CHAPTER 3 Part 2 :Their Return

After a long drive, they arrived home. The rest of the crew went to their homes and dropped all the goods off at the main trap house. They both carried Jack back into the house and dropped him on the sofa. Both men glanced at Jack in disappointment, but they heard someone rushing down the steps.

“Uncle Randy and Eric!” Angela came rushing towards them, embracing the two.

“My sweet lil princess!” Eric exclaimed as he pushed Randolph aside. He picked Angela up and held her in the air.

Randolph smacked his lips and pretended to whimper. “Shit boss, let me embrace my little sweetheart too!” Eric laughed and handed Angela to Randolph. He swung her around and made her fly like an airplane.

Angela’s smile and her laughter was so contagious that they couldn’t help but smile gracefully.

“Come on guys, I’m not a kid anymore. But I still enjoy your warm welcomes!” she exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. “Okay, please put me down now, Uncle!”

Randolph obliged and put her down. As soon as she was put down, Angela noticed Jack was passed out on the couch with a huge swollen bruise on his cheek.

“Oh my god! What happened to my brother?” She rushed to Jack’s side and massaged his bruise. Touching it slightly made him moan.

“Your brother behaved badly, so I punished him.” Eric laughed and walked upstairs.

She frowned, but smiled again. “Oh brother, you gotta stop being so reckless.” She then turned to Randolph. “Uncle, could you please fetch me a wet towel?”

Randolph went to the kitchen and got what she asked for. “Here Momma, fresh steaming towel covered in last night’s dirty dishes.” he said, handing her the towel.

“Oh Uncle, stop. But thank you anyways.” She started pampering Jack and hummed a song.

“Say Angela?” Randolph asked.

“Yeah, Uncle Randy?” Angela replied, wiping blood off Jack’s lip.

Randolph walked behind Angela and stared at Jack. “You know he doesn’t deserve someone as great as you. I’m jealous he has someone like you.” he said, rubbing Angela’s back.

“Well, you may think that way about him, but to be honest…” She paused and rested her hand on his cheek with a gentle smile. “I don’t deserve someone like him. Without him, I don’t know where I’ll be. He’s everything to me.”

Randolph sighed but quickly smiled. “I understand sweetheart. Anyways, I’m going to bed now so don’t stay up too late, okay?” Randolph patted her back, walked out of the living room, and walked down the hallway into his room.

When Randolph’s door closed, she made a quick run to her room and brought her drawing equipment downstairs, where she sat down beside Jack and started drawing. Angela placed headphones over her ears and listened to her favorite music as she drew. Rocking back and forth, she hummed her favorite song as she drew, concentrating to the fullest so she could replicate Jack’s sleeping position onto her art.

She stopped drawing for a second to stare at Jack’s screwed up face. “You look so goofy, but at the same time this is the most peaceful I’ve seen you in ages.” She giggled and continued drawing.

Thirty minutes later, Jack finally woke up. He slowly sat up and felt an ice pack fall off his cheek. It was still throbbing so he massaged it. He also noticed the taste of dried blood on his lips. He looked to his left and saw Angela concentrating on her drawing. She was bouncing to her music and moving her arms to the rhythm. Jack smiled despite the pain and placed his hand on her head, which surprised her.

She quickly turned around and looked at Jack with a huge smile on her face. “Hey! You’re awake, sleepy head!” She got up and embraced Jack.

“Ow, not too close. It still burns.”

“Sorry, it’s just that you guys have been gone for a week! You made me worried!” she exclaimed, then pouted her adorable little face.

Jack smiled. “I should have just been gone longer then.”

She got annoyed and stood up. “Oh, is that so?”

“An-Angela?” Jack said nervously.

She grinned smugly and jumped on him. They both screamed joyfully and laughed, but it didn’t take long for them to stop their silliness. They laid there quietly for a moment until Angela yawned.

“I’m sleepy now,” she said, then yawned. “Uncle Eric sounded mad, you know.”

Jack lay an arm around her. “Yeah, it’s my fault.” He closed his eyes and frowned. “I did get carried away, but did he have to punch me like that?”

He re-opened his eyes and stared at his adorable little sister in silence for a couple of seconds.

She felt embarrassed and turned red. “What bro?”

Though his eyes were dead, his smile towards his sister felt genuine. “I missed you sis…”

She smiled softly and lay her head on his beating chest. “I missed you too, bro. Please be more careful though. You’ve been getting hurt a lot lately.”

“Heh, I’ll be fine. I’m tougher than I look, remember?”

She rolled her eyes and clutched his shirt. “No kidding. You’re scary as hell. Your eyes aren’t the same as they were when we first met. Not to mention how lifeless you sound too.”

Jack’s face turned still. “Angela…”

“It makes me question if you’ve truly fallen into the hands of depression.” She bit the bottom of her lip, feeling the urge to cry but she resisted.

Jack noticed and rubbed her arm. “Don’t worry, I’m not anywhere near that state. I may sound like this, but I’m still the same upset kid you met all those years ago.”

Angela slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. Jack sighed softly and picked her up, then carried her up the stairs so he could put her into her bed. He opened the door and walked in, laying her down and covering her with her blanket.

He ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead. “Goodnight, baby sis.” Then he slowly walked to her doorway and turned the lights off.

Jack closed the door and walked downstairs, back to the living room. He jumped back on the couch, set his legs on the coffee table, and noticed right away that Angela’s drawing stuff was still on it. He picked it up and looked at the drawing she was working on. He shook his head and laughed. Eric walked downstairs and saw Jack examining the drawing pad.

Eric stood in front of Jack with his arms crossed. “Why did you kill that man?”

Jack sighed and smacked his lips. “You’re still on that?”

“Of course I am, you dumb son of a bitch.”

Jack flailed his hand. “Hey, at least we’ve got a nice set of new toys, right?”

Eric pointed at Jack. “That’s not the point, you dumbass. We were trying to build a friendly relationship and wanting to gain more partners. These streets are growing more gruesome by the day, so it’s beneficial to have more eyes out for our advantage.”

Jack stretched, showing how he didn’t have a care in the world. “You should’ve said that early on. Oh well, you can’t undo the past. What’s done is done. Am I right?”

Eric was starting to get more annoyed and walked back up the stairs to get away from the pointless conversation. Jack took a deep breath and got up. He walked outside and gazed at the stars, sighing as he smirked.

Sure is a nice night. Too bad the colors I see are black and white, but none of that matters. So long as Angela’s safe, I have no other worries.

Jack lowered his sights to look at the friendship bracelet that belonged to Alexandria. Even after all these years he still missed her, but more importantly, he wished she was still here. For the past five years he’d wondered why he’d changed so much. Jack wondered if he was just wasting his life or if he’d find an answer to his sad new life. He hoped that he could change to ensure a better future for him and Angela.

With all the self thinking and agony on his shoulders, as he was pulling a cigarette out he heard something mysterious; a very faint playful sound. Jack looked around with the cigarette still in his hand, but saw nothing.

“Huh? Where the hell is that sound coming from?” Jack noticed the noise beneath him. He pulled out his pistol and cocked it.

He slowly walked off the patio and placed his finger on the trigger. Whoever it is, you better show yourself or I’ll blow your damn brains out.

“Jeez… with a tone like that I’m glad I only heard it in your mind and not out your mouth,” a very familiar, soft girly voice said.

“Show yourself. If you’re some desperate whore, then come out or I’ll end your miserable life.” He aimed the gun at the porch steps.

Coming out as a shadowy figure through the bottom of the porch steps, made of blackened smoke, was a girl with long black hair wearing an odd white dress.

“Sorry for startling you. I didn’t mean to,” she said innocently.

“Oh…” Jack said, lowering the gun, “it’s you.”

Jack walked back to the steps, then sat down and indicated for the girl to sit next to him. She nodded and sat beside him. Throughout the years her appearance hadn’t changed much. Her hair and height remained the same, but her voice had grown more soothing and mature.

She clasped her hands and rested them on her knees. “Beau-Beautiful night we’re having… isn’t it?”

Jack placed a hand on his face. “What do you want? Wait, who am I kidding? You’re probably here to confuse me more.” He laughed and looked away.

“No! You’ve got it all wrong… I-I just wanted to see you, that’s all.” She leaned on his shoulder and sighed deeply. “We rarely see each other in this world. Remember how much you—”

“Yeahh, yeah!” He gazed up at the stars again. “I could care less about your feelings, because the majority of the time you try giving me nightmares but fail to do so.”

She rubbed herself on his shoulder. “Sorry… I don’t mean to do such things. Like I’ve mentioned in the past, when I can’t help myself I lose control and do it.” She got off his shoulder and looked up at him.

“I could care less. You still haven’t answered my question from long ago.”

She started poking Jack’s face. “I can’t just say it, you know? It’s not as simple as answering a math equation. Don’t forget about the promise you made about us.”

“Mhhm,” Jack said, glancing at the girl. “Say… would you know why I’ve become the scumbag that I am today?”

She leaned closer towards his ear. “Well as long as you’re alive, no matter your personality, you’ll always be the person I fell for.”

Jack suddenly woke up confused and looked around. He was still on the couch. He scratched his head. “Another dream with her, huh?”

He stood up and stretched, then pulled out his phone to look at the time. It’s time to wake Angela. Today is the day I promised to take her to an ice cream shop.

He walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, showered, and walked into his room. He put on a new set of clothes and made sure he was carrying extra mags on his belt. Strapping on his carry holster that was underneath his left arm, he stored his gun in the holster.

“Alright, everything is all set.” Walking upstairs, he heard Angela’s electric piano. He smiled.

He slowly opened her door and peeked inside, spotting her playing on her electric piano. It touched his heart and the beautiful sound she played made his ears relax. Watching her move her body to the art she was creating made Jack realize just how special she was to him. She was the last piece to his dreadful life, the only thing keeping him from killing himself and falling into a void of depression. Without her, Jack couldn’t think what else he could do.

Bringing out half a smile, Jack said, “Hey Angel. Whatcha up to? Practicing?”

Hearing his deep dead voice, Angela got surprised and stopped playing. She dragged a hand on her bangs to fix them, turned around and showed a genuine smile with an embarrassed look on her face. “I-I didn’t think you’d be awake so early.”

“I wouldn’t forget a promise, remember?”

She shrugged. “I know I suck at playing.”

Jack chuckled. “Don’t be silly. You sounded great.” He walked next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She fixed her bangs again and hugged him. “Thanks for remembering the promise we made.”

“Yeah, now go get ready and I’ll wait inside the car.”

“Okay!” Angela flipped her bangs and started to change.

Jack walked out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door to get to the car. He hopped in, patiently waited for Angela, turned the radio on, and listened to recent news reports. As reporters told their stories, he couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing all the reports were all his doing.

Angela finally came outside, hopped in, and buckled her seatbelt. “Did I make you wait?”

"Nah, you were pretty quick. You ready?” Jack asked, turning on the car.

“Heck yeah I am!” Angela exclaimed, shooting out a fist from excitement.

“But before we go, remember our rules?”

Angela sighed, then extended a finger for every rule that he’d applied. “Yes I do. Rule one: don’t wander off. Rule two: never leave your side, and… Rule three: don’t talk to strangers.” She closed her fingers into her palm, tilted her head sarcastically, and smiled.

Jack patted her head. “Good girl. I’m just making sure because we still don’t know who is still looking for you, so we have to be cautious no matter what.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Say, can I order another shirt?”

“Maybe or perhaps not. How about when I die?”

Angela smiled and shook her head. She looked out the windshield and saw how beautiful the day was. It made her feel fuzzy inside, especially since she was spending the day with her brother. She put her headphones on and started humming the music she loved to go, along with the beautiful changing scenery. Jack looked at the rear view mirror and grinned.

They drove out of the neighborhood and headed towards the next town, hoping to find a nice ice cream shop with no crime around.

In the direction they were heading towards was a town strived in safety, life, beauty, and crowds of people covered the sidewalks. But in that crowd were two girls, Anna and Veronica. Both girls were still shaken by last night’s event. The thought of them being killed or potentially sexually assaulted drove them mad, especially Veronica who’d had nightmares about it last night. Anna herself did have a dream, but only about her typical scenario of reuniting with her fallen best friend Jack. As they walked down the busy sidewalk, they couldn’t help but talk about it again.

“Last night was scary as heck! I thought we were gonna die, Anna!” Veronica held Anna despite being out of harm’s way.

Anna seemed annoyed and tried pushing her off. “Please let me go. I can hardly breathe, girl. We’re safe now so relax.”

Veronica let go of Anna. “I’m sorry! It’s just that I can’t believe we ran into Danny's killer last night. Eek, I still have goosebumps!” She held herself and shivered.

“Yeah, but I didn’t really get a good look at him, only his back. I was just too afraid to continue questioning him if I’m being honest.”

“Well, I did get a decent look at his face when I first ran into him with Danny that day.”

“Strange, you did say he was attractive and had nice eyes.”

Crossing her arms, raising a finger, Veronica rebuttetled to Anna’s statement. “That’s true, but his eyes were lifeless and the color in them was flat, but something about them made my heart race.” Then she lowered her arms and sighed. “However, that doesn’t erase the fact he’s also a scary, murderous delinquent!”

“Well, at least you can tell Danny’s investigator about it.” Anna stopped and pointed at an ice cream shop. “You want some cream of ice, Veronica?”

Veronica looked at her blankly and raised a brow. “Why did you say it that way?”

“Because I can, you dope!”

“Why do I have a feeling there’s something dirty behind your wording.” They both laughed and walked towards the shop.

Meanwhile, Jack and Angela arrived at the same location. He made sure he wasn’t identified too easily so he wore his jacket to hide his tattoos and had a cap on to hide his face. Angela quickly stormed out of the car and her eyes glittered with excitement. She hadn’t been around a nice peaceful town in a while, especially one this nice. The mom & pop stores looked wholesome, the sidewalks weren’t too dirty or covered in litter, parts of nature grew in some areas and glistened with life, but most of all there was a huge park in the middle. Today seemed especially busy from the amount of people walking by, crowding the streets, and coming out of these mom & pop shops.

“You ready, sis?” Jack asked as he took out a smoke.

“Am I ever!” she shouted and hugged him. “Thank you so much!” Angela shouting happily formed a small crowd around them from people casually walking by.

The small crowd awed and couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Angela’s adorable innocence. That rubbed Jack the wrong way. He grew uncomfortable and hated crowds as well as attention. So to get away from the puppy dog eyes and pampering awes, he grabbed her hand and dragged them away from the crowd.

They both walked across the street to get to the ice cream store. Jack stopped and looked around, spotting a corner, and noticed a few suspicious men.

He gave the money to Angela, surprising her momentarily. “Bro-Brother? What’s going on?”

“Go on without me. It appears business has followed me and wants my full attention.”

She grew a bit upset. It was something she wanted to do with her brother, but she understood what he meant by business.

She nodded and clutched the money in her hand. “O-Okay. Be back soon.” She then expressed a fake smile, feeling unhappy about the situation.

Jack patted her head. She gently slapped it away in a playful manner, then pretended to walk happily inside the shop to convince him enough that she was fine. She knew it was too good to be true, no matter where they went. There was always crime around every corner of Michigan. Poor Angela only wanted to hang out with her brother, but alas she guessed his busy life would always intervene in their moments.

Jack turned to the men who were around the corner and walked in their direction, prepared to do business. “I hope this ends quickly. Poor Angela, I know you’re upset. I want to express anger, but sadly… I’ve been angry for over four years.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and disappeared into the crowd of people towards the corner.

Angela and Veronica walked outside of the same ice cream shop and sat at one of the tables next to it. They talked and laughed about the usual things in their lives. Everything was going well until they both spotted a girl sitting all alone. She was eating a sundae made for two. The forced smile on her face was evident and didn’t go unnoticed. Both girls knew the poor little girl had a saddened aura around her. They felt bad so they decided to get up to sit and try to start a chat with her to brighten her day.

They both walked to the little girls table with smiles on their faces. Angela didn’t notice them at first because she was basking in the flavors of the delicious ice storm freezing her taste buds. Her eyes were closed as she kicked her feet in joy to endure every delicious flavor. They waved in front of her and upon opening her eyes, they got her full attention. They stood in front of the table and politely said, “Hi!” The girl stayed frozen with a spoon in her mouth. She began shaking and felt quite scared. She didn’t even know how to react to their greeting.

Veronica saw her arms trembling. She got a little worried and tried calming the poor girl down. “Oh, we’re sorry if we’re scaring you. We just wanted to say hello, that’s all.”

Anna looked at the girl and her jaw dropped from shock. “She’s so…” She approached the girl, flabbergasted by the girl’s cuteness. “…adorable!”

Anna tried attacking her with a hug, but Veronica quickly caught her before she did something inappropriate. “Calm yourself, Anna. Sweet mercy, I pray for thy devil to relax.”

“I-I… can’t help it! She’s so cute… I need to hug her, argh!”

Angela looked at the two with a frightened expression and stayed quiet. Veronica managed to calm Anna down and silence came between them. They all just stood there quietly, not saying a single word. Veronica giggled, then scratched her cheek. Anna continued staring at the girl’s face, directly into her big blue eyes of beauty.

Angela removed the spoon out of her mouth, set it down, then clasped her hands together and raised her shoulders. “Hi-Hi? Ho-How do yo-you do?”

Both girls were stunned by her cuteness, especially Anna. She pushed Veronica off of her and rushed to the girl’s side to sit beside her.

Veronica gave up and sighed, then sat next to the girl as well. “Sorry about my friend. Uh, what’s your name?”

Drooling, Anna said, “Yeah! What’s your name, cutie!”

“You’re gonna scare her more, you know?” Veronica tried grabbing the girl’s hand, but the girl retracted and trembled. “I’m sorry. You probably don’t like strangers touching you, huh? Hehe, I don’t blame you. Wait, does that make me a…” Veronica gasped.

Angela shook her head. “I’m not… allo-allowed to ta-talk to… stran-strangers.” She hung her head.

Anna couldn’t help herself and grabbed the girl’s hand. “How old are you? What’s your favorite show? Music, hobbies? Ahhh!” Anna was on the verge of fainting from the girl’s hypnotizing cuteness.

Angela blushed and allowed Anna to touch her. “Ell-Elleeven…”

They both gasped in adorable shock. Anna’s mouth drooled like crazy and Veronica was flustered.

“You’re so tiny, I love it! Can we be friends?” Anna suddenly hugged the girl and started touching her black hair.

Veronica laughed. She’d never seen Anna this happy about something in awhile. “I wouldn’t have guessed your age. I thought you were younger. What a shocker!”

They all giggled except for Angela, who stayed quiet. But something felt off, knowingly how the girl stared at Veronica with an empty expression. Veronica noticed her empty glare and felt a little freaked out.

The girls heard someone calling out for someone out in the street. Angela got up and out of Anna’s grasp. She started to walk away from them.

“Hold up! Where are you going?” Anna exclaimed, reaching out. “Please tell me your name!” Anna tried to follow her, but she was stopped by the girl who had her hand out, indicating the two to halt.

Her eyes that were once glittering now showed no glimmer of life. She looked at Anna with an empty smile. “Maybe some other time…”

An eerie wind blew behind her and breezed past the girls. A single crow landed beside them with purple eyes, which freaked out Veronica and forced her to clutch Anna’s arm.

Anna covered her face. As she dropped her hands down, the girl’s eyes were a different color, and had a glint in them. “What in the…?”

“In the meantime, take care, Annabelle.” Angela’s tone changed and her voice sounded different from before. It was more mature, calmer, and relaxing.

Anna was shocked. The hurtling wind grew so strong it forced the girls to close their eyes, but as soon as they opened them again, the girl had vanished.

Anna was shaken and left speechless. She looked at Veronica, even though she too was stunned and left surprised.

Both of them glanced at the spot she stood at before disappearing. It wasn’t the first strange phenomenon they’d experienced. Both questioned if they were having a hallucination or if she were just an illusion? The question of her realness came about for the two as they stood there with their mouths dropped open. The girls had no clue what had just happened. They went back to their table and pretended nothing had happened.

Angela joined Jack and they both headed inside the car. Jack questioned Angela’s hour and how the ice cream tasted. “It was good, but it would’ve tasted better if you were there by my side. Hmph!” she said, crossing her arms and pouting.

“I’m sorry sis, but I had to take care of a few errands.” Jack started the car up and proceeded to drive out of the parking spot, then out the town.

“That’s okay. At least I had fun!” Angela replied as she took out her drawing pad and started illustrating what she’d experienced.

“How so? You were by yourself, right?” Jack asked suspiciously.

Angela looked up and tapped her pencil against her lip. “Two girls came up to me and started talking. They were really friendly, though. I gotta say it was a rather interesting experience.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to talk to strangers?” He sighed, relaxed his shoulders, and lay back more into the car seat. “Well, if they came up to you, then I guess that’s fair.”

“Yeah, they were trying their best to make me feel comfortable, but unfortunately for them they failed. Muhaha!”

Stopping at a stop light, Jack looked over his shoulder at Angela. “Heh, what a smug attitude to have. What were their names?”

Angela grinned and gazed out the windshield. “I didn’t get the chance to ask for their names, but I think I might have a hint as to who they might be.” She went back to drawing and her smile faded. The only thing Angela could hear was the girl in her nightmares who’d given them to her for as long as she’d lived.

The girl started giggling inside her mind, seeming to enjoy teasing Angela’s emotions. “One day, I’ll take back what’s rightfully mine, girl.”

Angela’s fingers trembled and her eyes grew wide. She ignored the girl and brought out her headphones to get rid of her voice. No matter how loud the music was, or how much noise was around her, to ignore her existence entirely—Angela would always hear her gentle, soothing voice.