Dark Cloud
ezio ac2
Sunny Suzuki
Shin Ghost Note
Lith
KuroElijah Edwards
He moved to grab the little dark hued bottle that sat perched at the edge of his sink counter. Just a little . . . he thought with a small shake. A dab behind each ear and then he smudged some on each wrist. The scent was rich, a mixture between something earthy and some sort of spice. It was a gift—last Christmas’ present from his mother. One that he conveniently left back at her house before he headed back home. Elijah had no use for cologne cologne most days, drenched in sweat from his work. And on his off days he would just stuck to woodland scented deodorant.
But he had come home to surprise his mother and step father. With the intention to make up for his absence as well as distract his mom from her paranoia. Social media was rift with it now—people being detained, or gone missing. She was worried, resorting to calling and texting him an ungodly amount. But surely it didn’t have anything to do with the recent blood draws. Did it?
He ran a comb through his hair, giving himself one last look over. What he didn’t expect was to run into Katlyn while here. His old high school flame looked better than he remembered. With dark brown hair that fell just a little past her shoulders, and the same honey-brown eyes that once ensnared his entire soul. She was the reason he almost flunked history—so rapt was his attention to every move she made. Their relationship was short, well short according to adults, but back then it felt like a lifetime.
Now she was fully grown, two kids of her own and an accountant. Or so she said when they bumped into one another at the local marketplace. Elijah's mouth moved faster than his brain when he had asked her out for dinner. Only letting out a pensive breath when she agreed before exchanging numbers. Of course his mother was ecstatic when came home with the world's smugest look plastered across his face. She was always fond of Katlyn and he always secretly thought she had been more upset than he was when it all came crashing down. But tonight was a new start between the two and Elijah was ready to rekindle the flame that was once between the two of them.
”There’s my handsome boy,” his mother’s voice broke the silence behind him. Elijah startled where he stood before quickly recovering, feeling a blush creep up the sides of his neck and towards his ears.
”Ma, no. Don’t make this a big deal—its just dinner with an old friend,” he said while looking anywhere but at the clearly excited face in front of him.
”Oh you’re not fooling me,” she said with a finger wag. His mom moved forward and helped straighten his tie before reaching up to cup his face with her cool hand. ”How’d you get so handsome?”
Elijah looked down at her, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He took in her features, the fine lines that creases around her eyes and the thin grey hairs peppered throughout her copper hair. She was getting old—a sad thought that dampened his mood a little. ”No idea, ma. A total mystery. I guess I was adopted,” he said with a wry laugh.
She moved her hand from his face and swatted him playfully on the shoulder. ”Handsome but mean!” Their laughs echoed off the bathroom tile before she backed back outside the room. ”Come on then, best not keep her waiting.”
They moved into the living room where Harold was sitting, sunk into the pleather couch while some sport buzzed on the t.v in front of him. ”Look honey, look at out handsome boy,” she cooed, still fussing about Elijah. He watched his step fathers eyes drift from the television set to him and back. With a grunt he tipped his head in Elijah's direction. ”Better if he took out those earrings. Makes him look like one of those, uh, metrosexuals.”
Yes, caption fashion. Elijah kept his tongue still as he rolled his eyes towards his mother. Her face was a clash of annoyance and exasperation while she regarded her husband. She looked over at him and with a wink stuck her tongue out at the distracted old man. Elijah laughed softly. Even with age, she was still just as feisty as he remembered from his youth. The two of then were like water and oil, yet somehow they brought a balance to one another. It didn’t make sense to him, but it didn’t need too. As long as his mother was safe and happy she could marry the local bum for all he cared.
”Alright, I’m off. I’ll be home late, so don’t wait up!” He moved towards the front door, only pausing to grab his jacket off the hook.
”Have fun sweetie, and remember to be a gentleman.”
”And don’t forget to use protection,” Harold yelled from the living room.
"Harold! They’re adults, I’m sure they know better,” an admonished with a hand pressed to her chest.
”She’s got two kids Eileen, clearly someone wasn’t being responsible.”
Elijah could feel his mouth open and shut while he looked for the words, but instead his brain flat-lined while he wirelessly groped for the door. He rushed out the front door and welcomed the rush of ice cold air while he escaped the muffled bickering of his parents.
”Good ol' Harold.” Elijah shook his head before getting into his car and starting the engine.
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The restaurant was warm, fall colors decorating the interior while people milled about in cozy little booths. Elijah exchanged idle chitchat with the maitre d while the man looked up his reservation. Much to his relief he had told him that she hadn’t gotten there before him. But there was something odd about the man. His whole body had stiffened up at the mention of his name. But Elijah quickly brushed it off—attributing his paranoia to the nerves that buzzed beneath his skin.
A cute little red-headed waitress beckoned for him to follow her, that they had a special booth in the back set aside. That was the second thing that struck Elijah as weird. He had made reservations but nothing that special. He bit back his better sense and followed quietly behind as they made their way towards the back of the restaurant. This doesn’t seem right, he thought as she led him to a little white door.
”I’m afraid our chef would like to have a word with you before you can be seated,” she said while pushing open the door a little with her right hand.
”I don’t understand. I just made plans for dinner for two. Nothing extra. Are you sure you didn’t get me mixed up with someone else?” Elijah took a step back, feeling all sorts of bad vibes from the situation.
The young woman leaned in, her brows furrowing together with what looked like worry. ”Please, sir, I need you to step inside.” Elijah looked back, a few curious bystanders had looked away from their meals and dates to watch what seemed to be happening before them. He glanced back at the entrance doors and noted two rather burly looking men dressed in black before the doors.
He didn’t feel like he had much of a choice. His feet moving with more confidence than he felt. Behind the little white door was the main kitchen. Steam rolled off the chrome colored surfaces but the staff was no where to be found. Instead he was greeted with more burly looking men in all blacked. Elijah backed up, feeling the hard door against his back.
”Someone want to explain to me what is going on?”
”Elijah Edwards, your detainment has been issued and we’re here to take you in,” one of the men said with an even and calm tone.
”My detainment? I’m afraid you have the wrong guy,” he said with palms raised in the air. This wasn’t real right? His heart quickened beneath his ribs. This was just things that happened in the movies—it had to be. But his mind filled with flashes of memories. His mother had said her neighbor's wife had gone missing. Reports of people being detained in public with no explanation. But that couldn’t be happening now. It couldn’t be happening to him.
“Lets make this nice and easy, okay? Just come with us and no one has to get hurt.”
Elijah's veins flooded with adrenaline as he made a break for the little door he has spied when he first walked in. He wasn’t sure if had thought he would catch them off guard or that he honestly thought he could get away, all he knew was he needed to go—and go quickly. He made it halfway through the kitchen before strong arms wrapped around him from behind. They wrenched upwards and pulled him back, and onto the tips of his toes. But Elijah wasn’t some scrawny little pink kid. He was strong from years of moving and bending metal. Strong from more years of vigorous training and easily wrenched out of his would-be kidnappers grasp.
But he wasn’t fast enough, as the rest of the men quickly cut off his escape. Their bodies hunched and ready to take on any attack he threw at them. Elijah's mind had frayed and thoughts of his mother frenzied—he needed to get home to her. Let her know that she was right all along.
“That is enough Mister Edwards!” a voice bellowed from behind him. ”We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way there is no escaping. This is an order from your government. Any action you take here can be used to press charges against you and your family for treason.”
Treason? It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. And Elijah whipped his head around, looking for some path to take to get out of here. He whipped his body to the right, making a desperate attempt to crawl between what looked to be a little counter. Still hot plates sat on top of the little silver surface, and Elijah quickly flung them to the floor with a fluid swoop of his arm. But more hands pulled at him from behind, dragging him back while something sharp bit into the side of his neck. He could feel something cold flush into his body. It burned, whatever the liquid was, as it spread through his veins. Elijah could feel his limbs begin to loosen, his grip lessen. Every part of him was going limp as the liquid sapped away his strength. The men pulled him back and lifted him up into the air while his vision grew hazy.
I’m so sorry ma.
“What a waste of good fettuccini.”He heard someone joke before slipping into unconsciousness.
---------Somewhere in an undisclosed location---------
He winced, as the light stabbed at his eyes. His head felt like it had been thrown inside a blender and set on high. Every part of his body burned and ached while his thoughts slowly bubbled from the thick darkness that seemed to cloud them. ”Wh—what happened.”
He strained to sit himself up. Had he drank too much? No, no that didn’t seem right. He didn’t remember drinking—though right now he didn’t remember much of anything. He sat, slumped forward with his palms pressing into his closed lids while trying to recall what had happened the night before.
I was going to meet someone. . . I was going to meet. I was going to meet Katlyn. Yeah, I had a date with Katlyn. But she wasn’t there? No. The memories came back in hazy clips. The off feeling he had from the waitress. The men in black. Hands, hands that grabbed at him. Realization hit him harder than the night after a bar crawl. He had been taken, something injected into him while he had desperately tried to get away. A cold, sinking feeling washed over him as he craned his neck up—blinking into the bright light. ”Where am I?”
