A/N: Here is chapter 21! We're getting into some serious stuff this time around, and, I apologize ahead of time, another cliff hanger. Well, I couldn't very well make the chapter 6,000 words, could I? Just a little note before you get to it…this is NOT the climax to the Karen storyline. Plus, since if I left it at 30 chapters, I'd have to do a slew of dark chapters one on top of the other, which I don't like to do, it looks like I may need to make this story a bit longer than 30 chapters to wrap this up. I'm trying to make everything fit and I think I've discovered a perfect way to fix the Elpitha-Kai-Popuri-Rick-Karen chain that I've been piecing together up until now. I finally found the way to "wake up" Popuri and make her grow up. Next chapter will be Elli's wedding, and a much lighter one.
Jersey-strat-o: and what is it that you have in mind? As for Rick…well go ahead and read. It's right here in front of you!
Midnight Eclipse713: Who said they were broken up? Thanks for the review!
Pollux Ryusaki: Your wish is my command! (there's plenty on them coming, don't worry. There's still the mysterious past, after all)
Kriskabelle: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it! Good assumptions! Don't worry about the whole Jack and Elpitha thing. It won't be for a while longer, but it's coming. And I'll do my best to make it worth the wait…
PacificTwist: thanks! And um…read on…
BorderWolf: More on Gray and Mary later… thanks for the review!
Elpitha sat at the inn sipping a beer. Across from her sat Cliff, his chin resting on a hand as he contemplated his own mug. They had been discussing Kai again, a topic that seemed to be Cliff's favorite these days. It was beginning to make Elpitha nervous the way he would track her down at the inn whenever she entered and engage her in conversation. She had no idea what his intentions were or why he wanted to know so much about her and Kai.
"It's nice that you two are so close." Cliff was saying. "You don't want anyone else. He's the one, eh?"
"I don't know. For now. I'm not thinking happily ever after at this point. We're going out, that's all. Yeah, we've gotten close over time. I don't understand what it is you're getting at with all of this." Elpitha replied, a bit on the impatient side. What was he getting at?
"Nothing! Nothing!" Cliff said hastily, another of his customs whenever Elpitha questioned his motives. He stared at his mug for a few moments and, for the first time, revealed some of what he was thinking. "It's just…you might find someone better, that's all."
"What? Why would I do that?" Elpitha asked, setting down her mug. Cliff hid behind his.
"Well, no reason. I mean, there was no reason at first. Of course the past week, maybe, but no… I'm positive, one hundred percent positive, it wasn't until this past week that you had any reason to. Of course I was always suspicious of this, but I was wrong until this past week. I know I was completely wrong until this past week." He raved, the words spilling from him in a feverish way. "I was wrong, but now maybe, I think there is someone better for you, but only if you want, of course! You shouldn't just go doing things because of suspicions, if you're happy and positive, but I think…" He had stopped, for Eliptha had thrown the contents of her beer mug into his face.
"Stop it! Don't make me slap you! I don't like hitting people, but I WILL shove this mug up your…" Elpitha began.
"OK! I'm sorry!" Cliff said hastily, mopping off his face with a napkin.
"What the hell are you babbling about?" Elpitha asked, handing him another napkin.
"Nothing. It's nothing, I'm losing it." He said, getting to his feet. He turned to look at her once more before turning and heading up the stairs to his bedroom, and nearly knocking over a woman who was also going up them in the process. Elpitha stared after him. What was that look? It was like a confused child. It was like he was desperately trying to tell her something but was unsure whether he should. It was like he was torn.
Elpitha paid for her beer and headed outside. It was cold and Elpitha drew her jacket more tightly around her. She hadn't gotten far when Kai caught up with her on his way to the inn.
"Hey!" He cried, catching her around the middle and giving her a quick kiss. "I have an errand at the inn, so I can't talk long, but I wanted to ask when I should pick you up for Elli's wedding."
"Well the wedding's at two, so how about 1:30?" Elpitha replied.
"Sounds good to me, gorgeous. See you then!" Kai said, releasing her. "I gotta go."
"OK, then! Stay away from Cliff, he's been acting weird." Elpitha called after him. He stopped and turned, a nervous look on his face. Elpitha wasn't surprised, considering his previous reactions toward Cliff. She was sorry she had mentioned it.
"Don't hang around him so much." Kai said. He turned and entered the inn.
Elpitha walked down the lane, thinking that it might be a nice afternoon to walk on the beach. The wind picked up and began to push her from behind as though urging her on towards a destination. Elpitha shivered and hugged herself as she trudged on. There was snow on the ground and it crunched under her feet. As she was passing the lane that headed up towards the clinic and Karen's house, the wind changed directions and began hitting her from the side, pushing her up towards the lane. Without thinking, Elpitha turned and walked up the lane towards the clinic. When she reached the top of the lane, she looked around her and realized that she had gone the wrong way. However, before she could turn back, she spotted Mary sitting on the bench in front of Karen's house, studying a piece of paper. It seemed to be a page torn from a notebook. Elpitha walked down the lane towards her.
"Whatcha reading?" Elpitha asked.
Mary jumped and hastily shoved the page into a pocket. "Nothing!" She said quickly.
"Ohhhh, is it a love letter? Did you and Gray make up?" Elpitha teased.
"No." Mary whispered, and her eyes became glassy.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was only teasing." Elpitha said, sitting down next to her.
"I haven't seen him around at all today either. It's like he doesn't even want to see me anymore. He keeps disappearing and I'm so scared that he's found someone else and doesn't know how to tell me. I don't want to think it, but if things keep going on this way…I don't know what else to think. I think he really got frightened with that whole marriage thing. I think I scared him off…" Mary whispered.
"You didn't do any such thing! I'm sure there's a good reason for all of this. I'm so sorry…" Elpitha replied.
"It's OK." Mary said. "Let's talk about something else, OK?"
"Sure." Elpitha said.
"Actually I erm…I wanted to ask…" Mary began. She seemed to be searching for the courage to ask her question.
"What is it?" Elpitha asked.
"I wanted to ask…please don't get mad…" Mary said quietly.
"I won't get mad. I may not give you a straight answer, but I won't get mad." Elpitha said reassuringly. "Go ahead. You can ask."
"Your family." Mary said simply.
"My family…" Elpitha repeated.
"Yes, your parents and…and if you had any siblings." Mary said timidly.
"My father was a fireman and my mother was a writer. I had a little sister too. She was um…" Elpitha began. She swallowed and continued. "She was seven years younger."
"Have you…did you…why did you leave? Did you fight? Did you…" Mary began.
"My family is gone." Elpitha said shortly, rising to her feet. "I don't think this is a great topic either." She continued in a more cheerful tone. "I was just going to go for a walk on the beach and came to ask if you wanted to come with me. Maybe we can ask Karen too while we're here."
"Oh! Actually I just came over to visit Karen. Her mom said that she went to visit Rick and should be back soon. She's late though…" Mary replied.
"Oh, late, eh? Well I guess her and Rick might be…um…busy." Elpitha said with a smirk. "Maybe we should just go, then. They could be a while."
"Yeah, probably." Mary laughed, getting to her feet. "Let's go."
They walked down the lane and headed for the beach, laughing and talking about the possible reasons for Karen's lateness. As they approached the ramp leading to the beach from the town square, voices reached their ears. These voices were shrill and harsh. They sent chills up the spines of the two friends that now stood horror struck just before the entrance to the beach. One of the voices, the one that seemed to be screaming and crying was unmistakably…
"That's Karen!" Mary breathed.
"The reason she's late…it couldn't be…" Elpitha whispered.
"Oh, Elpitha, you don't think?" Mary whispered back.
"Don't!"
"SHUT UP! Do you hear me! Or so help me…"
"Please, I'm sorry! I told you I was sorry!"
"Sorry? That means nothing from a tramp like you!"
There was a loud sound followed by a cry that made Elpitha feel sick.
"Whore! This is all you understand! This is the only way!"
"Elpitha!" Mary whispered. Her grip on Elpitha's arm was so tight that the circulation was slowly leaving it.
There were footsteps running up the ramp and Elpitha and Mary quickly retreated. Daniel came charging past them without sparing them a glance.
"Elpitha!" Mary cried once more, her voice very high pitched.
"Mary, listen to me!" Elpitha cried. You have to run, do you hear me? Get as many people as you can! Go first and find Elli and the doctor and tell them to get over here as soon as possible. Then run and find Harris and the mayor. Get Karen's parents as well as Rick. If you see Daniel on the way, stay away from him! You never know what he might do! Go! Run! Tell as many people as you can!"
Mary took off with surprising speed. Elpitha approached the ramp, hesitantly at first, her fears of what she would find stalling her. Finally, however, the urgency of the situation kicked in. Whatever state Karen was in, she needed help, and Elpitha was wasting time. Elpitha ran onto the ramp, but stopped at the top of it.
"Someone ran up the ramp. Someone heard us. That's what you wanted isn't it?"
Elpitha's heart stopped. That wasn't Daniel's voice…that was…
"Rick, please. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"
"Liar and a slut! What were you two doing on the beach? I saw him with you before he slunk away like a coward. Tell me, was he good?"
"Rick, you're hurting me!"
"SHUT UP!"
There was another sound, louder than before, and Elpitha heard what sounded like a bone cracking.
"Karen! …Karen? Oh no… What have I… Karen?" Rick was sobbing.
Elpitha jumped down into the sand and turned. They were underneath the ramp. Karen was lying in the snowy sand unconscious, and Rick was on his knees in front of her, sobbing into her shirt. Elpitha was afraid that he would do her further harm the way he was sobbing into her.
"You…horrible! How…how could you?" Elpitha hissed, tears of rage and grief forming in her eyes. Karen was on her side in the sand, her body draped over a large stone. Elpitha had a nasty feeling that one or more of her ribs were broken.
Rick stood up and approached her, his eyes streaming with tears. "Elpitha, I didn't…I didn't mean…" He cried. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, as though attempting to shake the understanding into her. "You have to believe me!"
"Let go of her!" a voice cried.
Elpitha and Rick looked up to find a great deal of people staring down at them from the top of the ramp. In the front were Jack, Mary, Doc, Daniel, the mayor, and Harris. Behind them stood Sasha, Jeff, Lilia, Popuri, and Elli. In the rear were Manna, Anna, Basil, and Zack. The doctor immediately ran to Karen and began examining her, opening a black bag in the process. Elli followed him, glancing only briefly at Elpitha and Rick.
"Rick…" Lilia whispered. "Rick…" She looked at her daughter who was standing silently by her side, paler than the snow that was mixed with the sand under their feet. Lilia swooned and Zack caught her, his eyes traveling from Lilia to Rick, full of disbelief.
"We trusted you with our daughter…" Sasha hissed, her eyes full of tears. "We trusted you…"
The silence was unbearable. No one knew what to say or do. Daniel stood quietly on the ramp, shaking his head slowly at Rick. His eyes seemed glassy. Anna and Manna moved forward, each of them placing a hand on one of Sasha's shoulders and scowling at Rick. Basil came forward to stand next to Jeff, but Jeff suddenly stumbled down the ramp. His eyes were tearing as he knelt down by his daughter. Rick looked at him and hope lit up his face. He seemed to regain some of his confidence.
"Pops!" He said, attempting a chuckle. "Pops, you know what it's like when you're desperate to keep things together. You know how women can be, right? You have to keep them in line somehow, right?"
Jeff stood up and slowly turned around so that he was standing face to face with Rick. Tears were streaming down his face, and his whole body was shaking.
"Go on, Pops. Tell them it's OK." Rick said, slapping Jeff on the back, a confident grin flitting across his face.
Slowly a scowl was forming on Jeff's face. There was a moment when his fist flew threw the air and a deafening crack as it collided with Rick's face. Then, Rick was on his back with Jeff standing over him, his face angrier and more terrible than Elpitha had ever seen it. "You bastard son of a…" Jeff cried, stepping forward to do Rick some more damage. Zack literally lifted him from behind, dragging him away.
"Alright, there, Jeff old buddy. See to your daughter. Let Harris deal with…him." Zack said, setting Jeff down at last. Jeff knelt by his daughter's side and Sasha joined him.
The doctor rose to his feet with Karen in his arms without regard to the fact that he was kicking sand and snow all over Rick in the process. "Zack, can you help Lilia to the clinic? I want to take a look at her as well." He said.
"Sure thing, Doc." Zack replied, lifting Lilia who could no longer stand.
The crowd followed the doctor and Zack to the clinic so that only the mayor, Harris, Jack, and Elpitha remained staring down at Rick who was still on his back in the sand.
"Let's go, Rick." Harris said, anger clouding his face. "Doug has agreed to allow us to keep you in one of his rooms until we decide what to do about this." With the help of the mayor, Harris led him up the ramp. Jack put an arm around Elpitha and escorted her to clinic. She seemed to have lost her ability to speak.
As they approached the clinic, Harris and the Mayor led Rick down the lane towards the inn. Cliff was standing outside the clinic waiting for them. As Jack attempted to usher Elpitha inside, she suddenly broke away from him.
"I'm going to follow them and I'll be back. I want to tell Harris exactly what I heard and saw." She said.
"Elpitha, I'm sure that can wait. Come inside now, and you can settle down before having to deal with that, and once we know that Karen's alright, you can tell them everything you know." Jack said, reaching for her hand.
"No. I'm going now. I can't wait." Elpitha said. "I want to get this out of my system as soon as possible."
"You shouldn't be alone…" Jack began.
"Kai is there. He had to run an errand." Elpitha said.
Cliff shifted his weight from one foot to another uncomfortably when she said this. "Yes. He's there. On the…second floor, I believe."
Elpitha didn't wait for anything more. She took off towards the inn and didn't stop until she was standing face to face with Harris and the mayor. Rick was being held in a spare bedroom on the first floor that was normally never used. She told them everything exactly as it had happened, the images and sounds burned into her mind whether she wanted them or not. When she had finished reliving the ordeal, she felt rather drained. Privately, she thought Jack had been right to ask her to wait, but she would never admit that to him. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she needed some comfort and Kai would be the perfect person to seek out. Doug informed her that Kai was in the empty bedroom on the second floor. Elpitha thanked him and headed upstairs.
Cliff's bedroom was empty as was Gray's. There was only one closed door on the floor and Elpitha knew that it had to be Kai's.
At the clinic, Jack and Cliff waited for Elpitha outside. They were silent for a time, but then Cliff turned to Jack as though dying to finally get something out of his system.
"I've…I've just done something. I left it up to fate." He said.
"What are you talking about?" Jack asked.
"You'll find out…or you won't. If she finds out while she's there, then fine. If not, then that's fine as well. I'm not doing anything either way. I just hope…just hope she wasn't too far in…" Cliff mumbled, pacing back and forth. Jack stared at him.
Elpitha walked towards the last door on the floor, her hand outstretched. Kai would be surprised to see her, and hopefully he would be willing to take some time away from his errand for her. Maybe he would even go back to the clinic with her. She quietly stole into the room and shut the door behind her, hoping to sneak up behind him. She turned around to find that she had woken up a woman who had been in bed. It was the same woman that Cliff had nearly knocked over earlier that day. Elpitha was about to apologize when another head emerged from underneath the blankets.
"What's the matter, gorgeous? Did I tire you out?"
Until next time…