Hiding From the Unknown

Part 6

I sat on the dirt, racking my brain for answers to confirm my suspicions, but I could not remember the name of the trail, no matter how hard I tried.

A memory suddenly popped into my head.

"Aunt Jackie?"
"Yeah, Hon?"
"I love Sumners Park! Thank you for bringing me!"
"Oh, no problem, Babe.  It's my favorite place to go when I just need to think about my problems. I'm so glad you like it!"

Sumners Park.

That was it! That was the place I had been searching for!

Sumners Park. Wait, Aiden and Lyla Sumners.  That was their last name.  Did they have some kind of connection with the place?

"Aid?"
"Mmhmm?"
"I need you to tell me everything about Sumners Park."
"What? My Grandpa built it.  It's our private park that overlooks Tapen Valley.  I'm surprised you even know about that place.  Nobody is allowed on the land other than family." Then, his face changed to a look of realization. "Your Mom," he said, sighing, as if everything made sense then.
"Aiden? What about my mom? And what do you mean nobody but family is allowed? My aunt's taken me there before."
"Yeah, but she's family."

He close his mouth faster than he had opened it.  He turned away, pretending to be busy with tying pieced of dried grass together. 

"Aiden Richard Sumners, give me answers! I need to know what's going on? What are you hiding from me?"
He hestitated, before realizing that he had to tell me or I wouldn't leave him alone.  "Your mom, Justina, is my mom too." He looked down at the ground.
"What the heck are you talking about? Your mom died three years ago, Aiden."
"Yeah, my real mom died three years ago, but when your father went missing, Justina was devastated and needed someone, so one time, when your mom dropped you off for a sleepover with Lyla, my dad invited her in for some coffee, and it progressed from there.  I was eavesdropping on their conversations."
"Hold up, how'd they get married, and I didn't know?"
"They've been married for three years now, Chlo, I can't believe no one ever told you!"

Shock rocketed through me.  Aiden was my step-brother. I could see pain in his face as he absorbed the fact that no one had given me a warning that my mom was getting remarried.  He truly loved me.

"Chlo-Bear, I don't know what to say."
"I'm as shocked as you are."
"I'm sorry." He whispered those two words like his life depended on them.  Before I could respond, he was fast asleep, his eyes shut, breathing heavily.  Untying my sweatshirt from around my waist, I slipped it around him, before curling up on the ground next to him, and keeping my body close to his.  It was a cold evening.  My position was okay, I guessed, considering he was my step-brother.  Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Aiden woke up, his face distorted, and he raised his eyebrow before standing up and starting to walk. I immediately assumed he was just leaving me, stranded, in the middle of nowhere. I yelled for him to come back, but he put a finger to his lips and motioned me over. He perched his back on one of the burnt, scarred pieces of wood that stood in the ground, the remains of one of the houses, and peeked around the corner. I slowly followed, imitating his movements on a metal pole near him.

We saw a group of men, all huddled in a corner, whispering about someone. They reminded me of a group of girls from my school, all in a corner, gossiping mercilessly. We called them the Gossipers.

I turned my attention back towards the men, and took in their appearances. There were four of them, all muscular, with brown beards, and curly hair. They all had tattoos on their right shoulders, depicting an image that was different for each. One man had an anchor, the other had a blade, the one next to him, a wolf, and the last, a ghost. I tried to eavesdrop on what they were saying, but their husky, raspy voices reminded me of a tractor.  I finally made out what they were saying. 

"...and Black Haired Girl?"
"Our man has got her. He's with her."
"How much longer?"
"One day.  By tomorrow, we'll have her."

Their conversation didn't make any sense,but then again, why would it? I had only heard half of it.  The Anchor Man started to look around, slightly sniffing the air on each side he turned to.
"I can sense people. Get out of here!" His face scrunched up tightly, as he barked orders at the other men, continuing to look around himself, making sure there was nobody near him. I watched his originally brown eyes genuinely change to green before he ran after the other men, rejoining them.

"It's time for the final attack, boys!"

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"I don't understand, Aid. Who were those men we saw an hour ago?"
"I have no idea, Chlo. They probably worked for that Avario man."
"Oh, true..."
"Stop thinking about them, Chlo, or that's all you'll think about."
"Ok, well are we close to the trail?"
"Yeah, just a bit left."

We eventually reached the beginning of the trail, which stretched a few meters ahead of the park itself. The scenery around us was ruined by the attacks. Where a full grown apple orchard once stood, now there was a brown field, covered in broken branches, and burnt wood. A beautiful waterfall, which once framed the trail, connecting it to the park, was dried up, the ground it was on now a sickly yellow color. I gasped out loud, showing remorse for Aiden, knowing that the park belonged to his family.

"It's ok, Chlo, it's what I expected, anyway."
"Wow. Aid. I'm so sorry for you."
"I know, Baby."
"Baby?" I smirked, but immediately regretted it, after looked at his sunken features, and knowing that it was not appropriate for the situation.

"Let's go find that trail!" I was shocked at how my voice sounded much more different than the voice I knew.

Then, I saw a sight that ripped my heart out of my chest.