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Morning finally came. Neighbors were all coming to see the spectacle at the Arlington house. They had no idea what happened.
Joseph looks up with his red eyes at the people coming to see what had happened at the Arlington home. He could only see their pity as they looked in and saw the bodies of his parents.
Pity didn’t settle well with him. He did not want anyone to feel sorry for him. He was strong. He could survive this… Or maybe not… he thought as he turned to his parents and his emotional state rose to instability.
“Are you okay Joseph?” a familiar voice asked. He saw Big Lucy making her way through the crowd. Joseph finally releases his sister and stands up. “I’m fine Big Lucy.” He tells her. “How are you fine child? Someone murdered your parents!” she said looking at him with intense worry.
“I know who it was.” Joseph said tightening his fist. “Well who was it?” she asked. “No one you know or want to know. He’s kidnapped Annabelle.” Joseph said looking into the crowd.
“Oh no.” Big Lucy said looking at the floor. “I intend to get revenge. If anyone gets in my way… they’re gonna pay. Princess… let’s go.” Joseph said holding his hand out. She takes it and he pulls her up. Joseph then pushes his way through the crowd to his car. He finally knew what his mission was… to take Paul O’Connor off the face of the planet permanently.
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Joseph arrives to the Lightman home. He gets out of the car with Natalia following close behind, holding her stuffed bunny tightly. Joseph knocks on the door and it opens. Benjamin Lightman looks at Joseph with a frown on his face.
“Who are you and what do you want?” he asks. “Joseph Arlington sir.” Joseph tells him respectfully. “Oh. You’re the boy she had over. Come in.”
Joseph and his sister enter the home. They stop in the foyer before they go any further. Benjamin turns his body to Joseph. “What are you here for precisely?” he asks. “Your daughter was taken. I intend to find her Mr. Lightman.” Joseph tells him. “You do?” he asks with uncertainty.
“My brother is very good at what he does Mr. Lightman. If anyone can find him it’s my big brother. Just give him what he asks for and we can end this before it gets worse.” Natalia says.
“How old are you?” he asks Natalia. “Sixteen.” She tells him holding her bunny even tighter. “Okay? What do you need Arlington?” he says directing his attention to Joseph. “I need Annabelle’s book.” Joseph says.
“Her mother’s diary?” he scoffs, “You must be kidding me. Look, it’s in the safe upstairs as you already know but I don’t know how to unlock it.” “Well it is a good thing he does. We were trained to listen to the combination of a safe, just in case.” Natalia tells him. “Be my guest. If it can help you find my daughter, then go for it.” Benjamin says unblocking the path to upstairs.
Joseph runs up the stairs. Natalia keeps close behind him. She follows him to the right wing of the home. He reaches the studio door and opens it quickly.
Joseph stops Natalia from just walking into the room. “She valued her mother’s diary. There’s a possibility there is a trap in here that only she knows how to get through.” Joseph says. He looks at the floor closely. He spots a small crack in the floor, following the crack all the way to the end, making a perfect square. He looks back to his sister. “Pressure plate right in front of us. Step over it and everything should be fine.” He says pointing to it directly.
He steps over it and walks over to the safe. Natalia stands behind him feeling uncomfortable. “Jas… something is wrong. I can feel it.” She says to him. “You’re probably right. Don’t worry about it though. It’s only a spy.” He says. “What?” she says confused.
Joseph yanks Marcia out of the thin air. Natalia immediately charges at her sworn enemy, unsheathing her blades of certain death. She leaps in the air spinning like a mini tornado at the soon to be dead woman.
Marcia rolls out of the way and Natalia cuts up the floor boards with her deadly swords. Marcia runs at Joseph. He tries to grab her but she jumps onto his shoulder then into the tear she had been pulled out of.
Joseph looks up. He couldn’t senses her presence anymore. She was more than likely gone.
“She got away Jas! Why didn’t you get her?” Natalia says in anger towards her brother. Joseph ignores her and opens the safe up. He pulls out the diary of Annabelle’s mother.
He opens it to the first page and sees Annabelle’s mother’s name written in calligraphy, Belle Linteger. He continues past the front page flipping through each one skim reading. He stops at a certain page with a word that caught his eye. Habit.
“What is it Jas?” “Something that might be of interest. After my daughter’s birth, I was called to the IOSTA base to have a talk with the leader Paul O’Connor. He wished to know my progress on what he called the Fountain of Youth. But instead I ran to…
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Belle Lightman, wife of Benjamin Lightman, runs across the open plains in New Heights towards one of the old fort towers. Behind her was a speeding truck holding its occupant, the angry Paul O’Connor.
Belle reaches the fort and begins climbing the stairs to get to the top. Paul jumps out of the car sliding an odd looking glove over his hand. He sees her getting away, then point his hand up. He fires a explosive ball of energy that cracks the stairs away ahead of Belle.
Belle jumps, barely grabbing on the ledge that was now there. Paul starts up the stairs. Belle pulls herself up continuing her climb to the top. Paul targets again and fires. He blows the stairs behind Belle.
Belle never looks back. She knows well that to do so would be her end. Keep a clear mind and move forward. She thought to herself.
Paul targets again straight ahead of her. He fires at the stairs blowing them from underneath her. A cloud of dust covered her up but he didn’t see her falling. The dust cleared away and she was still running up the stairs, nearly at the top now.
Paul curses under his breath angry at the woman getting away from him. He soon reaches the top and there she was waiting on him calmly. Paul points his glove at her. Belle however doesn’t look afraid at all.
“Paul… I want you to think about this.” She says. “NO MORE THINKING! It is time for you to die woman. You have played with me far too often. I’m going to kill you now!” he says.
“What use would I be then Paul? Remember, I’m the only one who can make the formula. Remember? You can live forever. I’m so close. Just a few more years and you will be the only thing on this earth that will be eternal. Hmmm? Doesn’t that sound nice?” she asks him.
Paul looks down with eyes darting back and forth across the ground. He rubs his head with the gloved hand then looks up at Belle. “You’re right Lightman. I’m sorry. I just thought you were running away from me again. You wouldn’t do that would you? You’d be putting your daughter at risk you know.”
“No I wouldn’t do that to you Paul. I work for the IOSTA. That means I work for you, the leader of it all. Don’t you worry about it. You will get what you deserve.” She says with her eyes darkening on the fellow before her. “I will won’t I. Come on. Let me get you down.” He says to her. She smiles and places her hand in his.
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“…recurring patterns of insanity. He would often times chase me to that same tower, believing that I was running from him the cure to his ailment of age.
It would never surprise me that he would continue to do so with me or my family. The tower is something familiar to him. Paul O’Connor is a creature of habit. It makes him predictable but even more dangerous because, habits come with more habits, and more, and more…” Joseph finishes reading.
“He’s at the tower then. Annabelle is the same as Belle… I suppose. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has her there.” Natalia says. She places looks at Fluffy Bottoms. “Is she there Fluffy Bottoms? … … … He says that she is there.”
“Not that I would take the stuffed bunny’s word for it but I do think she is there. Come on. Let’s go get her.” Joseph says. He places the book back in the safe then leaves the Lightman home to the fields in New Heights.
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Annabelle opens her eyes finding she is strapped down in a chair. In front of her was all sorts of torture devices. Paul walks in her eye line with a large smile on his face.
“You’re finally awake. May I say, you’re just as beautiful as your mother? You remind me so much of her. It’s pretty impressive. We weren’t the best of friends. I mean… she didn’t tell you that we were in a relationship at one time… before she met your father of course… and then she dumped me like… garbage. I didn’t like it very much I admit. He won… I lost…. But maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. I have my lovely darling Marcia Rhett now.” He says stroking her cheek.
“Leave me alone.” She says to him. “After you tell me where your mother’s diary is.” Paul says to her. “No. I will never tell.” She says in her most defiant voice. “I figured as much. I’m not going to try and convince you of otherwise. Rip her limb from limb.” Paul yells out.
Annabelle’s eyes widen as doctors start attaching devices to her. She looks for anyway out. There was nothing there to really help her. All she could do was close her eyes and hope she would never give away the location of the diary.
There was screaming from far below, as she figured she was pretty high up. Paul rushes past her to look over the edge. He mumbles something under his breath. Annabelle sees something invisible forming right before her eyes then Marcia steps out of thin air. She looks at Annabelle with a smile then taps on Paul’s shoulder.
“We don’t need her anymore. I know where the book is.” Marcia says staring Annabelle right in her eyes. “No…” Annabelle says struggling to break free. “Then take me to the diary. It’s about time I get what I want around here. Lead me to it.” Paul commands Marcia. “My pleasure hon…” Marcia says walking through the tear. Paul follows right behind her disappearing before Annabelle’s eyes.
There is a smashing sound through a wall below. Natalia slides right in front of her. “Joseph just pushed the last guard through the wall. He’ll live… for the most part. We figured out where you were from your mother’s diary.” Natalia says. “They didn’t want me, they wanted her diary.” Annabelle says to her. Natalia’s face droops to a frown.
Joseph pops through the hatch looking at his sister. “Go on, set her free.” Joseph tells her. “They are after the diary Joseph!” Natalia says. “They… oh crap!” Joseph runs straight ahead and leaps off the building. He rolls forward as he does and cranks up his car.
He looks in his mirror. Natalia had Annabelle in her arms. She rolls them both forward then comes to the car. They both get in and Joseph floors it.
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Annabelle tears into her home running upstairs. She opens the door into the studio seeing the safe open. The diary was gone. But in the safe was a note, handwritten.
Thank you for the book. Now immortality is near to me. I will become the only eternal thing on this planet. No one will be able to stop me. Thanks for the book again. Your not so much of a friend, Paul O’Connor. The note said.
Annabelle drops the note on the floor. She looks back at Joseph and Natalia just standing there looking. “I know what he’s after and he thinks my mother’s diary holds the key to it. He’s looking for the Fountain of Youth.” Annabelle says.
“Well that much is certain. Does the diary have the location of the formula?” Joseph asks her. “I don’t know. I don’t. I’ve never seen it in there. I’ve ready more than one time and there is nothing on its location.” Annabelle says.
“Maybe she didn’t complete it.” Natalia says with hope. “My mother was finished with it before she died. She finished the formula. I doubt she would destroy something she considered so important but she would hide it.” Annabelle says.
“Where did she hide it then?” Natalia asks. “How should I know?” Annabelle says. “We’re in deep trouble if Paul finds it.” Joseph says. They all sit on the floor looking down in defeat.673Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡku5AoyuoN8
