Talia's POV

The days after that went by so fast, Maxine's departure demoralised Karl.


We did the regular, ate and mulled over our lot on life during the day, go about our duties at night.

'How are you?" Karl asked, it'd been almost three days since his wife and child moved away.

'Better than you, I'm sure." I answered. Thankfully, he saw the humor in it and smiled


'That's a good thing, trust me. A very good thing." He replied.

'Breakfast smells good though." He acknowledged.


For days, he had been living like a ghost. Dead to himself and everyone.

'Yeah. It's just bacon and bread." I replied, trying to keep the air light.

Everything was a reminder of how wrong things were in our lives.

We were both looking forward to what Friday would hold.

It was just Wednesday morning.

Tracy and I had agreed, more like I forced her to meet outside in the afternoon.

I no longer had the patience to wait till night anymore.

I had to eat, because where we were meeting was a long way from town.

Karl was going to be alone till midnight. Fir his sake, I hoped he does not do anything stupid.

Any misstep would be so disastrous because we were so close.

'I have to step out now." I told him. . He looked up, eyes sullen and sunken. 'Are you sure you'd be fine on your own?" I asked him again, I was so concerned.

'Am I Karl? Of course yes. Don't worry about me." Somehow, his confidence, although the opposite of what he looked like, was infectious.

'Alright then." I said and went out through the back door as he said.

According to Karl, I was to be very cautious about Tracy. I actually didn't need anyone to tell me. I knew not to trust her so much.

For all I knew, the fear that made her skip duty could have made her blurt stuff out to Nadia or Vance.

I got there before her, but decided to wait in the bushes opposite.

She came quite alright, but I had to determine she was alone. It was too risky stepping out like I had back up.

She sat for a while and started to get antsy.

I came out when I had satisfied myself with watching her.

I was unmasked this time around.

'It's you??!" She asked in disbelieve. I had the satisfaction of seeing her usually uninterested look morph into shock and fear.

'What did you think?"I asked her.

'I wasn't thinking I can't think." She said. She looked haggard. 'I've been using drugs all these years. I've had dreams and hallucinations about Talia. I know her should is not at peace. But she knows it's not my fault, well, I don't know if she does." She ranted off stopping only to shiver.

'Now is your time to make things right." I said to her

'Do you think it's easy? Vance would have my head if I try anything funny, calling ‘Talia' up and down like it's not a name we've tried so hard to forget, but doesn't go. He's been using medications too, antidepressants. And now, we clean white lines together. You're about to make a catastrophe of my life. " She said.

'Her spirit won't leave you till you do what you have to do. You have till tomorrow." I replied.

There wasn't much to say. Tracy knew what to do. She was already going mad with being burdened by the subject alone.

I knew that under the right amount of pressure and soon, she'd break.

'And who are you to her?" She asked me, looking me in the eye for the first time since we both started talking.

'You'd know soon." I replied to her.

The eye bags under her eyes were large and conspicuous.

'I don't care about me much, but I'm going to start something I can't finish if you force me to do this." She said.

'You don't need to. It's bigger than you, but you need to do what you need to do." I replied to her.

Her body was with me, but her mind had wondered far away.

'Do you know Nadia has me playing with her sex toys to pleasure herself?" She confessed.

'I can only imagine how life there must be." I sympathized with her. Being mindful and cautious, I looked around to confirm any suspicious activity, there was none.

We were truly alone.

'So are you going to do it?" I asked her, hungry for some last words of affirmation or confirmation.

'No. I have to go back now. Bye. And please don't try to reach me anymore. I'd have you arrested." It was like she was snapped out of a trance. The Tracy I had been bonding with wasn't the one who left.

She walked out on me, walking as fast as she could.

She was genuinely tired of Moonstone, but her future was uncertain, and that, she was trying to protect.

Fair enough.

I walked back to Karl's, wounded emotionally and disappointed.

It seemed like the Moon Goddess was tired of me, like she had closed my case.

I entered through the front door to see Karl sprawled out like dead chicken.

There were multiple bottles to his sides. He had been drunk for, apparently, all the four hours I was gone.

'Come on! What are you doing?" I yelled at him.

'Why are you back so early?" He said, grunting and squinting at the very dim light that made its way into the house.

'I've been gone for more than four hours." I yelled at him

'Your voice is too loud." He said.

I went to get ice from the freezer and also heated water to mop his head. I firsaw the hangover that came with so much drinking and it couldn't be good.

It was not so much of a good day for me, but I lived past it.

'Are you still going out later tonight?" I asked him

'Oh. Eh. Yeah. Can you wake me?" He replied.

He didn't need to as. I already knew I'd have to, not with his laying wasted and broke, I didn't expect him to remember even his name.

I sat up for a good long while. The day was coming to a close. It had not really been a good one.

I had to triple my efforts if I dreamt of making it back to Silverhaen alive.

According to all the news Karl brought, their plans were going just fin, if we chose to ignore the numerous amount of people who just withdrew out of fear and left Moonstone in the dead of the night, like Maxine's new man.

Sitting there, in that moment, I thought about how the next two day's might be my best two, or my last two.

Karl turned and stirred from time to time, mumbling nonsense about begging Maxine to stay, about how the baby was not his, about how he loved her about how he was liking someone else.

I knew it was all drunk talk, but for his sake, he really had to move on.

It could count as just a fling. I never asked him about his former Kuan, and I didn't think I wanted to anymore. I didn't care. It didn't matter

Night soon came and I woke Karl up. Somehow he managed to undo the damage that numerous bottles of alcohols caused, and was up and sharp, ready to go in less than thirty minutes.

He went out and locked the door behind him.

It was increasingly more dangerous for him.

Landon was rumoured to have known about it. He was a sneaky bastard who could clamp down on them at any time. It was also the second to the last of their meetings.

Karl told me that they changed location last minute for security purposes, but he wouldn't tell me where for the same reason too.

It sounded safe and smart.

I didn't want to stay home alone, for fear that they could track him to the house, and if they met me, I'd be the object of their anger.

I threw a cloak on and went back to where I wasn't supposed to, the palace.

Same mode of entry, and I was in on less than ten minutes.

Her window blinds were down, I couldn't see anyone inside and didn't hear anyone inside too.

In the compound, there were very few security guards.

Then I heard a voice, Vance's. It was loud and booming.

I couldn't make out all he said, but there was a couple of threats and warnings.

His voice rose and fell multiple times, till someone eventually calmed him down.

Daringly, I moved towards the window that looked into the biggest living room in the house.

The curtains were drawn, but the blinds were in place, so I could not see a lot.

I saw Nadia by his side. I saw people running helter-skelter to get something. I heard him say to search and lock everywhere.

Immediately I heard that, I ran back the way I came.

In my haste, I tumbled and somersault.

As I was running, I heard foostoos too, but not in my direction away.

Then I heard the ones in my direction.

They looked like Vance's men.

I was being stalked and attacked at the same time. I had a choice to make, run way, or trace who was stalking me.

As soon as the club hit my head, I knew what to do. Run!