Chapter 32

It was a very long walk from the hut to the hotel more so given the shrill silence of the atmosphere and the fact that no one among us was willing to break it

Instead, we look at the sun at intervals hoping it doesn’t suddenly disappear even though we had distributed the weapons between ourselves and Tony had the lighter along with Thelma – since the group had decided that they were more likely to not lose it and I do agree, I just wish it didn’t affect my pride so much but why wouldn’t it? Olivia suggested it

The Villagers were waiting eagerly for our return, so much so that we received a clapping ovation along with cheers as if we returned from some kind of battle

Even finding out that we are potentially being sold wasn’t much of a breakthrough since we all knew that we were in danger somehow, we just didn’t want to accept it, so we came up with instances that would justify our beliefs

But one thing crept deep within my mind while I watched the villagers cheer for us. A question that we need answers for if we were going to get out of here at all

What is making all these possible? The shadows, their whispers, human beings disappearing with a gust, the cold hand I touched, and also the fact that my wound disappeared right after the attack

That was exactly what made me jump to the conclusion of virtual reality given that perception can be controlled in that aspect

I would have added disappearing dead bodies to the list but we have figured that one out – wow, we did have a tiny breakthrough

And at this stage, I am not ruling out the possibility of some kind of rituals involved in all these

“We just have to survive one night without losing anybody,” Tony says while we settle on the six beds that were arranged for us. I toss one of the beds towards two men that had their heads on a bed and the rest of their bodies spread out on the floor

The reception tiles are cold to the touch. Rose does the same and forces her slim body into Thelma’s bed which she reluctantly lets her

Willow gives out his to the teenage girl and her two friends that took care of the group while we were gone and slips in with Tony leaving me and Olivia to share the last one

“I made it pretty clear to everyone not to leave the reception and we blocked the exit into the corridor to contain the heat. We will be fine” The girl calls out to us and I smile back at her

This situation made her act so maturely that you will hardly think she is just a kid, unlike the other teenagers that couldn’t spare a moment from their sulking. I do keep forgetting my age too

“I notice you have been quiet a lot. Both when we just arrived and now” I ask Olivia

I wasn’t thinking about this question or Olivia but it must have registered in my subconscious so that when she locked eyes with me, the silence between us made me uncomfortable that I had to say something to break it, this question was what slip out my tongue

“I have been here for a long time” she blurts the words out nonchalantly

“How come you were never taken? According to Willow, the hotel cleared out” I ask

She looks at me for a while, probably trying to decide whether to ignore me or not. Then she lets out a long breath and looks back at me

“I.. I.. was just in my room, I never left it and when the disappearing started and they started panicking. I left the hotel too and ended up in a hut with this man. Then they were still young people in the village” she adjusts her head which she rested on her folded hand

Her loose bun is still intact. She continues “he told me all the rules, I was the one that set up those rules for Willow when I saw he was investigating the shadows” I raise my brows in amazement

She nods after me “I didn’t think it strange that he knew all these things. I just knew that he protected me and when everyone was gone, it was just the old people mourning their dead. He and I planned to escape the town, he had prepared a boat for me on the beach. I was scared because I saw the villagers convulse the moment they attempted to cross the village gate so I didn’t know how he was able to prepare the boat and how we were going to leave”

She licks her lips and forces a sad smile “I think I liked him” she chuckles and her eyes water

I know she used the past tense which means something bad must happened to him or between them but I wasn’t going to rush her since she was struggling with telling the story itself

“but then, the night before we left, I fitted the puzzle and I just knew he was part of the people that perpetrated the town. He also dug up the doll stuff from the floor in certain areas and said nothing will happen if I crossed. There was no way he knew so much in so little time”

“You told willow about that too?”

“not directly but yes”

“wow, it was hard to figure out how he knew all this” at least I can justify trusting Willow and this information will make Tony stop picking on him

“Those papers were Harem’s… he was looking for a way to walk around the rules so I don’t get hurt”

“he didn’t succeed”

“yea, the morning we were going to leave, I confronted him about it and the moment he confessed to being part of a secret organization, he started to convulse before he could tell me more, he died”

My lids tear apart, the death was to prevent those people from telling us anything. A secret organization, buried artifacts, whispering dark clouds - all these are something that points to the fact that we are dead meat. But then

“why didn't you leave?” I ask

Tears rolls away from her eyes into the hand that was under her head. She wipes them off “I ran out that minute, I crossed the gate but I couldn't go far, some men caught me and dragged me back here. They wanted to take me somewhere but then they didn't and they fed me something that confused me”

“And just like Willow, your memory started to click back”

“yes, not just of Harem and my leaving but also of how exactly I got here”

“why didn't you say anything?”

“harem was always skeptical about someone watching and I didn't know who might be watching at that time so I had to feign ignorance because if I make them know that I knew something, I would be taken and killed”

“that's a point” I tap her shoulder and pull closer so she rests her face on my chest

“how did you get here?”

“I jumped off a bridge” I pull back and look at her teary eyes

“What do you mean?”

“I was tired of living so I made the decision to end it”

“Olivia, I am so sorry” I say, cupping her cheeks

“it's not Jeffery” she interrupt me “I just have always felt so alone all my life and I have never liked my life to begin with so after Jeffery, everything just got so hyped up and I couldn't take it anymore” she covers her face and I hug her

I listen to her sob until it was completely replaced by slow deep breathing.