"What happened, brother?" asked Eva as she walked out of the house along with her brother.
But Morpheous didn't reply a word but kept his gaze fixated on the convex mirror that was ahead of them and kept walking along the same route in which they had entered the lane.
He could see a black car speeding away in the opposite direction behind them.
Gradually the evening had started to darken. The lanes were now bathing in the light of the streetlamps. All the houses were lit with lights now. Even the houses at a distance looked illuminated. They seemed like little boats of light floating in the ocean of darkness.
A handful of stars twinkled above them in the sky and that was the only thing the Eva found familiar in that realm. Everything was new around here, a novelty in which she took great interest in as she craned her neck in every possible direction as she walked along with her brother.
Soon the air turned a bit chilly and it was only then that Morpheous broke the spell of silence.
"Are you ok?"
Eva nodded without saying a word. She knew Morpheous better than anyone else. She knew that there was something that had occupied his mind. He was not giving her a silent retreat, but instead, his mind was busy racing through the maze of thoughts. And knowing that there was something bothering him, she decided to follow him in silence till he himself decided to narrate the thoughts swirling inside of his head.
.
Inside the house of the Rutherfords as Atticus explained everything that he knew about the two, both Natasha and Daniel, sat in silence for a while on the sofa. Churning out everything that had been revealed to them had become an onerous task.
Everything sounded like the story straight out of a Tolkien movie.
Then looking at Natasha, Atticus asked, "The picture that you got today. Does it have my signatures on it?"
"That I didn't check. Let me get it for you," said Natasha, and went to the foyer and picked the diary and the image for Atticus.
"There is a signature of yours behind that photograph and it's marked with the same date!" exclaimed Natasha as she rushed back.
"I don't get it. I seriously don't get it!" mumbled Atticus, holding his head between his palms. Daniel, who was till now standing speechless in a corner, took a deep gasp of air and after a moment of hesitation he asked,
"That guy, with whom Morpheous fought, is he here too?"
And suddenly the eyes of both Atticus and Natasha opened wide. They both had been so much engaged in thinking about how to find others, that they forgot that there could be someone equally harmful who might have landed here along with them.
Looking at Daniel, Atticus shook his head.
"Will he come after us?" asked a scared Natasha.
"If that man is here, then nothing can save us, nobody can save us except him!"
His statement was such an absolute warning that Natasha could feel everything turn dark in front of her. She felt a strange weight on her chest and cursed herself for sheltering the two. She had no idea what curse she had brought upon herself and her family.
Looking at Atticus helplessly, she said,
"Find him and make him go back from wherever he has come from. We don't need them here. We need normal. I need normal."
"I think he gave out a message to me before leaving. But I am not sure how to comprehend it. Not sure if he wrote something else in the script of his world," said Atticus and started pacing in the room. He had no idea how to find Morpheous now. He instantly regretted not following him back.
But so much had happened at that instant that he had lost his logical thinking capacity.
"What hint did he give you?" asked Daniel.
"When he hugged me, he wrote on my back, a number. Twenty-Seven. But I have no idea what that means."
"A house number, perhaps?"
Hearing the suggestion of Daniel, Atticus stormed outside the house. He looked at both sides on the main gate. The fourth house on the left of Natasha's was house number twenty-seven. But they were nowhere to be seen and how could they when Natasha had begged them to leave her in peace.
"Gosh!" exclaimed Atticus and pinched the space between his brows and returned back into the room.
He looked at the pitch-black sky and sighed,
'Where have they gone?'
With a reluctant stride, he moved back into the living room. He was just about to sit on the sofa when Daniel asked a question that had been bothering him,
"How can you be sure that they are not from this world. I cannot believe that someone can simply learn how to drive by just watching."
"I agree! Even I was shocked. He even grasped how the traffic signals....."
"What?" asked Daniel when he saw Atticus stopping mid-way.
"I think I know what twenty-seven means," and saying that he leaped towards the foyer to pick up his keys. And seeing him leave without giving an explanation, Natasha asked,
"Dad... words... please!"
Calming his excitement, Atticus said, "When we were entering Riverdale, there was this central crossing where I wanted to tell him about traffic signals and he just halted the jeep. I was shocked as to what had happened and he had shown me the traffic signal with a wait time of twenty-seven seconds flashing on it."
"Are you sure? Do you think he is going to wait there for you? I mean Riverdale is huge. How can he go back to that place without even knowing what that place is called?"
Atticus smiled looking at Daniel and said,
"He doesn't need to know the name of the crossing. I think he knows exactly every single road that we crossed. He has a genius mind, Daniel. He just watches and he learns."
And saying that Atticus left without saying a word.
"Dad! Wait. Wait... please. Do you think it would be safe to go alone? What if he...?"
"Tries to kill me?" Atticus completed her sentence and then said, "What would he by that my dear? For the first time in so many years, I have got back the purpose of my life. I have got the opportunity to understand science and beyond. I am not going to let this go!"
And he started the ignition.
.
Racing his jeep, as if his life depended on it, he reached the intersection and from the other side of the road, he saw the two of them, quietly standing on the pavement. It was a cold night and he could clearly see them having a tough time with the wind.
Somehow seeing the two in a bad shape a strange paternal instinct started creeping inside of him. A, part of him wanted to shelter them, help them out to find their people, and send them back to where they belonged.
So as soon as the signal opened, he rushed in there direction.
"You guys ok?"
"Uhhummmm..." replied Eva and looked at Morpheous who looked relieved to see Atticus. They both got inside the jeep and Atticus gave the navigation command to Natasha's place.
"Ermm... We cannot go there. I cannot put the life of your family in danger anymore!" replied Morpheous and then looking at Atticus he said,
"We need to get away from your family as early as possible. There are dark elements here. I can sense it somehow. I cannot risk anyone's life anymore. I shall be taking this last favor from you. After that, I promise you that I will not trouble you anymore."
"Why are you saying like that? I told you my daughter an be a bit straight with her tongue. She just got scared. Not sure what she saw or what she imagined in her head."
"She didn't imagine anything in her head. I saw exactly what she saw on the screen."
"You did?" exclaimed Atticus. "Then why did I not see it?"
"Because that was meant to be seen by me. There was distinctive dark energy that I felt in that room and I think by mistake I deflected it towards your daughter. And that made her see things that she should not have. It was my mistake. I don't know how to control these powers that I have. I don't know how to use them when I want to."
Looking at his face Atticus could see a line of frustration that had been etched on the face of the young man. He wanted to help him out, but he didn't know, how.
"Dark energy? Is Nubeous here?" exclaimed Eva.
"No, not him," replied Morpheous.
"Then who was it?" asked Eva.
"Remember the lady who bumped against me in the evening?"
"Yes!" replied both Eva and Atticus unanimously.
"It was her," said Atticus and sighed.
"What? Are you sure? She seemed so normal. So normal!" exclaimed Eva and to which Atticus replied,
"And so does your brother."
Eva turned to look at Atticus and then looked at her bother. He indeed looked like a normal person of that realm in that attire.
"I felt strange darkness when she had touched my hand. Something very eerie and cold. Something that takes all the happiness away from you."
"How did you know there were there?" asked Atticus getting worried for Natasha and Daniel.
"Near the pool..."
"So is that what you were doing when you had placed your palm on the surface? Were you reading the energy levels?"