Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter VII

"I'm not leaving without a picture. I don't know what your damage is, but I'm going to get the most out of what time we have left on this trip," On that note, Mia points her phone's camera at herself and takes a selfie with Hamilton's grave in the background.

And let's just say that exact moment is when craziness ensues.

MIA

Music: Big Core MK II from Gradius V

Right after I take the picture, a harsh wind begins blowing through the cemetery. Considering that the breeze has been pretty calm all day, this change is a bit too sudden, to say the least.

"See? I told you! We need to get out of here!" Mackenzie urges, reaching for me.

"What, is the ghost of Alexander Hamilton coming back to haunt us or some shit like that?" I snort.

"Maybe not his ghost, but someone you shouldn't disturb nonetheless," an eerie, female voice says from behind me.

"Hamilton?" I squeak.

"Mia, there's no way that could be Hamilton. That voice came from a woman," Mackenzie sighs.

"How do you know I didn't mean Eliza?" I laugh nervously as I turn to face the woman. Judging from the wrinkles on her face and her short, gray hair, I assume this woman's in her mid-seventies. Her attire is mostly neutral pink and purple, with a black scarf to compliment it. And her posture, despite her old appearance, is amazingly upright.

"Who are you, and what do you want from us!?" Mackenzie yells, her voice barely audible over the roaring sound of the wind. The woman doesn't say anything in reply. Instead, she points behind us and mouths the words, "Go away".

"Mia, let's get out of here!" Mackenzie says, grabbing my arm and running. This is made difficult because we're going against the furiously blowing wind, which rips at our clothing and hair and sends dirt flying into our faces, making it hard to see.

"This is a public place, thank you very much," I shout as Mackenzie pulls me away. We exit the cemetery and run until we reach a curb. We both sit down on the sidewalk, panting from exhaustion.

"Mackenzie, was that really necessary?" I ask after we've taken some time to recollect ourselves.

"I think we made the right decision," Mackenzie gets out, slowly standing up. "That woman is sure as hell dangerous."

"Whatever. Let's just get back to the others," I grumble, still slightly pissed off by the events of the past two minutes. I proceed to call an Uber for Mackenzie and I to head back to Emilia's house.

SHANNA

Music: Speed from Salamander 2

I'm in the middle of packing up the little stuff I brought with me on the trip when I hear a loud knocking at the front door. When Emilia answers it, Mia and Mackenzie quickly run inside, sweating and out of breath (at least, Mackenzie is).

"Mia? Mackenzie? What's wrong?" I ask, running over to them. The rest of the group quickly joins in, and Emilia stands off to the side, listening closely.

"You said you were just going for a walk," Heath says, looking very concerned (as we all are). "What happened to you two?"

"Well, we were at Trinity Church, and Mia took a selfie next to Alexander Hamilton's grave..." Mackenzie starts explaining.

"Which, by the way, is totally badass," Mia smirks, pulling out her phone to show us the picture.

"And then this creepy old lady came out of nowhere and started terrorizing us... it was pretty frightening..." Mackenzie continues, barely managing to keep breathing steadily.

At first, we all just stare at the two girls in disbelief. The story seems just a bit too unrealistic to be true. "This is probably something I need to see to believe," Sam comments, raising an eyebrow at Mia and Mackenzie.

"She's probably gone by now. It's not that big of a deal anyways," Mia sighs.

"No, but the cemetery and the church... they were pretty empty... and there might still be dirt everywhere..." Mackenzie mutters. "Guys, you have to see this. Come on!"

As we're heading outside, Avery turns to Emilia with a fake, cheery smile and tells her, "We'll, uh, we'll be right back."

A short two-minute flight later, we arrive at Trinity Church, which is the complete opposite of the way Mackenzie described it to us earlier. People are all over the cemetery, examining the tombstones, placing flowers down on certain graves, taking pictures of Hamilton's grave, etc. There doesn't appear to be any sign of destruction or tampering done to the graveyard. And inside the church appears to be some sort of mass service that has probably been going on for quite a while.

Both Mia and Mackenzie are in complete and utter shock at the sight. "B-but... what.... This can't be..." Mackenzie sputters, having trouble finding her voice.

"Are you sure this isn't some sort of joke?" Luke sighs, agitated.

"No! I swear it all happened!" Mackenzie exclaims.

"Maybe you two were just imagining things?" I suggest. I already know it's a bit of a long shot for an alternate explanation, but I need something to pitch in so an argument doesn't start.

"I think we would know if it was just our imagination," Mia replies.

"Look, we can worry about this later. It's 8:35; we should probably be at the airport in about ten minutes," Avery says. "We'll just take the subway."

The rest of the group agrees with Avery's suggestion unanimously, and so Sam looks up the nearest station on his phone, and we begin walking off. While walking, I hear Mackenzie constantly whispering to herself, "It had to have happened... it felt all too real..."

I think about asking her some more questions about what happened with her and Mia, but decide it's best to just drop it for now.

Alright, now we should be past the part of the story that's difficult for me to write. I think this chapter's a bit on the short side, but the next chapter will probably make up for that (it'll probably be for songs 23-28, so chances are it'll be a pretty long chapter in comparison to most other chapters).