Chapter 6: Dakota City
Back in the city of Dakota, Virgil hung up the phone with big grin on his face and Sharon noticed it right off.
" What are you so happy about baby brother?" Sharon asked in a teasing tone.
" Grandma Seilia is coming home. She just booked a flight this afternoon. " Virgil said, unable to hide his grin.
Sharon squealed in delight. They're grandmother had gotten tired of dealing with bang baby thugs and had decided to go on holiday last month. That was in August, now it was near the end of September and school had started back up a few weeks ago. Grandma Seilia was very wealthy, and always gave her grandkids each a generous allowance... Sharon loved going shopping with Grandma Seilia, she often ended up giving Sharon and Virgil each a generous $250 each and wound up paying for they're things herself when they'd go shopping, insisting that they have money to spend later... A free spirit at heart, a few years ago, Seilia Hawkins went on vacation to Colorado on a whim to go prospecting for crystals, though her son Robert was highly against it, saying it was a waste of money. Imagine how surprised they were when she came back with several large backpacks full of beautiful gems and crystals! She ended up finding several pockets of gems and staked her claim so that she could go back each year and harvest her precious gems... Virgil had a huge black quartz cluster that she'd given him as a gift that year and she gave Sharon a huge beautiful champagne topaz that she'd had carved into a beautiful running horse... Sharon and Virgil both had gone crazy over they're gifts... And for they're father Robert, she gave him a large golden quartz cluster which he still greatly treasures... Each have they're gift displayed in they're rooms, a reminder of how much she loves each and every one of them...
When Mr. Hawkins came in from work and asked why his two children were so happy, Sharon ran to him and hugged him, her smile shining brightly...
"Grandma Seilia just called. She's coming home now!" Sharon said hugging her father again.
"Now?! " Mr. Hawkins exclaimed, " That's wonderful! "
Back on the plane...
"First time flying dear?" Seilia asked gently nudging Serena.
Serena gasped and hung her head as another wave of nausea rocketed through her body... Serena Gagged and turned a pale shade of green as another wave hit her...
" I'll take that as a yes... " Ms. Seilia said chuckling a bit, " Sit tight my dear, I've got just the thing for you... "
Ms. Seilia began rummaging through her huge shoulder bag until she found a big ziploc bag full of little glass viles and handed her one...
" Here you are dear... This will help settle your stomach... " Ms. Seilia said smiling.
" What is it?" Serena asked opening the vile.
It smelled like flowers and spiced honey and a little bit of whisky? Serena gave Seilia a puzzled look.
"It's my homemade remedy, works air sickness, heat sickness and sea sickness... It has blackberry whiskey, honey, cinnamon, cloves, ginger root, Sage, and rosemary in it... " Ms. Seilia said smiling, "I promise you will feel better... "
"Is it going to make me drunk?!" Serena asked worriedly.
"Oh good heavens no... It's just going to relax you and the herbs and spices will settle your stomach..." Ms. Seilia said warmly. "Now drink up and get some rest... "
Serena nodded and drank the elixir that Ms. Seilia had given her, quite pleased that it was pleasantly sweet and fragrant and the whiskey wasn't overpowering... The spices she used were natural sleep aids and the recipe was passed down from her great great grandmother Ania, who learned them from her mother in Africa so many years ago... She had in her bag, her great great grandmothers book of special remedies and potions, along with various different herbs and spices needed for the recipes... She never left home without it. It even had recipes for poisons, but of course, Seilia never ventured near such dark elixirs... Her mother came from a long line of African Voodoo queens and dappled in the art of black magic... On her mother's deathbed, she'd warned Seilia about the darkness that ran through the blood in her veins and made her promise to stay in the light and never darken her heart...
Her husband had passed away never knowing her dark family secret and her son and grandchildren would never learn of it... For it was something that could rip her family apart... About 8:00 the next evening, they landed in the city of Dakota... Once they landed, Seilia gently woke Serena and smiled, her remedy worked like a charm...
" We're here dear, time to get up. " Seilia whispered gently. "How are you feeling hun?"
"Much better, a little nauseated still but not nearly as much as I was... " Serena said smiling.
Seilia nodded and they walked off the plane together. Seilia then led Serena to a light maroon minivan and waved for her to get in, she then got behind the wheel, pulled out a set of keys, and started the engine. The car roared to life and soon they were zooming through the city... Serena had originally thought that Ms. Seilia was taking her to where her family lived. Unfortunately for poor tired Serena, that wasn't the case... They arrived about a half hour later at the Dakota City Mall... It was so huge! Shops every where, high end jewelers and crafters even had things set up in the mall displaying what they had made for sale... Ms. Seilia had taken something large out of one of her many backpacks and put it into her bag before locking the car up securely and taking Serena by the hand and leading the way into the mall... Though it was well after 8:30 at night, the mall was buzzing with tons of people... Serena felt a bit out of place among so many, but tried to relax and enjoy herself. She was after all, a teenager... And what teenager didn't enjoy hanging out at the mall? Ms. Seilia smiled at her before handing her a wad of money and winked at her...
"Ms. Seilia!" Serena gasped, " This is too much! I can't except this!"
Serena tried to get Ms. Seilia to take the money back but she refused to.
"You will take it... You don't have to spend it all right now my dear, just get you some nice outfits and I'll meet you in the food court. Ok?! " Ms. Seilia asked, "Think of it as a welcome present. "
"OK... " Serena said smiling, " Thank you... "
"Your quite welcome dear. Now you go enjoy yourself and I'll meet you later. " Ms. Seilia said with a wink.
Before Serena knew it, Ms. Seilia had disappeared into the crowd and Serena put the money in her pocket and walked to the restroom. Once she was in the stall, she took the money that Ms. Seilia had given her and began counting it. She gasped in shock when she finished... Ms. Seilia Hawkins, a woman who barely knew her, had given her $5,000!
" I can't believe she's really serious... I'd never ask her to do that!" Serena said to herself staring at the money in her hand. " She's so sweet... "
Serena left the bathroom and nervously walked out into the mall, only to be stopped by a female police officer.
"Hello there, " She said kindly, " Haven't seen you around before... "
" Oh. I just arrived this evening... I rode in with Ms. Seilia. " Serena said nervously.
"Oh?!" the officer said skeptically, " And how did you meet her?"
"At the airport. I rode on the plane with her. " Serena said nervously.
' What's with this lady?!' Serena thought in irritation, ' She acts like I'm a thug or something. '
As if reading her mind, the officer looked at Serena suspiciously...
" What's your name. " the officer said in an authoritative tone.
" Serena. " Serena said, hoping the officer wouldn't ask her last name.
" Is there a last name that goes with that Serena?" the officer asked sarcastically.
"I... I don't know my last name... That's all I remember... " Serena said, trying to hold back her tears.
" What do you mean?!" the officer asked in shock.
Serena knew that the people she stayed with told her they're last name, but it seemed as if they erased themselves as she slept earlier that day... She felt like crying...
" Serena? Who are your parents? " the officer asked, " Where are you from honey, maybe I can help you get home..."
Serena sank to her knees and began crying... She couldn't even remember what they looked like... It was as if she had a complete reset... All she could remember was Ms. Seilia and what she looked like... The officer knelt down and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder...
" My name is officer Trina, what's wrong?!" Officer Trina asked worriedly.
Something told her that this young woman had been through something very traumatic...
"I can't remember anything... All I remember is that my name is Serena... I can't remember my friends or my family... I can't even remember what they look like!" Serena said throwing herself into officer Trina's arms...
Officer Trina talked into her walkie talkie and requested a fellow officer for assistance. When the officer got there, Trina told him to find Ms. Seilia and meet them in the food court so they could talk. Officer James Danton quickly went to do as he was told. Meanwhile, Trina took Serena by the hand and led her to a bench that sat near a sparkling fountain. As if realizing that she'd been injured for the first time, Serena gasped in pain and doubled over where she sat on the bench. Officer Trina wasted no time when she saw the young woman before her nearly fall off the bench.
"Serena... Have you been injured dear?!" Officer Trina asked worriedly.
"I... I don't... Know... " Serena said gasping as her vision began to blur... " I... It hurts... "
Serena suddenly blacked out and Trina immediately called out for help.
" I need help over here! Someone get the hospital on the phone and get an ambulance stat! This woman has severe injuries! " Officer Trina shouted.
A woman quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911... By this time, Serena's stitches had broken loose and the large gash that the sword had made was bleeding freely... Her shirt and pants were already soaked through with her blood... Trina, though she dealt with crime on a regular basis, had never been around someone with such a serious stab wound! With shaking hands, Officer Trina gently laid Serena down on the bench, and gently removing the tape and gauze, looked at the source of the bleeding and gasped... The wound was poorly tended to for one thing, obviously, the hospital that had treated her hadn't had much experience treating such severe wounds... The second was the the stab wound was big and very deep... Though the outside had sealed over, the inside was still very severe...
" Dear God... " Trina whispered, "Who could have done this to you... "
miraculously, Serena gasped and opened her eyes...
"Ms. Seilia... " Serena gasped weakly...
" My friend went to find her honey, just hold on..." Officer Trina said soothingly.
About that time, having gotten everything she wanted to get for Virgil, Sharon, Serena and Robert, Ms. Seilia was carrying her bags when officer James Danton found her and began talking quickly.
"Ms. Seilia, a young lady you have with you, Serena?" Officer Danton asked.
"Yes? What's wrong?!" Ms. Seilia asked worriedly.
" She can't remember anyone besides you... Her whole life has been erased from her memory... " Officer Danton said worriedly.
Ms. Seilia was about to give the officer a good tongue lashing for making Serena upset when Trina's voice came over his walkie talkie laced with panic...
" Officer Danton! Get Ms. Seilia over here now! Serena's bleeding badly, she must have been stabbed before Ms. Seilia met her! Hurry!" Officer Trina commanded.
Ms. Seilia and officer Danton wasted no time. They rushed through the mall until they got to where officer Trina was hovering over Serena's body, trying to stop the bleeding... Ms. Seilia gasped in shock...
" Dear God child... " Ms. Seilia whispered gently, " What on earth has happened to you?!"
Serena was white as a sheet, all her color had drained out of her as her blood continued to flow freely...
"Where the hell is that damn ambulance! " Trina cried in anger. "Hold on Serena!"
Back at the Hawkins residence...
"Hey daddy, I'm going to watch the news OK?" Sharon asked clicking on the TV.
Her father mumbled what she assumed was a yes and sat down on the sofa, Virgil coming in and sitting down a few minutes later... Dakota mall was in a complete state of panic... Apparently a young woman just showed up in town who had been stabbed and had no clue that she was even injured, upon hearing that the woman was bleeding heavily and that they have been unable to stop it yet, Virgil leapt into action, rushing up to his room and changing into static before flying out the window... Using his electromagnetic powers, he lit up the sky with a sign in big bold letters.
GEAR, MALL NOW!
And raced to the mall... Ritchie saw the sign from his window and quickly changed and went to join his best friend... When the two got to the mall, the first thing static saw was the young woman with long blond hair and blue eyes as pale as a sheet, lying in a puddle of her own blood on the floor... Static wasted no time.
"Everyone move back!" Static yelled at the top of his lungs, "I need to stop the bleeding!"
Everyone backed away except for Seilia Hawkins... She stood over Serena like a mother lion protecting her cub and swung her bag in Static's direction.
"You stay back you bang baby hoodlum! She's injured bad enough!" Ms. Seilia said worriedly...
"Ma'am, my name is Static Shock, she's bleeding very badly and I need to cauterize the wound or she'll die!" Static said worriedly.
'And if she dies... Hotstreak will kill me... ' Static finished to himself.
"OK... You better save her... She's a very sweet kind girl... She doesn't deserve to die... " Ms. Seilia said with tears in her eyes.
Static nodded and gently placed his hands on Serena's bare abdomen and summoned his powers full force... Suddenly, the mall was filled with the smell of burning flesh...
End Chapter...
Sorry this chapter was so long. But a lot happened in it so I hope you like it so far... Next chapter will be up soon...