by Amaris Marx
“Hello darling,” Franz answered and in a different, less serious, situation Ruby would have laughed at Franz’s greeting.
“Hey Franz, I’m sorry to disappoint you but it’s only Ruby.”
“That’s okay Ruby. Where is Azalea?” Franz asked and Ruby cringed.
“Passed out…” she started.
“What?!” Franz raised his voice and Ruby couldn’t help but feel guilty.
“You see… a student has been kidnapped and Azalea passed out like her Banshee side was forcing her to dream. And she did dream and got a glimpse of what’s going on and where,” Ruby explained and Franz exhaled.
“I see… and you’re calling me because?” Franz asked unsure.
“We need your help. Azalea still isn’t awake and she can’t help us asleep,” Ruby said and Franz agreed.
“I’ll be there soon.”
****
Azalea woke up in the nurse’s office, alone. Trying to make sense of her thoughts, she stood up and walked out into the hallway. Police officers, teachers and students filled the hallway and Azalea remembered what had happened. Pushing through the crowd she arrived at the centre of the event. It was like her mind and body knew what to do. Her eyes scanned the crowd and found Franz. She went over to him and greeted him. He smiled at her and hugged her.
“I’m relieved you’re okay,” Franz said and she smiled.
“I’m just fine,” she answered and then became serious again. “Any news?” she asked and Franz shook his head sadly.
“Ruby said you mentioned a mark on the ceiling. Do you remember what it looked like?” Franz asked and Azalea thought about it.
“I do actually,” Azalea started and then grabbed a piece of paper from an officer’s hand. He wanted to protest but once he saw the drawing of the marking his eyes widened in shock.
“A Banshee?” he asked quietly and Azalea nodded subtly. Smiling widely he took the drawing of the marking and showed it to his partner. They exchanged a few words and nodded in agreement.
“We found the place where the girl is… but we need to work quickly. We’ve been searching for this guy for months and he’s known for quick rape and then cold blooded murder,” The officer announced and the hallway was filled with silence.
“I’m coming with you!” Lucas exclaimed looking at the officer.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that,” the officer said and walked out of the school. The other officer followed as well as Franz and Azalea. Lucas followed not giving up. He saw Azalea entering the police car and huffed.
“You’re allowing her to come along and not me? That’s my sister that you’re going to rescue and you’re not allowing me to come?!” Lucas yelled at the officer but the officer didn’t give in.
“Azalea can come ‘cause she can help with your sister. This is officially her first case and from now on she’s going to help us with every case that happens here,” the officer explained and entered the car.
Driving off the rescue mission really started.
Chapter Eleven – Rescued
Arriving at the police station, the officers gathered around a table and made a plan. Having some experience Franz joined the conversation and helped form the plan. Azalea listened carefully, trying to understand what they were saying. She realized that they were only talking about the break in plan and a rescue plan without even considering where Anny was held captive.
“Um, guys?” she asked and everyone turned around.
“What?” The chief asked, annoyed. He’d never liked kids and didn’t agree on having a teenager on this case.
“Do you even know where Anny is?” Azalea asked and the question surprised everyone.
“No…” one of the officers started, embarrassed. The chief didn’t want to admit defeat so he tried to get himself out of this situation.
“It doesn’t even matter where she is, not until we formulate a plan that will help,” he started and everyone shook their heads.
“Why don’t you just admit you’re wrong?” One of the officers said to the chief and the chief frowned. Before the chief could say something the officer cut him off. “You were right Azalea. We didn’t even think where Anny is held but I believe we’ll find out where the building with that marking is.”
"Do you have any idea how you'll find it?" Azalea asked still unsure.
“We’ve been dealing with this guy for months and everything that he does is done in one building. We never really paid any attention to the walls and ceilings,” the officer said and Azalea nodded in agreement.
“So… You think Anny is there?” she asked and the officers nodded. Standing up she looked at them and frowned.
“What are we still doing here?” The officers leaped into action and Franz and Azalea followed.
****
“Azalea stay in the car,” The officer commanded and, knowing it was dangerous for her, she listened. While she was waiting her grandfather and the police officers moved into the building. They moved quietly and quickly while listening and watching for any sound or movement. They checked all the rooms except one.
That room was the place where they usually found bodies so they dreaded opening the door. Two of the officers exchanged looks, nodded to each other and opened the door. A small room with a dirty mattress on the floor was not empty. There was a man hovering over a girl who was passed out on a mattress. He was grunting and didn’t even notice he had an audience. The officer pointed a gun at the guy and said: “You’re under arrest for many rapes and murders. Please stand up and put your hands behind your head.”
The guy was obviously shocked when he turned his head around and saw a group of cops with guns pointing at him. He quickly stood up and reached for his pants. Franz noticed a gun lying on the floor and whispered to the officer. They cuffed him quickly before he could take it and Franz picked up the gun.
“You have the right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you,” the officer said to the guy while the other one cuffed him.
Franz looked at the girl and quickly called an ambulance. The group moved outside and put the guy in a car. Azalea saw them and smiled. She left the car and walked towards Franz.
“Where’s Anny?” she asked and Franz smiled sadly.
“She passed out and I called the ambulance. They should be here soon,” Franz explained and Azalea nodded.
“We should call Lucas and tell him to meet us at the hospital,” Azalea said to the officer and he nodded.
“Do you have his phone number?” he asked and Azalea shook her head.
“I don’t but I’m sure Ruby has it. I’ll call her and tell her were to send Lucas,” Azalea said and the officers nodded in agreement. She called Ruby and told her were they were.
“I’ll tell Lucas which hospital they’re taking her and hopefully he’ll be nice enough to take me with him,” Ruby said and Azalea agreed. Suddenly the ambulance passed Azalea and scared her. She laughed to herself and watched how the paramedics disappeared into the building and came out a few minutes later.
She saw Anny in the ambulance and decided to go with her. She entered the ambulance and the paramedic sitting next to Anny doing some check-ups just nodded in acknowledgment. She sat there staring at Anny and wondered if every rescue will be like that. Helping the police to form a plan, wait in a car while they rescue a victim and then her sitting in an ambulance next to a victim she had never met.
Azalea didn’t want that, she wanted to participate in a rescue, hold a gun and point it at a murderer’s head feeling the satisfaction of her work. That’s what she wanted but she knew that she was powerless in any kind of physical defence. She then remembered an add she had seen when reading the newspaper. The add was more like an invitation to a martial arts class and Azalea decided to look into it.
Waking up from
her daydream she heard a gasp coming from Anny. She looked at her and noticed she was awake. Anny looked at Azalea and looked shocked seeing her there.
“What happened?” Anny asked and Azalea smiled.
“You were kidnapped but we managed to rescue you,” Azalea explained and Anny’s eyes widened in recognition.
“Oh…” she muttered and Azalea laughed humourlessly.
“Yeah, we were all shocked when we realized you’re missing but I’m sure your brother was the most worried one,” Azalea said.
“Lucas knows?” Anny asked concerned and Azalea nodded.
“Yeah… he was the first one to notice you were gone and after that the police and I helped to find you. Lucas is probably on the way to the hospital along with my friend Ruby.”
****
Arriving at the hospital Lucas was all jumpy. He couldn’t wait to see Anny and make sure she was okay. He was kind of angry at the police officers because they allowed Azalea to go with them while he had to stay behind. The second he stepped into the reception the paramedics came in with Anny on the stretcher and Azalea walking next to her. Seeing Anny with a small smile on her face while she talked with Azalea melted his anger away and a smile formed on his face.
He jogged to them and as soon as Anny noticed him she grinned.
“Lucas!” she exclaimed and he smiled.
“Hey sis, how are you feeling?” Lucas asked and Anny shrugged.
“I’ve been better,” she answered and then looked at Azalea.
“I would probably be in a worse condition if it wasn’t for Azalea. She helped the police to rescue me and she succeeded,” Anny said and that was her way of saying thanks for everything Azalea has done that day.
Chapter Twelve – A
New Friend
“So it’s been a week already. When do you think Anny will be back at school?” Ruby asked Azalea and she shrugged. Azalea was so deep in thought she hadn’t even listened to anything Ruby said.
“Are you even listening to me?” Ruby asked annoyed. Azalea had been acting like this for a whole week and Ruby couldn’t handle it anymore. “Azalea?” she asked snapping her fingers in front of Azalea’s face. Azalea finally woke up from her trance and looked at Ruby.
“What?” she asked even more annoyed that Ruby. Ruby glared at her and huffed.
“You’ve been ignoring me for a whole week and when I finally have your attention you’re all moody like it’s my fault,” Ruby said now very angry. Suddenly Azalea realized she really had ignored her and had been a bad friend that week. The guilt washed over her and she frowned.
“I’m sorry Ruby. It’s been a crazy week and I have a lot on my mind. I really am sorry,” Azalea apologized. Ruby could see that she really was sorry and nodded.
“Okay, I believe you,” Ruby replied and Azalea grinned.
“I promise I’ll try not to think about other stuff around you.”
“You should,” Ruby said grinning and then hugged Azalea. Just then a shadow appeared on their table. They both looked up and were very surprised to see two persons they never expected to see.
“Hello!” Anny said cheerfully. Next to her Lucas was standing frowning and not happy to be here.
“Hi!” Ruby said and looked at them strangely. “What are you two doing here?” she asked very confused. Lucas and Anny were both in the popular crowd and Lucas even dated the most popular girl in school – Chelsea.
“Well… I wanted to sit with you today and get to know the girl who rescued me. I dragged Lucas along since I think Chelsea is getting under his skin too quickly and this has bad consequences,” Anny replied grinning.
“Hey! That’s not true,” Lucas exclaimed denying that Anny was right. Anny chuckled and shook her head.
“Yeah, right. You’re just failing most of your classes ever since you started going out with her. Lucas you were a straight A student for most of your life and then, bam, Chelsea comes and you started slacking. We all know it,” Anny said glaring at her brother. Lucas huffed and then sat down at the table, admitting defeat.
Watching the siblings argue, Ruby and Azalea smiled a bit.
“So you’re here to talk to me?” Azalea asked Anny and Anny nodded.
“Yeah, I wanted to thank you again for saving me,” Anny said and Azalea smiled.
“I’m happy to help,” Azalea replied and Lucas groaned.
“Why am I here?” Lucas asked Anny, annoyed. Lucas didn’t like Ruby and her friend and they both annoyed him.
“Because I want you to be here and make some better friends than the crowd you’re hanging with,” Anny said and Lucas rolled his eyes.
“They’re your friends too,” Lucas said pointing at the popular crowd.
“They aren’t really my friends. I hang out with them because I’m your younger sister and I’m supposed to hang out with them. That doesn’t mean I actually like them and I don’t want them as real friends,” Anny explained angry with Lucas for making assumptions that were false.
Lucas noticed that his sister was serious about everything she said and suddenly he felt guilty. He had always been overprotective of her and wanted to have her around when they were at school. That’s why he introduced her to his crowd and forced her to make friends she didn’t like. Lucas saw she wanted to have real friends and he decided he would make it happen.
“You really feel this way?” Lucas asked Anny sadly and she nodded. “I’m really sorry about that; I wish you had told me before I forced you to hang out with them,” Lucas apologized and Anny shook her head smiling.
“It’s okay brother. I don’t mind it anymore. I just hope you won’t mind me hanging out with Ruby and Azalea. I would really like to be friends with them,” Anny said and it shocked both Ruby and Azalea that Anny wanted them to be friends.
“That’s okay, you should make friends on your own,” Lucas agreed and Anny grinned.
“Thank you!” she said and hugged him happily.
“Now can I go back to my friends?” Lucas asked and Anny nodded, frowning. She wasn’t happy about him going back to them. Chelsea was a bitch and no one could deny it even if they wanted to. But Anny could feel a change coming. It would happen to Lucas and it would be for the better.
There was a moment of silence before Ruby started babbling.
“So Anny, when did you come to school? I didn’t see you here till now,” Ruby asked and Anny grinned.
“I had a check-up in the morning so my mom dropped me off half an hour ago,” Anny explained.
“Oh…” Ruby sighed and just then the bell rang. “I guess we have to go back to class,” Ruby said and pulled Azalea with her. “See you later!” she yelled and waved. Anny grinned and waved back.
****
“I think it’s nice to have a new friend especially since it’s Anny,” Azalea said walking home with Ruby.
“Yeah, I guess. The only problem is her brother,” Ruby sighed.
“Why? Lucas agreed with Anny making new friends and he doesn’t mind.”
“That’s true but if I know anything about those two I know that Lucas can’t stay away from Anny for a long time and Anny’s the same. Lucas will probably start sitting at our lunch table and once he moves his crowd moves. That means that soon our table will be full of popular students and we’ll be the freaks of the table,” Ruby explained and Azalea rolled her eyes.
“Lucas can barely look at us without getting annoyed and I can assure you that he’ll leave us alone,” Azalea said reassuringly. Ruby snorted and shook her head.
“Just wait and see,” Ruby stated and entered her house saying goodbye to Azalea.
Chapter Thirteen – New Year’s Eve
The month passed by quickly and soon the Christmas holidays started. Ruby and Anny spent most of the time at Azalea’s place and Anny quickly became their best friend. Luckily Lucas wasn’t bothering them during lunch times and left them alone most of the time. Azalea liked to tease Ruby about it and Ruby hated to admit she was wrong.
“I am very sorry Ruby but we can’t just let you go on a sleepover and have you miss a family evening and New Year’s Eve celebration. We always spend that evening together and we will be very disappointed if you miss it,” Ruby’s mother explained to her and Ruby frowned disappointed.
“Please mom,” Ruby pleaded and pouted. “Azalea and Anny are my first real friends and Anny’s allowed to go. It’s not fair you know. They’ll have fun on New Year’s Eve and I’ll be bored to death if I stay here with you,” Ruby continued setting a guilty trap and hoped her mom wouldn’t realize she’d just said she was boring.
But her mother was smarter than Ruby thought and scowled.
“You think I’m that stupid to let what you said pass? Oh no, young lady. I’m not feeling upset about it anymore but just so you know. You’re grounded till the end of this holiday,” Mrs. Singer said and shook her head.
“I’m very disappointed Ruby. I thought you were more respectful and well mannered.” With that the debate was finished and Mrs. Singer went back to her cooking.
Angry at her mother, Ruby went to her room and called Azalea to tell her she couldn’t come. Azalea was very disappointed but understood the situation. It wasn’t until Anny came to Azalea’s house that she realized how boring it would be without Ruby. Ruby was always the jokester and a big prankster and while Anny was more like Azalea – nerdy – Ruby was the one who entertained the trio.
The first two days of the sleepover Anny and Azalea somehow coped without Ruby but on the day before New Year they were officially bored.
“We could always go to her house and secretly kidnap her from her room,” Anny suggested and Azalea actually thought about it and even agreed.
“That’s not a bad idea. We could sneak into her house through the garage door and help her sneak out with us,” Azalea said and for the next half an hour they planned the kidnap.