Although Elizabeth didn't know what was happening, a warm feeling washed over her for a moment... a feeling as if something was embracing her, and the scent of her mother, Nora, filled her intensely. All around her was darkness___
"Mom..." she murmurs, slowly regaining consciousness as she feels something cold and light touch her face. As soon as light hits her pupils, her senses begin to register the slight tingling, and she cries out, "Aaa, my head! Where...who's" She doesn't seem to realize that she's holding a stranger's hand now..
"Who are you!!" she shouts, pushing his hand away. He is a tall man with sharp eyes and strangely calm features. His focus falls on the strange bruises around her arm and neck, which she notices, causing her expression to turn to annoyance as she hides them with the sleeve of her shirt...before she tries to stand up from the sofa...and looks around. She is in a somewhat spacious place with an old and simple foundation. There are strange paintings everywhere as the sound of the wind outside hits the window, as if announcing the end of the storm.
"Finally! I just want to go home!" A familiar voice suddenly spoke beside her before she found herself in the arms of her dear friend Emma.
"Whaa!! Where are w..! What time is it now!? " she muttered, wondering as she tried to look at Emma to see if she was okay. So far, she seemed fine, but her hand was wrapped in white gauze, so it seemed she wouldn't be able to use her right hand for a while...
" This man found us in an alley... and he helped us."
A voice suddenly cuts through their conversation. It is Lucas. He stands in front of them with a disturbed expression, looking in the mirror, and continues, "I can't believe they did this to my face. I think I've lost some of my upper teeth! MY GOd, I look like a punching bag. " He continues, looking intently at himself.
"It's almost midnight..."
The man beside them says, holding several cups of tea and gestures for each of them to take a cup, which Lucas does without hesitation. "Oh yes, I'm thirsty and hungry! You're my saviour!" he exclaims, leaning back in a chair, while Emma, on the other side, tries to drink with her left hand.
Elizabeth's eyes follow him as he gives each person their cup before he stands in front of her to take it from him. A feeling of discomfort hits every inch of her, yet she decides to ignore it and whispers, "Thank you." She can almost feel his burning gaze on her as she takes her first sip.
"So what happened to you, kids?" He says to them, the sound of his spoon stirring inside a cup clearly audible before he leans in to smell and sip it.
"We don't even know what happened everything happend so fast" Emma remarked nervously, while Lucas fell silent with a serious expression as they both looked at Elizabeth's bandaged eye, a pale red colour seeping through its tissues.
"You haven't told us your name yet, sir?" she says blankly, her gaze shifting between the panels. Paintings of philosophers covered the walls, but the one that truly captures her attention is... the panel of Socrates and the poison... before she returns to the man with the familiar eyes before her. She's sitting upright... she could almost swear she saw curiosity ooze from this stranger, not in a way that might be considered normal in such a situation..
.
"Oh yeah .., how could I forget something like that! You can call me Mr. Hector... You must be hungry... Wait here... and .. There's a phone on the table there .. you can use to call anyone you want, by the way... You poor things!"
With a wide smile, and as soon as he disappears into the kitchen, Elizabeth jumps up. "We have to get out of here!" But Lucas seems to have other ideas... he doesn't move at all. "What?! Why?!" Emma agrees, grabbing Elizabeth's elbow and pushing her back down, whispering, "Yeah, Elizabeth! The man saved us... we should at least thank him, shouldn't we!"