Beneath the whispers

Chapter 19

Anthony

The silence in the tunnel is a lot more obvious making the littlest sounds from us echo with violent vibration and sending a huge chunk of chills down our spine. We are stuck in between trying to be quiet for some reason and struggling to be fast, dreading the shadows that might come strolling into the tunnel.

But we cannot stop our feet from slamming on the tunnel floor as we sprint breathlessly towards the other side. On the bright side, the whispering had not tingled in our ears since we entered the tunnel.

Panting Bella clutch onto my hands, half jogging along with me and she doesn’t say a single word, the rope-like plants hanging from the tunnel rub against my face and some sticking long enough to force me to rip it off in frustration.

And for a few long minutes, the light from the other side flickered its rays on our path making me spill a huge chunk of air from my lungs, Bella seems to be elated by this change because she picks up speed as we rushed out of the tunnel.

When we got out, it takes a long minute to get our composure and that same time to draw enough air into my lung so it stops hurting. I sigh at the red light of the sun dim enough that I could make out the round shape of it. Alarmingly so, it is close enough to the hills that it could disappear any minute

“We won't make it to the hotel before the sun sets” I finally say wiping my fore head. Bella is on the floor barely looking like she is still living and she just swallows saliva in response, I could barely see her tired eyes from the red light glimmering through the almost transparent shaft roof of the little shop

***************

“What are you doing here?” the old woman from earlier glare at us as we make our way to her thick mat, which is rolled into a huge sausage. Without a word we crash into it, panting.

“I already told your friend everything I know. Just this morning” she continues adjusting the plain orange curtain to cover the inlet of the red light from the evening sun which is even a lot more dim, then she heads to her fire place and start filling in coal managing to rest on her knees

“Did you happen to tell her about the dusty mansion on the outskirt of this town? apparently housing the said shadows” Bella asks as her mean gaze follows the Old woman's movements impatiently tapping her feet with her hands on her waist and then folding them below her chest and rolling her eyes, I didn’t realize she was already standing

“is she deaf now?” she utter, almost like a whispers when the woman doesn’t answer us. Struggling to my feet I pull her gently so we both crash on the mat again – if we are going to spend the night here, we can as well not find some secrets that might cost our lives

“it was only after the mansion was completed that my husband went missing” the old woman's Edgy voice pull our gaze, she turns after lighting the fire and finds a tall stool to sit “The house keeper ran away and warned us about the family in the mansion. She claimed they had just disappeared out of thin air and she doesn’t know what had happened them. My husband had already gone missing then”

She sniffs and adjusts her sitting position with a wince “But several cases followed afterwards including the housekeeper… I went there hoping to find my husband and my daughter along with a few of the villagers, that was when we saw the shadows for the first time” she sniffs another huge gulp of air into her lungs and lets it out slowly “after that I tried to leave with a couple more and...” she pauses when her voice breaks “we never went near the place again” her voice choking with tears. Bella just stands there staring at her in pure terror but she snaps back when the woman breaks down in tears. Pulling her into a consoling hug

“it getting dark now, I hope the others in the hotel are ok” I utter wistfully, spreading the mat out on the floor – I am most especially worried for Rose, she had not exactly been stable since the turn out of events and leaving Thelma, who literally doesn’t give a fuck about her and Olivia, whom she suspects with her at the hotel was a wild goose gamble

“What did you find at the mansion?” The woman's weary gaze shifts from Bella to me

“A reason we shouldn't go back there, I guess” Bella says with a breath, slipping her hands from the woman's shoulder and heading to the mat which I had spread out on the floor

*************

“Don’t beat yourself up, we will get to the bottom of all this, whatever it is” I say. Sitting beside her and crossing my legs with my hands on my knee, the woman had left with a charcoal lamp, said to get something from her farm. Wherever that was

“What if we were actually kidnapped and our real bodies are in captivity somewhere?” She said dragging herself into a sitting position and tugging her gold strands behind her ears “all we need to do is trigger ourselves into waking up” she completes

first off, I don’t see how that is a better option to what we are currently facing “funny enough, I think all this is more literal than some reality mash up” I tried to hide the sarcasm in my voice but when it betrays me, I lift my brows slightly and shrug. She doesn’t smile so I adjust my sitting posture and focus my gaze on her face – hopefully with a more serious look

“then I hope reality can explain why my wound disappeared? And exactly what it is that is stopping us from leaving this town. How about the aspect of visible shadows literally roaming around in a mansion” she argues with displeasure sipping through her words

“maybe-” my next words hang in my mouth – I have been with Bella long enough to know that suggesting that the twins were behind all this will only infuriate her more than she already is – she doesn’t believe in ghosts.

She reads my mind because she rolled her eyes at me “not the twins again” she breaths the words, dumping her face in her hands and then raising up her head with a look of frustration

“Think about it, the only other explanation to all this is them” I continue, stopping my hands from holding her shoulder when she glare at me

“did those shadows look like two to you? Or have you started counting in threes?” she scowls at me

“we are talking ghosts here, anything is possible” I pause when her brows crashed together but as she loosens her face I continues “some crazy person might have gotten us to this island after hearing the rumors, the villagers are barely even modernized and I suspect they don’t speak our language either. Except a few that struggle with it”

“I don't know T, maybe I love to believe the story with a higher chance of survival” she says with the I-give-up look

“Optimism can't change the fact that we definitely are in a haunted town” I say

“That I might agree with and we are in the process of finding a way out of here. Whatever the back story doesn’t matter at this point – I just can’t stop myself from wishing someone will wake me up and I am no longer in this place… a girl can dream” she had attempted for a bun but her hair falls back right after she completed her statement

The only way we would get answers was getting out of here and although I am really curious to know exactly what all this is about, what matters now is getting out.

“forget that” adjusting my sitting position again this time pulling closer to her, I lean in with a playful smirk “did you just call me T” grinning ear to ear she leans in so that we could feel each other breathe

“I was too lazy to complete it” she says playfully

“A pet name and you haven't even bothered for a kiss” I say

“is that you begging?” she lifts her brows.

I chuckle and pull away “let's see how long you hold on for, Bella” Bella giggles covering her mouth. that excites me, so I grab on her laps and pull her closer “you know - I like it when you giggle”

“do you have the slightest idea how freaked out Mrs. story teller would be if she catches two young adults kissing on her mat, in the middle of a freaking ass haunted town” She says, quite dramatic with her hand gestures

“wouldn't matter, what matters is how curious you should be - what does it feel like locking lips with a hot guy in a virtual reality game? As you prefer to believe” I roll my eyes at the last sentence

“not curious enough to be the one asking for it. You started it” She says with a wink. Tapping my hands away from her laps she stretches out on the mat beside me and taps the space she made beside her. Smiling I join her and pull her in, wrapping my arms around her and she rests her head on my chest “this town is not so messed up now is it?” she whispers

“hmm maybe” my voice is now distant.