Chapter 2: The Serial Killer Contract
Fear gripped me tightly. Why would my father be involved in this?
I felt hurt, betrayed, stabbed.
This was certainly a meeting I didn't want to have anything to do with.
In the process of recoiling my steps, having all these thoughts dashing through my mind, I felt a thick presence behind me. I could clearly hear my heart beat, I thought it was no other person than, Mr. Elijah.
"Emarald, is it?" The man crawled his way to my front. He was the man from before. No one needed to tell me he was the boss here.
"Please! My daughter won't say anything, in fact, she didn't see anything." Begged my father.
I knelt down, pleading too as I now realized I was in deep danger. I felt intimidated by the cool-looking men surrounding me. Was this a gang or something? "I'm sorry, I didn't see anything."
Mr. Elijah gave a small smile at me, hunkering down to my level. He had a calm cool aura that made him seem like he was nice, but his height was so intimidating. "Emma, you've seen the dead man,"
I cried out with a hoarse voice, "I don't know who killed him,"
He breathed like he was joking with me. His voice sounded deep and calm and almost so soothing. "You need to join us now."
Are you kidding me?? Was this the plan? Why would my father bring me here when he knew if I witnessed this I will be in danger… Wait a minute. My chest rose up when I breathed like wave. My hands were trembling whilst I stayed on the floor.
Mr. Elijah stood up to continue his speech. "But she knows about this. How can we let her go? This isn't something that should go public, don't you agree Dr. Adam?" He gave a look at my father.
I felt ashamed of my father. Did he plan this all along? Tears rushed my eyes and I couldn't breathe. My father stepped forward clad in his bloodied apron. "My daughter cannot join you," he spoke confidently. Adam took me by the hand, hauling me up. "Let's go."
I sniffed in. Mr. Elijah's demeanour changed and his voice sounded more deep and serious. It was a though he showed his true aura filled with power, now, "I command you, Dr. Adam, leave the girl to join us."
Leaving the place, my father repeated, "No." It was the boldness for me that made me see my father as a hero. I was overwhelmed with surprise when the tall men surrounding Mr. Elijah didn't even move an inch. I and my father began running towards the car and I felt a tad at ease.
I was safe.
We drove in the car and my father seemed tensed. "Dear, Emerald, don't be scared, okay? There's nothing to fear. Look I'm sorry. I'm sorry for getting you into this but you little brat! I told you not to come out from the damn car!" Adam roared, driving speedily.
I possessed that expression on a puppy's face when you're scolding him. I rested my head on the car's window drowned in sorrow. I was still being yelled at after my father had made me witness such grisly scene.
"We're going home, we'll pack and get to somewhere safe. You hear me?! We'll just clear the air for some time, then go back home. I'm really sorry, Emerald."
"Okay, dad." I answered in a low voice. He seemed to have regret in his voice.
As arranged, we went home, packed a couple of things, loaded our necessary belongings into the van and zoomed off.
In The Woods Up In The Mountains
That weird look on my father's face made him feel like a stranger to me. That feeling of betrayal flooded through my veins. I could see how eccentric my father was, his facial expression had swapped to a regretful one but it was obvious my father was a psycho.
Doctor Adam, my foot.
Psst.
The silence roamed the place like a neighbor so close to us, we didn't say anything whilst we hiked up. He felt ashamed and I felt scared and worried. The cold breeze of the atmosphere and the whistling sound of the night made me realize how messed up my father was.
Dressed in my big jacket, I rolled inside the tent in the woods we stayed in. My father with his long messy hair and overly grown beared revealed his emotions with his expression. He looked depressed, mama's absence really bothered him, even I couldn't understand his heartbreak —but what the *uck with the crazy experience back then?
Adam quietly sat on one of those foldable chairs next to a fire roasting a mush melon. I reserved my comment as it wouldn't change anything. This environment creeped me out. Imagine hiding from a dangerous-seeming man in the woods… 'how safe I felt'.
This picture of him sitting next to the fire in his coat reminded me of one time he sat motionless on a chair with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. He stared into the t.v screen but it felt like he actually was staring into space.
Little me was sweeping the living room, one who wasn't given that attention yet I wanted to understand Adam. He didn't care about me. I accidentally tripped over the rug and let out a blasting cry in pain; but even that didn't get him out of his dark hole.
Back to reality.
Shit.
Before I slept in a tent, I busied myself with thinking how dangerous that man could be that he made us hide in the woods. Who could he be? My vision was engulfed in darkness as I was welcomed to dream land. Still sleeping, I could hear voices from the real world, suddenly, I woke up with a yell when I saw a dark figure in front of me.
No. I dint want to die.
"Ssssshh," Adam covered my mouth with his palm. I saw that it was my dad, but did that change my current state. Should I feel safe?
He spoke, "Let's go down the hill and get food from the store. We need to leave this place soon."
As instructed, we climbed down the hills and landed in front of a convenient store after walking for a long distance. As I and my father walked into the place, I could immediately see the crowd of people dressed in classy wears. Was this store designed for just the rich or they were throwing a governor's birthday party in here?
Or wait, these men… could they be?
My eyes traced up and I saw a classy looking reporter in a suit, giving a report of a missing rich business man and as I recognized him, my heart flipped causing me to move slowly behind. It was the man who was killed.
The man whom my father was about harvesting his organs.
Greatly prettified, my breath caught up in my throat and breathing almost ceased. My heart would've have failed but was awoken by a blasting gun-like sound in the store.
By The shadow of fear.