Whatever It Takes

~ 4 ~

Thea's POV
Russos Brother's Funeral Home.

This was it. The place where I was going to make everything good again.

"Here," Strange pulled me aside before we went in. He pulled a syringe out of his pocket. It was decently small in size and seemed to be filled with a yellowish liquid. "When you find your father, inject this into a vein in his wrist."

"Will he wake up?" I asked.

"What about his archreacter?" Peter asked.

"I wasn't finished," Strange nodded. "I want you to hit his archreacter as hard as you possibly can."

"What if we break it or it won't work?"

"You can't break it, and if it doesn't work the first time, hit him again."

I nodded, and stuck the syringe into my right pocket, opposite of the archreacter which I had been holding onto with my left. "Now, go on in. I'll wait out here unless you call me in for help," Strange explained to us.

We both nodded. I led the way into the cute, yet eerie funeral home. I cracked open the door. The lights were off mainly because the sun had been bright enough to shine through. I stepped in as quiet as I could. I heard other employees walking around, some whistling as they worked.

"Hello? I'm here to arrange a funeral," I called out.

"What are you do-" Peter tried to ask me in a rush before someone walked in.

"Hello there, lady and gentlemen," a man in a suit and tie, all black, took a step towards us from the stairs. "What may I help you with?"

"I am looking to arrange a funeral," I spoke. "I'm Candace and this is my brother...Steven." Peter gave me a weird look as the man came closer.

"Well, who has recently died? A father, perhaps?"

"Uncle," I replied, "actually. And I was wondering if we could see him and plan according to how he looks, physically speaking."

"Okay," the man to me seems quite odd. "Can I have a last name?"

"Sparks," I answered.

The man nodded, "Follow me."

Peter and I looked to each other. We were both thinking the same thing: God, let's hope this works.

He led us down some stairs and took us through a metal door. He put a door stop to hold it so it wouldn't close up on us. I grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him towards me, "I'm going to look for Stark," I whispered, "so keep him distracted."

He led us towards the S section, "What would be his first name?"

"Jonathan," Peter answered. The man stopped in front of a few rolling tables. Peter began to talk to him, giving him random descriptions.

I snuck away. "St. St. St. Where are the Sts?" Stank. Stanks. Staples. Staples? Who's last name is Staples? Stark...STARK! I pulled tugged at the case and rolled it out. I looked down slowly.

Nothing.

The body was gone.

How could that be? They wouldn't have done anything with the body for another few days. I glanced all over the cart, looking for an answer. All I could find was a single sticky note with another language on it. I ripped it off and stuck it in my pocket.

I heard Peter still talking with that guy, so I knew they were still here. I walked over there. I must've looked like how I felt because Peter and the guy looked really surprised to see me the way I was.