-ZEPHRILIA'S POV-
Did I know where I was going? Definitely not. Did I trust Matthew? Definitely not.
"Get in the car." I call out to a terrified Matthew before stumbling back inside to grab Mark's keys, which we had both forgotten in our time of stress. I bring myself down the creaking stairs and am once again met with the bloodied corpse. I shove my hands inside the pockets, bringing out a packet of cigarettes and no keys. No damn keys, "God dammit!" I scream. My body was in so much pain, I was surprised I could move. It was probably my kicking adrenaline.
I pull myself back up the stairs, meeting with the dirty kitchen. I slam open the drawers, breaking everything down from its place. There's nothing; nothing at all. I walk around, looking for some sign to find my way out of this house.
--
--
I felt like I was gonna cry my eyes out if I didn't leave. I needed to leave before things got horrid. "Mathew, help me find these keys!" I scream out the front door before going in the living room for some source of help.
He comes inside, soon nervously (and not very helpfully) looking on the trashed tables for the keys. My mind was raising, and the odor of weed wasn't helping much. I push over the couch cushions, met with dust and cigarette butts.
And then my eyes started to burn, and my body started to shake. I lean over the now cushionless couch and start to let the tears flow. I was so hungry, I was so tired, I was so lost. "Zephril- oh." Matthew stated. I heard him stop searching but, it wasn't so he could comfort me, I don't think. He just stood there, ten feet away from me, probably panicking of the sorts. But, that didn't stop me from sobbing, that didn't stop the pain of knowing I could never escape this hell.
"I'm sorry." I choke out, wiping my tears that just kept flowing. I hear him take a couple caseous steps towards me. He wraps his arms around my shivering body and just stays there. It felt like ages, decades, centuries until I could compose myself. I pull myself up, trying my best to avoid eye contact with the man next to me.
"It's fine," He mutters under his rather nervous breath, "Everyone has emotions." He walks overt into the trashed kitchen and starts searching through the kitchen.
"You won't find anything there." I call out to him, "I already checked."
"I know, I just wanted to see if I could find us something to eat." He answers back. I hear the cabinets stop being opened, and him walking back. He sits himself down next to me, using the cushion less-couch to set down the peanut butter crackers. We soon grab about three packages each of peanut butter crackers and start to eat silently.
"So, um.." I take another bite of my cracker, "How long have you been here?"
"I don't know. Years?" He answers and honestly, I wasn't shocked. We go silent for quite a while, just listening to the chewing of the crackers for a few minutes.
"How did you meet Elias and Mark?" I ask.
"Oh," He gulps, "Back a few years ago, I had um.. sold different kinds of drugs. I had mistakenly given one of my guys a laced one. I didn't lace it; I would buy from another guy.. I guess he had a laced bag that he wanted to give me. And-" He gulps again, "That guy ended up almost dying."
"But how does that make you know Elias and Mark?"
"I thought if I just layed low and didn't sell, then I wouldn't be in trouble. And, Elias came over to the homeless shelter I was in randomly and said he would kill me if I didn't come with him. I- I couldn't do anything because Elias said he would have to kill me if he 'didn't complete his work.'"
"What work?"
"I guess he works for someone that he says he has to work for or something. I don't know anything other than that." He answers, opening up his next container of crackers.
"Like, he works in the mafia or a cartel?" I ask.
"He doesn't say it in a way that would be a group of people.. I don't know how to explain it to you."
"Oh." I say. It goes quiet for quite a while, and I'm shoving the information in my brain like a blender. We finish our peanut butter crackers and shove the wrappers in the lining of the couch. We get up, searching for the keys again, but nothing.
Were we really stuck here?
After a few minutes, Matthew speaks up, "Hey, do you wanna um.. just rest?"
"What?" I ask, confused.
"I was just thinking maybe we could just draw together.. I totally get it if you don't want to."
"Uh," I freeze, "I.. guess?" He instantly smiles like a little kid. He grabs two dusty notebooks and two pencils that were lying on the bookshelf in the corner. He both sit down next to the couch. He hands one to me, and I open it up. It already had two pictures: one of a woman smiling while leaning against a dock, and an unfinished drawing of another woman which I couldn't pinpoint as to who she was.
"Oh, back then they used to let me draw up here." He smiles, looking over to the picture I was holding, "That was going to be a picture of my mom."
"Oh.." I whisper, grazing my fingers over the linework, "She's pretty."
"Yeah." He says under his breath, now scratching at his own notebook with his pencil. I turn the next empty page, drawing my own mother. I'm surprised I remembered what she looked like, it's been so many years since she died.
-ELIAS'S POV-
Fuck.
I was racing down the street in my car, pulling myself down the street going 70 in a 30. My dad knew, and he knew well. I had somehow pulled out from his grip and ran. I needed to get back to that house and tell Mark.
I was on the street bringing me directly to the house. I press my foot harder onto the gas pedal, watching the pin meet 120. The dirt road shoves a dirtied look to my white sedan, bringing an obvious scratch to its exterior. "Come on.. come on.." I mutter under my breath.
My phone buzzes in the cupholder next to me and I grab it with my shaking hand. "Oh." I say under my breath, slowing to a hault on the desolate road. It's him.
MESSAGES
.- I have a job for you.
Elias- The contract ended seven months ago. Why are you still contacting me?
.- The contract also said that up to a year after the contract ends, I can still give you jobs.
Elias- Whatever. I'm busy today. What do you want?
.- Kill her. She's starting to know.
Elias- You mean Zeph?
.- Yes.
I gulp, shoving my phone back into the cup holder, gripping onto the steering wheel with as much force as I could. I drop my head onto the steering wheel, letting a shaky breath leave my lips. I knew this day would come. I knew that she would find out that I was working for her own-
I shake my thoughts away, looking back up. This was no time to get emotional. The view of the house is brought to my attention, and I turn onto the side, opening the door and leaving the vehicle.
-ZEPHRILIA'S POV-
We'd been drawing for some time now, and it was actually really nice. That was until I heard a car door open outside and loud shuffling. I looked over to Matthew, who knew exactly who was coming. "Follow me." He whispers before grabbing my wrist and stuffing the notebooks and pencils underneath the cushions. We run over to small opening in the stairway that would bring us upstairs. I squeezed myself through, just barely making my way through. My heart was beating like crazy, and my hands were going cold.
"Come on, come on." I frantically whisper to Matthew as I pull him inside of the small room underneath the stairs. He pushes himself through just before the front door opens and Elias grunts. I hear a bag drop to the floor in the living room and sliding steps to the kitchen.
"What in the world?" Elias yells.
-ELIAS'S POV-
I look around the kitchen. Some of the cupboards were completely ripped off their walls, and almost all the drawers were open. There was no sign of the floor in sight; all just garbage. "MARK? WHY DID YOU TRASH THE KITCHEN?!" I scream. No answer.
I groan, pulling myself over to the basement door and opening it. The darkness in the lower room always gave me an eery feeling as I went down. I slowly stepped down the creaking stairs, greeting myself with the bottom. My entire vision was blackened out, but something smelled horrible. "Mark, you need to clean up after-" I turn on the light, greeted with Mark's corpse and no Zephrilia.
A gag leaves my throat and I turn around to cover my lips with the palm of my hand. They killed him. How did they kill him? Where in the hell are they? I turn back around, covering my mouth and nose with my hand. I grab Mark's shoulder and pull him over flat on his back. There was a slit in his neck and about thirty stab wounds in his stomach. And did I say it smelled horrible? "Oh my god." I mutter through the palm of my hand.
I look back up the stairway, dropping my hands away from the corpse and running up the stairs. I can't lose them. No, no, no. My heart was beating like crazy, and I couldn't seem to find my breathing. I grab my phone from my car and open messages.
MESSAGES
Elias- I need your help.
Bianca- Didn't expect to get messaged by you. What do you need?
Elias- Find Zephrilia Garner and Luke Asphan. Ages 20 and 22.
Bianca- Alright.
...
Bianca- Last thing I have in the database is Zephrilia's 2000 Honda Accord 213k mile was towed after being found at an abandoned rest stop five days ago. It was also found at an investigating crime scene after an officer was found dead without his camera. Is that helpful?
Elias- That's fine.
I grab at my hair, yanking at it in my pits of stress. I set my phone on the nearby table, groaning in a need for some information. "Shit!" I scream, kicking my couch with my boot. I bring myself to lie against my couch, covering my face as I fall into my pits of anxiety.
Author's Note
Okay, so, I have some people that like to read my story now! Triple yay!!!
What do you guys think so far?
What do you want to happen in the next coming chapters.
Remember to smile, and have an amazing day/night!! (^-^)/