Chapter 10

Deafening silence occupied the place, which made the pounding heart of Drake be louder than ever. Drake had his eyes closed the whole time that Brandon was walking near towards him with a knife in his hand. Drake had accepted his presumed fate without questions while waiting for his death. "What are you doing?" Colleen's voice brought him back to his senses."Why are you closing your eyes?" Colleen was asking him with a furrowed eyebrow and subtle laugh. Hearing the subtle laughter of Colleen, he slowly opened his eyes only to see that Brandon was already seated on the coach near him while peeling the green apple which he probably grabbed from the fruit basket on the table. On the other hand, Colleen was already seated back on the other single sofa where she seated earlier as soon as they all entered her apartment. He roamed his eyes around looking for everything in detail. Before he closed his eyes, everything was in a mess but now it was all fixed and cleaned up. There was not even a single trace of what had happened...or if it had happened at all as it was all too surreal for his mundane eyes. Letting out a sigh, he sat down on the sofa behind him as he shook his head. He was perplexed as to what had happened to him. And he looked at the two in front of him like nothing had happened earlier. He looks around the place again. He roamed his eyes and looked for something that would justify what he saw and heard earlier, the sudden transformation of these two people whom he thought he already knew enough. In front of him, they became a huge beast that he never imagined to have existed. In addition to that are those four men that Brandon beheaded who vanished like a sparkling fire. And now they were sitting in front of him as everything was fine and nothing had happened. He spent two years studying; there was history and everything in school but none told them about what he had just witnessed. He tried to recall how it began until he noticed the two's clothes weren't the same as when he arrived. He was deep in his own thoughts as he tried to arrange chronologically what happened and place a rationality into it, but it was all in vain as no textbooks or research could explain it but fictional novels and movies that were meant for entertainment alone. He raised his head and he saw Brandon and Colleen were staring at him. The fear that he felt earlier got mixed with nervousness and anxiousness with the knowledge that two of them had invited him for a meal earlier. After all that happened, he was not sure if it was appropriate to join them or if he was even safe with them to begin with. He wanted to flee, but he knew it would be futile. "Everything you saw earlier was real; you weren't hallucinating. We did it because of you." Colleen's mumbling left him perplexed and he knitted his brows as he admitted to himself that he didn't understand what Colleen was saying. He does not know those people who have attacked or what they are. Thus, how were those four men able to track him down? "Who are those four men? Why are they after me?" Questions come out of his mouth in urgency, nervousness, and curiosity. His tone was soft and low but it was enough for Colleen and Brandon to hear. "You don't know?" Brandon asked after he looked at Colleen and him. Drake nodded in response. "I swear, I have no idea why they're after me and how could you say that they're after me?" He asked Colleen. He could see the seriousness of Colleen's expression. He has a feeling Colleen is telling the truth.Based on her gaze towards him. "They are after you! And you don't have any idea? Who are they? Are you kidding us?" Brandon asks one after the other. Based on Brandon's tone, he could tell he was irritated.But that's the truth. He's not lying. He doesn't know those four people. "Do you know where your parents are?" Colleen's calm voice made him feel at ease. He nodded in response. "Yes, of course. They're in our village with my youngest sister. " He replied. "Are you sure they are your biological parents?" Colleen asked him, which irritated him. "Of course they're my biological parents? Why are you asking?" He asked Colleen. "I guess you needed to go and ask them because your life was in danger," Colleen said in a calm voice. Hearing those words from Colleen, fear overwhelmed him. He couldn't deny that he believed in Colleen. He can tell she's not a liar because she's not the type of person to beat around the bush.She's a straightforward person. They assisted him with a group of drunken people who beat him after he came out of his work because he met her on the first day. "What do you mean?" Drake, in the role of Colleen, never takes his eyes off her. "You have a past that only your parents can answer. They're the only people who can tell you everything," Colleen explained. "You need to go and ask them as soon as possible," Colleen suggested. "What do you mean as soon as possible? "Can't you just wait until tomorrow?"He asked. "Yes, before your birthday," Colleen mumbled. That made him frown. When he returned to his parents' house, it was a quarter past eight o'clock, according to his wristwatch.And he will be twenty-one in more than three hours. He was thinking if he went back to the village he would go to celebrate his birthday on the street because it is less than five hours of travel. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. Most importantly, Colleen just said before his birthday he needed to talk to his parents. Now he's wondering who he is. And why are those creatures after him? What did his parents hide from him? He averted his gaze to Colleen after Brandon. He could see the sympathy in their expressions. "I have no more time to reach our village before my birthday." He said it in a disappointing tone.