Endless

cHaPtEr tWeNtY sEvEn

Seriously, where is she...?

...

As usual, I found myself awakening in some random place after being subjected to torture in another world by a crazed ghost.

If this happens to you, you might reach a point where you get used to it. If only I could reach that point...

I felt the smooth grass rub against my back. I seemed to be in the gardens.

I couldn't help but groan as I felt like I shouldn't even get up and just stay lying down here until someone finds me-

"Owen! Owen!"

Of course someone had to fine me. Of course they did.

I really didn't want to get up but what else could I have done? Going against what my body wanted, I got up off the ground to see what this person wanted. That person being my sister, who I was not thrilled to see at all.

She had a deadpan look on her face as she saw me standing there like an idiot.

"Why...were you lying on the grass like that?" she asked, which to be fair was a good question.

The only thing I could think of in retaliation was to shrug and say:

"I was just admiring the view."

Claudia's face changed immediately to one of sheer panic, as if she just remembered that something really bad was going on.

"Owen, you need to come inside!"
She grabbed my arms and shook me (one of her hands were placed on my scar that was hidden by my shirt), and I immediately tried breaking free from her grasp.

"What...what's going on?"

Her voice sounded desperate and full of stress. Seeing Claudia like this was rare, she was normally just uncaring about most things.

"You'll find out, just come inside!"

At first I thought that was a request, but once she dragged me away from the gardens and back inside the unnecessarily large mansion, I realised that it was more of a demand.

"If you have anything to do with this you'll be in big trouble."

"Eh. I'm used to sleeping on the floor without dinner. And I don't care about my allowance being cut off, unlike you. So mother will have to do worse than that."

Claudia then looked at me with a stern and angry expression.

"It's not just her you'll be in trouble with."

As she told me that, with her words being full of venom and anger, I could tell that something was wrong. Did I really mess up that badly...?

Oh god...what if Alyssa made me do stuff without me knowing about it?

"Whatever this is...do you think I'm responsible?"

"No. No I don't."

I sighed a little in relief.

"I'm not the one you need to convince though."

As she opened the door to the mansion, I saw what was going on, and I immediately understood why Claudia was so panicked.

On the ground was a large sack tied together with rope, which was what people used when they wanted to dispose of a dead body.

"O-oh my god...is that-"

"Yes," my mother interrupted softly, which sent chills down my spin. When she speaks as softly and as quietly as that, that's when she's livid and you know that you're in trouble.