So, this review is coming a chapter later but, to my buddy ScribbleDribble (who needs a nickname as well...), it's interesting how you think that Kimberly is heartless 'cause she doesn't like dogs. I mean, I agree and have no idea why anyone could not like dogs but...anyway. As for pyroprincess's question about the urban legend, basically all the legend is that a group of kids are on a school bus and one girl sticks her head out the window and it gets cut off by a street sign. This is random but, I just got a mouse and, is it weird that he jumps from the floor to the top of the cage (which is wire mesh) and walks around upside down? Oh well, just a little food for thought. Anyway, please review and enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Protection
Kimberly was more then sick of hearing ambulance sirens, though, by the way things were looking, she was going to keep hearing them in her foreseeable future. The skinny streets that weaved in and out of the complexes were clustered with police cars, an ambulance and a black coroner's truck, all familiar sights to the girl. Since there was nothing that could be done for Skye, the paramedics were tending to Scott, who was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably, which caused Kimberly to believe that he would seen be given some sort of sedative. That was simply how the paramedics worked, she knew from experience.
Thomas was being questioned by his fellow officers, though the story was pretty cut and dry, even to them; there had been no foul play involved, but it was still their job. Altessa was still sitting on the ground, silent and motionless, watching the coroner zip Skye into a opaque black bag. Kimberly turned away from the unfolding scene and instead looked over at the teenager, who continued to stare ahead blankly.
Kimberly knelt beside the girl, who only looked over when she did, eyes wide with unshed tears. "I don't understand it Kimberly, I thought we could stop her from dying, we knew she was next."
"We didn't get here in time, we couldn't have saved her." Kimberly mumbled, hoping the words would be at least a small comfort, though she knew they would inspire no such thing. "We tried."
Altessa nodded mutely before leaning into the brunette, seeking to be comforted physically, since words had no affect; Kimberly wrapped her arm's around the teenager, feeling the same desire to sheltered, protected and comforted. If only it was that easy to feel and remain safe.
The two finally parted when Thomas approached them, looking more exhausted and depleted then he had in days. "The police want to question Scott, so they're bringing him to the station." He informed them, his next words directed at Altessa. "Do you think he's next?"
"Quite possibly." Altessa muttered, looking as though she didn't exactly like speaking those words. "Thomas, is there some way that you can place Scott under protective custody?" She knew it was a semi-stretch, since they really didn't have any grounds to do such a thing but it seemed like the only thing they could do to at least attempt to protect Scott. They hadn't been able to save Skye and they had known that she was next, how they save Scott if they still weren't sure.
Thomas appeared to be mulling over the idea before finally shrugging his shoulders. "It's worth a try. But do you think that would actually work?" He questioned, though they had never tried placing any of the survivors under official protection. Clear had tried to protect herself by placing herself in Stonybrook and it had seemed to work pretty well. Until she got out that is.
"What do we have to lose?" Kimberly asked, standing up and helping Altessa to her feet as well. "It might be the only that actually works, until we figure out how to beat the Design anyway."
So with that decision made, Thomas left the girls to speak with the officers again, no doubt making up some reason as to way Scott Sanders into protective custody. Altessa sighed, shifting her weight and glancing over at Kimberly to keep from watching the coroner place Skye's head into a bag, a task he didn't seem too excited about. "Kimberly what are we going to do? How are we going to stop the Design?" Altessa questioned, looking at the brunette with a pained expression upon her face.
No matter how hard she tried, Kimberly couldn't come up with an answer for the girl.
* * *
The chief of police, who had come done to visit the horrid accident sight, wasn't too keen on the idea of placing Scott in protective custody, especially now that he was being questioned as the potential murderer of his girlfriend. Half dazed from the sedative he had been given, Scott was led into the back of a police car, much to his surprise.
Altessa frowned as she watched the cruiser drive toward the local station with one of the last survivors in the back seat. "I don't understand how they can arrest him, don't they understand that it was an accident?" She questioned, looking over at Thomas, who simply shrugged.
"They have to question him, regardless of it was an accident or not." He answered, though his answer didn't satisfy the teenager, who kept silent despite that fact.
"I think we should follow them to the station, much sure that he's all right and if they release him, we need to talk with him." Kimberly remarked, looking as though she didn't think anything and that her words weren't a request or a suggestion.
Intent on looking out for another survivor, the trio headed back to the SUV, which had remained beside the curb for the duration of the time, and followed the gaggle of police cruisers back toward the Eastview Police Station.
* * *
By the time Kimberly, Altessa and Thomas had arrived at the police station, they had already whisked Scott away into a back room. Thomas went to talk to one of the lower officers - "Someone I actually have more authority over"- and learned that the question could go on for a while.
Altessa sighed and dropped down onto the same bench she had sat upon the day she had met Kimberly, back when her mother was still alive and there was still some amount of hope. Kimberly took a set beside her, surveying the decor that she had grown familiar with in all the times she had come to visit Thomas while he was at work. The station forever remained unchanged, with nothing but spare white walls and a trio of flags hanging from the wall just above where they sat. One was the American flag, one the New York state, and the flag of the police station; all were hanging proudly on wooden shafts with polished, pointed metal tips.
Kimberly frowned when she noticed the tips and moved closer toward Altessa, where she would be out from underneath them. If Altessa noticed the brunette's unease she didn't say anything about it, glancing upward and noticing the points as well.
Thomas returned to stand before the girls saying, "Scott's being questioned right now, but I'm sure they'll find nothing amiss with his stories and ours and realize that there's nothing foul about what happened to Skye."
"Nothing can happen to Scott while the police are all questioning him right? I mean, he's safe for the time being." Altessa asked, looking at Kimberly instead of Thomas.
Kimberly shrugged instead of answering, having no way of knowing for sure and not wanting to give any of them false hope. "We can hope, but we don't know for sure; but we do know that Death can manipulate stuff."
Altessa didn't say anything about her comment, knowing that the brunette spoke the truth. Thomas sat down beside Kimberly, seeming not to the notice the potentially dangerous flags above his head. And so, the trio sat in silence for ten minutes, waiting for Scott to finish being questioned by the police so they could keep a closer eye upon him.
Finally, Scott and a gaggle of police escorts emerged from the corridor where the man had been questioned; Scott looked no better, still shaking, crying much quieter now, eyes red-rimmed. Thomas stood once again to go speak with the officers, still intent on seeing if they could place Scott under protective custody; he wanted the other officers charged with protecting him, so that if something happened to Scott -which it surely would- then he, or Kimberly or Altessa, would feel guilty about not being able to save him.
Scott intercepted him before he could go any further. "All that stuff about Death is true isn't it, I'm going to die." It wasn't really a question, but simply a statement of fact, one that Thomas wanted to disagree with but couldn't, not logically.
"We're going to try and keep you safe, Scott, maybe give put you under police protection." Thomas told him, not sure if he was attempting to comfort the man or stating a fact just as he had done.
Scott sighed wearily, not bothering to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "What's the point? Skye is dead, what's the point?" He mumbled, not saying anything more as he let Thomas direct him toward the bench where Kimberly and Altessa sat, taking a seat beside the brunette.
Thomas realized that he knew how Scott was feeling; if anything happened to Kimberly, he wouldn't see the point in continuing to fight either. Instead of admitting these facts out loud, he began to speak with the chief of police, who had much to say upon the subject.
Altessa glanced over at Scott when sat down, sighing just as he had before he had joined them. "I know how you feel, Mr. Sanders." She muttered, not quite sure the point of her words. When he gave her a skeptical look she said, "My family and friends are all dead. Well, except for Kimberly."
Scott gave another sigh as he studied the raven-haired girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." He muttered lamely, feeling slightly guilty about his emotion, though he wasn't quite sure why. This almost anonymous teenager had lost every member of her family and everyone else she had cared about, yet she didn't look as though she had ever shed a tear; however, he was allowed to grieve for the love of his life.
Altessa was about to reply when there was a solid thumping noise that reverberated through the wall and wooden back of the bench. Kimberly, Altessa and Scott both turned to face the direction of the sound to see that what looked like a metal mail cart had slammed into the wall after the young secretary manning it had lost control. Kimberly let out a sigh of relief that nothing horrible had come from the sound.
Altessa leaned away from the back of the bench for a second, shifting herself to become more comfortable before leaning back against the wall and knocking her head against it.
When the American flag slipped from its metal holder, knocked loose by the mail cart and Altessa's actions, it made very little sound; there was none, in fact, aside from the fluttering fabric of the flag. However, when the metal tip impaled itself into the man's skull, splitting the bone, a grotesquely fleshy sound echoed through the station.
Kimberly let out a scream of surprise as she was coated with blood and flecks of gray membrane and skull. Her screams of surprise quickly to screams of fear and panic, which brought Thomas and the other officer's running. Scott's corpse toppled over onto the brunette, causing more screams as she scampered out beneath the body, dropping to the ground, which was coated with a fair amount of blood and gore as well.
Altessa jumped to her feet as well, swallowing a shriek as she realized that she had a bit of blood and membrane upon her cheek and in her hair as well. She hurriedly wiped the gore away, scrubbing with the palm of her hand even after it had been smudged off her skin.
Kimberly continued to sob even as Thomas put him arms around her and began whispering comforting words to her; the feeling of the blood and gore upon her body was unlike any that she had ever felt before and she felt like she would never be clean again. The feeling grew worse when she saw a sticky gray matter coating her clothing and skin, mixed in with the red of the blood. Her screams became even more hoarse and high-pitched when she realized just what the gray matter was.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Protection
Kimberly was more then sick of hearing ambulance sirens, though, by the way things were looking, she was going to keep hearing them in her foreseeable future. The skinny streets that weaved in and out of the complexes were clustered with police cars, an ambulance and a black coroner's truck, all familiar sights to the girl. Since there was nothing that could be done for Skye, the paramedics were tending to Scott, who was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably, which caused Kimberly to believe that he would seen be given some sort of sedative. That was simply how the paramedics worked, she knew from experience.
Thomas was being questioned by his fellow officers, though the story was pretty cut and dry, even to them; there had been no foul play involved, but it was still their job. Altessa was still sitting on the ground, silent and motionless, watching the coroner zip Skye into a opaque black bag. Kimberly turned away from the unfolding scene and instead looked over at the teenager, who continued to stare ahead blankly.
Kimberly knelt beside the girl, who only looked over when she did, eyes wide with unshed tears. "I don't understand it Kimberly, I thought we could stop her from dying, we knew she was next."
"We didn't get here in time, we couldn't have saved her." Kimberly mumbled, hoping the words would be at least a small comfort, though she knew they would inspire no such thing. "We tried."
Altessa nodded mutely before leaning into the brunette, seeking to be comforted physically, since words had no affect; Kimberly wrapped her arm's around the teenager, feeling the same desire to sheltered, protected and comforted. If only it was that easy to feel and remain safe.
The two finally parted when Thomas approached them, looking more exhausted and depleted then he had in days. "The police want to question Scott, so they're bringing him to the station." He informed them, his next words directed at Altessa. "Do you think he's next?"
"Quite possibly." Altessa muttered, looking as though she didn't exactly like speaking those words. "Thomas, is there some way that you can place Scott under protective custody?" She knew it was a semi-stretch, since they really didn't have any grounds to do such a thing but it seemed like the only thing they could do to at least attempt to protect Scott. They hadn't been able to save Skye and they had known that she was next, how they save Scott if they still weren't sure.
Thomas appeared to be mulling over the idea before finally shrugging his shoulders. "It's worth a try. But do you think that would actually work?" He questioned, though they had never tried placing any of the survivors under official protection. Clear had tried to protect herself by placing herself in Stonybrook and it had seemed to work pretty well. Until she got out that is.
"What do we have to lose?" Kimberly asked, standing up and helping Altessa to her feet as well. "It might be the only that actually works, until we figure out how to beat the Design anyway."
So with that decision made, Thomas left the girls to speak with the officers again, no doubt making up some reason as to way Scott Sanders into protective custody. Altessa sighed, shifting her weight and glancing over at Kimberly to keep from watching the coroner place Skye's head into a bag, a task he didn't seem too excited about. "Kimberly what are we going to do? How are we going to stop the Design?" Altessa questioned, looking at the brunette with a pained expression upon her face.
No matter how hard she tried, Kimberly couldn't come up with an answer for the girl.
* * *
The chief of police, who had come done to visit the horrid accident sight, wasn't too keen on the idea of placing Scott in protective custody, especially now that he was being questioned as the potential murderer of his girlfriend. Half dazed from the sedative he had been given, Scott was led into the back of a police car, much to his surprise.
Altessa frowned as she watched the cruiser drive toward the local station with one of the last survivors in the back seat. "I don't understand how they can arrest him, don't they understand that it was an accident?" She questioned, looking over at Thomas, who simply shrugged.
"They have to question him, regardless of it was an accident or not." He answered, though his answer didn't satisfy the teenager, who kept silent despite that fact.
"I think we should follow them to the station, much sure that he's all right and if they release him, we need to talk with him." Kimberly remarked, looking as though she didn't think anything and that her words weren't a request or a suggestion.
Intent on looking out for another survivor, the trio headed back to the SUV, which had remained beside the curb for the duration of the time, and followed the gaggle of police cruisers back toward the Eastview Police Station.
* * *
By the time Kimberly, Altessa and Thomas had arrived at the police station, they had already whisked Scott away into a back room. Thomas went to talk to one of the lower officers - "Someone I actually have more authority over"- and learned that the question could go on for a while.
Altessa sighed and dropped down onto the same bench she had sat upon the day she had met Kimberly, back when her mother was still alive and there was still some amount of hope. Kimberly took a set beside her, surveying the decor that she had grown familiar with in all the times she had come to visit Thomas while he was at work. The station forever remained unchanged, with nothing but spare white walls and a trio of flags hanging from the wall just above where they sat. One was the American flag, one the New York state, and the flag of the police station; all were hanging proudly on wooden shafts with polished, pointed metal tips.
Kimberly frowned when she noticed the tips and moved closer toward Altessa, where she would be out from underneath them. If Altessa noticed the brunette's unease she didn't say anything about it, glancing upward and noticing the points as well.
Thomas returned to stand before the girls saying, "Scott's being questioned right now, but I'm sure they'll find nothing amiss with his stories and ours and realize that there's nothing foul about what happened to Skye."
"Nothing can happen to Scott while the police are all questioning him right? I mean, he's safe for the time being." Altessa asked, looking at Kimberly instead of Thomas.
Kimberly shrugged instead of answering, having no way of knowing for sure and not wanting to give any of them false hope. "We can hope, but we don't know for sure; but we do know that Death can manipulate stuff."
Altessa didn't say anything about her comment, knowing that the brunette spoke the truth. Thomas sat down beside Kimberly, seeming not to the notice the potentially dangerous flags above his head. And so, the trio sat in silence for ten minutes, waiting for Scott to finish being questioned by the police so they could keep a closer eye upon him.
Finally, Scott and a gaggle of police escorts emerged from the corridor where the man had been questioned; Scott looked no better, still shaking, crying much quieter now, eyes red-rimmed. Thomas stood once again to go speak with the officers, still intent on seeing if they could place Scott under protective custody; he wanted the other officers charged with protecting him, so that if something happened to Scott -which it surely would- then he, or Kimberly or Altessa, would feel guilty about not being able to save him.
Scott intercepted him before he could go any further. "All that stuff about Death is true isn't it, I'm going to die." It wasn't really a question, but simply a statement of fact, one that Thomas wanted to disagree with but couldn't, not logically.
"We're going to try and keep you safe, Scott, maybe give put you under police protection." Thomas told him, not sure if he was attempting to comfort the man or stating a fact just as he had done.
Scott sighed wearily, not bothering to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "What's the point? Skye is dead, what's the point?" He mumbled, not saying anything more as he let Thomas direct him toward the bench where Kimberly and Altessa sat, taking a seat beside the brunette.
Thomas realized that he knew how Scott was feeling; if anything happened to Kimberly, he wouldn't see the point in continuing to fight either. Instead of admitting these facts out loud, he began to speak with the chief of police, who had much to say upon the subject.
Altessa glanced over at Scott when sat down, sighing just as he had before he had joined them. "I know how you feel, Mr. Sanders." She muttered, not quite sure the point of her words. When he gave her a skeptical look she said, "My family and friends are all dead. Well, except for Kimberly."
Scott gave another sigh as he studied the raven-haired girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." He muttered lamely, feeling slightly guilty about his emotion, though he wasn't quite sure why. This almost anonymous teenager had lost every member of her family and everyone else she had cared about, yet she didn't look as though she had ever shed a tear; however, he was allowed to grieve for the love of his life.
Altessa was about to reply when there was a solid thumping noise that reverberated through the wall and wooden back of the bench. Kimberly, Altessa and Scott both turned to face the direction of the sound to see that what looked like a metal mail cart had slammed into the wall after the young secretary manning it had lost control. Kimberly let out a sigh of relief that nothing horrible had come from the sound.
Altessa leaned away from the back of the bench for a second, shifting herself to become more comfortable before leaning back against the wall and knocking her head against it.
When the American flag slipped from its metal holder, knocked loose by the mail cart and Altessa's actions, it made very little sound; there was none, in fact, aside from the fluttering fabric of the flag. However, when the metal tip impaled itself into the man's skull, splitting the bone, a grotesquely fleshy sound echoed through the station.
Kimberly let out a scream of surprise as she was coated with blood and flecks of gray membrane and skull. Her screams of surprise quickly to screams of fear and panic, which brought Thomas and the other officer's running. Scott's corpse toppled over onto the brunette, causing more screams as she scampered out beneath the body, dropping to the ground, which was coated with a fair amount of blood and gore as well.
Altessa jumped to her feet as well, swallowing a shriek as she realized that she had a bit of blood and membrane upon her cheek and in her hair as well. She hurriedly wiped the gore away, scrubbing with the palm of her hand even after it had been smudged off her skin.
Kimberly continued to sob even as Thomas put him arms around her and began whispering comforting words to her; the feeling of the blood and gore upon her body was unlike any that she had ever felt before and she felt like she would never be clean again. The feeling grew worse when she saw a sticky gray matter coating her clothing and skin, mixed in with the red of the blood. Her screams became even more hoarse and high-pitched when she realized just what the gray matter was.