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Edward entered the building just in time to see Lily open the basement door and go down the stairs. He started to call out her name but stopped, afraid the sound of his voice would startle Ray into doing something foolish, like firing the gun Bridget claimed he had.
The factory was deserted. The workers cleared out pretty quickly once the work day was done. He didn't blame them. Who would want to linger in a large, empty building that grew quickly dark and silent once evening hit?
The place was like a ghost town. He wondered if Mr. Waterson and his daughter had arrived yet, and if they were still here. For a brief moment, he'd thought he'd heard the deep sound of Mr. Waterson's voice coming from down a hall, but then it was gone. He prayed Della could handle things with such a formidable man. He had no idea how Waterson was going to take it when she told him that there was to be no merger after all. He didn't envy her the task.
Large machines moaned and hummed as he slinked quickly yet quietly to the door Lily had disappeared through. It was funny. He'd always imagined that the place became entirely silent once the workers had gone, but he realized now that was far from the case. The machines continued to hum as if alive, as if each sound were a breath. He shivered and wondered how the place might sound at midnight, in total darkness.
There was a sound from behind him, like the soft click of boot heels. Edward paused and turned around. His eyes searched the empty floor for any sign of movement, but there was nothing. He shook out his arms and attempted to displace his anxiousness. He couldn't let his jitters get the best of him. He had to remain calm, focused.
He opened the door and peered down into the basement. It was little more than a huge, empty space that housed various machines that made their factory run. He didn't understand it all, but he didn't need to. That's what he paid his maintenance workers for. They knew how to make the boiler run and which levers kept the lights upstairs going.
He moved slowly down the stairs, careful not to allow any creaks in the floorboards. If Ray heard any sound at all, he might get antsy and begin firing without even looking to see who he was firing at. Lily was down here now, too, and he wouldn't allow anything to happen to her.
There was a single light shining from the far back corner. Edward wondered what had happened to all the other lights he knew were normally turned on and looked around uneasily at the shadows.
When he was a child, he'd had terrible nightmares about things popping out at him from the darkness of his wardrobe or beneath his bed. He'd kept the armoire doors closed at all times, and each night before going to sleep, he would check under his mattress to make sure that nothing lay hidden there.
The only person he'd ever told his fears to was his mother. When she'd died, his nightmares had become ten times worse and he'd had no one to tell, or so he had felt. Then one night, he'd awoken screaming; the thing in his dream had brushed its crusty fingernails against the skin of his ankle and almost gotten him.
His father had burst into his room, and Edward had confessed all. He'd been certain his father would laugh or yell at him for acting like a girl; instead, his father had put his arms around him and held him tightly. Edward had never forgotten the feeling of comfort that had arisen from it. He hoped he'd be able to offer Lily that same feeling of comfort when he found her, and he hoped to feel it back from her in turn.
As he approached the light, Edward saw a form lying on the floor. It was womanly and still, and Edward's heart skipped three beats when he realized it was Lily. She was not moving. He was not even sure she was breathing. He started for her, then forced himself to stop.
It would do Lily no good if he rushed things now. If Ray was here, which he almost certainly was, he was no doubt waiting for Edward to show himself. Despite the racing of his heart, he kept still. After a moment, he was able to see the rise and fall of Lily's chest. His tension eased ever so slightly, and the racing of his heart fell back to a sprint instead of a gallop.
He moved forward, stopping only when he heard a tiny pinprick of noise coming from his left. It had sounded like... the single click of a button.
Not a button, he realized too late. A gun.
Lily stirred on the ground where she lay. Her hand went to her head and her torso moved sideways. She moaned lightly and sat up.
"Ohhh," she said softly. "Where am I?"
Ray's voice spoke from the darkness. "The basement at Saunders Factory."
He saw Lily start and begin to stand.
"Lily," Edward hissed at her, "stay where you are. Don't move. He has a gun."
Lily froze. Even in the darkness, he could see her face pale. The single light she was bathed in shone on her as if the North Star was just above her, shining directly down upon her and her alone. She was surrounded by a halo of pale yellow. All Edward could see of himself was his shoes. The light bounced off the leather, reflecting back on its source.
His legs, his arms, his face were barely visible, a subtle streak of gray in otherwise darkness. Of Ray, he could see not a thing, but he could hear him. His breath was long and deep, as if he were going to sleep rather than getting ready to kill them. Or at least him. He was not at all certain what Ray's plans for Lily were.
Lily gasped for air, attempting to steady her nerves. He saw her hands shake as she pushed hair out of her eyes. "R-Ray," she said. "Don't hurt us. Please. I... I'm with child. Your child."
Ray said, "I know. Bridget told me some time ago. You really should be more careful where you choose to hold secret conversations."
She inhaled sharply. "Please," she said again. "Let Edward go and I'll do whatever you want. That's why I'm here, to free him."
Edward's mouth opened. His head ached. "Lily," he said softly, "it was all a trick. I saw the letter he sent you, but it was a lie. Ray never had hold of me. He only said he did so that you'd go to him."
Lily cried out, "No!" and he saw her shoulders shake. Tears rolled over her cheeks, and her chin touched her chest. He listened to the sounds of her quietly sobbing and wanted nothing more than to go to her, but he didn't dare. His own life meant nothing, but Lily's meant everything.
"I'm such a fool," Lily said, finally lifting her head. "Please don't kill us, Ray."
Ray let out an irritated breath. "You really are a fool. I'm not going to kill you."
Edward stilled. The way Ray had emphasized that last word—you—sent a shiver up his spine.
Ray chuckled. "I would never harm my child. What sort of brute do you think I am? All I want is for you to go with me. To leave this place so that we might start over."
"Of course," Lily said. "Anything. Whatever you want."
"What I want first is money," Ray said. Even without being able to see him, Edward knew the remark had been directed at him. "I need to get it before we leave Blisspeak."
"What happened to the money I gave you?" Edward asked.
"I have some of it, but the rest..."
He heard the shrug in Ray's voice.
Lily gasped. "You lost five hundred dollars?"
"I didn't lose it," Ray snapped. "I spent it. Most of it. I still have a little. Twenty dollars or so..."
Edward licked his dry lips with his equally dry tongue. They stuck together. "How much do you want? I'll give it to you now. We just need to go to my bank."
He laughed. "You must think I have no brain. I'll get the money later, from your father."
"My father?" Edward asked. "Why would he give you any money?"
"I'm sure that he'll do anything to get his son back once he finds out I have you. He won't know you're dead until after I've already gotten my money and Lily and I are on a train to the West."
Lily stood up now and took a step in his direction. "I'll go anywhere you want, Ray. Just let Edward go and I won't even fight you."
Ray's chuckles turned into full-on laughter. "You'll go with me whether you fight me or not. As for your lover, he's going nowhere except into the ground."
"He's not my lover," Lily cried, terror and horror both sounding in her voice.
Ray stepped forward now, too. Edward could see light glint off the metal tip of the gun as Ray rose it to eye level.
"Ray, no!" Lily cried, rushing forward.
"Lily, no!" Edward cried, rushing forward at the same time. He leaped forward, his feet actually coming off the ground, and pushed Lily back down just as a bullet slammed into his shoulder.
"Ugh!" he cried, falling to the ground.
"Are you hurt?" Lily shrieked, attempting to look him over in the darkness.
Ray was within a foot of them now. Edward could see him clearly. His eyes were nearly black. He aimed the gun at Edward's head.
"In another moment, there will be no pain for you to feel. Though I know this is not how you would have chosen to die, at least you can take comfort in knowing that Lily will be well provided for."
There was a click and then Lily screamed. Edward shut his eyes and waited for the bullet to enter his head.
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