The Two Missing People

Chapter 6~ Home

Chapter 6~

The airport stank of sweaty crowds and dentists. After waving Miora and her taxi off, she had warned us of the smell.
"Careful," she had said, winding down the window of the taxi, "it stinks like dead people in there. Just saying."
I clutched my bag in one hand, and my nose in the other. The crowds were not as large as the JFK airport back in New York, but it still pressed against you like an invisible bond. The wheels of suitcases squeaked, and the voices all around thundered into my brain.
I rubbed my temples, feeling the start of a headache.
"You alright?" Asked Pablo.
I nodded, and, trying to distract my mind from the ever growing pain in my head, looked around. "Where too?"
"The ticket booth."
And so we headed towards a big block in the middle of the crowds. A large women sat on a spinning chair, ruffling papers and stamping passports. She wore a cap that shielded her face, and a pin dancing on the edge of her mouth, as she blurted out information to the man at the front of the line. The women's chubby face was grumpy looking, and when we got to her, she scowled.
"A ticket to where?" She mumbled.
I put my bags down to rest my arm as Pablo talked to the lady.
A minute or two later, she spoke into a walkie-talkie.
"Please wait a moment."
Fifi sighed and leaned against the wall of the booth.
"What is it?" I asked.
The lady grunted something barely audible.
"She says that we have to get a security check because we are from Town Feria. Since Town Feria is where the missing people are, it is compulsory to." Pablo said. He dropped his arm around Fifi's small shoulders, and she looked up at him with her sparkling eyes.
"It will only take a minute," Pablo muttered, "and then we get our tickets and board the nearest flight to Africa!"
"And then to New York." Grinned Fifi.
Even the name of my home city stirred excitement through my veins. As soon as I arrived home, I would go to the UGMA and launch into my mission once again. For now, unfortunately, there was nothing I could do but wait.
After the silence stretched on for long enough, Pablo started speaking to the lady.
"So, whats your name?"
The lady blinked, then, she rudely swung on her seat to face the other direction, picking up a stack of paper as she did so.
"Excuse me, I'm just trying to be friendly." Pablo stammered.
The lady slammed a stamp down, hard, onto a piece of paper. This made me angry.
"I hope you get polluto." I growled, too soft for the lady to here.
Pablo glared at me. "Wol!"
"Sorry." I said, "the way she treats people, I would of thought you wanted it too!"
Pablo shook his head. "Polluto is a terrible disease, by the sounds of it! I would not wish anyone to have it."
"You are to soft on people! Sometimes, being too nice is bad!" My temper wavered, and suddenly, I felt slightly sick. My head pounded, and the smell of the airport did nothing to help it.
"Stop it! Stop fighting." Fifi moaned. I felt her little hand curl around mine. "Fighting is bad for you."
Pablo sighed with irritation. "Whatever Wolluce. At times, I am sure that the UGMA has hardened your heart, and made you into a monster."
"No." I growled, "they have toughened me, taught me to be strong, made me go through many horrible things to get where I am now. They have made me see that some people are bad, others good. They have showed me the REAL world. Sometimes, the real world is BAD, Pablo. Bad."
Pablo was shaking his head at this. "And other times, the real world is good, but you can't see that, Wolluce! You were better of on that little island, where you could still see the good in people."
My hand raised, and with all my might, I managed to stop myself from striking him. "Pablo, how can I see the good in YOU, when you killed your wife, Fiona's mother, and continued to be the horrible father that you are? How can I see any good, when people like you rampage the earth and ruin it?"
"Enough!" The women at the desk yelled, clicking her fingers. "Security is here."
Three men in polished blue uniform marched towards us, not smiling one bit. Their belts hung around their wastes, and more then one gun were clipped onto the buckle. Each man looked tough, built with large shoulders and muscular biceps, but with narrow legs. If things came to the worst, I could tackle them down easily. My legs were stronger than theirs, and I was faster on my feet, not carrying as much weight as they were.
"Follow us, gentlemen."
"And the kid?" Smirked the officer to the right of me. "She should be checked. Looks like a big enough threat to me."
The officer at the front snickered and rolled his eyes, then beckoned for us to follow. I did not like arrogant men like these. I hoped that I got the chance to slap one across the face. It would be a nicer way to let out all my frustration, worry, and anger, which had clogged up in my system.
"My name is Bill." Said the smallest (and the weakest looking) of the three. He only carried a small pistol, and the badge on his cap and chest were a bit different to the other's. He was in a lower position to them.
"Nice to meet you, Bill." Pablo said, taking his hand and shaking. It was a surprise to see that he was barely angry anymore. The words I had used against Pablo seemed not to of effected him. I was glad, because I barely meant what I said.
I kept on walking, wanting to get this over and done with.
The police officer at the front, who seemed to be the leader, stopped and faced us. "Stand in one row against the wall. We are going to give each of you a full body check."
"And I will search your bags." Said the police officer next to Bill.
Bill was scowling slightly. "I will take care of the kid." Pablo threw Bill a look, and Bill relaxed his face. "I will be gentle. Do not worry."
Pablo had done what he was told, and the leading police man, who I had gotten close enough to read the label on his tag (his name was Jose) needed to nudge me roughly to get me to lean against the wall.
Jose ripped the bag from my hand, which I did not realise I had been holding, and threw it to the other officer.
Jose started to pad my chest, then my arms and sleeves. His rough, thick fingers poked and prodded until it found nothing, and he moved on to do the same to Pablo. Finally, we were done, and the bags were thrust into our arms, Fifi (gently) pushed to Pablo, and we were set free from their irritated gaze.
Things progressed quicker after that. We bought our tickets, wondered towards a cafe to rest our bodies and buy a quick snack, and settled in our seats by our gate. The plane was due to take off in one hour, 2:00.
Fifi fell asleep on the chair, and Pablo left to go to the bathroom. I was watching through the glass window, as planes landed and swooped through the sky, making a loud rumbling noise each time they passed. I could not quite see a plane coming to land, and I got up to catch a better look.
This was my mistake.
As soon as I turned my back to Fifi, and walked out of range, I heard a stifled scream. My sharp instincts made me turn around with such speed that swayed to the side as I steadied. My eyes shot back and forth, and saw, to my utmost horror, someone dragging Fifi by the hair, as she kicked and screamed. No one did anything, but stood in frozen fear, and watched.
I launched forward, sprinting past the rows of seats, toward the kidnapper. As soon as I was in arms length, I dove, snatching the persons shirt. My knuckles twisted around the fabric as I fell, and he toppled down with me, shrieking as he went. I smashed my elbow against his chin, and a sickening crunch made me extract my arm quickly.
Did I break his chin?
The man groaned so loud I almost mistook it to be a plane coming to land.
I scrambled out from underneath him, and blindly reached for Fifi. She was a couple of meters away, pale and trembling.
"Fifi! It is ok. The man will not bother you again!" I called out, injecting a cheerful tone into my words, which was the opposite to what I felt.
Fifi cried out and raised a shaking finger.
I spun around, and a fist flashed before my eyes, connecting against my cheek. Pain burst from the spot, and no words could make its way out of my throat.
Lights, fireworks, stars, littered my vision, and I tasted blood on my lips. My head swam with the little sparkles that chased across my sight. The voices which surrounded me were beginning to blur together. I felt hands groping at my clothes and my skin, but did not recognise any of the faces.
The pain in my cheek was to much, and although I had suffered much worse, this pain, along with the stress and the worry and all the negative emotions, was just a bit much. All my body wanted to do was shut down and stay down for ad least a few hours.
This was exactly what I did.