A Cryptic Call

A few weeks ago, a crazed, distracted Isaac called her in the wee hours of the morning with a puzzling, cryptic message. She’d barely had time to dissect the event herself, besides, she was told to stay silent…

“Hull? Whoisthis?” Alee mumbled sleepily, squinting at the numbers on the alarm clock on the bedside table. They read three twenty-six AM.

“Alee?” Isaac‘s deep voice gasped. It wasn’t slow and soothing like it usually was. He sounded awful, desperate, deranged.

“Master?” Alee cried, instantly awake and alerted. “What’s wrong? Why are you calling me now? Has something happened? Where are you? I’ve been looking all over the place for you! When I stopped getting your letters, I didn’t know what to think! And no one has seen or heard from you—“

“Stop! Alee! Shut up, I don’t have much time!”

Alee’s words died in her throat. She was taken aback and extremely hurt. Isaac has never spoken to her that way before, not even when he learned she’d attempted human transmutation.

He made an exasperated sound on the other side of the line.”Look, I’m sorry, alee,” he said more calmly now, but it sounded forced. “I know you must have been worried but there’s no time for that now I’ve discovered something…something terrible within the military.”

Alee just listened in stunned silence.

“There’s too much to explain. Besides, I couldn’t bear to think of them coming after you because of me… Which is why if they ask you anything, anything at all about me, you must claim ignorance. Never speak to anyone of this. Promise me.” He waited for her to respond, but dread had made her whole body go numb. “Promise me, alee!” he snapped.

“Y-yes,” she stuttered. “I-I promise, Isaac…”

He breathed a shaky sigh of relief, “Good… Good girl. You’ve grown up so much in all these years into such a glorious woman. You were a perfect pupil who became more than I had ever hoped you could be. I…” He paused. Alee hung onto the phone like it was a lifeline. “Alee, I need you to listen to me now the way you always have, are you paying attention?”

Alee nodded mutely before realizing he couldn’t see her. She carefully licked her dry lips and whispered, “Yes.”

“You need to leave the country. Please? You must quit the military and flee the country as soon as possible! It’s not safe. The military is dangerous, trust no one! They have been up to terrible things, really horrible workings, things you can’t even imagine…” He stopped again. Alee couldn’t breathe. Was he in pain? Here was he? And what was all this military nonsense? “Can you do this?”

Alee didn’t know what to say. Quit the military she had been a part of, worked so hard for, for twelve year? It was preposterous! This was crazy. She just wanted to see Isaac, help him, make him stop talking so crazy. He was really staring to scare her. “Yes?” she finally managed, feeling tears spring to her eyes. What else could she possibly say?

“I need you to do this, Alee. I need you to be strong, stick to your convictions, think for yourself…like you did in Ishval…my Ice Angel.”

She gasped. She thought no one knew about that. Was it coincidence? Was he just too far gone now?

“I’m about to do something…” he whispered now, more to himself than Alee. “I have to act. I cannot forgive myself if I just stood around, not again, not like in Ishval—“

Was he cracking?”

“It’s a slim chance it will work. We are dealing with greater powers now—“

“Isaac, please,“ Alee begged, finally finding her voice. “Come here, to the east. I’ve just been transferred, please come find me. Talk to me. Isaac…” The tears spilled over, falling, unbidden, down her cheeks.

He laughed humorlessly in response. “Were it so easy,” he murmured. “Alee? Whatever happens… I hope… I just wanted you… Nngh! Just, be safe, Alee. Do as I say. If all goes well, I will come find you, if not….” The line went silent for such a long time, Alee wasn’t even sure if he was still on the line. “Alee, I love you.” Then the line clicked off as Isaac hung up, leaving Alee clutching the dead receiver.

That was two weeks ago.

True to her word, she hadn’t told anyone, but she certainly hadn’t fled the country and she definitely wasn’t quitting the military.

She’d kept her eyes and ears peeled for any news of activity but there was none of that. There was no sign of Isaac anywhere. Not that she knew what quite to say to him if he did turn up. His message had left her unnerved to say the least with his last words ringing in her ears for days.

But where was he?

***