4The Family Secret
by:
Chapter 4: And So It Goes
Rain poured down as the gang drove through Greywood Forest, the darkness falling as it rained. "Thank goodness s8 has specialized cars for these missions" Josie said, trying to lighten up the mood, the tense atmosphere in the car was starting to get to her. Melina shifted so she was leaning back against the seat. They had been driving for quite awhile and it was getting dark, not to mention the fact that Melina was dead bored. She had tried to keep herself occupied with the case, but her brain was demanding a break. She had spent the last two nights catching up on homework…after all IB Diploma was no piece of cake and those lab reports didn't finish by themselves. Settling into a comfortable position, Melina closed her eyes and…
"Seth, don't go too far into the ocean!" Isabella shouted to her five year old son who was playing on the beach, kicking his soccer ball around in the water. Andre laughed out loud at his soccer crazy son before lifting his two year old daughter and carrying her nearer to the ocean.
"Look Pete, the waves are great!" Jas laughed softly running into the crashing waves which she loved so much. Andre grinned at Pete, his childhood friend before going further into the ocean so he now stood knee deep in water, his daughter clinging to the front of his white t-shirt. "Andy, don't drop her!" Isabella called out to her husband, as she sat under the huge umbrella rubbing sunscreen onto her daughter Annie while chatting away to her sister-in-law, Melissa.
"Ronnie! Come here and play with daddy!" Pete called out to his two-year-old son who was happily playing in the sand. A little farther away, Seth and Kio chased the soccer ball, pretending to be international soccer super-stars, unaware of the fact that in a few years, that was exactly what they were going to be. Melissa watched her son, Kio play in the sand while her other son built a sand-castle and finally turned to her husband who stood a few feet away, watching everything with a smile on his face. It had been a great idea to come down to Wreller Beach for the holidays…
Andre swung his two year-old-daughter to and fro, barely dipping her into the water before lifting her again. She let out a few squeals as he repeated the action and grabbed onto her daddy's shirt. Even at the ripe young age of two, she seemed to be quite fond of the ocean, that and her brother's soccer-ball. At times Andre's friends would joke about how the love for soccer seemed to be hereditary. Andre had once been a legend, but quit to focus on his education but his son, the eldest of his three children and even his youngest daughter seemed to love the game. Grinning down at the two year old girl who looked up and met her father's adoring gaze she threw both arms around his neck.
Isabella laughed as Andre carried his daughter to where Isabella was sitting. The two burst out laughing as the little tornado ran off to play with her cousins.
"Lynnie! Lynnie!" Andre's voice called for his youngest daughter. She was stuck, stuck in the sand and couldn't get out. "Daddy! Daddy! Come get me…Where are you?"
"LYNNIE!" Cameron's shout woke up his sleeping teammate who seemed to be having a nightmare. He looked at the girl next to him wondering what she'd been dreaming about. She had been screaming for daddy…but Cameron didn't mention this fact to her and neither did any of the others. He knew that whatever she had been dreaming of could be her subconscious mind linking some important events in her mind. Often, high-ranking officials had their dreams analyzed if they were working on special missions because the subconscious mind often linked two events or memories together and that often lead to the case being solved.
Melina tried to clear her head; the dream was still vividly playing in her brain and it seemed so real. She assumed that it was a memory which had remained distant in her past yet she just couldn't remember a single thing about it.
The rain started to become heavier as Cam navigated through the woods, darkness overcoming them in a few minutes. The sky was barely visible through the thick leaves on the trees and the thunder rumbled on as they drove. Chills ran down Melina's spine as she thought of all the things that could happen to them, a bunch of teenagers who were lost in a forest. In the rain, the situation was ten times worse, they could get struck by lightning or the tired could slip or get stuck in the mud. Melina felt scared and that scared the others even more than the rain. She was usually the fearless one in the group and usually responsible for making the rest feel better. They had always been overly dependent on their captain to tell them what to do if things got tough.
"Great job Cam, we are lost in a forest and its pouring, anything else you wanted?" Lynnie asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Cameron ran his hand through his cinnamon hair, a sign that showed he was nervous. Something was going to happen; everyone in the car could sense it... Sure they had solved harder cases; sure they had been in worse situations but there was something more…sinister about this particular case.
"I knew this was a bad idea" Josie muttered. The rain was as heavy as ever and upon stepping out of the car, Cameron was soaked to the bone. He looked at his fellow agents; Josie was muttering under her breath, Izzie was even worse, cursing under her breath while Jase sat there, looking extremely calm as usual but a few tell-tale signs of anxiety such as tapping his fingers on his knee were there. Stan was clearly frustrated but kept on typing as if his life depended on it while Sara flicked through the pages of her book trying to look as though she were reading. He stood in the rain for a few minutes, unsure of what to do or say. Closing his eyes, he felt the rain wash over him, calming him down. "Cam, you'll catch a cold, standing out there like that." Josie said her voice full of uncertainty and concern. Cameron heard the door of the car open and Lynnie step out into the rain, it was considerably lighter now, but they were still lost in the middle of the so-called forest due to Cameron's knack of getting them into trouble.
Her jet black hair was dripping wet, and her jeans were soaked but her waterproof s8 jacket had kept her black t-shirt dry enough. Her trade-mark trainers kept the water out of her feet but the ends of her jeans were splattered with mud. She too stood in the rain staring at her partner with an expression that was pretty hard to read. Cameron offered her an uncertain smile as she walked slowly to the other side to join Cameron. She studied his drenched form looking for a reason behind the smile. His wet brown hair fell over his eyes hiding them from view. His black shirt was soaked and clinging to his form and the t-shirt he wore underneath was soaked as well. His jeans were dripping wet and met the muddy ground, the frayed ends brown. His usually sparkling shoes were brown as well matching his hair. He pushed the lock of wet hair from his eyes and looked into hers searching for answers to their predicament. Melina raised one eyebrow as if to say, 'what can I do?'
The only thing that they had in common was that they were all ordinary kids who had the chance to see what the real world looked like. They had the chance to see what it was like when the good people did evil things. The simple motives behind murder, the simple tasks that led to uncontrollable anger it was funny in an insane way how the simplest things turned people into monsters. Melina opened her eyes, and stared at her partner, no more wasting time…they had to overcome their fear and frustration.