Shadow's Within

31 : Our secret is our own

The time passes until the sun scorch its light over the foggy day. Both of us didn't return to our bed. Instead we join the doctor in her lab, scrubbing the floor for any traces of blood. It's not like we could go to bed anyway not with our body reeks of garbage. The people would question in suspicion seeing us return to our bed with a body odor. We manage to clean the blood from the floor. There's not a tinge of blood left.

"Not a word of this to anyone" I said.

The doctor and Chase nod in agreement. Later I head on to the shower, to cleans myself of the filth Cordon had leave in my body. I scrub my cheek in a rapid motion until it hurts and began do dissolve in a red hue. I stare on the ground, hands clutching the wall, hoping to forgot the horror I went through.

My face starts to well up and before I knew, my eyes washing in a flood of tear. I sob hard plummeting my body to the floor, rising both my knees to my face and wrapping my arms around it. I convene there, quietly, in silence and alone, crying of the fate I'm able to break through accompanied by the rains of water pouring down on me.

After the shower, I retreat to my bed, not feeling any quench of hunger inside me. All I want to do is rest, and leave my nightmares so I could dwell into my dreams. I turn my head around only to see Chase opposite me, resting on his bed, gazing on me.

"Sleepy?" I mouth the word.

He nods. I beam my smile to his face. He returns the grin right back at me. We both lay there, in our bed, eyes connect to one another, unaware and unconcern of the people around us. I close my eyes and falls into the world of the unconscious.

I woke to the sound of chattering in the near distant. Some of the fugitives are talking indiscreet all at once. For the first time, Chase wakes similar time to me. We lurch to our feet to the gathering people in the middle of the hall.

"Maybe he's there!"

"He's a psycho.. who knows where he go?"

"Probably he left"

I reach to the mass and the first person I see is Marie.

"What's going on?" I ask her.

"Lanelle.. hey... something big has happen!"

"What?"

"You know that creepy sociopath killer?" she leans closer. "Apparently he's missing. People saw a trace of blood in the cafeteria.. just a drop"

Chase and I exchange looks. Damn! How could we miss it. That one single drop could ruin everything. Calm down. Everything is fine. They could never discover the body. By my estimation, the garbage truck has already pick all the garbage and went out to discard it. They could never found the body anymore, not in this base. The evidence is in motion away to an unpreceded destination.

"They say" Marie's still not finish. "That he probably has found his new victim and is on the run to dispose of it"

"You mean.. he could have kill somebody in this hall and escape?"

"Probably" she shrugs the idea. "The problem is.. nobody is missing.. the only person not in the count is him"

I took a long gulp of air. Even though I know body is safely on its way depart from this base, my heart feels uneasy of this whole situation. If they found out the truth, both Chase and I would be cast off this base. The outside world is not the haven that we want to be a part of. The reaper is still lurking out in the open, scavenging for his opportunity to strike us down.

At the door, in the near reserve space, a clapping sound of the clucking footstep rumble at the distant. Major Armore march inside the hall with his face tighten, an entirely different expression he shows during his transporting mission of us.

"What seems to be the problem here?" he asks.

Everybody hesitate. One man came forward and takes the courage to speak. "It seem the criminal, James Cordon is missing"

"Oh" His expression billow. "He must have leave the premise then"

"We found blood on the cafeteria floor this morning." The man speaks again.

He turns his head sideways. "Go and check" He orders one of the man behind him. The soldier march into the cafeteria.

"That is certainly interesting" he strokes his chin. "That man came to me.... feeling very scared that... he might not be able to escape...the police.. as a man of my stature... I couldn't turn my back for someone who needs a place to escape to... even him being a—" his cough strikes.

"a criminal." He continues. "Though I wouldn't care much if he decided to.... escape the premises... a criminal escaping this place would mean.. more safety to you"

The others exchanges look. Some nodding their head signing an agreement to the facts the Major has explained. "I get that you agree with me... from your expression"

The soldier returns from the cafeteria. He leans his head to whisper some private information to the Major. The Major listen attentively, nodding to every sentence. After their exchange has ended the Major coughs for a second time, standing firmly in the middle among the mass. "We will check this incident in close proximition... don't think too much out of it... I'm sure some of you are glad that... he's not in here coop up among you..."

With that, all three of them withdrew from the hall. Marie closing in on Chase, standing beside him. "So Ian.." she said. "Had a good night sleep last night?"

"Um.. yeah" Ian said, eyes still prowling the door.

"Any drea—"

The Major's voice vibrates in the space. "I would like to have a word with you two" He points his finger directly towards us, me and Chase. "Now"

We follow the Major into the door in the left hall, entering behind him. The other soldier escort us as we walk inside. The two guards standing behind the door, salutes the Major as he walks past them.

Past the guards is an office room with tables facing in a linear direction. Each table has soldiers sitting, writing, inputting data into a computer, talking on the phones and some more. In front of the table holds a room with a translucent opening in a gap one meters wide in diameter. Behind the skylight mirror, a shadow lurks from behind, it's the Major. He invites us to enter his office.

The office is a simple one. Not one would assume the office of a high ranking military official. Just a desk with files lining in unison and a vase with flowers chidden inside; a picture frames I'm assuming containing the picture of his family. We sit on the wooden chair lay out at the foot of his desk. The Major condition is an entirely different persona we encounter in the SUV. He's not the frail person I assume he is. In here, he's emitting a more confident persona; a leader within a thorn.

"I know your secret" he said.

I jump in my seat hearing he utter that four word sentences. How did he know?!