Inna
Barnes' Apartment
I was laying on my bed listening to the shuffling of feet and the rustling of cardboard boxes, then Nat came in.
"Hey." She said barging in
"You know there is something called knocking." I retorted
"Yes I am fully aware of that but I, in all honesty, ignored it." Nat said
"Are you here for something?" I asked
"As a matter of fact I am." She said cheerfully
"What is it?" I asked, now with my full attention
"You know what Halloween is, right?" She asked
"I know what the basis of it is." I said curious
"Well Ann is going, and I was wondering if you'd go with her?" Nat questioned "Isn't Halloween for kids? Besides I don't have a costume." I answered
"No, Halloween is for everyone, and I already have a costume." She replied annoyed
"Since when, and what is it?" I asked
"You're going as a cat." She ordered
"Fine." I grumbled
"Great, I'll go get my kit." Nat said walking out the door
When she said, "kit" awful ideas ran through my head, like her poisons and daggers. Although it may be silly, I couldn't help but think this. Nat finally came back into my room with a black bag, cheetah print shirt, and a pair of plastic cat ears.
"Did you have this planned?" I asked her
"Yes I did, I figured you would enjoy Halloween. It's not like your misisng anything here, I'm just moving in." Nat answered
I sat on my bed as Natasha carefully drew on wiskers, a nose, and painted my nails black.
"I should be a seductive cat." I suggested
"Want to explain it to your Dad." She joked
"I think I'll pass." I giggled
After that, she left me to change into my shirt, my black pants (I already owned), and my cat ears. When I came out of my room, Nat clapped her hands and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you, thank you." I mused
"You look great." She said
"Sure." I said rolling my eyes
"Well, Ann is going to meet you in the lobby. Oh, and I have a question." Nat said
"Ask away." I replied
"Why did that lady (that use to live where Ann lives now) move out?" She asked smiling
"Well, I heard it got infested with mice." I said casually "Inna Marianna Barnes, you are extremely devious. And I have no clue where you got it from." She laughed
"Someone has to start it." I said matter-of-factly
"I suppose so, anyways better not be late. Bye and be careful." She ordered
"I'll try." I joked as I went out the door smiling to myself.
Ann
Apartment Lobby
I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for Inna to arrive. After waiting for ten minutes she finally came.
"You're late, again." I reprimanded
"Sorry, on the way down my shoe came off, I dropped my bag, and my cat ears fell off." Inna blushed
"You are a complete wreck." I giggled
"No, I am a hot mess." Inna joked flipping her hair
"Huh huh, sure." I said sarcastically
"It's true! Besides that point, where are we going?" Inna asked
"Well I heard there is going to be a Halloween party somewhere." I answered
"Sounds good to me. What are you suppose to be? Inna asked
"I'm a crazy cat lady and you're my cat!" I said cheefully
I was wearing a white shirt with jeans and a blue robe and matching slippers. My hair was done in a messy bun. I thought I looked great. We walked around Washington until we found any evidence of the Halloween party.
"Where did you hear about the party, anyways?" Inna asked
"I saw a flyer on the street." I answered
"You know I'm surprised your dad let you go." She said
"Dad thought it was to cruel to ban me from Halloween." I stated
"My dad said, 'I'm so proud you stood up to the bully!'" Inna gloated
"Stop bragging." I ordered
"If I must." She said dramatically
I just rolled my eyes at her drawn out sentences. Inna is by far the most dramatic person I know. I was planning to have her stay the night, maybe now she will say yes. If I'm lucky maybe I'll get to go over to her house. As we walked I couldn't help but cross my fingers and toes for this extraordinary event to come true. Inna and I walked for about 10 more minutes before an idea struck me.
"Hey, want to go somewhere creepy?" I asked
"Definitely, what is the place?" She asked
"You will see when we get there." I answered
Inna sighed in frustration but knew not to ask again. I worried she might not like it, but I when along with the plan. This place was an escape for me , when the orphanage decided to take us somewhere "spooky" I left my group and went exploring. Every time it got rough I went to Forest Haven. I feel I'm not ready to share Forest Haven completely, if she doesn't let me in.
After many silent minutes walking I decided to strike conversation, "Inna we have been friends for awhile and I think we should talk about each others background." I said timidly
"The past is the past." Inna said defiantly
"I'll go first if you want me to." I reasoned
"If you must." She said
I took that as a yes and started, "As you know I lost my mom, my sister, and my step-father so I went to an orphanage. The orphanage I was sent to was Catholic but I'm Atheist so I didn't really fit in. I hated it there because I felt the nuns were pushing their religion down my throat. When I was about 10 I left the orphanage without a trace. The streets were rough, so I only lasted four months. In those four months I lost fifteen to twenty pounds. One day the police found me, at this point I was a nervous wreck. They drove me to Camomile Fields an orphanage for troubled kids. I didn't think I was troubled but they did. I was very unhappy there as well. They talked about us and wouldn't let us do anything. The good thing was that I learned English there."
Inna
Washington D.C
I was panicking but I didn't want her to know.
"I had no idea." I said sincerely
"Probably 'cause I never told you." She joked
I didn't have the ability to laugh so I just smiled weakly. Anastasia looked at me with anticipation but I dreaded this moment.
"The first two years of my life was for being brainwashed to be Russia's perfect spy. Since dad only got me when I was two I always wondered how he knew I was his and he told me it was my eyes that gave it away. The rest of my life was two sided, when I was being trained and monitored he was nothing more than my teacher and when we were alone he was my father. To keep Dad young they froze him, during this time I went to train at the red room. I was too young to send me on any advanced missions but I had my uses." I said
"I'm sorry." Ann mumbled
"It's fine, it doesn't matter anymore." I said hastily
We walked in silence for awhile, my mind racing with thoughts. I say it doesn't matter but in reality it does.
"We are here." Ann said suddenly in front of a bus stop
"Where is here?" I asked
"Welcome to Forest Haven!"
"For the third time." I joked to hide my fear
Ann
Forest Haven
We rode the bus in a mutual silence; the type of silence for your thoughts. I always gave Inna a hard time about closing up but maybe she can't help it. She was taught against it at a young age. How can I ask her to break everything she learned. The sad part about it is Inna tries so hard to break everything about them in her. I could've thought about it for hours but I only had ten minutes. I just hope one day she will see herself like I see her.
"If we are being honest here, you know I use to think you were hiding something." Inna said
"I use to hide the fact I was an orphan but decided you would find out once I moved in with my father." I stated reasonably
"So how did you take learning about my past?" She asked
"Well it took me awhile to beleive what I pieced together, but when your dad kept leaving for roughly three days it kicked in. I always wondered how you fit in the puzzle, that's one reason why I asked you about your past. " I explained
As we got off the bus there seemed to be a new mutual understanding one you only get with best friends .
"Sure you still wanna 'tour' me?" Inna asked pointing to the securitygusrd
"We broke in once, we can do it again." I said
"Ok, ten minutes after the guards leaves we will start our own." Inna planned
"Deal, now we just have to blend in." I said
"I got this." She said smiling
Inna
Forest Haven
I jumped down from the tree we were perched in as Ann climbed quickly and carefully down.
"Think it's been ten minutes?" Ann asked
"Roughly ten." I answered
"Please follow me to the main lobby." Ann said marching
"Where did you learn to march?" I asked her
"I'm practicing for marching band." She answered
We walked into an old room where dust floated in the air like snowflakes and the floral wallpaper peeled off the barren walls.
"This place has a odd beauty to it." I said softly
"Yah it does, I like to imagine it represents the tormented souls who died here." Ann marveled
"It does seem that way." I agreed
We walked up the rickety staircase to the second floor adorned with handmade paintings in crooked frames.
"These paintings were all made by the inmates." Ann explained
"Really you never told me that before." I said
"Must of slipped my mind." She joked
As we turned into a small room I saw a tall man watching us out of the corner of my eye. My heart fluttered, the last time someone followed me, dad landed in the hospital.
"I remember this room from before, so lets go to the kithchen." I said tensely
"Alright, if you will follow me downstairs, to the left is the kitchen." She said
The kitchen was littered with glass much like the main lobby. Tarnished copper pots hung from an unsteady shelf. An island was in the middle of the room wore down from years of neglect.
"Do you want to go see the examiner's room now?" Ann asked
"No, I think it would be best if we went home." I suggested
"Alright, if you want to." She said deflated
As we walked into the empty courtyard I looked up to find the towering man's silhouette in the window.
Natasha
Barnes' Apartment
I felt awful about Halloween as I watched James fidget nervously in his chair.
"Hey Nat, I need to show you something." He said softly
"What is it?" I asked
"You'll see." James said shortly
He took my laptop off the coffee table and inserted a flash drive.
"Is that the one with Inna's file?" I asked
My heart pace quickened, could Inna be in trouble? I may not have been her mother but I still care.
"Read this." James said giving me my laptop
I took the computer suspiciously but read anyway.
"I'm her mother." I muttered softly
My throat seemed to close up and burn from my tears and my heart pulsed out of my chest.
"Nat, you don't have to claim her." He said
"I know, but I am going to claim her." I said proudly
I read on, interested how they managed to slip this by me, it shocked me to find they had this planned out for decades.
"Think she will be home soon?" I asked, keen to tell her the news
"Inna has always came home eventually." He answered
Inna
Apartment Building
I walked slowly to Ann's house with her, always keeping my guard up.
"Are you staying over?" She asked hopefully
"No, I go-." I tried to stay before she slammed the door
"Ann." I muttered, but she didn't come back
Despite my fight with Ann, I couldn't wait till I got home. Even though I wasn't going to tell them about the man, it was still going to be safe. I walked down the hall past the elevator when a pair of strong hands grabbed my neck. The man who was following me earlier pulled me into the elevater.
It became a war between light and dark before my eyes and the darkness was slowly winning.
"Coward." I mumbled before the darkness won out