DANIEL HERON: BECOMING

31 - Leave the park as soon as possible

"Oh, shit," Daniel whispered, standing just a few meters away from the stone arch and the sinister darkness below.

No doubt, someone was there before him; the leaves on some of the ivy shoots had their lower surfaces turned to the sun which meant that someone moved them quite recently, otherwise they would have already turned to the proper side by themselves.

"Shit!" this time he said louder.

It was at that moment he heard some sort of crackling sounds. He jumped to the side, and hid behind a tree.

"Can you hear me? I repeat, can you hear me?" The voice was coming from the pocket on Daniels denim jacket. That was when Daniel remembered that he caried a walkie talkie the sergeant gave him earlier that day. He reached into his pocket and took out the device still conveying the sergeant's voice. "Daniel, come in. Do you hear me?"

With shaky hands, Daniel managed to press the right button, and he responded in a whisper, "Yeah, I can hear you. You scared the bejesus out of me! My heart almost pierced right through my T-shirt!"

"Sorry," the sergeant said without real remorse in his voice. "We were supposed to stay in contact. You haven't reported anything for an hour and a half. I was getting worried."

That did sound sincere. It was something Daniel wasn't used to; to have someone worry about him when he didn't call. Mrs. Heron surely didn't lose sleep thinking about where he went, or was he okay when he hung out with the gang.

"I guess I just forgot about the damn thing in my pocket," Daniel said. He then lowered his voice and whispered, "I found it. The entrance to the basement. I'm looking at it right now."

After a short silence, sergeant Novik spoke again. "Remember what I told you," he warned. "Don't be a hero. Get as far away as possible."

Daniel's eyes didn't part from the darkness domed by a stone arch. The fear began to leave his body, but then a rustling sound from somewhere nearby sent him running towards the sunny part of the park. He only threw a quick glance over the shoulder. He thought he saw a squirrel with a bushy tail climbing the tree that was his hiding spot just moments earlier.

He slowed down, but continued to retreat further away. Perhaps he didn't wake the ominous newcomer after all, however he wasn't willing to take the risk. It occurred to him that he wouldn't even need to come out in the open. It would suffice to capture Daniel's eyes with his amber stare, after which he could command him to do anything.

"Daniel, come in." The walkie talkie crackled again. "Where are you?"

Stopping for a moment, Daniel pressed the button and answered, "I'm going towards the church." He was out of breath and he knew the sergeant must have heard it in his voice.

"What happened?" sergeant Novik asked.

"Nothing," Daniel responded. "False alarm."

"Did you see him?"

"No," Daniel replied. "It was just a squirrel, I guess."

"Leave the park as soon as possible," the sergeant instructed. "When you reach the church, stay there until I arrive."

Daniel's heart was still pounding behind his ribcage when he walked out of the park. Standing in the direct sunlight, he bent, placing his palms on his knees. He focused on breathing. That, in combination with the bright sun did wonders to calm him down.

After a minute or two, he looked up. Just across the road stood the church, its tower reaching the heights. The area in front of it was closed for traffic, with several empty benches.