I hope this chapter will be better than the last, I think it sorta is. We are about to hit the climax, which means there's only a few more chapters left. I'm back in my creeptacular mood after scaring the crap outta myself today and last night. I had help though.
Fang: You mean when your little two-year-old sister poked you and you ran screaming?
Me: Don't tease me, you ran screaming too.
Fang: You shouldn't be aloud to use that against me.
Me: Yes I should. Also, I get to tell the good people your fear--
Fang: You didn't get five reviews.
Me: I do believe I did, let's just get on with this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.
"Mom! Mom, Mom!" I shouted as I ran down the stairs, clutching some of the papers Fang gave me. Fang followed carrying the rest of the papers.
"What, what, what?" She asked, meeting me at the bottom of the steps.
"The story Grammy Martinez told you wasn't true!" I exclaimed. "Ariel didn't kill herself, Grammy Martinez did. She put her in the bathtub and drowned her. She must of ran over to her friends house right after she did that, but she did kill Ariel!" Fang gave her an article.
"They found her dead in the bathtub. To be precise Nudge and Angel's bathtub upstairs. She was severely burnt, and signs of trauma were shown in the autopsy. She was tied down in the bathtub until she was dead, then Valencia took the ropes off her and hurried over to her friend's house. When her parents got home they found the dead body and called the police." Fang explained.
"Later they figured out the murderer was, in fact, Grammy Martinez. By talking to her friend's family they found out that she wasn't over at her friends house until ten that night and Ariel was dropped off at the house at six. Her friend said she thought she heard some shrieking in the background when they were on the phone, but Grammy told her that Ariel was just throwing a fit. Witnesses saw her hurry out of the house and run at top speed to her friend's house, and they also heard the shrieking." I recited. I handed Mom the wanted sign. "In 1995 they printed these out and hung them up everywhere, and that's when Valencia Martinez the first went missing. After ten years of searching for her they finally gave up and decided she must have died or something. Which is why Valencia took up Wicca, so she could learn to do an out of body experience, so she could get what she needed. And kill who she wanted."
"That last part is just a theory though." Fang said. Mom read over the article and looked at the wanted sign. She didn't say anything for the longest time. Then, finally, she said, "We've got to turn her in." Fang and I nodded, then looked urgently up the stairs as we heard footsteps speeding down the hall.
Angel darted down the stairwell towards Mom, Fang and I, shouting our names. Fang was the first person she reached and she clung to him as if her life depended on it. I bent down to her level.
"Angel, sweetie, what's wrong?" I asked, patting her shoulder. Her face was pale white and her baby blue eyes were wide, like she had just seen a ghost.
"Th-there's a…a…" She stuttered.
"A what?" Fang asked. Tears formed in Angel's eyes.
"Angel, what is it?" Mom asked, crouching down beside me.
"I saw a….g-ghost in the b-bathroom." She finally managed, then started crying. I wrapped my arms around her and tried to calm her down.
"What'd did the ghost look like?" Fang asked, squatting down like me and mom. I glared at him.
"Fang, I doubt she really wants to talk about it. She's probably just experienced the scariest thing in her life." I scolded.
"You didn't mind to talk about the scariest thing in your life." He countered.
"I'm fourteen," I said. "She's seven."
"It was a girl." Angel whispered. "She had red hair."
My jaw clenched at the mention of red hair, it reminded me of the red-haired wonder.
"She looked like she was as old as Gasman, or a little bit older." Angel continued. "And she had green eyes. She was sitting in the bathtub."
"Did she tell you her name?" I asked her. She nodded sadly.
"I ran out as soon as I saw her, then Nudge went in, but she didn't see anything." She said.
"That sounds like Ariel." Mom muttered, standing back up. "My sister saw her once, but she was the only one in the family that could see her."
I grabbed Angel's hand.
"Let's go see if she's still there." I said. Angel nodded and led me upstairs to the bathroom her and Nudge share. As we walked in, Angel tensed, staring at the bathtub.
"There she is." Angel pointed to the bathtub and tightened her grip on my hand. I looked over to the porcelain tub, but it was empty.
"In the bathtub?" Fang asked. Angel nodded, not taking her eyes away from it.
"I don't see her." I sighed.
"She's talking. She says that only I can see her, only those born on the thirty-first of the tenth month can see her. No one else in this house can see her or hear her." Angel said.
"That's when my sister was born." Mom whispered.
"Well, now we know Angel's birthday. Halloween." I said, always looking on the bright side of things.
"She also says you have to turn Valencia in, soon, or she'll get you. She's capable of anything. She's still alive and she's living with Dr. M's sister, living under the radar." Angel's voice was almost robotic.
"Uh, Angel, will you go find Ella for us?" I asked her. She turned to me, nodded and skipped out of the room.
"I'll drive you kids to the courthouse tomorrow when I get home from work." Mom said. "We can tell them where my mom is and they'll go and arrest her, then this will all be over." Fang and I nodded and Mom went downstairs.
"It's not going to be that easy, is it?" I asked, turning around to face Fang. He shook his head solemnly. "Great."
Not part of the story: What REALLY happened to Ariel:
Valencia was fed up and annoyed about having to babysit Ariel, so she took care of it. She forced Ariel into the baking oven and taped the door shut. Her friend called her and asked if she was coming and Valencia said she was. After she hung up she decided to try to murder Ariel in a new way, that won't cause so much noise, because her friend commented on it while they were on the phone. Valencia got some rope and put Ariel in the bathtub. She tied down her arms and legs so Ariel couldn't move and filled the tub with water. Ariel was left to drown as Valencia got ready. Valencia took the tape off before she left to make it look like suicide.
I knew I probably wouldn't say it in any other part of the story...so I just thought I'd tell you.
I did, in fact, get five reviews. So I will, in fact, tell you what Fang's fear is.
Fang: Why must you?
Me: Fang, when I post your kidnapping story, they're gonna find out. Besides, how many people do you think will really read it??
Fang: I don't know...a lot...everyone that reads the above story.
Me: -shrug- Ah well...he's some comedy after the intense story above.
Fang's afraid of My Little Pony.
Now, R&R or I shall torture Fang with my little pony!!
