by Dexx Peay
“Benny!” the man said. He shook Mr. Elliot’s hand. The man’s massive claws were twice the size of his. “Boys.”
“Dylan,” he replied while shaking the gentleman’s hand.
“And I’m Marcus,” I said.
He looked at me as if I was the only one there. We all stood around silent.
He shook his head.
“Come in. Have a seat guys.”
“This is my old friend Julius,” Mr. Elliot said.
“Nice to meet you,” Dylan said.
No way.
Could it be?
The same one from the journals?
I froze.
Dylan pushed me inside.
“Tell us what’s going on Julius,” Mr. Elliot said.
“My daughter hasn’t come home,” Julius said.
“Is your daughter in the military?” I asked.
“College,” he said. “It was hard enough for me to let her go but I couldn’t deny her a life because of what we are,” he said.
“No phone calls?” Mr. Elliot said.
“Same as you, Email deleted. Her phone still rings but she never answers.”
Julius was scaring me. His voice was intimidating. I still couldn’t figure out what the government wanted with a college student or how they even found his daughter.
“So his daughter was taken from Germany,” Dylan said, pointing to Mr. Elliot. “And your daughter was taken from…?”
“New York City. NYU to be exact,” he replied.
“What’s your daughters name?” Dylan asked.
He was leaning out his seat like he knew what he was about to say.
“Imani,” Julius said.
“No way,” I whispered.
“I know Imani. We dated.” Dylan said. “This doesn’t make sense,” he repeated.
Julius instantly stood to his feet. He was so tall it was shocking his head didn’t go through the roof.
“Imani didn’t date anyone!” He roared.
Dylan jumped out his seat and started to back into a corner as Julius started to walk towards him. He was angry and his eyes sparked.
Mr. Elliot jumped in front of him. “Calm down Julius, he didn’t do anything to her.”
Julius shook his head and his eyes were back to normal.
“I’m sorry, it’s just...Imani...she never mentioned you.”
It was obvious he was distraught. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands.
“My baby girl.”
“She told me what happened,” Dylan said. I looked at him. “About your family.”
“I can’t lose the last thing I have.”
“We’ll find your daughter, both your daughters. If only we can find where they are hiding. Whoever has them wants them for a reason, otherwise, why take them?”
Dylan came and sat on the bed in front of Julius.
“Mr. Gordon, how has Imani been acting? How often to you talk to her?”
“She was fine. I talk to Imani all the time. Two…sometimes three times a day. Up until about three weeks ago when I lost communication with her.” he said. “Why?”
“Because, Imani has been acting weird all semester. She is not the same Imani I met last year. A few weeks ago she was walking around campus with a tank top on. She then choked the life out of me and said that she needed me. But before all this, she was crying saying she needed my help. I was confused.”
“She asked for help? That doesn’t sound like Imani,” he said.
Dylan got up and walked around the room.
“I wonder,” Dylan pondered aloud. “I wonder if she’ll answer my call.”
“Call her!” Julius stood and shouted.
Dylan pulled out his phone and told us all to be quiet. He walked to the desk and called her. We all waited on the edge of the bed praying she would answer.
“Hello,” Dylan said.
We almost fell off the bed we were so excited.
“Because I miss you,” he cried. “I really want to see you, I just need to talk to you,” he paused.
Julius stood and walked to the desk. He hovered over Dylan as he held the phone to his ear.
“Why are you there? No… No… I can come to you. I will drive. I’ll meet you there in…” He looked around. Julius was holding up the peace sign. “Two days,” Dylan said. “Okay let me write it down.”
He fumbled through the desk until he found a notepad and pen. He started writing, then put the phone on the desk.
“She hung up,” Dylan said.
Julius spun Dylan’s chair around and put his face into his.
“What did she say!” he growled. He snatched the paper off the table. “What is this?”
“That’s… where she’s at,” Dylan said.
“301 Morrison Road Shenandoah Virginia. Why would she be in Virginia?”
“She said she had some friends to visit.”
Julius started to shuffle around the room. He reached for his bags and keys, and Dylan instantly flew the keys out of Julian’s hands into his.
“How the hell you do that?”
Mr. Elliot and I both stood in the middle of Julius and Dylan leaving an open space.
“Are you seriously just going to run over there without a plan!” Dylan yelled.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Julius’s voice cracked.
“I’m a Star,” Dylan replied.
“Get out of here.” He walked up to Dylan. “Benny did you know about this?”
“Yes, and Dylan is right. We can’t just run to Virginia and expect to just drag Imani home kicking and screaming. What if Crystal isn’t there? What if they’re not together?” Mr. Elliot cried.
“We have to just hope. This is a start at least. Now we have two days to figure out what we’re going to do,” I said.
“I’ll take care of the plane tickets for the four of us,” Julius said. “Whoever has her won’t be ready for us.”
We never actually came up with any kind of plan. Dylan was annoyed with Julius, and rightfully so. Eventually he tuned him out and stopped paying him any attention when he spoke. Dylan continued to stress that he had a bad feeling about what we were getting ourselves into. Soon enough the discussion ended and we went home.
The next day Julius E-mailed us our itinerary for the following day’s flight. We both lied to our parents and said we would be on a ski trip with Trey. On the day of, we met at Trey’s house. Dylan parked his car in the garage and left his keys with Trey. Julius came shortly thereafter. We didn’t waste anytime. We got in the truck and headed to the airport. The ride was silent. The tension between Dylan and Julius was a little thick, but it was all-good. At least I thought it was. We all had one thing on our minds and that was to find and bring home Imani and Crystal.
Dylan called Hudson and Hachi after we left Julius’s hotel the other night. They arranged a flight to meet us there. Julius had already arranged transportation and a place to crash upon arrival. Wasn’t sure what his job was, but he spent tons of money like there was an ever-flowing river in his yard.
We got to the airport, did all the annoying security checks, then boarded the plane. Dylan and I sat together while Julius and Mr. Elliot sat next to one another a few rows back. The flight attendant did her spiel before the flight took off and soon after, we were in the air.
It was my first time on a plane, but I wasn’t nervous. After flying around the skies, a plane was nothing to fear. Dylan was distracted. He just stared out the window. I tapped him.
“Okay what’s eating at you?” I asked.
“His judgment is clouded and he isn’t thinking!” he shouted through a whisper. “Tell me this feels right?”
“I don’t know what to think honestly, Dylan.”
He went back to gazing at the clouds and I pulled out my earphones and turned the music up. I rested my head against the cheap airplane pillow and started to close my eyes, but felt a tap on my hand. My eyes opened just as fast as they closed.
&nbs
p; It was Dylan.
His lips were moving but words couldn’t be heard. I removed the headphones.
“What?”
“I really need to talk you about something important when we get back from this little trip.”
“Is everything good?”
“I’ll explain after this but you need to know what I know.”
He went back to the window. I put my earphones back in my ear and closed my eyes until the plane landed. I had something I needed to mention to him as well but it could wait until we saved the girls.
We checked into the hotel and the first word was finally said between the four of us.
“I hate flying on planes,” Mr. Elliot grumbled.
We all threw our small travel bags onto the beds. A few hours later, Hudson and Hachi came. We introduced everyone. Julius was very intrigued with the way their powers worked. He said he never heard of any other cases with twins similar to theirs. Hudson once told me it was a blessing and curse to have to be forced to be that close to his sister.
“So is everyone ready?” Julius asked. We all stood up. “Dylan and Marcus will ride with me. You three,” pointing to Hudson, Hachi, and Mr. Elliot, “follow from the skies.”
We left the room and jumped in the car. I took the front seat. Julius started to drive. I looked out the rear window as the others sprung into the air.
“So she really never mentioned me?” Dylan said puzzled.
“She must have really liked you for her not to,” Julius said. “She knows how overprotective I am. I trust no one these days. Qihar markings are hidden. They can be anybody in the streets, your school, or your best friend. I trained her to hate so much ever since her mother and sister were killed, I forgot to teach her how to love.”
I looked over at Julius and turned my head to sneak a glance at Dylan. I had no idea that Qihar killed her mother and sister.
“I guess she was learning how to love once she met you, if she disobeyed a direct order from me,” Julius laughed.
“What was that?”
“To kill any boy who tried to talk to her and bring me the body,” he joked.
Dylan slid in the back of his seat and didn’t say anything else. Julius peaked in the rearview mirror at Dylan.
He grinned.
We pulled up to the address. “I think this is it,” Julius growled.
We came up a dirt road that led to a large all-white cabin with a lake in the front yard. All the lights in the house were turned on which shown through the many windows the place had to offer. Behind the house was nothing but woods. No neighbors in sight. At that moment I started to feel a little of what Dylan was saying. This seemed all too easy.
“Stay inside.” Julius slowly opened his door.
The ground crunched as he placed one foot on the ground, stepping on the leaves. He got out the car, looked up, then looked back at the house. He closed the door and every light went out simultaneously when it slammed.
I looked back at Dylan.
The sky was already blanketed with darkness so I could hardly see him. I had one hand on the dashboard and my heart was pounding. Dylan was so far off his seat he was almost in the front. Two balls of fire started to walk from the side of the house.
“Imani,” Dylan whispered.
Julius started to move away from the car and center with Imani. Dylan opened the door and ran out. I ran out as well.
“Imani!” he yelled.
“Just go back inside Dylan, I got this,” Julius said.
Dylan ran after him.
“Dylan you didn’t tell me you were bringing company, let alone my father.”
Imani’s voice was so sinister.
It was spooky the way she talked.
She was like a zombie.
The other three landed next to Dylan and Julius. I stood next to the car trying to predict how this was going to turn out.
The air around me started to heat up. I wasn’t sure how I could tell, but I could. I looked up into the sky and God was angry. The sky turned gray with swirls of purple. The wind started to pick up and fast. I held onto the window outside the passenger side of the car. Both Julius and Dylan were screaming to Imani. She just stood there with her hands and eyes on fire. I heard thunder and I looked up. There was lighting in the sky and the wind became harsh.
“Something isn’t right!” I yelled over the racing winds.
They were all still trying to break through to Imani. Julius started walking towards her with his long legs. He couldn’t get anywhere the way the winds were. His body floated off the ground and started to fly to her. The winds got even faster when he did. His face started to slide off as he tried to fly to her but never moved.
Lightning continued to dance in the sky then started to strike the ground. It looked like fireworks every time it struck the ground. A huge gust of wind came from the sky and everyone started to fly but was frozen.
Dylan’s body flew on his back and then started to tumble into the woods. Hudson tried to reach his hands to the pond next to the house but couldn’t move.
“You all should just stop trying to fight it,” Imani yelled.
“Miss me Macchiato?” A voice sneered from behind me.
It sounded familiar but I didn’t have time to process anything before I felt a hand meet the side of my head and bang it into the window of the car. Glass shattered. The same hand gripped my neck before it hit the ground, and slammed it into the side of the door over and over again.
I couldn’t breath.
I couldn’t see.
I couldn’t even think.
Four times my head was slammed into the door before the same hand, still holding my neck, threw me on the ground. I groaned then screamed when the pain finally set in.
I could tell the person walked off.
The wind stopped and I heard the bodies of the others hit the ground. I couldn’t stop screaming to myself. Everything was blurry and spinning. I positioned my body to rest up against the side of the car. It was almost dented to the shape of my body. I crawled to the front and looked around the bumper. Imani was standing there. She was dressed in all-black combat pants with matching boots and sports bra.
The person who attacked me walked up to Imani—a girl—along with another girl who walked to the other side of her. I felt along the side of the car and stood myself up. I leaned over using the hood of the car to hold me up. The three girls didn’t say anything; they just stood there looking perfectly evil. A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead all dressed for war with their bodies glistening as the light reflected off them from the fire.
“Imani why are you doing this?” Julius said.
Still, she didn’t speak. She focused her attention to Hudson. He stood and before I could blink.
“Ahh!!” Hudson screamed as he hurled through the air.
She shot a fireball at him.
The rest of them started to stand as Hachi screamed for her brother.
“Crystal!” Mr. Elliot screamed.
It was confirmed that one of the girls was Crystal. She extended her arm and a bolt of lightning surged from her hands, shooting her dad down. Next, the blonde extended her hand and a tornado formed aimed towards Julius. He shot a bolt at her but missed. The tornado picked him up and tossed his body away.
Imani and Hachi both looked at each other. Hachi was calm, she was tough, but not tough enough for these three. Imani tossed a fireball at her and she flipped, dodging it. She tossed another and water spiraled in front of her. She tossed one more and I extended my arm to stopped it before it hit Hachi. The three quickly shifted their heads towards me. I finally recognized the other face. The hair color was changed but I could never forget Jessica’s face.
Imani threw a fireball that hit my right shoulder. I fell back but was hit by another before I hit the ground. I didn’t black out immediately, but I was in and out of it. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I’ve never felt pain like what I was feeling. I heard crashes and screaming before I lost consciousness
.
I woke up to Hudson hunched over me calling my name. The sun was almost up. He started slapping me, which didn’t help the pain in my head. I grunted and moaned with each slap until he stopped. The pain I felt was worst when I woke up. He picked me up and I moaned more with each movement.
“Where is everybody?” I asked. He didn’t say anything. “Hudson where is everybody!”
He looked around and so did I. It was another war zone similar to the battle we had earlier this year only the cabin wasn’t completely destroyed. Julius landed from the sky and Mr. Elliot came crawling out the bushes.
“Nothing,” Julius screamed.
He was worried.
His eyes couldn’t focus.
He couldn’t stop fidgeting his hands. His jeans were torn and his left thigh was bruised and bleeding.
“What do you mean nothing?” Hudson yelled.
He dropped my body and walked over to Julius. I whimpered as I hit the floor. I didn’t have the strength to catch myself.
“My sister and my friend are now added to the collection!” Hudson yelled.
It was like two beasts getting ready to rumble. Hudson clinched his fist and the water in the lake vibrated.
“You think I asked for this boy!” Julius towered over Hudson’s huge body.
“Hey!” Mr. Elliot yelled. “Are we going to figure out how to save our loved ones or kill what’s left of our bodies?”
Hudson turned around and his face flushed red. He stormed to the driver side of the car and punched his hand right through the window. I quivered as the glass shattered. He threw his hands into the air and started to scream. Water from the lake created waves and tussled around as he shouted.
