I didn't know how long I stayed like that. Adrian didn't seem to mind. Finally my sobs subsided and I regained some sort of semblance.
I walked back to the cabin. Adrian was not there but the others were standing in a circle outside. They seemed like they didn't know what to do. They saw me coming and all of them turned towards me. They were staring at something next to me. I realized that it was at my beloved wolf.
"Don't worry he won't harm you", saying that I gave an affectionate pat on my wolf's head. Paul was looking at me like weirdly. I ignored and went inside. There was no one.
"Where is he?", I asked Paul. Paul took his time answering.
"Hmm. Not here. He must have gone in search of you."
"Paul, listen to me. The other number which I gave you to search, along with Alexa and Alyxandrina, it belongs to Adrian. You may want to dig into it further." I tell him seriously.
"You're are doubting that Adrian is behind those crimes? Aren't you? You have got it all wrong. Look I'm not the best person to explain. But one day you'll know for yourself." He tells me in a soft voice like consoling a wounded child.
"Whatever." I know what I saw with my eyes. And Paul himself had found the location of Adrian on the days of the crime, which overlapped with Alexa's and Alyxandrina's location. I closed my fingers in a tight fist. Adrian who was next to me licked my hand. I smiled at him and relaxed. The girl next to Paul was trying hard to suppress a chuckle . She was one of the semi naked girls. Paul gave a small chuckle, briefly amused at something, before looking serious again. I glared at both of them.
I walked back home and parted with Adrian at our usual spot. It was tough to leave him there and go. The wolf was a calming presence. I had a wonderful feeling whenever I was with him. Almost similar to the feeling I got when I was with Adrian. But now it would no more be like that. He had hurt me bad.
I went home and went to my room directly. I did not want to think about Adrian but the whole night he occupied my brain and I couldn't sleep.
I gave up trying to sleep after rolling around my bed. I checked my phone to see the time. It was 4:02 am. There were also a couple of texts and few missed calls. I had put my phone on silent. The missed calls and texts were all from Adrian except for one text. There was a text from an unknown number. I opened it. The number was not from this region.
Unknown number: Hi. My name is Caleb. I'm a research student in University of Snowfort. I'm writing a paper on how the mathematics competitions is actually helping in shaping people later in their careers. Can I interview you?
I immediately searched for him in the university page and there was a Caleb. He seemed legit. There were even a few published articles on his research. University of Snowfort though not a very famous university had a strict screening process. He must be bright to have got in.
Me: How did you get my number?
I saved his number and was about to put my phone aside when a new text alert came. He had replied. I wasn't expecting his reply right away. What was he doing being awake so early in the morning?
Caleb: After a lot of digging around I got it. So you okay meeting me?
Me: What help will my interview do?
Caleb: Are you kidding? You have won many international mathematics competitions like International Mathematical Kangaroo, International Mathematical Olympiad etc etc. It will definitely help. I won't take much of your time.
It was not difficult to find out the winners of those competitions. It was public knowledge. I was still a little reluctant to meet him. But what did I have to lose if it helped some kid in his studies.
Me: Okay.
Caleb: Can we meet today?
Me: I have work.
Caleb: How about for breakfast? You anyway need to have breakfast right? This way you won't be wasting any time on me at all.
Me: Fine.
We agreed to meet at Tony's. Tony's is a public place. So, there was no harm in meeting him there. He already had my number. If he could get my number, he would also know where I lived and where I worked. No point in hiding or avoiding him. I guess it's pretty safe to meet him.
I still had time before my appointment. I got up and went to my dad's den. I directly went to the old almirah in the corner and tried the lock. It didn't open. I tried again slowly with the same combination which worked last time. It did not open. Looked like my dad had changed the code to the number lock.
The next half an hour I spent on opening the lock. It was good. This way Adrian was out of my mind. I didn't have to think of his green eyes which was of the same shade as the fountain pen which my dad had kept on his desk. I didn't have to think how tall he is and how he towered over me like this almirah. This almirah was almost of the same height as Adrian. No, I didn't have to think about him. Working on this lock was actually a good task.
I don't know what brought me here. I didn't think of any consequences or what I was actually doing. I just came here.
Finally, the lock opened. There were various files stacked one on top of the other. The bottom most file looked like the oldest but if I pulled it out the others would fall. I took the topmost file for now.
It seemed to be one of my dad's latest research. I started reading. It of course didn't make any sense to me. 'MP 2.0 is a success. When a rww is our of control MP can be administered to calm him. Need to be used with caution. Dangerous in wrong hands.'
I didn't understand anything. What is rww? Or rather who is rww? Anyway I came here for a totally different reason. I kept the file back in its place and started looking at the others without actually pulling it out. All were his work files. At last I found one which seemed to be not work related. I carefully pulled it out.
Inside was a description of a place named Deathfalls. The description sounded beautiful. There was even information on how to get there. In the end though it was written 'E spotted here', which sounded like a warning rather than stating a fact.
There were a few more pages describing other places where E was supposedly spotted. E could be some kind of a creature on which my dad was doing research. But what I found in next page made me question if E was a creature. There was two phone numbers, one had E against it indicating it belonged to E. Against the other number it was written C.
There was no date mentioned anywhere. So I did not know how old this file was. Also, there was no mention of C anywhere else. I was missing some connection. And it definitely is an important connection.
I could hear some noises from the kitchen. I quickly kept everything back in its place and walked out. I silently walked back and pretended to be coming from my room. I went to the kitchen. Mom looked fresh. She was cooking breakfast.
"Good morning mom." I shouted excitedly. She looked at me suspiciously.
"What's gotten you so excited this morning?"
"Nothing, nothing." I try to answer normally. I kiss her cheek and start going back towards my room.
"And mom, I won't be there for breakfast. Going out with a friend." I tell her and walk out as normally as possible before she could ask any questions.
I was walking to Tony's when my phone started ringing. It was Adrian. I should have left it in silent mode. It kept on ringing from the time I went back to my room from kitchen. I ignored it and had gone about my task of getting ready. I tried to ignore the ringing of my phone the same way I tried ignoring the new top which I bought with Alexa and Nina the other day. I had bought it because it reminded me of Adrian's eyes. I had planned on wearing it today.
I need to be mature about the whole thing. It was just a top. I couldn't throw away clothes of different colors just because it reminded me of his hair, his eyes or his skin color. It was just a color and nothing more. Yes, it was just a color. I took the top, made a ball and threw it in the corner. Yes, it is just a top right? So, I can ignore it and wear whatever I want.
I put my phone on silent and continued walking. I came to the road. I could either continue walking on the road or cross the road and go back into the woods. I preferred walking in the woods. It was more peaceful. Also, the route through the woods was shorter.
A few vehicles passed by as I prepared to cross the road. A couple of them were also walking. I crossed and continued into the woods. Suddenly, there was a man next to me. My first reaction was panic. He smiled at me but there was no warmth. It was a fake smile. He looked pretty young. He had a lean profile and was dressed as a college going student.
"Hey don't get alarmed. You are going to meet me I guess. I'm Caleb." He says still smiling. The more he smiles the more villainous he looks.
"I saw you and thought of walking with you, that is if you are okay with it." He continues. I nod my head. We resumed walking.
"So you usually walk is it? No car?" He asks.
"I prefer walking to driving." I answer him. The truth is I don't like driving. I don't like maneuvering through traffic. Come to think of it I can probably drive in this town. It is almost traffic free.
"Hmm I see. So you new to town?" He asks.
"Not anymore. It's been a while since we moved." I look up to see him staring at me. He smiles when our eyes catch. He swallows and brings forward a gift wrapped package. I look at it first and then at him questioningly.
"This is for you." He puts it in my hand.
"What is this for?" I ask. This is way too out of character for any person. He is gifting me something when I don't even know him.
"For agreeing to meet me."
"I can't take it." I refuse.
"Go on open it. After opening if you don't like then I shall take it back. Promise. " He was determined. There was a look in his eyes which said he wouldn't accept my refusal.
I reluctantly unwrapped it and looked in the box. There was a nice looking perfume bottle.
"I can't accept this. I don't even know you." I refuse again.
He takes the perfume bottle from my hand and tells, "The smell is very nice. You have to try it at least once." He sprays it on my face. Is he insane? I start coughing. He calmly waits. He is probably waiting for me to stop coughing. My coughs had almost stopped and I was ready to tell him what I thought of him and his perfume when his look stopped me. He looked like he was waiting for something to happen. Now that my coughs had stopped he looked confused.
"This has never happened before. It always works." He is shaking his head and tells more to himself.
"Well if you are trying to impress a girl then this is not the way. I'm surprised that it even worked before." I laugh and look back at him. He is looking around seriously now. I observe his face as he looks around. He is not so young as I thought before. Looking at his serious face I start getting scared. It was foolish of me to walk in the woods with some stranger.
"Where are you going?" He suddenly asks in an angry tone. He schooled his expression and started smiling again.
"To Tony's. That is where we had initially agreed to meet right?" I was walking back towards the road.
"Tony's is this way." He points in the other direction through the woods. I know but I don't want to take that route anymore. While talking to me his sight was moving towards a log which was in between us. We were standing at some distance now.
He came towards me. When he was near the log he casually bent and picked it up. He smiled.
"Situation needed me to adapt. It would have been easier if the other thing worked." He chuckled, lifted his hand and swiftly hit me hard on my head with the log.
My head started spinning. My vision blurred. The last thing I saw before becoming unconscious was his smile.