One week later
Monday, 2:37pm.
Elton sat crosslegged on the green grass, under the shade of a large tree with wide branches. His spot on the gentle slope of the hill bordering the concrete road gave a nice view of the entrance of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
It was a Monday afternoon, and it was cloudy; and even though the weather was still rather nice, the wide road that led into the famous cemetry was mostly empty. There were still a few people though, and a few cars, going in and out.
Elton watched them absent mindedly as they crossed the tall, impressive gates. He was too preoccupied to give them any more attention, and getting more and more agitated by the second.
He checked his watch again, for probably the hundredth time since the last seven minutes, before looking back up and sighing, stress making every frustrated exhale shakier than the previous. Where are they ?? He kept replaying in his head.
Finally, a familiar silhouette appeared in the distance, shortly followed by another. Finally. Elton stood up, brushed down his jeans and stepped out of the shade. As soon as they came closer, he got down the hill, walking towards Jake, who was the first person to arrive.
They met, and the dreaded, nervous tension from the previous week instantly came back. Their eyes met, but they could barely keep eye contact.
"Hey," Jake greeted, with a weak but honest smile.
"Hi Jake. How are you doing ?"
"I'm okay... Um... Where are the others ?"
"I was asking myself the same question, actually. All I know is that Aaron was behind you."
"Oh."
Jake turned around, and sure enough, Aaron was walking up to them.
"Hi," he greeted the two.
"Hey, how are you doing ?"
"Good, thanks... how about you ?"
Jake and Elton nodded in response, but the change in their expression at the sight of Aaron didn't escape the latter.
Aaron looked... terrible, to say the least. Of course, that was to be expected, but seeing the usually so cheerful young man in such a state was still very disturbing. He was so pale that it looked like he hadn't seen sunlight in a really long time. And it had only been seven days, but Elton could swear he had lost weight.
"Is something wrong ?" Aaron asked hesitantly.
"Your... your legs are literally shaking... And your face looks so hollow ! Have you been eating lately ?"
"Um... barely... but I had a cup of coffee before coming, so don't worry about me."
His two friends gave him a sceptical look.
"Come, let's go and sit while we wait for the others," said Elton.
Jake and Aaron followed the older man to a rather high spot on the hill, where they sat in a circle.
To the friend's surprise, Los Angeles' Griffith Park was the place they had been asked to go to, to attend their "information meeting" with the person who, supposedly, was going to be their handler. The notification email they had been sent wasn't very detailed. They were supposed to be at the foot of the northern face of Mount Lee at 3:30 pm, where they would then receive further instructions; but there was no more information.
After a long seven days isolation from each other, the friends were meeting again for the first time since that fateful night. They had agreed to come to the park an hour earlier, to see each other, have a talk and a mental preparation before going to wherever it was that they were to be led to.
After getting back home on that Sunday, Elton had spent only one day cooped up in his room, telling his worried roommates that he was grieving the loss of his uncle who had just passed away. He quickly realised that if he stayed, he would never leave his confinement; and so the next day, he booked a flight to a random tourist location in Canada. He told his roommates that he was going back to his family in his hometown for a few days. Travelling had always been his passion, and it had always helped him through his darkest times.
The others had all stayed mostly inside their respective apartments. Jake had tried forcing his mind to believe that it was all just a dream, a long nightmare from which he would wake up sooner or later, and he had succeeded to some extent; but there were still too many things that revived the dark memories. One of them being the visits to the hospital to see Corey. The latter was doing better, physically, but he hadn't been discharged yet.
Aaron, Sam and Colby visited Corey too, and that was the only time they ever went outside. The three of them had the hardest time dealing with the aftermath of the previous week's ordeal. They had thought the constant flashbacks and the PBA would stop with time, but unfortunately, they were wrong. Sleeping and eating had become a chore, and the lack of it translated into evident physical weakness.
Sam and Colby finally reached the cemetery, a few minutes later. They easily spotted their friends as they crossed the gates, and walked over to them.
"Hey," Elton greeted, raising his tired face at them.
"Hi guys. How are you guys doing?"
"We're good," the others all replied.
An awkward silence followed. Sam and Colby stared at the ground from their standing position, before sitting nervously next to the three. Their stiff knees cracked as they bent down.
"There's no need to lie to ourselves, you know," Colby said. "None of us is doing "good". You all know that."
"You're right," admitted Jake. "There is actually no point."
"Well, today's the day," said Elton after a moment, in a listless voice that accurately matched the atmosphere. "We only have a few minutes, and then we'll have to get going."
"Where are Nik and Brennen ?" Asked Jake.
"They're not coming," Colby replied. "Brennen told me that they're going to be in a different team. They've been given a different appointment."
"What does that mean ?" Asked Elton.
"I don't know."
"So it's only the five of us ?"
"Yeah."
"I don't want to go there," said Aaron.
"It's not like we have much of a choice," Elton replied. "You realise that they will kill us if we don't attend the meeting."
"But I don't want to attend it ! I don't want to work with them ! Not with those monsters, especially not after what they did to us ! What if they make us go through another bloody satani..."
"Please don't bring that up !" Sam exclaimed, and Aaron retreated to his silence immediately. "We um... we'll... we'll just..."
"We'll just hope for the best," Jake finished for him."
"Yeah."
"Did we actually become members of... their organisation ?" Elton asked in a low voice.
"I don't care what they claim we are," said Sam. "Never in my life will I ever affiliate myself with them."
"I have a feeling it won't be as bad as last time," Elton spoke again. "Let's try not to stress too much. It's not healthy. If this can help you feel any better, remember that we aren't doing this out of our own will... We'll just go through whatever they make us go through, and then leave."
Another wave of silence fell upon the small group. A few moments later, it was finally broken by the short beep of a watch. The boys all knew what it meant, but none of them moved an inch.
"It's 2 o'clock," mumbled Jake after a moment.
"Yeah," said Elton. "We need to start moving."
He was the first to stand up. Wiping his jeans down again, he looked down at his understandingly unresponsive friends, with a sad sigh.
"Shall we ?"
____________
The walk to the meeting point was rather calm. They had to cross the whole cemetery, which was a rather quiet and peaceful place despite its dark nature. With its towering trees, sweeping lawns, colourful flowers, splashing fountains and memorial architecture, its beauty was breathtaking. True, none of the five boys was in any shape to truly appreciate it, but the gorgeous scenery did help considerably subdue their growing anxiousness.
About twenty five minutes later, they finally reached the foot of Mount Lee, where they had been asked to get to. There was a hiking path, and there was a chain link fence that prevented access to the mountain through the prohibited way. It was a remote and not very popular part of the site, and there was no one around.
"I think this is the place," Elton said as they all started slowing down, before coming to a halt. "They didn't specify a specific spot, so I guess we'll have to wait here."
"Yeah," agreed the others. "It's 3:25, so whoever is waiting for us should be here in about five minutes."
Aaron went to sit on a rock a few meters away, and his friends followed suit. The quiet sound of birds chirping in the distance enlivened the silence as they counted the seconds, which then turned into minutes.
At 3:30pm, footsteps were finally heard, and someone came into their field of vision. The boys raised their heads to see a man, dressed in a well-fitted grey suit, walking over to them from the other side of the fence. He looked rather young, no more than thirty years old, and he had strong features and wore an unreadable expression.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he greeted through the grill, as he came up to where the five were sitting.
The boys didn't reply, but they stood up, stepped closer to each other and returned his stare.
Understanding that he wouldn't get a response, the man proceeded to gesture towards the direction he had come from. "Please follow me."
He turned on his heel and started walking again. Elton and the others obeyed, and followed him from the hiking path, until the man reached a door in the fence about a hundred meters later. He took out a keychain from his pocket and unlocked it, letting the five boys "in", before locking it back up.
"This way," he instructed, gesturing towards the lower slope of the mountain. He went a few meters further, until he reached a strange, six feet tall stone wall that laid flat against the rock face and stretched over twenty feet. And, to the surprise of the five boys who were walking behind him, he stopped in front of it.
"Gentlemen, you're about to witness one of California's best kept secrets," the man announced, holding out what looked like a keyless entry remote, and taking a few steps back. "Behold !"
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To be continued...