[IC] The dark heart +18 mature/viloence/language

[Airalin]

I didn't know what I had expected, but talking to the mirror was a complete failure. perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing.

I responded to Vivian's text, telling her that I was feeling quite nervous before recounting the day's events: I mentioned the girls' attempt to attack me, how they had been found injured later and sent to the hospital, and how Frank had mentioned the necklace. Once the message had been sent, I crept back to my room, carefully avoiding an encounter with Frank. He would have questions - questions I couldn't answer even if I wanted to.

Once I had closed my bedroom door behind me, I breathed out a sigh of relief. However, the feeling was quickly overwhelmed by anxiety as I mulled over my situation. The necklace seemed firmly out of my reach, at least for the time. Perhaps I could hire a private investigator, someone to find out who purchased the necklace, and have him put me in contact with its new owners. For the right price, they could surely be persuaded to part with it. The plan was a long shot, but it was my only lead.

[Markofkri]

Unfortunately during the conversation with the private eye and negotiating the monthly expenditures you looked into your account and it was empty. You recall the conversation giving permissions to Amanda to fund her lawyer battle. You withdraw the offer and hang up. You felt the trapped feeling again. The stress was a little munch after the ordeal earlier. The bed was comfortable. You fell asleep quickly. You even had a dream so detailed you thought it was real.

You woke from your bed to a quiet house. You looked out the window and saw the void. Beyond the walls of the house was nothing. The world was gone. Normally most people felt fear or confusion at this point. You noticed your hands were perfectly still. In this version of your room the large mirror was still on the wall. You watched as you walked toward it. The mirror giving no reflection as you got closer and finally walked through it. It felt like breaking the surface of water. You felt a slight pressure surrounding you. Looking around your door open but in the real world your door was closed.

You walked to the door moving away from the edge of the mirror you just stepped though. Into the hallway you turned right you walked past the dinning room and the foyer. Down the adjoining hall you heard humming coming from behind one of the doors further down the hall. The pictures on the walls were distorted. The windows showed the void. "Hm-hm, hm-hm, hm-hm, hum-hum-hm, hm-hm." The sound repeated. It didn't get louder as you approached. The door was slightly vibrating in time with the humming. You didn't want to in fact at this point you were standing beside your self telling you twin not to open the door to run and leave it alone. The perspective shifted back and forth as you told your self you had no choice. It wanted me. It needed me. You screamed silently at yourself as your image/you opened the door. Everything fell away.

It was a section of beach. Just you, you, and Jamie. There was an umbrella and a blanket you could feel the sand under you the waves continued but made no sound it was night but the sand and the water reflected a day appearance. The sand was bright and the water was a clear blue. You saw faces in the water. They were blurred from the waters distortion. "You came I knew you would. I'm sorry for my part in the attack." Jamie kept staring at the ocean as she talked to you. "I guess I didn't make it. To be honest I'm glad. I didn't want to be there anyway. I don't want to go back. I made a friend here. This is Eva. She told me she would sit with me." Turning to yourself you hear you say the words in your own voice without producing the will to evoke such action. "I did not do this. The house is protective of you. There is a reason its the family home. It's haunted and not at the same time. No individual spirit holds sway here. Its more like a stain." You lean closer to yourself. "The necklace has left an impression so deep in the house that it can reach out to us. The necklace knows where we are and when it is needed. It woke the house a shadow of the original power to save you. Kind of like a better big brother it is not bound by the rules to harm you." You have to wake us now. Don't worry we will be here." Jamie tries to tell you something but the sound is gone. Muffled by the humming.

You wake up as the humming turns into the vibration from your phone on the night stand. Vivian sent a message. "Morning I'm at the lawyers waiting for the papers."

[Airalin]

That dream... had it been real?

A house that would protect me without hurting me in exchange. It was a comforting thought, one that I wouldn't just ignore. If there was any chance that I would be unconditionally protected here, then I couldn't leave. Perhaps it would be unwise to ever leave. That meant I was stuck here whether Frank stayed or not. Except...

If the house would protect me unconditionally, then it was safe to put myself in danger as long as I remained here. I could push Frank to the point of violence and the house would prevent any harm from coming to me. In short, I could convert my protection into a weapon.

Of course, my dream could have only been a dream. It would be unwise to rely on that sort of protection unless I had no alternative, so I would have to keep my plan in reserve. Still, it felt much better to have some sort of back up plan at the ready.

I texted Vivian back, asking her how she was and how the proceedings were going. If all went well, we would be able to get rid of Frank before the situation could become too serious. For now, I had to get more information, and that meant tracking down Amanda. I dressed myself casually before making my way to the breakfast table. First and foremost, I needed to figure out what had happened to Frank's brats, especially Jamie. If she was really dead... that would give me all the more reason to trust in my dream. Of course, I couldn't ask Amanda about that outright. I would have to be very tactful in my prodding, or else risk revealing how much I knew.

[Markofkri]

Vivians reply: Thing are in the paper phase. I have eviction papers but since they have to be notarized and delivered to the person via third party its going to take time. The lawyers are defending the will of your mom and at the same time defending the guardianship of Amanda over you until you turn twenty one. The question was brought up of emancipation but it was argued that you would just be on your won until the twenty first birthday. So nothing would change really.

At breakfast was blessed by no sight of Frank. It was just you and Amanda. "The three nieces are in the hospital. They were severely beaten by blunt objects. The doctor said bats more then likely. Unfortunately Jamie was in a psychotic vegetative state. She must of snapped and assaulted the two in the barn. Then froze from the guilt of her actions. Jamie was the only one untouched so it made sense. They would be staying in the hospital until they could walk again. Honesty I'm not surprised with this family. It's only a matter of time until they would have snapped anyway."

[Airalin]

So Jamie was only in a vegetative state. That still could explain her presence in my dream, her claim that she would not return. Could it be that the dream was real?

"What about me, Amanda?" I asked, "Do you think some horrible fate is bound to befall me, too?"

Of course, I could hardly blame her if she did think that. It seemed that everyone living here ended up suffering. But maybe that was because they were opposing me - ever since getting rid of the necklace, I myself had not experienced any great misfortune. So it was decided - fanciful delusion or not, this house would remain my castle, and anyone who made my life more miserable would have to suffer. That meant Frank was next in time, and his bimbo of a wife, too. I didn't feel that the airheaded woman needed to suffer - she hadn't done me any harm - I just wanted rid of her. And I would have it! Whether I was emancipated or not, I was the queen of this castle!

[Markofkri]

"I think that if anyone deserved a break it would be you. Eva, you are the only person who has a legitimate claim to the chip on their shoulder. If it wasn't for your hardship I probably wouldn't be here. I don't normally get all sappy but what this family has done to you and not for you burns me the longer I think about it. I am glad if those girls learned what real pain was. Jamie was justified." She rubs her temples with her hands. "I'm sorry I don't mean to dump on you. I just need a minute." Amanda gets up and leaves.

You get a message on your phone. A E-mail from IP address 09023259012743 to ERROR SREVER ERROR. "I don't give a damn find it. Its not on her neck so its got to be here some where tear the place apart! I'll raise the price if you find it within 48 hours." Its the same number as your kidnapping email.

[Airalin]

First Father had been behind my kidnapping... now Frank? Had the whole thing been a family conspiracy?

Where was Frank searching? In this house? If so, who was he emailing? It could have been his wife, of course, or he might have been in league with one of my guards. It could even be Amanda. Nobody here could be trusted!

I wanted to believe Amanda was really on my side, but I had been betrayed far too many times to be so naive. Anyone could be an enemy. That meant I had to do everything myself.

No... I might have one accomplice, one entity I could consider my ally despite how crazy it sounded to do so.

"House," I murmured. "Hurt Frank. I... want him dead!"

I dashed down a random hallway, beginning my search, uncertain what I would do to Frank even in I found him. After spending so long locked up, I was still wobbling a bit much to be running... but I had to risk it! Frank seemed to know something about the necklace, and it was bound to be a danger to me! Therefore, he had to die at once!

[Markofkri]

running down the hall way looking for frank you stop dead in your tracks as you pass one of the mirrors you see Jamie. She breathes on her side of the glass and writes you a message. "The house is brother not Freddy. Only the necklace seeks violence but hurts you as well. Freddy can make brother angry." The message fades. She sinks out of sight. You stare at a mirror with out your reflection. The door behind you in the reflection opens and you step out. Taking your place an mimicking your movements once more.

[Airalin]

So it was all real!

Jamie mentioned a Freddy, but... who was Freddie? How did Jamie know anything about all this? The events happening around me brought more questions to light than they did answers! But I needed to stop Frank, and fast!

"Where is Frank?" I asked the mirror, "Can you kill him for me? He's trying to do something that would hurt me... he wants to mess up my life all over again! He even might be responsible for the things that happened in my past... so, please, help me stop him!"

[Markofkri]

Your reflection pointed to the door behind you. The door opened. You looked back at your reflection and saw that Eva walk in the room and close the door. Your door remained open and without moving the room came to you. Closing the door behind you saw a hand motioning from the beds mirrored canopy. It wanted you to come to the bed. A you looked up the image of you and Jamie sitting on the bed in the same outfit you wore and Jamie had on last. They waved at you. Jamie stayed on the bed but the reflection of Eva Jumped up and dropped next to you. She sounded and had your mannerisms but a different personality. It was causing your let eye to twitch slightly.

"I don't have munch time. The curse is working its way back to us. The deaths we have caused binds it to me. It will find me." Eva slaps you, and tilts her head to the side. "I am not you." another Eva taps you right shoulder. "But this is the familiar image that we are comfortable with until I can look past the obvious." Another Eva walks into your peripheral vision. "I have a problem and if we want the necklace and the death of frank then maybe you should kill him." Another Eva appears where you weren't looking. "The house and those that dwell here can hear us but the necklace is the will." Another Eva says, We have nothing without it." A new Eva says, "Not all of us are on your side." All the Eva's at the same time minus you say, "We have enemies on both sides of the mirror. I cant alter my fate. But perhaps we can. Stop Frank. find the necklace and learn more of it." They descend on you and you wake up in the room looking at yourself in the mirrored ceiling. Only a few hours have passed.

[Airalin]

That dream was confirmation. I had completely lost my mind!

I couldn't find Frank on my own, so I decided to search for Amanda instead, heading toward her room. With her help, perhaps I could get the guards on my side, and we could all hunt down Frank collectively. I would murder him myself if I had to, just like all my reflections suggested!

However, stopping Frank would only ensure he didn't get his hands on the necklace. He clearly did not know where it was. That meant I needed to find some other way to figure out who was currently in possession of it. The police wouldn't tell me; they had auctioned it off and were respecting the confidentiality of the buyer. And since I was out of money for the moment, I wouldn't be able to just pay a gigantic amount to get it back - I would have to steal it from whoever had it now. This whole situation was such a headache!

[Markofkri]

Sounds coming from Amanda's room made knocking seem unwise. You did receive a text from Vivian while you weighed the options of knocking anyway. The text read, " Hey I'm back at the hotel its just as nice as my room at the house. Today was a lot of sitting in lobbies and waiting to take one notarized paper to the room down the hall. This legal stuff is boring! Hope things are going better at home then they are here." It was almost 2pm here and your stomach could use a refill.

Getting the cook James to make you something had him create a side conversation in French. It took him twenty minutes and he came to your spot on the table with this. If anyone in the house was worth not killing it was James.

Lunch

[Airalin]

My response to Vivian was, "Everything here is messed up... I think I'm going crazy again... I need my necklace back!" She was unlikely to be happy about that response, of course. I knew she was afraid of the necklace after what it had done to her. But there was no way I could let Frank get his hands on it, so I had to get it back - Vivian would understand, she had to!

After a quick meal, I found the nearest guard and asked him whether he knew where Frank was. Though it seemed unlikely (my guards had been quite useless so far), perhaps I could convince one of them to help me remove Frank from the household and grounds. He was trying to steal my stuff, after all!

[Markofkri]

The first one was outside by the pool he had a military haircut. Blond hair with sunglasses as you approached he put the mice to his mouth and the other hand on his tazer. "Package incoming on my pos. Can I help you?" After hearing your concerns he nodding he sent you to the pool house. The house inside had a large amount of computer equipment but only one monitor. The team leader was at his station. He looks at you over the monitor and lets out a sigh. After telling him your side of the story he rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"How many times are we going to go over this? He can take anything he wants. I'm here for your safety. You should go talk to Amanda about stuff like this. I've guarded dignitaries and senators and this is by far the hardest assignment I've had people die and get beat with in an inch of their lives and you coming at me with these requests just top it off. Sigh. If he comes at you run to the pool house or hit the location ring you should still have. Thanks to the construction I have two guys from the detail watching them." He puts his hand to his ear. Pressing a key on the computer an alarm goes off like a fire alarm and He stands up. "Seems we have a three man team coming on the grounds. My sensors are tripped they are coming from the west. I'm escorting you to the safe room I had installed and locking you in there until the threat is secured. Lets go." As you leave the pool house you can see the team sets up. In the hall way he stops and faces a section of wall moving painting there is a small rectangle cut into the wall. he pushes it on the left edge and reveals a keypad. A twelve digit number is entered and the wall opens to show you a room no bigger the a closet. There is a five gallon water dispenser and some boxes of food. "I will return in two hours."

The door reopens as the team leader is standing there. "Your safe." From the inside you see the flashing lights of cop cars and an ambulance. It was interesting a dedicated armature team came and secured the barn which is no being removed from the property. More trip wires are being installed starting tomorrow. They had four wheelers and live ammo. No injuries on my team. Using non lethal ammo means we avoided any legal backlash. No answers yet but we have the information we need to start tracing the money used to supply these clowns."

"The private investigator I hired on that kids death came back. It stinks. No mental issues, a little drug use, but nothing in his system at the time of death. So he was declared a suicide. I'm not buying it. There were a million other ways to off yourself then the way he chose. The kid had more money then I do. Everything else says this is a dead end. suicide is something I cant swallow. Nothing I have links you to anything. I'm giving up the investigation and putting a red mark by your name as a future client. Call it erroring on the side of caution." He seals up the room with you outside. He walks away from you.

[Airalin]

First, that bastard - the bastard I was paying! - refused to help me stop Frank. Then he locked me in a closet for two hours. And now he was claiming he'd never work for me again! Regardless of his intentions - regardless of whether his actions were justified or not - he had to pay. I needed to get back my necklace and make him pay as soon as possible! But I had no leads... nothing at all was working in my favor!

I exited the closet I had been imprisoned in, trying to determine the best course of action. Frank still hadn't been dealt with. As long as he was focusing his efforts on searching the house, he would never succeed in finding the necklace, of course. But if he heard of that story I'd seen on the news... things could become very pleasant quickly.

I made a beeline for Amanda's room. It seemed she was the only person here who had any chance of being an ally. If nothing else, I needed to get some of my money back, enough to bribe one of the policemen from the precinct that had auctioned off my necklace into giving me some information. And I needed a ride. Was there anything I could do on my own?

[Markofkri]

"To the mall? Sure. Here. (give you 5k) don't forget to take the guard." She puts a hand on your shoulder. "I'll let them know you are coming so they wont give you any issues. I'm gald you decided to get out for a while." She smiles and removes the hand from your shoulder as you walk out she calls Nathan.

[Airalin]

Was Amanda on some sort of drugs?

She had given me money, but not nearly enough to bribe a cop with. For such a small amount, he would probably end up just arresting me instead. But where the hell had she gotten the idea that I was going to the mall? There was no point in me going there, nothing I needed to buy, and I was in the middle of something.

Unless...

I pulled out my cell phone and added a bunch of contacts to the list of recipients for a message, one of whom was Vivian. The address I now knew belonged to Frank was added, too. If Frank wanted the necklace so badly, he was bound to fall for my bait. "Going to the mall to pick up my shiny," I wrote, not wanting the trap to seem too obvious, "Once I have it back, we can proceed as planned." Vivian, and most others who read the message, would find it to be utter nonsense, of course. But Frank... he was bound to be paranoid. He would follow me, and my guards would be there when he did. If everyone worked out, maybe I could trick him into getting himself arrested!

[Markofkri]

The team of four loaded into the limo. One in the front and three in the back. They drove off to the mall and Vivian texted you. "Are you ok? Breath Eva. I'm going to call Amanda and let her know your not feeling well. Just go to your bed and lay down. Everything will be ok."

The way to the mall you received a call from Amanda who wanted to know about the text. She also wanted to let you know she trusted you not to do anything against the guards. Amanda had to go and let Vivian know the two of you had talked. The gurads put there hand reflexively to there ear piece and looked at each other then you. No one made any threating moves but their hands stayed on the top of their legs. As you got out of the limo they set up a casual three man perimeter one remained with the limo. Just then you heard "Contact!" The front guard turned to face you, his arms reached out to you. A shot rang out and you heard the guard in front of you grunt as something struck him in the back. As one of the guards tackled you to the ground two more grabbed you and put you back in the limo. The guard that was shot signaled for the others to go, The driver was already on him as more shots rang out the driver put the shot guard in the passenger front then slid over the hood and got in the vehicle. A few more shots rang out as they struck the limo. One of the windows had held but was covered in cracks. They returned to the house after dropping you off they transferred the two wounded guards in the other armored H3 then to the hospital. Amanda was looking at you. first it was shock then her head tilted to the side and she reexamined her phone and the message you had sent. She grabs your arm and drags you to the pool house.

Amanda stands in front of you with the security team. "Well you have our attention."

[Airalin]

I frantically looked from Amanda's face to that of each of my guards. There was only one way to proceed here: i would have to tell them what was going on.

"Frank has been trying to steal my necklace," I said, opening up the email on my phone. "So I decided to try to lure him into a trap - I sent out an email suggesting I was keeping the necklace at the mall and I was going to try to get him to reveal himself there, in public. But, instead, it seems like he tried to have me killed."

I bit my lip, eyes pleading to be believed. Now that people were shooting at it, it was abundantly clear that I needed my guards. I couldn't let them retreat from the situation, even if some of them had been shot, because if they left, I was bound to be next!

It had been foolish of me to leave the house, to leave the one place that was protecting me. But what choice did I have? My necklace was somewhere out there - I would have to chase after it before long. How could I do that without leaving my home?

"Please," I muttered, just loud enough for the people around me to hear, "I need your help. Frank is going to try to kill me again - please, stop him!"

[Markofkri]

The guard leader continued to stand and spoke as he folded his well muscled arms. "Well, it could be that simple. It would explain the increase in activity. I don't have any electronic surveillance equipment to listen in on his goings on. One thing I cant stand besides trying to be stabbed is a mole in my op. I don't have the authority to force him out but I can make his life hard as hell. I need some money to buy more gear and I want the authority to use it." Amanda nodded silently.

"Now that's done and we have a lead I need to speak to you in private." She walks out and holds the door for you to follow. Amanda leads you to your room and closes the door once you both are in. "So what is this about a necklace? Why do you think Frank would care? Anyone would want you dead but few in the family have the stomach for it. Not to mention the desire to part with money to make it happen. They would have to be sure they would be able to legally obtain the family trust."