User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki Chapter 11

Sliver ran her coarse tongue up Shop’s face. He tried to wince, but she held him in place. He could feel her body pressed against his, and tried to pull away from that too, but he found that he couldn’t move. Her grip was strong. She was stronger than she looked. She looked as if she was a walking corpse, but clearly that was deceptive. He hadn’t seen Sliver since he was seven. She had been his imaginary friend, he had thought. That had been what his father had always told him. One day he had been sat down and told that Sliver had been forced to go away, that she couldn’t play with him anymore. He had been sad, but had moved on. How could his dad have not told him that the girl missing from his life was actually his sister? That seemed like an important thing to tell your only son. “I’ve missed you, brother. I’ve been thinking about you. Have you been thinking about me?” She was whispering into his ear, and bit the lobe slightly as she did. “I- I was told you were dead. Father told me you died.” There was a pout on Sliver’s face as she pulled away. It was that of a child. What had happened to her in the time since the two of them had been separated? What had she gone through to get here now? Why had she felt the need to kill Jose? “Did he really say that about me? I’m not dead, Shop. He sent me away to a place with large walls and padded rooms. He said I was crazy and dangerous. Do I look crazy and dangerous to you?” She held out her arms, laughed, and then embraced him. It was a strong hug, and the momentum almost caused him to topple backwards on his chair. He tried to hold his breath as she hugged him. Her grip was tight and it was hard for his chest to move. “Are you happy that I’m back, brother? Did you miss me as much as I missed you?” “I couldn’t have. I thought you were dead. Why now? Why did you kill Jose?” She pouted at him. Her lips were thin and looked ill on her pale face. “He was keeping us apart, brother. He was stopping me from seeing you. He was trying to make sure that I stayed in the place that father sent me to. So, when I managed to escape and found that you had come here, back home, I hired a local bartender to be my ears and eyes. He helped me track Jose, and, on an arranged night, got him so drunk that I could attack him on the way home. Unfortunately I was… unable to jump him that night, so we just did it the next instead. Are you proud of me, brother?” He felt sick. That bartender that had come round the other day had been in league with this insane woman. He had sent Jose to his death for what, a couple of extra bucks? Maybe his sister had done other favours for him, as she likely had no access to money. That was disgusting. “Jose was my friend-” She looked at him angrily, and her nostrils flared, the same way that his father’s had whenever he lost his temper. There was no doubting that this was his sister. “Even after he tried to separate us, brother? Did you value his friendship over your family? He was a fucking servant, and you and you value him over me?” She shook her head then, as if she was trying to shake something off of her head. “Sorry! That is not how a proper lady should behave. That is what my doctor told me. One must not swear. One must not swear. One must not swear. Repeating it three times makes it more effective when I think about it. Do you have a doctor?” “A- A doctor?” Sliver nodded, and licked her lips again. “Yeah. I had a doctor. Daddy gave me a doctor. He said he was my present. He said that he would make me better. We talked a lot about you, brother.” “About me?” She nodded again. “He told me-” Blood splattered all over Shop as a knife came out through the front of his sister’s neck. She slumped forward, her head landing in Shop’s lap. She stared up at him, and smiled, there was a wound in her neck. “I… Love… You… Brother.” - Alexa was sat at her desk. It was late at night again, and she was staring at the case file for the burning down of the Fugi shack. Kung probably wasn’t guilty of the Drakan murder, and he could be ruled out of killing Banfa as well, seen as he was in his cell at the time. Maybe that was the game that Matthew Pika was trying to play. Maybe he was trying to show the force of what Fugi was innocent of. Had he known that Banfa was going to die? Could he have been involved? Cops and lawyers had a very complicated relationship. They both saw each other as necessities for the enforcement of the laws, and respect went both ways, but defense lawyers, such as Matthew Pika, often stood for hardened criminals and tried to get them off heavy cases with a minimal sentence. She threw that one down and picked up the Brendan Raatz file. She hadn’t had the time to give this one much thought, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that his death was somehow connected to Drakan. What were the facts in this case? Raatz had been supplying drugs to a boy called Duke Ong. He had, in turn, supplied the drugs to Task Master, who had been the sole witness to the discovery of Drakan’s body. These drugs led to Task overdosing and dying a week or so after Drakan. Brendan had threatened Duke into framing Teddy, but had then been killed. Did Brendan have his own boss who had seen him as a liability? Or was his murder an act of spiteful revenge? Who knows. Her thoughts went back to the file that she had found in Teddy’s apartment. He had pictures of Raatz, amongst others, and had a detailed description of the way that Raatz had been killed. Could Teddy have masterminded Raatz’s murder to get himself off the hook? That would mean that he had an accomplice, as he had been under scrutiny that afternoon. It was a puzzle. “Could he be the killer?” Alexa was startled. She looked up and found Orion staring down at her from above her partition. It was dark, but she knew that he was safe. He always worked nightshift. It was when he felt safest. When he was alone. He enjoyed it when she stayed up late with him, too. “Brendan, I mean. Seems strange timing that he would be killed so soon after Drakan died. The two may have known each other. Both of them were involved in some pretty shady circles.” She breathed out, relieved. She was unsure of how Orion could have found out that she suspected Teddy had killed Drakan. She was trying to investigate that on the quiet. She hadn’t even found a motive yet, although she had discovered that Teddy’s sister had been married to one of the victims of the GIR murders. She had been murdered a few years before then, too. “Alexa.” She looked back up at Orion, whose eyes were now full of sadness. “I want to be honest with you. I don’t know how sold you are on dating this Teddy guy. He doesn’t seem like a good fit for you. I think-” “You think we should be together?” She interrupted him, and was met in return by silence, although she could tell that was what he was going to say by looking into her eyes. “You know that I am always there to protect you from the darkness, Alexa. I am your guardian angel. I do whatever you want, you just have to make sure that you are absolutely sure that you want it.” What could she say? She had thought that she liked Teddy, but now she was worried that he was a killer. What if she did like Orion. Maybe she went through Teddy to find that out. Maybe that was her trial. What if she started with him and found out that he was just as bad as Teddy though? What if she was just a poor judge of character and destined to die alone. That would seem like her. Banfa had always told her that there was someone out there for her, she just hadn’t found them yet. He had known Orion, though. Did that mean that he didn’t think Orion was right for her. She had to be honest… “I don’t know.” - Hoagy and Carson are stood together out in the freezing cold of night. It is a dry night, but Carson is still wearing a puffy jumper with a fake fur lined hood, gloves on his hands, and his arms crosssed and was occasionally bouncing up and down. They were stood nearby to the Fugi shack. “- so we were in the back of the library, and she-” Hoagy put his hand up to signify that Carson stop talking there. Carson looks disappointed at not being able to finish his story. “I don’t care what depraved stuff you did with the tramp, Carson. What we need to get to the bottom of is what Dan is doing with Trent, Jorn and Timothy. That is the important thing here. Maybe then we can give Task some closure.” “Task would have listened to me…” Carson mumbled under his breath. Hoagy glared at him frustratedly. “Fine, fine. What do we know?” “We know that Dan, Jorn, Timothy and Trent are hiding something. Dan is worried about it getting out, and so is blackmailing Timothy to keep it under wraps. We know that Timothy and Trent were involved in it before, but are more reluctant now.” “Dan, Jorn, Timothy and Trent were all part of the same popular group when they were in high school. Do we think that whatever they are hiding happened then?” Hoagy nodded at that suggestion. “Yes. Maybe it happened then and something along those lines has happened again more recently. We know Dan has been in town longer than he has been saying. Long enough to have killed Drakan…” “You think he is covering up a murder? A murder that he and his friends were all aware of.” Hoagy shrugged. “Have you not considered the possibility.” Carson would be lying if he said that he hadn’t. He had been thinking of all the things that Dan could be covering up. Could it be murder? Was that better than him being involved in the drug trade that had claimed Task? Maybe they should ask Duke if Dan was at all involved in whatever he and Professor Raatz had been up to. “What did your aunt tell you about Dan?” Carson was caught off guard by that. Of course, his aunt had told him basically nothing. He had stopped asking her questions when she agreed to help him woo Kylie. He probably shouldn’t tell Hoagy the truth, or there was a chance he wouldn’t get home. “Nothing. She doesn’t know anything.” Hoagy frowned. “Drat. I was hoping that would be a lead.” Just then a flash of light appeared on the road. Carson grabbed Hoagy and pulled him into the trees. He looked out from behind their hiding place, and saw the Master family car park up outside the remains of the Fugi shack. He was not at all surprised to see Dan step outside. He watched Dan step into the skeleton of the building, and put his finger to his lips, signifying for Hoagy to be quiet. He then ducked down and quickly scampered across the field, stopping just beyond the nearest wall of the shack. He was hoping he could overhear Dan, or something like that. When he got there, however, there was silence. Maybe Dan knew he was there? Maybe he was baiting him? He carefully leaned round the corner to look through the window, to get a glimpse of his prey, but was shocked when he found the place empty. Dan had disappeared. - Starla stormed up the stairs that led to Norm’s office. She had barely been able to sleep last night after what she heard. Norm and Barry had been discussing some sort of secret that related to one of the recent murders. She couldn’t get the thought out of her mind that maybe they had been responsible. She found the door to Norm’s office open, and him sat at his desk, tirelessly writing a memo, probably an answer to one of the letters sent to the mayor, asking him a question about how he intends to improve the community. She entered without asking, and then closed the door behind her. He looked up, and looked surprised at the interruption. “I heard you talking with the mayor yesterday.” “Hardly surprising. I am his assistant, after all.” “You were talking about one of the recent murders. You were talking about how you had to keep it a secret. What were you hiding?” Norm gulped and gritted his teeth nervously. “I- I don’t know what you are talking about. You should get back to your job, before I have to inform the mayor that we are letting you go.” “Please. You are a shit liar. How did you even get started in politics? Isn’t being able to lie like a major skill requirement? I know about the conversation, and I know about how you feel anout your boss, so if you don’t want the latter to come out, then you will fill me in on the former. Deal?” Norm swallowed hard, and bowed his head. “Fine. I will tell you everything.” - Shop stood in a waist deep hole. He was topless, and sweat covers his body as the sun beats down on him. In his right hand is a spade. To the right of the hole that he was stood in was another one, with a cross at the head of it. Jose’s name had been scratched into the wood. Shopnil had been digging two graves. Dion walks over to him from the house. Shop notices her, but chooses to ignore her. There is a dark look on his face, and he begins digging again. Dion is carrying a jug of water, and a couple of glasses, with slices of lemon and limes already in them, as well as some ice cubes. She sits down a few feet away from the two graves, and places the tray down in between her and Shop. “How long are you going to stay mad at me? I didn’t know that she wasn’t dangerous. I saw that she killed Jose. I thought she was going to do the same to you.” Shop didn’t respond, but instead he carried on digging. “What are you trying to accomplish, Shop? Is this some sort of coping mechanism for dealing with Jose’s death? Do you blame yourself? You shouldn’t. It wasn’t your fault that she was so crazy.” Shop climbed out of the grave and threw the spade down at his feet. He stretched a few more times, but carried on ignoring Dion, despite her attempts to engage in conversation with him. He walked back towards the house. Dion rose back to her feet and followed him in, finding him washing his face in the sink. “Shop-” “For fucks sake, Dion. I don’t want to see you. I don’t care where she has been or what she did. She was the last family that I had left, and you killed her. I have enough shit in my life, without meeting my long lost sister and then having her taken away straight away.” “I didn’t think-” Shop pulled his face out of the water. His hair is drenched. His eyes look empty. “No. You didn’t. Leave me alone, please.” - “You can’t go, Alexa. You don’t know anything about these people. You don’t know who they are or why they are hiding, or how they know so much about you.” Orion was right. She couldn’t know who to trust nowadays. She had trusted Teddy and then he had turned out to be some kind of monster. Whatever he had been doing with that file, it hadn’t been good. How could she trust anyone again. How could she trust Orion. She was certain that the leader of this group knew something that she didn’t, though. She was cryptic about it, but it was as if there was something blocking her investigations, and there was no way that she could stop it. She had to find out what Avvy knew. “I have to go. It’s important.” Orion looked hurt. “More important than me? More important than us? If you leave that door and go to those woods then I can’t guarantee being there for you when you need it. It is your decision, Alexa.” She stared at Orion, and behind him she could see Banfa and Jamahl, assessing what decision she would make. Would she be selfish and put her desire for somebody to love her ahead of what she knew was the right thing to do. If she stayed with Orion then those two might never have their justice. She had to do it. She had to fight. She had to trust that Orion knew what she was doing, and that he would wait for her to come back. “I’m sorry.” And with that she was gone, leaving Orion behind her. She cried as she left, as if she was leaving some part of her behind, but Orion smiled. She was ready for the truth. - Alan sat down at his desk. He put the finishing touches on the email that he had just finished writing, and started to add in a list of editors that he had the contact details of, offering an exclusive account of who had killed Drakan. He pulled his long hair out of his face, and moved to scratch at a red spot that had just appeared upon his forehead. He realised what it was too late. BANG! - Alexa knelt on the floor of the forest. It was dark around her. The floor was dry, due to the thick layer of leaves above her shielding it from rain. She was surrounded by twigs, and to the right was a cluster of poison ivy. She was lost, and it was dark. She had been with Teddy before. He had known his way around this place. She tried not to think of that. Who knew what kind of stuff he had been doing here. “Alexa.” She was surprised to hear her name out here. Hell, she was surprised to hear the voice of another human. She was even more surprised when she looked up, and found Banfa standing over her. It was a younger him, but it was definitely him. She knew his kind eyes and smile anywhere. Suddenly the darkness seemed a little less dark. “You’re Miss Ashley’s kid, right? What are you doing here? This is a crime scene, darling. You shouldn’t be here.” What was he talking about? This was the fore- Then she looked around, and found that she was knelt in a puddle of blood. She looked up, and saw an asian man hanging from the ceiling. The host was well hung, but found his neck in a noose. She heard those words. What did they mean. She turned again, and saw a man lying on the floor, his grip tight. One would find his lost toy, and then there was nine. She spun around, and a woman was staring at her, her eyes empty and dead, but her body filled with tiny holes. One’s name would prove piercing, and then there was eight. Then there was three in a row. One had a deep mark around his neck, as if he had been throttled, the next was laid on the floor, reaching out for help that would never come, and the next was a man covered in dirt and soil. One would drown inside out, and then there was seven. One would be hounded out, and then there was six. One was left looking above, and then there was five. She screamed. They were all around her. She was surrounded by the dead. A dead body was sat above her, covered in blood and reaching out for her help, but she couldn’t give it. She was too late. Then there was four. Another was laid on the floor, his hands on his head, and his face stuck in an expression of intense pain. Then there was three. Then there was one. She looked up, and GIR was stood over her, looking down at her with fear in his eyes. He was scared, scared of something. He was surrounded by darkness, but it moved, as if there was something hidden in the darkness, something or somebody. Whoever it was, they were scaring GIR enough. “He is coming.” After GIR said that, there was a blinding light, and then Banfa was the one stood over her. She saw Jamahl stood behind him, smoking a cigarette. “You shouldn’t be here, darling. What have you seen? Can you tell me?” “I want mommy.” That was her voice, but it didn’t come out of her voice. It was a younger voice too. It was her when she was ten, before everything had changed. “You have to find, mommy. You have to free yourself, Alexa. You have to find the truth and use it, but it will come at a terrible price. Are you sure that you are ready?” Jamahl stepped forward then, and put a hand on Banfa’s shoulder. “The kid is ready, Ban. She is as promising an officer as I ever seen. She will do you and Laura proud. You both know it.” Banfa smiled and looked down at her. It almost sounded like he was wishing her good luck, but she couldn’t hear it. The darkness had come back then, and she was all alone. “Alexa…” That was Avvy’s voice, but it was twisted and wrong. It sounded strange. It sounded like it had come from the darkness, as if it was part of the darkness, even. “Alexa, where are you…” She turned around, but she couldn’t see where Avvy was coming from. Suddenly she was there, stood right in front of her. She licked her lips as she stared Alexa down. Her eyes were darker than they had been. “Alexa… I have come for you…” “Who are you? What do you want?” “You have abandoned the guardian, Alexa. You want to face the truth, but you can’t handle it. Freak. Death girl. Monster.” She put her hands to her head and wailed. She started to remember all the names that the other kids had thrown her way when she was at school. Why had they called her that? What was she supposed to remember? What was the truth that Banfa and Jamahl had wanted her to find? Who was this guardian? “I am the embodiment of the darkness inside you, Alexa. I am what you want to be. I am what you are meant to be. I am your destiny and your future.” “No….” “There is no fighting me. You don’t have the strength or the willpower…” Then a thought crossed her mind. Who was the guardian? The answer was obvious. She pictured Orion when they had first met. He had comforted her after Dan and his gang had been picking on her. He had protected her. He had looked after her. He had encouraged her to follow Banfa into policing. He had fought the darkest parts of her and pushed them back. Then the light returned, and it was Orion knelt besides her. He smiled at her. It was a warm smile, full of happy memories and warm hugs. Full of soft words that he had spoken to her when she needed them, full of everything that made Orion who he was. “You did it. You brought me here.” “Orion… Who is she…” “She is you. She is the darkest parts of you. The parts of you that want revenge and blood, the parts of you born by the things you saw when you stumbled in on the victims of GIR’s murders. She is the darkness that you fight every single day.” “You- You are the Guardian. You aren’t real…” Orion touched her where her heart was. It was a light touch. “I am as real as your sense of justice, as your sense of duty, as your sense of goodness. Some would say that makes me the realest person in the world, Alexa Day.” “Protect me, Orion.” He looked down at her sadly. “You have a choice.” “A choice?” “Yes. You have to choose me or her. If you choose her then you embrace the darkness that she brings. You become the opposite of what I stand for, but I will stand by you.” “And if I choose you?” “Then you choose to continue the fight for justice. You choose the light. If you choose me, though, then you leave me behind here to fight, and you can never see me again.” “I lose you…” Orion shook his head. “No. I will always be with you. I just won’t be out here. I am your imaginary friend, Alexa. It’s time you let me go.” Orion stood up, and walked a few steps away from her, towards where Avvy was stood. “Wait! I haven’t made my choice!” Orion turned to her and smiled. “I know you better than you know yourself, Alexa Day. You made the choice the moment I gave it to you. There was only one thing that you were ever going to do.” Tears poured out of Alexa’s eyes as she looked back up at him. “I love you, Orion.” He smiled back at her, but shook his head. “No. You don’t. Now go. Go make this world a better place.” And then she was gone. Orion stood opposite Avvy, who cocked her head. “You would die for her purity, Guardian?” “Your darkness is not her destiny, monster, but protecting you from her is mine.” Then there is a bright light, and one word rings out over it. Alexa….