Shattered Hope
Chapter 11- the Truth Behind the Lies, Behind the Truth, Behind the Man, Behind the Stalking, Behind Serena
A.N.: this chapter was sooo difficult to write, first this crazy monkey chases me *sees crazy monkey running after her with a big banana wanting to be in the story*, then random people off the street *shottsy runs for dear like down busy down town street, crazy people are yelling and throwing paper at her telling her to write* and THEN! I got writers block!! *runs away from James Patterson, Steven King and Anne Rice who are all sporting really big bricks* whew that was difficult *brick slams into the back of her head and she falls down to the ground* oww that one really hurt!! *glares at Steven King* hey man I can have freaky characters too *another brick hits her, she looks at who threw it* Tramie!!!?!?!?!? What was that for?!?!? *rubs back of head* now that was just mean *pouts* and u are supposed to me my muse *runs in a corner and cries like a little girl, then realizes she is a girl* *mutters* damn bricks, and lastly my internet broke so that's why its taken me so long, any ways here is the chapter without further delay.
Previously in Shattered Hope:
"Mom, have you seen my pink sweater?" Serena rifled through her drawers in search of her light pink sweater.
Her mother walked by her door caring a laundry basket, "No sweetie, I haven't. Are you sure it's not in your laundry basket?" (Yes, this has importance to the chapter... I think...)
* * * * *
"Hi," Ami's saddened voice said on the other line. "I have news about Serena."
Darien sat up; she had his full attention, "What is it?"
"We found out Yukio's address, we were going to go check it out. I was wondering if you wanted to come with us."
"I'll be right there," he hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket. Andrew was left behind looking dumbfounded.
And now on with the show...
"This is the very worst wickedness, that we refuse to acknowledge the passionate evil that is in us. This makes us secret and rotten."ï¾ D.H. Lawrence
Evil. She had never thought that evil could truly exist in this place until today. She had met him, a stranger to all who knew not of his identity, only a few days ago. This man who seemed to be kind of heart was really full of bitterness, hatred and fiery anger.
"Serenity," a female voice pulled her out of her daze bringing her back into the world of the living.
She smiled lightly and smoothed out her dress, "Sorry about that Rei, I guess I was in another place for a minute there."
Rei laughed at her friend, "Your mother told me to come and get you for dinner," she noticed Serena's sour face, "I don't like him either but we all have to suffer his divine company," she stressed sarcastically. She too had found his 'excellence' rather annoying and cynical.
"I don't see why I have to," Serena was doing her best to try avoiding dinner. "Just tell my mother that I am not feeling well."
"Come on Serena, we have to go," Rei grabbed Serena's arm and pulled her off the bed. Serena was reluctant, so it made it harder for her. "Serena!" *Slam* She let go of Serena's arm, causing them to both fall to the floor.
"Ouch, that hurt," Serena rubbed her side. "Fine I'm coming but you have to sit next to me."
"Fine."
"Okay."
"Good."
"Good."
"Then lets go already," they left the room; Serena was trying to walk as slowly as possible. Finally they arrived in the dining room. Serena and Rei took a seat next to Keahi, who in turn was sitting on the left hand side of Serena's mother.
"Good to see that you two decided to join us for dinner," Keahi said quietly to her daughter.
"Sorry mother, we were looking for something," Rei tried to come up with some kind of an excuse.
"Yes," her mother knew all two well that the two girls were trying to avoid the company of Skinto. She had suffered being in his presence for 3 days and was hoping that he would leave soon.
Serena avoided the gaze of Skinto's prying eyes. The sight of him was disgusting, shovelling his dinner down his festering gob while he watched her. She wanted to vomit; it was disturbing to be in the same room, no correction, the same palace as him.
"So Skinto, how long will you be staying in the Moon Kingdom?" Keahi knew that a small conversation would start, but she didn't want it to last long. "A few days, we have business to discuss," he spoke while his mouth was full, some food falling out the sides of his mouth.
"Yes, I guess that we shall finish our negations tonight," Queen Serenity stated quietly.
"Yes, we shall," Skinto turned his attention back to his overly large plate.
Serena's appetite was completely gone. She had not taken one bite of her food since she had sat down. She looked at the plates around her and they were all full. Any one who was eating was taking tiny, little bites. Something caught her eye. Well, it was really someone. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. This new guy seemed familiar. He too had arrived around the time that Skinto had come.
She had talked to him briefly in the hall when he was looking for Keahi. He seemed to be nice and well mannered. She wondered if he worked for Skinto, but she even more so wondered where she had seen him before. He seemed so very familiar.
Once her mother had finished eating, she stood up and left. (back in the 1700's you could only leave after the royalty retired to bed. I don't know how this applies but I think it does) Soon other people followed. Serena was more than anxious to leave the dining room and silently thanked her mother when she finished.
"Princess," she felt someone pull on her arm. She turned around and noticed that it was...
Serena felt as if she was moving. She slowly opened her eyes and she noticed that her surroundings had changed. Her arms were still bound and her legs as well. She wasn't sitting on a chair anymore, rather she was sitting on carpeted floor. She was in a van with tinted windows and a locked sliding side door. She could tell that Yukio was driving, most likely moving to a different location after yesterdays attempt at escape.
She shifted her position so that she was more comfortable, wondering how long she had been out for. It was most likely all of last night, and she assumed that it was morning because even though the windows were tinted, specks of sunlight were shining through. She wondered if he could hear her. Did she even want him to hear her? Maybe she could feign sleep and when he least expected it, she could find a way out of here.
She saw a sharp metal edge on the door and scooted towards it. As she slowly tried to cut her rope binds on it, she felt the van come to a stop. She crawled back to her original spot and shut her eyes. She steadied her breathing to make it appear as if she was still sleeping. She heard the door open and the sound of it shutting. She kept on hoping that her concentration wouldn't break and Yukio would find out she was awake.
The sliding door opened and she could hear Yukio step into the back. She could hear his movements coming towards her and when he was so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face, she struck. She took the bridge of her hand and slammed it up his nose, causing him to fall backwards. She didn't have any time; she needed to get out of the van she, but his hand snagged her ankle. With her other foot, she kicked at him trying to get him to release. His grip tightened. She finally got a good shot in and kicked him square in the middle of his face. With his grip loosened, she rushed to the door and ran out. She had no clue where she was, all she knew was that she needed to get away.
* * * * *
"Darien! Wait up!" Andrew finally snapped out of his daze. He ran after Darien, who stormed out the door. He saw Darien enter the elevator, "Darien!" the door closed just before he reached it, and he slammed his fist against it, mumbling. He eyed the stairwell. Maybe he would make it in time if he ran. "Damn!" He turned and ran towards the stairs.
* * * * *
Darien impatiently waited for the elevator to reach the lobby. Why was it going so slow? Couldn't this thing go any faster? He gave a frustrated sigh. Ami knew something that might lead to Serena's where abouts. He needed to find her. He needed to know if she was okay and that she was safe, but most of all he needed to be with her. He needed to tell her how he felt about her, because he knew that in his heart he had fallen in love with her.
The door slid open and he rushed out. "Darien," a very tired and out of breath Andrew grabbed his arm. "I told," he panted, "to wait for me," pant, "where are you off too?"
"I need to go see Ami. She has some information about Serena," he wanted to get over there as soon as possible.
"I'm coming with you." Andrew said. Darien looked as if he was going to say no. "I don't care what you say, Serena is my friend too and if it's about her I'm going to help."
"Fine, we're taking my car." Darien walked out of the apartment building followed by Andrew.
* * * * *
Her legs hurt, she was tired and the drugs were having an effect on her. She kept on running, trees whipping by as she ran through the forest. She didn't recognize the area. It was completely new to her and it would be difficult for her to get out of here. /If only I had my communicator then... then I could get out of here./
* * * * *
"Darien, you're here," Ami walked over to him as he stepped towards the temple. She noticed that Andrew was behind him and she greeted him also.
Darien saw the other girls waiting on the steps, "Do you have the address?" He asked Ami.
"Right here," she held up a piece of paper.
"Then lets get going." The others got up and followed Ami's and Darien's lead.
* * * * *
The car pulled to a stop and Darien turned off the engine. "We're here."
The girls got out and stared at the house before them. It was old, damaged and in great need of some TLC. They stopped at the door, almost questioning who would go in first. Rei grabbed the handle and it slowly squeaked open. "After you," she said to Darien.
Darien walked in first and then the others came in after him. The air was stale and dust covered the entire place. It looked like no one was occupying this place. "Let's split up," he said simply to the girls.
"Ami and I will look around here," Lita offered.
"I'll come with you downstairs," Rei followed Darien as he walked in the direction of the basement.
Mina and Andrew where the only ones left standing in the front hall, "I guess the two of us are going upstairs." Mina looked at the cracked, unstable stairs before them.
Andrew gulped, at least it wasn't some dark, dankly basement. "Okay."
* * * * *
"Are you getting any readings, Ami?" Lita rifled through some drawers in the kitchen looking for anything unusual.
"No, there is no sign that she was ever here," she glanced up from her computer. She was hoping to find some thing, anything at all that might lead to Serena.
"Um Ami?"
"Yes?" Ami looked up from her computer screen. She wasn't really expecting what she saw.
"Is this...?" Lita couldn't believe it, "Is this Serena's pink sweater?" (a.n.: I told u it mattered) Sure enough, in Lita's hands was Serena's sweater.
Ami studied the sweater. She remembered that Serena had asked them if they had seen her sweater, because she was missing it. That had been before Yukio kidnapped her.
"Wasn't she looking for it?" Lita handed it over to Ami.
"Yes she..." Ami was cut off by screaming coming from upstairs.
* * * * *
The oak door slowly opened and Darien removed his hand from it. It squeaked, sending chills down Rei's spine. It was the classic sound of a creepy old house. She peered down the stairs, it was pitch black and neither of them could see anything. Darien felt the side of the wall, and the light clicked on. A single bulb dangled from the ceiling, swinging back and forth. Darien went down first seemingly unafraid of what might await the two of them at the bottom of the crooked steps.
Rei cautiously followed behind. /Maybe it was not the best idea going off into a dark and dankly basement./ The steps creaked under her feet, making her feel like each time she stepped down onto the next one they would all come crashing down.
At the bottom they were once again met with darkness and a new eerie silence that struck the soul. Rei hoped to the Kami's that Serena had or was not currently down here. "Is there a light switch?" She asked softly, causing Darien to jump like he had forgotten that she was in the same room with him. He tossed her something and it almost slipped from her hands; it was a flash light. "Why look for a light switch when you have a flash light," she quietly commented to herself.
She shone the light around and something caught her eye. "Darien, what does that look like to you?"
He stepped next to her so he could see what she was pointed at. "That's..."
"A picture of Serena," she cut him off. She moved the flash light around. What started as one picture turned into two and then three. They were taped to the wall, tons of them, ranging from different ages. It was like Yukio had stole them from a family photo album. Some were snapshots of Serena walking to school, others of her lounging around at home. Below them was a large mantle coming out from the wall. On it laid Serena's personal objects; her teddy bears, clothing and even her tooth brush. It was sickening, candles strewn all about. It was a shrine, Yukio's sick shrine to Serena.
Rei could feel Darien's anger radiating next to her. She was angry. That sick bastard had made a shrine of Serena, gone through her personal items and taken them for his own sick, disturbing pleasure. "Darien..."
A piercing scream from upstairs cut her off. They both rushed up to see what was wrong.
* * * * *
Fear consumed her. She didn't know if he was on her trail and she didn't really want to think about it. Running, running was what she had been doing for so long. It seemed like she had been running forever. She didn't know where she was going or where she was. All she knew was that she had to get away.
Her legs hurt, tired from the exercise. She was covered in scratches from the bushes and although they might not be bleeding, they hurt like hell. Her lungs banged against her chest, reminding her that she had run out of breath a long time ago. Her head was pounding with the beat of her heart. But none of that mattered as much as the pain of knowing that she might never make it home. She needed to see her family so she ran, no matter how tired she was or how painful it was, she ran like she had never run before.
* * * * *
Andrew glanced at the upstairs hall. It consisted of three rooms and near one room, which he assumed was a closet, sat a secretary. The secretary sat in the middle near the closet and only a few feet away was one door slightly ajar. At the far end was a closed door, bright illuminating light shone in the cracks at the bottom. It had a very eerie feeling about it.
"I'll check out this room here and you check out the one at the end of the hall okay?" Mina asked him. She didn't see his sign of discomfort.
"All right," He agreed. He waited and watched Mina walk into the room. He looked at the room which he was to go into and gulped. He paced himself, moving one foot after the other. The floor creaked on each account, which didn't really help his demeanour. He turned the slightly rusted handle to open it. It was stairs and at the top there was a window, which explained the light that had been shining from beneath the door. /Great, why did it have to be an attic?/ He paused and started walking up. He saw a wardrobe sitting against the right wall and a vanity on the left. Directly in the middle of the two was a twin bed.
The room had seen better days. Dust was collecting left and right, and cobwebs formed every where possible. The bed was also worse for wear. It almost looked like there was something in it. The covers were ruffled and the middle was the highest point. Andrew walked beside it. It looked like a woman, like she was sleeping. "Miss?" He asked quietly, "miss?" He gently shook her to try and wake her up. Her head rolled to the side facing him. Her eyes wide open in shock. Andrew jumped back startled, his stomach wrenching. Her body was in the early state of decay, so Andrew didn't need to check her pulse to tell that she was dead.
"Ahhhhh!" Mina caught sight of the dead woman. She had checked out the room downstairs and decided to meet up with Andrew. Yukio's room, or what seemed to be his room, looked pretty normal. Neat and tidy, no evidence that could lead to Serena's where abouts. It was actually a little freakishly clean; nothing was out of place. Now here she was standing next to Andrew, who didn't notice her entering the room (she could see why), looking at a dead body of a woman. "She's dead isn't she?"
He turned around to face her, not wanting to look at the dead body any longer. "I'm pretty sure she's dead..."
"What's going on? What was all the screaming about?" Lita asked as she and Ami ran into the room. They had heard the scream and whom ever it was sounded scared.
Ami noticed the woman on the bed before either Andrew or Mina answered. Mina still seemed to be in a state of shock. Ami cautiously walked past Andrew towards Yukio's mother. Her stomach flopped at the sight, but she tried to hold herself together. She put her fingers to the clammy skin on the woman's neck. She was dead, and from the looks of it she had been this way for a long time. "She's been here for a while, like this. I think she's Yukio's mother." She looked at the others. They didn't seem to do much, they were all letting it sink in. Serena was with someone who kept his dead mother's body in his house. They didn't want to think of the possibilities of what was happening to her right now.
Sometime when Ami was talking, Rei and Darien had walked in and they had heard the basis of the conversation. They didn't know how it all started, but they knew there was a dead body lying on that bed.
Finally Andrew spoke, "I think we should call the police. Whatever is going on here is serious and they need to be informed."
"And what are we going to tell them? That we broke into the house and found a dead body? We'll get in trouble for breaking and entering," Rei pointed out. She knew where Andrew was coming from, but there was still the matter that they had broken the law.
"Well, we have to do something about it. We can't just leave her here." Lita agreed with Andrew. They couldn't just leave her here and pretend nothing happened. But something got her. If the police were investigating, then why didn't they check out Yukio's house? Didn't someone tell them that Yukio had been stalking Serena?
"What if we made an anonymous phone call?" Ami offered, "We could say that we suspect something is amiss and ask if they could send an officer to check it out. Then they might come and search the house and find her. No one will know that we were ever here and they'll find the body."
It was a crazy thought, and what they were doing right now was extremely illegal.
"All right, all of you put your hands up!" A voice yelled to them from the stairs.
* * * * *
And that's the end of that chapter. Sorry about another evil ending, but please please review any way and tell me what you think and if you have ideas I'd love to hear them. I'd like to thank:
/Krystal Jade/- sorry about evil cliffy, * hopes she doesn't hit Shottsy *
/Mere Bear/- aww thanks for your support ^_^ *hugs*
/Chibi J/- LMAO!!!!! Your review was the best and funniest one I have ever read!!!! I couldn't stop laughing (am still laughing right now!) It was so priceless! I love it! Now to address your questions, but before I do I must say I loved this part (*picks Darien up out of the bucket of alcohol and slaps him around* I'll be done with him in a minute, then you can write a nice heroic scene with him saving the day and getting the girl. *drops Darien into a kiddy pool filled with coffee* )
*Shottsy is dubbed over laughing sees that everyone is looking at her and tries to recompose herself* okay number 1. Um Serena isn't addicted to drugs... (I hope not) she might have problems because of it as you've seen in this chapter.
2. To answer the question of how long the mother has been dead I would have to say a couple of weeks for months, her body has already started to process of decomposing.
3. About leaving the dead mother out... You didn't think I would just make her up for nothing? Although she has already played her role in the story and I don't think we'll be seeing much more of her (probably just the beginning of the next chapter).
/Serenity's Angel In Heaven/- don't fret she isn't caged anymore, she's free like a bird. *people glare at her * What do you mean, she is free I mean just because she's getting chased doesn't mean she isn't free.
/Ishkabod/- aww thanks that means so much that you put me on your author alert. ^_^
And little Maki- Chan (yes you are the little one [aka Tramie]) I would like to say... *pulls out big brick and hits her * ah that felt much better... n.e. ways thanks for your review even if you did hit me in the head with a brick * pats muse on head * now you just have to keep inspiring me so the nice people won't get angry with you... *smiles*
Until next time,
~*~Shottsy~*~
Chapter 11- the Truth Behind the Lies, Behind the Truth, Behind the Man, Behind the Stalking, Behind Serena
A.N.: this chapter was sooo difficult to write, first this crazy monkey chases me *sees crazy monkey running after her with a big banana wanting to be in the story*, then random people off the street *shottsy runs for dear like down busy down town street, crazy people are yelling and throwing paper at her telling her to write* and THEN! I got writers block!! *runs away from James Patterson, Steven King and Anne Rice who are all sporting really big bricks* whew that was difficult *brick slams into the back of her head and she falls down to the ground* oww that one really hurt!! *glares at Steven King* hey man I can have freaky characters too *another brick hits her, she looks at who threw it* Tramie!!!?!?!?!? What was that for?!?!? *rubs back of head* now that was just mean *pouts* and u are supposed to me my muse *runs in a corner and cries like a little girl, then realizes she is a girl* *mutters* damn bricks, and lastly my internet broke so that's why its taken me so long, any ways here is the chapter without further delay.
Previously in Shattered Hope:
"Mom, have you seen my pink sweater?" Serena rifled through her drawers in search of her light pink sweater.
Her mother walked by her door caring a laundry basket, "No sweetie, I haven't. Are you sure it's not in your laundry basket?" (Yes, this has importance to the chapter... I think...)
* * * * *
"Hi," Ami's saddened voice said on the other line. "I have news about Serena."
Darien sat up; she had his full attention, "What is it?"
"We found out Yukio's address, we were going to go check it out. I was wondering if you wanted to come with us."
"I'll be right there," he hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket. Andrew was left behind looking dumbfounded.
And now on with the show...
"This is the very worst wickedness, that we refuse to acknowledge the passionate evil that is in us. This makes us secret and rotten."ï¾ D.H. Lawrence
Evil. She had never thought that evil could truly exist in this place until today. She had met him, a stranger to all who knew not of his identity, only a few days ago. This man who seemed to be kind of heart was really full of bitterness, hatred and fiery anger.
"Serenity," a female voice pulled her out of her daze bringing her back into the world of the living.
She smiled lightly and smoothed out her dress, "Sorry about that Rei, I guess I was in another place for a minute there."
Rei laughed at her friend, "Your mother told me to come and get you for dinner," she noticed Serena's sour face, "I don't like him either but we all have to suffer his divine company," she stressed sarcastically. She too had found his 'excellence' rather annoying and cynical.
"I don't see why I have to," Serena was doing her best to try avoiding dinner. "Just tell my mother that I am not feeling well."
"Come on Serena, we have to go," Rei grabbed Serena's arm and pulled her off the bed. Serena was reluctant, so it made it harder for her. "Serena!" *Slam* She let go of Serena's arm, causing them to both fall to the floor.
"Ouch, that hurt," Serena rubbed her side. "Fine I'm coming but you have to sit next to me."
"Fine."
"Okay."
"Good."
"Good."
"Then lets go already," they left the room; Serena was trying to walk as slowly as possible. Finally they arrived in the dining room. Serena and Rei took a seat next to Keahi, who in turn was sitting on the left hand side of Serena's mother.
"Good to see that you two decided to join us for dinner," Keahi said quietly to her daughter.
"Sorry mother, we were looking for something," Rei tried to come up with some kind of an excuse.
"Yes," her mother knew all two well that the two girls were trying to avoid the company of Skinto. She had suffered being in his presence for 3 days and was hoping that he would leave soon.
Serena avoided the gaze of Skinto's prying eyes. The sight of him was disgusting, shovelling his dinner down his festering gob while he watched her. She wanted to vomit; it was disturbing to be in the same room, no correction, the same palace as him.
"So Skinto, how long will you be staying in the Moon Kingdom?" Keahi knew that a small conversation would start, but she didn't want it to last long. "A few days, we have business to discuss," he spoke while his mouth was full, some food falling out the sides of his mouth.
"Yes, I guess that we shall finish our negations tonight," Queen Serenity stated quietly.
"Yes, we shall," Skinto turned his attention back to his overly large plate.
Serena's appetite was completely gone. She had not taken one bite of her food since she had sat down. She looked at the plates around her and they were all full. Any one who was eating was taking tiny, little bites. Something caught her eye. Well, it was really someone. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. This new guy seemed familiar. He too had arrived around the time that Skinto had come.
She had talked to him briefly in the hall when he was looking for Keahi. He seemed to be nice and well mannered. She wondered if he worked for Skinto, but she even more so wondered where she had seen him before. He seemed so very familiar.
Once her mother had finished eating, she stood up and left. (back in the 1700's you could only leave after the royalty retired to bed. I don't know how this applies but I think it does) Soon other people followed. Serena was more than anxious to leave the dining room and silently thanked her mother when she finished.
"Princess," she felt someone pull on her arm. She turned around and noticed that it was...
Serena felt as if she was moving. She slowly opened her eyes and she noticed that her surroundings had changed. Her arms were still bound and her legs as well. She wasn't sitting on a chair anymore, rather she was sitting on carpeted floor. She was in a van with tinted windows and a locked sliding side door. She could tell that Yukio was driving, most likely moving to a different location after yesterdays attempt at escape.
She shifted her position so that she was more comfortable, wondering how long she had been out for. It was most likely all of last night, and she assumed that it was morning because even though the windows were tinted, specks of sunlight were shining through. She wondered if he could hear her. Did she even want him to hear her? Maybe she could feign sleep and when he least expected it, she could find a way out of here.
She saw a sharp metal edge on the door and scooted towards it. As she slowly tried to cut her rope binds on it, she felt the van come to a stop. She crawled back to her original spot and shut her eyes. She steadied her breathing to make it appear as if she was still sleeping. She heard the door open and the sound of it shutting. She kept on hoping that her concentration wouldn't break and Yukio would find out she was awake.
The sliding door opened and she could hear Yukio step into the back. She could hear his movements coming towards her and when he was so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face, she struck. She took the bridge of her hand and slammed it up his nose, causing him to fall backwards. She didn't have any time; she needed to get out of the van she, but his hand snagged her ankle. With her other foot, she kicked at him trying to get him to release. His grip tightened. She finally got a good shot in and kicked him square in the middle of his face. With his grip loosened, she rushed to the door and ran out. She had no clue where she was, all she knew was that she needed to get away.
* * * * *
"Darien! Wait up!" Andrew finally snapped out of his daze. He ran after Darien, who stormed out the door. He saw Darien enter the elevator, "Darien!" the door closed just before he reached it, and he slammed his fist against it, mumbling. He eyed the stairwell. Maybe he would make it in time if he ran. "Damn!" He turned and ran towards the stairs.
* * * * *
Darien impatiently waited for the elevator to reach the lobby. Why was it going so slow? Couldn't this thing go any faster? He gave a frustrated sigh. Ami knew something that might lead to Serena's where abouts. He needed to find her. He needed to know if she was okay and that she was safe, but most of all he needed to be with her. He needed to tell her how he felt about her, because he knew that in his heart he had fallen in love with her.
The door slid open and he rushed out. "Darien," a very tired and out of breath Andrew grabbed his arm. "I told," he panted, "to wait for me," pant, "where are you off too?"
"I need to go see Ami. She has some information about Serena," he wanted to get over there as soon as possible.
"I'm coming with you." Andrew said. Darien looked as if he was going to say no. "I don't care what you say, Serena is my friend too and if it's about her I'm going to help."
"Fine, we're taking my car." Darien walked out of the apartment building followed by Andrew.
* * * * *
Her legs hurt, she was tired and the drugs were having an effect on her. She kept on running, trees whipping by as she ran through the forest. She didn't recognize the area. It was completely new to her and it would be difficult for her to get out of here. /If only I had my communicator then... then I could get out of here./
* * * * *
"Darien, you're here," Ami walked over to him as he stepped towards the temple. She noticed that Andrew was behind him and she greeted him also.
Darien saw the other girls waiting on the steps, "Do you have the address?" He asked Ami.
"Right here," she held up a piece of paper.
"Then lets get going." The others got up and followed Ami's and Darien's lead.
* * * * *
The car pulled to a stop and Darien turned off the engine. "We're here."
The girls got out and stared at the house before them. It was old, damaged and in great need of some TLC. They stopped at the door, almost questioning who would go in first. Rei grabbed the handle and it slowly squeaked open. "After you," she said to Darien.
Darien walked in first and then the others came in after him. The air was stale and dust covered the entire place. It looked like no one was occupying this place. "Let's split up," he said simply to the girls.
"Ami and I will look around here," Lita offered.
"I'll come with you downstairs," Rei followed Darien as he walked in the direction of the basement.
Mina and Andrew where the only ones left standing in the front hall, "I guess the two of us are going upstairs." Mina looked at the cracked, unstable stairs before them.
Andrew gulped, at least it wasn't some dark, dankly basement. "Okay."
* * * * *
"Are you getting any readings, Ami?" Lita rifled through some drawers in the kitchen looking for anything unusual.
"No, there is no sign that she was ever here," she glanced up from her computer. She was hoping to find some thing, anything at all that might lead to Serena.
"Um Ami?"
"Yes?" Ami looked up from her computer screen. She wasn't really expecting what she saw.
"Is this...?" Lita couldn't believe it, "Is this Serena's pink sweater?" (a.n.: I told u it mattered) Sure enough, in Lita's hands was Serena's sweater.
Ami studied the sweater. She remembered that Serena had asked them if they had seen her sweater, because she was missing it. That had been before Yukio kidnapped her.
"Wasn't she looking for it?" Lita handed it over to Ami.
"Yes she..." Ami was cut off by screaming coming from upstairs.
* * * * *
The oak door slowly opened and Darien removed his hand from it. It squeaked, sending chills down Rei's spine. It was the classic sound of a creepy old house. She peered down the stairs, it was pitch black and neither of them could see anything. Darien felt the side of the wall, and the light clicked on. A single bulb dangled from the ceiling, swinging back and forth. Darien went down first seemingly unafraid of what might await the two of them at the bottom of the crooked steps.
Rei cautiously followed behind. /Maybe it was not the best idea going off into a dark and dankly basement./ The steps creaked under her feet, making her feel like each time she stepped down onto the next one they would all come crashing down.
At the bottom they were once again met with darkness and a new eerie silence that struck the soul. Rei hoped to the Kami's that Serena had or was not currently down here. "Is there a light switch?" She asked softly, causing Darien to jump like he had forgotten that she was in the same room with him. He tossed her something and it almost slipped from her hands; it was a flash light. "Why look for a light switch when you have a flash light," she quietly commented to herself.
She shone the light around and something caught her eye. "Darien, what does that look like to you?"
He stepped next to her so he could see what she was pointed at. "That's..."
"A picture of Serena," she cut him off. She moved the flash light around. What started as one picture turned into two and then three. They were taped to the wall, tons of them, ranging from different ages. It was like Yukio had stole them from a family photo album. Some were snapshots of Serena walking to school, others of her lounging around at home. Below them was a large mantle coming out from the wall. On it laid Serena's personal objects; her teddy bears, clothing and even her tooth brush. It was sickening, candles strewn all about. It was a shrine, Yukio's sick shrine to Serena.
Rei could feel Darien's anger radiating next to her. She was angry. That sick bastard had made a shrine of Serena, gone through her personal items and taken them for his own sick, disturbing pleasure. "Darien..."
A piercing scream from upstairs cut her off. They both rushed up to see what was wrong.
* * * * *
Fear consumed her. She didn't know if he was on her trail and she didn't really want to think about it. Running, running was what she had been doing for so long. It seemed like she had been running forever. She didn't know where she was going or where she was. All she knew was that she had to get away.
Her legs hurt, tired from the exercise. She was covered in scratches from the bushes and although they might not be bleeding, they hurt like hell. Her lungs banged against her chest, reminding her that she had run out of breath a long time ago. Her head was pounding with the beat of her heart. But none of that mattered as much as the pain of knowing that she might never make it home. She needed to see her family so she ran, no matter how tired she was or how painful it was, she ran like she had never run before.
* * * * *
Andrew glanced at the upstairs hall. It consisted of three rooms and near one room, which he assumed was a closet, sat a secretary. The secretary sat in the middle near the closet and only a few feet away was one door slightly ajar. At the far end was a closed door, bright illuminating light shone in the cracks at the bottom. It had a very eerie feeling about it.
"I'll check out this room here and you check out the one at the end of the hall okay?" Mina asked him. She didn't see his sign of discomfort.
"All right," He agreed. He waited and watched Mina walk into the room. He looked at the room which he was to go into and gulped. He paced himself, moving one foot after the other. The floor creaked on each account, which didn't really help his demeanour. He turned the slightly rusted handle to open it. It was stairs and at the top there was a window, which explained the light that had been shining from beneath the door. /Great, why did it have to be an attic?/ He paused and started walking up. He saw a wardrobe sitting against the right wall and a vanity on the left. Directly in the middle of the two was a twin bed.
The room had seen better days. Dust was collecting left and right, and cobwebs formed every where possible. The bed was also worse for wear. It almost looked like there was something in it. The covers were ruffled and the middle was the highest point. Andrew walked beside it. It looked like a woman, like she was sleeping. "Miss?" He asked quietly, "miss?" He gently shook her to try and wake her up. Her head rolled to the side facing him. Her eyes wide open in shock. Andrew jumped back startled, his stomach wrenching. Her body was in the early state of decay, so Andrew didn't need to check her pulse to tell that she was dead.
"Ahhhhh!" Mina caught sight of the dead woman. She had checked out the room downstairs and decided to meet up with Andrew. Yukio's room, or what seemed to be his room, looked pretty normal. Neat and tidy, no evidence that could lead to Serena's where abouts. It was actually a little freakishly clean; nothing was out of place. Now here she was standing next to Andrew, who didn't notice her entering the room (she could see why), looking at a dead body of a woman. "She's dead isn't she?"
He turned around to face her, not wanting to look at the dead body any longer. "I'm pretty sure she's dead..."
"What's going on? What was all the screaming about?" Lita asked as she and Ami ran into the room. They had heard the scream and whom ever it was sounded scared.
Ami noticed the woman on the bed before either Andrew or Mina answered. Mina still seemed to be in a state of shock. Ami cautiously walked past Andrew towards Yukio's mother. Her stomach flopped at the sight, but she tried to hold herself together. She put her fingers to the clammy skin on the woman's neck. She was dead, and from the looks of it she had been this way for a long time. "She's been here for a while, like this. I think she's Yukio's mother." She looked at the others. They didn't seem to do much, they were all letting it sink in. Serena was with someone who kept his dead mother's body in his house. They didn't want to think of the possibilities of what was happening to her right now.
Sometime when Ami was talking, Rei and Darien had walked in and they had heard the basis of the conversation. They didn't know how it all started, but they knew there was a dead body lying on that bed.
Finally Andrew spoke, "I think we should call the police. Whatever is going on here is serious and they need to be informed."
"And what are we going to tell them? That we broke into the house and found a dead body? We'll get in trouble for breaking and entering," Rei pointed out. She knew where Andrew was coming from, but there was still the matter that they had broken the law.
"Well, we have to do something about it. We can't just leave her here." Lita agreed with Andrew. They couldn't just leave her here and pretend nothing happened. But something got her. If the police were investigating, then why didn't they check out Yukio's house? Didn't someone tell them that Yukio had been stalking Serena?
"What if we made an anonymous phone call?" Ami offered, "We could say that we suspect something is amiss and ask if they could send an officer to check it out. Then they might come and search the house and find her. No one will know that we were ever here and they'll find the body."
It was a crazy thought, and what they were doing right now was extremely illegal.
"All right, all of you put your hands up!" A voice yelled to them from the stairs.
* * * * *
And that's the end of that chapter. Sorry about another evil ending, but please please review any way and tell me what you think and if you have ideas I'd love to hear them. I'd like to thank:
/Krystal Jade/- sorry about evil cliffy, * hopes she doesn't hit Shottsy *
/Mere Bear/- aww thanks for your support ^_^ *hugs*
/Chibi J/- LMAO!!!!! Your review was the best and funniest one I have ever read!!!! I couldn't stop laughing (am still laughing right now!) It was so priceless! I love it! Now to address your questions, but before I do I must say I loved this part (*picks Darien up out of the bucket of alcohol and slaps him around* I'll be done with him in a minute, then you can write a nice heroic scene with him saving the day and getting the girl. *drops Darien into a kiddy pool filled with coffee* )
*Shottsy is dubbed over laughing sees that everyone is looking at her and tries to recompose herself* okay number 1. Um Serena isn't addicted to drugs... (I hope not) she might have problems because of it as you've seen in this chapter.
2. To answer the question of how long the mother has been dead I would have to say a couple of weeks for months, her body has already started to process of decomposing.
3. About leaving the dead mother out... You didn't think I would just make her up for nothing? Although she has already played her role in the story and I don't think we'll be seeing much more of her (probably just the beginning of the next chapter).
/Serenity's Angel In Heaven/- don't fret she isn't caged anymore, she's free like a bird. *people glare at her * What do you mean, she is free I mean just because she's getting chased doesn't mean she isn't free.
/Ishkabod/- aww thanks that means so much that you put me on your author alert. ^_^
And little Maki- Chan (yes you are the little one [aka Tramie]) I would like to say... *pulls out big brick and hits her * ah that felt much better... n.e. ways thanks for your review even if you did hit me in the head with a brick * pats muse on head * now you just have to keep inspiring me so the nice people won't get angry with you... *smiles*
Until next time,
~*~Shottsy~*~
