Chapter 9: Surprises

I carefully walk towards Tris, not wanting to make any more sounds, alerting the criminal of our location in the house.

I suddenly come across a piece of the floor that sounds different when I walk over it. There is a burgundy rug covering it, so I slide it out of the way. There is a large square of hardwood that is cut differently from the others. I wave Tris over.

"He's down there Tobias. I know it," she says, her voice shaky as she steadies herself on the paint-peeled wall.

I nod slightly. I can't deny it. I know something is down there as well. Unless there is some secret bookshelf that leads into another room, this is where he is. The murderer.

"Should you call for back up?" Tris asks.

"Already taken care of. Zeke and the team should be here shortly," I assure her.

"Should we wait?" she questions, probably stalling. I don't blame her.

But then we hear a scream. A blood boiling, stomach turning, ear ripping scream.

"Now, Tris," together we pull up the piece of wood that leads to the basement of the old farmhouse. Our guns are out, ready in front of us.

We ascend down the ladder and our feet wander in the dusty space. Tris turns on a flashlight. We do not need it, but I am suddenly glad we have it. We hear another gut-wrenching scream somewhere to our left. We see a door hidden behind another panel of wood. I gently set the wood to the side, trying to be as silent as possible. I turn the rusty doorknob and pull on the door.

"Susan," Tris whispers.

The girl, Susan, who I think is Robert's sister, is tied to a bed, covered in blood. Her eyes sell with tears when she recognizes Tris.

"Four? Tris?" I hear Zeke call from above where we left the hole open.

"Down here, Zeke. Call the ambulance," I yell.

"So do you think he was there when we arrived or do you think he left just before?" Tris is pacing around the hallway.

"Tris, hun, please stand still. You're making me anxious."

"I can't. I need to do something," she exhales but her voice breaks and pauses between words.

I sigh. "I think it's very possible he heard us when we approached the scene. But, it is also just as likely that he is still in that house. If there was one hidden door, there were probably more," I observe her as she reacts to my assumption.

Her voice is tight, "We have to go back, Tobias."

I stare at the ground. "I know. But not today. Come one." I get up from the ground and I take her hand. "Let's get out of here."

I grab the set keys out of my desk drawer and I tug Tris along to the parking garage.

"Ta da!" I say as I reveal the shiny bike from its cover.

"A motorcycle?" she asks unimpressed.

I raise my eyebrows at her.

"Can I drive?" she suddenly asks catching me off guard.

I shake my head at her, "No, because how would you know where we are going?"

She crosses her arms and pouts her lips.

I put my arms around her and set my chin on her head. I breathe in the smell of her blond hair.

"Or we could just stay here forever," Tris says as she holds onto my arms.

"I wouldn't mind that, but I do have a surprise for you and we should really be getting there or we will run out of time…" I tell her.

"Why are we taking your motorcycle and not the car?"

"Can you stop asking so many questions? We have more than one thing to do so let's go," I say without revealing too much.

"I am a detective you know. I'll figure this out before we get there."

I laugh at her incredulous comment.

"Well wouldn't you say we both need a shower before we go anywhere?" she asks.

We are quite filthy. "No, it's better this way because now it won't matter if we get dirtier."

We ride to Amity Farms to pick apples. Tris sits on my shoulders and we collect about twenty-five ripe apples.

We put them in the storage compartment and we ride along to our next destination.

"Pottery? You're going to do pottery?" she questions almost baffled.

I shrug, "I might try some new things now and then."

She laughs at what I tried to make into a waterfall.

"Here, let me help," she places her hands on mine and somehow turns my glob of clay into a rushing fall of water.

"I didn't know I was learning from the master of pottery herself," I say with a sarcastic enthusiasm.

She curtsies.

"Well, these will be a little while so what do you say we come back later tonight so we can paint them," I suggest. I am eager but nervous to move on to the next destination.

"It's about lunchtime so why don't we get something to eat," I say and I feel Tris nod into my shoulder.

"Spoken Word Café" Tris reads off the sign. "This seems to me like it's a poetry club."

I bite my lip. I don't know if I'm ready to do this or not.

We get a table and order a couple of sandwiches.

I rise from the table and tell Tris that I'll be right back.

She has a funny expression on her face. I hide a smile that wants to appear on my lips.

Someone approaches the microphone and speaks into it, "The first reader tonight will be Tobias. Can we all welcome him this afternoon?" The audience snaps and I walk out from behind the curtain.

I pull out the piece of paper from my pocket and I look at the words I have written.

I clear my throat and I whisper,

"When your hands touch my hands and your eyes meet with mine

And your lips touch my lips and our hearts intertwine.

There's a fire in my heart and I can't put it out

That day when we met, in my mind I had no doubt."

I decide that's all I need to read in front of all of these strangers.

I walk back to our table and Tris greets me with a hug. "That sounds like it should be a song," she whispers in my ear.

I chuckle.

"Thank you," she says.

So I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter but today was the first day back to school so ew. So here is another chapter. I am hating the flow of this story. Tris and Four's date will continue on the next chapter so be excited!

Love you all!