Ablaze , ᶦᵛʸ

c.7

"You said your brother... disappeared from home? When he was 14?"

Emlyn gave a short nod in return, angry tears swimming in her eyes. Her fists balled up by her sides as she struggled to blink her watery eyes. "Yeah," she said, throat thick. She didn't care about how ridiculous she looked at the moment.

Mostly, she just wanted to get this over with. Her kidnappers sure loved to play. Emlyn didn't know what it was they wanted, but she did know that they seemed pretty goddamn set on getting it. The best way to play this was the safe way; give them their answers and don't throw any smartass comments that could get her beaten up.

Just shut up until they ask you what they need to hear. Emlyn swore she heard Jasmine whisper in her ear, talking to her again. Her ex-girlfriend haunted her dreams and on the occasion, Emlyn had gotten used to her mind using Jasmine's voice instead of her own to monologue her thoughts. It sure hurt like hell, even if it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. But hearing her voice stung painfully, knowing about her disappearance. That honestly? Emlyn still was hung up about. And for good reason. Jasmine's note was definitely really suspicious. And then seeing what only could've been her ex on national tv? Although she couldn't be 100% sure, she was pretty damn sure that was her.

Emlyn shook her head, clearing her stormy mind and returning to the present moment.

Carmen was sitting across from her, hands linked together and balanced on the center of the table. The light beam from above them shone directly into the kidnapper's hands, making them almost glitter.

Carmen's tanned, toasted brown skin was clear underneath the rays projected on the backs of her palms. Emlyn stared down at her own lighter, paler skin in comparison, which reminded her of white batter when she had been baking vanilla cupcakes. Her skin was hidden beneath the darkness that shrouded most of the room they were currently in, awkwardly trying to forget her surroundings.

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes once again, and her throat was trying to close up, squeezing around her vocal chords.

She was scared.

She hated to admit it.

But she was.

By her unconscious instinct, she reached for her pockets for her whiskey and cursed when she remembered they had searched her after her drunken induced nap.

After that, they definitely had drugged her too, to increase the length of her slumber.

With what, Emlyn had no idea. Likely some tranquilizer unit, judging from the faint throbbing in her arm. She felt more in her drunken stupor then she would've sober. So, pinpointing where the dart was shot was pretty much a breeze; she didn't even have to try to figure it out. Her heightened senses and slight paranoia did the job for her already.

Now, Emlyn realized that she was in fact, whiskey-less. Most times when she felt downcast or broken, which was a lot of the time, especially since Grey's disappearance, which had not seemed to shatter anyone else but her— surprisingly the rest of her family had been rather unfazed about it— she had turned to alcohol to cope.

That was just how she had learned to do it, growing up with her alcoholic mother, and mostly absent father.

Emlyn let her hand fall, slipping over her empty pockets. She swallowed her saliva, concentrating on the silhouette of the person sitting across from her. "It was really weird," Emlyn confessed. "I remember one morning I woke up to eat breakfast and— and he was just gone." Her words crackled, and she proceeded to cough, a cough half consumed in the spindly cotton of her feeble sobs.

Carmen simply nodded in pace with her emotional story.

Emlyn almost felt as though a knot inside of her stomach had loosened, ever so slightly by letting these bottled emotions and words out.

"And you don't have any correlation to VILE?" Carmen questioned.

"No? I still don't know who that is by the way," Emlyn commented. "Mind explaining to me what the hell that is?"

"An international 'villains league' for teaching operatives skills necessary to become a thief," Carmen said, taking in a single breath before dryly spilling it out for Emlyn.

"What?" Emlyn exclaimed, eyes widening as her brain compressed inside of her skull. She winced painfully, clutching her temples.

"What is it?" Carmen said, standing up abruptly and staring at Emlyn almost worriedly. "What's wrong? What do you feel?"

"I-It's—" she shook her head, not wanting to disclose the exact random things that electrified her mind at the moment. Better to not reveal it to someone who could turn and kill her at any second. "Just a headache. Probably left over from my nap. Wasn't a hangover but it happens sometimes after drinking, even if not much. I'll be fine."

Carmen relaxed, but only a little. Still tense from what happened, she stood rooted to the ground like a cat in a cartoon show that was just struck by lightning. Minus the comedic parts and funny sound effects though. Emlyn could practically see it by the way she was sure that every single hair was standing straight on Carmen's skin, rigid and ready.

"So this was the first time you've seen Graham in... how many years?" Carmen inquired, eyes glinting with an emotion I couldn't make out.

"Nearly four now," Emlyn whispered. "I'll be eighteen end of March, and we're twins, so... he vanished right before my birthday. Our birthday," she corrected herself.

Carmen nodded again.

Silence ensued after Emlyn's words. Emlyn didn't dare say anything even though it was so awkward. Making small talk with the Red Thief would be even more awkward, she knew that much.

Invisible strings were pulling frantically at Emlyn's skin as she tried to figure out what the famous thief was thinking about. She had to admit, even though her situation sucked ass, at least she could say she got kidnapped and kind of interrogated by The Carmen Sandiego, right?

But she didn't have to worry, because Carmen spoke up, alright.

And what she said made Emlyn practically hit her knee on the table as she raced to stand up.

Deadbeat, Carmen had said, "I asked all of the information that we require as of right now. As for our next move? We'll arrange a meeting between you and your brother."