Wished

12. Aunts and Knife Throwing

We were all sitting around the table, looking at the few items sitting in front of us. The diary, a few pieces of paper we'd written down notes on and my phone. How my phone got in the mix, I don't know, and didn't really ask.

We must be looking at what we have, and what we need to do next. We can't just sit around and wait, but we also don't know where we need to look, or what we need to do.

"Okay," Zara starts, gesturing to the items in front of us, "what are we doing with these things?"

"This is what we've found. The clues we have, and the things that can help us." Toby says. "Arabella, your phone got thrown in here because we can search up the history of these people. Maybe we can find newspaper articles written back in 1997, when the girl wrote the diary. If we can find anything, any lists of suspects or any evidence of anything that relates to our situation...we can benefit off of that."

"Okay." I say, reaching for my phone and punching in my password. "So, should I just search up robbery cases in the U.S in 1997? Or should I make it more specific?"

"That works. We can make it more specific if we don't find anything." Ruth says so I type it in on Google, scrolling through articles and information.  I stop, reading through one.

"Guys." I say, looking at their eager eyes. "I think I've found something."

August 24th, 1997
Two Found Dead After The Death of Another Family Member
Tanya (16) and Micheal Ramirez (51) were found dead this afternoon. It appears as if they were attacked and town police as well as police from surrounding towns have been searching for clues like fingerprints on household objects. Micheal's two children, who are 21 and 23 and prefer to stay unnamed, came home to find the two bodies. They had recently lost their mother and now had also lost their sister and father. Tanya's sister, 21, was in tears, stating, "I never thought I'd lose both my parents and my sister in a span of two weeks. Months ago, this would have seemed impossible." Micheal's son, 23, added to that, saying, "We're heartbroken and it feels so unreal. We just want them back. It's like a nightmare." Police are searching and trying to find potential suspects.

"Ramirez." My middle name. My mother's maiden name. I never meet my grandparents. My mother had a brother. And it all fits together. Puzzle pieces that I never knew I had just fit together.

I look at everyone's faces, at their confused expressions. "The girl from the diary...that's my aunt." I blurt out.

"What?" Toby exclaims and I nod.

"Ramirez is my mother's maiden name. I never meet my grandparents becuase they died before I was born. I have an uncle. It just all adds up." I say.

"Do you think the robbers think your family inherited the money from your grandparents?" Maria asks and I shake my head.

"I don't know." I put my head in my hands, thinking this through. Why would mom never tell me? I'm fifteen, I'd be able to handle it.

"I think we should take a break guys. We can find more articles later, or tomorrow." Newal says, and I hear everyone get up.

"Are you alright?" He asks and I nod, standing up.

"I'm gonna go get fresh air." I say, stepping outside. I grab a branch on one of the nearby trees and swing myself up, dangling my legs over the branch. Whenever I climb a tree, it gives me a rush of excitement, making me feel a bit like Katniss Everdeen, just without the bow.

"You know," Newal says, looking up at me, "you could sit up there and look for the robbers. From up there, as long as you're concealed by leaves and branches, you can see them but they can't see you."

"Yeah, I can do that. Or I can watch from inside the house where I'm protected by walls." I shrug, smiling slightly but I'm still mulling over the fact that my aunt and grandparents were murdered by robbers and quite possibly, people from the same group we're facing now.

Newal laughs, rolling his eyes. "Do you know how to throw a knife?" He asks.

"Why would I need to throw I knife?" I exclaim, surprise written all over my voice.

"I'm not sure what we need to know in this situation. But we need to stay safe. You need to stay safe. Self defense, protection. Especially if you are going to be watching from up in that tree."

I frown slightly but I understand. "I never agreed to that."

Newal smiles slightly, then runs inside the house, coming back with a knife. It does not fit him. That silver, pointed knife in the blonde boy's hand does not seem right. He seems too innocent. But, he's not; we are not innocent. I stay perched up in my tree, looking at him. "Come on." He says, and I hop down, trusting he's not gonna take the knife and turn it on me.

"You hold the knife a bit differently then you would if you were cutting food." He grips the knife, curling his fingers around it, pulling his arm back. "You have to throw it hard. And make sure you throw it staight. Have you ever thrown a dart?" I nod, and he says, "Well, it's like that. You aim, and try to shoot straight." Newal throws the knife and I find myself distracted by the muscles flexing in his arm. I hear the thump and the knife buries itself into the bark of my tree, only the handle sticking out.

"How do you know how to throw that well?" I ask and he shrugs.

"Books." He looks away, and I can tell that's not the full truth. I've read hundreds of books, and I'm sure I'm going to be horrible at throwing the knife. But, I also know what he's
been through and I know, after this is over, we might all have blood on our hands. And we sure aren't innocent right now either.

I take the knife, wrapping my fingers around it like Newal did. He stands beside me, adjusting my arm and fingers. I throw the knife and it misses the target, burying itself in the ground right next to the tree.

"That was really good for the first time. You got really close to the target." I grab the knife, putting my arm up. It was not close enough.  Newal puts his hand on top of mine and sparks shoot up my arm.

Together, we throw the knife and it buries itself in the tree. I smile, get the knife, and we repeat that until I think I can do it on my own. I pull my arm back, gripping the knife tightly and then throw it, letting it fly through the air. I hear the thump meaning it's hit the tree and jump for joy. I do it multiple times, listening to the sounds it makes; first, the whizzing of it in he air and next, the thump of it burying itself into the bark.

There's something so electrifying about this. I feel powerful and confident, and I smile and lean against Newal, something I've been doing alot lately, and he wraps his arm around my waist. We stand there until dinner, watching the sun and the clouds, and I look at the holes in the bark, and can't help but feel proud.

                              . . .

A/N: I was literally fangirling while writing this. 😂