Faceless Instincts

Truth Be Told

Nikolai and I dashed through the hall and up the stairs. We were still hearing a shuffling sound but this labyrinth of a house made it impossible to determine the direction, we took a wild guess and turned the corner just as I caught a glimpse of someone running into a spare bedroom on the east side.

I brought myself to a halt, almost skidding down, "outside" I said and turned around, I knew whoever it was had only one option if he wanted to escape, go out of the window, or get caught by Nikolai.

Nikolai spared a glance at me, "don't, Kiara" he glared at me as he reached for his gun that was neatly tucked in his back, under the shirt.

Ignoring him I skipped down the stairs three at a time and ran through the hall, accidentally knocking over a lamp.

Barging out of the door the first thing I noticed was the gate that was still chained. The person was still inside.

I heard a thump and groan from the backside of the house and broke into a run towards it. The walls were tall and thick; no one could jump through them. I - almost slipping - turned towards the backyard, only to stare at the empty white land. What the fuck?

"Where the fuck did he go?" I asked out loud.

Mere moments later Nikolai turned the corner and was equally shocked, "what the fuck...?"

"...my question exactly," I said, still staring.

"But I saw him climb down" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"And I heard him fall." I looked up at him and he looked like a dormant volcano, silent but ready to erupt.

"Then where did he..." He paused noticing something, "oh, son, you are stupid," he said smirking.

He grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me forward, he pointed towards the footprints in the snow.

"They are leading into the shed," I said and he looked down at me.

"Exactly, love."

He pushed the door but it was locked from inside, "this son of a..."

"What do we do now?"

"Break this down" he started slamming his shoulder into the door. It was painful to watch, every time he struck the door, his face was stony but I knew that it got to hurt a lot - later or not right now.

Once he broke down the door we both rushed in and looked around, "he escaped?"

Nikolai was about to burst when I held his hand, "wait..."

"...what?" He snapped and I glared at him.

"He escaped from there" I pointed towards the ventilation window at the top.

The shed was packed with numerous things. Significantly old furniture sat in one corner, with various heavy tools stood supported by the wall. Boxes and cartons were neatly tucked on another side, "maybe the boxes helped him get that high"

"I don't even remember when I came in here for the last time." He said looking around, "it's worthless now, let's go. I will put a lock outside in the evening."

He shifted and walked out, "wait" I rushed after him,

"Dorian mentioned this place in his entries, even if it wasn't your father who he saw, there still was someone in here for a week."

He stared at me with his brows furrowed, "And?"

"And your mother wrote in her letter that she followed your father every night, but he always managed to come home before her, like he never left."