《The Archangel》 Chapter 1 - Dont Get Ahead of Yourself the archangel, book one - strings that bind I was really starting to hate being upside down. My ankles were aching from the rope straining against them, attaching me to a tree branch. My head felt like it was going to explode from the blood pooling in my head. But the worst part was the disorientation. Looking at Vincent and his packs of ugly goons laughing as they recorded me was already hard enough when I wasn¡¯t suspended two feet in the air. Vincent pocketed his phone and walked over, tugging on his black leather jacket to fit better on his thin frame. He flashed me his signature piss-coloured grin as he knelt down on one knee in front of me. ¡°God damn, your face is red. You alive?¡± Unfortunately, I thought. But I kept my mouth shut and just stared at the grass. ¡°What? Nothing witty to say this time? But you had so much to say on your way here!¡± Not caring, I started to count the many blades of grass. Each blade was more than twice the size of the grass blades in the city, but it made sense. This part of the forest wasn¡¯t exactly near the main road. ¡°Man, you¡¯re really no fun today, Michael.¡± He slammed a fist straight into my abdomen, but all that achieved was rocking me back and forth, making me lose track of where I¡¯d been counting. I decided to start over from zero. ¡°Hello?¡± He waved a hand in front of my face. ¡°Did you pass out with your eyes open or something?¡± When I still didn¡¯t reply, he sighed and turned away, looking back at his pals. ¡°Guess we could go see how Ramona would-¡± ¡°Hey, jackass.¡± Vincent turned back, and I spat, straight into his face. It landed square in the middle of his forehead and ran down his face. His pals froze momentarily, then started laughing even louder than they had been before. ¡°Smells like you¡¯re long overdue for a shower,¡± I commented. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Vincent wiped the spit off his face with his left hand and reached into his pocket with his right, pulling out a small spring-powered pocketknife. He brought the point to my cheek, looking at me with pure venom, and I stared apathetically back. ¡°This has been long overdue,¡± he snarled. Behind him, one of his buddies ran up, phone in hand. ¡°Vincent!¡± Vincent kept glaring into my eyes, but his eyebrows scrunched up in irritation. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m clearly fuckin¡¯ busy here.¡± The newcomer looked almost scared as he offered the phone to Vincent. ¡°It¡¯s Jin. He¡¯s asking for you.¡± Jin? I thought. Wait, isn¡¯t that¡­ Vincent sighed, turning to look back at the kid. ¡°Tell him to leave a message.¡± His friend shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s urgent. Just¡­ answer it, man, come on.¡± ¡°Give me that, you fucking pussy.¡± Snatching the phone out of his hand, Vincent stood up and began to speak politely into it. ¡°It¡¯s me, sir¡­ wait, are you serious? Sorry, of course¡­ where¡¯d they last see her?... Where in the red light district?... Got it.¡± He pocketed the phone and turned back to me, his lips forming a sinister smile. ¡°Lucky you. I¡¯ve apparently got a prettier face to cut up. We¡¯ll pick this up another time.¡± Walking back towards his goons, he began to bark commands. ¡°We¡¯re heading to the red light district! I¡¯ll text you the address in the group chat.¡± The kid glanced at me. ¡°Um, what about him?¡± Vincent turned up his palms, flashing his usual grin- oh, god. His dentist must hate him. ¡°What about him?¡± I didn¡¯t bother watching as his pack disappeared off into the trees. When I reached my hundredth blade of grass and could no longer see any of the group in the distance, I bent myself in half, doing a hanging sit-up as I reached for my ankle and pulled a small folding knife out of my sock. Flicking it open, I began to saw away at the rope. It took a minute, but eventually I slammed into the forest floor with an unceremonious thud. Instead of getting up right away, I opted to look up at the soft evening sunlight streaming through the forest roof. Red, orange, and yellow leaves were being shed from their branches and fluttering to the ground- And suddenly they all turned green, and it was the rays of a bright summer afternoon streaming through the branches and leaves. Sophia¡¯s blond hair spilled over her shoulders as she gazed down at me. Her bright blue eyes were crinkled into a smile. ¡°Whatcha looking at?¡± I gasped and immediately sat up, looking behind me- but no one was there. The forest had returned to its regular autumn colours. I groaned and flopped back to the forest floor. Obviously, that hadn¡¯t been real. But a small part of me really wished it had been. Holy shit, you are pathetic. Oh, great. You¡¯re back. I was starting to hope I¡¯d finally gotten rid of you. Wouldn¡¯t you be oh so lonely without me? Considering that everybody and their mother is out to get you right now. I¡¯d rather be locked away in one of those psych ward marshmallow rooms forever if it meant you were out of my head. Careful what you wish for. If I wasn¡¯t here, who¡¯d be here to make all the right decisions? Like letting us get fucked up by a scrawny malnourished freshman. Oh, wait, that was your choice. Enough. I don¡¯t need the whole spiel again. You already know why I¡¯m enduring this. Think about how easy it would be to snap those twig arms. Gouge out his eyes, so he can¡¯t see. Break his spine, so he can''t walk- Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. My right shoe began to vibrate. Slowly, I unclenched my jaw, and took a few deep breaths. Then, I sat up and removed my shoe, reaching inside for my phone. The caller ID was an unknown number- likely a spam call. I¡¯m answering. No, you¡¯re not. Too late! Wha- why the hell do you want to- oh, god, whatever. I put the phone up into my ear, expecting to hear an automated voice speaking to me in Mandarin or warnings about issues with a non-existent package. ¡°Hello, Michael.¡± My eyes widened in shock. The voice speaking was immediately familiar. I gritted my teeth. How the hell had he gotten my number? ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...I know you¡¯re there. Aren¡¯t you going to say anything?¡± ¡°You called me,¡± I reminded him. ¡°Fair enough. I need a favour.¡± A favour? Funny. Is that what he¡¯s calling it? ¡°What can I do for you, your highness?¡± I asked dryly. ¡°Look-¡± The caller cut himself short and sighed. ¡°Never mind. I need you to find someone in the city. Her name¡¯s Isla. You know her, right?¡± ¡°Isla¡­¡± I frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know her. Sophia¡¯s best friend, right? Always looks like she wants to murder someone?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not a secret that she¡¯s associated with some¡­ interesting people.¡± ¡®Interesting¡¯ is one hell of an understatement. That¡¯s Jin Ikari¡¯s daughter. ¡°She disappeared from school earlier this morning,¡± the caller continued. ¡°Her father has been turning the entire city upside down looking for her. They even shot up a restaurant.¡± ¡°Why? What the hell did she do?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your concern. You just need to find her and get her to safety before they do. You know what could happen if they find her first.¡± I didn¡¯t say anything, but I knew. It wouldn¡¯t be pretty. ¡°Based on reports, she was last seen in-¡± ¡°The red light district?¡± I finished. The caller paused. I could clearly picture his confused expression. ¡°How did you¡­ whatever. Just make sure you contact me when you find her, and I''ll come pick her up. And remember, if you don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You publish the file, my life is over, yadda yadda,¡± I said. ¡°Can I stop talking to you now, or is your voice going to keep grating on my ears?¡± A beep! beep! notified me that the call had been ended. I pocketed my phone and stood up, taking a hair tie off my wrist. I began to tie my unruly black hair back into a high ponytail, and reached down to unzip a pocket of my cargo pants. Producing a black bandana from the pocket, I began to tie it around my neck and began to stretch in preparation. This wasn¡¯t going to be easy. Finally. What? Oh, nothing. I finished tying the bandana, bringing it up to cover the bottom half of my face. Was just thinking¡­ I might actually get to have some fun today. Ha. Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself, asshole.
Pain and darkness. It was the two things the man could feel and see. His eyes were blinded by tightly bound cloth. His forearms, calves, and abdomen were duct-taped to a fixed wooden chair, though his hands were free. His body was bruised and battered from blow, after blow, after blow, after¡­ Footsteps, creaking the floorboards in the roof above. He tensed, feeling sick, but also relieved at the same time. He¡¯d been going insane with nothing to accompany him but his dark thoughts. Two heavy sets of footsteps. An opened door. And then- ¡°Mr. Jay Yang?¡± ¡°...Y-yes?¡± His mouth was as dry as sand. ¡°We¡¯re with the police. Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re safe now.¡± First came shock, then came a crashing wave of relief, a wave so great it made Jay burst into tears. Finally, it was over. Finally, he would be free¡­ And then, immense pain. For a few seconds, it was all he was aware of- that, and the raw guttural scream that came from his mouth. He breathed heavily, trying to bring himself back to reality as the blindfold was removed. A young man, no older than twenty-five, stood bent down before him so that they were eye level. He wore an expensive black Italian suit with a blood red dress shirt and midnight black tie. His ears held an excessive amount of piercings. A small smile was on his face as he held the source of Jay¡¯s pain- a pair of pliers holding a bloody fingernail. His fingernail, taken from his right index finger. ¡°Just kidding!¡± The man¡¯s almost friendly smile widened, but there was nothing behind his dark eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t actually think it was going to be that easy, did you?¡± Despair flowed through him- an emotion the man recognized easily, causing his smile to grow. He let the fingernail drop to the ground. In the corner of his vision, Jay could spot his accomplice, a behemoth of a man, standing silently against the wall, watching. ¡°You could be free though, Mr. Yang.¡± His attacker circled behind him on the chair, and leaned in close, whispering in his ear, running a finger down his arm. ¡°It¡¯d be so simple. You just need to tell us what we need to know, and¡­¡± He tapped his finger on Jay¡¯s duct taped forearm. ¡°We¡¯d just let you go, and we can forget this ever happened. Back to your wife, your son. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re worried sick about you.¡± In spite of everything, Jay managed a dry, humourless laugh. ¡°What a fucking joke. You¡¯ll just gut me and bury me in Bronwynn Forest once you get what you need. I know who you people are- no, I know what you are.¡± ¡°Hmmm?¡± The man appeared in front of his vision and bent down in front of him once again. ¡°And what might that be?¡± ¡°Spineless, demented dogs,¡± Jay spat. ¡°Acting like they own the world until they get a real taste of fear.¡± The man froze for a few seconds. Then, he burst out laughing. Jay stared at him at bewilderment as he struggled to get his laughing fit under control, walking off behind him. The sound of scraping against the floor got closer until the man placed a metal chair down facing Jay. He sat down in the chair, catching his breath. ¡°Oh, shit, sorry. Just couldn¡¯t get over how corny that was. A real dramatic monologue!¡± A flash of metal, and suddenly Jay was howling in pain. The man had stuck a knife into his thigh, right behind his kneecap. ¡°Fear, huh?¡± The man slowly began twisting the knife as Jay gasped and whimpered. ¡°You¡¯re right, though. Everyone loves to act tough until they¡¯re faced with real fear. That¡¯s when we see who they truly are, and what they¡¯re actually capable of. If you ask me-¡± The man yanked out the knife, and Jay almost blacked out, but he was grabbed by the chin and brought to meet his tormentor¡¯s eyes. They were wide open and piercing, as if he was looking into Jay¡¯s soul. ¡°Fear is the most pure emotion there is. And the most human. There¡¯s no faster way of figuring someone out.¡± The man released Jay and leaned back in his chair. ¡°I have to say though, I¡¯m impressed. Maybe it comes with the pride of being an executive of a high class tech company like Futurebound, but you¡¯ve last way longer than most people would down here.¡± He beckoned to his accomplice in the corner, who began to approach. ¡°You¡¯re definitely strong willed. Someone with strings of steel.¡± Strings? Jay thought, confused. He glared at the man. ¡°Try whatever you want, however long you want. I won¡¯t break.¡± The man sighed. ¡°Everyone breaks, Mr. Yang. People are like¡­ puppets on a million different strings. If one string doesn¡¯t budge¡­¡± The accomplice handed the torturer a tablet, which was brought to face Jay. ¡°You just need to pull another.¡± On the screen was a woman and a teenage boy, bound to chairs the same way he was- his wife and son, which caused Jay¡¯s eyes to widen in shock. ¡°How the hell¡­ but I told them-¡± ¡°You told them to leave the city if you disappeared or were killed. Left them a runaway kit or something similar. And that was smart. A+ for thinking ahead. But¡­¡± The man shrugged. ¡°Your son had different plans. Wouldn¡¯t leave without you. We caught him trying to sneak into one of our buildings looking for you. Stubborn little shit, just like his father. All we had to do was leave a little tip as to where you might be¡­¡± Jay¡¯s heart pounded. His eyes clenched shut. His voice shook as he spoke. ¡°You really are all true to your name. You¡¯re Demons.¡± The man¡¯s lips stretched into a twisted grin. ¡°There it is. There¡¯s the fear. Now¡­¡± He leaned forwards. ¡°Tell me everything you know about Futurebound Industries. Especially¡­ the Skeleton Key.¡± Chapter 2 - Red Light, Green Light Isla was fucked. She couldn¡¯t escape her father¡¯s men. No matter what she did, no matter where she went, there was always danger lurking around every corner. She¡¯d ran and hid as much as possible to conserve her energy, but when escape wasn¡¯t possible, she had to fight however she could using whatever was available- broken bottles, traffic cones, a loose brick. She¡¯d even thrown a tray of piping hot fries from a restaurant¡¯s deep fryer. And everyone inside that same restaurant had died because of her. Don¡¯t think about that, idiot, she chided herself. You need to not die yourself first. Still, she wouldn¡¯t last much longer. Her ankle was twisted. Her clothing was stained and torn in some places from knives. Her chin had a large purple bruise. People stared at her wherever she went, and she had no way of knowing if any of them were reporting on her current condition to her pursuers. She knew for a fact some of them (mainly Vincent) would laugh at how pathetic and desperate she looked right now. Limping down the sidewalk, she turned the corner and suddenly found herself into a bustling side street, brightly lit by neon signs. Fickster Street. She¡¯d only heard rumours, but it was the ever-popular heart of the red-light district. Isla saw signs pointing to sex shops, strip clubs, seedy restaurants, and cheap motels- all places she was not interested in. But the dense crowd would serve a good place to blend in and hide as she moved further away from her last sighting. Doesn¡¯t make it any less awkward, though, Isla thought. Regardless, she plunged right in, pulling down the hood of her sweater to try and be less conspicuous. She¡¯d always thought such a place would be crowded with gross single guys looking for gratification, but there were a surprising number of women and couples as well, alongside various, barely clothed entertainers. She couldn¡¯t ever imagine taking a boyfriend to a place like this, much less having a boyfriend that didn¡¯t eventually get his throat slit open for associating with her. What the hell am I even thinking about? Isla wondered if the stress and pain was driving her crazy. She glanced around to check if anyone was looking at her or following her- and saw them almost immediately in the crowd, straight behind her. Demons. They were way too close for comfort. Three men in midnight black suits with a red dress shirt, black tie, and black dress shoes, staring in her direction as they approached. Isla could see the slight bulge of pistols at their hip, but it wasn¡¯t likely that they would start firing in the middle of a crowd this big. For now, she had to run, but where to? A menacing grin formed on the lips of one of the men, sending Isla into high alert. She looked around frantically to locate a possible threat. Wham! A pedestrian slammed into her and Isla immediately threw an uppercut, slamming his head backwards from the force. The man crumpled to the ground as his boyfriend cried out and knelt down. "I-I''m sorry," Isla stammered. "I didn''t mean-" Out of the corner of her eye, a figure lunged towards her and moved to wrap his arm around her neck. She brought her chin down to block the choke attempt and slammed her back into her attacker. The Demon barely budged from the move, but it let her slip out of his grasp and slam his jaw with a left hook. He fell to his knees, and Isla brought an axe kick down on the back of his head. Her attacker crumpled- and so did Isla with a yelp, cradling her injured ankle. She whipped her head back around, expecting reinforcements, but the other men had disappeared into the crowd. People were starting to take even greater notice of her after the fight. Some were even recording, no doubt about to post her on their Instagram story with some cringey caption. Great, she''d be famous in no time. Gritting her teeth in pain and irritation, Isla rushed back into the crowd, moving as fast her ankle would allow her, looking all around her. Where the hell had they gone? Were they waiting to get her alone so they could use their guns? She found out her answer pretty quickly as a hand reached out, trying to grab her arm. Isla stifled a scream and pulled herself away, making her way further into the crowd- and straight into the clutches of another. She would have been screwed if a passerby hadn¡¯t bumped into him, allowing her a window to dodge a bear hug. They were using the crowd against her. She needed to get off this street. Ducking into a shop, which was filled with all sorts of¡­ things, for certain people who enjoyed them, she made her way to the back and jumped the counter, ignoring the cashier chewing her out as she searched for a back exit. She slammed open the back door, leading into a small alleyway. Maybe she could find a place to hide until the coast was clear. Then a fist slammed into her jaw, and none of it mattered anymore.
¡°Commissioner! Commissioner!¡± In another part of the city, a large crowd of reporters had formed outside of a fast food restaurant surrounded by yellow caution tape. The bright flashing red and blue lights of police cars illuminated the area as the city¡¯s police commissioner made her way towards the crowd, trying to get to the crime scene. ¡°Is it true that this was the work of the Demons?¡± ¡°When are you going to address the city¡¯s rising crime rate?¡± ¡°What do you know about the girl they¡¯re chasing after?¡± Ignoring the questions, the Commissioner pushed her way through the crowd, managing to make it through without getting a migraine. She observed the outside of the restaurant. Shattered windows. Bullet marks on the walls. A dead civilian on the ground being photographed by investigators. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Standing at the steps of the restaurant¡¯s entrance stood an officer smoking a cigarette. When the Commissioner approached, he tossed a cigarette to the floor and stomped it out, nodding to her in respect. ¡°Commissioner Prentice.¡± ¡°Lieutenant Singh. Do I need to inform your wife you¡¯ve started smoking again?¡± ¡°Go ahead. I never actually quit, anyway.¡± He exhaled shakily. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think even my wife would even blame me after what I just saw.¡± The Commissioner bit her lip. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°I think¡­ thirteen D.O.A¡¯s total. Two of them are kids.¡± Thirteen? ¡°And Isla?¡± the Commissioner asked, her heart pounding. ¡°She¡¯s not inside, but she was definitely here based on eyewitness reports,¡± the Lieutenant said. ¡°We think she managed to run out the staff entrance after.¡± The Commissioner exhaled in relief. At least Isla had made it out, but thirteen people¡­ the Demons were getting out of control, as if they thought they could get away with anything. That needed to change. She spotted a security camera attached to the roof, right in front of the entrance. ¡°What about the security footage?¡± ¡°The computers were wrecked, and they took the hard drives.¡± Lieutenant Singh muttered a few curses in Hindi. ¡°These bastards always get away with the craziest shit.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The Commissioner took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m going in.¡± She put her foot on the first step, but Singh grabbed her arm. ¡°Rachel.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°...Don¡¯t blame yourself.¡± She headed up the rest of the steps and opened the door. Immediately, she could smell it- the metallic scent of blood, overwhelming her senses. The bodies were strewn around all over the restaurant- a family of four in the booth, an employee slumped against the wall behind the counter, an elderly woman sprawled out on the floor in a pool of blood. With a jolt, the Commissioner realized she was standing at the starting point. The Demons had begun shooting as soon as they had gotten their foot in the door. They clearly hadn¡¯t wanted to leave any witnesses. Shit... As she made her way through the restaurant carefully as to not interrupt the investigators taking photos and evidence, her eye caught on one of the booths. A deceased young woman was slumped back in her seat, a bullet hole in her forehead. A laptop was open in front of her, but a bullet had gone through the screen, so its contents weren¡¯t accessible. Across from the woman sat a half eaten burger meal combo, but there wasn¡¯t a body to match. Isla had been meeting with this woman, the Commissioner realized. The woman herself had brown hair tied back in a bun and wore professional clothing. An expensive looking camera and purse sat beside her in the booth. Her face looked familiar¡­ ¡°Oh, lord,¡± the Commissioner murmured. ¡°That¡¯s the Forth¡¯s daughter.¡± Lieutenant Singh appeared to her left. ¡°Do you know her?¡± ¡°Not personally. But¡­ someone I know does. She¡¯s a reporter.¡± ¡°A reporter?¡± Singh frowned. ¡°But wasn¡¯t Isla already your informant?¡± ¡°She stopped at some point,¡± the Commissioner explained. ¡°I think she learned something, something she couldn¡¯t trust me with. Or the department in general.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Singh trailed off, but the Commissioner knew what he was thinking. She¡¯d had the same thought many times before. The only issue was the proof, which she¡¯d been hoping Isla would have. She just needed to find her first. Her phone began to vibrate. One glance at the caller ID made her wince. ¡°Give me a second, lieutenant.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She stepped outside and put the phone to her ear. ¡°Sophia, honey-¡± ¡°What happened? Is she there? Is she okay?¡± Her daughter¡¯s voice on the other end was so frantic it hurt her heart. ¡°She¡¯s not here, but she¡¯s okay,¡± the Commissioner reassured her. ¡°We¡¯re going to find her, but you need to let me work, okay? It¡¯s going to take time.¡± ¡°This wouldn¡¯t have happened if you hadn¡¯t forced her into this!¡± Another stab through the heart. ¡°I know you needed her help. I know it was necessary, but-¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right.¡± The Commissioner pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. ¡°I¡¯m going to find her, honey, I promise. Is your father there with you?¡± ¡°Mhm. He¡¯s preparing his statement about this, I think. Was it¡­ that bad?¡± The Commissioner swallowed. ¡°Just¡­ tell him I¡¯ll be home sometime tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay. Cross your heart you¡¯ll keep me updated.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Cross!¡± Sophia demanded. Her mother sighed, wondering when her daughter would finally grow up. ¡°Cross my heart and hope to die, I¡¯ll keep you updated.¡± ¡°Good. I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too, honey.¡± As soon as she ended the call, a shout came from inside from the Lieutenant. ¡°Commissioner Prentice!¡± Heading back inside, she found the Lieutentant inspecting the laptop. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Look.¡± He brought his fingers to the top of the laptop. Besides the built-in camera was a small piece of black tape covering something. It was difficult to see what, but when the Lieutenant removed it, a bright green light shined back at them. It¡¯s been recording this whole time. For almost two hours. ¡°Shit!¡± The Commissioner snatched the reporter¡¯s purse out of the booth and began fumbling inside it. ¡°Look for a power outlet!¡± ¡°W-what- a power outlet?¡± The Lieutenant stuttered, looking around. ¡°We don¡¯t know how much charge it has!¡± The Commissioner explained, as she jammed the charger into the laptop¡¯s port. ¡°If the battery runs out-¡± As if on cue, the green light suddenly went out, and the Commissioner cursed so loudly the entire room went silent. All the investigators in the room were staring at her. She let the charger drop out of her hand and took a deep breath. ¡°...I want all the files on this laptop¡¯s drive on my desk by tomorrow afternoon,¡± the Commissioner instructed, pointing at it. ¡°No exceptions.¡± One of the crime scene investigators spoke up. ¡°But, Commissioner, that¡¯s a Futurebound laptop. If it¡¯s encrypted-¡± ¡°Then contact Futurebound and tell them to decrypt it,¡± she snapped. ¡°If they don¡¯t, tell them I¡¯ll slap them with every charge that¡¯ll stick and otherwise.¡± She turned to the Lieutenant. ¡°You¡¯re with me. We¡¯re leaving.¡± ¡°Uh, sure,¡± the Lieutenant replied nervously as they exited the restaurant. ¡°But where are we going, Commissioner?¡± ¡°To the source of this bullshit.¡± The Commissioner gritted her teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s go see Jin Ikari.¡± Chapter 3 - Youd Do Anything The day of the betrayal, Isla had been at school, drawing with crayons. Most of the other five year olds would have opted to spend recess running around, playing with friends on the slide or making castles together in the sandbox, but she sat alone at a small plastic table, doodling. Her kindergarten teacher appeared behind her. ¡°What are you drawing there, Isla?¡± Isla snatched the paper up and crumpled it, but she could tell from the teacher¡¯s concerned expression that she had already caught a glimpse. ¡°Go away,¡± Isla told her, hunching over the table. The teacher smiled as brightly as she could, hoping it didn¡¯t look as forced as it was, though Isla could easily tell. ¡°Guess what?¡± she said. ¡°Your mother¡¯s here to pick you up now. She¡¯s waiting inside.¡± Isla frowned. ¡°But it isn¡¯t go home time yet.¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­¡± The young woman took a deep breath, and Isla could sense her nervousness. Or was it anxiety? ¡°She wanted to spend some extra time with you today, so she¡¯s going to take you home now, okay?¡± Liar. She quietly got up and followed her teacher back inside to her classroom, her classmates watching as she left. She¡¯d gotten used to their stares and loud whispering a long time ago, but it didn¡¯t make her feel any better. At school, she was always the center of attention. And she hated it. Her mother stood at the entrance of the classroom, firmly grabbing onto her older brother¡¯s hand. Isla could only remember bits and pieces of what she looked like- black hair in a bob cut and a burn scar on her right hand. She wore a simple red dress and a stuffed backpack. Her older brother she couldn¡¯t remember at all, besides the fact that he was two years older than her and had a black eye. The two women exchanged a brief hug. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Her teacher asked. ¡°There¡¯s still the other options we discussed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Isla¡¯s mother exhaled shakily. ¡°But if they come for you too-¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. You just get to the airport as fast as you can. Don¡¯t take the highway, there¡¯s been a major accident. And don¡¯t call me or anyone else around here.¡± ¡°Okay. Okay, I won¡¯t.¡± Fighting back tears, her mother grabbed Isla¡¯s hand. ¡°Thank you for everything.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Her teacher knelt down and gave Isla one last smile. ¡°You¡¯re strong, Isla. The strongest student I¡¯ve ever had. So make sure you take care of your mom and brother for me. Promise?¡± Clinging to her mother¡¯s leg, Isla didn¡¯t meet her eyes, but she nodded slowly. She didn¡¯t exactly understand what was going on, but she had a feeling that she wouldn¡¯t be seeing her teacher again for a long time. And neither would anyone else. She couldn''t remember much about what happened after that. They¡¯d thrown their school backpacks into the back of a taxi and started driving. Her brother had been quiet the whole time. She¡¯d asked her mother a question- maybe about where they were going? And her mother had said something about her grandparents. Then the gunshots started- four terrifyingly loud noises that she¡¯d never heard before. They peppered the front of the car and shattered the front windshield. Isla¡¯s mother had screamed and yanked the two kids downwards by their shirts. The car swerved and slammed into a tree. The front airbags exploded into position. Disoriented, Isla looked around the car and saw a red liquid oozing down the back of the driver¡¯s seat in front of her. If she hadn¡¯t been in shock, she might have realized what it was right away. ¡°Isla. Isla, look at me.¡± She groggily turned to look at her mother¡¯s face, who had cuts on her face from broken glass. Suddenly, Isla¡¯s seatbelt was unfastened, and her mother scooped her into arms. With her right arm, she grabbed her backpack, instructing Isla¡¯s brother to open the door and hop out. Isla closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were running through empty residential streets, Isla¡¯s mother screaming for someone, anyone, to help her and her kids. But nobody came. At some point, Isla¡¯s mother became unable to carry her any further. She set Isla down and they continued as fast as they could on foot, but Isla could barely keep up as her mother frantically led them through a series of streets and alleyways. ¡°Mommy,¡± Isla gasped. ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m tired. Carry me again.¡± Her mother didn¡¯t hear her. Her head was darting around, trying to decide which way they were going next. ¡°Mommy-¡± Bang! Isla¡¯s leg was on fire. She screamed, falling to the floor, looking down at where the bullet had grazed her leg, a little bit below her knee. The sight of blood registered this time, making her nauseous. She looked to her mother, who looked back in horror. With a start, Isla realized her mother wasn¡¯t actually looking at her- she was looking behind her. ¡°Where are you going?¡± The cold anger that had been spoken into the air made Isla freeze. She couldn¡¯t move, but she knew exactly who was crouched down behind her, his .44 caliber revolver in his hand. He grabbed her by the back of the head and pushed her down into the pavement. Isla looked back to her mother and brother. She couldn¡¯t see her mother¡¯s face. ¡°Help me,¡± she whimpered. Her mother took a step backwards. Her brother shouted, trying to run towards her, but her mother pulled him back. No. Don¡¯t leave. Her mother turned around, pulling her brother along as she ran. Don¡¯t leave me. She kept running, not even glancing back as she did. Don¡¯t leave me with him! She reached the corner of the intersection, and Isla opened her mouth to scream. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me!¡± Immediately, a hand clamped over her mouth. ¡°You¡¯re going to get us caught.¡± Isla wasn¡¯t proud of her initial reaction, but she¡¯d also just been knocked out after being on the run from ruthless armed criminals. She shoved away the figure in front of her and kicked them straight in the crotch, dropping them straight to their knees with a yelp. She grabbed the person¡¯s collar with her right hand and got ready to throw a punch, but froze when she saw who was in front of her. Light stubble, dark shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail, and heavy bags under his eyes. He wore brown cargo pants and a black sweater, a black bandanna tied around his neck. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°...You?¡± Isla said in equal parts disbelief and disgust. Michael groaned in pain. ¡°You¡¯re being pretty rude to the guy who just saved your ass.¡± Isla heard the sound of rushing water and glanced around. They were under a bridge spanning about 50 feet, with a small river passing under it. Nobody else was around as far as she could tell. ¡°For all I know, you¡¯re the fucker who just knocked me out,¡± Isla snarled, tightening her grip on his collar. He raised his hands in mock surrender. ¡°Ya got me. I¡¯m also definitely not the guy who saved you from three of your ¡®friends¡¯ about to put you in their car.¡± Isla released him from her grip and winced, lifting up her injured ankle. ¡°Is it sprained?¡± he questioned. ¡°What the hell do you care?¡± Isla snapped. ¡°Actually, why are you even here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here because you¡¯re shit at being on the run.¡± Michael stood up and reached out towards her. ¡°Give me your phone.¡± ¡°Uh, no-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say another word. We can either sit here and argue until your dad¡¯s men find us, or you shut up, do as I say, and get out of this without a scratch,¡± Michael told her plainly. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask you to trust me. Hell, if I were you, I wouldn¡¯t. But I¡¯m not doing this of my own will or out of the kindness of my heart in the first place, so you don¡¯t have to trust me. But there¡¯s two things that you do have to understand: A: I¡¯m not an idiot, and B: I¡¯m trying to get you out of this.¡± Isla gritted her teeth. As far as she could tell, he wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°Did Sophia send you after me or something?¡± Michael scoffed. ¡°Do you really think she¡¯d ask that of me, of all people?" Fair enough, Isla thought. She reached into her pocket and took out her phone, offering it. ¡°What do you need it for?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing much.¡± With minimal effort, he tossed the phone into the river. Isla yelped, running to the river¡¯s edge, but the phone had already sunk to the bottom and was no longer visible. She turned back to glare at Michael. ¡°What the hell?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s how they¡¯ve been tracking you this whole time,¡± he informed her. ¡°Did you really think it was blind luck that they were everywhere you went, no matter how far you ran? They were tracking your phone¡¯s GPS.¡± ¡°T-that¡­ can¡¯t be possible,¡± Isla stammered. ¡°Sophia gifted me that phone. The security on it is top notch-¡± ¡°Is it a Futurebound model?¡± ¡°No, but-¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s bypassable. You know what the Demons are like firsthand. Your father probably had them put some kind of software on it while you were sleeping or something.¡± Isla opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Michael was right- she should have known better. How could she have been so stupid? Her father was capable of anything under the right circumstances. ¡°The bridge made it harder to pinpoint exactly where we are, but they¡¯re still going to be in the area,¡± Michael continued. ¡°I can get us out without getting caught, but you have to follow my lead. That means doing as I say, exactly when I say it. Alright?¡± ¡°No,¡± Isla replied. ¡°I¡¯m not taking orders from a psychopath.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Michael brought his hands to his face in a shouting gesture. ¡°Hey, Demons! I¡¯ve got your girl right here-¡± ¡°Fuck, alright, alright!¡± Isla snapped. ¡°I¡¯ll do what you say!¡± A small smile formed on Michael¡¯s lips, which surprised her. She¡¯d only ever seen a bored, almost apathetic expression on his face at school. ¡°Alright, then.¡± He pulled the bandanna up over his face. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Bang! Bang! Bang! ¡°Jin Ikari!¡± the Commissioner yelled. ¡°City police! Open up!¡± Silence. The Commissioner slammed on the door thrice more. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s not home,¡± Lieutenant Singh suggested anxiously. ¡°His car¡¯s in the lot.¡± She glared at her fellow officer. ¡°If you¡¯re not up for this, I¡¯m happy to talk to him myself, Lieutenant.¡± ¡°No! No, I just¡­¡± Singh sighed. ¡°Sorry, Commissioner.¡± She reared her hand back to knock on the door again, but a deep, calm voice spoke from behind the door. ¡°Show me your warrant.¡± ¡°I just have a few questions,¡± the Commissioner said. ¡°About your daughter, Isla.¡± The door swung open, revealing a middle aged Japanese man in a black bathrobe. His beard and short black hair was neatly trimmed and combed, though still wet from an apparent shower. His thick eyebrows were raised in mock surprise. ¡°Commissioner Prentice. Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d come to see me personally.¡± He glanced at the Lieutenant. ¡°Police Lieutenant Mohan Singh. How¡¯s your wife doing? She¡¯s five months in, isn¡¯t she?¡± Singh flinched. ¡°Wha- you...¡± ¡°Be careful out there,¡± Jin cautioned. ¡°Growing up without a father can be very tough. I wouldn¡¯t want your child to go through that.¡± ¡°Is that a threat?¡± the Commissioner asked quietly. Jin chuckled, stepping outside onto the porch. ¡°Oh, not at all. Just making sure he, ah... understands his priorities.¡± The Commissioner didn''t understand a lick of Hindi, but she could understand that Singh was muttering curses. She crossed her arms and stared straight into Jin''s eyes. ¡°Your daughter has been on the run and involved in multiple violent incidents since this morning, yet you didn¡¯t contact the police yourself or make any further inquiries. You didn¡¯t even answer her high school¡¯s calls asking where she was. Care to explain yourself as her legal guardian?¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­¡± Isla''s father sighed. ¡°My daughter and I have¡­ difficulties communicating. She rarely ever listens to what I say no matter what, and usually spends most of the day outside before coming home at night. She¡¯s skipped school before, too. No matter how many times I scold her or try to guide her into making better choices, she constantly chooses to go against me. Still¡­¡± He paused momentarily. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter. If I had known that she was doing¡­ things she wasn¡¯t supposed to, I would have immediately gone looking for her myself to stop her.¡± ¡°I''m sure you would have,¡± the lieutenant muttered darkly. The Commissioner took a deep breath. ¡°Do you have any idea of why she¡¯s being heavily pursued by the Demons? Any odd changes in her behaviour recently?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jin shrugged. ¡°Not a clue, but Isla has violent tendencies. It¡¯s possible she got into a fight with one of them and it caused this whole manhunt.¡± ¡°I see. Where were you around two and a half hours ago?¡± Jin gestured towards his home. ¡°Here. I haven¡¯t stepped out anytime today.¡± ¡°Can you prove that?¡± ¡°...I think I¡¯ve humoured this idiocy enough.¡± He closed his door behind him. ¡°Last I checked, this isn¡¯t a court of law, and you don¡¯t have a warrant. But if I may, Commissioner¡­¡± Jin took a step forwards, towering over her. His expression was that of icy disdain. ¡°You need to understand your limits.¡± The Commissioner raised her eyebrows. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re always stretching yourself beyond your means, beyond what you¡¯re capable of dealing with. You think of yourself as someone strong and noble. But in reality, you¡¯re just a lone, frail woman up against something you don¡¯t fully understand, trying to cater to your sense of ¡®justice¡¯ and the gratification it gives you. Honestly, you don¡¯t actually care about helping my daughter, or even other people in this city, do you?¡± ¡°Are you finished?¡± The Commissioner growled. ¡°Because if you are, I¡¯m going to go get back to dismantling that something I don¡¯t understand, piece by piece.¡± ¡°Really? I wonder what you¡¯ll have to sacrifice this time,¡± he commented. ¡°Or rather, who. From what I¡¯ve heard, you lost quite a few officers during a sting operation years ago. How many was people was it again? Thirty?¡± She froze in place, like a deer in headlights. A small smirk formed on the Demon¡¯s face, clearly aware he¡¯d struck the right nerve. ¡°Alright, we''ve wasted enough of our time,¡± Singh concluded. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Commissioner.¡± "I see. Well, I hope I was of some help.¡± Jin opened his door and stepped back into the house, then turned around to face the two officers again. ¡°Please let me know as soon as possible if you find my daughter.¡± ¡°We will,¡± Singh reassured him. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure to visit your cell.¡± Jin laughed, genuinely amused. ¡°Is that a threat?¡± ¡°Oh, not at all. Just making sure you understand your days are numbered.¡± ¡°Mhm. Have a good night, officers.¡± He shut the door and locked it with a click! As they walked down the porch steps back towards the car, Lieutenant Singh asked, ¡°What the hell was he talking about, Commissioner? There¡¯s no record of any sort of sting operation where we lost that many people. That¡¯d be headlines everywhere.¡± The Commissioner stayed silent, but pulled out her cell phone and opened her contacts. She scrolled down a bit and stopped on a singular name: Michael Collins. Her thumb hovered over the ¡®call¡¯ button, and a fleeting memory popped in her head, one she¡¯d been trying to forget. That¡¯s your problem, Rachel. You¡¯d do anything for your damn justice. And she paid for it. ¡°...Rachel?¡± the Lieutenant prompted. Gritting her teeth, the Commissioner pocketed the phone. ¡°Let¡¯s just get back to the station,¡± she told him. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot of work to do.¡± As she opened the door to her cruiser, she took one last look back at the house. I¡¯m coming for you, Jin Ikari. She got into the car and slammed the door shut. Chapter 4 - Its Been A While Isla was making me a little uncomfortable. After our initial talk on the bridge, we made a plan to move to a diner situated on the main road cutting through Bronwynn Forest. While it was far, we both agreed that it would be the least likely place that the Demons would find us, while also not being so far south that we couldn¡¯t go back into the northern part city at any time. The only issue was getting there. The bus that cut through there only ran on weekends, and it would take us hours to go on foot. ¡°We¡¯ll take an Uber,¡± I decided. ¡°Then we¡¯ll figure it out from there.¡± I was actually planning to contact the caller to let him know where to pick her up, but I didn¡¯t know if mentioning that part to Isla was a good idea right now. She nodded with a neutral expression, but I could see it in her eyes when she looked at me- the fire. I mean literal fire. Miniature flames blazed in her eyes whenever she looked at me. Part of me wondered if I¡¯d see her burst into flames if I kept angering her. She¡¯s hot. Literally and figuratively. I- can you shut up? All I¡¯m saying is, I like her way more than Sophia. I groaned, and Isla looked at me in confusion, the flames dying out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I told her. ¡°I¡¯m going to call it when we get up to the road. Can you walk up the slope with your ankle like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out,¡± Isla said, wincing as she got up. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me the reason that you¡¯re doing this.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for that,¡± I told her. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the diner and we can talk about it.¡± Isla clenched her jaw. ¡°Alright.¡± The steep slope up to the road was grassy and slippery. Isla didn¡¯t say anything, but I could tell from her face that her ankle was giving her grief. At the top, she slipped and almost fell, but I grabbed her arm with one hand and the sidewalk¡¯s metal guardrail with my other hand. ¡°Thanks,¡± she breathed. ¡°So you do know how to be nice,¡± I said, helping her over the railing. Isla glared at me, and the flames in her eyes grew brighter. ¡°Just call the damn Uber.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± I pulled out my phone, and suddenly, I felt a literal crawling sensation on the back of my neck, making me tense up, every hair on my body standing on end. Anxiously, I whipped my head around, scanning the buildings on our side of the bridge and the buildings on the opposite, but I couldn¡¯t place the source of the feeling, which wasn¡¯t good. Even worse, I felt like it wasn¡¯t just one set of eyes, but multiple. ¡°...Michael?¡± Isla prompted. ¡°We¡¯re being watched,¡± I muttered. ¡°By a group of people.¡± ¡°What?¡± She looked around as well. ¡°But there''s basically no one here.¡± Isla was right- there were only a few sparse pedestrians on the sidewalk, and all the cars that were parked or had passed by weren¡¯t suspicious. But even though I couldn''t explain exactly how I knew, I just knew. And I also knew what happened when I ignored my ''instincts.'' ¡°You can¡¯t run, right?¡± I said. ¡°I-I can probably manage, but-¡± I took a deep breath and stepped towards her. ¡°Don''t punch me.¡± ¡°What¡¯re you- hey!¡± I scooped her up in my arms and started to run, sprinting down the street. Isla, flustered, demanded I put her down, but I ignored her, looking for a place for us to hide. There were too many small, publicly open spaces- restaurants and clothes shops that we¡¯d be easily spotted and cornered in. Our best bet would maybe be a rooftop, if we could get up unnoticed. We¡¯d also have a high ground advantage for scouting and fighting, if it came down to it. But how would I get Isla up there with her ankle sprained? The apartment building, down the road. There¡¯s an alleyway besides it. What? We¡¯d just corner ourselves. It¡¯s the oldest looking building here. There¡¯s probably a fire escape you could climb up. She can manage a ladder. I sprinted for the alley. Sure enough, hanging above us was an old metal fire escape. The ladder wasn''t low enough for either of us to grab, but I spotted a release lever at the top of it. Lowering Isla to the ground, I looked around for something to climb on. At the end of the alleyway was a glowing blue dumpster on four wheels. Okay, well, it probably wasn''t actually glowing in reality, but the glowing did the job of catching my attention. I immediately knew to run over and start pulling. Thankfully it wasn''t loaded to the brim with trash, so I was able to position it underneath the fire escape ladder. I scaled the dumpster, standing on top of its black lid, and gestured to Isla. ¡°I¡¯ll boost you,¡± I told her. Isla briefly hesitated, then climbed up the dumpster. She took a step on my hands, then my shoulder. Once she¡¯d grabbed the ladder, I pushed her legs up and she went up the ladder. She reached the top, her hand drifting for the ladder release lever so I could climb up. Pop! The bullet hit my left thigh. I stumbled and fell off the dumpster, slamming into the ground with a thud! Ouch. ¡°Michael!¡± Isla screamed. At the end of the alleyway, the shooter examined his pistol- a silenced .22, which explained why the gunshot had been so quiet. ¡°Hm. I was tryna shoot you in the nuts, but I guess I gotta practice with this thing a bit more.¡± He grinned, flashing his yellowed teeth. ¡°Oh, well.¡± Vincent and his group crowded the entrance of the alleyway. Instead of it just being Vincent, they were now all wearing black leather jackets, alongside red shirts to match- the signature colour theme of the Demons. Despite the situation, I laughed. ¡°Matching outfits? You guys are so cute.¡± I glanced at the entry wound. As far as I could tell, the bullet hadn¡¯t gone through my femur or my femoral artery, which meant I wasn¡¯t immobile or bleeding out anytime soon. It just hurt a hell of a lot. Vincent leveled the pistol at my head. ¡°The cute ones are you guys. Not in a million years would I have imagined the two of you becoming fast friends.¡± I sat up and pulled down my bandanna. It wasn''t going to fool him, anyways. Taking a deep breath, I focused on my leg. The pain slowly faded away, and I exhaled in relief. ¡°We¡¯re not friends. This is more of a business relationship." What a coincidence. Me too.¡± Vincent glanced up at Isla. ¡°Your dad told me to bring you in alive at any cost. It¡¯s up to you if that cost includes this fucker. I¡¯m generous, so I¡¯ll give you ten seconds.¡± Isla¡¯s hair covered her eyes. I couldn¡¯t properly see her expression, but her hands were balled into fists. Her whole body was trembling. ¡°Get to the spot we agreed on,¡± I called up to her. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you there, I promise.¡± ¡°Five seconds,¡± Vincent said. ¡°Isla, go!¡± I yelled. ¡°Three¡­ two¡­¡± Taking a deep breath, Isla pulled the ladder release lever and began to climb down. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Did I start speaking a different language or something?¡± She dropped down in front of me, wincing as she landed on her ankle. Glaring at me, fire in her eyes, she spoke. ¡°As much I don¡¯t like you, I am not leaving you behind. So do me a favour, and shut up while I fight." Vincent applauded mockingly. ¡°Wow! How very heroic of you.¡± He nodded towards his lackeys. ¡°Get her.¡± Isla turned towards them. She was still trembling. Scared. Bruised. Exhausted. Outnumbered. And up against impossible odds. But instead of falling apart, Isla stood strong, letting go of the fear- or converting it. It was then that I could see them- the bright orange, yellow, and red flames rippling off her arms, legs, and hair, a manifestation of her wrath. She raised her fists in a boxing stance, getting ready to fight. ¡°You want me, assholes?¡± she roared. ¡°Come get me!¡± With grins on their faces, the Demons began to approach, and I sighed in exasperation. In that moment, I knew I didn¡¯t have another choice. ¡­Hey, other me. Yes, dear? How can I help? It¡¯s time to swap. Aw, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m a busy guy¡­ No killing. But¡­ do whatever you want otherwise. I don¡¯t care. Ha. Haha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Isla turned around to look at me me. ¡°...Michael?¡± she asked, freaked out by the laughter. One of the little runts closed in, knife in hand. The girl whipped around, ready to swing, but in an instant, I lunged forwards, grabbing him by the face and sticking my right leg behind his left. I slammed him in ground, then punched. And punched again. And again. And again, until the kid¡¯s face was a swollen, bloody mess. ¡°Finally...¡± I rose slowly, a wide grin spreading across my face. Blood dripped from my knuckles onto the ground besides the kid¡¯s unconscious body. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Piss-teeth glared at me. ¡°Gut him,¡± he ordered the rest of his friends. I began to stretch my arms, walking towards the approaching group. ¡°Interesting.¡± I looked at the chick behind me, who was staring at me in shock. ¡°Oh, right. Uh¡­ honestly, I forgot your name, but do me a favour and wait here. Wouldn¡¯t want you to get in the way of my fun.¡± The girl opened her mouth to warn me. ¡°Behind y-¡± I ducked, the collar grab going above my head. I spun around and punched him straight in the throat. As he gasped, clutching his throat, I kicked him back into one of his friends, knocking him both to the floor. One of them charged me with a yell. He brought his arm back for a wide slash, but I pounced forwards into him and caught his arm, wrapping my right arm around his. With my left hand, I put pressure against the back of his elbow. Crack. He screamed, dropping to the floor, clutching his broken arm. I scooped up his fallen knife from the ground. Two down, five to go. I was already feeling a little disappointed at how quickly they were going down. Maybe I could get them to call for more people? No. Finish this up. Say please. Oh, for the love of- please finish this up. The two I¡¯d kicked down earlier got to their feet, and trailed behind the other two as they approached. Instead of backing up, I ran to the side and jumped up onto the dumpster. Piss-teeth followed my movements with his gun and put his finger on the trigger, ready to fire. I glanced at the muzzle. Left shoulder. I dodged, the bullet whizzing past me, and threw my knife. It sank into the shooter''s thigh and he screamed, dropping his gun and falling to his knees. Two brats began swiping at my legs with their knives, but I had the higher ground and better control of distance. I stomped on one¡¯s hand, forcing him to yank away his knife, then soccer kicked the other in the jaw, dropping him for good. I leaped over the disarmed Demon and kicked one of the two behind him. He slammed into the wall behind him and crumpled like a sack of potatoes. Hey, if I turn them into vegetables, does that count as not killing them? ¡­ I¡¯ll take that as a yes! The other two charged me at once, one going left, one going right. I backed up against the wall and got ready to dodge to the side, but at the last second, I felt a pair of hands grip my right leg, preventing me from moving. The sack of potatoes hadn¡¯t turned into a vegetable just yet. Uh oh, I thought, my grin widening. The stabs came at the same time. I managed to grab their wrists, but they pressed their full body weight against me, trying to sink their knives in. The points edged in closer, and closer, and closer¡­ Using my free leg, I threw a hard kick into the left attacker''s knee, and he instinctively backed away. When he tried to close the distance again, I kicked him in the stomach. He stumbled backwards,, falling on his ass and throwing up from the sudden impact. I threw a rapid fire flurry of blows to the other¡¯s jaw, and as he tried to pull away, I yanked him towards me and slammed my forehead into his nose, breaking it. As he fell to the pavement, I stared down at Potato Boy, who slowly released my leg and raised his hands in surrender. ¡°H-hey man, I just do what Vincent tells me to do.¡± I pressed my foot against his face and slammed him down into the ground, sighing. ¡°Disgustingly weak. This is the next generation of Demons?¡± I shook my head in disappointment. They hadn''t even scratched me. I turned around and started walking towards the yellow-toothed brat- Victor? Vinny? Whatever his name was, he was still struggling with the knife stuck in his thigh. As I approached, he reached for his pistol, but I slammed my foot onto his fingers, and he screamed in pain. ¡°You fucking-¡± I slammed my fist in his nose, and he fell backwards, clutching it as blood streamed out. ¡°Did you know?¡± I said. ¡°Apparently, the femoral artery can have a flow rate of up to around half a liter of blood per minute. Which doesn¡¯t sound like a lot, considering the average person has around 5 to 6 litres of blood.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t ask,¡± he snarled. I crouched down, curling my fingers around the knife¡¯s grip. ¡°Around 20% of blood being lost leads to hemmorhagic shock.¡± I began tugging upwards and he gritted his teeth. ¡°Around 30 to 40%, you¡¯ll become disoriented, maybe pass out. And at 50%...¡± The glint of the knife¡¯s blade was now showing, with more and more blood pouring out. ¡°Okay, okay!¡± he yelled. ¡°Fuck! What do you want?¡± ¡°From you? Nothing.¡± The knife was now loose. ¡°Just thought I''d do a little science experiment..." Alright, that¡¯s enough. We¡¯re swapping back. What? Already? But I- No buts. You did great. Good job and whatever. Now let me take it from here. I sighed, and slowly closed my eyes. You''re the boss.
Isla didn¡¯t know what to think. She¡¯d resigned herself to one final struggle before being captured. She didn¡¯t care for Michael in the slightest, but she refused to sacrifice him like a pawn for her escape. She¡¯d drowned out all her fear and pain with defiant anger. Then Michael had changed. His posture, his movements, his expression- all of his. He¡¯d turned maniacal, taking on all seven of Vincent¡¯s posse, defeating them without a scratch. It was exactly the kind of thing you saw action movie heroes do. The only difference was that they had all the plot armour they needed. This was real life. The most disturbing part was how much he¡¯d seemed to be enjoying himself. As the fight wore on and he caused more and more damage, his grin only grew wider, his eyes more crazed. Only after the fight had concluded did Isla realize that she had goosebumps. It was almost as if he''d become a different person. Isla hadn¡¯t actually thought he¡¯d pull out the knife, but he came damn close. Just as he was about to, his body went limp, and he fell over, sinking the knife back in at the same time and making Vincent screech. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± Isla murmured. As fast as her ankle would take her, she hopped towards the entrance of the alleyway. She was about to check his pulse when his eyes fluttered open, and he sat up with a groan. ¡°My leg feels like shit,¡± he complained. "I need some Tylenol." Isla blinked, then laughed, partly in relief. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking idiot, you know that?¡± Michael cracked a smile. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± He looked towards Vincent, who glared back. ¡°At least he looks way worse off. Should we finish him off?¡± Isla shrugged. ¡°Hm, maybe. She walked over to the gun and examined it closely. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve never used one of these before. You shoot out of this end, right? But what¡¯s this big tube for?¡± ¡°...You know what? Maybe you should give that to me,¡± Michael suggested. ¡°Or me,¡± Vincent said dryly. "So I can end both of you." They both gave him the finger. Michael took off his bandanna and firmly tied it around his leg as a sort of makeshift tourniquet. He pointed at Vincent¡¯s waist. ¡°Take off your belt and tighten it as much as you can around your leg. Then, after we¡¯re gone, call an ambulance. I don¡¯t give a shit what you do after.¡± He grabbed Vincent by the collar. ¡°I was never here, and neither was Isla. Do you understand?¡± Vincent looked away. ¡°Lo siento, no hablo ingl¨¦s.¡± (Sorry, I don¡¯t speak English.) Michael grabbed him by the chin to bring them face to face again. ¡°Dije, ?me entiendes?¡± (I said, do you understand me?) Vincent exhaled. ¡°Sure, dipshit.¡± ¡°And stay away from my sister,¡± he snapped. ¡°Or next time, I¡¯ll be pulling a knife out of your throat instead." Isla had wanted Michael to head to the hospital while she figured it out on her own, but Michael insisted he could easily patch himself up. Since the bullet wasn¡¯t stuck inside him and it was a low caliber bullet, apparently he knew how to patch it up with just a simple medkit. After quickly dropping by a nearby pharmacy to buy one, they took an Uber towards the diner in Bronwynn Forest. ¡°Are you¡­ sure you guys don¡¯t want to go to a hospital instead?¡± the driver asked. "Or the police?" ¡°Let''s make a deal,¡± Michael proposed. ¡°You forget you even drove us today, and I¡¯ll give you a twenty-dollar tip and five stars.¡± The driver shrugged. ¡°Works for me.¡± The diner was an 80¡¯s retro diner named Bliss Dinner, with bright neon lights and posters advertising authentic milkshakes. There were a few cars in the lot, but after scoping the place out through the windows, they concluded that there were no Demons inside. As they sat in a booth, Michael sat down with a wince. ¡°Alright, your turn to pay.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re not chivalrous at all,¡± Isla commented dryly. ¡°No wonder Sophia ended up dumping you.¡± As soon as she said that, she felt a little bad. His expression remained neutral, but she could clearly see the pain in his eyes as he stared at the table. "Uh, sorry," she muttered. Though, the whole thing had been his fault anyways, so why was she apologizing? Michael sighed, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s whatever. Besides, we never dated, so she didn''t dump me. More like... we had a slight misunderstanding." "A slight misunderstanding," Isla repeated. "That ended in her boyfriend going to the hospital." "Okay, maybe it was bit more complicated than that." Isla studied him. Outside of what happened in the fight, Michael seemed so normal- incredibly annoying, definitely, but not the horrifying terror that Northeast Academy had made him out to be. But if she did include what had happened in the fight... it all made a lot more sense. Just what exactly had happened to him in that alleyway? ¡°Don¡¯t ask,¡± Michael told her. ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡± Isla stiffened. ¡°What?¡± ¡°About what you saw during the fight. I know you¡¯re thinking about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m that obvious, huh.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Oh, very obvious. I can read you like a book.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°Yup. For example¡­¡± He blinked, then reached into his pocket, producing his phone. ¡°Sorry, I''ve gotta take this. Order whatever you want." Isla watched as he hobbled out the diner. She wondered if it was his parents checking in. It was getting pretty late, but thankfully the diner didn¡¯t close until midnight, so she could stay here until then. But Michael would have to go home as some point, and she¡¯d have to fend for herself again. The thought depressed her. That¡¯s Sophia¡¯s worst enemy, she reminded herself. Think about what he did. You¡¯re better off alone. But maybe it wasn¡¯t that simple. She¡¯d only ever heard Sophia¡¯s side of the story. Not that she had any reason to doubt her friend¡¯s honesty, and even if she did, there had been a ton of witnesses who had corroborated her point of view. But maybe there were still pieces of the puzzle that were missing, pieces that most people didn¡¯t know about. It wasn''t like she didn¡¯t know how it felt to be misrepresented, to be made out to be someone she wasn''t. There''s no way, she thought. You saw how he fought, how he acted. Isla found herself wondering what was inspiring this newfound sympathy for a guy she''d hated since freshman year. Maybe it was because when she looked at him, she... She was so lost in thought, she didn¡¯t notice the waitress until she waved a hand in front of her face- a middle aged lady with chocolate skin, salt and pepper hair tied back into a bun, and a red dot between her eyebrows- a bindi. Isla was taken back by how pretty she was. "Rough night?" the waitress asked her. ¡°Oh, uh, yeah, sorry,¡± Isla said, embarrassed. She glanced across from her and saw a coffee and pancakes sitting at Michael¡¯s spot, which confused her considering it was this late. He had mentioned he was a regular at this diner, so maybe the lady had just given him his usual order? The woman smiled warmly, instantly making Isla feel a little better. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. Did you want to order a drink?¡± ¡°Just water is fine, thanks.¡± The lady returned a few seconds later and filled her cup. ¡°Can I ask how you and Michael know each other?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Isla frowned. ¡°We just met today. We¡¯re classmates.¡± She grabbed the cup and took a big swig of water. After the stress of today, she¡¯d forgotten how thirsty she was. There had barely been any time to rest. ¡°I see.¡± The lady paused. ¡°Are you interested in him?¡± Isla choked on water and began coughing- such a stupid cliche, but that had genuinely caught her off guard. ¡°Wha- no-¡± ¡°Mrs. Bliss!¡± Michael ran up to the booth from the entrance. ¡°Can you not mess with my¡­ my friend?¡± Mrs. Bliss chuckled. ¡°Sorry, Michael. It¡¯s just, she¡¯s so pretty! I honestly couldn¡¯t believe it when you walked in here with her.¡± He scoffed. ¡°And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?¡± Isla laughed, her face a bit red. ¡°Thank you. But I wouldn''t be caught dead being this thing''s girlfriend." Mrs. Bliss nodded slowly. ¡°Makes sense." "Glad to see you guys get along," Michael grumbled, sitting back in the booth. He started to drown his pancakes in maple syrup. "Anyways, both of you, order whatever you like," Mrs. Bliss told them. "It''s on the house." Isla''s jaw dropped, and Michael coughed, almost choking on his food. He swallowed and shook his head in refusal. ¡°No way, I can''t keep on letting you-" ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she warned, looking annoyed. ¡°You really made me mad when you left that hundred dollar bill last time you came." He opened his mouth to speak, but sighed in defeat. ¡°Alright, fine. I''m sorry.¡± ¡°Good." The waitress'' smile returned, and she turned to face Isla. ¡°Now¡­ what can I get for you?" Chapter 5 - Two Truths, One Lie I stepped outside the diner and immediately put my phone to my ear. ¡°Where the fuck have you been?¡± I snapped. ¡°I called you a million times.¡± The caller exhaled. ¡°I know. I was busy with¡­ stuff.¡± ¡°I- you know what, fuck this, and fuck you. I¡¯ve literally got a bullet through my leg because of you, and maybe put my sister in danger.¡± ¡°What? How-¡± ¡°Just shut up and come grab her. We¡¯re at the Bliss Diner, around the northern road entrance to Bronwynn Forest. And the next time you ask me for another one of your stupid favours-¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± I paused, gritting my teeth. ¡°Can¡¯t what?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t come grab her.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about it. Sophia was running around and-" ¡°You, of all people, don¡¯t get to talk to me about Sophia.¡± I took a deep breath, trying to think clearly. ¡°Can I just bring her to the front gate of the Prentice¡¯s and be done with this shit?¡± ¡°The Demons are monitoring the mansion right now,¡± the caller explained. ¡°They were expecting her to head over there from the get go. If you send her over now, you¡¯ll either walk into a trap, or they¡¯ll try to kidnap her from the mansion by force.¡± ¡°Are you stupid? That¡¯d be a death wish. There¡¯s no way they¡¯d do that. Or that they even could.¡± ¡°Jin Ikari is that kind of man,¡± the caller said. ¡°His anger towards Isla aside, it¡¯s a matter of pride for him, too. He won¡¯t let a traitor go easily, especially his own daughter.¡± I bit my lip. ¡°So what am I doing, then?¡± ¡°Just- hide her somewhere for one night,¡± the caller said. ¡°I can figure out what to do in the morning.¡± ¡°Oh, right, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me at all,¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°You know what? I¡¯m going home. You wanna leave Isla on her own for the night, that¡¯s up to you. But it¡¯s not my problem if she¡¯s gone missing in the morning.¡± ¡°I still have your file,¡± the caller threatened. ¡°And I know exactly where to go if it ever sees the light of day,¡± I retorted. ¡°Enough¡¯s enough. If you don¡¯t want a repeat of what happened last year, you¡¯ll throw that file in the trash.¡± ¡°...You know what? You¡¯re not going to leave her,¡± the caller guessed, trying another angle of attack. ¡°I know you, Michael. You wouldn¡¯t let Sophia¡¯s best friend die just because you wanted to be petty. Think about how much it¡¯d hurt her. Even if you don¡¯t care about the file, or Isla herself, you still care about Sophia, in the end.¡± A year ago, I would have agreed with everything he was saying. There was a time that I would¡¯ve done anything for her, like an absolute lovestruck idiot. If she told me to jump, I¡¯d ask how high. If she told me to run, I¡¯d say how far. But that was before the incident happened. Before she broke her promise to me and cut me out of her life for good. Even if it wasn¡¯t completely her fault, and even if I wished things could be different, I needed to get my head out of the past. Thank god. You¡¯re finally learning to not be a fucking pushover! Kiss my ass. Hm¡­ don¡¯t think I¡¯m flexible enough. ¡°I still care about her,¡± I admitted. ¡°And I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll ever change. But Sophia and I are done. You made sure of that. So do me a ¡®favour,¡¯ and go fuck yourself.¡± Before he could reply, I hung up, stuck the phone in my pocket, and took a deep breath. When I exhaled, I felt good- better than I had in weeks, to be honest. Which was funny, because I was severely sleep deprived, bruised all over, and had a hole in my leg. What¡¯re you gonna tell the girl? Isla? Well¡­ I glanced through the window and saw Mrs. Bliss talking to her as she set down a coffee and pancakes at my seat. Realizing the potential implications, I rushed inside. After Isla ordered a burger, fries, and milkshake, we sat in the booth while Mrs. Bliss went behind the counter, very carefully not looking at us. Eventually, she brought the food and sat it down in front of Isla as I was stirring sugar into my coffee. ¡°Why is your leg bandaged so much?¡± she asked, frowning. ¡°Biking accident,¡± I lied. ¡°I fell while on one of Bronwynn¡¯s trails.¡± Mrs. Bliss crossed her arms. ¡°Hm. Not like it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve come in here with all sorts of random injuries. I keep telling you to be more careful.¡± Her eyes widened, as if an idea had just struck her. ¡°Oh! Right, Adrien told me to tell you to come in to the workshop whenever you can. There was something new he was working on¡­ something about a wizard?¡± The waitress sighed, shaking her head. ¡°Seriously, I can never understand what is going in that boy¡¯s head.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go in as soon as I can,¡± I promised. ¡°Just¡­ make sure he tells security I¡¯m coming this time?¡± Mrs. Bliss nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best, but you know how he is. You two enjoy your meal.¡± As she walked off, Isla looked at me with eyebrows raised. ¡°You¡¯re a very good liar.¡± I shrugged nonchalantly as I took another bite of my pancakes. ¡°Lying isn¡¯t exactly a difficult thing to do.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± she agreed. ¡°Especially when you¡¯ve had a lot of practice.¡± ¡°And you think I have?¡± ¡°I know you have. Which really doesn¡¯t make it easy for me to trust you.¡± ¡°Like I said earlier, you don¡¯t have to trust me, and I¡¯d never expect you to,¡± I reminded her. ¡°Actually, you won¡¯t even have to talk to me soon enough. I¡¯m going home after this.¡± Isla paused, her burger inches away from her mouth, then took a big chomp out of it. After swallowing, she looked at me with a mixed expression. ¡°I guess that means you accomplished what you were supposed to do, which was?...¡± ¡°Bring you somewhere safe,¡± I told her. ¡°Then call my¡­ employer, and they¡¯d come pick you up.¡± Isla looked at me suspiciously. ¡°...Your employer?¡± Briefly, I weighed the decision of telling her who sent me, then decided she wouldn¡¯t believe me, anyway. So I told her his name. ¡°...¡± Sipping coffee, I glanced at the clock on the wall, which read, 11:01. I was surprised that Mom hadn¡¯t called me yet, but she was definitely going to give me an earful whenever I managed to get back home. ¡°...You¡¯re not lying.¡± Surprised, I looked back at Isla. ¡°Wait, you actually believe me?¡± I had totally expected her to get mad and ask me to tell her the actual truth, then we¡¯d bicker for a while, and then I¡¯d have to go home. ¡°I¡­¡± She frowned, conflicted. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any goddamn sense, not at all, but¡­ I can tell you¡¯re not lying, as much as it hurts my brain. But why would he¡­¡± I thought for a second. ¡°Wanna play a game?¡± Isla¡¯s conflicted frown turned into a confused one. ¡°Uh, what?¡± ¡°Two truths, one lie,¡± I said. ¡°First to two correct guesses wins. The winner gets one question that they can answer truthfully.¡± Isla pondered for a moment. ¡°No weird questions.¡± ¡°Weird questions meaning?¡± ¡°Nothing gross.¡± I snorted in laughter. ¡°Which means?¡± Isla reddened. ¡°Just- fucking go, asshole.¡± ¡°Okay, well¡­¡± I raised a finger for each point. ¡°One, I¡¯ve got a younger sibling. Two, I usually sleep five hours a night. And three, I taught myself how to fight.¡± Three. I¡¯m the one who can actually fight here. You just sit back and watch. Isla glared at me, the flames in her eyes growing. ¡°They¡¯re literally all truths.¡± I raised my eyebrows. ¡°Is that your final answer?¡± ¡°...Okay, two. It¡¯s probably like six hours or something stupid like that.¡± I made an incorrect buzzer noise, forming an X with my two index fingers. ¡°It¡¯s number one. I¡¯ve currently got a baby sister and a baby brother.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Wha- that¡¯s bullshit!¡± Isla snapped. ¡°That¡¯s not a lie!¡± Oh¡­ I see what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯re testing the limits of her lie-detecting. Took you a while to figure that out, huh? ¡°I¡¯ve got a younger sibling technically implies I¡¯ve only got one,¡± I reasoned. ¡°Technically,¡± Isla muttered, dabbing a fry in ketchup. ¡°Right. Also, what do you mean you¡¯ve currently got one? Are you¡­ expecting another sibling?¡± ¡°Oh, fuck that,¡± I joked. ¡°Two is rough enough already.¡± I gestured towards her. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re up.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Isla took a moment to think as I got back to devouring my pancakes. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve got it. One, I¡¯ve been friends with Sophia for three years.¡± True. ¡°Two, I¡¯m a decent singer.¡± Also true, though it seemed to me like she was downplaying it. ¡°Three, I¡¯m right handed.¡± When she spoke that last line, her nose grew- like, literally grew. The tip was two inches further out from where it was before. I nearly spat out my coffee from the ridiculous sight. Apparently my subconscious was thinking about fairytales. Trying not to laugh, I said, ¡°Are you serious? Obviously, three.¡± ¡°How-¡± ¡°When you were getting ready to fight in the alleyway, you had a southpaw boxing stance,¡± I reminded her. ¡°Doesn¡¯t make much sense unless you fight primarily with your left. You thought I¡¯d think that was true because you grabbed your burger with your right hand first.¡± She glared at me, and I took a mental note- sore loser. The words in visible white text hovered just above her head. ¡°Okay, smartass,¡± she growled. ¡°Your turn.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a middle name,¡± I began. ¡°I¡¯ve been on a date before. And I hate dogs.¡± ¡°Two,¡± Isla guessed. ¡°Sophia told me you¡¯ve basically always been a loner.¡± I made an incorrect buzzer sound. ¡°They¡¯re all truths.¡± So if you present her with multiple truths, she can¡¯t figure out for sure that they¡¯re all true. She can only tell for sure if there¡¯s a lie or not. ¡°So we¡¯re just cheating now, huh?¡± Isla fumed. ¡°Fuck this, I¡¯m not playing anymore.¡± ¡°So I win, then?¡± I provoked. Determined, she put down her fries and sat up straight, which made her nose look even bigger than it already was. I took another mental note, which popped up to the right of her head. Easily baited. ¡°Really strong scents make me nauseous,¡± Isla listed. ¡°I hate gossip. And¡­ my mother abandoned me when I was little.¡± The statement made me do a double take. Isla tried to nonchalantly take a bite out of her burger, but the flames in her eyes were roaring, making me tense up. Her nose didn¡¯t grow. ¡°Why¡­ would you tell me that?¡± I asked. She didn¡¯t look at me. ¡°Your answer?¡± I stared at her while thinking. ¡°...Three.¡± ¡°Dammit,¡± she muttered. ¡°I completely thought I had that one.¡± ¡°That was just a guess,¡± I admitted. ¡°The first two just seemed to make sense based on your personality. The third is also true, but it wasn¡¯t just your mother, was it?¡± ¡°Yeah. My older brother.¡± Isla shook her head, swallowing her last fry. ¡°Sorry, I, uh, made this really depressing, forget it. Ask your question.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll save it for another time.¡± I checked the clock again- 11:05. ¡°I should really be getting going.¡± I stood up in the booth. ¡°No, just-¡± Isla exhaled. ¡°Ask the question now, or I¡¯m not gonna answer you later.¡± ¡°Okay, well¡­¡± I eased myself back down, wincing as I put pressure on my injured thigh. ¡°This whole thing- you getting chased by the Demons. I don¡¯t know how it happened, and honestly, I don¡¯t really care. But what I don¡¯t get is why you didn¡¯t just run to Sophia as soon as things got bad. I mean, she¡¯s the daughter of the most powerful people in the city. Her mansion¡¯s like a fortress.¡± I gulped down the last of my pancakes. ¡°Heading straight there would have been the easiest and safest option- well, of course if you managed to get inside without getting caught. But I¡¯m sure you could have figured it out at the time. Or at the very least, you could have gotten some other kind of help.¡± Isla went silent. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t think of that,¡± I said. ¡°Of course I thought of that,¡± Isla replied tartly. ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot. But clearly, you are. Why the hell would I put my best friend in danger?¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t¡­ die?¡± I countered dryly. ¡°Dunno, seems like a pretty good idea to me. I¡¯m sure she would prefer her best friend to not be found limp in a roadside ditch.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t care about her as much as I thought, huh?¡± Isla retorted. Flames started to ripple off of her, her nose back to normal size as it scrunched up. ¡°Now that I think about it, not sure why I thought otherwise. If you actually cared about her, you would have given up on her and not shoved her boyfriend down a flight of fucking stairs because you were pathetically, pathetically jealous.¡± The whole restaurant went silent. The few patrons that were around stared awkwardly at their food, their own conversations cut short. Mrs. Bliss looked at us, concerned, from behind the counter, debating whether she should intervene. Damn. I don¡¯t know how, but you really set her off, huh? I sighed heavily, and stood up. ¡°Alright, yeah, I¡¯m going home.¡± Isla¡¯s flames died, and she gritted her teeth. ¡°Wait. Okay, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean all that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t.¡± I began to walk towards the entrance. ¡°Good luck, Isla.¡± Her hand lunged forwards, grabbing the sleeve of my sweater. ¡°Wait. Just- wait.¡± ¡°For?¡± I said plainly, my face blank. ¡°Because you¡¯re completely right, Isla. I¡¯m an idiot, and an asshole, and I don¡¯t care about anyone. So what am I waiting for? You and I aren¡¯t friends. Hell, today is basically the first time we¡¯ve talked. You¡¯d clearly be better off on your own than with someone like me, and I can¡¯t seem to think of a reason I should stay here with you.¡± Isla opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She didn¡¯t know what to say. Instead, she looked at me pleadingly, desperately, but I yanked my arm away. ¡°Have a good night.¡± I started towards the exit. And immediately stopped in my tracks. Standing just by the exit stood a woman, facing me with her arms crossed, wearing a biker jacket, ripped jeans, and leather boots. Her ears were heavily pierced, and she had a single silver stud on her nostril. Her light brown eyes stared straight at me, her dark hair just reaching her shoulders. Danger symbols began floating around her, but I didn¡¯t need hallucinations to tell me that she was pissed. ¡°And exactly where have you been this whole time?¡± The woman asked as she walked over, her head tilted slightly in one direction. ¡°Great,¡± I grumbled. ¡°As if I wasn¡¯t already having a shitty day.¡± Isla turned around in her seat to look at her. ¡°You¡­ know her?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, yes,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s the person who¡¯s going to kill me for being out past curfew.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Mom turned to smile at Isla, extending a hand. ¡°Nice to meet you, Isla. I¡¯m Michael¡¯s mom- Dr. Sara Collins.¡± Isla¡¯s eyes widened as they awkwardly shook hands. ¡°How do you know my-¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that.¡± Mom looked at me. ¡°Are you telling me you¡¯ve been on a date this whole time, which is why you weren¡¯t answering any of my texts?¡± I glanced over at Mrs. Bliss, who immediately looked away, signifying I¡¯d clearly been betrayed. ¡°First of all, not a date,¡± I clarified. ¡°Second of all, if you really wanted me home, you would have called me.¡± ¡°I was busy,¡± Mom said. She glanced at my leg wound and Isla¡¯s face wounds. ¡°But clearly, so were you two, so I¡¯m going to postpone your execution for now. We¡¯re going back to the house, now. Your sister and brother haven¡¯t eaten anything because of you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your fault, not mine.¡± ¡°Really, now?¡± Mom¡¯s expression turned icy. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can explain exactly why in the car. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Um¡­ bye, I guess,¡± Isla murmured. ¡°Sorry for the trouble. And for-¡± ¡°What? You¡¯re coming too,¡± Mom said. ¡°You can stay over for the night.¡± We both looked at her in utter disbelief. ¡°Mom, uh¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know where to begin. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Isla can, uh¡­¡± ¡°Y-yeah!¡± Isla agreed, a little too enthusiastically. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you guys, and, uh¡­ well¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Mom said, giving me a knowing look. ¡°She¡¯s staying with us tonight, but only for tonight. We¡¯ll figure out where to go from there tomorrow.¡± She glanced towards Isla. ¡°Of course, only if you¡¯re comfortable with it, but¡­ I¡¯ve got a deep dish of lasagna cooking in the oven at home. It¡¯d be your loss.¡± Isla looked confused, but I saw her shoulders relax from their tense state, as if she¡¯d shed a weight off of them. Meanwhile, my shoulders were still tensed up. ¡°You can¡¯t actually be serious,¡± I complained. ¡°Oh, I am,¡± Mom confirmed. ¡°And since you¡¯re bitching, Isla can sleep in your room, while you sleep on the couch.¡± I opened my mouth to argue, but Mom just raised an eyebrow, daring me to say more. Exasperated, I decided it would be best to give up. ¡°Well?¡± Mom looked to Isla, her eyebrow still raised. ¡°Do you want to stay over?¡± ¡°Y-yes,¡± she stammered. ¡°I¡¯d love that. Absolutely. One hundred percent.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Mom smiled. ¡°Let me know if you have any allergies or anything you don¡¯t like.¡± The car ride back was awkward. I was still miffed about what Isla had said back in the restaurant, and she could tell. She kept glancing at me anxiously, not sure if she should bring it up. I was surprised she cared so much about what I thought of her. Or maybe she just felt bad for taking it too far and wanted to apologize. Either way, we sat in silence for most of the car ride, besides the odd question or so from my mom every once in a while. We pulled up in front of our house- a normal, medium sized house in a suburban neighbourhood just north of the edge of Bronwynn Forest. A police cruiser sat outside the house next to ours- the Forth family. I stared at the vehicle, concerned. ¡°Is that-¡± ¡°Not who you think it is,¡± Mom interjected. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later, okay?¡± Isla looked a little pale. ¡°I-I don¡¯t think I should be here. If they see me-¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Mom soothed. ¡°Just go inside quickly and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± We parked in the driveway and Mom instructed me to take Isla inside while she went into the Forth house- for what at this hour, I had no clue, but I had a gnawing feeling that it was something serious. ¡°Come on,¡± I said to Isla. We rushed up the porch steps. Hanging from the porch roof was a few planters with various flowers. I reached into one of them, digging around for the spare key, and yanked it out, shaking off the dirt. Isla looked at me incredulously, as if she couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d shown her such a major security flaw. I shrugged nonchalantly as I limped towards the front door. ¡°Locks only keep the honest people out, anyway.¡± As I stuck the key in the lock and turned, the door unlocking with a click!, time seemed to slow down. Goosebumps ran up my arm as I sensed it- a malicious presence behind the front door, waiting for me to open it. The handle of the door turned. Get back! The door opened, and the blade of a knife lunged for my throat. Chapter 6 - Leech ¡®I don¡¯t care.¡¯ That¡¯s what I¡¯d tell you if you froze time to ask me how I felt about the knife flying towards my throat. I really didn¡¯t care. If I died, I died. If I didn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t in a panic, I wasn¡¯t in shock, and I wasn¡¯t high off an adrenaline rush. A long time ago I might have cared. But back then I cared about a lot of things, no, too many things- about being in pain, about not dying, about protecting the right people, and about trying to forget the wrong people. Nowadays, my biggest ¡®care¡¯ was usually whether I made it home before curfew. I pivoted on one foot and grabbed the attacker¡¯s wrist, securing the knife, while also wrapping my arm around the attacker¡¯s throat. She gasped, struggling to break free of my grip. In the doorway, a boy aimed his pistol at us, and I turned the girl towards him, using her as a human shield. I twisted her arm so it was behind her back and crouched down a bit to ensure my head wasn¡¯t exposed. ¡°Well?¡± I taunted. ¡°Are you going to take the shot?¡± The boy¡¯s gun trembled as the girl¡¯s face turned bright red. Then, instead of pointing it towards us, he decided to point it towards Isla, who froze, raising her hands in the air. ¡°L-let her go, or your friend gets it,¡± he squeaked nervously. I shoved the girl forwards and kicked her towards the boy for extra power. They slammed into each other and fell with synchronized yelps. ¡°Honestly.¡± I sighed, walking inside the house and taking the gun out of the boy¡¯s hand. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you guys we¡¯re not doing this when we have guests over?¡± Isla unfroze, looking utterly confused. ¡°Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on here?¡± The kids sat up, groaning, but more in annoyance than pain. I scratched the back of my head and gestured towards them. ¡°Isla, these are my baby siblings, Ramona and Ken.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t seem like babies to me,¡± Isla observed. Ramona stared at her, then looked at me solemnly. ¡°She¡¯s way out of your league.¡± I grabbed my sister''s ear and yanked it as she protested loudly. ¡°This one is a freshman. She just started at Northeast. Ken¡¯s in sixth grade, but he¡¯s a little-¡± As if on cue, my brother stood up and darted behind me, peeking out from behind my leg. I smiled and ruffled his brown hair. ¡°He¡¯s a little shy at first around strangers,¡± I continued. ¡°Just give him a little time to warm up to you.¡± ¡°...Right,¡± Isla said. ¡°I was more asking about the fact that it looked like they were trying to kill you.¡± Ramona pulled away from me, tucking her dark hair behind her ears. ¡°We were.¡± ¡°It¡¯s, uh, a practice thing I do with them,¡± I explained awkwardly. ¡°The knife is real, but this is just a BB gun.¡± I took out the magazine to show Isla, but she wasn¡¯t interested- she was looking back and forth between me and the kids. I think she was slowly realizing we didn¡¯t look anything alike, especially in our eyes. My eyes were a very dark brown, while the kids and Mom had lighter coloured eyes. ¡°Are you gonna just stand there, or are you going to come inside?¡± Ramona asked sharply, crossing her arms. I karate-chopped the top of her head as Isla stepped inside, taking off her shoes. ¡°Be nice,¡± I warned. ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever,¡± she said. She ran to the nearby steps and ran off upstairs, the door to her room slamming shut. ¡°Well¡­ you two should get along very well,¡± I joked. Isla rolled her eyes. The Collins¡¯ house was nice- not gigantic like Sophia¡¯s mansion, but not so small it felt cramped. It was filled with modern furniture and decorations, and the appliances were fairly modern, which made sense considering Michael¡¯s mother was a doctor. As they made their way to the living room, Isla spotted a family photo, the three kids front and center, while Dr. Collins and her husband stood in the back. ¡°Is your dad also here?¡± ¡°Oh, he passed away a few years ago,¡± Michael lied nonchalantly. If Isla hadn¡¯t been paying attention to the tone of his voice, she would have believed him. Ken, clearly not amused, pinched Michael. ¡°Ow, ow. Okay, sorry. He¡¯s on a trip to London,¡± Michael admitted. ¡°One of his best friends from high school is getting married.¡± Isla smiled at Ken. ¡°Good job.¡± The kid looked away, but he had a smile on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t encourage him,¡± Michael complained. They reached the living room and Michael gestured to the sofa, then told Ken to go upstairs to his room. The kid took off like a lightning bolt as Isla stiffly sat down on the sofa, looking around curiously for more things of interest. ¡°You want juice or something?¡± Michael offered. He winced as he hobbled over to the fridge, pulling out a carton. ¡°I-it¡¯s fine,¡± Isla stammered. She wondered if he¡¯d forgotten about her sudden angry rant in the restaurant, or if he was pretending to be okay. It surprised her that she couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°I think we should take a look at your leg.¡± He waved her off. ¡°I¡¯ll look at it myself later. And just- take the juice. My mom would kill me if I didn¡¯t serve you anything.¡± After acquiring a glass of orange juice, Isla heard the front door close and Dr. Collins sighed heavily, as if she¡¯d just been through a major ordeal. She walked into the kitchen and mustered up a faint smile, but Isla could tell whatever had happened next door had drained her emotionally and physically. Michael also looked concerned, but Isla caught a glimpse of a silent conversation between mother and son. ¡°Okay, well¡­¡± Dr. Collins plopped down on the couch besides Isla, one leg over the other. ¡°We can have a serious conversation tomorrow morning, before the kids wake up. Dinner will be ready soon, so let¡¯s eat quickly and you can hop in the shower. Michael will give you a spare towel, and I¡¯m sure Ramona could spare some of her clothes-¡± ¡°They won¡¯t fit her,¡± Michael interrupted. ¡°She can wear one of my old shirts and shorts.¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Dr. Collins dismissed. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t fit her, we can try my clothes, or I¡¯ll go see if I can buy something really quick.¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s going to be open this late,¡± Michael argued. ¡°Let¡¯s just¡­ They decided that Isla would wear a mix of Michael¡¯s shirt and Ramona¡¯s PJs, and a ding! could be heard as the oven¡¯s timer went off, signaling dinnertime. The lasagna was good, but Isla felt strange sitting at the dinner table. She couldn¡¯t remember the last time she¡¯d eaten dinner with so many people, especially a family as lively as the Collins family. They each took turns telling each other about their day, though Michael took the liberty of leaving out the specifics of what happened in his evening, describing it as him and Isla ¡®hanging out.¡¯ After taking a long, hot shower, Isla wiped the bathroom¡¯s foggy mirror with her hand and stared at herself. Her body was covered all over in cuts and bruises. Michael had wrapped her sprained ankle in a bandage. Her eyes didn¡¯t even look the same as they had this morning- she¡¯d woken up determined and confident, ready to tell the reporter everything she knew. Oh, god. The reporter. And everyone in that restaurant. It was her fault. They¡¯d all died because of how stupid she¡¯d been. They came into the restaurant and they¡¯d killed so many people and it was all her- Her fist slammed into the mirror, shattering it. The glass sliced her hand up, but the anger coursing through her wouldn¡¯t let her feel it. When she put on her clothes and exited the bathroom, Michael was standing against the wall. He glanced at Isla¡¯s bleeding hand with a blank expression. ¡°Sorry,¡± Isla muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll, um, pay for it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re technically broke, after today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll get a part time job.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Not like it¡¯s the first time that mirror¡¯s been broken.¡± He gestured for her to follow, and they set off down the hall towards Michael¡¯s bedroom. It was messy- books, stray papers, and clothes strewn all around. Isla recognized some of the posters that hung on his walls- comic series that Sophia had spent hours gushing to Isla about, though Isla herself had never fully understood the appeal. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Sit on the bed,¡± Michael instructed. Isla reluctantly listened, still looking around. At least the room wasn¡¯t dirty- there wasn¡¯t a speck of dust or dirt, and it smelled kind of good, actually. Isla would¡¯ve opted to sleep on the couch otherwise. She watched as Michael went over to his desk and began to rummage through its drawers. Her gaze was drawn upwards as she noticed that on the desk¡¯s surface, besides the PC and two large monitors, were pill bottles- a lot of pill bottles, all prescribed by Dr. S. Collins. Michael pulled out a first aid kit, pulled a chair and trash can away from his desk, and sat down in front of her, the trash can at their feet. He began taking out pieces of glass using a pair of tweezers. His hair was no longer tied up in a ponytail, and ran loose just above his shoulders. Thick stubble was visible on his sharp chin. His dark brown eyes, baggy from sleep deprivation, were focused on the task at hand. Isla looked away, suddenly feeling self conscious. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re used to doing this,¡± Isla commented. ¡°Like I said, that¡¯s not the first time that mirror¡¯s been broken.¡± He took out the last shard of glass and began to disinfect Isla¡¯s hand. She spat out a few curses, and Michael snorted in laughter. When she glared at him, he raised his hands in surrender. ¡°My bad.¡± After wrapping her hand in gauze, Michael put everything back the way it was and grabbed the handle of the door. ¡°Well, goodnight.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Isla took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. For what I said in the restaurant. I got angry out of nowhere.¡± Michael paused, then took his hand off the handle and turned around. ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°...You know what, you¡¯re right, I¡¯m not,¡± Isla muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. ¡°I take it back. Not sure why I even wanted to apologize to a jerk like you.¡± ¡°No, I mean- ugh,¡± Michael groaned. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t think you feel bad, but you meant what you said. You might have been pissed at the time, but from your perspective, it¡¯s not like you actually said anything that wasn¡¯t true. So don¡¯t apologize. I wouldn¡¯t if I were you.¡± Isla shook her head. ¡°But I still took it way too far. I never think things through before losing my shit.¡± ¡°Yup. You also didn¡¯t think about the fact that you actually wanted me to stay,¡± Michael added. ¡°Because you were scared of being alone.¡± Isla looked away, feeling pathetic. Her hands, resting on her knees, were clenched into fists. He hadn¡¯t even said it with an ounce of doubt. ¡°Yeah, whatever. You really can read me like a book, huh?¡± She felt the mattress sink into the frame as he sat down besides her. ¡°I was lying about that.¡± She felt him moving around besides her. Isla frowned, turning to look at him. ¡°No you weren¡¯t- gah!¡± She yanked her gaze away, flustered. ¡°Why the hell are you stripping here?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I should go to Fickster Street and make some extra cash.¡± He finished taking off his shirt. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure they¡¯d find this hot.¡± Slowly, Isla turned back towards him, peeking through her fingers. Her eyes widened. His entire torso, from his shoulders to his hips, were covered in grotesque scars, some large, some small. Some from cuts, some from burns, some from what looked like gunshot wounds. There were so many of them that it made Isla¡¯s head spin. What made it even worse was that none of the scars came close to his arms or neck- as if the person who¡¯d inflicted them had been trying to hide them from the world. ¡°Are¡­ are those all real?¡± She didn¡¯t know why she was whispering. ¡°Every single one.¡± Michael turned, staring out his window at the night sky. ¡°I don¡¯t know you, but I do know myself. There was a time I didn¡¯t want to be alone, either.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t really have a choice.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Eventually, the only thing I wanted was to be left alone. But that doesn¡¯t really work out, either. As annoying as it is, everybody needs somebody in their life. And sometimes¡­¡± Michael gave her a meaningful look. ¡°We need to rely on them as much as they rely on us.¡± Isla scooted back on the bed until her back was against the wall, hugging her knees. She felt the bed shift as Michael put his shirt back on. ¡°You know what, forget it. I¡¯ll let you sleep-¡± ¡°Sophia¡¯s never relied on me in her life,¡± Isla mumbled. ¡°I¡¯m just the one who takes from her. Every time. Expensive gifts, tasty food, amazing advice. Hell, I¡¯ve even taken a piece of her reputation. People only started treating me like a normal person after she started talking to me. I used to talk so much shit about the people around her, but¡­¡± Isla gritted her teeth. ¡°I¡¯m just like them. I¡¯m a fucking leech, and she knows it.¡± Silence. Then¡­ ¡°Isla, look at me.¡± When Isla looked up at Michael, she¡¯d expected a more sympathetic expression. Instead, what stared back at her was an expression that read, Are you an absolute fucking idiot? ¡°I¡¯m going to break your nose,¡± Isla promised, glaring at him. ¡°You¡¯re literally her best friend, but you don¡¯t get Sophia at all,¡± Michael determined. ¡°First of all, I guarantee you she¡¯s never thought of it like that, not even once. We¡¯re talking about the same girl who once apologized for saying ¡®dammit¡¯ because she thought it would offend people. She¡¯s probably more worried that she stressed you out if anything. Second of all, Sophia doesn¡¯t like being friends with people who are fake. Why do you think she¡¯s so popular but has such a small circle? And third¡­¡± Michael frowned. ¡°Honestly, I thought I¡¯d have a third point by now, but whatever. The overall point is that you¡¯re being stupid.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know any of that,¡± Isla protested. ¡°You weren¡¯t even friends with Sophia for that long from what I remember.¡± Regardless, she did feel like his explanations made sense, and that made her feel maybe... the tiniest smidge better. But only the tiniest of the tiniest smidges. ¡°Oh, yeah? Bet I know her ten times better than you,¡± Michael challenged. Isla scoffed. ¡°Not a chance in hell.¡± He scooted back on the bed so he was also leaning against the wall, and pointed to one of the posters on his wall. ¡°Okay, who¡¯s her favourite character from that series, then?¡± ¡°Wha- comics don¡¯t count!¡± Isla protested. ¡°So her favourite hobby doesn¡¯t count? My bad, I guess.¡± ¡°You¡¯re both nerds! Of course you¡¯d know her comic stuff. Okay, how about when¡­¡± They spent the night bickering, talking, and laughing about all sorts of things, from Sophia to their favourite foods to high school rumours. As the sun began peeking over the horizon, a soft golden light began to stream into the bedroom. Isla was in the middle of a rant about the cafeteria¡¯s idiotically overpriced food when she began hearing soft, rhythmic breathing from besides her. She glanced over to see Michael passed out besides her. Slowly, he slid down the wall until his head landed on her shoulder. Normally, Isla would have immediately pulled away, but she was exhausted. As annoying as it is, everybody needs somebody in their life. ¡°This is your fault, dumbass,¡± Isla murmured sleepily. She leaned her head against his and closed her eyes.
In another part of the city, Vincent stared at the floor, kneeling before a terrifying presence- an angry Jin Ikari, who stared at him icily as he recounted Vincent¡¯s explanation of what had happened in the alleyway. ¡°There were seven of you with knives,¡± Jin repeated. ¡°And you still lost to an injured, unarmed, lone girl.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t happen again,¡± Vincent promised, but his voice was shaking. ¡°I¡¯ll skip school and spend the day looking for her-¡± Jin grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head up so that they were face to face. Looking straight into Jin¡¯s eyes made Vincent shiver. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool?¡± Jin hissed. ¡°Did you cut some sort of deal with her? Or did you betray me for that other bastard- ugh, what¡¯s that terrible nickname you recruits gave him?¡± ¡°The Puppetmaster.¡± Jin released Vincent and whipped around, glaring into the darkness. From the connecting hallway, a young man in an Italian suit and heavy pierced ears appeared, his hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face. ¡°I personally like it,¡± the young man claimed. He walked towards Jin, playing with the rings he wore on his fingers. ¡°It suits my philosophy. But forget that; do you have any time to be worrying about me?¡± He laughed. ¡°The boss is furious with you. Who knows how much she¡¯s told the police about our operations? Even if you manage to bring her in now, all I¡¯d need to do is whisper a few words in the right ears¡­¡± Jin reached out to grab the Puppetmaster¡¯s collar, but he ducked under his grab and positioned himself behind Vincent, putting his hands on the kid¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You¡­¡± Jin growled. ¡°I should have known better. I thought the boss was going crazy when he made someone as young as you are an executive.¡± ¡°Cranky old men with outdated ideals aren¡¯t going to move this organization forward, and the boss recognizes that,¡± the Puppetmaster said. ¡°It¡¯s time to make space for the people who¡¯ll actually get things done.¡± He looked down at Vincent. ¡°Right?¡± Vincent nodded slowly, feeling a little bit more at ease. ¡°See?¡± The young executive beamed, patting him on one shoulder. ¡°Even this kid knows. From here on out, he¡¯s part of my crew. I¡¯m poaching him.¡± ¡°Take him, I don¡¯t care,¡± Jin snapped. ¡°Just stay the fuck out of my business. And if you dare to breathe a word about me to the other executives-¡± ¡°You¡¯ll what?¡± The Puppetmaster¡¯s smile turned sinister. ¡°You can¡¯t even find your traitor of a daughter on your own. Even if I don¡¯t pull some strings¡­ well.¡± The Puppetmaster shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time.¡± Jin roared and lunged forwards, but the Puppetmaster didn¡¯t even flinch, though Vincent nearly had a heart attack. Jin froze an inch away from the Puppetmaster, angrily breathing through gritted teeth. He knew the consequences of attacking an executive, and clearly, so did the Puppetmaster. ¡°So predictable it¡¯s almost boring.¡± With a sigh, the Puppetmaster brought Vincent to his feet. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be going now. Oh, and¡­¡± His smile returned. ¡°If you ever want to actually find Isla, give me a call. I might be able to locate her.¡± ¡°What? Why wouldn¡¯t you share this earlier?¡± ¡°Because if you want something done right¡­ it¡¯s not going to be cheap.¡± The young man¡¯s smile stretched into a grin. ¡°I¡¯m looking forwards to seeing what you offer me in return, ¡®Mad Dog.¡¯¡± With that, the Puppetmaster and Vincent left, but Jin Ikari didn¡¯t feel defeated. He hadn¡¯t lost yet. Even with no information as to where Isla was, it was likely she was still in the city. And that meant he had one more card he could play. He gritted his teeth and pulled out his cell phone, looking through his contacts for a specific number. As the phone rang, he stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. ¡°...State your business.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to open a new contract.¡± Jin blew out the smoke from his mouth. ¡°Isla Ikari. Information for ten thousand dollars. And delivered to me, alive... one hundred thousand dollars.¡± Chapter 7 - Tales of Northeast Academy (I) I had a strange dream. I was sitting on a grassy hill, watching the sun coming up over the horizon. I was holding hands with someone, but I couldn¡¯t turn my head to look at them. I couldn¡¯t move. I knew I was badly hurt, but I didn¡¯t feel any pain. I just felt strangely at peace. Someone spoke to me- a boy? I couldn¡¯t see him properly, either. Then he disappeared, and a few seconds later, there was a thunderous shockwave, and a blinding light encompassed everything around us¡­ and then darkness. ¡­Wake up, dumbass. You¡¯re late for school. Oh, shit. I jolted awake, sitting up straight. Immediately, I felt a weight crash in my shoulder- Isla, who was fast asleep. Her hand was intertwined with mine. When had that happened? Tsk, tsk. Don¡¯t you remember what you two did last night? Very clearly. We just talked about stuff. No loyalty to Sophia. Daylight streamed through the window. I fished my phone out of the pocket of my shorts and checked the time- 10:57. I was beyond late for school. I looked down at Isla, who had drool leaking out of the corner of her mouth. I suppressed the urge to laugh and switched my phone to the camera app, taking a photo. As I did, I noticed something peculiar in the frame of the shot- a golden butterfly. I lowered my phone and observed it fluttering around. It wasn¡¯t tiny, either- maybe around the size of my palm. It fluttered around the room for a bit before coming towards us. I watched as it hovered above Isla¡¯s head for a bit, then settled down in her hair, just above her ear. It felt like it was looking straight at me, watching me. As I observed it, I realized part of its right wing was missing- as if tiny pieces of it had fallen off, one by one. I slowly reached out towards it. As I did, it inched towards me, glowing a little brighter as the distance closed. Isla¡¯s eyes slowly opened. She blinked slowly, and the butterfly disappeared. We held each other¡¯s gaze. ¡°Huh.¡± We both flinched. Peeking through a crack in the door was Mom, who took note of the whole scenario and came to a perfect misunderstanding. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll come back later.¡± She closed the door. We stared at the door for a few seconds before Isla glanced down and flung herself away from me, falling off the bed and onto the floor with a thunk. She slowly peeked out from the back of the bed and glared at me, if it was somehow all my fault. ¡°Good morning,¡± I greeted. After I changed the bandage on my leg and we awkwardly brushed our teeth together, we made our way to the stairs. Ramona and Ken both had already left for school, so I guess now would be the time where we had the ¡®serious conversation.¡¯ ¡°For the record, I still don¡¯t like you,¡± Isla said on the steps. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t like me either.¡± As we reached the bottom of the steps, I glanced at the shoe rack by the entrance. There was an additional pair of woman¡¯s shoes I recognized. ¡°Our neighbour¡¯s here,¡± I realized. ¡°The one who had the police over?¡± Isla asked. I nodded, a sinking feeling in my stomach. That feeling only got worse when we walked into the kitchen and I saw her- Mrs. Forth, who was staring into an untouched cup of coffee as my mom sat across from her, looking concerned. As we walked in, Mom stiffened. ¡°Uh, Michael, could you actually-¡± Mrs. Forth turned to face us. Her eyes were baggy and bloodshot, her greying brown hair in disarray. She tried to muster up a faint smile as she saw me, but the corners of her mouth seemed to refuse. What made it worse was the thing only I could see- a noose tied around her neck, but not connected to anything¡­ yet. Then she looked at Isla, and her eyes widened. ¡°I see.¡± Mrs. Forth looked back at my mom. ¡°This is why you were trying to get me to leave, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Naomi, it¡¯s not her fault-¡± ¡°I would never say it was.¡± My neighbour picked up her cup of coffee, and it trembled so badly it spilled onto the saucer it¡¯d been placed on. ¡°I¡¯m not a child, Sara. I knew the risks when my daughter told me who she was up against.¡± I glanced back at Isla, who had gone completely pale, as if she¡¯d seen a ghost. ¡°You guys have met?¡± I asked, confused. ¡°No, but¡­¡± She swallowed. ¡°She looks just like-¡± ¡°My name is Naomi Forth,¡± Mrs. Forth began. ¡°Ruth¡¯s mother. We need to talk about your meeting with my daughter.¡±
Northeast Academy wasn¡¯t like any of the other high schools in the city- or any city, honestly. You could tell as soon as you arrived at its front gates, armed with security guards who kept a close eye on students entering and exiting the campus grounds. The school itself was fairly large, outfitted with tennis and basketball courts, a large gymnasium, a greenhouse, and a pool suitable for competition. The students were especially different- an awkward blend of kids from a variety of financial backgrounds. Northeast was technically a public school, but it was funded by the city¡¯s wealthiest and brightest, who sent their kids there for the best treatment and education that the city had to offer. As a result, after September had passed, a social hierarchy more severe than most high schools had formed, based on both wealth and reputation. At the very top of that hierarchy, naturally, stood Sophia Prentice, the academy¡¯s ¡®princess¡¯. Out of the entire student population, she was unmatched- a beautiful, well spoken top student, vice president of student council, and the star of the school¡¯s gymnastics team. Not only that, but she came from a sophisticated and wealthy family- her mother was the Commissioner of Police, and her father was the city¡¯s mayor and an influential businessman. But outside of classes, it was rare to see her or even speak to her, as if she could disappear into thin air. There were also many other students of note- for example, the mysterious, all-knowing Yusuf, the violent yet flirtatious transfer student Renee, and Quentin Blake, the silver tongued, well-liked student council treasurer. While Sophia was considered the top of the social food chain, Quentin was a very close second simply due to how well connected and well spoken he was. He was also known for helping out the student population however he could, whenever he could. Which was exactly why Jacob was heading to him for advice. Even if it was kind of intimidating. During lunchtime, a lot of the student council members tended to flock to their office on the academy¡¯s fifth floor. It was a set of double doors relatively secluded from the rest of the building, down a long hallway that made approaching even more nerve wracking. Technically, the office was considered a place of refuge for students, provided that they knocked first. But that didn¡¯t mean you could just waltz right in, especially someone like Jacob. He tiptoed the length of the hall without making a sound, as if he was afraid of getting caught. Just as he reached out to knock, the door¡¯s handle turned, and Jacob jumped out of his skin, falling back onto his butt as the door opened. Quentin¡¯s brown hair and blue eyes peeked out from inside. ¡°...Jacob Yu, right?¡± Quentin frowned. ¡°You here to steal the president¡¯s wallet again?¡± ¡°N-no, of course not,¡± Jacob stammered. ¡°I, uh, was hoping I could get your advice on some stuff.¡± ¡°You can relax, man. I won¡¯t bite.¡± He opened the door fully. ¡°This one might, though.¡± Jacob stared incredulously. In Quentin¡¯s right hand, suspended in the air, was a short girl with dark hair and light brown eyes, flailing around and trying to free herself from his grasp, unsuccessfully. She wore a black hoodie, washed out ripped jeans, and canvas sneakers. Somehow, Quentin was holding her whole weight up by the hood. ¡°Lemme go!¡± she protested. ¡°I need to talk to Sophia!¡± Quentin sighed. ¡°I told you, Ramona, she isn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stupid! I know she¡¯s on the roof!¡± Ramona yelled. ¡°It¡¯s important!¡± Then, Ramona stopped flailing, noticing Jacob. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you Quinn¡¯s boyfriend? Uh, Jake?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not her boyfriend,¡± Jacob said, feeling flustered. ¡°And he literally just said my name¡¯s Jacob, not Jake.¡± Quentin closed the door behind him and lowered the girl to the ground. ¡°Does your brother know you¡¯re here?¡± The girl crossed her arms, looking annoyed. ¡°Why does that matter?¡± Extending his hand, Quentin pulled Jacob to his feet, then turned back to Ramona. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you got the idea that Sophia¡¯s on the roof, but she hasn¡¯t been here all day, and no one is allowed on the roof. So get outta here.¡± He threw his arm around Jacob, who stiffened even more. ¡°Me and Jacob gotta have a private guy talk, y¡¯know?¡± Ramona made a face. ¡°Whatever,¡± she grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll just wait down the hall for her to come out.¡± She walked off, leaving the two boys alone. The student council room was fairly big and sported a lot of Victorian style furniture, with multiple cabinets, bookshelves full of important records, and a large coffee table surrounded by four sofas. At the back of the room was a large desk and a laptop used by the student council president, but the chair, along with the rest of the furniture in the room, sat empty. To the left of that desk was a metal door which Jacob assumed led into a storage room. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else?¡± Jacob asked, both surprised and relieved. ¡°They¡¯ve all got plans. I¡¯m the only one here today.¡± Quentin plopped down onto one of the sofas and gestured to the one opposite of him. Jacob gingerly took a seat, and tensed up as he noticed Quentin stared at him. ¡°Surprised you didn¡¯t get expelled last year,¡± Quentin told him. ¡°You stole a lot of stuff, man. What, a camera from the photography room, a guitar from the music room, a few of the teacher¡¯s car keys¡­¡± He whistled in amazement. ¡°And the old prez¡¯s wallet, somehow. Man, he was pissed.¡± Jacob scratched the back of his head, looking away. ¡°Yeah, sorry about all that.¡± He waved him off. ¡°Water over the bridge or however that goes. You said you needed some advice?¡± ¡°Yeah, uh¡­¡± Jacob noticed some treats in the center of the table and nervously took one. ¡°I¡­ ugh, I need to get a girl a gift for her birthday, but I have no idea what to get her. And I really don¡¯t want to screw it up.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Quentin blinked. ¡°You¡­ came all the way here to ask me for girl advice? Seriously?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Embarrassed, Jacob hung his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know man. Sorry, this was stupid.¡± He stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll leave.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine, sit.¡± Quentin laughed, somehow making Jacob feel less tense. ¡°Just, y¡¯know, usually when people come in here and ask me for advice, it¡¯s something super serious. Things like, ¡®my family¡¯s company is in major debt¡¯ or ¡®I might not be able to graduate next year because my GPA is so bad.¡¯ It¡¯s actually kind of refreshing to talk about normal high school stuff for once.¡± Jacob sat back down. ¡°I can¡¯t even begin to imagine giving advice for important stuff like that. What if something goes wrong and they blame you for it?¡± Quentin shrugged. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re talking about that Quinn girl.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Jacob fidgeted in his seat. ¡°I¡¯ve known her for a while, but that¡¯s the hard part. I feel like she doesn¡¯t even see me as a guy. I¡¯ve tried so many things, but I just¡­ I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s hard because we¡¯ve known each other for so long, I guess.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Quentin frowned, playing with the dangling earring on his right ear. ¡°This is bit more difficult for me, ''cause I''m more of a short term kind of person. Most guys only want to hook up, and all the girls I''ve been with, uh... let''s just say they had some strange preferences." ¡°Uh¡­¡± Jacob wasn¡¯t sure what to say to that. ¡°I''m... sorry?" ¡°Don¡¯t be. So, basically, you want to get her a gift that will make you think about you more seriously, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, but I have no clue what that could be. I¡¯ve been thinking about it for more than a week, but it¡¯s been driving me crazy.¡± Jacob sighed and flopped back against the couch. ¡°I feel like if I get this wrong, we¡¯ll be stuck as friends for the rest of our lives.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that serious,¡± Quentin reassured him. ¡°Hm... maybe get her something that makes her think about you- something a little more sentimental. Don¡¯t get something crazy or expensive unless you know for sure she likes grand gestures. Or money.¡± ¡°Something that makes her think about me¡­¡± Jacob frowned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t any gift I get her make her think about me?¡± ¡°No, like¡­¡± Quentin thought for a second about how to phrase his idea. ¡°Maybe something that reminds you both of something you did together, just as an example. You¡¯ll know what it is when you see it.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Jacob nodded slowly. ¡°That¡¯s actually not bad.¡± Quentin grinned. ¡°Right? Bonus points if it¡¯s something practical.¡± ¡°Like something she can use?¡± ¡°Exactly! While you¡¯re at it, if she likes sweets, you could get her some cake for the two of you to share. But uh- just two slices, y¡¯know what I mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a genius.¡± Jacob stood up, feeling confident. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head to the mall after school and start looking.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡± Quentin also stood up and walked him to the door, opening it for him. ¡°Let me know how it goes later, alright?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Jacob agreed. ¡°But I might need more advice after.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m happy to provide it.¡± Quentin glanced down the hall and sighed. ¡°Do me a favour, though? Tell Ramona to go away, or I¡¯m really going to call her brother.¡±
Ramona stared at her phone in irritation. She¡¯d tried her best to make her way to the roof to talk to Sophia, but the access to the roof was through the student council office. Why? She had no fucking clue, but none of the staircases went past the fifth floor, and the janitors all told her that the student council room had a door that led to the roof. ¡°No one is allowed up there either way,¡± they¡¯d told her. ¡°Not even Sophia Prentice.¡± That¡¯s a load of bullshit, Ramona had thought. She knew Sophia was up there- she just needed to find a way to climb to the top of the princess¡¯ castle. ¡°Hey,¡± a voice spoke from behind her- the Jacob guy, a lanky Chinese kid with short hair and brown eyes. She shot him a glare. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Jacob nervously opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and shook his head. ¡°You know what, never mind. You, uh, seem busy.¡± He left, heading down the hallway. Ramona watched him leave. Maybe he could help her sneak in somehow? No¡­ Quentin wasn¡¯t that stupid. He¡¯d suspect something was up if Jacob came back right away and she was missing from the hallway. She groaned in frustration, staring at Michael''s text on her phone: find a way up, anyway. ¡°Easier said than done,¡± Ramona muttered. What was she supposed to do, knock him out? ¡°What is?¡± Ramona¡¯s heart nearly jumped out of her chest despite the softly spoken words. A pale girl with silvery hair and light brown eyes was staring at her curiously. She wore an oversized lavender sweater and black jeans. ¡°Eurielle.¡± Ramona swallowed nervously. ¡°I, uh, like your sweater.¡± Ramona purposely left out the fact that lavender was her favourite colour. She also purposely left out the fact that Eurielle looked really good in it. The girl smiled. ¡°Thanks. I was actually looking for you.¡± ¡°For me?¡± Ramona¡¯s heart went from jumping to skipping. ¡°Yup. I was wondering if you had any notes from yesterday¡¯s chemistry class, since I was sick.¡± She glanced down the hall towards the student council room. ¡°Though it seems like you¡¯re busy with something else right now.¡± ¡°Yeah, I was trying to¡­¡± Ramona¡¯s face lit up. ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± She grabbed Eurielle¡¯s hands. ¡°Can you ask your brother to bring Sophia downstairs so I can talk to her? Please please please please? Stupid Quentin won¡¯t let me onto the roof even after I begged him.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Flustered, Eurielle gently pulled her hands away. ¡°I can ask him, but I¡¯m not sure she¡¯ll come down.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really important,¡± Ramona promised. ¡°It¡¯s about-¡± She winced. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not allowed to tell you, but I promise she¡¯ll want to hear it. Just ask him, please?¡± ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Eurielle pulled out her phone and began to type out a text. ¡°What should I say that it¡¯s about, then?¡± ¡°Just say I really need to talk to her,¡± Ramona told her. ¡°Please? She¡¯ll come down right away, she loves me.¡± ¡°She loves you?¡± ¡°I mean, uh¡­ we¡¯re really, really good friends,¡± Ramona corrected. ¡°Super great friends. But just friends, obviously.¡± Eurielle frowned. ¡°No, I just, um¡­ didn¡¯t know you guys were ever close.¡± God, please, kill me now, Ramona thought, cringing internally. She couldn¡¯t figure out for the life of her why her brain had to go haywire whenever she spoke to this girl. ¡°Well, we were,¡± she explained. ¡°But, after all that happened¡­ you know.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Eurielle phone buzzed in her hand. ¡°He says Sophia¡¯s not in a good mood, that she wanted to be left alone. She¡¯s not even answering his texts.¡± ¡°Well, what I have to tell her will fix that,¡± Ramona promised. Eurielle typed out a few more texts, and the phone buzzed in reply. ¡°He says there¡¯s a secret way Sophia gets onto the roof if you¡¯re willing to give it a try, but it¡¯s really dangerous. He thinks it¡¯s better for you to wait and see if you can find her after school.¡± ¡°After school?¡± Ramona shook her head. Sophia would disappear like a ghost and she¡¯d have to wait until tomorrow. ¡°Screw that. What¡¯s the secret way?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Eurielle blanched. ¡°Are you¡­ really sure?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Ramona said confidently. ¡°How bad could it possibly be?¡± Immediately, Ramona knew it was going to be bad. The ¡®secret way¡¯ that Sophia took to the roof wasn¡¯t some hidden entrance in the principal¡¯s office or a series of traps in a maze. Ramona honestly would have preferred that to this- climbing up onto the shed that housed the school¡¯s emergency generators, then up onto the windowsill of a second floor classroom. From there, she¡¯d have to do a running jump to the maintenance ladder and climb up to the roof. For particularly athletic people, it would be a breeze. Ramona could picture the star gymnast Sophia or Michael, who was experienced with urban climbing, easily making it. But for Ramona, her head spun as she looked at how high up the ladder was. Her knees were shaking, and Eurielle immediately noticed. ¡°Are¡­ are you going to be okay?¡± Eurielle fretted. ¡°Sure! Yeah! No problem,¡± Ramona lied, still shaking. ¡°I can do this.¡± Eurielle shook her head, putting her hand on her shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself, Ramona.¡± A memory popped in Ramona¡¯s mind- Michael, who was looking down at her, a pained expression on his face. She had failed to even scratch him yet again, and despite being exhausted and injured, she¡¯d wanted to keep going. You don¡¯t have to force yourself, he¡¯d told her, with a patronizing tone. It''s okay. The memory irritated the hell out of her. She wasn''t a stranger to failing. Not in the slightest. But no way in hell was she going to give up and see that look on his face again. Not for something as simple as this. ¡°...I¡¯m not forcing myself," she muttered. Eurielle blinked in surprise. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I just- wait!¡± Ramona sprinted up to the shed and began to scale the chainlink fence surrounding it. When she reached the top, she carefully balanced herself on the top of the metal bar at the top, then leaped on top of the metal shed. The roof was already dented from previous impacts, showing that something- or someone- had landed on it before. The windowsill was pretty high up, especially for someone who was 5¡¯2¡±, but Ramona sprinted across the roof, bent her knees, and leaped, swinging her arms for extra momentum. She managed to grab onto the edge of the windowsill and began to pull herself up. ¡°Ramona!¡± Eurielle yelled. ¡°The window¡¯s not-¡± As she soon as she¡¯d pulled herself up onto the windowsill, she found herself staring into a classroom. The blinds hadn¡¯t been drawn closed, and there was a single student on the other side- a freshman guy, staring at her in shock. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Ramona waved awkwardly. ¡°Hi?¡± The guy slowly raised his hand and waved back. Then, he walked over to the blinds and closed them for her, concealing her from the few other students that were in there with him. Ramona sighed in relief. ¡°Thank god.¡± Whoever he was, she¡¯d find a way to thank him later. For now, she turned back towards the next step, the ladder- and realized she¡¯d had absolutely no right to breathe that sigh of relief. The ladder was so far out- far out enough that she¡¯d have to run the length of the narrow windowsill into a running jump to maybe grab the bottom rungs of the ladder. If she messed it up, she¡¯d plummet to the ground into the pavement. It would be alright if she could at least land on the shed as a failsafe, but the ladder was attached to the wall and the shed was further out from it, meaning that if Ramona fell¡­ She looked down at the ground and immediately felt dizzy. Desperate, random thoughts flooded her mind. Why the fuck had she gone up here, again? There was no way she could do this. She clung to the wall, shivering uncontrollably. Her hand drifted to her pocket, wanting to call Michael to come help her down. Hell, he should be the one here climbing to the roof, not her. Why was she always responsible for helping with his problems? ¡°Ramona Collins!¡± Slowly, Ramona forced her head to look back towards the ground, where Eurielle was standing, staring up at her. She didn¡¯t look worried, or even mildly concerned. Instead, her eyes were shining, and Ramona could swear they looked almost bright red in the sunlight. ¡°You can do this!¡± Eurielle shouted confidently. Ramona¡¯s eyes widened. She pressed her forehead into the glass of the window, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. Then, she carefully edged as far back on the windowsill as she could go, sprinted a few steps, and leaped with all her might. Time almost seemed to slow as she flew through the air. Her hand just barely managed to grab the very bottom rung of the ladder, but she clutched onto it for dear life. Despite being absolutely terrified, she looked down at Eurielle and grinned. ¡°I did it!¡± Then the ladder¡¯s lock disengaged, and gravity began to plunge her towards the ground as the ladder extended downwards. Ramona didn¡¯t even have the time to scream, but she instinctively brought her knees up. Just before she would have hit the ground and broke her legs, the ladder stopped, locking in place, leaving her dangling less than an inch off the ground. For once, she was very, very grateful that she was short. Eurielle ran up in a panic. ¡°Oh my god, oh my god. Are you alright?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m great,¡± Ramona managed, swallowing the contents of her stomach. She was so dizzy she couldn¡¯t see straight. ¡°Just, uh¡­ give me a moment to catch my breath¡­ okay?¡±
Vincent was pissed. He couldn¡¯t believe Michael wasn¡¯t in school today. Even if he was in crutches from the knife he¡¯d sunk into his thigh, he¡¯d been looking forwards to jumping him with as many guys as he could gather, Demon and non-Demon. Hell, it was the only reason he¡¯d opted to not tell the executives about Michael¡¯s stunt in the alleyway, so that he could get revenge without their interference. And also¡­ so that he and his group wouldn¡¯t get in even deeper shit for losing to a single high school kid. That was also important. After realizing that Michael wasn¡¯t at school, he had decided to look for Ramona, but he couldn¡¯t find her anywhere at lunch. She wasn¡¯t in the cafeteria, gym, or any of her classrooms. Other people stared at him pitifully as he passed them on crutches, and it irritated him. ¡°The fuck you looking at?!¡± he yelled at a group of students walking by. They jumped and quickly walked off, but the incident would likely also attract campus security, so he opted to head outside. The Puppetmaster had told him a lot. He had big plans- bold, impressive plans that would change things in the city, and that would make the Demons way more powerful than they already were. And he¡¯d wanted Vincent to be a part of it. The words he¡¯d spoken that night been completely right- it was time to replace the old guard. Jin Ikari was terrifying on his own, but he wasn¡¯t ambitious, and he wasn¡¯t cunning. Hell, he had let Isla run around like a headless chicken, spewing all the secrets she knew to Commissioner Prentice. It was time for real Demons to show this city what they had to fear. Outside, Vincent stopped cold in his tracks as he spotted Ramona and another girl in the distance, slowly climbing up the maintenance ladder to the roof. He didn¡¯t have a clue what they were doing or why they were doing it, but he did know that once the two of them were up there, they''d be isolated, with nowhere to go, and nowhere to run. A grin spread across his face. He pulled out his cell phone, dialed a number, and spoke into it. ¡°Hey. It''s time to get to work." Chapter 8 - Enjoying Yourself? It was all too much. I couldn¡¯t move. I couldn¡¯t speak. I couldn¡¯t even breathe properly. The pain in my leg was intensifying even more, leaving me in even more agony that made me want to scream. I couldn¡¯t keep kneeling anymore, and slumped onto the ground, unable to think clearly from the pain. All around me, voices were taunting me. ¡°Michael!¡± Isla screamed, as the men began to drag her away. She flailed wildly, trying to break free from their grip. ¡°I t¡¯ s y o u r f a u l t,¡± they hissed. ¡°A l l o f i t i s y o u r f a u l t.¡± The syringe was so close. Time seemed to slow down as I reached out towards it, my fingertips just barely grasping it- and then a foot slammed down on my arm. I barely managed to lift my head up to look at a familiar face. My eyes widened. ¡°...You?¡± I gasped.
¡°Commissioner, Commissioner!¡± From where she¡¯d fallen asleep in her chair, the Commissioner jolted awake. She rubbed her eyes to see a young officer standing in front of her desk with two pieces of paper stapled together, which he laid down in front of her. ¡°This was intercepted from a dark web site,¡± the officer told her. ¡°It¡¯s a job offer talking about Isla that¡¯s open to anyone in the city. We tried to trace it, but we could only narrow it down so much.¡± The Commissioner groggily grabbed the papers and began to read it. As she did, she slowly became more and more awake, her eyes widening. When she was finished, she shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°...Commissioner?¡± She pointed to her mug. ¡°Get me another fucking cup of coffee.¡± ¡°Y-yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The Commissioner intentionally raised her voice, yelling out in the station. ¡°And the second anyone tells my daughter about this, disciplinary action will be the least of your worries!¡± She looked back at the paper as the officer left, awkwardly closing the door behind them. One hundred thousand dollars¡­ The amount of money itself wasn¡¯t a surprise to her. It was more so the lengths that Isla¡¯s father was willing to go even though it¡¯d just been a day. There had to be some sort of pressure on him. Maybe Isla knew something important, something so big that it needed to be headlines everywhere, which was why she¡¯d been meeting with Ruth. But that would mean that her previous guess was wrong. ¡°Deliver to ¡®Mad Dog¡¯¡­¡± She gritted her teeth. The nickname was well known, especially amongst the city¡¯s police. But that wouldn¡¯t matter in a court of law. It was all about what you could prove, and they had jack shit. Even if there was evidence suggesting that Jin Ikari was the Demon¡¯s smuggler, his lawyers would likely be able to sweep it under the rug somehow. The Commissioner flipped over the first page and began to read the second. The message didn¡¯t originate from anywhere on the Northeast side of the city; the message had come from a small industrial district in the Southwest, filled with factories and warehouses. Likely a dead end, but just in case, she began to compile a list of the most suspicious buildings for future reference. Too many to justify a warrant, she thought. A judge wouldn¡¯t approve it. A knock on the door. Lieutenant Singh¡¯s turban peeked in from outside the office. ¡°You look like hell,¡± he commented, concern in his voice. ¡°Did they find out anything?¡± she asked desperately. The lieutenant sighed and approached her desk, closing the door behind him. He plopped down into the chair across from her. ¡°Not a goddamn thing. Rachel, we need to pull all of them out. Their cover is blown.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that for sure,¡± she reasoned. ¡°It¡¯s only been a few weeks-¡± ¡°Yes, we do! Look, I know you want to find Isla, but you¡¯re risking the lives of our men here. The Demons just toying with us at this point.¡± Singh gave a heavy sigh and cupped his face in his hands. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just¡­ frustrated. Nothing has been going right ever since these assholes came to the city. At this point, I¡¯m wondering if I should just go back to India.¡± Nothing has been going right. She had no way of knowing for sure¡­ but she could start narrowing things down. ¡°I might have an idea of where Isla might be,¡± the Commissioner began cautiously. Lieutenant Singh straightened in his chair. ¡°What?¡± ¡°We need to keep this off the record. I don¡¯t want any risks.¡± She grabbed a notepad and began writing down directions. ¡°It¡¯s a remote location and it would be fairly safe, so it makes sense that she¡¯d go there.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you mention this before?¡± Singh questioned. The Commissioner sighed. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ an old friend¡¯s spot. I haven¡¯t thought about it in years, honestly. But Isla should know it. Go at night, alright? And not in uniform. We can¡¯t raise any sort of suspicion. If she¡¯s there, call me immediately. Don¡¯t tell anyone else. Do you understand?¡± He examined the piece of paper closely and nodded, standing up to leave. ¡°...I understand. I¡¯ll be careful.¡± He headed for the door, and just as he was able to disappear from the Commissioner¡¯s line of sight, he spoke. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°For?¡± ¡°For trusting me with this.¡± ¡°...Of course.¡± The lieutenant nodded, then left. The Commissioner waited a few seconds, then pulled out her phone and began to compose a text to her husband. Sorry. Not going to be home tonight.
An hour before everything had gone wrong, Isla had been in a foul mood. The conversation with Mrs. Forth had clearly taken its toll. She was curled up on the couch, staring at the TV, her eyes glassy as they watched the movie that was playing. Mom and I looked at her in concern from where we stood in the kitchen, making lunch. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say anything to her?¡± I whispered to Mom. ¡°Me? You two seemed like you were getting along great last night,¡± she whispered back. ¡°You should go. I¡¯m sure you know to say.¡± ¡°Says the licensed, practicing psychiatrist.¡± ¡°Neither of you are quiet, you know,¡± Isla said plainly. We both jumped. I lowered the knife I was using to cut vegetables, trying to come up with what to say in reply, but I was blanking out. It was impossible to know what to say to her after the talk we¡¯d just had. Anything comforting that I said would just seem disingenuous, and that wasn¡¯t really my style, anyway. And while I didn¡¯t really care if Isla was depressed, I had a feeling that a certain someone would, which would be a pain in the ass when she got here after school. Go outside, get her some air. We were supposed to do the groceries today anyways, right? Right, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s a wonderful idea. Just disguise her a bit, make her wear a mask. Most of her father¡¯s men are probably centered around the red light district. ¡­ It was strange. Even though I normally would have just shut down the suggestion and let things figure themselves out naturally, I anxiously felt like I had to do something. I decided that maybe it¡¯d be best to go along with it. ¡°Hey, Isla,¡± I began. ¡°...What?¡± ¡°Need your help with something.¡± After a few minutes of discussion between Isla, myself, and my mom, I stood outside my room, waiting for her to get dressed. I felt my phone begin to vibrate in my pocket, and took it out to glance at the caller ID. An unknown number. I made a face and declined the call. When my phone started vibrating again, I opted to block the number. I heard a doorknob turning and glanced up. Isla stepped out of my room in an old pair of jeans and one of my hoodies from the back of my closet. ¡°This smells musty,¡± she complained. ¡°You¡¯re more than free to go in your clothes from yesterday,¡± I offered, knowing full well how messed up they were. She glared at me in answer as I glanced down at her ankle. "Are you gonna be okay to walk?" Isla shrugged as I walked past her into my room. "Better than you, that''s for sure." As I approached my desk, scanning it for what I was looking for, I suddenly felt incredibly dizzy. Stumbling briefly, I grabbed the corner of my desk to keep me from falling to my knees. Concerned, Isla quickly positioned herself close to me, her arms outstretched in case I fell. ¡°Are you alright? Is it because of your leg?¡±¡± ¡°No, I just¡­¡± I shook myself awake. While my leg wasn¡¯t in the greatest condition, I¡¯d mentally numbed down the pain as much as I could, so it felt more like a bruise. This wave of dizziness had seemingly come out of it nowhere, and it couldn¡¯t be because of the meds considering I wasn¡¯t taking them. I decided to forget about it for now and think about it later. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯m alright,¡± I reassured her. ¡°You¡¯ll probably need this if we¡¯re going outside.¡± I grabbed a disposable black face mask from a box my desk and handed it to her. ¡°Uh¡­ what is this for?¡± she asked, frowning. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can figure that out yourself,¡± I told her. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The store wasn¡¯t far, but it wasn¡¯t close, either- about a fifteen minute walk in total. I¡¯d asked Mom to drive us, but she¡¯d told me that walking would do some good for both of us. Which was completely untrue considering the hole in my leg, but I decided not to bring that up. I¡¯d barely gotten away with explaining it as a light slash wound I¡¯d stitched up. Isla opted to limp-walk ahead of me, her hand linked behind her back, staring down at the sidewalk. Her hood covered her hair and the mask covered her face, but pedestrians still opted to walk past us quickly. ¡°Nice weather out, huh?¡± I began. ¡°...Sure.¡± Good start. You¡¯re so very charismatic! I took a deep breath. ¡°Look, if you really don¡¯t want to talk about it-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± she confirmed. ¡°Okay, fine,¡± I said. ¡°What if I wanted to talk about it?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you to fuck off.¡± I opened my mouth to respond, but Isla continued, cutting me short. ¡°Just don¡¯t, Michael. There¡¯s nothing to talk about, and nothing we can do besides get these fucking groceries and go back.¡± ¡°Of all the ways I expected you to act, this wasn¡¯t one of them.¡± ¡°Sorry for not meeting your expectations,¡± Isla muttered darkly. I hobbled forwards a little faster, placing myself in front of her to block her path. ¡°You¡¯re acting like you¡¯re the one who shot up the place.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the only one who could get it, remember?¡± Isla grabbed my collar and raised her fist, ready to clobber me, but there was no fire in her eyes. After a few seconds, she dropped her fist and released me, looking away. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°At this point, I¡¯m just¡­ tired.¡± She sighed. ¡°No matter what I do, no matter what I try, it ends up being pointless. Whenever I try to do the peaceful thing, the morally correct thing, everything goes to shit anyways, and it¡¯s my fault. But when I get angry or upset, or when I have to fight, I¡¯m also a part of the problem, so I have to keep quiet.¡± She laughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s so easy for all these people to judge me, lecture me, tell me to calm down, or that I could have done things a different way. But they don¡¯t have a single clue of what it¡¯s like to live my life,¡± Isla continued. The flames in her eyes roared back to life at full power. ¡°God, sometimes¡­ I just wanna say fuck it, and burn everything and everyone to the ground.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± I paused briefly. ¡°You know what your problem is?¡± Isla crossed her arms. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You care too much,¡± I pointed out. ¡°About what other people say, what they think. You¡¯re stressing yourself out over what these people think for no reason.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just-¡± ¡°Can¡¯t just what?¡± I raised my hand, showing her four fingers. ¡°The way I see it, high school is four years of your life, and we¡¯re two years in, so¡­ two years left. That¡¯s a tiny ass fraction of your what, eighty years or so you¡¯re alive maybe? You¡¯re probably never to going to talk to a majority of these people again after these two years are done.¡± ¡°So what, I should be a social reject like you?¡± Isla jabbed. I snorted. ¡°You were a ¡®social reject¡¯ the moment you were born to an abusive, piece of shit father. You¡¯re always going to be different than them, see things differently than them. So what¡¯s the point of twisting and contorting yourself to try to please people? You can¡¯t change who you are at the snap of your fingers.¡± She gripped her arm, the fire in her eyes replaced by worry. ¡°I just¡­ I don¡¯t want to be abandoned. Not by the people closest to me.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± I promised. ¡°Anybody in your life who actually gives a damn about you isn¡¯t going anywhere unless you make them. Sophia probably ranks at the top of that list, so you definitely don¡¯t have to worry about her.¡± Isla released her arm, the tension in her muscles visibly relaxing as she shook her head in disbelief, looking up at me. ¡°Have you always been so¡­¡± She trailed off. ¡°Been so what?¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± She spun around on one foot to manuever around me, and began to walk at a much calmer, relaxed pace than before, her hands in her pockets. ¡°Let¡¯s just hurry up and get this done.¡± The corners of my lips perked up a bit. ¡°Sounds good.¡± Getting the groceries went by a lot easier than I thought it would. I totally thought Isla and I would be bickering the whole time, but she was honestly pretty helpful, picking out quality produce, using an app to find us discounts, and swapping out the cleaning products I was going to get for better ones. ¡°It¡¯s because I usually do everything around the house,¡± she explained to me. ¡°I basically live alone, and on a way tighter budget than this.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be a perfect¡­ maid,¡± I commented hesitantly. Isla frowned. ¡°Uh, what? You mean a perfect wife?¡± I shrugged. ¡°I would have said that, but that would have been kinda weird.¡± She scoffed as she placed a jar of tomato sauce in our cart. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have made any assumptions, and neither should you. Like your sister said, I¡¯m way, way out of your league.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine by me. I wouldn¡¯t wanna be your victim anyway,¡± I deadpanned. She lunged to smack me, but I dodged and headed off down towards the end of the aisle. I reached out to grab a packet of penne, and then¡­ it happened. That same nauseating feeling rippling throughout my body, except it was now ten times worse. My legs became wobbly, and I could feel a rapid thump-thump sound coming from within me. Dizzy, a chill running up my spine, I slowly turned my head and came face to face with a standing corpse- a man with blood streaming out from a bullet hole in his forehead. His features contorted into a twisted grin- features I immediately recognized despite only having seen them a single time. ¡°E n j o y i n g y o u r s e l f?¡± he asked me. I stumbled away from him, shivering, and slammed into a woman behind me. I turned to apologize, but realized I had walked into a lady with a broken neck, her head bent awkwardly to the side as she stared straight at me. Her eyes were like that of a dead fish. ¡°Y o u s h o u l d b e s o r r y.¡± She didn¡¯t move her mouth to speak, but I could still hear her voice. ¡°Y o u d i d t h i s t o u s.¡± More and more walking corpses began to appear around me, greviously wounded, pointing at me, blaming me. Hyperventilating, I dropped to my knees, trying to focus on the floor as their accusations flooded my mind. The dizzy, nauseating feeling was ten times worse than it had been in my room earlier. I was vaguely aware of Isla rushing over, kneeling down besides me, trying to figure out what was wrong. ¡°O-outside,¡± I stammered, my teeth chattering. ¡°Take m-me outside.¡± Instead of taking me through the entrance, Isla burst into the grocery¡¯s storage area, littered with pallets of goods. The employees yelling at us sounded as if they were shouting from the end of a long hallway. All the while, the voices felt like they were whispering into my ear. ¡°M u r d e r e r.¡± ¡°K i l l e r.¡± ¡°B u t c h e r.¡± ¡°M o n s t e r.¡± ¡°Y o u d o n ¡¯ t d e s e r v e t h i s l i f e.¡± ¡°W e s h o u l d t a k e i t f r o m y o u.¡± The pain in my leg that¡¯d I¡¯d been suppressing began to magnify. I gasped in pain as we burst out the back door, and collapsed forwards onto the pavement of the grocery store¡¯s deserted loading zone, clutching my leg. It was unbearable, like something was slowly pushing nails into the wound. ¡°What do I do?!¡± Isla¡¯s voice was higher pitched than usual. I looked up at her, and was surprised I could fully see the panicked expression on her face. ¡°...Where¡¯s your mask?¡± ¡°Mask?¡± Isla¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± What? ¡°My¡­ bag,¡± I gasped, sweat dripping down my face as I slipped it off my back. ¡°Very front pocket. There¡¯s¡­ an injector.¡± She fumbled through the pocket. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°A-antipsychotic,¡± I gasped. ¡°And a l-light anesthetic.¡± ¡°The hell is that?¡± ¡°Take your t-time,¡± I stuttered. ¡°Not like I¡¯m having any trouble here.¡± My consciousness felt like a movie I was watching instead of being present in the moment, as if I was glued to my theater seat and couldn¡¯t move my gaze away. ¡°Got it.¡± Isla pulled out a gray syringe with a red cap. As she went to remove the cap, the double doors we¡¯d came through burst open, revealing a man a grocery store uniform and ripped black jeans, wearing a concerned expression. If I hadn¡¯t been in such a rough shape, I would have realized what was wrong right away. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he questioned. ¡°Do I need to call an ambulance?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Isla flashed a quick smile, then turned back to taking off the cap. ¡°Just forgot to take his meds today, you know?¡± My brain finally caught up, but I still struggled to speak. ¡°De¡­¡± I reconsidered my words and whispered. ¡°Pants. N-no pants.¡± Isla reddened, flustered. ¡°I¡¯m not taking off your pants,¡± she stated loudly. Then, her face went pale as she realized what I¡¯d been trying to hint at. Click. The barrel of a pistol pressed up against the back of Isla¡¯s skull as the safety was switched off. Isla froze. ¡°He means my pants,¡± the fake employee informed her. ¡°After all, woulda been kinda weird if I¡¯d forced that guy to take off his, too.¡± ¡°Dumbass,¡± I muttered. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m going to kill both of you,¡± Isla promised, her eyes blazing. The man cocked his pistol. ¡°I¡¯d love to see you try, but¡­¡± He took a step back, now leveling the barrel at me lying on the floor. ¡°The contract was for alive, not dead.¡± Isla rose, turning around to face the man. I couldn¡¯t see the expression on her face. ¡°A contract?¡± ¡°Mhm. Contract for a hundred thousand dollars, alive.¡± The criminal shrugged as he slowly undid the metal buttons of the employee uniform with one hand. ¡°God, this thing smells. Anyways, not sure what a kid like you did to get such a large bounty on her head, but 100k is 100k, so¡­¡± He gestured with his gun. ¡°Drop the needle and let¡¯s go.¡± Isla clenched her fists, her nails digging so hard into her palms that when she released them, blood dripped off her nails. She tossed the syringe behind her, and it landed a few meters away from me. I tried to focus, to clear out the pain and the voices so I could speak. ¡°Isla,¡± I gasped. ¡°Don¡¯t-¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Isla reassured me, but her voice was shaking. From down by the corner of the building, a white van appeared, heading towards us- his accomplices. They¡¯d be here in seconds. ¡°Good choice,¡± the gunman commended Isla, proceeding to take off the uniform further. As he went to remove the uniform dangling from his shooting arm, he began to switch over the pistol to his other hand without thinking- and that¡¯s when Isla struck, lunging forwards with a yell and slamming into the gunman. I immediately began to take action, but that didn¡¯t mean much when it felt like I couldn¡¯t fully control myself. It took all of my willpower to get onto my knees and crawl towards the syringe as I heard the van screech to a halt, the side door slamming open. ¡°Y o u c a n ¡® t s a v e h e r,¡± the voices said. ¡°Y o u ¡® r e n o h e r o.¡± As I heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and Isla cry out in pain behind me, I knew I was almost out of time. I tried even harder to force myself forwards, but it was like moving through cement. The syringe couldn¡¯t be more than half a meter away, but¡­ It was all too much. I couldn¡¯t move. I couldn¡¯t speak. I couldn¡¯t even breathe properly. The pain in my leg was intensifying even more, leaving me in even more agony that made me want to scream. I couldn¡¯t keep kneeling anymore, and slumped onto the ground, unable to think clearly from the pain. All around me, voices were taunting me. ¡°Michael!¡± Isla screamed, as the men began to drag her away. She flailed wildly, trying to break free from their grip. ¡°I t¡¯ s y o u r f a u l t,¡± they hissed. ¡°A l l o f i t i s y o u r f a u l t.¡± The syringe was so close. Time seemed to slow down as I reached out towards it, my fingertips just barely grasping it- and then a foot slammed down on my arm. I barely managed to lift my head up to look at a familiar face. My eyes widened. ¡°...You?¡± I gasped. I was looking at¡­ me. An exact, perfect replica of me, down to the last, minute detail, even wearing the clothes that I was currently wearing. The only key difference was in his eyes- blood red pupils with a vertical slit, twinkling with amusement. I instantly, instinctively, knew who it was. There wasn¡¯t anyone else it could be. ¡°Hey, ¡®boss¡¯.¡± Unlike the usual voice in my head, I could physically hear him now. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll be taking over from here.¡± You planned this. All of this. "Well, I¡¯m offended.¡± He put on a fake expression of shock. ¡°What could I possibly have done? You¡¯re acting like I called these guys over here.¡± The mask. You made me hallucinate giving one to Isla. Then you triggered this whole panic attack somehow so you could take control over me. ¡°Hm¡­¡± His face contorted into a maniacal grin, his eyes opening so wide I thought they¡¯d pop out of their sockets. ¡°What a shame. I was hoping I could get away with that part, but¡­ oh well.¡± He knelt down on one knee in front of me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about all that, Michael. Get some rest.¡± My vision was darkening. I struggled to keep my eyes awake, trying to reach out with my fingers just a bit further towards the syringe, but it was impossible. ¡°Sweet dreams,¡± he whispered. Isla was done for. She was too weak to break free of the grasp of the three men who¡¯d jump out of the van. They¡¯d immediately restrained her, tying up her wrists and covering her mouth with duct tape. Just as they were getting ready to secure her ankles, she saw Michael stand up out of the corner of her eye, renewing her vigor. She slammed the back of her head into a man¡¯s jaw, and he cursed, wrapping his beefy arm around her neck to choke her out. Spots began to cloud her vision as her consciousness faded. ¡°Excuse me.¡± Everyone turned to look at Michael, and despite the fact that she was desperately trying to stay conscious, Isla felt a shiver run up her spine. It was the same feeling she¡¯d gotten in the alleyway¡­ the feeling that it wasn¡¯t quite Michael standing before her. Not-Michael flashed a pleasant, friendly smile, almost like one you¡¯d get from a salesman. Isla felt the arm around her neck slightly loosen its grip, letting blood flow back to her brain. ¡°I need to talk to her.¡± He pointed towards Isla. ¡°I¡¯ll make it quick, and then you guys can take her and be on your way. I won¡¯t even say a word to the police. How¡¯s that?¡± The original gunman took a step forwards and pistol-whipped Michael in the jaw. While it wasn¡¯t full force, the sound of metal on bone still made Isla flinch, her heart pounding in fear. But the blow had only managed to slightly turn Michael¡¯s head, his hair obscuring his face. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d shoot any witnesses on a job this big.¡± The gunman leveled the gun at Michael¡¯s head. ¡°But see, I¡¯m being nice today. I don¡¯t want to kill a kid over this. So get lost.¡± Slowly, Michael¡¯s smile returned, but it was much, much more sinister than before. ¡°What a coincidence.¡± The words were spoken in a friendly manner, but Isla could sense a darker undertone to them. ¡°I¡¯m also trying to be nice, since I need you all alive.¡± The gunman moved his finger towards the trigger. ¡°I don¡¯t give a-¡± Michael moved faster than lightning, ducking under the barrel of the gun and wrapping his arm around the man¡¯s. Snap. ¡°AHHHH!¡± The man screamed in pain as he released the pistol and collapsed to the floor. Michael caught it out of midair and whipped it towards Isla¡¯s other captors, who had also all reached for their weapons. ¡°Weapons in the van, please,¡± Michael ordered, going back to that unnervingly pleasant smile. When they didn¡¯t comply, he stomped on the fallen gunman¡¯s arm, causing him to shriek loudly. ¡°I did say please.¡± ¡°Do as he says!¡± the wounded gunman gasped. Reluctantly, the men all threw their weapons into the van- an assortment of knives, brass knuckles, and pistols. In the blink of an eye, he¡¯d taken control of the situation. ¡°Hm. I think I¡¯m doing a good job so far of being nice to them. What do you think?¡± Michael asked almost innocently. He began applying more pressure with his foot, and shrieks of pain came from underneath it. It took a moment for Isla to realize he had been talking to her. ¡°What are you?¡± she asked. He frowned. ¡°Now that isn¡¯t very nice. I¡¯m a human being, same as you.¡± Lowering the pistol down to hold the wounded gunman hostage, Michael then gestured with his free hand to the men. ¡°Bring her here, but don¡¯t let her go.¡± Hesitantly, the men restraining her brought Isla closer until they were almost face to face. ¡°My name is Levi. You could say I¡¯m the better version of Michael.¡± Levi put his fingers to her chin, and Isla yanked her head away, struggling to break free, but the men held her fast. Her only option was to glare at Michael- no, Levi. This definitely wasn''t Michael before her. ¡°Do me a favour and tell me why I should give a shit,¡± Isla growled. ¡°You interest me.¡± Levi sighed in exasperation. ¡°I¡¯ve been so¡­ bored, you know? The only thing I get to do nowadays is making fun of the stupid shit Michael gets himself into while I watch in the background. But you¡­¡± He pointed at Isla. ¡°You¡¯re the most interesting thing to happen in fucking forever. You¡¯ve got a certain¡­ potential, that I want to see through. That¡¯s why I set up this whole meeting between you and I to begin with.¡± Isla tensed up, shaking her head. ¡°What the hell are you talking about-¡± At once, Levi flung the gun away and lunged forwards. Isla tried to bring up her arms to block, but she was still held fast by the men as Levi clasped her head with both of his hands, holding her head in place as he pressed his forehead into hers. The two of them stared into each other¡¯s eyes as if this moment was frozen in time. Even the men didn¡¯t move a muscle despite the fact that Levi was now unarmed. ¡°I can see it in your eyes.¡± Levi¡¯s eyes were wide open, filled with a maniacal madness, a madness fixated on her. ¡°You can¡¯t hide it from us. There¡¯s a fire in you like no other, a fire that¡¯s only just begun to grow. Don¡¯t listen to him.¡± Levi tapped the side of his head with his index finger. ¡°Why go out of your way to appease them, to satisfy their bullshit, or allow it to continue? Why not just burn it all to the ground, until there¡¯s nothing left? Wouldn''t that be so much easier?" ¡°...You¡¯re crazy,¡± Isla gasped, remembering how to breathe. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I won¡¯t-¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use in restraining yourself every time?¡± Levi pressed further. ¡°You said it yourself. Nothing else will change, and everything will stay the same. Unless the one that changes is you. You can¡¯t keep denying who you truly are anymore.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Just some... food for thought.¡± Levi went back to his pleasant, smiling expression as he pulled away. ¡°Oh, and just so we¡¯re clear, Michael didn¡¯t have anything to do with this. Even though I think it¡¯d be funny if you blamed him, I don¡¯t want him to be even more of a pain in the ass after this.¡± Levi nodded towards the men. ¡°You can do whatever the fuck you¡¯re gonna do now.¡± One of the men lifted the fallen gunman from the pavement, helping him into the van. The others dragged Isla away, but she didn¡¯t resist. She just stared at the pavement as they bound her hands, tied up her feet, and covered her mouth with duct tape. Then, they placed a bag over head, and darkness swallowed her whole. Her time on the run was over. Chapter 9 - The Princess and the Thief As soon as I woke up, I stabbed myself. My eyes slowly opened, and my surroundings told me that I was nowhere near the grocery store- I was in a park, and could hear the sounds of children playing. The events that had occurred slowly came back to me, appearing from my foggy mind. I was slumped up against a tree, and Levi was crouched down in front of me. ¡°Good morning, sunshine!¡± he greeted. ¡°Now, if you glance at your right hand¡­¡± The instant my mind had processed what was in said hand, I used it, stabbing my thigh with the syringe and pushing the plunger. The medicine made its way into my system almost immediately, and Levi looked mildly surprised. ¡°Hm. I guess that¡¯s to be expected. Still¡­¡± His features contorted into his signature twisted expression. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you need me, Michael. I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Slowly, he faded away like a ghost, becoming translucent, then entirely transparent. I gritted my teeth as I clutched my leg. No more hallucinations meant more pain blocking, and while the anesthetic took care of some of it, it still felt like my injured leg was on fire. I pulled out my cell phone to check the time and realized the battery was dead. Go figure, I thought, sighing. I hadn¡¯t charged it last night. The sun was starting to get low on the horizon- it had to be around three or four. With difficulty, I managed to stand up and started to limp home, trying to ignore the feelings eating me up inside. As I made it to the front lawn, I stumbled, faceplanting into the grass. And opted to just lie there, unmoving. Footsteps approached, walking down the front porch. I forced myself to raise my head as much as I could- and found myself staring straight at her. Her arms were crossed, and her familiar features, beautiful no matter how many times I saw them, were displaying an intense expression as her blonde hair was swept to the side by the breeze. The girl closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them to address me. ¡°...Where is Isla, Michael?¡± Sophia Prentice demanded.
Ramona hadn¡¯t wanted Eurielle to come with her to the roof, but she¡¯d firmly insisted on accompanying her, and Ramona couldn¡¯t find it in her to argue. The two girls climbed all the way up to the top together, with Ramona opting to go first. As Eurielle reached the top, Ramona noticed that her head had been so fixated on looking down that she reached up to grab a non-existent rung. Her face was flushed. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Ramona frowned as Eurielle climbed up onto the roof. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes, of course!¡± Eurielle said quickly. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± ¡°Your face is red,¡± Ramona commented in concern. ¡°Are you still sick?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not¡­¡± Her friend shook her head timidly, looking at the floor. ¡°I¡¯m just being stupid. Don¡¯t worry about it, okay? Let¡¯s go talk to Sophia.¡± The rooftop was pretty plain, with only a single entrance provided by a metal door. On the opposite side of the roof, leaning agains the railing, was a girl with long blonde hair flowing down her shoulders. Two thin braids of hair were connected together by a sky blue ribbon and continued down as a single braid. She wore a white blouse and a skirt that matched her ribbon, reaching just below her knees. Her feet wore simple black flats. As the two of them approached, the girl turned to face them, and Ramona lost her breath for a moment. Before Ramona had met Sophia, she¡¯d thought she sounded pretentious from her nickname, the ¡®princess¡¯ of Northeast Academy. She was just another girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth. What was so special about her? But then Michael had brought her home, and at first glance, it had all made sense- her vivid, big blue eyes, her button nose sprinkled with freckles, and a delicate figure. Not to mention, she exuded an air of elegance and charisma that you couldn¡¯t find anywhere else. Even now, as tears rolled down her cheeks and her eyes were red from crying, she was easily the most beautiful girl Ramona had ever- no, would ever see. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning her personality. ¡°Holy shit, did he fumble,¡± Ramona muttered under her breath. Eurielle frowned. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Uh- nothing,¡± Ramona dismissed. Sophia quickly brushed the tears away and straightened her posture. ¡°How in the world did the two of you get up here? Gosh, you jumped to the ladder, didn¡¯t you?¡± Crossing her arms, Sophia put on a stern expression. ¡°I¡¯m certain you understand that performing that jump is incredibly dangerous, Eurielle.¡± Eurielle looked sheepish. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame her. It was my fault,¡± Ramona corrected. ¡°I really needed to talk to you about something.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Sophia frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met before. Are you a friend of Eurielle¡¯s?¡± Eurielle¡¯s confused glance made Ramona tense up. ¡°W-we have,¡± she stammered. ¡°It¡¯s me, Ramona. Uh¡­ you helped me with my math homework when we first met. Remember?¡± It was such a strange way of reminding her, but Ramona didn''t exactly want to say, Hey, you know that guy you really hate? I''m his sister! Realization dawned on Sophia, and her expression immediately brightened. ¡°Oh, my gosh!¡± She ran over and immediately smothered Ramona in a warm hug, pressing her face into her blouse. ¡°I completely forgot you became a freshman this year!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t¡­ breathe¡­¡± Ramona gasped. ¡°Oh!¡± Sophia pulled away, leaving Ramona red in the face. ¡°I apologize. I was just so happy to see you. And surprised- you¡¯ve gotten so pretty! I mean, you were plenty pretty before too, but you¡¯re even prettier now. I barely recognized you.¡± Out of the corner of her eye, Ramona noticed Eurielle pouting slightly. She cleared her throat. ¡°Um, yeah, thanks. Still as short as ever, though.¡± Sophia giggled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll surely have a growth spurt soon. Is your brother¡­¡± She paused momentarily, her expression flickering. ¡°How is Ken doing? And your parents?¡± ¡°They¡¯re fine and stuff. Same as ever.¡± Ramona took a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s catch up later, alright? I really need to talk to you before lunch ends. It¡¯s about Isla.¡± The eyes of the other girls widened in shock at the mention. ¡°You know where she is?¡± Sophia was immediately panicked. ¡°Is she alright?!¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Ramona reassured her. ¡°But there¡¯s a situation that we need your help with.¡± Explaining the circumstances took a few minutes, but once everything was explained, Sophia had solemn expression on her face as she thought everything through. The three of them leaned against the railing, looking out over Northeast¡¯s campus. ¡°I believe I understand.¡± Sophia exhaled shakily. ¡°That explains the reason as to why Isla refrained from contacting my mother or myself. But then, why are you informing me of all this now? Is that not risky?¡± ¡°I was confused about that part as well,¡± Ramona admitted. ¡°But I think¡­ Michael trusts you to keep things as secret as possible. I wanted to call or text you, but he insisted that I talk to you in person, which means¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s a potential risk there, as well.¡± Sophia shook her head. ¡°Lord¡­ if I¡¯m being honest, all of this is quite hard to believe. But there¡¯s no time to waste.¡± The older girl straightened, looking determined. ¡°Let¡¯s head over to your house right away. Eurielle, could you please inform your brother I won¡¯t be able to accompany him today?¡± No answer. Ramona looked past Sophia to observe Eurielle, who was deeply lost in thought, looking upset. ¡°Euri?¡± Ramona prompted. ¡°Earth to Euri, hello?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Eurielle snapped back to reality. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I-I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Ramona reassured her as she pulled away from the railing, intending to head towards the rooftop¡¯s exit. ¡°Just tell your¡­ oh, great.¡± Sophia and Eurielle both turned around to see what Ramona was looking at- a freshman on crutches and a bandaged leg, wearing a black leather jacket and a red T-shirt. Behind him was a group of burly students staring them down. ¡°Sorry, ladies.¡± Vincent flashed a vicious yellowed grin. ¡°Can¡¯t have you leaving so soon.¡±
After school, Jacob headed straight to the mall, planning to put Quentin¡¯s advice to full use. He browsed the shops, looking for something he thought would sentimentally symbolize their relationship, but after looking at all sorts of gifts, he didn¡¯t feel quite satisfied with any of them, and a feeling of defeat slowly built up in him as he reached the final shop of the mall. It was a small shop, tucked away in the corner selling all sorts of things. He lazily glanced the items in the window up and down- and then he saw it. Exactly the kind of thing that Quentin had suggested and that Quinn would love. He rushed into the store and ran around, looking for it. It had aisles upon aisles of odd trinkets, none of which he was interested in except¡­ ¡°Excuse me?¡± Jacob asked the shopkeeper, ecstatic. ¡°Where can I find that?¡± He pointed directly to his right at what he was aiming to purchase- an adorable fox plushie, completely with black eyes and whiskers. The shopkeeper, a muscular bald dude with arms covered in tattoos, snorted as he looked up from his phone. ¡°Sorry, kid, not for sale.¡± ¡°Wha- then why¡¯s it in the window, then?¡± Jacob questioned, confused. The shopkeeper didn¡¯t bother to answer and went straight back to his phone. ¡°Uh, hello?¡± ¡°I said, not. For. Sale.¡± ¡°Do you have anything similar at least? Or could I buy the display one?¡± The shopkeeper gave a hefty sigh, reached over towards the display window, and grasped a cardboard sign besides the fox, turning it to face Jacob. The sign read: Exclusive plushie- requires a special voucher. There wasn¡¯t even a price listed. Jacob squinted to see if maybe there was any sort of fine print or further information, but that was it. ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s not for sale,¡± the shopkeeper reinforced. ¡°So buy something else, or do me a favour and buzz off.¡± ¡°Special voucher¡­huh.¡± Jacob anxiously drummed his fingers on the countertop. He could begin to feel the ¡®itch¡¯ growing and growing, and that wasn¡¯t good. ¡°What if I offered to pay you extra for it?¡± He¡¯d have to resign himself to skipping a few lunches here and there, but he¡¯d manage. ¡°Ha!¡± The shopkeeper gave a mocking smile at the suggestion. ¡°Sure, bud. One thousand dollars, no more, no less. That good with you?¡± ¡°One thou-¡± Jacob¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Very serious.¡± The shopkeeper leaned forwards, grabbing Jacob by the collar. ¡°So either pay up front, or get the fuck out of my store.¡± Jacob pulled away, swallowing hard. ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± As he left the store, he glanced around at different places on the ceiling, then paid closer attention to the entrance as he made his way through it, passing by a few customers entering the store. He watched as those exact same customers went up to the shopkeeper and handed him a small slip of paper. The shopkeeper examined it thoroughly, then went to the back of store, a fox plushie in hand, and handed to the customers. Jacob couldn¡¯t help but give them a spiteful look as they left the store with the plushie in their arms. The itch in his hands was unbearable. No, I can¡¯t, Jacob thought, trying to reason with himself. This is Quinn¡¯s birthday gift we¡¯re talking about. It can¡¯t be something I stole. But it was perfect! Both cute, high quality, and had a lot of sentimental value. Quinn was sure to love it. And the store had absolutely no security measures- no scanner, and not a single security camera. It would be incredibly easy to just take it from the storage area that he¡¯d spotted at the back of the store¡­ No! Jacob chided himself, walking away. Bad! You made a promise. It wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t just find another, similar plushie at another store without an asshole working at the front the desk. Yeah, that¡¯s exactly what he should do. He would go and buy a plushie just like it, somewhere else. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Not even three minutes later, as soon as the shopkeeper was distracted with a few customers that weren¡¯t carrying a voucher, Jacob found himself at the back, jamming a lockpick into the keyhole of the storage area¡¯s door. Thankfully, the shopkeeper hadn¡¯t invested in a Futurebound lock, so it only took a few seconds for the door to be opened. ¡°I hate myself,¡± Jacob muttered under his breath as he entered the storage room. It was full of shelves packed with miscellaneous goods, which Jacob thoroughly scanned for signs of the plushie. Eventually, tucked towards the back corner of the store, he stumbled upon a lone wooden crate with the lid partially off, labeled ¡®Fox¡¯. Gingerly, he lifted the lid off the crate and peered inside. It was stuffed with fox plushies. ¡°Jackpot.¡± He reached inside and grabbed a plushie, but as soon as he grasped one, he heard the sound of someone fumbling with the storage room¡¯s door. The shopkeeper entered the storage room, yawning as he walked towards the crate. The sound of his phone buzzing made him visibly recoil. ¡°Yes, sir?... That big of a shipment? It¡¯s way too sudden¡­ Is it because of that¡­ situation? Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean¡­ I¡¯m sorry, sir. Let them know I¡¯ll be ready.¡± He ended the call and sighed heavily, slipping the phone back into my pocket as he approached the crate. ¡°Hm¡­¡± The lid was off way more than he¡¯d left it. The shopkeeper glanced around, then reached into the depths of his pocket and pulled out a small snub-nosed revolver. With his other hand, he reached towards the lid of the crate¡­ and yanked it off, brandishing his weapon towards the inside of it. Nothing was inside the crate except the plushies themselves. He glanced around briefly, then scratched the back of his head and placed the lid back on top of the crate. Click! A metallic sound was produced from the door behind him. Whipping around, pistol aimed, he waited briefly¡­ and then nothing. ¡°Shit¡­¡± The shopkeeper sighed again. ¡°Better get ready for that shipment.¡±
Ramona knew who Vincent was from the moment he saw him. Up against rough odds, with two people she had to keep safe, most people would be angry, anxious, or scared. But as she remembered all the times Michael would come home bruised or scarred, reminding her not to get involved, she couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing. Eurielle looked at her incredulously. ¡°Uh, Ramona?¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± Ramona couldn¡¯t get the smile off her face as she stepped forwards. ¡°I¡¯m just glad that it came to this.¡± She raised her fists, entering a fighting stance. ¡°I¡¯ve finally got an excuse to knock out those nasty ass teeth.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree more.¡± Vincent brandished a small pocketknife. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see the look on that fucker¡¯s face when he sees you all cut up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty confident for someone on crutches,¡± Ramona commented. ¡°Plan on hiding behind your bitches this whole time?¡± ¡°Eurielle.¡± From behind her, Sophia spoke, sounding entirely calm and collected. ¡°Call campus security and the principal immediately. Tell them to come to the roof from the student council office. Ramona, please protect her.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ramona protested as Sophia brushed past her. ¡°That¡¯s bull-¡± ¡°Do as I say. You must prioritize her safety.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°What¡¯s more important to you?¡± Sophia queried. ¡°Eurielle, or your revenge?¡± Ramona opened her mouth to speak, then took a deep breath and grabbed Eurielle¡¯s hand, taking her back towards the railing. While it technically was more dangerous, it would be easier for Ramona to play defense if she only had to focus on what was in front of her. She watched as Sophia took a step forward, her hands held together in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m well aware of who you all work for,¡± she began, addressing them all. ¡°And I understand why you¡¯re trying to stop us. But carefully consider your course of action. You¡¯ll likely be expelled when campus security arrives.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Vincent snorted in laughter. ¡°I guess we¡¯d better make this quick, huh?¡± ¡°Not only that,¡± Sophia continued. ¡°My mother will be incredibly displeased. She tends to take matters quite seriously when it comes to my safety. She¡¯ll likely push this case for you all to be tried for adults on attempted murder, considering you¡¯re wielding lethal weapons.¡± Hesitancy spread amongst Vincent¡¯s group as they exchanged glances. Vincent himself, however, wasn¡¯t shaken at all. ¡°Did you forget who we¡¯re working for, you idiots?¡± Vincent snapped. ¡°You think expulsion or jail is anything compared to crossing Mad Dog?¡± ¡°...Mad Dog, is it?¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Did he directly order you to do this, Vincent? Or was this of your own initiative?¡± ¡°The hell are you saying, ¡®princess¡¯?¡± he snarled. ¡°Nothing in particular.¡± Sophia shrugged. ¡°But you know, I¡¯m quite familiar with people who love to boast and throw around names. When in reality, well¡­¡± Sophia gave a mock smile. ¡°You just happened to remind me of those sorts of people.¡± Ramona was genuinely impressed. In a matter of seconds, she¡¯d planted and grown a seed of doubt in Vincent¡¯s group. Another wave of hesitancy rippled through the boys, and one of them even crossed his arms in confrontation. ¡°She raises a good point, Vincent.¡± The older boy, a foot taller than Vincent, stepped forward. ¡°As far as I know, you¡¯re not even working under Mad Dog anymore. Who the hell gave you approval for this?¡± ¡°Approval?¡± Vincent whipped around and grabbed the boy by the collar, glaring into his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t need approval. You follow what I say, when I say it. That¡¯s all.¡± The upperclassman smacked Vincent¡¯s arm away. ¡°Fuck that. I¡¯m not your mutt.¡± He began to walk away, and three others followed him, cutting the group down to five total. ¡°Whatever,¡± Vincent muttered. ¡°We can make do with this many.¡± The remaining boys nodded, choosing to stay loyal to their leader as they readied themselves to attack, advancing forwards. ¡°Don¡¯t do this,¡± Sophia warned. ¡°It isn¡¯t too late to correct your decision.¡± The freshman flashed a yellow toothed grin as he raised his knife, stepping forwards on a single crutch. ¡°Yeah? What exactly do you plan to do, pacifist? Talk us to death?¡± Ramona gritted her teeth and took a step forward, getting ready to intervene, when Eurielle grabbed her sleeve, pulling her back as she shook her head. ¡°She¡¯ll be okay.¡± ¡°But¡­ her promise-¡± ¡°Have faith,¡± Sophia reassured her, straightening her posture. Her hand drifted up towards the ribbon in her hair. The boys rushed forwards, weapons raised.
Crunch! ¡°Ow!¡± The glass pieces and pickled contents of the shattered jar fell straight into the kitchen sink as Quinn sucked in air, blood dripping from the cuts on the hand that had been holding the jar. She cautiously began picking out the pieces of glass still stuck to her hand. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Gah!¡± Quinn nearly jumped out of her skin from the voice that had appeared to her right- Jacob, still wearing his school bag. ¡°I told you to stop doing that! Is it really so hard to come in through the front door, loudly?¡± He scratched the back of his head. ¡°Sorry.¡± While taking his bag off his back, he glanced at the massive sandwich that Quinn had been making for lunch, multiple layers tall and stuffed with meat, vegetables, and sauces. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be way easier to eat if you just made multiple smaller sandwiches?¡± ¡°It looks more filling that way,¡± Quinn rationalized, feeling a little embarrassed. ¡°So I don¡¯t feel the urge to start snacking later.¡± Jacob frowned. ¡°I guess that makes sense? Anyways, lemme look at your hand.¡± After applying disinfectant and band-aids to her hand, the two kids sat at a coffee table while Quinn chowed down on her sandwich. Jacob began drumming his fingers on the tabletop, and alongside the sandwich, a feeling of anticipation was filling up in her. She gulped down the last bite and glanced over at him, waiting. ¡°So¡­¡± Jacob¡¯s drumming sped up a bit on the table. ¡°D- How was your day?¡± ¡°Pretty good. Almost all of my friends wished me happy birthday and stuff. Gave me presents.¡± She gestured to a pile of wrapped gifts on the floor nearby. ¡°One of them even got me a chocolate cake! It was pretty awkward eating it all by myself, though.¡± ¡°I¡­ I see. Um¡­ so¡­ um¡­¡± Quinn glanced towards Jacob¡¯s backpack. ¡°So?¡± she prompted. With startling speed, Jacob snatched up his backpack, unzipped it, and took out something orange and black, presenting it to her with outstretched arms. Looking away, he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s not wrapped or anything.¡± Carefully, Quinn took the gift out of his hands- an adorable fox plushie with black beady eyes. She stared at it for a few seconds, her brows furrowed. ¡°A fox?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!¡± Jacob stammered, looking at the floor. ¡°I just saw it and thought, you know, it reminded me of when we first met and we saw those foxes, and I saw it in a shop window and I thought you¡¯d like it, and¡­¡± He glanced up at Quinn and faltered. She was looking at the plushie with a soft expression on her face, one he¡¯d never seen before. ¡°I love it.¡± Quinn smiled, squeezing the plushie. ¡°Thanks, Jacob.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Jacob let out a small sigh of relief. ¡°Glad you like it.¡± ¡°Wait, did you put something inside, as well?¡± She felt around the plushie¡¯s stomach gingerly. There was definitely something inside there, something firm. ¡°Sorry, was I supposed to find out later?¡± ¡°What?¡± Jacob looked perplexed. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not just plastic or something?¡± Quinn shook her head. ¡°No, there¡¯s definitely something in here¡­¡± Flipping the plushie around, she observed the back until she found a small zipper hidden underneath a flap of fabric. ¡°Huh.¡± Unzipping it, she reached inside the plushie. Jacob flinched. ¡°W-wait, Quinn-¡± She felt soft plastic. Grasping it, she pulled it out- a small plastic bag, filled to the brim with a white powder. A white label attached to it had the words ¡®Batch 75¡¯ written on it, along with the weight in grams and a hefty price. Both kids immediately turned pale. ¡°...Jacob.¡± Quinn took a shaky breath. ¡°Where the hell did you get this?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Jacob swallowed nervously. ¡°A bakery?¡±
Sophia didn¡¯t want to fight. Vincent seemed convinced that if Sophia got to Isla, the Demons would never be able to touch her again. And he wouldn¡¯t be wrong. Even with the other factors Ramona had mentioned, she¡¯d never give her best friend up to them. Not while she was still breathing. Regardless, she still had a promise to keep to that old man. Which definitely made things a little bit complicated if she wanted to keep breathing in this situation. As the attackers lunged forwards, Sophia pulled the ribbon out of her hair and braced herself. Sidestepping carefully to avoid the first attacker¡¯s grab, she stuck out her foot and tripped him, making sure to grab the back of his shirt so instead of slamming into the ground, he fell onto his hands and knees. Another boy slashed with his knife, cutting off a strand of her hair as she yanked her head backwards. ¡°Better take this seriously,¡± the attacker growled. ¡°I assure you, I am,¡± Sophia replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the other two attackers headed towards Ramona and Eurielle, though she wasn¡¯t worried. He would have taught her to fight¡­ Don¡¯t get distracted, Sophia scolded herself. They were circling to her sides, looking to pincer her from the left and right. As they rushed forwards, Sophia decided to head to her left, towards the attacker she¡¯d tripped. The attacker went for a low stab, but with speed and precision, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him forwards. Losing his balance, he slammed into the other attacker, and as both attackers fell, Sophia didn¡¯t miss her chance. In seconds, one of the attackers had their hands tied behind their back. When the kick came towards her jaw, Sophia barely dodged it, stumbling backwards as she felt the air move. The second attacker then jumped on top of her, pinning her wrists to the ground with his hand, his body weight on top of her waist. ¡°What now, pacifist?¡± he taunted. Her legs were still free. She leaned back into the floor and hooked her legs under his armpits with a flexibility only a gymnast could have. Pushing back against him with her legs, core, and arms, she managed to reverse the situation and slam his back into the ground, stunning him. Reaching into the pocket of her skirt, she produced another ribbon, taking advantage of his temporarily incapacitated state to restrain his hands. ¡°Phew,¡± Sophia exhaled, rising to her feet and stepping away. The two attackers struggled to break free of their ribbons, but it would be next to impossible without their knives, which Sophia scooped up calmly and stuck in her pocket. She looked to her right towards Ramona and Eurielle, but the fight was basically over. Ramona began sprinting, and at first Sophia thought it was towards her, until she ran straight past- towards Vincent, who was hobbling away on his single crutch as fast as he could. Ramona yanked the crutch away from him and he immediately fell to the ground with a yelp. Rearing back the crutch like a baseball bat, Ramona sneered. ¡°Batter up!¡± Vincent shrieked, but before she could put her full force into the swing, Sophia grabbed the crutch and held it firm. ¡°Enough, Ramona.¡± The younger girl was in utter disbelief. ¡°You can¡¯t be seri- he just jumped us!¡± ¡°For if you forgive other people when they sin against you¡­¡± Sophia pulled the crutch away from her and dropped it to the floor. ¡°Your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.¡± Ramona gritted her teeth. ¡°...Fine, whatever.¡± She glanced back towards Eurielle, who was walking up. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Eurielle nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but Sophia, you¡¯re not hurt anywhere at all? They had knives.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m unharmed.¡± Sophia exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m only missing a lock of hair.¡± She glanced at Ramona, who was eyeing her closely. ¡°Is¡­ something the matter?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t actually hit any of them, huh?¡± Ramona realized. ¡°You even tied them up.¡± ¡°I did not,¡± Sophia confirmed. ¡°I¡¯m strictly opposed to violence, you know that.¡± ¡°Can you teach me how to fight like that?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Vincent laughed from where he sat on the ground. ¡°You want to know something stupid as that? Are you fucking serious? All that¡¯s going to do is get you killed.¡± ¡°I mean, it seemed to work just fine against you all,¡± Eurielle pointed out. Vincent gritted his teeth, struggling to get up. ¡°You-¡± The door to the rooftop slammed open, and multiple campus security guards all burst through the opening, running over. Behind them trailed the principal, a plump, balding man in a suit with a stern expression on his face. ¡°I would be more concerned about yourself now.¡± Sophia loomed over the Demon, coldly staring down at him. ¡°It¡¯s time to face the consequences for your actions, Vincent. And I promise that they¡¯re going to be severe. I¡¯ll cross my heart on it.¡± ¡°...Tch.¡± Vincent looked away. ¡°Like I give a fuck.¡± ¡°Miss Prentice.¡± The principal rushed over as a campus guard grabbed Vincent and hauled him off with the others. ¡°Are you all okay? Are you hurt anywhere?¡± ¡°Principal Caldera.¡± Sophia removed the knives from her pocket and handed them over to him. ¡°These belong to the students that I restrained with ribbons. They used them to attack us.¡± The principal glanced back at Vincent and the other boys for a few seconds, then turned back to Sophia and shook his head. ¡°I absolutely can¡¯t believe this. I don¡¯t even have the words. I promise I¡¯ll do my best to punish them accordingly.¡± ¡°Do your best?¡± Ramona muttered under her breath. ¡°Please do, principal,¡± Sophia said quickly. ¡°I may contact my mother to consider pressing charges as well, but as for right now, Ramona and I urgently have somewhere I need to be, so we¡¯ll be taking our leave.¡± ¡°Wha- absolutely not, young lady,¡± the principal refused. ¡°We need to discuss this incident in detail. All three of you will be coming to the office.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t necessary!¡± Eurielle protested. ¡°I can tell you exactly what happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but rules are rules,¡± the principal declined. ¡°I need all three of your perspectives on this matter, and there will not be any exceptions.¡± The principal looked to Sophia. ¡°You¡¯re the face of this school and the vice president of the student council. You have a responsibility to see this incident through properly, no matter how long it takes.¡± ¡°Hey, she said it¡¯s urgent, didn¡¯t she?¡± Ramona tried. ¡°As a principal, you have to be understanding of student¡¯s private¡­ stuff.¡± The principal¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°More important than a violent armed assault? Don''t worry. I''ll get you all excused from your classes. Figuring out what''s going on here is what''s most important.¡± The girls all exchanged looks with each other, then turned back to the principal. Ramona sighed in exasperation and Eurielle twirled a strand of her around her finger anxiously. Sophia clenched her fist tightly for a few seconds, then released it, looking directly at the principal. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely correct, sir.¡± The princess of Northeast Academy flashed a friendly smile. ¡°We¡¯ll do our best¡­ so we can get to the bottom of this whole situation.¡± Chapter 10 - A Dead Fish The silence was deafening. After being helped inside, I had to explain what exactly had happened to Isla at the grocery store. Omitting the parts that I couldn¡¯t explain to Sophia, of course, but Mom, who eyed me from the kitchen table, knew that something was up. When she gave me a meaningful look, I nodded my head slightly side to side- not now. I ended up having to blame the whole Levi situation on the pain from my leg wound, which I revealed to be from a gunshot. After the room had fallen silent for a while, processing the dire situation, Mom glared at me. ¡°...A slash wound, huh?¡± I looked away. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡± ¡°Well, clearly it was!¡± Ramona yelled. ¡°All your dumb ass had to do was keep her here or keep her safe, and you couldn¡¯t manage either.¡± ¡°Oh really? Was that all I had to do? Sorry, I totally didn¡¯t realize,¡± I responded sarcastically. ¡°I¡¯ll do better next time.¡± Ramona opened her mouth to retort, but Mom shut her down. ¡°Enough, Ramona. Take Ken upstairs, okay?¡± Ramona turned to look behind her at Ken, who was anxiously peeking out from the entrance of the kitchen, watching us closely. She gritted her teeth, shot me one last glare, then stomped off, taking Ken¡¯s hand and leading him towards the stairs. I¡¯d been refraining from looking at Sophia, who was sitting on the other couch. As I examined the floorboards, I heard the tap! of Sophia¡¯s fingernail on her phone screen. ¡°My mother and the station appear to be ignoring my calls.¡± ¡°Goddammit, Rachel,¡± Mom muttered under her breath. ¡°Why now?¡± Sophia exhaled shakily. ¡°It may be my own fault. I was contacting her frequently for updates.¡± She stood up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to impose, but could you please drive me to the nearest police station, Dr. Collins?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± she agreed. I heard the sound of approaching footsteps, but I didn¡¯t look up. ¡°As for you¡­¡± I heard Sophia take a quiet but shaky breath. ¡°As much as I despise you, I would¡­ greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter. You¡¯re intelligent and capable. I¡¯m certain you could help narrow down the possible places in the city Isla could have been taken by her father. At the very least, you could help us search.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Michael?¡± Mom prompted, her eyes narrowed. I matched Sophia¡¯s stern expression with an apathetic one. ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°Need I remind you that this entire situation is a result of your own lapse in judgement?¡± ¡°Lapse in judgement¡­ huh.¡± I laughed bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk.¡± ¡°Pardon me?¡± ¡°Look, I have zero reason to help you. None. Maybe you¡¯re used to everyone bowing down and doing whatever you want at a moment¡¯s notice, but I¡¯m not one of your slaves.¡± I tapped my injured leg. ¡°I already stuck out my neck yesterday to save Isla. Not again. I don¡¯t care. And you¡¯re not going with her either, Ramona.¡± I raised my voice, looking towards the entrance of the kitchen. I hadn¡¯t been certain that she¡¯d been listening in without my sixth sense, but I had only heard one set of steps heading upstairs. A few seconds later, my sister stuck her head into the kitchen, a foul expression on her face. ¡°You don¡¯t care?¡± Ramona retorted. ¡°After spending all night together in your room? I couldn¡¯t sleep because of how loud you two were.¡± Mom blinked, then stifled a laugh as Sophia whipped her head away from Ramona to face me, looking appalled. ¡°Y-you two were-¡± ¡°We were just talking,¡± I clarified with a sigh. ¡°It was nothing like what you¡¯re thinking of, you weirdo.¡± Sophia reddened. ¡°Good! Because there¡¯s no freaking way I¡¯d ever let someone like you¡­¡± She paused, regaining her composure, then cleared her throat, speaking with a formal tone once more. ¡°You are absolutely not suited to be her partner, in any shape or form.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± I said plainly. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get along just fine without my help. So get going. She doesn¡¯t have much time- assuming her dad hasn¡¯t already thrown her body in a roadside ditch.¡± The possibility made Sophia flinch, her eyes turning watery. ¡°Michael!¡± Mom snapped. ¡°What the hell?! Apologize to her!¡± I looked away. ¡°Don¡¯t think I said anything wrong.¡± Ramona stomped forwards and took Sophia¡¯s arm. ¡°Forget my dumbass brother. We¡¯ll find Isla together.¡± ¡°Did you think I was kidding earlier?¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not going, Ramona, no matter what. It¡¯s too dangerous. These are the Demons we¡¯re talking about.¡± Ramona looked to Mom for support, but she just sighed. ¡°...Your brother¡¯s right, sweetie. You¡¯re not involving yourself with this, and honestly, neither should you, Sophia.¡± She walked up and placed a hand on Sophia¡¯s trembling shoulder. ¡°You need to consider your own safety and position, as well. Once you¡¯ve informed them of the situation, please leave it to your mom and the police. They¡¯ll find her.¡± ¡°...Very well.¡± The Commissioner¡¯s daughter took a deep breath, straightening her posture. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± As the three of them left the kitchen, Ramona gave me a look of disdain, which I easily shrugged off. I was used to seeing that expression every once in a while, given her personality But Sophia¡­ the look she gave me as she left the kitchen was only visible for a second at most, yet it left a lasting impact. I felt my stomach twist into knots as I recognized that look from last year- that mixed look of betrayal and disgust after the incident. I flopped back against the backrest of the sofa as I heard the front door slam shut. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. So much for getting my head out of the past.
¡°You¡¯re sure this is the one?¡± Quinn whispered. The two kids stood in the pitch black darkness of the mall, illuminating the front of the fox store with their cell phone flashlights. It was 10 pm, well past the mall¡¯s closing time, and the silence of the abandoned shopping complex was both eerie and worrying to Jacob. If they made any sort of noise, security guards were sure to come running. ¡°I¡¯m sure, but¡­¡± Jacob shone the light through the display window. ¡°The display fox is gone for some reason. It was right here earlier.¡± Quinn bit her lip. ¡°Oh, so we might end up with multiple charges of attempted theft instead of just one, amazing. Assuming we don¡¯t get killed by these people for stealing their drugs.¡± ¡°I said I was sorry, okay?¡± Jacob grumbled. ¡°And you didn¡¯t have to come along.¡± ¡°Sorry isn¡¯t good enough this time. And, God¡­ what if it¡¯s them, Jacob?¡± ¡°Everything will be fine,¡± he reassured her, sticking his lockpicks into the store¡¯s front door. ¡°No matter who it is, if we leave it where I got it from, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± ¡°That¡¯s assuming that tracker chip didn¡¯t tag my house!¡± After digging around the plushie some more, they had found a small circuit board with an antenna attached to it, which Quinn had immediately covered in aluminum foil to block it from transmitting or receiving any sort of signal from its owner. ¡°You wanna quiet down?¡± Jacob hissed. ¡°I think I hear footsteps.¡± ¡°What?¡± Quinn focused, frowning. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± Her eyes widened as the footsteps became audible to her, as well. ¡°Oh god, hurry up!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying¡­¡± Jacob gritted his teeth. ¡°Shit, I lost the pin!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time!¡± Quinn grabbed his shirt and yanked him aside, with Jacob falling to the floor from the incredible force. With a grip on the metal frame of the display window, Quinn pushed against the area where the door¡¯s locking mechanism was with tremendous force. The lock broke with a snap! The footsteps became faster and louder. Whoever they were wouldn¡¯t be a mystery in a few seconds. Jacob leaped to his feet and yanked Quinn inside the store, then closed the door behind him. He then wrapped an arm around Quinn¡¯s waist and brought them both into a sitting position, directly under the door. Don¡¯t look at the lock, Jacob thought pleadingly. A bright white light swept through the store from outside. Then, a grunt and a click as the flashlight was switched off, and the footsteps of the person, likely a security guard, faded away. ¡°Way too close,¡± Jacob breathed. Leaning back into his chest, Quinn let out a sigh of relief as she examined the shelves of the store. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of weird stuff here, huh?¡± ¡°Want me to pick out a new present?¡± he offered, hoping she couldn¡¯t feel his heartbeat. ¡°With your track record?¡± She gently removed his arm from her waist and rose. ¡°Definitely doesn¡¯t look like a drug den, but¡­¡± The discomfort on her face was apparent. Jacob to his feet as well. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s just get out of here as soon as possible.¡± Once Jacob picked open the storage room¡¯s lock, he took a quick glance inside, then opened the door for Quinn to enter while looking back towards the storefront. He kept looking back as he stepped through the doorway, and ended up bumping into his crush. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You said you got it from a wooden crate, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, why?¡­ Oh, fuck.¡± Unlike before, where there been a plethora of cardboard boxes and plastic wrapped objects on the shelves, the storage room was stockpiled with a gazillion wooden crates, all carelessly placed around the storage room and on shelves. It was as if the fox crate had duplicated itself a million times over. ¡°Okay, w-well¡­¡± Jacob tried to stay calm. ¡°It¡¯s fine. The original crate was somewhere over here in the corner.¡± They navigated through the maze of crates carefully, making their way towards the original corner where the fox crate was. Quinn glanced around as Jacob reached into his bag and took out the fox, examining it for a few seconds.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Bye, buddy.¡± He removed the lid of the wooden crate- and his jaw dropped. ¡°Holy...¡± The crate wasn¡¯t full of foxes like it had been before. Instead, it was full of an absolute arsenal of weapons: assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and some beige packages with wires that looked like plastic explosives. There were also pairs of gas masks and what Jacob guessed were night vision goggles. He checked the next crate over and discovered boxes upon boxes of ammunition of various calibers. Despite the sickening feeling growing in his stomach, the itch in his hands was growing. He wanted to take it all, despite not knowing what he was going to do with the weapons. He just knew that these people couldn¡¯t have it. ¡°Jacob?¡± Quinn¡¯s voice was small. ¡°Can¡­ can you come here?¡± Worried by her intonation, he instantly moved towards the sound of her voice, and found her hovering over another crate that she¡¯d opened, labeled SUITS. Inside the crate were neatly folded, plastic wrapped suits stacked on top of each other, paired with a blood red shirt and a black tie inside, ready to go. Oh. Jacob thought. That¡¯s great. ¡°It¡¯s them,¡± Quinn whispered, trembling. ¡°We walked right into Demon territory.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Jacob urged. ¡°We¡¯ll call the police on the way out.¡± ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± She whipped around, looked freaked out. ¡°No! We¡¯re leaving the fox, and we¡¯re going home. That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°You wanna just leave these guys to have all of this stuff?¡± he hissed back. ¡°Think about all the crazy shit they could do-¡± ¡°That has nothing to do with us,¡± she retorted. ¡°Leave the fox¡­ somewhere, and then we are going home, okay?¡± ¡°We¡¯re talking about possibly saving hundreds of people here.¡± ¡°At the risk of getting stabbed in our sleep!¡± ¡°Not sure I¡¯ll be able to sleep well knowing all this shit-¡± Jacob gestured to the crates around them. ¡°...is going out there because we were too scared to give an anonymous tip. That¡¯s exactly what they want, Quinn. They want us to be too afraid to call them out on whatever shit they¡¯re up to.¡± ¡°You are just¡­¡± Quinn pulled on her hair. ¡°Ugh! I can¡¯t believe I-¡± The sound of creaking metal from the other side of the storage room caused both kids to jump. Moonlight began illuminating the room, and Jacob instantly turned off his cell phone flashlight, with Quinn following soon after. The silhouettes of three people- two men and a woman- became visible on the wall, pistols in hand. ¡°You¡¯re sure it¡¯s not a false alarm again?¡± one of the men asked. ¡°False alarm?¡± the woman asked. The third person, whom Jacob recognized as the shopkeeper by his voice, sighed. ¡°Look, brother, I ain¡¯t sayin¡¯ it¡¯s not a false alarm. I¡¯m just sayin¡¯ that the silent alarm went off, so search the place first, then grab the goods Mad Dog wanted. Jus¡¯in case some dumbass actually did bust in here.¡± Jacob could tell by the look in her eyes that Quinn was panicking. He brought a finger to his lips and mouthed, Follow exactly what I do. She nodded slowly. Listening carefully for the positions of the Demons, he sneaked up to a set of shelves and waited. On the opposite side of the shelves, the shopkeeper was approaching fast, likely headed towards the corner where he¡¯d heard Jacob earlier in the day. Just as the shopkeeper pushed past them, the two kids pressed on forward. Straight up ahead of them, though, was the footsteps of the second man. Jacob ducked into an aisle of shelves before the Demon¡¯s flashlight could expose them. On the bottom shelf, a small gap was available between the crates. Jacob waited patiently as the Demon shone the flashlight through each aisle. After he had finished checking the aisle ahead of them, Jacob pushed Quinn through the gap, then followed after her immediately, narrowly avoiding the beam of white that illuminated the spot he¡¯d just been in. The moonlight was just ahead. He¡¯d been planning to sneak them out through the receiving door- a much easier and inconspicuous exit then trying to leave through the storefront door. After all, no one ever double checks the place they came from. But a sinking feeling grew in his stomach as he realized the moonlight was growing dimmer. Then, a slam! as the receiving door hit the concrete. ¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t you dunces just turn on the light?¡± the woman¡¯s voice called out. Flick! Suddenly, the entire storage room was illuminated. While it wasn¡¯t that bright in actuality, Jacob blinked furiously to try and get his eyes to adjust after being in darkness. There goes the advantage, he thought, gritting his teeth. He began scanning the shelves, looking for an easy way up; while Jacob could scale to the top shelf easily, Quinn wasn¡¯t as experienced of a climber. He spotted a way up and pointed a finger up, signaling to they should get ready to climb. Then, at that exact moment, a loud growling sound rang out near him, and he froze in place. Quinn froze as well, and from how the footsteps of the Demons went silent, he could tell they had stopped in place, too. Because they¡¯d heard it as well- the sound of Quinn¡¯s stomach growling like a feral beast. No fucking way. ¡°Was that one of you?¡± the woman asked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me,¡± the shopkeeper confirmed. ¡°Not me either,¡± the third Demon added. There was no longer any time to scale the shelf without being seen. They only had seconds before they were surrounded on all sides by the three Demons, and while Jacob could likely escape by himself, he¡¯d have to leave Quinn behind- but like hell he¡¯d do that. ¡°What do we do?¡± Quinn whispered fearfully, shaking him by the shoulder. That only left fighting or making a break for it¡­ but the odds of them getting shot¡­ maybe they could talk their way out of it? Work out some sort of deal¡­ ¡°Jacob!¡± As the footsteps closed in on their positions, Jacob made his choice.
I hadn¡¯t been to the treehouse since the incident in spring. Despite being pretty large for a treehouse, it was well hidden in Bronwynn Forest, in an area populated by dense foliage. It was close to the main road but far from any of the popular trails, making it the perfect place to run away from whatever I wanted to. It had a serene, soothing presence, just like its former owner had. As fast as my leg would allow me, I scurried up the wooden planks nailed into the trunk of the tree, reaching the trapdoor leading into the treehouse. Carefully, I hooked my arm through the handle of the trapdoor to steady myself while I fished a key out of my pocket, jamming it into the old heavy-duty padlock. A click informed me to take off the padlock and stick it in my pocket. I pushed up against the trapdoor with one hand and climbed into it. It was untouched, with a light layer of dust present on the twin size bed and nightstand tucked in a corner. A small desk and chair sat not too far away from it. I¡¯d considered moving Isla here instead of giving her to Sophia, but that wouldn¡¯t be a permanent solution, unless I planned on dropping food and water here daily for the rest of my life. Plus, it would get too cold to stay here once winter set in. I brushed some desk off the chair and took a seat. Opening the top drawer of the desk, I reached inside and ran my fingers along the top until I felt cool metal. I removed the object and tore off the tape, examining it- a necklace that consisted of a chain connected to a silver pair of angel¡¯s wings. Rubbing the wings with my thumb was an old habit of mine- no, mine wasn¡¯t really correct. I¡¯d learned it a long time ago¡­ I was under the lingering effects of the antipsychotic, which is why I didn¡¯t feel uneasy until it was way too late. I dropped the necklace onto the desk and stood up in my chair, but a voice behind me cautioned, ¡°City Police. Slowly raise your hands in the air and turn around. You¡¯re under arrest.¡± Following his instructions, I took a deep breath. ¡°On what charges, officer?¡± ¡°Do as I say!¡± His accent was thick- Indian. ¡°Where¡¯s the girl?¡± I frowned. ¡°You¡¯re looking for Isla here?¡± From the creaking floorboards, I knew he was advancing forwards. ¡°Her father has her. Didn¡¯t Soph-¡± An audible click! from the officer¡¯s gun informed me that he¡¯d pulled back the hammer of his pistol, and I reacted off instinct. Slamming my body onto my desk, I kicked my chair backwards towards the officer. A bullet whizzed above my head as the chair slammed into him, and I pushed off the desk and lunged towards the officer, who had knocked the chair away. He was fairly strong, but I¡¯d handled way worse. I grabbed the barrel of the pistol and pressed the magazine eject button with my ring finger. The magazine slammed into the floor as we wrestled for control of the gun. He raised his leg to kick, but I sidestepped, kicked him in the crotch, then slammed my fist into his throat. Underhanded, but a devastating combo. As he fell on one knee, gasping, I yanked the gun out of his grip and circled behind him, wrapping an arm around his neck. Down below us, I heard the stomping of boots on the tree¡¯s ladder. ¡°H-hold on a sec,¡± the officer gasped. He wore a turban on his head and a scruffy beard on his face. ¡°You¡¯re not one of-¡± Pushing the pistol into his spine, I yanked him to his feet and spun him around to use as a body shield against my next opponent. She recognized me instantly, and so did I- she was the spitting image of her daughter, minus the scar on her face and the stern expression. ¡°...Michael.¡± Commissioner Prentice gawked at the situation, her gun aimed at me. The officer in my arm was bewildered. ¡°Michael?¡± ¡°Michael!¡± I joined in with an affirmative tone. ¡°Wanna explain why you guys are apparently here to kill me?¡± She frowned. ¡°This is a misunderstanding. Please release Lieutenant Singh and allow me to explain. I¡¯d rather not have to explain to your mom why I had to shoot you.¡± ¡°Would be the second one this week.¡± I removed my arm from Singh¡¯s neck, flicked on the safety, then offered back his pistol. ¡°Sorry that I kicked you in the balls.¡± ¡°Not forgiven,¡± he groaned, slowly taking the gun. ¡°Madarchod, I can¡¯t feel anything down there.¡± The Commissioner holstered her pistol. ¡°Walk it off, Lieutenant.¡± She turned to me. ¡°How are you even here? Did Sara tell you about this place?¡± ¡°No.¡± I leaned against the desk and crossed my arms. ¡°The previous owner did. Speaking of her, I hope you have a warrant, because I¡¯m pretty sure this is all mine through inheritance.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his? What¡¯s going on here, Commissioner?¡± Lieutenant Singh interrupted through gritted teeth. He raised up the chair I¡¯d kicked into him and eased himself into it. As he did, a look of realization appeared on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you thought-¡± ¡°I did. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sophia¡¯s mother sighed deeply. ¡°I was paranoid, needed to know who I could trust. If you were a mole¡­¡± ¡°How much do you know?¡± I queried. ¡°How much do you know?¡± Singh returned. ¡°More than I want to. It¡¯s a pain in the ass.¡± I gestured with my head towards the Commissioner¡¯s pocket. ¡°If you had picked up any of those calls from Sophia you¡¯d probably know a decent chunk of it.¡± She yanked her cell phone out of her pocket and checked it, and by the expression on her face, I could tell she was equal parts frustrated and concerned. ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± I reassured her. ¡°Mom took her to a nearby station to get in touch with you.¡± The Commissioner closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again, staring at me sternly. ¡°Tell me everything. Fast and precise. I do not have time to waste here, do you understand?¡± I sighed, scratching the back of head. ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.¡±
The van screeched to a halt, and the sliding side door opened up. A rough hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt and shoved Isla out onto hard pavement. The cold breeze told her she was outside, and the passage of time and lack of sunlight on her skin told her that it was night. She brought herself up to her knees, taking a deep breath. Maybe she still had a chance to escape. Then a familiar voice spoke in front of her, and her hopes turned to ash. ¡°Take that shit off her head.¡± The bag was taken off, and suddenly she could see who stood before her- her father, Jin Ikari, the Mad Dog of the Demons, looking down at her with a disdainful, icy stare. She straightened and glared up at him, trying to look strong, but her whole body began to shake, nausea and fear welling up in her. She barely registered the two other Demons behind him, neither of whom she recognized. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then her father behind her. ¡°What took you so long?¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t alone. Had some freak kid with her.¡± A bearded man stepped forwards and spat on the ground. ¡°Broke my boy¡¯s arm, clean in two, so I had to deal with that first. Then¡­ heh. Did a little research.¡± He grabbed Isla by the root of her hair and she yanked her head away to break free. ¡°Feisty bitch is your daughter, huh? The one the news has been talking all about. Personally, for all our trouble, I think we deserve a raise.¡± Jin lifted an eyebrow. ¡°A raise? Really? What were you thinking?¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± The bearded man grinned. ¡°I want-¡± Faster then Isla could register it, her father pulled out his .44 and pulled the trigger. The sound made her recoil so badly she fell onto her side. The man¡¯s body hit the ground hard, and the scent of blood and gunsmoke hung in the air as Jin pointed his gun at presumably another man positioned behind Isla. ¡°What about you there?¡± Jin pulled back the hammer on his revolver. ¡°Did you also want a raise?¡± The coldly spoken words had the target silent. Maybe he was carefully considering his next words. But Isla knew from experience that was the wrong move. Her father didn¡¯t like to be ignored. The moment the man began to enunciate a word, a bullet was fired through his skull, and his body hit the floor. The last man struggled to get the words out clearly as Jin turned the gun to him. ¡°L-l-look, it¡¯s fine, j-j-just give t-the 100k and we can¡­ we can leave it at t-that.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Jin pulled back the hammer again. ¡°Or I could shoot you, keep my money, and call it a day.¡± ¡°O-okay, keep the money then, man!¡± he shrieked. ¡°Just lemme go!¡± ¡°How about this¡­¡± Jin lowered his gun. ¡°Tell me about this freak kid you met, and you can go, money in hand, all for yourself.¡± Isla¡¯s blood ran cold. She had to derail this conversation somehow, someway. Glancing over the bearded man¡¯s body, she spotted a long unnatural bulge around the man¡¯s ankle. She pushed herself off the ground towards it, pulled up the man¡¯s ankle, and yanked a knife out of its ankle sheath. Her father reacted, kicking the knife out of her bound hands. At the same time, the last man decided to make a break for the van behind him. He almost made it, too, but one of the other Demons drew their gun and fired multiple shots. The kidnapper cried out as he slammed face first into the pavement, then began screaming from the pain. Jin sighed. ¡°Shut him up and clean up this mess.¡± He grabbed the knife from the floor and knelt down in front of his daughter, addressing her in Japanese. ¡°I¡¯m genuinely surprised. I didn¡¯t think you had any friends other than the Prentice girl.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Isla snapped in reply. ¡°You made sure of that.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Her father brought the tip of the knife under her chin. ¡°This time, I¡¯ll make sure to empty that list completely. Then perhaps you¡¯ll finally learn. But first¡­¡± He slowly began to dig the point into her chin. ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me, everything you told them.¡± Isla lifted her chin and slammed her head down, but Jin yanked the knife away and chuckled. Then, he slammed the back of the knife¡¯s handle into the side of her head. She slumped over immediately, and was vaguely aware of her father lifting her with one arm, like a rag doll. As he carried her off, a gunshot rang out, and the man¡¯s screams were silenced. She turned her head slightly and caught a glimpse of her reflection in a window. Blood streamed down her face from where she¡¯d been hit in the head, and her eyes were glassy, cold, and empty. Just like a very caught, and very dead, fish. Chapter 11 - A Regular Day In an industrial area on the outskirts of the city¡¯s Northeast side, a box truck pulled up to the gates of an isolated warehouse surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire. An armed guard received the vehicle, speaking to the driver, then briefly opening the back to check the contents. It was filled with a large number of unmarked wooden crates of various sizes. ¡°Go on in,¡± the guard said, waving them through. The warehouse had no signs or text on it besides the ones warning about the potential repercussions for trespassers. The truck drove through the empty parking lot to the warehouse¡¯s receiving area, and the men inside the warehouse began to unload the van¡¯s contents. The driver of the van, a shopkeeper at a mall deeper in the city, lit a cigarette and took a long drag. ¡°Sicka comin¡¯ to this fuckin¡¯ place. Rather be at Fickster Street.¡± His passenger, a woman, wrinkled her nose in disgust. ¡°Didn¡¯t need to know what your nasty ass gets up to in his spare time. Help us unload the crates.¡± ¡°Do it yaself, busy here.¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll make sure to tell Boss how much help you were when he gets here.¡± The shopkeeper paused, then tossed his cigarette to the pavement and stomped on it with his boot. ¡°He¡¯s comin¡¯?¡± ¡°Yup. Found his girl. Bringing her here to squeeze the details out of her.¡± ¡°Fuuuck.¡± The shopkeeper sighed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll help.¡± He made his way over to the loading area and grabbed a jack, using it to remove a sealed crate from the box truck. ¡°Goddamn that¡¯s heavy. Where¡¯d you want this one?¡± One of the Demons inside the warehouse, holding a checklist in his hand, frowned. ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± He glanced around the crate for a label. ¡°Doesn¡¯t say anything. Should I crack it open and look?¡± ¡°Nah, not worth the trouble. Take to it to the room in the far back, with the crates with the red lables. Be very careful in there.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Scratching his back, the shopkeeper complied with the command, navigating his way through a maze of crates, boxes, shelves, and more, mostly full of illegal goods. A small table with a few men playing cards beckoned for him to come play, but he refused for another time and kept going. Once he reached the back, he spotted multiple crates labeled with red spray paint that spelled out an exclamation mark. Spilling out of some of them were all sorts of explosives, mainly plastic charges, but some carefully sealed crates were labeled ¡®black powder¡¯. ¡°Aw.¡± The shopkeeper carefully lowered the crate to the ground. ¡°Fuck that.¡± He tiptoed out of the room as fast he could, then closed the door behind him. The room fell silent as the dust the shopkeeper had kicked up resettled. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Cr-r-r-ack! From inside the crate, a strong force began pressing against the wooden lid of the crate. The nails tried their best to hold it together, but eventually the lid popped off, and two teenagers slowly peeked out of the crate, looking around at the explosives surrounding them, and then at each other. ¡°...Told you this wasn¡¯t a good idea,¡± Quinn said. Jacob sighed. ¡°You know what? Next time, I¡¯ll just leave you behind.¡±
Everything was blurry. One moment Isla was in a cold, dark place, unable to see anything, unable to feel anything except pain. The next, it all slipped away, and a light began to glow as she found herself reaching out for the door handle of a fast food restaurant the day before. It was a pretty small place with a few people spaced out here and there, including a dad and his two sons. Isla gave a small smile at them as they stared at her almost in wonder. Eventually she found who she was looking for- a young woman in an isolated booth, with brown hair tied in a bun, a laptop, camera, and purse. She wore a long skirt, heels, and a light coat to fend off the autumn chill. In the seat across from her was a burger meal. ¡°I got you some food.¡± The reporter smiled. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± Isla cautiously took a seat. ¡°If this is your way of getting me to trust you, I want to know that it¡¯s working. Buy more.¡± She unwrapped the burger and began wolfing it down. ¡°...Haven¡¯t had much to eat, huh?¡± The reported lifted the lid of the laptop. ¡°I hope it¡¯s okay with you if I record this conversation?¡± Isla froze, then slowly lowered her burger. ¡°No. Don¡¯t want my voice in this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only so I can take notes later, don¡¯t worry.¡± The reporter puffed out her chest with pride. ¡°Ruth Forth is a journalist of integrity who¡¯d never give up her sources.¡± The teenager made a face. ¡°Are you seriously referring to yourself in the third person?¡± Flushed, Ruth went back to her laptop and began to type. ¡°You said on our phone call that you had something you needed to talk to me about something related to the Demons, despite being an informant for the city¡¯s police commissioner. Why?¡± ¡°Can you keep your voice down?¡± Isla hissed. ¡°Obviously it¡¯s because they have sources in the police.¡± ¡°Sources meaning corrupt officers?¡± ¡°Sources meaning sources. I don¡¯t know exactly what they are, just that¡¯s what my father called them. If I had to guess, some of them are probably dirty cops, yeah.¡± ¡°Go figure.¡± The journalist nodded. ¡°And these sources, they¡¯re all your fathers?¡± ¡°Not all of them.¡± Isla glanced around nervously. ¡°Actually, most of them aren¡¯t even my father¡¯s. They¡¯re someone else¡¯s. And it¡¯s not¡­¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°It is not just the police you need to be worried about. It¡¯s bigger than that- a lot bigger. Like insane levels of absolute fuckery bigger.¡± ¡°Whoa, whoa, hold on a second, you¡¯re talking way too fast,¡± Ruth admonished. ¡°Calm down, drink some soda, let me ask my questions.¡± ¡°No one has time for that!¡± Isla snapped. ¡°Forget the questions and just let me talk, it¡¯ll be faster. Yes, my father has a few sources in the police, but that¡¯s it. My father isn¡¯t the biggest problem. It¡¯s this person he¡¯s working with, one of the other Demons- a new guy. He¡¯s got people everywhere- teachers, politicians, rich business CEOs and shit. All sorts of people helping him from the shadows.¡± ¡°Any names in particular?¡± ¡°I wrote down as many as I could remember.¡± Isla slid over a small, folded up piece of paper that Ruth opened and began to read. Her eyes bulged at the sheer number of important names. ¡°This is as many as you could remember?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if all of them are corrupt,¡± Isla admitted. ¡°These are just the names that my father mentioned in his ¡®business¡¯ calls.¡± ¡°Even a quarter of these names being involved would be a gigantic scandal.¡± Ruth shook her head. ¡°Do you know anything about this Demon¡¯s identity? What he looks like, maybe?¡± ¡°I wish. Uh¡­¡± Isla frowned. ¡°My father called him a Ningy¨­tsukai.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Uh, they do bunraku. Shit, how do I describe it to you¡­¡± The girl pulled on her hair in an attempt to remember clearly. ¡°You know those doll theatre show things they do when you¡¯re a kid? It¡¯s the person who move the strings of the dolls.¡± ¡°You mean like puppets?¡± ¡°Yeah, those. That¡¯s it. The puppet master. He¡¯s planning something too- something big, something that involves Futureb-¡± BANG! A splurt of blood narrowly missed Isla and covered the booth seat beside her. Shell shocked, she stared at the woman she¡¯d just been speaking to, now nothing but a hollow, bleeding vessel. A bullet had ripped straight through her skull. Her vision began to fade to black, and she manually forced herself to breathe in to keep from passing out. More gunshots and screaming rang out as she slowly brought her gaze to the entrance of the store, where the father was roaring in anger as he wrestled with a man in a black suit, his face covered by a cloth mask. The other two Demons had gone into the back to take care of the employees there, and she could hear screams coming from the kitchen. As she watched, still in shock, the Demon grinned wickedly as he slowly brought the barrel of the gun in line with the father¡¯s abdomen and squeezed the trigger multiple times. The father dropped to the floor, and the kids began to scream and cry. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The Demon brought his gun towards them. ¡°My fucking ears.¡± The active threat forced Isla back into reality. She roared in anger and charged out of the booth, determined to save them no matter what. But she would make it there much too late.
¡°...And that¡¯s the whole story?¡± Commissioner Prentice asked, gritting her teeth. I nodded. ¡°Directly the way she told us. Then she and Mrs. Forth had a petty fight, and¡­ yeah, that¡¯s pretty much it for that conversation.¡± ¡°What was the fight about?¡± Singh asked. The question made me scoff. ¡°I just said it was petty. They were playing the blame game, Isla got pissed. Nothing important you need to know.¡± ¡°I think that we can decide for ourselves whether we need to know,¡± the lieutenant snapped. ¡°Stop being a smart-ass and answer when we ask you a question.¡± ¡°Listen, if you¡¯re still mad about your probably blue balls¡­ I¡¯m not sorry.¡± ¡°You need some disciplining, badmash.¡± ¡°Then go fetch a lathi, dog.¡± ¡°Enough.¡± The Commissioner crossed her arms. ¡°Isla didn¡¯t mention anything else out of the ordinary?¡± ¡°I feel like there was something else, but¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°Whatever it was, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to share. I decided it would be better to just leave it for later, took her on a grocery run to get her mind off things.¡± The Commissioner frowned. ¡°And you thought this was a good idea?¡± ¡°Not by choice,¡± I muttered. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing. She needed some air, didn¡¯t want to keep her cooped up like a caged animal.¡± I couldn¡¯t exactly explain that the whole idea had actually been Levi¡¯s- he¡¯d planted it in my head, influencing my thoughts to make it seem okay. ¡°Some criminals- not Demons- jumped us while we were there, took Isla.¡± ¡°The contract,¡± Singh realized. ¡°It worked. We¡¯re too late.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± The Commissioner disagreed. ¡°If her father just wanted to kill her, he could have done that before today, and he could have done that with the contract. He wanted to capture her alive- why?¡± ¡°To interrogate her,¡± I suggested. ¡°Figure out what she told you so the Demons know which parts of their operations are potentially compromised.¡± ¡°Exactly. Which gives us a little more time,¡± she reasoned.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Not much,¡± Singh said. ¡°Maybe a day or two more at most.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to make it work.¡± The Commissioner straightened, looking directly at me. ¡°I have a potential list of locations back at the station based on the digital release of the contract. Help me narrow it down.¡± ¡°Like mother, like daughter, huh.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Again, not interested. I¡¯ve got, uh, homework to do. I¡¯m in my junior year and stuff.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Would you happen to be interested if I told you I¡¯ll charge you with public mischief as well as aiding and abetting a kidnapping?¡± ¡°We both know none of those charges will stick. Nice try, though.¡± I headed for the treehouse¡¯s trap door. ¡°See you both neve-¡± The Commissioner grabbed my arm, holding me in place and preventing me from moving further. I didn¡¯t turn to look at her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t available earlier because I was dropping by houses,¡± Commissioner Prentice explained. ¡°Visiting their homes and explaining what happened to their sons, daughters, wives, husbands¡­ nephews, in that restaurant. Showing them photos to confirm the bodies. That¡¯s where I was for most of today.¡± Her grip tightened. ¡°Even if I bring them justice now, it won¡¯t change the fact that I failed them- no, I failed this city. I can¡¯t fail Isla, too. It¡¯s my fault she¡¯s in this mess in the first place. If something happens to her-¡± ¡°Funny,¡± I spoke quietly. ¡°Don¡¯t remember you having this level of consideration when it was me, Sergeant Prentice.¡± ¡°...¡± I couldn¡¯t see her face, yet I could clearly picture the Commissioner¡¯s expression as she slowly released my arm from her grasp. The lieutenant stared at us, no doubt confused as to what I was referring to. ¡°Good luck, guys.¡± I opened the trap door. ¡°Hope you find her.¡± Sleeping wasn¡¯t something that came naturally to me. I spent most nights tossing and turning, then battled with severe sleep deprivation in the morning. Even when I did fall asleep, it usually wasn¡¯t a comfortable experience, and neither was waking up. Especially when it involved really sharp knives. Without opening my eyes, I threw a punch out to my right and heard an oof!, along with someone stumbling backwards into my desk. I groggily blinked the sleep out of my eyes, then flopped back onto my bed as a knife came hurtling towards me, slamming into the wall and chipping it. ¡°Mad at me for yesterday?¡± I asked mid-yawn, checking my phone. My sister didn¡¯t reply. Instead, she pulled out a second weapon- a mini hockey stick- and pushed off my desk to attack. Fifteen minutes later, I sat at the breakfast table, eating cereal while Ramona sat across from me, pinching her nose shut tightly with a bloody tissue. Mom sighed in exasperation. ¡°Is it really that hard to have a stereotypical family morning of just¡­ chatting with each other over food?¡± ¡°You¡¯d need a stereotypical family first,¡± I answered. ¡°What does stereotypical mean?¡± Ken asked. ¡°The opposite of Michael,¡± Ramona muttered. ¡°Oof! What a burn,¡± I deadpanned. ¡°Really felt that one in my bones.¡± ¡°Gonna feel this foot up your-¡± ¡°Your father¡¯s coming back next weekend!¡± Mom said quickly. ¡°And I got a discount on that new theme park they¡¯re opening up- do you guys want to go?¡± Ken¡¯s eyes lit up excitedly. ¡°Really?! Yeah, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± The autumn morning sun was trying its best to pierce through its cloudy veil, and failing spectacularly. The mood it created seemed to be spreading amongst the Northeast students like an epidemic. Actually, maybe that was just the normal mood of high schoolers being forced to go to class at 9 am in the morning. Ramona opted to split away from me as soon as possible to meet up with her friends (and to not be seen with me), so I trudged past the school gate alone after being ID checked by a security officer. There was a noticeable gap between myself and the other students- a gap I was so used to that most days I forgot it was even there. Today, though, that gap was even more noticeable than normal. I glanced around. No one seemed to be looking at me, though, so maybe it was just all in my head? Wouldn¡¯t be the first time. ¡°Hey!¡± A smack on my back barely moved me. I turned to look at Quentin as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, grinning. ¡°Missed you yesterday,¡± he greeted. ¡°You get sick?¡± ¡°Something like that. I¡¯m fine now.¡± Which wasn¡¯t a lie. My leg wasn¡¯t too painful, and as long as I didn¡¯t move it too harshly, I¡¯d be fine. I tried my best not to put too much pressure on it as I walked. Quentin raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hm. Well, your sister was being¡­ your sister yesterday. Really needed to talk to Sophia for some reason, but she was on the roof.¡± ¡°Huh. You let her through?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t. Not tryna get kicked off student council.¡± He shook me lightly with his arm. ¡°You know, the student council you should totally run for with me.¡± Here we go again. ¡°It¡¯s too early for this,¡± I yawned. ¡°Can you roleplay ¡®used car salesman¡¯ another time?¡± He pulled away and positioned himself in front of me, clasping his hands together. ¡°Please? C¡¯mon, man. You know there isn¡¯t anyone else I can ask.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one else you can ask besides the most hated guy in this shit ass school?¡± ¡°First of all, you¡¯re not the most hated,¡± Quentin began. ¡°Second of all, you and I both know how we could change your reputation pretty fast¡­¡± He began to pull the hair covering my face aside with his free hand, and I yanked my head away. ¡°Third of all, you¡¯re the only person I genuinely think is competent enough for the job.¡± I snorted. ¡°In a school full of loaded kiss-asses and academic tryhards?¡± ¡°Exactly the kinda people I don¡¯t want.¡± Quentin sighed as we reached the front steps. ¡°Please, man. It won¡¯t even be that hard.¡± ¡°What do I get out of it?¡± My friend frowned. ¡°...My eternal gratitude and servitude? That''s worth a lot, IMO.¡± ¡°Yeah, pass.¡± I removed his arm from my neck and made my way into the school. After removing all the sticky notes and rotting fruit from my locker¨C Hey, they have the pic of you hanging upside down! ¨CI spent my first two classes napping in the back, my head down on my desk. Near the end of second period, I was surprised by a volume of water crashing down on me, absolutely soaking my hair and my clothes to the core. A student darted back into his seat and capped his empty water bottle, thinking he was slick. My other classmates covered their mouths with their hands to muffle their laughter, and my clueless math teacher whipped around, looking around the classroom until they spotted my soaked figure. With a sigh, he addressed me with a thick British accent. ¡°Mr. Collins, who did such a horrid thing?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Got no fuckin¡¯ clue. And my name is Michael.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to curse.¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°Go and dry yourself off in the lavatory immediately.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± I stood, water dripping off my hair and clothes, and made my way past desks towards the door. As I passed by the troublemaker¡¯s desk, he stuck out his foot to trip me, and I barely managed to catch myself on an adjacent desk. ¡°Shit, my bad,¡± the guy apologized deceitfully. ¡°You okay?¡± I didn¡¯t even shoot him a glance- just kept walking to the door and made my way to the washroom. As I walked down the hall, more kids kept pointing at me and giggling until I made my way into the washroom, pulling out paper towel from the dispenser and using it to dry myself off as best I could. In the bathroom¡¯s small, cracked mirror, I became increasingly aware of a presence watching me, and less aware of literally anything else. My hearing dulled and my vision became blurrier until I turned my head to look at my reflection. ¡°Could you stop messing with my senses? Thanks,¡± I said aloud. In the mirror, wearing a blood red hoodie that matched his eyes, was Levi, staring at me with a mock expression of sadness, clutching the spot where his heart would be with one hand. You¡¯re breaking my heart, Michael. Don¡¯t ignore me like this, I can¡¯t take it! ¡°Don¡¯t give a shit, and don¡¯t give a fuck,¡± I answered plainly. ¡°Get lost.¡± Oh, darling, at least give me an opportunity to explain! It was just a one time thing! Irritated, I slammed my elbow into the mirror, shattering it. As the pieces clattered to the floor, a scared looking freshman peeked out from the stall he was in. ¡°What? It was already cracked anyway,¡± I told him plainly. He cautiously took a few steps forward, then speed-walked out of the bathroom without looking at me. Hopefully that didn¡¯t turn into a headache later. As lunch began, Quentin found me eating in my usual spot, a small, little-used stairwell near the back of the school. The labeled sign read, ¡°Staircase F¡±, but besides the F someone had scratched in the letters ¡®u¡¯ ¡®c¡¯ and ¡®k¡¯ in small print as to not be noticed by teachers. ¡°Why do you eat lunch in the hookup staircase?¡± Quentin asked, confused. ¡°Well, I¡¯d eat on the roof, but someone doesn¡¯t want to let me up there,¡± I replied. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor besides me. ¡°If you ran for student council, you could go up there as much as you wanted to, y¡¯know?¡± I gave a fake gasp. ¡°Oh my god, really? That¡¯s sooooo cool! Where do I sign up?¡± ¡°Yeah, okay, fine, I¡¯ll stop.¡± He sighed. ¡°So, you wanna explain to me what that whole Ramona-Sophia thing was about? Figured your sister would stay clear of her after¡­ y¡¯know.¡± I took out my sandwich from my lunch box and took a bite. ¡°Dunno, don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°She was pretty insistent that it was really important. Wouldn¡¯t tell me what, though.¡± ¡°Important to her can be a lot of different things, you know that.¡± He frowned. ¡°Dude, gross. Don¡¯t talk with your mouth open.¡± I swallowed my food. ¡°Where¡¯s your lunch?¡± ¡°Right here.¡± He snagged the other half of the sandwich and began to chow down, also talking with his mouth open. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, man. I know you at least have some idea.¡± Shrugging, I began to start on my salad. ¡°Could not care less about what she¡¯s up to.¡± ¡°Says the guy getting his ass beat every day to keep Vincent away from her.¡± I jabbed a cherry tomato with my fork. ¡°Yeah, well.¡± ¡°Speaking of Vincent, apparently he got into a fight on the roof yesterday, right around third period. I found out after that it was with a certain junior and a couple of freshman girls.¡± Quentin watched as my fork froze. ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about that either, right?¡± ¡°God, you¡¯re nosy as hell, you know that?¡± I lowered my salad to the ground. ¡°Tell me more about that fight.¡± He gave me the rundown- Vincent had apparently cornered Ramona, Eurielle, and Sophia on the roof, probably after they had their conversation, which was probably what had held them up for so long. Just a minor detail that Ramona had forgotten to fill me in on. In exchange, I explained the Isla situation from the beginning to Quentin. He followed along with some overly dramatic reactions at some points, but didn¡¯t say a word until I was finished talking, which was when he asked, ¡°So that¡¯s it? That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Yeah. And there¡¯s not going to be more.¡± I grabbed my water bottle and took a swig. ¡°And before you say anything, no, I am not going after her.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± Quentin said in disbelief. ¡°She¡¯ll fucking die.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s the police¡¯s issue, not mine.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t want any part of this, Quentin. My life¡¯s complicated enough as it is.¡± ¡°And Sophia?¡± he asked. ¡°Why the hell are you bringing her up?¡± I snapped. ¡°You okay with her losing her best friend when you could do something about it?¡± I rolled up my pant leg and pointed to my bandaged gunshot wound. ¡°I did do something about it. Even though I didn¡¯t want to, even though I shouldn¡¯t have had to. I¡¯m literally a sixteen year old kid. You all need to stop treating me like some I¡¯m some comic book superhero.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. You¡¯d be more suited to the supervillain role.¡± Both of us froze. The voice hadn¡¯t come from either of us- it had come from under the stairwell. We gingerly stood up and walked over to the little cubby spot under the stairwell. On some days, you would find couples making out under there, but today there was something duct taped to the underside of the steps- a walkie talkie, volume turned up as loud as it could go. The button was taped down so the person on the other end could hear everything. ¡°Well, based on this file that I¡¯m reading, anyways.¡± I heard a few clicks coming from the computer mouse of the caller. ¡°Destruction of property, robbery, kidnapping, extortion¡­ just to name a couple of the minor ones for Quentin there.¡± Quentin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, is that¡­¡± I ripped the walkie talkie off the stairwell and began to speak into it. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come down here and have this conversation with us face to face?¡± ¡°We had an agreement, Michael. All you had to do was keep Isla safe and bring her to me.¡± A few clacks on a keyboard were audible. ¡°Maybe I release this file with a few edits, put the names of your family in here and there. How long do you think it¡¯ll take before they¡¯re taken in, either by the right people¡­ or the wrong ones?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t,¡± I refuted, clenching my teeth. ¡°I know you.¡± ¡°Confident, huh?¡± The caller scoffed. ¡°You don¡¯t know shit about me, Michael. If you did, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten the file in the first place.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Quentin asked evenly. ¡°I want Isla back, safe and sound,¡± the caller said. ¡°How you make that happen, I don¡¯t care, just as long as it does.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I muttered. ¡°Just stroll straight into the lion¡¯s den to get shot again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help,¡± Quentin offered. ¡°Two of us working together on this, it¡¯ll be a breeze.¡± ¡°And then what?¡± I asked. ¡°I just get jerked around for the rest of my life? No, like I said before- that file gets published, especially with my family¡¯s name on it, and you¡¯re not going to be waking up in your bed tomorrow.¡± ¡°I will delete it after you do this for me,¡± the caller decided. ¡°Just get Isla back. That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking. I won¡¯t need anything else from you after.¡± ¡°Oh, golly gee, would you do that for me?¡± I asked sarcastically. ¡°Thanks! I totally trust a backstabbing bitch such as yourself to not go back on his word.¡± ¡°The only copy of the file I have is on a USB. No backups, no cloud storage. I swear on my mother¡¯s and sister¡¯s life.¡± He definitely didn¡¯t sound like he wasn¡¯t lying. But I could only fully confirm the truth in person by observing his body language and facial expressions. I took my fingers off the talk button and glanced at Quentin. ¡°What days are the student council office free?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Quentin pondered for a moment. ¡°Should be a Thursday next week.¡± I spoke into the walkie. ¡°Thursday, next week. Bring the USB to the student council office. If you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll beat your ass worse than I did in May.¡± The caller agreed on the terms. ¡°If you need my help with anything-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. And even if I did, I wouldn¡¯t ask. Not from you.¡± ¡°Okay, but keep the walkie on you. Just in case I-¡± I slammed the walkie talkie into the ground as hard as I could, shattering it into pieces that flew everywhere. We stared at the broken pieces on the ground. ¡°Was that really necessary, man?¡± Quentin asked. ¡°Very.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Guess I¡¯m skipping class to find Isla.¡± The student council treasurer leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms. ¡°Do you have any leads?¡± ¡°Honestly, not really.¡± I stuck my hands in my pockets. ¡°Commissioner Prentice had a list of possible locations based on a digital trace, but it¡¯s likely coming from a proxy.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you trace it back from the proxy?¡± ¡°Possible, but unlikely. And Isla doesn¡¯t have that kind of time.¡± I sighed. ¡°Guess I¡¯m gonna have to look around, have a conversation with the right people.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have to look very hard.¡± Normally, I would have been immediately aware of any others in or outside the stairwell, but Levi was still messing with my brain. Okay, whatever, not a big deal. I would at least hear somebody opening the doors that opened into the stairwell itself¡­ or so I had thought, but that sentence had been spoken by someone breathing into my ear. I whipped around, grabbed the unknown by the shirt, and slammed him down into the ground, fist raised. A lanky Asian boy looked back at me with a terrified expression, hands raised in surrender. ¡°Jacob?¡± Quentin stared down at him incredulously. ¡°Seriously, man? You couldn¡¯t have said hi first?¡± ¡°M-my bad,¡± the kid stammered. ¡°Just¡­ hear me out. I think I can help-¡± The stairwell doors slammed open with tremendous force, and a short, scrawny girl with chocolate coloured skin and curly black hair rushed forwards. I raised my guard to block, but a nauseating chill went up my spine, and I stumbled backwards at the last second. I felt the air rush towards me as her fist struck the spot where my jaw had been- a level of force that was completely illogical from such a thin figure. Then, she tripped over Jacob and ended up sprawled on the floor lamely after a yelp. ¡°...I think we can help you guys,¡± Jacob corrected. ¡°We know where Isla is.¡± I exchanged looks with Quentin, who shrugged in response. To me, it seemed awfully too convenient to me that the answer to finding Isla would appear right at my feet (literally), but¡­ it¡¯s not like I had any other choice. I needed a solid lead, and if they were lying about something, I would find out what it was. ¡°Fuck it.¡± I crossed my arms and hovered over the two dorks menacingly, an intimidating glare in my eye. ¡°Both of you, come with me, now.¡± The two kids shivered in response. ¡°Y-yes, sir.¡± Holiday Bonus Chapter On a snowy December night, a lone girl cautiously navigated the crowded streets of the city, glancing around as she made her way past lovey-dovey couples and excited kids running around, gawking at the decorations and bright lights hung up by businesses and homes. She stood out amongst the crowd, and she knew it. She wasn¡¯t exactly trying to match the holiday spirit- hell, she was trying to go against it with her loads of piercings, dyed hair, and black leather boots that matched her roughed up jacket. Passersby shot glances at she strolled past, but she didn¡¯t pay them any mind. As she approached a plaza, she carefully drew her gaze across the crowd, then sighed heavily as she reached into pocket and pulled out a flip phone. ¡°Boo!¡± She nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping around with a nasty glare. ¡°Fuck, that was not funny!¡± The girl in front of her, her classmate and friend, gave a bubbly giggle. ¡°Sorry, Sara. You left yourself wide open.¡± Sara crossed her arms. ¡°Yeah, whatever. Now spill- why did you want to meet in the plaza first? We could have just met at your house.¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± Her friend twirled a strand of her raven-black hair around her finger. ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t be mad?¡± ¡°¡­Depends,¡± Sara began cautiously. ¡°Wait, did you bring him here?!¡± She immediately started fixing up her hair and straightening her clothes. ¡°No, no no!¡± The girl waved both hands. ¡°It¡¯s, um, a little more complicated than that-¡° Sara followed the trajectory of the girl¡¯s gaze and whipped around. Another classmate stood behind her; Rachel, the ultimate stuck-up, kiss-ass of Northeast Academy, donned in a fancy bright red winter coat with a green scarf and black gloves. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of Sara, then spoke to the raven-haired girl. ¡°What the hell is Pincushion doing here?¡± Irritated, Sara took an aggressive step forward, but their mutual friend grabbed her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that!¡± She led a reluctant Sara over to Rachel and took her hand, being the bridge between the two girls. ¡°I had the most amazing idea yesterday. The three of us could go shopping for Christmas gifts together, considering we all have boys we like.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. In response, the girl received two incredulous looks. ¡°Like hell I¡¯m doing that,¡± Sara declined. ¡°Not sure I could help Miss Posh and Privileged pick out a present anyway.¡± Rachel agreed. ¡°It¡¯d be even harder for me to pick out a gift for whatever idiot thinks dating you is a good idea.¡± ¡°Give me a second, gonna adjust the colour of that jacket,¡± Sara growled, her free hand balled into a fist. ¡°Enough, both of you.¡± The words weren¡¯t spoken harshly, but both girls quieted down as their friend crossed her arms, speaking sternly as if she were their mother. ¡°It¡¯s the holidays. You¡¯re supposed to be making new friends, not enemies. Stop arguing like little kids and try to empathize with each other, as much as you can.¡± She first glanced at Rachel, then at Sara. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure both a police officer and a psychiatrist would need that skill.¡± Sara¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°You want to be a cop?¡± The rich girl looked away. ¡°Got an issue with that?¡± ¡°No, I just¡­¡± She trailed off. She actually thought it was pretty cool, but there was no way she could tell her that, so she opted to change the subject. ¡°What are you trying to buy?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Rachel began to fidget. ¡°Well¡­ John has really been into these niche rock bands recently.¡± She sighed heavily. ¡°And I have absolutely no clue where to start, honestly.¡± ¡°What, like Red Hot? Spitfire? The Trench?¡± Rachel was slightly taken aback. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I can help you, but not for free.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Rachel reached into her purse and pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills. ¡°How much do you-¡° ¡°What are you, crazy?!¡± Sara ran up and grabbed Rachel¡¯s wrist, shoving the bills back into her bag. She glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed the obvious display of wealth, but thankfully, everyone seemed self-absorbed in their own activities. Sara let out a sigh of relief. ¡°You¡¯re begging to get robbed.¡± ¡°Oh. Uh, sorry.¡± Rachel frowned. ¡°But we¡¯re in a public space though. Who would rob me here?¡± Sara pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Oh, god¡­ look, just help me pick a cute scarf out for Sam, and we¡¯ll call it even with that, deal?¡± Their mutual friend giggled. ¡°See? You two are already getting along great. Must be that holiday spirit.¡± ¡°Not a chance!¡± Both girls snapped in unison. Giggling more, the girl walked and linked arms with both of her friends. ¡°Let¡¯s get to it then, shall we?¡± The two girls exchanged brief looks. ¡°I suppose I could tolerate you for today,¡± Rachel murmured. ¡°And I know just the place for the scarf. They hand knit them. Cute colours, too.¡± Awkwardly, Sara scratched the back of her head. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d, uh, appreciate it. I know just the spot for band merch, too, though it¡¯s a little sketchy.¡± The girl hopped up and down excitedly. ¡°This is going to be so much fun!¡± She began to run forward, yanking her friends forward towards the brightly lit shops. ¡°Ahh!¡± Rachel yelped. ¡°Angelina, wait, wait! Slow down! And don''t pull so hard!¡± Sara just sighed in reaction, but a small smile formed on her lips that she didn''t let anyone else see. "Never change, Angie." Chapter 12 - The Plan Isla had never been so cold in her life. She sat in a metal chair, bound by rough ropes that had rubbed her ankles and wrists raw. Her eyes were covered by a blindfold, preventing her from seeing anything except total darkness. Being drenched in ice cold water had her shivering so hard her teeth were chattering. It was almost a relief when she heard a pair of footsteps outside the door¡­ almost. ¡°Have you come to your senses yet, musume?¡± her father asked, circling behind her. ¡°I-I¡¯ve told y-you everything already.¡± Isla could hardly recognize the sound of her voice. ¡°There i-isn¡¯t a-anything else.¡± She could sense him lean down, and she could feel his breath on her neck as he spoke, raising goosebumps all along her arms. ¡°It irritates me how you continue to think I¡¯m a fool,¡± he whispered icily. ¡°Someone as stubborn as you are wouldn¡¯t give me everything so easily.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t anything else,¡± Isla whimpered. ¡°I s-swear. I swear.¡± Jin sighed and straightened, addressing the other man present in the room. ¡°Give her another injection. Double the dose.¡± ¡°No!¡± Isla shrieked, struggling against the ropes. ¡°No, I¡¯m telling you the truth!¡± As she writhed and fought, the other Demon held her right arm firmly in place as he stabbed it with a needle, pushing down a plunger. Isla could feel the liquid inside the syringe entering her bloodstream, and she began to scream as pain wracked her body, and nightmares flooded her mind, drowning out all her thoughts and senses again. She saw visions of horrible things, horrible things that she didn¡¯t even want to begin to describe. No more, she thought, hyperventilating. No more, please. No more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more no more PLEASE NO MORE! ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ The sound of familiar footsteps, circling around to the front of her. ...Mommy? ... ... ... What a shitshow you¡¯ve gotten yourself into, huh? Isla opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn¡¯t force any sound to come out. So instead, she opened her eyes. Even though it wasn¡¯t possible, even though it made absolutely no sense, there he was, crouched down in front of her, his chin rested on his palm. His red eyes gleamed as if he were amused, his nails long and black, almost like claws. He wore black ripped jeans and a blood red hoodie. Isla managed to find her tongue. ¡°How¡­ how are you here?¡± Michael- no, Levi- shrugged nonchalantly. Who knows? Maybe this is a side effect of whatever bullshit they¡¯re giving you. Or maybe you had a heart attack and finally kicked the bucket. She chuckled bitterly. ¡°Yeah.... guess it¡¯d be just my luck to end up in hell.¡± Looking for sympathy from the wrong person. Levi¡¯s face contorted into a wide grin. This works out perfectly, though. We can continue our little chat, you and I. And this time, I get full access to everything. ¡°What are you-¡° The scenery around her, which had just been pitch black, began to shift. Suddenly, Isla was in a familiar living room, sitting by an open sliding glass door, a spring breeze caressing her forehead as she looked outside into her softly lit backyard. Hanging clothes up on a line was a woman with black hair, wearing a plain white shirt tucked in her jeans. ¡°¡­Okaa-chan?¡± Isla whispered. Her mother turned around halfway and gave her a warm smile. ¡°Isla.¡±
¡°¡­How many of them did you say there were again?¡± Quentin asked, his face pale. ¡°Thirty.¡± Jacob sighed. ¡°At least, that¡¯s my best guess. There could be more.¡± The four of us- myself, Quentin, Jacob, and his friend Quinn- all sat in the treehouse, where I¡¯d brought them to discuss what had gone down in the warehouse. Jacob and Quinn had recounted their escape in vivid detail, especially the layout of the warehouse itself. As they had spoken, I¡¯d taken out my math notebook and sketched a rough map of the building for reference. I''d also quickly ran through the information that Isla had told me, leaving out my meeting with the Commissioner and my talks with the caller. ¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± Quentin protested. ¡°That many dudes to protect one spot? I mean, not that it¡¯ll be a problem for me, but, uh¡­¡± ¡°Not surprising at all if there''s no cameras,¡± I disagreed. ¡°Has to be hundreds of thousands of illegal goods in there based on-¡° I stopped sketching and turned around from where I sat in my chair. A large squeaky metal sound could be heard from the other side of the treehouse, and from Quinn¡¯s hand, the broken-off metal handle of a storage cupboard fell to the ground. ¡°Um, s-sorry,¡± the freshman apologized meekly. I crossed my arms. ¡°Would it kill you to just sit still and listen, She-Hulk?¡± ¡°Wha-¡° Quinn reddened. ¡°I was just, um¡­ looking for some snacks. I¡¯m really hungry.¡± Sighing in exasperation, I reached into my pocket and fished out a small pack of gummies, and Quinn¡¯s eyes sparkled as they flew through the air towards her. She caught them and immediately ripped the packaging open, yelping as some of multicoloured bears spilled onto the floor. ¡°She¡¯s the chick you were talkin'' about?¡± Quentin asked, looking at Jacob. Quinn frowned as she dangled a gummy bear above her mouth, causing Jacob to hiss, "Shut up!" "You said you heard Isla screaming from around here," I pointed to an area on the map. It was towards the back of the warehouse, all the way down from the front storage area where the explosives were held. "Were there any exits or windows nearby?" "Don''t think so, but we didn''t exactly get a close look," Jacob informed me. "The only exits I saw, besides the shipping entrances, were double doors in the middle section of the warehouse... here and maybe here, directly across." He pointed to the entrances accordingly. "As for windows, there were skylights in the roof, but that was it." "Skylights it is," I decided. "Easiest way in without being seen." "Still need a way to get Isla out safely," Quentin advised. "She could be in rough ass shape." "That''s why we''re gonna need a distraction. " I drew a meaningful gaze towards Jacob. "Preferably, an explosive one that destroys all their shit, draws in the cops to the aftermath. Think you can manage that?" The taller boy blinked in surprise, then grinned mischievously. "Well... shouldn''t be too hard. Just need to pick the lock." Quinn briefly choked on a gummy bear, then coughed out a protest. "No! What the hell, Jacob, are you insane?! We barely made it out of there alive!" "You don''t have to go, you know." I pointed out. "Actually, I don''t think I even asked you to come." "I would have said no, anyways. This is dumb as hell." Quinn walked up and grabbed Jacob''s sleeve, looking at him pleadingly. "You can''t do this. If they catch you, they''re not going to think twice, or even once. Let''s just go home. Please." Jacob glanced at the two of us almost helplessly, and I could only offer a shrug in response. "She''s not wrong. I won''t blame you if you say no." "But we''d appreciate the help," Quentin added on quickly. "Especially since you''re half ninja." Jacob took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Quinn..." "Don''t tell me some stupid clich¨¦ shit like you have to," she told him. "You don''t have to do anything." "I don''t have to," he agreed. "I want to. I''m tired of sticking to the shadows." In one swift move, the freshman went from clutching his sleeve to wrapping her arms around Jacob, restraining his arms and lifting him off the ground with surprising ease. "If you''re not going to listen to me, I''ll take you by force," she decided, carrying him towards the exit of the treehouse. He protested and squirmed like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but he couldn''t break free no matter what he did. For such a small, thin girl, her strength was beyond abnormal... The serum. The idea hit me like a punch. I reached into the deepest corners of my memory palace, leafing through the many important documents I''d read over the years until I found the one I was looking for- a report I''d happened to read by chance, concerning a kidnapped seven-year-old girl. The sole survivor. "It''s strange. I''d think you, of all people, would want to get revenge on the people who ruined your life." The words I''d spoken made the girl freeze. She lowered Jacob to the ground, her curly hair hiding her face as her whole body trembled. "...My life isn''t ruined. Not yet." She shook her head in disbelief. "If you know what the Demons are capable of, what they can do to people... how can you even think about going against them?" Jacob reached out towards her as if to wrap his arms around her, then lowered his head as he withdrew. "We''re doing this ''cause we know." Quentin spoke softly, reassuringly, as he walked towards her. "I can''t begin to imagine the shit you''ve been through, and honestly, I don''t wanna. But you wouldn''t wish it on anyone else, right?" My silver-tongued friend gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing Jacob to twitch. "We''re the only ones who actually can do somethin'' ''bout this fucked up situation." He raised his chin and confidently puffed out his chest. "Besides, I''ll be there to protect you guys if something goes wrong, so don''t stress!" That made me gag, though he seemed to have successfully calmed Quinn down a bit- how, I had no clue. "You don''t even have a proper plan," she reminded him. "Blow stuff up and run doesn''t count when you''re dealing with armed criminals." "Uh..." Quentin withdrew his hand and gestured back towards me. "Plans are more... Michael''s thing." All three of them looked at me expectantly, and I let out a sigh. "First, I need to know if you''re all in. Cross your heart on it." Jacob frowned. "What? Cross our hearts?" I drew an imaginary line over my heart, and Jacob, looking confused, did the same. Quentin followed right after with no hesitation. As for Quinn, she crossed her arms. "Ugh... fine. If Jacob''s doing this, I am as well. Someone has to make sure he doesn''t die." With one hand, she drew a finger across her chest. "And whose fault was it that we got caught again?" Jacob reminded her. "Come here and listen close," I told them firmly. "I''m not going to repeat myself."
How pathetic. Isla tried her best to ignore the words as she buried her face into her mother''s embrace, choking back tears. "What''s this?" Her mother sounded utterly confused. "Is everything okay?" "I..." Her voice broke. "Where did you go?" "I didn''t go anywhere, hime." She gently pulled away and felt Isla''s forehead with her head. "Are you feeling okay? What''s wrong?" "I..." Isla opened her mouth to speak, but the words she wanted to say wouldn''t came out. "I''m sorry." "You don''t have anything to be sorry for." Her mother stood from where she''d fallen on the grass from Isla''s embrace, taking her daughter by the hand with a worried expression. "You feel a little hot. Let''s go inside and rest for a moment, okay?" Isla nodded mutely as she looked up at her mother. She wasn''t sixteen anymore- she was a young child only a few feet tall. She could almost convince herself that she''d traveled back in time, if not for Levi in the corner of her vision, watching her with a blank expression.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Once they were inside, Isla was taken into the kitchen and sat at the coffee table while her mother headed upstairs to look for the plastic bin where the family''s first aid kit and medications were kept. Levi materialized into the chair to her left, looking around the kitchen curiously. Jeez, this place is spotless. He stood and opened the fridge, taking a peek inside. Even the food''s organized and labeled. "She always took really good care of us," Isla murmured as her mother walked back into the kitchen. "She worked hard. Did everything a mother and wife was supposed to." Levi hopped up onto the kitchen''s countertop. Everything? Are you sure? Isla didn''t say anything as her mother took out a digital thermometer and stuck it into her daughter''s mouth, pressing the button on the top. A few seconds later, the thermometer rang out a warning set of beeps, and Isla''s mother frowned as she reviewed the results. "This must be broken. Five hundred and seventy five degrees celsius?" She let out a soft laugh. "Maybe you''re part dragon." "...Mommy." She looked up. "Yes, my love?" "Am..." Isla''s mouth felt dry. "Am..." What are you so scared for? Ask her. Fuck off! she screamed in her thoughts. "Am I a bad daughter?" Isla finally croaked out. Her mother was completely astonished. "What? Of course you''re not. Why would you think that?" "I..." Isla started crying. "I don''t believe you. You left me. I wanted to stay with you and you left me with him. Why would you do that?" "I would never leave you anywhere." Her mother knelt down in front of her, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. "I can''t live without you, Isla. I''m nothing without you and your brother. The three of us together, we''ll always be together. We''ll always be a family. Okay?" Isla sniffed and nodded. Of course. Her mother loved her. They were a family, and a family sticks together through thick and thin, no matter what. She would never leave Isla to fend for herself. She would never have abandoned her willingly. How could she have thought otherwise? Suddenly, Levi walked up behind her mother, an amused grin on his face. He raised his right hand up, his thumb and middle finger pressed together to snap his fingers. His eyes opened almost impossibly wide. What a sad fucking delusion this is. Snap! Suddenly, everything changed. The kitchen was a dimly lit mess, with dirty dishes piled in the sink and the floor stained and littered. Isla''s mother had heavy bags under her dulled eyes and purple bruising on her neck and wrists, matching the size of her father''s hands. Her expression, which had been worried a second ago, now conveyed utter exhausted, like she''d rather be anywhere else than where she was. ...What? Her mother shakily rose. "I think you''re okay." The way she spoke was plain, almost emotionless, nothing like the way she''d been talking a second ago. "Please go up to your room before-" The thunderous sound of footsteps from the stairs seemed to shake the house. Both mother and daughter flinched as Jin Ikari entered the kitchen wearing a tank top and dress pants. "...Where''s my dress shirt?" Her mother shivered. "I... I haven''t finished the laundry." When Jin took an intimidating step forward, she flinched and sputtered, "I-Isla wasn''t feeling well, dear. I had to take her inside... and take care of her." The way she framed the words made it sound like it was all Isla''s fault, that the attention should be put on her. Isla stared at her mother in disbelief as her father approached, towering over her with a cold glare that she should have been used to by now, but had her chilled down to her bones nonetheless. "Are you sick?" asked her father. Isla looked at the floor in terror. "I-I''m..." He struck her across the face, leaving one ear ringing. "I told you to always look at me and speak clearly," he snapped. "Are you sick?" Isla pleadingly looked to her mother for help, but she avoided eye contact, staring at the kitchen floor. The silence earned Isla a backhanded slap the other way around. "Speak, brat!" "No," she choked out. "I''m... I''m okay." He turned away from her, towards her mother. "Get those shirts, now," he growled. "I can''t be late for this meeting." Isla watched as her mother left, not glancing back once. Her father opened the freezer drawer of the refrigerator and tossed her a cold compress for the bruise forming on her cheek. "I don''t want to be getting any calls from your teacher again," her father warned. "Not a single one." Then he, too, left the trashed, dirty kitchen. "This isn''t real," Isla whispered, her eyes wide in disbelief. "This isn''t my house. And that isn''t my mother." You''re right. None of this is real. It was real. It''s from your memories, after all. "Bullshit!" Isla screamed, leaping off the kitchen chair. As her feet hit the floor, she returned to her teenage self, and lunged, slamming Levi against the wall. "I remember! My mother did her best to take care of us, to protect us! She always put us first! She loved me!" Really? So then why did she run away? Why did she leave you behind? "She... she didn''t have a choice." As Isla spoke the words, her mouth tasted sour, almost like metal. Levi turned up his palms and shrugged, his mad grin widening, his red eyes glowing. Isla stared into them and could see that the pupils were vertical slits, like a cat''s. It''s always been fascinating to me, you know? How the mind can deny reality, just to make things a bit easier. Isla reared back her fist and punched, but as soon as her fist made contact with Levi, he disappeared, and Isla''s punch slammed into the wall behind him. For some reason, the momentum of the punch carried her forwards, and she crashed through the wall, stumbling forwards onto rough pavement. Her heart froze as she immediately recognized the landscape around her. She''d seen it often in her nightmares- the residential street she''d been left on. But instead of being clear, the houses were strange and out of focus, making them difficult to look at. She swallowed hard. "Why... how..." Levi materialized besides her, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. You wanna know what''s always the easiest lie to tell? Isla''s gaze was drawn down the street, and then she saw it- a figure knelt besides a little girl, a mother and child not too far away from them. Even though her heart was pounding with fear, her legs began to move on their own, moving her towards them. The one that people want to hear. As she approached, her father''s figure was hard to see, even more out of focus than the houses around them. Her brother''s figure was also blurry, though she could tell that he was trying to run back towards her. But her mother... her mother was crystal clear. And so was her expression. "No." Isla fell to her knees. "No, I couldn''t... I wasn''t able to see her face. My father held me down." That''s what you told yourself. Her mother''s eyes weren''t in anguish. It was easier that way, wasn''t it? Her teeth weren''t clenched in pain. Because she was the only one. She wasn''t even looking at her. The only person you thought had actually cared about you, who understood you. "..." Your mind filled in all of the inconsistencies. Especially- "Just shut up already." The distinct sound of a fire crackling became audible around Isla. The flames rippled all around her- or were they coming from her? She couldn''t tell. She was so angry she couldn''t see or think straight- not at Levi, not at her father, but at herself for being a fool, for still holding a small piece of hope inside of her that her mother would somehow, someday, come back to take her with her. A small smile appeared on Levi''s face as he walked in the fire and stood before her. Sorry, but that won''t be enough. But don''t worry! He put a single finger under her chin and lifted it up, and the surroundings around them began to change. You''ve got a guest.
"We''re going to need an overwatch," Michael had told them. "That means someone keeping an eye on the outside of the warehouse and letting us know what''s going on outside, and taking care of any problems from a distance if necessary. Quentin, I''m going to leave that to you." "Leave that to you," grumbled Quentin. "Sure, yeah, whatever." It sucked! 100% sucked! Quentin should have been the guy running in, getting shit done, carrying Isla out with one arm while knocking out Demons with the other. Lookout duty was the last place Michael should have put him. A golden padlock hit the ground with a CLUNK! as Jacob opened up the entrance to the caged ladder, sticking the lockpicks in his pocket. "Good luck," he said through his black bandanna. "Not gonna need it," Quentin muttered as he started to climb the ladder, leading to the rooftop of a large factory adjacent to the warehouse. It took forever to reach the top, and he could feel the burn in his arms and shoulders from carrying a heavy duffel bag on his back. Surely they could have made the damn thing a little bit lighter instead of weighing the equivalent of a gazillion bricks? He trekked across the gravel covered roof to reach the northeastern side, overlooking the large expanse that was the warehouse. It was surrounded by tall fencing with barbed wire at the top. A small parking lot held a ridiculously large number of cars, likely belonging to the small army inside. Quentin dropped the duffel bag to the ground with a hefty sigh, shivering as the autumn wind chilled him to the core. He unzipped the duffel bag and the gleam of metal was instantly visible. "Whoa..." He let out a low whistle as he pulled the object out of the duffel bag- a bolt-action sniper rifle, fitted with a suppressor and a bipod attached on the bottom rail. He reached into the bag and pulled out a magnification scope, attaching to the top rail of the gun. "Shit, man, if you hadn''t told me, I''da thought this was real. It''s beautiful." "Didn''t ask," was Michael''s curt reply. "Are you in position?" "One sec." He opened up the bipod and went prone, peering into the scope. "Yeah, I should be good. How do I adjust the zoom?" "Dial on the top. Use the distance counter and marks in the scope to gauge the projectile drop." "Aight." He adjusted the zoom and suddenly, he was zeroed in on a Demon''s ugly mug. A small grin formed on his face. Maybe this would be a little fun. "The main ground team will be Quinn, and Jacob," Michael continued. "All four of us will keep in contact with these earpieces- don''t take them out under any circumstances. Quinn and Jacob, use the hole you tore in the fence to escape, to get back in, then throw this to scale to the top." He gestured to a small black backpack. "It''s able to hold both your weights, but considering how strong you are, Quinn..." "What''s taking you so long, Jacob?" Quinn hissed. "I''m right here," Jacob whispered, practically in her ear. She almost screamed, but he managed to cover her mouth with his hand. "Sorry," he apologized. "Ugh, you suck," she muttered. "For multiple reasons." "Okay, that''s... fair," Jacob acknowledged. She grasped the fence and pulled up the part she''d tore to allow Jacob to crawl through, then followed him in after. "Can we... talk about the reasons I suck, at least?" he ventured. "...Okay." "Cool, yeah, um..." Jacob glanced around nervously as they entered the parking lot. "I know I broke my promise to you, but I really wanted to get you a good gift, a meaningful one, one that you''d really like." "A tour of a Demon drug den was none of those things," she muttered. "Well, I didn''t know about any of that, did I?" Jacob sighed, shaking his head. "No, it doesn''t matter. I''ve gotten you into this huge mess and shit, and I know a sorry won''t make up for any of it. But I am sorry, and I swear I won''t steal again. And, and... I will make it up to you... I don''t really know how, but... somehow, okay?" They stopped behind a van, right before they''d be at the actual warehouse itself. Instead of speaking directly to him, Quinn opted to stare into the van''s cold metal as she whispered her thoughts. "Don''t tell me you won''t steal again. It''s just not true." She wrapped her arms around her knees. "And, well, I''m not really upset about that. I''ve known you forever, I know that your... stealing thing, it''s not exactly something you can control. But, um, y''know..." Quinn pinched and tugged on the sleeve of the baggy black hoodie Michael had provided for her. "I don''t like it when you hide stuff from me, lie to me. From now on, if you steal something, I want you to just tell me. And whatever trouble you get in because of it- and knowing you, you definitely will- we''ll work it out together. Even if we need to flee the country or... I don''t know, whatever you need. Okay?" Quinn nervously glanced over at Jacob, whose mouth was hanging open, as if he wanted to say something but had no clue what. She reached out and gently lifted up his chin, but left her hand there. Her gaze shifted back to the van, though. They could have stayed like that all night, but Quentin snapped them back to reality through their earpieces. "You guys realize we''re listenin'' in on this too, right?" Embarassed, the two kids scrambled back to focusing on the task at hand. They mousily peeked out from behind the van and towards the Demon warehouse, looking for any signs of life. The warehouse was T shaped, with a few shipping and regular entrances scattered along the bottom of line of the T. But the front of the warehouse, the top line of the T, was all wall, only bearing a single sign labeling the warehouse Gallagher Warehousing and Distribution. "Quentin, are we good to move up?" asked Jacob. "You''re chilling for now, but a patrol''s coming around on the right soon," Quentin advised. "Might be safer to let ''em pass." "Go quick," Michael ordered them. "I''m right about to meet my new friends." Over towards the entrance of the warehouse, yelling from multiple men became audible. "Wait!" Quentin exclaimed. "Go in three... two... one... now!" As Quentin yelled ''now'', the clouds covered the moon, and the warehouse grounds went completely dark. Jacob and Quinn sprinted to the wall, and Jacob immediately knelt down, letting Quinn yank on the backpack''s zipper. Chink! "Uh..." Quinn tossed away the bag''s zipper handle. "Don''t really need that anyways." She reached into the bag and pulled out a length of kevlar rope attached to a grappling hook. With a mighty throw, the grappling hook sailed onto the roof. Jacob reeled it in until it got stuck on the edge of the roof, then Quinn pulled on the rope a few times to ensure it was secure. "Quinn''s heading up," Jacob whispered as sh egrabbed the rope, cautiously taking a few steps. "Michael and his friends are moving quicker than expected," Quentin informed them. "You got around 30 seconds." "That''s not enough time for me to make it to the top!" squeaked Quinn, already a couple meters up. She was about to jump off the rope when Jacob grabbed on. "What are you doing?!" "Just go!" Jacob snapped. "There''s no time to argue!" "But the plan was for me to pull you up!" "I can make it!" Jacob gritted his teeth, forcing his burning arms to rapidly climb. "Move it!" They made frantic progress, scaling up to the warehouse''s sign. Jacob could feel his arms giving in, but a fall from this height would be a guaranteed hospital trip, if not an instant death. He had to keep going. He had to... keep... Shit! His right foot lost traction on the warehouse wall and slipped, putting too much pressure on his already dying arms. His right arm gave way, and suddenly he was dangling by only his left, only a few seconds away from a certain death like a fool. He only had the time and energy to think, Sorry, Quinn. Sorry, Bowen. Then, his left arm gave out, and he had no choice but to surrender to weightlessness. "You''re not going to like this part of the plan," warned Michael. "I''m going to like it even less. But do I think it''s necessary in order to save Isla as quickly as possible? Yeah. So we''re going with it. It''s a surefire way to get straight to her and get her out." After explaining it to them, the kids had all balked. Jacob''s expression was utterly bewildered. "What? Why the hell would you do that?" "Getting yourself killed is part of your grand plan?" Quinn shaken her head in disagreement. "No, stop it. For all you know, they''ll just shoot you and be done with it." "I''ll be fine," he promised. "I know what to say to get the attention of Isla''s dad. Most they''ll do is maybe smack me around a bit. Then you set off the explosives, I free Isla, you pull us out." "And if shit hits the fan, you got a plan B?" Quentin asked him skeptically. Michael shrugged. "Well... more or less." Following the briefing at the treehouse, after the others had left, I let out a deep sigh in my chair as I rubbed my wing necklace between my fingers, mentally preparing myself for what I had to do. When I was ready, I closed my eyes and concentrated deeply, letting myself fall into a barely conscious state. When I opened my eyes again, I was still in the treehouse, but it was slightly... off. The walls seemed to shimmer like a mirage, and my necklace was no longer in my hand. But the most obvious tell that I was inside my own mindscape was Levi, who was now physically in front of me again. "Oh? And here I thought we weren''t on speaking terms?" he said aloud. Hearing his voice, a sinister replica of mine, threw me off every time I heard it. "Thought it only made sense for you to help me clean up your own mess." I folded one leg on top of the other. "I want you on standby during this. We''ll share the chair if things get rough." I scooted over in my seat, leaving half the chair open for him to sit in. He rolled his eyes. "Standby? Why not have me just wipe the whole place clean, burn the evidence to the ground? It''s not like anyone will miss them." "No." I glared at him. "Enough. I will go back on the meds if you keep fucking around, Levi. Don''t test me." "I find it so cute that you think a couple of drug store pills will, ah... ''keep me in line.'' But, fuck it..." His lips twisted into his usual wide grin. "I''m very much interested in seeing the trail she blazes." I frowned. "She?" "Don''t worry about it." He spread his hands, almost as if in defeat. "Cross my heart, I''ll do whatever you say, ''boss.'' Well... as long as it''s interesting." I sighed. That would have to be good enough for now, though I definitely didn''t like the ''interesting'' clause he''d added at the end. I closed my eyes and focused again, this time sending myself back to reality... or at least, I thought so. There wasn''t really any time for me to test that. With care, I put on the necklace and tucked it into my shirt, feeling the cool metal of the wings against my chest. "Alright," I muttered, grabbing a small cloth bag, some rope, and a tiny knife off my desk. "Let''s get this stupid ass plan in motion."