#3 Where Monsters Lay

Chap. 10_void of presence and buzzing night-life?

Ten minutes later, and both Rob and Sarah wondered how things could change so quickly.

The room had swapped around, effectively. Rob and Sarah stood, backs to the hanging carcasses, facing the chairs. And in the chairs sat, slumped, the men of the Three Families, whatever that actually meant.

There were a few distinct changes to the circumstances that need noting, however.

Despite the physical whereabouts of the people changing in relation to the room, the emotions that bubbled away inside them hadn't stopped their irritating effervescence, but neither had they swapped around with the room. Despite being in the commanding position, untied, looking down on the others, Rob and Sarah had never been more scared.

The people they faced shook them to the core by just being there. They gave off an aura of savagery, raw brutality that couldn't be shaken away despite being thrown the upper hand by some means or another.

Another defining alteration was the absence of Frank. It seemed that, without any prior knowledge of survival, Frank had saved himself. His emergency text to Huw seemed to have coincided with a remarkable piece of fortune. Huw was coming to see Rob that very night, without any prior notice,  asking as to why he'd spent a lot of his budget on basic grave-digging equipment.

Frank had received only a small cut to the neck, which would scar over easily. He could blame it on some surgery or something. But he kept on wondering why he was always the one getting into near-death situations.

Huw had left pretty sharpish after busting the terror chamber. He'd arrested the gentlemen present and went off immediately to arrest any other members of the cult, having found the list of attendees, before seeing Frank's good recovery at the hospital, who were getting used to Frank being there. He then needed to return down to the chamber, to pick a few people up.

"I'll take them to be held in the station overnight," Huw had whispered, having contacted the police earlier on.

But before he could go off to find the rest of the gang, he heard Sarah's quiet and faltering voice.

"No," she said, with as much impact as she could muster. "Let me talk to them first."

*****

"I have to know why. I have to understand. Otherwise this – this is too much."

Rob just looked at her blankly. He hadn't spoken for a long time. He was thinking of the note.

He'd opened the note as quickly as he could after Huw had burst in on the scene. He hadn't shown anyone.

You couldn't be more wrong and it's hilarious, the letter had read.

The first letter, you know but not how you think.

The second letter, you simply have no idea. Check the initial problem.

I'm just writing to give a clue.

Because I'm dead.

J.A.

But the letter was written. And the final A was skewed. Almost indecipherably into an R.

"Just give me a few minutes. Don't you dare tell me you don't want to know too." Sarah snapped him back to reality.

They'd pulled up a table, square-head on the other side. Huw had refused to leave all of them in their custody, especially in their state, but he trusted Rob to watch over Sarah. In fact, he trusted Sarah too. It was difficult not to.

There was just the three of them, the gaseous stench of urine and congealed blood reeking, stinging their nostrils.

Rob was pacing, but listening.