Chapter 8

                                ~~~    Cyrus's Point of View    ~~~

              It is not something I knew long ago. It's not something I discovered in grade 7. It's something I came upon just now.

The fact that I am in love with Alice.

          I am sitting on the bed looking at the one and only...Alice. She is sleeping peacefully with her face turned to me. She is absolutely irresistible. From her dark brown hair up to her beautiful long eyelashes to her small cute nose to her appealing pink lips. She is just glamorous.

          Jack walks out of the bathroom wearing shorts and nothing on top showing off his 6 packs. He has a towel around his neck and his hair was dripping wet. He looks at me swooning over Alice.

He raises his eyebrows and says, "So what have you been up to, mate?"

"Uh...nothing. Just going to take a shower," I say grabbing my towel and heading to the bathroom,

"Sure?" he asks making me blush,

"Yes, I am sure," I roll my eyes and slam the door shut so he would get a hint that I am annoyed at him.

          It took me about 30 minutes to shave and take a shower. I walk out of the bathroom with white shorts and no t-shirt just like Jack. I dry my hair with the towel I have in my hand and walk over to the bed. I notice Alice's eyes roaming over my body. I smirk at her until she notices. When she did, she turns around and covers her face with her hair but not before I see her blushing. She is cute.

          We ordered room service after calling our parents and telling them that we were fine and promising to tell them everything when we get home. When we finish eating, we grab our school bags and use the elevator to go down to the car. We get in the car and drive out of the indoor parking lot heading back to Goldfinch. However not before I notice something...

"Guys," I call them though they are laughing at something Jack said and not listening to me at all,

"Guys!" I yell making them jump at my voice,

"Aren't those two black cars the ones that were following us?"I ask looking at the cars following us through the mirror,

"HOLYSHIT!" Sally yells when she notices them,

"How the hell did they...how did they... how?" Jack says lost for words,

"What are we going to do now?" Alice asks,

"I don't know. They are literally within like 15 feet of us," Sally says looking back at the cars repeatedly,

"Are we supposed to leave another this town too? I mean Cyrus finished his bullets last night. We have nothing else to protect ourselves in," Jack says driving faster than he was earlier,

"So are we supposed to go home being followed by the servers of the Silent Man? Wouldn't it be too dangerous?" I ask looking in between them,

"Your dad was right, we shouldn't have got involved in this stupid Silent Man shit," Jack says punching the steering wheel,

"Well, we already are Jack so let's face reality. Now should we call your dad C?" Sally asks,

"That's our only choice. Where's my phone?" I look for my phone before grabbing it and dialing my dad's number,

"Do you have data? I don't," Alice says looking at her phone, then me,

"Yeah a little," I say

"Dad, we need help," I say when he picks up,

"What's wrong Cyrus where are you?" he asks worried,

"We're in..." I say looking around to find anything about the road we're in,

"Rowan Drive heading to Red Whitewhea," I say looking at the green sign indicating to where we were going,

"That's a long way from here, but keep us updated on where you're heading. Keep the phone on call. We will be on our way," he says while chatting with the department,

      I put the phone on the dashboard of the car on the passenger side while checking for signs specifying to where we are going or what street we are on.

"Royle Street," I speak through the phone,

"On it," dad says informing the others,

"Rutherford Stre- HOLY!" I yell before finishing the street name,

"Cyrus what is it!?" dad yells back through the phone,

"They shot one of the windows, dad, how far are you guys, it's pretty dangerous here," I ask,

"We a little far away Cyrus, how dangerous is it?" dad asks worry written in his voice,

"As dangerous as them shooting through our windows. Dad what if they shoot our tires, then we wouldn't be able to drive, which means we're dead," I say looking through the window at the two cars driving side by side behind us,

"Get down!" I yell getting down as everyone else did when I notice them throwing a rock through the broken window.

Seriously? A rock? Grow up.

I pick the rock up and read the note that says: "We got your Sherrif and his minions under control. No one there to protect you. The only thing we need from you is to peacefully leave town and go to Geonfourche. Live there or do whatever you want, but you do not come back to this town. At least until The Silent Man finishes his mission. If you dare to step foot in Goldfinch, be ready to accept the consequences. That including, the people you love like your mother, your siblings. I mean who wants to see their closest ones getting hurt. Ouch. Have a great trip to Geonfourche. Oh, and the road to Geonfourche is South. You're heading North right now."

"Dad, Dad," I yell through the phone right after I read the note, but the phone was disconnected,

"What does it say, Cyrus?!" Jack yells at me looking in between the road and me,

"It says..." I read the note out loud for all of them to read,

"We have to turn around. We can't watch them get hurt. They might even hurt your dad if we don't take action soon," Alice says,

"But how could we be sure that they actually got my dad though? And how did they know that dad was coming?" I ask confused, and before I can finish my thoughts another rock is thrown through the window. I read it out loud to everyone and it says: You overthink everything Cyrus. We have a security camera set in your car. Smart right. Do you know how we did that? Cyrus Cyrus Cyrus...We've been hearing what you've been saying the whole ride. It was fun. From the time when you decided to call your poor Sheriff just to get him caught till now, where you are unsure of how we knew you called your father. And don't bother looking for the camera Cyrus, it's pretty hidden. So are you going to turn around before it's too late to? You have 5 minutes. I am counting..."

              I look around quickly but find nothing that looks like a camera.

"Jack do it," Sally says from the back while he was in deep thought,

"We can't," Jack says,

"Are you insane, man?! Do you know how many people's lives you're putting on danger?" I ask angrily,

"What if this is just a trick?! What if like you said yesterday, they only want to get us out of town?! What if no one is in danger?! Call your dad and let's see if he is in danger or not?" Jack yells back

  I dial the numbers of my dad and press call. I wait for a minute before the phone was picked up by anyone but my father.

"Well well well Cyrus, do you believe it now or do you need proof of it?" the man with a deep voice asks,

"MMM!" dad yells with a muffled voice,

"Dad?!" I yell through the phone,

"You know, it's so not fair when your own father takes the punishment for you. The second you just turn South and head to where we told you to, your old man will be free. That's a promise," the deep voice says again,

"Jack," I say in a deep voice so you would get a hint and turn South, which he did,

"There. Can you let him go now?" I ask the deep voice through the phone,

"Uh Uh. Not yet. When we make sure you got there, then I will set your old man free, but until then, he won't be hurt. He will just be in a dark room with his minions," the deep voice says before hanging up,

"Are you sure about this man?" Jack says looking at me with concern on his face,

"That's the only way to keep them safe," I say looking at the cars still following us to make sure we get in Geonfourche.

          Thoughts of the Silent Man's mission crosses my mind as we ride on the unfamiliar road leading to a foreign town...