Familiar Figure

After hearing all her boss had to say about the situation at hand, Bree slipped her phone into her trouser pocket and turned to the cab driver. “Please head to the Boston mansion instead”

“Yes ma'am.”

“Mommy, why are we going there? Won't you spend time with me again?”

“I'm sorry, Baby. Something came up at work. I'll drop you off and go attend to it. I'll be back before you know it, okay? You won't miss me.”

“Hmm. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“You're really not going to miss me?”

The child rolled her eyes.

“No. Only kids miss people when they leave for the meantime.”

“What? But you are a kid.”

“No, I'm not. I'm four already.” She sounded offended.

“So what? You're four. You're still a baby.” A frown creased her brows. “You should whine sometimes and stop acting like you're an adult. You're only four. Kids your age whine all the time but you, you don't even do that. If you want something, you order me.”

This topic, they have treated it times and times again and it seems the little girl does not have any intention to change her habit anytime soon. Bree had to roll her eyes whenever her daughter spoke because, unlike other kids who whine and cry when they want something, Ariel simply just orders and if she disagrees, there comes the silent treatment. And no she is not like other kids who give silent treatment for a while and return to normal. In the case of Ariel, she won't speak until she grants her request.

Silent treatments were so painful to Bree and to her detriment, Ariel was a pro at it.

“I'm not a baby,” Ariel uttered as they pulled up to their destination. “We're here already, Mommy.”

“Right! Please wait here for me, sir. I'll be back in a jiffy.”

She informed the driver and proceeded to get out of the car and helped Ariel who grumbled that she was capable of getting out of the car herself.

“You're here. How are you, dear,” Mrs. Boston greeted Bree with a hug as she got into the Boston mansion. The middle-aged lady bent down to scoop up Ariel in her arms. The child was not having it, she wiggled her feet to get out of the woman’s hold, eager to be free.

“Oh, little Ariel. I missed you. You're all grown up now and even more feisty. Didn't you miss me?”

The child huffed, crossing her arms as she rolled her eyes.

“Grandma put me down. I'm no longer a child.”

Mrs Boston gasped.

“You're not?”

“Yes. Grandpa, ask your wife to put me down,” she protested.

Mr Boston walked to them and carried her from the woman’s arms into his own arms. “Little Ariel should act like a child. We all love carrying you.”

Ariel relaxed in the man’s strong arms, realizing that she wouldn't be able to beat the three real adults before her, her looks made it evident that she wasn't pleased at all. She prefers standing on her own two feet after all.

“Aunt, Uncle, I'll leave her in your care for a while. I have an emergency. Please take care of her. I'm rushing out now.”

She got out of the mansion and towards the waiting cab, not giving the Bostons a chance to say anything. The Boston family. She could still remember vividly the first day she met them. She had almost been hit by their car while she ran out of the psychiatric hospital years ago. After she fainted on the road, they took her to their home, called the doctor, and made sure she and the child in her womb were doing fine.

They had adopted her. Taking her in as their daughter and only child even though they had no children of their own. They ignored the danger on Bree’s mother’s part and even went as far as sending her abroad to keep her away from Nary who was hell-bent on finding her. She was grateful to them. To her, they were her only family aside from Ariel.

*****

“What on earth? No one said it is this serious,” Bree exclaimed, jumping out of the cab when they arrived at their destination. The Madison mansion was ablaze. According to her boss, there was a fire outbreak in Madison’s mansion that he suspected was started by someone.

Pushing her way through the crowd of party-dressed people, she approached a lady.

“I'm Bree Boston. I'm an FBI agent. What's the situation, please?”

“There was a birthday party in progress when the fire started,” the lady replied, her face grim. “Please do something. There are a lot of people in the building. This child’s parents are there too.”

“I already called the fire company. They'll be here in a jiffy.”

“Please do something, ma'am,” they cried.

Bree took a deep breath and without a second thought sprinted toward the burning building, taking out her gun from its strap on her waist.

Covering her nose with her hand due to the thick and choking smoke, she tried to help as many people as she could out of the mansion.

“Ahhh.”

Her head whipped backward as she heard a scream followed by footsteps. A lady climbed down the stairs screaming her ears out.

“Hello. I'm an FBI agent. Please come this way, I'll get you out of here.”

The lady’s eyes were wide with terror, and she was trembling all over. “Oh my, there is a ghost upstairs,” she whispered, her voice quivering. “Where the fire started. There is a ghost,” she cried, tears streaming down her cheek. “I'm traumatized, please get me out of here.”

“What ghost? That doesn't make any sense.”

“A ghost. A ghost. Oh my.”

Those were the only words the lady could exclaim. Even after getting her out of danger to a safer side, she continued screaming about the ghost she came in contact with and the speedy movement of the fire which was already on the second floor.

‘What ghost?’ Bree thought.

Her legs took her back into the building. She made her way up the stairs, her gun pointing in each direction she made a turn. The smoke was thick and it stung her eyes as she made her way deeper through the quiet smoke-filled hallway. The silence was eerie.

Then from ahead of her, she heard slow deliberate footsteps coming from the other side.

As the footsteps drew closer, her heartbeat increased and her grip on the gun tightened. The loud footsteps screamed danger. The fact that the owner of the footstep walked so confidently without any fear of the fire, unlike the others, confirmed her doubt. Someone had started the fire.

She stood frozen for a moment as the faint shadow walked closer, the smoke blurring her vision a bit. The figure was dressed in all black. From the hat on his head to his shoe. If she wasn't as confident as she was now as an FBI agent, she would have run away without a second thought at the sight of the Grim Reaper walking slowly in her direction with a gun in his hand.

The seemingly familiar figure stepped into the sight. As he got into the light, she saw who it was. Him! And guess what, before she could blink, he had his gun right on her head.