Mrs.Lewis didn't warn me further. Maybe she figured that mentioning her master was enough to scare me. She was right. I was scared beyond wits. If being kidnapped by normal humans was bad, imagine how worse it would be to be kidnapped by people who had evil powers and were sure to have some serious psychological disorders. I looked at Mrs.Lewis who was now sitting in front of me with the Satanic Bible in her hands, reading it like her life depended on it. Somehow, I could say she was not in her right mind. Whoever this master was, he was the master of manipulating people. I was sure of that and I was in no rush to meet someone like that again. I had to get out of here. But how? What were my chances?

I thought of Noah. He would have returned to the apartment by now. He would be searching for me. But how could he find me? This place was not something he could come up with. No, I couldn't count on Noah to come and save me now. I had to do something. I tried to tug my hands out of their bindings. But even before trying I knew, that would be in vain. The rope was bound very tight and it was digging painfully into my wrists, threatening to tear the skin at my wrists open. No, there should be another way.

But as far as I was aware, there was no other way. Maybe if Mrs.Lewis had left, I would have a chance to try. But the old hag hadn't moved in what I thought to be hours. My frustration had turned into terrified curiosity as I saw a figure creeping in through the open window. It was a starless, dark night and the light from the bulb hadn't quite reached the window. The figure was now standing in the room, a tall and broad man. I couldn't see his face. But I already had a good idea, who he might be. But that was next to impossible. How could he? He was carrying a big log in his hand. Mrs.Lewis was still engrossed in the book and the figure was moving towards us as quietly and agile as a cat. When he came into the attacking range, he raised the wooden log above his head and brought it down with a sickening crunch on Mrs.Lewis's head. She let out a scream of pain and tumbled out of her chair.

With so much effort, she was able to turn her head. The expression on her face when she saw who was her attacker was priceless. Before she could let out another word, the log was swung again and she had fallen to the floor quietly.

"I've never really liked her." Kevin stepped out of the shadows into the light, his grin giving me the hope I was about to lose.

*************

2 hours ago:

Noah's POV:

I couldn't tell what I was feeling if someone asked me right now. Was I scared or determined or relieved or maybe a mixture of all of these? I didn't know. I was driving to Salem on the snow-covered road, on a dark night, the pearl burning a hole in my pocket and the picture of Naina kidnapped somewhere burning a hole in my mind. I was checking my phone every few minutes in the hope that she texted me. But it didn't happen. Every time my inbox was empty, my foot pressed the accelerator until I was well over the speed limit. But miraculously without being pulled over, I drove past the 'WELCOME TO SALEM' board.

My car zoomed into the town which was silent and sleepy, compared to Boston. I had never been to Salem before. All the horror stories, I read and heard about the Salem witch trials made their way back into my mind. I always thought New England was the spookiest part of America with most of Stephen King's books taking place in Maine and its sleepiness and falling leaves. You could easily assume a ghost waiting for you in the shadows. Now, look at my life which became a real horror story. I was driving up to the man who had a gun pointed at my girlfriend with a pearl with special powers in my pocket. My life couldn't get more messed up than this.

My GPS led me to the St.Peter's Orphanage Naina had talked about. She told me about the woods behind this orphanage and the way Mitchell followed the hooded man into the mysterious cave in a big rock. I pulled over the car under a tree, some feet away from the orphanage. I shut off the engine and got out of it. My hand instinctively reached my pocket to check if the pearl box was still there. After the assuring bump, I shut the car door and started towards the back of the orphanage where the woods mentioned in the diary had started.

A small part of me didn't want to do this. But a bigger part of me, which couldn't wait to see Naina safe, wanted to do this. I took quick steps towards the woods, my shoes making prints on the snow. This was a horrible time of the year to take a hike in the forest. The moon was hidden behind the clouds and everything was pitch dark. Fortunately, I had brought a torchlight with me to find my way. The coldness in the city was nothing, compared to the coldness here. The winds here were threatening to chill me to my bones despite the double layer of clothing I had on me. The fallen leaves were crunching under my shoes and little animals which I couldn't even name were scattering at my legs. Here the snow was solidified into ice and I almost slipped twice. But all these things hadn't bothered me much. I had only one thing to do. Finding the rock that was mentioned in Mitchell's diary.

I tried to use my GPS, but there was no service here. I had to depend solely on the description of this way by Naina. I just had to go straight. Fortunately, this forest was not a big one. After walking for at least half an hour, I spotted a small hill at a distance. It was a small hall which could be walked upon even by small children. There were mostly big and small rocks strewn on the surface of the hill and trees which looked like ghosts with the white snow on them. I slowly made my way up to the top, losing my footing a dozen times due to the slippery ice. I was glad that I had the sense to pull on my snow boots, otherwise, I would never have been able to make it up to the top in this terrible winter.

I observed my surroundings. I could see some buildings in the town from a distance. I continued walking straight, the coldness gaining on me every moment. Finally, my steps came to a stop as a big rock came into my view. No, it was a boulder. It was as large as a one-storeyed house. A large crack was running along the length of it. I gulped down as I realized, I did it. I found the lair that Naina had wanted us to find out. Only, she was not beside me to stare at it with awe as I was doing now. Probably, she was inside and I had to get her out. But how? In the diary, Mitchell said that the hooded man had opened the entrance to the cave himself with some magic. But who was going to open the cave for me?

As I was standing there, pondering the question, a hand came out of the darkness and fell on my shoulder. Somebody was here other than me. And I had no doubt that somebody belonged in this cave.