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Talia
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Mom and Dad were once again at a meeting downstairs, but this time I was not allowed to be there. And neither were any of the other kids. I didn't think that Reagan and Rika would be there. Nor did I think that Zachary, Zander, Zayden and Zaley would be allowed to go to the meeting. But, well, I thought that I would be allowed to attend at the very least. I mean, I had been part of this whole thing for weeks. I should be allowed to see what it was that was happening.
Not even Lex and Rudy were there. They were here with me as were Lucas, Porter, and Blair for Reagan and Rika and the quads had their guards here: Silas, Ethan, Gregory, Killian, Julius, Annie, Holly and Winston. Oddly enough though, Westin wasn't here, and he was one of the guards that was assigned to the twins. I didn't know why he was gone though, and that was making me a little on edge. It would be bad if one of their guards just up and quit. It wouldn't set a very good precedent in the community. None of our guards had ever quit before.
“This is such bullshit!” Rika, who had been pacing the room in agitation, whined as she threw herself onto the chair in the corner. “Why the hell can't we just go to school? Huh?” She was glaring at Lucas who was one of the guards that had brought her home yesterday.
“You know why, Princess Rika.” He was being formal, or rather distant. I saw that there was no closeness with them. Then again, he usually guarded Reagan and not Rika.
.....
“No, I don't know. Just because I left school yesterday? I won't do it again. I never want to see Clovio again. I won't see him at school, because I will avoid him. I won't leave school with him either. Just let me fucking go already.”
“Stop being a baby's ass!” Reagan snapped at her. “You think you're the only one that wants to go to school!? Think about it though, there is a lot going on, and Mom and Dad wouldn't keep us home if it wasn't for something major.”
“I know what it is. Clovio and Warrick are part of that fucking group that are..” She trailed off as she looked at Zachary, Zander, Zayden and Zaley. They hadn't really been told about the things that had been happening.
“Don't sugarcoat it for our benefit.” Zaley looked at her and rolled her eyes. “People talk, and I hear better than most. I know that there are people that have died all over the world. And I know that the killers were in California last week. Judging by all of this though, I am guessing that they are here in Trinity Falls or Colorado Springs.”
“Yeah, what she said.” Zachary jabbed his thumb over his shoulder to point at Zaley. He was sitting on the floor in front of her chair with Zander and Zayden. It was like the three of them were protecting her or something. They really did care about her and the way that she was treated. Then again, she got bullied a lot because of the way that she looked. It wasn't normal by human standards.
“Zaley isn't the only one that knows about this stuff. We all do. Mom and Dad think that we don't pay attention to what is happening, but we do.” Zayden, one of the calmest of the boys, spoke up next. “We know, and we're happy to help if we're needed. But we're just kids, and I know that Mom and Dad won't want us involved. Just like they don't want any of you involved.”
“Yeah, well, you only know the basics of what is happening. I know a lot more than any of you.” Rika was trying to sound like she was better than us all. I knew it was just because she was mad about what had happened, but she was starting to piss me off. “I know what to watch out for, so I should be allowed to leave here. I shouldn't have Mom and Dad using orders to keep us from leaving. And all these guards? This is ridiculous.”
“No, Rika, what is ridiculous is you.” Reagan snapped at her before I could say that exact same thing. “You think that you could protect yourself against all of this shit? Think about it, until yesterday afternoon, you wanted one of those people to be your fucking mate! You can't protect yourself from anyone or anything.”
“Fuck you, Reagan!” She snapped at him. This was the most that I had ever seen these two fighting over the years. “I don't need your damn lectures right now. And I don't need to grow up!” She was on her feet again, trying to intimidate him with her size and height. Not that it was bigger or scarier than his.
At this point, I had had enough. I needed to step in and make them see what was really going on. I couldn't let this keep going on. I didn't care if Rika thought that she was better and stronger than me, I had training that she didn't, and I would make her see my point. One way or another.
“Sit down and shut up, Rika. Reagan is right, you need to grow the fuck up.”
“Talia?” Lex gasped when he saw me get up. It was the first comment that came from one of the guards.
“What!?” Rika was equally shocked by my outburst. She didn't seem to process and understand what it was that I was doing. Not at first anyway, but it soon passed. “What the hell did you just say to me, Talia?” She was so moody and pissed off right now. And I understood that she felt betrayed, but she needed to see reason here.
“You heard me. You need to grow up and stop this shit right now. You think you know what is going on because you were lied to by the boy that you like. You weren't even betrayed because, to my knowledge, he never really lied to you about much. He told you he was from an orphanage in Germany, that was true. The only actual lie he told you was his last name. Everything else was just the fluffy bullshit that you were interested in. You have no right to act like this. Not with what is going on in the world right now.” I was starting to breathe a little heavier as I yelled at her, my face red and my eyes narrowed in anger.
“And what do you know about it, Talia? It's not like you actually did anything about this case.” Was she trying to be petty, or did she really think that I was with Mom and Dad just to keep them company?
“What do I know about it? How about the fact that I have seen dozens of dead bodies? How about the fact that I pulled souls from those bodies that these murdering assholes trapped inside of them? I had to talk to these dead people to find out what happened to them. I saw the crime scenes. I know better than anyone what these people have done to their victims because I have had two visions of their kills and watched it happen right before my eyes. And do you see me sitting here and complaining about it? Do you see me whining over the fact that I can't go see my friends? No, you don't. And that is because I know what is really happening. I know that these people use ancient runes to render us defenseless against them. I know that they slit our throats and rip out our hearts. And one of them, he is a real sick son of a bitch. He likes to do things to the women that he kills. He is possibly the worst one of them all. And I have seen it all happening right before my eyes. So don't you just sit there and fucking tell me that I don't know what is going on, Rika. It's you that doesn't understand. It's you that is throwing an unnecessary temper tantrum.”
“T..T..Talia?” She was looking at me with her eyes opened wide. “I..I..I didn't know that you saw all of that.” I didn't know why she was looking at me with so much sympathy, at least not at first. “Tally?!” She came closer to me and cradled my face against her chest. “I am so sorry. You are right. I have been a bitch. I've been so immature. I was being stupid. I am so sorry.” She was crying and it was then that I realized that I was crying as well. The tears on my face were being dried by her shirt. “Please, Talia, don't be mad at me anymore.”
“Hahh.” I sighed against her chest. “I am not mad at you, Rika. You just need to stop being so childish. I know that this is hard, and that you want to see your friends, but we're not the only ones that are home. All of them are. Lyssa, Alexa, Levi, Luka, Elias, everyone from the university have been kept home, and all the children of the guards and all of our cousins that go to the school with us, they are all home too. No one wants to risk things right now. And that is why none of us are allowed to go back until they have all been caught.”
“I..I..I didn't know, Talia. I didn't know that they were all home. I didn't know that we were all in that sort of danger.”
“We are, Rika. They are targeting five people from the city. Five girls that they want to kill and send a message to us with. Mom and Dad know though, and I am sure that they are going to stop it. That is why they are in a meeting right now. Everyone is trying to make sure that no one else dies. And I don't blame Mom and Dad for being so worried about us that they keep us home from school. They don't want to risk it.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
“Talia?” Reagan called out to me, I hadn't paid attention to the fact that he walked over to where I was with Rika and was now standing close to me. “I am sorry that you have been through all of that.” He pulled me from Rika and hugged me tightly. “I am sorry that you have had to see those horrible things.”
For the rest of the day, we talked about other things, more positive things. And no one else complained about the situation that we were in. Our meals were brought to us, and we all played video games and boardgames with each other. It was a nice day, really. I think that we siblings needed to have this time together to strengthen our bonds.
