Dom had never been in Arizona before. He was not here for sightseeing, though. He had crossed the border with California about an hour ago and was closing in to the place the map pinpointed. As he saw a remote tank station, he decided to stop to tank fuel and ask for specific directions.
"Good afternoon, sir!" an old man greeted him as he opened the car door. The man wiped his hands on a cloth.
"Tourist, ey? Have never seen you around here. Tourists don�t come here often and certainly not in this season."
"Yes, you could say that. I�m coming here to visit�a friend. He drew me a map but I�m not too sure where to go now." Dom replied. He should have known people around this deserted area all knew each other. The man nodded.
"I�ll look at it later" he promised and started to load Dom�s car. Dom looked around him. The tank station looked old and not much in use. It was also a store and a garage. Something about it made him feel itchy at the back. In the house atop the garage he saw dark figures moving.
"That�s that" the man announced. "Now let me see that map of yours."
Dom gave it to him. He had tore off the disturbing message. After all it was none of anybody�s business. The man wrinkled his nose as he looked at the map and looked at Dom curiously.
"Do ravens fly at night?" he asked whispering.
"What?" Dom asked back confused.
"I see I am mistaking. Never mind. You just need to follow this road to its end, turn left onto a muddy road and follow that off. Then you�ll find the cabin of your �friend�."
"Thank you very much" Dom answered, paid, and got into his car. Driving away, he felt eyes as needles stinging in his back.
"Chosen one" a cheery voice whispered into Elijah�s ear. "Wake up. Wake up. You need no sleep."
Elijah opened one eye and stared into bright light. "I think I�m perfectly capable to decide for myself" he replied acidly.
"No, no, Chosen One, messenger, we shall have none of that. I want you to stay awake and think."
"Think about what?" Elijah asked despite himself, still not able to see anything other than dark figures against the light.
"You. Yourself, and your great friend. Your best friend in the whole wide world. Your friend that made your home his own home. You no longer decide what happens in that house, do you? And doesn�t your mother adore him? He�s such a good lad- and you are such a rebel. It�s looking bad for you, you know. Soon, he�ll have your �family� and �friends� all to himself, as he intended. Your disappearance is good to him. They�ll grieve for short time, but isn�t he a much better man than you are? Won�t they forget you soon enough, as he is there? He�ll be so nice to them all, and they will belong to him. Now get up!" The sudden tone change in Darius� voice made Elijah shock out of the hypnosed state he had been in. The lights dimmed slowly and he opened both his eyes. Darius smiled at him.
"That�s my boy" he told him and then scooped him into his strong arms. Elijah first instinct was to fight, but he soon found he couldn�t move at all. His limbs were frozen from the long time he had been in the same position on the ground. Darius took him out of the room and walked with him through a long corridor to another, slightly smaller.
"This room will help you not get distracted" he said as he opened the door. The floor of the room was totally covered with a 10 cm thick layer of broken glass. Darius walked over it with his strong black boots easily and brought him to a spot in the middle of the room that was clear. There was only so much room for one small man to stand. He put Elijah there and helped him stand until he was able to stand himself. Elijah was only still clothed in his baggy trousers. His other clothes had been removed when he was asleep, he assumed.
"You will have to stay standing here" Darius told Lij, and prepared to leave the room.
"But how will I�how long must I stay here?" Lij asked panicked.
"Until I feel you understand" Darius replied. "Don�t hurt yourself. That would be very inconvenient. Good day."
"Don�t leave me here!" Elijah shouted, but the door closed already. A tear left his eye. Anger and rage burned in his eyes, but in his heart, hate ruled. Hate for a man he�d loved as his brother�
Dom finished covering his car in branches and leaves. The man of the letter may have asked him to come, he didn�t want to walk straight into a trap. He was not stupid. It looked good this way, he thought satisfied. He was to continue on foot from here, and see where they kept his friend. Suddenly, his cell phone went off. It sounded incredibly hard in the silent woods. Dom swore, but he answered it anyway.
"Dom" he shortly said.
"Hey man, it�s me" Billy�s familiar, cheery voice sounded. "Where are the two of you? I can get no answer at your home or Lij�s cell phone. Orlando and me are in the plane.."
"hey Dom!" Dom heard and he smiled despite his situation, as he imagined Orli taking the cell phone off Billy and shouting into it.
He cut them off anyway. "I have no time, Bill, sorry. The strangest thing has happened, some loon kidnapped Lij and brought him to Arizona where I am now. I found this note saying I had to save him. It was really weird and all�."
"Wow, slow down man. Is this a cheap trick? No I can hear to your voice you�re not lying to me. Where in Arizona are you? Does the police know this?"
"No he would die if I had warned them. That creep is really scary. I�m sure he has been watching us�I�m in the woods close to a village called Bisbee. I have to go now, Billy" Dom told his friend quickly as he felt evil creeping up to him closely and disconnected.
He had not been wrong. Wearily he noted the dark figures roaming through the bushes, looking for only one person�