Destiny - JENLISA

Chapter 18

Lisa sped up through traffic, all the while struggling with the turmoil that was taking place inside of her. Part of her wanted to be ecstatic for the night she'd spent with Jennie, but her heart was filled with worries for her sister. That's when Lisa realized that she needed Rose just as much as she needed Jennie but for very different reasons. The contradictory emotions were so overwhelming that they nearly drove Lisa to the edge of tears. But crying would take time and she couldn't afford that luxury. Compromising to the best of her ability, she allowed a single tear to roll down her left cheek as she made her way closer to the area of devastation.

The horror of the scene soon swept over her in nightmarish proportions as hastily set barricades, police cars, and the wailing of sirens grew more prevalent. What should have acted as a warning only added to Lisa's growing uneasiness.

Lisa pulled the car to a stop when she could go no further and climbed through the yellow crime scene tape that impeded her way . A blast of dusty air swept across her face tinged with a strong smell of gas making her cough. S he turned, surveying the crowed. The scene had already taken on circus-like proportions with a massive group of onlookers pressed tightly around the barricade.

Lisa displayed her shield on a chain around her neck as she walked past the barricade dodging the press members that flashed their credentials trying to talk their way into the blast scene.

"Can we have a statement?" One press member shouted after her. Ignoring the question she walked farther into the rubble as the questions continued behind her.

"Can you confirm the source of the explosion?"

"Were there terrorists involved?"

"Damn vultures..." Lisa muttered as she reached her boiling point. "They have nothing better to do than to feed off tragedy."

Approaching a uniformed police officer, Lisa offered a warning. "Officer, I think you'd better call for reinforcement. Those barricades won't hold them for long."

"We've already called for it sergeant," he said eyeing the shield hanging around her neck. "They're on the way."

Without adding further, Lisa moved forward. The place looked like a movie scenario with cars in flames filling the gray sky with a huge spiral of smoke. The row of small shops that had lined the block was nearly all destroyed. At the far end of the block a small school bus rested on its side with its windows blown out. There were countless number of police officers, firefighters, and paramedics working on the rescue operation ebbing with the tide of hectic chaos surrounding them. Last but not least there were the injured, covered in blood and clearly distraught from the spontaneous disruption of their morning routines.

Lisa stopped in front of the remains of one old building in particular. She felt her blood drain from her body when she realized that the only thing left of Rose's work place was bits and pieces of mangled iron beams and cracked bricks heaped haphazardly like a surrealistic painting she'd once seen in a museum of modern art.

Thoughts of Rose immediately flashed through her head. She took a deep breath and tilted her head upwards, staving off the tears that once again formed behind her eyes.

"Please God don't let my unnie be buried under there."

Taking in another deep breath, Lisa swept the area ahead until she spotted a familiar face working near a smoldering pile of debris.

"Sana..." Lisa called already jogging towards the woman. "Sana Minatozaki?"

The woman stopped what she was doing and looked in the direction her name was being called. Seeing its source, a knowing smile slowly tugged the corners of her mouth upward and her cold gaze softened. She, like many others, had fallen under Lisa's charms once, but different from the majority, she had managed to work a friendship out of their failed love affair.