XXVIII.
UNDER THE BRIDGE
The door to the motel room was unlocked and under the cover of darkness from both inside the room and the outside world two figures made their way inside. Larger one stood guard as the smaller one frantically scourged the entire place, grabbing many items along the way. Once getting all the bags on the bed the individual opened the closest door and yanked out two large duffle bags. Unzipping them they let out a sigh of relief as the main items in question remained within. Once everything had been gathered up both strangers each took a bag and quickly headed out to the parking lot towards the truck that had carried them both.
"You sure that was everything?" The older person asked.
"Yes! That's it, she had no more! Just the one gun she carried with her." The younger one frantically replied back.
"It's all going to work out. She'll live to fight another day, I can damn sure guarantee that." He assured before both got in the truck and drove off into the quiet streets of Royal Woods, Michigan.
Later That Morning…
"Was there no one else around then? You didn't see the body across the street then?" Gibson questioned.
"No Detective, my sole focus was on the young girl and getting her to a hospital before she bled out was the only objective in mind." Frank replied.
They had been asking questions for a solid minute now and Frank, who had just arrived and revealed himself to be Lyra's savior, had been answering them all without missing a beat. So far everything that had been said was accurate to the statement that the doctors had also stated in a separate talk. Frank had been driving back from a late night drive from another town that he had been visiting for business purposes when he took a turn and came upon Lyra's prone bleeding body in the middle of the street.
"Was there anything odd about her, did you find anything on her to be precise?" The detective asked with more curiosity than before.
"No. Just a bloody shirt and her cellphone on the pavement next to her when I carried her to my truck." Frank shrugged and reached for his jacket, pulling out Lyra's cellphone.
"Sir this is your girl's, I had forgotten it as it lay on the floor of the passenger side. Just came to return it and check on her condition." Frank told Lincoln who took it back.
"Thank you, for everything." Lincoln meant every word as Frank nodded.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are still a few more questions to ask Mr. Castillo, if you mind?" Kellerman said.
"Sure I've got time. Please excuse me Mr. Loud." Frank and the detectives made their way away from the family to speak more privately.
The rest of the family gathered around and spoke in regards to the many happenings that had occurred. It was a terrible predicament they we're all involved in, Luna was barely holding on, but that private conversation that Lincoln had overhead managed to put some lost faith in her again. Only time would tell just how far Luna had meant those words. For now they all needed each other and Lyra needed them all even more.
"How is she?" Lynn asked.
"Still out. I honestly prefer that over whatever she's been doing to herself as of late." Lincoln sighed.
"What on earth has she been doing exactly?" Luan furiously waved her arms in frustration, "None of us have a damn clue what that girl has been up to ever since she bailed out from home. How did it get this bad?"
Lincoln's heart shrank with every word because she was speaking facts. He should have never allowed her to leave. He should have tried harder to get her back, it was happening all over again and he didn't have the strength to face it once more. He needed to save his daughter from herself and the first step was to let bygones be bygones and heal this family for good.
"She's here now, let's just take her back. I don't care how much she bitches and cries about it, Lyra is coming home immediately." Lynn added.
At around that same time that the three spoke Luna came around the place and saw them gathered together. Not wanting to be spotted she tried her best to sneak past them and head out the waiting room and anywhere else in the building. Unluckily, Lynn caught her fleeing figure and called out her name with all the attention now directed at her.
"Luna. Leaving so soon?"
Silently cursing to herself and against her better judgement she turned around to face her brother and sisters, "I...was just...she's...I...you're all here now so…"
She didn't want to be here any longer. She needed a long sleep and being surrounded by the people she's wronged was deteriorating her mental health even further more than it already was. Of course Lincoln managed to see past her own bullshit and waved her over towards them.
"Luna...shut the hell up and get over here damn it. Let's...just talk okay?" Luna said nothing back, but allowed herself to approach them.
"Listen, do you want to go have dinner with us?" Lincoln asked, much to the woman's surprise.
"Yeah...let's catch up." Luan added.
"If you want to, that is. Got better stuff to do than us?" Lynn crossed her arms, not being as generous as the others, but that side look she was giving said otherwise.
Luna was not expecting this at all. She had been ostracized from the family, or at least that had been her belief since that day, yet the people she hurt were right here asking her to join on a family outing, this day had gotten too weird for her. She could just bail and go back to the motel, but after so much pain and misery, maybe it was time to open up to others. Do as Sam had implored her and talk to her family again, even if nothing changes at least try, if nothing else just simply try. Looking at the man she fell in love with back at the young age of seventeen, her heart pounded with each breath she slowly took in. His eyes hadn't changed at all, still the very same she last saw before going to sleep and the first thing she witnessed waking up. Life was too difficult for her to even bother, but she was here now.
"...Okay…" She nodded, breaking eye contact from them all.
"Guess it's settled then." Luan grabbed her sister's hand and held on to it, giving her a small smile as a reward.
Before leaving, Linc pointed Luna to the man that had rescued their daughter from an early death. Having finished speaking to the detectives he lingered unsure of what to do next. He decided to leave the place when a young woman approached him and without questions asked ensnared him in a massive hug. Not quite sure what to do, he allowed her and didn't resist.
"Thank you for saving my daughter." Luna's voice cracked as she suppressed any more tears.
"I leave no man or woman behind ma'am. I may be retired from active combat, but the pledge I swore upon still carries until my dying day." Frank patted her on the shoulders.
"May she live a long, beautiful and peaceful life." With that final statement he bid farewell and exited out to the parking lot.
Later That Same Day…
Opening her eyes, the first thing she felt was the buzzing in her head and the bad, dry taste in her mouth. No idea how long she had been out, but it was the same place she had first awakened to before. Lifting her arms up she quickly took notice of the restraints on both arms and panicked a little. Not liking the idea of being held down she attempted to pull, but her strength wasn't fully there, not like it would have made a difference. Her bones hurt, her skin itched and every muscle fiber holding her together was numb and not responding to her commands. There wasn't a mirror in sight, but she was certain that she looked like absolute dog shit.
Closing her eyes again, she did her very best to mend away the headache that was self-developing the moment she woke up. What she failed to notice was the man that had walked into her room and stood about a few feet from her bed. No words spoken, the familiar man pulled out a folded paper and gently placed it next to Lyra's left hand. Soon after he silently walked away leaving her alone once again.
Once she reopened her eyes she just sat in silence only staring at the ceiling with deep contemplation.
So much had happened and she was still upset about getting injured in the first place. Next time she'll be more ready. Next time...will there even be a next time? Her family had to know, so did the police department. Soon enough they'll be questioning her about everything and then she will be officially fucked. Groaning, Lyra lifted her head in a better position for the pillow when she saw him again.
"You look like shit sis."
Lyra didn't freak out like before when she went on a psychotic rampage, on the contrary she appeared deeply concentrated and focused her glare on the apparition of her deceased lover. If she was moody before she was furious at the moment.
"You're dead." She growled at him.
"I guess I am?" Ghost Lemy shrugged, leaning against the wall. He still wore the same clothes from that night and still had the blood spattered on his torso. Seeing him in that same state was even more infuriating for the teenager.
"Why are you doing this to me? Why are you still here, stop hurting me damn it!" Lyra angrily demanded.
"I'm not…I'm here for you. Always will be." Lemy responded hurt by her words.
Lyra understood what was happening and hated that it was actually happening. This was the worst time for her mind to be playing tricks on her and as much as she shut her eyes and focused hard, Lemy did not vanish. She just couldn't understand it. She wasn't crazy, she was not crazy. She...was...not...crazy. There was no way in this hellhole of a human world that she was just starting to lose her fucking mind.
"This is a rough part of the road, but it'll get better for you. I truly hope that life gets easier for you." Lemy moved himself off the wall and placed both hands in his pockets.
"Please just... leave me alone…Lemy, I'm sorry, but please...not now." Lyra looked away from the apparition. Even if he was just that, she refused to show him the amount of pain she was in.
"Someone left you a note by the way."
Looking up he was gone.
Feeling a piece of paper in her hand she grabbed it and tried her best to fold it open, but again her arms were restricted from movement. She would have to read it later when these damn doctors released her from these bonds. Right now all she could do was think and rest, and she has already had enough rest and too much time to be thinking herself to death. Looking around Lyra wondered just how deep off the end she had reached. Seeing him as clear as the last day she did was not something that had ever happened before. Guess she really was losing it.
"Fuck." Lyra cursed under her breath.
An hour or two had passed since waking up and various nurses and her main doctor had walked in to check up on her condition. After some pleading Lyra finally managed to gain the doctor's trust and have the bonds loosen on her. It felt great to be able to move her entire arms again. Massaging her wrists, Lyra was thankful as she stretched her limbs and felt the painful sting of her stitched up wound.
"I have no idea what types of nights you partake in, but you need a long rest or continue to scar that young body completely." The doctor had advised her.
Pointless to ask her that since her self preservation was at the very bottom of the list of things she still gave an actual fuck about. She was told that her family would be back to see soon, something she was not looking forward to. Also that a pair of detectives would be questioning her about her late night assault; another fucking meeting she did not want to engage in. Fuck her tied up predicament.
Remembering her note Lyra folded the paper open and read it in silence.
Heal your wounds Lyra.
Take some time off and grow stronger.
Justice will prevail for your war is far from over.
When you're ready and if you want to, come to this location.
There is much to be talked about.
A set of coordinates were written at the bottom and as much of a musical prodigy she used to pride herself to be, she couldn't tell you what the hell these numbers meant at all. Even more so, Lyra was dumbfounded at the revelation of this message. Someone knew her, somebody knew what she had been doing. Lyra's double life as a murderous vigilante was now in the hands of a stranger, but the way it was written seemed to imply the opposite. Whoever this person was, it appears in her rational thought process that they desired to aid her.
"Who the fuck are you?" Lyra wondered.
"Got to get a hold of Terry, tell her what's happened." She added before the two detectives walked into the room.
She recognized them both. The same detectives in charge of her brother's case, a slow moving case that had yet to produce any actual progression. Then again who was she to speak of, she hasn't made much progress herself either, aside from one nickname, Lyra has been causing more chaos in the streets than she could admit or care about.
"Lyra, it's good to see you back to normal." Kellerman said, much to his partner's annoyed look.
"What is normal to you?" Lyra glared back at him. Her defiance, strong as ever in such a weakened state. Whatever their questions were she had no choice but to comply, not that she would give them the right answers they seek.
"Lyra, we're all glad to know that you survived, another tragedy that was thankfully avoided." Gibson eased the unwanted tension in the room and approached the young woman, "We already got a testimony from the man that found you bleeding out and brought you in the nick of time to the hospital. We would like to hear the rest of the story from your own words now."
As much as she tried to hide it, the look of surprise on her face was evident. So her so-called savior already gave his version of that night's events it seems, but there was something not adding up still. If the man that found her took her in then what about her pistol and knife? Surely he must've seen them on her, no way to miss those items right? The cops would have handcuffed her the moment she got out of surgery even more after her little psychotic break earlier that same night. Did...did this random stranger not tell them about her weapons? Why would he do such a thing?
"I went out for a walk...then for a drink." Lyra confessed while still deep in her own thoughts.
"Too young to drink I'm afraid, but you are a teenager after all. Other than that what else happened that night?" Kellerman remarked, looks like he was on to her. She had to play her cards right and luckily for her the past few weeks have hardened her heart and soul. Her poker face was superior to all others, so now she just has to keep the story simple enough to avoid any accidental plot holes.
"I was looking for trouble." Lyra stared at them both with no empathy, but just a hint of anger.
"Well...it worked." Kellerman scratched his head at the obvious statement as Gibson pulled out his phone and dialed something on the screen.
Walking right up to her, Gibson turned the phone screen towards Lyra for her to see the image. Leaning closer she recognized the picture of the scumbag that placed her in this predicament. Perfect shot right into his eye socket, she gave herself a mental pat on the back for such a good hit. Now she had to play along until the coast was clear.
"Do you recognize this man?" Gibson asked her. Lyra laid back against her lifted pillow and thought about what to say. Might as well play it safe right?
"That's the fucker that stabbed me." She bitterly confessed.
"We thought so ourselves, but what we really want to know is how he ended up dead with a bullet to the head not far from your location? It was just across the street and eye witnesses heard multiple gunshots which all match to the ones on his body." Gibson laid down all their gathered evidence on the young vigilante. So far, Lyra remained motionless to all of this. She genuinely didn't care about one less bastard on this earth and at the same time didn't want to give away any indication of her being the executioner of this fucking drug dealing nobody.
"Can you fill in the gaps for us?"
"He was selling drugs around the bar I was drinking at. I did nothing other than follow him, but I'm glad he's dead." Lyra said.
"So you had a few too many and thought it was wise to confront an armed drug dealer on your own in such a state?" Kellerman nonchalantly replied, doubt in his face and words.
"That would be dangerous for a young girl like yourself to do. Unless you already had a plan and we're already armed, that is." Lyra gave him a blank stare in response, he was on to her, but she wasn't going to fall that easily to such simple mind tricks. Just how mentally young did they think she was? Her common sense and maturity was the best in the family.
"Really? Did you find a gun with my prints for you to point the finger at already?" Lyra challenged his subtle accusation despite the fact that he was right on the prize.
The young detective said nothing back and looked over at his senior partner. That confirmed her suspicions about her missing weapons. They didn't have them, the man that helped her didn't report them. Did he... dispose of them or kept them around? Was he the same person who left her that note? Well damn she needed to thank him or question him and learn what his angle was.
"No, Lyra. There were no weapons on you, none at all." Gibson said.
"You sound disappointed." Lyra scoffed.
"Somebody has been causing a ruckus across town this Summer. A great deal of homicides have been on the rise in the past month alone. This has never happened before, especially in such a small town community like Royal Woods." Gibson starred Lyra in the eyes, wanting her to understand what exactly was going on around their once peaceful suburban community.
"Most of these killings have been aimed at criminals and other low lives of all walks of life. As far as we know there isn't a connection to any of them, but stuff like this doesn't just happen overnight." With that said it was clear to her what was being said in that room. Maybe she had overworked herself by engaging on nightly crusades and leaving so many mangled bodies wherever she walked.
"Just say it already." Lyra's impatience grew at their tiptoeing regarding the information in hand.
"Lyra...you said you were looking for trouble that night. What about the other nights prior? All those scars tell an entire story. How long have you been stalking the streets of Royal Woods?" The older detective asked, straight to the point. Lyra looked away, spacing off into view of the room. They got her, now it was her move. So far so good. Taking a deep breath she looked back at him with more bitterness than before and gave them their answer.
"Since the day I realized my brother's murder would never be solved." She spat at them, "A whole fucking month has passed and you two are nowhere near to identifying the motherfuckers that took him from me. I have to go to sleep and see his dying face every goddamn night. Never able to reach him in time and only find him dead on the ground with his blood decorating the floor of that room. Never again finding peace in my life because he was the only peace this harsh world had gifted me. Not my mother or father, friends or the rest of my family, just him, my only shining light taken too soon. I stopped waiting because it was pointless, the pain is too deep and getting in random fights in the middle of the night is the only way to replace that pain with another foreign pain of its own. I want justice for my brother and searching for those monsters was and will continue to remain as my sole purpose for living on in this godforsaken world!"
Lyra had started tearing up a bit at this point, but these were combined tears of rage and sadness. Both men, despite being accustomed to speaking to heartbroken relatives of victims many times before, felt a rather strange aura of uneasiness in her words. Lyra's words cut to the core and it was such a foreign feeling that Gibson had not felt since his rookie years when he was first getting exposed to the ugliness of the world, the raw nature of human society and its cruel effects on the innocents that inhabited. This girl, despite being a young age of seventeen, had already developed the mentality of a nihilistic human with decades of miserable experience. It was a frightening image and one that left him stumped, never before had he heard such raw emotions from a young person. It wasn't the same as the many crooks and murderers he'd interrogated in the past; she had lost all hope in humanity and was a hollow shell of the cheerful and kindhearted girl she most likely used to be.
"What you are doing is both a hazard to yourself and those close to you. So many times you could have been killed, this was the closest to death you have ever gotten and hopefully the last one too." Kellerman pointed out, his tone was more sympathetic than previously.
"You're too eager to solve the case for us, but you need to stop and think about just how dangerous this has turned out for you."
"We're deeply sorry that your brother's killers haven't been brought to justice. We have no excuse to give you, we have been failing at our job, but we haven't forgotten either. As of late we've been building up a possible case that could potentially give us the big break we've been tirelessly searching for. Many names and possible connections are all being drawn together, but there is still much more to uncover." He added further as Lyra listened on.
"That night you tried to assault a man for answers, hoping it would lead you a step closer to the ones responsible for your brother's death, but that only ended up backfiring. I am not going to lie Lyra, someone killed that man around the same time he injured you. If not you then who?" Gibson asked.
"...Someone that is cleaning up this town." Lyra shrugged and crossed her arms, "Maybe the same person the news has been reporting about lately. Looks like he got impatient too with the amount of crime and no one doing a damn thing about it."
"Vigilantism is a severe felony. While the motives behind the actions are honorable and understandable it is still against the law unfortunately. This isn't the old west anymore, we have a system to abide by, to honor and uphold. Whoever this person is, I do hope that he or she understands that this path only has two obvious outcomes for them. You almost met one of them and I thank the Lord you survived." Gibson sighed and checked his cellphone for a message that had just been sent to him.
Motioning to his partner the younger detective got the message and excused himself from the room leaving only Gibson and Lyra alone. The teenager really wanted to get off the bed, but with the detective still around she would rather wait for him to leave. Gibson gave her a hard look, but it wasn't one of anger or annoyance, rather it felt deeply sympathetic and somewhat disappointing.
"I spoke to your family and they all deeply miss you. Your uncle had been losing sleep hoping you would return home and your mother is full of regret and must want her only living child back. The love for your brother can never be replaced, but the love for your family is still here for you to reclaim. I have no idea about your father, but at least your mother is here for you. Go back to them, as much as it may hurt because love is suppose to hurt. Stop hurting yourself and allow them to love you wholeheartedly. Justice will prevail Lyra."
With that said he exited the room and left the teenager all by herself once more. The tears had dried off leaving long marks down her cheeks, her breaths were short and raspy. Her heart was aching at the memories of a previous past that she had almost completely forgotten. She hated being told what to do, but at a certain point one can't keep on fighting any further against the tide. The body becomes weak, the will starts to fade and the reason for continuing on becomes unclear and no longer recognizable. She still hated them, will never forgive them and still plans on killing each one of them, but her family...she missed her family. She wanted to be with them again. Needed to be with them again. Lupa, Lacy, Loan, Liby, Lizy, Liena, Leia her only sisters, she missed them all. Her aunts who have always looked after her and Lemy, she missed them too. Her father, despite a rocky relationship in the past, wanted to be near him too. Her mother...the source of her inner turmoil, the woman that abandoned them at an early age, the person she despises a step below Lemy's killers, the one person that Lyra has trouble understanding...Lyra hated the feeling she was creating for herself thinking about Luna.
She hated her. Hated the idea of coexisting with her, hated how much it hurt to think of her and only feel remorse and yearning for her. It was all too much for the young girl to confront.
"Damn it all to hell." Lyra muttered as she attempted to close her heart to all these unwanted emotions.
Getting up from bed she walked towards the small restroom and opened the door. Switching the light on she held onto the sink with both hands and looked at the reflection on the mirror. The girl before her was not the same. Rugged, tired and miserable, Lyra couldn't recognize herself anymore. She was far gone and no longer cared about her looks, but the girl she saw was something else. The transformation was completed.
"Heal my wounds you say?" Lyra whispered as she subconsciously felt her stitched up wound, "Okay. I'll wait. And when I'm ready you better give me some solid good answers."
She lowered her gaze and remained somber, "...I have no choice then..."
"Gotta go back home and rest up."
Closing her eyes, she mentality prepared herself for that reunion. Having to step foot inside that house again after all she had done to them was a cruel pill to swallow. Her father would force her to come back regardless, so might start planning out that long stay. It was Lupa and Luna whom she desperately wanted to avoid the most, both for different reasons, both for different pains. One hurt her and she hurt the other, what a complicated mess. Opening her eyes again she looked at her reflection in the mirror and was met by his own standing right behind hers against the wall of the restroom. Lemy pulled one hand from his pocket and gave her a thumbs up with a proud smile on his face.
"That's the spirit!"
Lyra closed her eyes again and sighed very loudly.
Back home Lupa had locked herself within her room ever since returning from the hospital. Windows shut and lights off, she sat in the corner of her room with knees up to her face. An expression of fear and confusion plastered on her pale face. Hugging herself tighter she could do nothing else but recall the chaotic event at the hospital. Lyra drugged out of her mind, attacking the hospital staff and not recognizing her at all. Calling her by their brother's name unaware it was actually her. It was the words that left her mouth that Lupa could not stop thinking about. The declaration she had professed to her before the staff restrained her. It had been keeping her up and the lack of sleep was affecting her already frail mind.
"What did she mean by it? What did she mean?" Lupa whispered in a very hushed tone, almost afraid to be heard in the silence of her own room.
"She promised him to...kill...them all?"
I don't ever wanna feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don't ever wanna feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
Yeah, yeah, yeah
May the great master Kentaro Miura rest in eternal peace.
Long Live the Black Swordsman. 1966 - 2021