Birds twittered in the perches of leafy oak trees, its branches swaying about and casting dappled shadows onto the green grass below. Kids laughed noisily as they chased and tripped over themselves around the shrubs and ladies laughed politely at the jokes voiced from bachelors.
Tenth grumbled as she pulled the sunhat farther down her face, scraping the sticky brown strands that scratched her blotched cheeks. The sun was creating a humid atmosphere and she didn't enjoy it one bit. While kids around her age was frolicking in sweat she preferred to stay seated under the sun, eating a Popsicle while she was at it.
But the Popsicle was long gone, and she had nothing else to entertain her with. 'Adults are so boring,' she thought darkly, casting a glance over the courteously dressed ladies and sharp looking men. Her eyes roved over to a patch of grass where the children were playing frog-leap at. Her small lips twisted into a scowl as a boy tumbled down another girl's back rather painfully. 'And kids are stupid.'
Tenth sighed, swinging her short skinny legs as she pressed both palms to the bench. Her mum was in that troop of prissy people and Tenth had to admit that she contrasted greatly to the other ladies. Instead of pompous dresses and heavily adorned accessories, her mother had a simple teal-green summer dress with white dainty slippers peeping out. In her white gloved hand was a creamy lacy umbrella, protecting her short auburn hair from the glaring sun.
A group of men had crowded her, holding her gloved hand and flashing dazzling smiles whenever she made a comment. But there was one particular man who stood out from the rest of the crowd.
He was standing a few meters away from her mother, leaning against a tree (similar to the one Tenth was under) with a phone next to his ear and head bent as if engaging a serious conversation. A black fedora with an orange band casted a shadow over his eyes giving him an alluring look. He dressed sharply, more so than the other bachelors with a dark orange dress shirt and a black vest over it with a black narrow tie tucked under. His long black pants complimented his vest, and a dark polished shoe was tapping almost rhythmically against the ground.
The man suddenly scowled at the phone and flipped it shut, his curly sideburns bouncing with the action. He rolled his black eyes towards the sky and gave what looked like an irate sigh. Raising the phone above his head, he dropped it and stomped it under his polished shoes, drivelling the scrap metal to the ground with an irked expression clear on his face.
'Girl this, girl that. So-called girl can burn in hell for all I care.' he growled, flicking the fedora out of his eyes with a finger and revealing his dark glinting eyes.
Tenth gasped at the man in surprise before realization settled in. Gripping her sunhat in excitement, her lips pulled up in a childish grin and her brown eyes shone brightly. This is what she has been looking for! Not a prissy, fat waste of space, but an odd, eccentric man that can actually frown… he's the one for her mother!
But the oddball was walking away, both hands in his pockets and looking as if he wanted to leave the place immediately. 'I have to do-say something before he leaves!' She thought panicked, pushing herself off the bench in worry. 'I don't know what to say though…'
He turned a corner, straight into an opening of the green hedgehog maze, the brim of his black fedora disappearing from sight.
"W-Wait! Mister Curly Man!" She shouted, running after him in hurried steps. Her eyes squinted as she left the shade, the garden shining brightly in the sun's rays. Tenth's flimsy flats left her tripping, and by the time she reached the maze her legs were dusted with dust and dirt.
"Ah-Where?" Mister Curly Man has disappeared from sight and there were no traces as to where he may be hiding. 'He must have been in a real hurry,' the girl thought disheartened. She still searched for him, taking a couple of turns and peering over the sides of the bristly hedges, making sure that she didn't stray too far from the opening.
After quite some time, the girl sighed and tucked her brown messy hair on top of her head, securing it in place with the sunhat.
'I should be heading back…' The girl thought sullenly as she stared up at the sky. It was getting dark and the sun was setting, filling the once-too-bright sky to a riveting shade of bloody orange. 'Or else mum's going to chuck a mental,' she kicked a nearby rock with a scowl. And just when she thought she found the perfect dad.
"This sucks." She spoke out loud to no one in particular. No answer.
"This sucks!" She shouted again, giving a mad stomp and crossing her arms in a huff. Instead of silence however, the wind picked up, trees whooshing and branches creaking in response. Tenth's dress and sunhat flapped wildly in the wind with leaves madly dancing around. Holding the hat down, her hackles rose and the ends of her hair stood up at the ominous response. The sun seemed to lower faster and lampposts that she took no notice of flickered on, looking like dots of light floating in the distance.
The wind died down, taking what light and comfort left with it. Tenth watched the scenery change with wide eyes. A smaller but icier breeze blew past her as if shooing an unwanted guest out of their house.
Hugging her arms she shivered at the hostility. Everything seemed so…evil. Before everything was warm and calm with a crispy cool tang in the air, but now…
"Hey kid. What are you doing there?" A harsh voice rang out, and the girl swung around in alarm, heart jumping in fear.
A dark figure materialised from a shadow and the girl nearly cried out in relief. It was him, the man she spent so long to find. Without thinking, she ran straight towards him, leaping onto his chest and blubbering words she herself couldn't understand.
Snaking an arm around the girl's waist the man sighed as he pulled the snivelling kid closer to his chest. "So…I take it you're Tenth?"
The girl nodded, her sunhat rumpling as she did so. Sniffling back the tears she stared up at the man. "Thank you, Mister Curly Man." She whispered softly, quickly turning her head away as if she wasn't one to hand out sincerities often.
Mister Curly Man raised an eyebrow at the name. "My name's R, crybaby. Remember that."
Sighing, he fiddled with the wireless headset, pushing the button in the middle and waiting for the annoying beep to stop.
"R! What a nice surprise! Who would've-"
"Put a sock in it boss." R grumbled, shifting the girl clinging on his chest for a more comfortable position. "Mission accomplished. I found Tenth. She's safe with me."
"Oh that's nice! As expected of R! Haha, and that was pretty quick as well! It only took ten minutes- well not ten minutes to be exact but then-"
"Did you just say ten minutes?" R's grip on the girl tightened as he stared up at the dark sky. If anything, finding the girl took well over an hour, let alone ten minutes.
"Well yes! This is probably the shortest mission yet-"
"Is it dark outside?" R interrupted his boss' happy babble again but with an underlying urgency laced underneath. Something was wrong with this haunted scenery.
A crackle screeched loudly in the earpiece and R gave a slight wince. Shortly after, the earpiece fell deathly silent, no traces of his bubbly boss' voice anywhere.
"Boss? Are you there? Boss-"
"Two humans are in the Garden of Genevieve. Killing mode, engaged. Prize, dinner. Game, start."
Happy Halloween guys! Made this story for my fellow laffers to let them know I'm still alive and kicking :D
I may continue this, may not. Eh.
Not much to explain about this story really, just that I fail in the horror apartment. OTL. More of a mystery, really. And yes, "Tenth", is a girl and yes, she is a she. Bet you can already guess who R is ;D