Pantomaniac

Chapter 14

Grabbing his house keys, Kef zoomed through his front door. He locked everything in a haste and within seconds, he was stomping down the street. An old lady looked at him like he had horns but he could not be bothered.

His adrenaline was overflowing. So much so that his arms trembled. He had to keep them swaying just to keep his heart from beating too fast.

All the time he was walking, he kept his eyes on one house. The very one near which the cab driver had dropped him off. The very one near which the stacked mimes had appeared. For the first time ever, he felt like they were communicating something. He always sensed that but the fact that they nearly had him killed each time cancelled out the communication part.

When he reached the house at the end of the street, he stopped. His chest heaved up and down. Sweat had formed a thin layer on his back, slowly soaking through his old t-shirt. But none of that mattered. Kef's eyes were screwed tight onto the house. House number 10.

He recalled the young couple who had asked him about that house. He had just returned home after his night shift at his old job. For some reason, they thought he knew if the house was for rent. How would he have known? That was what was in his mind but he decided against tossing that at the couple. Turned out, no one really knew what was the deal.

And at that moment, as Kef stood facing it, he wondered if the owner was even still alive. Part of him wished whoever the owner was, he or she would not find out what he was about to do.

*****

"Son of a..." Kef fell with a thud. "Ergh!"

As he got up, he rubbed his behind. He regretted climbing over the gate. Clearly, he had miscalculated the height. Another reminder that his police days were well behind him.

Not wanting to waste another second, Kef crept towards the front door. He knew what he was about to discover but still, he grabbed the door knob and twisted it. Locked. Sighing, Kef made his way around the corner of the house.

It was a typical corner-lot terrace, except that instead of grass, the lawn had been cemented. Kef peered through the window but all he could see was darkness. And dirt which caked the glass. He took several steps back. Hands on his waist, he wondered if he had had it all wrong. Maybe it wasn't the house. Why would the mime encrypt such a thing if she wanted to lead him there? They were extremely close to the house. She could have simply pointed her fingers at the house. She sure as hell used those fingers to almost choke him to death. Pointing at a house would not have been a chore.

His train of thoughts took him to the back fence. One theory after another came crawling into his mind. And like dominoes, Kef dismissed each and every one of them. He grabbed the fence and was about to lean his forehead on it when he spotted a small trail beside the house.

An electrifying sensation burned through Kef's arms. He released the fence. Stumbling backwards, Kef blindly reached out but there was nothing to hold on to. He fell.

His vision went dark. Kef could feel his arms and legs shaking. He tried to stop them. But nothing helped. Each part of his body was on autopilot.

After what felt like hours, his vision returned. His trembling stopped. Kef slowly got up. Only after taking a few deep breaths did he get up. He was getting pretty good at such aftermaths, thanks to the bloody mimes.

*****

With every step Kef took, his gut whispered words that could not be registered in his mind. He walked along the dirty trail. It slowly took him further and further from house number 10.

He never realized there was a trail behind that house and as he followed it, he soon found himself stepping into a forest. Kef always knew there was one behind the row of houses but he simply thought it was nothing more than a vast land. One that would someday be taken down for yet another development.

Few more steps later, the trail ended. And so did Kef's movement.

He looked around. Trees. There was nothing but trees. But Kef refused to turn back. Standing there, he realized the day was getting darker. When he left his home, he did not realize it was only an hour or so before night dusk. All of a sudden, the forest felt thicker, the trees taller. The world shrank quieter.

Kef froze.

He wasn't sure if he should pursue his search of if he should just turn around and get out of the blanket of trees.

Casting his fears aside, Kef walked on, but his steps much smaller and slower this time. Everything he heard had grown ten times louder. Even the rustling of the leaves sounded like crashing waves. His steps got heavier by the second, bowing down to his reluctant heart. Every inch of his body screamed for him to turn around. But he couldn't. He didn't want to.

A few steps later, he knew why.

Peeping beyond a tree, Kef's eyes landed on an old bungalow. Its walls faded with moss. Broken branches blanketed the ground. Kef knew in an instant. That was where the mime had been leading him to.