Chapter 7: Hiatus
5:23 a.m. - Silver Creek Mountain
Lincoln slowly opened his eyes seeing everything in his view blurry. He looks around with his eyes adjusting to the surroundings. He looked at his side hearing something.
"Lin..."
"Lincoln."
He looked right in front to see a blurry figure. The figure looked small with some yellow on the head.
"Lincoln, are you feeling okay," said the figure.
The white-head man finally has his view adjusted to see his sister Lily standing in front of his bed with a delightful smile on her face.
"Lily-bug?" he asked with his voice drowsed by his sleepiness. "What day is it?"
"It's Saturday, November 29, 2036. I thought you were going to be in a coma."
Lincoln was confused by his little sister's statement as he tried to get off the bed, but pain struck him out of the blue. He groaned while holding his legs. Lily quickly held Lincoln down to his mattress for his own care.
"Hey now, you need to rest big brother." she suggested, as she fix his blanket.
"What do you mean, Lily? I'm just need to-"
Lincoln then felt the growing pain on his legs. He closed his eyes and screamed in agony as Lily began to search for something to help her brother. She noticed a pill on the table of his comic book works and reach for it. She then looked around see a small cup on the floor with little water in it. She then grabbed it in a quick swipe and put the pill in his mouth.
"Here, put it in your mouth and drink the water."
Lincoln obeyed not wanting to feel the great pain. He swallowed the pill and began to drink the water out of the cup Lily was holding up to his face. He felt the pill and the water traveling down his thrown and he gasped for air afterwards. He closed his eyes and sigh in relief feeling the pain decreasing.
"I know this seems to suck, but you had gotten hurt when you went with Lynn and Lana to get some firewood." Lily explained
"I-I remember... I was with Lynn and Lana outside chopping down some wood... and then I was shot in the legs." Lincoln recalled.
"Everyone was worried about you. We tried to get you to a hospital, but the snowstorm occured."
"Snowstorm? So that means..."
"Lisa, with the help of Lori and Luna, have helped you with your injury. They did the best they could to help you."
Lincoln down on his legs and slowly removed the blanket before his eyes widened and his mouth opened wide. His legs were covered in bandage with metal sticks attached to his legs side by side to hold it still. Not only that, but there was some circular stain of blood in his bandages and his legs were a bit swollen.
"It might look bad, but they removed the bullets in your legs and they managed to help you rest."
"But that means not only I'm trapped in the basement, but you guys are trapped here from the snow."
Lily nodded in confirmation with the adult male running his hands through his white hair.
"Then how am I going to go back to New York and publish my visual novel?"
"Well, I could help you with the visual novel. I can draw your characters just like you. You taught me how to draw after all. "
Lincoln thought of the idea of Lily being a comic book illustrator as a replacement for him. It was true that he was the one who help and influence Lily to be an artist and to work in ark at her university, but working on a visual graphic novel can be tricky. He look at his little table with some of the panels and pages already been sketched by him. He look back at Lily smiling to wait for his response. He might still do it by himself, but that means he has to move his butt off his bad and go to his desk and working on his bed can be a bit difficult to draw some of the panels and characters.
"Fine, Lily, you can help me work on the graphic novel, but I can help you if you are having difficulty trying to draw some of the background in the panels," he announced much to lily's pleasure.
"Thank you Lincoln, you won't regret it!" Lily exclaimed, as she look at the pages of her brothers work, "What's your new graphic novel going to be about?"
"It's about Ace Savvy, but there's a catch," said Lincoln as Lily approach him with curiosity, "He's going to die at the end."
"What?!" Lily yelled in shock. "I thought Ace was your favorite character, Lincoln. He has help you become who you are right now."
"Yeah I know that, but I decided he needs to have an ending. He's been in pop culture and so many movies and TV shows for so long that I think he can have his final adventure."
Lily for the most part kind of understand his point. Ace Savvy was one of the biggest comic book heroes now thanks to Lincoln and there was so many television shows and movies both live-action and animated that it seems like aAce was going to be in pop culture forever and now it was his time to say go back for the deeds of an Ace Savvy fan and current author.
"I understand, so who's going to kill him?" asked Lily who was invested and interested in the story so far.
"Well Lucy and I thought it was going to be a villain who controls everybody, but I think it was going to be the Wild Cards who will kill him in the long run from the villain's deed."
"What! That means that our sisters are going to kill your hero!"
"I thought it could be a crazy shift and tone for the readers to be truly surprise how the villains is very controlling and make him or her a threat. Still, I haven't thought of the gender of the villain."
A bang to the floor caught their attention as they looked up from the main floor of the cabin. Lily decided to go and check what's going on. Lincoln lay down thinking of his injury and the unknown snowstorm that has probably covered the cabin in snow. he thought he can finish his comic soon, but now he has to get his little sister to help. For some reason, this seem to be a relief. All his life he knew to just sit down in a chair near a table for him to draw many Ace Savvy adventure and comic book issues. Now he was free temporarily to ace's fame. He is not Lincoln, the famous comic book illustrator and writer, but Lincoln, the 31 year old guy with ten sisters.
He continues to hear the footsteps above him, but it sounds like they were also speaking due to some commotions. he doesn't know what's going on, but he knew he would be in great care in his hands as they are now official stuck the cabin together as a family.
January 8, 2037; 7:30 a.m. - Detroit, Michigan
In a retirement home we see two police officer standing in front of Lynn Sr. and Rita their late 60's. They have gray hair and wrinkles with white clothing provided by the retirement home.
"Mr. and Mrs. Loud, you have to understand that all of your kids are consider missing," explained one of the officers. "We need you guys to recall any last encounter with your kids."
"Well officer, the last time we remember our kids was the day we came here," said an elder Lynn Sr. "They wanted us to not live alone and due to our old age they decided to take us here. I can remember their smiles when they put us here."
"I don't remember any other encounter other than the first day we came here," explained an elder Rita. "What happen to our kids."
"They were having a reunion together, but we don't know where they went," said the second officer. "That is why we are here to ask you questions."
The parents both tried to recall any memory of a mention reunion, but nothing came out.
"Sorry officers, we don't remember." reply Lynn Sr.
"If they come back, then can we see them?" asked Rita.
Both police officers were struggling not to be frustrated at the old-timers. they seem to already forgot any encounter with their children before their disappearance. Surely they will remember something later on.
"Alright Mr. and Mrs. Loud, you take care of yourselves and have a good day."
The two officers left the retirement home heading to their police vehicle. They enter the vehicle and they sigh still frustrated from their fail attempt to get any information from the Loud parents.
"This is taking us nowhere Dan," said the first cop.
"You said it Bob," said the second officer named Steve. "Eleven people disappeared with almost half of them being famous. Do you think they have a lot of money combined?"
"I think they are one of the richest family right now," said Bob, "I think someone kidnapped them for their wealth."
"Maybe, but pray God they are not-"
A dispatch call interrupted the pairs conversation.
"...We have a report of a homicide at Broham in the Huron-Manistee National Forest..."
8:10 a.m. - Residence House, NY
Clyde was starting to read the part where it showed Ace Savvy surrounded in trees and nature covered by the snow. He then noticed a small thought bubble near the beat up hero.
"I'm trapped in these surroundings. There's no escape in this cold hell hole. I am the only hero who can stop this villain, but they are here to stop me from seeking freedom. Many heroes tried to fight them off, but they are unstoppable. "
He placed the book beside him and began to call someone through his cell phone.
"Come on pick it up." he whispered in a panic.
Finally, someone answer his call.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ronnie, it's me Clyde."
"Clyde? How you doing and why are you calling me right now, I have to go check up a crime scene."
"I need to talk to you. I think there's more in this graphic novel than anyone suspected."
"What are you talking about?"
"I think Lincoln knew something and he put some secret messages in this graphic novel."
"What kind of messages?"
"Messages to tell us what has happened to him and where he could be. I don't what it is, but it seems like he was telling us something in his graphic novel."
"Okay Clyde, this better not be a prank."
"This is not a prank, Ronnie. I'm fully conceived that Lincoln might have secret messages to his whereabouts."
Silence was in the air and Clyde was worry of Ronnie Anne opinion. At last, she responded
"Where do you want me to meet?"
"I'll go to Michigan and we can fully discuss what is fully in this graphic novel."
"Okay then, call me when you arrive in Michigan."
The call finished and Clyde quickly grabbed the graphic novel to seek other messages within the pages of his best friend's work.
"They have no emotion, no mercy, nothing that makes a human or a hero. This villain is controlling them and there's no antidote for this madness..."
8:21 a.m. - Broham, Michigan
In the location, many police officers of the Michigan state were around a red small shack with some new reporters being film to broadcast the news.
"This is ABC news reporting a homicide at Broham in the Huron-Manistee National Forest in this little shack..."
In the shack, few police officers were investigating the crime scene with two body bags on the floor. they were disgusted with what happened to the victims, but they have no clue who did and what motivate did the murderer(s) have in killing two people senseless.
Back outside, a weeping woman was shown in front of the camera with the news reporters trying to get her report of the crime.
"I was going this shack to see my husband and his friend. Mat Steiner and Jim Digg. they haven't called for weeks and I decide enter this snack to see what was going with the two. And when I did enter the snack..." The lady begin s to break down. "...Oh my god! Why they have to be killed by selfish people in the world?!"
The police officers watch the woman weeping over the deaths of her husband and his friend in the body bag. they look around in the snack seeing the wall splattered with blood and some broken pieces, the windows shattered, and the floor also smeared with blood. this was a first degree homicide which adds to terrible crimes that has occur since the disappearance of the Loud family members. The officers look at the reporters one more time seeing them doing their job to expose the world for what it is; a harsh one.
