Dead Connections

Chapter 22 - Fire

Unseen’s new type of house was in the basement of Farmborough village hall – ‘The Memorial hall’. He led Zack into the basement, which was surprisingly big, and then tied him up to the wall and smiled.

“You’re Zack Ryan Stone, yes?” he asked, starting up his whole line of vital questions. Zack was shaking, shocked and alarmed.

“Yeah, how do you know my name?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Unseen insured Zack with a not so comforting grin. He withdrew his notebook from his pocket and Zack eyed it with curiosity.

“What is that?” Zack questioned. “And why are you doing this?”

“You ask more questions than your sister did,” Unseen said. Even more shock registered on Zack’s tiny little petrified face.

“You took my sister,” he declared. “Is she here?”

“Maybe,” Unseen muttered, sending shivers down my spine. The way he then looked around behind him piercing the empty space with his icy eyes like he knew that I was there, watching him from the 2nd dimension, made my pulse speed up even more, something that was practically irrelevant at that given time. My knees wobbled, almost giving way.

“Come on Skylar,” Ember encouraged. “You have to be strong. Think. Is there anything we can do about this?”

“I don’t know,” I cried, covering my face with my scarred pale hands. “There has to be something though.”

“I don’t think there is anything,” Ember replied truthfully. I knew this in my heart, but I just couldn’t admit it out loud. Not when he was my brother.

Unseen paced slowly around the room, his eyes glued to Zack at all times. I watched my brother with concern. The look in his eye looked determined and focused. Was he going to try to buy his way out of this or not.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” I hissed, aiming it at my brother. As expected, he didn’t respond. Instead, he watched Unseen with a small amount of interest embedded in all that fear. “Be careful,” I continued. “You don’t know what he can do to you.”

“Why did you take my sister?” Zack asked then, realising that he had a more important question. “Why did you take me? Is it money you want? Because if it is then you kidnapped the wrong kids. We’re not all that rich.”

“I didn’t take you for your money,” Unseen snapped back at him, making Zack flinched in fear. “I think it’s safe to say that I took you and your miserable sibling because you don’t belong here.”

“Where’s here? In Farmborough? In England? I can leave,” Zack’s voice was petrified and frantic. He spoke so fast that I could hardly keep up with him. “I’ll leave the country. Just please let me and my sister go.”

“It’s too late for your sister. Let’s just say she’s already left!”

And that’s when all the pieces of the puzzle snapped into place in Zack’s mind and he realised exactly what had happened to me. His mouth dropped open and the look of devastation on his face was something that I couldn’t compare to anything else I’d ever seen.

“You mean… You mean…” His voice broke down and he began to wail in sorrow. I also cried for him. This was not what I wanted my brother to go through. Sure, he could be annoying and selfish and a waste of space to me sometimes but I still loved him. I just wish I realised that before it was too late to tell him that.

I slowly crept up to Zack, resting my hand on his shoulder. He didn’t react, didn’t notice, didn’t feel the connection, and that broke my heart even more. Drew gave me a sympathetic smile, and I could also see the sadness growing in his heart.