Beneath the whispers

Chapter 9

And just like that, it is morning again. Thanks to the hole in the curtain, the light from the sun rests on my eyes causing me to squeeze my face, using my hand as a shade, I slowly open my eyes. The fluorescent bulb in my room had tripped off, maybe during the night

Come to think of it, I never really noticed the torn holes on the curtain fabric when I arrived. Something that was supposed to be a game vacation is starting to feel like a joke, with one day gone and not one prominent clue as to what happened to the mansion family and their relation to this kidnapping whispers.

Scanning my mind through the movies I have seen looking for possibilities of some back story like a group of kidnappers using a horror story as a front. But that wasn't clicking – a lot of unsettling questions would arise. How will you explain the kidnapping shadows that whisper instigated by mere mortals?

Even the gamers couldn't pull it off and worse still unless they sold them or their organs, conducting a kidnap in a village town like this is not the best idea when the pockets gets involved, and in the real world, people dont just go missing without raising brows. So this will be completely spiritual

let’s say, the family were brutally murdered and they want revenge so depending on how they were murdered, they need to be appeased and sent off their way. All we have to do is find out what happened to them and how to appease them and we are rich!

“if I knew they would stuff you up I would have offered you stay with me and Rose” Tony voice interrupts me and I look at him.

He is leaning his head on the door frame, his huge hands hiding in his pocket and one leg crossed over the other, was I so lost that I didn’t hear the door cringe open?

“One night with her and I will completely lose it” I snort and he chuckles in response – he sure thought it a joke and that made me frown a little. “I am dead serious you know” I continue.

He is silent for a long minute with a fixed gaze on me – is my red silk mini gown stained or is it raised too high? I stylishly checked myself hoping he doesn’t notice how uncomfortable I am

“We need to talk, the others are in the next room” he says blinking to remove his stare from me, I heave silently and sprung up to my feet grabbing my jacket that I thrashed on the side table earlier because of the heat. The change in the meeting place would have been a huge matter to debate if I wasn't in a haste to hear what he had to say, his eyes looked like he couldn't wait to vomit loads of information.

***********

“All we did was stumble on an old blind woman that shuddered when we ask about her family” Thelma rolled her eyes at me making Rose giggle a little. We are all in Rose’s room now and unlike mine, the curtains are not torn, but the furniture had little faults here and there like they were rushed – not like I inspected mine but, hopefully mine don’t fumble as much. Except the side table

“Well – ours wasn't much competent, at least the house you managed to enter had someone in it” Rose seemed to be enjoying the fact that we haven't found anything, I bet it is because she wasn't going to use the prize money anyway. Look for instance, Tony did seem serious and whatever he was looking at on his phone will not only be related to this case but give a brand new clue

“Tony, what are you looking at?” I ask. His eyes moved swiftly towards me and now everybody is staring at him

“the house we entered, it had these paper drawings and inscriptions all over the walls – I took pictures” He flings his phone at me casually and in the same effort I catch it – in the picture was the circle that had a candle drawing in the middle and five stars around it

“what's this?” I ask, looking hard at the picture for anything that makes sense

"something we need to figure out I guess, the other pictures talked about the shadows traveling with darkness, something about heat and cold”

“yea – the room was freaking hot” Rose said sipping from her pink-laced water bottle as if to reply to what she just said. Thelma snatches the phone from me and looks at the picture attentively – no offense taken by the way

“Whoever drew these has got to have some answers” Thelma says still holding on to the phone

"except he wasn't home” Tony stroll towards Thelma and collects the phone. He scrolls through the pictures several times and stopping on a picture of a piece of paper with terrible handwriting and written words in capital letters “I was going through these pictures and I saw an inscription on one of them” he pauses as if to brace himself and them continues “lux repellit, ignis destruit”

He recites with a terrible accent, stammering at some point and finally pronouncing smoothly, not that the owners of the language will agree that the accent was top notch

“what does that even mean?” I could barely contain my frustration, somewhere deep within me I wanted this to all be over so I would be certain that I can well return home and this is not some kidnap scheme

“I don't know, at least it was written in letters to rule out Greek” Rose’s casual tone even flares me all the more but she was still right

"yea – Greek scares me” I replied after her tilting my head to drive my point

Rose sips again this time drawing a big gulp and swallowing with a loud thump, Thelma's irritated gaze lingers on her and then changes to confusion like some thought hit her. Then she looks round the room stopping at me and Anthony who were still swiping through his phone with his hands already hanging on my shoulder.

“Can someone tell me where Olivia is?” she asks. I raise my head also scanning the room, it had crossed my mind the night before but I didn’t deem it a situation for alarm until this very moment.

“Didn’t you guys come back with her?” I asked turning to face Tony and his hands drop from my shoulders

"yes, I saw her last right after Thelma told us of the teen situation”

“and she never came to my room yesterday” I completed his sentence “where could she have gone?” I wistfully uttered staring blankly at the door as if Olivia will just stroll in with the sneaky expression on her crème toned full face

“I smell a huge metallic stench – do you know what that tells me? Something is fishy about her” One look at Rose and you would be tempted to believe she is a real-life detective finding clues, what is with that remark anyway? Judging from her cheer and excitement as she jotted her words into her phone, she also didn't expect such words to fly out of her delicate lipstick-smeared lips. How gorgeous!

"Tony, take me to the house – Rose, you and Thelma watch the kids we need to find the owner of that house” I said.

Finding Olivia was less important than proving that she wasn't a target for the suspect, knowing Olivia since Kindergarten, she would be somewhere looking for evidence that would get her out of this place and where else if not at the house she went to with Tony and Rose

“I hope she is ok” I mutter kicking a stone on the gravel floor with the sole of my knee-length boot, my short Red gown exposing my thin laps

“And who are we talking about?” Tony had been watching me since we left the house, his piercing dark gray eyes consuming the corners of my body and resting on my face. With no response from me, he faces his front with a deep sigh “I thought you guys didn't know each other” he continues right after we had walked some distance

"it's ok to be worried about someone without knowing them” I said with a forced laugh

“From what I know, humans are first to suspect before worry – especially in obvious situations like this, she obviously knows something that we don’t” Tony said, the serious look on his face showed that he had gone past the old sarcastic remark I was about to reply with. So I swallow my words right back trying to figure out what to say but he continues “this whole game thing has been freaking me out from the moment we woke in the cab to the second we stepped into this town”

“she must have her reasons, Olivia will not just …" my voice trails when I realized what I was saying, but he catches on real quick “and there again is that ting of familiarity” he says. Expelling a dose of frustration with the words

He caught me there, but then it was either I admit to that or just wave the conversation so I choose the most convenient option "you know, if you don't have anything else to say – I would rather have a quiet walk”

“ok... Girl’s got attitude” he responds, raising his hands in defeat and putting them back down with a cunning look. Then he starts the walk – that very one that instigates that he is about to annoy the living ghost out of me “so – being in the middle of nowhere, looking hot as ever, with a hot fella, walking beside you. I would doubt your thoughts aren't just on this weird ass mystery game” he says with a sneaky look on his face

I did blurt for a change of topic but I didn’t expect Mr. Naughty to take over. Chuckling a little, my gaze linger on the little flesh he allowed his flimsy silk shirt expose through the first three unbuttoned buttons.

“Ok, my thoughts did deviate – a little. Just a little bit” I steady my thumb against my forefinger till they almost touched to explain what I mean by little, but he smiles and faces me, strolling backwards while I approach him, trying to pretend like I am focused on getting to our destination – which I know nothing off by the way

“a little is enough” He stops in front of me looking into my eyes then his gaze moves and rests on my lips “just a little is enough” he whispers softly, his warm breath brushing against my face and causing my breathing to hasten with a heavy gulp of hair in and out of my lungs

No matter how much I breathe I still starved of air and those clingy little butterflies bursting in sparkles as they collided in my stomach. He leans forward and our lips are just a tiny tilt away, my lips break apart in anticipation and a tiny bolt of air escape from my lips as I slowly close my eyes. He smirks just before I shut my eyes

“We are here” He whispers and turns away, hurrying toward the tiny hut. He flings the beaded curtains aside and enters – frozen on my track, I looked at the house. I didn't know there was even the closest to a house there. Was he seriously teasing me?

It wouldn't hurt to add one more game to my vacation plan – let’s see who begs