~ Clarissa
SEBASTIAN TURNS THE key and the engine dies down. Everything goes silent.
In the distance, I can hear lion cubs snarling as they play. I can hear the cracks in the ground widening beneath the feet of elephants. I can hear the quiver of a porcupine’s quills.
But that’s all in the distance. There are no creatures nearby, not a living soul. There are no trees either, except the few ones dotting the horizon.
It’s the middle of nowhere, a wide, open space that gets seared by the sun’s unforgiving rays during the day. It’s the last place where you’d probably want to put up a building, yet there is one right ahead.
A two-story building with no sign.
A chill goes up my spine.
I have a bad feeling about this.
It’s going to be alright. Sebastian turns to me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.
I nod, taking a deep breath in hopes of diffusing the fear that’s building up inside me. In spite of my decision to come here, my determination to see this through, it’s been building up inside me ever since we arrived here in Africa.
But I can’t let it gnaw at me from the inside. I can’t be afraid.
I have to focus, to do what needs to be done. I mean look what happened the last time I let my thoughts wander - I nearly fell off a slope. I can’t make any wrong moves this time, not when we don’t know who exactly we’re dealing with. A misstep could be fatal.
And I can’t die. I promised Theo I’d come back. I promised Kyle I’d come back.
Kyle.
First, he gets angry, walking out on me, which he’s never done before. Then he gives me that look like he’s about to cry, a look that makes me want to cry as well. What’s going on with him? What does he want to tell me?
Are you sure you don’t know?
I glare at Sebastian. “How many times have I told you not to just barge into my thoughts?”
“Sorry.”
I shake my head.
I shouldn’t think about Kyle right now. I should think about the task at hand.
Focus, Clarissa.
Suddenly, Toshi appears out of nowhere.
“The building’s clear,” he reports, throwing himself across the backseat. “At least, the top two floors are. There seem to be more floors below. Underground. I don’t know how far down it goes. I’ve disabled the security system.”
“If this building is abandoned, why have a security system?” Sebastian asks.
“I was going to go straight down and check the whole building but I decided to wait for you guys.”
Sebastian frowns. “How kind.”
“Thanks, Toshi.” I jump out of the vehicle, taking a deep breath. “Shall we go in?”
TOSHI’S RIGHT.
Aside from the two floors above the ground, there are two more a hundred feet below. And they’re way bigger, maybe spanning more than an acre, the walls and ceilings lined with metal.
This is definitely where the real deal happens, where I’ll find out what I need to know.