Behind Their World

Chapter 19: Smiles or Tears

P.O.V Leonard

That big dusty book was in front of us. Scary! Heart racing! Mysterious! What else should I call the chills it sent inside of me. It looked like a death note. I eventually sighed.

It was evening. We were sitting inside the warm living room of the Morris mansion. In the morning, after helping us open the door of that mysterious room, Lionel went to the office, and the remaining three of us searched the whole room. That room was big, a room big enough not to be a private part of a public library.

We spent the day there. The atmosphere inside that room was tensed like someone was pulling us down to the ground. Like a spell was cast inside. We managed to grab just a book out of all the journals and researches Sir Stephan had on lost space crafts and ships, wrecked and destroyed places, and unknown thrills seen on earth.

Reading that book, why was it a death warrant? Well, it was written in alphabets of English, but not a word belonged to the language. What meaning we would give to 'EVSVEEAVE YROURUR HETAHRHTTH.' It blew my mind off.

Its name was "The Apocalypse", the reason why we picked it. There was also a caption on the cover, that said, 'The last two will drop down the same as them, but not themselves!'. Another puzzle to be solved. Whatever was inside, it had to be decoded and it was highly confidential.

Coming back home, we three fell into a deep sleep because of the atmospheric burden we felt. We were very tired. And now, when we woke up, it was already six in the evening. We all were looking at that book like some unholy creature will pop its head out and curse us.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Evelyn, as guessed, was trembling and scared.

"How did you unlock the door? What about the 'blind'?" Dad asked, changing the topic. No one had the answer to what Evelyn asked.

"The blind didn't mean to lose eyesight. It meant that we have to look at the door lock in darkness. The radium shines in the dark," Cathia replied before I could.

"So, now how are we supposed to find the meaning of the code used in this book?" Lionel spoke this time. We all were depressed. This book was our only hope because we didn't find any other important thing in that room that could help us, anything related to the upcoming apocalypse.

"We'll see. Maybe this will also be only for Cathia." Dad looked at her, who was deeply thinking something, I wondered what.

"Cathia!" Dad called her again, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Sir?"

"What?" Dad looked at her, astonished. "You called me... Sir?" She looked at all of us, then looked back at him. She awkwardly nodded. A gruff chuckle left dad's mouth, scaring me.

"Oh, God, Dad! Your laughing skills are not good at all." But he was so busy smiling at Cathia.

"Don't call me that again. I want all of you to call me Dad, if not that, then Liam. Just don't call me Sir again. I'm not that respectful." Well, yes. He was right at the last line.

Suddenly, I felt an intense gaze on me. Looking in the direction, I saw dad, looking at me while clenching his jaw.

"What?" I swear I didn't say that out loud.

"You think having four powers makes you are a boss? A leader?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Maybe..." I shrugged. 'What can I say?' I don't lie, even if I do all kinds of wrong things.

"I have even more powers than you have, in fact, all the powers you all have," He said, leaning back on the couch. I opened my mouth wider.

"Seriously?" 'That was unbelievable, right?'