Toxic

Chapter 5 : Stranger Things

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It has started snowing in Skokie. Haley sat next to her fireplace, sipping away her latte. Her mind is still disturbed about what happened a few hours ago. She had received a message from her Dad whom, according to her sister had been shot dead. His message was :

'Honey we're coming to your place tomorrow after lunch. See you. Love, Dad'

"This must be Dad. This number is untraceable and it is only for certain people. So if Dad is still alive then who was shot dead?? He mentioned 'we'.. who else is coming with him?" she wondered.

Everything is so confusing at the moment and despite being the smart one, this time there's nothing much she could do but wait for all of them.

Suddenly her doorbell rang. She crept towards her main door and peeped through her window. She saw a man and woman, both in their twenties. They were carrying large suitcases but were dressed casually. She recognized them immediately.

"Well hello there! I've been waiting for you guys. Come on in.." she said, welcoming them in.

"Gosh! It's freezing out there!" the guy shrieked.

Haley can't help but stare at the fine looking gentleman. Brown wavy hair and dark facial features. He looks a bit like Paul Wesley. 

"Feels nice to finally meet you, Haley Granger. I am Allison Ford and this is my brother Jacob" the woman introduced herself and gave Haley a warm hug. 

She realized how good looking they are in person. Allison has beautiful brown hair and sharp features just like her brother. She can pass off as Crystal Reed's clone. When it comes to Jacob, her heart was racing inside. He gave her a good hug and a peck on the cheeks. She blushed but tried her best not to make it too obvious. 

"Nice to finally meet you guys. Let me help you with the suitcases. Can you guys share the first room on the left? Cause the only other room available is for the other family.." Haley explained.

"That's okay with us" Allison replied.

Haley escort them to their room. She had prepared the same thing for both guest rooms; just like the rest of her house, the rooms were designed in modern Spanish style. A double decker bed at the center part, 2 study tables conjoined on the left side of the room with all the spying equipment on top of it and a large closet on the right.

"Wow! The room looks so cool..and your spying gadgets looks unique!" Jacob exclaimed while he go through the stuffs on the table.

"Yeah.. my Dad purchased the equipment a few weeks ago. Anyways, we'll talk about them later. For now, please make yourself feel at home while i prepare something for us to eat" Haley added.

She exchanged smiles with her guests. She feels content to have them here rather than fearing for her life alone in this new apartment. It's almost 8 now. 

"Please make yourself comfortable. In this weather.. i prefer something hot and light. I'm not a good cook either. Hence these cookies.." Haley explained while handing them their hot chocolate and cinnamon cookies.

"Hmm.. it's really nice.. the hot chocolate.." Jacob said with a smile.

Haley gave a quick smile to her dashingly handsome guest.

"I love your house. This is modern Spanish right?" Allison asked, looking around her house in awe.

"Yup! I've always been a great fan of Spanish designs. Inspired by my Spanish dramas!" Haley exclaimed. 

"Really? You understand Spanish?! Girl, your taste is amazing!" Allison exclaimed.

"So..uh Haley.. where's your Dad and uh..what's the plan?" Jacob intruded.

Haley's smile left her face immediately. Frankly speaking, she don't know if she needs to share this with them but deep down, she's actually quite worried about what happened earlier today. Voicing out to someone is better than keeping this crucial thing to herself.

"Well..this afternoon i received a few missed calls from my sister Heidi.. and then she left me an alarming message. She told me that my parents had been attacked and shot dead.."Haley stuttered.

The atmosphere suddenly got very intense. Jacob and Allison exchanged glances. Allison got up from her seat and sat next to her. 

"Go on.." Jacob added.

"I tried calling her..but i guess it's dead. Then, i received a new message from my another phone. It's from my Dad. I thought i was having a panic attack or something..but after a while, i realized.. i was not. It was a message from Dad. I got two cellphones.  Let me show you.." she took out her untraceable phone and showed them both cellphones.

"You received a message from your Dad after your sister told you she saw him dead?? What the hell is going on?" Allison questioned her. 

"That's the thing..i don't know. I'm very scared..i believe my house was attacked and..maybe i'm next. But i believe that my parents are still alive..i have a strong feeling that they are.."Haley stuttered again.

"Okay..don't think too much about it. We got your back.." Jacob said, holding her hand.

"Yeah you're not alone now honey. Hmm..is it possible if you let me have a look at your untraceable phone?" Allison asked. 

Haley handed her the phone. She quickly went into her room and took out something. A few minutes later, she came back with her laptop. 

"Okay, i have installed something in my laptop. It's something that allows you to trace untraceable numbers illegally. In other words, hacking. It's actually not that hard. If you allow me, we can try.."

'TING TONG! TING TONG! TING TONG! THUD! THUD! THUD!'

The sound of the doorbell being pressed and her front door being knocked multiple times shocked everyone. Haley grabbed onto Allison's arms, fearing for her life. Jacob went closer to the door, followed by the ladies. They peeped through the window. It's a woman in her late forties. Half of her attire were soaked in blood. They can't see her face as she was ducking down, like as if she's afraid of being spotted. Suddenly she rose up. She kept turning right and left, right and left, as if she's afraid of something. This time, Haley took a closer look at her. 

"Oh my God! It's my Mum!' Haley exclaimed.