Black And White

Chapter 5

Equipped with guns and bulletproof vests, Howie and Xander, along with a couple of other PEIP agents, made their way back to Hatchetfield. The town which, mere hours ago, had been mostly peaceful had descended into absolute chaos, with people rioting round every corner. Dead bodies littered the streets and a metallic smell hung thick in the air. Howie shivered at the thought of adding another to the pile of corpses, but he had to shake his head clear and tell himself that this one death could prevent hundreds of others. Thousands, probably, across the rest of the country.
     "Excuse me, miss," Xander tapped on the shoulder of a woman with red hair, "Have you seen a woman called Linda Monroe anywhere?"
     "She's at the shopping centre, waiting for somebody to bring her a Wiggly doll."
     "Thanks."
     The group of four PEIP agents and the president ran in the direction of the half lit up sign and were soon met with a mob of people surrounding a woman. Her straight blond hair sat on her shoulders as she rose a green, furry thing slowly up into the air. She had a sickening grin on her face as a crowd of people knelt before her. To Howie's relief, she was distracted when a man tried to steal the three dolls sitting behind her, so he lined up his shot.

"Here we are." Webby's voice was surprisingly soothing to Curt, who felt generally uneasy after hearing about Owen's escape plan. He knew Owen was estranged from his parents, but to have them forget him completely?
     "What are we doing here?" Curt asked her.
     "Owen?" She beckoned for him to step forward. Curt realised what they were doing there.
     Owen stepped forward, Curt swore at least slightly hesitantly, drawing the chain from his pocket again.
     "Now, place it here." Webby pointed to the centre of a pale block of marble.
     Owen obliged, laying the locket, containing a picture of him with his parents on the day he was born, on the top of the block. As soon as he had placed it, he quickly walked back over to Curt and gripped his arm.
     "You okay?" Curt asked gently and Owen nodded, wiping away a tear.
     The three stood and watched another beam of light drag the locket up into the air. Then it disappeared. As he watched, Owen felt as though he had been released from a mass of chains that had been weighing him down for the last four years. It was only when he saw Curt standing over him that he realised he had fallen to the floor. Well, the thick light that constituted the closest thing there was to a floor.
     "Owen?"
     "Curt-" He pulled himself back up, "I- Wh-"
     "You're now free to leave the black and white. Wiggly can no longer keep you captive." Webby grinned at Owen, who cautiously let the corners of his lips turn up.
     "Okay. Let's get going then. Curt, do you still have the rope? I sort of fell off."
     Curt held up a hand, clutching the rope and the two grinned. They said goodbye to Webby and walked back to the door.
     "We really did it." Owen said, unhooking the rope, closing the door and putting the rope back in his bag.
     "You're really coming back to earth."
     "Hey," Owen put a hand on Curt's shoulder, "Are you all right?"
     Curt wiped just eyes, "I just can't believe you're really coming back with me. I missed you so much."
     "I missed you too. And just so you know, I thought about what you said about not being able to save me from the aliens and you were right. Wiggly filled my head with all that crap after letting me come here. I was so consumed by my anger that I forgot what it was supposed to be directed at. And it was supposed to be directed at Wiggly, not you. I'm so sorry, Curt."
     "It's okay, It's okay." Curt pulled Owen in for a hug, before their lips met briefly.