"Dad? Hello?" I raised my voice. Still no answer. My house was turned upside down. Books, DVDs, CD's; they were spread all around the house. Stuffing seemed to have flown everywhere, sprinkling the couches. Contorted furniture told the tale. My chest was not moving, as I held my breath when the thought of what the kitchen looked like jumped up an down in my mind. I proceeded walking towards the kitchen, ever so careful. Blue, white and cream dishes of all sizes were shattered on the creamy brown colored ground. Something glistening caught my eye: blood. There were small pools of blood. Trails of red blood flowed to the counter where the knives used to be. I crouched down, squinting my eyes. Green…blood?
"Renny, what happened?" Serenity gingerly tiptoed around the mess.
"Shh!" Mike hushed me as my mouth opened to answer her. He jumped, and disappeared into the basement. My friend and I just waited there, but the hair on my arms started to stand up. But why? I was in no immediate danger, my dad was.
"Mmm!" I shrieked. My stuffed backpack brushed against something, or someone. A small, icy blade was to my throat, freezing my slender neck. Laughter bellowed in my ears, so high pitched I could not hear anything else. Words would not come out of my mouth.
"I know who you are." He breathed in my ear. His hot breath stunk, suffocating me.
"If you know who I am, why don't address me by my name? Huh?" I uttered innocently, fully knowing what he meant. I trembled and squirmed in the lethal grip of this…. This thing.
"Renee, do you ever want to see your daddy again? Huh? Sweetie?" His awful voice cracked in my ears, but in the distance, I heard Mike fighting with another person.
"Ye…Yes." I stammered.
"Then become one of ussss." He hissed.
"But I am not one of you." I lied.
"Yes you are." He insisted, pressing the blade ever so harder against my throat. His green fingers felt my face.
"No I am not." I feebly whispered. The green man threw me to the ground, and disappeared, only to be found choking Serenity. Her face turned bright red, and dismayed to the fact her abilities were not working.
"Do..Don't.. Do it." She struggled. The man's face was that of a man, but of a cruel man. Rough and grotesque was his body itself, Serenity tried to pry his arms off of her small neck.
"Oh come on! You have GOT to be kidding me!" I groaned, anger rising in my body. I placed my hands in front of me and pushed my bruised body up.
"You thought I forgot about you too?" He growled. All I saw was a shiny object slice the porcelain skin of Serenity's cheek.
"Ow!" She howled. Tears flowed down her bloodied face. Blood dripped down her face. The height of my anger reached its max, and time seemed to have slowed down. A drop of blood fell to the floor and I heard it slam the wooden floor. That is when Mike came back from the basement, running with blood streaming down his arm. His left sleeve was ripped. I heard nothing, felt nothing, and noticed everything.
"That is enough!" I shouted. Mike, the grotesque man and Serenity were blown to the walls. I stomped over to the green man, not needing to worry about stepping on objects because they were blown across the room as well.
"You think you can do this to my family? Huh? Do you? Do you?" I challenged. The monster was not moving, so I got into his face, but jumped back from the horrid stench, pinching my nose. COUGH COUGH, I fought for cleaner air. Hesitantly, I inched my way to the twisted mess of limbs. With disgust, I try to feel his pulse. No pulse, not even a little beat. The truth crawled up my spine, paralyzing me. I didn't absorb any air, and I certainly did not jam them hard enough to break anything. What did I do?
"Mike? Serenity? Wake up now please." I urged them. No one stirred. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears, drowning out every sound. My eyes spotted the two unconscious together. I sped up my walking pace towards them to a run. What seemed like ten minutes to get to was really ten seconds. I took my hand and violently shook my two friends.
"Come on come on. Get you up you guys. Come on." I complained with the knowledge that we are not safe here anymore,
"What? I can't see you." They coughed in unison.
"No you guys are blind! What did I do?" I said with shame.
"No, no. It is just so dark that I can't see you." Serenity explained, trying to balance her self against the blue walls as Mike sat there for a couple of seconds to get his head on straight before he stood up. Finally, I looked around: it was dark. I turned my head to my watch: 7:17 pm. How did I not realize it was this dark? I snapped up straight and pushed the thought aside.
"Mike, what happened down there?" Serenity turned on the light. She winced, and Mike and I shielded our eyes.
"Another one of those… Things were down there." He accounted, examining his blood soaked arm.
"We've gotta get out of here you guys." I stated the obvious. I ran my fingers down my long hair while I thought.
"My place, we can go to my place." Serenity blankly stared. There was no point in arguing or asking, we would hear about that later.
7:29 was what my watch read. What lay before me was a very tall autumn colored hill. A full moon was lit in the sky befriended with small white specks of stars. The temperature must have been twenty degrees out, which was odd for this week. I had to move my fingers around to make sure that they would not become numb. Poor Mike, he was the only one without a sweater so I shared my sweater with him. I slid my hand out of one of the sleeves, and let him walk right next to me as he put his arm through one of those sleeves. Murkiness overflowed in this area, in a woody part of the lands that stretches out. My eyes were getting lower and lower even though it was only 7:30. None of us spoke during the twelve-minute walk here. We didn't even mutter. I know I did that because I needed to have some time to myself for once. I think Serenity and Mike were not speaking was because they had a headache from the blow they received unintentionally from me.
"Kay, so here is my humble abode." Serenity beckoned with her hands.
"Mmmmmm where is it?" Mike sniffed. He must have gotten banged up pretty bad. Serenity smirked a bit, ripped off some shrubs, and opened a camouflaged door and flicked on the lights. Mike and I stumbled into the two-story bunker. There was wood flooring, (Serenity never liked carpets) white walls, and a kitchen that looked more like a bar. Two lamps were at opposite sides of the room, a red, leather couch and a big, comfy, red seat were sat in front of the TV. A coffee table was place strategically in the middle of the living room, completing the furnishings. Oh! There was a fireplace to the right wall of the TV as well.
"I think we need a nice meal. I'll cook, you guys." I offered, hoping this will start to make up for what I had done to them.
"Oh no! Your cooking." Serenity smiled and teased.
"Ha ha." I sarcastically replied. I helped Mike limp to the couch, and laid him down there to let him rest.
"Can you do me a favor?" I whipped around to Serenity.
"Nope." She laughed
"I'll be your bestest friend." I coaxed out a yes.
"But you already are…. So I guess so." She smiled her wonderful smile.
"You know all about taking care of wounds and stuff, right? Can you take care of Mike while I cook?" I wondered. She nodded her head, and I went right to the kitchen.
The kitchen had an air of perfection; the sky blue tiles, fridge, counter, stove, oven, pantry, kitchen table with five chairs at the end, cabinets, and, finally, a microwave. Heaven for a cook, such as myself. I decided to make two meals: pasta with meatballs and eggs, bacon, ham, and buttered toast. My choice was dictated by the fact that I don't know if Mike is allergic to anything.
After I finished my steaming buffet, I returned to the two of the people that are my world at the moment. Serenity was bent down, tending to Mike. I was towering over them, observing the patient. Serenity did take his shirt off to see to his brutal wounds. His stomach was purple with bruising and scarlet blood was crusted on his arm. Scratches were all over his arms and parts of his chest that moved up and down, shaking in pain. Serenity was rubbing the wet, bloody rag, trying to clean the blood off of him. There were two wet rags and the other one was clean. I used that one to wash her wounded face. Ointment was in her pocket, as I sometimes had a keen eye for detail. I stole it and rubbed that on their scratches. He started to chuckle and grabbed my hand. I smiled because he was awake. Serenity giggled.
"Where is the food?" He rasped. He still held my hand like I was he wouldn't let me go until I surrendered his food.
"In the kitchen. You will have to get up and get it." I admitted with friendly sarcasm. He attempted to sit up, wincing at the soreness he was presented with. Serenity and I helped him up and we all "limped" to follow the aroma of food. The chandelier above the table was switched on, and stayed on while we were eating.
"This food…. It…. Its delicious!" Mike teased. I was up and about to get my backpack. I found it on the counter, and magically pulled out a men's t-shirt, jeans and jacket.
'Hahaha, I am serious though, it is very good." He admitted. His eyes caught the clean clothing.
"Right before we left from my house, I took these. Why? You may be thinking. Because your shirt was torn to pieces the last time I saw it." I explained with an English accent.
"Thanks. Where is the bathroom?" Mike poked Serenity.
"Upstairs, down the hall to the left." She directed him. I sat down to enjoy the Italian smell of pasta with my mouth watering.
"I have to be honest with you, Renee. Are you guys dating or something? You guys act as if you have known each other for a while." She looked at me with the need for details.
"Nope. There was an incident at school today where I used my ability and pretty much choked someone without knowing I did. That is how we ended up here. Which I am thankful for because I get to see you again." I chewed. She took her cup of ice tea and looked up the stairs. Mike was coming down, looking like he was never beaten up.
"So what is your story?" Mike summoned. He sat down at the "family" table and ate some more of his pasta and took some of the bacon and eggs. His face was clean and serious, for once in the past hour, despite his injuries. Serenity looked at me and gulped down what she was chewing. Her face was light and roundish, but right now, her face showed somewhat of embarrassment. She sighed, and opened her mouth.
"Four years ago was when my ability to be super fast and to be able to manipulate darkness mentally and reality wise appeared. My teacher, our teacher, made me stay after school that day. She took out a gun and pointed it to my head. Her door was locked, and if I had screamed, she would have killed me on the spot. So I ran, knowing she wouldn't see me at all. Somehow, I got outta there and told my parents. My parents understood and believed me. I know what you are wondering: How could they have believed a thirteen-year-old girl? Well they knew about me being a mutant. And no, they are not mutants. Ya see, they don't care if you are a mutant or not. Renee, I know your dad is a mutant; he helped my parents understand what was happening. Your dad built this place before we were born." Serenity looked at us.
"There was no way my parents could stay with me nor could I live in a normal house. If my parents lived with me, then THEY would know were I would be at all times. Being alone and secluded was the only thing that would be safe for me. I am sorry Renee." Serenity's tears fell from her face. I, luckily, sat right next to her and put my hand on her soft shoulder. She broke out and hugged me.
"Renee, we need to tell you something." Mike swallowed. We stopped hugging, and I looked attentive.
"There is a –" Mike stopped. Something was letting out a tune. A familiar tune.
"Crap! Hold on a sec you guys." I rolled my eyes. I flipped open my cell phone and answered it.
"Hello? Oh hello. Not today. Because I am busy, it is almost nine anyway. Yes I know that. That was one time because we had a project due. There was a rat and my dad is allergic to rats so we turned the place upside down. Wait, were you looking in my window? Listen, I can't stay on the phone either. My dad is on the phone and my minutes are running low. Good night!" I hung up the phone. I let out a sigh of relief.
"Who was that?" Serenity sniffed.
"Remember Tracy?" I asked, irritated. She nodded,
"She is worse, a lot worse now. She never shuts up! She always complains and is so freaking hypocritical and just annoying." I ranted.
"Well, as I was saying, there is this group of people who are controlling mutants so they can take over the world. You only hear that in movies, right? Too bad it is not limited to movies. Any who, your dad created a safe haven for us mutants." Mike eerily put it. This didn't come as a surprise to me at all. Which obviously gives me the answer to where is my beloved father.
"This stuff is depressing. Why don't we get to know each other and catch up?" I proposed, my voice wavering. Serenity jumped and grinned at the idea.
"You first Renee." Mike commanded.
"Yeah!" Serenity came in.
"Fine. So, this is actually depressing news, but my mom died a year after you 'disappeared'." I started out with. Irene's grin soon turned upside down into a frown.
"How?" She asked, horrified.
"No foul play, thank God. Um, it was an allergic reaction to this medication. It was my medication for a cold that I was taking, and she misread the label and took it for her headache. Unfortunately, she was allergic to it." I laughed, coarsely.
"Wait a sec. Mike, aren't your parents worried about you?" I turned to Mike. Mike fixed his brown hair, then walked to the kitchen sink and washed his dishes.
"My parents are out of town with my little brother." He put it.
"Where did your parents and little brother go?" Serenity asked, as she followed Mike and washed her dishes. Soon after I did the same thing.
"This competition thing for math. I didn't want to go because if I miss school for over a week, I am going to be crushed with make up work. Any who, back to Renee. Do you have any nick names?" He took my plate to dry.
"Uh. Ren is what my dad calls me. Renny is what Serenity calls me. I call her ice cream. It is a long story. So, the last concert is in May. I got into the really good orchestra at our school, just like you wanted me to do Serenity. Nothing else has really changed though. Now to describe myself for our new friend, Mike. I have a good sense of humor, and I love music. Rock, pop, classical, etc. Just not rap. I hate rap. My favorite band of all time is the Gorillaz. Second would have to be Coldplay. The reason why I love music is not that it helps 'escape' from anything. It just…. How do I put it? Feels right. I really want to be a historian. The one who shows the facts, and relates them to the present times. Favorite animal are cats. I do love to watch movies as well. I watch TV time to time. I am really close to my daddy. AKA 'Benevolent' Dictator. And if you are wondering I am Catholic. And I think that is it." I finished.
"What do you look for in a guy?" Serenity asked.
"Yes, what do you look for in a guy?" Mike asked mischievously. I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Mike and Serenity joined me. When we finished, my face was tingly and numb.
"Well. I look for a guy with a well-built body. What catches my eye is the hair, but the eyes are what really steal me away. I love a guy with a good sense of humor, and that understands serious sarcasm, and playful sarcasm. What do you look for in a girl?" I explained.
"Hmmm. Well I don't want a girl that is toothpick skinny, but not fat. I prefer for her to be shorter than me. The eyes are big deal for me. And I love a girl who isn't over dramatic and has common sense." He looked at us.
"Kay so, nothing much has changed with me either. I am more suspicious though." Serenity blankly said.
"I guess it is hard to say what is different after four years. Huh? Why don't you tell Mike about yourself?" I insisted.
"Well I am not outgoing, nor am I in anyway a girly girl. I am in love with video games. My favorite color is black, and I love sleeping. Hum. I play the violin and I love eating cake. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. I am not really into music though." Serenity voice wavered. Her brown eyes flashed at me, telling me that she does not want to tell Mike anymore. I blinked as response.
"Cool. Time for me I guess. Alrighty then, I love music, but not as much as Renee. Coldplay is my favorite band of all time, and my second favorite band is Gorillaz. My favorite song is 5/4. My absolute favorite thing to do is read. It clears my head and makes me chill. I want to be in the software business someday. My favorite animals are birds, and my favorite color is red. I am really close to my little brother. I don't watch TV cause I just don't. I am very sarcastic, so please do not be offended if I said something sarcastic. I am apologizing in advance. You can call me Mickey, my parents call me that all the time. I am Catholic as well. Renee and I actually go to the same church every week." Mike looked at me.
"Oh yeah. You do don't you? …. You guys don't talk about yourselves a lot do you?" I joked.
"You get to know me more by spending time with me." Mike grinned.
"We should get going to bed. It is about ten and we have a big job ahead of us." Serenity thought out loud.
Serenity, Mike and I slept in the same room upstairs out of fear of something terrible. Serenity's bedroom had two patterned beds. Mike slept in the black striped bed, and I shared the black polka dotted bed with my best friend. We put pillows between us for a wall. The pajama I was wearing was white: a top and a bottom. Her room was painted a somewhat deep purple and had gaming posters everywhere. Lamps were positioned on the side tables next to our beds. A writing desk was next to the door, where a blue trash can stays. I said my Our Father and put in my ipod and chose Revolving Doors (by the Gorillaz) to help me drift asleep. My body felt heavy, and a movie seemed to have been playing in my head. The sounds were amazingly realistic. When the song changed to The Snake in Dallas, I snapped out of the trance of being half asleep. My mind was so tired. I would think about turning off my ipod , and end up dreaming that I did. I decided that I will turn it off, and my arm and hand did so. I didn't bother to take off my glasses as my mind kept getting foggier and foggier.
I woke up to see nothing but darkness around me.
"That was just a dream." I sighed with relief. All the awful, and happy events were not real, just in my head. Wait a second. That makes no sense at all. My face ached over all and if it were a dream, then I would have a window right beside my bed. I got up, out of my side of the bed, and tip toed to see the alarm clock. 2:43 AM.
"That's just great. Juuuuuust great." I rubbed my face. I was craving some iced tea, so I got to the stairway and tried to walk down stairs. Tried. I tripped and tumbled down the stairs creating enormously loud creaking sounds. I stopped myself from breaking my neck by putting my mind to it and propelling the air to allow me to hover before I hit the bottom of the stairway.
"Ow. That hurt." I talked to myself. I got myself up and steadied myself. I didn't pick up my feet when I sluggishly walked to get my tall glass of iced tea. There were marble countertops, and stools, just like a bar. Just like my dad to put marble countertops. I took a stool and sat on it. After a couple sips of tea, I set my head down on my arms.
"Do you want to see your precious father again?" A sly woman asked me.
"Yes." I whispered.
"Then tell me where they are."
"No. I don't know." I fibbed just a bit. I squirmed with pain as the woman grew a tree root out of her hand and forced it in my arm.
"Stop. Please stop! I really don't know. I am not a mutant." I pleaded. My breaths grew shallower every time I breathed in the pain.
"Not budging, eh? Maybe seeing your father will change your stupid, little mind." The cruel woman gestured. The sound of chains echoed in the cell. My poor dad was in his suit and tied to a table, his face hollow, his body beaten.
"She is not a mutant, let her go." He tried.
"Silence! You traitor." She growled. Another root pierced my skin. I was weak, every breath shook me, and I felt like I hadn't slept for days. Fear didn't compute anywhere in me anymore. There was only one final solution: to focus on the people torturing my father and the rest of the mix of humans and mutants. I lowered my head as a sign of defeat. My body started to get perkier and I felt, literally, more alive. Every bad mutant was dead or unconscious. I was out of the tree woman's grip and ran to my father.
"Dad! I've been worried sick! Dad?" I touched my father. He wasn't moving, not even a twitch. Shock ran through my body and stopped my heart. My entire body froze stiff. The blood running through my veins weren't running anymore, it felt slow and thick like slush. Breathing became increasingly difficult and shallow A hole was on both sides of his poor head. The wall next to him was spattered with red, glistening blood with a tree root jammed in the wall. My father's face was grey and hollow, but looked at peace. I couldn't stand to look; my father, the last family I had left, is dead. I used my hand as a barrier to my eyes and turned away from the metal torture block. Drips of water could be heard, and humidity was thick.
"Stop it. Please." A voice suffered. I removed my dirty hand and observed.
"Serenity. Stop it! What are you doing?" I reasoned.
"What are you talking about? I don't know you." She hissed.
"Let Mike go. You know us. You and I are best friends." I retorted. Mike stopped thrashing around, dead, and Serenity was gone