Way Out
1676 Words
ELLIOTT
The whole ride back to the agency, Fred and Jack threatened the man with knives so that he restrains from doing anything and just cooperates with them.
The man had been cooperating quite well as he obediently followed all of their orders.
After struggling to make him pass through the small basement door, they finally ended up in the basement. That's where Fred tied him up to a chair and George made Elliott lay down to take a rest.
After another round of interrogation, the man finally decided to open up.
The man's name was Garry and he was about Fred's age, the late twenties.
"I'm.. a drug smuggler and I never knew I'd be caught like this," Garry said, sniffing.
"What were you doing at the Willow Street then?" George asked.
"That's my hideout. To not get caught, I cross those passages that lead to the main road and go home. I didn't know anyone was following me. No one ever did." Garry said, sighing.
"What do you have to say about that black robe and the metal claw?" Fred asked.
"The black robe is for hiding myself and the metal claw isn't mine. It was my father's." He said, still sniffing.
"You're lying," Jack commented.
"I'm not. And trust me, even if you try, you cannot cause wounds that deep with that small weapon like the Phoenix does." Garry said, trying to prove himself.
That was it. Everyone except Garry exchanged looks at each other. An eerie smile crept on the old man's face.
"But Garry, we didn't mention a thing about the Phoenix," George said.
After that Garry burst into tears trying to make everyone understand that their conversation was indicating that they were talking about the Phoenix and every possible thing he could pull out. As a last resort, he spun out some threats.
"I'd tell the police about you fraudsters. You are no detectives." Garry yelled.
"First, you'll do that if we let you go. Second, you're a drug dealer. If we go down, we are taking you with us." Jack winked, mocking him.
It was decided that Garry would be kept there under surveillance and he'd be observed.
Even though everything they were trying to do wasn't leading them anywhere, Elliott refused to let it go.
"I'm going to take a walk," Jack said and left the basement. It was just evening by then and Elliott had school the next day. He wasn't sure if he wanted to yet.
After quite a while of fidgeting around till the clock hit nine, suddenly Jack came bursting down the stairs, gasping.
"Turn on the TV." He ordered and fell back on the couch. The small TV flickered on and on reaching the news channel, everyone's faces went still.
"26 people have been murder brutally by the serial killer named Phoenix in the last three hours as per the forensic reports. The town is terrorised by the massive increase of killings by the criminal on loose. No one has been able to have any leads on this matter, including the police and the detectives." The news said.
No one moved. Deep down Elliott knew that whatever it was, they were the ones who provoked the Phoenix. It felt like a slap across their faces.
They turned to look at Garry who wore a shocked expression.
"Insane, right?" Garry said grinning. "That means I can go?"
Even if Garry was under surveillance for the last 5 hours, the murders were still happening. That cleared out, Garry had no involvement in this.
Fred sighed and untied his hands and legs. Everyone's faces had nervousness and uncertainty. The same thing was going round and round in their heads.
They haven't been taking it that seriously. But they have to be better than worthless because they were at war with the devil.
They realised how worthless their lives were in front of Phoenix and that he was no normal person.
"Phoenix isn't a man like everyone says. I've seen her." Elliott confesses. Everyone else looked at him like he was a psychopath.
That's when Elliott finally opens up about everything he has experienced and the girl whose eyes haunted him in his thoughts.
~
"H-her? You want to go to her for help?" George said, looking away.
"We have to. She's our last hope. We are not dealing with a normal human. We need her help." Elliott said.
"He's right," Fred said. Everyone had grim faces and unsure written on them. They were in a deep trap.
"Okay. We'll leave now." George announced.
"Now?" Jack asked.
"We can't waste time," George replied.
"I'm coming right?" Garry said, his face full with enthusiasm.
"Weren't you going home?" Elliott asked.
"No. We can't trust him and he's not proven innocent yet. So we'll take him." Fred said, frowning. Garry started rejoicing for unknown reasons.
Without wasting any more time, the five of them set out on their way. They got into the car and drove with all their might to reach as quickly as possible. As long as they drove fast, they felt safe.
Finally, they reached the small house they were driving towards. The night was darker than usual and the place looked eerie. Elliott felt a shiver down his body as he made his way inside through the narrow stone path.
George knocked exactly five times on the door as a password to let the lady inside know, who was outside.
The door creaked open and they walked inside. Just as Garry tried to enter, the door slammed on his face.
"Stay outside, don't try to run," Fred said and they trailed their way inside.
"I'm scared," Garry called out.
The little house had stoned walls and small crafting tables and talismans hung on the walls. As they went further, they saw the lady sitting on one of her chairs, flipping through a book.
"The Phoenix?" The shaman said without looking up from her book.
"How did you know?" Fred asked.
"She's a shaman. A spiritual being." Jack said, holding his hand on his heart.
"No. You are a bunch of desperate detectives trying to revive your dead agency. It is only logical that you're here for that." The shaman said, flipping her book close.
"If you know that, please tell us you have a solution," George asked, keeping his distance.
"No." She said.
"Understandable, have a great day," Jack said, turning away and heading towards the exit. Elliott pulled him back.
"All of you, go and stand outside. Except for this guy." She said, pointing at Elliott.
Once they exchanged looks, the others slowly left the house leaving Elliott behind. He hesitated a little but walked in front.
"So you've seen her." Gabrielle, the shaman said, standing up.
Elliott's eyes widened as she stared right at the shaman. Her gaze was very placid but confusing. He nodded.
"I've sensed her too. She has great powers. Enough to diminish the whole city's population at once." She said a sense of terror passed her eyes. Elliott felt it too.
"So what can be done?" He asked.
Gabrielle tapped her table two times and getting the hint, Elliott placed all the leads they had on the table. Which meant the victim pictures and the crime reports.
She picked up the pictures and carefully ran her hands through one of the pictures.
"That's my son." She said, her voice soft. Elliott went still as he looked at the picture of the bloodied dead body whose face wasn't even recognizable.
"I didn't know you had a son," Elliott said, his voice shaking.
"Now you know. He died 2 weeks ago. One of her first victims." She said, taking a deep breath, leaving him speechless.
Gabrielle moved to her right and dug through her dusty shelf. Then she took out a small bottle with a cork. She handed it over to him along with a piece of paper with something written on it.
"What is it?" He said.
"You need to find these three girls and bring them in contact with the potion in this bottle. After you do that, bring them to me. I will talk to them myself. But remember one thing, you cannot be strangers to these people." She said, her eyes cold.
The piece of paper did have the names of three girls. They seemed too familiar to Elliott.
"What will this potion do?" He asked, turning the brown bottle around his hand.
"You'll know once they're in effect. But all I know is, only you can do it. So think wisely." Gabrielle said. "Now leave."
She sat back down on her chair and picked up the book. Even if she tried concentrating on the book, her eyes kept drifting to her son's picture. Elliott quickly picked up the pictures in his hand and walked away after muttering a little "thank you."
~
"What did she say?" George asked.
"She asked me not to tell you till I complete the task," Elliott said, looking away.
"That's why I dislike her." George huffed.
"This.. is her son," Elliott said, handing the guy's picture to George.
As everyone took a look at the picture, their faces went hard.
"If she trusted this task on you, it must be really important. Remember that." Fred said.
Elliott knew. He was nervous but he knew what he had to do.
He just had to find three potentials, deserving and desperate people just like themselves and get them in on the plan.
Only then...
~
The next two days, Elliott's eyes had been focused on the three girls. As it turned out, the girls were clearly from his school.
Elliott and his team were currently digging deeper into the crime reports and working with Gabrielle to look at the pictures of the bodies they've acquired.
Even Elliott was restless, so he was doing whatever he felt was right.
And even whatever the situation was, it wasn't inevitable. If things went down, the girls would still be safe.
So it was worth a try.
- Writer
