Stuck in Time | #OpenNovellaContest2020 | Round Two

3.

One of the yellow-uniformed men threw himself at my face.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you're not allowed beyond the yellow line!" he said in an authoritative manner.

And that is just the kind of tone that makes me all annoyed and frustrated. I frowned, but alerted myself enough to control my voice as I replied:

"But, officer, this is where I live."

"This house belongs to Mr and Mrs Pavlov. I can't allow you in," he said in a robotic voice.

At that, I snapped. "Look, Officer" – I peered at his badge – "Minelli, I am the daughter of Mr and Mrs Pavlov and this house belongs to me just as much as it belongs to them!"

His face looked unfazed. "Sorry, ma'am, I can't allow you in."

Was this guy for real?! "Hello! Haven't you heard a single word I just spoke?! Are you deaf? Should I shout in your ears?!"

"Ma'am, you look too young to have a husband. So, I should think you're ly—"

In hindsight, I realised that it wasn't entirely my fault. He should totally have seen it coming. After all, he had been around for just as long as I have and, especially as a police officer of the town, he should know exactly who I am.

Anyway, what happened next was that a loud crack filled the air that cut off every other noise in the background.

In other words, I slapped the man. Hard. Right on the face.

For a moment, only silence filled the air.

And then, suddenly, the noise started up again and the next thing I knew, there were yellow people gathering around us, separating us, like we were in this big fist-fight. I realised that we were. And that, I was the one who initiated it.

"All right, all right, Minelli, what's happenin' here?"

We looked up to see a short young woman coming towards us from my house. It was Captain Adams, one of the highest ranking officers in the south of the country.

She approached us and took Officer Minelli aside as she looked at me.

"Miss Pavlov, what's the issue here?" she asked. From the corner of my eye, I could see his eyebrows raise up in astonishment.

That was enough to satisfy me, so I took in a deep breath and let it out. "Well, I was trying to convince Officer Minelli here that I was telling the truth."

"About what, exactly?"

"That I'm the one living here!"

She turned to the junior officer. "You heard the woman. Let her in."

"Y-yes, Captain." Minelli then opened the yellow warning ribbon to let me in. As I walked in, I heard him say, "I'm sorry. I don't think you should go. I don't believe you're her sister now –"

I whirled around. "Let her in. Where I go, she goes."

Minelli looked thoroughly confused now, but when he glanced at his captain, she signalled him to let in my friend. Reluctantly, he did so.

~*~

"Well, now that's done," I began, as Iris and I were escorted by the captain inside my house. It was strange, but under this circumstance, I was glad for her presence, "I have some things I want to pack."

"Are you going somewhere, Miss Pavlov?" asked Captain Adams without so much as a glance.

"Er – yes. Well, I'm going to spend a few days at Iris's place. You know."

"Yes, I understand. Just don't leave the town until this crime is solved." She glanced back at me. "I can trust on that, right?"

I nodded. "Certainly. I have no intentions of doing that in the near foreseeable future, madam."

When we arrived at the staircase at one end of the ground floor, she paused and turned around, a small smile on her face.

"All right then. Go upstairs and pack a bag."

I nodded again. "Thank you so much." Turning to my friend, "You can stay here – I'll not be long." And walked upstairs.

"Uh... you... want me to come along?"

I turned around to see a confused expression on Iris's face.

"You know, help you with anything?"

I gave her a wan smile. "That's okay. I'll be fine." I went the rest of the way trying not to look as though I was in this big hurry.

When I reached the first floor, I headed straight to my bedroom. The door was closed, just the way it had been when I last left it, so it was safe to assume that nobody had been there yet. This was my perfect chance.

I looked around me. Iris and Captain Adams were seemed to be making small talk downstairs, with the former trying to glance upwards. I hid from view, unlocked the door, turned the knob, and thrust it in, and looked around for a final scanning.

The room was empty of anybody, as far as my eyes and ears could tell me. I went in and close the door.

"Now, time for Pandora Box!" I whispered as I stepped lightly across the room towards where my nightstand was. I didn't know why, but I was afraid in my house. This shouldn't happen. But, considering the circumstances, known and unknown, I suppose I had a right to be.

I gulped as I picked up the strange wooden box with the strange-looking text around its base. It was Old English alphabets carved that read:

DO NOT OPEN ME OR SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN

Like that was going to tell me something. I sniffed.

I scanned the room again and spotted my backpack from my trip that I didn't unpack, left lying carelessly to a side against the wall near the door. I zipped it open, brought it to my bed, and dumped a few clothes out.

"I ideally shouldn't need so many," I mumbled to myself. "I just need something else..."

I slipped the Pandora Box into the bag, deliberately burying it deep underneath, before I looked around for more. I had my other basic necessities still inside.

"Toothbrush and paste." I got them from the bathroom and plopped them into my bag. I went to pick a couple of books from the bookshelf above my bed and dropped them in the bag, too. Iris wasn't such a reader and on the days I would be alone, I'd be bored as hell.

'Not necessarily,' my mind said. 'You've heard someone say there's someone new in town, yes?'

At this thought, my heart skipped a beat again and my breath hitched.

The next thing I knew, there was a loud knocking in the door.

"Hey, you seem to be taking too long in there! Need something?"

Bless Iris White for being my angel in disguise!

"I'll be right out!" I yelled back, zipped up my bag again, and shouldered it, before heading out.

I met my friend standing right outside with a concerned look on her face. I paused for her to take a good look at me, holding my breath in anticipation.

After a few seconds of peering at me, Iris finally nodded. "Okay. We need to get you back in the car and safe inside a warm house. Come on!"

I let her bustle me out of the house.