Arden: The Gift Of Delirium

24. Fatal

Coincidence means only a connection that's not seen. Roots meet underground. 

***

Arden

As Armani and I hurriedly turned the corner to the intersection, we began hearing sirens and commotion. The smell of gasoline and metal instantly filled my nose and I crinkled it.

Ace told Armani and I to meet him at the intersection of Marmount and Fourth Ave. He said that there was something that we would want to see.

"What do you think is going on?" Armani asked as she walked beside me.

"Well, based on the sounds coming down the street, I don't think it's anything good."

We soon came to the intersection and gasped at the destruction in front of me.

There were about four cop cars, two ambulances and two fire trucks. There were paramedics, cops, and firemen running around the scene hastily. My eyes then focused on the totaled car that was flipped upside down on the road. Two tires were lying about ten feet away from the car, and glass was shattered everywhere along with pieces of metal and scraps from the car.

I could see that it was blue car and I'm thinking maybe it was a Subaru Crosstrek. "Oh my god." I whispered.

I felt Armani hold onto me. There was a fair group of people standing around watching the scene. Smoke still clouded the air a little as people stood around and I could see from a view that people were still trying to get someone out of the totaled car.

I felt my heartbeat accelerate. I scanned the crowd and Armani and I found Ace. Nikki, Ali, Zane, and Hayden were already there also. We're not too far from the field where the Training Center is below.

If they were there, I'm pretty sure they heard the car accident and came to see what was going on. All their eyes were glued to the scene that was happening in front of us.

"What happened?" Armani asked quietly.

With his eyes still on the scene, Ali answered. "We were in the training hall when we heard it. It was very loud."

"They said that the driver hit that light post there, and the car spun out before it flipped over." Nikki told us as she pointed to the light post that was now laying flatly on the ground. "Surprising that he didn't hit anyone else."

"Wow." I stated. I watched as they continued to rescue the man inside the car- everyone murmuring and running around trying to help. "Was he the only one in the car?"

"Yeah." Ace answered.

I found a little relief when they pulled out the man and from here, I could see that he was unconscious....and he was hurt very badly.

The paramedics put him on a gurney and we watched silently and sadly as they pulled him towards one of the ambulances.

However, I noticed something very interesting as they rolled him passed. We all had a clear view and I held my breath as I saw the driver's body. Although he was dressed in clothes, viewing his arms and his shirt, there were...holes?

All over. My eyebrows furrowed. What the hell?

The driver looked as though he had been punctured, all over his body. Almost like someone took a needle and jabbed him over and over. It looked strange. He was bleeding out from those jabs and his clothes were stained in blood. It looked critical.

But, staring at his body, the condition he was in...I started to believe maybe this wasn't an accident.

"Oh my god." Armani repeated for the second time today.

"That's strange." Zane mumbled. It's the first he's talked since Armani and I arrived on the scene.

We were all silent as we watched him be lead into the ambulance. "He's dead." Ace muttered beside me and I snapped my head towards him.

We all did. His eyes were glowing a bright yellow as he stared at the man. "His brain life is deteriorating- he's- he's brain dead."

I felt my breath get stuck in my throat. Nikki breathed deeply. "He might be unconscious but he'll be dead in no time." Ace continued.

"Wow." Nikki sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Wow."

***

Zane

I walked urgently into the lab, the smell of latex and medicine immediately filling my nose. I found Johanna leaning against the same old counter, looking down into the same clipboard. In front of her were two laptops, each displaying some bacteria or germ. As usual, she had papers scattered everywhere, and she twisted a pen in her hand.

Her white lab coat was crinkled over her plain t-shirt. And I stopped when I spotted her. "Jo."

She jumped as always and placed a hand over her heart. Johanna sighed and gave pursed her lips at me. "Zane, it's you. You have got to stop doing that." She let out a deep puff while pushing her glasses up. "How do you keep getting in here anyway?" She tilted her head.

I ignored her question and held up the item in my hand. She nodded. "Oh, another feather." She said. "Do you want me to run a test on that one too-"

She moved forward to take it from me. "I don't really care about the testing, but you should know where I found it." My voice was hard and stiff and Johanna paused looking up at me with a confused gaze.

"Where?" She asked cautiously.

"There was an accident a few blocks down." I explained. "The man who was driving, he died after smashing into a pole-"

"That's awful-"

"But it was weird. He had these markings on his body." I continued. "It was almost freaky. The markings were almost patterned and exact. It was like someone took a needle, and stuck him all over his body."

Johanna was quiet for a while fondling with her fingers. "You don't think it was needle, do you?" Jo asked quietly.

"I don't."

Finding the feather near the crime scene and the weird condition of the driver, I don't think it was an accident. There are too many coincidences going on and I feel like this accident may lead me into further about the true meaning behind these feathers.

But, I started to have some ideas that maybe this went beyond further than the normal mind. Maybe, we couldn't exactly use science to figure out anything about where the peacock feathers are coming from. Maybe this went beyond the mortal world. I had thoughts that maybe something or someone supernatural was behind this.

"So," Johanna started off quietly. "So what exactly are you implying?" She asked. She ran a hand through her blonde hair and tilted her head.

I was quiet for a moment. I contemplated on the decision I was making and clicked my tongue as I spoke my next words. "Jo, i'm going to need your help."

*****
Things are getting a little weird. How are you guys liking the story? I know it's short, it gets better, I promise. 

In the next chapter, something huge happens. Time to get to work with these feathers. Where are my Zohanna shippers? Arden has a moment of her own as well.

Until next time,

-brittany.