Fissure Free, page 18
"Shouldn't we just go release Alex first?" Her voice carries down the hall as she continues toward Alex’s cell.
"No. He's staying there," I say. I try to pull Franco’s weight without Kiera’s help. I know she’s going to start in on me, and I just need to get him in there. It’s my only hope.
"What the hell is wrong with you? I just took care of the problem so I could free you both, and now you're going to leave him locked up?" she yells, throwing the keys over her head and into the wall.
"Just trust me right now. I'll explain everything to you once we get Franco locked up.”
She lets out an exaggerated sigh and walks back over to Franco’s body. She grabs each of his ankles and helps me drag him, not so smoothly over the cold, wet, uneven floor. Once we reach the open cell I have inhabited for the past year, we drag him into the room and drop him into the far corner. This feels gratifying, no, more than that: euphoric. I reach into his lab-coat pocket and pull out a half-dozen syringes. I know these will be my only ticket back to Alex.
I yank on Kiera’s arm. She won’t move. She looks like she’s trying to hypnotize Franco’s unconscious mind with her rage filled eyes. Maybe realization is catching up with her.
Closing this door feels like I’m closing the back cover of a bad book. It's over now. I don't have to read that again.
When the lock clinks, Kiera doesn't let a second pass before she whips me around and shoves me into the bloodstained wall. "What are you doing, Chloe? Go let Alex out now."
I remove her hands from my shoulders and place them down by her side. "Look at me, Kiera," I say, trying to keep my voice even. "Alex isn't the way I am on this side. He's not okay. I don't think he wanted you to see him like this, because he's embarrassed of himself.” Her head jerks back slightly and her eyebrows pull in with confusion. “In this part of his life he's incoherent, unable to think, and in the dark. He doesn't know who he is or who anyone is. He doesn’t speak and he doesn't interact. He needs to stay here so he can live his other life in a constant state of happiness.” I feel nothing but guilt for releasing Alex’s secret. I knew if I didn’t tell her there wouldn’t be much I could do to stop her from releasing him, though. “Does this make sense?" I can see my words have caused a ripple in her understanding. You think you know someone, and then you suddenly find out how wrong you are.
Kiera reaches for my hand and engulfs it between hers. "Yes. I think. I'm so sorry, Chloe. I guess I understand why you wanted to remain locked up the way you were. However, what are you going to do? You seem the same in both parts of your life. Why do you want to stay here locked up, for no reason?"
I shrug. The answer is so simple, but it might sound crazy to someone who doesn’t feel the way I do. "I love him. That's all this is about. I want to stay with him, any and every way I can."
Kiera’s eyes remain focused on mine as if she were trying to figure out a difficult math equation. "That's a pretty crazy kind of love," she snorts. "I hope I never become that deranged." Her smirk lightens the tension between us. "Well, shall I lock you two loons here in your love nest…err…padded cell?" she teases. “Wait, how do you guys eat and drink in here? Obviously you’ve been kept alive somehow.”
“It’s a long story, but an old friend is taking care of us—making sure we’re fed and hydrated. It’s okay, really.” I’m not sure I’m doing a good job of convincing her of this. "Please. You're going to go back home now, somehow…right?" I ask, still trying to figure out how she got here.
"Yes, I’ll be fine," she chuckles. “Actually.” I knew that was too easy. “Chloe?”
“Yeah?”
“You know, since we’re related, and I’m James’s daughter and all, I might be able to drift like you and Alex.”
“Maybe,” I say. “But, Julien won’t be wherever you go.”
“I know. I’m just saying, maybe I could give it a try sometime.” She smiles with amusement.
That must be how she got here. Maybe she doesn’t even know how she got here. Maybe she was so focused on helping us that she just ended up here.
I walk over to where Kiera threw the keys and pick them up, fumbling through all of them to find one that looks like a match. I unlock Alex’s cell and walk into the new home we’ll share. I see him hunched over in his usual spot against the far wall, and I slide down next to him, placing my body under his lifeless arm. It's heavy, but this is where I need to be.
"Thanks Kiera. I'll see you at home," I say, smiling with gratitude.
She glides the door shut and I hear the locks click into place. She throws the keys in through the window and they land next to my ankle. "Bye, Chlo. Be safe," her voice trails off as she walks down the hall.
I give Alex a kiss on the cheek and whisper, "I'm sorry" into his ear. I'm sure he's pissed and going crazy right now, but maybe when he finds out how much I helped our situation, he’ll feel differently. His hand tightens around my shoulder, and he leans his cheek against the top of my head. “I know you’re in there, Alex. I’m sorry if you’re angry at me.”
I hear a door in the distance open and close twice, followed by footsteps closing in on our cell. Ashley slides my door open and looks at me with bewilderment. She’s holding a tray full of food in her hand. She moves in closer to me and points to Franco’s cell. “Dying?” She asks.
“No. I am not as bad as he is. Please keep him fed as well.” She places the tray of food down in front of us. “Whatever you do, don’t let him out.” I lower my head and lift my eyes. “Do you understand?”
She nods her head in agreement. “Killer?” She looks over to the conjoining wall between my cell and Franco’s.
“Exactly.”
She turns around and scurries out of the cell, closing the door behind her. I hear her feet tread quickly down the cement hall, followed by a metal door opening and closing. At least we’re being fed. I still know Ashley isn’t a permanent solution. I try to put it in the back of my mind, but now that Franco is detained, I should probably come and check on things more often. I have to stay focused on the fact that Franco still thinks he needs us, and now he’s going to need Ashley to stay alive as well.
I remove all of the syringes from my pocket and place them on the ground between us. I take one, and puncture the needle into my arm. I nestle my head into Alex's chest and inhale a deep sigh of relief. With a racing heart, and a feeling of melting through the floor, I'm satisfied to know that everything is perfect right now.
My head sways from side to side, and I feel like a heavy raindrop racing toward the ground…
My body liquefies into a hard chair and the weight over my eyelids release, allowing me to focus on the surroundings of Tomas's office.
Everything seems okay, except—
Alex isn’t here.
***
I tread at a quick pace down the hall to our apartment. I’m a little uneasy, wondering what Alex's mood might be like after I did what I just did. With a lump in my throat, I open the door and walk into the living room. The door was unlocked. He’s here somewhere. Not in the living room, though. I walk down to our bedroom and turn the corner hoping and expecting to see him lying in the bed. But when my eyes settle on reality, I see that he's in fact not here either. At least I hope he’s not.
"Well, aren't you just an ignorant little pest?" Franco grumbles, standing up from the edge of my perfectly made bed.
"Wha—what are you doing here? Where is Alex? What did you do with him?" I ask, trying to stop my uncontrollable quivering.
"Oh relax. Your little boyfriend is probably at work. Maybe.” He raises an eyebrow and scratches his chin. “I think," he laughs, waggling his eyebrows up and down.
I know he's just trying to get under my skin, but the sound of his words make me feel sick. He takes a couple of steps closer to me, forcing me to take a couple back. He cocks his head to the side and smiles. "You sent me here. Now, you get to deal with it. Good job, love," he smirks.
I can hear my heart beating through every vein in my body. The combination of anger, hate, fear, and anxiety is blending into an impending eruption. "How the hell did you get into my apartment?" I ask.
"Don't worry about it," he responds, surveying every inch of my bedroom.
"Get out now," I demand. I don’t know why I’m using anger as a defense. I know where it will get me.
He closes the remaining space between us, forcing my back up against the bathroom door. He looks down at my shoulder and traces his long, perfectly manicured finger along the seam of my shirt. "You really aren't that intelligent, are you? Do you really think it's going to be that easy to get rid of me?" he whispers into my ear.
I clench my eyes and twist my head to move further away from his face. "So what, are you just going to sit here and watch me?" My voice crackles, and with my desperation growing, his back straightens a little more. He knows he’s winning.
He wraps his fingers around the middle of my arm and squeezes so hard my circulation cuts off. "No, you're coming with me. And if you don't make it easy, I'm sure you can use your imagination on what I'm capable of.” He sighs in a melodic tone. “I'd rather not get into detail about it, so I hope you’ll just cooperate." His signature sadistic smirk grows over his pursed lips.
My initial instinct is to fight back, but the thought of what he would do to Alex, myself and, or Kiera, doesn't make the fight worth it.
I snatch my arm out of his grip. "So then, Uncle Franco, where are we going?"
He takes a few steps toward the bedroom door and gestures for me to walk out. "Less questions, more moving. Let's go."
I nudge past him and walk toward my bureau. "Considering we both know I won't be back tonight, I'd like to grab a few things."
He walks out the door and into the hallway, but still blocks any sort of escape. "Make it quick, buttercup," he grunts.
I rip open my top drawer and pull out my cellphone. I keep my hand in the drawer, trying to make it look as if I'm looking for clothes. I turn on my phone and send Alex a text message that says: “HELP! Franco is in our apartment and is trying to take me.” I pile up an armful of clothes, wrap them around the phone, and shove everything in a bag as I walk into the hall.
Franco is waiting less than two feet away from my bedroom door, leaning against one wall with his foot resting on the opposite wall.
"Please take your foot off of my wall. Do you have any manners?" I ask, curling my lip with disgust.
He scrapes his foot down, leaving black marks behind. "Are you ready to go, princess?"
I cross my arms over my chest, flinging my bag under my arm. "I'm not going with you. I've changed my mind. In fact, if you'd like to kill Alex, Kiera, and my, you can go right ahead. Because we both know that by doing that, you won't get that little bit of information from me that you've been looking for. If you want to know what I know, I suggest you change your plan of action."
It takes everything I have to portray a false sense of arrogance in this moment. I know I’m playing mind games with a murderer.
"I see," he says, rolling his eyes into the back of his head. Well then, if you aren't going to come with me, what am I supposed to do?" he asks himself, sounding quizzical. He taps his finger under his chin, appearing to be deep in thought. But with how shallow his mind is, I’m sure his thoughts have already hit a brick wall.
"Leave?" I say, pointing to the front door.
He reaches over and with a delicate grip takes my arm into his hands, sliding his grip down to my wrist before pulling me in against him. Fresh cologne and the scent of cigars fill my nose. "Now, Chloe, we both know that is not an option.” He pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilts my face toward his. “The only option we have here is for you to tell me what your little secret is. Once I know, I'll be happy to leave you alone, and even let you live your little fairytale life here in this illusory world you think you’ve created."
I actually do wish I knew what this supposed secret is. I rip my hand out of his grip again and re-tuck the bag of clothes under my arm. "What exactly are you looking for from me?"
"But I thought you knew?" he says in an unsettling, singsong voice.
"If I knew, I likely would have told you by now just to get you the hell away from me," I say.
He narrows his eyes and runs his fingers through his perfectly slicked back hair. "Chloe, quit playing your games with me. You know I’m looking for that damn locket. Now tell me where it is." His voice lowers a number of octaves, and I can sense aggression reemerging in his voice.
"I don't know anything about any locket," besides the fact that we returned it to the bottomless ground within the Catacombs. I still can’t help to wonder what the meaning behind this locket is. I find this beat up thing lying on the rock in the middle of an underground cemetery, thinking it must be nothing more than someone’s lost item. Yet, it resulted in a citywide disturbance, causing us to look death in the face while being forced to return the locket to the precise location where I had originally found it. Maybe I shouldn’t have returned it. Maybe things would have turned out better than this. Maybe it holds some kind of answer to life. The thought makes me roll my eyes, knowing that I’m being held hostage for an item I can hide in my pocket.
"Well Chloe, I must admit, you have been on the receiving end of some good genetics. You have been granted the gift to lie. It's impressive. But coming from the better liar, you aren't getting past me. I know you know where that locket is, and you are going to tell me how to find it." He slams his fist into the wall, leaving a gaping hole.
I place my trembling hands behind my back, trying to hide my fear. "Or what?"
He closes his eyes and nods, stifling a silent laugh. "There is no, ‘or what?’ I've already taken care of that part. I'm a professional, Chloe." His face lifts with a derisive grin. "Let me clear up a few of my lies for you.” He clears his throat. “Lie number one: Alex isn't at work. I also have his phone, and I apologize for not responding to the cute little S.O.S text message you sent him a few minutes ago.” He stops and looks up to the ceiling, as if he’s trying to recall his next thought. “Lie number two: Kiera didn’t outsmart me. Well, actually, I guess that was kind of a good act. Let's just say she’ll be safe soon, too. I'd like to get to know my daughter a little more before killing her," he chokes with laughter. "And lie number three: you are not a good liar," he whispers. He wags his finger in my face, clicking his tongue between his teeth.
With fury building through my body, I throw my fists into his chest, pushing against him with every ounce of adrenaline gushing through my body. “Where is Alex? Tell me," I cry, giving him exactly what he wants.
He grabs my wrists and shoves me backwards. My head crashes into the wall, and it swells with pain. "I wouldn't worry about Alex. I know where he is," he says.
That's the problem. The crazed look is growing on his face, and his eyes are beginning to twitch. "Here's the deal, love. For every day that passes and you haven't told me where I can find this locket of yours, I'm going to make sure Alex is even more uncomfortable than he currently is. How does that sound?"
I have no clue what he means, no idea where Alex is, and no thoughts on how I'm going to get away from him. Franco's mind games are beyond my realm of understanding.
"So what's it going to be, love? Shall we get this over with today, or should we beat a dead Alex to the—oh I do apologize, I meant to say…horse. Horse. Shall, we beat a dead horse into the ground?" he snickers.
His wordplay makes me sick, and I’m ready to give in to him. He won't move his eyes from my face, and I feel myself becoming weaker with his motives of interrogation.
"Fine. I'll tell you. But you need to show me that Alex is okay first, and you need to tell me what's so important about that stupid locket." Did I just agree to show him where that locket is? I have no idea how to find that thing again.
"Very well. That sounds like a fair deal to me," he humbly agrees, as he makes his way toward the door.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LOST. FOUND. GONE.
I SLIDE INTO THE FRONT SEAT of the black sedan that Franco has claimed to be his own. The car smells like rubber and stale cigar smoke. But I find the stench to be a distraction from the speed in which we’re driving. We fly around sharp corners, down steep hills, and around unfamiliar back alleys until we pull over onto a low curb. There are no doors and no windows on any of the surrounding walls. The alley looks to be barren and lifeless, making it hard to imagine where we could be going. All I know is, Alex better be there.
I push the heavy door open and slide out, peering around the outside of the car with hopes of recognizing where we might be. But before my entire body is out of the car, Franco grabs my wrist and pulls me in the opposite direction. The seemingly endless cobblestones that we’ve been walking over flatten into a smooth surface, and the path we’ve taken appears to be curving into the poorly lit opening of a brick wall.
The entryway is small and tight, and leads directly to a single stair that looks to disappear beneath the slight opening. As we approach the step that descends into a black hole, Franco leads the way, disappearing into the ground below. I follow closely behind him, but even with his hand wrapped around my wrist, I can't make out a hint of anything past his elbow. The stairwell has unraveled into a tight spiraling decline leading into a cool, sweet smelling confined space that doesn't appear to be opening into anything other than more steps.
My chest tightens, and my breathing becomes shallow. I can’t tell if it’s attributed to my nerves or the lack of available oxygen in this confined space.
After minutes of endless stairs, I see the coiled stairwell open into a barely lit corridor, which is lined with jail cell looking doors. I already know where we are, and I had hoped that I would never end up back here in the Catacombs again. I follow the mere shadow of Franco who’s leading me down the hallway. He’s giving me enough space so that I could run if I chose to, but I’m worried that Alex is in fact down here, so I won’t run. And he knows it.
