Chapter 23: Kill
Once again, she was running down the street. But, it was different this time. Instead of running to find Arnold, she was running for her life.
Helga had no idea where she was or how she ended up there. She looked to the hooded maniac that was chasing her from behind and then to her surroundings. There were buildings all around her, but she had no clue where in the city she was at.
All she knew was, that it was absolutely freezing outside. And all she had on was a white tank top with black shorts.
And if that wasn't odd enough, the street she was running down seemed to be shaking. At first she didn't notice it, but after a few more steps she could feel the earth clearly pulsing beneath her feet.
She looked behind her to see that the maniac had vanished. She was now all alone, but the ground was still shaking.
The shaking started to get more and more intense. She almost tripped, but quickly steadied herself.
BOOM
Suddenly, the pavement beneath her feet busted open into a wide and gaping hole! She immediately felt wind rush around her and her stomach drop as she fell through the earth.
She quickly turned to see she was falling right into a giant pit of red and yellow glowing lava. Quickly, the sudden freezing feeling she had before turned into a red hot burning sensation that was seeming to overtake her body.
Her fall started to seem like slow motion. At first, she had been flying towards the lava. Now it felt like she was just hovering above it.
That's when she noticed a person rise up from the lava. First it started with his hand. But then the rest of his body quickly rose up through the lava.
At first, he just looked like some sort of lava shape. A person's body, but in the shape of lava. That's when the lava suddenly started to uncover his face.
Helga couldn't believe her eyes. The lava uncovered a face that supported a crooked sinister smile, thick rimmed glasses, and a small black goatee.
"CURLY!" She screamed as she suddenly felt her body start to fall once again instead of float.
Curly reached out his hand and laughed." Welcome to hell bitch!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
…
"Helga. Helga!" Arnold yelled as he shook her body.
She suddenly bolted upright in her own bed to be met with the concerned look that Arnold was giving her.
It had all just been a crazy dream!
"Helga, you were screaming out Curly's name at the top of your lungs!"
She immediately felt herself tense up and freeze. What had she said?! Did she just say his name or what he did?!
"Oh." She said as she nervously pulled at her collar." I was just having a um, nightmare."
"About Curly?" He asked, still giving her that same concerned look.
"Well, y-yeah." She replied nervously as she wiped some sweat off of her forehead now. She had to avoid telling him anything fishy. She had to make something up…
"It was a-about that time that Curly looked h-himself in principal Wartz office. I was actually about to get hit in the face by a kickball when you woke me up."
In response he gave her a warm smile. Yes! The plan had worked.
"So I saved the day, huh?" He asked slyly as he sat down the bed of her bed now. Helga sat up on her pillow and smiled at him. It was taking all she had to hold in her giant sigh of relief.
"You sure did, you little nimrod!" She said joking as she playfully punched his shoulder.
"Ow." Arnold said, making a face in pain." You hurt me." He cried in a very dramatic, yet playful voice.
"Your such a baby." Helga said jokingly as she let out a huge sigh. Thankfully, Arnold didn't catch the relief in the sigh.
"Guilty as charged." He said with a laugh as he raised his hands in the air.
"You're such a nimwit." She replied joking as she rolled eyes.
Suddenly, Arnold leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on her lips." But you still love me." He said with a grin as he pulled away.
"Guilty as charged." She replied softly as smiled at him now.
Like that, all her worries were gone once again. It was amazing just how easy he could soothe her like that and make her feel calm again. However, it didn't last long.
Arnold's warm smile suddenly turned into a nervous one." I, uh, have something to show you."
Well great, now she was worried. Arnold had the amazing ability to make her feel great one moment, and then scared to death the next moment.
He suddenly reached in his pocket and pulled out a small photo. Helga instantly felt her jaw drop.
"You found it…" She said in a low voice as she calmly took the picture from Arnold's hand to examine it.
The picture was exactly how he had described it. She was walking down the street, listening to music. The wind was making her hair fly in all different directions. She could see herself trying to fix it in the picture.
"Can you remember anything about that day?" Arnold asked, sounding concerned.
The bad thing about it was, she couldn't remember anything. Everyday she was like this, same outfit, same hair style, same earbuds. It was hard to pick out what day this was, considering the wind was always blowing her hair right into her face.
"I look like this everyday." She said calmly." It's hard to pick out a certain day this would've been taken."
"So, you don't remember anybody pointing a camera at you? At any time of the day?"
"Well, it isn't like I pay attention to other people Arnoldo. I just focus on getting home everyday."
"Okay, well that's fair enough."
Arnold let out a deep sigh as he removed his cap and ran a hand through his long blonde hair.
Helga looked up from the picture to see the nervous look on his face. She tried her best to give him a warm smile." You okay?"
"Yeah." He said in a low voice." But I'm tired of running into these dead ends. We need some answers."
"Well, where'd you find it?" She asked
"Your not gonna believe this." He replied." I found it in my locker today when I was leaving school."
Helga sighed as she racked her brain for a moment." So, it was someone inside the school?"
"I guess." Arnold replied as he shrugged." I mean, that is where I found it. But at the same time, anyone could've come by my locker today. I was only there this morning with you, and when I left school."
"Hmmm." Helg said, looking towards the ceiling as she tried to think.
"Well." Arnold said, messing up her train of thought." We really need to find out what the letter on the back means. That's the more important thing."
Helga looked down and turned the picture over. Arnold hadn't been lying. Sure enough there were the words "ONE WEEK" written in big red letters.
That's when a really scary thought suddenly hit her.
"Arnold, I've seen this before."
Arnold gave her a puzzled look." You've seen the picture before?"
"No you dummy!" She said, throwing her hands in the air dramatically." I saw this same exact kind of thing in a movie once."
He still sent a puzzled look her way, so she sighed and rolled her eyes at her dense boyfriend.
"One time when I was little, Bob was watching a soap opera on T.V. Well, I watched some of it myself and there was this one scene where a woman found a picture of herself. She had no idea who or where it was from. But, she turned the picture over and there was a note on the back."
"And what did it say?" Arnold asked, sounding intrigued by her story.
"Well." Helga answered with a shaky breath." It said the exact same thing that this picture said, 'one week,' but with it was written in black ink."
"And, what happened to the woman?"
Helga looked up at Arnold to see a look full of intrigue and interest on his face. She let out a deep sigh as she opened her mouth to speak." Well, she-"
"Helga dear?"
Helga looked up to see her mom opening the door to their boarding house room. Helga quickly, but subtly, hid the picture under the covers to her bed and shoved it in her pocket.
"What is it mom?" Helga asked, sounding a bit annoyed now.
"There's someone on the phone for you dear." Miriam said with a smile." Arnold, do you mind if I borrow Helga for a moment?"
For a moment, Helga expected Arnold to tell her no and they were talking about something urgent. But, being the "goody two shoes" guy he was, he said the opposite.
"Of course, Mrs.Pataki. It can wait."
Helga looked Arnold and rolled her eyes." Thanks a lot." She mouthed to him as she threw the covers off of herself.
Arnold just smiled at her as she sat up from the bed. It hadn't been clear to him before, but Helga truly did love him. She may be a little rough around the edge, but at the end of the day she loved him and cared about him more than he could have ever imagined. And he was so happy to call her his. Although, he really did want to hear what she had to say…
"So." Helga said quietly as she and Miriam walked out of the bedroom, leaving Arnold alone." Who called? Pheebs?"
"No." Her mother replied calmly." It was your sister, Olga."
…
Helga cursed herself as she picked up her mother's cellphone and placed it to her ear. She was standing alone in the boarding house hallway. Miriam had went back downstairs to talk with Stella, leaving Helga all alone to talk to Olga.
"H-hello?" She asked in a nervous tone as she felt the warm cellphone on her cold ear.
"Baby sister?! Oh my God, it's so great to hear from you!"
Helga rolled her eyes at her sister's over the top enthusiastic voice. Even though Olga had changed over the years, she still had that same old Olga sound.
"Good to hear from you too Olga." Helga said sarcastically into the phone.
"Oh my God, baby sister, did you hear what happened to daddy?"
Helga felt her body freeze." Olga, he went to jail." She said in a shaky tone.
"Oh, I know, it's just so terrible!" Olga said, sounding to be at the verge of tears.
"Geez, Olga. Don't start the waterworks! He deserved everything he had coming to him!" Helga snarled in response.
For a moment there was silence on the line. She took the phone away from her ear to see that Olga still hadn't hung up." Olga?" Helga asked in a low voice as she brought the phone back up to her ear.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD SAY THAT ABOUT DADDY!" Olga screamed at her sister through the phone!
Helga almost dropped the phone from the loud outburst, but quickly brought it back up to her ear. She could clearly hear Olga sobbing by now.
"Geez Olga, calm down okay." Helga said calmly, trying to protect her right ear from another outburst. Thankfully, it did help, mostly.
"Okay." Olga said through a sob." But when I come home on Friday, me and you are gonna get him out of jail!"
Helga felt her heart instantly drop." But Olga, wait-"
"No no no baby sister! I promise you, we will get him out!"
"Olga!"
"No, I'm coming home on Friday! End of story!"
Helga felt her knuckles turn white as she gripped the phone tightly in her hand." Olga." She said angrily through her teeth." He's not getting out of prison! They have too much evidence against him!"
Once again, more silence over the phone. Helga slowly brought the phone away from her ear to see if Olga had hung up on her.
She hadn't hung up the phone, but Helga was thankful she had the phone away from her ear.
"WELL, I'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT, I HAVE TO! FOR DADDY'S SAKE!"
Helga brought the phone back up to her ear to respond, but she was quickly met with a beep and an empty sound in the phone.
Well, if her blood was boiling before, it sure was now. It took everything in her power to not throw the phone across the room. Olga couldn't have heard the right story! Bob must've called her and told her some lie, right?!
It was too much for her brain to process, so she did the only logical thing she could think of. She grabbed Arnold's dark blue hoodie, her earbuds, and her phone.
She needed to take a walk. Talking with the football head could wait just a tad bit longer…
…
It was no secret that Helga had immense amounts of stress resting on her shoulders. First Curly, and now Olga. Not to mention there was some weirdo out there taking pictures of her and spying on her.
The last three days had been incredibly stressful for her. And she was quite frankly, sick and tired of it. She was sick of not finding any answers. It almost felt like she was stuck in some kind of circle. Everything gets a return one way or another. As soon as one problem was over, it was on to the next one.
She walked alone through the park with her hands shoved in her pockets. It was a clear and sunny day, but the cold and windy weather was still making it freezing cold outside.
The park was mostly empty. There were two kids who seemed to be playing tag in one of the large grassy areas of the park. Helga looked at them and for some reason, it brought a small smile to her lips.
The kids seemed to be about 8 to 9 years old. It was a young blonde boy running from a taller blonde girl. She quickly reached the boy with her long strides. But, instead of tagging him, she tackled him to the ground, violently.
"Ha! I got you dummy!" She heard the girl announce as she sat up from the boy.
"Hey, no fair!" The boy responded with a frown." You tackled me! This is tag, not football!"
"What?" She responded with a shrug?" Am I too rough for you?! You baby?!"
For a moment, she forgot about all her problems. As the kids continued to argue, she thought of all the simpler times. When that was her and Arnold. When everyday, she would torture him because she was so scared of telling her secret. The one and only sacred secret she had built up in her heart. If only times were that simple…
BUZZ BUZZ
Helga groaned as the buzz of her phone brought her back to reality. She quickly fished for it in her pocket, and brought it out.
Football head ;):" Hey, your mom told me you went for a walk! You want me to meet you somewhere so I can walk with you? I don't feel safe with you going out alone like that Helga…"
Helga rolled her eyes at the text as she smiled. She loved how sweet her boyfriend was, but she also just needed the time alone.
She replied with," Lol, thanks for checking up on me hair boy. But no, I am fine. Criminy, it's the middle of the day! Besides, I need a walk by myself."
A few seconds later, she got a response." Well, crazy things can still happen during the day. Just, promise me you'll be okay. And call me if anything comes up! And hurry back home, we need to talk about that picture!"
"Will do, football head." She replied as she shoved her phone back into her pocket.
She looked over to see that both of the kids had disappeared, leaving her totally alone.
She sighed as she let her shoulders drop. The cold wind blew some strands of her hair into her face, but she didn't take the time to brush it out of her face.
Of course she needed to talk to Arnold about the picture. The football head deserved to know what that message meant. But after the talk with Olga, she just needed to clear her mind. She knew if she went back in that room after that phone call, she would have snapped on Arnold for no reason, and things would have gotten ugly.
And that's the last thing she needed right now.
Helga quickly found herself an empty bench and plopped down alone. The branches of the small oak tree above her brushed together in the cold wind.
She suddenly fished for the picture that was still in her left pocket. She brought it out and to see the picture that someone had taken of her.
There's no telling when the picture was taken, it could've been taken one week ago. Heck, it could've been taken three months ago.
She sighed as she suddenly leaned forward, cupping her face in her own hands.
'I'm never gonna find out who took this picture. If only I paid closer attention to my surroundings! Maybe I would know who did this! Damnit! Come on Helga ole girl think! What kind of creep would take pictures of you walking down the street?!'
Suddenly, an idea popped into her brain. Of course! How could she have not known before?!
'I know who would do something like this! The same creep is currently trying to turn the beeper store into a drug empire!'
…
"Oh Helga. It's so nice to see you again! And it's so nice to see you are using my phone number now!"
She frowned at the creep smiling in front of her. She had texted Curly and told him to meet her at the beeper store.
"Don't play that Mr. Niceguy shit with me creep!" She said as she scowled at him." I'm just here to ask you something."
"Well, what is it dear? It looks like nobody's around." He said as he looked around the empty back room.
She sighed as she brought the picture out of her pocket.
"Is this for me?" He said as he took the picture from her." Why Helga, this is such a beautiful picture of you."
"Shut it, creep!" She yelled at him. Curly just smiled at her feisty comment." I just want you to tell me the truth. Why did you take it?!"
However, instead of his snide little grin, he looked at her, confused." I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about Helga."
"Quit lying to me!" She snapped back.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Helga. Although I wish I would have, I did not take that picture."
Helga scowled as she saw his infamous grin make a return." I may be a lot of things. But I'm not a liar. And I did not take that picture."
"Then who did?!" She yelled, throwing her hands up in the air, dramatically.
He sighed as he stuck his hand out to give the picture back to her." How would I know that?"
"I don't know." She said in an annoyed tone as she grabbed the picture from his hand." You have connections with everyone in the city!"
"But." He said." That doesn't mean I know everyone. Only my people. And most of my people are adults that don't have anything to do with underage girls."
She sighed as he shoved the picture back in her pocket.
"Have you told Arnold about the message on the back?"
Her ears perked up at the sound of him saying that." Well, I uh, wait a minute! I didn't tell you to look at the back!"
"You haven't told him, have you?" He said, giving her that same sly grin." Damn Helga, I thought you cared about him more than that."
"I'm gonna tell him!" She said defensively." I just… haven't yet."
"Well, you better tell him." Curly said as he turned away from her." I've seen that message before. On an old T.V. show one time."
"You watch soap operas?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, it seems I'm not the only one." He said, shooting her that sly look one last time." Now, I gotta go. I have work to do."
She rolled her eyes as she turned to leave.
"Just make sure you tell him soon Helga. We both know that message does not mean anything good."
"I know." She said in a small voice as she started walking away.
"Oh, and Helga." He said, making her turn around to look at him one more time.
"You tell anyone about our conversation, you know what'll happen." He said in a low voice as he patted the concealed weapon on his belt.
…
She sat in front of him now. He was sitting on the bed and she was sitting on his desk chair. Her hands practically shook as she brought the picture out of her pocket.
"Listen Arnold." She said softly. He looked back at her with tender and care in his eyes.
"It's okay Helga. I'm listening. We don't have to talk about this right now if you don't want to."
"No." She said as she looked away from him for just a second. Curly was right, he needed to know now.
"Listen, I'm not trying to scare you. But this picture means something bad." She said as she looked at him again. Her eyes were wide and on the verge of tears.
"It's okay Helga. I can take it."
She took a shaky inhale of breath and let it back out as calmly as she could.
"Okay. Well, the person who gave you this picture is warning you. If you don't give me up in one week, then someone will hunt you down and kill you."
Authors note: I'm back with a pretty short chapter! Hope you guys have all been doing well! And hope you guys all enjoy this!
LLJC: Good to have you back. I hope you are still enjoying the story!
And thanks to everyone else who has been reviewing. Always remember, the reviews are greatly appreciated!