For anyone missing my regular posts, don’t panic! I’m developing a new story, & it’ll take some time to do the research, so stay patient! It’s a sequel to the Terra-Belle series, and the idea seems like so much fun, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, check out another sci-fi comedy for sale on Amazon & Kindle!
Carmen winds up with a powerful enemy, but she gets help in dealing with them from unexpected places. Seriously, she never would’ve guessed a random reporter & a space alien would become her allies! But she’s glad she has them- it’s her only chance of exposing the truth about that evil organization so that no one else will suffer from their wicked ways! Can this odd trio survive long enough to defeat these nefarious jerks? Read Sabotage by Dana Lee Burton to find out!
“Hold on!’ Michelle urgently relayed to Megala. “We cannot simply run off to the battlefield! Not yet anyway. Their numbers far exceed our own at the moment! If we try to fight them now, they will win by sheer volume alone!”
“Having a large army does not mean much if they do not possess the intelligence necessary to compete!” Megala argued. “Our skills could outmatch theirs easily!”
Michelle countered, “Don’t underestimate the enemy! They may not be as adept in their ability to wield magic, but if each one of us is surrounded, they could distract us enough to annihilate their opposition!”
Megala posed to her, “What do you propose we do then? We cannot stay in here and wait to get slaughtered! They’re on our turf, we must defend it!”
“We need reinforcements!” Michelle opined. “We ought to call upon our allies to lend support! If we go alone, we won’t survive!”
“Time has run out!” Megala disputed her premise. “If we had gotten more warning, it would have been done by now! We may perish in the foray, but it’s far better to die in battle than cower in fear!”
Michelle bit her lip, and then she sighed, “I suppose there really is no other option!”
Noah observed the grim expression on the Water Mystics’ faces, and it pained him to witness this! This tribe took him in like one of their own- he didn’t want to see them suffer! Gwyneira looked heartbroken, and that devastated him further. He wouldn’t allow anyone to embark on such a futile venture, but this would have been truly soul-crushing to observe! Not only would the love of his life get lost, but an entire race that didn’t deserve that fate would fall! He had to do something, but his mind went blank… until…
“There is not this or that! Do not listen to that voice! No matter what anyone tells you, there is always a choice!” Noah recalled. Everyone stared at him in confusion, so he explained, “That was a verse my mom wrote from a poem called, ‘The Only Road.’ Things aren’t always so black and white! There is almost always a gray area- if we think about it for a while, we can conjure up something!”
“There isn’t a minute to spare for thinking!” Gwyneira contended. “Dawson and his followers are at our doorstep, and it’s not as though we can request a pause so we can brainstorm!”
A lightbulb went off in Noah’s head. “We can’t request it, but we can force a delay…” Gwyneira as well as her peers raised their eyebrows to that notion, but clearly, they found it intriguing…
Dawson eyeballed the cavern entrance in the distance, and he asserted, “They aren’t going to emerge! I was so certain they would put on a false front of bravery and succumb to our will!”
“Should we just invade their headquarters then?” Iagan wondered.
“Are you crazy?” Dawson gawked at his comrade. “They could easily take cover and strike us unexpectedly! Besides, it’s pretty idiotic to send your Fire Mystic brethren into their watery realm! We have to lure them out somehow…”
KB suggested, “We could destroy part of the Verner Mountains. They might scurry out if they believe we’re going to dismantle their home!”
Dawson barked, “Seriously? You would dare to destroy precious rocks? You’re no different than those stinking sapiens!”
With a mean mug, KB sauntered up to Dawson as though he was going to square off with him, and Dawson seemed more than willing to spar with him! Before either of them could deliver a blow, Iagan intervened, “Guys! Look! The entryway is moving!”
They resumed their positions, and they eagerly awaited their foes. After much anticipation, it shocked them to see Noah go out solo! When he returned the doorway to its original place, KB inquired, “Is this a trick?”
“No, it’s a strategy!” Dawson replied. Some of the fighters behind him readied themselves to begin, and Dawson ordered them, “No! Not yet! They’re up to something, so let’s hear what they have to say!”
“So, this is why you left the shovel behind!” Noah articulated as he surveyed the multitude.
Out of all the phrases that could’ve come out of his mouth, Dawson obviously hadn’t anticipated that! He blinked in befuddlement, and then he responded, “Huh?”
Noah clarified, “In your buddy, Demek’s, basement. Demek could move boulders if he wanted to, so why did he need a shovel for a bit of dirt? I never could figure it out until right now! That shovel was never meant for Demek! You knew eventually I’d make it into that house- you wanted me to dig up Megala ‘cause you knew Demek would purposely or accidentally implicate you in his crimes, and you saw a vulnerability in the courthouse. The act of putting a shovel next to someone buried alive may seem trivial to most people, but it was actually the key to your freedom! Everything makes sense… except why you’d throw your lieutenant under the bus like that!”
“Psh! You really believe I would let him stay imprisoned for too long?” Dawson scoffed at his remarks. “He’ll be here shortly, don’t you worry!”
“Don’t worry? Is that what you truly expect that I’d do? You’ve got a band of warriors hellbent on destroying society, and you imagine I’d be calm at this juncture?” Noah riposted.
Dawson bristled at that idea. “I’m not the one doing the destruction to this planet! It’s you and all the other filthy Sapiens that inhabit this world! You’re demolishing the environment, and in our lifetime, we could witness the end of Earth as we know it! I’m taking out you primitive beasts so the rest of us stand a shot at survival! If your abode was getting consumed by termites, wouldn’t you exterminate each and every one of them? I’m merely doing the same for the realm we occupy!”
Noah staunchly objected to that characterization, “You’re comparing us to vermin with no rationale other than to indulge in our hedonistic ambitions! Sapiens have a lot of work to do to improve the habits that are devastating our climate, but we’ll get there if we’re allowed to survive! You’re not giving us an opportunity to get better! Face it, you have no interest in punishing humans- you’re just trying to weaken the population so that it’s easier for you to take over! You’re bringing hundreds of people into a war simply to satisfy your lust for power! You’re tricking so many individuals into worshipping your word, and they have no inkling that they’re getting manipulated into becoming pawns for your little apocalyptic game!”
“You’re lying!” Iagan denounced Noah’s speech. “Dawson has every intention of benefitting our kind! You’re telling mistruths only to save your rotten hide!”
“He’s using you!” Noah insisted. “He’ll toss you aside at his earliest convenience! If you don’t buy that, then ask yourself this: where is Demek currently?”
To Noah’s horror, Jareth manifested into this space along with Radley Brisco and several Mystics who got arrested after the confrontation in January! Jareth leered, “Aw! Did you have confidence that prison walls would hold us? Didn’t you learn from visiting with that traitorous Kerkunn that we’re masters at building secret tunnels?”
Dawson taunted Noah, My clan keeps growing, and-!” He cut off his own sentence when he espied three white doves fly into the Verner Mountains and disappear within ts hilly depths. “What are those birds doing? Ugh, I should’ve known that you joined us outside to pull some sort of stunt! Why did I permit you to have a platform?”
“You’re freaking out over a few small creatures?” Noah ogled at him judgmentally. “What precisely do you envisage us to do to an entire militia with a small flock of feathery animals?”
“Enough of this blather!” Dawson snapped. “You and all your wicked friends will get obliterated! Starting immediately!”
Dawson raised his palms up to attack Dawson, but then he spotted the three white doves take off in three different directions. He paid enough attention to their movements that it caught him off guard to hear Gwyneira declare, “You shall not harm him or anyone else anymore, Dawson!”
After snarling at Gwyneira, Dawson noted that the entire Water Mystic Tribe as well as Kalanie had gathered on the cracked, desert floor. Each side fervently glared at one another for several, very long seconds, and eventually, Dawson addressed his militia, “Well? What are you waiting for? Get them!” His side let out a war cry, and their opposition emitted their own rallying cry, and, with that, the battle had begun!
The Fire Mystics spouted flames at their foes, and while the Water Mystics easily extinguished them, it became difficult to do when they originated from totally different directions simultaneously! The Wood Mystics got some decent hits here and there, but it wasn’t hard for the Water Mystics to repel those. The Earth Mystics hurled all kinds of blades and stones at their enemies, and that was much more of a rough undertaking for the Water Mystics since they couldn’t view their attackers from a three-hundred-sixty-degree vision needed for the range they fired from. Noah participated in the clash with his taser, but mostly, he had to dodge various blows. He noticed that Kalanie was extremely effective with her wind, and he wished that they had more members of her tribe present…
As if on cue, a slew of Air Mystics flew in from the east! They proved exceedingly useful in contending with the Earth Mystics, but their alliance didn’t pan out to a victory since Dawson still had more men and women than his opponents. The Animal Mystics soon arrived from the west, and their ability to manipulate humans provided some ample protection, but many of them didn’t engage in the altercation because of the wounded they attended to. Despite the aid they received, they still seemed to be losing… until…
“Dawson! Cease this violence!” Kerkunn entered into the vicinity from the south and commanded this to his former subject.
“You have no authority over me anymore!” Dawson defiantly reacted to this pronouncement. “If you won’t assist us, you can cease to exist like the rest of them!”
It stunned Noah to watch Earth Mystics assaulting some of their own, but he was grateful for their support. The conflict shifted in that instance, and now it appeared to be much more even-handed! Noah glanced around to discover how Dawson was taking the news, but he was nowhere to be found! Noah weaved between a myriad of weaponry, but as far as he could tell, Dawson had disappeared! This infuriated Noah, and he vociferated, “Dawson Kolbyr! You coward! You’re really gonna hide and allow your devotees to die for you? This is your fight, not theirs! You selfish asshole! You’ll-!”
Preceding Noah having the chance to finish his sentence, he heard the familiar sound of metal whooshing towards him! He wouldn’t have had time to respond, but fortunately, he didn’t have to! Gwyneira stood between Noah and the oasis that Dawson sought refuge in, and she froze the swords! As she did so, she got ambushed by daggers that zoomed in from another direction! They hit her, and she fell to the ground! “Nooooo!” Noah wailed.
Jareth maniacally laughed at this feat. Little did he realize that as Michelle passed by him, she ducked from a barrage of burning embers, which wound up hitting him! He plummeted to the floor, and he moved no more!
“Don’t you quit on me!” Noah used his belt as a tourniquet while Michelle healed her wounds. “Is she gonna be okay?” Noah beseeched her. She frowned slightly, but preceding her judgment on this…
“Your days of troubling me are over!” Dawson cackled as he hovered over them. He lifted his limbs to send a trajectory, and Noah reached for his taser. He wasn’t sure if he could retrieve his armament hastily enough, but he refused to give up so readily! He partly braced himself to endure this impact, and he begged the universe not to let it end in this manner! It seemed inevitable though…
Dawson’s wrists abruptly got twisted to his back! Initially, Noah assumed it was a spell, but then a man in his sixties wearing a Master at Arms uniform authoritatively expressed, “Dawson Kolbyr, you’re under arrest!”
Hundreds of other naval officers surrounded the scene and proceeded to cuff the offenders with zip-ties. Dawson’s brain obviously couldn’t comprehend this development, and he shouted, “What are you dirty Sapiens even doing here? This isn’t the ocean, you have no sovereignty over us!”
“I do when you have one of my soldiers killed!’ the man conveyed to him with a smirk. “One of the boys murdered in that concert massacre was in the Reserves! And don’t think that you’ll escape from our prison- we had one especially made for you!”
“Oh, please! This means nothing! I shall return! Mark my words!” Dawson bellowed as he got carted away. Noah would have enjoyed this victorious spectacle more, but…
The man asked Michelle, “Is my daughter going to be alright?”
Michelle assessed, “I imagine so, but she needs a lot of care to make that happen…”
“Lennon!” Megala delightfully remarked.
“Megala! I missed you!” Lennon greeted her with a kiss. “I heard they’ll let me retire soon…”
Beck went up to Kalanie fixing her own injury, and he posed to her, “So, dinner and a movie then?” Kalanie beamed gratefully at him.
As Maurice, Lynn, Robin, and Margaret entered into the scene, Margaret marched up to an officer and interrogated him, “One of my victims was getting his homicide investigated by the NCIS, and no one told me?”
“We were about to!” the officer swore. “Everything just happened so fast!”
“How is she?” Chief Argus sympathetically quizzed Noah.
Gwyneira groggily petitioned them, “How is who?”
Noah’s heart overflowed with joy! He wanted to immediately embrace her, but her parents beat him to the punch. He waited for them to have their moment, and after a small stretch, they gestured for him to join them. Gwyneira and Noah smooched each other passionately, and then the four hugged each other tightly. As awful as this ordeal had been, it all seemed to have melted away at that point! He did not lose any more family that night!
The next day, Mayor Richardson and Mayor Froth stood on the steps of the Los Angeles City Hall, and behind them, Noah as well as Gwyneira, Megala, Lennon, Michelle, Kalanie, Beck, Lynn, Margaret, Maurice, Robin, Kerkunn, Nova, and several Mystics from various tribes stood with medals on their chests. Mayor Richardson spoke to the large crowd that had gathered, “Let’s have another round of applause for the heroes of this unbeknownst war!”
The spectators roared with admiration, and Noah was pleased that there weren’t any divisive groups in attendance for once! When they quieted down, Mayor Froth added, “In one way or another, each individual here saved lives and contributed to instilling peace to our county! Let’s thank them for bringing a conclusion to this dreadful saga!”
Noah appreciated the sentiment, but he had to disagree with Mayor Froth on one aspect of his oration: Dawson may have been at bay for now, but Noah very much doubted that their saga with him had truly concluded…
Gwyneira urgently relayed to Noah, “We need to get out of here! Any minute now, we’ll get ambushed by-!”
“Look what we have here!” Demek delightfully cackled as he strolled down the stairs. “My two greatest adversaries are cornered! I don’t know which I’d enjoy more- ending your miserable existences in a flash or watch you get punished for illegally entering into my home!”
“Your home? This is Jareth Thurio’s home!” Noah pointed out. Demek’s posture shifted into something more panicky, and a lightbulb went off in Noah’s head. “Wait! You’re-?”
Preceding Noah getting to finish that sentence, Demek raised his palms up and emitted a bunch of swords! Gwyneira froze them all, and Noah attempted to seize him during this momentary distraction. Demek released a series of series of rocks. Noah got hit, but Gwyneira was able to block the rest. Noah went to the edge of her watery force field and tried to aim his taser at him, but Demek blocked him by magicking a tree. Gwyneira had no choice but to let up her protection, and as soon as she did, Demek sent some stones her way! She ducked, and while the weaponry didn’t hit her, she slipped on some dirt and hit her skull on the basement wall! Noah raced to defend her, and he was ready to counter his attack… until…
Suddenly, Demek’s hands froze solid! He ogled them in astonishment, and Megal shouted, “You’re lucky you didn’t get worse than that, you bastard! Don’t mess with my family!”
Megala became a little faint, and Gwyneira rushed to brace her. “Mother! Please, stay well! I just got you back- I can’t lose you again so soon!”
“There’s no purpose in hiding yourself anymore!” Noah declared as he unhooded Demek.
“Yeah, it’s me!” Jareth confirmed. “I couldn’t allow my work for Dawson’s cause to go untouched as I sought power in the Sapien government!”
Even though Noah had determined that Demek and Jareth were the same person, it was hard for this fact to fully sink into his brain! Jareth had actually been the one who tried to kill him! Jareth nearly murdered Mayor Richardson, and Jareth slaughtered slaughtered those three boys! Jareth encouraged his followers to ransack City Hall, but he also participated in it too! He hurt people as Demek and Jareth, and it boggled Noah’s mind that he closed so many cases in a single night! Including kidnapping…
Noah probed, “What was your reason for holding the Chieftess of the Water Mystic Tribe against her will?”
It wasn’t clear that Jareth was going to give him a straight answer, but prior to him verbalizing any of his thoughts, a cacophony arose from upstairs! “Where are they?” an Earth Mystic shouted.
Jareth nearly hollered to him, but Megala froze his jaw shut. Gwyneira instructed the others, “Get ready to swim!” She closed her eyes to fully concentrate, and water came gushing out of her fingers at an extraordinary rate! Soon, Gwyneira as well as Noah, Megala, and Jareth all floated higher and higher, and when the fluid flowed out of the cellar door, several Earth Mystics got knocked off of their feet! Everyone else got taken with the flow out of the various doors and windows, but Noah clung to a pillar until the tidal wave subsided. When the rest of the cabin occupants were outside, Noah immediately made a phone call…
Dozens of police cars surrounded the dwelling. Megala thawed out Jareth’s joints, and Officer Letes queried, “Having been read your rights, do you still wish to speak to me?” Jareth did nothing more than glare at him, so Officer Letes advised him, “Get yourself a good defense lawyer!” Jareth remained mute as he got led off of the property.
“Impressive!” Chief Argus complimented Noah. “I think you set a record for crimes solved in a day!” Noah humbly beamed at him, and then Chief Argus inquired, “But, help me out, when his attorneys ask why you broke into his house, you’ll say…?” “He heard my mother’s scream,” Gwyneira replied for Noah. “That’s probable cause, isn’t it?”
Chief Argus seemed startled that she came up with that rationale so swiftly, and when Noah nodded in agreement, Chief Argus smiled. “Good enough!”
He walked away to tend to other officials on the scene, and Noah wondered, “This isn’t over, is it?”
“We’re still in the beginning,” Gwyneira opined as they surveyed the aftermath of their venture.
“Why are we here?” Michelle posed to Kalanie as they sat down in the crowded courtroom audience.
Kalanie explained, “Aside from doing my job, you mean? Well, they feel that Noah and Gwyneira’s presence could trigger the defendant, so the judge doesn’t want them to attend until they’re called upon to testify. By us viewing his arraignment, we can fill them in on everything that occurs.”
Michelle breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness! I thought you may have requested my accompaniment because of a dreadful premonition! I was starting to fret about this event, but if you’re not fretting…” She glanced over to Kalanie, and when she espied her visage shifting in a guilty fashion, she grew alarmed. “Oh no! Your intuition is bothering you too, isn’t it?”
“Would it have made a difference if I disclosed this?” Kalanie challenged her.
“It may well have!” Michelle argued. “We could have come better prepared!”
Kalanie countered, “Prepared for what? We have no clue what may transpire!”
Michelle considered this notion, and then she quarreled, “Well, we could have invited more of our brethren here and ensured our safety with numbers!”
“We couldn’t fill the courtroom with Mystics!” Kalanie reasoned. “Besides, most of his followers are wanted criminals, so they wouldn’t have the ability to get anywhere near this site! I don’t sense any other Mystics in the area, so we should be fine!” Kalanie’s tone seemed to indicate that she was trying to convince herself as much as Michelle, and Michelle opened her mouth to contend this issue further, but…
“All rise!” the bailiff ordered. “The Honorable Marina H. Jordan is now presiding!”
Judge Jordan entered with her black robes and burgundy locks swaying behind her as she marched to her seat. Once she stationed herself, she addressed the attendees, “You may be seated.” Once everybody resumed their perches, Judge Jordan directed the bailiff, “Let the defendant in.”
Two guards escorted a plastic-shackled Dawson into the chambers. As Aaron, Brynn, and Pierce tailed him, Dawson spotted Kalanie and Michelle amongst the spectators. He didn’t articulate anything to them, but his stare spoke volumes. He bore an expression of wicked joy in seeing them there, but the two Mystic women refused to break eye contact or show him any sort of fear. Once he faced Judge Jordan, Michelle and Kalanie exchanged glances of heavy concern.
“Dawson Kolbyr, you’re here today to respond to additional charges to the long list of grievances against you. You’re already serving fifty years for murder and contract killing, but you could potentially add on conspiracy, kidnapping, and several other murder charges. Has your legal counsel briefed you on each charge?”
“Yes, we have, Your Honor,” Aaron affirmed.
Judge Jordan governed, “Mister Kolbyr, please rise.” Dawson gawked at her resentfully, but once he complied, his stance emitted a completely cocky aura. “How do you plead?”
With every ounce of sincerity that he could muster, Dawson swore, “Your Honor, I am not guilty!”
Kalanie and Michelle expected this reply, but they still scoffed at its utterance. Judge Jordan decreed, “Very well. Trial is set for January 6, 1999. Court is-!”
Before she could bang her gavel, a corner of the wall burst into flames! The occupiers of these quarters grew frightened, but they were dumbfounded when, in a matter of seconds, the entire perimeter erupted into a blazing inferno! Kalanie used her powers to extinguish the fires, but they continually reemerged! Suddenly, Iagan and several of his cohorts crossed through the burning structure as though they were doing nothing more than completing an ordinary task! Michelle strove to create a shield to prevent them from invading any further, but they manifested from several different directions! The guards made a bid to seize them, but Iagan sent embers to them. Michelle and Kalanie watched helplessly as Iagan picked Dawson up and strutted out of the building! Once the miscreants all exited the singed space, Kalanie and Michelle vacantly stared into the distance in a lost and horrified manner.
Gwyneira and Noah had hardly set foot into the public sphere of the Water Mystic Tribal Headquarters when they got bombarded by dozens of members brimming with enquiries! One person petitioned Gwyneira, “Where have you been?”
“Did you get my request for a bigger unit?” another individual catechized.
“Our grandmother is interested in knitting sweaters for the community; how much yarn would you be able to order?” someone in the group pondered.
Brooke edged up to the front of the pack and entreated the masses, “Come on, everyone! Gwyneira cannot possibly entertain each question at once! Use your logic!” The congregation quieted down, and then Brooke remarked, “I’m so glad you’re back! Nothing gets done in your absence! The only decision Beck made was to ask his love interest out on a date!”
Beck defended himself, “That wasn’t the only decision I made! Besides, it’s not as though I planned that! She seemed so scared of the upcoming battle, I wanted to boost her spirits by giving her something to look forward to!”
“Whatever!” Brooke grinned and shook her head at his justification. “Anyways, since I did you a favor of instilling calm into your subjects, I get to utilize your time first, right? The MIC is really lacking in membership, so I have an idea I would like to run by you to improve the situation. May I tell you now?”
“No, you may not!’ Gwyneira declined. “I will not field anyone’s concerns today! Not tomorrow either! I am done with my leadership role!”
Each citizen present became aghast by her declaration until Noah and Gwyneira glimpsed at each other with a slight mischievousness. They stepped aside and revealed that Megala had returned! An excitement reverberated throughout the hall, and several folks flocked to her. Megala chuckled in appreciation, and then she greeted them all, “Hello! I missed this place!”
Brooke fervently interrogated her, “Chieftess! What happened to you? Were you hurt? Who committed this offense against you? How did you survive this ordeal?”
“I will regale you all with the details later, and I’m eager to learn what occurred while I was gone! I’m particularly curious about Beck’s new love interest! However, all of that will have to wait… No more merriment, we have distressing news to share…”
“Dawson has escaped from prison!” Noah announced.
The entire establishment fell into an eerie silence. All that was heard was several drippings echoing in the distance. After a minute or so, Beck canvassed him, “How?”
Noah elucidated, “Iagan and a multitude of Destructive Mystics broke him out of a courtroom. It’s just lucky we had an Air and Animal Mystic there so we didn’t have any casualties and only minimal injuries! But, this dilemma appears to be escalating rapidly! We believe that a battle against Dawson and his allies is imminent!”
“No!” Beck cried out in disbelief.
“Listen, I can understand your apprehension, but we do not have a second to spare on our anxieties! We must ready ourselves! Dawson and his army could strike at any moment!” Megala soberly addressed the entire array.
Beck objected, “Surely not that soon! He would need to plan out a location and logistics, correct?”
Michelle and Kalanie dashed into the cavern expanse, and Michelle notified the populace, “Apparently, Dawson has already plotted this out: they’re here in the Badlands!”
After there was a collective gasp, Megala edicted, “Prepare yourselves! Tonight, we fight for the future of humanity!”
“Hello! Thank you for calling the-!” a friendly receptionist in a turquoise polo chirped.
“Bring me Noah Raymond!” Chief Argus gruffly demanded on the other line.
The receptionist blinked in confusion. “Noah Raymond? I don’t think he’s here today. What’s this about?”
Gwyneira suddenly appeared behind the desk, and she directed the receptionist, “Give me that!” The receptionist seemed very bewildered by her presence, and she handed her the phone out of sheer nervousness. Gwyneira pleasantly addressed Chief Argus, “Sorry if you’ve been trying to reach us for too long! The receiver in Grandpa’s room is broken! I was just coming to report it. Noah was wondering why you didn’t update him yet!”
“How is Grandpa?” Chief Argus wondered.
“Actually, he’s much better than they originally thought!” Gwyneira reported. “We’re heading back to L.A. tonight!”
Chief Argus breathed a sigh of relief. “Good! Can I talk to Noah real quick?”
Gwyneira laughed, “I can’t imagine you’d want to under his current condition! He went into the restroom, and he took a newspaper with him…”
“Understood! Have him radio me on your return trip!” Chief Argus requested.
“Will do!” Gwyneira acquiesced. After she hung up, she glanced over to the receptionist, who looked more perplexed than ever, and she advised her, “Don’t ask!” The receptionist stared at her in befuddlement as she walked out the front door.
Noah peeked around the corner of a dilapidated shed, and he spotted the red hoodie in the distance. His back was turned, so Noah tiptoed closer with his taser ready to deploy. Demek turned around, so Noah hid behind one of the many cherry trees nearby. After a few seconds, he dared to check on his target. He lost sight of him, so he assumed he mimicked his move of hiding behind a tall trunk. He inched closer and closer to the site where he last saw him, and his pulse raced from anticipation. He couldn’t wait to ambush this reprobate and put this saga to rest! He took a deep breath and then jumped around that barrier…
Nothing! Noah furrowed his brows, but once he beheld a hole in the ground, he bellowed, “Damn it!”
“He took the cowardly way out, didn’t he?” Gwyneira inquired as she approached him.
“Yes!” Noah resentfully confirmed. “He acts brave when he pulls stunts like attacking us at the police station, but when we fight back, he runs off with his tail between his legs! He puts up a courageous front, but really, his cowardice knows no bounds!” His anger still roiled from this loss, but he knew there wasn’t any benefit from dwelling on it, so he shook it off and posed to Gwyneira, “Were you able to appease the chief?”
Gwyneira let him know, “As much as he could get satisfied at this juncture. He’s fine, but it may be awkward with the staff the next time you visit Grandpa though…”
As they trekked back to his vehicle, Noah grinned a little. “I can’t wait for the day when that’s my worst problem!” He savored this bit of merriment, but it was pretty short-lived…
Maurice’s voice broadcasted on the radio, “No, we can’t! The judge denied our warrant for his residence since the blood we found hasn’t been proven to have been shed from violence. We’re proceeding to interview possible targets.”
“Ugh!!!” Noah cried out in overwhelming frustration. “Someone was bleeding in a location associated with him, and they still won’t let us search his home? He’s up to something horrific, and he’s gonna get away with it ‘cause of some stupid technicality!”
As Noah irately put his key in the ignition, he vehemently decreed, “I’m sick of following guidelines that will ultimately get us all killed! For survival’s sake, we’re breaking some rules this evening!” Gwyneira looked stunned by this decision, and as he drove out of the parking lot, he chuckled, “Yeah, I’m surprised those words came out of my mouth too! But, I mean! We’re ending this today!”
Michelle and Kalanie strolled through a busy mall, and after Michelle scoped out their vibrant, bustling surroundings, she commented, “It’s funny- they’re all here for joyful purposes, but we’re buying supplies for an apocalyptic battle to save humanity!” Kalanie gave her a half smile, but she didn’t give much of a reaction beyond that. Michelle examined her as though she was trying to read her thoughts, and then she probed, “So, what store are we getting this ‘urgent’ supply?”
“Forever Flirty,” Kalanie confessed.
“Seriously?” Michelle exclaimed. “With all of the dire circumstances unfolding around us as we speak, you’re going to buy something so lacking in vitalness?”
Kalanie paused her gait and ardently articulated, “Yes! I’m buying a dress for my date night with Beck, and you’re going to help me pick it out! Because we’re going to live through this ordeal, and we need a reminder of that by doing something so ordinary as clothes shopping for a romantic rendez-vous!”
Michelle gazed at her rather abashedly. “I’m sorry! I should have… Of course, we’re going to live through this! I simply… Sometimes, it feels like the darkness is destined to overthrow our societal norms, but I cannot allow myself to believe the-.”
She cut herself off when she saw Maurice and Robin coming to their locale. Neither Kalanie nor Michelle fancied that they sought them out for amicable purposes, so they both groaned. Kalanie folded her arms and huffed, “What crime are they accusing us of now?”
“Your blood was found in the office of Jareth Thurio,” Maurice notified them.
“That’s impossible! We were never in there!” Michelle objected.
Robin filled them in, “You weren’t in there, but your DNA was. I was baffled as to why Sidero rejected your saliva samples until now!”
Michelle gasped, “He planted evidence? Wow! So, what happens next?”
Prior to Robin or Maurice getting to explain this concept, someone seized Michelle from behind and held a knife up to her neck! Maurice pulled out his pistol, and everyone in the vicinity screamed! The man who committed this offense barked, “No one move an inch or the witch gets it!”
“What do you want?” Maurice asked him.
“I want you to remember this!” the man answered. “You picture yourselves as powerful individuals by aligning yourselves with these demons, but look at them now! Both of these bitches are cowering in fright! Go on, you hussies! Use your dark magic against me! Do it! Go on!” Kalanie was reluctant to budge due to how close he held his weapon to her friend’s throat, and Michelle seemed decidedly lost on how to proceed. Maurice glimpsed at Robin, and the two of them appeared stumped on how to act. Spectators were mortified… until…
Swifter than the man could register what was occurring, a pair of hands smacked his wrist and lowered his blade simultaneously! She then elbowed him in the face, and when he separated from Michelle, she did a handstand and flipped him over with her legs! Maurice swooped in and cuffed him, and he, along with everyone else, was floored to hear Nova rapturously shout, “See? I told you I know judo!” Her director’s jaw dropped as low as it could go, and Nova stooped down to the man’s low position and challenged him, “What were you saying about power, bud?” He did nothing more than growl, and as she got up, camera flashes lit up all around her. She sheepishly conveyed to Michelle, “Forgive me for being the one to have rescued you!”
Michelle beamed at her. “Why? Due to a little extra attention? I can live with it!” Kalanie laughed at her quip, and the witnesses to this feat all clapped and cheered for them.
“Quiet!” one Earth Mystic commanded to the other. As he listened to the activity of the forest around him, he assessed, “Something is heading in this direction!” They peered through the adjacent brush, and…
“We better take cover!” the second Earth Mystic recommended as a bout of torrential downpour cascaded onto them.
The first Earth Mystic stopped his comrade from vacating their position, “Hold on! There wasn’t even a cloud in the sky a minute ago…” He crept closer to the bushes, and, all of a sudden, Gwyneira popped out! The Earth Mystic sent swords in her direction, and she easily froze them.
While Gwyneira and the Earth Mystics combatted each other, Noah snuck onto Jareth’s property. He felt uneasy about leaving her alone like that, but he couldn’t contemplate that too much. A lot was at stake in this venture, they couldn’t fail! He convinced himself that her promise of having the ability to handle both of these guards at once was valid, and he fully concentrated fully on the vital task in front of him.
Noah kept his taser at the ready in case any of Jareth’s henchmen manifested out of the shadows. For Jareth to have gone this length, Noah knew he had to have been hiding something significant in there! The door was locked, and he figured that was the most likely scenario, but he had to give it a shot anyway. He took a hairpin out of his pocket, and as he attempted to pick the lock, he kept watch over his shoulders to ensure that no one would catch him in the act. To his horror, the hairpin broke! It devastated him to view his only method of getting inside falter, but as Gwyneira battled it out with those Earth Mystics thugs, he recognized that he couldn’t permit that to have been his only chance! He observed that a glass pane hung over the knob, so he used the handle of his armament and busted the window. Thankfully, the ruckus transpiring outside shielded his entrance into the abode.
Using a flashlight, Noah scanned over the living room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for a male’s domicile… so far… Keeping his protection upright, he searched every corner of this space. The floor creaked slightly, and each step filled him with more and more anxiety. He had no clue what sort of security Jareth may have had in there, but he dreaded waking it up! He pinpointed a desk leaning against the opposite wall, and slowly, he inched over to it. As soon as he opened the rolltop…
Two Earth Mystics emerged from the entryway to the basement! They aimed dozens of rocks at him, but Noah was able to pick up a small trash bin before anything impacted him! The metal in the receptacle caused the stones to reverberate back to their origin. One Earth Mystic fell unconscious, and the other fired more rounds at him. Noah ducked and emitted his volts at the Earth Mystic’s chest. He fell to the ground, and as Noah detached the probe, he heard a woman scream!
His heart nearly leapt out of his chest! His knee-jerk instinct was to assist Gwyneira in the exterior, but then it dawned on him that the shriek didn’t emanate from there. He scrutinized the stairs to the cellar, and he heard it again. When he was certain that it came from the lower level, he sprinted down the steps. Following a quick sweep of the nearly barren place, he didn’t see anyone in there let alone a person in trouble. Yet, he felt positive that someone had shouted from this area! He called out, “Hello?”
“Noah!” Megala’s muffled speech yelled out to him. “Help me!”
“Where are you?” Noah questioned as he eyeballed these chambers in confusion.
Megala instructed him, “Grab a shovel!”
Noah gawked at the floor until he espied loose dirt! He had no idea why an Earth Mystic would need a spade, but he was grateful it was handy! He dug and dug, and he prayed that he could unearth her prior to another adversary barraging him. Finally, he hit a hard surface! He beseeched the heavens that this wooden box wasn’t locked, and to his immense alleviation, it wasn’t! Megala sat up and gasped for air, but she wasn’t going to get a lot of time to recover…
“Noah? Where are you?” Gwyneira hollered.
“Gwyneira! Get down here! I have wonderful news!” Noah implored her.
As Gwyneira rushed to him, she revealed, “It will have to wait! I have terrible news…”
“Why?” Gwyneira bemoaned. “Why are there so many cars? It’s the weekend, so why are so many people out right now?” She grumpily leaned on the window and stared at the heavy traffic.
“The suburbs probably get boring for a lot of the residents here, so a lot of them are probably heading to San Francisco to have some fun,” Noah conversed as he kept his eyes on the road.
Gwyneira complained, “We’re not even moving now! Why do Sapiens put up with this?”
Noah chuckled, “Well, ‘cause we weren’t spoiled with powers that could propel us from point to point in no time flat!” Gwyneira didn’t look amused, so Noah attempted to buoy her spirits, “Oh, come on! It isn’t all bad! If you travel too fast, you miss all the beautiful scenery along the way! The One-o-One goes right by the bay too! You’ll love it!”
“I would enjoy it if it wasn’t a distraction from all of this needless delay! At this rate, we’re not going to arrive until it’s close to sundown!” Gwyneira let out an exasperated exhale.
“Do they not talk to visitors around dinnertime or something?” Noah queried.
Gwyneira explained, “I don’t know! I’ve never been to Brackish Hollow. I don’t like that we may disturb them during supper though- it makes us lose favor with them, and we need to do all we can to build it up again! Our tribe hasn’t been on good terms with theirs since they decided to adopt the Destructive Cycle! But, honestly, you’re so charming that you could sway even the most inhospitable hosts, so that’s only a minor worry of mine. I just… I don’t know! My intuition has been bugging me for a while now! It wants us to get there immediately before… I’m not certain! It’s almost as though something else is heading there, something would do us a great disservice if we allowed it to beat us to their headquarters!”
Noah got chilled by that dark pronouncement, and although he knew that her instincts were nearly always infallible, he didn’t want to believe it. He wanted to believe in the chance of success for their mission, and it disturbed him that she got stricken with such a grim prediction. It made his body want to prepare for disaster, but he refused to relent to that concept. He turned to Gwyneira and reassured her, “It’s going to be fine! You’re simply getting nervous ‘cause we’re getting so close! I’d prefer to get difficulties done and over with, but sometimes you can’t shake yourself loose of roadblocks, so you gotta make the best of it! Like, we rehearsed different scenarios for our conversation with this tribe during our trek here, so we’re far more ready for this moment than we would’ve been if we had a quick journey, don’t you think?” Gwyneira remained unmoved, so he started to add, “If the worst part of our trip is this jam, then we’re gonna have a fantastic… Uh oh!”
“What? What’s going on?” Gwyneira frantically asked as her eyes darted around the vicinity.
“No big deal! We’re doing alright, but we gotta stop for gas at the next exit though,” Noah informed Gwyneira. “I was hoping it could wait ‘til we got there, but…” Gwyneira groaned, and Noah patted her knee reassuringly. “Hey! Try to find the bright side in this! Maybe when we’ve finished refueling, the highway will clear out a bit!” Gwyneira didn’t appear convinced, and, in reality, neither was he.
As Noah filled up his tank, he surveyed his surroundings. He noticed some dark clouds forming, but they didn’t daunt him much. If the downpour got too heavy, he presumed that Gwyneira could take care of obtaining an unobstructed path for them. The icy wind bothered him a little though, so he kept studying the area to keep his mind occupied. He watched as a bus pulled up to the corner by the station, and as one passenger entered onto the coach, he lamented, “Oh no! I forgot to break this five!”
Noah volunteered, “You need some change?” He reached into his pocket, but to his horror, all of his coins were bent! “Never mind!” He lost track of that passenger’s activity as he swiftly scoped out the environment. He reassured himself that it probably occurred during his last interaction with Demek or possibly Jareth, but when he heard the sound of jeans fastly rustling, he had to convince himself someone was merely in a hurry for reasons that had nothing to do with the Earth Mystics. Despite his best effort, he still felt somewhat spooked, so when he returned the nozzle and went back into his vehicle, he entreated Gwyneira, “If we park this somewhere safe, do you think you can transport us there right away?”
A giant wave entered onto a rocky shore, and once it simmered down, Noah and Gwyneira gently stepped off of it and onto a small tuft of grass. Noah somewhat nervously remarked, “We left the car at a police station, so it should be safe there, right? Sunnyvale seems like a pretty secure locale, doesn’t it?”
“A criminal would have to be pretty bold to steal or damage a vehicle there!” Gwyneira responded as she glanced around at the dirt. “Chief Argus would certainly have some questions about that move, but he’d only find out if there was some sort of GPS on board!”
“There is a GPS on board! Oh shit! What if they need assistance with Jareth, and the chief tries to contact me? He could learn where we parked it, and…!” Noah bit his lip while he contemplated all of the various consequences of his travel to the Bay Area, and he pondered if he permitted his emotions to persuade him to act against his better judgment.
Gwyneira’s expression plainly indicated that she instantly regretted her choice of words at first, but then she put her arms around his waist and consoled him, “It wouldn’t evoke the apocalypse if he learned the truth! But an Earth Mystic certainly could do that, so let’s focus on discovering their whereabouts instead! Try to pinpoint some loose dirt or-.”
Noah guessed the completion of her sentence, “…Or a hole in the ground?”
They ran over to examine it, and once Gwyneira confirmed some facts in her head, she cursed, “Damn it!” After a split second, she chided herself for her actions, and then she lowered her voice to pronounce, “They’re already here! We’re too late!”
“Maybe not,” Noah quietly disagreed. “Let’s see what they have to say to the Water Tribe. Perhaps they won’t be so receptive to this individual under the current circumstances!”
“You mean we should eavesdrop?” Gwyneira reacted in startlement. “That’s madness! However, we really have no other option! We can’t give up after coming this far! Alright, let’s do it!”
After nodding in agreement, Noah tiptoed alongside Gwyneira as they followed the faint footprints to the ocean’s edge. Gwyneira did a hex to conjure enough water to lower the two of them to a small ledge on the cliff. A voluminous cave emitted an aura of cool, refreshing hydration, but Noah also got the sensations of static electricity. He felt positive that either Demek or Jareth was in there, but he didn’t dare air this opinion. He had no inkling on whether or not these Water Mystics would greet them with hostility or not, so he assumed he should proceed with caution. Gwyneira’s tribe wasn’t an aggressive bunch, but they weren’t so welcoming upon his initial appearance. This memory caused his pulse to race, but he couldn’t cater to his trepidation at this juncture! It was vital that they discover what was occurring in there, so he deemed it worth the risks. He took a deep breath and escorted Gwyneira into the shadowy interior.
Their steps echoed throughout the cavern tunnel, and Noah cringed each inch they took! His anxiety insisted that eventually a couple of guards would emerge out of nowhere and seize them! As they crept closer to the middle of this mass, they heard a flurry of excited speech, and Noah couldn’t discern if this boded well for the two of them. At last, they broached a large expanse that seemed to serve as a meeting room. Dozens of men and women in black gathered around a dais where a guy with short, brunette hair and long bangs that sort of hid one of his eyes stationed himself. He wasn’t brawny or flashy, but based on the manner in which he stood, Noah gathered that he was in charge. Gwyneira and Noah shielded themselves behind a couple of stalagmites and tuned into the discussion where the brunette guy commanded, “Silence! Please, dear guest, go on!”
“Thank you, Baran!” Demek appreciatively regarded him. “Now, I realize it may come off as a shock that I suggested going after my own brethren, but hear me out! It’s well within your rights to pursue the Earth Mystics in your efforts to prevent them from enacting their plans, but you should be aware that a group of us defected from them! We disavowed their intentions, and we formed our own faction! Please, spare us from the tribulations you intend to inflict! But, do go after the Earth Mystics of El Poder! They’re a menace to society, and they must be stopped!” Noah became incensed by his flagrant mischaracterization of Demek’s former tribe, but he held his tongue since creating a scene wouldn’t help their cause. Luckily, it didn’t seem like he needed to defend anyone after all…
“What exactly have they done that is so terrible?” Baran inquired.
Demek replied, “They’re destroying our very fabric of being! They say that they’re combating the Animal Mystics due to the Sapiens’ mistreatment of the natural world, but in actuality, they’re allowing it to occur! If they’re not defeated by a force as impressive as yours, then we’ll all cease to exist!”
Baran stayed silent for a minute, and Noah noticed that Gwyneira didn’t display an ounce of apprehension, so he trusted that this was a sign that the meeting wasn’t going well for Demek. Baran confirmed this by catechizing, “What solution does your faction propose that the rest of the Earth Tribe of El Poder isn’t doing?”
“Taking a hard stance against the Sapiens!” Demek passionately relayed to him. “Their existence threatens to extinguish our own, so we must hinder their endeavors by any means necessary!”
“You mean by violence?” Baran surmised.
Demek repeated, “By any means necessary!”
Baran rolled his eyes in disapproval. “Demek, did it occur to you that Sapiens are part of the environment?” Noah couldn’t view any of Demek’s features, but based off of his posture, he could tell that this enquiry had been a slap in the face for him! Baran went on, “We at Brackish Hollow have taken on the Destructive Cycle, but our goal is the deconstruction of certain ideas! We’re not prepared to shed any blood over this or any other matter! Nothing is with the loss of innocent lives!”
“Not even to defend yourselves?” Demek countered.
“You can’t call it defensive if you’re the aggressor!” Baran retorted. “The Sapiens may be participating in behavior that is unwittingly hurting themselves, but we will not harm them or obliterate their species because of their errors! Education is the key to winning this, not warfare!” He paused and then queried, “Does this spell out my response to your request, Gwyneira?”
Gwyneira and Noah grew alarmed to hear themselves get referred to directly like that! Noah had no clue that Baran even knew they were present, and he wasn’t sure how to react to this recognition. Demek frantically scanned the space, and it amused Noah to see him stricken with fear over their appearance, but he didn’t deem it as valid to remain clandestine. Noah and Gwyneira emerged from their barrier, and curious whispers cascaded throughout the chamber. Noah didn’t know what to expect going forward until Demek clenched his fists threateningly. Gwyneira readied herself to fight back, but then…
Baran stepped in prior to anyone making a move, “Do not use combat in my land! Demek, leave now, or we will imprison you!” Demek shot him a dirty expression, but he worked out that he was heavily outnumbered, so he stormed out. It was tense as Demek passed Noah and Gwyneira, and he walked backward as he exited the establishment. Demek gave off a taunting vibe, and Noah itched to pursue him in order to arrest him, but their business in Brackish Hollow wasn’t over.
“Chief Baran, we came to inform you that Demek’s faction has reinforcements from another region,” Noah announced. “They’re gearing up to do battle, and we need as many numbers on our side as possible to minimize casualties and to spare the blameless!”
“I’ve sought an alliance with the Los Angeles Badlands for quite a lengthy stretch,” Baran thoughtfully articulated. “I cannot commit my citizens to any contention outside of the realm of verbal! That is unless you joined our quest and aided us with our own goals…”
Gwyneira asserted, “I cannot commit my brethren to the Destructive Cycle! It is not our belief, and actually, it isn’t really my call to make! My mother has been kidnapped, and I don’t esteem it to be fair to make a major decision without her consent.”
Noah tacked onto that, “All she wants to do is to protect her people! And we’re trying to thwart a madman from taking over all of civilization! It’s a lot to ask, but the consequences of inaction would prove dire for everyone! So, what do you say? Will you do your part in saving the world from total disaster? Or will you allow massive suffering to overtake the planet?” Baran rubbed his chin contemplatively, and they waited for his determination with bated breath…Leave a ReplyEdit
“Bon Appetit!” a cafeteria worker merrily bade a prisoner in a room that was nearly completely walled up.
“Spaghetti again?” the prisoner complained in a window on the doorway. “That’s the third time this week!”
The cafeteria worker shrugged. “I don’t create the menu, dude!” The prisoner shook his head in disapproval, and the cafeteria worker rolled his cart to the next cell. The man in there remained sleeping, so the cafeteria worker rolled on to the next one without another word. He expected to exchange pleasantries with the next guy, as usual, but when he glanced into the room, he gasped.
He grabbed his radio and urgently announced, “Cell six in Solitary Confinement has a person gushing blood in it! I’m gonna perform first aid!” The cafeteria worker grabbed his keys and rushed into the cell where a man with a bald head and deep, umber skin was bleeding profusely. The cafeteria worker used his own belt as a tourniquet and applied pressure to the wound, and that stopped the outpouring, but the man remained unconscious. Just as medics arrived on the scene…
“Do you smoke?” The man’s lids flicked open, and he stared at the cafeteria worker with his dark, cold eyes.
“Uh… yeah!” The cafeteria worker gazed at him in confusion. He couldn’t quite understand why someone would ask such a thing under these conditions… until…
The man snickered, “I thought so!” He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the lighter in the cafeteria worker’s pocket burst into flames! The fire spread so quickly that the cafeteria worker couldn’t react with enough alacrity to save his own life! In an instant, the entire room got engulfed! The sprinklers soon went off, and a couple of medics used some nearby extinguishers to snuff the rest. When the blaze was gone, the medics realized the prisoner was too! They saw a hole in the corner, and the prisoner was running from the building!
Sirens blared, and the guards locked everything down. A voice on the loudspeaker broadcasted, “Attention all personnel! Be on the lookout for Iagan Endellion! Do not let him leave! This person is armed and dangerous!”
Iagan hurried toward the front of the facility, but when he got to the front gate, heard the sound of a couple of guns getting cocked. He turned around, and two police officers aimed their pistols at him. “Hands up!” one of them commanded.
“Okay!” Iagan put his palms up, but prior to the officers getting to approach him, flames shot out of Iagan’s hands! He set their weapons ablaze, and as they dropped them, the grass they fell on ignited! As they strove to put it out, Iagan burned a hole in the fence and slipped out.
“Damn it!” Gwyneira exclaimed as she beheld the search party around Tesca. “We’re too late!”
Noah assured her, “Don’t worry! He couldn’t have gotten far!”
Gwyneira spotted some K-9 units preparing to get deployed in the woods behind the prison, and she fretted, “He’s going to hurt those poor creatures!”
“Don’t go after him!” Noah warned her. “There’s no light in that forest- he could ambush you and hurt you too!”
“Fine! I’ll flush him out!” Gwyneira put her arms in the air, and rain clouds formed above the trees. It poured down rain, and everyone watched with hope gleaming in their eyes. When no one fled from the area, the K-9 handlers were ready to use their dogs… until…
An explosion sounded from the parking lot, and its impact knocked everyone in the vicinity off their feet! When Noah and Gwyneira swivelled off of their downward position, they espied Iagan emerge from under a vehicle! He hurled fire in their direction, but Gwyneira easily deflected that hex. Iagan used that quick second to flee, and Noah along with prison guards pursued him, but he was able to use his magic to rid them of their armament. Noah discerned that he was crossing a bridge over a creek, so he grabbed a garbage lid and flung it at Iagan’s skull. Iagan fell into the water and screamed in pain, but preceding anyone getting to seize him, he boiled the water. When the steam cleared it had become evident that Iagan had vanished into the shadows.
Mayor Richardson rubbed his temples as the noises of construction loomed in the background. Amy knocked on on the door, and a chunk of it fell onto the floor. Mayor Richardson grumpily invited, “You may as well come inside!”
“Is this a bad time?” Amy gingerly asked.
“Yes, but it’s not gonna get better any time soon, so you may as well join me,” Mayor Richardson answered.
Amy sat down on a chair before his desk, and then she encouragingly told him, “It could get better soon! The right solution could be just around the corner! You can’t give up!”
Mayor Richardson ogled at her incredulously. “Amy, a few days ago, we had this place trashed by insurrectionists, and now there’s a felon who can magically incinerate things on the loose! I actually requested that they fix my window while I’m on the clock simply so I don’t have to hear the protestors! It’s not that I don’t wanna give in to their demand to make the city safer- I literally have no clue how to fix this! How do I capture a man who already escaped from somewhere that’s supposed to have the best security in the world? We even put in extra water pipes in his cell walls to overpower him! If we actually capture him, how are we supposed to contain him going forward? And I’ve done all I could dream up to spread more peace amongst my constituents, but their anger is only getting worse! I can take measures to discourage violence, but I can’t stop free speech! I can’t force anyone to quit taking steps towards their own demise! If they won’t listen to a pop legend like Nova, who could possibly influence them? If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears!” After shaking her head, Amy responded, “I pray for advice myself, and I’m coming up blank. I don’t accept that doing nothing is the correct route to go, but I also need some sort of starting point! Since I don’t have one, I’m doing business as usual. I’ll keep going ‘til I get some kind of sign of what to do next! So, keeping in that spirit, here’s my latest budget proposal. Can I get your signature?”
“I can’t approve of this!” Mayor Richardson objected. “It’s already costing a fortune to fix the damage already done, and this nightmare that’s heading for us next is bound to be pricey! Everything may have to go to disaster relief- how can I approve of new stoplights and recycling programs if I have to rebuild houses and schools? I can’t give my approval to anything ‘til I know what exactly is going on!”
“Listen, Roald, I’m not gonna lie and say that scenario isn’t possible, but it hasn’t happened yet! You can put FEMA on speed dial if you want, but don’t prepare for absolute doom! You’ll drive yourself crazy with possibilities, but if act on actualities, you can feel more empowered! Stoplights and recycling may sound trivial in the grand scheme of things, but life is comprised of a bunch of little stuff! That murderous crowd tried to prevent us from doing our jobs, so I can’t picture a better method of proving they didn’t win than to do all the tiny details of our positions!” Amy passionately verbalized.
Mayor Richardson took a minute to drink in her words, and then he acknowledged them, “You’re right! They want us to be afraid, so we can’t show any fear!” He grabbed a pen, but before he could add his signature to her document, the construction crew paused. The cacophony of outraged citizens reverberated into his office, so Mayor Richardson pled with the crew, “Can’t you guys keep going ‘til the safety protests are through?”
The foreman filled him in, “Sorry, gotta follow union rules! Oh, and also, they’re not protesting anything safety related…”
As the crew exited the office, Amy and Mayor Richardson ran to the broken pane. When they caught a glimpse of what was outside, they cried out in aghast. Scores of people were holding up signs that were ordering the mayor to free Dawson Kolbyr, and the participants in the throng chanted the same message! Amy and Mayor Richardson stood there with their mouths ajar, totally unsure of how to proceed from here.
“Hello?” Noah picked up the receiver and strove to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“Hi, Noah! It’s Chief Argus. I’m so glad to hear that you’re taking a Saturday off! You’ve worked so hard lately, you deserve a break!” Chief Argus remarked.
Noah reacted with a slight suspicion, “But…?”
Chief Argus catechized, “What makes you assume there’s a but?”
“Oh, come on! With all due respect, sir, I highly doubt you called me to only express that!” Noah riposted.
“Alright, there’s more,” Chief Argus admitted. Noah said nothing, so Chief Argus inferred that he wasn’t surprised by that revelation. He cleared his throat a bit, and then he went on, “I wanted to inform you that Jareth Thurio has gone missing!”
This report filled Noah with intrigue. “Really? Geez, he disappeared immediately after Iagan Endellion escaped from prison- that’s not a coincidence! So, is he his victim or an accomplice of his?”
Chief Argus relayed to him, “Well, we can’t officially start searching for him ‘cause it hasn’t been forty-eight hours since he was last seen. His campaign manager, Demi, attempted to file a case on him after the twenty-four-hour mark. I have the paperwork she filled out though- apparently, he already missed a photo-op, and he seems to be a no-show for another event scheduled for today.”
“That’s interesting!” Noah commented. “I thought this treasury election was part of the plan! I doubt he grew a conscious overnight, so he probably isn’t gonna drop out. But, something made the plans change…”
“I agree,” Chief Argus concurred. “And he’s already doing a lot of damage with this political venture! If he voluntarily altered the agenda, whatever he has in store for the public can’t be good!”
Noah grimaced at that concept. “Yeah, that would be awful!” This occurrence was daunting, and a twinge of guilt coursed through his veins. He had a feeling where this conversation was heading, and he wasn’t going to be able to aid him in this endeavor. It was an important task, but Noah had something equally vital up his sleeve… “Well, that was fascinating! Thanks for briefing me on the situation, sir!”
Chief Argus entreated him, “Wait! Don’t hang up!” Noah complied, but he cringed as he did so. He foresaw that he would have to disappoint his boss, and he really hated the premise of doing so! “I realize you’re limited with your interactions with Mister Thurio, but you’re so adept at finding where criminals are hiding! You know Mister Thurio better than anyone, so I was wondering if you could participate in a search for him as a consultant. You’d have to hand it off to Maurice or Lynn for any questioning or arrests, but I know they’d really appreciate it if you lent a hand! So, what do you say?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Noah sighed. “I can’t. Not today. I… I have a prior obligation to attend to!”
“Is there any possibility of postponing that obligation?” Chief Argus probed. “I wouldn’t ask if we weren’t at the precipice of an apocalyptic disaster getting unleashed in Los Angeles! Can it get rainchecked for another day?”
Noah gritted his teeth, and then he fibbed, “My grandfather is ill. He doesn’t have long… I can’t abandon him at his hour of need! He raised me after my parents were killed!”
Chief Argus groaned, and Noah’s remorse was overwhelming. It wasn’t as though he was doing anything immoral, but he couldn’t permit him to have access to the truth. If his colleagues had any inkling of his real intentions, they would’ve tried to dissuade him from such a dangerous mission! So, he had to stay silent about it until it was done. Chief Argus disappointedly articulated, “Okay! But take your police-issued vehicle in case we need to reach you.”
“But, Chief!” Noah panicked a little. This move had the potential to under what they had planned out!
“What’s the problem?” Chief Argus inquired.
Noah replied, “I… Nothing! I’ll talk to you soon!” Noah hung up, and after slumping on his couch, Noah defended himself, “It wasn’t a total lie! My grandpa is in hospice…”
Gwyneira suggested, “We should visit him when we’re done! But, since we gotta get there the slow way, we better get going!” Noah still appeared dismal, so she encouraged him, “Don’t worry! Everything’s going to be fine! We’ll take a quick ride to San Francisco, and then… Everything will be fine!”
Not wanting to dishearten Gwyneira, Noah smiled and squeezed her hand. “Hey! I did say we outta take a trip together! Not that I’m trying to get out of going to Maui or anything…” Gwyneira pleasantly chuckled as they went out of his apartment door.2 RepliesEdit
Noah stormed out of the station and marked toward his car. He was so outraged that he didn’t even realize that Chief Argus was so close behind him. Before he could even get close to his vehicle, Chief Argus Argus called out, “Noah, you’re forgetting something!”
Chief Argus held a manila folder up in the air, and Noah didn’t look at it or his boss. Instead, he spat, “That’s not my case! That’s a mistake!”
“Come on, Noah! It’s not so bad!” Chief Argus consoled him. “The Umbra Murder was too stressful, you deserve something nice and simple after all you’ve been through!”
“I was making progress there!” Noah argued. “If I had a little more time, I could’ve gotten enough info to get a warrant! How could you do this?”
Chief Argus assured him, “Listen, I know I had my doubts about you staying on this case previously, but after reviewing the evidence you gathered, I wanted to let you remain on this. Unfortunately, Mister Thurio complained about harassment, and he threatened to sue the department! Our legal advisors gave me no choice!”
Noah roared, “This is bullshit! He was the one doing the harassing! I couldn’t just let him do that to a grieving widow, so I-!”
“So, you fell into his trap!” Chief Argus completed his sentence. “You knew he already made that claim twice! Clearly, he was baiting you!”
“I…! I didn’t think about that!” Noah realized he was correct, and he upbraided himself for not making this observation himself. He had to cast that thought out of his mind though since what was done couldn’t be changed. He turned to Chief Argus and contended, “But still! I didn’t do anything wrong! This isn’t fair!”
Chief Argus surprised Noah by agreeing with him, “You’re right! It’s a real shame ‘cause the person I pass this case to is gonna take a considerable stretch orienting themself with the facts you’ve gathered, and we really can’t afford to lose even a minute with this investigation! Who knows what’ll happen between now and then with these suspects! But, rest assured, whoever takes over will catch the prick that caused this! Your work won’t have been in vain!”
Noah quarreled, “But they won’t solve this case! This case is… complex! Not a lot of people will understand it, and they’ll jump to an incorrect solution!” Noah didn’t mention the Mystic involvement to avoid extenuating his predicament with Chief Argus, but it weighed at the forefront of his worries. Not everyone believed in the existence of their supernatural abilities, and oftentimes, the ones who did theorize that they originated from dark sources. The next in line may go in a totally erroneous direction, and it would give free reign for Dawson and his followers to commit more atrocities! Jareth would win that special election for sure, and terrible events would occur as a result of that! Plus, Megala’s disappearance was connected to this case, but not everyone would see that! It filled him with dread to picture what would occur due to this move!
“What? You mean ‘cause magic is involved?” Chief Argus questioned. Noah’s eyes went wide at that mention, and he was prepared to make excuses for it, but Chief Argus stunned him, “It’s okay! I recognized that Gwyneira and her tribe weren’t associated with it ‘til one of your suspects drew her in. It was unfair for me to say you couldn’t work any case involving Mystics! They’re not all connected! However, don’t hide anything from me again! I was once a detective like you! I can figure stuff out!”
“Alright, Chief!” Noah tried to smile at this reprieve, but he couldn’t quite get it out. His stomach lurched at the concept of anyone but him taking over this dangerous mystery, and he feared to envision what would transpire because of it!
Chief Argus put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “I can’t promise everything will turn out hunky-dory, so I suggest doing something to distract yourself. If you aren’t ready to take on a new case, why don’t you take the day off?”
Margaret entered into the vicinity and interjected, “This guy doesn’t take breaks, Chief! Besides, he’s a secondary on my homicide from the concert massacre! He’s gotta help me sole mine, and we have an interview to go to!”
Initially, Noah was perplexed by this plan. He recalled that she hadn’t closed the case in the killing of three boys, but that was only because the culprit was the elusive Demek. Suddenly, it clicked for him what she was trying to do! “That’s true! Let’s go!” Flooded with relief, he grabbed her arm and merrily escorted her to that interview’s locale.
“Gwyneira!” Michelle urgently addressed her as she and Kalanie entered into the cavernous chambers of Lake Marical. Gwyneira put down the papers she was studying and gave them the utmost of her attention. Michelle began to relay to her, “We found something in El Poder that you should be aware of!”
“What is it? Is it my mother? Please, tell me she’s alright!” Gwyneira panicked. Her heart beat so rapidly that she thought it would jump right out of her chest! Her gut always indicated that she was continuing to survive, but simultaneously, she always worried that someone would report that they found her mother’s body somewhere! She got queasy even entertaining this possibility, and she inwardly prayed that her anxiety would prove to be wrong!
Kalanie reassured her, “Your mother is fine! At least, as far as we can tell, she’s still alive. However, we may have discovered something equally as disturbing! As we were walking down a trail leading off Tempest Shore, we heard… Oh hello, Beck!”
The tension Kalanie recently held instantly vanished as she coyly greeted Beck, and Beck, who had identical marks of stress a second ago, stammered, “I… uh… Hi!”
Michelle and Gwyneira knowingly grinned at each other, and then Gwyneira broke their awkward exchange, “What do you want, Beck?”
“Oh! Right!” Beck shook off his more pleasant disposition, and then he informed her, “We have a visitor.”
“Send them in,” Gwyneira directed him.
Beck apprised her, “It’s a Sapien.”
Gwyneira repeated, “Send them in.”
Quite frazzled at this notion, Beck catechized, “Really? You would have an outsider visit these sacred grounds?”
“My father visited Lake Marical,” Gwyneira pointed out. “So did Noah! He even drank from the water!”
“Yes, but this is a different situation,” Beck differed. “She’s here strictly for business, and not business that benefits us, so…”
From outside of the vicinity, Robin probed, “What am I? Chopped liver?”
Gwyneira illuminated Beck, “Friends are never denied!”
“Thanks!” Robin entered with a small toolkit. “But, I’m not here for social purposes, unfortunately.” She handed Gwyneira a set of documents, and she sheepishly expressed, “I’m just glad all three of you are in the same room so I can get this over with!”
“You have a warrant for our DNA?” Gwyneira reacted in aghast.
Robin explained, “I didn’t petition the judge for that! And I wouldn’t have! Sidero says he wants to eliminate you as suspects, but I’m fairly positive that’s not what he’s doing. He says he wants to have comparisons for when they recover Megala.”
Gwyneira made a noise of indignation. “Ugh! So, he’s simply assuming that he won’t find her alive and that a Mystic was behind her death?”
“I’m sorry!” Robin ruefully regarded them. “Chief Argus put him on her case ‘cause his hunches are usually solid. He’s recovered hundreds of people throughout his career, but in this instance… Well, my prediction is that Noah will locate her first! I’m assuming that’s what he and Margaret are working on right now since he got taken off of the Umbra murder.” She paused, and then she instructed Michelle, “Swab both sides of your mouth, and put your sample in this tube.”
“This is pointless!” Gwyneira complained as she collected her request.
Kalanie brought up, “Since we’re all friends, there’s something you all should know… Scores of Earth Mystics from Mount Charleston were in the woods practicing. It appears that Dawson has recruited them for an upcoming battle!” The entire space grew eerily silent as they digested this news.
Noah and Margaret walked into Mayor Froth’s office, and they beheld him cradling his noggin on his desk. When Mayor Froth noticed their presence, he stood up and held his wrists out towards them. “Go ahead and arrest me now! It’s my fault he’s dead!”
“Brennan Umbra?” Noah furrowed his brows. Admittedly, he suspected him for a while, but Jareth’s behavior was far more indicative of culpability. He acknowledged that it was entirely feasible that he missed the mark completely, but his logic refused to accept this development as true. “Are you sure?”
“I’m talking about my son!” Mayor Froth dismally corrected him. “He’s dead ‘cause of me, so go ahead and take me away!”
Margaret obviously had the same instincts as Noah since she hesitated too. She ogled at him peculiarly, and then she inquired, “You killed all three boys?”
Mayor Froth emitted a sigh of morose frustration, and he clarified, “I didn’t kill anyone! But I may as well have done the deed myself! I told my boy not to go to college in LA, but I paid for his schooling anyway! Maybe if I tried a little harder to discourage him from doing that, he’d still be alive!”
“We’re not gonna arrest you for being a supportive father, Mayor Froth!” Margaret gently lowered his limbs down. As she took a seat, she comforted him, “You didn’t cause your child’s death! But, someone did! We’re here to figure out who that might be!”
“I don’t know anything!” Mayor Froth glumly asserted. “He didn’t tell me much about his life out there, so I don’t know anything about who may have wanted him to die!”
Noah sagely articulated, “You may know more than you realize! Did you discuss your kid much at work?”
Mayor Froth recollected, “Oh, of course! I was very proud of Irenio! I bragged about him constantly! He was so bright, top of his class! Then, when his mom went to rehab, a lot of my colleagues pitched in to offer him support. Actually, Brennan used to ask how he was doing before he found out how I was! I could only imagine how he would act after finding out how he passed! Poor Brennan! Man, everyone around me has succumbed to a horrible fate! Maybe you two should go and avoid this curse!”
“You’re not cursed!” Margaret emphatically insisted. “But, someone around you may have the ability to do such a thing. Did anyone hold any grudges against you or threaten you at all?”
“Here and there, but they were usually nuts with too much time on their hands. Wait, are you implying that the murderer did this to punish me?” Mayor Froth’s eyes went wide with alarm.
Noah responded, “That’s what we’re attempting to decipher. Did you have any issues with your staff members? Did anyone behave oddly or suspiciously?”
Mayor Froth appeared mystified. “No! We’re a pretty tight bunch! No one did anything odd! Well, unless you count Jareth! He was a weird loner, but he didn’t seem dangerous! He couldn’t have hurt anyone! Heck, that guy was scared of the freakin’ wind! Have you heard of something so ridiculous?”
“Yes!” Noah’s pulse raced as he remembered his interactions with Dawson. Noah used wind against him since it was part of the Destructive Cycle, and even Link deployed this method as he was defending himself against Dawson’s venomous ire! If Jareth had an aversion to wind, that could only lead to one conclusion… “Did you do a background check on Jareth?”
“I’m sorry, sir!” a secretary apologized as she entered into the quarters. “She said it was urgent!”
Laverna went in, and Noah put his hands on his hips as he verbalized, “If this is a ploy to get a story, I swear, I-!”
She interrupted him, “This isn’t for an article, but it is related to The Mink Observer! Listen!”
After plopping a tape recorder onto the table, Laverna pushed play. Demek’s deep voice echoed out, “Go to the Tesca prison tonight. You’ll capture the headline of a century!”4 RepliesEdit
“Mayor Richardson!” a radical shouted as he kicked open the door to his office. He and the people behind him glanced around, and when they saw no evidence of his presence there, the radical queried, “Mayor Richardson, where are you?”
As a belligerent bunch burst into the city council’s chambers, an agitator insolently called out, “Aaaaaamy! Where are you, Amy?”
A revolter stood in an art gallery and brazenly proclaimed, “This is our house now!”
Several police officers were scattered throughout the vicinity, but before they could pull out a weapon to defend themselves, the raucous participants pounced on them. A few even grabbed whatever objects they could reach and proceeded to beat the law enforcement closest to them! Windows were breaking, and debris was strewed everywhere. A myriad of valuables were carried off the property, and an American flag even got replaced by a GLADA one!
“This is awful!” Noah remarked as he and his colleagues watched the scene in horror.
“Yes, it is!” Chief Argus concurred. “So, go in there and make it less awful!” As the detectives put on extra protective gear, Chief Argus apprised them, “I’ll be right there with you as soon as I get some… reinforcements…” Noah wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but there wasn’t a moment to spare to mull it over. He mentally steeled himself up, and then he entered the foray.
He approached a group of individuals barging in through a broken pane, and he commanded, “Hands up!” The group snarled and charged towards him, so he streamed his pepper spray into their faces. They fell down in agony, and after fending off an attacker from behind him, he dashed inside.
A man jiggled a doorknob, and when it wouldn’t budge, he announced, “Hey, guys! I think they’re hiding in here!”
“Don’t move!” Noah ordered as more of the masses flocked to that locale.
“Are you really gonna shoot us?” a woman mockingly challenged him. They snickered until Noah cocked his pistol. Their skin paled, and Lynn came up and cuffed them.
Noah heard a crash in the distance, so he ran to that site. He beheld Maurice getting pinned down by a bookshelf, and preceding a person having the ability to throw a potted plant on his head, Noah shot the pot. The dirt cascaded onto the person’s vision, and Margaret arrested that person as Noah freed Maurice. “Thanks!” Maurice gratefully expressed.
Before Noah could react, they received the reverberation of a male screaming in pain from a neighboring room! Noah sped to it, and he was shocked to discover Officer Jones on the floor bleeding profusely! When he kneeled to check on him, Officer Jones warned him, “Look out!” A malcontent nearly stabbed Noah in the back, but Noah flipped him off! Officer Letes immediately grabbed him, and Noah was about to administer first aid when…
A familiar sound of metal fastly flying in the air hit Noah’s eardrums! His muscles went rigid with fright, but knowing what that malefactor was capable of, he rushed over to thwart his efforts. He espied the red-hooded Earth Mystic, and his pulse instantly surged with adrenaline. He bellowed, “I got you now, Demek!”
“Oh, do you?” Demek chuckled as he faced away from Noah. “You’ve done your homework, I see! Too bad it won’t do you much good!”
“Like hell it won’t!” Noah disputed. “I’ll have an official name to list on your record when I take your ass to prison! Your buddy, Dawson, is waiting for you there!”
Demek slowly turned around, and Noah raised his taser. If Demek so much as lifted a finger towards producing a hex, he was more than willing to deploy his weapon. Noah couldn’t discern any of Demek’s features, but he could tell he was sneering at him. “I’m glad we could finally meet so I could get rid of you once and for all!”
Noah retorted, “Psh! You can try!”
“Okay!” Demek raised his palms up and emitted his swords. Noah fired his taser as he ducked, and he was successful, but it didn’t deter Demek much! Demek swiftly deployed more blades, and while Noah was able to evade them, Demek projected more and more. Noah continuously dodged it all, but he had to move so rapidly that he didn’t have a second to retaliate! The weaponry stuck to the ground, so Noah had to watch out for those too! He eventually found himself cornered- he was trapped! He didn’t want to show that vile villain any fear, so he bravely positioned himself to utilize his armament. Demek still deemed his predicament as humorous, so he maliciously chortled, “Say goodbye!”
“Goodbye!” Gwyneira articulated as the sharp edges destined for Noah froze in midair. Noah spun around, and his body cascaded in relief to view Gwyneira standing there with a dozen of her tribe members! Demek’s movement suggested that their appearance troubled him. He sent out trajectories towards them, but they easily deflected them. Demek clearly worked out that he was outnumbered, so he switched tactics. He aimed his palms at the ceiling, and prior to anyone getting to prevent this from occurring, several lights in the grand chandelier exploded! Sparks rained down the foyer, and everyone in this proximity had no choice but to take cover.
When the peril subsided, they discovered that Demek had vanished! Noah was certain that he had fled to the staircase, so he raced to catch him. He zipped down the steps, and he could hear Gwyneira and the other Water Mystics closely tailing him, but Noah’s furor propelled him vastly ahead of the others. It astonished Noah that he didn’t unearth him during the descension, and it deeply disappointed him to not espy him on the lower level! He surveyed the scenery to identify his whereabouts, but a delinquent advanced towards him. He effectively tased him, but he could hardly count that as a victory, not when Dawson’s lieutenant managed to escape!
Once the Water Mystics got involved, the mayhem started to calm down. First responders were able to transport the wounded out of there, and law enforcement brought out criminals in droves. One female shouted, “This is our building! We have the right to remove the mayor!”
“They’re letting our region decay!” a guy growled as he got shoved into a vehicle.
“Vote for Jareth Thurio! He’ll fix everything!” someone else vehemently declared. Noah bristled at this comment- not only did that reprobate assault the love of his life, but he encouraged his followers to behave violently! He doubted that he would get permitted to have the honor of capturing him for his influence in this chaos, but he savored the concept of Jareth finally facing accountability!
A detainee in Chief Argus’s custody held his frozen hands in front of himself and griped, “This is brutality!”
Chief Argus disagreed, “You tried to kill somebody I deputized! You were lucky you didn’t get worse!”
“You deputized the Mystics?” the detainee cried out incredulously. “Did everyone hear that? He deputized the witches!”
“The takeover has begun!” a lady nearby boldly asserted. Chief Argus groaned as he continued to escort this captive.
Out of the corner of his eye, Noah observed Laverna documenting this affair. Even though her composure was much meeker, it still incensed Noah to have her in his sight. He marched over and inquired, “What exactly are you gonna tell your audience about this?”
Flustered, Laverna uncertainly replied, “Uh… I dunno!”
Noah advised her, “Think about it carefully! Words have consequences!” He returned to closing up this episode, and Laverna bit her lip from incertitude on how to have her crew go forward.
“She was here!” Michelle assessed with her lids shut.
“Recently?” Kalanie pressed as they walked along a trail leading off of a rocky shore.
Michelle contemplated the matter more, and she determined, “Oh, yes! I can feel her anguish! She was unconscious, but her spirit sensed that she was in danger!”
Kalanie recalled, “This route stretches all the way to Santa Clarita, so Megala’s kidnapper could’ve switched to a different path there that leads to El Poder! Oof! Don’t tell me we’re hoofing it the entire duration!”
“No one is going anywhere!” Sidero proclaimed from the rear of their location. Michelle and Kalanie cringed as they swiveled to meet his gaze, and he smugly roosted himself on the dirt road as he addressed them, “I’ve been staking out the crime scene ‘cause we got reports of someone doing magic behind the rocks. Perhaps they were using it as they were searching for their next victim?
“How would we know? We weren’t there!” Kalanie riposted.
Sidero accosted them, “What did you have against the Water Mystic chieftess? Were you wanting your buddy, Gwyneira, in charge so that you could gain more power, or did she inhibit a scheme you were plotting?”
Kalanie growled, “How dare you, you-!”
“Please, sir!” Michelle appealed to him. “I recognize that you’re frustrated and anxious to put a close to this case, but we’re only here to track down our friend! We-!”
“I’d advise you two to not say anything more without an attorney present,” Sidero recommended.
Michelle blinked in bafflement. “You’re serious!”
Sidero sternly verbalized, “You two are coming with me! I-!”
All of a sudden, Sidero’s jaw froze shut! Michelle and Kalanie gasped, and Beck emerged from the bushes! “Beck! What are you doing? You assaulted a policeman!” Kalanie exclaimed.
“I know! I know! I just couldn’t listen to that crap anymore!” Beck explained. “And I couldn’t let you take the fall for this! I did the spells he described! I was getting frustrated! I wanted to find Megala too! After dealing with that fiasco, I hoped to restore her to her rightful place so that maybe we could deal with Sapiens a little less. No offense to Gwyneira, but I miss the more peaceful days!”
“Don’t we all?” Kalanie tittered. “But, I think those days are done. As long as there are those who seek to disrupt the natural order of things, we won’t get our tranquility restored!”
Beck nodded contemplatively. “That’s a valid argument! …See, that’s why I always admired you! You’re so thoughtful and brilliant!”
Kalanie blushed slightly. “You admire me?”
“Your intelligence, not your looks! Not that you don’t have good looks! Oops! I mean…!” Beck stumbled on his utterance enough that he was sort of glad that Sidero put shackles on his wrists. “I got to go to jail now. Best of luck in finding her!” They watched as Sidero sullenly carted him away.
“What are you grinning at?” Kalanie asked Michelle.
Michelle answered with a giggle, “Nothing!” They resumed their trek through the woods, and Michelle giggled once more. “Still nothing!” she claimed. Kalanie smiled but buried herself in her jacket.
In a cozy sitting room, Noah catechized, “So, Missus Umbra, did your husband ever mention any enemies?”
“No!” Missus Umbra reflectively reported. “Everyone loved Brennan! At least, they used to! With this stupid election coming up, everyone seems to have forgotten him!”
“I didn’t, Missus Umbra! I’ll get the culprit behind this injustice! I swear!” Noah avowed. “If you can recall anything that might be helpful, don’t hesitate to-.”
Noah cut off his own sentence when a roar of applause thundered outside. He peeked out the window, and he caught a glimpse of denizens gathered around a gazebo at a park across the street. To his appall, Jareth was orating, “Democracy is a fickle beast! Not tamed properly, it can prove dangerous!”
Completely outraged, Noah yelled, “Uh-uh! Absolutely not!” As Jareth went on, Noah made a beeline for that spot. He didn’t bother with any courtesies and interrupted, “Knock it off! You got a lot of nerve trolling the widow of the previous treasurer!”
“I had no idea she lived here!” Jareth alleged.
“If you keep harassing her, I’ll arrest you in an instant!” Noah vociferated. “And watch what comes out of your mouth! People believe you, and their beliefs can drive them to do horrendous acts! I’m pretty certain that yesterday showed that!”
Jareth kidded, “Why? What happened yesterday?” He viewed Noah’s glare, so he clarified, “It was a joke! Jeez, you cops don’t like to have fun!” The congregation cackled, and Jareth directed them, “Alright, guys! Let’s move it to the shopping center up the block!” As everybody followed him, Noah gritted his teeth while his head filled with Dawson’s diabolical laughter.3 RepliesEdit
The councilwoman banged her gavel and commanded, “Order! Order! All those in attendance must wait their turn to speak!” A dozen unruly people in the audience begrudgingly sat down and shut their mouths. Once civility was restored, the chairwoman addressed the lady at the podium, “You may continue.”
“Thank you, Councilwoman Bolivar,” the lady responded somewhat nervously as she glanced back to the rowdy group behind her. She cleared her throat, and then she went on, “As I was saying, the road on Margarita Drive is in desperate need of repair! The cracks and potholes bear the risk of-.”
“Oh, who cares?” a male from the rowdy group griped. Councilwoman Bolivar banged her gavel again, and the man protested, “Oh, come on! This crap isn’t important! We have something vital to discuss, and you-!”
Councilwoman Bolivar warned him, “If you interrupt one more time, we’ll throw you out without hearing your proposal! Is that clear?” The male folded his arms and pouted, and Councilwoman Bolivar urged the lady, “Go on!”
The lady seemed rather intimidated by the angry whispers stemming from the rowdy group, so she hastily spouted, “The cracks and potholes are big, and that’s bad! Thank you!”
Councilwoman Bolivar let out an exasperated sigh, and then she somewhat irritably decreed, “Motion to repair Margarita Drive is granted. Next on the docket, Farmer Iris would like to discuss waste removal issues.”
“Councilwoman Bolivar, I’d like to skip my turn and allow these guys to speak.” Farmer Iris eyeballed the rowdy group with trepidation and swiftly sat down.
“Ugh! Fine!” Councilwoman Bolivar gave in. “The council now recognizes Wood You Just for their appeal.”
The male smirked as he and his cohorts approached the podium, and the male adjusted the microphone for his short stature prior to beginning his oration, “Good afternoon! My name is Kesteven Blakely, but everyone calls me K.B. Wood You Just was formed ‘cause a bunch of us have witnessed a grave injustice, and we’re not leaving ‘til this wrong is righted.” Councilwoman Bolivar and the other members looked frightened by the threat of them possibly not leaving, and K.B. seemed pleased to see this. “Today, we bring you irrefutable proof that our fellow Wood Mystic, Radley Brisco, was falsely imprisoned!”
Councilwoman Bolivar refuted that claim, “Radley Brisco confessed to murder to the police, and then he bragged about it at his trial! He’s guilty as charged!”
“You don’t understand!” K.B. snapped. “He was forced to make that confession! This document shows that the LAPD blackmailed him into taking the fall for that murder!”
“Blackmail?” Councilwoman Bolivar puzzled. “What could possibly have been worse than going to prison for multiple homicides?”
K.B. asserted, “Ah ha! I’m glad you asked that! The answer is right in front of you! A retired government official went into the GLADA chatroom and spilled the beans on the plot to relinquish control of the region to the Animal, Air, and Water Tribes! If Radley didn’t comply, they were gonna bulldoze our entire tribal headquarters! He did it to save us!”
The other Wood Mystics heartily concurred with that statement, but the council’s faces remained skeptical. Councilwoman Bolivar stated, “That doesn’t even make sense! Why would the government cancel any plans just to nail a random person for a crime they didn’t commit?”
“They wanna stick us with a bad reputation so our adversaries will be the only ones who can get respected by the public! It’s all about power!” K.B. grew miffed that no one was taking him seriously, so he spat, “Just read it!”
“Yo! I’m a former assistant to the dude who runs the county, and I saw with my own eyes they’re corrupt as hell! They wanna have the wrong peeps run Los Angeles… I’m sorry, is this person supposed to be retirement age?”
K.B. yelled, “Read the whole thing!”
Councilwoman Bolivar refused, “No! This testimony is obviously fraudulent!”
“You’re not being fair!” K.B. vehemently complained. “Our brethren is serving a sentence for something he didn’t do, and you won’t consider evidence that’ll exonerate him!”
“Listen, in case you didn’t already know, anyone can go on the internet and pretend to be whoever they want!” Councilwoman Bolivar educated him. “You can’t use the web as a reliable source! Besides, even if I found your evidence credible, we don’t have the power to pardon anyone!”
K.B. quarreled, “But you can recommend this gets investigated by the District Attorney!”
Councilwoman Bolivar shook her head. “We would never do such a thing based on such flimsy reasoning!”
“Where’s the real mayor?” K.B. fervently demanded.
“He had a medical matter to attend to,” Councilwoman Bolivar informed him. “So, as the pro tempore, it’s up to my judgment on how the council proceeds, and, based on what I’ve seen, my decision is to deny your request.”
One of K.B.’s lackeys muttered, “Didn’t I say they were gonna turn out to be total sympathizers?”
Councilwoman Bolivar inquired, “We’re a what?”
“You’re a witch sympathizer!” she maniacally replied. “You want these evil beings to take over the land! You are-!”
“Oh, this is ridiculous! Leave these chambers or I’ll have you escorted out!” Councilwoman Bolivar directed.
The rowdy group chanted, “Sympathizer! Sympathizer! Sympathizer!” Councilwoman Bolivar motioned for the police in the room to usher the disrupters out, and the majority of the lot continued to shout as they got carried out. K.B. complied, but he kept shooting her acrimonious glares as he walked out.
A couple of reporters had stationed themselves outside, and one of them posed to the ousted party, “What happened in there?”
“We showed the city council proof that exonerates a guiltless man, and they ignored it!” K.B. dramatically announced. “It fits their narrative to have Radley Brisco locked up, so they forced us to vacate the premises without even taking much of a peek at our facts! They pretty much admitted to their sympathizer agenda, and-!”
“Cut the feed!” the reporter instructed his crew. K.B. appeared dumbfounded by this move, so he clarified for him, “What? As journalists, we can’t ethically air untruthful or misleading comments.” As the media members departed from the vicinity, K.B. watched them with a small, sinister smile slowly forming on his visage.
In a backstage area, the director apprehensively expressed, “I dunno, Nova! This doesn’t seem very safe!”
Nova disagreed, “No one knows I’m here! They couldn’t have planned for what they don’t expect!”
“Yeah, but there isn’t much security here!” the director contended. “What if someone takes advantage of your vulnerability and attacks you?”
“I took several judo lessons when I was a little girl,” Nova relayed to him. “A lot of my dance moves come from that, didn’t you know?”
The director maintained his apprehension, “Okay, but the thugs who ambushed you before had weapons that I’m certain they didn’t teach you to disarm in judo…”
Nova ogled at him impatiently, “Oh, come on! Somebody would have to travel all over town with a weapon in the off chance that I coincidentally popped up where they were! I’m probably safer here than I was at Arnav Theatre!”
“If you wanna cancel your tour, I’ll totally understand…” the director very concernedly articulated.
“Weren’t you the one telling me to keep singing ‘cause those radicals were trying to silence me?” Nova countered. “I have to do this! Not just for me, but for my fans who they punished for being in favor of peace and tolerance! Besides, I got my start on small stages like this, it’ll be fun!” The director didn’t seem totally sold, but he nodded in acquiescence and exited those quarters.
As mall patrons went about their business, Nova emerged and spoke, “Hey, everyone! It’s Nova here! I’m raising money to benefit the victims of the concert massacre, so, if you’re a fan of me or simply a fan of love, please, give big!” The spectators were visibly leery at first, and Nova worried she wouldn’t incur enough donations to truly help her cause. This broke her heart to think, but she belted out a lively tune anyway. To her delight, a ton of folks flocked to the spot, and her director’s bin overflowed with cash within minutes of this endeavor!
As Jareth studied his cue cards by a staircase leading up to a platform, a female approached him and grimly proclaimed, “Sir, I have bad news…”
“Can’t it wait ‘til after my speech?” Jareth irritably wondered.
“No! If we don’t discuss this, your numbers will plummet, and you can kiss this campaign goodbye!” the female notified him.
Jareth emitted a frustrated exhale, and then he huffed, “Fine! Go ahead and tell me, Demi!”
Demi revealed, “Nova performed at the Paxton Mall. She promoted a message of togetherness and harmony, and she brought in a lot of dough for the dead guys. Now there’s tons of buzz about this, and a significant portion of your constituents are proposing measures to ensure safety for Mystics and their allies! And, several suggestions have been made about them living in dignity!”
“Shit!” Jareth reacted in an animated dismay. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” He cooled himself down, and then he consoled himself, “You know what, it’s alright! I can still use this speech- I just gotta insert a tidbit about Nova aligning with witches and sympathizers.”
“That’s not gonna work, sir!” Demi disagreed with that premise. “You’ll come off as a dick for not respecting the fallen!”
Jareth groaned, “Ugh! Well, this speech is pointless then!” He tossed his cue cards to her, and he ruminated on this subject. After several seconds, a lightbulb went off in his thoughts. “I’ve got this!” Preceding Demi getting to grill him on it, Jareth strutted up to the platform.
Scores of eager men and women enthusiastically greeted him, and Jareth beamed at them as he strolled over to the microphone. Once the cheers quieted down, Jareth orated, “Good evening,, El Poder! What a beautiful night! At least, it is for Mayor Richardson!” He paused for boos, and then he carried on, “He’s resting easy tonight! He doesn’t even have to physically be present for his bidding to get done! They’re all in compliance with his control!”
“Psst! What are you doing?” Demi hissed. “You’re not running for office in Los Angeles!”
“He doesn’t have to lift a finger so long as Amy Bolivar and her goons issue injunctions on his behalf!” Jareth verbalized as though he hadn’t heard Demi. The masses jeered at that concept, which inspired him to leer. “This is why voting for small offices is crucial! Amy Bolivar, for example, has the authority to decide something as important as a man’s fate! Did you know that? She could’ve helped free an innocent soul from a lifetime in Tesca, and she wouldn’t do it! She wouldn’t even study the evidence brought to overturn his conviction!”
A male in the throng vociferated, “Kill the sympathizer!”
Many shared that view, and Jerrith merrily chuckled, “Now, now! We don’t wanna go that far! Especially when it wouldn’t do much good! Mayor Richardson would still be at large, and he’d replace her with more sycophants! Mayor Richardson is the one who needs to go! If you elect me, I’ll do what I can to keep our town from following in LA’s footsteps! We cannot condone this behavior! Let’s take back our region!”
“You need to discourage violence!” Demi strongly recommended.
“And you need to shut your mouth or you’re fired!” Jareth retorted. “Can you believe it? This gal wants me to act kindly towards the sympathizers! I will not! Radley Brisco deserves justice, and you all deserve a treasurer who takes a hard stand against indecency! This election, vote for me, Jareth Thurio!” The congregation roared in vehement approval of his words, and Jareth brushed past Demi and off the platform.
In the morning, Noah interrogated a clerk, “Did you ever interact with him?”
She recalled, “No! He was pretty silent mostly. And he gave off kinda a weird vibe! Once, I-!”
“Calling all units! Calling all units!” Noah’s radio urgently paged. “We need every available law enforcement officer at LA City Hall immediately!”Leave a ReplyEdit
Gwyneira pulled the hood on her cloak tighter as she crept through the forest. She illuminated her path just enough for her to see what was ahead, and she moved as nimbly as possible. She didn’t have any factual evidence that anyone’s presence may have been there, but her intuition insisted that someone precarious had stationed themselves in the shadows. She followed the orchids once more, but when she arrived at the entrance to the Earth Mystic Tribe, she paused. Something was off- not about them, about the unknown assailant behind her mother’s disappearance. The tribe seemed genuine in their claim that they didn’t approve of Dawson or his cronies’ plans, so it seemed unlikely they would allow anyone to keep a captive there or reside there if they did! However, it didn’t make sense for a person to lead a path to this location if it didn’t hold some key to their crime…
As she pondered this notion, the door on the tree creaked open! Gwyneira hid behind a bush, and while she remained hidden, there was an opening in the branches that allowed her to view what transpired. Kerkunn poked his head out slightly, and he glanced around at his surroundings. Gwyneira felt intensely intrigued about his purpose in emerging. She couldn’t discern whether or not he had detected her movements or if he had some other motivation that drew him out there. If he hadn’t come to deal with her, she couldn’t fathom what would have possessed him to leave his land so late at night. Suddenly, his eyes lingered in her direction! She panicked slightly and readied herself to use self-defense if necessary, but to her astonishment, he continued to scope the scenery! Seconds later, he ducked back inside and closed the door! She became quite confused and wondered why his vigilance had manifested and disappeared so rapidly.
After about a minute or so, she deemed it safe enough to abandon her protective layer. Logic would presume that he suspected that an intrusion occurred and left when it hadn’t, but something deep within her told Gwyneira that he had more cause to go outside than a mere investigation of a trespasser of some sort. She felt inclined to satiate her curiosity about this, but she couldn’t waste her time on this matter since it had nothing to do with her mission to uncover facts about her mother’s kidnapping. She was ready to continue, but she didn’t know where she would go to do that until…
A twig above her began to sway as though it were caught up in a circular draft, but currently, no wind had been blowing. As the wood twirled, Gwyneira understood that Kerkunn aimed to communicate something to her, and it confirmed her theory that a perilous entity roamed the nearby territory somewhere since he wasn’t speaking to her directly. When the sprig ceased its activity, it pointed to the left side. Gwyneira could tell that he was giving her the guidance that she had sought, and while she couldn’t ascertain any hints of a significant commodity existing close to them, she was positive that something was in their proximity. Gwyneira nodded to portray her comprehension of this hint, and she avowed to thank Kerkunn when this was all over.
The ground beneath her was fairly treacherous, but Gwyneira charged forth with vigor. It didn’t appear to be a frequently used trail, but she was sure that Kerkunn wouldn’t have sent her this way if it weren’t for a valid reason. Her dress caught onto a stick, and for a second, she worried that the sound had given her away. Nothing occurred as a result of that though, so she went forward still. The site seemed rather empty initially, but she soon spotted a rooftop ahead of her!
Gwyneira tiptoed towards the building, but it was enveloped by enough plants that she couldn’t see the exterior. She frowned, and she inwardly debated on how to proceed when she unexpectedly beheld an item that made it so clear…
She examined it more closely, and it was, indeed, much like what she produced when she created her artwork in the Badlands! In her mind, this could only signify one thing- her mother was close by! She scoured the floor for more, but she didn’t find any. Her work had not been in vain though- she chanced upon the entrance to this estate! It appeared to be a fairly ordinary vacation lodge, and with all of the lights off, she guessed that it was vacant. Kerkunn recommended that she visit this establishment though, so she set a foot onto the acreage…
“Get away from my home!” Jareth bellowed as he pulled Gwyneira back. He pinned her to a tree, and he was able to recognize her from this vantage point. “You! You dare to trespass onto my property!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know it was yours!” Gwyneira apologized. She delivered her words truthfully, but she also strove not to show this thug any fear.
Jareth didn’t appear appeased at all. “What were you doing here?”
Gwyneira didn’t let herself get intimidated by his fury, but it was troublesome. She didn’t want to engage in any violence, but she didn’t feel confident that she could calm him down enough to release her from his grip. She wished that she had brought Noah, he was so adept at charming people enough to relinquish their stronghold in a variety of situations! She resolved to negotiate with him, but she didn’t predict success in this predicament!
“You didn’t run into this place by accident!” Jareth frantically insisted. “Why are you here?”
“I’ve been combing the region to find my mother! I didn’t anticipate encountering any home here let alone yours! My only interest is in reuniting with the only parent I’ve got right now!” Gwyneira explained herself in such a fashion that she meant to induce pity in him so he would lessen his animosity, and she gazed at him pathetically in an attempt to iterate that sentiment.
Jareth, unfortunately, was not quelled by this tactic. “Oh, right! Out of all the locations in LA County you could’ve picked, you just happened to pick where I live?”
Gwyneira adamantly asserted, “Well, she wasn’t anywhere near Tempest Shore, and these woods are close to another crime scene, so it seemed natural to explore it! It never crossed my mind to look for you! And I would’ve estimated your residence to be a posh pad somewhere in the El Poder city limits! Believe me, I’m flabbergasted that you and I collided in these quarters!”
“What did you see?” Jareth pressed her.
“Nothing!” Gwyneira honestly attested. “Seriously! I got the impression that this cabin was abandoned!”
Jareth grilled her, “What did you hear? Feel? Touch?”
Gwyneira repeated, “Nothing!” She began to wonder if she should have noticed more, but she was not foolish enough to voice that concern aloud!
“Alright, fine! I accept your claims of innocence.” Jareth loosened his clasp on her slightly. “But, if I hear reports that paint me in a bad light anywhere, your mom will return and start searching for you!”
“What could I possibly say negatively about you?” Gwyneira queried with as much sincerity as she could muster. It was truly a chore not to utter any snark to this reprobate at this juncture! Everything about this interaction was alarming, and his abode screamed of sketchiness! However, for the sake of everyone leaving this altercation in one piece, she bit her tongue.
Jareth released her in a manner that caused her to tumble into the rocky debris adjacent to his lawn, and he upbraided her, “Don’t treat me like I’m an idiot! I know what game you and your boyfriend are playing! You don’t want me to win, but I refuse to lose!” He trudged toward his front stoop, and he vociferated, “I’m glad your mom is gone! One less bitch to bother with!”
That last sentence riled Gwyneira, but her instincts thwarted her from behaving rashly. She hurried from that sector as fast as she could, but she was burning inside during the entire duration. The insult was loathsome enough, but more importantly, it was obvious that Jareth had a secret vital enough to compel him to threaten her! She acknowledged that he may have fretted about campaign-related dirt, but, somehow, she envisaged that his ire formed over graver feats than that! She wasn’t absolutely steadfast that this related to her mother though. She obsessively desired to uncover what he was protecting, but she couldn’t entertain that possibility safely! As she passed the entrance to the Earth Mystic Tribe again, she deliberated on whether or not Kerkunn had sent her on this undertaking as an assistance or a trap!
“Dawson! In my office! Now!” Chief Argus snapped before Noah could even sit down in his cubicle. Noah obeyed his command, but he cringed while doing so. He dreaded the delay in his duties since he was involved in such a high-stakes venture, but he supposed that this was inevitable, so he hoped dealing with it early would expedite the tedium of this process.
“What did she say about me?” Noah catechized.
Chief Argus puzzled, “Huh?”
Dawson elaborated, “Margaret and I interviewed Laverna Maximon, and she turned it into some hogwash about corruption, right? Whatever she released from that recording isn’t true! She’s angry ‘cause we accused her of being involved in-.” Chief Argus plopped a manila envelope onto his desk, and Noah asked, “What’s that?”
“Your new case potentially,” Chief Argus gruffly answered. “You have two minutes to explain your operation from last night!”
“What operation?” Noah questioned. “After I got to my apartment, I fed my cat and I crashed onto my bed! I didn’t even get a chance to check my messages! I-.” Preceding his ability to finish that sentence, a cloud of water whooshed in with a piece of parchment on it. Noah’s brows furrowed- he knew that it originated from Gwyneira, but it seemed so unlike her to interrupt him during his shift! He seized it immediately, and after he read it, he groaned, “Oh no!”
Chief Argus inquired, “What is it?”
Noah filled him in, “Gwyneira was in the forest near the swamp, and she unintentionally set foot onto Jareth Thurio’s property! He threatened her not to reveal what she witnessed there. But what did she witness? Oh, I wish I could send a letter through magic like she can! I better call her and…” Something clicked for him, and he posed to Chief Argus, “Is this the operation you were referring to?”
“Potentially.” Chief Argus folded his arms as he addressed Noah. “Why did you send a civilian to badger a suspect?”
“I didn’t!” Noah emphatically refuted. “I wouldn’t have sent anyone there without a warrant, and I definitely wouldn’t have sent her into a dark woodland alone! I’m gonna have to have a chat with her about that actually! Ugh, the number of things that could’ve gone wrong…! It hurts my heart to picture it!”
Chief Argus quizzed him, “So, why is Jareth Thurio complaining that you two are harassing him?”
Noah grumbled, “That crook is trying to turn himself into the victim to get himself out of this bind! The guy’s a hateful prick, but I’d never resort to any illegal methods of silencing him! Come on, Chief! I wouldn’t risk throwing away twenty years of service over this!”
“And it’s only a coincidence your Mystic girlfriend got herself involved in a case where another Mystic might be involved?” Chief Argus stared at him sternly.
“Yes!” Noah affirmed. He recalled that Gwyneira previously said that there was no such thing as a coincidence, but he wasn’t about to bring that up! He wasn’t totally lying- he didn’t esteem that Gwyneira would’ve gone rogue for this case! Perhaps another one though… “She probably got impatient with Sidero’s progress! She really misses her mother, so I’m guessing she was out searching for her when she wandered into Jareth’s yard.”
Noah was relieved to see Chief Argus appearing to be contemplating this possibility. “Sidero theorized that Megala was the murderer in Brennan Umbra’s homicide.”
After rolling his eyes, Noah remarked, “If he finds a shred of evidence against her, I’ll arrest her myself!” Chief Argus grew shocked by this pronouncement, and Noah went on, “Listen, there’s a lot of prejudice and intolerance going around. It’s spreading into our politics, and it’s even seeped into our station! A lot of people are gonna act out of a deeply embedded toxicity, and there’s just gonna be a lot more acts of animosity until more individuals choose peace over anything else!”
Chief Argus considered this concept for a moment, and then he relented, “Alright, I believe you! You can stay on this case, but don’t bother Jareth Thurio ‘til you’ve got some irrefutable facts to arm yourself with! What are your plans for today?”
“I’m gonna check my answering machine, and then I’m gonna interrogate some of Brennan Umbra’s associates,” Noah relayed to him.
“Okay. Get out of here!” Chief Argus calmly dismissed.
Noah rushed back to the bullpen as quickly as he could. As he settled onto his chair, he froze. He wanted to hear if Gwyneira spoke about this incident, but his brain was reeling as he pondered what Jareth was trying to keep concealed…2 RepliesEdit
“GLADA forever!” a man with a machete ardently shouted while Officer Letes swiftly cuffed him.
“Political prisoner!” a woman in the crowd hollered.
A guy next to her yelled, “He’s innocent!”
Officer Letes watched as that section of the throng had to get forcibly held back by the riot police, but when he glanced over to the other side, he observed a lot of crying and shaking. It stunned him to see such polar opposites to the same event, but he couldn’t dwell on that much- he had a job to do! He got onto the radio and desperately paged, “Chief Argus! Send the entire homicide division! It’s a bloodbath out here!”
As Noah ducked under the crime scene tape, he heard a familiar voice call out his name, “Detective Raymond!” Noah turned to see Laverna standing there with a camera operator and a microphone, and she quickly pressed him, “Word on the street is that there are at least fifteen dead bodies on the roads neighboring Arnav Theatre. Can you confirm this?”
“How did you get here before us?” Noah eyed her suspiciously.
“I… Uh…” Laverna’s focus fluctuated wildly. “I came to cover Nova’s concert… you know… just in case something happened…” Noah would’ve guessed that she was hiding something even if he was a rookie! This must have been evident on his face since Laverna added, “I didn’t see anything! My team and I were packing our stuff up in our van when we heard screaming! Look, we’re an old newspaper but a new broadcast channel- I was simply trying to gain an edge to build credibility for The Mink Observer!”
Noah still sensed that she had a secret up her sleeve, so he ordered her, “Don’t go far.” She cringed, but he walked away prior to her getting to say another word.
At the peak of dawn, Noah and Margaret headed to the same area, and Margaret gratefully regarded him, “Thanks for lending a hand with this one! Every other scene had tons of witnesses and the assailants still on the scene, but this one… this one’s different…” They viewed three blanketed corpses in front of a row of apartments, and Margaret filled him in, “Three males with large lacerations on their necks, but the wounds are clean as if the cuts originated from projectiles. Pretty different, huh?”
“Different but very familiar!” Noah remarked. “I can understand why you sought me out specifically now!”
“That’s not the only reason,” Margaret divulged as she indicated to a spot nearby.
Officer Jones spoke to a set of crying parents, a woman consoling two small children, and Mayor Froth, who stood there as still as a statue with a blank expression on his visage. “My witness from the Brennan Umbra murder!” Noah noted.
Margaret informed him, “One of the victims is his son.”
“Interesting…” Noah had seen plenty of family members in shock over their loved one’s demise, but this didn’t look like a surprise. Noah could have sworn he was seeing a sensation of guilt, so he declared, “I gotta talk to him!” He approached Mayor Froth, and he asked, “How are you doing?”
“I told him not to come!” Mayor Froth hollowly answered. “I begged him to transfer to the community college in El Poder, but he insisted on staying in L.A. He was having too much fun. I tried to show him recent articles from The Mink Observer about Mayor Richmond’s lax policies on Mystics leading to an increase in crime, but he wouldn’t listen! It didn’t help that Brennan was always encouraging him to stay since he graduated from Emerson! Then, when he revealed that Nova was set to perform blocks away from his dorm, oh, forget about it!”
Noah discerned, “You seem to be harboring some resentment towards your late colleague!”
Mayor Froth gave him a biting glare. “Are you a father?” Noah shook his head, so he went on, “Try it sometime! If anything ever happens to your baby, call me and tell me I’m wrong for feeling this way! Excuse me, I gotta inform his mother her son is dead!” Mayor Froth marched out of the locale, and Noah wondered if he was too fast in naming Jareth as his prime suspect.
“Where did you park?” the nurse wheeling Kalanie queried Michelle.
“Uh… Just a bit down the lane…” Michelle fibbed.
The nurse halted the chair and relayed to Michelle, “You’ll have to pull up here. I can’t release the patient on foot.”
Kalanie objected, “I can walk!”
“Physically, yes. Legally, no,” the nurse responded.
“Code blue! Room eight-four-eight! Code Blue!” a loud voice urgently announced on the intercom.
The nurse sprang into action over this matter immediately, but she instructed Kalanie and Michelle, “Wait here!”
Once the nurse was out of sight, Kalanie got up and grabbed Michelle’s wrist. “Let’s hurry!” Michelle seemed alarmed, so Kalanie justified herself, “What are they gonna do? Arrest me for leaving after I got discharged? “ Michelle still appeared reluctant, but Kalanie dragged her out the door.
“How’s your head?” Michelle inquired while they traveled along the sidewalk.
“Fine!” Kalanie assured her. Michelle looked skeptical, so she clarified, “Alright, it’s a little sore, but I’ll be fine! Where are we going?”
Michelle let her know, “There’s a field behind the library we can use. But, it seems advisable that I should take charge of transportation. Your method might remove your bandages or even your stitches!”
Kalanie argued, “Oh, come on! I don’t even get a hair out of place!” Michelle remained adamant, so Kalanie relented, “If it’ll make you feel better, we’ll use your method! But make sure whatever you summon takes me to my tribe- I’m not ready to return to my apartment!”
“I don’t blame you! Do you have any allergies?” Michelle canvassed her.
“Shellfish. Why?” Kalanie pondered. Preceding Michelle getting to respond to that, they went onto the small avenue where the library was situated and observed that a lot of vehicles surrounded the building. “Huh! I’ve never seen so many people interested in reading material!”
Michelle suggested, “Maybe we should try somewhere else.”
Kalanie disagreed, “What are the odds there’s a bunch of folks on the outside of the library?” Michelle didn’t become totally persuaded, but she followed Kalanie nonetheless.
As it turned out, a bunch of individuals had gathered on the grassy quarters bordering a little forest behind the library! Kalanie shot Michelle an exasperated contortion, and Michelle threw her hands up defensively. “Hey! It’s not as though I wanted to be correct on this!” She espied some smoke billowing from the center of the congregation, and it really drew out her intrigue. “What are they doing?”
“Let’s go find out!” Kalanie brandished a pen that came from her pocket and made a beeline for the masses.
“No! You’re on medical leave!” Michelle grabbed her arm to prevent her from going forward.
Kalanie shook her off. “The truth doesn’t rest!” Kalanie advanced towards the horde, and Michelle closely tailed her.
A man stood above the pyre and displayed an ornate tome. “The Seven Feathers… Apparently, the hero of the story is a Mystic!”
“Burn it! Burn it! Burn it!” the spectators chanted. The man dropped it into the fire, and everyone cheered.
“They’re incinerating books!” Kalanie conveyed to her pen.
A lady overheard her, and she emphatically iterated, “Of course we are! We can’t allow our kids to absorb dangerous ideas!”
The lady snarled, and after she got a closer inspection of Kalanie, she proclaimed, “It’s that reporter who got Dunstan locked up!”
“Get her!” an angry person vociferated. The majority of their comrades agreed with that sentiment.
“Stand back!” Michelle commanded.
A girl sneered, “Or what? You’ll use your stupid protective spell? You can’t shield yourself forever!” Her cronies cackled at that.
Michelle pressed her palms together and pointed them to the sky. A powerful wind enveloped the surface around them, and, all of a sudden, dozens of white birds flew into this sector! The force of their gale extinguished the blaze, and their pursuit of the miscreants sent everybody running. Michelle targeted the woods, and a bear charged into the tumult. It lowered itself before Michelle and Kalanie, and they climbed on. As they rode away from the fracas, Michelle swore, “My avian friends will leave in a few minutes!”
Kalanie didn’t care so much about the radicals’ fate, but she didn’t dare voice her lack of concern for the attackers to Michelle! Instead, she apologized, “Sorry for getting us into that!”
Michelle shrugged. “At least we saved some knowledge from getting destroyed!” Kalanie grinned at that concept as the bear carried them deep into the thicket.
“Have a seat,” Laverna gestured toward two chairs.
“This is a television studio!” Margaret gasped as she surveyed all of the wires and lights. “When you invited us to meet you at your headquarters, I assumed you had an office!”
Laverna sat on her cushy chair behind the desk with an air of imperiousness. “I do have an office! But do you really believe I’d permit an interview that I couldn’t use to my advantage? Oh, don’t worry- it’s not live! I’m not stupid! I know you might have some questions that could make me look bad! If you don’t like it, tough! These are my terms for cooperation!”
It incensed Noah to watch her rapturously swivel on her perch, so he grabbed it, gazed at her directly in her eyes, and sternly stated, “It’s not up to you whether or not you cooperate in this investigation! You’re a suspect in multiple homicides, and if you don’t voluntarily answer our questions, we’ll get a subpoena and compel you to come to the station! How would that look if all your peers were there to film you entering there like that?”
After her mug soured into a pronounced frown, Laverna meekly petitioned him, “Can I still record it?”
“Since your attorney isn’t present, I highly recommend it!” Noah affirmed.
“Wait, wait, wait! You’re talking attorneys and homicides! This is serious?” Laverna paled as they positioned themselves before her.
Margaret briefed her, “You can eliminate yourself from our list if you can provide an honest account that can be corroborated.”
Laveran exclaimed, “This is crazy! All I do is report the news!”
“That’s debatable!” Noah shot back. “You’ve been broadcasting a lot of rumors and conspiracy theories…”
“Ah! So, that’s what this is about! You’re mad ‘cause I’m making you look bad!” Laveran began to regain her swagger.
Margaret slammed a copy of The Mink Observer onto the desk. “This is your publication where you have an article describing the dangers of Mystics’ integration into the community.” She thrust a piece of paper onto the surface next to it. “This is a copy of a conversation between the admin of the GLADA chatroom and their followers. They use nearly identical language- coincidence?”
Laverna disputed this, “Excuse me! I didn’t manufacture any of these ideas! I simply publish them! I’m only trying to be fair and discuss both sides of these issues!”
“Both sides?” Noah cried out incredulously. “There isn’t more than one side! There’s only the truth and not the truth!”
“The truth is subjective!” Laverna contended. “Some citizens live in a different reality than the rest of us! I didn’t create this monster, I’m merely profiting off of it!”
Margaret catechized, “So, you’re okay with ripping apart the fabric of society as long as you wear the best cloth?”
Laverna’s lips twisted in a smidgen of shame, but she did not seek forgiveness for her actions. “I… present a variety of concepts, but I don’t direct anyone to commit violence! Once I put a story out there, I can’t control what anyone does with it!”
“But, how far would you go to grab a sensational headline?” Noah pressed her. “Don’t give me any more innocent bullshit! You beat law enforcement to a crime scene- you got the notion to do that from somewhere!”
“It was an anonymous tip!” Laverna unwillingly confessed. “I didn’t know there’d be a massacre, they just said it’d be huge! And I didn’t even get the call, ask my secretary! I don’t have a minute to spare for chatrooms either! I run a studio and a newspaper, I rely on someone else to go through my emails and stuff! There! Can we be finished now?”
Noah decreed, “Get us the tipster’s phone number, and we’ll keep in touch with you.” Laverna slumped on her furniture in defeat.
As they left that location, Margaret posed to Noah, “What do you think?”
“I think the mastermind could be anyone at this point!” After Noah made that verbalization, he heard Dawson’s maniacal laughter ringing out in his head. “Or maybe that’s exactly what they want us to think…”2 RepliesEdit
Lynn took a deep breath and entered the building. It bore the appearance of a small video rental establishment that recently shut down. Its shelves were pushed to the back, but a lot of old movie posters still clung to the wall. Lynn stared at the interior in amusement; the eye-catching film promotions were misleading to the truly dark occurrences getting perpetrated by the new owner of this establishment! She saw that a couple of campaign flyers got dispersed throughout the vicinity, and their generic appearance didn’t seem very persuasive. It sort of perplexed Lynn that this guy was somehow the front-runner for this race!
“What do you want?” a middle-aged man barked at her from behind a glass counter with an empty till.
“Hi! I’m, like, here to volunteer!” Lynn chirped in a voice that was a couple of octaves higher than her normal tone. As Noah listened to this transaction on the receiver radio, he couldn’t help but feel impressed by her talent at undercover work, and he began to wonder if his doubts about the possibility of success with this operation were unfounded.
The man seemed surprised at this development. “You are?”
Lynn cheerily articulated, “Yeah! My sorority has our Helping Hands Week going on currently, and since I’m a poly-sci major, I came here! A bunch of my sisters are at Becky’s family’s stables, but when I heard I’d have to scoop up horse poop, I’m like, ew! No thanks!”
The man maintained his skepticism, but one of his peers came over and elbowed him. “What are you doing? Don’t kick out the hot blonde!”
“She has the eyes of a witch sympathizer,” the man whispered to him. Luckily for Noah, he didn’t have the capacity for a lower volume!
“Dude! Why are you checking out her eyes?” his peer probed.
The man relented, “Alright! Come on in!” He lifted a small barrier, and Lynn clapped as she went inside.
About half a dozen individuals of various ages were parked on the floor stuffing envelopes. She jovially greeted them, “Hi! I’m Josie!” It stunned her that almost no one responded to her. A couple of men ogled her with a salacious interest, but nobody spoke to her. She didn’t let this awkwardness deter her though as she found a spot to roost herself on and queried, “Okie dokie! So, what are we doing here?”
“Here! Stuff these envelopes with pamphlets,” the front desk man huffed as he plopped a box before her. “Think you can handle that, sweetheart?”
“If you can’t, I’d be happy to pitch in!” the amorous peer offered.
The front desk man pushed him away. “Don’t harass her! This campaign has gotten enough pigs paying attention to us, we don’t need more!” The amorous peer defeatedly returned to his station.
The group worked in silence for a minute, and Lynn took advantage of this quiet to study the material at her disposal. It had a picture of a woman she didn’t recognize dressed as a sorceress, and Jareth was at the other end snapping a broomstick in half. Only so Noah would have an idea of what she was seeing, she spoke up, “Oh my gosh! This is cute! So on brand for Halloween!”
“That’s not a Halloween scene!” a woman snapped. “That’s a profound statement on Jareth Thurio’s stance against the witches! His opponent, Keddy Manavi, is a total sympathizer!”
“What do you mean by sympathizer?” Lynn petitioned her.
The woman snorted, “Huh! They’re not teaching you the truth at your college apparently!”
Another lady filled Lynn in, “Keddy Manavi is siding with the magical heathens who wanna take over society! That’s why we depicted her in a witchy costume. We want the people of El Poder to know where she stands!”
“Wow! She said she wants to support those jerks?” Lynn inquired.
“Well, she didn’t actually say that,” an older fellow replied. “But she wouldn’t denounce them either, so we figured we could still run with that angle.”
Lynn feigned confusion, “But, why wouldn’t she wanna denounce anyone who wants to destroy society?”
The older fellow gladly filled her in, “The witches have tricked a lot of idiots into buying the claim that these so-called Mystics are the victims! Magic is a dark art, and they said their souls to obtain these powers so they can annihilate us all!”
“Gosh! That’s scary!” Lynn reacted with aghast. “It’s awesome Jareth Thurio is doing his part to stop all this! But… I dunno, it doesn’t seem like enough! It’s not like being treasurer of El Poder can prevent all this destruction from unfolding!”
“You gotta join the GLADA chatroom, Josie!” an elderly female advised her. “GLADA has all kinds of plans in the works! Just be careful though- Dunstan was impatient, and he got himself arrested! Apparently, he attacked that reporter while she was on the phone with a pig! What an idiot!”
Noah shifted in his seat- after this was all done, he would have to confess to Lynn she made the correct call with him not being in the room with them during this mission! It was maddening to hear them speak of Kalanie’s attempted murder so casually! He would’ve squirmed at the reference to himself too! He had to agree with their point about that moron’s mindset during the assault though! He leaned in to listen to the rest of the conversation with great interest because he predicted that Lynn was on the verge of getting them to reveal something highly relevant!
Lynn remarked, “Surely, GLADA came up with better plans than that, didn’t they?”
“Of course they did!” the older fellow affirmed. “We’re working on getting some of these alleged heroes in trouble without getting our fingerprints on it!”
“How are you gonna do that?” Lynn asked.
The elderly female answered, “It’s nothing that’d get them in legal peril, but it’d persuade the public not to trust them! You see, we have this white powder…”
All of a sudden, an office door busted open, and Jareth burst out with a look of pure acrimony etched all over his visage! He seethed, “You fools! Never trust strangers with your secrets!”
“She seems alright though!” the amorous peer objected.
“Oh, you think so, huh?” Jareth stomped over to Lynn. Noah sat at the ready- he wouldn’t leave his vehicle until she indicated she was in true danger, but it seemed obvious that a need for rescue was imminent!
Jareth picked Lyn up by her shirt collar, and he patted her underneath her collarbone. Lynn rather anxiously catechized, “How are you doing, pumpkin?” Noah withdrew his weapon and bolted out of his car.
After throwing her to the ground, Jareth confirmed, “Yup! There’s a wire there!”
The campaign volunteers gasped, and Lynn challenged him, “How did you know that?” Jareth glared at her for having the audacity to enquire about such a subject, and Lynn knew that she had struck a nerve since he refused to provide her with a response. A thought instantly hit her, and while a part of her realized it was an enormous risk to bring this up, she couldn’t resist grilling him, “Is it ‘cause it’s metal? Do you have a connection with this earthy substance?” Jareth’s lips curled up in a snarl, and Lynn mentally prepared herself to evade whatever advances he had in store for her…
“Freeze! Hands up!” Noah commanded as he aimed his armament at Jareth.
“Is that a taser?” Jareth eyeballed Noah’s weaponry peculiarly.
Noah smirked. “Uh-huh! No gun, no bullets, no manipulation from Earth Mystics.” It pleased him that Jareth’s expression grew far less confident upon hearing this, and as his cronies complied with his command, Noah was eager to witness how Jareth would wriggle out of this predicament…
Jareth seemed worried initially, but he abruptly let out a noise of annoyance. “This is harassment! You don’t like my viewpoints, so you’re doing anything you can to trap me!”
“We got proof of a conspiracy!” Noah argued.
“They did stuff, without a doubt! But, you have no proof I had knowledge of any of this!” Jareth folded his arms triumphantly.
The front desk man protested, “Hey! You can’t do this to us!”
Jareth shot back, “Complain all you want! I gotta recruit more election staff!” He returned to the office and slammed the door, and Noah gawked at him furiously. It was seriously astounding that someone with such obvious involvement couldn’t get convicted of any of his infractions!
“Damn!” the director bitterly lamented as he peeked at the quick change area backstage.
“If she’s not coming, I’m going home!” A backup dancer put her hands on her sparkly donned hips as she aired her opinion, and her coworkers heartily shared her sentiments.
The director assured them, “She’ll be here! Just stay in your places!” The dancers gazed at him skeptically, but they complied. As soon as the director turned around, he gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to lose his cool, but resisting that urge was growing less and less tempting…
Before he could leave the staging quarters, the stage manager tapped his shoulder and demanded, “Where the hell is she?”
“She’s around here somewhere!” the director irately conveyed. The stage manager didn’t seem convinced, so he added, “Gawd, give the kid a break! She’s been through hell, so forgive her if she needs a few minutes to compose herself!”
“Forgive her?” the stage manager repeated dumbfoundingly. “The show starts in five minutes! The theatre is sold out, that’d be a shit-ton of tickets to refund! And we’re not gonna get a refund on the extra security we paid for! What the f are-?”
The director adamantly reaffirmed, “She’ll be there, alright! Calm down, and let me go get her!” He marched into the hallway prior to the stage manager getting to argue further, and as the director stomped his way down the corridor, he fumed that she put him in this position. He furiously thought that she had better have a valid excuse for the grief she was putting him through!
After swinging the door open, the director bellowed, “Nova! Get your butt out there and-!” He espied Nova sitting on the floor with her arms cradling her legs, and he became very alarmed. “My gawd! Are you okay?”
“I can’t do it!” Nova reported to him in a barely audible timbre.
“What are you talking about?” The director’s skin paled to observe Nova in such a fragile condition. He sat next to her, but he was sort of afraid to touch her in case he inadvertently set her off. He peered at her tear-stained cheeks, and he reminded her, “You’re Nova! You’ve sold over two hundred million records, you’ve performed in forty-five countries, you’ve made sixty-one music videos! You can do anything!”
Nova ruefully disagreed, “I can’t tonight! I… I dunno! I have this really bad feeling about this gig! I should just cancel this tour…”
The director dared to put an empathetic hand on her shoulder, and thankfully, she didn’t get triggered! He couldn’t allow this extraordinary talent to quit at the top of her game, so he consoled her, “Nova, if you don’t do this concert, you’re letting them win! Don’t you see- this is exactly what those thugs wanted from you! They were trying to silence you! You can’t permit them to gain a victory here! Don’t give in to your anxiety! You gotta show them what you’re made of!”
“You’re right!” Nova accepted his argument. “I survived, and they’ve gotta know it!”
“Five more minutes!” the director snapped at the stage manager. The stage manager hesitantly left, and the director instructed Nova, “Touch up your makeup, and go put on a helluva show!”
Nova determinedly freshened up, and when she got to her platform, she still had an ill sensation at the pit of her stomach. She ignored that, and as the platform rose to meet her audience, the roar of their jubilee invigorated her senses! As she belted out a high note, she couldn’t understand why her gut was gnawing at her! Everything appeared as solid as ever…
As three friends strolled down the street, one boy exclaimed, “That was amazing! I’ll be deaf for a week, but it was worth it!”
“Dude, she’s the bomb!’ the second boy gleefully commented.
“What?” the first boy joked with his hand cupping his ear.
The third boy merrily verbalized, “I could die happy tonight!”
A hooded man emerged from behind a lamppost and growled, “That’s nice to know!” Swords emerged from his palms, and the boys screamed as the blades zoomed toward them…1 ReplyEdit
“Wow!” Robin exclaimed as she observed the large pool of blood that trickled across the simple but elegant living room. “It’s amazing that Kalanie survived this attack!”
“Yeah, but she still has to undergo some intense surgery,” Lynn sadly conversed as she scoped the area out. “And we’ll have to watch out for some cognitive decline due to where she got injured. She… Don’t touch that!”
Noah withdrew his hands from the tall, decorative vase he was about to open, and as he threw his hands in the air, he anxiously objected, “I’m sorry, but do you really expect me to stand here and do nothing while my friend is hurting and her assailant is still out there?”
Lynn insisted, “Yes! You have to, you’re a witness in this case! Technically, you’re not even supposed to be at the crime scene!”
“Well, it’s not like I can take my buddies to get some celebratory drinks after a thing like this!” Noah shuddered at his recent memory. “I knew it was a bad idea to do anything festive for my birthday! I probably lured her to her killer!”
“You did her a favor!” Lynn disagreed with him. “She’s lucky someone caught this incident! You being on the phone with her probably made the culprit leave in a hurry, and you know what happens when culprits do that! He or she made a mistake, and we can use that to find them and make them pay!”
Noah acquiesced to her logic, “You’re right! I constantly tell people in my cases that it isn’t their fault, but it’s so hard to not blame myself here! I’ve ruffled so many feathers that they’re gonna go after everyone I care about!”
Robin argued, “You’re making an assumption here! Trespassers ambush the occupants of a building for lots of reasons! Like, it could have been a robbery gone wrong, a hate crime, an attempted rape…” She discovered a small piece of paper near the site of her DNA collection, and she groaned, “Or maybe it’s related to the War of the Mystics after all!”
“Let me see!” Noah demanded.
“Bag it and tag it first!” Lynn ordered.
As Robin marked her evidence, she muttered, “I thought this guy was smarter than this!” She emitted an exasperated sigh as she handed it over to Noah.
Noah’s intense curiosity propelled him to snatch it up voraciously, and his pulse quickened as he read the content of the business card. “The campaign headquarters of Jareth Thurio! Of course! I never could trust that son of a bitch!”
“Is he the Earth Mystic?” Robin wondered.
“I dunno! Maybe!” Noah responded. “He’s connected to Brennan Umbra’s murder, and he uses a lot of the same language as Dawson and his supporters, but it’s hard to say if he’s the mastermind or merely a sycophant! I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when we question his election staff!”
Lynn queried, “We? Oh, yeah! Our cases are connected now!”
Noah put on some gloves and delightfully declared, “Yes! And given that fact, I can examine the crime scene as much as I please now!” Lynn smiled as she shook her head, and he cheekily grinned at her prior to turning his attention back to that decorative vase. He didn’t expect to chance upon anything significant, but…
As soon as he lifted the lid, a person emerged from the vessel with a hammer swinging at Noah! Noah evaded his assault, and the manner in which the man lunged caused him to lose his balance and topple over! The two women screamed while the vase fell down and shattered, and Noah immediately apprehended him. “No! Please, don’t!” the man whimpered.
“You expect me to show you mercy?” Noah cried out in amazement. “You certainly didn’t give your victim any!”
“This wasn’t supposed to occur!” the man wailed. “I only wanted to talk to her! I was gonna get her and the other witches to confess to heresy, and if they didn’t comply, I was gonna break their knees! I never meant to seriously hurt anyone, but then she got that call, and I just panicked!”
Noah surmised, “You’re a member of GLADA, aren’t you?”
The man confirmed, “Yes! That’s why I volunteered to help that candidate, but it didn’t feel like enough! Someone had to do something, didn’t they? I mean, they’re destroying society, aren’t they?” Noah could discern so many aspects of that dialogue that he could have disputed, but his fervor made him at a loss for words. He gazed at Robin and Lynn for a response, but all they could do was gawk at the man with faces as pale as ghosts!
Gwyneira sat at a desk staring at a single document surrounded by lofty piles of them. Her expression became increasingly frustrated, and eventually, she mumbled to herself, “I just don’t remember how much of this we need! What did we order in the past? There’s gotta be a reference for this somewhere…”
“Acting Chieftess!” a woman close to her age entered into the room.
“Yes, Brook?” Gwyneria addressed her while still rifling through the stacks.
Brook inquired, “Have you signed off on that press release yet?”
Gwyneira replied, “Not yet. I’ll get to it soon!”
“How soon is soon?” Brook pressed her.
“I don’t know! Soon!” Gwyneira strove not to snap at anyone in her community, but it was difficult to avoid it when she found herself in the middle of important tasks and others constantly interrupted her to badger her about trivial matters! She had no memory of her mother ever losing her patience, and she now regretted not learning how she managed to do that!
Brook clearly did not favor Gwyneira’s reaction- her visage became aghast, and she astoundedly shouted, “You don’t know? I have to do a promotion for the MIC in two days, and if there is anything that needs to get rewritten, two days isn’t a lot of time for this! I-!”
Gwyneira interrupted her rant, “Yes, it’s important, but so is ensuring that our tribe receives critical supplies! How would you feel if your press release was complete but your brethren didn’t have food to eat or-?” She hadn’t been using her entire focus on locating the form she sought, and she wound up bumping into a heap in the wrong fashion, which sent it all plummeting down!
Brook stared at the strewed sheets with a guilty conscience, and she ruefully regarded Gwyneira, “I’m so sorry! Please, allow me to assist you in reorganizing this mess!”
“Do whatever you feel you must! I need a minute alone!” Gwyneira vacated the vicinity prior to Brook getting the opportunity to react to that.
“Acting Chieftess?” Beck joined her on the cracked, desert floor that lay before the olive-drab hills, and he watched her as she shot pieces of ice that formed artistic images by the verdant oasis across from their doorstep, and he patiently waited for her to cease her efforts to continue the communication.
Eventually, Gwyneira huffed, “What is it, Beck?”
Beck conveyed to her, “It’s almost midnight! Usually, you’re in bed by now…”
“Usually, my mother takes care of these stresses, but these are not usual times!” Gwyneira retorted.
“Perhaps you have too much on your plate,” Beck conjectured.
Gwyneira agreed, “I definitely have too much on my plate! I have no inkling how I will be able to handle this when I’m much older and take over my mother’s legacy!”
Beck suggested, “Why not serve yourself less?”
“You say that like it’s so easy to shed vital work!” Gwyneira articulated. “I’m trying to save our world and theirs, how can I quit essential duties with so much at stake?”
“Why not choose our priorities and forget about everyone else’s?” Beck probed.
Gwyneira became so shocked to hear this that she paused her pursuit. She ogled at him appallingly, and she gasped, “You want us to abandon our obligations to the constructive cycle?”
Beck debated this, “What good have we done with it? The Water Mystics aren’t any safer than before, and Sapiens seem hell-bent on obliterating the planet! Why not adopt a more neutral stance?”
“So, you’re proposing that we stand by and do nothing while humanity crumbles at our doorstep?” Gwyneira challenged him.
“We can’t rescue everyone!” Beck contended. “We used to have a positive impact simply by combating the Earth Mystics trying to unjustly make Sapiens extinct. Our direct involvement with their affairs has brought us nothing but trouble!”
Gwyneira quarreled, “We are all part of the same universe! Suffering by some affects us all! We cannot maintain the stability of life if we live on shaky grounds! If we eternally isolate ourselves, we will invite everything to collapse!”
Beck countered, “Link used to spew that same philosophy, and look what resulted from that!” Beck pointed his hand at the palm trees, and he illuminated a gravestone.
“You dare to disparage my cousin’s name!” Gwyneira seethed. “You-!” Prior to her getting to divulge the rest of that thought, a silhouette emerged from behind the tomb! A set of blades instantly manifested from their fingertips, and Gwyneira as well as Beck froze these swords preceding them nearing the two enough to damage them, but once they recovered from that siege, the silhouette disappeared!
“Damn it! Where did they go?” Beck growled as he searched the terrain.
Gwyneira directed him, “Take a team to search the Badlands. Do not allow your furor to propel you to fall into a trap! This individual may not have come here alone!” Beck nearly went inside, but then Gwyneira added, “Don’t forget this moment if you start to think that inaction will keep us safe again!” Beck cast her a resentful glare, but he could not dispute her reasoning, so he bitterly stomped out of sight.
Noah relayed to Lynn, “I dunno about this plan! If you get caught, you could undermine their confidence in us and they won’t wanna tell us anything!”
Lynn used the mirror on the passenger’s sun visor to accurately secure a microphone onto her chest. “The chief recommended we go this route for security purposes. It’s not like we can disobey him!”
“It’s not disobeying if he didn’t officially give us an order,” Noah brought up.
“But it’s not a bad idea!” Lynn differed. “These GLADA folks are very anti-authority, so how much would they tell us if they knew they were talking to a member of law enforcement?”
As Lynn put her hair into a bun, Noah verbalized, “True! But, I dunno! I just don’t like obtaining information so dishonestly!”
Lynn retaliated, “Oh really, Mister I’m Not Permitted to Work Mystic Cases But I’m Gonna Do It Anyways!”
“Touché!” Noah acknowledged the validity of that argument. Lynn chuckled as she put on a light-colored wig, and Noah asked, “You’re not worried about getting recognized wearing such a simple disguise?”
“Nope!” Lynn adamantly affirmed as she put on some ruby red lipstick. “They may recognize Detective Lynn Porter, but they’re not gonna find anything suspicious about a bubbly blonde who supports their agenda! They’re not expecting any of us to alter our appearances! No, seriously! I got a serial killer to confess once while I wore a red wig and fake boobs! He actually thought he was gonna impress me with that garbage!”
Noah tittered, but as she put on the final touches to her getup, he propositioned, “Maybe you should let me go instead!”
Lynn declined that offer, “Nuh-uh! You’re far too honest to be convincing! You’d cringe at the first slight against the Mystics!”
“That sounds pretty likely! But, what happens if they stumble onto your ruse and try to hurt you?” Noah posed to her.
“Then I’ll say the word ‘pumpkin.’ That’s your cue to go inside and get me out,” Lynn filled him in. “Oh, stop looking so gloomy! Everything will be fine!”
Noah expressed his faith in her, “You’re right! Don’t let my nerves get you nervous! Go get ‘em, kiddo!” Lynn beamed at him as she exited the vehicle, and he echoed her sentiments until she was out of his periphery. Noah couldn’t prevent himself from fretting about this arrangement- a lot was on the line, but he disliked his friends risking their lives for it!2 RepliesEdit
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