"Okay troops, we're on a recon mission." I whispered and elbowed Spiral as we hid in the bushes. He muttered something under his breath. The binoculars and black spy clothes had been my idea. Spiral had just wanted to knock on the door until I'd guilt-tripped him into doing it my way. You see, Spiral had been Emma's friend first. They had art class together and truth be told, I never really got along with him. We tolerated each other but we wouldn't hang out alone without Emma.. I guess you could say we were acquaintances. Until the day Emma went missing about two weeks ago.. Spiral had been the last one to see her.
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"What are we waiting for?" Spiral asked impatiently. I ignored him and tugged at a shoelace that had come undone. I hadn't thought the plan through in detail, just that the main idea was to get in the house and get Emma out. I didn't even need answers. I just wanted my best friend back. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" He prodded.
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I blew my fringe out of my face. Spiral was starting to get on my nerves. "Well I'd like to get Emma out of there, that's for sure."
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"You can't." He said, a bit too quickly. I raised an eyebrow at him.
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"I can't?"
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"That's not what-" He tried to backtrack.
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"Is there something you're not telling me, Squint?" I said meanly, knowing he would flinch at the nickname. "Are you perhaps withholding information that might prove invaluable in this mission?"
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He rolled his eyes, but gave in. "Okay, enough with the spy talk. Let's just find a way into the house."
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We crawled along the side of the house silently, toward the oak tree that I had climbed the day before. The air seemed too still today, as if all the crickets were holding their breath. I tried to shake the uneasy feeling and focus on following behind Spiral. The sky above me was slowly fading into pinks and reds, as the air chilled a few more degrees. I shivered.
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Crack.
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"Spiral!" I hissed as he froze. "Move!"
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"I think I broke a twig." He turned back to look at me, his face full of apology. I was about to brush it away impatiently when I heard a voice that sent razors dancing all over my skin.
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"There you are, kiddo." I let out a defeated sigh. Dante was too close. There would be no escape.
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And even worse, as a pair of piercing green eyes descended upon me.
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"I thought I smelt human," He growled.
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Dante reached for me as I threw up my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay! I'll come quietly if you just don't touch me."
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"No," Dante chuckled, much to my surprise. "You have a leaf in your hair. Let me just.." He said, leaning over.
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"Huh?"
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"Don't touch her!" The other man growled, jumping to my side. It was so fast I didn't even see how he did it. One second he was almost at the door of the house, and in another he was right beside me. "I mean, it."
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Dante's eyes narrowed as they stared at each other. I looked to Spiral in confusion, not understanding what was going on. Spiral was looking between them, seemingly desperate to say something.
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"Thunder.." Dante said softly. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
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So that was his name. Thunder. It sure suited his loud, controlling personality.
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"Please. I just want to talk to Emma." I took the chance to cut in, since everyone seemed to be locked in some kind of silent battle. I immediately regretted it when three pairs of eyes turned to me, especially Thunder's. He looked really pissed off, and his fists clenched and unclenched as if he were on the verge of tearing me into bite-sized pieces. I noticed that he wore a glove over his right hand, while I wore a scarf to cover mine.
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"They're mates!" Spiral shouted from nowhere, then clapped a hand over his mouth. Somehow, Spiral was unable to keep the truth to himself - this was how I'd found out where Emma was. And now he was spouting nonsense.
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Thunder visibly bristled and gave a warning growl before pouncing on Spiral. I screamed at the same time Dante rushed past me to intercept. With Spiral shoved aside, the two large males crashed to the ground, wrestling and making guttural noises.
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"Leave them be," Spiral yelled, grabbing my elbow and running towards the house. I looked back at them, now thrashing in the mud, and wondered what on earth was going on.
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Suddenly it dawned on me.
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"Spiral, you're a freaking genius. That was an awesome diversion." Of course! Now the house was empty and we were free to rush in and get Emma out, while those two brutes were fighting each other. I beamed at him, but he was too busy fumbling with the front door to notice.
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"Damn auto-lock." He said, reaching into his pocket to pull out some keys on a chain. He twirled them briefly before settling on one of the keys and inserting it into the lock. It fit perfectly. Wait. That didn't make sense. How did Spiral get those keys?
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"Spiral?" I questioned him as he placed one hand on the doorknob and turned it, his other hand still resting gently on my elbow. He looked back at me, guilt splayed clearly across his face.
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"I'm sorry, Isis." He said as the door swung inwards. I barely had time to register what was happening before he shoved me into the house and shut the door behind him. I could hear the click of the lock as it slid into place.
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Now I was really angry. Angry enough to punch someone. I ripped the scarf from my right hand, not wanting the cloth to cushion the blow I was about to give him. I fought back a wince as I clenched my right hand into a fist, but was interrupted by someone else.
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"Kiddo! Who's your lady friend?" Said a male voice from behind me. I whipped around to come face to face with yet another tall brute. This one was blonde, with friendly blue eyes. Blue eyes that widened as they descended upon my hand. What was it with everyone and my hand?
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I still couldn't get over Spiral's betrayal. He knew these brutes? Worse, he was one of them? I turned hurt eyes on him, and to his credit, he never looked away. "You never intended to help me." I stated softly. "You planned to do this to me all along." He shook his head, but his eyes betrayed him.
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"Spiral, let me see your hand. Kiddo, c'mon." This voice didn't sent razors across my skin. Instead, it soothed my nerves a little, but not much.
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"It's not me," Spiral said to the other male, his eyes still locked on mine. I didn't bother trying to read what he was saying with his eyes; he'd better be sorry, because when I found Emma and busted us out of there, he would be lucky if Emma ever spared a glance his way ever again. "It's Thunder."
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I almost growled at the mention of his name. My hand was throbbing again, as I saw red everywhere. I wanted to.. I wanted to see someone hurt, and mangled, and bleeding. I wanted to hurt someone. The intensely violent feelings scared me, and I turned away from Spiral. For the first time, I took note of my surroundings. It served as a distraction. We were in what looked like a very messy living room, with a kitchen at the other end of the room that was divided by a sliding glass door. Even from here I could see pizza boxes stacked high in the sink along with unwashed dishes. The living room was furnished with couches and a bean bag with cushions scattered everywhere as well as a video game console. There was even a pool table in the middle of the room which had someone's dirty laundry on it. It looked like every male's fantasy hangout. The people who lived in this house must be all male. I wrinkled my nose in disdain.
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I heard a door open and shut somewhere in the house, as a fragrant smell wafted to my nose.. The familiar smell of strawberries and cream. Emma's shampoo that I'd gotten her for her seventeenth birthday. "Isis?" An even more familiar voice drifted into my ears. I turned towards the kitchen.
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There she was, clearly just out of the shower with her hair bundled up in a clean white towel and looking fresh and pink. I wanted to laugh, cry, and shout all at the same time, but all I could do was stand there frozen and stare. She didn't look distressed at all. In fact, her toes were freshly painted.
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"Isis.." She said, taking a step towards me, a look of amazement on her face. "You have a leaf in your hair."
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Suddenly the door behind me slammed open, throwing me forward onto the ground. I flung both my hands out to break my fall, and that's when all hell broke loose.
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