After the Earthquake

Part 7

Hazel awoke to a pounding feeling thundering through her head. The pain tore through her body like a million glass shards all at once. "Help..." Her feeble voice cried out, though she barely had the strength to form one word. "Dean... Jordan... help..." She rolled out of her bed and collapsed on the floor with a loud thud. Her vision began to go blurry and the last thing she saw was the crack of light as her door began to open gradually.

***

Hazel's deep brown eyes fluttered open and she realised she was on the floor of her room still. The pain in her head had dulled to a violent throb, but she found herself getting a hold of her senses and finally making her way over to the door. Her hand rested on the handle when she heard, "It was easy to drug their takeaway. They didn't even take a look at me as I handed it over. I'm almost done with the job now, but I'll have to be quick. I'll report back later."

Hazel's heart pounded and she slowly drew her fingers away from the door handle. She fumbled her way back to her bedside and realised her phone was nowhere to be seen. With frustration she recalled that she had turned it off and left it downstairs, just as she did every night to prevent herself from becoming too attached to it.

She headed towards the door and waited for one moment before slowly opening it a crack. The intruder was nowhere to be seen. She carefully edged her way out of the door and as she turned to shut it behind her, her heart dropped.

Standing in front of her was a tall, threatening figure, dressed in all black. A mask hid the lower part of his face, but there was no mistaking him. "Thomas? What are you... how are you...?" Her words died out as he made a sudden movement to grab her wrist. She took in a breath to scream, but he quickly pulled a knife from his pocket and held it to her.

"Not a word." He led her down the stairs and to the front door. "I can't let you go. You're coming with me." As he pulled her out of the house and practically dragged her towards the car, Hazel felt a flood of emotions go through her. Was this her final moment? Would she ever be able to make up with Jordan? Would she ever see Dean again? Tears flew down her face at an immense speed, and she was sure she heard Thomas scoff.

Thomas locked her in the back of the car and headed to the front so he could drive. As he turned his back, Hazel found her eyes drifting back over to the house, and she began to pay more attention to the front door.

In a flash, Jordan raced out of the front door and threw himself at Thomas. Both men went flying to the ground, but Jordan had the element of surprise. The intruder didn't even have time to pull out his knife before Jordan had him pinned to the ground. "Hazel, it's okay. I'm here. Can you climb through the front and get out the car? Go and call the police."

As if in a trance, Hazel managed to manoeuvre her way to the front of the car and climbed out through one of the front doors. Her heart rate had not even come close to slowing down, and it felt as though her heart was about to tear right through her chest in only a matter of moments. Her eyes caught sight of Jordan struggling with Thomas once again, and it snapped her into action. She rushed indoors and called the police, informing them of everything she knew of the situation.

As she went to go and help Jordan again, she left through the front door only to see that Thomas had disappeared. "Where is he?!" she screeched, feeling panic well up inside of her.

"I'm so sorry, Hazel." Jordan looked horrified. "He managed to escape my grasp, I don't know how, and he pulled out his knife to threaten me. He heard police sirens start nearby and ran. I'm so sorry – I thought I could hold him."

Hazel let out a shuddering breath and tried to stop herself from taking out all of her anger on Jordan. She knew it wasn't his fault, but he should have kept a better eye on Thomas. She was about to speak when she heard the screeching of tyres around the corner. The police car flung to a halt and a policeman stepped out, looking nimble and ready to take down an attacker. "Where is he?"

"We didn't manage to hold him. He threatened us with a knife and then ran away." Hazel was not about to throw Jordan under the bus for letting him escape, although her heart dropped at the idea that she was lying to the police. "I know who the culprit was, though, and I can give you his address and a full description."

The policeman sighed and his forehead crinkled as if he was deep in thought. At the mention of a name, he perked up again, and asked, "How do you know this man? Did he know this was your house? Was this a deliberate break in?"

Hazel nodded. "I think he was looking for something specific. His name is Thomas Waters. He has light brown hair and eyes, and quite a round face. I'd recognise him anywhere. We volunteered with him at the house-building project nearby Pine Gardens. He had a key to my house because he was dropping off some supplies while we were out. When I asked for it back, he apologised and offered to pay for a new one but he said he had lost it. He might have even made copies." Hazel felt a shudder come over her entire body at the thought of more people having access to their house. "We completely trusted him."

The officer slowly shook his head. "This is disgraceful. Don't worry; we'll be able to catch him with such a huge amount of evidence. I'll radio in that he might be going back to his home, although I doubt it." As he turned his back, Hazel and Jordan shared a long, sorrowful look. How could this happen to them? They trusted Thomas so much. Hazel felt her trust shatter into pieces there and then. "Oh, and by the way." Hazel's attention snapped back to the police officer as he turned to face them again. "I'm Detective Leonard. Scott Leonard. You're lucky I was on patrol, because I may be able to help you find the culprit. Call me any time on this number." He passed over a card from his pocket. "I'll contact you when I get any information. Can I use the number from the emergency call?"

Hazel was fully taken aback at the onslaught of information which had been sent her way, but this question suddenly brought her back into reality. "Yes, yes. Um, sure. Yes, that's my phone." Her head hurt from this night, and she didn't know how she could get a good night of sleep after this. "Should I change the locks on the doors?"

"Yes, obviously you should. Unless, of course, you want this to be a regular occurrence. Then you can keep the locks as they are." Hazel almost charged at the obnoxious detective, but she didn't need to. Jordan took a step forward and took the detective's scruff in his hands. "Whoa, easy, boy."

"Listen here, you. She's been through a lot tonight. Her mother recently passed, and she finally got her mind off it by volunteering somewhere, and it turns out that the people volunteering with her have betrayed her. Don't you dare talk to her like that." He glared at Detective Leonard for a moment longer before releasing him and stepping back at Hazel's request. She grabbed his arm to stop him from getting any angrier.

"Thank you, Detective, and good night. I don't think I'll get anymore sleep tonight, so I'll just wait until morning to make sure nobody plans on breaking in. I'll ring someone to change the locks first thing in the morning." She reached out her hand for the detective to shake, but he simply scoffed.

"Leave it for the criminals, darling. I have better things to be doing." He left his gaze on Jordan for just a little longer than usual, and Hazel knew it was a warning. "Until next time." His car sped off the second his foot hit the pedal. Anxiety hit Hazel as she realised that this was real. Her house had just been broken into and Jordan had just threatened a police officer. No – not even an officer – a detective, no less. Her life was totally messed up.