Black Wings

Chapter 15

X leaned against the door casually even if he was completely terrified. No one ever went down here because it was his living quarters and because I had spies everywhere who could get peek into his home life and kaboom. X had a lot to hide from me it turned out so the pure terror he had failed at wiping from his face was obvious and he was still attempting to hid it.

I could see why Saf had a thing for him now. If she knew so much of half of the cuteness I knew Safire would fall head over heels deeper into the train wreck on love. It was one I wished she never had to drag herself out no matter how odd her hobbies were no one deserved to be stuck in a place of jumping off a train that you've travelled on for a while.

My haze of shipping is broken when X coughs and looks at me, "I am assuming you found my note then?"

I nod in response and raise my torch to see his expression clearer. He's looking down and biting his lip before he darts his eyes at and at me. When he realizes I'm staring at him, X looks up and pulls on the affirmative disguise he always does as if I am oblivious to how fake it really is.

"X, first off that look may stop me accidently knocking over Cece's candle but it will not stop me from releasing that shrine if you say anything about Cecilia Greenway to me." I say it jokingly yet throughout my speech I do not break eye contact once.

X heaves a sigh before he turns around to me finally deciding to get back into a more relaxed posture, "Thanks for not revealing that. The deals on but if I hear anyone knows of that..."

"Then blame Kai and Irene." I butt in smiling at the thought of them.

"Okay, sure but can you get over how love sick for them you are now that you're dating, you know?" X stated causing me to lessen my flush and nod solemnly.

"Of course. Now should I call them?"

X nods and I reach for my phone and dial the number for the burner phone I had given them. It rings once but goes to the automated voicemail instantly. Then I decide to check what service I may have.

0 bars, what else was I expecting? I sigh before watching the strings detach themselves from my arms and float around the phone pulling it away. They grasp the phone as if my hand was wrapped around it instead of some weird flying string. I feel the phone and slowly find my way to the numbers and pray for the best. I feel the vibrations and before anyone can stop me I'm outside the entrance. I let the strings drop and place the phone to my ear when I hear Kai and Irene's confused sounds before I speak up.

"Yo numbskulls, I found X and I am by the entrance. May I poof to you so we can rediscover his secret cave."

There is the sound of the discussing before I receive an answer intended to me 'Yes'

"Great!" I exclaim before I feel the world warp around me and slowly appear to be back in the cave, having left my phone above us like the idiot I am. I look up at the two and beam, when they wave back the blush I had back when my crush was hardcore comes back, turning my face bright red. I look away while I try and contain my blush. Eventually, my cheeks cool down and I look at them again.

"Ready to head to X?" I ask them both smiling cheesily. Kai nods and grips Irene in case she decides actually to stay curled into the bed. She shakes us away and throws the covers over her head.

"I am not coming out until the cave gets a proper bed!"

Kai murmers things under his breath and rolls his eyes fondly while I snicker and say, "We cannot bring up your word if you reside in a fort of blankets and pillows looking a ghost Irene."

There is some shuffling before we spot the most responsible member of this mission with crazy bed hair and wide puppy eyes as she moans about how combatable the bed is and refuses to leave it, even if we try and drag her out, Irene merely clambers back in.

The man of the group gives in first and turns to me, "Where is he in this labyrinth?"

I look at Irene and decide it's a failing cause and we are merely wasting time dealing with her. I take Kai's wrist and grab the nearest lit candle and hold it up. It does not illuminate the world as well as I would like it to but it does the job well enough that I do not take a wrong turn. I turn right for the final time which leads me to the same black tiled hallway as before, the candles are all lit and the door is now wide open instead of ajar.

Our footsteps echo but instead of the calming clanking of heels this times only our ragged breathing can be heard. There is no sign of X. I try and keep myself calm and tell myself rational thoughts but instead I spiral into panic. I keep a hold of myself and the sight of no body, no blood. There is nothing indicating a fight has gone down here.

The stench hits us harder than people make it out to. In Hollywood or mystery books it is always described as something that slowly wafts to you but you pass it off as someone farting. Then you see the body and bam every falls into place. My experience was not like that however.

Once I saw the hunched over figure of X it did not take a genius to figure out the smell she had been blocking to calm her nerves came from. The keeper of the candles was hunched into a ball holding a wound dangerously close to his life source. I dropped down and calmed my breathing.

"May I have a look?" I ask. Kai starts to scour the area. X gives me a shaky nod and I smile before leaning over and removing his hand that has been stained with blood and dust. I hold back my scream at the wound and grimance.

"I can call Irene to heal you. I highly doubt anything like bandages and plasters will help past this point." I sigh and loom at X awaiting an answer.

He shakes his head, "This is not a murder." Kai turns around in shock at those words but X continues, "I am an immortal being and I will see you again. However whichever route is taken no one is happy and everything will most likely be destroyed. I am a coward but I am saving myself. You have five minutes till I pass on. Grab the book and take the photos you need. I will vanish with everything I do."

I do not wait for Kai but run in with the full intention of photographing every page in the book. My heart is in my mouth knowing what I have to do in so little time as well as the knowledge my friend is out there withering away embracing his last moments from the self-inflicted pain. My arm burns at the thought but I pull it down and place my feet on the pedestal staring at the book when I reach for my phone to take the photo of the cover.

I am met with empty pockets.

Panic rises and falls when Kai rushes in –after finally believing X's words- and wastes no time in flinging open the cover and scouring the pages. He turns to me,

"Olie if you lost the phone we need to remember as much as we can, help me look."

My hand finds the page and my finger traces the words on the page.

Isaac had a feeling there was something significant about the cave the skeleton who wore the T-shirts kept heading to alone.

Then Olie, Kai and Irene were spotted by the local pigeon they had unemotionally adopted. Isaac had failed at dragging Alex ("It is probably a fake anyways, call me if you find anything.") along with him.

The leaves crunched under his feet and Isaac started to mumble about anything he could think of. His fear to enter the cave stopped him getting to close but did not fail him spotting the old phone that lay on the ground forgotten. He clicked the homescreen and there was picture of Astoria playing with Kai's hair while Irene slept against him. Olie was running in and half-way through placing bunny ears on the sleeping girls head when the picture was captured. When that revealed nothing Isaac opened up the phone and headed towards notes and messages, expecting a diary entry on the users life. There was nothing.

The best clue was the camera roll which included many ships and some pretty riduclious photos of Alex and himself. He deleted the photos of him but smiled at the photos of Alex. He had enough information.

His theory was confirmed, the phone had been calling Kai last and he had picked up. The phone was dropped roughly the same time and the newly found information made him smile. Isaac backpacked the phone and headed back to his base, grinning to himself. He knocked on the door when an Alex opened the door smiling smugly.

"You found bnothing I assume."

Isaac brought the phone up and the grin expanded.

"Isaac, we might have them this time!"