The Broken IV: Vengeance

by A. L. Frances

  “Hey, hey, hey, you can’t come in here. I’ve not even started wrapping yet!” Brennan says, hurriedly trying to cover a pile of items on the floor.

  “Brennan, Brennan, look, I’ve found them!” Alannah exclaims, waving the piece of paper in his face.

  “Wait, what?” Brennan stares at the image on the article. “Good Lord. Oh, my goodness, that’s them.” A look of shock spreads across his face.

  Bouncing up and down, Alannah frantically flips the cushions on the couch as she searches for her phone. “I’ve got to call Matthew and tell him.”

  “Good Lord, he’s going to be blown away, I’m sure.”

  “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’ve found them,” Alannah says as she jumps on him.

  “Baby, that’s just amazing news. I’m so proud of you.”

  Alannah kisses him, then heads to the kitchen to look for her phone. “The article says they’re in an orphanage or something,” she calls back to Brennan.

  “Not just any orphanage, baby – this is literally a two-hour drive from here.”

  “You are kidding me?” Alannah says as she walks back into the living room with her phone.

  “No, I promise Morrisville isn’t far at all. I have friends that live there.”

  “We have to contact them. Oh, my goodness. We have to go visit them or something…”

  “We will, but baby, remember, this is a potential murderer and a kidnapper. We must let the authorities deal with this.”

  “Brennan, seriously, do you even understand what this means?”

  “Yes, of course I do. It’s dangerous and it means you could get hurt.”

  “No, look at the bigger picture, will you. Stop thinking about me. I’m a big girl, I will be fine.”

  “And what’s the bigger picture?”

  “I can get the children back and Matthew and Phil can be reunited with their children after all these years.”

  Bursting at the seams at the realisation that this possibility that seemed so far away is now within touching distance, Alannah abandons her search for her phone. She rushes to Brennan, and he catches her in his arms, swings her around. Sinking into her husband’s grip, Alannah kisses him passionately.

  “Happy Christmas, baby,” Brennan says.

  “Happy Christmas, handsome.”

  “Go on, call Matthew and tell him the amazing news. I’ll worry about the dangerous technicalities later.”

  She wipes her face and begins ringing Matthew. It goes straight to voicemail.

  Alannah blurts out, “Matthew, I’ve found them! Call me, please, you have to call me.” She then starts sobbing before she hangs up the phone.

  Gratitude is taking over her whole body. Closing her eyes, she whispers, “Thank you so much.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Get Ready! Bring Forth the Plan.”

  After a visit from good old Jack Frost, Morrisville has been coated with a layer of twinkling magic. It’s midday on Christmas Eve and there are one or two drivers who have braved the icy conditions and are driving their oversized cars on the unploughed roads. Embracing the quietness of the streets, the children are having a blast. Snowballs are flying from garden to garden and innocent laughter and playful shouts echoing through the streets.

  The majority of the residents have taken shelter inside their homes away from the cold. Tomorrow Saint Nick will arrive, and joy will be spread around every home as they open their presents and celebrate the birth of baby Jesus. But that joy will be short-lived, thanks to the plans of the sadistic, powerful Dark Empress.

  Standing in pride of place at the back of the Delaware River, the Moycullen Orphanage appears angelic and is glistening in the daylight. You would never guess that evil lives behind those walls. Beautiful twinkling icicles and thick, undisturbed blankets of white snow as far as the eye can see give the orphanage a pristine, Christmassy postcard image.

  Inside the orphanage, the energy is far from magical – in fact, it’s the complete opposite. The air is dense, and the energy circulating is suppressive and overbearing. In the dining area, the children are under the care of Elisabeth and Lewis. With their heads down, they’re learning, reciting and copying entries that have been written and prepared by Jezebel. They are being taught something of the utmost importance: the children are being programmed to speak the universal language that Jezebel has created. Like little sponges, the children’s brains are absorbing every bit of information, as Jezebel had predicted.

  On the top floor inside her quarters, Jezebel is dragging her feet as she slowly paces up and down the space, rambling to herself. Changing her direction, she makes her way towards the window. She peers through the gap in the middle of her hair at the window and twitches her head. The window flies open, and a gust of icy wind fills the room.

  “Vieni da me mio fedele complice!” Jezebel bellows.

  The clouds turn grey and darkness looms over the streets. Content, Jezebel waits. A squawk echoes into the room. The black liquid seeps from Jezebel’s smirking mouth. Her precious infamous raven is on her way. Jezebel requires the assistance of her evil accomplice to fulfil her desire and carry out her plan.

  Stretching out her arms, Jezebel basks in the glory of her long-awaited destiny, which is soon to manifest into its rightful form. In a matter of hours, her time will arrive! She is ready to launch her attack upon each home across the globe and eliminate, one by one, every individual adult on the despicable planet she has grown to despise with every ounce of her existence. Jezebel’s energy levels surge at a rapid rate. She has never felt so powerful. Electricity is pulsating throughout her whole body. Everything she has secretly worked towards will finally come into fruition. After decades, upon decades, mankind will get what they deserve, and the children of the world will unite under her command. An empire of her own design. Ruler of the universe! No one is going to stop her… she is raring to go.

  “Venit desiderabilia mea et pulcherrima.”

  In flies the raven. Her oversized wings are stretched. Swooping down and squawking uncontrollably, the raven appears to be revelling in the glory of her owner’s commands.

  Communicating with her infamous bird, Jezebel shouts, “Our time is now. We must strike.”

  The raven rests upon the top of Jezebel’s bedframe, peers down and lets out a squawk.

  “In forty-eight hours, I need you to have planted the final seeds to wake the sleepers.”

  The raven squawks again and flaps her wings.

  “Yes, we have to bring forth the plan. Someone has entered the tombs, and if the scroll has been passed to the only hands who have the power to defeat us, then our plan could be shattered. Sacrifice – that he will not. I am sure. The ties of the bond are much too tight. If it has been placed into his hands, I am certain that our defeat will not be met due to the weakness mankind experiences when they believe they hold love in their pathetic hearts. It is at this point that I will take him down. When he is weak.”

  Swooping down, the raven flies around the room before eventually landing on Jezebel’s shoulder. Tilting her head, the raven’s deep blood red eyes connect with Jezebel’s and calls out again.

  This time Jezebel takes a moment before she answers. “She has been spoken with. You are mistaken. She is not a traitor. My chosen one will never betray me, she is much too wise for such an action. Besides, she has no way of knowing the truth, so there is no risk. She will never know how we could be defeated and even if she did, her loyalties lie with me and only me. She will die before she betrays me. I am her creator, and this is all she knows.”

  Reaching high, Jezebel strokes the raven’s glossy feathers, which are silky to the touch. She then caresses her beak and says, “Do not worry your pretty self about that. It is our time to come together.” Kissing her beak, Jezebel continues, “You, my precious, just focus on waking our sleepers, so they attack at the
right time!”

  As she makes her way across to the open window, Jezebel has not a shadow of a doubt that her plan will follow through, and she will soon rule. Staring out of the window at the sky, she smiles from ear to ear. The universe is already responding to her commands. Power is taking over, and soon she will be unstoppable. As her smile grows, the black substance dangles from her chin, eventually landing on the floor.

  “Nunc tempus est nos!” she cries as she raises her arms.

  Squawking uncontrollably, the raven flaps high into the dark and intimidating sky. As her evil accomplice goes out of sight, Jezebel hears the front door of the orphanage click shut. Peering down, she sees Eve leaving the house with Honey strapped to her front. Eve is battling her way through the snow to the back of the orphanage. Making her way across the room to the window of the other side, which oversees the river, Jezebel tilts her head with confusion. Eve has positioned herself by the river and is seated on a log. Unsure of the reason why Eve would be out in the cold with Honey during the day, Jezebel becomes somewhat suspicious and decides to act fast! Bringing her fingers to her temples, she closes her eyes and telepathically summons Elisabeth to her quarters. Within seconds, there is a knock at the door.

  “Enter,” Jezebel commands.

  The door creaks open, and Elisabeth enters the room. Kneeling immediately, the ever so obedient Elisabeth says, “You called, Dark Empress.”

  “Yes. Come here.”

  Standing, Elisabeth nervously walks towards the window.

  “You see that…?” Jezebel says as she points in the direction of Eve, who appears to be having a conversation with her daughter.

  “Yes, Dark Empress.”

  “Well, I want you to discreetly see what she is up to – do you understand me?”

  “Yes, Dark Empress. Right away.”

  “Discreetly,” Jezebel repeats sternly.

  “Of course,” Elisabeth says as she bows her head and leaves the room.

  Glaring out of the window, Jezebel is adamant that not a single thing can be left to chance. Innocent or not, nothing can go wrong within these next few hours, and so everything must be considered suspicious until proven otherwise. Every millisecond going her way is crucial to her plan coming together and her empire finally being born. Success is right around the corner, and she can taste its glorious sadistic victory.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “See, I Told You.”

  Eve sits looking out at the frozen Delaware River, trying to muster up the strength to make her next move, but all she can think about is how cold it is. Her breath forms clouds as it leaves her body, and she shivers and sniffles. On her knee, she cradles Honey, who looks like a baby polar bear in her white fluffy all-in-one. Eve is grateful for her daughter’s presence and her warmth. Maybe her daughter will give her the courage she needs to get the answers she’s been searching for. After all, these answers no longer impact just her – they’re pertinent to her daughter’s future and identity too.

  “Who’s my gorgeous baby?” Eve says, stroking her little rosy cheek. “Who’s mummy’s gorgeous little girl – hey…? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”

  Honey shows a gummy smile and makes a cute gargling noise as she blows mini spit bubbles. Eve’s heart warms. She must do this for her and her daughter. The truth must be known. It’s now or never.

  “Okay, baby girl, are you going to do mummy a huge favour…?”

  Honey smiles.

  “Aww, my dolly, you’re too cute.” Briefly looking over her shoulder, Eve continues, “You’re going to give mummy some shelter while I check something, aren’t you, darling?”

  Eve has one last scan of her surroundings. Thankfully, the coast is clear. Slowly unzipping Honey’s all-in-one, Eve carefully retrieves the stolen phone. Her hand shaking, she swipes the screen, hits the internet icon and types “Evelyn Jade Honey” in the search bar. And just like that, the worldwide web has done its job. Article after article about Evelyn Jade Honey, a missing girl from Kent. She clicks on one headline, “Evelyn Jade Honey Missing – Have You Seen My Daughter?” As the page loads, she feels sick to her stomach! It’s there.

  There is categorically no way of ignoring what’s in front of her. It’s a picture of her! She is the missing girl in the image. It’s her face, no one else’s. Gobsmacked, Eve scrolls down slightly and sees in bold print the name Matthew Honey. A man who is claiming to be her father. She scrolls a bit further, her heart racing. Right at the bottom of the page, there’s a picture of the man. It’s the man she’s seen in her dreams! Never did she think anything would come of this. She truly believed she was being paranoid and overthinking things. Now she can’t come to terms with what she’s seeing.

  But right now, she doesn’t have time to ponder. Scrolling once more, she sees beneath the image a contact number for Matthew. He’s requesting anyone with information about Eve’s whereabouts to contact him. She almost drops Honey as a pain surges through her gut. Now the realisation hits her like a lightning bolt to the heart. Much like every child in the orphanage, she too has been tricked, possessed and snatched from a potentially loving family. Tears fall from her eyes.

  Looking to Honey, who is smiling her gummy smile, Eve whispers, “How can this be true?”

  Eve gasps at the despicable things she has done at Jezebel’s command. She’s encouraged suicide, snatched children and got a thrill from death, all due to the belief that she was created for the whole purpose of reigning across the universe and that Jezebel’s way is the only way to exist. And yet it’s all been a lie. She too has been programmed to believe that the dark side is the true side. And the worst of it is that she was considering handing her daughter’s soul over.

  As she tries to digest the contents of the webpage and deal with her inner thoughts, Eve suddenly hears, “I told you.”

  She jumps slightly. “Thomas?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. Listen, Eve, don’t say anything more and don’t turn around. There’s a woman hiding behind a tree across the way.”

  Eve freezes. Now all she can think about is the repercussions if she’s been caught by Jezebel. She’ll be killed instantly. Playing along, Eve takes Thomas’s advice and tries to act as natural as she can.

  “Just slowly turn the phone off and discreetly hide it,” Thomas continues. “Then speak to Honey and make your way back into the house. Whatever you do right now, do not give cause for anyone to raise any suspicions about you. You’re being watched.”

  Believing every word Thomas speaks, and following orders, Eve turns the phone off and slides it up her sleeve.

  “Oh, my little darling, let’s do your jacket back up,” she says to Honey in an overly loud voice so she can be heard by whoever is stalking her.

  Secretly unzipping Honey’s all-in-one suit, Eve slips the phone back inside and then zips it up. She then lifts Honey and playfully kisses her cheeks, and blows raspberries on her face.

  “Who’s mummy’s little girl? Who’s mummy’s little girl?” she says jokingly. “Oh, my little baby, your cheeks are getting cold. Let’s get you back inside, princess,” Eve says loud enough to be heard once again.

  Eve stands and turns and comes face to face with Elisabeth.

  “Oh, gosh, Elisabeth, you scared me.”

  “Why?” she asks blankly.

  “What do you mean why? How often do people appear behind you outside from nowhere?”

  “Not often.”

  “Well, there you go, then.”

  “What are you doing out here in the cold with that baby?”

  “Excuse me, ‘that baby’ is my daughter – and I’ve brought her down for some fresh air as it was getting clammy inside.”

  “Hmm, well you haven’t been out here too long so she couldn’t have needed it that badly.”

  “Well, I underestimated how cold it is. Since when was it a crime to change your mind?�
��

  “Depends what decision you’re referring to.”

  “Look, Elisabeth, I’m not playing games with you. Honey’s cold and I want to get her back in, so please, just get out of my way.”

  Appearing amused, Elisabeth moves out of the way.

  “Thank you,” Eve says as she rolls her eyes.

  “She’s on to you, you know,” Elisabeth says as Eve starts to walk away.

  Stopping in her tracks, Eve turns back to face Elisabeth. She decides to dig the knife in. “How does it feel to want to be me?”

  Elisabeth says nothing.

  “You want that rightful place by her side, you want to be the chosen one, don’t you?”

  Again, Elisabeth stays silent.

  “But deep down, you know you’ll never, ever be that chosen one. You’ll always come second best and that kills you, doesn’t it, E-lis-a-beth?” Eve laughs. “You’re pathetic. Honey will get by her side before you ever will.”

  “Shut up,” Elisabeth snarls.

  “Thought as much. Now do me a favour and just leave me and my daughter alone. She created me, she just possessed you. The Dark Empress’s blood runs through mine and Honey’s veins and you will never have that. You will always have vile, dirty, human blood in its entirety. Now retire back to your room and get ready to complete your job.” Eve turns and continues to walk back towards the orphanage.

  Her heart is beating so fast it feels as if it’s going to burst out of her chest at any given minute. Her legs suddenly lose their strength, and she stumbles slightly in the snow. Anxiety is taking over all her emotions, and it’s making her weak. Picking herself up, Eve doesn’t even attempt to wipe the snow off her body. Now that Elisabeth is watching her, Eve knows that her hunt for the truth is fast becoming dangerous. Jezebel must already be questioning her loyalties, and Eve is scared that Elisabeth is going to cast further doubt upon her mind. It will only be a matter of time before she discovers what her so-called chosen one has really been up to. She has to get rid of the evidence, but she can’t do anything with Elisabeth watching her every move.