Taking leave from the very attentive bank manager, Noah and I got into the car with the box containing the chain tucked safely away in my jeans pocket. Wow, boys' pockets had so much space, why don't they make girls' pockets like this?

"Let's go to our apartment," I said leaning back into the car seat. Noah looked at me like I had just suggested driving off a cliff.

"Whoa. That is dangerous, Naina. There could be spies all around that apartment." Noah said like he was the only sane person here. But I had my phone in the apartment. I didn't know how long it would take for us to go through our plan. I couldn't leave my phone unanswered for all those days. My parents would go crazy. I explained this problem to Noah.

"Come on, Noah. It will be five minutes. Getting my phone is important. And we have to get some clothes for both of us. I don't know about you but I can't go on wearing Kevin's clothes." I said gesturing at the clothes I was wearing. That seemed to convince Noah well. He gave in.

"Fine," He said. "We will go in there as quietly as possible, grab our things and get into the car as quickly as we could."

I nodded like a good girl. Noah drove to our building and parked the car out of the building's gate for a quick exit. We rode the elevator to our floor and walked to our apartment. While Noah was opening the front door with his key, I looked at Mrs.Lewis's apartment. It was locked. I bit my lower lip with worry.

Is she dead?

The thought made me very uncomfortable even though she was eviler than the evil stepmother of Cinderella. Noah tapped me on the shoulder and brought me out of my troubling thoughts. We stepped into the apartment in which the lights were still on like someone was in there. We shut the front door behind us safely. Then the living room came into view. The groceries which were the reason that I was left alone last night were dumped on the couch. The door of every room was open with lights on. I looked at Noah disbelievingly.

"Hey, don't look at me like that." He raised his hands in defense. "My roommate was kidnapped. I didn't have time to organize the fridge and switch off the lights."

I couldn't help but laugh at the way, he said it. I gave him a playful shove and walked towards my room.

"Exactly ten minutes," Noah called after me while walking towards his room. I stepped into my warm room. My bed looked so cozy, I just wanted to lie there and forget all about this saving people business. So, I stayed away from my bed just for caution. Walking to my closet, I retrieved a small traveling bag at the back of the closet which I had never used. I never really traveled much outside Boston after coming here. After dusting the bag cleanly for a few moments, which would have made my mother proud, I threw some clothes into the bag, which would do well in the cool climate. After packing some other essentials, I changed into one of my own jeans and top. I felt like me again. After I was satisfied with the packing I did, I walked out of my room with the bag, switching the light off behind me. Someone had to set a good example for Noah.

He stepped in the same moment as I did with a smaller bag than mine. We looked like we were going to go on a trip. But only we knew how dangerous this trip was going to be. We walked to the center of the living room, looking at each other. He was still smiling but there was a strange edge to that smile which I liked. He placed his bag on the floor and approached me. I was filled with so much anticipation.

"We have a lot to talk about." He said mirroring his thoughts from earlier.

I knew this was what I was waiting for. We had a lot to talk about. Holding my face in his hands, he kissed me relieving me of all the tension I was feeling since early this morning. I had a feeling that this was better than talking. Who knew when we would get another chance to be alone like this? Holding my new boyfriend or whatever he was, by the lapels of his shirt, I kissed him back.

"I think we have established what we are going to do," Noah said softly against my lips after a few moments.

"Yeah," I sighed. Long talks were not as important as I thought them to be, after all.

When we were back in this dreary world in which witches tried to kill us, I remembered the main reason we had come down to this apartment. My phone. I let go of Noah and looked for my phone.

It was sitting innocently on the coffee table exactly where I had left it. I unlocked the phone to see if I had any important calls or texts. My mom had called me two times this morning. I knew I had hell to pay when I called her next time. Among other normal texts from my friends, there was a text from an unknown number. I opened it. As soon as I read the message, my heart had started beating fast and my legs felt rubbery. I collapsed on the couch clutching the phone tightly in my hands. Noah, who was taken aback by my violent reaction, took the phone out of my hands gently and looked at the text. His mouth opened in horror.

Kevin's POV:

I was walking towards the cave. A route that I knew all too well by now. I could sprint there but I didn't want to make much noise. Getting caught now would be the worst. After walking for another few minutes, the boulder which had changed our lives had come into view. I stayed comfortably behind the large bushes, to which I was used to by now. Every weekend, the meetings of the cult were being held in the cave-like nothing had happened. Like, this cult didn't destroy my life. I had also spotted my parents in the people entering the cave silently, numerous times. I could recognize them even though they were wearing those goddamn red hoods. There was no point in telling them everything and asking them for help. They would stick with their cult for sure. The police must have already reached them. They might have already known about Mitchell. But I didn't fear them now. There were worse things I had to fear.

This was a weekday. So, there were no meetings. But I still had to wait. I had to make sure if anyone was being kidnapped to be sacrificed. The snow was falling heavily. It was nearly evening. I wondered if Noah and Naina had returned to the cottage with the pearl and the chain.

I remembered how Mitchell wanted to set them up. But in the end, we were too frightened to involve them too much into our lives. So, that never happened. But fate had a strange way of doing things. Noah and Naina were together now. I was sure of that although they didn't say anything. Now, I had to make sure that they wouldn't end up like Mitchell and me. They didn't deserve to get into danger. They were already in a deep mess because of us. I shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if I hadn't spotted Noah last night at the cave.

While I was thinking, I heard footsteps approaching the cave. Immediately, I became alert. Two men in red hoods were walking towards the cave carrying a girl between them. I could see her face. Her eyes were closed. For a moment, I was sure that she was dead. But then I saw her chest rise and fall with her breathing. I breathed a sigh of relief and squinted through the bushes to see her face more clearly. Her face looked somehow familiar. I felt like I had seen her somewhere but I couldn't for the life of me remember where. Her honey-blond hair was hanging down as she lay in her abductors' hands.

The man in the front, uttered a spell and the crack in the boulder opened. They took her in. She must be one of the sacrifices, I thought. She was not in any immediate danger then. But this meant Magnus was going on with his ritual. He must had had a plan to retrieve the pearl. We had to destroy the pearl immediately. I had to get back to the cottage immediately. I turned back towards the direction of the cottage and walked fast.

As I was making my way back to the cottage, I suddenly remembered where I had seen the girl. I saw her in a picture. The picture which Mitchell had given to Carol. She was Naina's friend, JANE!