The Crime Lords

Chapter 19- The future

"Estella? Estella! Wake up! This ain't bed time!" I yelled at my unconscious friend.

Her suit was ripped and dirty and her face was extremely pale. I let out a huge groan at the sky before picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder.

"Let's go tweety!" I said sarcastically and began walking back to the base.

"Next time I might bring earplugs and a crane if my bush walks are gonna be this eventful" I complained to Estella, even though she couldn't hear me. Her arms slumped against my back with every step. "You really need to learn to stay conscious."

I wondered how she ended up there in the first place, and what that strange voice was, could she hear it too? It was very weird, like nails scraping on a blackboard. Yes, that was a good way of describing it. If Estella heard it as well at least I would be certain that I wasn't going crazy. Well, crazier.

"Mmmmmm." Estella began to wake up after about 10 minutes of walking.

She just slumped down like a rag doll for a moment or two but as soon as she realised I was carrying her she lost it. "Aaaaaaa, put me down! What was that strange voice! Where am I!? Help me! That shirt looks awfully familiar! Wait.... Harley!?"

I face palmed myself with my free hand. "Yes it's me, I found you unconscious on the ground, I picked you up, I carried your heavy butt for ten minutes and now you're awake."

She gave me the look of a stunned mullet and just slumped back down again after a moment or two.
I ignored her punching and kicking and struggling to get free. I found her unconscious, therefore I declared her unable to walk. We finally came across the slope to the tree and I began to regret keeping Estella on my shoulder.

"Well Tweety, looks like you're gonna feel what it's like to be an acrobat!" I said, getting ready to jump.

This got her attention. "Don't you dare!"

Too late! I flew up the hill so fast that Estella's legs were glued to my stomach. She released a high pitched scream but I chose to ignore it. Once we reached the top I let her drop to the ground in a heap.

"Don't....ever....do....that....again!" She panted.

Once we got back to the base, Estella explained what happened. A man dressed in black used some sort of staff to torture her and knock her unconscious. She said it wasn't like Jack's staff, this one had red energy instead. When I told her that I heard a voice that matched her description, we decided that it was definitely the same person.

"What are we gonna do about it?" Kira asked, listening from the couch.

That's when I noticed that everyone just happened to be listening. Joel and Wills were leaning against the wall and Ella was upside down on the couch beside Kira. They were all watching and listening closely to every word. What I thought was a private conversation had turned into a conference. 

"We'll put it off for now." Wills said. "We have more important things to discuss. Joel and Harley, we'll talk later."

His statement peaked my curiosity but I had other things on my mind. The whole reason that I had left in the first place was because Estella had wanted to talk to me.

Wills broke up the conference and everyone went their separate ways. Kira and Ella dropped down the trapdoor and the boys disappeared down the hallway.

Estella got up to leave but I caught her hand. "Hey, come to my room. You look tired, I'll let you rest in my bed if you want."

She smiled and followed me into my room and I shut the door behind us. 

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked Estella.

She repositioned the pillows on my bed so she could sit up against the bedpost. Once she was comfortable, she hesitated, bitting her lip. Obviously whatever it was, it was going to hurt one of us.

"Tell me, now!" I said, more fiercely.

She looked a little surprised by my sudden tone change but got the reference. "I.....I just wanted to tell you that....." She stuttered.

"Yes?" I tried to encourage her to continue.

She sighed and took a deep breath before saying it, "I'm leaving."

It was only two simple words, but they still sent knives straight into my chest.

"What!?" I yelled, jumping back from the bed. "Why? Where are you going?"

She got up out of the bed, clearly not needing any rest, and asked me to sit down. I did as I was told (only because she asked nicely) and sat down beside her.

"My father's company is up to something." She said, looking down at her feet. "Something bad, I can tell. I want to stop it, whatever it is. I'm going to find my cousins Ruby and Thea, they can help me."

I waited until she was done before speaking. "I could come too, the others don't need me here. Oh wait, I would have to bring Kira."

Estella put an arm around my shoulder so a hugged her in return.

"I'll miss you, a lot. Tell everyone I said goodbye." She muffled, her face on my shoulder.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek and I helped her pack her backpack. Her face was bright red, from sadness or embarrassment I didn't know. All I knew was that she was leaving and I didn't know when I would see her again. It was subtle, but I knew that there were some strong feelings I felt for her. They weren't big enough to determine yet, but they were enough to make me want her to stay. She rustled around in her room for a bit while I sat on my bed in silence. I could hear quiet sobbing every now and then which only made the pain worse. Eventually, and unfortunately, she finished packing and appeared again at my doorway. She had changed clothes as well so she now wore denim jeans and a black jacket.

"Ok." She said, wiping away a tear. "I'm ready."

"Are you sure you have everything?" I asked, standing at the top of the slope.

Estella turned around and began to unpack the backpack. "Ok I have my quills, my costume, other clothes, a couple of sandwiches, a couple of noodle cups and 100 dollars."

I nodded, that should be enough. Once she reached her destination she would be fine for essentials.

"Ok then, I guess this is it." I said.

She turned around and gave me one last hug before throwing the backpack over her shoulder and sliding down the slope on her joggers. She waved goodbye and said something in Spanish. Now I'm not a language expert but it sounded something like: "Un dìa, nos volveremos a ver. Esto que te lo prometo."