Call of Caldiria chapter 7

Chapter 7

Veredel hung her head against the side of the window as Conner silently drove into the countryside. They were still a few miles from her home. She hoped they would reach it soon, her medication was wearing off rapidity and she was now having a hard time blocking Conner’s thoughts from her mind. He believed she was just having migraine issues, and that was partly true. She just hoped she didn’t slip up and responded to his mental actions rather than his words like she had before at store the day before.

“So… This is all crazy huh? The town going nuts and all.”

She looked at him but didn’t respond.  She wasn’t sure if he had actually spoken the words or not and didn’t want him to ask him awkward questions. After a few moments of her silence he became agitated, raising his voice. “So this is all crazy huh?!”

“Oh, ya.”

“You never told me if this all directly affected you or not.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean? I sold you a defective game that the media is saying has something to do with people vanishing. Something with your family must of happened and Call of Caldiria, you did say you have a bullet wound in your shoulder.”

She wasn’t sure if she should tell him, but oddly enough it was easier then talking about it with her mother. Worst Coner would do was mock her. “My brother tried the game out, found him in the middle of the night shooting my father. When I tried to stop him, he shot me and stole our car. I think, it became hazy after I had a bullet in my arm.”

“That is… rough.” “I shouldn’t have been nice that day. Maybe she wouldn’t have been hurt.”

Veredel didn’t respond. She was trying to figure out though the slight pain in her mind why Coner seemed to be concerned for her. She turned away and focused on the scenery, trying to fight the pain off a little longer. Conner’s thoughts drifted in and out of her head.  She found them nothing more than an annoyance, and reminded herself to ignore them. Last thing she needed was him thinking or knowing she could read his thoughts.

The farther then went into the country, the more Conner sped up. “Love driving on country roads. No cops, no rules.” Veredel suddenly regretted her decision to carpool with him. Dying wasn’t better than an amazing assault of multiple minds.

Then, before she knew it, they sped onto her street. She gipped the side of her seat as she went over a bump, her seatbelt forcefully keeping her from flying into the roof of the car. Just a little father. She thought. Conner did not slow down as he turned to go into her driveway, slamming on the brakes at the last minute. When the car finally came to a stop, Veredel exited the vehicle as quickly as she could, slightly disoriented.

She could hear Conner calling after her. “Ok champ?”

She was already walking away. “I survived a trip with you so yes. Where did you learn how to drive?”

He didn’t seem to want to stick around for the conversation. “Well I did what I said what I was going to do. Good luck.” She watched him back out of her driveway, or rather over the lawn, and head down the road. Veredel sighed and then headed inside. She had to first unlock the front door. The keys were in her front pocket, she had put them there after getting her things back at the hospital. After she unlocked the door she quickly went inside.

Once inside she headed for the kitchen, where she knew she would find her own car keys. She was ready to head out to the pharmacy so she didn’t have to hear one more voice in her head. She quickly found them in a cabinet drawer among a mess of everyone else’s keys.

As she grabbed them, there was a knock at the door that made her jump. After a few seconds, she collected herself. “Damit Conner, why did you come back” She was too far in the house for anyone at the front door to hear her, but she was aggravated by the idea of him returning that she spoke to herself. She slid the car keys into her front pocket and went to the door. Once in the living room she could feel the thoughts of the people there, there was more than one. She slowed her gate, suddenly wondering who exactly was at the door. Though it pained her, she listed to their thoughts carefully, trying to figure out who her guests were.

“Did I leave the stove on? Is that really the most important thing to be thinking about at this moment you dope?”

“Being here is a waste of time. “Why can’t people just open the door quickly when I knock. I am the god dam police, I deserve some respect.”

Veredel stopped a foot from the front door. Police? What could they possibly be doing here? She knew from dealing with her father, who at times thought himself a real officer, not just some crappy security guard that making them wait would just make the situation worse. She opened the door to two waiting cops. One of the officers at her doorstep was female, with blonde hair just showing under their dark blue caps. She had amber eyes while the other had blue. The other man had overly tan skin and dark shades covering his eyes. Veredel could feel him judging her behind them.

She did not get a chance to speak before the amber-eyed officer spoke. “Sorry to bother you, but we are here to follow up about the incent here last night.”

The male officer added, “We would have done this at the hospital, but you ran off before we could find you.” His voice made him sound like chasing her down was some annoying chore.

His fellow officer looked him in the eye, the amber-eyed one speaking sternly to him. “This is a crisis. We have been running around town all day.” Veredel couldn’t see it, but she could feel him mentally roll his eyes. The amber-eyed officer looked back at Veredel. “Can you tell us anything about what happened last night? It will have to be brief, we are pressed for time.”

“Again why chasing you down shouldn’t have been on our to do list.” “I should have taken today off.”

Veredel was slow to start off. She had past experiences with the police, all of it mixed. It always started out bad though because her father would lie to try and get her locked up. “I woke in the middle of the night gunshots…”

She started think about what she actually wanted to say. She didn’t want anything to happen to Sean. Something was going on beyond his control and she didn’t want him to end up in jail or worse be shot by the police. She was going to twist the truth to protect her brother. “…I went downstairs to see what was happening and I found my father lying on the ground. As I tried to see who it was that was shooting, another shot ran out and I was on the ground.”

The amber-eyed officer pressed Veredel. “You didn’t see who shot you?’

“No. ma’am. It was too dark.” Veredel got the feeling they didn’t fully believe her, especially the arrogant man who she hoped she didn’t have to deal with again.

“Ok, we will contact you if there are any further developments. Have a nice day. “Time to continue this bullshit with the next person. Why can’t we get a break?”

Veredel stood where she was as she watched them walked to their car and drive off. Once they were gone she breathed a sigh of relief, walked inside and locked the door behind her. Now she had to get going to the pharmacy. Her head had been throbbing the whole time the police had been there. But she needed something to bite off the pain until then. She walked into the kitchen where there was some Tylenol stashed away.

”Hello Ms. Stanwhick.” Veredel almost jumped out of her shoes. She found a well dressed man sitting at the table. She had no idea how he had even gotten inside her house or how she was unable to feel his thoughts right now. “Please sit down. I want to speak with you.”