SkyEarth (Reborn) Book 1: Stratos Rising

Chapter 6: Confrontation

This might be the most reckless thing Shaun had ever done. His mother was calling him back, but he seemed not to hear her as he's more concerned with his sister and Persephone's well-being. How did the kidnapper got to the two girls without his or his father's noticing? What are they doing to them? Only one way to find is to meet them in the house. It said so on the ransom note.

He left Cadafalch Place, dashed down Leanna Avenue till he reached the Pavilion, and then went to East Wistoria Avenue to the bridge that connected the Ingary orchard fragment to the mainland.

It was strangely quiet. He expected to hear his father and the kidnappers in a scuffle somewhere, but then the kidnappers have Addie and Persephone as leverage. One mistake and the kidnappers will snuff the life out of one of them. He needed to move quickly.

He ran towards the house as swiftly and silently as he could. Lights shone from the windows, and he could hear sounds of crashing inside. Wooden furniture breaking, glass and fragile objects shattering, and other things upturned and thrown away. Either his dad might be fighting the kidnappers in another fistfight indoors, or the kidnappers are searching high and low, nook and cranny for the journal. It was the latter when Shaun bumped into a dark crouching figure checking through the window with caution and wariness.

"Shaun?" whispered Thomas. "What are you doing here? I told you to escape with your mother."

"Persephone's been kidnapped." whispered Shaun. "That's why I'm here."

"Persephone?" said Thomas. "Come to think of it, I heard someone calling for you. I thought it was your sister, but now that you told me that I think it might've been the mayor's daughter."

"I must've slipped from her while trying to get through the crowd." Shaun admitted. "I hadn't noticed her disappear. How could I not have noticed her disappeared then?"

"Don't blame yourself, son. Our kidnappers must be crafty and slippery." His father told him. "I would've blown my top off if they've taken you, too. Right now we need to find a way to rescue them. The kidnappers must've gagged them to keep them from calling for help."

Suddenly, father and son heard the shattering of china.

"Maybe not that crafty." Thomas noted. "Shaun, those two thugs want the journal. I saw their faces and it said so in the note. Have you hid the journal?" he asked.

"Yes." Shaun answered. "I've hidden it where it would be safe." More crashing sounds. "So, how are we going to save them?" he asked, but before his dad could answer, the front door opened and the man with the handlebar mustache appeared and saw them. He pulled out a pistol and aimed the nozzle at the father and son.

"Not a move from both of you or I'll blast a hole on your foreheads." the mustachioed man threatened. He wore the same clothes as last time they: a crisp grey suit and pants, a black bow tie, a pair of small rounded sunglasses, weird for night time, fancy leather shoes and a bowler hat. "My index finger is itching to pull the trigger, so if you don't want any, ah, 'accidents', I suggest you cooperate."

"Shaun, run." whispered Thomas. His son looked at him shocked.

"But-"

"Run! Just run!" urged his father and, very reluctantly, Shaun did so.

"Hey!" said the mustache man and aimed his pistol on the defenseless fourteen year old.

"Oh no you don't!" said Thomas and he lunged at the man, trying to disarm him.

Shaun ran as fast he could. He tried not to look back, but he heard two popping sounds from behind him. A horrible thought urged him to look back, but his dad wouldn't want him to look back so he resisted as hard as he could. Eventually he made his way to the back of the house and stopped at the back door under the pergola. His dad may have told him to run, but he didn't say to get away from here.