Well, I got bored and decided to do chapter two. It doesn't have much action, but it does clear a few things up.
Chapter 2
"My baby's gone!" Andrew's mother wailed lying on the living room couch. Andrew appeared from the bathroom carrying a wet cloth. He placed it to her head and sniffed. He wanted to sit in the opposing couch and do what his mother was doing, but he knew that he had to be the strong one for his mom's sake. Mike sat in the corner with his head in his hands. He was in deep thought. The doorbell soon rang and Andrew got up.
"I'll get it…" Mike said standing up and walking by him. He opened the door slowly to find his mother standing on the porch.
"How is she?" She asked immediately.
"Not good…" Mike replied letting her inside. His mother took her shoes off and walked into the living room where Ms. Shot was lying sobbing. Andrew was now sitting on the floor with his back to the couch. His head was collapsed inside his hands and Mrs. Cardella saw tears running down his arms.
"Go home Mike. There's nothing you can do right now." She said turning to her son. Mike nodded and stepped out the door. He couldn't believe it happened. Thousands of people were murdered by just doing what normal people do everyday. It was so wrong. He headed down the driveway and back onto the sidewalk. He looked up noticing the day had become dark. It wasn't as bright and beautiful as it was just an hour before.
He crossed the street and back onto the sidewalk he began on that morning. He passed the girl's house and saw the dead squirrel he hit earlier. He turned away ashamed. Suddenly, he was pulled back. The girl from this morning was behind him. "You look horrible? Care to share?" She asked with a look of concern on her face. Her blonde streaked brown hair blew with the wind and her blue eyes pierced Mike's.
"Not with someone I don't know…" He replied and turned to walk away.
"The name's Nicole Altadona. There, we know each other now Mike." She replied folding her arms. Mike cocked his head and turned around.
"How'd you know my name?" He asked. Nicole smirked.
"I know how to read the paper and see pictures. You're the one who vandalized Atlanta's Governor Office. Have a problem with the government?" She asked lifting an eyebrow. Mike's face lifted.
"Possibly. So you moved into the Patterson's place because you knew I lived down the street?" He then asked. Nicole smiled.
"Possibly…" She replied. She then grabbed his arm again. "Now let's go sit down and tell me what is happening Mr. Big Shot." She smiled. Mike sighed and followed her back towards her house. She led him up the walkway and onto the porch. There, she let go and sat down on a chair that was there. "Shoot…" She grinned. Mike sighed.
"Yes Ms. Psychologist…" He said and sat on the ground. "Well for one, I missed going to my probation assignment. And for the other, my friend's little sister was horribly murdered in an act of mass murder today…" He said putting his head down holding back tears. Nicole perked up.
"Oh my god. Are they ok?" She said with sympathy in her eyes. Mike couldn't look up.
"No…their father left the family a few years ago and their mother devoted her life to making sure her children were safe and happy. It killed her to find it out." He said. It was then that he realized he was starting to lay his heart out on an open stranger. "But this is really none of your concern." He said standing up and straddling his pack back around his body. Nicole's face turned annoyed.
"People's problems are my concern. I like to help…" She said standing up as well.
"Well you can help me by not helping." Mike muttered stepping off the porch. "Nice to meet you Nicole." He said as he walked down the driveway and down the sidewalk towards home. Nicole walked forward and put her hand on the banister of the porch. "Nice to meet you too Mike…" She whispered to herself and turned to walk inside.
Mike opened the door and slowly walked back inside his house. His dad had left for work and he was alone. He wanted so bad to just go back to Andrew's and be there to help his friend, but he knew it would just make it worse for Andrew if he saw him cry. He placed his pack down on the ground and walked into the living room. He plopped down on the couch and sat there thinking for some time. The outside air rolled in from the window soothing the tense muscles he had.
It was then that he noticed the blinking light on the answering machine. He sighed briefly before reaching over and pressing the button. "You have one new message…" The machine roared. "Hello Mr. Cardella. This is the Recreation Center. We are just wondering why you and Mr. Shot have left us high and dry today. Call when you get this, or we'll have to contact your probation officer." The recreation center owner roared from the machine.
"Shut up!" Mike roared kicking the machine. He wasn't in the mood to hear about his other problems. Snarling, he grabbed the remote and switched the television on. TV always emptied minds. He flipped through a few stations trying to find something fun. He finally stopped at Friends 2030 and began to watch it. After some time, he began to sigh. "The Friends from the 1990's was so much better." He wailed turning away. The screen suddenly switched to the news and Mike turned to see what was up.
"As many of you have already heard, the Baybury Mall had a vicious accident this morning killing over 1000 people. The bodies of those who died are still being recovered. Men, women, and children are all known to be casualties. We have yet to see what the mall owner says, and the president refuses to comment." Barbra Walters reported.
"She's still alive?" Mike wailed turning the TV off. He had enough of this crap for one day. He then realized the last comment made. "The president wouldn't comment?" He repeated out loud to no one in particular. He got up and walked immediately to the computer at the back of the room. For the first time in a year the computer desk was clean. He clicked it on and began to search the website for info on why the president refused to comment. He usually never used the computer for anything information wise, but this act puzzled him.
After some time he discovered a site with the article. He read through it quickly but it didn't give anything he hadn't heard already. "Damn!" He roared putting his fist on the table. He began to roll the chair away, but then discovered something interesting. "Talk about this issue on our forums." A link said near the bottom of the page. He shrugged and clicked it. A few threads posted grievances to the families, and others discussed what the think went wrong. Mike scrolled a little more until he came to a thread entitled The President Knew. "Bingo!" He smiled and clicked it.
"The President Knew about this all along. I believe there is some sort of conspiracy and corruption going on with the government right now. Most people of office would comment and express sympathy for a matter such as this, but President Edmans is a cold snake. He was behind this. It was some sort of population control. Think about it! In the past ten years there have been numerous accidents in places with large amounts of people. Also, each president in the last ten years has expressed opinions on the out of control population. If you really look into it, you'll see I'm right." The thread starter's post read.
Mike scrolled down some more to see the responses. Every single response told the thread starter he was a nut. No one believed anything he said. Mike clicked the reply box. He began to think about what to reply, but was suddenly interrupted by the doorbell. He quickly typed in "I agree" and clicked the reply button before exiting the computer. He snatched up the remote and turned the TV off, and then walked over and casually opened the door. Nicole was standing there. "Hey…" She said.
"Hey…" Mike replied. Nicole began to balance herself on her toes waiting for another response. When he didn't do anything, she took control.
"Can I come in or what?" She asked. Mike rolled his eyes and made the motion for her to enter. She slowly walked in and turned towards him as he shut the door. "You know, you're not as bad as that news article made you out to be." She grinned. Mike shrugged and walked back into the living room. She followed cautiously looking around at everything. "You have a beautiful house." She then said trying to make small talk.
"What do you want Nicole?" Mike suddenly roared. Nicole backed off a little nervous.
"I just wanted to come keep you company." She replied. Suddenly, the computer flashed and Mike turned to see the You Got Mail icon blinking.
"What the hell?" He said approaching. Nicole followed and peered at the screen as he sat in the chair.
"What's this?" She asked putting her hands behind her neck.
"Beats me…" Mike replied and opened the email. Mike had never heard of the person who sent it. "Probably Spam or something." Mike said and began to read it. "When the time is right, you will hear from me…" was all it said. "Freaky…" Mike whispered closing it. The two became a little uneasy wondering what the email meant. Suddenly, they both jumped as the door opened.
"Holy crap! Someone's come to kill me!" Mike roared getting up and grabbing a book from the desk.
"And you plan to beat them with a book?" Nicole smirked. Mike started slowly to the door, but Andrew made his way around the corner and into the living room.
"Andrew, what are you doing here?" Mike asked. Andrew put his head up. He wasn't crying anymore, but he still had a sad expression on his face.
"Your mom said we should stay here tonight…" He whispered softly. Mike looked around the corner to see his mother leading Ms. Shot upstairs. Andrew then noticed Nicole standing in the background. "Who's that?" He asked.
"Um, that's Nicole…" Mike replied. Mike's mom returned from laying Ms. Shot down and walked back downstairs. She entered the living room and sat down on the couch, exhausted from today.
"Funeral services are Monday…" She said to Mike. He nodded frowning. "This is Nicole." Mike then said pointing her out to his mom. His mom waved and then closed her eyes to rest. Andrew laid his stuff on the ground and sat next to it.
"Well I better be going…" Nicole said. "Nice meeting you all." She then walked to the front door.
"Wait…" Mike roared. She turned and looked, her blue eyes haunting Mike once again. "Would you like to stay the night?" He asked. Nicole's face lit up.
"Sure, just let me go home and get my stuff!" She grinned and ran out. Mike sat down next to Andrew once she was gone.
"How you feeling?" He asked. Andrew shrugged.
"It hasn’t really settled in yet…" He replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was now late and Diablo was heading through a park. He stopped suddenly to make sure no one was around and then lifted his arm. A wad of fire built up in it burning with intense heat. He smiled and chucked the flare into the air, lighting a small amount of the sky. He waited for a few minutes when a large winged beast appeared in the horizon. It bellowed ferociously and continued towards the shady man. It's body was bulky and its red skin was covered in spikes and scales. At the end of its long neck was a gigantic head with a large crest and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Its tail ended in a scorpion-like stinger.
Diablo grinned as it bellowed once more and came in, landing in a burst of wind. He leapt onto the creatures back and it took to the sky again. It was then that he noticed a couple walking in the park. They had spotted him and were staring speechless. "Get rid of them…" He muttered. The dragon pulled its head back, creating an inferno in its mouth. It then launched the flamethrower straight at the fear stricken couple. In a matter of seconds, they were turned into ashes. Diablo smiled and the creature began to fly off into the distance.