#17

“Over my dead body!”

Chapter 9: Their Encounter

The bell rang, ringing through the thoughts of mine. I stifled my yawn due to the fact that I couldn’t sleep a wink the night before.

“Morgan? Earth to Morgan! Hello!?”

A hand waved in front of me, pulling me back in from my thoughts again. I blinked, once, twice and saw Roy and Clarisse looking at me with worried eyes.

“Oh, um, it’s nothing.” I stood up and took my books and headed for my locker.

“Jeez, Morgy, you look terrible.” Roy said when he saw my tired eyes.

“Dude, your eye bags are big enough to put in your books and my books.”

At the corner of my eye, I saw Clarisse shove Roy on the shoulder. I opened my locker and took out a pocket mirror. Roy was right, my eye bags are huge; my hair is in a mess; I hadn’t put any make up one, not even a lipstick. No wonder he said I look terrible and yeah, he was right!

“Roy, Morgan and I have something to talk about, so why don’t you run along?”

“B-but!”

“Roy! Please?”

Roy shuffled down the corridor, muttering something under his breath. I stifled another yawn as Clarisse pulled me towards the school yard. I blinked when we were exposed under the sunlight.

“Here,” she said and pulled me to a big tree behind the building.

“You don’t mind if we skip lunch, do you?”

I shook my head.

“Good, now spill, what in the world made you look like this?”

I hesitated. It’s not that I don’t trust her; it was just that this whole thing was part of my life, now. What will happen if I would have told her everything? From the notes to the woman that saved me from the thing called Enormph? Will my telling, too, put her in danger as it had put me?

I can’t leave you alone, it’s dangerous.

He once wrote to me. I discard it without much thought about me being in danger and yet now I believed him. But why did he leave the other night? Is it because he knew about the Enormph?

“I had a date with Leon,” I said it without thinking. I saw Clarisse’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “It was nothing, I swear!”

“If it’s nothing, then why would you have eye bags?”

“Cause I was up watching movies.”

“Morgan! You’re lying! You know that I can tell if you’re lying. You’re not one of the best liars on the world, you know?”

“Seriously, it’s the truth!”

Somewhere in the building, the school bell rang.

“No sense in going back to boring classes when you are here with me,”

“W-What?”

“Now, tell me how your date went. It feels like years since we’ve talk. Ever since Leon told everyone of us that you guys agreed to go to the Carnival together.”

I laughed and started filling Clarisse in, carefully avoiding him coming in the topic.

A bird starting chirping; the sun was hidden behind a cloud the breeze brought in; Clarisse’s laughter filled the silent that has surrounded me since last night.

Where have he seen those eyes before? It seemed so familiar yet he couldn’t put his finger on it.

He woke up when someone splashed cold water at his face. When he finally opened his eyes he saw three men surrounding him. Two of them looked like twins, it was impossible to tell them apart though. But only one man was wearing a mask to cover his lower part of the face. The twins though had orange hair and a pair of brown mean looking eyes. The other one though, that particular one has sandy blond hair and a pair of wasabi eyes.

Those eyes. He has seen it before. But where?

He tried to move, and yet again, he was tied up but on a chair, this time.

“No point in looking for your knife, we disarmed you.” His voice was muffled by the cloth.

“Did you honestly think you can keep the Sight from us? I’m rather surprised that you were really fast, maybe I shouldn’t be. After all, I was warned you were fast, but I didn’t know you were that fast. I’ve made my mistake then.”

How did he get drugged? He didn’t drink anything or ate anything in particular. He remembered he was on the way back from Kendrick’s. He pounded his head, thinking if he had any encounter with anyone. Yes, Morgan. But Morgan doesn’t know any of this; none of it.

“I’m sure you’re wondering how you got drugged, right?”

He stared at the wasabi dude.

“Looks like I’m right. Well, if you insist, you’re not the only one that has that kind of gadget. You see, someone did a big favor for me, not telling you though, but she placed it in your motorbike.”

A spy! A spy in Kendrick’s headquarters!

“Right, tell me. What is your name? She told me even Kendrick does not know since you’ve changed your name. I did a data check on you but it’s like you don’t exists, wipe out from the Earth.”

One of the twins took out his gag and he cleared his throat. Wasabi eye walked over to him and held on his chin.

“I’m asking you nicely, what is your name?”

He smiled.

“Didn’t you want to dispose of my body earlier on? So, what was the hold up?”

Wasabi slapped him, hard, on the face and yet he still chuckled.

“Am I such a mystery to you?”

He quickly scanned around the room, looking for a way to get out. He had the need to warn Kendrick about the spy. The room was grey in color and it looked like a box, a grey box. Until he saw the window.

A window! His chance of escape.

“TELL ME YOUR NAME!” Wasabi yelled in his ear.

“How about NO!” he yelled back, cheerfully, to be exact.

Wasabi cursed and walked towards the twins.

“Torture him until he tells you his name,” he whispered and left him to the mercy of the twins.

“Bring on the fun,” he said when Wasabi went out of the room.

The twins grinned like fools at each other and they went towards him, fists were balled into a tight one.

“I didn't know you and Leon had a thing for each other,” Clarisse said when she plucked out a flower’s petal, one by one.

“Same here, maybe he found out he liked me when I ‘saved’ him from Cynthia?”  I was lying on my back, watching the clouds sail passed by me. 

“Say, Morgan. Don’t laugh at the question I’m going to ask next, okay?”

I prompt up on my elbows, eager to listen to Clarisse’s question.

“What do you think of Roy?”

He managed to give both the twins a lesson they will not forget. He jumped down the window and brushed the dust off his pants and hands while congratulate himself a job well done. He then took off running towards Kendrick's headquarters, without stopping to take a breath. It was an emergency that needed to be reported at once. 

“Roy!?”

“Yes, Roy. What do you think about him?”

“Honestly, Clare, I don’t know. Wait, you… like him don’t you?” I knew I was grinning like a fool at Clarisse’s telling.

Clarisse’s face was turning bright pink, not to the fact that it was warm but she was actually blushing.

I pat Clarisse on the shoulder,

“I say, go for it, gal pal!”

Clarisse’s face brimmed with happiness and weirdly, I felt happy for her too. 

“Morgan? Wake up, Morgan.”

A voice called out to me. I mumbled something even I didn’t know.

“Clarisse, wake up. It’s after school.”

I felt some movement beside me and someone tried to shake me by the shoulder yet I still refused to wake up.

“Why don’t I bring her home? Oh, Clarisse, Roy is looking for you,”

I felt foot steps going further and further away from me. But what was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I wake up? Why couldn’t I move my limbs or even open my eyes?

I felt someone pulled me up from my feet and I felt as though I’m on a bumpy ride.

“Morgan? There’s no need to be afraid. It’s me Leon. I’m bringing you back home, alright?”

Leon? But, why does his voice sound so different? His voice sounded so… gruff. I heard the car door opened and I finally was able to open my heavy eye lids. What I hoped to see was Leon but I was wrong. Instead of Leon, an Enormph that looked like Leon was staring at me. I choked back my scream, my breathing was getting heavier and heavier every passing minute. The Enormph could be an exact twin of Leon without the golden eye at the neck looking at me and without the colorful rainbow eyes staring at me, seizing my very soul.

“They say that eyes are the windows to our souls,” the Enormph whispered, quietly.

I quickly turned to face the door; tried pulling the handle yet, the door was locked. Unfortunately, the lock was the kind that sinks in. I turned to face the Enormph.

“What do you want from me?” I whispered, equally soft like the Enormph’s.

“It is not I who want something from you; it is him who needs something from you. Something you have yet discovered. A waste of talent, he told me and I have to agree.”

“What talent do I have?”

“Something magnificent that you have inherited from your own mother, Isabella,"

I froze when the Enormph spoke of my mother’s name.

“What does my mother have to do with all this!?”

“Ah, such naïve girl, with so much questions yet to be answered. No worries, the answers you seek will soon come to you but first, give me the thing which my master seeks most.”

Then Enormph reached over, his claws outstretched. I couldn’t breath and all I could think of was him.

He felt her screaming in his mind; screaming for him. He then felt something’s wrong. The scream sounded so familiar, Morgan!

The window behind me was smashed through and I could feel fresh air blowing into the car. The Enormph’s rainbow eyes went wide with shock as glass started to shower over me. A hand grabbed onto my waist and I was hosted up through the window. Immediately, I felt his presence. He came! He’s here! 

He hoisted her out of the car and quickly covered her eyes, not wanting her to see his face. The sun was setting and he was glad. He quickly pushed Morgan into a dark alley and told her to stay put, her back was facing him all the time. He then rushed towards the car and yanked the passenger’s door open. The Enormph had taken shape into an unknown creature but he knew it was the Enormph all along.

“The nameless one. My master told me about you,” the Enormph growled through his fangs. Globs of saliva dripped from his chin and splattered onto the car sit.

“Give me your name, boy, and I will spare both you and The Sight,”

“Over my dead body!” he took out his gun, aimed at the Enormph’s neck and fired. 

I heard a gun shot and smelt smoke. But he instructed me to keep my eyes closed and not move. I was shivering violently and I placed my hand over my mouth to not utter a sound.

“Nameless one, you’re too slow for something that is far older than your grandfather.”

The driver sit was empty and he found out the Enormph has ripped a hole through the car roof and was fluttering above his head.

“You have not seen the last off me, Nameless One.” with those words, the Enormph disappeared into the inky sky.

He sighed and placed the gun he took from a guard without the guard noticing into his back pocket. He went towards the place where he hid Morgan and he told her everything was alright and he is going to bring her back to her room. He then blindfolded her and piggybacked her all the way without any pit stop.

He placed her on the bed and she was still shivering with fright. He retrieved his jacket from her chair and he wore it, glad to feel the comfort of his jacket that was once again placed upon his shoulders, offering him warmth. He looked at Morgan and realized he couldn’t just leave her there.

“Face the wall,” he whispered into her ears and she obediently did. He then took off the blindfold and climbed onto the bed and rubbed her left shoulder, offering comfort. He realized she was sobbing.

“I’m here,” he whispered, slowly decreased the rubbing and hugged her from behind.

“There’s nothing to be afraid off,” he could feel her reached for his hands and held on tight. She couldn’t stop crying silently to herself. She then turned with both her eyes closed and buried her face on his chest.

“Shhh…” he shushed her, “I’m here, I’m here.”

“S…tay… stay w-with m-me un-until I s-sleep?” she begged, her face still buried on his chest; her tears was flowing rapidly until his shirt was soaked.

“For you Red Rose, anything.” he smoothed her hair down and kissed her forehead.

The moonlight streamed through her window, putting everything in her room aglow. Outside the room though, the sky was dotted with thousands of diamonds, filling up the sky with their shine. If only he looked out of the window, he will be able to see someone watching them with eyes that filled with hatred and sorrow.