Chapter 2
The Sea is watching
The combination of damp concrete,rust from irons and salt of the sea made the lane stuffy.
Rolland Brooks stood there,motionless,his eyes fixed on the weapon in Rufus' hand, his mind refusing to accept the harsh reality. Silence filled the air with the sound of waves roaring through the darkness like slow thunder.
Rolland struggled with a forced laugh."Alright… this joke is weird." Yet none of them laughed, almost immediately,Rufus advanced closer
"You always do this,"he said mutely.
"What precisely?"
"Laugh."
Rolland stared at the trio,men he had shared food with and worked with for years. He trusted them,his comrades. A creepy feeling clenched his chest.
"You followed me?" he asked.No one answered immediately.
Instead, jack kicked an empty bottle across the lane
The glass rattled loudly,spinning to a stop.
Rufus spoke,tilting his head. "One weird thing about you is….Rufus' lips curved faintly.
"You make people like you without trying."
Rolland flickered."But is that a crime?"
Dave inched closer and spoke coldly."It is,when it affects our success."Rolland exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" "The promotion." "Huh,so this whole show is about that?". He rubbed his forehead indicating his frustration.
"Guys… I told you, I didn't apply for it,isn't that proof that I'm not interested at all?"
Jack laughed sourly and exclaimed "You don't need to."
Rufus continued to speak."Management trusts you,and they think you are the honest one."Rolland spread his hands to express his helplessness ." Come on guys,is honesty a problem now?" Dave's voice hardened as he spoke."For us,Yes."
Silence stretched through the lane, and for the first time,Rolland felt real fear.Not the passing kind that comes and goes,this seems to linger much longer.That deep instinct that whispers..something gruesome is about to happen.
" Are you serious," Rolland inquired slowly and
Rufus nodded to that.Rolland shook his head."You're not thinking straight."As he spoke,he took a step forward warily."We've worked together for years,why would you conceive such thoughts?"Dave sneered."Yet all we could do is to watch you climb over us without even breaking a sweat.""That's not true!" Rolland bellowed.
"That's exactly the problem."Rufus lamented,Rolland's stomach tightened."Rufus … put the knife down," He spoke pleadingly
Rufus' eyes sparked,"People respect you."
Rolland took another slow step back and said"Respect isn't something you steal." "You might be right,but it's something we can take away." Almost immediately Rufus pounced on him, moving faster than Rolland expected,a flash of steel, a burning sensation erupted across his ribs.Rolland gasped and the world turned violently.Pain drenched his chest like fire not only from the stab,but also from the hand it was coming from.
He staggered backward against the wall.
"Rufus…!" Before he could finish,another stab,this one was deeper,and holding the weapon ,was another comrades or excomrades rather, Dave.
The blade slid into his side,Rolland collapsed to his knees,His lungs began to fail. He could feel the warmth of his blood spreading across his shirt. His mind battled to grasp what was happening.These were his friends,his brothers who were laughing with him not quite long ago.with great difficulty,he whispered.. "why…?"
Dave grabbed his shoulder pulling him up to stare at him."Because you keep shining even in a dark place." Rufus stabbed again, sending the knife into Rolland's abdomen causing him to let out a painful cry like a pig being slaughtered.The sound echoed down the lonely street. Nervously Jack scanned around,"Someone might hear!". Rufus pulled out the blade and handed it to Jack."Then finish it."But just as Jack raised the knife again,
A car turned at the far end of the street flashing its headlights.the three attackers froze.
Rolland's heart jumped with desperate hope,he tried to shout."Help me…!" but Rufus placed a hand over his mouth.
The car passed slowly without entering the lane.
Rolland watched as the headlights disappeared and so did his hopes of rescue,darkness returned."You almost ruined everything." Rufus became more furious.Rolland tried to push him away,but he was weak and pathetic and evidently his strength was gradually fading.
Dave clutched his arms from behind,holding him tightly urging Rufus to finish him quickly.
Rufus stepped closer grabbing the knife from Jack's hand.For a moment, guilt flickered in his eyes,but it vanished as quick as it appeared. Rolland tried to struggle but it was futile.
"You should have stayed invisible," Rufus said almost silently.The knife sank deep into Rolland's chest.The pain was so severe that he couldn't even scream.His vision blurred,His heartbeat gradually fading.he collapsed completely as Rufus pulled out the knife giving way to a pool of blood. The concrete rushed toward him and the world spun.Faintly he heard someone whisper.
"Is he dead?".It was Jack who had been uneasy all along.Rufus bent beside him and pressed two fingers against his neck checking his pulse."Not yet." He said as he wiped the blade on Rolland's jacket. "But we can't leave him here." Dave spoke as he glanced toward the end of the lane.Rufus nodded toward the ocean."The sea will take care of him,"he said firmly. As they dragged Rolland across the ground,his consciousness drifted in and out like a candle light about to burn out.
The distant roar of waves drew closer and his consciousness fades faster.They arrived at the seawall,The black water below hit violently against the rocks."This is enough."
Rufus said as he grabbed Rolland's collar.
Rolland forced his eyes open,The stars above were dim,He tried to speak only to spat a mouthful of blood.Rufus stared down at him and for the brief moment their eyes met,
Rolland saw something there,Fear,Not hatred. Hidden Fear.not delaying any longer, Rufus tossed him over the edge. As Rolland fell,the icy ocean swallowed him instantly like a monster on a dinner galore. He was embraced by the cold and salty water which flooded his lungs.The wounds in his chest screamed as the saltwater dashed inside.His body sank deeper while darkness wrapped around him like a grave. Gradually, his mind faded,memories flashed through his head,his childhood,his mother's voice,the laughter in the factory cabin. There it was a memory that bore much pain,Rufus handing him tea only hours earlier.
A strange thought struck,so this is how it ends. However, something unexpected happened.His body struck something hard underwater,a floating metal fishing cage.The impact violently drained his lungs of air. The cage hooked his jacket,Instead of sinking deeper,
He remained trapped near the surface,barely conscious.Blood spread through the waters,dyeing the surface red.gradually,his breathing became weaker and weaker until everything turned dark. Far from the seashore,a small fishing boat swayed gently on the water. An old man was seen standing at the edge of the boat, dragging a net skilfully out of the waters.His hands were bony but powerful from years of toiling at sea.His white beard moved with the rhythm of the wind as though responding to an invisible melody. As he worked, he hummed a song with a smile on his face. Suddenly the rope yanked,making The fisherman to pause.
"Hmm." He tried pulling harder but the net refused to move."That is not a fish." He muttered,
Leaning forward he hauled the rope with a surprising strength.Golden light from the hanging lantern on the boat flashed across the water. Gradually,the tangled net rose from the ocean.
It was heavy.The fisherman frowned,then a shocking expression appeared on his face as the lantern light revealed a human arm.
"A man?"He dragged the net onto the boat and
Rolland's unconscious body tumbled down the wooden floor of the boat.The old man bent quickly,and pressed his ear against Rolland's chest. There was silence at first,then a faint heartbeat.The fisherman's sharp eyes widened slightly."Still alive."He studied the wounds carefully.There were Three deep stabs,One dangerously close to the heart.
"Who tried so hard to send you to the sea?"the old fisherman asked rhetorically. But Rolland laid there motionless,his breathing was barely noticeable.
The fisherman stood up gazing toward the distant city lights glowing faintly on the horizon.With a calm voice he spoke."The sea does not return the dead."He then looked back at Rolland,"But tonight… it returned you." Despite his age, the old fisherman moved with steady strength,steering the small boat toward the dark silhouette of a distant village.
As the boat cut through the silent water toward the remote fishing village…Rolland's fingers suddenly moved,a faint and cracked whisper barely louder than the wind,escaped his lips,
"Rufus…"The fisherman's eyes narrowed,certainly that name meant only one thing.The bearer tried to murder this young man. And whoever it is,believed the ocean had already erased his deed. But it hasn't,and what will happen in the future is uncertain..!