Part Two: Richie's Take on Immortality
"I really hate to do this to you baby, but you have to work with here." Rylan mumbled as she messed with the wires under the dashboard of the T- Bird. She smiled as the motor whined, then purred to life.
"Lose your keys?"
"Yeah, kinda." She looked at the pair of shiny black shoes under the door of the car. Slowly she looked up. "This isn't what it looks like."
"It looks like you're trying to hot-wire this car." The policemen said.
"One, I'm not trying, I got it started. And two, I'm not your problem. There's something going down at the bank. You need to go check it out."
"Oh, really. Turn around, hands behind your head." The officer reached for his handcuffs.
"I'm serious! My friend's in there. You need to do something."
. . . . . .
Richie leaned against the wall. 'Why me?' he thought 'Why is it always me? How do I manage to do this? Every damn time something happens in this stupid city, somehow I get involved. I don't get it.' He closed his eyes and sighed. 'This is ridiculous. This is insane. Rylan should drop the immortal stories; my life is much more interesting. How many people get held hostage? How many people has it happened to more than once? The cops are never around when you need them. I hope they choke on their doughnuts, and spill hot coffee all over themselves.' He was torn from his thoughts when he felt a small hand find it's way into his. He looked down at the little girl, who was sitting next to him.
"I'm scared." She whispered to him. Richie looked at the girl's mother who was sitting quietly going into shock and ignoring everything going on around her.
"Everything is going to be okay." He promised her. He watched the man in the long coat pick and choose what he wanted out of various safety deposit boxes.
"Cole, what's wrong with my mommy?" The little girl asked. It took Richie a moment to realize she was talking to him.
"Nothing is wrong with her, sometimes adults don't know what to do when they get scared. But don't worry she's fine." He thought for a second. 'This kid is about to freak out.' He gently picked her up and put her in his lap. "Do you want to hear a story?" He asked. She looked up at him a nodded. "Well, a long time ago there was this village. . .in Scotland. But, the people that lived in this village weren't normal people, they were immortal. Do you know what that means?" She shook her head. "That means they can't die, no matter what. The immortals lived peacefully without any contact with humans for thousands of years. But as the human population grew, they moved closer and closer to the immortals' village. And soon they became neighbors. The immortals couldn't let the humans know their secret; they wouldn't understand and try to kill them. So, the immortals left their village and moved all over the globe to hide among the humans. Some immortals, the good ones, felt that they could blend in with the humans and even become friends with them. But other immortals felt that the humans were inferior and they should be dominated and used to serve the immortals." The little girl's eyes grew wide. "A big fight began between the two groups of immortals, and soon they discovered something. Something very bad."
"What?" The girl asked.
Richie smiled, "The village's close bond is what kept the immortals immortal. And now that they were divided as a people, there was a way for them to die."
"How?"
"You had to divide the immortal, by taking his head." The little girl's jaw dropped and a few adults that had been half listening to Richie's story gasped. "Soon there was a secret battle going on in the human's world. For the bad immortals the point of the battle was to kill all the good immortals so they could enslave the humans. The good immortals tried not to fight, but sometimes they had to. As the years went by, the goal of the battle changed. And the immortals' fight had only one rule. . ."
"In the end, there can be only one." A deep voice finished. Richie looked up, he hadn't noticed the man in the long coat approach him.
"You already heard this one?" He gulped.
"I really hate to do this to you baby, but you have to work with here." Rylan mumbled as she messed with the wires under the dashboard of the T- Bird. She smiled as the motor whined, then purred to life.
"Lose your keys?"
"Yeah, kinda." She looked at the pair of shiny black shoes under the door of the car. Slowly she looked up. "This isn't what it looks like."
"It looks like you're trying to hot-wire this car." The policemen said.
"One, I'm not trying, I got it started. And two, I'm not your problem. There's something going down at the bank. You need to go check it out."
"Oh, really. Turn around, hands behind your head." The officer reached for his handcuffs.
"I'm serious! My friend's in there. You need to do something."
. . . . . .
Richie leaned against the wall. 'Why me?' he thought 'Why is it always me? How do I manage to do this? Every damn time something happens in this stupid city, somehow I get involved. I don't get it.' He closed his eyes and sighed. 'This is ridiculous. This is insane. Rylan should drop the immortal stories; my life is much more interesting. How many people get held hostage? How many people has it happened to more than once? The cops are never around when you need them. I hope they choke on their doughnuts, and spill hot coffee all over themselves.' He was torn from his thoughts when he felt a small hand find it's way into his. He looked down at the little girl, who was sitting next to him.
"I'm scared." She whispered to him. Richie looked at the girl's mother who was sitting quietly going into shock and ignoring everything going on around her.
"Everything is going to be okay." He promised her. He watched the man in the long coat pick and choose what he wanted out of various safety deposit boxes.
"Cole, what's wrong with my mommy?" The little girl asked. It took Richie a moment to realize she was talking to him.
"Nothing is wrong with her, sometimes adults don't know what to do when they get scared. But don't worry she's fine." He thought for a second. 'This kid is about to freak out.' He gently picked her up and put her in his lap. "Do you want to hear a story?" He asked. She looked up at him a nodded. "Well, a long time ago there was this village. . .in Scotland. But, the people that lived in this village weren't normal people, they were immortal. Do you know what that means?" She shook her head. "That means they can't die, no matter what. The immortals lived peacefully without any contact with humans for thousands of years. But as the human population grew, they moved closer and closer to the immortals' village. And soon they became neighbors. The immortals couldn't let the humans know their secret; they wouldn't understand and try to kill them. So, the immortals left their village and moved all over the globe to hide among the humans. Some immortals, the good ones, felt that they could blend in with the humans and even become friends with them. But other immortals felt that the humans were inferior and they should be dominated and used to serve the immortals." The little girl's eyes grew wide. "A big fight began between the two groups of immortals, and soon they discovered something. Something very bad."
"What?" The girl asked.
Richie smiled, "The village's close bond is what kept the immortals immortal. And now that they were divided as a people, there was a way for them to die."
"How?"
"You had to divide the immortal, by taking his head." The little girl's jaw dropped and a few adults that had been half listening to Richie's story gasped. "Soon there was a secret battle going on in the human's world. For the bad immortals the point of the battle was to kill all the good immortals so they could enslave the humans. The good immortals tried not to fight, but sometimes they had to. As the years went by, the goal of the battle changed. And the immortals' fight had only one rule. . ."
"In the end, there can be only one." A deep voice finished. Richie looked up, he hadn't noticed the man in the long coat approach him.
"You already heard this one?" He gulped.