*Amora's POV*
It was like a ripple effect; As soon as I thought of Luke, it instantaneously led me to my family. Because they all left me in the same year.
While my attention got further roped into the final moments of Mom, Dad and Anthony, I realized I was now sprinting and was not even in the park anymore.
If I could I would run. Away from you. Away from everyone. So I could never get hurt again.
My legs carried me with my head slightly getting nauseated with the speed I was going at. It took moments but eventually, my legs slowed down. Scanning what neighborhood I was in- I found myself almost swallowed in darkness in a dimly-lit alleyway that led to a road that had a flickering lampost.
Jogging towards the light, I ignored the sudden kiss of cold air that breezed over my arms.This street. No, it can't be this street, right? No way.
With my hands on hips, I took a drag of the night breeze in as I tried to catch my breath from that run- Gaining full energy, I attempted to check what street I was in by walking to the middle of the empty yet oddly familiar road.
Not that it helped, I used my hands to make a pair of binoculars with them, in order to see the dangling sign that hung from the lampost. I didn't know it could but my heart skipped a beat when I finally read it.
The three words echoed-
Taunting me with the accident that went down here.
I opened my mouth in shock, "North Dark Crescent." The words barely escaped and just saying it out loud sent a jittering pang of pain throughout my body.
As I ran to the spot where the collision occurred, my heart suddenly dropped as a flashing image of Anthony's blood-soaked body briefly played at the back of my mind. My breathing tightened as I stopped at my tracks.
Just a few feet away... Was where that car collided with us. It was the spot where those men... I couldn't take it anymore- a rush of red-hot glowing anger took over and all I saw was the blood that was shed that night. But gradually, it melted into a melancholic feeling right at the pit of my stomach.
And it grew and grew heavier by the minute. That my knees were forced to give in and drop on its own accord on this frigid and cursed road. My body felt weak and the palms of my hand collided with the cement. I did my best to hold the tears back, biting my lips hard until the raw taste of blood entered my mouth.
~~~
For what seemed like hours, I was kneeling down right in the middle of a road. And was also crying while my phone continuously rang. I thought I should head back before Evan actually calls out a search party for me, I stood up while I wiped my tear-stricken face with my shirt. But during that time, I caught a glimpse of a twinkle from the gutter that was at my right.
Inhaling and exhaling, I took small steps towards the gutter as I was still unsure whether I should leave it be or not. Nearing the gutter, I folded a knee and bent over with my arms stretching into the bars. The shiny object was strategically placed behind one of the thick bars, so I had to angle my hands and fingers to even reach it.
A few seconds passed as I held my breath, wishing that any sudden movement wouldn't make it fall into the drainage pipes. Once I grabbed it, I jumped in joy and yelled out loud a "yes".
Yeah, I'm sure if anyone saw me now, they would probably think I'm some drunk person.
I examined the object with my hands as my eyes scanned every inch of it. It was small, thin, and rectangular. As my eyes further magnified, I found that some areas were coated in a faded dark red stain. It was as long as my little finger and it was most certainly shining because it was wrapped in aluminum foil that had some sort of stench.
With my head hung low, I turned away from the spot before I start to tear up again. Or before they start showing up again.
I couldn't care less how exhausted I was, but I ran again. I ran away from that road. With this peculiar little thing still in my hand. I clutched it hard when I began sprinting. Each step exploded on the pavement while I felt the tension on my hamstrings.
Anywhere but here, please.
~~~
Currently, I'm at "the mall", which is also known as the main headquarters of the CIA, although it is literally in a mall- Which no one suspects and that's why I salute to whoever designed the building.
It was now 9 pm and I'm in a conference room, alone with John, my boss.
With his necktie loose and disheveled hair, he was pacing around the room as his face grew colder by the minute from the stress. While I, too, rocked my chair back and forth, as I experienced a mix of emotions. We were both confused but one thing was clear, the reason why we're like this was because of what I found in the gutter earlier.
We were waiting for Cleo, one of the best cyber-technician around, to break into the secured firewall of the USB.
I didn't know if I was planning to run all the way back to my apartment, however as I was deep in thought of whether I should just take the bus or not. Heavy droplets of rain began to fall, so I decided to stop at the nearest place with a roof.
While I waited for the rain to stop, I carefully unwrapped the stained aluminum foil and it revealed a metal USB with a piece of masking tape that covered the entire length of its body. And in a black marker, it read "Nicholas Van Allen".
Dad's name.
All kinds of thoughts whizzed around. Was this actually his? If it was, why wasn't this found when they did the search for my family's case. Come to think of it, I've seen Dad with this before- he was in his study and acting weird about how we should never enter without his permission.
Wanting to brighten the mood a bit, I thrusted my feet onto the ground and that caused my chair to glide to the direction where John was standing. I gave him a cheeky smile and broke the silence, "Well, I guess this means... I won't be quitting?" I continued to smile.
He sighed and folded his arms at my immaturity, "Look Amora, we knew crucial evidence was out there but we never managed to find it." He paused as he touched his gray mustache- a mannerism he does whenever he's in deep thought. "I expected that it would make you stay, if we were to find it."
"Oh." Was all that could leave my mouth as too much was going on in my head.
"And now that you personally found it yourself... I'm sure more doors will be unlocked now." I tilted my head in bewilderment- More doors? "So I'm putting you in charge of this case- That is if you're going to stay?"
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Thank you for reading! If you're still reading then wow, seriously, thank you!
Just a reminder again that the words in italics would always indicate either a thought or a scene that previously occurred.
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ireck_wings