Chapter 4
THE BAD NEWS
Almost a month had passed since Ian had visited Audrey’s house; since then Ian had tried not to think about everything he had been told, however the more he tried the more impossible the task had become, and despite his efforts, he always seemed to be subconsciously aware of it all.
Audrey had seemed as if nothing had happened, she continued to visit everyday, and every now and then would invite Ian over to her house, however now it seemed that Ian was the one avoiding that place, and not her.
Despite all that was on his mind, Ian was constantly worried about Mr. Creed’s health, which had been declining at an alarming rate ever since he had found out about his illness. Most of Ian’s time for the past couple of days had been devoted to taking care of the bed ridden Mr. Creed, although, it wasn’t like he had anything else to devote it to. Most of his spare time was spent hanging out with Audrey, and since Audrey was always around helping him take care of Mr. Creed, nothing had really changed.
Ian tried not to think so much about where Mr. Creeds situation was headed, because deep in his gut he knew it wasn’t anywhere good. No matter how hard he tried to look away from the truth of it all, he couldn’t hide it from himself. The thought of it made Ian feel as sick as Mr. Creed. He could relate all of this to his experiences a few weeks before, when he was at first in denial, and then forced to believe everything when the truth was shoved right in his face. Perhaps his situation now wasn’t too different then it was then he thought.
Ian sat at the kitchen table and starred out the window at the clouds as they sailed though the blue sky. Audrey was standing over at the kitchen stove, the pan she was using suddenly started to produce a sizzling sound as she plopped two eggs onto its hot surface, quickly after the whole room was filled with its smell. Ian didn’t find its aroma to be appetizing, he had never really been a breakfast person. Of course, it wasn’t as if the food was for him anyways; Audrey was making it for Mr. Creed. This was just one of the many ways Audrey would help out.
“You know Ian, your dad isn’t getting any better. I know how much he hates going to the doctor, but we should really try to get him to see one, even if we have to get one to come here.”
“He’s not my father Audrey, stop saying that.” Said Ian, who continued to gaze out the window,
“Well, whatever you want to call him, he really needs to see a doctor,” said Audrey as she placed two cooked eggs onto a plate.
Ian delayed his answer as he continued to look out the window. When Audrey’s expression showed her impatience, Ian finally decides to satisfy her with an answer, even though he knew where it would lead. “He’s already seen one” said Ian who had now broken from his gaze to look at Audrey who had quickly set down the plate on the table that Ian was sitting at. Her eyes stared directly into his in a way that urged him for more detail.
“Well?” said Audrey whose patience had run out.
“He’s dying” said Ian bluntly, and without any apparent emotion.
Suddenly in response, Audrey slapped Ian hard on the cheek. Ian looked back at her with a shocked and confused expression on his face, his hand was on his cheek which was now red from Audrey’s hand.
“What the hell was that for” yelled Ian, who was annoyed at being slapped for no apparent reason.
“You could have told me Ian, I could have gotten help. You know what my family is capable of, and it’s because of your selfishness that you didn’t accept it as an option, because you had a hard time accepting it. So tell me Ian, who do you think is having the harder time now, you, or your father?”
“How many times do I have to tell you; he isn’t my damn father!” yelled Ian as he sat up straight and slammed his fist on the table.
Audrey took a moment for the heat to die down as they fiercely stared each other in the eyes, their already bright eyes, which were now light even brighter.
“Well, I’m getting him help” said Audrey in a toned down voice as she picked up a tray with Mr. Creeds breakfast on it.
“Fine, work your damn voodoo magic on him for all I care.” said Ian as to Audrey who was now storming out of the room to deliver the food.
“Why I’m I acting this way?” thought Ian, who was now frustrated with himself. “She was right of course; it was selfish to not even consider her family as an option. “Ahh, What was I thinking! Why do I have to be so stupid?”
William knew what he had to do, he immediately pushed himself up from his chair and went toward the stairs, where Audrey was now coming down with an empty tray in her hands.
“Let’s go get him some help” said Ian as he stood in front of the surprised Audrey.
A large smile appeared on Audrey’s face as she came down the rest of the stairs, set down the tray, and took Ian hand, pulling him towards the front door.
When they arrived at Audrey’s house, Ian got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. What if they ran into Audrey’s father, what then; and what if Almnas was mad at him from last time he was here? Ian swallowed as they went up the font steps and entered through the large front door.
The inside of Audrey’s house appeared just as magnificent as it had the last time he’d visited, however Ian was given less time to gawk at it as Audrey grasped his hand and whisked him through the many rooms of the very large house. Ian knew that it was in fact a very big house, but the way Audrey seemed to be wandering about the place made William think as If she was a little lost, even if it were her own house.
“Um, are you aren’t lost are you Audrey?” asked Ian as they continued about the place.
Audrey ignored Ian and kept cutting corners, searching room after room. Just as William was starting to wonder where everybody was, they had bumped into a tall man that Ian had recognized as the man whom had sat to Almnas’s left on the night of his first visit. His eyes were an unnatural metallic silver color, and he dressed in the unusual attire that seemingly everyone in Audrey’s strange family seemed to dress in.
“Audrey, what are you doing running around the place like that” said the man, “you know what your father would say if you-” the man suddenly cut off his own lecture when he noticed Ian, who was tailing behind Audrey. “Ian, what a surprise, its been quite a while since your first visit, allow me to re-introduce myself, I am Arotris, Almnas’s trusted advisor. If you don’t mind my asking, have you reconsidered Almnas’s offer, he would be very pleased if to hear from you if you did, and so would the rest of us.”
“He hasn’t” answered Audrey for Ian. “We were only looking for someone. Have you seen Narial around? Its urgent and we need to find him.”
“For what reason other than an injury or illness would you require Narial, neither of you appear to be ill, you aren’t injured are you” said the Arotris as he examined both of them with his metallic silver eyes.
Ian could tell that these two were not very fond of each other, but the reason as to why was beyond him.
“Why we need Narial isn’t any of your concern, just tell us where he is,” said Audrey who was now growing irritated.
“Ah, but it is my business. To know the dealings of the house and everyone in it is what I do, and is required of me. A strict order must be maintained if we as outsiders are to survive in this strange uncertain world, and in these strange and uncertain times.”
“Listen, we don’t need him for us, its someone else, my foster father.” said Ian as he stepped forward from behind Audrey, knowing that they would be going nowhere soon if he let them continue.
“I see” said Arotris whose eyes seemed to light up with the intake of this information. “Very well then, you may find him in your fathers private chamber, from my knowledge he had been summoned there on a matter of importance with the Master.”
William’s stomach all of a sudden felt light at knowing that he would have to encounter Almnas again. Ian swallowed at the thought of it. Before he could say anything about it, Audrey had already taken his hand again and led him quickly through the house once again.
After cutting a few more corners the two had finally come to a short hallway, which lead to only one door which was located at the very end. Ian suspected that this had to be the place, there was no other possibility. The hallway seemed much more long and narrow than it really was as they made there way down it and towards the door at the end. “Why am I so nervous, I already gave him my answer, and if he asks once more, then ill just give it to him again, no big deal.”
As Audrey opened the door, they came into a large room whose walls curved to make a half circle, and meet with the flat wall behind them from where they had entered. Several windows went around the curved wall, filling the room with the light of the afternoon. At the back of the room behind a large table which acted like a desk sat Almnas, and on the opposite side of the table sat a man with red hair, who seemed to be too caught up in the large book he had buried his nose in to notice of their entrance.
Almnas, who was facing them was of course the first to take notice of them as they entered the room. He stood up surprised with a welcoming smile on his face. The man on the other side of the table looked over his shoulder to see what it was that Almnas had risen for. The man studied them with his yellow eyes until finally realizing just who the visitor was; he too then rose from his chair prepared to greet him.
“Ian! What a surprise. Can I conclude from your visiting here that you have finally reconsidered?”
William opened his mouth to speak but was beat to the response by Audrey.
“No, he hasn’t reconsidered, and we aren’t here for you father; we are here for Narial,” said Audrey as she pointed a finger at the red haired man who now seemed a little surprised and confused.
“For what reason, is anyone hurt?” asked Narial.
“Actually, its my step father” said Ian as he stepped forward “he’s the one who needs help.”
“Ah, I see” said Narial as he looked back at Almnas for dismissal.
Almnas nodded back to him in response, his eyes then shifted back onto Ian with curiosity.
“Very well then” said Narial, who had been given the ok by Almnas. “I’ll see what I can do. Shall we?” he said as he motioned them to lead the way.
Just before they turned to leave a familiar voice from behind them spoke out unexpectedly.
“If you are finished here I would like to have a word with the Master in private.” Said Arotris.
“Not at all Arotris, we were just leaving actually” Replied Narial politely with a smile.
Audrey on the other hand wasn’t so smiley about it, her fists clenched at the sound of his voice, he was up to no good, and she didn’t like it. As they turned around to leave Audrey’s eyes locked With Arotris’s, and Arotris’s with hers. The split second intensity between them as the passed each other by was enough to make Audrey’s face boil red with anger. Ian could see now quite clearly that Audrey was in no way fond of Arotris, in fact, she seemed to despise him.
Just as Narial was passing by Arotris, Arotris’s hand came on his shoulder stopping him. “Not you Narial, you stay” he said with his gaze remaining straight ahead.
Narial looked back at Ian and Audrey and then back at Arotris confused. “As you wish” replied Narial with a curious look.
“In that case the two of you had better wait outside for me, I wont be long” Said Narial to William and Audrey.
Upon exiting the room Arotris’s penetrating metallic eyes followed them out as he shut the door behind them, leaving himself and the contemplatively posed Almnas alone with Narial.
“No good Arotris, he’s always butting his way into everyone’s business, who knows what conniving is going on in there now with him involved” Pouted Audrey as she and William sat outside the door waiting for them to finish with Narial.
“Why are you so negative towards him, it seems to me like he’s only doing his job as he said; whatever that job is.”
“Ha! You don’t know the half of it believe me” laughed Audrey. “I’ve had to deal with that pest for as long as I can remember. Just imagine having someone around all the time that was always butting into your privacy, and telling you what you can or cannot do.”
“Actually that’s not too hard, sounds like an accurate description of a parent to me, of course it’s not like Mr. Creed ever really fit that description, so I’m probably not relating here.”
“He’s more of a sniveling suck up to my father than a parent. Everything he does is self motivated” Said Audrey.
“Could be, I’m just saying that-”
“You don’t know what your saying” snapped Audrey.
As Ian decided to back off from what would have been a pointless heated argument, Narial exited the room, sparring them the awkward silence that would have followed.
Narial had a morbid expression on his face as he exited Almnas’s office and tried to quickly cover it up for Audrey and Ian with the flash of a quick smile.
“Well then, shall we be on our way?” he said as he held his phony smile, which only disconcerted Ian and Audrey more than his previous expression.
As the three of them exited the house they began their walk down the dirt road back to Ian house. Apparently Audrey’s family had no cars, but that didn’t matter to Ian, he was used to walking just about everywhere in this town, he had been doing it as long as he could remember. The three of them walked in silence, Ian and Audrey not having any normal conversation due to the presence of Narial who tailed behind them, and Narial, who didn’t seem to feel like talking tailed behind them with a pale grim face, not the glowing expression that he had first greeted them with.
William asks about why Narial and the others wear all these strange cloths and why Audrey doesent.
“I wonder what they said to him back there” thought Ian who had now become curious. He knew that Audrey was wondering the same thing too. Narial didn’t do to well at hiding the obvious, he would simply slap on an unconvincing smile on his face whenever William or Audrey would glance back at him, with no simple words to follow.
“Here we are” said Ian as they came to a break in the road that lead to his house. As they walked up to the front steps Ian stopped them at the door before entering.
“It would probably be best if you tried to present yourself as a normal doctor, I’m not sure of how you do what you do, but try to keep it on a low profile.” Said Ian before opening the door and allowing them inside.
“Yes, that would seem a wise approach, but I have alternative methods to keep him unawares should they be required.”
“Sure, just remember we’re trying to help him not kill him” said Ian sarcastically with a smirk and an eyebrow raised. “Audrey, it would probably be best if you went up with him, in case he’s awake.”
“Ok, wait here” said Audrey who had gone up the stairs to the second floor ahead of them, waving to Narial to follow her up as she stood at the door to Mr. Creed’s room. After opening the door to peek inside she pulled her head out of the room to whisper back down the stairs to Narial who was making his way up. “He’s asleep, lets go” Narial and Audrey entered the room together shutting the door quietly behind them, leaving Ian waiting downstairs for them to finish.
As Ian waited for them to finish he had never felt so alien in his own house. He pointlessly paced around the living room and through the kitchen, gazing into the refrigerator door even though he wasn’t hungry, a teenage habit of his. Ian gazed gloomily at the kitchen clock that hung from the wall, for each second a minute, and for each minute an hour is what it seemed as the hands on the clock crept by at a taunting pace. It was still relatively early, yet Ian felt as if the day had been dragging on for countless hours on end. His mind judged the length of the day only by the notable events that had taken place in it, and so far there was much to note.
After what seemed an eternity later, Audrey came back down the stairs followed by Narial. A grim shadow seemed to loom over them, influencing their expressions and even seeping into the manor in which they moved, making it immediately apparent that the news would most likely be bad.
Audrey stood back to the right of Narial, her head turned down to the side, unwilling to make any eye contact with Ian, a slight shadow masked her face, a face Ian expected to be filled with tears and emotion.
“Ian, you might want to sit down” said Narial in a tone that confirmed Ian dread.
“I think I’ll stand” said Ian who was bracing himself for the worst.
“Very well; It appears that after my examination I found his Illness to be far too widespread through his body to be cured within my power, I’m afraid there is nothing that I can do for him.
“How long does he have left?” asked Ian in an unwavering and emotionless voice that surprised even himself.
“Its hard to say, a few weeks, maybe more depending on how much strength he has in him, but Ian, he is very old, and fading fast.”
“I see” replied Ian, who was more caught up on all the thoughts racing through his head to spare some conscience talking.
“I can see you need some time to take this in, I’ll be off then to leave you to yourself” Said Narial as he turned and walked out the front door, leaving Ian and Audrey alone in the silence.
“Its my fault” said Ian with a sudden sense of guilt coming over him. “If I had gone to Narial earlier and been less selfish like you said he might have stood a chance.”
“Ian, you cant put this on yourself; nobody would blame you for not believing what my father told you that night, anyone would have thought it crazy.”
“How can you stand there and tell me that when you yourself said it was my fault for not getting help earlier?”
“You have to promise me that you won’t blame yourself, I don’t want to see you go on like that, you have to accept it for what it is and let it be.” Said Audrey as she placed her hands on his shoulders and starred him straight in the eyes.
“How can this be real?” asked Ian, his eyes breaking away from Audrey’s stern gaze. “Why don’t I feel anything when the world I knew is torn from the inside out and rewritten; how can I be expected to believe this is real and not a dream?”
Audrey didn’t respond in words, she instead pulled Ian closer into an embrace. Despite all Ian knew he should feel in a moment like this, he couldn’t bring himself to shed even a single tear, and he began to despise himself for it; The two of them instead simply stood together in the quiet without another word exchanged. Ian knew now that he was ready to wake up, no matter what that meant he would waking up to.
