"I did not sign up for this" Glint said, running his hands through his hair.
"we don't involve children remember?" he said agitatedly.
Eyes wide open, he had grabbed Griffith's shirt by the collar, the moment he heard the word burn it.
"remember Glint the end justifies the means. Griffith said smirking.
"Are you two going to sit there while he murders three innocent children who for all we know, might not even have it"
Shaun shrugged, Bart followed suit.
"if it provides a solution, why not" Bart replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"think for a moment Glint...we killed their parents. What happens once they come of age?
Remember the story every little boy learns of disobedience while growing up as a child.
The one about the first Jewish king, Saul who was commanded by the prophet Samuel to wipe out Amalek. Saul was victorious against the Amalekites, but spared the nicest of their flocks and the Amalekite king, Agag and before he was killed, Agag had a child who would eventually keep Amalek's lineage alive.
Some 500 years later, one of this child's descendants was Haman the Agagite, of Purim fame. He came back and I'm sure damn well, knowing of his history, to fuck up the Israelites"
"Well he ended up being hanged and your point exactly is?" Glint asked.
"my point is, we could end up getting fucked. This whole thing might come back and blow up in our fucking faces. I know everybody dies eventually but I'll very much prefer a calm quiet death in my house, surrounded by family and grandkids and probably some great grand children. Not somewhere in a ditch with a bullet in my head, or worse hacked to pieces"
Griffith smirked.
"fuck!" Glint said, kicking over the center table.
"relax man ...sheesh...I never knew you for a softie" Shaun said, rolling his eyes.
"The mighty Glint the dread, shaking and shrieking in his pants over killing three little kittens" Griffith mocked, smirking.
Bart and Shaun chuckled and Glint threw them a death glare.
Just as Glint was about to fire a retort of his own, William walked in.
"we need to leave. Fire attracts a lot of things. Top of it, attention. This place would be swarming in minutes with the police and reporters and Lord knows what else"
The men said nothing. Barth pocketed his phone.
One after the other, they walked briskly out of the mansion.
Each man walked into his own car and drove off.
They left their men behind to comb the entire house and ensure they had left no trace of their brief visit...well except for the trail of dead bodies.
William stood and looked at the mansion for a brief moment, before getting into his car.
"there's no going back now" he reaffirmed to himself as he pulled out of the Hart estate.
*******
The Hart kids felt the heat increase as they raised their voices, shouting for help but none came. They could no longer stand close to the entrance and they began taking a step back one at a time.
Just then, the back of the cave gave way and the three of them tumbled backwards into the darkness of the ravine below.
The force of the current pushed and pulled the children.
Jon and Annie were excellent swimmers but Bertha was not.
When they landed in the water, she flailed her hands helplessly all the while, gulping down loud mouth fulls of water.
"Bertha!" Jon and Annie screamed as they struggled to get to their sister.
"stop struggling" Annie said the moment she was at her side.
"put your hands round my neck and Jon's neck" she said, helping her to carry out the instruction.
They tried to move but their bags were a problem and adding Bertha's weight, they were unable to move.
"Take off your bag" Annie screamed at her brother.
"why! there's nothing to live on if we loose Everything in it" he replied, his voice competing with the sound of the raging water
"if you have plans of being dead meat, Keep hanging on to it just don't pull me along with you" Annie screamed right back.
Hearing that, Jon dumped his bag.
They managed to get safely to the shore and collapsed in a heap on the shore, gasping for air. Too exhausted to move, they passed out, their hands and legs spread wide.
********
A woman thin, pinch featured with a mop of flame coloured hair walked along the banks of a river. Her hair danced in the wind as she walked, not in any sort of hurry, no destination in mind. She just walked.
A faint wisp of chanel danced in the wind, following her trail.
Her morning walks were something of a routine. Something she often did to clear her head of the stress of her hustle and bustle life, and think. It was her quiet place.
Today, she was wearing a deep green gown which sharpened her hair colour and a yellow scarf patterned like a rattlesnake.
She hadn't walked far from her house when she saw.
She sighted three humps, huddled together on the shore, arms and legs spread wide apart. As she moved closer, she got a better view.
Three children were lying down on the bare sand with no sign of motion save for the rise and fall of their chests. Evidence of a beating heart.
She quickly ran to them, clueless at what to do first, then she checked touched them. She placed her head on their chests to hear the sound of their heartbeats and to make certain her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.
As she touched the forehead of the youngest one, she discovered she drew her hands back in quick motion. The child was burning up.
She hurriedly picked her up and ran the entire way to her house.
" Sammie! Sammie! Sammie!" she screamed, the moment she was through the doors. She didn't bother to close it as she came in.
"what is it! It's too early to be a bother" came a sleep ladden voice from the stairs.
"oh shut up and get your lazy sleepy ass out here"
"what now you kno..." she began, pausing midway and gasped audibly when she saw the child in her cousin's arms, her drowsiness instantly vanishing from her eyes.
"what's going on?" asked Sammie, a girl with the same mop of flame coloured hair, high cheekbones tan skin and not so skinny.
"No time to ask questions. Think of something... anything...and fast too. She's burning up and there are two more on the river bank" Catherine said, laying Bertha down on a Cushion.
"two more" Sammie asked wide eyed.
She had barely completed her statement when Catherine bolted out the door.
Sammie hurried after her.
They had trouble lifting Annie because of her size but after a little combined effort, they managed to get her on Sammie's back.
Catherine had no trouble lifting Jon which was totally surprising, if a person were to judge by her size and skinny looks.
Together they headed back.
The moment they were inside, Catherine hurried upstairs to get blankets and pillows which they made use of and settled the children a tad comfortably.
Sammie fetched a bowl of cold water she had obtained by repeatedly emptying recyclable canned bottles of water in the fridge and a clean towel.
She dipped the towel in the bowl, gave a little squeeze and placed the wet towel on Bertha's head.
"I wonder what their story is" Sammie muttered.
Catherine fetched aspirin and grounded it into powder then she mixed it with water.
She gently lifted Bertha's head and placed it on her lap then she used her hands to pry her lips open.
She poured the content of the cup she was holding into her mouth. The liquid flowed out of her mouth and wet Catherine's dress and also soaked a little part of the blanket.
Bertha stirred and tears trickled down her eyes as she slept.
She began to mutter incomprehensible words.
Catherine and Sammie exchanged looks.
Catherine bent and placed her ears close to Bertha's lips to hear what she was saying.
It was faint, but she could barely hear the word "mamma" being uttered again and again.
"She's calling her mother" Catherine said.
Her eyes moved to where the other two lay.
They didn't look like they were having pleasant dreams either which piqued her curiosity even more.
"let's leave them to rest" she said, lifting the cold wet towel to place her hand on Bertha's forehead.
She was no longer burning up but her skin was soft to the touch.
She gently set her head down and got up, leaving her sister to repeat the towel and water process, and keep an eye on the kids.
"I'll be back" she said to her cousin.
Sammie didn't lift her head up but nodded in acknowledgement.
She went back to where she found the children hoping to find a clue of who they were and what they were doing or up to, before ending up on the river bank.
She found two bags, floating in the river, heading downstream.
She picked up a branch and pulled the bags towards her direction.
One look at the contents of the bags, she got the idea who they belong to.
She picked them up and walked back to the house.
When she got back, Annie saw was awake.
"hello" she said to her.
Annie just stared.
"she's been like that since she woke not saying anything...just staring" Sammie said.
"what happened to you. Where is your family...what were you three doing at the river bank ... I found you three unconscious...are they your siblings" Catherine asked between breaths.
"hey easy inspector .... she's just waking up let her get a grip. She woke up with a scream..I had to calm her down" Sammie replied.
Just then, Annie began to cry. Her shoulders shook as she wept, unable to control the tiny stream she was creating.
"oh dear" Sammie muttered as she watched her cry.
She scooted over and pulled her close to her chest.
Annie held on to Sammie's loose fitting shirt and cried her heart out.
Sammie and Catherine helplessly watched, Sammie gave Annie soft taps on her back to comfort her.
After her shaking and crying had ceased, Annie wiped her stray tears with the back of her palms and sat up straight.
Catherine didn't need any prompting. She went straight to the kitchen and brought food.
Annie ate with relish.
In few minutes, the food in the entire plate vanished.
Catherine and Sammie exchanged looks. Sammie went to the kitchen and brought another plate loaded with food which she placed in front of Annie.
They both watched while she ate, with Sammie turning check on Bertha occasionally. Her fever had dropped.
After Annie had finished eating, she visibly relaxed.
Flashes of images flickered across the TV screen.
The reporter, a brunette in a crisp baby pink coloured suit, stood behind a camera as she covered a story. Several other voices of reporters could be heard at the background as well as movements behind her. Police officers, fire rescue services, paramedics and other reporters. It was like a movie scene.
Catherine turned the volume up.
"...at this time, it is unsure wether there are any survivors of the incident.....the gruesome event, which many believe to be an assassination took place in the early hours of this morning. Till now, the body count is at 15, including the recently appointed minister, his wife and servants....The wareabouts of their three children are still unknown and at the time of this correspondence, no bodies of the children have been found...."
The camera zoomed in on the entrance of the building she stood in front of. Bodies were being moved out of the house on stretchers, white cloth which still showed the body outline though providing a light cover as a measure of decency.
They both turned to look at Annie just then, Bertha screamed.