Alex Vasilakis
Sweat ran down Alex's forehead as she stayed light on her feet, moving constantly from side to side. She took a jab with her right hand and an upper hook with her left. She swooped down to the left side and threw a few more punches, stood up, and ended her forty five minute practice with a vigorous roundhouse kick to the punching bag that shook the chains hanging from the ceiling. Alex did a few dynamic stretches for the next five minutes and took off her fast wraps following the last stretch. She gulped down some refreshing, lemon infused water and got ready for the day. Grocery shopping was on the list and binge watching the third season of Fortuna's Worst Criminals In History documentary.
She turned on some techno dance music high and prepped her daily "green" shake. Chloë came into the kitchen a moment later and grabbed a couple of waffles from the freezer.
"Good morning, Mommy!"
"Hey, lovebug, snacks and sandwiches are in the fridge for your lunch. What's going to happen today?"
"I'm going to have a great day at school, make a lot of friends, and enjoy learning," Chloë grinned, stood up on a stool nearby, and popped her waffles in the toaster oven.
"That's right, everyday is an awesome day and today, I've decided to surprise you today by driving you to school so you don't have to take the bus," Alex smiled. "I'm going to take a shower, you finish up your breakfast, and preparing lunch. I'll be right out, okay? Oh, and don't forget that book you want to read a chapter of everyday for this month."
"I won't forget," Chloë held up the novel in her hands. "I've got it and the chapters are getting easier since you've been teaching me how to say the different words and what they mean."
"Good, lovebug. When you're done with your meal, clean up your plate and put it in the dishwasher please," Alex finished her shake– a complete concoction of greens, pineapple, hemp protein powder, and turmeric– and drank half of it before placing the rest in the fridge. She noticed the U.S. Postal Service stop by her mailbox and headed back to her bedroom. She would grab the mail on the way out.
Alex closed her bedroom door behind her and took a deep breath. That memory, dream, whatever it was. It felt so real and even now, it still plagued her, as if she had his own blood on her hands, every single night. She shook her head and went to take a shower. It would pass; usually all of her dreams did... At least, she hoped this one did. It'd been going on for weeks now. As the hot water passed down on her hair, neck, and shoulders, she closed her eyes and tried to visualize what'd happened, if the dream was trying to tell her something.
Marcus…
That bloody scene. Alex felt her throat tighten and she opened her eyes again, grief overwhelming her for a moment before she brought herself back to the present. She shivered, even under the hot water that hit her skin. It was a creepy, terrifying dream, if she had anything to say about it, but the ending was bittersweet in a way, it broke her heart and left her in silent tears the moment she'd woken up at the stroke of her six o'clock alarm. Usually, a dream with that much blood– if any of her dreams before had been remotely like that– she wouldn't feel anything comparable to the death scene of a man with curly hair, especially if he was a stranger.
By now, after eleven years in law enforcement, she was desensitized to the trauma of seeing pools of blood. Her first few years being a patrol officer and sometimes getting caught in unsavory situations hadn't been great, but now, she was a well-oiled machine, ready to take on any crime scene head first with logic in mind. The dream shook her to the core regardless and she didn't understand why it felt like such a big deal when it wasn't even remotely real.
Alex stepped out of the shower and finished getting ready for the day. She threw her clothes on, brushed her teeth, and grabbed her purse with the car keys and a gun for safety located inside. Gladiator sandals donned her feet, and a nice pedicure to follow. She made sure her shopping bags were in the car ahead of time, so that she could head straight to the grocery store after she dropped off her daughter at Thomas Milton Elementary School.
"Baby, you almost ready?"
Alex turned off the music with a wireless remote on the wall in the living room.
"Yes, Mommy!"
Chloë appeared around the corner from the kitchen with a goofy grin on her face. She was all set, lunch box in hand, book in hand, and backpack loaded with school material.
"Do you have your homework in your homework folder from the night before?"
Chloë pulled a pink folder out from her backpack, "Right here!"
"Wonderful, let's go before you're late," Alex placed the folder back in Chloë's backpack and ushered her out the door. She locked the front door and unlocked the van so Chloë could get in and buckle up while Alex grabbed her mail. The first envelope Alex noticed wasn't her bills like usual, but the strange, cursive writing on a rather small invitation-style envelope. She raised a brow and flipped it over— probably just some spam talking about how a lady in Nigeria wanted to gift her a million dollars in exchange for her bank account information.
She hopped in her van and tossed the mail aside on the passenger seat. She would get to it later.
Alex exited the vehicle and closed the van door where Chloë was when she got out. Alex walked her daughter to the curb and leaned down, hands grasping her daughter's and a smile on her face. She pulled a strand of hair back behind Chloë's ear.
"What's going to happen today, lovebug?"
"Today is going to be a great day!"
"That's right, sweetheart," Alex gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead and pulled back, immediately noticing the change in Chloë's mood.
"Mommy, what if those boys bully me again and call me names?" Chloë questioned, a pout on her face.
"Chlo, I need you to remember something for me," Alex squeezed her daughter's hands. "You bow down to no one, not even those stupid boys. Keep your chin up, tell them to stop. If they don't, tell the teacher, and if the teacher doesn't do anything about it, tell her I'm going to come in and do something about it. You've got your whole life ahead of you, honey, and the best revenge you can have against those mean boys?"
Alex looked into Chloë's eyes, "Smile and continue with your day, go so far as to throw a witty comment their way. They hate it when the other kids aren't affected by their words and actions. They live in insecurity and their insecurity plays off on you and others because they're scared. You are a strong, powerful lady and letting those boys ruin your day is only going to give them more power. You've got this and remember, you've got a Mommy who's a cop. I'll kick their asses if they hurt you, understand?"
"Yes, Mommy," Her speech brightened a little.
"What are we going to have?"
"A great day," Chloë responded, though her tone was not vibrant.
"Say it with more vigor. I want to feel your excitement," Alex grinned.
"A great day," Chloë tried again with a small smile.
"Again," Alex repeated, a profound mischief twinkling in her eyes.
"A great day- Ah!" Chloë bursted into laughter as Alex began tickling her. "Mommy! Stop it! That tickles! Mommy!"
"We're going to have a great day, yes?!" Alex laughed and embraced her child. Chloë grinned and nodded, arms wrapping tightly around her neck. Chloë buried her face in Alex's neck and Alex in Chloë's neck. The embrace lasted for a couple minutes.
"I love you, lovebug. I won't let anyone harm you, okay? You're my world."
"I love you too, Mommy."
"Have a great day. Do you want me to walk you to the front of the school?"
"Nah, I've got it," Chloë grinned. "I love you, Mommy. Have a great day."
"You too, Love."
Alex parted ways with her daughter and stood up, waving goodbye as her little girl approached the building of Thomas Milton. When Chloë disappeared from her line of vision, she got back into her van and took a deep breath. Her vision followed her back to the mail and she grabbed the strange invitation on top. Whether this was worse than the dream she had or not, she was certain it wasn't any better than getting a spam call. Alex opened the letter, mostly from skepticism, but also part curiosity about what an extravagant letter could mean.
It had a specific time and date, even a location to meet other strangers and some weird talk about how a war was coming… Hardly what she'd call civil means. She called her department and asked them to keep an eye on this address she was invited to. She would contact them immediately for backup, if necessary, as it might be a location lead to the case she'd been working on with a few other men and women. In the meantime, she would go reluctantly, but willingly, to see who else would arrive at this strange location she'd never heard of before.
Her co-workers informed her that the cabin was in a rural area… quite literally out in the middle of nowhere… but there was a forest nearby and it didn't appear that anyone had tampered with the appearance for a while. Perhaps it was abandoned. In regards to whoever might've been there, that would be up to Alex to find out. They could be a threat or they could simply be a well-meaning stranger. It all depended on how the situation played out.
Two hours later, she arrived in a red truck. The area was eerily silent, save for the cars that seemed to be somewhat promising of people inside, whoever they were. She hid her gun inside the left side of her jacket, prepared for whatever threat or act of violence these people may exude on her. She could assume Julius meant well, of course, but when she didn't know who this Julian Flavius Caesar person was, the person who'd driven the blue car to this cabin was considered an enemy by default and someone who lied about themselves.
She shut the door to her truck silently and walked slowly to the front door, where she noticed along the way, two pairs of shoes marking the dirt and stopping when they lead to the pathway towards the front door. Alex had made a mental note of her surroundings and to leave most, if not all of her personal belongings at home, save for her driver's license, which she left in a small, locked compartment underneath the passenger seat, and her police ID and badge located in a deep pocket inside her jacket. Alex made certain everything was in order, with her phone on her and some chapstick. She eyed the note on the front door and read it.
My sincerest apologies that I could not be here to greet you today, but I assure you it is not necessary. Make yourself at home. Everything you might need is provided inside, so please do try not to leave until further notice.
Please come in and get comfortable. Just ahead in the living room, you will find a well-stocked liquor cabinet, and perhaps your new friends. Try to get to know each other -- once all becomes known, you may find it harder to make friends. For now, these are your allies. They are all experiencing what you are experiencing. Try to find understanding in each other.
I will see you all soon,
Julian
So, whoever was here… wasn't Julian, as she'd expected. Suspicious. A picture was taken of the note and Alex knocked on the door to see if the people inside would answer.
@Rook @sing o muse