XX.XX.XXXX?
Elodie and Ethan explored the rest of the house, including the garage. They rummaged through different boxes and closets but most of the things that were left behind were broken—someone must've been in this house before and took what could come handy. Soon, they left the house and met outside with Carmen and Alex again. They haven't changed their clothes or found anything useful as intentionally planned. And there really were no cars either. This village was already raided.
"Where now?" asked Alex.
"The road up there could lead to the orphanage," Ethan suggested.
"How do you know?"
"Trust me." He believed in that because the road stretched to a direction from where he and Theo came when they escaped. It was going to take a while, but he figured out that there was a high chance.
"Hey," Velvette approached them. "We found guns."
She led them inside the house, down to the basement where Victor awaited. The basement was illuminated by flickering candles, casting shadows that danced on the walls lined with weaponry—some worn and others eerily pristine, their histories whispered in the air. The weapons were of all kinds—from traditional axes to high-tech firearms.
"Holy cow," Alex muttered, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What kind of psycho lives here?" He added, scanning the walls lined with weapons. Some were clearly homemade, suggesting that the owner was more than just a collector.
"It's weird that someone actually lives here. Like I know that time had stopped at a particular moment, so maybe this room doesn't look like this anymore, but still, just the fact that it used to," Victor mentioned.
"The person is either making weapons for companies or is a psychopathic killer," Carmen said, his voice carrying a little bit of what sounded jokingly.
"Shouldn't we call the police?" Victor asked.
"Never heard of a police service run by creatures," Velvette bantered.
"I meant real police!" Victor sat down, his eyes fixed on the shotgun lying on the table. It was nearly finished and with a bit of adjustment, it could be used for fighting.
"I think Mrs. Agnes is not contacting the police or us. I wouldn't be surprised if she had something to do with this too," Velvette claimed.
"What has she done? I mean before betraying us," Elodie asked, but her question surprised the others.
Velvette widened her eyes, "Wait? You don't know?"
"No," Elodie replied, clearly puzzled. She didn't understand why everyone was so surprised. "She just sent me to the other world as Team B, and that's it."
"Let me get the list," Alex said, starting to count on his fingers. "Psychological and physical abuse, solitary confinement, illegal medical experiments, mind control attempts, forcing drug use, assault leading to death, paying off officials, covering up reports, conducting prohibited research—"
Carmen stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder, indicating that heshould stop. "Alright there," he said softly.
"How the hell do you guys know that?" Elodie said, visibly perplexed by the sudden rush of horrifying details.
"I worked with her for a while," Alex said, his tone matter-of-fact, as if the horrors he'd just listed were common knowledge.
"She told us when we were fifteen," Victor added, his voice interjecting into the conversation.
"Wait. Slow down." Elodie's voice cracked slightly as she tried to process what she was hearing. "What do you mean you worked with her?" Her eyes darted to Alex, disbelief flashing across her face. "And what do you mean she told you when you were fifteen? She never told me anything or the rest of my team," she said, her gaze shifting toward Victor, who still sat casually on the wooden chair, as if this entire discussion was normal.
"I think she started doing it later. She didn't tell the rest of my team either…I think," Alex explained.
"Okay. Two last questions linger. First: Why did you work with her?" Elodie questioned, her voice carrying uncertainty, and a hint of suspicion toward Alex's past. For the first time, she wasn't entirely sure she knew who she was talking to. She wondered whether Alex had ever truly been on their side or if he was just another extension of Mrs. Agnes's twisted plans.
"She asked me to when I turned fifteen, and while she was gathering the rest of my team, I worked with her. I didn't really have any other choice. I saw it all."
"Oh." Elodie blinked, caught off guard by the simplicity of his response.
"What's the second question?" asked Victor.
"How does Ethan know? He got to the other world by an accident and is not even fifteen if that matters."
A wave of panic surged through Ethan, his heartbeat beginning to hammer in his chest
"Well, I haven't told him," said Velvette.
None of them did.
"Theo told me," Ethan answered, hoping that he could get out of this mess without having to tell the truth. He couldn't tell them how he learned it all when he got to shower down in the laboratory. He could physically. Mentally he couldn't get himself to. The truth sounded stupid anyways.
"I remember how you called her a bitch. You wouldn't say that if you knew about her actions just by hearing," Elodie didn't believe a word he said now.
He wanted to swallow the truth down, bury it somewhere no one could find—but the eyes on him left no escape. If he didn't speak now, if he let the lie linger, they'd know. They'd see the crack in his voice, the hesitation in his eyes.
"If you're not a traitor just tell us. It's not that much of a deal," Elodie spoke before Ethan managed to form the right sentence, patiently waiting for the next words that would come out of his mouth.
"Why would I betray you? I was betrayed by her too!" Ethan finally spoke, fury arising within him.
"It could be a part of some plan," Elodie answered, unaware of the weight her words carried.
"Elodie… I don't think that…," Velvette, beside her, whispered but Elodie didn't care.
"Elodie, you're fucking sick. Do you think I'd agree to the thing with Theo if I knew Mrs. Agnes' true intentions? Do you think I'd agree to him getting killed?" Ethan's shoulders slumped, the weight of disappointment in Elodie pulling him down
"Theo, Theo, Theo. It's always him, isn't it? I bet he knows the truth too."
This very moment, it turned into an argument.
But Ethan didn't wanna be a part of it any longer.
"No. He doesn't know either. And now, if I may, I'm outta here," with that he left, the eyes on him not disappearing until his shadow faded.
"Elodie, you fucked that up," Velvette admitted.
"Sorry, but why should it be so much of a deal?" Elodie crossed her arms, her eyes moving for a brief moment to the staircase where the sound of Ethan's footsteps under the screeching steps gradually disappeared into the air.
"I'll go after him," Carmen said, not wanting to be a part of this conversation either. No one looked at him as he left as they were too busy.
"You don't know what could've happened to him. What I'm saying is if even Theo doesn't know, then I'm not even surprised he won't tell us. Like these two were always together. And when I say always, I mean always," Victor spoke.
A wave of regret flooded Elodie as she realized she shouldn't have said all that to Ethan, Victor's words replaying in her head. "Oh my god, I am fucked up. I need to apologize."
"You're not. I'm sure he'll understand," Velvette reassured her.
—
In the meantime Carmen wandered around, following Ethan's footsteps along, the silence broken only by the sound of his own footsteps or his occasional coughing. As he continued, he eventually found Ethan leaned against the wall of one of those houses, smoking.
"Hey," Carmen said, leaning against the same wall.
"You cough so fucking loudly."
Carmen smiled. "You surprised me when you said that not even Theo knew, you two were really close."
"Are close," Ethan corrected. "I don't want to think of him as the past."
The air was filled with understanding that didn't even have to be shown by words.
Carmen came to a conclusion that it wasn't just about the fact that Ethan knew about Agnes' actions and it seemed to be something far worse.
"Did he ever talk about me?" Ethan asked.
"Quite a lot actually, and only in the good light."
Ethan's lips curled upwards, though he actually only held back tears he refused to let fall.
"Why didn't you tell Theo about it? Like that you know the truth" Carmen kept returning to the same conversation but Ethan didn't mind.
"Because if I did, I'd have to explain why I do know. Like now," he paused, taking a moment to inhale and exhale the smoke into the chill air. "And if I explained that, he'd think that what I went through is his fault and I just didn't want him to feel that way. I made myself suffer just so he wouldn't," pain was evident in Ethan's voice, his eyes fixated on the woods and hills before him, he could almost see the field he and Theo encountered when they had escaped. "Will you ask about what I went through?"
"No, Ethan, I won't," Carmen took a deep breath. "I won't ask you to tell me unless you're comfortable enough to tell me yourself. And I won't tell you that I'm sorry either because no 'sorry' will ever fix the damage on your soul if I have to put it poetically."
Suddenly, they heard several footsteps getting closer to them, and moments later, they were approached by the others.
"Hey, you two," Alex, in the lead, was the first to come near them. "I brought you guns," he said as he pulled out two pistols out of his coat.
"Thanks," Carmen thanked for the both of them.
"Isn't this a garage?" Victor asked, noticing that the 'wall' they were leaning against seemed more like a garage door. "If we're lucky enough, a car could be there."
"We can give it a try," Alex answered, doubting they'd be lucky enough.
Carmen and Ethan stepped back as Alex bent down to lift the garage door. He managed to raise it slightly, his muscles tensing with the effort, but it was clear he couldn't do it alone. Victor noticed Alex's struggle and rushed to help, but the door remained stubbornly stuck, as if it were frozen solid. The gap was so narrow that even a mouse would have difficulty squeezing through.
Alex waited for Victor to move his hands away, realizing that the garage door wouldn't raise any further. As soon as Victor stepped back, Alex quickly withdrew his hands, just in time for the garage door to fall with a loud thud. "This is useless unless anyone here can transform into a walnut and crawl under," he said.
"We could try to get there through the inside," Carmen suggested.
"Sure. Go with me," Alex agreed, knowing this is their only hope otherwise they'd have to walk all the way to the orphanage by foot. His legs were still completely sore from the walk here itself, just the idea of walking more made his fatigue grow. The recall of the snow filling up his shoes and gradually melting into an icy water that soaked his socks made him internally shiver.
The front window in this house was broken and they could slip through easily. But because it was broken, no warmth lingered inside, the inside was just as cold as the outside. Their bodies eventually got used to the cold but the basement they just were in was warm due to the candle lighting and their fingers had just stopped stinging with pain from the cold. Now, they were just freezing again., which became clear soon.With a flick of his thumb, Alex pressed down on the small wheel of the lighter. The rough texture catched his fingertip, creating a slight resistance. Though, that was useless as he barely could feel the texture with his fingers numb. He couldn't ignite the spark.
"Give me that," Carmen stated when he saw his desperate attempts.
Alex handed him over the lighter.
Carmen managed to let the flame flicker in the air for a brief, casting a warm glow against the darkness. With careful precision, he tilted the lighter toward the wick of the candle but before he could reach it, the flame burned his fingers and in reflex he dropped the lighter down on the floor, breaking it against the hard surface.
"Shit," he shrieked, not even realizing he broke the lighter yet.
Alex clapped slowly three times before speaking. "Good job," he chuckled. "Who needs light anyways?"
Carmen smiled with his usual warm smile. His smile seemed to be making the space cozier even if that lacked sense.
They were carefully moving between the furniture of the house, looking for the garage entrance when Carmen asked. "Alex?" he said softly, prepared to continue.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you'd be able to cure Theo? Somehow."
Alex stopped himself from walking just as they were standing next to a door that could possibly lead to the garage, facing each other. "Technically yes. Though, I think he wouldn't survive afterwards anyways. I'd have to see him first. But from your description, the damage caused to his body could have bad consequences."
"So yes?"
"Would it make you happy?"
"Of course! But chiefly, it would make Ethan happy. He deserves to be happy and I'm scared that without Theo he could harm himself…"
"I mean, I can try. He's my brother—step-brother after all."
"I appreciate it."
Without a response, Alex opened the door, his mind clouding with thoughts. He didn't know if he was capable of fulfilling Carmen's wishes. He immediately forgot about that as he met with the sight of a quite small white car.
"No way," he said with amazement in his voice. "Try to look for the keys, I'll open the garage from here."
Carmen walked around the garage—almost blindly sliding his hands across the tables while Alex raised the garage door. The door had a handle from the inside unlike from the outside so he managed to do it. And even Carmen found the keys. Luck seemed to be on their side that day.
As the garage door opened Carmen spotted Ethan again first of all the people. He saw him standing beside Elodie and they were casually talking. She must've apologized, he thought, a sense of relief washing over him. "That's great," he whispered, surprised to hear his thoughts escape aloud.
"What?" Alex could hear him even over the piercing ambiguity of his own unspoken thoughts, words he didn't know tangling around his tongue. He always searched for the rhythmic melody of Carmen's voice, a soothing balm amid the chaos of his mind, filling the gap between his ponderings and reality.
"A car. Insane!" Velvette broke their conversation; a good thing she did, it wouldn't move anywhere.
"Right?" Carmen answered, a bit of joy in his voice.
Carmen went up to the car to unlock it as Victor followed and opened the door from the other side, saying. "Y'all the car's quite small for six people."
"No one would fit in the trunk too," Alex mentioned.
"We can leave Theo here," Velvette suggested.
Victor raised his brows, answering, "Theo's not even here!"
"Then Alex," she changed her mind.
Alex scowled.
"That's literally even worse," Victor refuted. "He's the only one who can make the cure."
"I think we can't leave anyone here," Elodie spoke.
"We can tie someone on the roof," Velvette threw another idea as if this one wasn't even dumber.
"Are you volunteering?" Alex smirked.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, the most comfortable thing we could do is make someone sit on someone."
All eyes were on Carmen.
"What?" Carmen asked, a vision of what was coming forming in his mind.
"You could sit on Alex," Elodie proved his speculations right.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Alex leaned against the car. "So sitting on my lap is a no but sucking my dick is a yes?"
Carmen saw the annoying smirk playing on his lips.
Everyone laughed except for them, the laughter cutting through the moment.
"Alex!" Carmen chidded. "That literally never happened! Tell them!"
"You hear my husband. It never happened," the smirk hasn't quite left Alex's face, the chuckles haven't quite left the room.
"We're not even dating!"
"Yet."
"Get a room guys! We gotta go," Elodie stated.
Despite Carmen's half-hearted protests, they indeed had to go. Elodie chose to drive, Victor beside her.
Everyone was already seated, and now it was Carmen's turn.
"I volunteer to be tied to the roof," he practically begged.
"Too late," Elodie said with a smirk.
"Oh my fucking god, this must be the most embarrassing thing I've ever done," Carmen muttered as he awkwardly settled onto Alex's lap, pulling the door shut behind him.
"Are y'all aware of the fact that we'll drive for hours?" Elodie mentioned, starting the engine.
"What!" Carmen almost screamed.
"Chill. We can stop if you get too uncomfortable," Victor reassured.
The car began to move.
"If you touch my hair once, you're dead," Carmen threatened, obviously indicating Alex.
"Don't worry."
The car rumbled along the snow-covered road, its tires crunching over the thick layer of white. Frost clung to the windows, blurring the view outside. Suddenly, the vehicle hit a patch of ice, and the tires slipped, making the car fishtail ever so slightly. The brief jolt sent a shock through the cabin, causing Alex to instinctively tighten his arms around Carmen's waist, pulling him closer. Carmen's heart fluttered as the car slid, a rush of adrenaline shooting through him. The unexpected motion sent a wave of warmth and unease through his chest, his stomach doing an anxious little dance. Alex's arms tightening around him only heightened the sensation, making his skin tingle with an unfamiliar mixture of comfort and nervous energy. He wasn't sure if it was the car's sudden slip or the closeness, but his breath caught, leaving him feeling weightless for a second, like he was suspended in that moment. And Alex only loosened his grip. He didn't not fully let go after the car steadied again.
Carmen felt his face turning red with the sensation not ceasing after a long minute, hoping that no one noticed. Eventually, he stopped thinking about it and fell asleep without even realizing. And the touch followed him even into the dream world.