I'LL COME FOR YOU ▹ dylmas

•chapter two•

"Thomas Sangster?" Said an unknown voice, along with a pounding on the door.

Thomas stepped out of his hotel bathroom and unlocked the door. A tall man, who Thomas presumed was his escort, was standing there with an annoyed look on his face.

"You were supposed to be out ten minutes ago."

Thomas looked up at the man, "Sorry, sorry, lost track of time I guess."

"Well we have to leave now. Collect your things and let's go."

Thomas kneeled down to where his suitcase was on the floor. He hadn't brought many things because he assumed he'd only be gone for a week or two. Closing the zipper on his bag, he stood up and looked at the security guard.

"France today, right?"

The security guard raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know? You aren't supposed to know where we're taking you beforehand."

Thomas shrugged, "I'm a good listener I guess."

"Well come along then. You're flight will be departing in an hour and we don't have much time to get you to the plane."

Thomas lifted the handle on his suitcase and followed the guard out the door. He was met by two other security guards in the lobby, each falling in step near him without saying a word.

They soon arrived at a black car with tinted windows. Thomas was put in the backseat, squished in between two guards.

Desperate for conversation, Thomas tried to break the silence. "A little cramped in here, eh?"

"Just be quiet please. We're here to do our job, not make a friend." Replied the man in the driver's seat.

Thomas sighed and the guard to his left gave him a sympathetic smile.

After what seemed like hours of riding in the silent car, they arrived at a small private airport. Thomas was escorted up a small ramp and into a plane full of more security guards and police. He had heard that most celebrities only had one guard with them; he didn't understand why he had so many. Shaking off the thought, he looked at his new surroundings.

There were a couple of tables and seats, but other than that the plane was mostly empty. It was silent too. Thomas was beginning to hate silence. He used to enjoy sitting in the quiet, watching and listening to the world around him. But now that he hadn't had a real conversation in nearly a month, the silence seemed to be taking over him and he disliked it very much.

He was glad that they let him keep his phone though, because without it he truly believed his sanity would be replaced with boredom. He wasn't supposed to make contact with anybody, but sometimes he couldn't help sending a quick message to his family, telling them he was okay.

After awkwardly sitting in the plane for an hour and a half, it landed and he was moved to another car. Once again, he was stuck in the middle; it was the same seating arrangement as before.

"Sangster." Said a deep voice.

Thomas raised his eyebrows as he saw it was the guard to his right that had spoken. "Yeah?"

"You should know that there will be another one at this hotel."

"Another celebrity? Yeah, I know. France has the decency to not keep everyone isolated."

The guard's mouth formed a thin line on his face, before he opened it back up again to speak. "You may interact with them but no photographs will be allowed."

"Do you know who it will be?"

"They're being brought in tonight. We'll know then."

"And how long will I be staying in France?"

"As of now, you're planned to stay in this hotel for a week."

Thomas' jaw dropped. A week? He had never been allowed to stay in a country for more than four days! And he was usually moved to different hotels every day. Plus, the guards rarely told him his whole week's arrangement in advance.

The guard seemed to notice his surprise and continued to explain. "There hasn't been a celebrity disappearance in France yet. That's why the rules aren't as strict."

Thomas nodded in understanding. He wondered who had disappeared today. Normally he would check his phone every morning to find out, but recently it had begun to make him feel disheartened and sad. Sure, it was terrible that people were being taken away, but Thomas hadn't really realised just how big a deal it was. Now he was being moved around by guards every day and there didn't seem to be an end point in sight.

As the car pulled up into the back parking lot of a large building, Thomas turned his head to look the guard straight in the eye. "When will it be over? When can this all stop?"

The guard's expression softened as pity took him over. He shook his head back and forth slowly, occasionally closing his eyes. "I'm sorry son, there's no way to know."

Thomas let out a deep sigh.