☂ 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 || 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚡 𝙾𝙲 || 𝑩𝑲. 𝟐 ☂

04. FAMILY HUNTER

Elaina lined up all of her chopped pieces of vegetables before Luis, the chef, appeared for the lunch rush. Once she made sure everything was in order she headed up to her room and closed the door behind her. The room was very modest, a small 7' x 10' that only had space for a twin-sized bed, a night table, a small desk with a used record player, and a closet, but she didn't mind it. On her wall over her bed was a copy of Frida Kahlo's painting, Two Fridas, and she had a night table with Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land on top of it. Elaina walked over to the record player and moved the needle over the vinyl, The Skyliners' Since I Don't Have You played as she picked up the book and flipped through it, landing on the page in the middle where a piece of folded newspaper was hidden. The girl unfolded it and looked down at the image that started it all.

"Don't worry bro, I'll be back for you soon." Elaina whispered to the black and white mugshot of Diego.

After months of endless searching, she finally found someone from her family. It was about three weeks ago when she last went to the alleyway behind Commerce and Knox, she did her usual searching and managed to find a discarded newspaper by the dumpster. Call it luck or sheer boredom, but she decided to leaf through it when she landed on page 16. She didn't even read the newspaper article at first when the face of her brother stared right back at her.

Her eyes drifted to under her bed as she put the news article back in the book. Peeking out from the corner was a crumpled-up piece of clothing, spots of crimson scattered across the yellow fabric. It was the dress she wore that day, she still didn't have the chance to burn it yet or discard of it. If Birdie or Tony found it... she didn't even want to think about it as the questions would never end. With a kick from her foot, she pushed it further back under the bed.

3 weeks ago

After saying her goodbyes to her favorite mother and son duo, Elaina left for her bi-weekly family hunt. If she was anything, it was determined when it came to holding out hope that she'd see her family again, of course, this past year hasn't been exactly favorable to this mentally, but she didn't care. After all, Five would be back for them, it was never a doubt in her head. The only question was when? Last time it took Five 14 years to reappear and Elaina didn't have that time. Just in the next 5 years alone, it was going to be hard to explain to the Mendoza's why she still looked the same, let alone 14 years. So to speed up the process, she'd look for them until he returned. She knew that she would find someone eventually.

Taking the walk over to Oak Lawn was always an interesting experience for her. The condescending stares, the whispers, and the feeling like she didn't belong in this part of town floated around her as she walked through the streets with her head held high, her book in her hand, as she rounded the corner and saw the familiar Avon Theater. Elaina could, of course, avoid all of this by simply turning invisible, but she had way too much pride for that. All of these bigots could choke on air for all she cared, she wasn't backing down as she narrowed her eyes at them, almost daring them to say something. Usually, they never did. Usually.

"You're on the wrong side of town there, girlie," said an older white male with a strong southern drawl, walking past her on the street.

She's been on this side of town countless times at this point, but that statement never ceased to amaze her. She simply stared him down, biting back her comment as she rolled her eyes and ignored the man, turning into the alley. "Racist piece of shit," was all she mumbled under her breath.

With a sigh, Elaina closed the lid on the dumpster as she jumped up to sit down on it. Once she was situated, she cracked open the book she carried with her and started to read, waiting for someone, anyone to appear. A few hours flew by and, once again, no one came running to the alley - not Klaus, not Luther, not Vanya, not Five... Elaina would be lying if she didn't say that each time she sat here with no promising results she didn't feel discouraged, but she had to keep going. Deep down in the pit of her stomach she had a feeling her siblings had to be around here. Elaina leaned her head back to the sky as she could see the sun beginning to set.