Married To A CEO. Omega
Chapter 39 - Thirty-Six (Seattle Arc: The Final)

Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Six (Seattle Arc: The Final)

LEO

Just when I am about to fall asleep in Erwin’s arm a loud firm knock jolts me awake. My eyes shoot open. Erwin starts too. We exchange looks.

"Leo?" John’s voice reaches in our ears, "Is Steve here?"

Erwin and I exchange another look before slipping out of each other’s arms and scramble to collect our clothes which are lying haphazardly on my bedroom floor. "Wait a minute!" Erwin and I shout out urgently in unison.

"O-Okay!" John stutters, we have clearly made him embarrassed by doing this.

I slide my clothes down my body and then step toward the closed door of the room. I put my hand over the door knob and look over my shoulder to make sure that the other man is not half naked while I open the door and let another man come in. But Erwin is really fast. He has already fully dressed himself and walks up to me to stand beside me. He signals me to open the door.

I slightly nod and swing the door open. John and Ruth are standing on the other side with very worried faces. It’s rare to spot such expressions on Ruth’s face. "What happened?" I raise a brow in surprise.

John and Ruth sweep a look over me and Erwin. And I know by the look of our swollen lips and my red cheeks and eyes, it doesn’t take a genius to understand what we were doing before they interrupted us. John’s lips quiver as his cheeks flushes in embarrassment. He is very hesitant to get to the point while Erwin and I stand like this at the door.

But there comes my best friend in the picture, "We can’t find Steve. Is he here?" Ruth asks.

"And are you dumb?" Erwin scoffs as he rolls his eyes, "How is he here? Can’t you see we were busy?"

John and my mouths fall open as a single remark reverberates in our heads: He didn’t even hesitate!

"Shut up!" I rebuke both of the alphas. "What exactly happened?" I turn my focus to the beta standing before me.

"I was in the shower." John starts to give me a brief encounter of how he lost the sight of his little brother, "He suddenly said that he wanted to see you. So, I told him to go on his own since your room is just around the corner. I thought he would be fine."

"Wait." I am bewildered, "But he never came here!" I retort, "Erwin and I were alone here for it seems like an hour now. When exactly did you go off on his own?"

"It’s been half an hour now." John chews on his bottom lip.

The four of us exchange a look in unison and then exclaim, "He is lost!"

"Oh no," John frustratedly runs his fingers through his dark hair. "What should I do now?"

"It’s okay." Ruth tries to assure him as he pets the beta’s back, though I know he is internally panicking himself, "We will find him."

"Yes, yes." I reassure him.

"Idiot." Erwin meanwhile chides. "Open up your laptop and check the cameras. We will find him in no time." Erwin says matter of fact-ly.

And it seems like something has clicked inside John’s head too, "You are right! I can always do that!" And he bolts toward the direction of his room. The three of us exchange another dumbfounded look before following behind him.

"Idiot." Erwin breaths, "Has got no brains in that head."

We enter his room to see his fingers flying over the keyboard of his laptop, his expression serious.

"What’s he doing?" Ruth tilts his head in confusion, his one eyebrow raised.

"I found it." John states as his brow twitches and an indescribable expression crosses his face.

"Show me." I reach out to his side and my heart stops for a moment.

Erwin and Ruth follow behind me and the frown too.

It’s Steve on the screen. He is all alone or it appears he is. He is getting out of John’s room as it seems like he is talking to someone. Someone I can’t see. Or rather we can’t see. Then he strides down the hallway in the opposite direction of my room, dazed and his eyes unfocused. It almost seems like he is possessed by something we are unable to make out.

"Where is he going?" Ruth asks like a broken recorder.

"Idiot." Erwin repeats for the third time now, "The hell we know that."

"Can you pull up other footages too?" I point at the screen, completely ignoring the small brawl taking place beside me.

John nods fiercely before pulling up another footage which appears to be another camera on the other side of the long hallway. And quite surprisingly this side of the hallway is quite darker than the other sides. The lights are dim as if they are being suppressed by something unnatural. Something evil.

This footage is almost the same as the other one we watched before. But in this footage John is almost running down the hallway, his mouth hanging wide open, droll dripping down from there and his eyes rolled back to his skull.

My heart stops for a second before starting kicking in a dangerous rhythm at the scene playing out before me. I am quite sure something is controlling Steve. He is seeing something and hearing something that we don’t. I look around the room to see if anyone has the same thought as me. And by the look on Erwin’s face he is going over the same possibility while the other two is looking like this is the crappiest joke they are witnessing in their entire life.

"Play the next footage." Erwin commands.

"I can’t find anything." John’s fingers fiercely storm over the keyboard once again.

"Then what are you doing dumbass?" Erwin asks sarcastically as he already moves towards the exit of the room, "We need to find him."

I follow him out of the room, so do Ruth and John.

Right now we are standing in the middle of the corridor, Steve was last spotted. Cold ice is running down my spine. Something about this corridor doesn’t feel right. It feels like millions of eyes are boring through me. I unconsciously tug at Erwin’s t-shirt, who is looking like he is watching a comedy movie. Amusement coiling deep inside his eyes as he wipes his head around the space taking in his surroundings. Meanwhile Ruth is acting like he is completely oblivious of the eerie aura surrounding us.

He has always been like this. When he realizes that situation is out of his hands he acts like he sees nothing and hears nothing. Then even if someone points it out before his eyes he still ignores it like it doesn’t even exist, Just like he is doing now. He is holeless. Running away from the problem.

In the meantime, John appears like he is a bit too logical to think about the other round.

A loud thud resounds from the otherwise stilted end of the corridor, making me flinch. We instantly move toward the direction from where the noise came. And we find ourselves standing in front of a large double door. It’s possibly the store room.

"Is it locked?" John tries to push it open.

"Let me see." Erwin steps forward and fishes out something from his pocket. It’s a small metal stick. It’s as long as my pinky. Its tip is slightly curved.

Erwin plunges the metal stick inside the hole of the door and moves it in some specific direction. The movements of his fingers are so swift and skilled it makes me wonder if he is a thief or something to know such arts. A few seconds later with a click the door opens. Erwin pushes through it, pocketing his instrument.

The room is pitch black. I can’t even see my hand, held over my face. But I can hear someone murmuring something underneath their breath. It’s very incomprehensible what he is saying.

Erwin turns on the flash light of his phone. And as soon as he does a small silhouette can be seen at the end of the room. He is couched at the end of the room in a very dark corner, curled up in a ball. It’s quite clear that he is murmuring these incomprehensive words.

A horrified yelp rage through my throat but I chew it down, breath stuttering from my lungs.

"Steve!" John calls out as he approaches his little brother. "Steve?!" John grabs Steve’s shoulder and jerks it.

Steve instantly snaps out of it. He blinks a few times to come to, "Brother?" He blurts out.

"Thank goodness." John breaths as he hugs his little brother, "Why are you locked up in a place like this?!"

"Idiot." Erwin shoots out again, "This interrogation can wait for later. First get out of here."

Erwin is right. This room isn’t safe for us. Something is in here hiding in the dark. And whatever it is, it doesn’t at all like our presence here.

"Right." John nods and while carrying Steve in his hands, he gets out of the room.

"So, now tell me," John sits Steve on the bed, "why were you there?"

The other three of us stand around the room while he softly interrogates his brother, appearing somewhat relieved now.

’I don’t know." Steve shakes his head, poor child still processing what’s happening around him, "He suddenly came out and told me he wanted to show me something. So, I followed him. But I don’t know how I got there. I don’t remember."

"Who?" I blurt out. "Where is he right now?"

"He is behind you." Steve answers the second question.

The hair in my back raises to its end. And a bone chilling cold settles down in my spine making shivers wash all over me. I head instantly snap toward the direction the child just pointed. But there is nothing but empty air.

"What are you talking about Steve?" John is being pissed off now, "Get to the bed now. You already caused us enough headaches for the day." He rebukes.

But Steve doesn’t even flinch. He just nods his tiny head.

"Leo," Suddenly Erwin pipes in, "can you arrange your crew to depart tomorrow?" He turns to me.

"Why." All the three of us confusedly blurt out.

"Steve isn’t doing well here." Erwin briefly explains, "So, it’s about time we go back to the city."

"Okay..." I nod.

So, we are going back to the city tomorrow. Maybe the trip was a little shorter than expected and the things happening here weren’t all that good, I still liked it. Maybe just because Erwin is here with me? I don’t know. And I don’t think I no longer need a suitable medicine to suppress my heat any longer because now I have the ultimate cure for my every disease.