Hostel M2

M2-Part XXVI

They ducked into the car and as Henry refocused the rear view mirror, he could've almost sworn he had seen something move in the darkness behind them. He checked the time, 9:01 P.M. For a second there, he wondered where Chris was at the moment.
~*~

Chris turned over to Alex, wishing to say something but had bit his tongue instead, knowing better than to annoy Alex when it was just both of them here with no one to save him from her grip.

She had showed up at the hospital a few minutes after Henry and her father had left. It had been a surprise to Chris when she stepped into the room at the hospital and the look on Marcello's face wore more awe than Chris had ever seen the man.

It had gotten more awkward when Marcello had asked about his sister and Alex had gone on to talk about a lady who fitted Lara's description. Chris' small mind had found it hard to comprehend all what had transpired in there, especially seeing Marcello getting a tad emotional for a moment there.

Marcello had gone on to explain all that had been happening to her and when she'd asked of her father's whereabouts, Marcello had hesitated for some reason but after a little pressure, Marcello had given in.

"I'm going with him," Alex had said to Marcello before turning to Chris, "and you're coming with me because you and your friend pulled my father into this."

Fast-forward to an hour later and here Chris was, stuck with Alex on the highway to what Chris referred to as 'the devil's slaughter house,' but he dared not mention it to Alex whose eyes remained fixed on the empty road in front of her.

"Are you sure this is the right route?" Chris finally blurted, noticing that they'd hardly come across any other vehicle almost all the while they'd been on the road.

"I should ask you since you made the call."

"That was your idea," Chris answered, "you know I would've chosen tostay back." Alex remained silent for a moment making Chris wish he hadn't said that, the feeling of cowardice stinging him. "Plus, you could've just called Professor Parker by yourself."

"Hey, look," Alex said, ignoring Chris' last statement and pointing at the fading overhead sign which read 'Bernie's Store'.

"Out here in the wilderness, I doubt it'll still be open by this time," Chris said, noting the time on the dashboard's clock.

They slowed down as they approached the store and just as Chris had noted, the store's door was shut with the tag showing they were closed. For a moment there, they felt some sort of disappointment, at least they would have affirmed if or not they were on the right route. As it stood, they could only place themselves in the hand of fate, hopeful that it led them in the right path as they sped up again into the dark road in front of them.

~*~

Henry stepped out of the car alongside Professor Parker. His heart rattled behind his rib cage in nervousness as breathing now seemed quite a task, air expelling from his lungs in slow heavy breaths.

Professor Parker pulled out the high voltage torch once more, flashing it in front of him as tension swept through his body. Just beyond the knee-level gate were rows and columns of graves, scattered out as far as the lights could go. His heart pulsated on edge as his mind imagined what kind of things had this place as their playground at night.

From what Henry's eye beheld, he didn't need to be told why the old man at the store had reacted the way he did. For as far as he could see, there wereno residential buildings around, just the blanket of darkness that covered the earth and the whistling breeze around them. The cover-up story of having relatives around the cemetery's area must've been the dumbest lie the man at the store must've heard all day.