"Just by the boundary of Saint August, Mister~"This was a really bad idea.The young girl fastened her seat belt as the car that almost hit her moved forward, now serving as her metal chariot towards whatever destination their driver might want to travel to. Lina knew that what she just did was way out of her common sense's better judgment. If her sister ever saw her now, she'd probably make her eat another batch of leftover hell-wings.With a lurch, the two children plus one adult took off into the dim Nancaan night; the faint hum of the car's revving engine providing an eerie sense of comfort, as the light from what few street lights that littered the streets filtered through their tinted glass window."Hey," Lina turned to her nervous seatmate, his whispers a reminder of their current chauffeur's shady vibe. "I don't think-"The redhead placed a shaky finger on her nominal leader's trembling lips while gesturing with the other to zip her own mouth. It was too quiet to talk even in
"W-What?""We're here," the man announced once more as he pulled on the car's handbrake. "I take it you're going to continue your journey from here?"Lina didn't even have the chance to look surprised as the lights inside the car suddenly blared to life, her mind too stunned to register the fact that both the man and his classmate were now staring at her in rapt silence. The lies that Dio told them still rang in her head as she found herself nodding slowly at their self-appointed driver, not sure about what to do next."Do take care then," the shady businessman nonchalantly waved as he turned his eyes back to the road. "Make sure you firmly close the door, kid."Her eyes widened as she felt the nagging pressure of failure start to creep in. She had failed to get enough information to get a good read on the guy. In her mind, a web of confusion weaved its way into her mind as Lina processed the blatant lies that Dio fed to them. It was just plain wrong! It sucked that she didn't the tim
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"Lina?!Charlie quickly undid his seat belt, doing his best to try and rush towards his screaming friend. He didn't know what had happened. Was she attacked? Did she hurt her arm or something? Maybe she didn't tell him earlier that she hit her leg or some other part of her body and it only started hurting now? There were too many scenarios swimming in his head that he just had to make sure that she was okay!"Tch..."The boy paused just as he about to open his side of the car door. Huh? Did Dio say something? He sounded upset about something-No! It didn't matter right now! What was important now was to-"Stupid car trunk..." he paused in mid-opening swing as the boy turned his gaze towards the irate-sounding driver. "This is a setback and a half..."Without even a chance to mull over what the creepy man just said, Charlie watched as the man quickly got out of the car himself; a permanent scowl etched into the older man's face just before he closed the door. He saw
"I'm disappointed in you two."Lina wanted to scream.She wanted to yell out in pain so bad that maybe her sister would hear her all the way in the middle of Saint August. This was all her fault...This was all her fault for taking this monster's offer for her own stupid curiosity!*SMACK!*"UGHH!!""Charlie!"It was torture. Every thrown punch on the boy felt like a thousand slaps to the face as Lina found herself crawling on the pavement, unable to do anything besides watching the carnage unfold before her. Her left arm ached like it has never ached before as she tried to force herself upright through sheer willpower; biting through the pain as her mind raced to do something to alleviate her hurting friend's situation.&n
Time moves forward...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*A lone blonde squirmed under her covers, her poor sleeping posture causing her to stretch out on her bed as the incessant beeping did its job of coaxing her awake. Her loose tank top almost dislodged itself from her shoulders as its slob of a wearer tumbled and turned, one bleary eye half-opening as she yawned in all of her glorious sloppiness.M-morning already?*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*Liz silently groaned as her annoying alarm slowly started to register in her sleep-addled mind. What time was it? What day was it today? Did she even need this alarm?It was way too early for her to be awake, in her opinion.*slam.. slam..
Last night, Liz had managed to pick up a beaten and battered kid off the side of the road just as she was about to leave Saint August through the Nancaan road. Looking at the kid's uniform, she had recognized it to be from the same school that Helly currently worked at. The fact that the child was alone in the middle of the night, as well as her current state, was just too dangerous to leave alone. So she hefted the girl on the back of her bike and sped off back around and towards the nearer highway for a faster way to get home.'H-Hey, calm down...' Liz slowly mouthed to the kid, her hands instinctively gesturing in a way that denotes her general idea. 'I'm friendly.'"Wh-Where am I?!" the panicked girl asked, still clutching at the blanket as she leaned against the farthest wall away from the older woman. "A-Answer me!"The detective frowned as she realized that the girl didn't manage to read her lips. This was pretty bad for communication. She had
"It still hurts...""It's going to be okay, Lina," Liz soothed just as she put the finishing touches on the last set of bandages. "It'll go away soon.""But what if it doesn't?"The detective put on the warmest smile she could muster as she patted the last bandage down gently, her other hand going to her choker to speak, "It will, I promise."With the basic first-aid done, Liz finally allowed herself to relax a bit, leaning on the couch as her eyes wandered on the used cotton balls and wipes scattered all around her. She should probably clean that up, lest she might actually get some super roaches scurrying around with blood powers or something. Lord knew she already had some creepy crawlies lying around behind her drawers...Damn, she should really clean her apartment soon. 
Liz flashed a sad smile as she subconsciously ran her hand through her neck again. In a sense, she knew that the question was coming whether she liked it or not. Children were curious, after all, and a large, pink gash over someone's neck just screamed curiosity. Even she could admit that. And it wasn't as if she won't be asking some hard-hitting questions later herself. She was more than happy to entertain the kid if it meant getting her comfortable around her presence."I had an accident a few years ago," the former police detective recounted as she put her phone down to focus on her young guest. "Got nicked in the line of duty."It was a turbulent time; being a freshly-minted detective, sniffing out a lead, her over-achieving ass getting too cocky about trying to get a promotion... If she hadn't met Heather back then, surely she would have been dead after a few days of being in the middle of hostile enemy territory with no backup. Not that she would ever say