Brother's Betrayal

Chapter Six {Miscommunication}

"We need to go." I could hear Eloise's words perfectly. They just weren't being acknowledged as the thoughts that were meant to follow speech quieted entirely until they faded into utter silence. I watched Fletcher's body, waiting for the twitch of a finger, a blink of his eye, a sign that he was going to wake from looking dead to the world and begin to squirm and deform, slowly turning on us.

"Now, Anya," Eloise pleaded. I remembered pleading mere minutes ago but it didn't work on her.

He looked so much like Dillan. The ache that had made itself a home in my chest intensified. "Did you call him?" I whispered.

"No. Anya, we need to leave now."

"Oh," I murmured. So I was doomed from the start. Hesitantly, I began shuffling towards Fletcher's body, fallen onto the ground. I wondered if he had hit his head hard enough to forget about this place. With my luck, he would remember everything, including the way I had reacted to his presence and how I had allowed Eloise to knock him out mercilessly.

I bowed over him, extending my hand just before him. Instead of brushing his arm, Eloise grasped my fingers, squeezing them between hers. Both of our palms were clammy; there was so much adrenaline flowing through of our bodies. I looked away from my hands and back at Fletcher. There was a tear in his shirt, where she had stabbed him in his arm.

"Please, Anya. Not just for your safety but everyone else's. Think about them: Harvey, Josie, Leander. Do you want to put them at risk?" Her words weren't reaching me. Not really. "Think about Leander. He's so young. He still has so much to live for, Anya." Remembering how Fletcher had looked, like a savage beast, I believed he could harm Leander and everyone else here too without regard for the consequences. "And Josie. Your friend. She's young, younger than you. There's still hope for her." Eloise continued to guilt me (as if I didn't feel terrible enough) so I interrupted.

"I'm never going to be safe again." I used Eloise's grip to pull me up. "He found me. What if Dillan knows where I am?" His name had flowed from my mouth and there was no way of protecting him now. Although, I assumed that after Fletcher's arrival Eloise had sussed them out.

She eyed me carefully. "If he does, we can get you to safety quickly but we need to go now. Understand?" It felt like a lie parents said to convince their children something would benefit them but it was only for the parents' gain. Like an absolutely dependent child, I let her follow through with the lie.

Decision made, I nodded mutely. I heard Eloise sigh and she began to leave the room. I looked back at Fletcher's body, crumpled. Then, I noticed Eloise's photo smashed on the floor.

"Wait, your photo!"

Eloise was already jogging away from the room. I heard her breathing hitch but she continued to play it off like it was because of the spontaneous exercise. "I don't think I need it anymore."

Her grip was tightening and abruptly I was sprinting alongside her. Each door was open next to mine I noticed, everyone evacuated. I couldn't stop to wonder why because her grip was too strong. My feet were slowing us down yet we were standing in front of the relaxing room before I knew it. My breaths echoed in the canteen. Eloise threw the door back and she beckoned me closer, through the door. I stepped in dubiously and Eloise produced a key from a thin pocket in her skirt that I hadn't noticed beforehand. She locked the door and I froze.

Slowly rotating, I watched as Eloise moved to the one door she had warned me away from on my first official day in her company. Now, she was ushering me through it, down the cold, grey steps that were dimly lit and to the left was an underground floor which looked like a huge car park. There were fewer cars than people and each car carried at least two people as the minimum. Everyone waited patiently in the cars and at the front of the queue was my car. I was stunned to see it. The sleek, black car I had escaped in seemed to be built for vanishing. I glanced at Eloise. Yet again, she produced a key and threw the other one on the ground; we didn't need it anymore. She pressed a button and my car unlocked, the lights flashing as it did.