Chapter 28

Before she opens her eyes, she realizes she can't take a breath. She feels water flowing into her mouth and nose, and this ultimately makes her fearful. She lifts her eyelids and wants to scream, but is unable to. Furthermore, she opens her eyes wider and nervously begins to move her hands as if she wants to swim ashore, but the harder she tries, the harder it gets.

She helplessly sinks to the bottom and, with misty eyes, watches the phantoms that are dangerously beginning to circle her. They looked happy about her presence. They stubbornly would like to communicate something to her, but Sara is unable to understand them. Underwater they sound indistinct, and before she finally sinks to her feet, her attention is caught by a metal box that lies on the bottom among the human skeletons.

With the last of her strength, she reaches out her hand, wanting to grab it, but she is too far away. She feels a sharp pain in her chest, and before she finally drops her strength, she sees Simon's face in front of her.

She opens her eyes, and a quiet shriek escapes from her throat as Simon actually leans over her face. He looks as if he is intrigued by the nightmare from which she has just awakened.

Breathing heavily, he looks around the place with shaky eyes, realizing that he is in the underground.

It happened again. The nightmare returned, and with it the sleepwalking.

- Sara? - She plunges a puzzled look into Simon but when she understands that he can't talk to her, she looks uncertainly over her shoulder as she recognizes the voice.

The boy stares at her with wide-open eyes, looking shocked.

Where did he come from?

- Oliver - she speaks quietly, picking herself up from the wet floor. She staggers slightly, yet the boy helps her in due time. He grabs her by the shoulders, saving her from falling. He looks carefully at her face, noticing how wasted she is.

The girl's always beautiful-looking white skin, this time gives the impression of a gray, tired complexion. The large, round eyes lack luster, and the dark bruises under the eyes take away her shy, girlish charm.

- Why are you here?

- To protect you," he replies directly, causing her to feel slightly confused.

- But.

- I just woke up at the right time and when you left the room, I followed you," he says, brushing her hair away from her face. He tucks it behind her ear, and Sara opens her mouth, unable to get a word out. - I noticed that something was wrong. You were acting strangely, and I understood that you were sleepwalking. Maybe not exactly, because it looked more like someone was leading you.

Sara shifts her gaze to Simon, who shrugs his shoulders in response. He looks as if he is trying to escape the answer. He probably knows which ghost it was, but he must remain silent.

Just why?

- Oliver, it's dangerous that you followed me. You are in more danger, and I don't believe that they just let you go. They told you stupid things, and you are completely unconcerned about it," she says in a nervous voice.

- Sara, my soul died with the tragedy of my family. It died the moment I joined those nasty people," he proclaims, capturing her face. - This is the body. - At this point, he pauses and points to himself with his finger. - The body I have left behind serves only to protect you, to keep you safe.

She blinks her eyelids, unable to believe that Oliver, who just a few months ago was not good for her — the same boy: closed in on himself and ignoring people — now stands before her and directly says what is on his heart.

- If you say that again, I won't let you protect me and you will stop being my friend! - She unexpectedly raises her voice, mirroring him with her eyes. She pushes his hand away and finally threatens him with her finger. - I'm sick of you not worrying about yourself at all! You have friends here, you have me, so you are not alone, and finally understand that I will do everything for us to get out of here and start living a normal life, understand? Therefore, don't talk such foolishness and start taking care of yourself, disregarding my life. Even if I don't succeed, try to get out of here, because I want the people I care about to finally be safe.

- So we have a problem, because I think the same. Furthermore, I want the people I care about to leave here whole and healthy, so Sara, let me be your shield.

- Stop playing the damn knight! - she hisses furiously, in time to resist shouting too loudly. She doesn't want someone inappropriate to hear them. - Such boys do not exist. There are no ideals. I've been wrong all my life," she says in a sadder voice, reminding herself of Alan, whom she thought was walking perfection. This ideal discovered a second, darker side to him, which shattered all hope in her.

- We had something in common. We were both closed-minded from the beginning. You because of shyness, I because I was an asshole. But you know what, they say that people who keep everything inside are emotional, and they are the ones who care the most about others," he declares, sending her a slight smile. - I've always been antisocial and that's why I screwed up, because I'm the one you should have trusted first. Not this moron who is hurting you now.

Sara clenches her teeth and slaps his chest with her hand.

- You're right, you idiot! You screwed up because you kept making me uncomfortable at first, and it took me a long time to trust you.

- And because of this, you ran away into the arms of the wrong person," he snorts, and she crinkles her eyebrows, which leads Oliver to laugh, as she looks like a red Angry Bird for a moment.

- And what are you laughing about? Is it a reason to rejoice that life here has put me through hell from the beginning? What are you wrinkling that nose so much? - She aggressively grabs him by the tip of his nose, which makes the boy laugh even more, however, their fooling around is interrupted when they hear someone's footsteps.

Sara casts Oliver a concerned look as he grabs her hand and pulls her into a narrow hallway so they can hide. Simon, who has been watching them for a while, shakes his head, thinking they are being unreasonable by acting so loud in a dangerous place.

The girl leans out slightly to see who is guarding the underworld, but is pressed back against the wall by Oliver's hand.

She wants to say something, but he reads her intentions and puts his hand over her mouth to keep her silent.

Squinting his eyes, he carefully looks at the person who stood in the light. It is a young boy. Perhaps about their age. He has short black hair with bangs, a fair complexion and a figure that has cost him a lot of effort.

Oliver had never seen him before.

Sara wants to ask her friend who the man who came is, but Oliver prevents her from doing so.

The unfamiliar boy takes one last look around and, not finding anything, walks away.

- Who was it? - she asks in a whisper when Oliver finally lets her get a word in edgewise.

- I have no idea. I would like to know it myself. I've never seen it before.

- Are you saying it's someone new?

A slight fear pervades him. He doesn't know what he should expect from a person who appeared in the building out of nowhere, especially since this is a young boy who must be special. They wouldn't drag an insignificant person to the center, so Oliver assumes they need this person.

They are planning something again.

- I think we should go from here. I waited and watched over you until you woke up, so now we can leave this place.

- Oliver, this is not a coincidence. The ghosts didn't bring me here to walk around in my sleep. They want me to see something," she declares in a serious tone, intending to stay in the underground.

- Do you want to play detective? You're starting to annoy me since you've become so bold," he says with emphasis on the last words.

- It is better that I took courage than if I had to sit against the wall and shake with fear.

Oliver does not take his eyes off her.

- I preferred how you were just like that. You're getting dumber and dumber, and I get the impression that it was Alan's company that affected you badly.

- Did you call me stupid? - She stops and indignantly turns to face him, so the boy almost bumps into her.

- And what are you just doing? Not only do you push yourself into the mouth of the lion, but you also talk loudly. Wait a minute, and that boy over there comes back, and where do we hide, wisely? - he asks, pointing with his hand to the walls without additional corridors. There is no place for them to hide.

Sara's eyes open wider as the sound of a door opening comes to her. There is something at the end of this corridor, but the place looks like a trap, as they are surrounded by walls that offer no way to find a safe hiding place.

- Now what? - she asks in a panicked voice, looking at Oliver as if he were her last hope.

- I should strangle you or, in a worse case, hand you over to them," he declares maliciously.

His pinched answers drive her to passion. It's been a long time since he behaved this way toward her.

What bit him?

Having no other choice, he grabs her hand and drags her back to the main corridor. He knows that now they could search it more thoroughly, so he leads the girl to a place where they will be safe.

He places her behind a thick pipe and crouches beside it himself, keeping a watchful eye on the room.

- Why did you suddenly get so mean? Is it because I told you that I don't want you to play my knight?

- I am infuriated by your obstinacy. Do you think I don't know where you got this brave attitude from? At all costs, you want to go there to find out that your wonderful Alan is not among them and that I have been telling you silly things all along," he claims with indignation in his voice.

- And wouldn't you want to make sure if the person you love was involved in evil people's plots?

Oliver tightens his lips and throws her a nervous look.

- I would not want to know, because I would have stopped loving such a person long ago. If only for the way he treats me.

- And you again your... - she mumbles and immediately falls silent when she hears footsteps heading their way. Oliver moves closer to her, even squashing her body into the pipe.

Someone stops in the entrance and shines a flashlight. Sara feels like hitting her head when she understands that her idea was a bad one. She caused the problems herself, and she could have just listened to Oliver and returned to the room.

What if they get caught? What if they bring him trouble? He doesn't want anyone to hurt him....

- I can see your feet. Just come out.

She pouts. She looks at Oliver's face with a frightened gaze, as if looking for support.

He just stands up.

He obediently faces the person who gave them the order and squints under the light as the man shines a flashlight in his face.

- I think they admonished you to sit still and not interfere in their affairs, right? - There is no doubt. He recognizes by his voice that it's a psychologist.

He gets up from the floor and joins Oliver, catching him under the arm.

- Don't hurt him. I brought him here.

- That's what I thought you were accompanying him, Sara. Is this some kind of love triangle? - She senses derision in his voice. - Apparently, this is normal with the women in your family.

- What are you talking about? - she asks, not understanding what he means.

- You are similar to me. Such men are always the latter, the abused with a broken heart," he turns to Oliver. The brunet crinkles his eyebrows and surreptitiously glances at Sara, who is cuddling up to him. - Don't try any tricks and just come with me.

- Do you think we will listen to you? - Oliver shows a courageous attitude. He intends to protect Sara at all costs.

- I think. - Next to the psychologist stands the boy who was circulating in the corridor earlier. This speaks their minds. They must go with them, because in this case, they have no chance to escape.

The psychologist leads them, but they don't go to the place that intrigues Sarah. The man directs them down another corridor, and an unfamiliar boy who walks behind watches over the teenagers to make sure nothing stupid comes to mind.

They enter a room they have never been in before. They carefully look around the interior, which is cold and dark.

The psychologist turns on the light, and Sarah shudders when she notices a powerful man being held in a locked room behind glass. He looks as if he has been mutated, but the girl guesses that he is mentally disabled.

- This freak is worth as much as you, Sara. He knows where the uranium that the General so needs is located, but he won't squeal a word. Even the worst torture can't squeeze anything out of him.

- Maybe he knows, but I don't have a clue," he replies, looking at Oliver. He doesn't look badly shaken, or just masks himself well.

- You are a medium, Sara. It's a gift that the General hates and values at the same time.

- This is ridiculous," she announces unexpectedly, and the psychologist looks at her closely. - Why is he so fixated on this uranium? After all, he can get new ones.

- Mining and creating uranium is not that easy, Sara. It is usually found in Russia, and you also have to properly decompose it to make it suitable for use in an atomic bomb," he explains, glancing at the boy who accompanies them. - And that takes real talent. A professor from Russia who worked with the General during the war has created perfect uranium in a sample that is unbreakable.

- Why are you just telling us this? Shouldn't it be a secret? After all, you are cooperating with the General.... - Oliver speaks up, boldly mirroring him with his eyes.

- You know the truth perfectly well, Oliver, so why do you ask? After all, we are both in this together," he declares, and this clearly worries Sara. She knows that the boy must serve these people, but is he hiding something else?

She hopes not. Currently, he is the person, she trusts the most.

- Who is he? - Oliver avoids answering the question and points his finger at the boy who accompanies them.

- A little help.

Oliver squints his eyes and looks carefully at the psychologist, whose smile does not leave his face.

- I understand that's his name," he mocks, shifting his gaze to the mysterious brunet.

- After all, you know my name, Oliver. Don't pretend otherwise. - The boy finally speaks up, but this answer does not please the teenager. Sara begins to get lost. What is this all about? How would Oliver know this boy? And why does he look like he doesn't know it himself, though?

- I don't know you," he says dryly, running his eyes away from his friend, who is lost in the conversation.

- I think everyone is connected in some way. Even me with Sarah," the man announces half-jokingly, sending the teenager a smile.

- What are you all talking about? What are you all talking about! - Raises the girl's voice, carefully mirroring them with her eyes. She can no longer stand these mysterious statements.

- What will happen here should not go beyond the four of us. If we start working together, we have to trust each other. A long and hard conversation awaits us, but this is the only way we can achieve something," the man speaks.

Sara opens her mouth as nothing continues to reach her.

What kind of cooperation is the psychologist talking about when he faithfully serves the General? He is his nephew and also harms students in the office, so what does he want from them?

What's with all the secrecy?

- I don't have to worry about Oliver, because I know he trusts me," he announces, not taking his eyes off Sarah. - But you... I have to tell you something so that you trust me too.

The teenager lifts her face and looks at the man. Why does she get goosebumps at the thought that she is to learn something else today? Did the ghosts purposely bring her to the underworld? Was it all posed because they knew about the coming events?