July 9, 2010 (5:40 PM).
Running. The clattering footfalls of one pumping the arms for strength hidden within, right? Yeah. That's what I was doing. Running. Towards home. The only thoughts in my mind were on my brother Derick. I had to make sure he was safe.
I swept past oncoming people like a graceful track runner, darting around groups of older families instead of doing the rude thing and pushing between them. I had manners, you know.
Someone yelped, having moved into my pathway.. which caused me to glide around them instead of knocking them down, though my elbow still hit them. "Sorry!" I yelled back, continuing in my track home.
There! Home was just a few more feet away.. and the steps were a blur underneath my feet as I moved up them, throwing the door open-
Right into the mess that were people in the front room. Mother was sitting around the table with two people, along with Uncle Frank beside her, who was rubbing at his cheek thoughtfully.
They glanced towards me as I slowly stepped into the room, eyeing everyone cautiously.
"Saria! Where did you go? We were so worried!" Marissa rose, but Frank pulled her back down by her wrist.
"Let me talk to the girl, Mari." Frank said, causing my mother to nod. My eyes narrowed as he moved towards me. We slipped into the dining area, his arms folding against his chest. We stared at each other for several minutes in silence before I spoke.
"Where is Derick?" I questioned with a slight edge to my words. My breath was coming out heavily from my long run home, causing him to arch his eyebrow at me in mild curiosity.
"Where have you been?" He demanded.
I blinked. "I walked to the festival on my own. I don't need someone to take me."
"Independent, are we? How cute. Anyway, Derick's not home. He left earlier with his friend." He stated.
"So he's safe?" I had to make sure.
"Of course. Why wouldn't he be? He didn't go to the festival. They were heading to one of his friend's house." Frank replied lightly, rubbing at his cheek once more. "So about the shooting we heard about.."
"Good.. He's safe. I was worried.." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Some guy was waving around a gun and a soldier shot him." I skimmed down the story, leaving out my involvement in the gang member's death, but by Frank's eyes narrowing I knew he didn't fully believe me.
"Come here." He moved through the doorway, taking me into the living room where a TV was playing. On the screen was the news and a female reporter talking. Behind her was the park, cops walking around with a few citizens being questioned. "Watch this."
"-the man had a hostage. A young girl in a dress, according to the witnesses. The man was using her to stall Tracker Chief Leader Bradly Johnson, who was on the scene to apprehend the dangerous individual. With the help of the young girl, Bradly was able to take down the dangerous Night Rider ex-gang member, who had recently disbanded from the group." And then it flashed a video from a phone showing, from the southern angle, me being held by the man, who's gun was aimed towards Bradly. "-A witness was able to capture this footage on scene." The reporter said.
The video played, showing people running wildly in the background while Bradly's voice rang out over the fray. "Release the girl."
It showed my arm moving slightly. Next thing I knew I saw myself on the footage spinning in the man's arms. I pushed away from him, making a run. The video jerked to the side just as the man's gun was pointing towards me on screen, but I saw Bradly fire at the man, smoke billowing from his magnum.
"And thus the dangerous man, Rango Hawkins, was brought down. Who is this girl? If you have news concerning her, please call our number." The reporter concluded as it went to commercial.
"'Some guy was waving around a gun and a soldier shot him'? Yeah, if only it was that simple, Saria. Your mother was worried sick about you. I don't know why. He should have shot you. Would have saved us a lot of problems-" Frank was interrupted by a snarl from my throat.
"Ok. What. The. Fuck. Is. Your. Deal?" I made sure to put emphasis on each word. "Why do you hate me? Why do you make my life so much harder then it needs to be?" The snarl was coming out in each question, each angered word I had to use. I was downright tired of this.. this.. dance we played with each other.
"You're a waste of space and one unfit to carry our bloodline. You're just like your father; worthless. You've stained our family-" He started in on his answer, but I waved a hand at him.
"So this is about my FATHER, is it? Because I'm his daughter?" This caused more anger to boil in my system.
"BECAUSE you are his daughter. You take up like him. Derick and Nolan actually act like they are supposed to." He snapped at me.
"I knew it. You are just a piece of shit, uncle." I growled as I pushed him away from me, heading back towards the front room where mother was.
"Go on, ruin our family name. I'd love to see your father be proud of how you sullied our fortune." Came uncle's quick response, which caused me to stop mid-step.
"What.. did you say?" I slowly turned my head towards him, eyes narrowed.
He saw the darkness in my eyes, grinning. "You heard me."
"I dare you to say that again." I said lowly. I felt anger boiling in my system.
"You are just family trash-" He started to say. That was it.
"Argh!" I pounced at him, but he was quick on his feet, grabbing my arm and swinging me around to slam my back into the wall. The wind was forcefully knocked from my lungs. I doubled over as I landed on the floor. He was dusting off his arms.
"Did you honestly expect to take on a retired military soldier?" He was chuckling at me.
"What was that?" A voice came running down the hallway. Frank stepped back, mom entering the room with the two people behind her. I noticed they were friends of hers as I slowly rose to my feet. "Saria, are you ok?"
I just grunted at her while Frank took control before I could. "She asked me to teach her a few moves from the army but I accidentally hit her too hard. She's fine, just a bit out of breath." What a load of crap he was spouting, but mom believed him. It was her oldest sibling, after all.
"Oh, my baby!" Marissa ran over to me, wrapping her arms around me. I was glaring daggers over her shoulder at Frank who was slightly smiling.
One of my mom's friends noticed my glare and the man's eyes narrowed a bit, glancing towards my uncle. He left the room, pulling along the woman with him.
"I'm fine.. mom." I breathed out once I had gained my air back.
She pulled away to stare into my eyes, but then glanced down towards my hand. "Saria, you have blood on your hand!" Her expression became stern. "Did you get hurt?"
I shook my head twice, glancing towards Frank. "I'm fine." I lied. Remembering the festival only brought back the fear that I had hidden away.
Just then the reporter came back on TV, since we were still in the living room, and suddenly she was flashing an image of me, talking rapidly. Mom looked up as my name was said on the screen, but I pushed away, running from the living room. "Saria!" I heard her call, but I didn't look back. I ran upstairs to my room and snatched my phone from the desk beside my bed, taking the steps down to the first level with ease. I left the house in a quick jog, slamming the door behind me. I flew down the street, heading back towards the festival.
I needed to get away from him, to get far away from the emotional pain he was causing me. I had to find Derick, to confirm that he was ok. I pulled out my cell phone. Mom wanted us all to have them so that if we were at school and needed help we could easily call her. I found Derick's number in the contact list, pressing the call button.
"Come on, Derick.." I whispered as it rang several times, the device pressed to my ear.
It went to voice mail after a few rings. I cursed under my breath, calling once more. It did it again.
I slapped the phone shut, clenching it tightly in my hand. "Dang.."
I was almost to the festival area when my phone rang. I opened it quickly, pressing accept and putting it against my ear without reading the name.
"Derick?" I asked quickly.
"That's just what I was calling you about, Saria. Have you seen Derick?" A male voice asked, low and soft. My eyes went wide. I recognized that voice.. It was Jared.
"He's not with you, Nina and Coven?" I questioned, startled.
"No, I haven't seen him. Coven said he called earlier to tell him he was going to pick him up, but then his mom wouldn't let him go out cause of a bad summer school report. Nina's with me, we're heading to the festival." Jared said.
"Don't go. Stay at home. There was a shooting at the festival, no one got hurt, but it's not safe yet. The cops are checking the area." I quickly said.
"Oh! Man, that bites. Alright. If I catch wind of Derick I'll give you a call and let you know. Make sure you do the same if you see him." Jared's voice was fuller now.
"I will. Thanks." I hung up, running faster.
Something didn't smell right. That shiver was racing up my spine again, alerting me to watching eyes. I stopped on a corner, glancing around in all directions, but I saw no one watching me. Just people walking and talking. That was it. I turned back around and noticed a man a little ways ahead, on the edge of the park. He was wearing a casual grin, looking at me, holding something up. I squinted, noticing it was a small object, metallic because it flashed in the sun light, which was dipping over the horizon as night came. It kind of looked like a cell phone.
He waved it around in the air before turning and running.
"Hey!" I ran after him, following him as he weaved through people and booths. Impulse told me to follow him, though I don't know why. He led me towards the center of the park before tossing the object aside. "H-hey!" I called out again, but he was gone, a blur in the crowd. I stepped over to the thrown object, crouching to pick it up.
It was Derick's phone!
My gut was right. Something was wrong. I opened it, checking his messages and call list. He had a new message, so I opened it out of curiosity.
My, my, aren't you just a smart girl, little observer? I dropped the phone after reading that, gasping.
Someone looked at me, walking towards me. "You alright?" It was a woman and she bent down to retrieve the cell phone on the ground, silver and small. She handed it to me. "You should keep a better hold on this- Hey! You're the one on the news!" She blinked at me.
I shook my head, clutching the phone tightly in my other hand. I turned and fled, only to bump into a wall.
I landed on my butt with a surprised 'Oophf!'.
"Saria!" I recognized the voice, looking up to see Bradly extending a hand down to me. I took it, letting him help me up. "Did you find your brother?"
I looked towards my left hand, the one holding Derick's phone before shaking my head. "No."
"His phone? Why do you have it?" He questioned, concern in his voice. Why did he care?
"Yeah. I found it on the ground." He knew I was leaving a big chunk out by the shaking edge to my voice.
He folded his arms. "Tell me the full story."
I sighed, looking towards his face for answers. "Some guy had it. I chased him to get it back.. he led me here.. and then threw it. I got it from the ground.. and then some lady recognized me."
"Yeah, I heard a female say 'one on the news', so I looked towards the source, only for you to run into me." He chuckled.
"Eheh.. sorry about that." I rubbed at my arm nervously before putting my phone on the opposite side of the butterfly knife, underneath of my dress.
"Who could have had your brother's phone? You said a man, correct? Can you describe him to me?" There was a professional tone to Bradly's voice now.
"A little bit shorter then Rango, short and spiky black hair, green eyes, brown clothes, black jacket and.. I'm pretty sure I saw a flash of metal underneath of his jacket, a gun perhaps."
"You have quite the eye on you, did you know that?" He smiled. "And that description..." His features turned cold. "Sounds like Memphis Coal. He's a member of the same gang that Rango had been in, the Night Rider. Very dangerous people."
"Why would he have my brother's phone?" I questioned, confusion written on my features.
Bradly sighed. "I know the reason, now. It makes sense."
I glared at him. "Tell me!"
He placed his eyes on me, dark and cloudy. "He, or they, has your brother. If my memory serves correct, the Wesker's have a connection to the Windchester, right?"
"My grandfather's the mayor, Vincent Windchester." I mumbled.
"That's why. The Night Rider probably wants political sway with the mayor, or ransom money for your brother. He could get a high price for the grandson of the city's mayor." His tone had dropped low so that only I would hear. "This could not bode well for your brother. The Night Rider are not known for keeping their end of any deals, which usually ends up with a dead hostage."
I gulped. "My brother will be killed?"
"It's a possibility." As he said that, tears began to stream down my face. "But I'm not going to let it happen. We'll get your brother back. Marco! Fin! Jack!" He turned away from me to yell towards three camo-clad men who were talking among themselves close by.
"Yeah, boss?" Marco, tall and thin, was very chippy looking, with a thin mustache, buzz-cut brown hair and a rifle slung across his back. He had deep brown eyes that glanced to me as the trio walked over to us.
Fin, on the other hand, was a bit shorter then the other two, with a muscular build, steel grey hair half hidden under a brown hat and pure blue eyes, much lighter then my own.
Jack.. now that was a strange guy. He wore only a camo jacket over his bare tan chest, probably to show off his abs, with light green eyes and lengthy black hair under a matching hat. He was the handsomer one of the trio. "Anything new?" He asked.
"Yeah. Possible hostage situation soon. I want you to meet Saria. She's the one who assisted me with Rango, also his hostage." As Bradly said this the three studied me with curiosity.
"Well hello, little one." Fin replied with a slight smirk.
"Manners, Fin." Marco said. "If she helped the boss then she has my respect."
"Yeah, yeah. Marco always has to throw in his two cents." Fin waved a hand to dismiss Marco's words.
"Name's Jack Mares. This is Fin Howard and Marco Amsel." Jack bowed his head slightly, causing his black hair to fall over his shoulders. When he stood straight again he tossed his head, throwing his hair back behind him.
"Hello.." I shyly said, looking back toward Bradly for assurance.
"They won't bite." He laughed. "Tell them what happened, Saria." I nodded.
I explained to them about the man with my brother's phone, the chase, him dropping it and then a lady helping me and also about bumping into Bradly on accident, which caused Marco to laugh a bit. I even described what the man looked like. I told them about my family connection to the mayor and the possible reasons why he was taken, as Bradly stated, about the ransom or political gain for them.
"What a story." Jack whistled. Fin was only nodding his head.
"Sounds like that one dude, boss. What was his name again?" Marco pursed his lips, rubbing along his jaw.
"Memphis Coal." Bradly said, to which Marco snapped his fingers, nodding his head several times.
"So he's got the brother?" Fin questioned.
"It's likely that he does, having had the boy's cell phone." Bradly nodded.
"Please.. help me get back Derick.. You have to!" I could feel my eyes sting as the tears threatened to spill. Not Derick... not my brother.
"We'll do our very best to get him back." Jack smiled gently. "You can count on me." Fin nodded, glancing towards Marco.
"Always willing to help someone in need." Was all Marco said.
"We'll help you-" Fin's voice was gone.
Everything went completely silent. My senses faded. I couldn't see, couldn't move. My eyes were wide open, yet I was blind.
Something whispered in the back of my mind. You think things are bad now? Wait until you see the real terror, the real deal. I'll show you, just for you..
Everything came back into focus, but it felt.. different.
I looked around me, noticing the expressions on the soldier's faces. Fin had a worried expression while Jack was tilting his head, an eyebrow arched. Marco was talking to Bradly about something. Sound returned. I could hear. My other senses soon followed.
"-might have shock-" Marco glanced toward me. "Oh." He smiled. "You're ok."
I blinked, studying them for a few seconds in silence. "What happened?" I asked.
"You froze, didn't talk or even respond. It's like you just suddenly.. died." Fin put in, answering my question.
"Has this happened before?" Bradly questioned.
"Yeah, earlier today with my friends. I froze for about 5 minutes, according to my friend, and then.. everything was fine again." Something was wrong. I could sense it. I could feel it in the very air around me. Everything was different, yet the same.
"I see.. well, anyway. We should go search around, try to locate your brother. You should head home." Bradly nodded toward Marco. "Take her home-"
I shook my head. "I can walk, I'll be fine."
"It's for your own protection, Saria." Marco muttered. I just nodded.
My spine was icy on the walk home. Marco strode beside me in silence, occasionally glancing over at me to make sure I was still with him. "You ok?" He asked, noticing my dazed expression, though my body kept walking forward.
I snapped out of it, looking up at him. "I'm fine." He only shook his head up and down in response, silently understanding.
We arrived at my home within a few minutes. We walked up the steps and I reached for the knob, but froze, hearing laughter inside.
"-Took you long enough! You brute." A deep voice was laughing.
"Haha! I've gotten stronger!" A soft male voice..
"Well, we're both home, aren't we?" That deep voice again.
"Yeah, dad." That soft voice again.. Nolan?
"Calm down, you two." Mom's voice cut in.
"Listen to Mari, you fools." I could hear uncle Frank say.
I looked up towards Marco. "Thanks for walking me home."
"We'll find your brother, Saria. Don't worry.. and you're welcome." Marco smiled before walking down the steps. I turned my attention to the door, opening it.
I took a deep breath before pushing open the door and entering my home..
And was greeted with the sweet smell of cinnamon and laughter. I smiled softly.
I should never have entered the house. Never again. If only I had known beforehand who else was inside, silently watching the other's like lambs for the slaughter. If only I had been aware of the outcome.. I could have stopped it all.. right?
I should have known something was actually up with my freezing twice. Something was horribly.. terribly wrong.. and I never realized it until it was too late. Too late to stop the treading wheel, to fix it. It was far.. far too late.
Why did it have to be this way? I should have run away that very instant when I entered the house.. but I kept going.
And because of it.. I was doomed to a twisted fate that even 'God' would laugh about..
It's far too late.. to correct anything.
So.. I should just hush and continue the story, shouldn't I? Very well.