Third Person's POV
Ryker was seated in the back seat of one of the trucks of Hendrix Security Council. He was quiet the entire time as he watched the men carry his friend's corpse into the ambulance.
He hadn't even settled the matter with Jo and another one had begun. His eyes stung but he had no tears to cry. His soul had chosen to remain numb in response to the negativity surrounding him.
He was pulled out of his trance when the doors of the truck closed. His father and about 3 other male members of the council had already settled into the seats and they were driving down the narrow path.
Soon enough, they came to a halt in front of the infirmary. They all got down leaving Ryker alone in the car while the members of the paramedics wheeled Anna to the other building beside the infirmary. Ryker let his eyes follow their every movement until the glass doors shut behind them and they took a turn.
"Are you alright son?" Jace, Ryker's father asked as he entered into the vehicle through the back door. Ryker remained quiet while Jace ran his hand through his silk hair.
"I know you don't want to talk right now but I promise I'd look into this. Try giving yourself a little break from all of this"
Once again, Jace was met by complete silence. He let his head fall back and the thoughts took that as their cue to flood his mind. After a few minutes of thinking, Jace let out a sigh and got down from the vehicle closing the door with a small thud.
Ryker let his eyes follow his dad's silhouette and once he was out of view, he let out a sigh of his own and made his way to his favourite spot.
"""
Ryker sat on a rock as he looked at the water. There were tiny ripples on the surface and if he wasn't wrong, he could locate a mother duck and five smaller ducklings. He let his mind wander to all the situations on ground and his lips sub consciously pursed into a thin line. He felt a liquid on his legs and he looked up to see some turbulent waves and he watched the liquid with admirable concentration, only one thought dominant his mind
Calm before the storm
That's his life. So sweet and peaceful with his family friends but now the storm is here to shake him off balance and murder his mental health but then again, he had learned in the early years of his life from his late mother.
Don't try to calm the storm, calm yourself instead 'cause the storm would eventually pass away with time.
Ryker let out a sigh and got up from the rock. From a distance, he observed the mother duck as she ushered her ducklings to the safer side of the river.
He withdrew his gaze from the sight before him and dug his palms into his pockets and made his way to his room. After a quick brush and face wash, he removed his clothes, tossed them into his laundry basket at the corner of the room and slammed his body to the bed, clad in nothing but his undergarments.
"""
Jude opened her eyes as she felt the sun plant warm kisses on her skin through the little opening the curtains had failed to cover. She got up from Jo's bed and went over to the curtains to pull them together. She checked the time on Jo's digital clock on her locker and for the first time in a few years, she actually slept for an extra four hours. Luckily, she didn't have any morning class.
Jude stretched her muscles out and began to make Jo's bed. She bent down to pick the blanket she'd kicked to the floor and set it on the bed she had cried on all night. Thereafter, she carried her little bag of toiletries and made her way to the bathroom. There were only three girls in the bathroom and Jude guessed they didn't have morning classes too 'cause every other person had already left the dorm.
They were laughing together about stuff while brushing their teeth with nothing covering their body but small white towels. They kept quiet when Jude entered and unspoken words hung in the air, within their reach. Finally, one of the girls decided to speak. She had pale skin, black waist long hair and brown orbs
"Ummm I heard about what happened to your friend and I just want you to take care of yourself"
"Yeah" Another girl added "Veronica has finally gotten her punishment and even though I know that doesn't heal Juno exactly, but I hope that can give you a calming of some sort. "
Jude tossed them a small smile.
"I'm really grateful for your comforting words you guys, well girls actually but you get my point" Jude replied with a low chuckle at the end.
"You can have this stall if you want, I don't mind waiting" The third girl said but Jude shook her head. She appreciated their comforting words and all but she didn't need pity. Her mum had told her quite often and she could almost hear the words of her mum ring in her ears.
It's not wrong to accept comfort and care but never accept pity 'cause pity is for the weak
"No, it's fine. I still need to brush and stuff, you should go in first." Jude finally replied while the girl nodded and stepped into the stall. She carried on with her skin care routine and then had a shower in a separate stall thereafter
Soon enough, Jude returned to her room and got dressed. She clad herself in a black joggers, baggy graphic tee of the same colour and one random black sneakers. For the fun of it, she wore a face cap. As she was lacing up her shoe, the phone began ringing. It was her bf, Alan.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Umm, there's a big problem right now. Can you come to block 5 of the HSC wing."
"I'd be there but what's the problem?"
"I can't really explain now but it's Anna"
"Someone found her?" Jude inquired locking the door and sprinting towards the said location.
"Something like that, just come" Alan concluded with a sigh before ending the call.
JUDE'S POV
My heart pounded in my chest and many thoughts clouded my mind. I couldn't even think straight but all I knew was I needed to see Anna.
To talk to her
To ask her why she scared us that much
And most importantly, to hug her.
I walked into the building and I was met by a very sad Alan. His hair looked very messy, his lips bleeding from biting and his shirt was all crumpled.
"What's the problem?" I inquired as I scanned his features. He just shook his head and pulled me into a room.
Why'd you do that?
I wanted to ask but I couldn't when I took in the sight before me. On the metal platform was Anna's body covered in a white material from her shoulders downward. I could feel my knees give away as I collapsed to the floor.
My heart clenched in pain and I could swear my life flashed before my very eyes. I dug my fingers into my hair and violently grabbed fistfuls while my cap fell to the ground but that's the least of my worries because Anna is dead and Jo is on a sick bed, fighting for her life.
I'm so sick of all of this
Why can't I have a brief moment of peace?
Why is my life like this?
Why do I get broken every time?
Why can't I find solace in this world?
I felt my mum wrap her hands around my petite frame and I took that as my cue to break and let the beads of tears out. At this moment, I don't care if people see me as weak or an attention seeker but I can't hold this emotions, I can't bottle them up anymore.
I've trapped a thousand emotions in this bottle but now, this bottle has fallen, has broken and all these emotions are dominating me. The anger, fear, grief, hatred, they're manifesting at once and I doubt I can tame them.
"My baby girl" Mum mumbled as she planted a soft kiss on my head. I let my head rest on her chest as I balled my eyes out until I fell into a restless sleep.
¤¤¤
I slowly opened my eyes as I adjusted to the lighting of the room. I was on a chair with my head resting on my mother's lap. There were a few uniformed men which were no doubt members of HSC and the others were just Alan and Ryker.
I let out a sigh and closed my eyes once again but let my ears focus on their conversation.
"There were signs of cuts on her skin which makes me believe she might have been killed" One voice said.
"But the cuts weren't deadly enough. From what I believe." Another voice said which was then followed by someone tapping a pen on the table.
"What about self-harm?" Someone finally inquired after a few minutes. The room fell dead silent after the question, no one willing to contribute or perhaps, unsure of what to say.
"Have you guys ever seen her harm before?" Another person asked and was met by no's from Alan, Ryker and my mum.
Of course they haven't, but I had. About two times even and she'd promised me she'd stop. She was clean for about two months and I hardly doubt she would kill herself because Jo is fighting for her life.
Or was there more to it?
I shook the thoughts away and let my mind wander and consider more realistic probabilities of what could have caused Anna's death.
"If that's the case, we'd come to search her room tomorrow. We've assigned other officers to search the forest and conduct a search. Let's hold on and see what'd happen"
"Don't forget, don't let out a word about this case to anyone until it's been sorted. We'd meet tomorrow" A deeper masculine voice added, one I recognized to be Ryker's dad's.
I could hear some shuffling and dragging of chairs but I didn't make any attempt to stand. Mum gently tapped my arm and after waiting for a few seconds, I slowly stirred in my "sleep" and got up whilst stretching my muscles out.
Alan and I had a brief eye contact and like the great boyfriend he is, he took that as a cue to come to my side. Mom gave Alan a look and a tight lipped smile then released me to him before walking towards the officers. Alan intertwined our fingers together as we walked towards the infirmary to see Jude.
We didn't say anything until we reached there, just let ourselves appreciate the presence of each other. Alan opened the door and we both walked into the room.
Aiofe and Lilith were already seated and from the looks of it, they hadn't noticed our presence because they were engrossed in their convo. I knocked twice on the door to attract their attention and almost immediately, their eyes snapped to our direction.
"Hey, how are you guys doing?" Aiofe asked with her sweet diamond-like smile.
"Fine thank you, Aiofe" I said
"No you're not. You're so broken" My inner voice said but I chose to ignore it.
"Guess what?" Lilith asked with a soft smile on her face which means it's a really good thing because she rarely smiles
"I don't know" Alan said
"But I told you to guess"
"But I don't know"
"Ugh, you're no fun." She said with a scoff as she turned to me. "Aiofe was able to come up with a way to wake Jo up.
"Really?"
"Yeah" Aiofe replied. "There's a portion we can use. We just have to find someone who can go back in time and give Juno the portion. If she successfully gives her and she drinks it, all will be well."
"That should be easy" I replied
"Yeah" Alan added but Lilith shook her head.
"Not as easy as you think. Time travel is one of the rarest powers in Hendrix cause not only does it affect the future but it also doesn't allow nature to take it's course."
"Oh...."
"That makes sense" Alan and I said.
"Of course it does, it came from my mouth" Lilith said.
"They should be here any minute" Aiofe said
"Who?" I asked
"Uhhh, just this girl who can time travel and her mentor"
"I thought you said..."
"Shhhh... they're here" Lilith said when she heard the first door close.
A young lady who I assumed to be in her early twenties walked in with a girl holding her.
"Alan, Jude, meet Ashley and Harper. You guys, this is Alan and Jude." Lilith introduced.
"Hey" Ashley said. She had black, synthetic waist long hair and porcelain skin. Her face was oval shaped and her Hazel orbs complemented her beauty.
I let my eyes move to the little girl beside her. She was a small girl with shoulder length blonde hair, and a really healthy skin that I was so tempted to rub.
"Hello" Harper said waving
"How you doing?" Alan said kneeling on one knee so as to match her height.
"I'm fine. I really love your hair though" she replied as she patted Alan's head while he let out a chuckle.
"So, how old are you?" Lilith asked interrupting their little moment
"Ten. I'm a big girl right?" Harper said with a grin
"Ten?" Aiofe asked looking at Ashley.
"I know she's young"
"I heard that" Harper chipped in, folding her hands across her chest with a little pout on her lips. Alan chuckled and patted her head while Ashley carried on.
"She's the best option."
"How far can she travel and stuff?"
"Umm, the last she did was three years back?"
"Just three years?" Lilith inquired with a scoff. Aiofe bit her lip in response to the information and after a few minutes she said.
"I'm afraid this method won't work since we need her to travel about two centuries back in time"
And once again, my heart broke. This demon called hope had won me again.