Fleeting Memories

Chapter 29: What was he doing?

Dust pillowed over the musty hall; the collected dust disturbed and swayed from the shaking of the ground itself. It was a still silence interrupted periodically by the sounds of heavy thumps, but that constant almost rhythmic noise was quickly pushed aside when a variable arose.

The door slammed wide open and rushing in, a man donned in a white uniform and blue working jeans hurriedly paced through the hallway. He made no hesitation making each and every turn in the pitch-black darkness as if he was already sure of the path before coming...

His footsteps made a cringing creak with each step while traversing through the inside of the house, but it wasn't long before everything stopped and he returned to silence for a moment. He halted at the door and taking a deep breath, he opened the knob and bolted straight in.

Snatching a large leather satchel by the table, he quickly gathered all the things he required as preparations for the multiple rituals he'd have to perform consecutively. He filed through countless jars, picking and choosing whatever he needed in less than a second of hesitation.

With his quick-witted nature and steady pace, it didn't take long before the bag was already most of its way full of a myriad of odd ingredients that would make no sense at a single glance. Just as he was about to finish the gathering of materials, he realized something...

A light was peaking through a tiny crack in the ceiling, leading him to come to the conclusion that his brother was still at home doing whatever he pleased at such a time of peril.

Making a sigh of tiredness, he stuffed the remainder of what he needed and stomping his way up the staircase of the desolate manor, he made a beeline to his brother's office, and upon slamming it open, he found nothing but a lit magic lantern on the table.

Not a soul was in sight, leading him to wonder just where his brother had run off. From the lack of transmissions from the elusive inventor, Alex could already tell he was up to no good, and approaching the sole light source of the room, he picked up what seemed to be a note.

His mind processed the writing on the paper as soon as his eyes made a swift glance towards the horrible ink writing belonging to his brother. He clenched his fists, crushing the paper as he became enraged at just what he had done while everyone else was doing their best out there...

He threw the crushed note aside and tightening the leather straps that were fitted with his clothes, he ran out of the building but not before calling upon the spirits belonging to the spirit conjurer, Mary. As soon as he made the gesture, a flicker of light appeared before him.

What emerged was but a simple lesser spirit but even these small seamless entities are magnitudes more useful and capable than what the uninformed give them credit for.

"Mary! Do you copy? It's about Alfred..." Alex spoke to the spirit as he sprinted to do what he had intended to do in the first place.

"Y- Yes! I'm here... Just taking care of some strays before the barrier falls... Did you say it's about Alfred, where is he at the moment, don't tell me he's up to no good again..." Mary said as distant sounds of screams of voices that were unfamiliar to him filled the background.

"It's as you think... He is most likely outside... Outside the barrier I mean... He left a note saying he's off to do field testing with whatever he was making the past few days..." Alex said while running towards the sector of the town in which he could hear distant voices.

"Outside the barrier!? Does that idiot have a death wish? Why on earth did he leave?? Even if he could enter back in, there are hundreds upon thousands of those undead just beyond the barrier that we're within!! I'm sending a spirit to him right now..."