MIDNIGHT KILLER( The Beautiful Minds book2)

Chapter 41

"We see it too" said Jeremy.

"Please don't go off" whispered Noah. "Please don't , please don't"

That night, destiny was planned in such a way that his prayers should go unanswered.

The Ferrari's lights turned off without a warning, leaving them engulfed in utter blackness.

"Oh my God" shrieked Damien. "Where's the car? Where's the car?"

It looked as though the Ferrari had disappeared along with its headlights.

"Damien, please stop panicking" begged Noah. "It should be somewhere around here"

Jeremy drove the car a little faster, the headlights lighting up a few inches before them. But, as far as they could see there was no sign of the Ferrari.

"I'm sure it's somewhere here" whispered Jeremy, assuring himself more than the others. "It can't just vanish like that"

The Ferrari, however seemed to have vanished.

They drove in silence for a while. The car was moving as though it had no choice but to saunter amid this grave darkness and silence.

What broke the palpable silence was Damien's need to pee.

Jeremy stopped the car. "Do you want to do it by the bushes?"

"What? No! I'm not going down there" cried Damien.

"Listen, we have no clue if there's a restroom anywhere here and we don't know how long we have to drive to find the Ferrari, so you better utilise the chance" advised Noah.

Damien stared at him for a while. "I said I'm not going there, alone"

If they hadn't been in that creepily dark place going through a dire situation, Noah and Jeremy would have found it very funny.

Just when they opened the door to get out, the bushes in their left moved. All three got into the car again and slammed the door shut.

"What was that?" Squeaked Jeremy.

A beautiful girl with long, glowing silver hair, wearing a beautiful white dress emerged out of the branches. She crossed the lane, paused where the headlights were glowing to turn and smile at them very sweetly. Then, she continued to walk and disappeared behind the bushes on their right.

There was dumbstruck silence in the car. The only exception was Damien's Adam's apple bobbing up and down, trying to say something and failing miserably.

"I've heard there's a graveyard in this place" sputtered Jeremy.

"Damien, do you really have to pee?" Asked Noah, his voice so low he might've been pleading.

"If I haven't peed already" replied Damien, gulping the huge lump in this throat. "I think I would be able to control it for a couple more minutes"

Jeremy did not wait to ask twice. Seconds after Damien's reply, the car was on the move again.

They drove on in silence, each immersed in their own sea of thoughts. Damien was silently whispering prayers, which upon closer inspection sounded a lot like his father's incantations.

"I have a feeling" he said after a while. "That all of this is a trap. What if... What if.... This person is using Sophia Whitney to trick us into following him"

"And what is he going to do trapping you?" Fired Noah. "Make weapons with your hair?"

"Noah, I'm serious" retaliated Damien.

"You're the one who is being paranoid now" retorted Noah. "Seriously, can't you keep your opinions to yourself and not scare us?"

"I'm just stating the possibilities"

"Which are far fetched stories"

It looked like the car had had enough of them. It groaned and jerked forward mightily.

"What's the matter?" Croaked Damien.

"I don't know" quavered Jeremy.

The car jerked once more and stopped abruptly.

"Please don't tell me we are stranded here" cried Damien.

Jeremy grunted and tried to restart the engine. It let out a load moan but refused to move.

"No no no" squeaked Noah.

"I told you" said Damien. "There's something weird about this place"

"What shall we do?" Asked Jeremy.

The road seemed to be stretching on for miles. Besides, none of them had the guts to get out of the car and look for a gas station.

Just when they thought things couldn't get any worse, the bushes to their right rustled again.

Noah, Damien and Jeremy stared in the direction of the noise, not daring to utter a word.

In the blink of an eye, there was the sound of footsteps in the opposite direction and before they knew it, a short, balding man with grimy teeth and untamed hair was sticking to the windows, leering at Jeremy.

"Flowers!" He exclaimed, showing off his yellow teeth, the corners of his mouth slobbering.

"Flowers for all occasions! Roses for love, violets for the sick, black pansies for death!"

Damien let out a scream that was worthy of death. Noah swore. Jeremy uttered gibberish, kicked the car and twisted the keys.

Thankfully, the engine roared and this time, it did not die.

Jeremy sped the car forward, making the short man stagger. He, trapped in his own little world, ignored them and began to dance in the middle of the road.

"Flowers for all occasions! " He hollered. "Roses for love, violets for the sick, black pansies for death!"

His maniacal laughter and eerie voice followed the three men for a long time into the night.

"That was so close" breathed out Damien after a while. He looked around  vigilantly through the windows, as though afraid the old man might still be following them.

Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief and kept driving the car.

Noah, on the other hand, felt something click in his mind. "I've seen that man somewhere" he said.

But, Jeremy and Damien were already staring at something straight ahead. At long last, their headlights were falling on the rump of a sleek black Ferrari.

Stopping the car immediately, the three of them got down. The Ferrari in question was standing in front of what looked like a multi - storied mall.

"What would Sophia want to do here in the middle of the night?" Asked Noah.

"Everything" replied Jeremy, his face inscrutable. "This is her home"