The Sonorous Timer

Chapter 66 - Lacking time

I've got to admit, the fact that Manu and Shane refuse to work together is frightening me. I know Manu would never trust a stranger like that, especially not a stranger like Shane, but when his life is already in danger he should at least give it a shot. "How's it going?" I asked Isaac. "Very well," he nodded proudly. Then the lights went out and it became completely dark. "Or not," he changed his answer. "I will find what I need to try and get the lights back on, just give me some time," he said, walking towards somewhere. I could hear his steps, but I had no clue where he was going. "Just be careful," I let out a stressful sigh. "I will." He tried at least, it didn't take long before I heard a thud - he fell. "I swear this object wasn't there before the lights went out!" he groaned. 

My eyes expanded as my thoughts became worse. When I was back in the horrible building, this happened to me as well. It suddenly went dark, and I could clearly hear someone else in the room. I could feel the presence of that person as well. "Quiet," I shushed. "What? Why?" Isaac asked, he was still down. I shushed at him again, I had to know. He went as quiet as he could and so did I. After some seconds, maybe even a minute, I could hear the heavy breathing that I had heard in the house earlier. It wasn't Isaac's breathing, his breathing was controlled and slow. "Do you hear that?" I whispered. "Elaine," his voice was now filled with fear. I bent down so that I was at his level. "Don't be afraid, come here," he whispered. Controlling your fear is difficult, especially when you don't know what you're afraid of. All I know is that someone or something is in the same room as us and that it's hella dark... 

Even though I was in shock, I still managed to start crawling over to Isaac. "Careful and quiet," Isaac reminded me. I moved my hands forward, then my knees, all done carefully. "Don't focus on anything but the moving," he said. Isaac's voice was calming, and it reassured me that I would make it. And so I did, I reached him.

Leaned to Isaac's shoulder, I sat waiting for the mysterious breathing to go away. Isaac was gentle, and very sweet, something that didn't quite make sense to me. Why would he treat me this way after what I've done? I kept a horrible secret from him for way too long, and he reacted so strongly to it. Perhaps he's just as desperate to get out of here as I am.

I heard a sudden noise that sounded almost like a grunt, and it didn't come from me nor Isaac. I started a sentence, but I was cut off by Isaac's hand. He wasn't trembling like I was, I wonder how. His hand slowly lowered again after he assumed that I got the point, which I did.

The lights came back on after minutes of silence and darkness. "What was that?" I blurted out. Isaac moved his tongue to the side of his chin and just stared at me. "Isaac?" I tilted my head a bit. "That's not what we should be worried about right now." "Then what is?" I asked in confusion. "The ship's sinking, look at all I did. It's all been turned back to the way it was," he said stressfully. I turned around to see exactly what Isaac just said. Everything that Isaac had done to prevent this ship from sinking had been changed. "If I change it back, the darkness will probably return, changing it back. No matter how many times I do it, it'll happen over and over again. In the worst case, we'll end up dead from trying too many times before the ship even sinks," he said. I asked him what we should do instead, but he was out of words. 

I understood now that I rely on Isaac to make it out alive myself. He's got the knowledge, not me. Now that he's out of solutions, we've lost all hope. His facial expression was empty and so was mine. "Is there anything I can do to make up for what I've done? Like before we die?" I asked with a small sigh at the end. "They put Manu on this ship, which means they are expecting some of us to survive," he stared out into the air and muttered to himself. "Okay, and?" I crossed my arms. "It must mean that there's a way off of this ship, a way to survive," he turned his head to me. "Do you think there's any chance that we can find Manu before it's too late?" I asked. "That would be our problem," he exhaled. "I could help you with that," Ms.Arrington coughed from the door.