Stephen rushed past a man, completely drunk, into the washroom and barked for everyone to get out. For a men's room, it completely exceeded my expectations. Girl's room was just as much crowded as this men's room. Some was in between their process- whistling, some were in front of the mirror, and some were just wasting around with a cell phone. Slowly, every one of them looked at Stephen inquisitively, without budging an inch even though Stephen sounded provocative.

When I stepped in and barked the same order; it was chaos. A girl in men's room and that too in between their chore got many extremely embarrassed; many were beet red on the neck and ears as the sound of zips flying up resonated throughout.

The mirror guys just walked past me without their looks completed. They all looked at me and Stephen, warily; while some just thought we need a quick fix and smiled at Stephen dubiously. The drunken man was happily muttering something cheesy and rushed to Stephen who had this funny look on his face. I pushed a little too hard on the drunken man and locked the door.

A handsome lean boy with mesmerizing eyes came from one of the last stalls, in between my removal of the lacy black dress. His eyes widened and looked at me standing in my black lace bra, mouth slightly open. I flipped him the bird through the mirror and quickly wore the tank top and jacket. I draped the scarf around my neck, pulling it up to my chin.

As I was about to walk out, Stephen gave me one of his sunglasses and a gun. The man still hadn't collected his guts off the floor, I guess. Thus, I smiled at him sweetly and gave him a flying kiss before parting. His eyes held dollar signs.

I felt sad for the dress to be a mess on the floor. It had cost a fortune and the salesgirl will give me a stink eyes or end up unconscious, for treating her celeb one of a kind masterpiece like that; I left it a mess on the floor, in a men's room. Stephen assured me he will get his men to pick it up.

Looking straight ahead, I walked out. The room was filled with dancers and people but on the corner, I saw Evelyn walking into a room, forcing a man by his elbows. Two big bulky men stood on either side of the door. Standing next to the door, Tom was talking heatedly to a man. For once, Tom caught my eye and flicked his eyes to the door. Though it wasn't far away, I could clearly see what he meant. Before someone else could have a chance to drop their eyes my way, I walked out.

The media people were still in full swing outside. Stephen walked out at first with the camera leaving with him. Good; no one cared my existence. They shouted why he was leaving so early from the party. Geez! A man with a bulky beard, nerd glasses and a globe of a belly looked at me curiously but no camera flashed, double good. After all, they might not have seen a jeaned jacket walking into the party. I chuckled, appreciating myself for that alliteration.

The valet brought out Stephen's car and I got inside to see my dress folded in the backseat. How? I dared not ask. Since I know Stephen and he will go all actor sadness on me saying he is hurt that I questioned his talents.

By the time we reached towards St. DominicCliffside, it was around eleven thirty. I do not have much time, I know.

Well, I am sure, Eva would never know if Stephen was by side or not. Thus, he tailed with me as we moved through the partial darkness in the thick shrubbery around the rocks. It was indeed a dangerous point. Yet, I could find people on top of the cliff and some scattered on the beach. Surprisingly it wasn't that crowded. There were faint flickering lights and hollers from above and I sighed. They are so carefree and having a blast while I am counting my steps and luck around the cliff. Carefully, I walked through the shrubbery to see a trail of trodden dirt road.

Stephen looked up at me, I looked back.

Suddenly, tension and apprehension coursed through my body in hot flashes of pain and waves. My heart started to thump violently in its restricted place as Stephen cleared the path for me. The rock wall on the right taunted me, as the wind left me shivering. And the crashing waves just made it unbearable for me. But, I had to be strong now. It's now or never!

I had no idea that there was such a wall to this cliff or there was such a possibility of me wandering in the moonlight to find a manmade sesame spell right here. I was barely breathing when Stephen stopped me from my internal ranting. I looked up to see the wall had stopped to be an ominous mountain. This clearly was manmade. I looked up and up until a tiny clearing mocked me to look up and count the remaining stars in my path.

I looked to my right, gulped and touched around the wall for something. Even with Stephen's flashlight, it was a futile attempt. Hmm, I was certainly in the clearing, in front of the cliff wall, but nothing was happening. Frustrated, I banged my fist on a rocky area, grazing my skin. Suddenly something beeped and a panel woke up, hiding behind moss and dirt. Yes, definitely manmade.

I wiped the surface with my hands to see that indeed it was a modern panel where the touch screen demanded me to write the password in angry red letters.

My birthday! The clue!

I had abruptly forgotten it, my birthday I mean, in the moment and had to ask Stephen to help me. With a smile, he pressed in the date and waited for something to happen. Surprise, surprise... nothing happened.

Pushing him away, I clicked on the numbers to hear a beep from somewhere. After few beats of silence, a deep groan emancipated from the cliff wall notifying that something was happening. Debris, twigs, leaves and small stones rained from above along with deep rumbling; shaking the ground. The sound of crashing waves intensified as the cliff wall yawned. In fear, Stephen looked up and sideways to find nothing massive was crashing in on us. Sighing in relief, he shone the light towards the moaning wall.

It was pitch black inside. As expected. The smell of moss, stank air, and something undefined made me gag. Stephen was guarding the place when I pulled him by his sleeves and walked in with him. Squelch, squelch... I grimaced as Stephen groaned. His new shoes; I giggled making him groan once again. Thank God, I was wearing my trusty worn out ankle length boots. However, it didn't save me from the wetland. I had to pluck my feet up and walk. How the hell am I going to run if something was going to happen?

Suddenly, something shifted from the depth. Stephen and I froze. Without even a warning, we were soaked in knee deep, freezing water from the beach. I gasped from the sudden coldness while Stephen yelped. I wanted to laugh badly at his girlish cry but somehow I found my voice stuck in my throat. The water was too damn cold.

We walked further into the cliff's belly, through the even wetter ground and darkness. The expression gave me an excitement. Into cliff's belly; nice, sometimes I could think more bizarre niceties but this one was indeed funny making me chuckle as Stephen groaned again, plucking his sock-clad feet from the muck.

"Sure do ask your mother to be more specific in her next letter."

"I will make sure to kick her if she grants me such a birthday gift, like this ever again."

Stephen chuckled.

After a few more seconds later, Stephen stopped abruptly. He was facing a wall. It looked like it was constructed like that. A manmade tunnel and then a manmade wall; just how much of a brilliant don was my mother? There was no way or path weaving through the belly to make a start but this wall in front.

Groaning, Stephen and I squeezed to shift position and once again, I started to play slap and shove games with the stone wall.

"Dammit, apart from the warning, she didn't tell me anything."

"Hmm..." Stephen hummed as his fingers tenderly touched the uneven stone wall for a long time. He said, after a long time, "There, see..."

He guided my fingers to a soft padded like square surface, which indeed dug in as I pushed it. The whole place lit with an intense fluorescent light as the uneven stone wall gave way to a square hollow in the middle; the square lit brightly with neon light bulbs. The hollow was just like that of an inbuilt safe. But, it remained as that hollow.

Patience was running on a thin line as more and more cryptic details rubbed my mother's brilliance on my face. I have no idea how she was able to get this done in here. It only happened in movies and books, right? I guess not.

Sighing, I started to feel the left and right side of the wall but found nothing inside the small square hollow. Dejectedly, I started to feel around on the down flat surface and came across another smooth surface. Pushing it, the wall in between, straight in front of me, opened and a small box rolled out. Once, again, the box was inside a glass container with a shiny silver panel with red blinking dots. Again, I have to punch in a password.

But, before I could do that, a robotic female voice blared, "Self destruct in thirty minutes," and the beeping began. It was low, regular and metered. Stephen and I looked each other in fear as I started to rake my mind for a possible password. Since my birthday was used in the entrance, she wouldn't use that here. Frustrated, I decided to try my luck and punched in my birthday again. It bleeped error.

Sighing, I looked here and there for the password but couldn't for the life of me remember anything.

Suddenly the robotic voice snarled again, "Self destruct in twenty minutes."

"Lilly, with or without the thing, we will leave this place when there are only ten minutes. You know the place; the muck won't let us run fast."

"I just don't get this. There is something that is telling me but I don't remember."

"What?"

"The password you fool..."

"Don't snap at me, I am not the brains here. Listen, try to remember the clues she gave you. There must be something in them."

"Indeed, oh a fool I am ... why didn't I keep them with me?"

I know the clues had this password. Trying hard, I couldn't find anything remotely close to the letters on the panel to type in a password. Looking intently at the red glowing letters, I could find my gut telling me something. The letters, the numbers; what could it be, my mind raced with possibilities. I thought about the letters. The letters, the final letters... it has to be it. Thinking hard, the last five letters and the clues in them played as a game of falling from the ceiling in red dotted letters like binary codes making it confusing, and hard to focus.

"Self-destruct in fifteen minutes."

'Fifteen... fifteen...' I mumbled as I felt that the number fifteen in her ten's sequence was a clue itself. 'Fifteen...' "FIVE!" aha! The words," I shrieked at him. "Oh... blast, I don't remember them."

"What?" Stephen was waiting patiently by my side, startled at my sudden outburst. Plucking my phone from his left hand, I quickly called Seb. His voice sent a thrill down my spine. "Listen, Seb, the letters, the final clues, the words in them, and the random words. Do you remember them?"

"What?" his voice was different, they were painfully hollow.

"What happened to you?" I breathed.

"Nothing, I am sorry, I don't remember them." he hung up on me. I didn't have time to register the sudden squeeze might be hurt rather than fear.

"Self-destruct in ten minutes,"

"SHUT UP!"

I yelled. A slow groan above me, got me frozen in place.

"Don't yell you stupid." Stephen chastised nervously.

'Oh... the words... random letters... t, w, f and...' I sighed and groaned as I put my hands through the sorry mess of my hair... 'T, t, w, and f... ooh..." I groaned.

"Yes, I remember." I fist bumped the air in glee.

Quickly, I punched in t, t, w, w, f. to find nothing happening. "Come on, come on..." I reversed the order in many ways, but nothing happened.

"Self-destruct in five minutes. Evacuate immediately." The beeping had started to get incessant. No! I won't let this happen. I didn't come so far to fail.

"Lillian, come at once."

"No."

"Please..."

"No... Stephen, can't you see, I am so close."

"Try it alphabetically."

"Countdown, begun... three, two..." the robotic voice froze as I punched in the code alphabetically.

F, t, t, w, w; "Accepted," The wall gave way and a scroll lay on the floor mocking me. A scroll, really; I can't believe this.

"Self-destruct repeat in twenty minutes. Evacuate immediately."

The beeping became incessant and I knew this was it, times up. I quickly took the scroll as the incessant beep became furious. Tucking it into my waistband, Stephen and I ran outside.

Running through the muck proved to be a real hard work but we made it. Until the stone wall kissed our face. Oomphing on the wall, Stephen and I were sandwiched. I quickly punched my birthday as the door gave way to Tom and Linda waiting for me on the other side.

"Linda..." I began, but the rumbling was prominent now. The ground shaking; the bomb might have ticked off.

"No time to explain, come with us," Linda said as she tucked my hand.

"We are not sure; you might be taking us to a trap," Stephen said, pulling me back.

Everything was suddenly confusing, the rejection from Seb, mere papers when I distinctly remember her letters saying three bundles of folders, Linda with Tom to rescue me... and everything just didn't add up.

"Pumpkin, please listen to me. Evelyn is coming to get you. It's a good thing I was able to squeeze out. Trust me one last time and come with us. You too, Stephen," Tom was close to falling on his knees to beg.

Trust, one last time; should I?

"But..." steepen began.

"Let's go." I pulled Stephen and walked to our car. Though I had my own confusions and doubts, I didn't have time to argue nor do I have the mental energy. Stephen got into his car and I stood beside Stephen's car. Tom nodded at me and asked Stephen to follow him.

Once on road, Tom sped up, weaving through the impending traffic with much precision. Stephen was not far behind. As we played through the cars and trucks; the accident sent a chill down my spine. Though now we weren't being trailed by some goons, the speed did nothing to calm my nerves.

"You see, I have no patience for that man and she... is a servant, for Christ's sake," Stephen muttered. His hands white on the steering wheel.

"We will have to gamble until we could find out what in my belly is."

"You swallowed it?" Stephen asked suddenly looking horrified, making me laugh out loud.

After a while, Tom rolled into an abandoned warehouse territory and ushered me into the dark place. As he clapped his hands hard, bright lights suddenly flickered, making it a nice place to hang out. Though the place was littered with wooden crates and cardboard boxes, in a corner was a hospital bed with a table of medical kit near to it.

Tom walked in with Linda, who was already getting dressed in a white coat with latex gloves and medical mask on her face. She called me in but I stood my ground, suddenly fearful for my life.

Tom came to me and said, "For a little while, I have crashed the chip into your body which will not send signals to Evelyn and her party to find you or the documents. Listen to me and don't ask questions. Linda is a nurse, in fact, was a nurse and she will extract it out from your neck... the chip; you know, then we can decide what to do."

"So, the nanochip thing is real?"

"Yes."

"And I should fear Evelyn now." I crossed my hands, dubiously.

"It's a long twisted story. Whatever you know, is partially true from your mother's letter but there are another story and side to it. First, let's get the chip down before it activates and gives out our location." Linda said.

That somehow got me obediently to the bed.

"You don't have to worry." She said delicately with a crinkle in her eyes. She pulled out a small machine that was funny looking; just like the detectors used in important places like airports. But this was funny looking somehow. The thing beeped and a red glow formed from somewhere 'detecting the chip', she said to Tom. Astonished, I tried to turn my head but Tom held me in place.

"You don't want to get scorched in the glare, now do you?"

Stephen was biting his nails, clearly on his guard.

"Ok, I found it. Please remove your clothes. Do you want Tom and Stephen to step out?"

"I don't." I removed the jacket and tossed it to Stephen who eyed me warily.

Before coming inside, I had quickly plucked the scroll now flattened, out from my waistband and looked around for a safe spot to hide it. Grinning, Stephen ripped open the armrest from underneath showing me a spot where he had his gun hidden.

He was scared for my safety now and I was scared for him, for us. Linda's touch broke our eye contact. Once she scanned the area and marked the location, she said, "Either we can get this painfully done or I will sedate you to get this out." Linda talked in her monotone as she was focused on getting it right, arranging the tools and preparing the syringe.

"I don't trust either of you. I will do this painfully." My answer startled her, but she nodded.

"Pumpkin, please..."

"No, rip it out if you must. I won't let you sedate me."

"Stephen is right here, he..." Tom started but I stopped him. I can't just do it all of a sudden when they all force fed me to doubt my own thoughts.

"No."

"Alright," with that simple word, Linda got to work.

She said she was a nurse, she must know an alternative option that letting myself sleep for them to gut me like a dead shark, right?

She brought in a syringe and I flinched. "Relax, this isn't your anesthesia, it's just muscle relaxant. To ease the tension," She injected it close to where she had marked my skin. Then, she rubbed a cool liquid on the marked spot as I squeezed my eyes shut.

When the scalpel was brought in, Stephen jumped in. "No, sedate her. Lillian, I can't watch this."

"Then leave... I mean it." I said, with my voice quivering. I gulped and nodded at Linda. Just then, Tom groaned and walked out. Stephen followed him.

"Babies..." Linda muttered. But then her eyes got fixed on mine. "Wait," she typed something quickly on her phone and then thrust it to me.

'I won't let anything happen to you, please trust me and let me sedate you. This isn't going to be pretty; I have lots to tell you. Tom is not the bad guy. Trust me."

"What?"

She just nodded as she erased the text, "So..." she asked.

I sighed, seriously conflicted.

"Nope, I need to feel this. Do it!"

Somehow, wanting to feel this pain made it difficult for me to let her do this the right way even though I trusted Linda. To forget it all, I might need this painful injection. I hope my decision wasn't the right thing right now.

But, soon as I realized that, being cut out was too far away from being injected; it was too late.

Linda sighed sadly and quickly did the incision in the neck's crease. The searing pain got me gasping, making it hard for me to scream out. The trickling of something wet and slimy didn't do well for the panic attack as the pain just blinded me for a while. As I regained consciousness and the pain of her equipment digging in to retrieve the chip made me scream as the blasting wave of pain got me suddenly gulping inwards, sucking in all the breath, unable to scream again. I was brimming in and out of consciousness.

Stephen was beside me in a second, holding my hand. "I told you, you stupid... you never listen" Stephen said as he squeezed my hands.

As she dug again, I screamed out. This time, with teary eyes and quivering voice, Tom was beside me, "Have you forgotten my classes? When ceaseless pain staples you in terror and torment, what have I asked you to do?"

I gulped, squeezing my eyes shut as I felt something coming out with her equipment.

"I got it," Linda exclaimed. She put the tiny thin square into a bowl of water. When the blood was washed off, it was just a thin film of glass, resting in the bottom of the bowl. "Now, it gets more painful to stitch you up. Please... can I sedate you?"

"Please..." I wheezed out, feeling the blinding pain searing through my consciousness. As the syringe got injected, I slowly fell into a grimacing darkness.

____________________ 

We are slowly coming to an end. I wonder if you will like my ending. Anyway, thank you for reading my work so far and please do share this. Also, do comment away guys. 

What do you think is in the scroll?

What do you think... is Tom lying, is Evelyn lying...

Whom do you trust?

Who will end up with Lillian? Shaun or Seb?

Comment away and I will give a shoutout to the many right answered friend on my profile! :)