The welcoming speech was a good time for him to roam the premises without being detected. He hadn’t seen any of Matt’s men with guns which now he’s sure that they are at the places where he’s going. All the guests had arrived, there was no one in the corridors nor the main entranceway. He walked out through the double door and made his way to the basement garage area. He looked around for a button or a lock to open, but couldn’t find one. It seemed like the automated door was operated by a special remote. There was a pad on the left, he didn’t know what it was for, he pressed it to see if it did anything. “Yes?” a voice came from the pad, it was an intercom.
“It’s Chief Colby … open the door,” he put on his duty voice to try his luck. The door rolled up. Four armed men were in the garage, a row of Cromwell’s vehicles were parked inside. His presence alerted them into guard mode, but Chief Colby Jones was a man of experience. He knew for sure that the door at the back of the dining room leads to stairs going down the basement area, and all his intuition told him that Adrian was brought down to the basement where he can access the location from the garage.
“Mr. Cromwell told me to get the prisoner, ” he said confidently. The man who opened the door looked at his friends, the others seemed to be as clueless as he was. “You need to take me to the prisoner and let me take him to the station.”
“Is that Mr. Cromwell’s instruction?” the man doubted him. Colby Jones gave him a cold stare to affirm his authority. Everyone knew who he was, they wouldn’t dare to doubt his power, they knew where Colby Jones sits in the hierarchy of Mofocity as well as in the Cromwell family.
“No need to confirm it, Mr. Cromwell is in the middle of his speech to his guests, I don’t think you’d want to interrupt him for something he’s already given his consent through me,” he stared down at the man.
The man closed the garage door and led him to the back and found another door. The men with guns looked at each other again. Colby still sat on his poker face and let out a sigh, “Just open the Goddamn door, I was already informed what’s inside.” Colby looked straight at the door unmoved, braced himself of what’s on the other side. One of the men took out his key card, tapped it on the scanner by the door frame. The door clicked and the man pushed it open.
As soon as he entered the damp, dark crimson room, a foul odor stimulated his sense of smell. He put on a straight face, his eyes checked every corner of the room, his heart was beating a bit faster. He saw three men in front of one of the cages, they were holding a syringe.
“Hey! Chief Colby is here for the prisoner!” the man shouted out to the three men in gas masks.
“It’s time to take him to the station, please remove the prisoner from the cage,” he instructed.
He started to realize that his suspicion must be true. He saw Adrian from between the three men, he was barely awake but he was glad he was in time before the next dose.
The three men in gas masks looked puzzled, they obviously received a different instruction. The man with the gun walked over to the cage with his keys. One of the men with the gas mask banged on the metal bars to stop him from opening the lock.
“We were told to give him another dose.”
Colby thought fast, “That was before I arrived, I need to get him to the station before he wakes up screaming and ruins your boss’s party … you wouldn’t want that to happen.”
The men in the gas masks was convinced. The lock was opened, Adrian looked drowsy, he could barely stand up.
“I’ll take him from here,” Colby said. He grabbed Adrian’s arm and carried him over his shoulder. A clunking sound came from another door from the right, Colby turned to look.
And then he saw it, right there at the end of that room. The door was wide open, a tall large built man covered in a plastic coat, all the way to his head, staring straight at him from behind the gas mask. Both of his hands were holding something round, thick liquid was dripping from it, he was holding them by the hair. The room behind him was bright with white lights, he saw dead meats hanging upside down, some were skinned, some were not, all of them headless. Colby nudged his head as casually as he could as a means to say “Hey” to the butcher.
The butcher stood still, legs spread, he was slightly taller than the door frame. The putrid smell from the room behind him was now coming strong. Colby took his steps toward the exit, wobbling his way out carrying Adrian’s weight all the way out the garage. The men looked at him unsure. He didn’t stop to think, he was focusing on getting Adrian out of the slaughterhouse and into his car that was parked behind the bushes.
He shoved Adrian into the backseat, he saw the garage door was closed with the men inside it. He finally let out the inside of his stomach that was pushing to get out since he saw the butcher with two severed human heads dripping its brain on the warehouse floor. His eyes were burning from the pressure of ejaculating every drop of the enzyme from his bowel.
“Damn! Motherfucker!” He sat on the pavement, his back against his car. “Jeez! Fuck!” he knew where all the meat Matt’s been feasting on came from. All the missing people, now he knows where they’ve gone to. He had to pull himself together, he had to go back to the party and finish what he came there for.
*****************
She gathered her things and stuffed them in her backpack. She changed to her casual denim pants and T-shirt, grabbed her jacket, and put on her hiking boots. Showing her face to her dad in the library was enough family time for her, she never intended to stay for dinner. She paces around the bedroom thinking about what else she needed to bring. It’s going to be a long and uncertain trip, she put in her snack bars and a bottle of water. She took a deep breath, said her silent goodbye to her bedroom. Slowly she opened the door and peeked outside, there was nobody there.
She rushed her way downstairs through the main staircase. Everyone was still in the parlor, but the waitresses and waiters were seen getting ready to seat the guests in the garden. She hid behind a wall when one of the waiters came in, headed to the parlor. She started to run towards the entrance door when the coast was clear, but someone grabbed her arm when she entered the foyer.
“Friday! Where are you going?” the sight of Chief Colby Jones looking half the man he was, startled her. He pulled her away safe from sight and he handed her his car keys. “Adrian is in my car, it’s parked behind the bushes close to the road … please get in the car and drive him away from here,” he spoke in a whispery voice.
“But I can’t drive?” she said.
Colby covered his face with the palms of his hands, “He’s almost awake, you need to get him out of here … he’s in danger … hell! I’m in danger! Listen to me,” Friday could see he was in distress and he meant business.
“If anything happens to me …” He held Friday’s hands with both his hands, “You have to get to the island … whatever it takes … take Adrian with you and go to the island!” he continued. The guests were starting to come out of the parlor, headed for the garden.
“How did you know about the island?”
“I know … I heard the tapes and read the reports, it’s worth the risk … I think you and Adrian might just make it there … you’ll find it.”
Friday was stunned, she didn’t know what to make of it. She was planning to leave for the island, what Colby just said to her was more than a sign to go ahead.
“Go! … Go to the car … I have to do something here,” Colby sneaked to see if everyone was already seated.
“But what are you going to do? Should I wait for you?”
Colby shook his head, “No, I’ve called for backup, I can go with my men later … just go! Now! Hurry!”
Friday took a run for it. She turned to see that Colby was watching her as she went, she waved at him. Colby raised his hand and went inside.