The Color of Your Eyes

Chapter 17: Cleo

"Jake...? Richy...?" Cleo whispered as she clutched her phone to her chest, the message from Jake was still visible on her screen.

"Here Cleo," came Jake's voice, who was hiding in the bushes with Richy, near the pond where they escaped the mines from.

Cleo was the first person that responded to his plea for help before Richy and him swam out the pond that was near the mines. Jake almost thought they would drown when he saw a flash of light above him that came from one of the FBI cars that were parked nearby. It was quite an irony that the FBI has saved his life this way.

"Oh, God..." Cleo whispered and ducked as she saw the light from a flashlight of an FBI agent close by, trying to survey the surroundings for the hacker. "Guys, are you two alright? Did you two really just swim out from the mines?!" she whispered in disbelief.

Jake was shaking and so was Richy, it was still quite chilly in Duskwood, especially in the woods during the night.

"Yes," Jake nodded, and Richy looked at Cleo before averting his eyes.

"Richy..." Cleo crouched in front of him, tears in her eyes before she hugged Richy sobbing. "Oh God, Richy, Jessy told us everything, what you did, that you were the man without a face. We found Jessy, crying like a mess in one of the rooms upstairs, we couldn't believe her, Thomas and Dan are furious with you, but then we got the text message from people telling us that there was an explosion, the FBI and police are at the Grimrock, the festival is canceled, we were all worried, shocked, sad. Oh God Richy, whatever this is we can fix it, we can go through this – together!" Cleo couldn't stop talking, the words just poured out of her mouth along with her tears.

Richy lowered his head and could only nod. He felt too ashamed to say anything.

Cleo took a deep breath and pulled up her glasses to wipe her tears away.

"What do we now?" she looked at Jake unsure, as some FBI agents were still heard close by.

"I have a plan," Jake whispered. "You take Richy to the police, and with that, you create a moment for me to slip away, as this will catch the attention of the FBI. They will probably ask you two if you have seen me. Just admit half the truth, that Richy swam out, he wandered the woods, you came here, found Richy, and brought him to the police for help. Meanwhile, I will slip away and return to my hiding place. Both mine and Richy's phones are dead, so I cannot contact any of you guys, but I have a spare phone where I sleep. I will stay in contact with you Cleo, as Hannah and Richy will be bought to the hospital. Once everything has settled and the FBI left Duskwood, I will contact you guys for a meeting. We have to talk about how we proceed from here on, if we admit to the police about Richy kidnapping Hannah, and of course... about what happened with Jennifer."

Cleo nodded as she rubbed Richy's shoulder, who was now just putting his head on both his knees. He looked defeated and saddened.

"How did you come here?" Jake asked.

Cleo looked at Jake for a moment, unsure of what he meant.

"Your car's tires were slashed, how did you get here?" Jake elaborated.

Cleo smiled, "Oh, I called for an Uber, then asked my uncle for help to pick up the others, that's when I saw your messages, so he lent me my aunt's car to get to you guys," her eyes fell on Richy who was now sitting motionless.

"Richy don't worry, Dan and Thomas might be furious, but they were worried sick when they heard that there was an explosion in the mines. Hannah is safe, you are alive, Jake hasn't been caught yet – oh which reminds me, have you contacted Lia yet?"

Jake took out his phone, trying to turn it on, but his phone was still dead, probably because of the water. It was a good thing he sent the message for help just before he jumped into the water.

Cleo felt her phone vibrating. She saw that she got a message from Lilly, saying that they are all heading to Grimrock to see Hannah.

"I have to go now, everyone is going to meet Hannah who is waiting at the Grimrock," Cleo said in excitement.

Jake nodded. "I will stay here until you and Richy approach the FBI. I trust you won't tell anyone I was here until the coast is clear. Just tell Lia not to worry about me for me."

Cleo nodded, then helped Richy get up, leaving Jake alone in the darkness. Together, they walked towards the flashing lights of police cars.