Dark.

V. - Questions -

Song of the chapter:

1. "Devil's Backbone" - The Civil Wars

--

Nicomaine pushed the hospital doors open. She took a deep breath and ran towards the lobby. She was greeted with a bad news earlier. Arthur called her to say that Richard has been shot and is now in critical condition.

"Nurse, where's Richard R. Faulkersom Jr.?" she asked.

"Who?"

"The guy who got shot? Is he ..."

After the nurse did a swift check on her records, she directed Nicomaine towards the operating room at the other end of the hallway. The young lady then thanked her and run to the said direction. There she quickly saw Arthur pacing back and forth right outside the door.

"Arthur!" she yelled and he looked at her.

"What happened?"

"He got shot."

"Shot? who did this to him?"

"His cousin."

"What kind of cousin is that?" Nicomaine asked furiously.

"A bad one, obviously. Nicomaine, I called you here because he couldn't stop whispering your name. I think you're already in his system and there will be no way to get you out." he replied. Arthur's statement confused her a bit and so she asked him if he's gonna be alright.

"If the operation is successful, he will be."

Nicomaine felt a bit of a relief after he said those words. She took a deep breath and decided to spend the waiting time asking questions about Richard.

"Why did his cousin shoot him?"

"Nicomaine, their family is extremely complicated. There are a lot of things you don't know yet about Richard and those secrets can kill you. I mean it, he's a dangerous person ... he can and will kill you in the end. You must save yourself if you still want to live." Arthur's voice sent shivers down Nicomaine's spine. The darkness that surrounds Richard's identity grew stronger. But she's not backing down, she is still keen on knowing everything that has to do with him.

"Tell me everything I need to know about Richard and I will decide whether I'll stay or not." she said.

"Fine, now where do I start?"

--

Richard looked around and saw nothing but darkness. He tried to walk around but he felt like he's not going anywhere.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself of what happened earlier. Richard was shot by his cousin Brendon as a form of revenge for what he did to him several months ago. The two of them never really gotten along well, they would often clash at making decisions about their family's secret business. Brendon did not pay his debt and that prompted Richard to teach him a lesson by torturing him. However, his inability to kill his own relative got in the way and he wasn't able to put an end to his cousin's life. That gave Brendon a chance for revenge and now here he is, wondering in the middle of the darkness inside his sub-conscious.

"Richard?" a familiar voice started calling out his name. He turned around but couldn't see anything. It was nowhere and everywhere. The voice, it governed the dark place and it's speaking directly to him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am you. The innocent part of you, I am the kind Richard, the one with the heart."

"I don't believe you." he replied. Richard turned around once again and there he saw himself standing a couple of feet away. He took a step backward and the other went forward.

"Leave me alone." he whispered.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You know Nicomaine right? She cares for you so don't hurt her."

"As if I'm going to do that." Richard replied. He closed his eyes and opened them again, this time he can see the operating room's ceiling. His heart started beating fast, he's having a hard time breathing, he's critical.

--

"Richard collects stolen art pieces. He buys them from thieves. He's an underground market mogul. He lends people money and if they don't pay, they will definitely get hurt." Arthur told Nicomaine. Her heart dropped, she just realized that the painting she saw from her first night at the mansion was one of the paintings they stole at an art show last year.

"But is he a killer?" she asked.

"Nicomaine, Richard is an unstable person. He deals with danger every single day, he's heartless. Do him wrong and he will kill you, stay in his life and you will face the same amount of danger that he does and it will end your life anyway. You can't fix him. You can't save him from his own darkness."

"But I don't understand, Arthur. What happened to him? Why is he unstable? Why?" she asked. Nicomaine started pacing back and forth. Just when she thought she could finally get all the answers she need, Arthur gave her more questions instead.

"After his parents died, Richard was introduced to things that are way too mature for his age. He dealt with foolish people and that brought him to the dark place. He did almost every bad thing you can think of. Now, he is a stolen art collector. He is also a con artist sometimes and a swindler too. He's a gang leader and an illegal money lending operator. He is also a murderer ... a killer." Arthur replied.

"Then why do you still work for him if he's evil?" she asked.

"Because I made a promise that I will look after all the Faulkersons for as long as I live. And besides, I don't have a family of my own. I have nowhere else to go."

"Who did he kill? Name one of Richard's victims." Nicomaine demanded. her heart is already beating fast. Arthur's revelations made her see her prospect in a different way. However, she will still do her best to confirm if the things she learned are true or not. She will not change her mind about Richard unless he shows his dark side to her.

Suddenly, they both heard panicked voices inside the operating room. Nicomaine quickly ran and took a peek, Richard is flat lining.

"Shit."

---

Richard slowly opened his eyes and the warmth of the morning sunshine quickly greeted him. He looked around and realized he is in a room.

"Sir, you're awake." Arthur said with a smile on his face.

"Where the fuck am I?" he asked.

"In a hospital room, Sir. You've been asleep for three days after the operation." his butler. Richard tried to move but a searing pain quickly flooded his body.

"Ouch." he said and became still once again. Suddenly, the door opened. He smiled after he saw who it is.

"Nicomaine, you're here."

"Yeah, I decided you're very important."

--

Harry shrugged because of the cold weather. He stood firmly in front of the Faulkerson mansion, trying to figure out what kind of magic Richard gave to Nicomaine and she changed quickly.

"What are you doing here, son?" he turned around and saw an elderly.

"I was just ... wondering ... who the owner is."

"The owner of that mansion is dangerous. Rumors are ... he killed a young girl right inside that mansion."

"A young girl? Who?"

"I'm not sure, but I think her name is Bella. Be careful, don't let yourself get killed."

---

ready for all the thrills? stay tuned :) x