Emerged In Darkness

Chapter 3

There was a tense moment before another voice spoke over the phone. It was female by the sound of it. Extremely southern too.

Saran could see the stress and tension melt away from Ethan's shoulders. He relaxed as he listened to the female speak over the phone. As he talked, Saran began to look around some more.

A couple of feet from her was a small, makeshift kitchen table with a small television sitting to the right of it.

On the table was a lamp with a crooked shade on it. And around the lamp was a cluttered mess. Somehow, someone had made room around the mess for a birdcage. She turned back to the counter to find more there. The contents within each made her curious.

The two on the counter contained a needle filled with liquid. The one on the table contained a... .44 Mag? Definitely looked like it.

Another painful tug went through her chest. Saran turned away from the table to at the wall beside it.

Several pieces of paper had been hung on the wall. The handwriting on the notes was messily scribbled but still legible.

"My body's feeling weirder and weirder. Soon I'll become like mom and dad. It's all her fault. Should I run? No, I'm dead if she finds out. That woman she was with, Mia, she knows something. If I had the serum I could cure myself. I have to find out more."

Saran scrunched up her face in confusion. Who was Mia? And who had written this note? And what serum were they talking about?

She turned just as Ethan dropped the telephone back on the receiver.

"Ethan, who's Mia? And who were you talking to?"

He looked at her before sighing. "There's no time to explain. We need to go."

Saran growled in frustration before grabbing his arm. Her eyes hardened as she looked at him. "No, you need to explain what's going on. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. I'm glad you got me out of that morgue and that you gave me things I could use to survive. But I need to know what's going on around here. I need to know so that I can find my brother."

A tired sigh blew past his lips and he leaned against the counter before beginning to speak.

"The family that lives here, they're the Bakers. Something happened to them. The woman on the phone, her name's Zoe. She told me that she and her family were contaminated. But she said there's a serum. If I help her make it, she can help me-help us- leave this place."

Saran chewed at her lip before looking at him. Well, she knew about the Bakers but them being contaminated was new.

"Alright, that explains a lot but who's Mia? The note on the wall said that she could help Zoe?"

Ethan looked away from her.

"Mia...is someone I know. She's been missing for three years until recently. She's the reason I'm here. Now, we need to leave."

The tone in his voice left no room for discussion. Saran pursed her lips and nodded.

"Yeah, just give me a minute. Go ahead and wait for me outside."

Ethan nodded and left the trailer without another word.

Saran sighed and felt exhaustion weigh down her bones. Not to mention that she felt like Ethan wasn't telling her the whole truth. Her hands scrubbed at her face as she walked to the tiny slot that could be considered a bathroom. She flipped a switch and a dull yellow light lit up the room.

The small, cracked mirror stared back her.

Long, black hair fell around her face and shoulders. Some parts of it were sticky and stiff with blood.