Unhealthy Attraction

Chapter 8: The Storm

A/N: The following chapter is dedicated to the loving memory of Mage. I've moved my signature up to the top of my fics, so I hope nobody minds. I'm sorry for the delay between chapters, but I'm sure that everyone understands. Where did I leave off? Oh, yeah. Popuri killed Kai because she thought she was avenging Rick's death. The identity of the murderer has yet to be discovered, but the murderer may be already dead or confined to her room. Keep up the detective work!

(-)

There was a loud knocking on the front door. This had become a part of the daily routine ever since Popuri killed Kai. Officer Harris stopped by at least four times a day, just to make sure that the young girl was still safely locked away in her room. Apparently, the proper authorities were having difficulty getting to Mineral Town, so Popuri had to be held under house arrest for a much longer period of time than was originally intended.

Lillia casually opened up the door, letting Harris inside. The officer was his normal cheery self, even taking the recent events into account. "Good morning Lillia." Harris nodded, dipping his cap towards the lady.

"Good morning, Harris. Would you like a cup of tea?" Lillia greeted, smiling sweetly as she motioned towards the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a boiling pot of tea ready on the stove.

Harris gladly accepted the drink, settling himself into one of the kitchen chairs. "How is Popuri holding up?" He asked, taking a tiny sip of his tea. "Wow, this is good! Where did you get it?"

Lillia smiled at the compliment. "Oh, that. Jack brought it over a couple of days ago. He said he got it from the Harvest Sprites. As for Popuri, she's having a little difficulty getting over the fact that she killed Kai. Other than that, she seems normal enough."

"Good to hear. I'm afraid that it will be a few days longer before the big guys at headquarters come by to pick her up. There's a big storm heading our way that should hit sometime tonight and last for a day or two." Harris claimed.

"Thanks for the warning, officer. I'll make sure to stay inside." Both Lillia and Harris laughed at Lillia's unintentional joke. "Since it is going to be so dangerous to go outside during the storm, do you think that Popuri could come out of her room? I promise that she won't leave the house."

Harris considered the proposition, seeing no possible harm that could come of it. "That sounds reasonable. But, be warned. If anything else should happen, you will be held just as responsible as she will."

"I understand." Lillia replied, walking back to the kitchen. She gently lifted the kettle off the stove. "Care for a refill?"

"No thanks." Harris shook his head, declining another cup of the delicious tea. "I still have to go warn everyone else about the storm. If I didn't, I would accept your offer. I'll be back after the storm has subsided."

Lillia smiled again, bidding the officer farewell. Harris carefully shut the door behind him as he exited, leaving Lillia and Popuri alone. A sigh escaped Lillia's lips as she began climbing up the stairs to the second level. "Popuri?" Lillia called out, knocking lightly on her daughter's door.

"What?" A cold voice, devoid of any emotion except anger demanded. Lillia had grown accustomed to the empty shell that had once been her charismatic daughter. Quite often, during the middle of the night, Lillia could overhear Popuri's conversations with herself. Popuri kept stating how cruel everyone was treating her, just because she took the law into her own hands. All she had done was slay the man who had killed her brother.

"Officer Harris came by…" Lillia began but Popuri quickly added in, "Jerk." Lillia took a deep breath in before continuing, "Well, he said that Mineral Town is going to be hit by a storm tonight. It will be incredibly dangerous to go outside during the storm, but he gave permission for me to let you out of your room."

"The weather will reflect my heart. Darker and full of destruction." Popuri whispered, chuckling slightly at the reference. That was another thing that had changed about Popuri. She was becoming evil or maybe it was just the insanity talking. Whatever it was, Lillia was sure that it was just a temporary phase of her young life and it would pass. A little social conversation would be able to change her.

Lillia reached into one of the pockets of her apron and produced a small silver key. Shortly after the murders had stopped and Popuri had been caught, Gotz had came by and installed a lock on Popuri's door. It was to make sure that she couldn't hurt anyone else. If someone else had shown up dead, Popuri would be cleared of the charges. Now, Popuri was being set free. Lillia inserted the key into the keyhole and turned.

Instantly, the door was thrust open, slamming Lillia against the opposite wall. Popuri burst out of her room, her pink hair with new black streaks trailing out behind her. Lillia forced herself upright, holding the back of her head to stop the throbbing pain. The sound of a door slamming shut downstairs told Lillia that Popuri had escaped into the outside world. Officer Harris had been right, Mineral Town was in great danger, but it wasn't from the storm. Popuri was loose.

The room around Lillia was spinning wildly out of control. She tried desperately to stay on her feet, but every additional step that she took sent her reeling. Her vision was darkening into a tightening tunnel of blurred light. If only she could get outside, then she might be able to warn somebody. Lillia reached the top of the stairs, dragging herself forward. The throbbing in her head was overwhelming, finally forcing Lillia to fall into unconsciousness.

(-)

Lillia awoke much later and found herself staring into a bright light directly overhead. "Good to see that you finally woke up, Lillia." A friendly voice stated from her side. Lillia turned her head to face the speaker, but her eyes were still adjust to the sudden flash of light, so she couldn't make out the figure. All she could make out was the white outline of a seated figure.

"Where am I? How did I get here? Where's Popuri?" Lillia blurted out, jolting upright. A pair of strong, reassuring hands gently pushed her back down. "Don't stress yourself. You suffered one hell of a concussion." The voice gently stated, trying to calm the frantic woman.

There was a loud, steady stream of raindrops splattering against the building, whatever it was. The wind howled violently, sounding as if it was strong enough to jerk a tree out of the ground and toss it aside like a toy. The storm had obviously hit Mineral Town.

The surroundings were becoming a bit clearer to Lillia. She was laying on a nice, soft bed. There was a curtain surrounding the bed and seated beside her was Doctor Tim. Somehow, she had gotten to the Clinic.

Tim saw that Lillia was becoming calm, and decided to try explaining things to her. "As you can tell, you're in the Clinic. You're quite lucky that Barley found you when he did. He saw that Popuri had escaped, so he figured that something had happened to you. Barley got Jack to help carry you here and that's about everything."

Lillia was still in shock that her very own daughter had attacked her. She knew that Popuri was a troubled individual, but not to the point that she would strike out at Lillia. "Where is Popuri now?" Lillia repeated her earlier question.

The doctor shrugged his shoulders, "Nobody has a clue. Barley said that when he saw her, she was headed down to the beach. If that's true, then I fear the worst. That storm out there is a bad one. Anything left out there in this weather surely wouldn't survive."

A loud clash of thunder caused Lillia to jump. What Tim was saying definitely had merit to it. Just judging from the crashing noises that boomed from outside, Lillia knew that this was the worst storm to hit Mineral Town in decades. And her poor little Popuri was stuck outside in it.

Tim cleared his throat, apparently interested in asking Lillia some questions of his own. "I studied psychology for a few years in med school. If you wouldn't mind, could you answer some questions about Popuri? It would help me prove her guilt or innocence in relation to the other murders." Upon Lillia's nod, he continued with his questions. "How would you best describe Popuri's current mental state?"

Lillia's mind flashed the image of her crazed daughter bursting out of her room. She had only seen Popuri's face for a fraction of a second, but she would never forget those features. Her joyful, ruby red eyes had a certain level of bloodlust in them. Then, there was her hair… Those sinister black strands of hair contrasting against the peaceful pink base. Popuri looked almost like a demon out of the books of mythology. "I don't know. There's definitely something about her that's gone wrong." If that wasn't the understatement of the century, then Lillia didn't know what could be.

Tim thought about Lillia's comment for a few seconds before approaching her with another question. This one was much more serious than the first. "Do you think that Popuri killed all of those people?"

"No." Lillia quickly replied. In her mind, Popuri was still that little naive angel that everyone fell in love with. Yes, she had killed Kai, but she had a good reason for that. The same couldn't be said for the other murders. Well… maybe for Elli and Karen, but definitely not for Rick. Rick was her protector, even if she didn't like that fact.

The doctor considered Lillia's facial expressions as she thought about her answer. His head fell forward and he whispered, "I believe you."

"You do?" Lillia asked in amazement. There was actually someone in this town that still believe that Popuri was partly innocent?

"Yes, I do. I had never suspected her of any of the murders except for the Kai murder, which was witnessed by others. None of the evidence pointed to her, despite the fact that she had plenty of motive." Tim explained as he jotted down a few notes.

Lillia had gotten to know Tim quite well over the past few years, ever since she became ill. He had always given his honest opinion even if it wasn't about something good. So, the fact that he believed in Popuri's innocence truly meant something to her. "Thank you." Lillia whispered as she slipped back down in her bed.

Tim blushed slightly as he got up out of his rolling stool. "Don't mention it." The doctor adjusted his coat slightly as he stepped over to the curtain. "You'll have to stay here until the storm is over. If you need anything, I'll be upstairs."

(-)

Two days later, the storm finally came to an end. The rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds. Tim entered into Lillia's room, his head hung low. "What is it?" Lillia asked.

"They found another body." Tim announced, his voice sounding more annoyed rather than upset. Probably, he was tired of all the work that he had been doing lately.

"Who was it?" Lillia questioned, fearing that Popuri had met an unfortunate end due to the storm.

Tim shook his head, instantly calming Lillia's fears. "No, it was Officer Harris. His body was found up on Mother's Hill, near the tiny lake. The other villagers are bringing in his body later today. I'll be releasing you later to make room for the autopsy. I hope you feel well enough to travel home."

Lillia felt somewhat confused. She had her own opinions as to who she thought was the murderer. But now, having the murderer break their pattern, her suspicions needed to be rethought. Plus, Popuri was loose and had plenty of reason to kill Harris. The officer was the one who had ordered Popuri to be locked in her room. Popuri never was one to take kindly to people who bossed her around.

(-)

A/N: There's the chapter, I hope that I've thrown a wrench into everyone's suspect list. If you thought that that was a big twist, wait until next chapter. That one's going to leave many people stunned.