20

As we walked into the house, Evan sat at the kitchen table. “Hey, my other half. Are you okay?” I asked, knowing something was wrong.

“No. Listen, I don’t have much time for lunch. Could you just make a sandwich or something?” He said as he sipped on water. Okay– something was off about my brother, and I couldn't put my tongue on it. What is going on?? He told me about the switch to a different floor because of the investigation. He was pissed about something. When I mentioned the officers and the surveillance, you should have seen his face. Evan’s face tensed up.

“They are doing great. To have people actually do THEIR job is terrific.” He mumbled under his breath. The air got eerie as we stood there in shock. Where did that tone come from?? Why so much emphasis on them?? Was something bothering him??

“You heard me. To have people do their job is lovely, instead of people who protect one person and play house with them.”

That’s when I got the idea he knew about us. How did I know that? His face is redder than a rose, and those things get red. I never saw him upset before; it was frightening me. Aria was even hidden behind a wall because of this action.

"What is your problem, Evan? What is going on?" I asked in worry.

“You know what is wrong, don’t act stupid. You are too smart to be with a guy like him.” He pointed to Kevin, who was still in shock. That was bothering him. He knows? But how?? There was no reason for me to tell him anything. This is my personal business. I stay out of his, and he stays out of mine. No matter who I date, Evan has a problem with it. That’s what I told him.

“At least I would have known!! You are still keeping secrets from me!! Maybe you can’t get leads because you are snuggling up with Ellie. You are having the time of your life why people are getting killed! Because of you, my sister is a target! But of course, you protect her with everything you got because she is your princess. One of my friends is missing, afraid— while Ellie here gets special fucking treatment."

I began to lash back at my brother, telling him he must now lose the attitude. It is because of me they got leads until the kingdom came. “The main suspect is someone under our noses the whole time. Brad. Once we find this list, he could be a possible suspect.” I said.

“What evidence did you have on him? Why are you accusing someone who doesn’t come around that often?”

“First, he uses an alias when he is out and about, working multiple jobs which connect to the investigation. Plus, he knows the city and the people connected to the investigation. Something fishy is going on with him.” I said.

My brother raised his eyebrow out of eagerness. I went to my room to snatch the file when I looked in it, ”BINGO!!"

~ Brad ~

For my lunch break, I head to the junkyard with an unpleasant expression. When I entered, Minho came out of nowhere. "First of all, you need to stop fucking doing that. Second of all, we need to talk now.” I said as I took Minho by the shirt and dragged him to the office. Like a ragdoll, I tossed him in. “Are you fucking stupid?? Or just a plain dumbass. What did I say about being careful!! The police are fucking everywhere in that building. They found the scene that you fucking left, dumbshit.” I smacked him.

“What was I supposed to do, Brad?? I was in a rush, and she was crafty.” He said in fear. When walking up to him, I stepped on his stomach with pressure.

“Ugh! You know what. We must step up our game and eliminate the competition, which should be easy since the participants are small. I want those girls here to complete my collection. I want her tonight.”

My finger pointed to a picture of a girl. Minho nodded in agreement. Chains rattled in the background; you can hear them on the cameras. "It seems like they don't listen to my warnings," I said as I took my mask and knife. I got to teach these girls a lesson. I headed down to the chambers.

~ Bailey ~

"W-we just have to l-listen to what he says until we find a way out," I said as I peeked to see if he was around. Whimpers were heard once again as the new girl sobbed silently. The guy called Brandon, still out cold from this morning, was still chained to the chair outside the cells.

"We are never getting out of here," the new girl said in tears. Jennie reassured her as she kept hearing cars roam by every night. There has to be some way out, as we have to be patient and go by what he says. Brad walked downstairs, hearing every single word that was spoken. The girls feared as we crawled back to our beds.

"I see you guys need to be separated, huh? Or another dose of medicine to shut you up!" He shouted. We all flinched in fright; we didn't know he could hear them from down there. Walking to my cell, he opened the door.

"Please, no. I won't disobey anymo—"

SMACK.

"Really? As you’re the one that keeps talking. I see separation isn't going to work for you. That pretty little tongue is what causes you to keep speaking." He said with a devilish tone. I screamed as he dragged me out of my cell and onto a bed. Struggling, he pinned me down and tied me up. Screams kept coming from my mouth. He took a water bowl and placed it on a steel table. He began to wash his knife.

“You should have listened to my words, Bailey,” he said as he tied my head down. I couldn’t move an inch. Suddenly, his fingers crawled into my mouth and back out with my tongue. In complete fear, I tried to ask what he was doing until— boom! My tongue was in his hand, and blood leaked everywhere. Horrifying screams filled the area; tears rushed down my face as pain engulfed me. I saw Brandon’s eyes open to a sight he didn’t want to see. The guy tosses the tongue in his direction.

Blood spilled from my mouth; I began to blackout from the loss. The others broke down in tears as they were scared for theirs.

~ Kevin ~

“See!! I wasn’t delusional!! His name is the exact name he introduced himself with. Assistant: Brad Fowler. Whoever saw you that day wasn’t him,” Ellie excitedly said. I doubted her for a minute until things began to make sense. Brad must be taken into custody.

Evan was still pissed about the truth but more focused on something else. While that conversation was going on, Evan cooled off. He headed back to work after eating and stated he won’t be back until morning. Night shift? Why would Kaylee still keep them overnight?? She knows what is going on out there, so something is up. Evan said goodbye as he stepped out.

“I can’t believe he could be involved in this,” I said.

“Prime suspect, may I say,” Aria added in the statement. “If I knew him, then I would definitely help out more. The bar is all I can do for you.” She laid down on Ellie’s lap.

“That’s okay. I’m happy that you are here. But luckily, you leave tomorrow night. Being around here is dangerous, and I want you safe.” Ellie said as she kissed her friend on the forehead. I agreed with her. When Aria is out of the way, I won’t have to worry about two people going missing. Getting this out of our heads, we watched a movie to pass the time.

Ellie and I dozed off until I felt a tap on my shoulder. Aria stared at me with her doe eyes and asked if I was hungry. She wanted to get pizza from our favorite place. I thought about it for a second and shrugged my shoulders; why not. I dialed the number, and they told me they couldn't deliver now. We will have to pick it up. Without a problem, Aria said okay. With puppy dog eyes, she asked if I could go with her— since she couldn’t go alone. “What about Ellie? I can call someone to escort you. It’s not that far.” I said.

“Can you just call someone to watch her?? I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a random person coming with me.”

“Fine,” I said as I dialed my partner's number. It didn’t take long for him to park his car outside the house. I told him all he had to do was watch the apartment building and ensure nobody suspicious walked in. After that, we went off to the pizza place. It was a nice night to take a stroll, but with everything going on, nobody can do that. Aria asked me if the convenience store was still around the corner. This neighborhood hasn’t changed that much since she was gone.

“Okay, smarty pants. All I wanted was drinks and candy to go with the pizza. So, while you wait for the pizza to finish, I will get the snacks.” She smiled.

Bad idea. Even though the store is two steps away, she should always be by me. But I can’t take away her freedom like that. I could stand by the door and watch her from there. She will be fine if I do that, right? Dashing off, she went to get the items. Not a moment later, a figure scurried past the door frame, then another one after. What the hell was that? Once I paid for the food, I ran outside to see what it was. It was too dark to figure it out. But I think I saw Aria go past here.