Up With The Birds

Chapter 16

When I regain consciousness, the blindfold is gone. But it's still dark. Light shines in from under a door, but the rest of the room is pitch black.

I push the memories of my parents out of my mind for the moment. If those thoughts creep into my thinking, then I'll never get out of here alive. I have to keep my composure.

My hands are close to the bottom of the chair, and if I squirm down, I can sweep them across the floor.
I search for something sharp, grasping for a way to cut the ropes binding my hands. Alas, I come across nothing. Not even a pebble.

Time for my second option - scoot my way to the door.  I start dragging myself away from where I've been sitting. I get closer and closer to the door, and my chair doesn't creak once. After feet of struggling, the doorknob is in my grasp.

Awkwardly, I turn it with the little hand motion I have. It cracks open, and I can see the whole room.

I see Sheila leaning against the wall with a cup of coffee, her mouth in a pouting position. Some man with an eye patch is sitting on a chair next to an extremely buff guy.

My jaw quivers when I look in the corner, and my heart plummets.

A head full of blonde curls is staring down at the floor with tired blue eyes. He rubs his forehead and groans.

"Minus, I can't go through with any more of this," he pleads. "Killing her family is something I'll never forgive myself for. But now you expect me to kill her as well?"

I start to wheeze uncontrollably, and I scoot away as fast as I can. Some sort of panic attack is happening, or I'm having a heart attack. I don't know which. But I can't breathe, or move.

Chris is in there. The man I loved is in that room with criminals. A man who told me he would protect me. Someone who I trusted is in that room, and has just admitted to murdering my family.

And now he's going to kill me.

I don't understand.

No, I do understand. I think back to every moment. The files he fumbled with right before they went missing. His disappearance being at the same time as Dakota Rider's burial. The lanky, blue eyed man in my room with Sheila, and the black eye Chris had the next day. And all of those secrets he had to keep from me.

I let myself be blinded by love. Chris even warned me. Countless times he told me I was going to end up hurt by him. And this is what he meant by that.

But this is more than hurting me - this is breaking me.

Now I'm hyperventilating. Chris rushes into the room  and starts pumping my chest, trying to help me breathe. I scream at him to get away and thrash violently.

"Lana, you have to calm down," he says willfully. "If you don't stop freaking out, I can't help you."

"I don't want your help," I spit at him. "Don't touch me, and don't tell me to calm down."

He tries to kiss me, and I repel from him as if his mouth is poison.

"Don't you get it?" I sob. "I want nothing to do with you. My family's blood is on your hands Chris. How do you expect me to forgive you for that?"

Chris' eyes plead with me.

"Lana, you don't understand what's going on here. This is bigger than you," he tries to tell me. I laugh in his face.

"Is that why you're going to kill me? Because I'm not important enough?"

"No - God no, Lana. You're more important than anything to me. I just... I can't explain anything. There isn't time."

"Are you sure?" I ask sarcastically. "I'm not going anywhere. I have all of the time in the world to hear about why this is happening. I'd love to know why you killed my parents. Why you put up this facade that you cared about me." I break down and start crying. Chris brushes away my tears.

I just want to deck him in the face. How dare he touches me after all of this.

His touch doesn't warm me like it did before - it leaves a cold, empty feeling on my skin. I don't want this.

"This is the only family I have," he explains. "When Dakota Rider died, it was like my big brother had been ripped away from me. I've never been so hurt. All of us disbanded. But then Minus hacked into your father's bureau's systems, and managed to transfer you all to London. He promised us revenge... He swore we would get justice. That we would feel better."

"How does it feel then, Chris? Is this euphoric for you? Was killing my father, my mother and my innocent, unborn brother a justifying experience?"

He freezes.

"Your mother was pregnant?" he whispers.

"Yes, Chris. But now her son is gone with her. He'll never get to see the sun, or the stars, or live any bit of his life. And it's your fault."

Chris' exhausted face turns to rage. He trembles in fury.

"They let me kill a pregnant woman. I killed a husband and wife expecting a second miracle."

This time, he's in tears. I refuse to comfort him. He deserves this. He committed murder and deserves to hate himself for it.

"That's right," I say. "This is some family you have."

He cuts the ropes on my arms and legs down to a few threads, and gives me a hard look.

"Listen," Chris says quietly. "I want to try to make something right between us. You'll know when to tear the ropes. Trust me."

I shouldn't trust him. But I do. He sounds genuinely upset. I don't feel any pity for him, but I don't think he's a completely evil person. There's some good in this man, but I don't want to find it in him again. We're done.

"This has been an interesting little couple's reunion for you two, but I think it's time to crash the party," Sheila says jubilantly. "I've been waiting a long time to see you suffer, Lana. You stole Chris - 42 - away from us. And that's not cool, you know."

I say nothing. They aren't getting a single word from me.

"Have any matches, Chris? I could use a cigarette," Sheila complains. Chris hold out a striking box and hands a lit match to her. She lights her cigarette and puff on it.

"I think it's long overdue that we meet, Lana," says the man with an eye patch as he strides in. "My name is Minus, and I have quite  a few things to talk about with you before you leave our presence."

I brace myself, letting my eyes clear from the tears they'd shed. I'm about to get answers - finally.