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9:10 am

 9:10 am, September 10th, present year.

            

            Dad, Sophie, Riley, Mom, now awake by the blast, and I all stood outside, circled around the trash can.

            Dad was holding Mom, who was a wreck. Riley wrapped his arm around my waist while Sophie was addressing the neighbors who came to see about the noise.

            I looked at the trash can. The explosion was surprisingly small. Instead of tearing the entire container to shreds as I expected, the can looked fine. Inside, the bomb had not disrupted the bricks either. We removed the pot and looked inside.

            The phone was shattered, and scratched the interior of the metal pot pretty badly. The lid was the only damaged part. Wherever there hadn’t been pressure applied by a brick, the bomb had shoved the lid upwards. It was now totally warped.

            I looked up and saw the neighbors leaving our driveway. Apparently Sophie convinced them to depart with some police jargon.

            She came towards us, and addressed us. “I talked to Chief Myrene, and she told me that until we’re assured of your safety, I will be staying with you inside your house, as long as you comply. I promise it will be for your best interests and protection.”

            Mom and Dad looked at each other, and they both nodded. “Please do. It would make us feel better in fact.”

            “Good.” Sophie changed subjects. “Your neighbors obviously heard what happened here, and while they had some questions, I told them only what was necessary to know.”

            We all went back inside. However, the mood was drastically different. We all sat at the kitchen table, except for Riley, who was asked to leave for the time being.

            Sophie made eye contact with each of us. “The explosion, although mostly harmless when contained, could’ve killed Chase if it was detonated while he was talking on the phone. That was its purpose, to be remotely set off while Chase had the phone on his ear, next to his head. The consequence would’ve been death.”

            The silence from my parents and me was almost as deadly.

            She continued. “It seemed that ‘Unknown’ was pretty low key for a while there, but now that the deadline is nearing, he may be revving for the final stage of his plan. While we are all clueless to what this is, we can be certain that these next six hours before his deadline will be the most dangerous…by far.”

            “So what do we do?” Dad held Mom, who was starting to sniffle.

            Sophie replied with a distraught look on her face. “The obvious is not to go anywhere. Stay at home and stay together. Now, there is a chance that the deadline will pass and there will be no action on Chase’s life, but that doesn’t mean the threat has passed. Until the culprit is behind bars, this situation will not be over.”

            No one said anything.

            I was surprisingly calm. This whole thing was about me. It was my life at risk, my family that would be hurt. This whole thing revolved around me. But why me? Not to say that I would rather have Riley or Mom or Dad targeted, but why even this family? Why this town, this state? What did Unknown have against me personally?

            What if it wasn’t just against me? What if he had some grudge against my whole family, for something that happened in the past?

            But if that was true, then what could it be? What could be that bad?

*          *          *

            The figure was waiting for the signal from Sophie. Then he would face the Mitchels, the scum that deserved the consequences.

            The figure’s body was buzzing with energy and anticipation. He was pacing in his apartment, his hands interlocked behind his head. Spread out on the floor was the equipment he would need. And on the bed was the most important component.

            His Glock 17 9mm pistol. It was freshly clean, ready for use, and what this whole plan came down to. The figure’s whole plan may come crashing down, but as long as his weapon was with him. He wouldn’t fail.

             He would. Not. Fail.

 

*          *          *

 

            The real Sophie Richards was in a taxi, being escorted back to the Prackersburg station. Even though she had no money, her officer badge was enough to convince the driver to take her there. Luckily, her kidnapper hadn’t taken it from her. She ripped off a section of her shirt and tied it around her arm, covering the cut.

 

*          *          *

 

            At the Prackersburg Police station, an officer was helping a girl through processing. She was originally caught in a town called Fahlstown, but her file said that she had family in Prackersburg, so she was brought back here.

            An officer from the Prackersburg police met them and said, “I’ll take it from here, thanks.”

            The other cop nodded and left.

            “Hi, I’m Tori. What’s your name?” The officer squatted to be eye level with the girl.

            The girl replied, “Juliet Madyson!” with a smile on her face.