Saturday Morning at Fabyn Villa...
"Uggh..." Nora groaned, waking up on the coach, the sunlight hitting her foremost. She slowly sat up, her bare feet touching the cold floor tile, shaking her awake from the drowsiness.
She rubbed her eyes, looking around the long couch, seeing her friend Alice asleep beside her, wrapped up comfortably in a cozy blanket.
"Knew movie night will end up like this..."
Nora's eyes turned away from her asleep friend, and looked towards her left, seeing Alice's mom Julia snuggled up with her mom Evelyn. Julia's blonde hair tangled with Evelyn's black hair, the state of their disheveled clothes, their bodies intertwined gave a clear hint of their activities.
"To be getting frisky with their kids almost next to them, they're seriously pushing boundaries..."
Nora thought, her gaze still lingering on their bodies, slowly finding the wet evidence of their fun at their crevices.
"If they're so great together, why not just get married already. Planning these stupid sleepovers just to hook up is just childish at this point. Mom practically just spends half her nights with her already, finding excuses of legal paperwork and bullshit even though everything's already over"
A hint of envy washed over her.
The frown on her face immediately turned to concern as she thought about her twin sister Kiera locked up in her room from yesterday morning. She quietly left the scene and went to the kitchen, microwaving some pasta to bring to her, knowing she must be starving.
"Mom's so careless now, almost like she doesn't even care about us. Even though I was the stupid one to snitch on Kiera, mom definitely crossed a line by spanking her."
The microwave made its beeping noise, snapping Nora from her thoughts. She made her way, walking up the stairs to Kiera's room, plate in one hand while her other hand took the keys out of her pocket.
"Even though it's cruel, it's kind of exciting having the keys to her room..."
The thought of having some control or possession over Kiera tickled her brain, bringing an innocent smile to her face. However, she immediately took a deep breath, hiding her smile behind a stone cold face as she unlocked Kiera's room.
"Mom told me to bring you some-" Nora stopped abruptly, finding the room empty, the window flung open with a bedsheet tied to the window frame hanging out. Her face turned to horror, as she immediately looked outside, seeing the makeshift rope of bedsheets reaching the bottom.
"Shit! MOM!" Nora yelled, immediately checking the bathroom just in case, before rushing down to wake everyone up.
The night before...
"Urghh..." Shay groaned, slowly moving his head around before opening his eyes. His head felt heavy, and his body ached, lying flat on his back. Looking up, he could see plain darkness, however he could tell it wasn't a room.
"Where the hell am I now? What happened..."
As he tried to get up, he felt a throbbing pain on the right side of his waist. He looked down, seeing blood seeping out through his shirt.
Then, he remembered his confrontation with the Redeemer. He got shot by him, and bled out on the street, using the last moments of his consciousness to transfer the video proof of his innocence into his phone. All of it to have a hope of proving to his ex-wife that he didn't cheat on her.
He managed to stand on his feet, stumbling forward. A faint light followed his footsteps, illuminating the ground under him. After walking for a while, he was sure he wasn't in an enclosed space, yet there was no sky above him.
"Anyone here? HELLO?" Shay tried shouting, his voice immediately fading out without even an echo.
"Am I dead?"
He eventually got so tired that he fell to his knees, his body giving out. He thought back to the moment of his death, realising what he died for might not even reach Evelyn in the first place. Even if it does, he would never know.
"Evelyn... Nora... and Kiera... My baby daughter... I left her alone in the world... I broke my promise to her... She loved me more than even my wife, and now in pursuit of Evelyn, I lost everything... She's all alone because of me..."
He broke down, tears shedding down his face, his heart sinking just imagining her getting the news of his death.
Suddenly, he saw a faint glimpse of light from the distance, slowly getting closer to him. He wiped the tears off his face, trying to make out what it was. As the light got closer and closer, he could see a female silhouette, not resembling anyone he knew.
Her footsteps got closer and closer until she stood a few feet away from him. Her body and face were still completely shrouded in darkness. Except for her long silver hair, flowing down to her hips. She looked at him, and then leaned down, offering her hand.
"W-Wait! Who are you?" Shay asked, fumbling backwards.
She hesitantly retracted her hand. "Did you get his name?" She asked, her voice sounding almost like a disfigured echo.
"What?"
"The Redeemer's name. Did you ask for it?
"Why his name?" Shay asked, his voice getting drowsy.
"I've spent years trying to track him down. His real name would have helped." She replied, sounding disappointed.
