I was relieved that Darien didn't run off on me like last time when the meeting finally came to a close. My ease didn't last long though as he motioned for me to follow him in the opposite direction of the train station. I hesitated on my side of the street, finger running over the letter opener hidden in my pocket, seeking a small sense of reassurance.
"I'm just going to visit my mom before we head back to Cambridge. If you need to go, I won't mind." He explains as he catches on to my apprehension.
I found myself instantly shaking my head, there was no way I was heading off by myself this time with the rest of the cult members still wandering around. "Do you think she'll mind me just randomly showing up with you?"
"I doubt it, she'll probably love to have some new company for once."
We were relatively quiet as we made our way down the London streets and as always in the faint light of the street lamps, I felt as if there was something lurking in the darker parts of the alleys. After about ten minutes of walking, we approached a row of houses that were connected to each other the way a lot of homes around here were. Darien ascended the stairs of the second to the last house, slipping out a set of keys along the way.
The sound of the nightly news about the weather caught my attention as the door was opened. Another noise met my ears as I trailed after Darien through the hallway, it was some sort of strange rhythmic beeping. When we entered the living room my gaze landed on a woman that looked like a slightly older version of Kamaria, but instead of colorful hair, a silken scarf was wrapped around her head.
If it hadn't been for the medical machine beside her and the IV in the back of her hand, I wouldn't have known that she was even sick. Her rich dark skin still had a healthy glow to it, but when she peered up to smile at her son, I could see the tiredness lingering in her eyes.
Darien leaned down to give her a gentle hug, which she returned with a slight shake of her hands. I peered down at the books in my hands, just so I wouldn't be gawking at them and invading their space even more than just being here.
"Darien, who's this shy girl you got over here?" She asked as she let him go to peer over at me.
"I'm Amber, it's nice to meet you, ma'am."
She held out her hand to me and I shook it as she said, "You can call me Kim, hun. So, how do you two know each other?"
"She's one of Kamaria's classmates," Darien explained as he checked on the bag of liquid that was feeding into her IV and then frowned slightly. "Mom, where do you keep the refills on this?"
"I believe that my nurse left them somewhere in the kitchen."
Darien nodded and hurried back down the hall, leaving the two of us behind.
"Have a seat wherever you like, Amber. So, what are you studying at Cambridge?"
I took a seat on the couch across from her and explained my major as my finger toyed with the edge of the book for some sort of comfort. I noticed that she seemed to have her focus directed solely on the book in my grasp, instead of what I was saying. I slid my hand over the cover, feeling self-conscious, the last thing I wanted to discuss was my new reading material.
Kim caught my subtle movement and she frowned deeply as her demeanor took a sharp turn, "So, I'm guessing Darien has been talking you into attending Roy's mad propaganda?"
My mouth went dry at that, she already knew about the JTR Movement.
"Dear, if you're going there to seek some sort of answers or meaning, that isn't the place to do it. All that group leads to is destruction and death. They preach about rebirth and the promise of peace, but it comes at a cost that most of them don't consider. They are willing to kill millions for the reward of a few. Maybe that isn't the case for every single one of them, but those that do, cause an issue enough on their own. If you were to turn your back on them once they truly let you in, they won't let you go unscathed."
"What do you mean?"
She pointed to her IV drip saying, "This isn't here by accident. They have ways of making things happen. Unless you want to end up like me, I suggest you leave all of this behind you before it gets you killed."
A chill raced down my spine, what had they done to her to put her in this state?
Darien came back into the room with the IV bag and changed out her old one, clearly unaware of the discussion Kim and I just had. My mind was still reeling from her words by the time Darien mentioned us heading back to Cambridge. It was baffling to think that this woman had been a part of that organization, but then I recalled Darien mentioning that his being a part of this had a lot to do with his mother. So, what had made her decide to leave while her son stayed, and why did she even allow him to?
I had so many questions now, but not enough nerve to ask them. So, when we left, I felt as if I was choking on my unsaid words, but Kim clearly wasn't done with me.
She waited until Darien had just exited the room before she warned, "If you stay within that cult, you'll have something worse than the devil breathing down your neck. I suggest you get out of it now, or else they'll be putting a target on your back next."
Despite the chill of the night air, I still felt as if I was suffocating after that conversation. It was starting to look like the only way I could find this murderer was through the JTR Movement. Even though I desperately wanted out of this disaster, I'm starting to understand that I'm in far too deep now to truly consider that. My thoughts remained on that issue all the way back to Cambridge.
"Thanks for going in there with me, it makes it a bit easier to handle seeing her that way when I have someone else there, which probably sounds strange," Darien remarked with a sad sort of smile as we headed back to campus.
I shook my head and then questioned, "So if you don't mind me asking, do you know what's wrong with her?"
It was his turn to shake his head, "No one does, the doctors can't seem to pinpoint exactly what's the matter with her. They just give her morphine to manage her sudden chronic pain and an IV drip to keep her hydrated. Kamaria and I have to take her up to the hospital every other day, just so they can run some more tests on her. Today was one of her good days, usually, she's pretty out of it thanks to whatever is making her so sick."
"I'm so sorry Darien. No one deserves to deal with something like this."
The sound of shouting from across the road made Darien and I both freeze in our tracks. I searched for the source of the noise and found that we were close to the police station. A set of doors to the building swung open and, lo and behold appeared Officer Hudson before thundering down the stairs.
"What sort of sick joke is this?" He demanded as he waved around a piece of paper in his fist.
"Anthony, you've got to calm down, if the captain hears you..." The other cop pleaded.
"Oh piss off! That monster is trying to toy with me now! How dare he bring up what happened to Andrea! She suffered enough at the hand of mother fuckers like him!" Hudson boomed and even from my darkened spot on the other side of the road, I could tell that he was on the verge of tears.
"Amber, I think we should go," Darien whispered as he tugged on my jacket sleeve.
'Stay.'
A chill ran down my spine, why did that thought feel so separate from me? I brushed it off, tonight had just been frying my nerves, but I still shook my head at Darien as I continued to observe the two police officers.
"Listen to me, the captain will put you back on leave if you don't get it together. Do you want to catch this guy or not?"
"Of course I do." He responds weakly.
"Then we need to go back in and have a look at the piece of kidney that came with this, it might be able to give us some clues. He's clearly paying some sort of homage to the 'From Hell' letter."
A body part had come with that letter? I was well aware that had been one of the original Jack the Ripper clues back in the first investigation of his crimes. It had been him mocking the police force for not catching him already. Another wave of unease came over me, this copycat killer was clearly trying to mess with Hudson now. They knew about what happened to his sister and they were apparently rubbing it in his face. For once, ever since I had known about this man, I felt truly bad for him.
Hudson nodded in agreement and the other man guided him back into the station, speaking to each other in hushed tones. Once they were back inside, I decided that it was safe to step out from my shadowed spot, so we could get out of there as fast as possible without attracting attention.
Tonight seemed to only supply me with many more questions and if I didn't start finding answers to them soon, only more people would be harmed because of this freak.
I told Darien to make sure to text me that he got to wherever he was going as he left me on the campus steps. I watched him disappear into the night, hoping that no ill will would come for him thanks to this catastrophe. I hurried indoors when I could no longer see him and headed straight for my dorm room, ready to pour through these books in hopes of some sort of answer.
I nearly tripped over my own feet when I entered my dorm room, finding Mackenzie and Blake hanging out with Chris. What was he doing here?
I felt my eyebrows scrunch together as I asked, "What are you guys doing?"
"Sorry Amber, I just stole your boyfriend for the day when I ran into him this morning to get coffee. He's surprisingly good at video games" Blake tells me as he playfully throws his arm around Chris's shoulder, getting him to laugh.
"You say 'surprisingly' like he didn't totally own your ass in a majority of the games you all played." Mackenzie pointed out.
"So, where have you been all day?" Blake asks me, clearly ignoring Kenzie's jab.
I could feel my face warming up at his 'boyfriend' statement, but I played it off by shaking my head. "I was just taking care of some stuff that you shouldn't worry about."
"Alright, Miss secretive." Blake sasses.
"I mean unless you want to hear about all the feminine products I had to buy..." I lie, knowing that it will get him to shut up.
"No! No, thank you, ma'am! I'm good!" He cried as he smacked his hands over his ears.
Mackenzie rolled her eyes as she muttered, "I'm shocked that you've managed to keep a girlfriend for so long by the way you react to things that are perfectly natural."
"Just because it's natural doesn't mean I want to know about it!" He whined and stuck his tongue out at her.
Chris got up from his spot on the floor to approach me as Blake and Kenzie continued to fuss.
"So, what have you been up to today?" He asks me in a low voice.
"I'll have to explain it later." Is all I tell him, but I wonder if I even should.
How am I going to be able to explain that there might be a possibility of an evil entity being on the loose, without sounding like I'm losing my mind?