Mari had no idea how to grasp the situation, she was now walking down the hall, replaying the events in her mind. So Izzy has magic? She must be like Mari...but did that guy know?
But he had that symbol on his house, it seemed to react to her like the necklace. So he must have known. Ok, what is she gonna do now? How is she gonna solve this, she needs evidence!
Mari was contemplating on her next move, when she heard someone call her. She turned around to see Chelsea, sitting by a table, looking at her.
'Oh god, my lunch with Chelsea!'
Mari immediately ran towards her table and sat down.
"I'm so sorry, I was busy with something and I-"
"No need to worry, It's nice that you still came"
Mari smiled awkwardly, if she hadn't called, she might have just forgotten and walked pass her. They began talking about things that interest them, until the discussion landed on an interesting topic.
"So, talking about deforestation, what do you think about them cutting the great oak tree?"
"Oh that, I don't know, didn't a murder occured there?" Mari asked, maybe Chelsea might have information.
"Yeah, the murder of Elizabeth Denver" She said, her eyes showing sympathy "They never found the killer though"
"I know..."
"Elizabeth's family were horrified after learning what happened, even her sister couldn't take it"
"What do you mean sister?"
"Oh you didn't know?" Chelsea went closer to Mari "She had an older sister, and shortly after discovering the body, she started acting weird"
"What do you mean by 'weird'?"
"Well she would just scream, and thrash about, causing her to be locked up in a mental institute. She would also keep talking about a man killing her sister and that she was after her"
"Really?" Mari started to get more and more interested "Is she still here?"
"Yes! she's in a special building in the hospital, for those with mental disabilities. Her parents died shortly after, so she's alone now"
Chelsea's face visibly darken, causing Mari to cheer her up. They exchange a few more talks and started eating. Mari was so hungry, she devoured her lunch like a hungry pig, Chelsea snickered at this while Mari blushed in embarrassment.
There nice lunch was soon destroyed however, when a certain someone arrived at their table. Chelsea held her head down, while Mari grumbled in annoyance.
"What do you want Bianca?"
"Seems like you and Chelsea are best friends now" Bianca eyed Chelsea, causing the latter to stiffen up.
"Oh Mari I never thought you'd stoop so low as to make friends with 'her'"
Bianca took the glass water beside Chelsea and casually tipped it over, causing it to spill all over her food.
"Ok, what is wrong with you?" Mari stood up, her voice accidently getting louder.
"What do you mean?" Bianca replied nonchalantly.
"Why do you always go after Chelsea, you never physically hurt someone except her. What did she do to you!?"
Mari yelled out the last part, everyone in the lunchroom was now quiet. They looked at the spectacle in awe and interest. Bianca was taken a back by the sudden yell, but nevertheless hid her shocked expression.
"What she did to me? Well why don't you ask her" Mari looked behind her to see Chelsea hold back her tears "Don't get cocky Mari or else you'll regret it, and don't ever. yell. at me. again."
Bianca glared and shoved Mari to side, before storming off. Mari turned around to check on Chelsea, but she was shaking, her tears were falling down.
"She's never gonna forgive me..." Chelsea muttered to herself.
"Forgive you for what?"
Chelsea wiped her tears and dismissed Mari's question, she grabbed her bag and stood up. Mari tried to stop her but she kept her head low, ignoring her. Chelsea turned around and walked away as fast as she can, leaving a confused and worried Mari.
Mari sat back down in the chair, she grabbed her sandwich and took a bite of it. She sat their for a while before continuing her lunch.
Class started to resume and Mari couldn't find Chelsea anywhere. Mari just ignored it, thinking she needs some space. Thinking back to Izzy's sister, if she's here then maybe Mari could talk to her.
Mari decided, she's gonna visit the hospital after school.
______________________________________________
It was already 4:00 PM, Mari was heading to the hospital. She told her parents that she would be late tonight, luckily they said yes.
Walking pass the corner, Mari couldn't help but feel she was being watch. Shrugging it off, she continued walking.
When she arrived at the hospital it was almost 5:00, visiting hours was almost over, so she had to move quick.
After some digging, Mari found that Izzy's sister is Annabelle Denver, located at room 299, fifth floor.
She soon arrived at Annabelle's room, the hallway outside was pretty quiet. Hardly no one walked by, and all the other rooms seem to be empty. Seeing this opportunity, Mari opened the door, unfortunately it was locked.
Mari held back a scream of frustration, she was now getting really tired. She touched the door knob, she released her magic and her hand glowed.
Mari had no idea what she was doing, but she was willing to try anything. She imagined the door opening, the doorknob clicking. Mari concentrated, she was now praying that this would work.
Miraculously, the door opened, and Mari couldn't help but jump. She slowly pushed the door, and entered. Mari was met with a normal looking room, it had a bed, a table and even a chair.
But what caught Mari's attention however was the woman that was huddling in the corner. She was fidgeting and mumbling something.
"Uhm...hello?"
The woman stopped, she was now frozen in place, staring at the wall in front of her.
"Do you happen to be Anabelle Denver?" again, the woman was quiet "I'm Mari, and I'm here to ask you about your sister, Izzy"
The woman turned around, her face was extremely pale, her hair all over the place. She looked at Mari, her eyes staring directly at her. There was a silence, no one dared to make a muscle, and soon that silence was gone. The woman stood up and lunged herself towards Mari.
Mari shrieked and jumped out of the way, the woman hit the wall and hissed. She stared right back at Mari who was now on the other side of the room.
"You're one of them aren't you?" the woman questioned "You're here to kill me?"
"W-what no!" Mari held out her hands, to show she wasn't gonna hurt her "I'm only here to ask about your sister, for a school project"
"Liar...." The woman said, she grabbed a flower pot from the table and threw it Mari.
Mari dodged and the flower pot hit the wall, shattering. The woman lunged herself again at Mari, this time however, Mari couldn't dodge.
The woman managed to grab hold of Mari and pin her to the ground. The woman looked at Mari's body as if searching for something.
"They must have hid it well.." The woman said to Mari "Maybe it's here..."
The woman was now grabbing Mari's shirt ready to pull it up. Mari thrashed harder causing the woman to hold on tighter. She kicked and managed to hit her leg. The woman fell and Mari stood up, she grabbed the plant in the broken flower pot and threw it at the woman.
The roots started to grow, covering the woman's arms and legs. The woman was now struggling in the ground as the roots continued to thicken until it covered her whole body, only leaving her head.
Mari calmed herself down, that woman took her by surprise. She was strong, Mari could see visible hand prints on her wrist and neck.
The woman stared at Mari, as she realized what was happening to her. Instantly, she went quiet.
"You, you're just like her...just like Izzy" She said to Mari, her eyes glinting with tears "Your special, that means they're after you... they're after you!"
"Who's after me?"
"The Watchers..."
Mari could see the woman shudder at the name, she remembered her time in class, when her teacher talked about them. The Watchers, they're still alive, they're still operating, and they're hunting people like Mari.
Mari was about to say something, when the lights went out. Flashlights shone from the outside, Mari looked through the window and saw silhouettes of people at the end of the hall. They were talking with one another, they were at least three people, but Mari couldn't make out if they were a boy or a girl.
The silhouettes soon turned around and walked towards them. Mari stumbled back and locked the door. The woman looked at her, her eyes widening in realization.
"They're here, quick untie me"
Mari waved her hands and the roots retracted, returning back to their original form. The woman stood up and pointed towards a cabinet.
"Hide, I'll handle this" The footsteps were now getting closer, they could here keys jangling in their pants "They mustn't find you"
Mari was hesitant, but the woman gave her an assuring nod. So she went to the cabinet and opened the door, the woman looked at her and said:
"And whatever happens don't come out"
Mari nodded and closed the door. She huddled in the cabinet, covering herself in clothes. It was dark inside, and Mari couldn't see anything.
The clothes were covering her entire body and Mari started to sweat. She wiped her face and listened closely, she had no idea who these people and why she had to hide. Mari was now getting scared as she continued to calm herself down. Her breathing was now a little heavier but luckily it slowed down.
The door opened and Mari stood back up, her heart beating fast again. She listened as the people forced themselves in.
"Hello Anabelle, how have you been" a voice said, it sound masculine, deep and heavy.
"You've really given us quite the fuss you know" Another voice continued, this time it was higher, a little young sounding.
"And we don't really like that" This time the voice was now feminine, mysterious yet alluring. Mari couldn't help but cover her mouth, afraid of being heard.
There was no sound after that, Mari couldn't help but reach out her hand towards the door. As she neared her hands, she heard a gun shot.
Mari could hear someone fall to the ground, she immediately retracted her hands and covered her mouth. Tears started pouring down, someone just got shot. The door outside slammed shut, and everything became quiet.
With shaky hands Mari opened the cabinet to find the body of Anabelle lying on the floor, covered in a pool of blood. Mari's hands couldn't hold her up and soon let go, she stumbled to the floor clutching her chest.
The sight in front her, although she didn't know this woman, it still felt painful. The same words kept echoing in her mind 'Oh my god...Oh my god...Oh my god'
Mari couldn't breath, she supported herself on the wall and tried to calm down. Her breathing was frantic, her eyes glued to Anabelle's body.
Recovering from her state, Mari stood up, she dusted herself off. She can't be found here, they might think she's a suspect, and Mari had no time to deal with the police. She looked around and realized her finger prints were all over the place.
She grabbed a towel and wiped the cabinet and door knob, until she was sure there were no more finger prints. Returning the towel to her bag, she heard foot steps outside the the room. Panicking she grabbed the towel from her bag and used it to open the window.
Mari climbed out and closed it, she was now standing on the edge of a ledge, her feet, an inch away. She grabbed a near by pipe and used it to balance herself.
Right now it was already night and air was cold. Mari hopped on to another ledge. Luckily it was a wider one and she could walk easily.
She balanced herself and followed the ledge, until she arrived at a fire escape. She hopped off the ledge and climbed down the stairs.
She was now walking by the side of the road, the image of Anabelle, burned in her mind forever. What was she gonna do now, she has no lead, maybe she should go back to that house? She almost got caught, but it's her only move.
Mari decided to visit the house tomorrow, her parents were still wide awake waiting for her, so she has to go home.
"Lloyd where are you!"
Mari screamed in frustration, her eyes releasing tears again. She was not expecting this when she accepted Lloyd's proposal. He promised to help her, and now she's all alone. She has no idea what else to do.