"Please, sir." Her plea is sincere, made the man stop closing the door.
"Alright, but come in. We can't talk about this in the open air." He took her hands and pulled her in.
"Why not?" She asked naturally.
The griller turn on the lights of the hut.
"But if you shut your hut, would it be more suspicious?" She furrowed her brows, technically really mix up with this old guy's behavior.
The man's brows also met in the middle, his irises went up, her question made him think.
"You're right, let me open up my hut." Nodding, he loudly pulled up his hut's window.
Once he put everything back, he began to slice huge chunks of beef on his small kitchen island.
"You've been staying on this Island for several days now, don't tell me you haven't noticed anything strange?" Some of his words are not heard because of the loud chopping.
"You don't need to answer, I know you do. I can see people's lights, yours were dark green meaning you were really sick." He paused for a while, looked at her as if he wanted to confirm if his light reading is correct.
Isabel nodded, her jaw dropped, and wanted to say anything but can't.
"Good! That means I still have my ability." He continued working, going here and there.
"Your color is now light green, almost yellow, which means you took the therapy." He turns his back to face her. He was confirming his statement.
Isabel nodded but did not talk.
"Soon you will get well, but they'll ask you to sign a contract to work with them forever. Do not agree. Sign to pay the amount they were asking, no one is going to prison if they can't pay a debt when you're broke." The griller continued to work walking back and forth.
"Why?" Is all Isabel can say.
"Because this facility is a cult! That is." He grunted, his voice reminded Isabel of the actor who played Hagrid.
She did not talk, but allowed him to continue.
"I was once a young Lad, who had no family, no money, and very sick. But I wish I had died, than forever stuck on this Island." His grumpy voice has now a mix of sorrow and regret.
"But why can't you leave the Island?" It's impossible not to leave the Island. In this information technology, everything is possible.
"I told you this Island has mysteries that none can explain. Why do you think billionaires and companies have been sponsoring the Raven's? They want a piece of this Island's mystery, and every information is held by the Ravens." His voice is now back to being cautious.
"But why can't you leave the Island?"Isabel insisted.
"I can! But they used everything to track me down and destroyed my life." He said he is now sounding angry but hopeless.
"Destroyed how?" She asks, even if she has an idea. He started feeding her with the beef he is grilling.
"I was an orphan, at eighteen, very sick and no money, I was personally picked by Dr. Hasher Raven himself." As he continued with his tale, he gave her a glass of a strong beer But she refused.
His name is Morie he didn't introduce himself but he mentioned his name in a conversation with Hasher Raven. How they let him sign a contract that didn't explain everything. They tricked them into working on the cult without receiving anything except, food water, and shelter.
"I once ran away, but they found me. They called me, destroyed my image to the company I worked for, told my wife and kids, I have someone in her which is not even considered a relationship." In his great fury, he can't help telling everything to her.
"Morie, so what do you suggest I should do?" She asks, she wanted to console the old man first before jumping to her own motive.
"I would like you to apply for pay pledge, and ignore their propaganda." He sounds assertive.
Morie explained that a pay pledge is something like a promissory note, stating that you'll pay the ridiculous amount you owed from the facility. He told her to probe an open-ended question before signing another contract. They'll be very tricky, so she must ask as many questions as she can.
"How much did you owe them?" She is curious as to why did he allow the facility to harass him.
"It's thirty billion dollars." He said in anguish.
"That's crazy?!" Is that how ridiculous the amount they're asking?
It's time for her to open up her motive, otherwise, they'll be in a deep cycle of Mories' setbacks.
"Listen, I think I have experienced some of the Island's mystery. I was transported to a different time and place." She blew her secrets up to this man.
"Transported to where and what?! Look, I'm a simple person, can you explain it further?" He said seems her actions have been paused in midair.
"Okay, let's put it this way, I have experienced the secrets of this Island more than anyone else, that's why you need to tell me everything you know about the musician Liz." Damn it! She cursed inside now she has to do damage control, to protect Morie and herself.
She can't risk him telling anyone else.
"Liz? That Lady appears whenever she wants to, no one knew where she lives on this Island. She told me that, once she finds her son, she will leave the Island for good. Like she can do that." Morie is back to what he was doing, chopping and slicing like the large chopping knife is part of his hand.
Ugh! Then what she will do now? She had a peekaboo with the glimmer of hope. She sighed and finally rose up.
"Well, if you see her, tell her I need to speak to her ASAP. Don't worry Morie, you'll see your family again." She touched his shoulder, as a sign of her sympathy.
"I have to go, I need to investigate things. Talk to you later." She said and gave him a sad smile.
"Okay, whatever it is you will find, don't forget this old man." He shrugged and back to his official appearance. The impersonal griller.
Thanks to Morie's confession, she has pieces, some puzzles. The Ravens have been prioritizing the Island's secrets and sharing very little. They might know that there are points of portals that can transport anyone to anywhere other than Novalia.
But where are those spots? She needs it now. She tried going back to the first spot, but nothing happened. She was thinking to go back to the library's archive.