Chapter 8
Leaving
That night. . .
"Open up!" Sarah shouted, pounding her fist on the door.
"I think her name's Elza," Runea whispered.
"Yo Elza! Open up the damn door!" Darren cursed. "Get the hell out here ya bitch!"
"What did you do with my brother!" Bardroy yelled.
"Guys. . . Please. . ." Runea began, "It's the middle of the night. . ." She looked at the clock that hung on the wall. "It's three a.m. Everyone's still sleeping. Maybe we should come back in the morning."
"Runea, this important!" Darren protested. "We need ta talk to 'er now!"
It was only a matter of time before the other students began to holler at them. Someone in that hallway opened their door and began to yell at them. "Will you shut up!?" he yelled.
"Why don't you, Allen!?" Darren snapped.
"Bardroy! What are you doing!?" someone else screamed. "Go back to bed!"
"Shut up!" Bardroy retorted. "You have no idea what's going on!"
"Sarah! What are you doing in this part of the building!" another person screamed, racing up to her in his boxers.
"It's a long story, Jason," Sarah sighed. "Just tell us, where's Elza?"
"I haven't seen her. She hasn't been here for a few days. . ." Jason replied. "I don't know where she went."
"Tell me, can she do anything with poison?" Sarah questioned.
"I don't know, but she did get a hundred on the lesson in class that one day. She even got the bonus right. I tell you man, she's weird," Jason replied.
"Thanks Jason. That's all we need."
"Did something happen to her?"
Sarah shook her head. "We just wanted to know some more about her. You can go back to bed now. Tell everyone that we're leaving so they can shut their mouths," Sarah said.
Jason nodded. "See ya Sarah." He managed a small wave and then walked away.
"She has to be the one."
"Sarah, how can you be sure? So what that she's gone. She could have went home to visit her family or there could have been a death in the family or something else. . ." Runea suggested.
"Runea, number one, she's the only person in this school who has green hair. Number two, don't you find it weird that she fled right after we found out about Sota? Number three, Elza's a freakin' liar. She is so good at lying. Thinking about it, I've seen her lie to people. They don't even suspect. Number four, she's clever. Number five~"
"Okay, okay," Runea said, silencing Sarah. "I get it. So Elza's a green-haired, clever liar who's missing in action. So what?"
"Number five, she's good at sneaking. I can go on like this all night long if you want me to," Sarah offered.
"I'll pass," Runea said. "Look Sarah, it could have been someone else who poisoned Bardroy."
"How do you explain the one hundred percent on the poison test?" Sarah asked.
"I took that test last semester," Runea stated. "I got one hundred on it and so did Darren."
"Yo man, actually, I cheated on that," Darren confessed from over on the couch. "Took Bardroy's test."
"You took my test?" Bardroy asked in disbelief. "What is wrong with you?"
"Can we get back to what's important please? Thank you," Sarah cut in, irritation in her voice. "The thing is that if we don't hurry Bardroy's going to die. Instead of sitting here protesting with me, why don't we at least find Elza and ask her about it!? Do you really want Bardroy to die Runea!?"
"But what if we're wrong about Elza?"
"I'll take all the blame," Sarah told her. "But our first priority is getting Bardroy the antidote."
"Yo man, what 'bout Sota?" Darren questioned. "What 'bout 'im?"
"Sota's strong enough to take care of himself. We still need to focus on Bardroy," Sarah stated.
"But Sarah~" Runea eyed her belly. "Are you positive that you want to go through with this? I mean. . . What about the~"
"It'll be fine," Sarah told her. "Trust me." Sarah turned to Bardroy, "Are you sure that you wanna go through with this? If anything happens to you while we're out there, you're just going to have to deal with it as long as you can, all right?"
Bardroy nodded. "I'll be okay."
"All right, get whatever you think is necessary to take," Sarah directed. "We're leaving in an hour."
Chapter 9
As if Things Aren't Bad Enough
Sota sighed and shook his head.
"Aw, lighten up man. It's not that bad here. I mean, yeah, Kira's a real bitch and all but at least we get fed and have a place to sleep."
"Easy for you to say. . . What was your name again, Anthony?"
The guy next to Sota nodded. "Anthony Livic."
"I had everything. . . But now because of Kira. . . I had to throw it all away," Sota sighed. "I had no choice but to join her. It was either that or lose everything else I had. Like I said, I didn't have a choice."
Anthony popped a lollipop in his mouth. "I feel bad for you. I wouldn't be here either if I had somewhere else to be. . . But that's the thing, I don't have anywhere else to be. When Joshua offered me to stay here, I took it. Besides, the food and the shelter's not the only good thing here. There's a girl. . . And damn is she pretty."
"Girl?" Sota rolled his eyes. I've only seen three girls here. Number one, Kira. She's a total bitch slash whore. . . She's just everything that's bad. The other two were the ones that started this mess. They're the ones who kidnapped Bardroy and poisoned him. They both looked like total drips too. "Please," Sota began, "all the women here are total bitches."
As soon as Sota finished his sentence, a dagger wielded by Anthony was pointed at his throat. "Don't you ever say anything like that about Elza ever again when you're next to me. You might just find yourself dead."
"Sorry. . ." Sota groaned. "Even so, if you killed me I doubt Kira would let you off the hook. If you kill me, she kills you. And if she kills you, you'd never get to be with the girl you ever so want."
Anthony narrowed his eyes and then sighed. "I see, thinking outside the box. You do have a point." He pulled his dagger away from Sota's throat. "But there is something that I'm quite curious about, why does Kira have a liking in you? Why are you so special?"
Sota shrugged. "I don't know."
"You must have done something to get her to like you so much. I think she values you more than she does Joshua now. And Joshua's been with her for awhile. He's practically second in command."
"How many people are here?" Sota asked.
Anthony scratched his chin. "Well, Kira and Joshua run the place, Elza, Raven, and I do the errands and the missions. . . Oh yeah. . . And there's Adam. Adam LeVon to be precise."
"Adam?"
"You don't want to meet him."
"Why not?"
"He's Joshua's servant. One of them at least. . ."
"Who's the other one?" Sota questioned.
"I'm not sure. . . Some little girl of some sort. . . But I'm serious about Adam. Stay away from him," Anthony told him.
"Why?
Anthony glanced around the room and then whispered to Sota, "He's weird. He can control the shadows. . . And I'm not talking about the Heartless. I'm talking about the shadow that follows you everywhere you go. The dark one that lingers in light."
"He can control shadows?" Sota whispered back.
Anthony nodded. "Just imagine, walking down a hallway, minding your own business, and then your shadow just ends up attacking you and taking you down. That just some of what he can do."
"Well then, what else can he do?" Sota questioned.
"I don't think Adam is wholly human. I think his body is human, but his soul is one of a demon. I think it came straight from Hell. Another thing is that he doesn't eat food. . ."
"What's that have to do with anything?" Sota asked.
"You didn't let me finish," Anthony hissed. "He doesn't eat food. . . He feeds on memories. And once he takes all of your memories, he can implant fake ones inside of you. Thinking about it, he can make you a whole different person."
Sota raised an eyebrow.
"There used to be another kid here. He was Joshua's old servant. When Adam came along, he didn't last very long. You see, Adam was hungry. . ." Anthony narrowed his eyes at Sota. He pulled the finished lollipop out of his mouth. "I'm sure that you can guess what happens next."
"He killed him," Sota breathed.
Anthony nodded. "He devoured his memories and then ripped his body apart. Left it lying in one of the corridors. That was the most gruesome thing I've ever seen."
"You were there?" Sota asked. "Why didn't Adam kill you?"
"He gave me a warning." Anthony unbuttoned his vest and then tossed it aside. He pulled up his shirt to reveal a long deep scar that ran across his torso. "If I ever watched him while he fed again, he'd kill me. This is what he did to me. And he did this with his hands."
Sota cringed looking at the scar. "With a wound that deep, your lucky that you survived. Any more powerful and he could have cut you in half."
"I thought I was going die. He left me in the hallway. I dragged myself to Elza's chamber and she patched me up. Another reason why I like her. I can depend on her if I get hurt." Beginning to slip his vest back on, Anthony continued, "Now do you understand why you should stay away from Adam LeVon?"
"I need a description in case I run into him. You know, so I can get my ass out of there before he sees me."
"Let's see," Anthony began. "He's pretty short compared to us, being that he's only fourteen. This is going to sound a little weird, but he wears a purple tuxedo with a black tie. He also has short, light-blonde hair and light blue eyes."
"And he's Joshua's servant?"
"Yeah," Anthony nodded.
"If he's so powerful, then why hasn't he killed Joshua yet?"
"I think that Adam sees him as a father. A guardian."
Sota shook his head. "This whole place is crazy."
"Like I said before, it's not that bad."
"You said that there was a little girl here. Who is she?" Sota asked.
"I'm not really sure," Anthony shrugged. "Rumor has it that she's gonna be one of Joshua's servants too, and I'm pretty sure that the rumor's right. She was with Joshua one day. When Joshua was busy talking to Kira, I tried to talk to her. She wouldn't answer me. It was like she couldn't answer me or something. Anyway, I think her name's Miranda. Miranda Mason."
"Why does Joshua keep recruiting all these children as his servants?" Sota questioned. It seemed pretty odd to have children serve you.
"I asked him that before. He told me that children are the easiest to obtain and they're easy to replace."
"That's cruel," Sota said, disgust in his voice.
"I didn't think that it was the greatest thing either. . . But it's better not to protest if you want to keep your life. I suppose that it's true though."
"What?"
"It is easier to hire children to work for you. I already heard that he's getting another servant soon too," Anthony said.
"Who?" Sota asked.
"Hmm. . . I don't know. Some Davidson boy," Anthony revealed.
Sota's eyes widened. He sat up straight. "What did you just say?"
"Some Davidson bo~"
Sota grabbed the scruff of Anthony's shirt. "Which Davidson boy? What's his first name?"
"I can't remember."
"Think!"
"Uh. . . Let's see. . . Um. . . I'm pretty sure it started with a B. . . Oh. . . Oh! It's Bardroy! Bardroy Davidson," Anthony stammered.
Sota released the grip he had on Anthony's shirt. "Where's Joshua's chamber?"
"What?"
"Where's Joshua's chamber!?" Sota repeated in a yell.
"It's on the other side of the building. You know where Kira's tower is? Well, it's down that left corridor at the end of the hallway. Why?"
Sota was silent as he turned around.
"Oh no. Don't tell me that you're going there," Anthony said, shaking his head. "Don't you remember anything I told you about Adam? He'll kill you!"
"They'll kill my brother if I don't do something!" Sota yelled.
Anthony raised an eyebrow. "Brother? Who's your brother. . ? Oh. . . Don't tell me that Bardroy's your. . ."
Without another word, Sota disappeared out of the room.
"Joshua!" Sota screamed, barging through his chamber door. "What the hell? You promised that if I came with you that you wouldn't touch Bardroy!"
Joshua looked up at him from his table. He flipped the leather bound book that he was writing in shut and then put it away. "You know, you really should knock before entering someone's room. It's rather rude if you don't."
"Don't give me that shit!" Sota grumbled. "Answer me!"
"Indeed I did say that. I said that I wouldn't hurt him, and I'm not going to." Joshua laughed. "I just need him for awhile. . ."
"For what?" Sota demanded to know.
"You know, to run a couple errands. . . Tell us a little about some things. . . He's really smart after all. He could easily give us a few answers. . ."
"What do you want to know?" Sota asked. "I can answer your questions."
"I'm afraid that you can't. We need him."
"I heard that you were going to use him as one of your servants."
"Someone here told that, I presume?" Joshua guessed.
"Maybe." Sota didn't want to rat Anthony out. He didn't seem bad, and Sota already knew that he wasn't like Joshua or Kira. "Anyway, what would you need him for?" Waiting for Joshua's answer, Sota glanced around the room. There was no sign of Adam, but he did spot the little girl, Miranda, that Anthony had mentioned. She stood on the opposite end of the room, a blank expression on her face with her hands behind her back. She was dressed in a black and white maids outfit. She only looked to be about ten.
Joshua noticed Sota eying Miranda. "Ignore her," he began. "She's just a mindless servant. Nothing more and nothing less."
"Then why's she here? What can she possibly be doing for you?" Sota asked.
"She cleans. She's my maid after all. She does whatever I command. It's pretty helpful actually."
"You didn't answer my question from before."
Joshua narrowed his eyes. "You are aware that Bardroy was poisoned, am I correct?"
"Yeah, because you ordered it."
"That was Kira, not me," Joshua stated, frustration in his voice. "Anyway, that poison is severely deadly. The longest someone has ever survived it eight months. Well, I'll have you know that it's been almost eight months since Bardroy was poisoned. Do you know what that means?"
The look on Sota's face was one of disbelief and pain. He was silent.
"Bardroy's going to die. I was thinking that since he's going to die soon, might as well make good use of him."
"You bastard," Sota growled, "do you really think that I'd let you get Bardroy? If he's about to die. . . then just leave him alone. . . Please."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. You see, Kira wants him too."
"What does she need him for!?"
"Info. And let me tell you this, Kira picked you to go out and fetch him."
"What?"
"That'll be your first assignment," Joshua told him.
"No! I'm not bringing my brother here!" Sota yelled.
Joshua smiled. "I thought that you'd be glad that Kira sent you. After all, if we send anyone else, they'll use force to bring him here. . . You know, which includes punching, kicking, stabbing. . . And with the condition Bardroy's in, they could easily kill him by mistake."
"I told you that I won't do it."
"Oh well. . . If we can't have Bardroy, then we can just use Sarah. . ."
Sota's frown grew larger. "That's low, even for you."
"Well, it's true. Either Sarah or Bardroy. Which one can we take?"
"That's not fa~"
"Life isn't fair," Joshua hissed. "Think about it Sota. Sarah's young. . . She can have a whole life it you let her. But with Bardroy, he's going to die soon anyway. . . there's nothing awaiting him in life but death. Make your choice."
Sota lowered his head. Bardroy was his brother. He couldn't just betray him like that. Sarah was the one that he loved. He couldn't betray her either. Why did he have to choose? Why couldn't Joshua and Kira just leave things alone? Sota looked back up at Joshua.
"Have you chosen?" Joshua asked.
"If I bring Bardroy to you, you won't hurt him?" Sota questioned.
"Of course not. . . The worst thing that could happen would be interrogation," Joshua told him.
Sota's eyes widened. He stepped up to Joshua and looked him straight in the eye. "You wouldn't."
"You're right, I wouldn't." Joshua smiled. "But Kira would. If Bardroy answers, we won't have to show violence."
"Bardroy's smart. He would never give you any important information."
"Which is why we'll use force."
Sota's frown grew even larger.
"Better go fetch him. Some of the others will go with you."
Sota was still frowning when he left the room.