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2023-02-08 14:11:44After a while of sitting together and just letting the cool evening breeze caress us as we digest the story we had opened up to each other about
We continue our journey again but this time it felt good, holding hands and walking with the people I grew to be real withWe didn’t care about our pride or how we wanted to be perceived instead we let ourselves to be vulnerable and we learned to embrace our weak sides and our experiences bonded us the moreI have found the real friends I have always wanted. Not the kind I hang around with in school, the kind I boast to about how often I made my nails, they will talk about their expensive clothes and they complement my hair while I fake compliments at their crooked make upthe truth is, I had a true kind of friendship with Olivia but I was so used to looking for perfection and gloating in my superiority complex that I didn’t appreciate her enough. Maybe I wasn’t a good friend after allWe might have been caught in the moment when we shared our painful past to realize it but when the emotions fizzled out and the reality of our situation clicked back in our mind we did realize one thingEven if we got out of here, we still needed each other to face the world. We had all tried to escape the cruel reality of our lives and that is exactly what had led us to this pointThe dark night is already upon us a few feet from the hotel but we are not phased instead we stroll hand in hand towards the hotel oblivious of our environmentWe are one big team together and we have our weapons in case the shadows comes swinging by in their good old gustIn a few long minutes we step into the hotel compound and next thing we are insideA breath of relief leaves the teenager we had been leaving in charge anytime we had to leave together – I don’t still know her name even until this very moment“Mira, how is it going?” Thelma asks – point to note, her name is Mira.“well, we gathered everything and packed it in the hall way since the reception cannot take anymore baggage without squeezing us in” she replies and her face falls “we didn’t find any trace of her”“next time such a thing happen, you let us know first” I order and she nods in responseIt had been a long day indeed and all I want is to squeeze into my bed and sleep like a baby, I am definitely going to curdle with my best friend tonight.**************It is morning already, not just any kind of morning but the kind to which I wake up in anticipation of what we had planned will take place todayFrom the day we arrived till this day, the real deal had just started and our dear lives depends on it so we had to make the most of itWe hadn’t exactly decided who or what will be the cause of the problem we are about to stir but we do know that Olivia was going to instigate the problem with me and the rest are going to support me making her leave in anger – Tony felt it would be more convincing since I quarrel with her moreHere we go. I stretch out my hands from the tiny bed and make my way to the door, the place is hot as oven and I need to breathe actual airWe should really deal with this shadows or we will start dying of suffocation soon. The cool breeze crash on my face the moment I opened the door and I smile in response spreading my hands apart to let the breeze touch every inch of my bodyI am this close to ripping out my tank top and the thick boxers I changed into when I got back. I am definitely running out on change of clothes, but really, these psychopaths packed our things too. Is that not truly crazy of them?The sound of a sudden rustling of leaves in the hotel compound alerts me, I drop my arms and glance around the compound for any movement but the compound lays stillIf I wasn’t closing my eyes I might be able to place where exactly I heard the sound from. I slowly step out from the building and glance around squinting my eyes for a better view“I heard you and I am not leaving here until you show yourself” I say casually working on the bun I made last night to sleep – I won’t ask anything, they usually die the moment they try to dispense information. So it is useless. I walk slowly away from the building looking at the trees that lined the hotel fence“Who is it? Show yourself right now” If phones work here I would have just called someone. I know damn well I don’t have the breath for a long chase “the longer you stay, the more likely others are going to wake increasing our chance of catching you. So just show yourself” I am intentionally getting loud enough to wake anyone now, why are they sleeping like that anyway?“we are here to help you I promise” I know the person might be working for Mr Shadow but I cannot cast myself especially when I am not sure if we will actually catch the person. Leaves move by my left and I shoot my gaze in that direction, the movement doesn’t stop – the person is making a move.Someone dashes out from the hides of the leaves and I step on my toes to chase but the young guy probably in his early twenties with his hands raised above his deep brown hair that had gold streaks at the endHe is heading towards my direction. One good look and I am left struggling to keep my mouth shut. It is the younger man that carried the dead body the other day. What is he doing here?“Who are you?” I step back from him when he steps closer. I know I am supposed to not act scared but it is not every time you see a young man that could be part of the very secret organization that is responsible for everything I am going through right now“The shadows, I heard you can protect me from them. I have been hiding out in the village with my friend. But the shadows took him and I came running here” he pants nervously with desperation in his dark brown eyesWhat in the actual fuck is going on right now? Did they just send a spy to pay closer attention to us? Why didn’t we ever think of this? They must have noticed that we are all always away from the hotel“Yes we do... I am Bella” I stretch out my hand for a handshake hoping he would ignore it but he hold my hands and smile dryly“I am Harper”“Welcome” I say through my teeth not bordering to loosen my fake broad smile. Footsteps approach me from behind but stops all too sudden for a few minutes and then approach a lot slower while Harper stared at the person. I turn and smile“Will!” I raise one of my brows at him and squint my eyes a little before I continue “this is harper, he has been hiding out in the village”“Harper huh” Willow walks up to us and smiles at harper “come on” he says and turns away from us heading back into the hotel buildingHe must have been too shocked just like I am
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Beneath the whispers Chapter 38
Change of plans, apparently our captors are ahead of us and they have sent someone to join us to keep a close eye on us If he dies, they would start to suspect and if he don’t we wouldn’t know how to get through with our plan. He is at liberty to keep an eye on us and he would definitely want in on whatever plan we might have. But I did find a good fight topic, I just hope the others catch on real quick“I am Thelma” Thelma smiles and stretches her hand for a shake, when Harper return the gesture she pulls him in for a hug instead“Thelma” I drag her name. She breaks free and scowls at me“What? He is cute” she winked at him and he lets out an awkward chuckle. We haven’t told them that Harper was one of the two people that carried the dead body we watched that day. If not she wouldn’t even want to touch him one bit“I am Rose –”“That is all” Tony interrupts her and she hits his shoulder “don’t bore him with the whole flower stuff” we all break into a cackle at Tony’s words“I
Beneath the whispers Chapter 39
Everything Olivia said about me was true and harsh but for some reason I was only hurt by what I said to her insteadI only started to fire back because of the plan we cooked up but the moment the first sentence leave my mouth, I lost control and just like that I spilled everything that had weighed me down for a long time now and more so I broke down the wall that protected me from my true self and now I am staring at the real Bella.Not some front, not the class president, not Miss 2017 of my high school, but me. The Bella only Olivia knew, the Bella I have hidden from myself all those years and yet in the midst of all the tension and panicking, I still felt relieved I was happy to finally see her, I wanted to make her better, to grow her and to love her. But I hurt my friend and I need to make up for it the best I could but then again is this plan that I cannot destroy“Bella, are you ok?” Tony’s deep voice pierce through my subconscious and I am completely aware of my surround
Beneath the whispers Chapter 40
Anthony“so, you like Bella huh?” Harper asks slowly enough to confirm he wasn’t provoking a punch.“I do hate you” I respond almost as fast and he flinches at my response. The fact that he is extra jumpy is enough reason to suspect him if we hadn’t seen him that day“why would you hate someone you just met?”“lets see…” I breath in with my hand below my jaw like I was thinking “you are disgusting and you smell like death, how about that?” I face him briefly and continue walking forward“ouch!” he exclaims and jogs to cover the distance I had created between us while he was trying to process what I just said “look, I am going to try to win your hearts”“just focus on making us not hate you further. Tip number one” I point out a finger at his face “shut the fuck up or I will shut it myself” I fume at him briefly until he steps back and nods “good”That was enough to keep him quiet as we stroll through the house checking each, I did make him shout out for Olivia and Willow interm
Beneath the whispers Chapter 41
“So the family in the mansion, did you ever see them?” Tony asks the old man and he interprets to the group of villagers that were sitting around us and they all nod sideways I do the very thing I have always loved to do just that now is for the right reasons – I am watching Harper closely as the conversation with the villagers grew If we cannot ask him anything then we can observe him and count anything that does not count as part of the normal human behavior as clueAll these is frustrating especially when I grew up where people just ask questions when they get curious and all the more tensed is the fact that we would sleep tonight with Harper in the same hall as us How would I sleep knowing that? I think he might have scratched his head nervously when a villager mentioned that they had wanted to go to the mansion themselves since it was the root of all these problems but the stories they heard discouraged them That woman must have spread the stories, right or wrong… I don'
Beneath the whispers Chapter 42
As agreed, Rose is going to stay back with Olivia while I and the boys with Thelma will head to the mansion the next day. I didn't know what the outcome might be, I mean, something bad could happen to any of us even the hotel might not be totally safe and I really want to make up with Olivia before everything changes tomorrowI had stepped over the rod gate earlier after we dug out some of the artifacts from the ground and that proved that we were finally able to leave the village without dying first but we still need to figure out the aspect of the men and the shadows and then finding the boat and the ride that would take us to the boatThe real fact now is that things has changed and at this stage we could lose anyone and even as much as I don't want to think too much of it, I still know that it is a possibilities and I really want Olivia to know that I love her so much and I am very sorry and I hate myself so much for what happened between usI turn to look at her, she had backe
Beneath the whispers Chapter 43
Olivia's hug was the only thing I needed that morning to spark up the courage I needed I hadn't forgotten the other day when we dared to go there. But now it wasn't just me and Tony but Thelma and Willow is here and we are with our specialized weapon of mass destructionHarper on the other side is so rigid with anxiety that his stiffed up shoulders raise high between his head and his eyes bulge out with his Iris wandering around his eye socket. He must know that the moment he tries to say anything he would dieBut there has to be a way around it. Olivia's helper had helped her so much but didn't convulse until she tried to make him tell her more So Harper here can help us without telling us anything and we need to figure out how that would happen since unlike Mr Helper, Harper is not a willing candidateI walk up to him and tap his tensed shoulder and smile at him “I promise you that I will not let anything happen to you” I say and he looks at me, his eyes wanting to tell me so
Beneath the whispers Chapter 44
Leaping out of the tunnel was a brief relief, my clogged nose savor the moist air of the forest and I step forward towards Tony to allow the others behind me to leap out too.“the branches we pulled out” Tony saidI laugh “I was scared out of my mind”“you know, you have been attacked by this dark cloudy gust twice, how are you not the one with the panic attacks?” Tony asks“my parents didn’t scare me with ghosts and dark rooms T. I judged her for being so scared. How insensitive” I respond“that is why I had my doubts about the story they made us believe. Rose would never sign up for something that had ghosts in it” He says and I nod along“you guys did this?” Thelma asks and we nod“I thought Willow left the rope when we first met” I say“not me, it was here when I came too but I never used it” Willow saidWe walk along the path that led to the mansion, Harper had gone quiet and is withdrawn but we all ignore him cracking jokes along the path The mansion comes into view a
Beneath the whispers Chapter 45
Looking around, we are in the middle of a huge empty hall, the only thing there is a table and the footwear I saw earlier I walk up to the footwear and move the table lightly and there laid some clothes, the others rush towards me as I lifted the cloth and it is a big top and some panty black leggings. The footwear is a canvas“This belongs to a young girl” I say looking up at the others. Willow squats beside me and examine the shoe“That belongs to Maya” Thelma says. I look at her confused and she rolled her eyes “she was Mira’s friend that was taken from the hotel”“Wait what?” Tony asks and she bent down to look at the clothes again“she had it on” she said and stands up again. Looking at the cloth again, it did look familiar. But then –“why is her clothes here and not her” I ask and drop the cloth“she might be here somewhere” Tony said “we should go find her” He lifts his torch and heads first, we all follow behind him, the first corridor we took is empty just like the
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- Beneath the whispers
Epilogue
Its morning in France, the duplex vacation house on the hill reflects the sun away from the lawn The huge sized swimming pool at the back yard is blue with sit outs in pairs of twos lined up in one side of the pool and a huge fence on the other. I come out from the bathroom in a white robe and my wet brown curly hair falls on both sides of my shoulders.I get to the dressing table and with my finger collect a little potion from the cream can and apply on my legs. The flat screen television behind me has a blonde American woman on it“the increased rate of suicide within the country had pushed the government to consider closing the Sheetan bridge since it is considered the place with the highest record of suicide attempt over the past year. In comparison, other countries has reported growing rates of suicide attempts also and social media has been proven to be one of the major cause of suicide so the union government has decided to draw the lines on things permitted online”I appl
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 57
“that day, Rose had ran out of the bar when I was out. I looked for her throughout the bar and surrounding parks and when I didn’t see her, I went to her house… the door was open so I rushed in and found some men taking her, I saw the face of one of them because he didn’t have it covered When they saw me, I ran away and they chased and chased me until they caught me… A blow to the head and blank blank” Tony narrates and we nod. We were able to find some edible snacks on the shipI don’t know how long it had been but I do know that we didn’t have to wait with anxiety, instead we decided to use that time to bond since we would have to go our separate ways when we get back to civilization It is really sad though but I have learnt not to use the uncertainty of the future to stain an opportunity for good memories.Talking about our families and how much they will be happy to finally reunite with us, that is…when we have torn down this organization The boys on the other hand had no
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 56
The interior of the ship is a definition of luxury, from the wood brown furniture to the white beddings and curtains Inside the boat are four long couches arranged around a round center table. A curtain opposite where we entered from covering a king sized bed with white beddings and a brown wood frame structureThe inside smells of strawberry and mint and the cupboard has shelves with spare towels, toothbrushes and robes Beside the bed area is a bathroom, with an oval bathtub and a waterproof curtain. If anything, this cruise boat is the highlight of my stay in this island. Would you look at that? I don’t know Harem but this?The pain in my head suddenly disappears as I look through the boat, even the tension of waiting for them to leave had completely disappeared. I need a cold bath and to sleep on an actual bed and I didn't need get back to civilization to experience all these. I love my lifeI sink into one of the couches rubbing myself against the smooth fabric and beaming
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 55
“we need to move” Harper announces. The sun is kissing the hills now, its red light dimming by the minute making the forest darker and the shade from the trees aids this A day ago we would be wary of the shadows but with them gone we only have to worry about the group of men aiming for kill shots at us Sincerely, this is a lot scarier than the shadows. At least we had a fighting chance against the shadows and now? Even Willow has lost his weapon – imagine that He walks over me and takes out some white handkerchief from his pocket and gives Tony “tie something on that”I really should look at the mirror at this rate because the way everyone is looking at my head feels like my brains are out and Tony is already talking like he is scared for me. I smile weakly at Harper and he smiles back before hurrying to the othersTony folds the hanky and places it on my head, his rips out his inner shirt and wraps it over the hanky on my head, hitching it behind my head He fastens it tight
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 54
A flash of blurry lights hit my eyes and dims down again, the throbbing pain in my head slowly increases and a banging sound erupts in my head, I raise my hand to hold my head but my arm hurts too so I let it lay still. The light comes back clearer and leaves again“How many more are still alive?” I heard Harper sayI struggle to open my eyes but my whole body aches and I grunt lightly, a hand scoops me up into some huge body, the scent is familiar so I sniff harder and it is mixed with smoke and blood – blood! I shoot my eyes open but it only slowly breaks apart and I am looking at Tony, there is blood on his head and his arm has a deep cut that is bleeding. I gasp and try to get up but he holds me down“stop, you are hurt” he says“where?” I manage to say, my whole body aches so I cannot pinpoint where exactly is hurtingHe looks at my head and smacks his lips reluctant to answer my question “just stay still, we are trying to get the survivors out before they figure out how t
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 53
We had rode and rode through the sandy road as the afternoon sun heated up the bus, sweating and anticipating the sight of the beach even though we didn't know where it was. We don’t even know if we are going the right way – at least we are going at allThis journey reminds me of the journey that got me here and how I wondered if the experience was worth the long journey and yet even in returning I couldn’t wait for the journey to end“guys” I call their attention “isn’t the length of this journey familiar?” they all laugh Olivia smacks her lips “well, I for one... I was excited but that excitement turned to fury when the cab man wouldn’t talk to me” Olivia saysThelma claps “the snubbing cab man, I thought I was the only one”“he did talk to me eventually, I didn’t keep quiet” I boast. Beaming at myself“wow, I don’t even know what his voice sounds like” Olivia complains and we laugh“he also asks me what if the ghosts haunting the village was real” I say“wow, he did. You d
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 52
I step back, and stood transfixed staring as she stumbled and fell to the floor, my mouth drop open and my lids break apart“Thelma!”The girl wipes her broken bottom lip with a finger and look at me, her red strands that she had hidden away in a hair tie falls loose on her shoulder“I am sorry Bell” she almost stammer in breaking voice“don’t call me that!” I fume at herShe breaks down in tears and falls again on her butt, crying her eyes out “I shouldn’t, you just destroyed my only ticket for a better life!” She yells back at me“we were going to escape, we were going to finally be free and you, what did you do?”“I made a deal that would have helped me live normally. The way I could”“so we should all be damned so you live well, we were going to give each other that, that is why we connected”“you don’t get it do you? All you faced was a cheating boyfriend and you got yourself drunk. I freaking drove off a bridge. How did you think I would want to return to that same worl
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 51
We had intentionally not used the tunnel to get to the mansion given that it already was an obvious route and we plan on sneaking up on the shadows, if that is even possible We also needed to set as much on fire as possible and the tunnel will be our major route of escape but the moist weather in the forest area was going to be a problem so we switched to plan BWe head fast towards the mansion, the sun had just barely risen and the morning still had the flare of last night’s chill breeze. the mansion slowly comes into view We excitedly hurry towards it but stop when we notice that the door was closed. We raise our weapon and point it towards the doorWith slow calculated footsteps we stroll closer and closer to the door, when we get to the door, I gently push it and it strides open. Cool air hits my face and I freeze, aiming my spray can inside. I snap the lighter and slowly enter into the building“Rose, you will wait out here, find the back door” I say and Rose nods and leav
- Beneath the whispers
Chapter 50
AnthonyWe had arrived at the border not long after we left the hotel, the bus is not there as we saw it earlier. So we decided to wait. In the process of waiting we had slept through the night at the border and it is the morning nowI grunt “what should we do now?” the sun is barely risen but the light of day is upon the island“check out the brick house” Willow suggests and I nod along with himWe slowly make it for the brick house, one step at a time until we are leaning at the wall of the house. We walk slowly along the wall till we got to the rusty front door that was already slightly open“when will they arrive?” a huge man with chest tattoos and a tiny nicker says in a grumpy cracking voice“I think in fifteen minutes time. They are an hour behind us” says the younger one looking at his wristwatch, he is better dressed and has glasses on “oh, the package?” he asks looking from the chest tattooed man to another similar sized man“it's ready” the similar one answered“wha
