Hi again! I'm sorry I gave you such an awful cliffhanger, but this chapter is ready now. ; P

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Chapter Fourteen-The Crime

"Missing," Danny repeated to himself in shock. Michelle took a look at the computer screen, and reacted by cupping her hand to her mouth in surprise. "I'm sure my father has something to do with this."

"Danny, what's going on?" Michelle asked quietly.

"It's a long story so to abridge it let's just say that my father is trying to ruin my life." Michelle still didn't quite understand, but decided not to question her stunned friend any further. "Well, I'm uh, gonna' go home now, Michelle… See ya' later." Each word that Danny spoke was clear and spoken very slowly. He left the little library with his mind in a boggle. "I wonder if this has anything to do with the scene I saw at the beach…and that threat Kai gave me." Thoughts bounced around in his head the whole way home and he was still in a trance as he walked through the door. He didn't even hear his uncle's questioning voice until his mind was in its right place again.

"Danny?" Rick asked. "Danny, what's wrong?"

"She's missing," he repeated again, still recovering from his state of shock.

"Who's missing?"

"Popuri."

"What!"

"She's missing."

"Ohhh, that Kai! It's him! I know it!"

"Yeah, and I think I've seen some things to prove it."

"What?"

"Well, the last night, I saw him pay some strange guy in a yellow suit, and he had a paper in his hand. Plus, there's that threat he told me."

"Well, we'd better keep our eyes peeled. There's no telling what that kaniving scoundrel's got up his sleeve."

"I'm gonna' see if I can find anything out."

"No! That's just what he wants."

"Uncle Rick, you worry too much. You worrried about my mother, and you worry about me. You've worried about something your whole life. Give it a rest." Rick turned away from his inquisitive nephew. He was right. Rick did worry too much and he knew it.

"Go feed the chickens, Danny."

"Yes, sir." He's afraid of losing me too, Danny thought. He's already lost his sister, but I'm gonna' find her. And at that moment, Danny rebelled against his uncle, and went to Mineral Beach. He was determined to find answers.

First, he staked out the beach and made sure that Kai was gone and then he entered the little beach shack. It was very musty inside and quite obvious that Kai hadn't taken very good care of it. Danny probed the shack, but found nothing more than a few customer orders and recipes. The situation seemed utterly hopeless, but suddenly he heard footsteps on the sand outside. He quickly dodged behind a counter and tried to hide himself the best he could. Then Kai stumbled into the shack. By the strange scent that Danny detected, he could tell that Kai was drunk. Kai stumbled around, looking for something, but within five minutes he'd collapsed and was out on the floor. Once Danny was sure that it was safe, he approached Kai and rummaged through the things that were in the backpack he'd carried into the room. He was disappointed to find that there were dozens of files in the bag. It would take quite a while to examine every one. He was about to leave the shack with the files in hand when a dark, towering figurerose behind him.

"What are you doing with those, you little brat?" the frightening voice of Danny's father questioned. "Ya' know, if you wouldn't have happened, I'd still be the respectable man I was years ago. I'd still love your mother, and we'd be living happily. It's all you fault that things are like this." Danny said nothing; he just cowered in fear. "But since you are here, I've found a way to benefit from it." But suddenly, Danny saw another figure approaching the scene.

"Get away from him, Kai!" ordered the figure.

"Rick? Aw, you're such a thorn in my side." Rick quickly ushered Danny behind him. "He's my son you know."

"Kai, you've ruined this family, and I will do everything in my power to repair all the damage you've done and put it to a stop." Then Rick grabbed Danny's hand and ran from the beach. "Danny, I told you to stay away from him! You could've gotten hurt!"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Rick."

"Yeah…me too." They walked the rest of the way home, and Rick sent Danny straight to bed. Danny, tired and beat from the events of the day, wasn't at all reluctant to rest his body, and he fell asleep instantly. But even this luxury was stolen from him when the terrible nightmare he'd had before haunted him again that night, but this time it had been stronger and more intense. Danny couldn't stand it any more. This horrible madness had to stop.

But despite the distractions, Danny still had to go to school the next day. Throughout the day, he just couldn't concentrate on anything but the fearfulness in his heart. Michelle had tried to get through to him, but he blocked everything else out. The mind blockage continued throughout the rest of the day.

Then, in the evening while the family was eating lunch, a loud barrage of knocks landed on the door. Rick cautiously got up from his chair and opened the door to stare face to face with Kai.

"Hey Ricky," he 'greeted' with a smirk, "I've come to take my son."

"We've been over this before, Kai! Danny isn't going anywhere!" Rick yelled in his face.

"Ah, ah, ah, I have the government on my side."

"What!" Kai fluttered a piece of paper in front of Rick.

"Yep! This document states that I have the legal right to take Danny." Kai then stepped to Danny and roughly grabbed his hand.

"You can't do this!"

"Say whatever you want, but I have the right." He then began dragging Danny away from his home.

"Nooo!" Danny screamed.

"You can't do this, Kai!" Rick yelled again. "I'll get Officer Harris! You won't get away with this!" But Kai ignored his threats and kept dragging Danny over to the beach. Rick wanted so bad to go after him, but knew that he could do nothing until he got Harris, but by the time he did it was too late.

"Get your hands off me!"

"Not a chance, pipsqueak." Next, Kai picked Danny up and put him over his shoulder. Danny continued his screaming, but Kai ignored him and pretty soon, he was boarding a boat at Mineral Beach. It was a private boat so he locked Danny in a room and started driving the boat.

Danny knocked and banged on the door with all his might, but nothing happened. He tired himself out rather quickly, and then he just layed on the floor, crying. He couldn't believe that his father had actually kidnapped him and was taking him away.

The boat continued to travel for quite a while. Danny's tears were all spent after a few hours. After he'd banged on the door with impressive force, tried to find a way out of the room, and examined every inch of the room, he decided that there was nothing he could do other than rest his tired body. So he curled up on the hard, wood floor and endeavored to fall asleep. Unfortunately, Kai used this to his advantage when he carried Danny off of the boat, and since Danny slept so deeply, he didn't wake up when Kai did so.

Danny woke in a very dark room. At first, he thought that he was still on the boat, but when the steady rocking of the sea ceased to begin, he perceived that he was somewhere else. He was lying on a soft, feathery bed with his face staring up at the ceiling. He tried to move his body, but it ached all over.

"Where am I?" he called out, not expecting an answer.

"Sun City," a weak voice replied.

"Wh-who was that?" Danny looked all around, but saw no one. But then, a flighty shadow drifted by a closed window.

"We're locked in," the voice stated as a rattling sound filled the room.

"Please tell me who you are."

"Who are you?"

"I-I'm Danny." The mysterious voice gasped, and Danny heard movement again. He felt as if the shadow's eyes were upon him.

"Wow, you've grown up so much."

"Do you know me?" Silence knifed the conversation and settled in. Finally, the shadow showed itself, and before Danny stood the darkened figure of a woman. Danny was still a bit confused as to who it was because the darkeness hid most of her appearance.

"I'm Popuri." Now it was Danny's turn to gasp. His mother was here, standing in front of him? But suddenly she fled from him again and disappeared into a closet. She returned a few minutes later with a candle in hand. Lifting the small beam of light to Danny's face, she took a good, long look at the son she'd left so long ago. "Gosh, you have my hair." Danny didn't know how to react, and was so stunned that he couldn't bring himself to speak. "I know it's a little too late to say this, but…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left you, and I understand if you hate me now." Finally, Danny knew what to say.

"I don't hate you…Mother," he simply stated. "I've been waiting my entire life for you. I-I made a promise that someday I'd find you, and now…it looks like I have."

"I'm sorry. I was too young…and too in love to share any type of sympathy with you. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself." But their strange coversation was broken when the door shot open.

"Looks like you two are getting better acquainted," Kai's harsh voice sassed. "Well, you'll have plenty more time to do that." Kai stepped closer to Popuri and was about to do something to her when the apartment door flew open.

"Police!" an officer yelled. Then, Kai froze in fear. The police officer quickly knocked Kai down on the bed and cuffed him up. Another officer escorted Popuri and Danny out of the stuffy apartment. It was over.

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Okay, I'm so sorry that this chapter was so horrible (as in the writing was bad). It's by far the most awful chapter I've written. Please excuse this because I'm not very good at writing scary things. Well, sorry again and I'll try to get the next chapter in soon.

Ann Fan