RED: Really Evil Deeds

Chapter 2 - A Perfectly Normal Night

"I'm gonna be late, I'm definitely gonna be late," Elijah West muttered to himself, pulling on parts of his guard uniform and hopping down the stairs of the small condo home he and his girlfriend shared.

"Where are you headed in such a rush?"

Elijah turned to see his girlfriend, Rachel Johnson, sprawled out on the couch, patching a hole in one of his shirts.

"First day on the job, remember? And I told you that you didn't have to do that," He said, pointing at the shirt in her delicate hands.

Rachel just smiled. "Well, I need something to do tonight. Besides, I still need to teach you how to sew in a straight line."

"Fair enough," Elijah laughed.

"Now, have you seen the time? You're going to be late," Rachel said, pointing at the clock, which read quarter of eight.

"Ack! I am!" Elijah yelped, tugging his shoes on.

He ran down the front walk, the keys to his Honda rattling in his trembling hands. He had been offered a job at the Newfellon Museum, the most important, high-security museum that housed ancient artifacts of unspeakable value, both in historical context and the value of money.

Elijah swung himself into the front seat, revving the engine--which coughed, sputtered, and a final hacking cough, died altogether.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" Elijah growled, fighting the strong urge to smash his head against the steering wheel.

"You're... still here?" Rachel poked her head out the front door.

"Yeah, looks like I'm not going anywhere tonight," Elijah growled, opening the door and hopping out of the car onto the hard cement.

"Here, you can take the Subaru," Rachel says, tossing him the keys to her silver SUV.

"Wait, what? Really?"Elijah said, though her sweetness was no new affair. Rachel had been through so much, but she always kept giving.

"Of course! I know how much this job means to you. Love you," Rachel whispers, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you too, babe," Elijah murmurs, holding her close and inhaling her scent of pine and strawberries. She always smelled so good, even after a gymnastics competition, her chocolate hair still shone in glossy waves, the only sign of the breathtaking routines being the rosy glow on her cheeks and the blinding smile she always wore when she came off the mat.

"Now shoo! You're late!" Rachel laughed, her umber eyes shining.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Elijah said, laughing too as Rachel gave him a friendly push.

Traffic was on his side, thankfully. But despite that, he still got to Newfellon ten minutes late. He rushed up the long marble steps, toward the towering white columns.

"You're late," the museum manager, Mr. Grale frowned, his thousands of wrinkles cast with shadows.

"I-I know, sir, I promise it won't happen again, sir," Elijah panted, clutching his side.

"Very well then, you're in the third floor, outside the Sunrise Ruby exhibit. And--" Mr. Grale added, with a stern expression, "you will find that I run a tight ship here. Do not mess up. Do not miss a thing. Do not be late. If you fail to meet my expectations, you can be well assured that you will no longer be working here. That would quite the shame, wouldn't it? Fired on the second day?"

"Yes, sir," Elijah mumbled, stressed from the pressure of his boss.

The Sunrise Ruby exhibit was a painful one hundred and two stair climb to the third floor. And from the looks of it, Elijah wasn't alone on duty. A girl, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, was stationed on the left side of the door, a frown on her face.

"Should have known it was a collage kid," she muttered. Then, looking at Elijah said, "You're late." She had a crisp sort of accent, but Elijah couldn't put his finger on where the accent was from.

"Umm..."

"I'm Annie Hart," the girl said, not waiting for him to reply. "And from the looks of it, we'll be in for a long night."

"I think you're right," Elijah said, taking up post on the right of the door as the clock tolled half past eight.

And of course, they were right about that.

But not in the way either of them were expecting.