Shining among Darkness

By
WingzemonX

Chapter 15
Let's go?

Ann and Damien Thorn's stay in Los Angeles seemed to be prolonged more than the businesswoman would have wanted. Her affairs with Winston Motors, both private and public, had already concluded. Her dose of public relations and normality before the cameras and ordinary people had been helpful and well achieved. They had even taken that little tour to Stanford, citing that it was one of Damien's main options to attend. That wasn't accurate, because the plan dictated that he would enter Yale; that was already more than fixed.

In general, everything they had been up to have gone well. Even in spite of the inherent rebellion of her beloved nephew, Damien had behaved quite well when necessary. It was only left to pack and return to Chicago, to their regular routine, at least for people in their public and social position. That must have been done three days ago. But, there they continued, occupying the luxurious two-level penthouse on Wilshire Boulevard.

Damien refused to leave Los Angeles until he finished his own issues, of which he didn't talk too much to her about, but she still knew very well what he had to do. All that wait was due to those girls he had so much interest in meeting. Ann repeatedly tried to convince him to leave, but the young heir did not listen to reasons. He didn't seem to care how suspicious and counterproductive it was that he was still there, and also missing classes for absolutely no reason. He had no interest in hearing about how the elaborate plan that they had been carrying out since the mere day of his birth was quite delicate and should be followed step by step to success. No, nothing about it managed to make him think even a little about what was best for them.

Whoever he was, deep down, he was another stubborn and obstinate teenager who thought he knew everything. And since that annoying incident in New Hampshire, things had gotten worse. Ann would soon receive a reprimand call from Lyons, and that made her feel a lump of discomfort in her stomach. It was not that she cared in the least what that old bearded and self-centered man had to say, but the truth is she did not tolerate having to endure the lousy swallow of hearing him complain.

Ann had never been entirely complacent. Still, the situation warranted some cooperation to show her protégé that in one way or another, she was on his side. She hoped that he would eventually reconsider and realize alone that the best was left. But the days passed, and he seemed no more willing to give up.

Therefore, that morning, Ann was determined to sit with him and talk straight and bluntly, no matter what had to happen.

Earlier, she had a meeting with a local law firm. She informed them that she was looking for a new law firm that would handle her legal affairs in California. It was not true, or at least not at the level that the CEO of a multinational such as Thorn Industries had to deal with it personally. It was just another of the many excuses she had to make up to justify her presence there. And the cost of it was sitting two and a half hours with the most credible fake smile she could make, listening to their presentation, praises, plans, and much more blah blah blah...

Now she was rising in the elevator of the apartment building, towards the penthouse. This department had been acquired directly by her a couple of years ago, although it was formally owned by the Thorn Industries. The intention was to have a safe place to stay when they were in Los Angeles to adjust business with their local allies. And also to be used by the managers of their headquarters in Los Angeles were required. It was practically a small mansion, having three bedrooms, five bathrooms, a living room, an entertainment room, a kitchen, a study and library, and a huge and cozy terrace with its respective private pool. All of that distributed in its two levels.

Someone would say that it was too much, considering that it was a site that they did not usually use. However, Ann felt that it might be more useful in the future; that, and several other properties that they had been acquiring throughout the country.

Upon crossing the main door of the apartment, she was greeted by an overwhelming silence, which for some reason, felt unusual.

"Damien?" She exclaimed with some force, hoping to get the attention of her political nephew, but no one answered. "Where are you?"

Ann left her coat and bag in the hall and walked down the hall to the living room. Then she turned to the right in the direction of the study. There she could finally glimpse the presence of two men, tall and burly, standing just in front of the closed door. Ann recognized them immediately; both were from her own security team. They wore black suits, and their faces had rough and marked features. When they saw her, neither of them blinked at all. Ann approached the study with total naturalness, speculating that the presence of the two men implied that the person she was looking for was there.

"With your permission, gentlemen..." She told them eloquently, but quickly both men stood in front of the door, blocking the way.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Thorn," one of them exclaimed stoically. "You can't pass."

Anna looked at him, incredulous at that man's boldness.

"Excuse?"

"Mr. Thorn said he doesn't want anyone to bother him right now," his partner explained, in a somewhat similar tone.

"He said that? I don't think he referred to me."

"He was referring specifically to you... in fact," repeated the first one, although this time, he doubted a little by the end of his sentence.

The woman looked at each one, stunned by what she was hearing. Her stone face could hardly project even a portion of the anger she felt in those moments.

"Are you aware of who you are talking to like that?" The CEO snapped with some fury diluted in her words.

"We know, Mrs. Thorn. But it was... a clear instruction from..."

Both men looked to each other, and for the first time, Ann could see real emotion on their faces: fear. Of course, those men were not only from her security team, but they were also members of her very, very secret Brotherhood. And as such, they knew very well who exactly the person on the other side of the door was.

But, although she understood her situation, that does not merit her condoning. The mere fact that individuals as simple as those two believed themselves of a sufficient level to speak to her that way... But, of course, that was just another example of the rebel attitude that his beloved nephew had obtained in recent days.

Ann remained silent, watching their reactions, and then stared at the door.

"What is he doing in there?" She asked, apparently calmer.

"We don't know for sure, I'm afraid."

"Is he with someone?"

"No, he is alone."

Since they were talking about Damien, that last statement was possibly not entirely true, not in a conventional way.

"Tell him when comes out that I need to talk to him," she said finally, already resigned to leaving the matter for the peace, at least for the moment.

Without saying anymore, Ann turned around and retired to her room in the penthouse. Whatever Damien was doing, she hoped it had nothing to do with those... girls.

Meanwhile, inside that study, the young Damien Thorn was sitting in one of the armchairs for the visits, a large couch with dark blue upholstery. Indeed, he was alone, sitting with his eyes closed and his arms comfortably resting on the couch's back. He seemed calm, gentle, almost as if he were asleep. But it was not like that. The young man with black hair was quite awake, although his mind was wandering elsewhere in those moments.

Something was happening at that moment, and he wanted to observe it closely.

— — — —

"I thought you would be a little harder to locate," the girl sitting next to Lily's bed commented with a playful tone.

The ten-year-old girl with a gown of bears had remained silent, contemplating her without showing any reaction. The visitor, in turn, smiled at her in a way that was possibly trying to be cheerful or friendly. But, in reality, it radiated a rather disturbing feeling, even for her.

"But it wasn't really that much," the stranger continued. "Apparently, you are the taste of this morning. Everyone talks about the poor, poor little girl who fell into the river and her heroic rescue. How lucky... Or, not really, is it?"

Lily narrowed her eyes again, suspicious.

"Who are you? She muttered, straight and somewhat sharp.

"Where are my manners?" The strange girl exclaimed smilingly, then settling herself right in her chair. "My name is Esther; nice to meet you."

Lily was silent, staring at her very fixedly.

"No..." Lily released slowly after a while. "That is not your name..."

The freckle girl's smile faded slightly upon hearing that statement, although soon after it was formed again, but significantly milder.

"Wow, what a smart girl," Esther said curiously. "But that really doesn't matter, does it?"

"What do you want?" Lily murmured in a somewhat aggressive tone.

"Right now? Get you out of here. A friend sent me to look for you."

"A friend?" Lily snapped, more confused than she was before. "Which friend?"

"I hoped you could tell me more about him, in fact. But whatever, let's go?"

Esther stood up from the chair with a small jump, but Lily made no move to want to follow her.

"I won't go with you anywhere."

Esther sighed a little and immediately stopped smiling. That expression of false joy was gone, and now Lily saw something more real: absolute coldness.

"Well, listen... how old are you?" Eight?

"That doesn't matter to you," Lily replied aggressively.

"Ok, no matter how old you are, I'm sure it's enough to realize your situation." Esther then leaned against the stretcher, leaning her body slightly toward her to stare into her eyes. "You have a policeman outside your door, and I think it is more than evident that it is not to prevent anyone who wanted to kill you. And besides, from what I read in a fascinating file that your friend gave me about you, you have done a lot of pranks in recent years, but in the latter one, it seems you have exceeded a bit. You screwed up, and if you stay here, you'll end up in prison... or worse."

Lily remained calm, but deep down, it wasn't even remotely the feeling that would best define her. Although she didn't say much directly, Lily could join the dots and draw the obvious conclusion. That stranger knew or thought she knew something about her... just like that presumptuous detective.

Why did all these people suddenly come out from under the rocks? How did they get there? That bothered her, and a lot. But she wondered how much did they really know.

"I'm offering to get you out of here safe and free," the stranger continued. "So, if you allow me..."

"Thank you for your concern, but no," Lily interrupted abruptly. "I don't know who the hell you are, and I don't care. But I know how to take good care of myself. So I will take the risk."

Esther let out a mocking chuckle.

"What will a brat like you know about taking care of yourself?"

"You don't want me to show you, Esther."

They both looked at each other as if they were challenging the other.

"Well," said the mysterious newcomer, with her coldness even more marked in her voice, "let me rethink it in another way."

Esther then brought her right hand to her back, inside her jacket, and quickly pulled it back to the front. And now, it was holding a gun, totally black, and with his barrel pointed straight to Lily's face.

"Get your skeletal butt off that bed, and let's go," Esther snapped in an aggressive tone of command. "Right now, preferably."

The girl on the stretcher looked the weapon with a slight surprise... although not too much. It was not the first time someone pointed her with one. Long before trying to drug and put her in the oven, one of her parents' first attempts had indeed been a firearm. That, however, didn't work well for them.

A mischievous smile was drawn on her face, causing a slight reaction of confusion in Esther that Lily found delicious.

"The least I need now is more troubles. So, put away that thing and get out of here while I still let you do that in one piece."

"Are you threatening me?" Esther released, smiling confidently. "Because if so, you will have to work a little harder. I have been threatened by many men and women much taller and stronger than you."

Lily started laughing hard, pulling Esther out of her balance.

"You have never met someone like me," the girl on the stretcher snapped, but when she said it... she hadn't done it with her voice. Or maybe it was, but there was something else in it. Something that resonated like dozens of echoes, as if that voice came from another place, one farther away, dark and cold. And as if those words were pronounced by some other person or thing. Esther didn't know who or what, but whatever it was made her feel quite uncomfortable. Had she felt... fear?

Suddenly, literally, after a quick blink, the girl on the bed disappeared. It was not that she had risen or hidden, but simply vanished from Esther's sight. At one time, she was lying there before her, and the next simply no longer, as if she had never been at the beginning.

Esther quickly backed away, somewhat overwhelmed, pushing the visitor chair back. She held the gun in front, in an attempt to feel more secure, although this was more an unconscious act. She looked around slowly, hoping to see some trace of her in a corner, but it didn't. The room was totally alone... or not?

Suddenly she heard her playful laugh echoing, coming from... under the stretcher. Esther lowered her gun, pointing in that direction by reflex. Was that kid under the bed? From her perspective, she saw absolutely nothing there. There was also no sheet or something to hide, but again she heard the same laugh coming from that place. She approached cautiously and slowly bent down to check without leaving her gun for a moment. She bent down, looked down... and nothing; there were nothing and no one under the stretcher.

That began to disturb her, and that was not usual in her. Where the hell had the brat gone?

Esther rose again, forgetting the part under the stretcher. However, as soon as she stood up straight, she could see... something which was squatting on the bed, staring her with two penetrating bloodshot eyes through a bush of dirty and misaligned coppery hair. Esther was not even able to thoroughly look at the full appearance of that creature, before it jumped toward at her, roaring madly like a wild animal. She backed away quickly, but the creature pushed her with her hands toward the floor, causing the gun to escape from her hand and falling down a couple of meters from her. Esther tried as she could to keep away that horrible face, emaciated by bumps and cuts. Its mouth, with yellowish teeth and black spots, opened and closed in an attempt to give her a deadly bite.

What was that thing? Where the hell had it come from? It looked like an old woman, with curly hair pointing everywhere, with a crazy face and wore a white hospital gown. It growled angrily and groaned in pain. Esther felt traces of its saliva falling against her face, and its putrid breath hitting her.

"You have been a naughty girl, Leena," it said suddenly, in a deep, throaty voice. For a second, Esther kept perplexed to hear that thing pronounce her name... that name that caused her so much aversion to hearing.

Esther threw a punch with all her strength against its face, just in the middle of its eyes. The creature stepped back a little, enough for Esther to get away from it and crawl on the linoleum floor to where the gun had fallen. She took the weapon just as the same time the monster took her left ankle hard and pulled her toward it. Esther tried to resist, shake her leg to break free, but that creature was dragged her down the stretcher.

Without thinking much more, Esther turned and pointed the gun straight at the hand that was holding her, ready to shoot at it bony and calloused fingers. And for a moment she was about to do it, but in the end... she didn't.

The next second passed in slow motion in Esther's head. For that scarce second, a single thought flooded her, a thought that in hindsight would seem quite logical, but in that moment of despair, she wasn't quite sure where it came from: that was not real.

Where had that woman come from? How did he know her name? Where had the girl gone? Did... that woman was she? No, it was not. Something else was happening there, but what? She then looked at the stretcher, opposing resistance with her left arm to try to stop moving under it. She stared at that supposed empty space, that area where an instant before Lily had been lying down. It was enough just to contemplate it for those little moments to feel that something was not right with it; that there was more than it seemed...

Inspired almost by mere instinct, she raised her gun form the strange woman to the stretcher, and immediately pulled the trigger.

— — — —

Wayne guided Cody to Matilda with the caution of a squad leader moving through enemy territory. Perhaps his reaction could feel somewhat exaggerated, but he didn't want to risk more. He hoped that really the whole thing would end soon, and the result was that everything was a misunderstanding. That Lily was not a psychic killer, nor had she been behind any of the deaths, and that Emily and Mike's were just mere accidents. Nevertheless, within what fit those seemed to be the best possible scenarios.

"It's down the next hall," Wayne explained as they continued.

"Why did you decide to put a policeman at her door?" Cody questioned. It was something that had caught his attention since Wayne approached them in the cafeteria. Still, only until then, he was encouraged to ask the question directly.

"I'm not sure. Nancy told me that Vazquez is almost certain that Lily lied to him. Apparently, he noticed something while questioning her.

Matilda, who had remained somewhat silent and distracted during that short journey, suddenly looked up, intrigued by what their guide had just said.

"He realized something?" She murmured curiously. Wayne looked at her over his shoulder, somewhat surprised.

"Yes. Is something wrong?"

Matilda looked down briefly, thoughtfully.

"No, nothing," she replied after a while. Then looked sideways at Cody, who apparently knew what she was thinking because he simply shook his head slowly.

Matilda shrugged, although more mental than physical. Many would say that most people have feelings or realize things by mere intuition, without the need to shine. Others would say, however, that most of these people do shine in fact, although in a much more diluted way. What scenario would that be?

Wayne did not know what they were thinking at the time but preferred not to ask. After all, he sensed that it had to do with that very... complicated issue.

"Well, maybe what you told him had some effect..."

"Wayne!" They heard a scream reverberating in the echo of the hospital, and interrupting immediately what the group guide was saying.

The three stopped and immediately turned back. Walking hurriedly, Detective Robert Vazquez was approaching them. And he was nothing, nothing happy; anyone could intuit it only by his face, and without needing to shine even if it was a little.

"Speak of the devil," Wayne murmured reluctantly. "Damn, I thought he was gone."

Vazquez stopped a few steps away from them, looking irritably at Cody and Matilda.

"What are they doing here?" He snapped, pointing at them. "I thought they had left."

"The feeling is mutual," Matilda snapped without hesitation.

Wayne hurried then to stand between them before anything exploded there.

"Listen, Robert, they just want to talk to Lily for a minute."

"No way," said the policeman with determination. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"You saw something suspicious in her, didn't you? Doesn't that open a bit to the possibility of...?

"The possibility of what, Wayne?" Vazquez interrupted. "What are we talking about? I want you to say it out loud."

Wayne clenched his lips as he stared at him in silence. On the one hand, his tone had bothered him, but on the other... in fact, he was not able to say what he thought out loud, not even quietly.

"Your attitude is totally irrational," Matilda said suddenly, standing in front of Wayne as if trying to protect him with his body from imminent danger. "We only came to help with whatever we can."

Vazquez snorted, ironic.

"My attitude is as rational as possible, given the circumstances," he replied, facing her without even blinking, although Matilda did his own thing. "So, why don't you take your fairy tales and get a long way to...?"

An intense rumble resounded strongly throughout the corridor, immediately creating an adverse reaction in all who were nearby. Most of the other people, including Adrian Wayne, took an involuntary step in the opposite direction from where it had been heard. Vazquez, on the other hand, his first immediate reaction was to move his hand towards the pistol that he had on his side, and remain still for a few moments. Cody and Matilda, on their own, turned quickly in the direction of the noise, and also stood still, impressed but analytical.

The roar was followed by a few moments of silence, overshadowed only by few traces of murmurs. Some stood still in their place, while others began to walk instinctively in the opposite direction while looking over their shoulders. Everyone came to assume at least what that had been, but very few had enough experience to be entirely sure of it; among them was Vazquez. That had been, without a doubt... a shot.

Robert immediately took out his pistol, withdrew its lock, and began to move forward, holding the gun barrel down.

"Stay here!" He shouted loudly as he walked away. "That's an order!"

Little by little he began to walk more hurriedly in the same direction in which Wayne was leading them; in that direction, the room of that girl should be found.

Matilda dropped her purse and briefcase to the floor, not caring about them. Then, completely ignoring the instruction the cop had just given them, she started running behind Vazquez quickly, or at least as fast as her heels allowed.

"Matilda!" Cody yelled, surprised to see how she was gone. He hesitated for a second but then ran behind her too.

"Hey, wait!" It was Wayne's turn to release a warning, but it was also ignored.

Wayne stood there for a moment, standing in the hall, looking everywhere and wondering what to do next. He ran his entire hand over his face and left it for a moment over his mouth. What was happening now? It was as if the whole world around him had lost all known meaning.

— — — —

Those who were closer to the room had an even more extreme reaction. Several literally chose to run away after releasing a small moan of surprise. Officer Butch, on the other hand, had a reaction quite similar to that of Vazquez, drawing his gun at a stretch. The corridor had been silent, except for the distant steps of the people. There was no one with a suspicious appearance, but that was no guarantee for him. He looked at the door that was supposed to be taken care of. Despite being entirely closed, just as he had left it, he knew immediately that the shot must have come from there.

"Everyone! Get away from here! Now!" He pointed out firmly, and people began to walk away, including the nurses and the two patients on the stretchers they had collided with. Butch, however, hurried to the room.

— — — —

"Aaaaah!!" Esther listened that shouted the sharp little voice of the girl, once all the echo of the shot disappeared. Exclaiming intense and violent pain.

The apparent freckle girl was still on the floor, breathing heavily while holding her gun up. There was no trace of the creature, and by her own position, it seemed like it was never really there, as if she had laid down and dragged in that same place. The one that had returned to its original position, lying on the stretcher, was Lily Sullivan. The only difference was that his confident and fearless face had shattered, and now she was full of confusion, fear, and much suffering. Lily had both hands clinging to her left leg, were on one side of his thigh, the robe began to turn red, as did the sheets beneath her.

"You shot me!" The girl exclaimed between sobs, frightened, but also very angry. "You shot me, bitch! My leg!"

Little guttural sounds like crying began to escape from her throat, and tears followed shortly after. Lily Sullivan never cried for sadness or fear. Still, she could definitely do it for pain, the most primitive emotion that even animals without conscience and regrets could feel. At that moment, it would have been impossible to her determine which pain was more intense: that shot or the burns when her parents put her in the oven. But all her attention was focused only on the stinging pain, the irritating burning, and the image of the white sheets staining red with blood, her blood!

Esther got up abruptly and walked towards Lily quickly. Her face had also changed. She no longer looked gentle or cold; now, she seemed totally flooded with intense and uncontrollable anger.

"Thank me that I didn't hit you in your fucking head!" Esther yelled totally wrathfully, and without moderation, she took Lily's injured leg between her fingers, squeezing it so hard. Lily let out a scream of rather intense pain, which knocked her back on the bed and immobilized her. "What kind of trick did you do?! What the fuck did you do to me?! Tell me!"

Lily said nothing. She just kept moaning and crying, tried to concentrate on making some other illusion to get her away from her, whatever. But that damn pain didn't let her focus.

The door slammed open from those moments, banging against the wall.

"Police! Hands up!" Butch exclaimed with force as he entered the room, pointing his gun in front. Esther turned quickly to look at him over her shoulder in reflex. When she did, the officer could see her, and what he saw was a girl of no more than ten years, with a beautifully smooth face, mottled with freckles, and intense green eyes. "What the hell...?"

The image before him was not even remotely what he expected upon entering, and that left him quite confused. So confused, that little moment of distraction, that little moment in which his mind wandered to try to understand if what he saw was real, was enough. Esther swung straight at him, pulled her weapon in his direction. And with astonishing aim gave a second accurate shot that hit directly in Butch's forehead, above his left eye, creating a reddish-gray explosion in the back of his head. A moment later, the officer's sturdy body collapsed backward, falling against the floor of the corridor, creating a loud sound as it collided with it and remained there, motionless.

Lily looked shocked at such a scene, so much that she forgot for a few moments her wound.

"You killed him..." The girl whispered softly on the bed. However, more than fear... it seemed to flood her with a fascination for what she had just witnessed.

Esther, on the other hand, what she felt the least in those moments was fascination or fear.

"Shit," she chuckled, and immediately headed for the door, dragging the guest chair behind her. She slammed the door shut again, and then placed the chair against to lock it. "Shit, shit, shit!"

Esther started walking back and forth across the room while hitting the side of her head a little with the gun. She had fired practically without thinking; her body had moved alone and pulled the trigger. One shot was already too much, but now two? And against a policeman? The option of stealthily leaving that site without attracting attention had already escaped through the window.

But she could not waste more time cursing in that place. She had to react fast.

"Help!" She listened suddenly as Lily began to scream with all her might from the bed. "Help me, please! She wants to kill me!"

Esther's mood was already quite at the limit. That last act of rebellion and attempt to impersonate an innocent child and victim did nothing but make that limit be exceeded.

"Be quiet!!" She shouted at her furiously. Then, she approached again and dropped her clenched fist against Lily's wounded leg, forcing her to scream back in pain and making it impossible to speak clearly.

Esther walked to the other side of the bed, took Lily violently from her left arm and pulled her off the stretcher with a pull, making her fall to the floor. This also caused Lily to hit her leg again, in addition to her butt.

"You wanted it that way!" Esther snapped hard and began to drag her across the floor to the wheelchair they had left there. "We could have done this for the damn good ones. Just left silently, without anyone getting hurt."

"Let me go!" Lily sobbed, struggling to try to make her release her, but she didn't stop. She was much stronger than she looked.

"But no, you had to make it difficult, right? Now I'll have to drag you through this stupid hospital."

She lifted her again with a jerk, almost dislocating her shoulder, and pulled her toward the wheelchair.

"Help me!" Lily shouted as the last attempt to turn that around.

"Shut up!"

Esther pulled the hand with which she held her gun to the side and then dropped it with all her strength against the kid. The gun barrel hits Lily directly on the side of her head, causing it to shake to a side, and its entire body collapsed in the chair. Lily narrowed her eyes once and then closed them completely. She was unconscious.

Esther had a moment of clarity and tranquility to digest what she had just done. She really hoped she hadn't exceeded. That guy had said he wanted her safe and healthy, and... Well, at that time, that was not the best way to describe her.

She hurried to the sheet on the stretcher and tore a long piece of cloth. Approached Lily again, and began to surround her thigh with the fabric at the level of the wound. She squeezed it hard enough for Lily to let out another cry of pain, but she didn't; she must have really fainted. That would be enough to stop the bleeding, at least for now.

Esther moved behind the chair and hurriedly pushed it toward the door. She removed the chair she had put on the barricade, and then opened it. She got out with the wheelchair, trying to dodge the policeman's body on the floor of the hall, and then go to the elevators.

"Police!" Esther listened behind her again. She turned and saw a brown skin man approaching down the hall, with a gun in his hands, but he stopped when he saw her, almost as Butch had done a few moments ago. "What the hell...?!"

The same reaction. If Esther had enough time, she would surely have stopped to appreciate the fun of it. But, since she didn't have it, she only did the same thing a few moments ago and pulled the weapon at the new cop, shooting to him twice.

Vazquez, however, reacted just when he saw the weapon, and threw himself to the side, protecting himself in the corner of another perpendicular corridor. The first shot struck a lamp on the ceiling, and the second one against the wall, not far from where Vazquez was taking refuge.

After firing twice, Esther began to move quickly to get away from there as soon as possible. Vazquez looked out and also made two shots, but they hit the floor and a window, respectively. The two girls and the wheelchair turned in the corner and lost sight of them.

Vazquez began to walk in their direction but stopped when he realized the presence of the other officer's body.

"Butch!" He exclaimed, stunned, crouching beside him. It did not take half a second to realize the horrible reality before him: he was dead. "Holy God..."

He put a hand to his mouth, clenching his fingers around his jaw. Butch's eyes were open and glassy. That disgusting bullet entrance morbidly adorned his forehead, and the entire floor beneath his head had been covered in a red puddle, with traces of gray and bone matter.

How something so horrible had happened, and just a few minutes after leaving that place? A good policeman who shouldn't even be there, who was just doing him a favor, now lay lying there as if it was absolutely nothing. It must have been him who stayed to take care, he shouldn't have...

No, he could not lament a second. His murderer... that... girl, or whoever she was, walked away every second he stayed there waiting. He then took the portable radio that Butch had on his belt, convincing himself that his fallen partner would be more than pleased if he took it for that purpose. He stood up and started running to where that girl had gone while he was talking on the radio.

"Here is Officer Robert Vazquez from 42th Precinct!" He exclaimed loudly over the radio. "Shooting at the Providence Medical Center. A fallen officer; I repeat, fallen officer. The armed suspect is still inside the hospital. I require reinforcements; repeat, I require reinforcements."

He didn't expect an answer from a colleague. He put the radio on his own belt and continued his chase.

It didn't take long to see them again, but it was when they were inside an elevator, and the doors were closing. He even to notice how that black-haired girl smiled at him with arrogance as this happened. He ran with all his might, almost throwing himself at the end, but the doors still closed before him. He knocked on the door with frustration. He desperately pressed the button to call the other elevator, but it was so far away. He hurried and began to go down the stairs at a rapid pace.

Another harmless ten-year-old girl who turned out not to be that at all? All that seemed unreal, as if taken from some strange movie. He had no idea who she was or what her intentions were, but she wouldn't let her leave that place... so she had to shoot her to avoid it.

END OF CHAPTER 15

Author's Notes:

I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter, but Officer Butch is an original character of my creation, although it is based on the context of Case 39 movie, he is not a character that has appeared directly or indirectly in it.

Originally Chapters 15 and 16 were going to be one, but it was so long that I had to divide it into two. Wait for the next chapter update soon.