Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One)

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: MEETING AN OLD FRIEND

Kevin glanced up at the body hanging from the ceiling.

Is this what Mrs Lena meant when she said she was going to put an end to all this? She was going insane after all—there'd been no masked man with her all along. She was losing her mind.

Tears trickled down his eyes.

We should have moved her to a mental clinic when we had the chance-–maybe then, she'd still be alive.

A sick feeling rose in his stomach, and he felt his leg tremble from looking at her lifeless body swivelling from the ceiling.

"Mrs Lena..." His mouth moved with great difficulty, as if searching for the right question to ask.

"Why?"

Kevin picked up the chair that'd been flipped beneath her feet and climbed onto it to reach her. He scrutinized the rope she'd used; it was the clinic tube. He untied her from the ceiling and took her down gently. Her head rolled freely to her shoulder. That was when he noticed her broken neck. As he laid her gently on the bed, her lips peeled back in an unpleasant smile.

Kevin felt a twitch in his stomach. A feeling of guilt crept over him as he turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide open, glaring at him in a way that caused him great discomfort. He ran his hands over her face, closing her eyes.

"Lena, why?" he repeated.

Tears escaped his eyes, sliding down his cheek slowly as he looked at her for the last time, before moving the blanket to cover her body.

"Why does it have to end this way?" His voice choked.

A little paper dropped from his pocket and he bent to pick it up, looking over it.

If you want to know everything about the masked man, meet me under the stone bridge tonight by 9 pm, the little note read.

There was a fierce battle in his head as he contemplated whether to meet this stranger. For a long second, he remained still, glancing over the note with indifference, and the texts stared back, waiting for his decision. Kevin wondered what this stranger was so afraid of that he couldn't meet him upfront in broad daylight to say what he had to say—why does it have to be at nightfall?

The more he thought of it, the faster the answers evaded him. He looked over the note and read it again. This time, he became curious to know what this stranger had to say, especially if it could help him uncover the identity of the masked man.

Kevin pulled out his cell phone to ring Alex. He listened to the echo of a distant ringing, then there was a soft 'Hello?'

Looking over the corpse, he mumbled sadly, "Lena is dead."

He heard Alex breathe out loudly over the phone. He was obviously getting tired of hearing news of people dying.

"She took her own life," he added.

"Are you at the hospital?" Alex asked.

His eyes fell on Lena. "I'm standing right beside her."

"Stay right there with her, I'm on my way." The phone line went dead.

"Wait..."

He was about to tell him about the stranger—and his note. He cursed himself for not telling Alex about him from the very beginning. After all, Alex seemed trustworthy and was willing to help him put down T-Murek.

Kevin glanced through the window and noticed daylight was fast fading, and evening was approaching. He knew he wasn't about to listen to Alex's instructions to stay put. Then he looked over the note in his hands and returned his gaze to Lena. He noticed her hands were hanging from the bed and placed them gently over her chest, making it appear as though she was fast asleep.