Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Everyone that knew Emrys was on the lookout for him but he was nowhere to be found.

Brielle had tried to call the cops and involve them but apparently, it wasn’t a case until he was gone for 48 hours. I tried to do everything to calm her down but she kept asking me if I knew where he had gone like she was a broken record.

I had called everyone that knew him but nobody had any tangible thing to say and it was worse when his phone was switched off. I called Leon but he was still in his reading mode and refused to pick up his calls as a result. Brielle’s panic mode was something I couldn’t understand and it was nearly impossible to get her out of it. The question on her lips was what happened to Emrys.

“He will never be found,” the same voice that spoke in my head on the day of our attack spoke again and this time, it was actually familiar but I couldn’t place where I’d heard it.

“Paris,” Hiro called and I raised a brow. “Brielle needs to rest or something. She can’t keep going on like this. I’ve been talking to her but she wouldn’t budge.”

“Let me try again,” I said with a sigh as I stood up trying to shake off the weird feeling I had and walked with Hiro to sit with Brielle. “Brielle, you’re being too hard on yourself.”

“Where is Emrys?” she asked like always and I groaned.

I was getting tired of that question partly because it voiced my inner wonderings and partly because I had no answer to the question.

All of a sudden, Brielle’s eyes turned brown and she started shouting like her body was on fire while clutching her stomach. I didn’t know what to do, as always, so I started panicking and tried to help her. The moment my hands touched her body she made a weird sound that was like a mix between growling and a cute shriek.

I took my hands away immediately and tried to help her by staring into her eyes but, as if knowing what I was trying to do, she shut her eyes before I could do anything. She wouldn’t stop thrashing around and it was like she was trying to kick me out. I found it odd and despite everything I tried to do, it didn’t make sense.

“I’ll just take her to Amara,” Hiro said with a sigh but when she tried to touch her, Brielle kicked her and she fell down. Hiro glared at her, her eyes flashing with anger. “Not cool, Brie. Thank your stars that you are sick or I’d have killed you.”

I brought out my phone and called Amara who, thanks to God, picked almost immediately. It was like she had been expecting my call.

“Amara, there’s a problem,” I said casting a worried glance at my best friend. “Brielle is acting strange and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“I’m on my way,” she said and hung up on me.

That was when I heard the voice again. This time it sounded like it was mocking me but still trying to send a message. It said:

“Two down.”

Just two words, but it kind of explained everything. I was the target and someone was trying to eliminate everyone around me before getting me. The only thing was I couldn’t figure out, for the life of me, who would want to hurt me. I was a good person so this was the last thing I expected.

“Where is she?” Amara’s voice came immediately to my ears and I wondered how she got here so fast. I made a mental note to ask her about that. “Shit!” I saw that she was looking at Amara and that was what made her curse. “We need to get her out of here.”

“You think we haven’t been trying? She won’t let us touch her,” Hiro said and I could notice the hint of annoyance.

Amara walked up to her and sprinkled something all over Brielle and immediately, she calmed down. “She can’t stay here for days. She needs to stay with me because the more she stays here, the more she’s going to be restless and she may just lose the human part of her.”

“What do you think is wrong with her?” I asked glancing at her. Her body was anything but still. Even in her sleep, she looked so restless like she was fighting something.”

Or someone.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. I have to investigate,” Amara said with a sigh. “All this is getting quite worrisome and I don’t even know what is going on.”

“I have a feeling that’s a rare thing for you,” I said with a smile and she nodded. “When are we leaving, then?”

She raised a brow. “We?”

“Well, yeah, if Brielle’s going to be staying with you, I have to join in,” I said with a shrug and she kept giving me this odd stare. “What?”

“You have to stay here in case Emrys comes back. It might actually help Brielle’s situation or something.”

“I can’t stay here alone. What if someone comes to kill me?” I said, my eyes darting around the room suddenly conscious.

“Hiro can stay with you,” Amara said turning to Hiro. “Won’t you?”

Hiro rubbed the back of her neck with her right hand. “Actually, I have a flight booked to go back home for my mother’s birthday. It’s kind of a big deal so…”

“You have got to be kidding me!” I all but shouted.

Hiro’s eyes widened. “Look, I already called Milo so he’s going to be here. You don’t have to worry. Or you can stay with Leon?”

I propped my hands on my hips. “It’s already late. Do you want me to die on the way there? Alone?”

“Look, I don’t know what else to tell you but Milo is going to be here soon and that’s that. You don’t have to worry about a thing with him around. Nothing can happen to you on his watch.”

“You better be right,” I said after crossing my arms. “If anything happens to me, I swear that I will not forgive either of you.”

Amara rolled her eyes. “You’re just being paranoid, kiddo. Look, I’ve got to go before Brielle wakes up and start working on her. It might be a death sentence for all I know.” I

nodded even though I wasn’t happy and she placed a hand on my shoulder. “Take care of yourself and stop acting paranoid, okay. Nothing will happen to you.”

I nodded and watched as she took Brielle in her arms, cast a glance at me, and walked out. I was actually kind of annoyed that all of them were downplaying it when I was so sure something was wrong. Unfortunately, I had no proof. It wasn’t like I could record the voice in my head.

Hiro walked up to me and smiled. “I’ve got to go. I might miss my flight if I don’t leave now. I’m fine knowing Brielle is in safe hands.”

I was still frowning when I asked, “What about me?”

She sighed. “You’re in safe hands too. Nothing is going to happen to you. I’m sure there are logical explanations for everything that has happened in the past hours.”

“Logical? Since when did a grown ass man missing imply something logical?” She opened her mouth to reply but I cut her off. “You can go. I am paranoid and I agree with you so just leave before my paranoid self decides to act creepy and all.”

“Paris…” “Just go.”

She sighed and walked away. She occasionally turned to look at me but I glared at her so she didn’t bother to say anything. I watched until she had left the house and that was when I knew it was all a plot to get me alone. No sooner had she left that the voice spoke again and this time, I knew something was going to happen.

“Three down. One more to go.”

I ran upstairs immediately to my room dialing Leon’s number as I did. Unfortunately for me, the call kept going to voicemail and I had no idea what to do. I decided to call Ryker but he didn’t pick either. I knew there was a possibility of him picking so I called again. He picked almost immediately.

“What is it, Paris?” he asked with a groan and I could tell I’d woken him up from sleep. I wasn’t sorry about that, though.

“Someone is trying to kill me,” I said turning around like I was going to see somebody there. “You aren’t making any sense. Why would anyone want to kill you?”

I ran to get my inhaler as I felt another panic attack coming on me. “I swear that someone wants to kill me. I’m hearing voices in my head, Ry. It’s so real. Like someone wants everyone out of the way so I can die.”

“Do you need me to come over?” he asked and I felt the worry in his voice.

“I don’t know, Ry, I swear I…” I paused, the hair on my skin stood up immediately. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” his voice sounded as panicked as I felt.

I heard it again. It was a loud crash and a manly scream. “That.”

“Paris, I’m coming right now,” he said and I could hear sounds showing that he was leaving his bed.

“No, wait, don’t…” he’d already hung up.

“Ready or not, here I come.”

I picked up everything necessary and started running to the bathroom so I could hide there. I locked the door with one hand and tried to send a text to Leon even when my fingers were shaking too much to concentrate.

“Don’t look now but I’m here.”

I screamed but before I could run away, I felt something rush through my body. It stilled my entire figure and I couldn’t move. I felt something crawl on my skin and immediately, I blacked out, welcoming the darkness.