Knock, knock!
Knock, knock!
The noise from the television inside the house was what pushed them to keep knocking. If the television was turned on, then someone was home.
Knock, knock!
Knock, knock!
"I... am... coming!"
They finally heard the voice of a person inside and it was not friendly. With extra minutes of delay added, the door finally opened up to the guests.
An elderly woman waddled her wizened self out of the room with her cane that she used for support and walking, but considering how often and how terrible her hands trembled, the walking stick won't be doing much for her long term.
She lifted her head to see the men who stood in front of her home, taking nearly a minute or so to do that. Her skellied eyes peered harder than anything to make a clear view of the people before him.
She saw something in front of her, two black figures that blurred and tripled into six figures. She could not tell if they were human beings or statues but statues didn't knock.
She opened her toothless, shrivelled mouth and lashed out at them. "What the hell do ya want, eh?"
"Disturbing an old lady's sleep, eh? How rude of ya lots!"
"Tch!" one of the men scoffed.
They were two of them, dressed in black fitting suits with shades and grim expressions on their faces. These men could easily pass for bodyguards or security escorts anywhere but there they were, in front of an old lady's doorstep, staring and enduring her senility.
"H-How long a-are w-we go-g-going to w-w-wa-watch this?"
This particular man between the two men was irked. He was dark-skinned but another attribute stood him out, especially to people like the old woman whose sight was no good.
He was also a stutterer and quick to anger.
His blood boiled as he stood and listened to the old lady's incessant whining. He moved forward and just then, an arm crossed in front of him.
"Huh?" he muttered, his eyes shooting to his side. It was his partner on the job.
Unlike Stutterer, this one was more fluent in speech with a scar over the edge of his lips, on the left side, and he seemed to have a kinder heart or a better way to put it, a more enduring personality.
However, he looked the same as his stammering partner in every other aspect.
Scarred Mouth had stopped Stutterer from proceeding with whatever intentions he had in mind. He reached for the jetted pocket inside his jacket, took out three photographs and showed her.
"Good day, madam. Forgive my friend here but we need your help, if you don't mind."
The old lady had grown impatient and repulsive and lifted her cane to flog both of them but her strength failed her. Scarred Mouth blocked the cane with almost no effort at all.
He turned to Stutterer. "I guess she's no good too."
"I to-told y-y-you."
"Let's go."
They left, climbing down a flight of stairs. Scarred Mouth and Stutterer had run out of ideas and places to search.
Where else could they search?
It seemed as though Seth and Adam did not want to be found.
That assumption would have been valid if Seth and Adam were expecting them and intentionally hid themselves away, but that was not the case.
"They simply could not find the Snow siblings anywhere in their supposed neighbourhood."
....
....
Thirty minutes earlier...
"What... the... actual... fuck!" Anna shouted.
She leaned on the door of the toilet, her body sliding freely to the floor.
"I need to call Eve."
Anna desperately searched her purse for her phone, her hands shaking. She would have long found her phone if her hands did not quaver so much.
What was she possibly afraid of?
What had she seen in Mark's wallet that put her in such a frenzy and a state of disordered thoughts?
She saw her phone and dropped her purse while trying to take it out.
A trifling amount of sweat was gathering on her face. Ordinarily, that would not be a cause to worry, but the restroom was frigid from the chilling air that was ousted by the hidden air-conditioners around the ceiling.
Her fingers ran a riot on her touchscreen keypad, misdialling her best friend's digits a couple of times before finally getting it correct.
Anna had to be quick so her date does not begin to wonder where she had zoomed off to and come searching for her.
The restroom was bound to be his first place to search.
Her fingers hit the green call icon and she hurriedly put the phone in her ear.
She chewed her fingernails and muttered with a quavering voice, "Pick up. Please pick up, Eve. Come on!"
The call tone beeped in her ears but her face did not show any satisfaction with what it said.
"Hey, it's Eve. Please leave a message, I'm kinda busy at the moment."
Voicemail. Her urgent call was sent to voicemail.
All her efforts were for nought.
She let out a sough and clicked her tongue with her eyes moving from side to side very quickly.
"Yes! Seth!" she said.
"Let me call Seth."
She quickly dialled Seth's number. Anna was running out of the little time she managed to buy and had to be terse in speech with this call.
It was ringing, so the first obstacle was broken. She held the speaker end of her phone with her other hand.
"Pick up," she prayed with her eyes closed.
[[ Hello, Anna ]]
Seth's voice came in from the other end of the call. It had gone through and Anna punched the air.
"Hello, Seth. Please listen to me and listen carefully. It's urgent."
She raced through her speech for want of time, hoping that Seth was attentive enough to hear and pick everything she was about to unload on him.
[[ What's up? What's going on? ]]
[[ Are you alright? What about Eve? ]]
[[ Where's Eve? ]]
"I think Eve is in trouble," she revealed, whispering into the speaker point of her phone.
[[ What! Where are you guys now? ]]
"I'm not with her right now. Just calm down and listen! I might not have the chance again. I think you guys are in trouble too.
"Don't ask me how, I really do not how to explain it. Please get away from your place right now. Go to your neighbour's or if you can, leave the neighbourhood for now."
Seth could sense the fear and anxiety in her voice but he could not justify it since he did not know what was happening.
[[ Come on. Talk to me. What's going on? ]]
"I met some guy and he had your pictures neatly carved out and put in his wallet. I think they are trying to get to you guys. Please hurry and get out of that place with your brother."
[[ I don't understand, Anna. Expl- ]]
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Anna killed the call.
She heard a knock on the main restroom door and leaned her ears to the door of the toilet to listen and heard nothing again.
Wasting no further time, Anna rose from the floor, adjusted her clothes and cleaned her face with the wipes from her bag. She arranged everything in her bag as it were and opened the door of the toilet to leave.
The knock came again and this time around, a voice followed. It was Mark.
"Hey, just checking. Still in there?"
She tried her best to put on a fake smile but ended up with a weird grin. She took a brisk walk to the main restroom door.
Opening the door, she saw Mark standing right in front of her. She grinned and laughed nervously.
"Hello," Mark said. In his hand that hung on the side of the door was a photograph.
He turned it to show her. Instantly, the grin and laughter cleared from her face. Her heart dropped into her stomach in shock.
She looked at Mark with dilated eyes and a pallid countenance, then she looked at the photo and back to Mark again.
She had seen the other three photographs in Mark's wallet but did not see this one. If she had, then she would have ran away instead of trying her best to contact the Snows.
On that photograph was her own face.
What exactly is going on?