"What do you mean, Abraham isn't actually him?" James inquired with suspicion. Glancing to James, he had a hint of fear in his eyes that he tried hiding by avoiding my stare.
"I've known Abraham since starting the job, he was actually a decent friend. About five years ago, however, he had left, never to be seen or heard from again," he pauses as he sits down into his leather desk chair that held rips within it. "Then, one day, he came back. Just like that, as if nothing had changed. Except one thing, him." He explained as he swayed back and forth slowly in his chair as he looked at us for a reaction.
"So, do you know where the real Abraham is now?" I asked.
He sighs heavily before pinching the bridge of his nose, "In Tiltown. Another Tiltown."
"Uhh.." James groaned with clear confusion in his tone.
"I second that." I said as helplessness filled my body. Diego stands before leading us to the kitchen and begins cooking up food.
"I know this is gonna be tricky to follow along, so forgive me if I start stress cooking." He says with a chuckle.
"Maybe if we eat, we can understand better." James says with a false sense of assurance.
"So, let's go back to the day the real Abraham left Tiltown." Diego says with a sigh.
Diego's POV, five years ago
Before leaving work, I attempted to call Abraham for the eighth time.
"Abraham?" I said over the line, however I got breathing in response. Suddenly, the line began beeping. Taking the phone from my face and looking at it with stitched eyebrows, I slammed it down before rushing out with my coat around my arm. I drove through the snow that started falling down on my windows, my hands tightening the wheel with anxiousness.
As I continued pounding on his door, I finally received an answer. He opened the door, only revealing an eye. The night, winter sky was far too dark for me to see him clearly.
"Abraham? What's going on? I've called you like, ten times. We were supposed to hang tonight." I shrugged my shoulders.
"I don't feel well tonight. I'll see you later." He dismissed me as he slammed the door on me. I stood there on his porch momentarily, stunned by the sudden change of attitude. As I went to leave, I noticed his curtain held a gap in it. Quietly, I crouched by it before peeking in. I saw a dark silhouette, hovering over a man on the couch.
"This will be mine." The man spoke deeply, almost too deep for any human to be able to have that deep of a voice. Before I knew, the head snapped up towards me. I rushed to my feet before sprinting through the snow that already built up to my shins. Struggling to get my key in the ignition due to cold fingertips, I looked up to see Abraham standing by his front door. Without me realizing, my truck was humming and ready to drive. However, my eyes were glued to Abraham. He stood, eyeing me through my window, no emotion on his face. A complete and blank slate.
As I came into the station with a fresh pot of coffee, I sat at the table with the other officers.
"You okay, Diego?" One of the men asked me abruptly. I repositioned myself to sit up more straight than before.
"Uh, yeah. Just tired." I said as I sipped on my drink.
"Yeah, tell me about it. Your bags are almost worse than mine." Another man says, as the rest of them chuckle their belly chuckle. The door swings open and in came Abraham, looking better than I've ever seen him.
"Hi everyone," he says, smiling from one to the other, until his eyes landed on me. "Diego, how're you doing?" He asked with a smile. My fingers shook around my coffee cup.
"Uh, fine." I murmured, as I got up from the table and wander off into my office. Sitting down again behind my desk, I write notes to myself on my journal before my door opens up a few moments later. Abraham closes the door behind him before walking closer toward me.
"What'd you see last night?" He questioned me, though it held a more sinister tone within it.
"Uh, nothing? I tried to hang with you last night and you didn't feel good so you went back inside." I admitted to him. He nods slowly with a satisfactory grin.
"Yes, and who are you gonna tell?"
N-nobody." I stuttered. He contains a short laugh and walks out.
Back to present day, Laurence's POV
"So, you covered for him?" James judged once Diego had finished his story. The sound of boiling water filled the kitchen as Diego spun around to face us again.
"I was afraid. I didn't know what had just happened." Diego replied with a weak tone.
"But, you're not afraid of him anymore? At least, you don't seem like you are." I interrupted.
He looks up at me with a smile, "Yes. Since finding him out, he's been more tense around me, knowing that I can expose him at any time I want." James and I exchange looks to each other.
"We have to destroy this town, for good." James states honestly. Diego turns back to his water and continuing the meal.
"Tell me something I don't know." He scoffs.
He laid plates down in front of us before heading down the hall with a plate, as he came back a minute later. We all ate together at the table, chatting, joking and so on until we all finished up. Soon enough, he was taking James and I back to my house. Turning my head back, James was passed out in the backseat, letting drool fall onto the leather.
"I'm going to work out a plan tonight." Diego spoke in a whisper, though his gruff voice made it hard to do so. Leaning my head against the cool window, I stared at my tired reflection.
"To fix Tiltown?" I questioned back with a whisper.
"Something like that." He responded. My eyes watched the woods pass us by quickly, before we pulled into the empty driveway of my home. James suddenly woke, getting out of the car and already heading in. As I stood to my feet again, I glanced at Diego.
"Get some rest too, you need it." I say to him. He nods before he drives off and down the dimly lit road. Walking to my bedroom, I find that James has already taken it all up. I groaned quietly to myself with annoyance before taking some leftover blankets and laying myself down on the couch.
My eyes flutter open to silence, for a moment. Soon though, I realized I was waking up due to knocking on my front door. Peeking out my window, I see that it's Diego. I barely open it up until he begins to speak.
"I have a plan. We've got to go to Tiltown, the real one." He said. I rubbed my eyes to make my vision clear up to look at him better.
"What, why?" I yawned the question.
"Because the real Abraham is living there." He informed me. Suddenly, I wasn't so tired anymore.