THE KEY (book one)

|twenty-three|

The smell of dirt and humid air fills my nose. "Levi...wait." I wince slowly opening my eyes. Realizing I'm on the ground my body jolts in fear and my eyes pop open. The right side of my head throbs in pain from getting knocked out. I try to touch it but rusty chains wrap around my wrists and stop me.
"What the hell?" I whisper to myself. Looking around I see that I'm in an old underground cell room. Two orange lights glow from the ceiling barley brighting this dull room.
"Hey!" I yell, my voice comes out hoarse.
"H-hey let me out!" I yell again shaking the chains as hard as I can.
My heart races pounding against my chest as I look around trying to find a way out.
"Don't bother." I jump to the sound of a weak female voice not to far from me. Squinting my eyes I see her cradled up in the corner of the cell, her hands are bound in chains as well. She has an edgy look to her with short black hair that stops at her collar bones and sleeve of tattoos covering her right arm. Crawling closer to me I can see fresh rose colored blood dripping from her Carmel skin on her left temple.
"I've been trying for what feels like ten hours." She says sitting next to me.
"My name's Errana...Errana Evens." A weak smile tugs at her lips and I frown.
"Errana? E-r-r-a-n-a?" I question and she nods.
"You're names Errana too huh?" She sighs. She has to be at least my age or one year older.
"What makes you say that?"
"The girl before me... her name was Errana too." My head lowers in confusion. They must be collecting girls with my name. They're looking for me.
"Where is she now?" I question readjusting my legs.
"They took her down the hall and..." She tucks her hair behind her ears.
"And?" I question scooting closer.
"I think they killed her." She whispers lowering her head. My heart sinks in guilt.
"I think I'm next." She mumbles as tears run from her eyes.
I won't let that happen.
"No...no." I blurt shaking my head.
"When did they take you?"
"It... it was this morning. I-I was out with my mom and when I went to the bathroom they took me." She sobs.
A door opens in the distance and footsteps approach. A bald headed dark skinned man steps into the light and opens the cell. He glances between the two of us as if he's trying to pick which to take. After a second goes by he makes his way to Erra and my heart lurches out of my chest.
"No!" I yell jumping up.
"Take me, take me! It's me you want I'm Erra Paxton! Me n-not her!" I explain pushing him away from her as much as I can. He stops looking me up and down, studying my complexion.
His face expression doesn't change a bit though, like a robot.
"Me." I mumble once more and he listens. Unlocking my chains from the wall he pulls me out of the cell, keeping his grip on the cuffs the bound my wrist.
Closing the cell he reaches in his pocket and pulls out a gun.
"What? What are you doing!" I yell pulling on my cuffs. He ignores keeping a straight face and aiming the gun at Erra. She whimpers scooting closer to the corner, but there's no escaping what's about to happen.
"Stop!" I yell but it's to late. He pulls the trigger with no remorse and a bullet is sent flying straight into her skull. My body grows numb as I watch her soul instantly leave her body. He was going to kill her anyway, and I'm next. She had a family and friends people that cared about her am sure of it, and now she's gone.
She's gone never to be heard from again and it's my fault. A tsunami of emotions crash on my body and I don't know what to do about it. The man says nothing as he tugs me down a dark stoned hall. The deeper we go the more I want to disappear. We stop at an opening in the wall that leads to a new room and he pushes me in, like I'm a rag doll. My body aches on the dusty floor.
The room is the same as the other one, just one of the lights flicker on and off. What do I do now?
I think to myself trying to push myself up but stumbling down.
"Give it a minute." A familiar male dark raspy voice speaks, to familiar.
Standing to my feet I take a couple steps back to come in contact with a wall.
"What do you want?" I ask pressed up against the wall. The faint light of a lighter sparks exposing his face, it's him Ramon Claw. The emotions hit again but now all I can see is red. My hands ball into tight fits and I take a step closer.
I really wish I didn't have these cuffs on.
"And to think I would take them off of you." He speaks again with a hint of humor, it's him it's really him.
It's happening again.
"That wouldn't be a good choice now would it." I say sarcastically.
My breathing grows heavy as my blood boils.
I wanna kill him, right here, right now. He gets up and slowly walks towards me taking a long drag from his cigarette. He looks the same just with more scares on his face. His black hair grew longer along with his facial hair. His tall figure walks around me taking long drags and blowing toxic smoke into the air.
"Errana... Kia... Tai...Paxton." His voice is like ice.
"Ramon Claw." I respond watching his every move. A chuckle grows from his chest.
"sei proprio come lui." He says lifting my chin. I try to bite my tongue but my words fly out anyway.
"E tu sembri lei. Immagino che non eri abbastanza bravo." I spit out and he doesn't hesitate to slap me across my face. My cheek burns like fire as I hold onto it.
"How do you know about that?" He questions rage growing in his tone.
So he is related to Edith.
"I didn't but now I do. Why am I here huh? Wanted to kill me before I kill you?" I tease trying to keep my head high. He stops walking and looks at me like I'm an idiot.
"You have quite the confidence for girl in chains." He states taking another drag then putting it out.
"Why am I here?" I question walking towards him. He looks me up and down then frowns.
"Where are The Keys?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play stupid... not with me." He grabs a hand full of my hair, and throws me on the ground.
I really need to take these cuffs off.
He strides over to the corner of the room and faces the wall.
"If I did...what would you need them for... money?" I ask in disgust looking for a pin to unlock my cuffs. To my surprise I spot one, what are the odds.
"Money?" He chuckles.
"Screw the money! We're all dead, all of us if Edith gets The keys!" He shouts. Scooting back I grab the pin and attempt to discretely unlock the cuffs.
"It would all be for nothing! Breaking in, selling them, killing Vernon!" My heart stops to the sound of his name but I keep working.
"He had one job, just one." Ramon mumbles rubbing his hand across his face. What is he talking about? What does my father have to do with this?
"What are you saying? He stole one of The Keys?" I ask moving closer to the wall.
"You're a smart girl." He starts lighting another cigarette.
Finally unlocking one side of the cuffs, I hide my hands between my legs and pretend that they're still locked on.
Ramon let's out another light chuckle and shakes his head.
"What?" I push frowning.
"Do you want a gun while you're at it?" He asks but it doesn't sound like a question, he knows I unlocked myself. Before I can answer he tosses a gun and it lands in front of me. Temptation rages through my body. It would be so easy to just grab it and shoot to kill but I refuse. This man is to calculated he should know better than to give me a loaded gun, he's testing me. My focus goes from him to the gun and back to him.
"I guess you are smart." He says blowing out smoke.
"I also know that if you wanted to kill me, you would've already." He freezes and frowns.
"So why am I here? What do you want?" I blurt standing up. He's still frowning but now a playful smirk tugs at his lips.
"Don't you want to be here? This is what you've been longing for huh! To kill me? So kill me... come on do it. R-right here." He points at his head and smiles. Why am I not not acting on what I've been working for. Half of my life dedicated to wanting to kill him now I can't.
"Take your time. They really didn't tell you did they?" Who's they? What is he talking about?
"Tell me what? Who? My parents?"
He leans his back against the wall and burns out his cigarette.
"You're father, Vernon... me and him we were a pack...unbreakable. We weren't blood but we were family."
I can feel my heart shut down and my shoulders slump.
"What?" I grit through my teeth.
He's lying. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
"He would tell me all about you but never let me see you. Something about keeping his private life private... my own niece." My blood rages with fire and I quickly grab the gun that is surprisingly actually loaded.
He doesn't flinch though. I pull out the cartridge to find blank rounds inside. Ramon looks at me with no emotion and sighs, like he's waiting for me to shoot him.
"Niece? I am no where near related to you let's get that straight, and if he was so much like family why kill him huh!" I yell aiming the gun at him with shaking hands.
"He wouldn't listen! He didn't realize how important it was. He was putting everyone's lives in danger. Everyone!" He yells rage is plastered all over his face and it frightens me a bit.
"But either way it didn't matter if I killed him or not. They were gonna kill our families anyway. Nobody's is safe anymore." He mumbles his last sentence.
They? Who's they?
"You need to give me those keys back!" He barks walking towards me, and without a second thought I shoot his leg. He grunts in pain falling back onto the wall grabbing his leg.
"The cities will fall!" I yell tears brimming on the surface of my eyes.
"Are you really willing to sacrifice all the cities and innocent lives for some money!" I yell even louder and the tears fall harder.
"She's got you." He chuckles.
"She's got you dancing in the palm of her hand. I should kill you for saying that. For talking foolishness! The cities falling?" He basically chokes on his laugh.
"So naïve child."
"Shut up or I'll shoot!" I shout as my voice shakes, what is he talking about.
"Go on kill me...do it! You get sent on this sweet little mission and you think you're something, but let me tell you it's gonna come back and bite you in the ass. So go on kill me. My family's dead anyway. I have anything to live for." His voice lowers the more he speaks. I'm conflicted, I don't know how to feel about this. I don't know how to feel about anything he's saying right now.
He's lying.
"I never wanted to kill Vernon he was my brother. We were on thin ice, it was every man for themselves. I had to do what I had to do." He rambles on and on.
My father never really spoke of his family, ever. He never had pictures or memories. Always said he never had real family. The tears fall harder but I shake my head. I shake away what might be the truth and hold my head high.
"You don't know anything...anything!" I sob out shooting the wall.
"Where are the last two keys?" I demand shooting the wall again. He doesn't flinch and sighs.
"I told your father I would always protect you... I've been watching you for years. Not only with my eyes but with others. Gave you a friend, Eli I'm sure." With that everything inside goes numb. Eli, my so called best friend was part of this. As seconds go by I'm finding it harder and harder to breath.
"You want The Key? Here." He says ripping it off the necklace he's wearing. A necklace identical to the one my father gave me right before he died. I quickly grab hold of my neck to feel if it's there but it's not.
The floorboards in my room.
He tosses the fourth key to me and I catch it with trembling hands.
"The fifth?" I ask not really wanting the real answer.
"Don't be stupid Errana Paxton."
I wanna hear him say it. It's the only way I'll believe it.
"It's... you child. You're the the last Key. All this time." He sighs and reaches in his pocket to pull out two white pills.
"I hope you're happy with the hell your about to bring." His voice his calm as he takes it the pills and swallows. Everything is still numb.
A slight smile raises from his lips and with that he's gone. My fathers killer gone, he killed himself.
"No!" I scream.
"No!" The word comes out with no thought. I don't understand. I don't understand anything. Everything seems to be closing in and my heart begins to race uncontrollably.
"No..... no, no,no, no!" I sob crawling over to him. I need his memo chip, this can't be true. I need to watch his memories from start to finish.
I need to know the truth.