The red sportscar was rushing across the streets as if trying to race another vehicle to wherever it was headed. The driver was so busy gloating at the motorcycle next to it that he didn't realize that some children rolled into the street all of a sudden. When the motorcycle driver screamed and went into a hard brake, the driver looked up ahead.
His bumper was less than a couple of meters away from the three kids.
Dylan, with the last push of his ability, kept his eyes on the red car. He pushed his siblings out of the way and welcomed the red bumper that made him fly meters up in the air and across the ground. Screams echoed as the humans all crowded around to witness the child's demise.
Darius saw everything happen, but the other werewolves still continued with their assault. With tears in his eyes, he dashed to grab Adrian and Megan… and disappeared into the crowd to escape. The other werewolves tried to follow him, but the scent of Dylan's blood wafted into the air greatly. In conjunction with the screams of the humans, they lost Darius and the two other kids.
When the lead pursuer limped into the streets, he saw how a random passerby pediatrician tried to resuscitate the young boy that was bathing in his own blood. Then, the paramedics came to take the child away from the scene. Police had also arrived.
"That kid is dead. Let's look for Darius Walker again. He's going to resurface another time." With a cue from him, the werewolves vanished to collect the bodies of those who were injured by the assault.
…
Loud huffing noises echoed in another alley. Darius was completely distraught that he lost all of his energy. He had the two others next to him, asleep from all the fatigue of terror and the battle. Blood was on his face, but his tears washed the streaks off of his cheeks. Darius stared at the concealed marbling gold and purple sky before crying out loud for a second.
His bloodied hands held onto his face, and he cried into his palms. He didn't know how he even managed to lose one of the treasures so early. Dylan was only five years old. How could his soft body survive such a thing? If miracles did exist, please let it be that Dylan would survive.
Darius knew that his tears would never amount to anything, but he couldn't do anything at the moment. He might not be related to them by blood, but he was still their father. He was the one who took care of them and watched them grow into naughty yet beautiful children. To lose one… especially because he was not strong enough… would be hard to stomach.
After a while, he managed to control his tears. Darius dug into his pocket and held a piece of paper with his shaking hands. It was the paper given to him by his supervisor. He huffed to make his trembling and broken composure go away. His hand fished for his phone and dialed the number that came with it.
When the call got picked up, Darius tried to smile, despite the pain. He needed somewhere to run to, even if it was the house of a stranger. "H-Hello, is this Atty. Morrison? Yeah, so… my supervisor told me I should call you if I need your help? Can you… can we meet today? I really need to see you…"
…
Ding! The microwave pinged after the timer finished counting. Steam was now coming out from the fish that she was saving for dinner. Moreover, the sauce had just finished cooling down at the side of the counter. It wasn't much, but she knew that it could be more than enough.
A plump, black beauty had come to take the fish out and serve it on a platter along with the sauce. Then, she worked on frosting the cupcakes that she kept on the cooling rack. She placed them on another plate before preparing the juice that she had mixed a while earlier.
Her curly hair was up in a ponytail and a cloth headband, while her eyes were brown like the deep chocolate color of some of her cupcakes. She was already donned in her house clothes, but they were still a pair of a simple yellow shirt and light blue linen trousers.
When the doorbell rang that night, she left the food on the counter. With a smile, she came to answer the door. What she didn't expect to see was a group of three that looked awfully shabby. The father had tears on his shirt and walking shorts, the daughter was sleeping on his father's arm, and the son was rubbing his nose as if he had just cried.
She blinked once. "Mr. Sprint? What happened to you?"
"Sorry, can we talk inside? They're too tired from walking…" Darius had to feign a smile to look friendly. He had no idea how much this woman would help him, but perhaps one night was all he needed.
"Sure, come inside. Have you eaten dinner? I prepared fish." The child advocate attorney let them inside her house and closed the door behind them after checking discreetly. She led them to the dining room and let them choose a seat. "Don't be shy. I have hosted some clients before."
"Thank you, Atty. Morrison." Darius woke up Megan and got her to sit next to him. Adrian also chose to sit next to her, the father reaching out to caress his head.
The woman served the fish, which made the two kids perk up their heads. She then returned to serve rice and some plates for everyone. "Please, just call me Rica. My cousin told me about you. It really looks bad if you came to me this early."
She then turned to assess the two kids. "I was told you had three children. Where's the other one?"
"Can we talk about him later?" Darius smiled at Rica, glancing at the two. At this, the attorney nodded and seemed to have a clue of what happened to the third child.
"Daddy, can we eat now? I'm hungry." For a few moments, Megan seemed to have forgotten the situation and hoped to eat the fragrant food in front of her.
"Sure, eat plenty." Rica gestured at the food, and Adrian thanked her before getting portions for Megan. Needless to say, Rica was a little shocked, but it warmed her inside. That was also why she turned to Darius, who only had a small smile on his face when he watched the two.
It was too kind for Rica, but she had helped those who had worse situations. When Adrian and Megan were sleeping on the big couch, she was in the kitchen with Darius. The father volunteered to wash the dishes. He was also telling her a condensed version of the situation he was in.
Darius murmured, "I don't know what to do. If they get to us again, I don't know if I'm going to lose them as well. Sorry, Rica, but… can I leave them to you, even just for one night? I need to find Dylan if he was rushed to any hospital. Dead or alive, I need to find my baby."