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“Are you ready?” I ask, taking the key out of the hole.
She smiles, “As ready as I will ever be.” I grab the packs out of the backseat, and she grabs the other ones.
I walk around to her side, and she hops out. “Welcome to the King’s home. This is where we live with Mason’s parents, Dave and Naomi.”
We stand and admire the house for a moment. It isn’t large, certainly no Calveron and definitely not as well maintained. But I think it’s beautiful in a quaint way. It has a stone pathway that leads to a porch and the front door that used to be vibrant green colour. It is a two-story house, with wooden panelling that has clearly been through some damage. Pieces of wood are stuck on the house at odd angles from where they have fallen off or when they’re has been a draft and we’ve had to cover up a hole outside the house.
“It’s not as nice as your place, but it’s home.”
“I love it,” she says, walking over to the dying grass and running her fingers through it. She smiles as the grass brushes against her fingertips. “Thank you,” she says, “for everything.”
I smile, “Come on, let’s go home.”
We walk up to the porch, and I knock on the door, expecting everyone to come out and see the biggest surprise of their lives. But no one comes. I knock again, “HELLLOOOO!” I shout knowing that it’s going to ruin the surprise but also figuring that they could be in lockdown and might not answer in fear of it being the soldiers.
Sometimes it happens. A fight will break out or someone will try and escape Beast Eye without the mark or a legitimate excuse and they’ll get in trouble. ‘Trouble’ generally means a public execution, or they get chained up and put in the middle of the road for the rest of us to walk past and stare at. It’s their way of telling us that they have complete control. That if we ever try and make a move like that, that is where we will end up.
But even after announcing myself, they still don’t come, so I open the door myself. In a place like this, there isn’t any point keeping locks on the door. It isn’t like anyone has anything of value to rob. “Dave? Naomi? Guys?” I call, walking into the tattered front room with the curtain for a door that separates Aubrey and my room from the rest of the house. But the pale blue curtain is on the floor.
It is never on the floor. Aubrey never even leaves her room without making sure that the curtain is closed completely; she hates people seeing her personal space.
“Stay behind me, Lu. Something is wrong.” I start to walk deeper into the house, past the abandoned master room, and the King’s en suite. Past the abandoned run down ‘kitchen’ with a broken stove, a half working fridge, and some dirty plates left on the bench. Past Mason’s unmade, messy, empty bed and the deserted bathroom that the five of us share. I walk into the twin’s, Crusoe and Hayden’s, room and find that it is completely empty. I look on the bedside table and see Crusoe’s bracelet that his mother gave him when he was younger.
I walk over to Hayden’s bed, pushing away the white quilt and the old pillow he took from his house before he and Crusoe ran away from his mum and joined the gang. I pick up the mattress by the pillow and my fingers search around until they connect with the cold handle of a gun. Something is definitely wrong.
Hayden would never leave without his gun.
Crusoe would never leave without his bracelet.
Mason would never leave without making his bed.
The King’s would never leave dirty dishes on the bench.
Aubrey would never leave without closing her curtain.
Because they didn’t leave.
They were captured.
“Lu.” I yell, suddenly aware that she isn’t behind me. “Lu, where are you?” I hear a muffled scream, and disregarding any rational thought, I follow the scream outside.
That’s when I see Hugo. He has his arm locked around her neck with a gun pressed firmly to her head. I want to scream at the sight of it. How could anyone do this to a child? To their sister? “Hugo. What are you doing? Put the gun down Hugo and let her go.”
“No.”
“She is your sister. How could you?” I speak. Luna is struggling against her brother’s strength, a determined look on her face.
“She is no sister of mine.” At that, Luna stops fighting. I see a tear fall from her cheek and I want nothing more than to shoot this man myself. But I need to wait before I do anything irrational. I need to know that he is bluffing; that he wouldn’t actually hurt her. This is all just a big act to make me come back to Calveron.
“What have you done with the gang?” I take a cautious step closer to him, and he forces the gun harder against her head. Luna screams out, and I wince. Do not react, Emerson. You need to focus. “What have you done with them?” I repeat, taking another step closer, ready to run at him. Before I get the chance, a car door opens, and a woman gets out with a boy trailing behind her.
How could I be so stupid?
The woman is smiling brighter than I’ve ever seen her smile, her eccentric eyes are blazing with psychotic power. The boy behind her, despite his eyes being a deep brown, has the same power-hungry look in them. All the life drains out of me as my eyes connect with his.
“Jasper?” I whisper.
Chapter 38 - Emerson Clarke
