When we arrived at the police station, Anne and I went inside to get their attention. The reception desk was attended by a dreary looking female police officer. Her face shot up from the desk as a buzzer sounded as we walked inside. I asked to see detective Swan and she told me that he had actually been looking for me. We were escorted into one of the back rooms of the station and we sat down at a table in the centre of the room. Mr Swan walked in the room a moment later and seated himself at the opposite end of the table from us. He looked exhausted as he smoked a cigarette and leant over the back of his chair only to rest his elbows on the table afterwards. I looked at the badge on his overcoat; he wasn’t just the head detective; he was filling in as the chief of police for Fellbroke which explained why he looked so worn out.
“I suppose I should start with the formalities. How are the two of you? Enjoy the wedding last week?”
“Giggle. Would you look at you? Trying to act like this isn’t an interrogation. How adorable.” Anne was on guard and knew this was more than a simple meet and greet.
“Now now, don’t be like that. It doesn’t have to be one if I receive your full cooperation and besides it’s not like I don’t know why you’re really here. You came to convince me to let that girl go, didn’t you?”
“I wouldn’t be here right now if she wasn’t here. I heard you were looking for me?” I asked trying not to push my luck as the detective blew smoke in our faces.
“I see you waste no time in asking what I want. It doesn’t matter though since I’m not letting that girl go. She’s not only a criminal but also an abomination that’s guilty of cannibalism, murder, theft and several cases of assault. She will be tried before a court of law regardless of what you have to say.”
“That’s fine and dandy and all, but you didn’t answer his question, Detective,” Anne wasn’t about to let him shut us down just yet.
“Well I wanted to make an arrest tonight not only on the girl but you as well, Wade; you have been conspiring and cooperating with criminals after all.” He threw several security camera shots of both Angel and I sitting at the café drinking coffee alongside Sinclair, others of me with Risk running around at night. It definitely pissed me off to see someone I trusted to go behind my back to take me down.
“You really think you’re in control of this situation, don’t you? That the law is on your side, so you can do whatever you want?” Anne was biding her time at this point and we were in a very bad spot.
“I’m only doing my job, to stomp out crime and bring justice to those who have wronged the innocent. I intend to keep my promise, or my time here would have been for nothing. Bring her in,” he called to the door and two police officers escorted Angel into the room with her hands restrained with handcuffs. They pushed her into me and slammed the door behind them after exiting the room. Angel was trembling in my arms and I could understand why; one wrong move and our lives would have been stolen from us, forced to live in cages. The detective showed no fear, only his resolve as he finished his cigarette while he stared us down.
“Sigh. I also know you’re just stalling me, so your friends can make a move. You all would have been better off if you never looked into all of this. There are some things better off left in the dark, but I guess you couldn’t help yourselves.”
“What are you talking about? We’re all just trying to get by! I don’t care how messed up our past was. We’re trying to make the best of everything now!” Angel screamed at him trying to assert the fact that she had done nothing wrong.
“He’s talking about the hospital. You’re pissed that we went snooping and that Johnny has a better grasp on the murders, experiments and all the psychopaths springing up in Fellbroke than you do. What do you really want, David Swan? Can you really say you’re just doing your job?”
“I am bringing the notorious murderer, Sinclair Natsuki, to justice not for myself, not for the people of Fellbroke, but for the sake of justice itself. Angel Natsuki, if he were my father, I would have put a bullet through his skull a long time ago,” he said to her bluntly.
Anne suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, rolling along the ground holding her sides. Her eyes were shining a bright red and she continued to laugh until she began to cough, as if it was so funny to her that it hurt. She brought herself from the ground while wiping the tears out of her eyes.
“Chuckle. Are you seriously trying to tell us that your resolve is so weak that you’re going with such a half-assed excuse for doing all this? Could it be that you’re trying to catch Sinclair for fame and wealth beyond your wildest dreams? That you’re too stubborn to admit that you are a greedy, petty fool?”
“I have my own reasons for why I absolutely cannot let this case slip through my fingers. I won’t give up until I achieve what I set out to do.” The detective sparked up another cigarette and stood turning his back to us. He was no better than Risk using Angel as bait to lure Sinclair in and his plan would play out as such, but it was Sinclair himself that he truly didn’t anticipate. The detective pulled out his chrome revolver from his overcoat and he aimed at Angel. I stood in front of her without a second thought, but he assured me if I died, he would just shoot Angel after I fell. Staring down the barrel of a cold gun, my heart raced. Fearing what would happen next. Roar!!! The thunderous howls of beast echoed all throughout Fellbroke, a dark swirling cloud drifted over the city. A cold-blooded murderer had come back home with his monstrous family to set things right. The ceiling gave way and slabs of concrete and metal came crashing down on the table in front of us. From the hole that formed in the ceiling, Sinclair hurled himself through it to face the detective. His face was wrapped in cloth drenched by freshly spilt blood; he held a machete still dripping from carving flesh and the stench of death lingered around him. He stayed silent as he tightly gripped the handle of his blade, but the roars and screams of his creations running rampant throughout Fellbroke took away from the silence. Phones were ringing throughout the station like a natural disaster had struck. The detective didn’t lower his gun, taking the safety off instead. The detective’s arm shook as he tried to hold his gun steady, not out of fear, but out of anticipation and he had a smile on his face as he stared the murderer in the eyes.
“So, here you finally are. You’re even more terrifying than I thought you would be.”
“Are you trying to die?” Sinclair said as giant beasts began to poke their heads through the hole in the ceiling.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“Well I’d love to see how all of this plays out, but we have other things to do. So, we’re going to have to say goodnight,” I abruptly spoke over them and the wall behind us crumbled to dust. As the cloud dispersed, Raul, the talking beast, Risk and Johnson appeared with Cindy hiding behind them.
“Real sorry about this, Detective!” Johnson yelled as he straight up drop kicked him to the floor, knocking his gun away from him. The dreary looking policewoman barged into the room and stood in front of the detective as he brought himself from the ground.
“Chief! The entire city’s in trouble! Those things are everywhere, and all units are occupied. The spectres have been deployed but they’re not enough; they’re all over the place.”
“Sigh. So that’s how it’s going to be, is it? I guess justice isn’t as black and white as I thought it was. Sinclair, call off your monsters and I’ll drop this case. I’ll let you and your family go. I will never bother them again.”
“Why must I consider the words of a simple pawn? You may have authority now, your words may be true to yourself, but what’s to stop your replacement from pursuing me in the same way? This city can rot for all I care.”
“I’m not really in a position to bargain, am I? Look, this case wasn’t about doing the right thing. Honestly, I don’t care all that much about Fellbroke either. I have experienced nothing but horrors in my investigations here. Chuckle. You really have become a true tyrant, so powerful that an entire city is forced to bow down to your hatred. I can’t exactly give you a reason to stop all this; you’re just going to have to trust me.”
Sinclair sheathed his machete and gave out his hand; the detective shook it as he concealed his revolver inside his overcoat.
“I made a promise to stop being this way, so I could commit myself to those who need me. If you are true to your word, I will continue to allow Fellbroke to flourish and grow. I’ll stop being a tyrant and one day I’ll use my talents to aid in that said growth. However, go back on your word, or if my family should come to harm, I will see to it that this city burns in the most horrific way imaginable.”
A compromise may have been formed, but the chaos didn’t just up and fix itself. Sinclair vanished before our very eyes and we looked outside the police station. The beasts giving up on their destruction, running off to a rendezvous set by their master. They had left Fellbroke a complete mess with corpses lying throughout the streets. Most of which were never seen again, probably because they became additions to Sinclair’s twisted family of beasts. The damage they caused had hundreds of businesses closed for quite some time after that night. We weren’t exactly let off the hook for all the trouble he had caused either, but the detective did follow through on his word, so it wasn’t like we were punished too severely. He spoke to all of us in his small cramped office. He sat on his desk while the rest of us stood in and around the doorway facing his desk.
“I guess there you have it, as long as Sinclair practically owns Fellbroke, I have no choice but to let you go. I never really believed in the idea of second chances and with the position I’m in, well I still refuse to accept them completely. You all seem to be making the best of what’s been given to you. This is your second chance, waste it and I will arrest you even if it means we are all to be punished,” the detective said in a serious tone, mainly staring at the three former members of Sinclair’s twisted family. Cindy tapped me on the shoulder and sincerely thanked me and everyone else for going so far to help her. She looked tired and we could see the whole experience was just as hard on her.
Before leaving, we had to fill out various sorts of legal forms and statements. It wasn’t until around one in the morning until we got home. All the attention throughout the city had Sophia worried sick while Nami and Dad were just glad to see us safe and sound. I explained everything that happened to us and after hearing all of it Sophia was pretty much ready to rip my throat out. Angel and I were dead tired from our holidays and this wild night wasn’t the best way to settle back into our day-to-day lives. We dragged our luggage we had left in the kitchen from earlier through the hallway to our room and left it next to the door inside. We collapsed against the bed. Angel nuzzled her face against mine with her eyes closed. We didn’t say anything and just enjoyed how quiet everything was, of course that was asking for too much. My phone started going off. I looked to Angel and she told me to answer it. Thankfully it was only Johnson, but he gave me something to think about.
“I’m sorry to call so late and if you were already asleep, I’m sorrier still.”
“Don’t worry, Johnson; I was just letting my mind wonder a bit. What did you want to talk about?”
“Well I have bit more to say than usual, let me start off by saying I’m glad Sinclair intervened when he did. I wasn’t entirely confident on the jailbreak I came up with. I’m glad West and I didn’t have to follow through with it.”
“No kidding, you may have been something close to a gangster back in the day, but making threats and stomping heads. I couldn’t really see you actually doing that sort of thing.”
“I’m just really glad to be home after all that. Sigh.” Angel added as she rested against me as I ran my fingers through her long black hair and stared into her eyes as I spoke with Johnson.
“So, I’m a tad curious as to why everything played out this way…Wade, are you listening to me?”
“Oh, sorry Johnny, I let myself get distracted. I missed those last few bits.”
“I guess it’s only natural that you would be tired after everything going on lately. I was wondering what led everything to this breaking point. Mr Swan came off as if he was acting in desperation and he’s clearly disappointed to be letting this case go. The way he spoke was as if he had a lot going on. I want to know what put so much pressure on him to lead up to what happened,” Johnson was so perceptive at times it was almost painful. What he suggested was that we pry even further into things than we had already. My curiosity stung at the corners of my mind, but for once common sense or whatever it was, told me to back down. We found horrors and sickening beast every time we delved deeper into what was being hidden. It was almost certain that if we chose to look further into this we would find only more of such things. I put Angel on the phone and told her I wanted to hear her opinion. She heard him out and her response was sharp and to the point.
“There’s no point in ignoring the truth, if you did that in the past. I wouldn’t be here right now. I would be still waiting in that house waiting for someone to come home. Johnny, if you want to look into this, I’ll help you.”
I had hoped that she could have seen it in the same light as I did, but to her this wasn’t about following curiosity down its long road. It was about unveiling the truth. I still wasn’t sure on the idea of it all and I didn’t want us getting ourselves into trouble again. However, whether we acted or not, trouble would come looking for us.
“Don’t worry, Wade, I won’t act behind your back. If your instincts are telling you otherwise, then I’ll respect your judgement.” Johnson wasn’t thinking about this half-heartedly either.
“Thanks Johnny, I definitely think you’re onto something. We’ll talk this out later, okay? I’m gonna try and catch some sleep. Night,” I hung up the phone and as I turned to Angel, she had a pouty look on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Pat my head like you were before,” she demanded of me.
“Nothing huh? You sound a tiny bit upset to me. Did I say something to annoy you?” I asked and then unzipped the back of her dress as I ran my hand down through her hair until I reached the zipper. Her pouting face quickly turned to a giddy smile with rosy cheeks as she pressed herself against me. We spent the next couple of hours enjoying ourselves to our heart’s content and for once it wasn’t Dad and Sophia echoing throughout the house.
The next day we had off to rest up before going back to our jobs and we used much of the day in the same way as we did the night. Lying in bed, flirting and messing around with each other. Around four that afternoon Angel and I went to the café after picking Nami up from school. She looked ridiculous sitting next to us at the counter in her school uniform since it didn’t suit her at all. Dan was washing up dishes in the sink away from the counter and Nami was indulging herself with some chocolate cake she ordered, it wasn’t cheap on my wallet either. She was happy with it though; so I let it go. Angel would also sneak bites at it whenever Nami took her eyes off it, so she could peak over at my phone while I was scrolling through an article I was reading while enjoying some coffee.
“You’re really going to town on that cake, aren’t you?” Dan called from the sink.
“It’s really good!” she screamed as she shoved another piece into her mouth.
“I’m glad you like it because I’m the one who made it,” he said to us as he dried off his hands and came and sat down with us. He helped himself to a piece of cake and happily wolfed it down. Dan gave off such a friendly vibe; it was easy for us to relax around him.
“I didn’t know you baked, Dan,” I said after a sip of my coffee.
“I don’t normally, but today’s been pretty quiet, so I thought I’d try something new.”
“I noticed the place wasn’t nearly as rowdy as usual. Why do you think that is?” Angel asked while casually grabbing another piece of the cake. Dan laughed as he watched the heartbreak on Nami’s face as she discovered almost all of it was gone.
“It’s quiet because everyone’s out cleaning after all the damages from last night. People have better things to do than sit around and drink coffee. Sigh. You could have told me that you were planning to confront the detective, none of this might have even happened otherwise,” I had no hesitation in following up on his statement since that was a pretty serious claim to make.
“Have you been talking to the detective while we’ve been away Daniel?” Angel asked in a firm, assertive tone. To her, he made it sound like he had set the whole incident into motion. I tried not to jump to any conclusions before hearing what he had to say.
“Woah, calm down, Angel. About fifteen minutes from now the detective has been frequenting this café every day for the past week while you were away. I didn’t say anything about the two of you to him. He didn’t even mention your names. If you stick around you can hear him out, he’s actually a pretty righteous kind of guy.”
Angel stood up and took Nami by the hand with her umbrella in the other. She went to the door and looked back at us.
“Come on, Nami. We’re leaving. I have nothing to say to that man.” She stormed out and Nami ran out after her while she chomped down on her last piece of cake. I really love Angel, but I really wished she wouldn’t hate people as fiercely as she did.
“I’ll talk with the detective for a bit, then I’ll go home to cheer up Angel,” I said with a pained look on my face. Dan apologised for stirring her up so much and I was glad I chose to stick around. Sure enough, the detective visited the café a few short moments later and ordered some coffee as he sat down beside me.
“I’m surprised you’re here alone, Wade,” he said to me as Dan handed him his coffee.
“I wasn’t alone at first, but when my girlfriend heard you might show up soon, she stormed out the door. What’s up with you Mr Swan? You seem pretty down.” He looked to me and laughed after I said that. He took off his overcoat and laid it over the counter. He let out a deep breath after a sip of his coffee.
“That really takes the edge off. To answer your question, I’ve had better days than the ones recently. I know I was wrong to do what I did last night, but I didn’t have any other choice and after everything that happened it still wasn’t enough.” We both were quiet after that as we tried to think of what to say next to one another. Dan placed another coffee in front of us and went back to washing up dishes.
“How about you tell him what you told me detective?”
“I suppose I owe that much for confiding in you over the past week.” The detective swallowed his pride and told me everything as I listened carefully to every word.
“I really needed this case. If I brought Sinclair and all parties involved to justice, two things I needed desperately. It was all for my daughter, she’s sick…it’s not cancer or heart disease or anything like that, but it may as well be. I might have been able to pay enough people off to have them really look into her treatment.”
“What do you mean? So, you’re saying she’s not going to be okay?” I asked softly.
“The doctors don’t know what it is and she’s not getting any better…I’m really running out of ideas.”
Suddenly Dan started coughing as he started choking on some coffee he made for himself. We both got up to help him out. I rubbed his back while Mr Swan held his arm steady, so he wouldn’t spill any of his coffee.
“Are you okay, Dan?”
“I’m fine Cough. Cough. I just had a thought that could fix your problem. I remember overhearing something at the wedding about Sinclair, that he could heal people with his blood. There’s your answer! You were searching for the solution the entire time!” He was on the right track; the same thought crossed my mind when I heard the problem also. However, David had already taken this into consideration and wasn’t big on the idea.
“Sigh. I already know about all that Daniel. I’ve seen the doctor’s notes and journal that described the procedure. He used a very painful process for both him and the patient that underwent the procedure, it doesn’t always work either. The horde of beasts running around Fellbroke is proof of that and every success he has managed so far has been sheer luck. Besides…”
“If it does work his daughter will turn out like Sophia, Risk and Anne. Red eyes, pale skin and a freak,” I explained and knowing all of this didn’t make me feel any better, but it was as Angel said. It was better to confront the truth than to ignore it.
“There’s also the trouble of finding him, he’s almost impossible to keep track of and even if I did manage to find Sinclair, there’s no guarantee he would cooperate. He would sooner murder me in cold blood.”
I pulled out my phone and brought up Sinclair’s number from when he called me the night after the pool party at Johnson’s house.
“Let’s see about that, it couldn’t hurt to ask. If Sinclair is true to his word, I think he would rather help save a life than end one.” The phone rang for about thirty seconds before Sinclair answered it. I could hear the waves crashing against the shore behind him; he was with the Orwell family still.
“Good afternoon boy, is there something you need? Chuckle. Or perhaps you need me to bail you out of some detestable situation like last night?” I hadn’t even said anything yet and he was already trying to get under my skin. I asked him if he could help the detective’s daughter and he just laughed. “So, that’s why he was able to face death so enduringly last night. He stubbornly refuses to let fate take what’s precious to him. We might be more alike than I originally anticipated. Very well, I will assist him. However, the blame is his alone if things go astray.”
He told us he would be at the café shortly and that we should make any arrangements needed for Mr Swan’s daughter. The detective began making several phone calls and I called home to let Angel know I probably wouldn’t be home until later that night, she was pretty pissed off with me.
“Try not to cause any more trouble, you two; I don’t think Fellbroke can handle anymore wild nights like last night,” Dan said to us as he started to close up the shop. Sinclair walked through the door wearing his heavy beast taming gear with his green hooded jacket over the top and his face in wraps. His machete was sheathed on his right arm and was loosely concealed by his jacket.
“Well, shall we go?” he asked with his eyes glowing their distinctive shade of crimson beneath the shade of his hood. Mr Swan threw on his overcoat and ensured his chrome revolver was in a position where he could draw it as fast as possible. I followed behind the pair as they walked side-by-side, looking dead ahead. Their eyes would flick to the side every so often to reassure that they weren’t trying to kill each other.
We drove to the hospital in the centre of Fellbroke and withdrew the detective’s daughter; it was a sad sight. She was no older than Nami and she didn’t even have the strength to walk. David put her inside the car and leaned her against me to hold herself upright. She was beautiful even though I found it hard to look at her while she was like that. Her hair was pure white, and she had pale blue eyes. Her face was feminine and refined.
“A-are we going home now, Daddy?” she asked as she passed out against me. The detective looked down at himself before he shot his eyes back directly ahead of him to face reality.
“Sigh. This is my last chance. I absolutely will not fail you, Laura.” He then put the car into full throttle and we flew through Fellbroke with a siren screaming atop of the car and a normally very long drive out of the city to the hospital on its outskirts was cut quite short.
When we arrived at the hospital, Sinclair was greeted by his beasts as they licked, roared and stared at him. He went off to start gathering equipment and supplies for the procedure. Even though we were allied with Sinclair for the moment, it wasn’t any less unsettling to see packs of abominations sprinting past us as we walked through the blood-stained halls of the hospital, the only light around us was coming from underneath the floorboards of the bottom floor, but that soon disappeared as we made our way to the third floor. Sinclair collected some medical equipment from a storage room and then we went back down to the examination room on the first floor. He had one of the beasts pull up the floorboards and we jumped down into the tunnel below. The detective flicked on his flashlight and in the darkness, was an abundant garden on strange abnormal plants growing from moss and vines growing along the walls. There were pitch-black flowers and juicy large fruits and vegetables that I had never seen before. This produce is what sustained the beasts, rather than devouring one another. When Sinclair let them loose on the city, flesh must have been a delicacy to them. At the end of the room, it didn’t resemble anything like a surgery room or anything like that. It was just a bedroom, it was Sinclair’s. He laid a light blue mat on the cold concrete floor and we carefully laid Laura on top of it. To start, Sinclair injected her with a strange yellow liquid that apparently was a sedative. He then cut an incision directly to her heart. The sheer amount of blood that spilled out onto the mat was terrifying, but it was too late to turn back. He then took a large needle and stabbed himself until he filled a vial with his own blood. He was looking a little woozy after he did that, but he continued by injecting the needle into the exposed heart, no amount of sedative was going to numb the pain that followed afterwards. Sinclair quickly sewed the open wound shut and quickly grabbed a bottle of what looked like saliva and using a brush, he applied it over the wound. The gash in her chest rapidly healed before our very eyes, but once his blood was inside her bloodstream, she woke up screaming in horrible pain as she grabbed at her chest.
“Calm yourself child, endure it,” Sinclair said sternly as she cried and screamed some more. David gritted his teeth as he watched his daughter riving in agony, but he stayed quiet and looked on. Her screams of pain and suffering suddenly became screams of pleasure and relief. The young girl’s agony was replaced by a heated sensation as new blood ate away at her clotted veins and allowed them to start flowing normally again. Her eyes began to glow that shade of crimson red we had all become accustomed to and she began to drool and sweat uncontrollably.
Sinclair on the other hand was struggling to stay on his feet and fell back against the wall of the room. Some of his beasts came to his side to comfort him while two others dragged a body into the room. It was pretty much a fresh kill, probably from the chaos that went on in Fellbroke. They threw the body on the ground in front of her and her eyes were drawn to it. Thin streams of blood formed claws on the end of her fingers and a thick red row of teeth formed in the same way inside her mouth. She dragged herself over to the body and feasted on its flesh, savagely tearing chunks of flesh from it and swallowing them nearly whole only after a few bites. Both David and I watched in horror as the weak little girl devoured the corpse like an animal on the verge of death. David drew his revolver and aimed it at her; she didn’t even react as he held the gun, crying his eyes out.
“Don’t do it detective, giving up some of your humanity is sometimes necessary to defy death. My blood will eat away at her entirety if not given some fuel to burn,” Sinclair called to him as he brought himself from the wall with the help of his beast.
“She’s a monster now! She wouldn’t have wanted this for herself!” he yelled as the gun wobbled in his hands as they shook.
“Then would you really cut her life short to the point of that her last experience was being a monster? She’ll pull through this; it won’t be much longer now.”
The detective lowered his firearm and it was only after the young girl had devoured the corpse entirely, her hands covered in blood and her eyes still burning bright, that her consciousness came back to her. She didn’t have a clue of what was going on and the blood on her hands frightened her, but she wasn’t in pain anymore. However, her body was still too weak to move on its own. Sinclair told her to look down at herself; she saw her skin was now pale. Her hair was still white as snow and did not deepen to black which Sinclair found strange. The claws and teeth that formed disappeared and apart from her deep red eyes, she wasn’t much different from before.
“What’s going on here? Where are we, Daddy? Who are those people? What are those things! What happened here!” she screamed as she laid her eyes on the gore-ridden floor and the monsters. David wiped the tears from his eyes and had a giant grin on his face.
“Sniffle. H-how do you feel, Laura?” he asked her, ignoring her questions.
“I feel better…I feel better! I feel better!” she yelled triumphantly.
“We’re really glad to hear that. Your dad’s been causing a lot of trouble trying to look after you,” I said as the horror from before began to wear off.
“Sigh. You had better take a better look at yourself. Wade, mind handing her your phone, so she can see herself now?”
When she saw her reflection, she dropped the phone after discovering her now burning red eyes. She couldn’t believe it; their presence was almost overwhelming as she admired them. She asked Sinclair about them.
“I truly don’t know the reason for it, but when my blood reaches the brain it turns the host’s eyes red, that’s how we cured you by injecting a heavy dose of my blood into your heart.” The girl looked down at her chest to see no scar which confused her further.
“We don’t really have time to explain everything. We should consider going home, it’s getting dark.”
“I suppose you’re right, Wade, the girl’s rehabilitation can start tomorrow. I must tend to my beast; bring her to your home, Wade. I trust the detective has to go back to his job shortly.”
“He’s right, I have a lot of dead to account and investigate for from the other night, pick her up and I’ll drive you home,” the detective said in an exhausted tone and just like that all the responsibility was dumped on me, like usual. I spoke with Laura for a little while on the drive back home. She was a well-mannered, polite young girl. It was obvious she felt guilty for what she put us through.
“So, Wade was it? Who are you? How did you end up helping me out?”
“Well it’s a little hard for me to explain, it’ll be easier once you’ve met my family. I guess you can say I’m the middle man in all of this, the one that brings everyone together.”
“Giggle. That sounds kind of interesting. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.”
“What about you? Who were you before you got sick?” I asked curiously.
“I was living with my Dad in Aubrey. I had heaps of friends at school and I was the top of my class.”
“Well I’d say I believe you on that, you sound very mature for your age.”
“Thank you. Hopefully I can recover soon. I miss playing with my friends back home. Fellbroke is such a loud and wild place compared to Aubrey.”
“Come to think of it Nami and Sophia said they were from Aubrey. Maybe you’ve already met them.”
“Nami? Oh, I remember her. She was really funny!” Laura said cheerfully. I couldn’t really imagine Nami as someone who was described as funny though. I came to the conclusion that it was probably the way she would often act out and do whatever she wanted that got her that kind of praise.
We arrived home around eight o’clock, Dad, Angel and Sophia greeted us at the front gate. I held Laura in my arms and the detective spoke with them except for Angel; her eyes widened as she caught sight of the young girl. Dad and Sophia were bitterly cold to Mr Swan as he tried to explain the situation.
“Can’t she stay with her mother? Wade and Angel have taken too much time off work recently. I doubt they have the time to look after a sick child,” I heard Dad say as the detective pushed on with his negotiations.
“Sigh. She doesn’t have one, she passed away a few years back. Please, I’m just asking she stay somewhere that I can trust her to be safe. She’s too weak to travel right now and I’ve had people breathing several different cases down the back of my neck for a while now. I can’t keep putting them off.”
“Alright, she can stay here,” Dad said bluntly after hearing him out.
“Jason!” Sophia yelled in shock from how easily he caved. To me it made sense though; Dad knew how hard it could be on kids without a mother. Not only that, but he must have felt a great deal of empathy for the young girl. He could see that she had been through a lot, more than any one person should. Sophia came over to me and Laura. She placed her hand beneath Laura’s chin and examined her in detail. Sophia’s glowing red eyes made Laura nervous as she was inspected head to toe. Laura buried her face in my shoulder to hide from her gaze.
“Why is your hair white? Was it white before Sinclair changed you?” Sophia asked impatiently; she nodded nervously but stayed quiet.
“Sophia, that’s enough; we can talk this all out once she’s feeling better.”
Sophia was strongly set on the issue at hand, but she knew arguing the way we were wasn’t going to get her anywhere since Dad had already made up his mind about it. I took Laura inside and we passed the couch where Nami was sitting; she recognised her immediately. She couldn’t find words as she saw one of her old friends in a condition where they didn’t even have the strength to walk, wearing a new sickly pale face. Laura just smiled cheerfully and waved as we walked to the hallway to go to my room. Inside, Angel sat on the bed with Laura resting on her lap while I sat on the floor.
“So, you’re like me then?” she asked looking up at Angel.
“Not quite, I was born like this. It’s really not that bad at all,” she said in a panic
“I know; you’re really pretty and kind. So, being like this must be fine too.”
Angel blushed vibrantly as she turned her head away from her and I laughed; it was adorable. “Thank you.”
“Well, Laura, your time here will definitely be interesting, I can say that much. As far as your rehabilitation goes, I know a guy who went through the same thing as what you’re going through; he should be willing to help you.”
We then heard a knock at the door and Mr Swan entered the room. He sat down with us and explained that he had to leave Fellbroke for a while and wanted us to take care of Laura. Angel glared at him scornfully as she held her. I asked how long he was going to be away from Fellbroke for and he told me it was going to be for at least a year. Tears began to fall from the young girl’s face and I looked at the floor in disappointment.
“Seriously an entire year, that’s a lot of responsibility for us. Even if she’s all better by then. Are you sure this is all about work?” I asked him, trying to come to terms with the idea.
“It’s not something I can talk my way out of. People need my help. I can’t stay here in Fellbroke any longer.”
“Who would have thought there’s a place with a more sadistic psychopathic murder than here in Fellbroke,” I replied sarcastically.
“Very funny, Wade. I’m not leaving because I want to. I’m just…”
“Doing your job?” Angel finished his sentence while biting her lip.
The detective looked to her with a guilty expression on his face. He then hugged his daughter and said farewell to us. It would be a long while until we saw him again and our lives grew only more complicated after that night.
For the next week I was actually able to go to work and do my job like I was supposed to. Risk spent his days over the week helping Laura back to her feet and to get well enough to take care of herself. He was surprisingly dedicated to her and it was like he had forgotten that she was almost nothing less than a stranger to him. Laura quickly found her place in our family and was adored by everyone. Celia tolerated her more than anything, but it was better than the bitterness she usually showed to Nami. By the end of the week Risk had Laura up and moving on her own, but only for short moments at a time.
The following Sunday was my next day off and I woke up that day feeling a little more refreshed than usual. Angel was already awake and looking through the wardrobe for something nice to wear. She threw me my phone. I had a message from Risk saying that he was taking Laura to see the city. She had only been in a hospital bed up until recently. I went into the kitchen to make some coffee. Laura was sitting at the table fitting some new white joggers onto her feet with her white hair tied back into a ponytail. She was wearing a black t-shirt and some tights underneath a dark blue skirt. Nami was sitting beside her in a white sundress. I wasn’t really sure what they were talking about, but they were happily chatting together, so I kept quiet as I brewed my coffee. Angel came into the kitchen wearing a dark blue dress; she poured herself some coffee and sat beside me at the table.
“Nami, you look lovely today. I see you want to look good for today’s date,” Angel teased her.
“Date?” Laura looked around curiously at us. “W-what are you talking about?”
“Throw a dog a bone and I guess this stuff will happen,” I said before downing the rest of my coffee once it cooled. I then went back to my room to get ready. I wore a pair of black jeans and shoes that I could still run easily in. I figured there would be a reason why Laura would be wearing joggers, so I went along with it. Risk and Cindy showed up at the front door of our house twenty minutes later and we all left for the centre of the city.
It was a lively day and the walk to the train station was probably the most we got to relax all day. We boarded the train and arrived in the centre plaza of the city lined with high buildings that had beautiful rooftop gardens and cars rushed past us every few seconds. Risk watched the two young girls as they ran around and danced as we moved through the busy streets. Angel, Cindy and I tailed behind them, wondering what today had in store for us. Angel was a little less hostile to Risk today, but I could still feel the resentment hiding behind her smiling face whenever she spoke to him. We went to a restaurant on top of one of the tall buildings. Its dining area was outside on the roof and had a vibrant courtyard filled with small trees and flourishing flowers. After being shown to our table and we had our orders taken, Risk wasted no time in showing just what we really came for once the waiter had walked away.
“Laura, check this out for a second,” he said to her and he got out of his chair. He went into a sprint and leapt the courtyard fence, hurling himself off the side of the building. He disappeared from sight for only a second before running up the side of the opposing building facing the restaurant. He pushed off it, soaring through the air backwards, he backflipped towards us and landed flawlessly. Laura clapped and cheered for him as he bowed boastfully while on his way back to his seat.
“Show off. Keep this up and I’ll have to keep you on a leash just so I can tie you down,” Cindy said jealously as Laura stared at him with excitement in her eyes. Risk whispered something in her ear and her face suddenly turned bright red and she quickly turned away from him. Nami heard what he said and went to repeat it and they both rushed a hand each over her mouth.
“So, Laura, you want to learn how to do that?” Laura’s face was practically glowing once she started picturing herself lunging through the air and she nodded happily.
“You really want to teach her how to free run already? She’s only just back on her feet, can she even run?”
“It’s fine Wade, if she’s not ready yet then there’s no rush. If she’s going to be anything like me, then she would be best off learning this kind of stuff. Not everyone is a fan of red eyes these days.”
“Well as long as you don’t push yourself too hard Laura, feel free to take on any challenge Risk gives you.”
“I’ll do my best!” she said in a serious tone. When the waiters brought us our meals, we sat down and talked for a bit.
“By the way how was your vacation? I mean going to the beach as a couple sounds really romantic,” Cindy asked, and Angel giggled to herself as she wrapped her arms around me while I tried to eat.
“It was really fun. I want to go again one day. Maybe both you and Risk can come along next time.” Cindy and Risk froze up as she threw the idea out to them. The girls stared at them curiously and I laughed under my breath as I realised what was wrong with the pair.
“Was it something I said? Giggle.” Angel was teasing them and got a fair bit of enjoyment out of the discomfort on their faces. The two girls were still a step behind on everything though.
“Angel, we’re not a couple. He just stays at my house sometimes after he drops me home from work.”
“Adorable. I think these two need to be left alone for a little while, so they can sort things out.” Once she said that, time felt heavy, distorted and cold. I looked up at the sky to see it was grey and the clouds were rapidly rushing, disappearing and reforming. As I went to look at Angel, the effect wore off and next thing we knew, we were on top of a giant skyscraper looking down on the courtyard we were just in. Both the young girls and I collapsed against the roof as if we dropped from thin air. Angel stood confidently as the wind blew through her long black hair.
“Angel, when did you learn to?” I yelled only to go quiet as I saw the smile on her face.
“The world’s a pretty strange place, don’t you think?” she asked me while staring down at herself.
“I guess it is. Sigh. Just don’t do that again without warning me, it’s kind of scary up and vanishing from one spot.” I may have been fairly calm, but the two girls were freaking out as they gazed over Fellbroke from the giant tower. Risk texted me to ask what happened and I explained it to him. I could see the relieved expression he made even from the skyscraper. I sat down with Angel and put my arm over her shoulder. Something was bugging her today I just couldn’t get my head around to what it was.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I’m sure I’m just overthinking things,” she turned her face away from me while rubbing her eyes. I went on to encourage her to speak up and I was starting to get an idea of why she was upset.
“If something’s bothering you, tell me because you know I’ll listen.”
“It’s just that I’m serious about being serious with you. You said there were some things you wanted to do first before we go any further than we have. I thought I was patient enough, that I’d be able to go without saying anything…I feel like we’re just playing around.”
I looked at her with a somewhat guilty look on my face and I took a deep breath in.
“Sigh. I know Angel. Despite everything that’s happened we probably just have been going with the flow more than anything else. Look, if you really feel that way…” I stopped when I saw the two young girls staring at me waiting for my response.
“This isn’t a soap, girls!” I yelled at them.
“Then what?” Angel asked softly.
“Then we can get serious. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come around. I was worried about you, that’s all. Your crazy family, a twisted past and monsters around every corner. It can be a bit much for one person.”
Angel threw herself towards me and pinned me to concrete roof of the building. She brought her head up and shook it with a smile on her face.
“You’re not one person because you have me,” she then kissed me; the two girls applauded with clapping and laughter. To them I guess it really was like watching something out of a soap opera.
“Ha-ha-ha Angel, you think you can put us back in the restaurant now?”
“Oh, yeah I can, but what’s the rush?”
“I drank too much tea. I really need to use the little girl’s room,” Laura painfully admitted.
“Okay, done.” We all fell to the ground as we suddenly reappeared in front of Risk and Cindy. Angel and the two girls dashed to the rest rooms while I sat down at the table with Risk and Cindy. The pair seemed relaxed with one another.
“So, what’s was that all about?” Cindy asked.
“I think Angel wanted to talk some things through more than anything else. I definitely won’t be getting any rest any time soon.”
“Then why did she want to leave the two of us alone?” Risk asked and was slightly confused.
“She was probably reminded of her situation from the both of yours.”
“What might that be?” he was asking as if he didn’t expect me to say it.
“Being in love with one another and refusing to do anything about it just because it’s safer. The both of you should just be honest. You’re good people. You’re not going to let each other get hurt.”
Risk stretched his arms behind his head and yawned. He then pulled Cindy to him by the waist.
“Hey what are you doing…?” Cindy was flustered, and I tried not to laugh.
“Are you and the girls okay to go back to the station by yourselves? I think we’ll call it a day if that’s alright with you?”
I had no problem with it and so the couple went home together while Angel and I showed the girls a few more spots before going home. I ended up carrying Laura on my back during our walk home from the station.
“Sorry you have to do this for me, Wade.”
“It’s not a problem; you must be tired from walking around so much today. So, what did you think of what Risk was trying to teach you?”
“It looks really fun. He looked like a superhero when he was running up the side of that building. Oh, is he secretly one? Running around at night, saving those in need.”
“You’re real funny, Laura.”
“You’re too kind. Chuckle. Seriously though, he could totally use skills like that to help people.”
“Yeah, he probably could, but how about you concentrate on feeling better, so I don’t have to carry you the whole way home.”
Laura went quiet and looked away from me to hide her eyes behind her snow-white hair. She apologised again, and I carried her all the way home anyway. It was around four in the afternoon when we got back; Dad and Sophia were in high spirits. It was Dad’s day off and he was enjoying spending time with Sophia; she was smiling as she rested her face against his shoulder as they watched TV. I sat down next to them and let Laura down off my back. Angel came and sat on my lap.
“Hey kiddo, how have you been enjoying your stay over the week? Have these two been taking care of you alright?”
“It’s been lovely, thank you all so much for doing all this for me,” she bowed her head slightly.
“Well that’s good then, otherwise I would have strung them up by their ankles, ha-ha-ha,” Dad boasted carelessly. It didn’t take long for Nami to lose the sundress and throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She sat behind Laura and braided her hair. Angel looked at me expectantly for the same sort of treatment.
“I don’t know how to braid hair, Angel.”
“Come here sweetheart, I’ll braid it for you. Chuckle.” Sophia called to her after watching Angel’s face go blank with disappointment. She happily hummed to herself as she had her hair done until Sophia started asking questions. “So, what’s next for the two of you I wonder?” she said as if she was talking to herself.
“Mama? Are you thinking out loud?” Angel asked curiously.
“Something like that. Say, Angel, are you still feeling how you did before your vacation?”
“Mama, what are you saying?”
“You have a certain glint in your eyes. What did you promise her, Wade?”
My face went bright red and I got up off the couch, making the excuse of needing to go to the bathroom. I quickly left the lounge room and rushed myself inside the bathroom. Unfortunately, fate decided this was the worst possible thing I could have done. I noticed the air was damp with moisture and the tiles were wet. I turned around to see Celia in the bath trying to hide herself underneath the water.
“Get out, jerk!” she screamed at me.
“Lock the damn door next time, moron!” I yelled back after walking out. I went back out into the lounge room and Dad was staring at me with a smile on his face. Sophia had a rather sly look in her eyes, like she could see right through me. The two girls weren’t exactly sure what was going on, but they spilt the beans on what I promised Angel. The tension and embarrassment left the atmosphere of the room.
“Wade promised her he was going to get serious from now and she’s been like this the entire way home.”
“Um Nami, I don’t think we were meant to say anything about that,” Laura said nervously.
“Oh? Is that so? I think I’ll hold you to that. So, just what is your idea of getting serious then?” Sophia asked us, and we looked to each other, not really sure what to say. “Well? I asked a question, didn’t I?”
“I suppose trying to find our own place wouldn’t be the worst way to start,” I answered nervously. Dad tried to get Sophia to back down a little. I wanted to be done with the conversation. Angel just played with her hair as she listened to us.
“We’ll talk about this once we’re finished with dinner; now go enjoy the rest of your night off,” with that said, Angel and I went back to our room to try to relax.
Angel got changed out her nice blue dress and slipped on one of my shirts. She leaned over my shoulder and peaked at my phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for something nice to draw.”
“Draw? I didn’t know you liked drawing.”
“Well I used to draw quite a fair bit, but I haven’t much time since I’m trying to keep you entertained every night. What about you? Did you ever do anything artistic in that house before I met you?” She nodded and asked for a piece of paper and a pencil. In a few minutes she sketched up a really detailed, but strange foreign-looking flower. “That’s really good!”
“Thanks. Flowers like this used to grow in the gardens around the house. They’re beautiful; sadly, I never even caught their name. I haven’t seen them since.”
“What colour are they? We could ask around and see if any of the florists in the city know about them.”
“They were light blue and during the night they would change to a bright white to mirror the moonlight. Sigh. Don’t bother. I was probably just imagining all of it. I wasn’t thinking quite right in my old house.”
I wondered what happened to that house after the night I burned it to the ground. For something Angel and I spoke about quite a lot, it was surprisingly distant in my mind. There were times I forgot that place even existed, but if I had never stumbled across it then Angel would have still been living inside its walls. I asked her if she wanted to go back there as a way of closure or to at least satiate my curiosity. Her eyes widened after I said that, and she asked when we would be going.
“Why don’t we go right now? We can probably make it before dinner.” And we did since Johnson came along with Sabrina and he ended up driving us there. Angel was alright with the idea, so we went to visit the remains of her old home to uncover anything we might have missed, but also to relive that night from a few months ago.
The building was nothing more than burnt out, weather-worn support frames and charred concrete. All around the broken house, weeds, tall grass and the beautiful flowers that Angel described grew; they shined faintly under the light of the moon. Angel was ecstatic; she sprinted up and fixed one of the strange flowers to her hair. She ran back to my side and grabbed my phone from my pocket only to hug up against me.
“Say cheese!” She took a photo and then went back to smelling the flowers she enjoyed so much. Johnson examined the ashes on the ground with one hand while covering his mouth with the other. He spread the ashes away to discover a sheet of metal and some broken tiles covering where the basement used to be. I helped him clear them away and inside the basement was the power box arcing with electricity from several snapped cables. Angel took the first few steps inside and I followed behind her, but suddenly she turned around and yanked me down the steps. Time suddenly fell still into that strange state of existence. I gasped as I pulled my face out of Angel’s chest and I looked behind me to see no one there; it was as if Johnson and Sabrina had disappeared without a trace. Her eyes were glowing brightly, and she wrapped her hands around the back of my neck as she kissed me. The flower in her hair had turned light blue and her lips chilled mine to the point of where I had to stop myself from shivering.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“Into me? Are you really as serious as you say you are? It feels like you’re just stalling for time to me.”
“W-what do you mean?” I stuttered. She pressed herself against me and brought her mouth to my ear.
“I love you. You love me, don’t you?” she whispered.
“Of course I do.”
“Then why are you making me wait?” she slid my hand up her shirt.
“What’s the rush?” I replied in a sly tone of my own. She didn’t seem to like my answer, so she bit down on my neck and brought her lips to mine afterwards.
“I’m sick of waiting, Wade,” I rested my hand on the side of her face as I brought my lips closer to hers.
“Don’t I get any say in this? I would hardly call this fair, Angel,” I said with an accepting smile stuck firmly on my face.
“Shut up. Giggle. Don’t ever push me away again, okay?”
“Whatever you say dear ha-ha-ha.” I kissed her and well I’m sure it’s noticeable by now, but Angel has a bad habit of getting whatever she wants. I’m sure I don’t need to explain what happened next…
After a little while the world fell back into its original state as Angel and I sat against the wall of the basement. Johnson was sharp enough to notice things were out of place in the dark basement. He stared at our red flushed, panting faces with mischievous smiles fixed to them.
“How crude of you both. I assume you’ve had your fun then?” He said in a somewhat disappointed tone. Sabrina was still confused to what was going on.
“Yeah, we have, Johnny. Pant.” I wasn’t even sure why we came back to the old house. I didn’t expect things to turn out the way they did. Sabrina sat on the steps and whined, feeling like this was a waste of time.
“So, we came out here for nothing then? I should have stayed home Sigh.” Angel grabbed both of Sabrina’s hands and whispered something into her ear. She wouldn’t look me in the eyes afterwards and Angel hugged up to my arm as we made our way back to the car.
“Oh well. At least we know that this house still isn’t home to monstrosities and underhanded deeds anymore. Speaking of homes, you told me you were looking for one, Wade?” Johnson asked as he clicked his seatbelt on once we were inside the car. “Yeah, we are. Why? Do you know a place?”
He shook his head and explained he knew someone who did. We drove to the bookstore that Raul owned and went inside to speak with him. Johnson liked the idea of keeping tabs on people and it surprised me to find out that they spoke quite frequently with one another.
“Good evening, Johnson. I see you’ve brought guests, is there something you need?”
“A good evening to you as well, Raul. I recall you know a place that might serve as suitable accommodation for Angel and Wade here.”
Angel eyed the monstrous man down with hatred in her eyes and Sabrina was shy around him. I nudged Angel in the arm to quit scowling and Johnson held Sabrina’s hand as she hid behind him. Raul’s eyes burnt bright red as he spoke with us.
“Hmm I know a place that might meet your needs, but it’s been ‘Vacant’ for quite some time now. It will require some effort in cleaning it up, but all in all it should be affordable for you.”
“An evicted house?”
“Yes Johnson. My home before I became like this.”
“And you would do this for us?” Angel asked sceptically.
“I can’t see why not. The house is just sitting there gathering dust. I may as well give it to someone who can make use of it.”
“Why don’t you use it?” He wasn’t making much sense, so I called him out for it.
“This store is enough for me. After all I can’t actually go out and spend the money I earn here without having someone go in my place. Thankfully, there are a surprising amount of people in Fellbroke willing to help an old monster out.”
“Then it’s settled, we’ll go check this place out and if it’s still fairly good, we’ll move in,” I said optimistically. Angel was still on guard however, even after Raul handed us a key to go and visit the abandoned home. It was close to the café where Dan worked and slightly closer to Storm Co than Dad’s house. He wasn’t wrong about it being dusty when we went inside and spoiled food in the refrigerator didn’t leave the best first impression, but it couldn’t be helped. All in all, the house was well kept apart from loose floorboards and a broken tap on the kitchen sink. The neighbourhood was so quiet too, only a few houses had their lights on and it was only eight o’clock. With a little convincing from Johnson and me, Angel didn’t seem to mind the idea of moving in there. I discussed it over with Raul later and had everything sorted; this would be our new home.
Angel and I made it home for dinner and we explained we were considering moving out to Dad and Sophia, there was one condition we had glossed over though.
“That’s good to hear and all, but there’s something you have to take responsibility for,” Dad said cryptically. “More like someone Jason, if you’re going to move out you have to take Laura with you.”
“Huh?” Laura, Angel and I reacted simultaneously.
“The mess you got into with the detective was your fault, not ours. We don’t feel like it’s fair for us to be the ones looking after her when you were the ones who brought her here,” Dad explained.
“Fair’s fair I guess. You really don’t let me catch a break, old man.”
We spent the next two weeks moving our stuff and cleaning up the house, so we could move into it; time was spread thin between work and our social life. We had a few sleepless nights because of it over the course of the period. It wasn’t long before we moved in and that Sabrina and Johnson announced the day of their wedding as well. We were going to be busy for a while and I wasn’t going to feel any less exhausted anytime soon either.