The Vault

17

"Miss Ecklesbury, how nice of you to come visit. Not here to confess, are you?" Hennings asked in his burly, crude voice.

"I'm here to see Dr. Kelston," she replied.

"Very well. Although I can't allow you two to confide between yourselves." He joked as he made his way from around his desk.

Jingling a large loop of keys that were strung to the belt around his plump belly, Hennings opened a few doors that lead to Caleb's cell.

He sat, hunched against the wall behind a row of thick black bars much like the bars in the vault of Templeton Manor. His face was still bruised from the beating he had took, and there seemed to be a few fresh scars and lumps since.

The two of them stood in front of him, but he continued to sit there motionless, until finally, he idly turned his head to look up to them.

"Is it really necessary that I stay here any longer?" He asked dryly.

"Assaulting an officer is a serious offense. We'll need a hefty fee for that." Hennings replied.

Caleb rolled his eyes and turned back to looking away from them.

"We've written to your father, you'll have to hope that he's happy to pay your bounty," Hennings continued.

"Dear oh dear, you really are a moron aren't you." Caleb said with a sigh before turning back just as uninterestedly. "My father won't pay you a penny, he'll send the most vicious and crooked lawyers you could imagine to take every last thing you own."

"Is that so?" Hennings goaded, inching closer to the bars that imprisoned the doctor.

"Yes, but that can all be avoided if you just let me walk freely." Caleb replied.

"Why do you think that just because your background you can do whatever you want round here? You don't scare me, and neither does your greedy, penny-pinching parasite of a father!" Hennings shouted, quickly losing his temper at the seemingly nonchalant doctor. "Now... you have a visitor," he continued, before sucking up a large globule of saliva and spitting it right beside the doctor's feet. "Get up and address the lady properly."

Caleb achingly arose to his feet and smiled at Alice. "Miss Ecklesbury," he said charmingly, despite looking worse for wear.

"Do you want me to pay the bounty?" Alice asked immediately.

"Of course not, the figure they're asking for is extortionate because they know how much I'm worth. Like I said, once my father finds out about this he will basically wipe this village off the map," he said while looking at Hennings and tilting his head in jest.

Hennings snorted like a pig and made his way out of the room. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he grunted.

"Caleb, you've got to get out of here, I won't stay in this village much longer," Alice pleaded.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"There is something wrong with that house, I know it because I've felt it just like you and my father did."

Caleb nodded as he listened. "I'm sorry about what happened last time, I don't know what came over me, I hope you don't see me any differently."

"Don't worry about that," Alice answered. "Just get out of here and come with me somewhere away from this horrid little village."

"I can't. I'm stationed here and that's it, besides, I need to go back there."

"What!?" Alice exclaimed.