Tape 2, Side A

A few days after he had finished the second tape, he received a full package. Morrowseer seemed to forget his existence and was inviting people to their house like he owned it.

Quickstrike had to work harder than ever.

The package didn't have a return address, and it was carefully hidden at his bedroom, covered with junk he had found in his closet. It was stored safely in his drawer, piled with bags of unopened potato chips and whatnot; he made sure his stepfather will never see it.

But many of the tapes were missing- including the third one.

Deathbringer had one choice- he called Sunny.

"What do you want?" Sunny's voice snapped. "Oh, sorry, Deathbringer. All the tapes thingy is making me tired. And the exams. And because the ice cream shop is getting broke and it's gonna close down soon. And the-"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that."

"Okay. So.... what do you need?"

"Sunny, I need the third tape. I received the package, but they're missing."

"Lots of the tapes are missing."

"How?"

"They took them. The owners. They weren't supposed to do that....But they did. Because they were cowards, I guess."

"What do I do, then? "

"You have to get it from the owner herself."

"Who is it?"

"The owner? "

"Yeah."

"Kestrel Goldenberg."

~

Kestrel Goldenberg was 100% bully.

Her fiery red hair and merciless black eyes. She was the horror of the school, and even the popular kids tried to avoid her. The rank didn't exist in Kestrel's eyes.

Irritate her and it was over.

The beatings can last for a minute to an hour. Every second of it was painful and people usually passed out from the impact.

Deathbringer didn't give a crap, though.

My life depends on a tape, on a voice, on a dead girl.

So reassuring.

So he knocked on Kestrel's house, crossing his weak arms and his eyes bloodshot from the lack of sleep.

"Yes?" A voice said as the door opened.

She was wearing what seemed like a long-sleeved shirt with jeans, but her arms were carefully hidden and her eyes were wide with wary and caution.

She was beautiful, no doubt. Her thin, white face and her unpredictable aura. Her clear blue eyes and red lips. Her silky red hair and her perfect body.

She gave him a scowl.

"I-"

"Go away," she said softly. Peril Goldenberg was one of the most popular girls in school; She wasn't very flirty but the boys were attracted to her anyway, partly because of her good looks and partly because she was hard to get.

Deathbringer stood his ground. "I want to talk to Kestrel. Is she here?"

"Kestrel?" Peril seemed surprised, but led him into her house. "I don't think she wants to see anyone right now."

Deathbringer stepped in and immediately noticed that it was not a normal house. He shrugged to answer Peril's comment.

It was gigantic. Great, big hallways led into many different ways and rich paintings and sculptures were all around the house.

"Big house," he commented.

Peril sighed. "Yeah. Sadly."

He tried to keep the conversation going. "Is Kestrel in a good mood?"

Peril stared at him. "She's never in a good mood, Black. And why are you here?"

"Just..."

"The tapes," Peril whispered softly. She seemed tired, without her usual makeup and her whole gang. Now that he thought about it, Peril became more and more exhausted after Glory's suicide. More...broken. More uninterested in things.

"You know about them?" He said, surprised.

Peril gave him a look that he didn't understand. "Yeah."

He nodded, because he didn't know what else to do. "Oh..?" He ran his hand through his black hair, whistling. "Remember when we used to be best buddies? Good old times," he said, watching her in the corner of his eye for reaction.

She winced like his words hurt her. "Yeah..."

"I wonder what happened between us, you know?"

Peril shrugged. "Everything."

Peril finally stopped at the front of a door. "This is her room. Don't tell her I let you in." She placed an index finger on her lips, then disappeared into a different room.

He knocked, because he didn't know what else to do.

The door abruptly opened and Kestrel Goldenberg stood before him.

She looked surprised for a second, but then she growled.

"What the heck are you doing here, freak?"

"Such a nice welcome," He mumbled before he raised his voice. "I need the third tape," he said effortlessly .

Kestrel stared at him like she wanted him to die right in front of her eyes. "What makes you think I am going to give it to you so easily?" She sneered.

He pondered for a moment. He didn't really have a reason why.

Except one.

"Because," he said, "you owe me that, Goldenberg."

For a second her fierce scowl wavered. "How?"

They're cowards, I guess, Sunny's voice echoed in his mind.

"Because you owe me that! Because Glory gave me the right to know why she committed suicide. And you're taking the right she gave me away. You don't have the power to do that. It was her choice, her tapes, her death. All you had to do was shut up and listen to it!"

Kestrel dragged him into her room and pushed him over to the wall, her eyes fiery with anger. And something else he had never seen in Kestrel before: fear. "Watch your words, moron."

"You're a coward!" He screamed. "You don't want people listening to your tape because you are a coward! "

Then Kestrel punched him, her face slowly turning red in uncontrollable anger. Her voice was rough. "I am not a coward!"

His vision was dizzy but he managed to speak. "But you are. You have no right to take Glory's tapes away!"

"Lies!" Kestrel spat, shaking him, and he thought there were tears in her eyes. "She speaks lies. I never did all that. She's a self-conscious brat that wants attention!"

Deathbringer kicked her stomach and got on top of her, his hands shaking in anger. "Don't talk about her that way!" He roared, pushing Kestrel back. She hardly moved against his arms.

Kestrel laughed. "She wants us to suffer for giving her pain. But you know what? That's life. If she's too weak to accept it, she deserves the death!"

"Shut up!" he screamed. Glory is not that. Anything but that.

Kestrel dragged herself to the wall, her eye purple. She was definitely crying now. "You know what? I didn't want to cause her death!" She screamed at him. " do you think I did? I regret everything. If I could change my actions, I would...

"I don't want her to die," Kestrel sobbed. "I don't want to cause her death. I don't want to say that it was my fault... "

"Accept that you caused it," he said, gasping. "accept it, and don't do it again. That's all you can do, Goldenberg."

Kestrel snarled. She started to say something then stopped, then answered him. "Fine. Take my damn tape and do all you want with it."

She grabbed the tape from her drawer and threw it to him, and he caught it.

"Can I have your word on that?"

Kestrel glowered at him with her one, clear eye, and as she did so she led him out of her room, and started to close the door.

"Yes."

~