Ashes to Diamonds

Chapter 6: The Edge

I don't knock. I grabbed the spare key of his apartment behind a loose brick in the wall, hidden by a chair. The light in his kitchen was on and the smell of seafood still lingered. "Alf?" I called out. I might have just missed him but he should be back soon. His bedroom light is also on but he isn't there. There were about ten identical empty prescription bottles littering his floor. I crouched down to pick one up. The label read Sumatriptan. I took my phone from the pocket of my blue windbreaker and typed it into google. The top hits showed me that they were to help relieve migraines. They were all prescribed on Oct. 6, 2015. Only two days ago. I set them back on the floor as they were to not make it look like I was there. What would he need all of that for? Though knowing Alfonso, for anything that seemed impossible to explain, he always had a completely, logical explanation. 

I got back up and continued to look around. He had an impressive collection of sunglasses, some of them newly purchased, still in their bags. I grabbed a pair of round sunglasses for myself and slid them into my pocket. He probably bought one too extra. I got up to leave and stopped dead in my tracks. Someone was standing in the doorway.

"Evan?" He grinned. " I told you to stay behind in case Ember returned." He continued to grin awkwardly. "Alf isn't here. I need to wait for him." He nodded and sat down on a chair. I went to the kitchen to wait for Alf, helping myself to some of the food he had made. I was going through ways to bring up Ember's disappearance in the most calm way to tell Alf.

 Several minutes had passed and suddenly the silence broke with the doorknob shaking aggressively, making me fall backwards onto the counter.  I stood up, my heart was racing, in a blur, I was already in Alf's room. I ran back to the living room to warn Evan, "Evan, you need to hide, someone's trying to break in!" I then hurried back. Processing the room, Evan was gone. He must have already hidden.

There was a loud bang followed by the sound of a falling tree. The door was torn open. I ran to the window in the room, yanked it open, climbed out and hung on to the ledge. In contrast to my clumsiness, I did have a good grip. I peered down to see my options, just in case the intruder came by and looked out the window and saw me. It wasn't a huge fall but it would still hurt, and I couldn't leave Evan behind. Loud, heavy footsteps were making their way down the hall towards the kitchen. They stopped. They began to slam the cabinets. Does this person not know how to do break-in, how are the neighbours not hearing any of this.

My fingers were already becoming numb. The footsteps started again and they were getting closer. I heard the door of the room right next to the bedroom slam and flinched. I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down and hoping that he wouldn't come by. The door to Alf's room was whipped open, slamming against the wall. They are in the room. They were going through the desk and throwing stuff around the room. With all of that rage, I was finding it strange that he never spoke. I closed my eyes and hoped they would not look out of the window. The footsteps neared  the window and I hastily whispered "Clear". They heard heavy breathing right above me. I opened an eye to look, and caught a glimpse of the intruder. He had a shaved head, awfully thick neck with a black tattoo of a bear and an thick X mark going right through it. He looked directly at me and I was sure that he saw me for even a second. I closed my eyes again. I continued to hold my breath, reminding myself that I had put up a clear cloak so he should not be able to see me. But it was not convincing. He sniffed the air like a hound. He better have some sort of  enhanced smelling ability otherwise this is downright silly. I heard movement again. I opened up an eye once more, as quickly as they came in, they already left the room. Then I heard the front door shut.

I hoisted myself back into the room after I felt it was safe. I ran to each room looking for Evan and I couldn't find him. "Evan, it's clear! They're gone!" I yelled out. Silence. He was probably fine. He was already hiding before me and the guy would have reacted if he had found him. He might have already left back home and was waiting for me. I quickly head to the door and noticed something was off. The door that was ripped open... It was in perfect condition. Even better than it was before. I recalled the room that I was in that was ripped apart was tidy. The only conclusion was that the person who broke in was no ordinary human. But what were they looking for at Alf's house? He just started his new job. The guy doesn't even own a television. That was another thing to ask him.

I carefully made my way out of the apartment and saw that the brick that held the extra key was on the ground. Did they know about the extra key or did I forgot to put back the brick? Or did they even see me when I got there? I did not stick around to confirm my suspicions. I pocketed the key and bolted for my house.

I quickly turned on my alley and was filled with relief. Evan was standing right next to the dumpster. "Evan! Good! You left as soon as you could!" Evan didn't reply but his face showed signs of confusion. I continued, "The guy who broke in had powers. How did you leave so quickly?". "I don't know what you are talking about. I have been standing here the whole time." He had a confused smile on his face. He was telling the truth. Was it a dream? No, it was real. Did Evan have a twin? That was unlikely. I started to get dizzy. I backed up and fell into the wall. All of the craziness of the day was too much for me handle. The reality of the situation began to sink in. Ember was really missing. I bent over and threw up.