," Edward said and grabbed the keys. Still, she did not say anything nor changed her expression. The three of them all looked at each other but decided not to say anything other than to retire to their rooms as soon as possible.

A loud sound of broken wood suddenly woke Edward from his slumber. Edward must have fallen asleep for when he woke up again, he could clearly see the moon hanging high in the night sky. But what an unusual moon! For the light from the moon is not candescent, but rather red. In fact, the moon itself looked red. What was more unusual was not the moon, but rather, the once silent town seemed to be buzzing with the sound of the mob. What is going on? Gazing out his window, Edward tried to make sense of things and also what was the cause of the sound earlier on. He continued to make sense of things for several minutes before he witnessed something that sent chills down his spine. There in the street below, the townsmen could be seen marching down the main road. But what shocked him even more was the Geraldine was amongst them! She is being carried away by the mob, what are these mobs doing?!

No sooner than witnessing this horrid scene did he hear a loud bang on the door.

"Sir! It's me! Fred! Are you unharmed Sir?!" Fred shouted from behind the door.

Scrambling as fast as he could towards the door, Edward unlocked it and is happy to see Fred is unharmed.

"I am fine, not to worry about me. But they have managed to kidnap Geraldine!"

"Yes, I have seen that. I was woken up by the loud sound which I now see is the sound of them breaking down her door. We need to find where are there taking her! I must emphasize the importance of avoiding direct physical confrontation with them, there is no telling what they are capable of!"

Together, Edward and Fred crept down. The inn seemed deserted by then, even the receptionist was nowhere to be seen. Edward and Fred were relieved to see that their horses were untouched. The streets also appeared empty and it would seem that all the townsmen have gathered at this march.

"Fred, listen to me! Grab a horse and leave hastily! Ride to my uncle's house and do not stop until you have arrived. Tell him of what happened here and send help. In addition, send out a letter to my father to inform him of this. Thereafter, you can come back for us!" Edward told Fred, sensing that this might be their best chance to escape.

"But Sir, I cannot possibly leave you behind. How could I face your father without you and Geraldine?"

"Don't argue Fred, Geraldine is my fiancée and I cannot leave her behind. Someone has to know what happened, in case the worst befall upon me and my fiancée. This is a direct order and my father would understand!"

Knowing that Edward is right, Fred puts his hand on Edward's shoulder and said, with an assured tone, "I am coming back you and Lady Geraldine. Go get her back."

With that, Fred grabbed one of the horses. "Remember that the other horse is still here. Should you manage to retrieve her and require a speedy escape, this is one of the options!" With that, he reared his horse and galloped down the desolated street without looking back.

With Fred on his way, Edward now focused his attention on catching up with the mob. He could still hear the distant shouting of the mob and he knew that is where Geraldine is. Running towards the mob, he managed to catch up with them for they were moving at a slow, lengthy tempo.

"Stop! What you are doing is forbidden!" Edward shouted at the marching townsmen. Whether his voice was drowned in the shouting of the mobs or they simply chose to ignore him is uncertain, but none of them turned their heads to acknowledge him. They continued to march on with their joyous, dreamy manner.

"I said stop!" and with that Edward went forward and pushed one of the townsmen on his back. Again, he ignored him, almost as if he is not there at all. Feeling insulted, Edward pushed him aside with a heavy force, almost tipping him over the sidewalk. Again, the townsmen regained his posture and continued on as if Edward is invisible. What is wrong with the people of this town? Feeling angered by the insolent behavior of this townsmen, he began pushing the townsmen aside. He pushed and shoved, wading he way slowly towards his beloved Geraldine, who is dressed in a red gown. Up ahead, he could see her. He urged on with renewed energy, pushing and shouting frantically as he slowly closed the gap between him and Geraldine. No one around him paid him any attention. It was with great effort that he was finally within her earshot.

"Geraldine!" he shouted, however, she did not respond.

"Geraldine! Can you not hear me?" he shouted even harder. When he was within arm's reach, he grabbed her by her shoulder. As soon as he made contact, the townsmen all froze in their action and this town was once again covered in silence. However, Edward has sensed this time that the atmosphere has been raised, for each and every townsman now have their gazes upon him. Unsure what has happened, he looked around trying to make sense of all of this.

"What is wrong with all of you!" he shouted, "Have you all lost your mind! Are you all insane!"

Still, no one responded. They only continued to gaze at him.

"Come Geraldine, we are getting out of here!" With that, he re-approached Geraldine with his outstretched arm. Before he could reach her, one of the townsmen must have assaulted him for he felt a heavy blow on the back of his head. He immediately fell onto the floor and with hazy eyes, he saw the townsmen carried on their march, taking Geraldine ever further away from him.

"Geraldine..." he whimpered one last time before he lost his consciousness.