Eugene drove the truck as fast as he could. I don't know if he was afraid for his life or if he just felt guilty seeing how devastated Alex and I were. He had lost the most precious person in his life, and perhaps no scar would ever hurt as much as this one would.
It was 10:45, and even though I knew we weren't in that basement anymore, my heart was pounding at the realization of the clock. In 15 minutes, I would either be dead or prepared for sale like a piece of meat. My heart was beating so fast that I took another cigarette and lit it. The truck bed sold for another few dents, which caused Alex and me to bounce around. A sure sign that we were close to the cemetery.
"Want one?" I rolled the cigarette and blew out a couple of smoke rings, still feeling tears rolling down my cheeks. Alex silently took the cigarette from my hands, took a few puffs, and returned it to my lips.
"Thanks."
"Alex..."
"Hm?" His eyes were looking down, but I knew they were staring into nothingness. He was twirling the jade ring in his hands, ring what had recently been on Ray's finger.
"You couldn't have saved him." He began to nod silently, pressing his lips together and shaking his chin so hard it felt like the ice age had returned. "It's not your fault, you hear me?"
I sat down next to him and hugged his shoulders, smoking a cigarette and shaking the ash directly onto Eugene's belongings. I wouldn't have cared if the truck had caught fire. But I still put out the cigarette because Alex was there.
The truck stopped abruptly, which meant we had arrived at our destination. The clock read 10:53. The problem wasn't that we had very little time, but that Samantha wasn't a stupid woman. She was crazy, probably with several psychiatric diagnoses, but she definitely wasn't stupid.
She knows perfectly well about the existence of the so-called crypt, and she knows perfectly well that Alex and I will be hiding there. The thing is, the underground labyrinths that Lucian's father built are so confusing and so well protected that it's pointless to look for someone hiding there. She'll wait until that person comes out on their own because of the lack of food, sunlight, and water, of course.
The trunk opened, and we quickly took off our yellow suits and jumped out. There was only one problem left — Alex and I were in bad shape, and there was an obstacle course waiting for us along the way. I began to remember how my Boogeyman had accompanied me to my initiation here not so long ago. How he still scared me to death, but I already felt an incredible magnetism towards this man. His hands were on my waist as he helped me jump over the concrete and marble.
The lump in my throat began to choke me even more, the memories cutting through me. How did I manage to get so attached to him? Why? And why did I need him to die to accept that I was in love with him?
I wiped my eyes with my ash-covered hands because the veil in it in the already dark cemetery prevented me from seeing the road. Eugene helped Alex get over difficult obstacles and fences, but I still found the strength to do it myself. I didn't get hurt that badly.
Ten minutes later, we were at the crypt. Time was running out, and Samantha was definitely on her way here. Unless, of course, she was one of those old-fashioned ladies who believed that a woman should always be late.
"Hurry up, guys." Eugene helped us climb over the concrete barriers and enter the crypt.
"What about you?" Alex turned to him.
"I have nothing to do there. I have to clean up this mess. I bet they're already on their way here, so go on."
I lowered my eyes, feeling his gaze burning into me. It was as if he was begging me to say goodbye, to give him something to hold on to.
"Let's go, Alex." I turned silently and headed toward the familiar staircase.
"Thanks, Eugene. Just thanks." Eugene smiled slightly, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.
We started down the stairs when we heard something happening outside the crypt. The familiar sound of a truck trying to start but failing. Then there was the sound of cars arriving. Brakes screeching on the asphalt. And a gunshot.
He didn't make it. I knew it. He didn't make it out of there. I knew that single shot was meant for him. Strangely, I felt even worse. I hated him, I was angry at him, he was just as much of a scumbag as the rest of them.
But I felt like a dirty bitch for not even looking at him in the last moments of his life. Damn this post-traumatic stress disorder. I'll probably never be able to perceive reality and relate to people properly again.
I closed my eyes at the sound of the gunshot and froze for a moment.
"Gloria. They'll be here soon, let's go."
"Yes, you're right." A veil of tears covered my eyes again. Fucking bitch.
When we reached the bottom, we could already hear the echo of footsteps coming from somewhere at the top.
"Come on, hurry up." We stepped onto the threshold of the underground tunnels. But suddenly Alex stopped. "Lucian probably didn't show you this."
"What?" Alex turned to me and then turned away to reach a single brick in the upper right corner of the wall. At that moment, a thick iron bunker door began to slide out of the wall, which he began to close with me. We were on the edge; the footsteps were getting closer and closer, and they were clearly in a hurry.
"Come on, push a little harder," Alex asked, straining. And then the door was closed.
"They won't get through?" He shook his head.
"No way. Lucian came up with this. You can't shoot it, saw it, or break it open, because the door mechanism can only be activated from the inside."
"Fancy pants..."
It was strange to realize that we were underground again. And it was even stranger to realize that Alex and I were the only ones left, hiding here from some crazy old woman and my ex-husband.
"Let's go around. I hope there's food here."
We began to gradually move deeper into the tunnels, hearing ridiculous attempts to break down the door. And when we were near one of the arches with an empty memorial, Alex stopped. He silently took the chest in which he had gathered Ray's remains and placed it on the memorial table.
"Do you have a knife or something sharp?"
"Just a lighter."
"Can I...?"
He took my lighter and went into the room, taking something from the table. If this weren't a crypt, I would have thought it was a magic wand from Harry Potter. Alex began to light it with the lighter. When the wood was slightly charred, he wrote on the memorial with the burnt part.
"Ray Mitchell.
2004 - 2025
Always in my heart."
I hugged him tightly and wiped the tears from his cheeks. Now Ray had a place where he could rest in peace. I took Sean's titanium plate out of my pocket and showed it to Alex, hinting that we needed another empty room.
We repeated the process, paying our respects to the one-eyed old man. He was a funny buddy, even if he was a grumpy old grouch. I'm glad I got to know these guys.
Alex and I walked on in silence. At some point, it started to smell like rotten meat. And I knew why. The room was walled up, but it was the very room where Lucian had given me the opportunity to take revenge on Alivera.
Ignoring it, I moved on.
"Look, there are a couple of rooms. There are refrigerators, and I think there's food and water... There's definitely wine."
"Thanks." Alex nodded to me.
"You need to sleep... Just like me. Then we'll decide what to do."
Alex was right, so I hugged him gently, felt him kiss the top of my head, and we silently went our separate ways to our underground rooms.
When I entered the room, I saw a small bed, a minbar, a bookcase with wine, and a washbasin with a toilet. The first thing I did was take off my outer clothes covered in ash and start washing them in the sink. I hung my T-shirt and leggings on the headboard, hoping that they would dry somehow and not get moldy.
I went over to the wine barrel, poured myself a glass, sat down on the bed, and took a sip. It reminded me of Lucian again... Which made me start sobbing uncontrollably.
After finishing the glass, I opened the minibar, found a small bottle of vodka, and poured it onto my cheek. I could feel how inflamed it was and realized that here was another scar that Lucian would never know about. The hissing and small moans were louder than I thought. The door behind me opened.
"Alex, I'm fine. I was just cleaning the wound." I said it even without turning around to see him.
"Missed me, little fibber?"