The Darkness and the Past

Chapter 4

The Darkness and the Past: Chapter 4

AN: Hello and welcome back to Chapter 4 of this epic adventure! Just when I was able to swiftly get through that chapter, my computer decided to go haywire, blocking my every attempt to go online (worthless piece of plastic...) and I had to wait until now to get it fixed.

Aaaaaaaaanyways... I hope this chapter gets a little more vocal love, although I also appreciate the quiet readers. Still, comments are proof of good work, right? We remember: The Riveras look to get help from Carmen Martinsen, but as they stand face to face after a hunt through the city, they are in for a surprise. This time we'll let Miguel take a breather and focus on the Riveras, both alive and dead.

Mentions of alcohol, cigarettes and PTSD in this chapter. I will highlight the paragraphs that might trigger people so that you can choose whether to skip them or not. OCs are under my copyright, I constantly forget to say this! *slaps forehead* Stupid me...

I'll include the Spanish words as always. And now, onwards with Chapter 4, brave heroes!

Infierno = hell

Querida = darling, fem.

Sí = yes, ok

Preciosa = precious, fem.

Madre, mamá = mother

Cariño = honey, darling

Muchacho = boy

Mocoso = brat

Señora = madam

Mijo = my son

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

"Can I help you?"

Rosa blinked a few times to get accustomed to the radically different woman in front of her, compared to the clean, confident-looking Carmen Martinsen on the photograph. "Are you Carmen Martinsen?", she asked, just to make sure they had rung the right doorbell. "Uh... yeah, I guess. Who are you?", the former cop replied. "Miss Martinsen, please! We need your help! My son... he's missing...", Luisa pleaded for the third time that day. Her fingertips touched Carmen's bicep. The woman frowned, but after a moment of hesitation, she sighed: "Alright, come in..."

They followed her into the living room. It was dark and cramped with various boxes and picture frames. Half the space was filled by a green couch, two sofas and a glass table in the middle. The back-part split into two rooms, a kitchen space and a messy bedroom respectively, both entrances covered by a beaded curtain. Carmen motioned them to sit on the sofa while she disappeared into the kitchen, muttering about refreshments. She came back with five glasses, a jug of water and a half-full bottle of whiskey. After turning on a naked lightbulb on the ceiling, she sat down herself.

The woman filled her glass halfway up with the amber liquid and nodded to the pale Luisa: "No offence, but you should take one of these too and then tell me what exactly you're doing here..." By the time Luisa was ready to tell, Carmen had already finished half of her glass and Rosa was more concerned with the situation by the minute. "I'm Luisa Rivera. My son, Miguel Rivera... He went missing yesterday evening and we've been unable to find him. We're his family and we're so worried about him. We come from Santa Cecilia. The police say you may be the only one who can help us..." Miguel's mother explained, both voice and body trembling with exhaustion and hope. For a long moment, the former cop said nothing, her eyebrows slightly drawn together and sipping at her whiskey.

"So... a kid's missing, huh? What's his age again?", she asked. "Twelve. He's twelve years old, almost thirteen. Please... please help us.", Enrique replied. "Twelve, thirteen. About 24 hours missing. In Santa Cecilia.", Carmen mumbled, tilting her head to one side. Then a bitter grin spread on her face and she sighed: "He's twelve. Kid's at twelve happen to be hot-headed and thinking themselves the next Marco Polo. Santa Cecilia is surrounded by a dirt steppe and a mountain range. If you run, they're easily three, four hours away and it's easy to find shelter. Even if he's not just hiding away in some secret kid place, it's too early to warrant a full-out search party, which you came here for in the first place, I presume..."