The Genesis Saga

It had been a grueling day for Elizabeth. Work had been jam packed full of tired office workers and disgruntled students, all of whom couldn’t get their caffeine fix fast enough. She’d had to split her time between manning the cash, making orders and cleaning tables. It didn’t help that they were understaffed today. She had been called back in for a second shift after her classes had ended, resulting in her getting home far later than originally planned.

Putting her keys in the small bowl on the dark brown, waist high front-entrance table, she took off her shoes and hung up her jacket on the coat rack beside her. Making her way out of the mudroom, she passed through the kitchen and into the living room, where she fell in a boneless heap onto an old, brown leather couch.

She let out a tired sigh of relief. Fishing out a remote control from under her, she turned on the tv, before changing her mind and turning it back off.

“I need food. Somebody, give me sustenance. Give me life!” she let out dramatically. Her audience looked at her with a confused expression. Sophie the cat was probably wondering what her poor human was up to now. Giving one last sniff, she turned around and left the room. Her human could be left to its own devices until feeding time.

“Sophie, no! You wound me,” she said, placing her hand onto her chest. “Whatever am I to do without you?” When no response came, Elizabeth sat up and peered into the bedroom. Through the open door, she saw that Sophie had curled up comfortably on her bed.

“Not fair,” she grumbled. “I want to take a nap too.” Attempting to will her dinner into existence failed her, and no amount of wishing made a hot steaming plate of food appear in front of her.

In a momentous act of pure will, she got up off the couch and trudged back into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took out various seasonings before getting to work. The stir-fry she made was a bit bland, but nothing a modest amount of hot sauce couldn’t fix. She went to her cupboard and took out a bottle filled with red liquid that screamed spicy. Gleefully, she drowned her dinner in the magic ingredient.

A most excellent meal, if I do say so myself, she thought. As the food worked its magic, Elizabeth felt life return to her once more. Glancing at the time, she saw that it was shortly past eight. Adrian should be home by now, it’s late enough. Most stores are closed at this time and I can’t imagine he’d be elsewhere, knowing him.

She took out her phone and checked to see if there were any messages or missed calls from Adrian. She frowned as she saw that there were none. Worry began to gnaw at her. It was unlike him to go so long without responding. He was the type that texted back the moment he saw the message. Biting her lip, she hesitated a moment, before ultimately deciding to go check up on him. It’s not like he lives very far away. Worst case he’s not home and I’ll have lost half an hour of my life. I can live with that.

“This is totally normal. Just a friend, going to check up on another friend during a time of need,” she said aloud. Sophie looked at her. Elizabeth stared back.

“You’re right Sophie, I should get going.”

Sophie meowed her agreement and walked towards her, affectionately rubbing herself against Elizabeth’s leg. She meowed again.

“Oh, you want food,” Elizabeth realized. “Right, how silly of me to think you wanted my attention. I’m telling you Sophie, you see me as nothing but a big, tall food dispenser. Isn’t that right?” She got an impatient meow in reply.

Elizabeth walked over to her pantry and grabbed a large, plastic container. Opening it, she took out the scooper and put what she thought was enough food for the night into Sophie’s food bowl.

Satisfied that she was being fed, Sophie waited patiently for Elizabeth to set the food down in front of her. Once the food was put away, Elizabeth looked at the stack of dishes and mess she had made while cooking and paused. I can do them later, she decided. She then made her way to the mudroom, shooting Sophie one last glance.

Putting her coat back on, Elizabeth grabbed the gloves she’d forgotten earlier today and put them on. They were dark blue gloves, with a white stylized snowflake in the center of each hand. Another white, geometric pattern adorned the cuffs. They had been a gift from Adrian, years ago. She had never been able to bring herself to stop using them once they broke up.

But most importantly, they were warm and did their job well for the temperature at this time of the year. She buttoned up her cream-coloured jacket and put on a black beanie. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be cold, she left her house and locked the door behind her.

The air was crisp and cool, carrying with it the promise of winter. The skies were dark, the sun having long since set. A scant month ago, it would still be bright outside at this time, but the cold autumn evenings brought with them shorter days, enticing people to stay inside at this time of the night.

The streets were empty, but that didn’t bother Elizabeth. The path to Adrian’s would only take ten minutes and was well lit. Humming a merry tune, she had an uneventful walk to Adrian’s apartment building.

It was an old thing, three stories high, dilapidated and with cracks running along the outer walls. The once white walls were caked with years of dirt and grime. Supposedly, it was built thirty years ago. The design made it seem far older, however. It screamed of a time where building regulations were far less stringent, making one wonder if it was a safe place to live or if it would crumble beneath gentle breeze.

Apartment doors gave way directly outside, no inner building to provide extra security. Frankly, she’d been concerned when Adrian first moved there since it didn’t seem very safe. She’d been proven wrong; nothing untoward had ever happened in all the years he had been living there.

Making her way to the second floor, she went to the last apartment door and knocked. As she did, the door opened slightly, surprising her. She hadn’t expected that and didn’t quite know what to do.

She opted to announce her presence, hoping that Adrian would hear her.

“Hello?” she called. She was met with silence. “Hello? Adrian are you there?” she tried again. Still, no answer came back. “That’s weird. Maybe he went on a walk.” Thinking for a moment, she reached for the door handle and closed it.

“I should probably wait outside for him to return; it would be rude of me to just walk in unannounced when he’s gone.” She took out her phone and sent Adrian a text, letting him know that she was waiting outside.

When twenty minutes passed with no response from Adrian and no sign of him returning, Elizabeth re-evaluated her plan. Tentatively, she opened the door and let herself in.

“Adrian if you’re here, it’s me Elizabeth. I’m coming inside since you didn’t answer.” Crickets would have made more noise than the silence she was met with. Determining that Adrian wasn’t there, she let herself in. She turned on the lights using the switch on the right-hand wall and closed the door behind her. The light directly above her turned on, but the rest of the apartment remained dark.

She flicked the remaining light switches and the rest of the apartment lit up. A war zone greeted her. A little mess she could understand, but this was far messier than Adrian’s usual standard. It looked like somebody had turned the place upside down.

What had happened to Adrian since she last saw him? Was he depressed after finding out his family died? Attributing the mess to Adrian grieving the loss of his family, she eyed the apartment again. There was definitely signs of someone having been here, so she knew he had come home at some point.

Maybe he’s with Evelynn in the hospital, she thought. Taking out her phone, she looked up the phone number for the hospital Evelynn had been taken to. She remembered the name from when she fielded the call for Adrian explaining that his family had been in a car crash.

Several minutes of being frustratingly bounced around several departments later, she had her answer. She was informed that there was no patient there by the name of Evelynn Blackwood at the hospital. Now she was worried.

Did the transfer her to another hospital? That doesn’t make any sense, she thought. They wouldn’t move a critically injured patient unless they absolutely had to. She asked about whether there had been a patient there with that name and was told yes. Not getting any other information out of the person on the other end of the line, she hung up the phone.

The door to Adrian’s room was wide open. She walked over and poked her head in. In the low light, it looked messy. With the lights on, she saw that it was beyond messy. Clothes were scattered everywhere, as if they had been thrown there in a rush. His bedside table drawers were open, and his desk was void of any electronics. His prized headphones were missing from their usual spot, and so was his laptop. His charger was still there, which puzzled her.

She backed out of the room and took another look around the apartment.

His blender was missing. His toaster was missing. His cutlery drawers were open, and so were his upper cabinets. The couch in the living room had one end pulled forward and the coffee table was out of place.

She looked back at the whirlwind of clothes and open drawers around her. Perhaps it wasn’t something Adrian would have done. Perhaps it was done by another person. Why else would the door be unlocked and not fully closed, with the place a mess? With valuable electronics missing. When the owner wasn’t home.

She felt like an idiot. Adrian had been robbed! And I’ve been standing here the whole time! What if the robber had still been here? The thought chilled her. Panic welled in her chest as she no longer felt safe in the apartment. With shaking hands, she took back out her phone and called the police.

“Hello?” she said once they answered, “I’m at my friend’s apartment and I think it’s been robbed.” She listened to the response. They were asking if she was certain it was a robbery and asked whether the place could be a mess for another reason.

“No, I’m certain it’s not because the owner is messy. Some electronics are also missing. Actually, I haven’t heard from him in a few days, which is why I’m here to begin with,” she explained.

Still scared that the robber could be nearby, or perhaps hiding in the apartment, Elizabeth went outside. The police asked her more questions, to which she answered the best that she could. They recommended that she wait outside for them, a police car already on its way.

She went down the apartment steps and stepped into the brightly lit area on the side of the street. Hurriedly, she looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Not seeing anybody, she allowed herself to relax a little. She finished her conversation with the police and told them where she would be waiting.

She missed the black van parked behind her, not noticing that there was someone inside.