Ashes to Diamonds

Chapter 5: Whisperer

The house and all of its rooms were just as they were in the morning. Nothing had changed, though Ember was nowhere to be found. "Lydia!" I called out twice, hoping for our cook to reply, but there was no answer. Evan and I stood in the living room waiting for a phone call from Ember informing us that she went shopping with Lydia and they would be back shortly but we both knew this was not the case. "We still haven't checked Ember's room." Evan suggests. Right before we went up the flight of stairs, we heard muffled squealing coming from underneath the couch. Evan reached underneath the couch without a second thought and scooped up the blindfolded, pink furry ball. I grabbed Waldo from Evan's arms and hastily removed the rag from Waldo's small head and squeezed him in an embrace, glad that he was here and alright. Why would whoever did this blindfold a pig? Waldo grunted and nudged at my arm trying to get back onto the floor, so I set him down and Evan and I walked up to Ember's bedroom. My heart began to pound hard. Something was clearly wrong.

Ember's room was always a room I was never allowed to enter for as long as I could remember, even when we weren't living here. I felt a slight excitement to finally see what she was always hiding behind her doors though I didn't show it on my face. I gripped the round, polished wooden doorknob and slowly turned it dramatically, anticipating what I would find in her room.

This was the largest room in the house. The walls were covered with wallpaper. Two lines of different shades of blue went in opposite directions, diagonally, and they intersected, making diamond patterns. Her bed was made and it was against the furthest wall. There was a brown wooden dresser next to her bed. On it were five hazy gray, glass orbs that were the size of my fist, sitting on stands that kept them from rolling onto the floor. I was left staring at them for ten minutes not knowing how long I had wasted, taking in the beauty of the mesmerizing spheres.  Her desk was the last large object that I only happened to notice, because I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. Glancing over, on the navy blue desktop were three stacks of paper, each about twenty centimeters high; Ember's work she had been working on earlier. On the stack completely to the left, a pencil was moving from left to right on the top paper in a seemingly random manner as if someone was using it to write. "It might be writing a message", Evan suggested. I go over to check if Ember left a message for me since the situation has become more serious than was thought before. The pencil did leave a trail of writing.

THE CORDS FOLLOW GIGI IN THE VENT THO IT ARE - Ember

Great, I now have a note that might be a clue with grammar failing to let the sentence make sense. Who is Gigi? Why did she go inside of a vent? Are the cords Ember's kidnappers? I spent a good forty five minutes staring at the letter until I realized that it had to be an anagram, but what could it mean? "Evan, come over. Ember left an anagram and I don't know what it could mean". We typed the message into an anagram decoder online, using my smartphone and the only possible message suggested that made the most sense read;

RAVISHINGLY RIGHT TEE

TEACHING TOTE

FLOOD NOT OWL

We ended up writing all the letters down onto a piece of paper but we had no idea what it could mean. If it even meant anything. "We have to go look for her," I finally speak. "I'll run over to Alf and see if he could find the message behind this because I have no idea where to start". Evan nods. We head out and pass through the entrance.

I open the dumpster entrance from the side the slide is on and the sound of rustling fills my ears making my heart takeoff to Mars. I take in a deep breath. There is no turning back now. I surge towards the top of dumpster with my eyes tightly shut pushing the doors wide open and clumsily jumping out onto the concrete. The impact forced me to open my eyes. Evan was already out and was peering into the trash container with his same dull expression. I slowly creep over and meet a masked critter with beady eyes, staring directly back at me. "A raccoon." I break out into a nervous laugh as I catch my breath. It slowly got out and began to awkwardly walk in circles.

Damn, you had to startle me. The least you could do is remove this sugar cup from my leg.

"Oh sorry Evan, I-" I stopped as I finished turning. Evan was giving me a confused look again. I look down at the raccoon. "Did it talk?". Evan scrunches his face in confusion even more.

Yeah, you're insane. Now do you mind taking this off of my paw?

The raccoon's mouth didn't move either but it moved its head in a manner that made it seem as if it were talking. I bent down and removed the yogurt cup from its paw more calmly than I thought I could. It nodded and quickly scurried away into the darker parts of the alley. I finally let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding in. I didn't even want an explanation. I started to walk away then turned momentarily to tell Evan, "you should stay put, just in case Ember or Lydia show up. Text me if they do, I'll try to be quick". I motioned him the peace sign, and began to run to Alfonso's house, leaving Evan standing underneath an orange streetlight, threatening to burn out.