Phantasmagoric

Chapter Three - Arabella

To say I was surprised to be called down early, would be a major understatement. Whitney showing up last made the whole ordeal even stranger. I couldn't make sense of the scene.

The whole way home was silent, no one spoke a word. Normally, Pepper would bring up conversation. She would ask how our day was or at least ask how Jason's game went. The rare few times we were silent though, had been welcomed and felt comforting. This silence, clung to my skin making sure I wouldn't forget it. This day had been so strange and I had an odd feeling that it was only going to get worse.

When our yellow house came into view, any security I had left, was consumed by the overwhelming sense of panic. I couldn't tell what it was. We pulled into the driveway, routinely getting out and moving inside. My feet carried me to the kitchen where my hand reached for the pantry's doorknob. Jason, who seemed to always be hungry, pushed his way through. He turned to where he normally hid his potato chips and grumbled in disappointment when it wasn't there, "Waste of my time!"

"Would you just hurry up? I'm famished," Pip squeaked from behind me.

"Well if JJ would stop pouting then we could all get a move on!" I retorted. He looked up to give us an apologetic look and quickly grabbed chips, before maneuvering his way out. After we grabbed our snacks we made our way to the table. Bang!

I pushed my chair out quickly, almost causing it to fall. The three of us looked at eachother astounded. We knew where the cacophony came from, but the question we were all asking was what it was. Hesitantly, we walked over, stopping in front of the door that lead to the basement. Piper stood, ready to take the lead. Though scared, she twisted the doorknob swinging the door open. Her hand searched the wall for the light switch. The lights flickered at first, then failed completely.

Jason made his way to get the flashlight kept in the closest cabinet. Holding the flashlight seemed to give him the courage to step down first. The wooden stairs creaked under our weight. The basement was small, and was only used to store holiday decorations and unnecessary junk. I couldn't remember the last time anyone was down here just because they wanted to be.

Just as we reached the bottom Piper tripped on a loose nail, my arms race to grab her. Jason whirls around to check on us. When he saw we were both steady, he shook his head and turned back.

Dust covered every surface and floated around the air. Suddenly, we heard the bang again. We all rushed to the source halting when we saw the cause. Piper was the first to make her way to a tied up Pepper.

What was going on? I thought. Pepper's upstairs, there's no way she could be down here, tied up. She stared, suddenly a wave of cold washed over my body. The eyes I was seeing through, weren't my own. A beautiful blue human-like creature stood in front of me. Piercing yellow eyes searched over my body frantically. My head pounded, begging me to close my eyes. But before I did, I watched as the yellow eyes turned to blue, and the red hair to blond.

"Arabella? Are you listening? Go get help!" Jason screamed, shaking me, willing me to hear him. I found it hard to respond, I found it hard to make sense of what was going on. I looked from him to Pepper, suddenly knowing what to do. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone. Just as soon as I knew what to do, I didn't. All I did was look back at her. She met my eyes, and held her hand out. When I handed her the phone, my hand brushed against her cold pale skin. Slowly, she typed in an unfamiliar number and held it up to her ear. Just like the call last night, I could hear the other end.

"Hey Pepper, what's shakin'?" A man's voice asked full of charisma. It wasn't the same man as the other night, it wasn't Erik. When this man talked, you could hear his smile. I decided this man knew Pepper very well, and if he knew her, she knew him.

She spoke quietly, "You need to come here, we need help." She closed her eyes, probably to avoid our questioning eyes.

Piper looked to Jason and I, her small frame furious. "Would someone like to explain this to me?" Each of us were wondering the same thing, so when no when replied, she gave up and sat down.

"It's Mystique, she held me up. The kids found me in the basement. I- I don't know what to do," Pepper continued, "Erik called me last night, I think it might have something to do with him."

"I'm coming, send the children back upstairs. Have them avoid her without being suspicious. Mystique won't hesitate unless she is working with Erik. Be careful Pepper."

"Thank you Tony." Pepper whispered before hanging up. Jason and Piper looked at her waiting for an explanation. As Pepper started to tell them, I zoned out, already knowing. I thought about how so much wrong could happen in so little time. I wondered how any of it was possible, if there was any way to have prevented it.

"Wait, wait! What'd you just say?" I interrupted atomically.

"The man I was just speaking to, he's coming and he's going to take us somewhere safe. I'll explain more when I can, not now." I couldn't believe it. We were leaving. Tomorrow wouldn't be the same. We, wouldn't be the same.

Just as I opened my mouth to comment, Jason spoke "Okay, is anyone else concerned that we left our family upstairs with that thing?"