SPLATTER (draft)

Page 14:

Amanda had taken the long way back to her work place, it was not too far away and she needed the exercise. A small office building of only two floors, about four blocks away from the theatre where Kiera used to shine. Amanda did not mind her job, being a secretary was no biggie and she could easily handle the job. The only thing she did not like was when people would dump all their work on her because they were lazy idiots, or demanded she fix their schedules last minute, hence having to call people and apologize on behalf of her coworkers. Idiot monkeys not wanting to deal with the yelling and the upset tones. Sighing loudly Amanda rolled her eyes as she rounded the last corner leading to her office, the front doors already in sight.

It was around that moment that a loud chorus of squad cars and sirens filled the air, from behind her she saw many cars make way as three police cars headed in direction of the Mayor's Office. It probably was nothing too major, perhaps a faux bomb threat, however it could always be another victim. Shuddering, not from the cold but from sudden apprehension, she clutched her purse tighter against her, right hand going to her coat pocket where she always carried pepper spray.

A deep breath released once she was in the relative safety of her workplace, the girl at the front desk asking how her lunch went and saying it sounded crazy outside, did she see anything interesting? "No Hannah, probably a fake bomb threat or something. I think it was headed towards Mayor's Office, it's where the cars were heading. Or maybe there was a hit and run, we all know people can't drive for shit when it's rainy outside." Smiling she headed down the hall to her office to work on the tasks she had to finish. Finding it hard to focus, she fished the reporter's card from her pocket and sent the woman a quick text.

To: Abigail
From: Amanda
Message: Thank you for today.
I appreciate you slapping that cop, getting him to soften up.
I cannot begin to state how much knowing I might get a call helps.
Hope you don't get in too much trouble. Coffee on me sometime.
-Amanda Dumont

Abby's phone buzzed but she didn't get to it, both hands on the wheel, mostly, most of the time. Traffic as being a pain in the ass, especially with all the sirens going out. It was easy to get trapped, so she opted for an alley, parked her car, (rather illegally) and leaned her face against the steering wheel. Her phone pushed a reminder notice, at which she picked it up and scrolled through.

There was a number she wasn't familiar with, but the preview message on her screen made her open that one first. It was... that woman from the station. It made Abby smile a little. She hadn't done the slapping for gratitude, rather becuase she was just that angry... Nobody had deigned to tell her anything about Kovach either, and he was like a dad to her. Her fingers tapped the phone quite gracefully and she wrote back:

To: Amanda
From: Abigail
Message: I wouldn't mind getting arrested if it meant you got to know more.
Coffee sounds nice. Maybe an interview would do better. Interview over Coffee?
-AEW

She sent it back and then saved the girl's number on her cellphone. The wailing outside and the ever growing crowd made her groan a little. Part of her wanted to hide under the blankets in her house, and cry and tell the world she didn't care, but all of it was because she did care. She cared so much about this... It was Joshua's Memory. It was Kiera's, Officer Rogers and Coach Cole's.

And now? Now who would have to be remembered. Abigail sighed, rubbing her eyes. Neil would have known what to say. Maybe. He had become so different and strange the last few days before they split. That had been a couple years ago but it still hurt her. She'd lost most everyone in her life to petty arguments, and now she had lost about the last person who had truly mattered, she had been so focused in her career since Neil had left her that losing Kovach had been a huge chunk out of her life. It had been hard, and left her defenseless. Vulnerable. Angry. Very angry.

Abigail climbed out of the car and fixed a loose strand of hair from her face, tucked it behind her ear. She closed her eyes, locked her door and started towards the crowd. She'd have to fight her way to the front, and she would. There was no way she could stop now.