Awakening VI

“You see a lot of people,” Mr Whitt said, wafting his son’s comment away like a bad smell.
“I saw Isa with her, Dad.”
A concerned look spread across Mr Whitt. Suddenly, the door of the library opened and shut again. Mrs Whitt ducked and waved to Jody and Isa to follow suit. They silently edged towards the far end of the library.

“Whitt, are you in here?” Anger resonated in the voice carried through the gaps between the books.
“Robin. How can I help you?” Mr Whitt stepped out from behind the shelves.
“Your son has been seen with a stranger to our Society. Have you seen him?”
“I have,” Mr Whitt answered calmly. Isa’s blood was shooting through her body at a strenuous speed. She still had no idea what was going on. She knew enough to understand that she would be in great trouble if she were found and so would Jody and his parents. Her options were limited. As far as she could tell, there was only one way in and out.
“So?” The man identified as Robin asked in an exceedingly annoyed manner.
“You will have to elaborate,” Mr Whitt answered as if he was having a pleasant conversation.
“It is always like pulling teeth with you,” Robin said through gritted teeth.
“Robin Claes, there is no need to be rude. My son Eric was here,” he halted to point at the spot behind the shelf where they had stood mere seconds ago. “He is not any longer.”
There was a huff. The door opened and closed again. Mr Whitt appeared between the rows of shelves with a stern expression planted on his face.
“Listen to me carefully. You are lucky Robin was in such a hurry. He is a past sightler, so it won’t take long for him to replay our little conversation. I didn’t lie to him. He will realise that you got away on a technicality, however. By that point, you had better be far gone. My wife and son will escort you out. Eric, I want you to take her straight home. Take the necessary precautions. You say nothing. Do you understand me? Go now.”
The three exchanged meaningful looks. Jody ushered Isa out as soon as the air was clear. Instead of taking the way they came in, they turned left and ran down the corridor, through a door, down two flights of stairs, another corridor and up another flight of stairs. At the very end of a much shorter and darker passageway, there was what looked like a metal panel. Jody pressed against it. It slid to one side, and they stepped out onto a small alley. Mrs Whitt shut the panel behind them. From this side, the metal looked like a common bared-up door that would lead to a shabby backyard.
Isa was shell-shocked. What had just happened?
“Come on, let’s go.” Jody hastily pulled her along the alley by her arm. They ran through a few more residential streets before hitting the Thames. 
“What the actual…” Isa gasped for air, clutching the railing along the pavement.
“We need to keep moving,” Jody said, scanning the pedestrians.