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unfortunate-stranger-losers · 4 years

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All Those Things They Couldn’t Say - A Runaway Baudelaires AU

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Chapter Forty - Klaus searches the Hospital

“You sure it feels okay?” Isadora asked.

Duncan shrugged. “I mean… not okay, no, but the medication makes it better.” He sat up a bit more, glancing at the door. “You think we can get clothes on now? I don’t like the hospital gown.”

“We’ll have to wait until the doctors finalize everything.”

“And then they ask for money and we have to explain we’re orphans on the run from the law.”

“Technically,” Isadora cocked her head, “The Baudelaires are on the run from the law. We’re running from a madman and his acting troupe.”

“Oh, God,” Duncan slapped his forehead. “Isa, we’re just on the run from a theater kid.”

Isadora burst out laughing. “You say that as if we’re not huge theater nerds!”

“He’s worse than us, though.”

“How?”

Duncan giggled a little, curling up his knees to hug them. Then he glanced over at the door, his face falling slightly. “When do you think they’ll be back?”

“Soon.” Isadora said, patting his hand. “They’re just running up to the library of records and coming back once they get that file. Then we’ll all figure out what it means.”

“Where did you say the telegram came from?”

“Black Cat Coffee. You know it?”

Duncan shook his head. “Must be a local café, instead of a chain, or we’d’ve seen adverts, right?”

“You’d be surprised how many companies exist without our knowledge, Dun.”

“Though,” Duncan pressed, “I bet if we figure out where there are Black Cat Coffees, we can find where the original note was sent from. Meaning-”

“We can find Lemony’s friends.”

Duncan nodded, smiling a little. “Then hopefully they can tell us where they sent the third part of the file. So whatever’s in it, we can have it all together, and-”

Isadora held up a hand; when Duncan stopped talking, he, too, could hear frantic footsteps in the hall. She stood up and moved to the door, opening it slightly and peering through. “Uh-”

She leapt back as Klaus pushed the door the rest of the way open, tumbling his way in. He kicked the door shut as Sunny screamed from his back, and then he raced to the corner where the edge of Duncan’s bed met the wall, pulled the Sunnybag off his back and leaned it against the wall, and then dropped a second bag beside it.

“Klaus…” Duncan said quietly. “Why do you have Violet’s bag?”

Klaus opened his mouth to respond, and then burst into tears.

Sunny wailed from her bag, struggling to get out, and Klaus crumpled to the ground, hugging himself and rocking. Duncan shared a terrified glance with Isadora, and then he leapt off the bed, throwing his arms around his friend.

“It’s okay. Klaus, breathe. Klaus, breathe. You need to talk to us. We need to know what’s happening.”

Isadora raced over and knelt between the Baudelaires, but before she could move to help Sunny, the toddler finally tore through the bag’s straps, tumbling to the ground. Still screaming, she raced for Klaus, flinging herself against his leg.

“Klaus, Klaus, look at me.” Duncan leaned back, taking Klaus’s face in his hands and making eye contact. “Look at me. We’re here. We’re listening. What do you need?”

Isadora shook, putting one arm around Klaus and one around Duncan, careful not to touch the bandaging around his shoulder. Klaus kept shaking, trying to slow his tears, and she finally said, “Okay, one thing at a time. Have we been found?”

Klaus shakily nodded.

“By Olaf?”

Another nod.

Isadora took a deep breath. “Where is Violet?”

Klaus gripped the edge of his shirt, and then reached down and grabbed Sunny’s hand. Though the toddler was also crying, she looked up at him and nodded, scooting closer. I’m here. We’re here. We’re getting through this.

“She- she’s still there…” Klaus whispered. “She said she’d meet us here but- but there’s no way. I waited at the bottom of the building, nobody came out of the window… she didn’t come out… they must have her…”

Duncan shuddered, then glanced at the clock. Damn, it was already, like, six AM. How late had they reached the hospital? How long had they been here? How long…?

“Do you know who was there?” Isadora asked.

“I- I think it was just Esme, but… but the rest of em will have to be here.” Klaus said. “They have Violet, they’re going to kill her- Isa, they’re going to kill her-”

“We won’t let that happen.” Isadora said.

Duncan narrowed his eyes, and then, his investigative brain whirring into overdrive, he said, “If Esme is here, are your parents?”

Klaus blinked away more tears, and Isadora reached to wipe his eyes. “I- I think so. I- that’s what they want. To kill us in front of them. He’s going to kill her.”

“If your parents are here, then they won’t leave for a while.” Duncan considered. “They’ll have your parents in the hospital, but there are still doctors and nurses running around, so they won’t be able to hide them for long- unless they’re knocked out and under a pseudonym.”

“What?” Isadora asked.

“We put me under a pseudonym.” Duncan said. He had gone into reporter mode- facts now, emotions later. It was a tricky mode to be in sometimes- he was pretty much banned from family funerals after what had happened at Aunt Margery’s- but for now it was helpful, and he could tell. Klaus was looking at him, something shining in his eyes that wasn’t tears. Someone had a plan, so there was hope.

Duncan leaned over, picking up Sunny and bouncing her on his knee while he thought, ignoring a throb in his shoulder. “We put me under a pseudonym,” he repeated, “So Olaf will put- no, no, if he wants to torture them, that’ll be loud. They’ll need to be in a wing where people won’t question screams. He won’t kill Violet yet, there are too many people here. Too many witnesses. But he’ll have to hide her… until he gets you.”

“Us?” Sunny asked.

“He wants maximum pain for your parents, right? So he needs you two for that… and he must know you’re here…”

Sunny whimpered, and Isadora put a hand on Klaus’s knee.

“Violet probably doesn’t have long, though, so we’ll need to move fast. We need to get out and look for her- search every room. Though, I suppose breaking out without paying for my treatment could be an issue, they’ll track us down.”

Isadora considered, and then said, “We could leave you here.”

“We’re not splitting up again!” Klaus cried.

“Uise!” Sunny squealed. “We could wear a disguise!”

“Not a bad plan.” Duncan nodded. “I bet there’ll be a storage closet somewhere. We’ll throw on doctor’s coats, beards, wigs, whatever. If Olaf can get by with disguises then so can we.”

“We can’t search every room in the hospital, though.” Isadora said, shaking her head. “This place is enormous, I’m not even sure we could find a comprehensive map.”

“We’ll have to try.” Duncan began, just as they heard a low buzz. They jumped, before realizing it was from an intercom above them.

“Attention, patients,” said a cold, eerily familiar voice, and Sunny hissed while Klaus glared at the speaker as if intending to catch it on fire with his eyes alone.

“Fuck.” Isadora muttered.

“Babs, your former department head, has just retired to take up an occupation that involves jumping off roofs.” Olaf said coldly. They could almost hear his shiny eyes above his voice. “I am Doctor Mattathias Medicalschool, and I am now in charge. Everything shall continue as planned, but we would like to announce an exciting new program- tonight, we will be performing a cranioectomy on a fourteen-year-old girl in the operating theatre. It’s a very dangerous procedure that will hopefully go well- but, well, accidents happen. We hope to see you there. Proceed.”

The intercom turned off, and the children looked to each other, all with levels of fury rising in them.

“Well,” Klaus said, “There’s Violet.”

“We can’t wait til tonight. We can’t let him do something.” Isadora said. “We’ve gotta get her out of here.”

“Cri?” Sunny asked. “What’s a cranioectomy?”

“Well,” Klaus said, “‘ectomy’ means ‘to remove,’ and ‘cranio’ means…” his eyes widened. “Head.”

They stared at each other in horror, and then Duncan said, “Okay. We find a supply closet, we disguise ourselves as doctors, we find Violet and/or your parents, and we get the fuck outta here.”

“We can’t just walk into random rooms, though. What if they expect us to do surgery?” Klaus said. “We need some reason to-”

They heard a distant singing, then, outside their door.

“We’re volunteers fighting disease! And we’re cheerful all day long! If someone said that we were sad That person would be wrong!”

They looked to each other.

“The Antivaxxers.” Klaus nodded.

“Antivaxxers it is.” Isadora shrugged. “Now let’s get out of here before a doctor comes by and finds out we don’t have money.”

It was relatively easy to slip into a supply closet. They managed to get surgical masks on, and Isadora tied her hair into two buns while Duncan messed up Klaus’s hair. They had to help Sunny into a lab coat so that she didn’t trip over it, rolling up the ends and sleeves, and once they were all prepared, Klaus held her hand most of the time as they walked out.

When the Volunteers Fighting Disease passed by, Klaus waved his hand. “Excuse me!” he called through his mask. “We have the day off and would like to spread cheer with you all!”

The Bearded Man, at the head of the group, gave a wide smile. “Well, of course, brothers and sisters!” he gestured, and the other Volunteers cheered. “Come on over and grab a heart-shaped balloon!”

Klaus cautiously lifted Sunny up so she wouldn’t get trampled, hoping nobody questioned why he was carrying a “doctor.” Nobody did, of course, and Isadora and Duncan stuck by him, holding heart-shaped balloons to try to obscure Sunny from view. Duncan flinched every now and again, and once in a while someone bumped into his shoulder which elicited a gasp, so Isadora made sure to stick close by him, hold him by the arm and make sure he stayed upright.

From room to room they went, singing along to the repetitive, annoying jingle with too many verses to keep track of but the same tune for each one, meaning Isadora and Duncan, who were trying to sing along, kept mixing up lines- not that anybody noticed, the Volunteers were too preoccupied cheering the patients. While they held balloons, Klaus scanned the beds of every room, trying to see if anyone was Violet in disguise, wearing a mask that could conceal her face, or if there were any beds she could be hidden under, closets she could be stashed in. Isadora and Duncan kept standing by the edge of the volunteers in case any of them needed to be distracted from Klaus tearing up wardrobes behind them, but thankfully nobody seemed to notice. Or care.

They went from room to room, floor to floor, hour after hour. But by the time afternoon had come, they were still only about halfway through the hospital, and still had no sign of Violet.

“What do we do?” Duncan whispered, as they continued down the hall and the Volunteers sang around them.

“We need to find where she is specifically.” Isadora murmured.

Klaus considered, and then said, “Duncan, you said she may be under a pseudonym, right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

Klaus hesitated, and then stopped them as a group of Volunteers went into a room. The Bearded Man was holding open the door, and Klaus said, “Excuse me, sir, may I see your patient list? I believe I may have forgotten about a patient of mine today-”

“Oh, of course, brother.” the Bearded Man shrugged, handing over the clipboard. “I hate reading the names of all these sick people anyway. Too depressing.”

“Thank you!” Klaus waved.

The Bearded Man went inside, letting the door slam behind him, and once it did, Isadora whispered, “Fuckin antivaxxers, man.”

“Ocu!” Sunny shouted. “Come on, let’s find somewhere to look that over!”

“Right, yeah.” Isadora nodded. “Into another storage closet to go over these patient names.”

They found one nearby, and once they ducked in, Klaus moved to a sidetable, unclipping the papers and spreading them out. “Okay, so we’re going to need to figure out which name is Violet.”

“We could cross out everyone we visited.” Isadora said.

“That’ll take forever.” Duncan groaned.

“Visi.” Sunny said.

“She’s right.” Klaus said. “We can cross out the wards we visited and at least narrow it down.” He handed some papers to Isadora, then reached just the papers of where they hadn’t been. “Okay, what fake name do we think she’d have?”

“Easiest would be anagram, I’d say.” Duncan shrugged, leaning over the table.

“Ana?” Sunny asked.

“It’s a word or phrase with the letters scrambled in order to encode it.” Duncan explained quickly. “Like… if they hid you and called you ‘Yunns.’”

“Eeo.” Sunny narrowed her eyes. “I can’t read.”

“Luckily, we can.” Isadora said. She glanced around the shelves of the closet, and ran to one, taking a can. “Alphabet soup. Sunny, bite these open, we’ll use the noodles.”

“What?” Duncan said.

“Everyone take the letters to ‘Violet Baudelaire.’” Klaus understood, nodding along.

“And scramble names along.” Isadora said.

“Actually, we can narrow it down more. It’ll have to have a ‘V’ in it, won’t it?” Klaus said. “So anyone with a V-”

“We check there.” Isadora nodded. “Hurry it up.”

With the three of them working along, it only took about a half hour of flipping papers, scrambling names, before Klaus triumphantly held up a paper. “Laura V. Bleediotie.” he announced. “Anagram for Violet Baudelaire. We found her.”

“Thank fuck. Also, I’m not doing this doctor shit anymore.” Duncan took off his white coat, tossing it to the ground.

“You can’t just walk around the hospital without a disguise.” Isadora sighed.

“It’s too hot!”

“Deal.”

Duncan sighed. “It’s pressing on my bandages and it hurts.”

Isadora narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying that just to get sympathy or-”

Sunny held up her hands. “Gaughgit!” “Let’s just go get Violet, okay?”

They nodded, and Klaus picked up Sunny again as they set out. Klaus directed them up the stairs, scanning the halls for the right room number, his hand shaking a little as he held the paper in his hands.

When they reached the room, Isadora tossed it open and ran in, and then slid to a stop.

“Klaus, there’s nobody here.”

“What?”

Duncan raced ahead, looking around. There was one bed, pressed against the wall and a little rumpled, as if someone had just been removed from it. As the Quagmires moved to it, ducking down to see if maybe she was beneath, Klaus stepped into the room, placing Sunny on the ground and squeezing her hand.

“She’s not here.” he whispered. “She’s not here.”

“Of course she’s not here,” said a voice behind them, and Klaus stiffened, “We’ve already moved her.”

Duncan and Isadora instinctively dove under the bed. Klaus turned to see that Count Olaf was walking forwards, his shoes clacking against the ground as he did. Klaus’s first thought was he probably can’t see the Quagmires from here. His second thought was oh, shit, he can definitely see us.

Olaf stopped at the doorway, crossing his arms, and then he smiled and nodded. “Great disguises. I wouldn’t have recognized you if I hadn’t told you what to wear.”

Klaus froze in confusion, and Sunny cocked her head. Then, carefully, Klaus said, “Oh, yeah. We, um…”

“You almost look like a boy.” Olaf shrugged. “Good work there. Now what are you doing here? You’ll be needed in the Operating Room in just a few minutes.”

Klaus shook slightly, and Sunny squeezed his hand, before saying, as clearly as she could, “Knife.”

“Yes, we were trying to find a sharper knife.” Klaus nodded, nervously laughing. “Can’t perform a cranioectomy without a proper knife!”

“Of course.” Olaf smiled wickedly, and then said, “Of course, we’ll need more weapons, too, for when her bratty siblings show up.”

“Her siblings, yes.” Klaus muttered.

“Once we have all of them in one place… then we can begin the real show, won’t we?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you find that sharper knife,” Olaf said, “And then hurry down. If you’re late, I’ll have to start without you. And we wouldn’t want that. You’ll want to be there.”

“Of course…”

Olaf turned and walked away, and Klaus quickly kicked the door shut. Once it closed, he turned and said, “You two need to get out of here.”

“What?” Isadora crawled out from under the bed, helping Duncan to his feet. “What did he-”

“He thinks we’re his troupe members. Probably the white-faced women.” Klaus muttered, squeezing Sunny’s hand. “We have to go or he’ll realize he was wrong. We’ll go in, free Violet, and meet you outside. We’ll need to… to find a way out… but you can’t be seen with us. It doesn’t seem like he knows you’re here.”

“We’re not leaving you!” Isadora shouted, stepping forwards. “Not when that bastard wants you there! It’s a trap, Klaus, and you know it!”

“A trap, yes, but he doesn’t know we’re… us.” Klaus gestured to his and Sunny’s disguises. “Sunny can probably bite whatever ropes are holding her, I’ll find a way to stall and get her out, and… we’ll meet in that unfinished wing of the hospital, hide there for a bit, and then find somewhere to run. We can… can probably hijack a car… we’ll figure it out.”

“Klaus! We’re not leaving!” Duncan insisted. He hugged himself, and said, “There’s gotta be a better way. You can’t just walk down there and expect to get out.”

“Sacer.” Sunny smiled quietly. “That’s why we’re sending you outside.”

“Then you won’t get caught with us if we get found out.” Klaus said. “We have to protect you.” he looked to Duncan’s wound, his face paling a little. “We’ve done a shit job of it so far.”

“Klaus…”

He picked up Sunny, holding her close. “I’ll protect Sunny as best I can, but he expects to see us down there. If things go bad, he’s got a good chance of slipping away in a crowd due to her size. You go get the Quagmires if we get separated, Sunny, okay?”

She nodded, but Duncan just shook his head. “There’s gotta be a better way.”

“Well, if you can think of one, I’d love to hear it.” Klaus sighed. “Because we’ve got about five minutes before we have to be down in the surgical ward.”

Olaf walked down the hall, leaned against the wall, and then pressed his walkie-talkie. On the other end, Esme said, “Your idiot henchpeople have just gotten the ugly little girl sedated, and I’m taking care of keeping the others quiet. This better be good, we don’t have much time.”

“It is.” Olaf’s eyes shone. “The brats are on their way to the theatre. Be ready to begin.”

#asoue #asoue netflix #a series of unfortunate events #runaway baudelaires au #asoue fanfiction #the hostile hospital #mine #my fanfic #all those things they couldn't say

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hungergames-fanfic · 5 years

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Tour de Wyetka

Today Efrain is coming home with me cause his daddy just started working in Mr. Kwan’s stables. He’s a really old rich man who’s managed to outlive his last stable keeper. He has twice as many horses than us and is really paranoid about who he allows in his home and land. Only reason Mr. Oxoro got to be stable keeper is cause he was a good friend of the previous man, according to Efrain.

My good friend lives an hour away on foot from Littlberg, his family is one of the few that have a gasoline based car. It’s really old, loud and sometimes won’t even start, but it’s what they got. My family ain’t got any cars, daddy says we’re lucky cause we got horses. Cause Efrain would have to walk such a long way home, he’s gonna be staying with me until his daddy gets out.

There are three roads connecting Bloques to Littleberg. The shortest road is seven miles long and it’s a lonely road apart from the only house standing four miles in. Both left and right are open space of drying, sandy land with patches of tall green and yellow grass. From far away small hills and mountains close the land in, giving it the image of it being inside a shallow crater.

A small wired fence wraps around all the open land reaching halfway up the hills. Throughout the open space, cows, calfs and bulls can be seen far apart from each other, some huddled up together, enjoying the tasty grass.

Closer to the house at the forth mile mark, it’s not that hard to spot the unpainted farm house yards away. Next to it, on the right is a large chicken coop the size of a regular house in Bloques. To the left, a small section is closed off by a wooden fence. The side of the farm house, where horses are held is open and allows them to walk freely in within the small enclosure. Out by the farm house doors is a small shed where their water is placed on a large tub. Yards away is an old well we use to fill these up.

Opposite of the horse stables inside the farm house is an open stable where we bring injured animals in order to treat them. This is where I milked Brownie the first time. We kept her there cause sometimes it’s hard to differentiate cows from each other. It’s easier to keep the lactating cow on a short leash than look for it through thirty-seven others within seven miles of land.

On the left side of the house, seen from the front, is a large area kept within another wired fence keeping momma Bilmin’s flowers, vegetables and fruit safe from the pesky cows that enjoy sweetness in their lives. It’s not just cows daddy worries about though. Sometimes kids will be caught sneaking in and stealing the edibles but momma Bilmin told daddy not to do anything. After all, “they steal cause they’re hungry”. Even then, daddy jokes that if they can get past the bee stings, they deserve what they snatched. Momma Bilmin has two wooden crates filled with bees that constantly make honey.

In front of the house is a baby walnut tree thin enough for me to wrap my hands around it. A small, dusty tile passage leads us towards the house. An hacienda style, miniature home the size of two classrooms. The house is naturally orange and the tiles on the roof are just as bright along with two large solar panels. Uncle Amos really outdid himself building this house, and I ain’t officially shown Efrain the inside yet.

Stepping into the house we automatically enter a long hallway. At the end of the hall is a large potted plant blocking a window. Feet from the door is another, but this is a closet. Here we put foldable chairs, umbrellas or rain coats.

“Momma would of made this my room until I outgrew it”, Efrain says chuckling.

To the left are two doorless rooms, one walks us in the kitchen, it’s not that big but it’s perfect in size for momma Bilmin to bake all of her heart’s desires. Across the doorway is a small round table with four chairs.

“This is the breakfast table” I say to Efrain who stares at the colorful square patterns on its surface.

“Y’all have a special table to eat breakfast on?”, Efrain asks wide eyed. “Back home we just got one table but it’s bigger than this”, he adds.

“Is it this big?”, I ask taking him by the hand into the room next to this one. “This is the dinnin’ table. We don’t really eat here unless we got company”, I turn to him and notice the blank facial expression. I think he feels bad cause his table might not be this big. “We wouldn’t even have this table if aunt Lucia hadn’t bought herself an even bigger one”, I say flamboyantly just like she does when she’s tryna be snobby. This makes him chuckle. He witnessed this back at the lake.

To the right, in front of this doorway is another doorless room. This is the living room and the biggest room in the house. Here we have a big brown sofa that matches the interior walls. Next to the sofa is a reclinable chair.

“That’s daddy’s recliner so make sure to never sit on it”, I raise my eyebrows warningly.

Feet away from the sofas is a small table adorned with a potted pink succulent momma Bilmin found while one of her walks with Sasha.

“Who’s that?”, Efrain whispers pointing at the little girl sleeping on the sofa.

“That’s Sasha, momma babysits her while her parents go to work”, I whisper.

On the wall, on top of the chimney we rarely use hangs a big television screen. Here daddy watches the news. It’s just the weather and stuff that happens throughout District 10 like whippings or someone dying on the side of the road. Unless it’s Hunger Games month, all of May they’ll bombard every channel with the games and televisions will even turn themselves on so we won’t have any other choice but to watch. We still don’t, though. We just lower the volume and avoid the living room. I’m not allowed to watch the games.

“You’re not allowed?”, Efrain asks wide eyed. “But that’s where all the cool fightin’ take place”, he says chopping the air with his arms, mimicking a fight stance. He makes me smile.

“Momma Bilmin gets sad when we watch the games. She says it’s so cruel to force children to fight for entertainment”, i inform him.

“My momma said that when she was young watchin’ the games Am-“, I put my hand on Efrain’s mouth and look around. My index finger over my lips, I take his hand and drag him out the living room, down the hall to the second door on the right, passing the restroom.

My room is the smallest in the house but momma Bilmin says she’ll give me hers when I get bigger. I don’t know how I feel about sleeping in the room uncle Amos used to sleep in. In here, to the left of the door is a big bookshelf filled with books, to the right is a tall dresser I hide in when I’m upset. Usually when daddy hits me.

In front of the door, across the room is a small noisy spring bed. I lock the door and explain why my bed sheets are yellow and why that’s my favorite color but Efrain still giggles about it. I pull him under.

“Why are we under your bed?”, he asks.

“I’m not allowed to talk bout uncle Amos”, I admit.

“Why not? Everyone says it was the craziest times in ten”, he says wide eyed with a big smile on his face. Like it were cool or something.

“You know what happened in his games?”, I ask wanting to know everything that he knows.

“You don’t?”, he practically screams.

“Shhh! Just tell me but be really quiet”, I snap.

“Daddy says that this was the fourth hunger games so nobody was used to it yet. Every year when someone’s name was called people would go crazy and start beatin’ on the peacekeepers. When ya uncle Amos got called all ya family started fightin’ them. A lot of people joined up too” he nods matter of factly. “So when the peacekeepers saw that they couldn’t calm them down they started shootin’ all over the place. They done killed ya grandma’s parents, her husband and older brother and then still took ya uncle away. Momma says that this was really traumatic for ya grandma cause even after losin’ everyone she was forced to watch her baby brother play the games”, he says with regret when he notices I’m crying.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you any of that. I forgot momma told me not to”, he admits and stares at me. I nod and let him know it’s ok. Even though what he’s telling me is horrible, I want to know more. I’ve never heard about any of this before and when momma Bilmin told me about it, she just mentioned her husband.

“It was really cool cause Amos killed a lot of tributes, no one in ten has even killed more than two”, he says tapping his fingers on the wooden floor. “Daddy says that cause of him District ten survived the famine. Him and ya grandma helped feed a lot of people throughout the years. That’s why no one likes Tate, all he does is hide in his mansion and show up on Reaping day”, he says.

Tate is District 10’s only living victor. He doesn’t look scary or intimidating, just like any other guy but the fact that he killed someone to stay alive is really scary. His mansion is also really creepy looking. He never goes out.

“That’s why everyone knows who I am?”, I ask. He nods and gives me a shy smile. Tells me the Wyetka’s are famous cause we’re good people. This makes me cry again. What if I don’t grow up to be a good person just like momma Bilmin and uncle Amos?

“Don’t cry Isa, I don’t wanna get in trouble”, he says worriedly. I wipe my tears and stay quiet.

“Did I tell you my daddy got shot when the peacekeepers started shootin’? Said he was bout two years old, mindin’ his baby business when the peacekeepers started wildin’”, he chuckles. “He got shot right here”, he points at his hip. “Said it hurt like a bitch”, he opens his eyes wide and puts his hand over his mouth. We stare and laugh at one another. I ain’t ever cursed before.

“Bitch”, I say wondering if the words can come out my mouth. Efrain laughs and joins in. “Fuuuuck”, he sings showing off his missing front tooth. After a while we start saying every curse word we can think of and laugh out loud at all the funny ways we say them. It’s all fun and games until daddy starts pounding on the door.

“Isadora!”, daddy yells behind it. When I open the door he stands there with his hands on his hip, quiet with a crazy angry look on his face. Did he hear us saying bad words? I want to apologize but what if that’s not what he’s mad about?

“Ya daddy’s here boy”, he says to Efrain who darts out of my room without saying goodbye. Behind him stands momma Bilmin extending her arm for me to take. If she wasn’t here I’d get a beating, I just know it.

Scared out of my mind, I don’t know what to say. What if they heard us talking about uncle Amos? All my life I’ve been told not to talk about him and I ain’t listen. Momma Bilmin ain’t crying though, so maybe they ain’t heard us talking about him. Her and daddy sit at the breakfast table staring at me. Nobody has opened their mouth before I start crying my eyes out. I’m in trouble but I don’t know why.

#isadora wyetka #Efrain #polomir wyetka #momma bilmin #Amos Wyetka #age 9 #the hunger games

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kohakuhime · 6 years

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The Reluctant Guardian, ch. 14

Hey folks~! Here’s our next installment! As a heads up for this particular chapter, I am backtracking just a smidge - the previous installment had a time skip of three days, so...think of this like a rewind. Expect the next update by 1/13/18!

Disclaimer: this takes place post canon, and this refers to events that take place in an alternate verse. Isabel, Kazuo, Mikomi, and Travis belong to @mpuzzlegirl; Darien, Alana, and Risa belong to me; Yumi Mutou, who is referenced, belongs to @wizqevelynart; and YGO and its associated characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi

Three Days Earlier...

It had not been a good night.

Joey had spent nearly the entire night searching the city, ranging from old haunts from his teenage years to the corporate side of town, and yet he had not found any sign of the twins. Tristan and Ryou had helped as much as they could, but they too had come up empty handed.

Mai had found the shared phone the twins used on the roof across from their workshop, after dialing and hearing their ringtone. It had not been far from the alleyway where they had found the smoke bomb they had used. Joey for now was taking it to mean that they had gotten away—he did not want to think about the alternative.

It was not until the early hours of the morning when Joey trudged back into the apartment, leaning against the door. Mai was waiting for him, phone in hand. “Anything?”

“Nothin’.” Joey crashed into the nearest chair, hanging his head. “No sign of them. Either they did a real good job of hiding, or someone got to them.”

He did not have to look up to see the uncertainty on Mai’s face. “Joey…I don’t think it was just Sora and Claire who’ve disappeared. Nor Rowen or the other kids.”

Joey’s head snapped up so quickly he popped his neck, and he cursed sharply. “Mai, where’s Risa?” he said urgently, his heart crashing to a halt. “Is she—“

“No, hon, she’s okay,” she said hastily. “Risa got home around midnight. She took a cab.”

Maybe it was because he had been up all night, maybe it was the stress, but it took Joey a full minute before his mind processed what Mai had said. “Why’d Risa take a cab? Wasn’t she supposed to go back to the Game Shop after she was done at the amusement park?”

Mai’s features were grim. “Joey, Risa said that she was supposed to meet Yumi there…but Yumi never showed up, didn’t answer the phone, and when Risa stopped at the shop to check on her it was closed.”

Yugi didn’t close business during the day unless there was an emergency or a tournament he was involved in. There shouldn’t have been a reason to close the Game Shop.

He had not been able to get a hold of Yugi at all, come to think of it. At first he had thought it was because of the signal strength from different areas, but now…

“Mai, when was the last time we heard from Yugi?” he asked very quietly. “Or Téa?”

Mai did not get to answer. Joey’s phone started ringing and he jumped, pulling it out of his jacket pocket. Spotting Isabel’s caller ID, he answered it. “Yeah? Anything?”

“Joey, Noa and I were wondering if you and Mai wanted to come to breakfast with us.”

Joey blinked. He shot Mai a bewildered look, and Mai motioned for Joey to put the call on speaker. “Uh, Isa? Say that again?”

“Noa and I wanted you and Mai to join us for breakfast this morning.” Isabel’s voice was cheerful over the phone.

“We’d love to,” said Mai brightly, making Joey jump. “What time would you want us over?”

“You know that one café over by KaibaCorp? Do you mind meeting us there?”

“Sure! Hey, you don’t mind Risa tagging along do you?”

Joey, who was only seconds from protesting, stopped speaking at the look Mai was shooting him. Oh—he got it. He shot a thumbs up and rose to his feet.

“No, not at all! Mikomi and Kazuo are coming too—Noa wanted some testers for a new piece of tech he’s working on, and he apparently has standing permission from Kaiba to use his laboratories.”

“Okay, sounds good! How soon do you want us, Isabel?” Joey said.

“As soon as you can. I know it’s only six AM, but—“

“Nah, we’re up anyways and I’m hungry anyways. We’ll be over as soon as we can. Thanks, Isabel!” Joey hung up, reached for a broom, and started for the closed bedroom door. “I’ll get Risa up.”

+++++++++++++++++++

When they arrived at the café, Isabel was already standing outside waiting for them. As Joey and Mai drew closer, Isabel held out a paper bag and a cup of coffee towards them. “I ordered for you guys already,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

On the front of the bag were four words written in sharpie: Play along. Being watched.

Joey took the bag, keeping the side with the message hidden. “I eat anything, Isabel, no worries. So where’s Noa?”

“Oh, he’s over at KaibaCorp already. We can walk over,” she said, already crossing the street. Mai and Risa tailed after Joey; their daughter had taken the cup of coffee, looking puffy eyed and grouchy.

Travis was standing inside the entrance to KaibaCorp with Mikomi and Kazuo. The moment Risa reached them Travis whisked her away and into a stairwell off the right. “Travis is their guide to the labs today for their work with the product testing,” Isabel said aloud, and then in a lower voice, “Cover story, in case.”

Joey and Mai discreetly gave a thumbs up, following Isabel through the front lobby, into the elevator, and then raised an eyebrow when Isabel stuck a keycard into the slot next to the buttons. The doors closed and the elevator went up.

“Noa’s office?”

Isabel did not answer, stepping out once the elevator reached its destination. Joey did a double take when he saw the sign for the floor. “Uh—“

“Executive suite?” Mai said, and her eyebrows arched. “Oh my.”

Isabel walked all the way to the end of the hall, pushing one of the doors open and motioning for them to go inside. Joey stepped through the door, staring at the large business office around him. Noa was in the office chair behind the desk, his eyes fixed on the computer.

Joey couldn’t help but grin when he saw the desk. “Of course that nerd would have a Blue Eyes paperweight—and wait, is that a Blue Eyes computer mouse?”

“Yeah, well, Seto is predictable in that fashion,” Noa said, leaning back into the office chair. He rose from the seat and moved to the right side of the room. “Don’t worry about the kids for now—Travis is downstairs with them. Come on over with me.”

“Darien and Alana?” Mai asked, looking around. “Are they already here?”

“They said they were staying behind and out of Domino,” Noa said. “They felt they would get in the way.”

Mai exchanged looks with Isabel. That didn’t sound right for Ellie’s parents, especially considering how much they loved their family. Isabel offered a small, helpless shrug in response to Mai’s questioning expression. Something must have changed since last night.

As they approached, Noa flicked a light switch. Instead of turning off the lights, however, the switch plate lifted completely up and disappeared into the wall, leaving only a finger scanner and a pack of alcohol wipes.

Noa used one of the wipes on the scanner, then pulled out a safety pin and sighed. “I hate this part,” he muttered, and then he pricked the point of the pin into the flesh of his thumb. He squeezed his thumb until a small bead of blood welled onto his finger, and then pressed it against the scanner.

No one had time to protest. There was a small beep and the wall to the right of the switch suddenly slid open. Noa motioned for them to step inside, cleaned the scanner plate off with the wipe, and then stepped inside, the door hissing closed behind them.

“Seto insisted on DNA specific identification in addition to scanning fingerprints,” Noa said irritably. “Anyways, welcome to Seto’s panic room.”

The room inside was different from the spacious and well-furnished office. There was not as much space in here, Joey noted. A smaller sofa was pushed against the wall; on one side of the wall were several monitors and another office chair. There was a small refrigerator in another corner of the room.

“We’re being watched by someone unfriendly?” Joey asked without preamble.

“Yes,” said Noa. “I’ve already swept Seto’s office for visual and audio bugs, and checked his desktop for unwanted guests. I’m just being extra careful—only a Kaiba can get into this room, so the chances of anyone else getting in here are non-existent.”

“What's goin’ on?” Joey asked. “You wouldn’t have called us all here unless you found something.”

“First thing’s first,” Noa said, and he looked as if he had swallowed something distinctly unpleasant. “Dartz came by our house last night.”

Joey felt rather than saw Mai stiffen at his side.

“He’s confirmed all the missing kids are with him and wanted us to pass it along to you. Apparently Darien saw him last night when we asked, so he knows.”

Momentary relief briefly flitted through Joey’s thoughts. His sister’s kids were safe…or as safe as they could be, considering who had the twins. His small smile vanished as suddenly as it appeared and his mouth turned down at the corner. “Why the hell are we letting Dartz keep them safe?”

“Not by choice,” said Noa, his own voice dark with anger. “Dartz has found a way to stay off the radar, likely with magic. In true fashion, he decided to tell us what he was doing after he did it. I don’t like it any more than you do, but at this point he’s out of reach unless he comes to Domino again.”

Mai folded her arms. “Also true to form, he doesn’t talk to you about important decisions face to face,” she retorted irritably.

“Dartz was under the impression you’d castrate him with a rusted fork if he came by,” said Noa, sounding skeptical and amused at the same time.

Mai raised an eyebrow, then reached into her purse and in one smooth motion pulled out a rusted fork. “Like this one?”

There was a long pause. “Mai, holy hell, you actually have one,” Joey said at last, unable to take his eyes off of the utensil.

“I do not break my promises,” she said airily, only the smallest bit of malice in her voice. “I’m only sorry Dartz didn’t test me.”

Noa cleared his throat. “Okay, Mai, you can sheath your sword. He’s not here,” he said. As Mai put away the fork, Joey tried not to grin at the relief across Noa’s features when it was out of sight.

“Joey, Mai, do you have your duel decks with you?” Isabel asked suddenly. Noticing Joey pulling out his deck from the belt holster he carried, she added, “Do me a favor and go through your cards real quick.”

Joey complied, shuffling through his cards as Mai leaned over. He was near the end of the deck when he came across the Red Eyes Black Dragon and—

“What the hell?” he blurted out, staring at his trademark card with horror.

Green lettering was glowing across the face of the card, from top to bottom and almost hiding the dragon from view. Joey looked up from the card to Noa and Isabel. “Did you two do this?”

“We didn’t,” said Isabel reassuringly. “Mikomi caught it this morning—something similar was on one of her cards as well. Read the message.”

Joey looked back to the card. “’You’re being watched. Do nothing suspicious. You are not safe at this time.’”

The moment Joey had finished reading he gasped as the message disappeared off the card. “Is Dartz behind this?”

“Yes,” said Mai and Noa almost in unison. They shot each other startled looks, but it was Mai who kept talking. “It was how Dartz reached out to us in areas where we didn’t have cell reception. The message fades the moment you finish reading it.”

“I’m taking it to mean that this will be how Dartz keeps in touch with us, then,” Joey said, eyeing his Red Eyes worriedly. “As long as it isn’t permanent, I’ll go with it.”

“That message was verbatim what we got this morning off of Mikomi’s card,” said Isabel quietly. “You know as much as we do about who this person watching us is—which is why we’re in here and not out in Kaiba’s office.”

Noa gestured around the room. “This room is pretty much tamper-proof and you can’t get access to anything in here to place bugs. I turned off the Wi-Fi hubs and disconnected the computers in here as a precaution, and Seto doesn’t keep any separate webcams in here.”

“We bring this up because yesterday there were two break-ins during broad daylight, while Michael was almost kidnapped in the middle of a crowd in front of security guards. Yet somehow, there’s no footage or audio recordings of any of these events anywhere. We got lucky with some footage of Rowen on a bus, and even a glimpse of one of the men at the mall chasing Michael, but that’s all we have,” Isabel said grimly.

Mai rummaged in her purse again and pulled out the twin’s phone. “It’s out of battery now, but I found it on the roof of the building across from their workshop,” she said. “I thought maybe they had been caught, now that you said we’re being watched I have to wonder if they didn’t leave it because of that reason.”

“And that’s probably why Dartz left Michael’s phone behind when he took Michael from the mall,” Noa said grimly. He held out his hand for the phone. “I’ve got Michael’s already, and I’ll take that one too. Maybe there’s a tracking app somewhere on their phone that I can use to backtrack to the one who sent it.”

“Rowen’s is back at our apartment,” Joey added. “You want that one?”

“When you get a chance, yeah.” Noa took the phone carefully, inspecting it briefly before setting it down.

Noa’s features promptly darkened. “Right, here’s the other thing I’ve found out,” he said as he passed over a stapled together print out. On the front was the picture of a cruise liner, but Joey’s eyes had caught the headline:

Duel Monsters Tournament To Take Place On Private Cruise

“I heard about this tournament!” Joey said sharply, looking up at the others. “I got an invitation for it a while back, but I turned it down after reading the rules for it. It sounded shady as hell. Yugi got one too and he turned it down, but that was because it’s supposed to be almost two weeks long and he didn’t want to be away that long.”

“Enlighten us on the rules you received with that invitation, Joey,” Isabel said. “I couldn’t find anything aside from what that article was saying.”

“No outside electronics, no outside phones, nothing that could access the internet allowed. If anyone leaves the boat while it’s in port for any reason, it’s instant disqualification and barring from the next three tournaments. It’s ultimately why I said ‘nah’—I make my living from tournament earnings, and being banned would take a hit on us I can’t afford,” Joey said flatly.

“I heard about this tournament’s rules in the news. It sounds downright ridiculous,” Mai remarked with a frown. “What if it was an emergency that you had to get off?”

Joey pointed to Mai. “That was why Yugi wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t leave his family cut off from him for the duration of the tournament, since you were only allowed to take one person with you onto this boat.”

Noa’s face looked troubled. “Seto said something similar when he got an invitation. I talked to Mokuba last night about it—Seto said he wouldn’t do it because it would be almost two weeks without contact with his company, but read between the lines and it’s the same reason as Yugi.”

Joey looked back to the article and started reading aloud. “Exclusive and private Duel Monsters tournament welcomes veteran duelists Yugi Mutou and Seto Kai—what?!”

His head snapped back up to look at Noa. “Yugi wouldn’t change his mind on something like this! If he did he never said anything to me.”

“And Seto was supposed to be at a business conference yesterday, but instead Mokuba got a call from Roland saying Seto never made it there. Mokuba’s acting as representative for Seto at the conference now and doing what he can on his end, but Seto would never put off work for Duel Monsters. He wouldn’t,” added Noa when Mai shot him a look. “Not when it comes to something like this.”

Isabel nodded, her mouth a thin line. “Plus Seto’s kids and wife have completely disappeared. No one can reach them or find them.”

Ice traveled down Joey’s spine. “No one’s heard from Yugi’s family or from Yugi and Téa, and Yumi was supposed to meet Risa yesterday—she never showed up.”

Mai swore sharply. “I think I know why they’ve signed up for this tournament now,” she snarled. “This Mystery Bastard got to their families.”

Noa nodded, tight-lipped and eyes flashing. “That’s the best assumption to make at this point. Seto’s kids have tracking beacons literally sewn into their clothes—those beacons have been offline for almost twelve hours,” he said, his voice low and furious. “Whoever this is not only bold enough to go after Kaibas, they managed to make even Seto comply with them.”

“So what do we do about this?” Joey asked. “I’m not just gonna sit around waiting for something to happen, especially—“

“We may have to, hon,” Mai said quietly. She did not seem to enjoy saying it, and she looked over at her affronted husband. “If we’re being watched, it means they’re wanting to see what we do. If we get too busy or get too close, this guy could go after us next. I don’t care about me—I don’t want these bastards going for Risa,” she finished, and Joey blanched.

“For now, as much as it pains me to say it, we’ll have to stay largely out of suspicion’s way,” said Isabel. She hesitated, and then added. “Dartz feels like there’s a chance the Orichalcos is involved.”

Noa stiffened in place, sucking in a sharp breath. “I’m fine,” he muttered, though his eyes were filled with quiet horror. “Keep talking, Isabel. You’re fine.”

Isabel reached over for Noa, her hand resting gently on his shoulder and squeezing it. Her husband reached up to take her hand, and Joey saw the distinct tremble in his shoulders. Isabel looked back over to them. “Without confirming it’s back, without knowing how many active stones are in play or who’s using them, we can’t do anything without endangering ourselves and our families.”

“The Orichalcos should be useless,” Mai said, looking distinctly pale. She leaned subconsciously against Joey and his arm moved around her shoulders. “It shouldn’t have power.”

“Dartz seems to think it does in spite of everything that happened,” Isabel said quietly. “I’d be inclined to listen to him—if he of all people is worried about it, I would be too.”

“So someone got a hold of the Orichalcos again?” Joey asked. “How? I figured Dartz guarded those things pretty religiously. Unless an auction was held after Dartz was defeated and someone was like ‘hey, yo, can I bid on the suspicious glowing candy’ I don’t see how—“

“Joey you genius!” Noa’s eyes lit up as he snapped to his feet, startling Joey and Isabel. “Can’t believe I didn’t think of that sooner!”

“Liquidation sales,” Mai murmured, understanding why Noa was excited. She was grinning herself. “Whoever bought Paradius property or items in bulk has to be a suspect.”

“Isabel, tell Travis to ask Pegasus about any businessmen who’ve been interested in magic. He’s the one most likely to keep track of that number,” Noa said, turning to his wife. He blinked, already noticing Isabel smirking and holding up the burner phone.

“Got that, Travis?” she asked aloud.

“Copy that, Isabel,” Travis’s voice came over the speaker. “Just need a number, that’s all.”

“We’ll get it to you later. Keep that phone with you.”

As Isabel pocketed the phone Mai leaned forward in her seat. “I’m still thinking about that tournament. Who’s sponsoring it? We find that guy, we find the ones responsible for all this.”

“We have a name, but I’m certain it’s not the right one we’re looking for,” Isabel said slowly, and she shot a wary look at Noa. “Yuri Lee Dum. That’s the so-called head of the tournament.”

“Yuri Lee—oh that complete—I can’t—!” Joey knew the look of dark murder on his own face matched the one on Noa’s. Under different circumstances, he would have found it funny. “He’s playing with us!”

“The only names we’ve been able to find that aren’t aliases are on the duelist’s roster—including the one representing Dum,” Noa said acidly, practically spitting out the last name. “Either of you ever hear of Miracle?”

“No, but if that’s a stage name that’s in really poor taste if the Orichalcos is present and working in this tournament,” Mai said darkly. “And let me guess: no connecting companies, no word on who’s sponsoring it other than this clown?”

“Not a thing. I have no idea how they’re hiding everything they’re doing,” Noa said angrily. The amount of venom in Noa’s voice was palpable. “This whole thing is really…really…stupid.”

Although no one spoke after that statement, everyone in the room could not help but silently agree.

“If we can’t do anything outright without proper information, then we need to focus on what we can do,” Mai said at length. “I for one don’t think we’re fully safe from this guy. Protection for the remaining kids needs to be our priority. No going anywhere without one of us, among other things.”

“And the kids are crafty buggers too,” added Joey. “Risa for one probably isn’t gonna sit this out if Yumi and her cousins are in trouble.”

“Let them try to come after our kids,” Noa said, his voice deceptively smooth. The look in his eyes, however, spoke volumes. “Just let them try.”

“Travis did not just come here to visit Michael, either. He’s got a show here in town for the next week, and we’ve figured he’s our loophole. We’re taking a gamble on him,” said Isabel firmly. “I already gave him a burner phone and he’s going to be doing some digging for us, since we’ve got unfriendly eyes on us.”

“In the meantime, I’m going to keep digging and keep trying to figure out who this guy really is. You all are welcome to do your own work, but try not to get caught doing it.”

“Keep our ears to the pavement and our eyes open. Gotcha.” Joey saluted, a shark’s grin stretching across his features. “They’re forgetting I grew up on these streets. I can do plenty of detective work without getting caught. You just gotta know what to ask and where.”

+++++++++++++++++++

“Okay, anyone have a Sharpie pen?”

“I do. I carry, like, three of them on me at all times.”

“…Why?”

“Hey, someone falls asleep in class, you gotta draw on people with bold and fine detail.”

“…Right.” Kazuo handed the Sharpie pen to Mikomi, eyeing Risa warily. “Remind me not to nap around you.”

Although it had been Mikomi who had found the message on her Hitotsu-Me Giant card, Kazuo had the idea to try reverse-messaging to the one who had sent the warning; with Mikomi’s ability to contact Duel spirits, it was a chance to find their cousins that was near impossible not to take. Risa, meanwhile was watching the computers run a custom search for Yumi’s Duel Disk—an idea she’d had the moment they had stepped into the lab.

“What should we say?” Mikomi asked, holding the pen hesitantly above the card.

“Maybe start with ‘knock knock’. No, I’m kidding,” Risa added when Kazuo shot her a look. She sobered, taking another sip of coffee, and then said, “What about ‘are you there? Please answer’ to start with? I get the feeling this Dartz guy may not answer right away, and you don’t want to write a novel if he isn’t going to respond to begin with.”

Mikomi nodded, carefully writing in neat, legible writing on the card. She touched the card after she had finished and added a silent, Please take the message to Dartz.

She felt a gentle brush on her shoulder, and though the card did not change she felt the presence of Hitotsu-Me Giant fade away.

“Now what?”

“We’ll have to wait and see if Dartz answers us,” Kazuo said, sounding anything but happy. “Meanwhile, let’s see what we can do to help find out what’s going on…”

+++++++++++++++++++

The next three days seemed to pass without incident, though they did pass ever so slowly. Either Isabel or Mai kept watch over the kids if they went anywhere, escorting them to and from their destinations; Risa, Kazuo, and Mikomi were not pleased by this development, but none of them protested terribly.

Initially there had been talk of mounting a rescue, or at least having someone try to find Seto or Yugi, but that option was shot down by Noa: “They’re using cloaking technology to hide their global position, and it would take at least weeks to find them. Apparently they got special permission on that one—go figure—but flying blindly out there is potentially endangering them and their families.”

It was an uneasy stalemate that they had fallen into over the three days. No leads, no answers, and mounting frustration on all sides.

Mikomi, Kazuo, and Risa, when together, spent a good deal of time huddled and speaking in whispers. What they were discussing or talking about was anyone’s guess, but as long as they did not try to set off on their own the adults let them be. A small part of Isabel was even hoping perhaps the kids could see something that the adults didn’t.

Noa was glued to a computer screen, rarely taking his eyes away as he moved throughout multiple screens of coding. Per Isabel, her husband had been doing digging in just about every website in the city that he could reach. Noa still could not find names, or specific evidence of anything shady going on.

Joey also rarely came home at night, tracking down virtually every lead he could find. He deliberately did not take a phone with him when he went out, making Mai wait up for him. Mai often found Joey trekking back in the early hours of the morning, covered in bruises and dirt. He too was striking out in terms of information.

Not one of them heard from Dartz in all that time and the silence was deafening.

+++++++++++++++++++

On the fourth night, just before she went to bed, Mikomi checked her cards. When she got to Hitotsu-Me’s card, however, she gasped. “Kazuo!”

Her brother, who had been passing in the hallway, stopped in mid-motion and ducked into his younger sister’s room. “What is it?”

Mikomi was staring at the card, one hand covering her mouth.

“Mikomi?” Kazuo felt a spike of concern. “Komi, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Wordlessly she held out the card to Kazuo. The Sharpie was gone, replaced by glowing letters. Impossibly, the message seemed to radiate with an intense fury, nearly blinding Kazuo before his eyes could focus on the five-word message:

Do nothing. Stop everything.

NOW.

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#kohaku writes #au: reluctant guardian #oc: risa #other's oc: isabel #other's oc: travis

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davidchill · 7 years

Text

The Last Days of Poverty

My battle to keep my home may have been thwarted, but misfortune breeds opportunities. I’ll soon be starting a brand new chapter, in a new home and a new community. Yes, as much as I love the village of Stanstead Abbotts, I’m 99% certain that I’ll find myself in a different village/town, and possibly a different county. Although I have no intention of leaving the UK, so I won’t be taking Luna on a long haul flight to Australia anytime soon.

Along with clearing a huge chunk of debt, I’ll also finally be in a position to invest a bit of money in my business. I’ve already been offered a shiny new photography job that I can begin as soon as I have the funds to purchase a shiny new camera, and that will earn me enough to cover most of my living expenses. That, combined with my existing work, and a new part-time job beginning in July, will finally see me free of poverty. No more muffins for dinner, or moving lightbulbs around, or trying to make excuses for not seeing friends because my car is running on petrol fumes. I’ll finally have my freedom, and the ability to pop to the shops for a bottle of wine or treat myself to an occasional meal out, and all the other things that I used to take for granted.

You may think I’m exaggerating the above, but things have been pretty desperate. Having said that, despite the escalating anxiety telling me that everything would end in disaster, or the depression telling me that I’ve become too much of a burden to others, and I should possibly do a disappearing act, I’ve woken each day feeling thankful that I’m in my own bed, with a roof over my head, and I only have to face one more day. #BabySteps

I’ve narrowed my house search down to Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire… although that’s not in order of merit. The immediate vicinity is simply too expensive, so I’ll undoubtedly be further away from London, but that’s not a bad thing. I’ll be renting, initially, as I’ve been reliably informed that I won’t get a mortgage. My elderly neighbour seems convinced that I’ll be going back to my parents, but this won’t be happening. No offence to my parents, but I passed the point of no return when I left home (for the third time).

Someone recently said; “I hope you can keep Luna”. Well, I can say, with 100% certainty, that Luna will be remaining in my care.

No word of a lie, she looked up at me as I typed that line. I’m not sure if it was a look of sheer relief or “kill me now”… she’s difficult to read sometimes.

Anyway, there’s simply no way that I’d have Luna rehomed. Certainly not at this stage of the game. The only thing that gives me any kind of solace about my forthcoming move is that I can give us both a better quality of life. I don’t need a garden, but she does, and after everything we’ve been through then returning her to the animal shelter is simply unthinkable. Unless I was physically or mentally incapable of looking after her, and in which case it would be in her best interests. I understand that my devotion and commitment to her is alien to those who suggested I had her shipped off when I first started to struggle, but she’s my companion. The Doctor wouldn’t just give away K-9, and I’m certainly not going to abandon Luna.

Actually, he did give away K-9, but that’s besides the point.

“You won’t be able to rent anywhere with a dog” said at least one estate agent naysayer.

Poppycock.

Over the past few weeks I’ve bookmarked a plethora of properties that will happily accept a pet; especially if one pays a higher deposit. My line is usually “I know that this listing says no pets, but…” and this usually works a treat. To be perfectly honest, if I owned a property I’d be much more concerned about children running amok than a lone adult dog. Even if she is a carpet-wetting bitch.

There’s a special place in Room 101 for landlords that don’t accept family members.

My chief concern about the forthcoming move is that I need to lay down a deposit, paying several months rent in advance. My credit report has been shot to pieces, and I have a cat in hell’s chance of finding a willing guarantor. The problem isn’t finding the money, as I’ll receive a lump sum from the sale, it’s finding the money *before* the sale completes, when I then have to vacate my current property. So unless I can pay the deposit and move into my rented accommodation on the same day then I’m going to have a brief period of living in a B&B, with my belongings being held in storage. I’m not going to take umbrage to a holiday when I’m “between homes” it would just be easier to move all my stuff straight into my new home. Still, that’s more an “inconvenience” than a “disaster” so whatever will be will be.

On the whole, I’m optimistic. I’m also exceptionally thankful to anyone who has supported me over the last couple of years. Especially to those who didn’t turn a blind eye, and loaned me a bit of cash to see me through. A couple of people even put their own plans on hold to help me out, and the majority of people simply wouldn’t do that for another human being, no matter how close their friendship. It takes a brave, brave soul to lend money to a friend, especially when it’s safer tucked away in an ISA account. There’s no risk there… no risk of being dragged before Judge Rinder and him shaking his head in disbelief, while chastising you for not putting anything in writing.

That level of faith in me has not gone unnoticed, and suffice to say, you *will* be rewarded.

I appreciate that I’m often regarded as a bit of a fantasist who doesn’t live in the “real world” but when I make a pledge to do something, be that visiting America and leaving home before I’m 40, or running 10k after zero exercise for 20 years… then I’ll commit myself to following that through until completion. People actually laughed in my face at all those things, yet I still achieved those goals.

I have some pretty big projects in the pipeline over the coming year, so if I can get through the next few weeks without being forced to sell my vital organs to pay the bills, then this time next year I’ll be raising a glass to perseverance, commitment, and some faithful friends.

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