Chapter 6

Hope woke up the next morning, rubbing her eyes blearily as she sat up. A blinding pain immediately struck her head as she cracked it on something, her eyes unable to process her surroundings in the darkness. Fighting down panic, she panned her head around and spotted a crack of light off to her left. She got onto her stomach and sniper-crawled towards it before emerging into her bedroom. She'd loved seeing the sky blue colour the walls were painted when she had her glasses. Stepping into her room had felt like stepping into a brand new world. Now it was back to that dreary grey that everything else looked. Grabbing her pyjama shirt from the blanket bundle, she pulled it back on and smoothed it out before heading out into the hall.

Max and Chloe were waiting. The first thing Hope noticed upon seeing them was that they looked absolutely rabid. Hope had never seen Max angry before yesterday and this took it to a whole new level. She was tempted to raise her hands in surrender, but since there was a shotgun leaning up against the sofa next to Chloe she doubted it would get her any mercy.

"Where did you go last night?" Max asked, her tone carrying a false lightness to it. Hope had fallen into that trap at the care home too many times to be lured into it now.

"Nowhere."

"Don't lie to us!" Chloe snapped with enough venom that it made Hope shrink back. She hadn't had time to charge the headphones yet and Chloe's voice was like a knife through her eardrums. "There was howling last night. Someone... Something was up on our roof. And you weren't in your room."

"I heard the wolves." Hope told her. "I made the dummy because my pyjama top would smell of me. If a wolf got in, it would think there was nothing there."

"So where were you?" Max asked, her face not giving anything away. Hope was used to this kind of interrogation, but not from them. It was slightly unnerving but she carried on as she had every other time.

"I was under my bed. You stay as near to the dummy as possible so that hopefully the wolf thinks that it's the dummy it smells and doesn't think to check under the bed. You two didn't."

"We're not wolves, Hope." Chloe buried her face in her hands with a sigh of frustration. "Who taught you to do that?" Hope stayed silent again and Chloe's apparent frustration doubled. "Is it the same person who showed you movies that are too old for you and taught you that poem?" Hope nodded as Max came over and crouched next to her.

"Hope, we want to help you out here. But if you don't tell us who told you and taught you these things then we can't do that, can we?"

"Why?" Hope asked. She couldn't help but wonder why they would want to know. To her, the things she'd been taught had been nothing but helpful. She wasn't afraid to fight back when people like Alesha caused her problems. She understood how to have more of a chance against some dangers now. Why did they seem to see a bad side to that?

"Sweetie, you were too young to have been told half the things you were." Max said gently, wrapping an arm around her. "You shouldn't feel you have to know how to trick wolves so you can avoid being eaten or learn poems like the one you read out in class yesterday. We just want to know who put these ideas in your head." At that moment, Hope's stomach let out a vicious growl. Max's expression softened and she turned to the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" Hope nodded so Max led her through to the kitchen. Once she was sat down, Max started rummaging for a frying pan as Chloe sidled up next to her. Whispering was a wasted gesture since Hope was able to hear everything she said.

"What are you doing? You're letting her off just like that?"

"We have all day and tomorrow if we need it. Patience. Let her open up gradually."

Hope chose to ignore them. What mattered was that she was about to get breakfast. Her stomach let out another growl that was loud enough for Max and Chloe to take notice and eliminate any doubt about her hunger.

"Damn, that girl can pack it away." Chloe muttered. "You want bacon, honey?" Bacon sounded pretty good right about now.

"Yes please!" Hope grinned, causing Max to burst out laughing as Chloe went to the fridge to grab a packet.

"Are you sure she isn't secretly your daughter or something?" Max demanded, putting her hands on her hips and trying to look annoyed. Her choice of words was enough to completely throw Chloe, though. She came back up at the wrong angle, cracking her head on the top edge of the fridge.

"Ah! God dammit!" She handed the bacon off to Max as she started feeling around her head and checking for blood. After deducing that she hadn't managed to crack her head open, she stood up and turned to Max, shoving her playfully. "I'm fine, thanks for asking!"

"I know." Max shrugged. "You stayed on your feet. It's when you hit the deck that I start worrying." With that, she cut open the packet and started peeling rashers of bacon off the stack to put in the pan. "Can you pass me some eggs, babe?" Out of the corner of her eye, Max saw Chloe handing her the carton and reached for it. She opened it up to find five of the six eggs in there and stared at it perplexed. "Huh? I only bought that yester-" She was cut short as an egg splattered over her head, causing her to let out a yelp. Hope cracked up laughing as Chloe stood there with a devilish grin on her face.

"And that was for distracting me." Max turned to her slowly, a venomous glare on her face.

"I am showering that off when I've dished her food up. And you're joining me."

"Bet." Chloe's grin didn't budge an inch. Max finished cooking and slid three rashers of bacon, two eggs and a bread roll onto the plate before picking it up and carrying it over.

"Okay sweetie, Chloe and I just need to go clean the egg out of my hair from where she was being silly. We'll be back in a few minutes. If you finish before we're back, just leave the plate where it is and go watch some TV or something."

"Yeah, and no horror movies." Chloe added. "I put the parent lock on them so I will know!" Hope fought the urge to grimace. Why did they insist on getting in the way of things she enjoyed? But she managed to keep a straight face and nod with her mouth full.

"Okay, good girl." Max said as she and Chloe headed to the bathroom. Seconds later, she heard the shower turn on and clothes rustling. She decided that now was a very good time to use up the last of the power in her headphones and so switched them on and placed them over her ears. The Mute Charge track was already running since she always just left it on. Now she just had to hope it lasted for as long as she needed it to.

As it turned out, it lasted for just long enough. The soft beep for the power warning went off just as the scent of lavender shower gel hit her nose. At the same time, she finished up her breakfast and had just pushed her plate away from her. She turned at the tap on her shoulder to see Max and Chloe standing behind her with towels wrapped around their heads. Chloe moved to clear the plate away and Max moved to sit down next to Hope as the young girl pulled the headphones off.

"Out of power." The annoyance was plain in her tone and Max just grinned, pulling her close.

"Well, Malcolm dropped the charging lead off. Wait here." Hope watched as Max got up, walking over to the desk in the corner and grabbing the lead. She took the headphones off the table and plugged them in before setting them back down as the red power indicator appeared on the side. "Damn. They were low." Hope nodded before getting off the chair and moving over to the couch. She sat herself down, enjoying the quiet as she closed her eyes.

The entire living room suddenly rocked as an ear-splitting explosion resonated through the house. Hope screamed out as she clutched her ears and Max was instantly beside her to hold her close. She looked up to see the sky bathed in orange as great plumes of smoke arced into the air. As Hope looked out of the window, she could see a glint off in the far distance. It was gone as fast as it was there, but Hope knew she'd seen it.

"Chloe!" Max shrieked as she grabbed Hope and made a beeline for the door. There was no need to call the fire brigade. She could already hear the sirens. Chloe was already there in a heartbeat and was swearing a blue streak as she followed them out. The fire alarm in the diner had been set off and the flames were rapidly licking their way up the side of the garage. They raced outside as the fire engines pulled up and Hope found herself curling up tighter in Max's arms as their sires became deafening and men in uniforms started shouting orders.

"What the hell happened?" Chloe demanded as the hoses roared into life and everything immediately began to die down. Hope gradually began to extricate herself from Max's grip as order resumed and the situation began to calm. She felt her pulse slowing and her breathing even out as she took stock of everything. Looking around, she tried to focus in the direction she'd seen the glinting. Without her glasses it was impossible to focus on anything from that distance. She'd have to get closer.

"Can we go across the road?" she asked Max. "It's too loud over here."

"Sure thing, sweetie." Max nodded as she moved over to Chloe. "Chloe? I'm just taking Hope over the road to get her away from all the noise. Are you okay to talk to the firemen?"

"Sure." Chloe nodded. They could tell Chloe wasn't really focusing. She was too busy trying to process the damage to her business. She'd very nearly watched the whole thing go up in flames. And that wasn't even considering the diner or their home. Their home that was directly attached to the garage.

Max stepped back and rejoined Hope. Together they crossed the road and stood on the other side. As soon as Max let go of Hope's hand, she moved off and tried to work out where she'd seen the glinting coming from. There was a definite scent in the air. Perfume. Feminine. But there was also nervous sweat mixed in there. And it was fresh.

Hope moved back towards the seafront, pressing herself against the railings as she scanned the rocks below. The sea was calm and the water gently lapped at them with the barest minimum of energy. If someone had thrown something down there, the chances were it would still be there. There were no waves to carry it away. Most of the things she knew of that could glint like that were too light to sink easily. No, whoever did this had most likely taken it.

"This wasn't an accident." Hope said, turning back to Max who looked at her in shock.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Something glinted over here just after the explosion." Hope told her. "I can't tell what it was without my glasses, but I think whatever it was might have caused it."

"So you saw something glinting?" Max repeated, seeming to go deep into thought. "I can't think what it would be." Even as she spoke, Hope had moved away from the railings and was pacing around. She was subtly checking the air as she went to see if she could track that scent. It was heading back over the road towards the diner and she knew she had to get back over there to keep on top of it. Luckily, the fire crews had finished their stuff and were now talking to Chloe. They were packing up to leave, so Max decided to cross back over with Hope.

As they got near, Max rejoined Chloe and wrapped her arms around her. The fireman started talking in a load of technical terms that Hope didn't understand. One thing she did register was the word 'accident' cropping up a lot and she knew for a fact this wasn't. The fact that someone had been nervous before doing it put pay to that. Once their backs were turned, she darted around the back towards the alleyway and vanished down it. The scent was strong, but there was something else there as well. It reeked of trash and neglect and she decided she'd have to flag it up with Max and Chloe when she got a chance. She was probably going to get in trouble for doing this if they noticed she was gone and panicked. But still, people needed to watch what they threw away down there.

The scent was still there, but the stink of trash overpowered it. It became impossible for her to trace and she found herself struggling to advance as it grew too powerful. That was when the pile of trash bags at the end of the alleyway started to move. Hope jumped a mile, adrenaline blasting through her veins and coming into crystal clear focus as she lasered in on the potential danger. The woman emerging from the pile instantly saw her stance and held up her hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Stay where you are!" Hope ordered, knowing it would probably carry little weight coming from a scrawny seven-year-old girl. That was fine. It wouldn't be the first time she'd put actions to words. "I don't talk to strangers but I'll tell you this: I don't fight fair! I scratch and I bite!" Even as she spoke, Hope could feel her nails digging further and further into the palms of her hands. Her voice was sounding like more and more of a primal growl that she was sure would add weight to what she was saying.

"Peace there, flashy eyes. I thought you were here looking for something other than a fight." The woman reached over and produced a bag different from the others. Whereas all of the ones that sheltered her were black bin liners, this one was a white plastic bag like the sort of thing someone might get while grocery shopping. She threw it to Hope, keeping it underarm and low to give it the softest landing possible. Even so, it still landed with the harsh crack of plastic. Hope took it and opened it, peering inside. The inside of the bag stank of the same perfume scent and there was a device inside unlike anything she'd seen. It looked like a pistol or tiny crossbow, but was also lined with mirrors. And even better: the grips were glowing bright white where it had been touched recently. This had to be it! This had to be what she saw glinting!

"Thanks." Hope said warily, taking it before retreating. She didn't take her eyes off the woman until she reached the mouth of the alleyway, only to turn and walk straight into a furious Max and Chloe.

Author's Note: Well things are definitely getting stranger. As for what's coming next, you'll have to check back on Monday to find that out. Thanks to everyone who's been supporting this story so far. Your support and encouragement are what keeps me writing.