15 The Truth isn't Always What You Want to Hear
A knocking came on the Octavious' door. A 14-year-old girl with short brown hair stood there anxiously wringing her hands. The moon now shown brilliantly through the clear night sky. She glanced around her as she awaited the opening of the door. The rough wooden door stood silent and she couldn't hear any signs of someone coming to open it. The girl knocked on it again harder. Still no one came to the door.
She stepped back to look at the house number. Yes, she was at the right house. Hillary slowly cracked the door an inch or two.
"Mrs. Octavious?" she called. Her voice echoed off of the cold walls. "Anna? Are you in here?" Still no one answered. Mrs. Octavious was supposed to have gone home. Had she stopped somewhere on the way?
Hillary opened the door further and poked her head in. "Anna, if you're here, I wasn't trying to hurt you," she explained stepping through the door.
Not one light was on leaving the house silent and creepy. "Is anyone here?" she asked walking through the short pathway, which brought her to the kitchen. The kitchen chairs were broken and tipped over on the floor. A figure lay under the table but Hillary couldn't tell what it was. She switched on a nearby lamp and then looked back down.
Hillary gasped. "Mrs. Octavious!" she exclaimed getting on her knees. Hillary grabbed Rosie up in her arms and set her in a chair. She put her hands over the unconscious woman. "Mrs. Octavious."
Rosie stirred and groaned. She slowly opened her eyes to behold Hillary standing over her with a worried expression. "Oh Hillary! Anna! She's in trouble! My Anna's in big trouble!" she panicked as her heart raced.
"Calm down," Hillary said calmly but it was apparent that she was worried herself. "What happened?"
Rosie took a long breath or two and then spoke more clearly. "When I came back here from your house, I found Anna sitting on the couch doing her homework. After talking to her a while, she got up with...I don't know what you'd call it...almost a darkness around her. I must have offended her. She kept talking to herself like Otto does, and when I tried to stop her from listening to them, one of those arms grabbed me and threw me into the kitchen table. After that, I blacked out."
This time Hillary was the one panicking. She tried her hardest not to reveal her anticipation to Rosie when she asked her the next question. "What kind of stuff did she say with her tentacles?"
"First she agreed with her tentacles about something, but I couldn't tell what. Just her tone scared me."
"And second?" Hillary pried anxiously.
"And second she said something about it not making sense to live here any more." Hillary was speechless.
"Did she tell you where she was going?" she finally asked.
"No she didn't. Oh I hope Anna's alright!" Rosie exclaimed wringing her hands.
Hillary stood back up. "I'm going home, and then out to look for her," she declared starting for the door.
Rosie sat in her spot motionless. She stared at Hillary as she went out the door. "You'll tell me if you find her, right?" she asked sheepishly.
"Of course." Hillary answered as she ran down the street.
Hillary dashed home and flung the door open which caught her mother's attention.
"Whoa Hillary, what's the emergency?" MJ asked.
"Anna went home and hit Mrs. Octavious and ran away!" She exclaimed without looking up at Mary Jane.
"Is Rosie OK?" MJ gasped.
"Yeah, she's fine; but Anna! She'd never do something like that! I knew she listened to her tentacles, but not that far! It's like they're controlling her," Hillary panicked.
She ran to her room to grab a few things. Hillary didn't know how long she'd be searching. New York City had a lot of places to search. Peter stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey Hill, what's up?"
"Can't talk now, Anna in trouble. Tentacles," She said hurriedly stuffing miscellaneous objects into a backpack. "I'm going out searching for her." Tears of worry built up in her eyes, which made packing difficult.
"Why can't things like this stop at one generation?" Peter thought to himself.
"That's horrible. I remember when this happened to Mr. Octavious. I wasn't quite sure what to do."
"What did you do?" Hillary asked wiping her tears away.
"Well, I told myself that he didn't know what he was doing and that I was doing it to protect the people of New York...and him."
"And you had to show it to him by beating the snot out of him?"
Peter laughed. "NyI wouldn't say snot."
"What would you say?" Hillary asked.
"I'd say I knocked some sense into him," There was a pause. "But the point is, you have to know what you need to do and not be afraid to do it. I didn't want to beat Dr. Octavious to a pulp, but I knew I had to."
"Hillary sniffled and smiled. "Thanks."
"Oh, I almost forgot. Mom and I were talking and we've decided to give you this," Peter said taking a clothing box off of a hall table.
Hillary opened it eagerly. She held up a brilliant feminine variation of her father's suit. It had a small tight-fitting cap that fit over her head along with a red band that fit over her eyes. The netted lacing here and there really accented the costume and gave it a unique, yet familiar look. Her mouth gaped open in amazement.
"Oh my gosh, thank you!" She squealed hugging Peter with excitement.
"I thought you'd like it. Now you may swing freely around the city. It's sorta like a graduation present."
Hillary gazed at the suit again before looking at her dad. "Thank you so much."
Peter smiled warmly. "Now go and get her," he encouraged.
Hillary smiled and looked down at the bag of clothes on her bed. "I don't think I'll need these," she commented setting the backpack on the ground.
Hillary stood on her toes to kiss her father on the cheek. "Bye, thanks again!" she called as she raced into the bathroom.
Hillary came out of the bathroom - suit under her jeans and tee shirt - and ran out the door saying goodbye to MJ on the way.
She swung on her web-line between the buildings with skill. She felt so free! She could now swing through the streets in the open instead of the usual alley restriction Peter had placed on her to preserve her identity. The costume hugged her skin in such a way that she almost forgot she was wearing it. The beauty of it was stunning. Her netted skirt reflected particles of light back down to the ground almost like a disco ball would.
"Oh man! Now I know why Dad wears these!" She thought.
A glint of metal caught her eye. She lowered her eyebrows in curiosity. Hillary swung closer to the building it was behind. A black figure sat drooped on the ledge. She stuck to the side and crawled around to the other side. The sight surprised her;
"Anna?" she wouldn't have even recognized her if it weren't for the four metal tentacles sticking out from her back.
Anna slowly turned her head to gaze up at her friend. Her light mascara ran with the tears that flowed form her eyes.
"Oh Hillary! I can't take it! I- I can't stop them!" she cried.
"What's with the new wardrobe?" Hillary asked glancing down at the baggy, cactus cargo pants, black shirt that was cut to allow almost the whole metal band to show in the front, black gloves, and black converse all stars. It probably wasn't the right time to bring it up Hillary soon learned.
Anna pulled back offended, "What's with the new guy?"
"What?"
"Back at the parlor. You said you were fixing him up with me."
"I was!"
"No you weren't, I saw that kiss-"
" He's my cousin! I am allowed to kiss him! And why on earth would I flirt with my cousin?" Hillary exclaimed. "Is that what this is all about?"
Anna stared numbly at her. "He- he is?"
"Yeah!"
Anna looked down at the ground shamefully. How could she have been so stupid?
She is lying!
That boy was not her cousin.
She said it herself: 'why would she flirt with her cousin? She was flirting with him; no doubt about it.
We saw her!
When Anna didn't answer, Hillary became curious. "Anna?"
Anna foolishly listened to her tentacles and stood up. Her tentacles got into defensive positions. "How could you tell me that?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're lying to me."
"No I'm not."
Yes she is! Don't trust her!
"You're trying to pull me into your plan."
"No, I'm trying to pull you back. You need to come home. Anna, you don't want to live out here."
"And how would you know?" she snapped- tentacles hissing.
"Because it's cruel out here. Especially when you listen to those," Hillary pointed to Anna's tentacle. It pulled back and hissed.
"You don't know! They're the only ones who have made any sense at all this week!"
"You should know! You live with the only other man who's had to deal with them and look at what they did to him!"
"Dad's fine," Anna stated.
"Oh, so that's why he ran off in a nervous wreck!" Hillary said angrily.
"You'd better know when to shut up," Anna squinted with hatred.
"I do. And it's not now. I'm making a point here, Anna. Your dad fell into fear because he listened to them! Because he listened to his tentacles."
"He listened to his tentacles."
"What's the difference?"
"A lot!"
"Like yours are heavier and worse?"
"Mine are smarter!" Silence instilled in both of them.
"Anna, that's not a good thing," Hillary said fearfully.
"Why not?"
"They're capable of higher deception. They can manipulate you better."
Who are you going to believe? Her? Or us - who have been your friends since day one?
When have we ever let you down?
"Your mind is fogged, Anna. Please come home and later you'll thank me," Hillary said calmly although it was apparent that frustration was bottled up inside of her.
"No, I'm fine. I've never been better," Anna answered quickly as her tentacles wreathed restlessly.
"Anna listen, you don't know what you're doing! Please-" Hillary was cut off by one of Anna's tentacles grabbing her wrist and pushing her away but never intending to kill her - only get her started on leaving.
Hillary regained her balance and walked back over to Anna.
"Anna, what are you doing?"
Anna ignored her friend's plea and sent another tentacle for her. Hillary dodged it only to find another soaring for her. It pushed her over the edge.
Hillary shot out a strand of web and pulled herself back to the building. Yet another tentacle grabbed her leg and slammed her to the wall. They seemed to come out of nowhere!
"Anna, stop!"
"If you're not going to be a friend, I won't either," Anna said angrily as she threw her off of the building.
The fall was far, open, and Hillary had a hard time trying to grab onto something else. Hillary's earlier talk with Peter ran through her mind:
"I told myself that he didn't know what he was doing and that I was doing it to protect the people of New York...and him."
"And you had to show it to him by beating the snot out of him?"
"I'd say I knocked some sense into him. But the point is, you have to know what you need to do and not be afraid to do it. I didn't want to beat Dr. Octavious to a pulp, but I knew I had to."
Hillary's face clenched in determination as she stuck her hands to the wall and flipped into a sideways bridge. Anna's top left tentacle spotted this as she turned to walk away.
The spider-girl is still alive!
We must go after her!
"No, I don't want to continue. I've taught Hillary her lesson already."
Why not finish the job?
It is never good to leave a task half done. It only makes it harder to come back to.
"But I'm not coming back to finish her." Anna protested.
And that is your weakness. You are always leaving things half-finished. Always saying you'll come back to it tomorrow.
Yet this 'tomorrow' never comes.
At least Father finished. Father got the job done.
Maybe you aren't worthy of us. We had misjudged you. They hung their heads and turned as one away from her.
This ticked Anna off. She wasn't good enough? Not even for her own tentacles?
"I'll show you who's worthy!" She told them angrily.
The tentacles were delighted as they propped her up on the side of the building on her command.
"Hey Spider!" she called. Hillary perked up and looked towards Anna – fists clenched, grungy hair blowing in the breeze and a facial expression angry enough to kill. "Let's end this," she said as her tentacles snapped and made ready to lunge.
A couple days passed and the girls hadn't come home. Concerned for his daughter, Peter had been out the entire time looking for her. Mary Jane and Rosie were equally worried and if you weren't sure of what they did while they were nervous, you would have found out during those three days.
Mary Jane had come over to Rosie and Otto's house to ease her friend's stress and, hopefully, some of her own.
Mary Jane now sat on the couch silently reading a book; more like staring at the page. She couldn't seem to concentrate on anything besides her daughter and if she was all right or not. Rosie, on the other hand, was actively cooking in the kitchen making dishes she didn't even know she could stir up. When Rosie was nervous, she would cook. And cook, and cook, and cook until her stress had eased.
The table was piled high with fragrant pastries, soups, and just about any other food imaginable. After a very long silence, Mary Jane looked in the way of the kitchen.
"You and Otto are never going to be able to eat all that before it goes bad," she commented.
Rosie paused for a second or two. "I know, but I can't help it."
Just then, the doorbell rang. Rosie removed her oven mitts and opened the door. There stood Otto with a small suitcase. He smiled, but not a very warm one; he was still working on fully controlling them. Otto had realized that, despite how he felt, he now had a family to take care of and couldn't run off like that, and had come back before he was quite ready.
"Hi Honey," Rosie greeted. "Everything squared away?"
"Yes," he replied simply. Otto stuck his nose into the air and inhaled the sweet aroma. "Bread? What are you worried about?" he asked. Otto knew his wife well.
"Anna's having trouble with controlling them and she ran of. Her friend Hillary ran after her, and we haven't heard from either of them for three days now," Rosie explained toying with the hem of her jacket.
Otto noticed the bandage around his wife's forehead. "Rosie, what happened to your head?"
Rosie seemed reluctant to answer. She took in a deep breath. "Well, um, Anna wanted to leave, and I wouldn't let her, and—"
"She—she struck you!" Otto sounded outraged.
"Well no, the table did. But it was all the tentacles' doing!" Rosie persisted. Otto nodded silently and set his suitcase inside of the door. "What are you doing?"
"I need to find her, set her straight," Otto replied as he walked off down the street again.
Rosie could tell that he was dead nervous, but boy, did he hide it well! She felt so helpless; Rosie couldn't do anything about their daughter. She closed the door.
As Rosie walked through the living room to the kitchen, Mary Jane gave her a concerned look. Rosie returned it and made it to the small, but homey, kitchen to bake her worries away.
Anna struck the ground. This time, not springing back up. Her lip bled with the history of a hard battle. She attempted to prop her body and weak tentacles up with her hands but failed and allowed her being to fall back into the dust.
Hillary looked battered also as she walked slowly and confidently up to her opponent. Her face was stern, yet understanding and merciful – as her father's.
Tears stained Anna's cheeks, which also had a meaning, although not the alleged one. They weren't expressing sadness of defeat and humiliation; she cried them out of sorrow and regret of having attacked her friend, of having listened to those evil advisors strapped to her back in the first place.
Hillary stood over her; Anna gazed up at her. "You had every right to do that to me," Anna said on the bridge of a sob. "And anything else that would have been worse that I'm sure you thought about at one time or another."
"I know," Hillary said for lack of better words. "Are you Ok?"
Anna struggled to her knees. "I am now. Thank you…for doing that for me."
Hillary smiled; despite her theory and fear, she'd get to keep her friend out of this. "Don't mention it."
Anna smeared the blood off of her lip. Hillary held out a welcoming hand.
"Do you want to come home?" she asked.
Anna smiled and grabbed her friend's gloved hand as Hillary pulled her up.