The Hirt

Chapter Five

Heather’s energy had come back.  She glanced over at her clock, and did a double take.  She had been sleeping almost twenty hours!  It was nearly noon, and Heather felt like she had only taken a five minute nap.  She shook her head and sighed.  Leaning over in bed, Heather picked up her laptop from her bedside table.  Dropping the laptop carelessly in front of her on her bed, Heather flopped over onto her stomach and opened up the computer.  She rested one hand on her keyboard and one hand supporting her chin.  Heather drummed her fingers on the keyboard, impatiently waiting for it to load.  She glanced sideways towards her giant window.  Heather directed her gaze back towards her unbelievably slow laptop, but not before she swore she saw a flash outside her window through the loose blinds.  She quickly looked back towards the blinded window.  Staring at it for a few seconds, she squinted.  When Heather didn’t see anything, she moved her laptop to the side and swung her legs over the bed.  Quietly padding over to the window, she lifted one of the blinds up and peered out.  The bright daylight assaulted Heather, and she blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust.  She studied her front yard; nothing seemed out of place. Heather strained her ears, and swore she could hear a rustling outside. She also smelled something burning.

A face shot up in front of her window.  Heather jumped back and screamed, accidently ripping the blinds clean off her window.  His skin charred and black, Dr. Thompson stared back at Heather.  His blue, milky eyes were opened wide.  The skin on his face steamed, and his lips looked like they had been burned off, almost non-existent.  The salt-and-pepper hair that he had was almost completely gone, a few wisps here and there, still smoldering.   Dr. Thompson’s hand slammed onto the window, shaking the entire frame.  His fingers were long and bony, and his palm was black and bright red.  Heather stumbled backwards, backing into her bed.  Almost as quickly as he had appeared, Dr. Thompson vanished.  All that was left of him was a sweaty handprint.

Heather couldn’t move from her spot, terrified at what just happened.  She shakily dropped the blinds that she still clutched, and flinched at the plunk!  She had to get out of here.  She couldn’t stay here.  She had to get out.  Stumbling over to her desk, she yanked open one of the drawers and whipped out a piece of paper and a pen.  She scribbled a note saying, Over at Amy’s. Be home soon.  Heather unsteadily walked over to her bed and set the note onto the foot of her bed.  Then she shot out of her room, grabbed her car keys, and threw herself carelessly into her car.  Too terrified to even look in her rearview mirror, she zoomed out of the driveway and headed towards the Kidellian Headquarters.

Heather screeched into the warehouse’s parking lot and slammed on the brakes.  Still shaking from seeing the supposedly-dead Dr. Thompson, she sprinted into the building.  Heather yanked the heavy door open, and bolted into the Headquarters.  She came to a sudden, screeching halt. Five pairs of eyes bore into her.  Only two of them were familiar to Heather.

“Oh.  Hello there.” Heather awkwardly said, panting. 

“Heather?  What are you doing here?” Henry asked, surprised, quickly walking over to her.

“Um . . . Well, I kind of have to talk to you and Damien.  Wait, who are all these people?” Heather asked, bewildered as Henry grasped her arm.  He gently pulled her towards the group of people. 

“Well, we were going to wait a while to do this, but I guess we can do it now.  Heather, meet your fellow Kidellians.” The other Kidellians stopped what they were doing, and turned completely around and faced Heather with wide eyes.  Henry gestured to the nearest girl.  “Ivy Heplin.  Her Givine is invisibility.”  Ivy had deep green eyes and olive skin.  Her smooth skin shaped an angular face that gave an air of arrogance.  Long, brown hair cascaded down her shoulders and contrasted against her soft, pink lips.  Ivy looked like she belonged in a high-fashion magazine. Heather’s limp brown hair paled in comparison to Ivy’s.