"Will you go with me?"
Riley looked at him blankly. "You brought this trouble upon yourself. I have no hand in it."
Keith understood that it was true. "Thank you for helping me. Without you, I wouldn't even know why they all suddenly died."
His eyes were melancholic. "Why hadn't it killed me? I knew Kevin had come to my room." He remembered the open door.
Riley shook her head. She didn't know. She knew she had told him too much. Some things were better off being untold but after Gregory Derrick's stupidity, she changed her mind.
"Good luck." She said in a low voice and turned around to go back into her house.
"Hey!"
Riley turned around and clumsily caught the object he threw at her.
"If I don't make it, call my mom and tell her what happened to me. She will keep this secret."
Riley watched as he left. His back looking lonely yet determined against the rainy sky. She looked at the smartphone in her hands.
What a tragic fool. Misfortune can befall on anyone. No one can stop it. They can only feel it coming but can do nothing to stop it. Or can they? Riley didn't know. She had always been the watcher.
Her grip on the phone tightened.
Keith stood at the end of the bridge, looking at the lake between him and the colosseum. The huge structure was patched into the black sky with its round top forming an arch in the sky. It really wasn't a good idea to come at night but he really didn't have time.
So now, how to cross the lake? He looked around and only found a large door from the junk yard of the colosseum. There was space for two people on it. He took a shovel and decided to use that as a paddle.
He pushed the door into the lake, hopped on it, placing the vase carefully on it. He kept his eyes on it while he rowed the makeshift "boat".
He was met with the grand entrance of the colosseum on the other side of the lake. This modern colosseum was made just for tourism and some shows occasionally so it also had a basement where they placed all the props. He saw a board for a museum and decided that it must be his destination.
He will go in, throw away the antique back from where it came from and leave this place. His plans were all set.
He didn't go for arena but straight to the basement. It was dark and musty and grimy. Spider webs hung from all corners and it smelled weird. He dusted off the map of the colosseum and tried to look for the museum. It was so silent, he could hear his own breathe loud and clear. The basement had completely blocked out the noise from the thunderstorm.
Even the slightest noise echoed in the expansive hallways.
Keith followed the map and made his way downstairs. He turned corners and finally reached a wooden carved door with a plate saying: The Colosseum Museum. He took a deep breathe and entered.
The door creaked open. It was deadly silent in pitch blackness. The inside of the room looked like the mouth of a monster, ready to devour you once you enter.
Keith started humming some rap tunes in order to ease his mind. His breathing came out a little hitched. There was a light pressure on his shoulders as if something heavy had been placed on it.
He shook his head and placed the vase on the floor and made a run for it. Near the door, he tripped on something and fell. Grabbing his aching elbows, he looked at the thing that tripped him. It was a book. Looking closer, it was his book. The Geography of Edinburgh and it was opened on the page of the colosseum.
Keith frowned and looked at the writing which was as he remembered. However, he was wondering how this book got here. It was supposed to be at his house.
He felt something was amiss. He looked closely at the page opened and it showed various facilities the colosseum provided. By instinct, he looked for the museum but after a while, he frowned. There was no museum.
"But I was just in the museum, I swear-"
He felt a chill up his spine. A feeling of fear overcame him. He didn't think much and ran for the door and didn't stop until he reached the stairs that led out of the basement. Near him was another map for tourists. He scoured it and this time, he couldn't find the museum on it.
"What in the world..." Then where was he before?
Keith shook his head and decided it was time to leave this god forsaken place.
