No Way To Escape | Novel

CHAPTER 27: GUESTS

The mice and bread incident was the history of a week by then. The incident had funked me and I didn't know what to do. The recent strange and eery happenings had made me too much vulnerable to emotions and my chief trepidation was that I didn't want to lose the Liam in me. I didn't want to believe whatever was happening with me, waving the causes to some anomalous nightmare but at the same time the circumstances were not allowing me to deviate from the reality.

In my mind I was petrified to my soul which didn't know where to move. All the roads had been blocked by something sinister and I didn't now how to fend it off.

There was someone who had been watching me and terrorising me slowly down to my veins. At the same time it was slowly turning me into a paranormal believer – a trait which had been very unlikely for a brat like me. I remember how ignorant I had been all through my life towards the concept of horror. Nah. Not because of fear. It was because I had always considered it dog-shit made up of all the stories of drunkards and bastards.

But now, for a while, something joyful was up for grabs – a breather ; and I really did hope that this breather should cast anything suspicious in my mind. So there I was – standing at the lounge of the Reynburg airport waiting for my two special guests.

'Hey! Here he comes!', I exclaimed loudly, seeing my six-year-old nephew Rick running to me, giggling.

'Uncle Liam!'

He came running in my direction and I wrapped my arms around him as he leaped onto me. We shared a lovely cuddle and then I looked up to see my sister Murph standing just in front of me. Being a medium-heighted, blonde skinny woman, she had spent the greater part of her life at Cardiff, being sent there to a boarding school for her studies and then getting her married to her man and settling down out there with her family, with her own job to look after.

'Look who's here!', I exclaimed at Murph.

'How are you, little Pie?', she asked with a sneer.

'Ah! Not here atleast'

'First you have to earn that respect, darling. You don't have it yet'

'Really! Don't I?', I asked in a funny manner.

'No you don't and I doubt it in the future too, Pie', she said with that familiar smirk.

We laughed and shared a friendly hug.

'God! You look so starved, Liam'

'Look at you. You look like a balloon. The last time I saw ya I could pick you up your feet and use you to prick a balloon'

We cackled and started walking out of the airport lobby with Murph clasping the tiny hands of his son -- a typical maternal gesture.

'Who's the Pie, mom?', asked Rick.

'Oh that's a chubnuggle at the end of the street across our old colony', she replied giving me a wink.

'Oh mom! I suppose I am not that much of a dumbo', Rick said, looking at me.

Murph gawped and shoved him a bit in surprise and then chuckled.

'Hey Rick, I want you to run up to the lot and get into the first black car in the line and wait for us', I said handing over Rick the key.

'Okie'. Rick took the key and scampered away towards the parking lot.

'You've got a car? When did that happen?'

I smirked at her and said, 'Well, I had to do something with my savings'. As a small kid I was quite fond of cars. I had collected small amounts of money for years to buy me a new car then. It had been a childhood dream of mine to have a car of my own and finally my dream was fulfilled.

'Congratulations!'

Thanking her, I inhaled and then asked, 'How's Jack?'. Jack Fiston was her husband. A good but awful man. Murph fell in love with him while they were still sophomores. She was quite fond of him as her husband but that man never seemed to me a good person to talk to. He had that arrogant tinge in his speech always you would sit down and start having a chat with him. And that's the reason why I generally used to keep some distance from him.

'He's fine. He really wanted to come but you know he has his own merchandises to care for'

'Hm. I know, I know'

'See he really wanted to!'

'Okay! I understand'

'Anyways dad told me about Larry'

I inhaled deeply and looked down and then back at her.

'Yeah'

'How are you?... I hope you are trying to get over it'

'Oh, I am doing good. Just that I can't forget some memories'. I looked up and fixed my gaze into a distance.

'Oh brother'. Murph came closer and held my arm to comfort me.

'I had to run in here to have a look at you', she said.

'Really? I was told you had a conference to attend', I said surprisingly.

'Well, it's there too. But I could afford to send some of my colleagues to take over'

I scoffed and asked, 'Then why did you bring Rick?'

'Oh! So that he can spend some time with his dear uncle', she replied with a grinning face. Then suddenly coming to a halt she continued, 'Listen Liam... You are the closest one to me. You know how important you are to me? At times no one would support me but you were always there to back me, brother. How could I leave you alone in this situation?!'

'But – '

'Nope! No ifs no buts. Just get my baby a sweet ride after dropping me at The Avenue. I have a job to complete'

'As you say Your Majesty!', I said in a mocking gesture and bowed down.

What followed was a sweet laughter and then we walked up to the car where Rick was seated pleasantly, holding his game in his hands and playing, unknown to anything happening in the outside world. Just glued to the console.