Part 2

Here's part 2! 

Sorry if this is kind of long; I had a little too much fun writing it.

Also, character bios are in the works, possibly to be posted in the future.

Anyways, I think that's all. 

Enjoy!

An hour later, they pulled into the parking lot of a boarding school with David grumbling about guest parking fees. He parked and said, "Time to go get your sister, Jacob,"

"Why should I listen to you?" the kid crossed his arms and stared back at David.

"Because I said so. And because if you want your sister to be safe, you'll go get her."

"What if no one listens to me?" he spoke with the same tone of bravado as before, but a slight quiver flowed through his voice; like the first tremor before an earthquake.

"They will," David exuded confidence, "Act like you belong, like nothing is out of normal and no one will question you. Tell them that there's a family emergency, your parents are waiting outside and you need your sister. You'll be fine,"

                                                                                                                                               

Inside, Jacob took a deep breath and approached the lady at the front desk.

"What can I do for you?" she asked in a bored tone.

"I need to get my sister," Jacob tried to swallow, but his throat was dry. He continued, "We had a sort of family emergency and my parents are waiting for us,"

"And your sister's name would be...?"

"Nicole. Sorry. Nicole Freedmont,"

"Alright, I'll send someone to get her. Any idea how long she'll have to be away?"

"No my parents didn't say. They haven't told me much of anything yet, but have her pack for a couple of days. That's what my mom said,"

"Just sit over there and wait for her, then," the woman didn't even give him so much as another glance. After what felt like a thousand years, but was really only five minutes, Nicole came down. Dressed in a plaid skirt, white, button-up shirt and a pull-over sweater, she was the picture of over-eager freshman.

"Jacob?" She said, "What's going on? Is everyone okay?"

"Let's go. I'll tell you in a minute." She hesitated.

"Come on, Nicole!" At last she followed him out the door. Outside on the sidewalk, Jacob stopped and turned to his sister. He couldn't speak. To speak would turn this haze of confusion into reality. When at last he forced the words out, his voice was emotionless and monotone in a way that surprised him.

"Mom and Dad are dead," Nicole didn't say anything. She stared at her feet. An innocent and child-like pair of feet in saddle shoes and white knee socks. The left sock was slipping down her leg. Jacob stared at her, unsure what to do. He made a point of being sure of himself, and in the past it had never been that hard. Today, everything had been turned upside down.

"Come on," he tugged on her hand, hoping for, needing a response, "There's two people parked over there around the corner. They brought me here. They want to help. I'll tell you what they said."

                                                                                                                                               

"Okay. Thanks Uncle Joe. Yeah, I'll let you know. Bye," Kelsie hung up the phone just as Jacob and his sister rounded the corner.

"What'd he say?" David asked.

"He said we should take them to a relative and try and explain the situation,"

"Again with the explanations!" Kelsie didn't answer.

"You okay, Kelsie?"

"Hmm? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He gave a her a Look. It was the I'm-Your-Big-Brother-So-Don't-You-Dare-Lie-To-Me Look.

"I'm fine. Really, David."

"Good. I need you." Then he got out and opened the trunk for Jacob. Once they were back in the car, Jacob said, "This is my sister, Nicole."

"I'm David. This is Kelsie,"

"Nice to meet you," she murmured.

"Do you guys have any relatives we can take you to?" Kelsie asked.

"No," Jacob replied, "Our grandparents on both sides are dead, and both our parents were only children."

"Lovely," David muttered. Kelsie punched him in the thigh.

"Well, I guess you'll have to stay with us for a night until we figure something out," he said.

"Why??" two voices exclaimed. David opened his mouth, but Kelsie spoke first, scrambling for the right words.

"Well, the people who killed your parents will come after you too. Our original plan was to take you to some relatives and try and explain. But since that's obviously not going to happen, we have to think of something else. But we also have to keep you safe. And right now, the safest place is with us. You're just going to have to take it on faith, if you don't believe me," There was silence in the back seat and David took this as his cue to start driving. His face settled into a frown and he didn't look back until they were on the highway.

A quiet sound broke the silence in the car. Kelsie barely noticed it at first. She glanced back to see Nicole curled in a ball quietly sobbing. Jacob had an arm around her, and his eyes glistened with un-shed tears he refused to let fall. She knew no words that would help the pain. She didn't believe any existed. So she closed her eyes and rested her head on the cold window.

David glanced over at his sister. It was unfair. This should never have happened to them. To the kids in the back. To Kelsie. He knew what she kept behind locked doors in her mind. All because of that one day a year ago. And he couldn't change a single thing. I can't change it, but I can drown it.

He turned on the radio and stepped on the gas.

Story Time: Part 1

This is an experiment. However, since I'm mostly doing it for my own entertainment, it'll most likely keep going no matter how many people actually are interested in it. 

So here's how this is gonna go. I cam up with a story idea and I'm going to write it in sections, developing the story and characters as I go. I'll post it each time with the label "Story Time" so they can be found all in the same place. 

That's about it. Here goes!

"Look at this masterpiece," David said as his sister Kelsie walked in. He held up a sandwich stacked high with meat and cheese and who knew what else. Kelsie rolled her eyes.

"Disgusting,"

"Come on, Kels! It's not that bad! Look, I made on for you, too," Kelsie eyed the slightly less enormous sandwich as though it might attack her.

 "The last time you made me a sandwich I felt like puking for the rest of the day,"

"This one's normal. Promise!" Kelsie accepted it and took a bite.

"Okay, this is actually good," she admitted.

"See? Anways, what did you find?"

"There's a used book shop that looks promising. Lots of old stuff. I found out where that family lives. Oh, and it looks like the Suits are here too,"

"The sooner we get going the better, then," He grabbed a set of car keys off the bedside table. Together, they walked out into the motel parking lot and got into David's car--a bright blue 1960's mustang.

"Where do they live?" David asked.

"On Walden street. I don't remember the number, but trust me, you'll sense it when we're there," A few minutes later, after they turned onto Walden Street, Kelsie pointed to a modest house painted a soft beige with a welcoming front porch.

"There," she said, 'The door's open."

"That's not good," David replied, "Let's go." He got out of the car and pulled a pistol out from underneath the car seat. Kelsie did the same. Inside the house, everything was quiet, but there was a smell. When they came to the staircase, they found the source of the odor. Two dead bodies, a man and a woman lay at the foot of the stairs. David sighed and shook his head.

"Come on. We have to check upstairs too," Kelsie nodded, but he'd said it as much for his own benefit as for hers. At the top of the stairs there was a spacious landing, and then a hallway. Every door was open except for one at the end. When they reached it, David turned the nob, and then shoved the door open. It hit the other wall with a loud thud.

"Who are you? Why did you kill my parents?" Inside stood a boy with a pale face and fists held in front of him, though he obviously didn't know what to do with them. David and Kelsie both tucked their guns inside the back waistbands of their jeans.

"Oh wait. You're not the same as those other guys," the boy lowered his fists as he realized his mistake.
"Who are you?" he added.

"Time for introductions later. They could be back. You have ten minutes to pack everything you need for a couple of days,"

"What?? Why??"

"Look, kid. Those people who killed your parents are dangerous. Unless you want to be killed, you have to get out of here. You'll get a full explanation in the car. Clear?" The kid nodded, and began packing.

"Do you have any siblings?" Kelsie asked.

"I have a sister."

"Where is she?"

"At school. She goes to a boarding school for really smart kids." He zipped up his backpack. "I'm ready."

"Good. Can you tell me how to get to your sister's school?" David asked.

"Yeah," In short order, they were across the street and in the car. As David started it up, their new companion crossed his arms.

"So. It's explanation time," he said. David glanced at Kelsie, who stared at him.

"Why do I always have to do the explaining?" he asked.

"Privilege of age. You're older." she replied.

"By one year!"

"I'm too young," she continued without listening, "Therefore to naive and immature to give an appropriate explanation. The task falls to you," She stopped talking and grinned.

"First things first," David said, ignoring his sister, "What's your name?"

"Jacob,"

"I'm David, and this is my sister Kelsie. I don't know how to put this, so I'm just going to say it: You're a magician."

"I'm--what? But magic isn't even real!"

"Oh yes it is. You're a magician, your sister is, and both your parents were. Kelsie and I are as well. The people who killed your parents are anti-magician for some reason, and they kill every single magician they can find. Which is troublesome, because magicians work hard to keep themselves secret. Pretty much all we know about these people is that they're trying to kill us, and that they always wear suits. They're dangerous, and that's why we made you leave. That's about all you need to know right now."

"If I'm a--a magician, but I didn't even know it, how did you find me?"

"Every magician, even an untrained one, has a sort of sense, or an aura you might say, around them," Kelsie answered, "It lets you know who is a magician, and it's one of the first things you'll learn." By this time, they were pulling onto the highway.

"I just can't believe it," Jacob muttered as he turned to look out the window.

To be continued...