Fiction C PART 1

The storm raged outside the window. It was late at night, a time when Kate would normally feel calmed by the storms. But this was hardly normal watched as the trees blew and the rain patted hard on the window she was sitting in. She sighed, 'Where is he?'

The storm grew in size unto the point where Kate compared it to a maelstrom. She felt as if the house would be picked up and blown away. As if that was the least of their worries. The newspapers continued to read of government deaths. That's why she was worried about Milligan. 'It can't be Curtain, Oh god don't let it be Curtain.'

Of course the reporters had no leads; it was as if an assassin was targeting them. Even Mr. Benedict seemed more reclusive than ever. And Milligan was gone almost all the time now. Tracking this killer. He had told Kate that it was probably Curtain. She tried to hold back tears as she remembered how she felt when he last left… like she would never see him again. It was raining when he left.

And then all of a sudden she heard the door knock. 'Odd, who would the security let in at this time?'

Since no one else was in the room she went to answer the door of the maze. She opened the door and looked down. Lying at the floor was a badly wrapped brown package. She leaned down to pick it up. "Hello," She called into the maze holding her bucket close.

No answer. She looked at the package, to see who it was addressed to. It scrawled hardly readable handwriting was her name. Her hands shaking she opened the package fearful of what would be in it. Not some sort of bomb surely, the security would have made sure of that. The Brown paper slipped off onto the floor, laying in her hands were an item and a piece of paper, hand written on in cursive. One look at the object and she screamed, backing up. Their was no way that this could be happening.

ONE YEAR LATER

The wind howled, but unlike this night a year previously, no rain had come or was going to come. It was dreary. A hooded figure darted along the road, then quietly and almost entirely without notice the figure slipped into a shop with an obvious closed sign on it. It more shack like than store like. But there wee very valuable things to be ought if you knew who to ask. The hooded figure darted up to a man and showed him a piece of paper.

"You!" He exclaimed aghast, "You're the one that Curtain meant?"

"Jackson honestly, you're as stupid as ever. Now hand me the other part of it!" The hooded figure, whose voice was obviously female said, "Before I make you."

"Ooh, very fierce aren't we," Jackson laughed sitting down in a chair beside a pile of large boxes. He pulled something out of his jacket, which was rather shiny and attached to a chain.

She reached for it quickly, but Jackson pulled it back, "Getting rather feisty there aren't we Miss Wetherall."

"You're drunk," Kate remarked looking away. "Curtain's obviously lowered his operation quality."

"You're not getting this," Jackson said waving it in the air.

"I don't want to kill you," Kate said in a syrupy voice.

"A sweet sixteen year old girl like you… couldn't kill a fly," Jackson laughed until his eyes drooped, and then suddenly opened again, still laughing.

In a second Kate had pulled a knife from he cloak and slit Jackson's throat. She wiped the blood off on his cloak and blew on the knife, smiling. Then she reached into his jacket and pulled out the item she was looking for. Laughing with happiness she held it to her heart. 'One step closer.'