Unhealthy Attraction

Chapter 6: Violence

A/N: Good, my goal, so far, is complete. Hardly anyone is agreeing as to who they think the murderer is. I'm counting at least twelve suspects that you guys have pointed out. Maybe I shouldn't be giving everyone a motive… Nah! This is so much more entertaining! Don't bother asking me as to if you are right or not, everyone will find out who the killer is at the same time.

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The entire town was gathered at the Inn, just as Mayor Thomas had ordered. Just a few short hours ago, the pudgy mayor had waked the entire village with the horrible news of another murder. Now, people demanded answers, wanting to know what was going on and if they were safe. Everyone's suspicions had become heightened, keeping an eye on the person closest to them. Who knew if that kind hearted soul was actually a disturbed individual who enjoyed murder?

The three remaining girls had gotten together and were discussing their worries. "I'm scared." Mary whimpered. Popuri and Ann nodded solemnly. They had grown up with Elli and Karen, and now, both were gone. For all they knew, one of them could be the next target of the killer if he or she decided to strike again.

"Popuri, I'm sorry that I thought you killed Elli." Ann admitted, "Hey, I even thought that I had a good reason to do it, too. Both of us are attracted to Jack and Elli was in our way. That gave us both a motive. But, Karen didn't have anything to do with Jack, so why would one of us kill her?"

"Oh, you two like Jack, too?" Mary asked. "Great! Another rival!" Popuri mused, angered at the thought that she would need to outshine two girls in order to win Jack after this was all over.

Silence quickly befell the gathered townspeople as Mayor Thomas cleared his throat. "Friends, I am afraid that we are faced with a serious problem." Thomas began, but was quickly interrupted by Sasha, yelling, "You're right that this is a problem! My daughter was murdered last night and I want to know who did it!" A shout of approval came from the villagers.

"Please stay calm, everyone. The good Doctor Tim is currently carrying out an autopsy and he should be coming by later with the results. We don't know if it will reveal anything useful, but it is worth a shot." Thomas explained.

"Where was her body found?" Gotz demanded.

Mayor Thomas had a bead of sweat running down his temple. He was under a huge amount of pressure to answer the villager's questions. "Jack found Karen's body draped up in the waterwheel on his farm."

"Well, isn't that convenient!" Doug huffed. "The person who found the body was the last person that Karen was with!"

"What are you implying, Doug?" Jack demanded.

The bartender shrugged his shoulders, "I just find it suspicious that when I closed the Inn last night, you left with Karen and she ended up dead."

All eyes were on Jack, who was shifting about nervously. "I don't really remember what happened last night. I was too drunk." Jack admitted.

"Then, what were you doing awake at that hour?" Thomas inquired. Things were starting to look really bad for the farmer. He was new to this town, so nobody knew much about his real character.

Jack was becoming really nervous, trying to back away into a shadow and hide from the prying eyes. "My dog was barking at something outside, so I went to check on it. That's when I found Karen."

Thomas obviously wasn't satisfied with Jack's response. "Jack, I'd like for you to stay behind after the meeting to answer some more questions for Officer Harris. For everyone else, I am imposing a curfew at nightfall. Anyone caught outdoors after the sun has set will be imprisoned for the night. Meeting adjourned."

Immediately the crowded Inn began to empty of occupants as everyone went to carry out their daily routines. Almost all of the suspicion that Popuri was the murderer had vanished, with Jack replacing her as the scapegoat. Popuri found herself letting everyone else leave, waiting for some privacy. Soon, it was only Popuri, Jack, Mayor Thomas, Doug, and Officer Harris left in the Inn. "You can leave Popuri. We didn't ask for you to stay." Harris stated rather coldly.

"I know." Popuri replied. Rather than head for the front door, she went straight to Jack. The farmer looked at her, curious as to what she was going to do. "I know you didn't kill those girls." Popuri whispered in Jack's ear as she walked past him and out the door.

Popuri decided that she had better walk home. Just the mere thought that she was alone frightened her. She was suspicious of everyone around her, feeling their probing eyes pierce through her heart. The best thing for her to do at the moment was to head home where it was safe.

The village square was buzzing with activity as the citizens of the town were holding a debate. Heated arguments, either accusing or defending a certain person, were tearing the town apart. It wouldn't be long until trusted friends became bitter enemies. The murderer had to be caught before anything else happened. Popuri hurried past the arguers, hoping not to be seen as she made for the path up to her house. Luckily, she managed to pass by undetected, reaching the path without catching the accusing glance of anyone.

Popuri's heart almost leapt out of her chest as she got in sight of her house. Waiting at the entrance to the farm was a darker skinned man wearing a purple bandanna around his forehead. The man was casually leaning against the fence that ran along the trail, waiting for her to come home. Popuri didn't want to see him here, or anywhere for that matter, again. Kai had arrived in Mineral Town.

Kai looked up at the sound of Popuri's approaching footsteps. "Hey, babe. Long time, no see."

"Not today, Kai. I have more urgent matters to deal with." Popuri stated as she pushed past Kai and into the farm yard. Suddenly, Kai reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her back to face him. Popuri let out a surprised scream as Kai tightened his grip on her arm. "What are you doing?" She demanded, but her words sounded weak and frightened.

Kai looked at Popuri with an odd, almost sadistic, smile. "This wouldn't happen to include that farmer that you're interested in, does it?" Kai whispered, his voice dripping with cruel intentions. He was acting completely different than the Kai that she had known and once fell in live with.

"Let go of me!" Popuri screamed, twisting violently to break Kai's grip on her, but he wouldn't let his grip loosen even a little bit.

The smile on Kai's face was becoming grave and frightening, nearly reaching embodying evil. "I'd stay away from Jack, or you might end up like those other girls." Kai whispered deviously.

All color in Popuri's face drained. "Did he just threaten to kill me?" Popuri continued her struggle to escape from Kai, but he refused to let her go. Popuri felt herself getting angered by the actions of Kai. She reached out with an open palm, connecting cleanly with Kai's face.

Still, Kai held on, but now he was pissed off. Popuri uttered another scream as Kai raised a fist to strike her. Popuri closed her eyes, bracing for the pain, but it never came. Kai's grip on her arm was jerked away, freeing her. "What happened?" Popuri wondered, daring to peak open her eyes.

Kai was flat out on his back, trying desperately to fend off the punches of a very enraged Rick. Rick was unrelenting in his attack, refusing to stop after drawing blood. "Rick, that's enough!" Popuri whimpered, suddenly remembering her fear of Rick.

Rick must have heard Popuri's plea for him to cease because he stopped his assault on Kai. Kai quickly scampered to his feet, backing away from the still seething Rick. "I won't forget this! I'll get my revenge!" Kai shouted defiantly, holding a sleeve up to his bleeding nose.

This remark was dwarfed by Rick haunting response, "If you EVER lay a finger on my sister again, I won't hesitate to kill you." Kai immediately turned on his heels and ran off towards the beach. Surely, he would be reporting the incident to Thomas and Harris. "You ok, sis?" Rick asked, genuinely concerned.

Popuri rolled up her sleeve to uncover a patch of bruises from Kai's fingers. Her arm hurt beyond explanation, but she would be able to survive. "It's not that bad." She admitted, much to Rick's approval.

"I told you that I won't let anyone hurt you." Rick said, rather proudly. He had kept his promise to keep her safe. "If only you didn't kill people as part of your protection."

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Later that night, Popuri was sitting on the couch before the empty fireplace. She had a bag of ice pressed up against her bruised shoulder, which was stiffening up on her. Just a slight shiver caused her to almost cry out it pain. Kai had definitely become a lot stronger since he last was in Mineral Town.

Rick was keeping a watchful eye over his sister, ready to jump to her aid at the slightest wince of pain. Their mother had already gone off to bed, being too tired from her trip out to town earlier. She had actually demanded that she be taken into town to take part in the town meeting. Now, she was feeling the strain put on her already weakened body from the exercise.

A loud knock on the door snapped both youths out of their daydreams. They exchanged a nervous glance at each other, both fearing the same thing. What if it was Mayor Thomas on the other side of the door, with news of another victim? Rick cautiously approached the door and opened it to reveal… Jack. "Hey, is Popuri around?" The farmer asked politely.

"No." Rick muttered, slamming the door in Jack's face.

"Rick!" Popuri exclaimed, getting up to her feet. She stormed over to the door and reopened it. On the other side, Jack was paused in mid sentence, right where he had left off when the door was shut on him. "Sorry about that, Jack. My brother's just being overprotective today. What did you need?" Popuri apologized, trying to sound as sweet as possible despite the pain rupturing in her throbbing arm.

Jack chuckled at Popuri's comment. "So I heard. Kai came storming into the Inn and started complaining about being assaulted. You worked him over pretty well." Jack complimented. Rick merely shrugged his shoulders, not saying anything. Jack continued as if he hadn't noticed the cold shoulder that he was being given by Rick. "I just came by to see if you were alright." Jack admitted.

Popuri's heart soared. "Jack cares for me!" Inside, she was jumping for joy. On the outside she attempted to remain cool and collected. "I'm fine. Thanks for the concern, but I'm sure that I'll recover."

Jack smiled warmly at the good news. "In that case, I wish you a quick recovery. May this assist you." Jack reached into his rucksack and produced a beautiful white flower, which he offered to Popuri. Popuri was blushing beyond belief as she accepted the gift. Rick, meanwhile, rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Wow, thanks!" Popuri exclaimed, lifting her eyes from the flower to thank Jack, but he had already left. Popuri rushed to follow after the farmer, but stopped on the front porch. Someone else had come back and wanted to interrupt everything.

Kai shook his head at Popuri, "I told you to stay away from Jack, or else you'll end up like Karen and Elli."

"Look, I didn't kill anyone!" Jack declared.

Rick had come outside upon hearing Kai's voice. Rick glared at both of the visitors, clearly not trusting either one. The three men had formed a triangle that was closing in. "Obviously, you didn't believe my threat." Rick spat out at Kai.

Kai was glancing around nervously, taking in the surroundings to see if there was anything nearby that he could use to protect himself with. Seeing nothing, he came up with a plan, "Hey, let's not fight here. It's too crowded. If you guys are serious about a fight, meet me on the beach at midnight." With his challenge placed, Kai ran for safety.

Rick glared over at Jack, "What about you?"

"I'm not interested in a fight, so I'll let you take him on by yourself. Good luck." Jack stated, taking a look up at the sky. Sure enough, the sun was already setting. "It's nearly curfew, so I should get home and finish my work." With that, Jack departed, leaving Rick alone.

"Rick, you don't need to fight Kai. He already knows that you mean business." Popuri pleaded, but she knew that it would be pointless to try and change his mind. He had been waiting for a long time to have a reason to fight Kai, and now he had the chance to do it twice in one day. There would be a showdown on the beach at midnight.

Rick had almost lost every hint of being a good guy. Now, he was just a violence craving madman. He smiled at Popuri, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

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A/N: Actually, I have nothing to say… Just thanks for reading and please review. Next chapter update time will be posted on my profile, along with my other fics update window.