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Maynia -- Day Twenty-Three -- 1,482 words
“I was hoping I would get to that recorder first.”
I tensed as I heard the voice that spoke up, turning from the chair, I faced the perpetrator who started this all. “You??”—But how—why?!” I stood up from the chair and faced her, suddenly feeling the urge to survey the room we were in for any signs of anything.. otherworldly..
“It’s not a matter of how or why Jacky, it’s only a matter of.. what next.” I focused my gaze back at her and frowned as she gave me a pet name in that sing-song tone of voice she was using, but what I didn’t really expect was when an unseen forced pushed me roughly to the nearest wall and started lifting me off the ground.
I coughed and gasped for breath, clawing my neck at something I couldn’t see while I could only watch Diana furiously stomp at the recorder I had dropped before she bent down and got hold of the signet ring. “You know how easy it was to just give this to your mother and convince her to give it as a gift to Uncle Eric?” She huffed in slight annoyance as she stared at the ring she now held between here thumb and forefinger, “But now that the Mayor’s dead, I’ll need to find another source of negative energy.. And I think you’ve got just the right amount of dark desires right inside you, don’t you Jacky boy?”
I grinned up at me as she started to come closer, I could only grit my teeth as I clenched my palms closed. She wasn’t going to get anything from me! But the sooner I thought that, I felt the unseen force pull my left arm forward until it forced my fingers open one by one, I shouted out in frustration, trying to use my other arm to get ahold of my gun holster clipped to my belt.
I already had a gun pointed at Diana’s forehead when I felt the icy metal of the ring slide on one of my left fingers. “Try to shoot me now, Jackson.” I then felt the fiery pain that shot up my left arm, causing me to shout out in pain as I dropped the gun. The pain felt like it was fueling something in me, trying to burn out all the good that I remembered, the last thing that crossed my mind was Shiela—the way she looked up at me as we sat under the firework lit sky..
Please.. give her the strength to stop me—to stop this..
I instantly opened my eyes and gasped for breath, grasping at the sudden barrage to my senses before my mother’s tear stained face crowded my vision, hearing her say something about the hospital and me waking up immediately as I felt myself slowly regaining my senses before I managed to groan out, “Diana..”
“Diana? I’ve been trying to get ahold of your cousin the whole day because Derek finally just started gaining consciousness—then Z comes barging into the hospital with you unconscious and—Oh God, Jack! You had me so worried!” My mother grasped my hand as I tried to absorb everything she just said before a doctor came into the room and started going through the process of checking if I had a concussion.
I was cleared of that and told I only needed to stay if I still felt nauseated, but despite the slight ache at the back of my head, I actually felt more bothered at the slight throbbing on my cheek. I rubbed my jaw as I slowly started to sit up before I asked my mother how long I was out of it.
“Just a couple of hours actually, but Z had me worried when he said something about you guys being caught in some accident at the mines. You know that old place should be taken down soon! Z is actually still here waiting for you to come to, I told him to wait at Derek’s just so your uncle could use the company.”
I started to get out of the hospital bed at that, wanting to confirm with Uncle Derek if somehow, Diana was involved in that tragedy he encountered with my father, but my mother kept fussing over me and telling me to get some more rest, I just held both her hands in mine and stared back into her gentle eyes—I sometimes wondered how she had managed to stay married to my father for so long—“Mom.. I can’t keep doing this. I—don’t want to be the next Mayor of Samheinrock..”
“Oh sweetheart..” She gently pushed back my hair then tenderly held my face like she did when I was a child, “It was the only thing your father wanted for you, but with him now gone.. I—think Samheinrock could still live on without another Heins in position, don’t you think?” She gave me a sad smile then, “I can’t really stop you from leaving this town, can I? With or without that girl—Maybe I should start with giving her a peace offering of my famous egg salad?”
I smiled at mom but didn’t really acknowledge her line of questioning. Maybe if I got out of this alive.. I could start to dream of a life outside Samheinrock..
“Diana.. she was there when we went to the mines that day.. Eric—he started a confrontation with her, saying something about the signet ring before.. he suddenly gripped his chest and keeled over. I tried to help him but— something felt like squeezing my heart until I couldn’t breathe. The last thing I remember was Diana coming over to me before everything went black. It all felt like an accident but—” Uncle Derek groaned out in discomfort as he lay in his hospital bed and mom started to fuss over him, telling him to not strain himself too much, but I already got what he was saying. It was enough for me to know that she left that part out of her report—Diana was there at the mines that day.
I then looked at Z, who stood just by the room’s doorway, and motioned for us to talk outside. We stood there in the sterile hallways of the hospital as I gathered my thoughts, “Back in the mines—did you do this?” I raised a thumb at the bandage covering the possible bruising on my cheek.
Z only gave out a ‘tsk’ as he rubbed the top of his head, not quite meeting my eyes when he mostly started muttering to himself, “It was.. actually Shiela who did that.. to you—”
“Shiela was at the mines with us?? Where is she now??” Z raised both his hands and gestured for me to lower my voice as his eyes darted up and down the hallways before he continued, “This might sound garbage comin’ from me but.. I actually started to follow you round when you started acting funny..”
I raised my brows at him suddenly feeling a sense of dread at what Diana could have subjected me into doing, listening intently at what Z said next, “We never really liked that crazy cousin of yours since we were kids so I didn’t see why you were hangin’ round each other even though it wasn’t all obviously work related—especially after I overheard the last convo you guys had..”
“Take her to the mines Jacky boy, show her a good time there. It’s a win-win for both of us, you get her alone and I get Lucas all to myself..”
I shook my head at that sudden flash of memory just as Z recounted that, “Don’t worry man, I managed to convince you to get me to tag along, and I promise Shiela is fine but—”
“Luke! Where’s Luke at right now?” I felt a slowly growing panic as I remembered the crazy glint in Diana’s eyes as she mentioned Luke.
“He’s—actually back at the house, told me he’d be pulling a night over there after his gramps got all testy on him. I didn’t mention we’re at the hospital right now..” I saw Z start to pull out his phone before I turned away from him and started heading to the exit, hearing him call out to me before I heard his fast-approaching footsteps as he followed.
“I’ll drop you off at the house, don’t you both let Diana anywhere near the property. I’ll go get Shiela.” I felt my jaw clench at the thought that Diana could also possibly use Shiela as a target.
“Uh—Jack.. there’s actually something you need to know ‘bout our Shiela—”
I knew I needed answers from her too, but I’d feel more at ease once she was safe at home with us..
to be continued...
Image from Pixabay, by Phan Minh Cuong An: https://pixabay.com/users/minanfotos-9565064/ (edited with dreamscopeapp)