Find Violet Hyde: Secrets In Space

Ickwall

*A NOTE FROM THE WRITER*

Hi, I love this chapter and I hope you do, too. Votes are always welcome, but most of all I hope you enjoy the read. Okay, back to the book!

-Laura Slate

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Lucille clung to the shadowy sides of the walkway afraid of being recognized. She wore a long brown tattered cloak and comfortable boots for walking. A large Mass Transit zoomed across the ground above, vibrating metal grates under her feet. Lucille quickly looked over the railing and down into the heart of Ickwall.

Pale orange lights lined the jagged walls and winding staircases that tunneled into the moon, and at the bottom of the pit rested the City of Ickwall. Lucille smelled rust and gasoline so strongly she could taste it. She would have to hurry if she wanted to find the building before nightfall. She pulled her cloak tighter and raised the hood.

She found the building after an hour of climbing down stairs and slinking through the shadows.The house it hadn't changed a bit. The brick was still moldy green and slick, one rusted metal sign hung naming the house. HYDE HOUSE, it read. Her parents had owned the orphanage since before Lucille born. She took the deepest of breaths and knocked on the door.

"Who's 'ere?" The high pitched voice of a woman came from the other side.

"Um...Me, Mom." Lucille whispered towards the door.

Locks and bolts and chains unlatched with much clicking and sliding. Finally a squat woman of an ago too old for numbers stood beaming in an apron, hands twisting at the fabric and large eyes blinking back tears. Her short black hair stood straight up on her head like a crown.

"Lucy, come in, yer gonna get seen!" She pulled Lucille into the hallway and looked around the street before locking back up.

"Thank you, Mom." Lucille said as she stood in the foyer taking in her surroundings.

The interior had changed just as much as the outside of the home had, not at all. The yellow wallpaper peeled in ribbons, couches and armchairs collected dust, but Lucille could smell fresh tea. When she saw her mother come from around a corner with an extra cup her heart soared. She waited as her mother readied the sitting room and patted a cushion on the couch gesturing for Lucille to sit.

"Where is Dad?" Lucille asked as she took the cup.

"Where do ya think? At work. Yer too skinny, Lucy. Eat somethin' why don't ya?" Margo Hyde sighed and took a long look at her daughter, then she handed a cookie to Lucille.

"I need to talk to you about Carmen." Lucille said after a few minutes of silence. Lucille took the cookie and put it on the table beside her.

"Well, you can talk to 'er yourself. She still lives up the stairs." She jerked her head up and to the side, towards the staircase.

"Oh, how is she...feeling?" Lucille wasn't sure how to ask what she really wanted to know.

"She's crazier than a shithouse rat, Lucy. Only gettin' worse. I sure wish yew'd come see us more, she needs 'er sister."

"I've been busy and to tell you the truth, I didn't know how welcome I would be."

Lucille's mom shot out of her chair as she heard the series of locks being unlocked. She fixed her dress and stood high on her toes to see her hair in a small mirror that had been placed a bit too high. The tiny Heart shaped mirror had been there since Lucille was a child and they had not moved it still. The sight made Lucille chuckle despite herself.

"Must be Felix, gettin' back early..." She said as she hurried to the door.

In walked a man 7 feet tall, with cold blue eyes and thick black hair. He dropped his briefcase as soon as he saw his daughter.