Serial

Chapter Seventeen

Of all the things I'd imagined happening, it hadn't been this.

"Levi?" I whispered.

Levi stood up and turned to face me. His face was blank, but he seemed to be waiting for me to say something. Or do something. But my legs wouldn't move, and my mouth wouldn't speak, and I was frozen in place as my brain raced to figure out what was going on.

"Levi...what are you doing here?" I asked, finally. "Did Kyle bring you here, too?"

Without answering, Levi began to walk toward me, stopping only once he'd reached the middle of the floor. Then he lifted his chin up and closed his eyes, swaying slightly to the music. In another place and another time, I would've been inspired to dance too, but right now just I wanted him to stop.

"I just love this, don't you? It's sad and dark, just like the world we live in," Levi said, opening his eyes to look at me again. He let his hands drift through the air like he was conducting an unseen orchestra. "Most people associate the piece with the Disney movie. A fairytale suitable for kids. But the real story? It's much more tragic. Don't you agree?"

My mouth had gone dry and I was struggling to come up with a plan of action. It was difficult on account of the fact that I still didn't know what the hell was going on. Was Kyle here? Had Levi been drawn here, too? Were we safer in the studio than we were outside?

I was closer than Levi was to the front door of the studio, so I knew I could make a run for it if I had to. But even if I did, where did that leave Zhara?

Of course, all of this was a moot point until I knew why Levi was here.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him again, trying to remain calm.

He tilted his head to the side and looked at me surprised. "You still haven't figured it out?"

"Figured what out?" I asked.

"The answers to all your questions, Emmy. Why did Kyle kill? Why'd he choose those women? How'd he get away with it for so long? Why didn't he kill you, too? Why? Why? WHY?" Levi said, ticking the questions off his fingers as he sauntered around the wooden floor, his boots scratching along the surface as he went.

As he paced, he began to distance himself from me and Zhara, which was good. I glanced down at my friend to see if he was awake yet, but he still hadn't moved. He wouldn't be out forever though. And when he did stir, I'd need him to leave before he could be hurt again.

"You're right. I haven't figured it out yet, Levi. But I'm beginning to wonder why you would have the answers," I said. "Unless Kyle confided in you after all."

"Oh, I know Kyle better than he even knows himself," Levi said confidently. "The things I could tell you would Blow. Your. Mind."

I swallowed hard. "Why don't you enlighten me then," I said.

Levi stared at me like he was amused by my brazenness. "I'll answer some of your questions," he said. "But then you've got to do something for me."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Oh, we'll get to that soon enough," he said, waving me off like we had all the time in the world. "Questions first, fun later."

I didn't like the sound of that, but figured I wasn't in a position to argue.

"Did Kyle really do it?" I asked, thinking fast. Ever since I'd seen Levi in the studio, I'd begun to wonder.

"Really? You're wasting a question on that?" he answered, almost laughing at me.

"I didn't realize there was a limit," I said.