The Watching Game [On Hold]

The Second Kill

“Good morning, breaking news: A new warning in the New Jersey area as a powerful trail of murders have been taking place at a continuing rate. Two teenage boys were found dead last night, one having been stabbed, as well as having his arm cut off. The other was decapitated. This morning police and citizens all over the town of Merit are grieving over the loss. Similar sprees have been forming across the country, yet it is suspected that they are all done by the same sort of criminal. The question is, who is responsible? And storms, storms, storms! Are extreme weather patterns clouding around the central Caribbean area due to Hurricane Nick? We’re interviewing meteorologist Harry Winslow on this Thursday, September 15th, 2011.”

Petra wrapped her arms firmly around her legs, puzzled. Crime sprees certainly weren’t common this area, as far as I was educated. (Which I was quite.) Perhaps Petra had become fearful of the news, curious to comprehend whether or not her death would be upcoming as well. Surely, I doubted it. The blaring trumpet sounded through her entire living room, as the announcer once more spoke. “From NBC News, this is Today, with Matt Lauer and Anne Curry. Live from studio 1a in Rockefeller Plaza.”

Abruptly, it became obvious. Had I truly failed to sense it before? Another Susceptor had entered the area surrounding Merit. Oddly enough, I’d been oblivious. Baffled, I recalled always possessing the ability to hold knowledge on other Susceptors. The conclusion, I wondered? Perhaps I’d been so distracted by Petra that I’d lost all common sense. Surely that was the sole reason. Yes, it absolutely was necessary for it to be the reason. Definitely. Positively.

It seemed as though I was reassuring myself.

I gazed in utter curiosity as a woman gingerly strode down the steps to the living room. In her hands sat a steaming glass of coffee- I assumed it had been coffee. If not, it was a sort of tea. Gracing her shoulders was a garment of some sort- I’d learned to identify it as a “robe”. It slung itself loosely around her figure, not quite closed, the straps on the front sliding against the steps as she proceeded downwards. The woman must’ve been at least five feet and ten inches. Incredibly tall, I noted.

Heavily layered, thick blonde locks grazed a few inches past her shoulders. It was evident that it consisted mainly of highlights. Humans were fake creatures, in my opinion. The proof lay here, astonishingly obvious. Her figure was abundant with curves, and her legs were indeed quite lengthy. Her fingertips, wrapped gently around the cup she held, consisted of precisely manicured nails. Once again, the word “Fake” held truth.

Although the woman was arguably beautiful, I noticed the evident extra fat around her stomach area. It wasn’t much for her to be concerned with, yet it wasn’t entirely imperceptible, either. She appeared to be around the age of thirty, or possibly a lesser number.

Petra’s attention shifted to the women- suddenly, I recalled that it was her aunt. “Morning kiddo,” The aunt sleepily murmured, acknowledging Petra. “What’s going on with Today?”

Petra shifted uncomfortably in her seat on the couch, before responding quite plainly. “There’s a huge murder thing going on… I guess you probably heard about it… Two of the kids in my grade were killed last night.” She announced, fear evident in her vocals. The Aunt… Aunt Natalie, I recall widened her eyes at a respective amount. It seemed unreal.

“Are you serious? That’s pretty… wow,” She simply had the inability to finish her sentence. A concerned expression lit up her features. “Are you, does this make you feel kind of, nervous? Because, if you feel that way, we can definitely step up on security or something…”

I’d absorbed such behavior from dear Aunt Natalie, assuming immediately that she was a decent relative, if not excellent of one. She’d never failed to please, comfort, and adore Petra as though she was her own mother. Though I was reluctant to hold trust in her, I wasn’t particularly unsettled with her raising Petra in the fine manner she was. Excellent. Surely, I was glad.