Staring at the closed doors, the three of us shared a look with each other before continuing down the road towards another crossroad between the three levels of Middle street. Then, as we reached the end of the two columns of houses, we paused.
"Well, I guess I'll go now."
Frank muttered as he avoided our gazes. Gripping onto his elbow pit, he pressed his arm close to his chest and shrank himself smaller than usual. Seeing that awkward look on his face, I couldn't help but go up to him to give him a hug.
"Could you tell me more about Will next time? I would like to know what he was like."
Smiling at him, I saw his expression change to one of surprise before he gave a slightly more comfortable smile and nodded his head.
"Then I'll go home now. See you tomorrow at school!"
Waving goodbye at me, he politely nodded his head towards Oliver before taking off. And after we watched his small back disappear from our sight, the two of us started heading towards Bottom Middle street.
"...Did you know about any of the things Joel said today?"
Passing by the old cemetery, I asked Oliver as I glanced at the exposed tombstones. They were in a much worse state than the ones back in the newer cemetery. Many of the tombstones were buried under layers of dirt, making the engraved names on them illegible due to wear and tear from being exposed to the elements.
"I've heard a bit about Elaine from Andrew. Although the whole incident with the Red House Massacre is new, I knew about Elaine and Van's marriage as well as Justin's execution. Although I don't know many of the details since they happened quite a while ago. Andrew was also very occupied with something after he adopted Alex and I, so we weren't very involved with the Faction."
After walking past the cemetery, the two of us turned left and walked straight.
"I didn't know anything today. Even though she's my own mother. It's a very weird feeling."
Mumbling to Oliver, I could see our apartment come into view.
"You're parent's probably didn't want you and your brother to be deeply involved in such a fight."
Glancing at Oliver as he said that sentence, I saw his eyes glaze over and the tips of his mouth turn down, as if he were visiting a sad and painful memory.
"When it involves themselves, people will have no qualms about putting themselves in danger. But the moment the safety of someone they care about is affected, they tend to do whatever they can to protect them. It's just proof that you are loved by your parents."
Giving a pained smile, Oliver seemed to be speaking from personal experience as we got closer to the apartment. Observing him from the corner of my eyes, I could see him snap out of his memories and store that expression away under his usual mask.
"Dan."
Before I could say anything to fill the silence that had shoved itself into the air, I suddenly heard a familiar voice in front of me. Turning my attention back, I could see a boy with eyes like pools of melted ice standing patiently in front of his apartment.
"Ralph!"
Parting from Oliver, I ran forward and placed one hand on his cheek. Feeling the cold bite my skin, I frowned and chastised him.
"Didn't I tell you to wait for me inside? Why are you standing out here?"
Smiling at my scolding, Ralph placed his hand above mine and closed his eyes.
"Mmn. I didn't stay out for long. I only came out when I felt that you would return."
Clicking my tongue, I sighed at his lies and pulled my hand away from his cheek. Opening my mouth, I was about to say something when I saw his hand shoot out to grab my retreating hand, and a look of panic shot across his face.
"I'm sorry. I'll properly stay inside next time."
Seeing that panic, I couldn't help but freeze and let him tighten his grip on my hand. Sucking in a deep breath, I pressed down the suspicions in my heart and forced myself to smile at him.
"I'm not actually mad. Don't worry."
Patting his hand, I saw Ralph heave a sigh of relief before smiling at me.
"If that's the case, then great! I'll see you tomorrow!"
Squeezing my hand, he then carefully let go of it before waving goodbye and reiterating back into his apartment. When he opened the door, I accidentally met eyes with June. She was standing behind the door, clearly in earshot to hear everything that Ralph and I had said. Her eyes held a mixture of panic and dread as she looked at her son.
"Mom?"
Seeing the weird expression on her face, Ralph called out to June as he reached out a hand to hold hers. And as if the skion contact crashed her right back to reality, her eyes suddenly came into focus, and she stole a glance at me.
"Yes Sweetheart?"
Giving him a tense smile, she quickly reached out her hand to close the apartment door. As such, I could only see worry start to form on Ralph's face before a metal door blocked my view again.
Standing in front of the apartment, I could hear whispers coming from the other side, although the voice was so small that it was inaudible.
"Elaine and Van are waiting for us."
Feeling a hand slip inside my own, I turned around and saw Oliver speak with an emotionless face.
And giving the cold metal door one more look, I nodded my head and allowed myself to be pulled away from Ralph's apartment and back to my own.
Digging out the key in my pocket, I extended my hand, intending to open the door, when I heard the knob turn from the inside. Taking one step back, I lowered my hand as the sight of my mother came into view.
"Welcome back, boys."
Smiling, she swung the door open and walked out of the apartment. Behind her, my father peeked out of the door and glanced towards us.
"The two of you came at the perfect time. We're heading out."
Stepping out of the apartment, he closed the door, and my mother locked it with her key.
"Where are we going?"
Holding my mother's hand, the two adults led us back down the stairs and turned in the direction of the market.
"We'll tell you when we're somewhere we won't be overheard."
Squeezing my hand, my mother smiled at me as we continued walking forward. Hearing her words, I was reminded of the Faction meetings that we were just told about and stole a glance at Oliver.
Meeting his almost black eyes, I saw him give a shallow nod, agreeing with my suspicions that my parent's would finally allow us to properly join the Anti-MDVA act faction. But, why now?
Glancing at Oliver from the corner of my eye, something in my mind told me that if Oliver had never chosen our house, my parent's would have never told me anything about the Anti-MDVA act meetings.
I returned my attention back to the front and sighed heavily in my heart. Then, paying more attention to my surroundings, I noticed that we had already reached the 'bottom' area of the market.
Beyond the line of concrete that separated the street from the market, you could hear the hustle and bustle of the store vendors selling their wares with loud voices. Other than that, there were the constant mumblings of customers talking among themselves as well as the store owners. If I concentrated on the noise, I could even hear a customer arguing for a bargain for something. But, on the road we were on, there was no liveliness to be seen. The lights were dim, and there were barely any people. The contrast between the light and the darkness made our road seem so lonely.
Walking past the most 'bottom' area of the market, we followed the curve from the outside and walked up along the left side. Then, once we joined the bright road leading towards the market, we bypassed it and instead walked into another dark road leading us into High Middle street territory. Finally, we took a right and walked towards a large warehouse.
Stealing a glance at the open main street of the market that stood a mere short distance from the warehouse, I saw several people in rough shirts and pants splitting off from the main street and heading our way.
"Hey!"
One of them was a familiar figure. With a slightly hunched back and an overly friendly smile, Ivan, the owner of Crystal Ball and the man who had narrowed his eyes and stared at Ralph for too long, waved his hands and joined our small group.
"Fancy seeing the whole family here."
Lowering his head a little, I met those beady eyes of his, and he reached out a hand to ruffle my hair. Then, laying his eyes on Oliver, he nodded his head in greeting before turning his attention towards my parents.
"Hello Ivan. How was work?"
Smiling at him, my mother waved her hand and reached out to shake hands with him.
"Elaine! Van! I feel like I haven't seen the two of you together in so long!"
Letting go of my hair, Ivan spread his arms and brought my mother into a warm hug. Beside him, my father remained silent.
"I was just unwell for a while. But I've recovered already, so I'm coming back to the faction."
Separating, my mother slipped her hand into my father's, and the two of them faced Ivan's innocently smiling face.
"Is that so?"
As he spoke, Ivan's glaze flickered to me and then to Oliver. The smile splitting his face got a little wider. However, even though it was obvious that he didn't fully believe my parents, he chose not to expose their flimsy excuse and just made a vague humm.
"Then I'll see the four of you inside."
Waving farewell, Ivan then slowly hobbled towards the warehouse. And once they saw his back disappear into the warehouse, my parent's gave a sigh of relief.
"It's great to see him be as sharp as always, even after so many years."
Putting a hand on her cheek, my mother commented in a breathy voice as my father placed one hand over her shoulder.
"Indeed. Even though more than ten years have passed since I've met him, I still find myself stiffening up whenever we talk. He's like a hunter, with the entire world his prey."
Chuckling softly to themselves, we followed slightly behind my parents as we headed towards the warehouse ourselves.
Listening in on their talk about Ivan, I suddenly felt a cool hand slip into mine and whipped my head to face Oliver.
"Shh."
Making a sound, he matched my pace and leaned closer to me, his mouth hovering right next to my ear.
"The person behind us. She looks familiar."
I stiffened at his words. Resisting the urge to whirl my head around to see who he was talking about, I could feel my feet falter and slow down. Thanjkfully, Oliver immediately noticed this and pulled me by the hand to catch up.
"Be careful."
Narrating his eyes, he warned me as we finally reached the entrance of the warehouse.
This warehouse looked like an ordinary warehouse, unassuming among the other warehouses standing next to it. The only difference that I could visually see distinguishing it from the others had to be the nameplate showing who the warehouse belonged to. For the warehouse we were entering, it said Justin.
Justin?
Narrowing my eyes, I glanced at the nameplate more closely.
Wasn't Justin the name of my grandfather?
Staring at the nameplate, as the thoughts in my mind whirled about whether this Justin was my grandfather or just some other person who shared his name, the light from the street shone onto the nameplate, reflecting the face of the person who had been following us.
"...I saw who's behind us."
Leaning closer to Oliver, I whispered into his ear as we stepped into the darkness.
"It's the woman who sold you a notebook. The one who I ordered a locket from."
Flickering his eyes at me, Oliver then lowered his head into a thoughtful pose before lifting it to face the front.
"Then let's just ignore her for now. At least there's nothing she can do in such a large crowd."
Raising an eyebrow at his words, I nevertheless nodded my head to show my understanding. Then, lifting my own head to face the front, I finally realized what he meant by a 'large crowd'. The inside of the warehouse was packed with people.