Transformation Tragedies [CoRIII]

Chapter 22 - The chase I

[It's far beyond midnight once the phone suddenly rings in the Senicourt household. Mary, who slept lightly, gasps awake and sits up straight in a rush, only for her eyes to immediately stay pinned on the housephone that's visible in the bedroom door's opening. The blue siamese-tabby rubs her eyes and tiredly swings her legs over the edge of the bed, tiptoeing to the living room as quickly as she can. She picks up the phone and would've wished for her voice to not sound as raspy as it is once she answers.]

Mary: Senicourt residence, who am I speaking with?

Richard: Mrs. Senicourt? It's me, Richard.

[The blue feline gasps as she did not expect him, even at this time, to call at all and she tightens her grip on the phone while fearing her daughter is involved.]

Richard: Listen, there's no time to lose, but the current situation has become so drastically I feel insecure if I'll manage fixing it on my own.

Mary: W-what happened to my daughter?

[Mary's voice breaks and as it already roughened up by just having awakened, it sounds even more off than usual. Richard can sense the fear in her voice, but he still stays focused on the road in front of him.]

Richard: It's a long story, but I unfortunately can't assure she's in good condition at the moment. She ran away yesterday and the town doesn't seem to show any compassion or understanding anymore... You've heard about the alert?

Mary: I- I did. I've sworn I knew it was about her... Stupid of me to think they were all just making assumptions. Who else could be the blue-furred monster in question.

Richard: I'm not sure if you want to picture your daughter like that. Anyhow neither do I and I understand you couldn't believe it at first. But I will need your help...

Mary: I- I'd do anything! P-please... make sure she's alright...

Richard: Listen, I need you to tell me everything you know about her grandaunt and the condition. It's the only way for me to figure out in what state she currently is.

Mary: O-oh I... You know, she got extremely upset when we told her more about it. But b-basically we knew she'd be born w-with the faulty genes way before...

[Richard gasps as memories from during his younger years become clear in his mind again. No wonder why she barely showed herself at certain times of the day... No wonder why she had a ridiculous amount of medicine... The pink bunny sternly shakes his head and his tone gets a bit defensive.]

Richard: That's-

Mary: Selfish of us? Yes, we know. It was such a huge mistake, but you can't imagine h-how much we regret it... We tried to prevent her from following Hana's footprints for such a long time, but we didn't realize how powerless we were... Please, I want her to be safe... I've already done so much damage a-and I don't w-want to lose my only daughter...

[Tears start evolving in the tall mouser's eyes and her ears can't lower any further to the back of her head. Richard frowns and stares blankly in front of him at the road for a moment, feeling his eyes tear up as well once he hears the grief in Mary's voice. Of course she regrets everything. The last thing a mother would want to happen to her is losing her child...]

Richard: Listen, I'm getting close to the part of the road that enters the forest. Is there anything distinguishing I should be aware of?

[Daniel suddenly gets into Mary's presence as he started waking up earlier once he heard his wife talk on the phone. She fails to keep herself together when she faces her worried husband and breaks down. Daniel takes over the phone and keeps one of his arms wrapped around her, fortunately having followed most of the conversation.]