I HAD TO DO A LOT OF SCIENCE FOR THIS CHAPTER._. IT WAS SLIGHTLY PAINFUL

Edit (3/20/2017): Eyo, for re-readers, Anna has a different race now, enjOY--

Chapter 46

It's Sunday and I was giving Grinny some food to eat. As he was eating, I went to get ready to depart for the road trip Ben and I will be having. After I finished changing and fixing myself up, I went downstairs to wait in the living room. Ben said that I'd know when he's here. I don't know what he meant by that but I'm sure he's correct.

I waited and waited for a sign of his presence but nothing came. Maybe he forgot to come, or he's ditching the idea for something better. Well, he already gave me the address to Oliver Ferrell so if he doesn't come then might as well go without him? Just as I was about to think up a new plan, the TV turned on and revealed static. A loud scratching came from the speakers and a hand came out of the screen, then an arm, a head and the rest of the body.

Ben dropped down onto his feet and stood up straight. With a sharp exhale, he said, "It's a lot of work going through technology."

I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly. "Can we head out now?" I asked. He nodded and waited by the door. I got up, said good-bye to Grinny and then left with Ben. My dad left his car for me to use so we hopped in. I started it up and pulled out of the drive-way. Sitting in the passenger's seat, Ben pulled out a laptop from the backpack he brought along. He started typing on it and put on a thinking-face. Curious, I asked, "What's wrong?"

He seemed to be in a trance for a few seconds but then finally responded to my question. "I'm sorry what?" he mumbled.

I asked him again, "What's wrong?"

Ben looked back at his laptop and said, "Nah, it's nothing important. I guess I was just over-thinking." Hesitantly, I decided not to question him again and looked ahead.

As we drove, he was awfully quiet, which concerned me greatly. Sneakily, I managed to nab a peek at the laptop screen. There was a picture of a young lady on the screen: blonde highlights strewn about on black, curly hair, chocolate toned skin, near-golden eyes and a big, bright smile. Ben sighed as he looked at the picture and went on to another. This time he was in it, too. He was Eskimo kissing the girl as she blushed and smiled. I didn't think he could look so loving; I can never see that side of him. Curious again, I decided to speak up and say, "Is that your girlfriend?"

The blonde jolted and shuddered quickly, to my surprise. He looked at me, slightly dazed, and said, "Um...no...no, no it's not. It's just...some chick." I knew he was lying, he was completely obvious.

"Are you sure?" I asked, "You seem very happy with her. She can't just be some random girl."

He sighed and closed the laptop. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and said, "Maybe she was my girlfriend once....but that's over now."

"Why? Did you guys break up?" I ask.

He didn't say. He twiddled his thumbs out of nervousness and said, "No...neither of us did...but it ended and that's all there is to it." I gave him a sad look and kept driving.

I wonder who she was and why she's not with Ben any more, despite the fact that he's not human. I kept my eyes on the road at all times, glancing over at Ben every now and then. He seems uneasy for some reason. Maybe our recent conversation made him all weird. I hope I didn't get him upset because of it.

"Hey Ellie," Ben said, snickering slightly. I look over at him and he presses the space button in his computer. A song starts playing and he starts singing along with it like an idiot. "Making my way downtown! Walking fast! Faces pass and I'm homebound!"

"Really?" I mutter.

He nods and says in a drunk tone, "This song is the shit!" He starts singing along to it again and I shake my head. If he was upset before, I don't think he is now.

...

After a three hour drive to the next town we finally made it. We stopped at a convenient store and Ben said he had to do something. As I bought a couple of drinks and snacks, Ben had gone around to the back of the convenient store. I walk back out with a few bags and load them into the car. I take out an energy drink from one of the bags and open it to drink. As I was taking a sip I heard someone approaching me. I turn around and eye the guy in front of me. He wore a leather jacket, jeans and a green beanie.

"Can I help you?" I asked him.

He gives me a look and says, "Am I seriously that unrecognizable?" I gave the guy a confused look and he chuckles. "It's me, Ben," he said. My eyes widen and I spit out my drink.

I look closer at him and see that it is Ben. But this time his eyes were sky blue and his skin was a little more peachier than before. "My god," I said, "You look...normal!"

He smirks and says, "I do, don't I? Thank god the chip works."

"What chip?" I ask.

He smiles and says, "An electromagnetic binary illusional chip." I stare at him for a bit and he sighs. "It's a chip that I made that can change my appearance," he explains knowingly.

I understand it better and say, "So how does it work?"

He smiles, as if waiting for that question, and turns around to point to the back of his neck. He moves his blonde hair aside to reveal a chip that's firmly attached to his skin. "I had to plant it to the area near the spinal cord, so that way it can hit all of my nerves and cover all of me. It sends an electromagnetic cloak over my body, basically--a mask. I'm not human, but at least I pull the look off."

I smile and complimented, "That's really amazing! I didn't think you could do something like this!"

"Well you learn a lot from technology," he said and gave me a smug look. We got into the car and started to head to Oliver Ferrell's home. I just hope that he gives us information. If not then this will be all for nothing and we'll be back to square one. We took the correct route to his neighborhood and as I drove I spotted roadwork up ahead. Men in construction suits motioned for me to turn back around and go through another road. I groaned and backed up. Ben quickly finds the nearest road that'll take us back on track on his computer and we drive. This route is longer and bumpier so I'm annoyed by it. As we kept driving, Ben was getting a little agitated on his computer. "What's wrong," I ask. He gives me a confused look and says, "I think we should turn back and find another route."

"Why?"

"I knew something was wrong..." He said under his breath.

"Ben what's wrong," I ask a little more hastily now.

He looks up from his computer and gives me a worried look, but then he glances out the windshield and yells, "Look out!"

I quickly look forward and see a child in the road, right in front of us. I scream and turn the steering wheel, swerving the car off the road. I hit the brakes before we crash and both of us jerk forward. Breathing heavily, I leaned against the steering wheel and Ben pushed himself up against the seat, clutching the sides tightly. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

He nodded stiffly and exhaled loudly. I sighed in relief and look out the windshield. The kid still stood on the road, as if he wasn't about to get turned to roadkill. Ben had managed to relax and got out of the car. He left the door open and walked in front of the child.

"Hey kid," he called. The child looked at him and Ben said, "What are you doing out on the damn road? We could've killed you!" I was about to warn Ben to take it easy on him when I noticed something. That child looked familiar.

As Ben kept pestering the kid about going back home before he died out here, I was in the car trying to think. Then I remembered who that kid was and where I've seen him. And my blood turned cold. It's that kid in the Venetian mask, the one with scarlet eyes. I quickly got out of the car and yelled at Ben, "Ben get back in the car! Run!"

"Why?" He asked with a confused look and then we heard a noise. We looked at the kid to see him laughing psychotically. Ben started stepping back a little as the child kept laughing and laughing, and with each cackle his laughter got distorted. The child turned to us and removed his mask. His scarlet eyes were blood shot and dark sickening veins spread out onto the skin around them. I saw Ben grimace and I realized that I did, too. The cloth around the child's mouth moved from his constant laughter. Then, he grabbed the black cloth away, like a theatrical reveal-scene. I wanted to scream.

His mouth was wide and razor sharp teeth bared at us menacingly. Black ooze dripped from his mouth and he laughed one last time before making a loud monstrous screech. "Shit!" Ben screamed and ran back into the car. He practically dived right in and yelled at me, "Drive!"

I had no trouble hesitating and stepped on the gas. We quickly reversed through the bumpy road and I kept watch behind us. As I turned around to take a glimpse at the demon child, a black mass jumps onto the hood of the car and makes me stop. It was the kid. He screeched at us and was about to punch the windshield when Ben suddenly came into view and tackled him down. Ben got up and removed the chip from the back of his neck. A ripple of energy surrounded him and his normal human illusion was replaced with his regular form. He grabbed his sword and held it out towards the child. The kid roared and sprinted up to Ben. Ben swiped his sword towards the child's chest and hit him. Black liquid sprayed out and the child growled. His chest was severely cut and I could see strings of black ooze mend his flesh back together.

Ben sneered and charged at him. He stabbed his sword at the kid but the small child only dodged it and attacked him. The blonde fell down and tried getting back up when the demon child pinned him down. He stared down at him with those revolting scarlet eyes and then roared in his face. The child raised his hand and his nails grew into long sharp black claws. Just as he was about to slice into Ben's face, the wraith suddenly pixelated away and showed up behind the kid. The kid turned his head to look and quicker then I could even blink, Ben sliced his sword through the child's neck, decapitating him. His small body slumped and fell forward. I watched as black blood pooled out from the cut neck. Ben panted and returned his sword back into its sheath. He walked back towards the car and was about to come back in when he was tackled down by the body of the child.

Panicked, Ben pushed the body off and scrambled back. The child's headless body stood up and black ooze slithered up, gradually forming something until the substance dripped off and the child's head was back. He screeched, his jaw opening wide to show rows of sharp teeth. The demon child was about to attack Ben once again when I took action and ran him over. I heard a crunch as he fell underneath the car and reversed only to run the body over again. I did this at least five times until Ben signalled for me to stop. Once I did, I got out of the car to see the damage I had done. Sickened, I groaned and took a step back.

I crushed nearly everything of the child. Bones were broken and scattered in places; organs smashed and skin shredded with patterns of tire tracks. I looked away and Ben came up to me. He sighed at the mess and then turned to me. He brought out the chip and put it back onto his neck again. His image changed and he was back into his human form. "Let's keep going," he said and walked back to his side of the car to get in. I lingered for a moment, looking at the dead demon child before me. Finally, I decided to get back in the car and drive again. As we got back on the road, there was one thing on my mind.

That's gonna look like one hell of a roadkill.

...

We got back on the original route and I was glad. After a couple more minutes we came into a neighborhood and stopped by a curb. Ben got out and looked around. I did too and saw children playing in their yards, adults tending to their gardens and dogs running around, barking happily. It's a lovely neighborhood. Ben started walking on the sidewalk and I followed.

We came to a stop outside of a white house with a blue trim and lovely sunflowers along the front. Ben walked up the front steps, rang the doorbell and we waited. After a while, I thought nobody was home since no one was coming out to answer the door. Then it opened to reveal an old man. He gave us a smile full of perfect white teeth and said, "Hello! How may I help you two kids?"

Ben and I glanced at each other and I asked, "Are you Oliver Ferrell?"

He nodded happily and said, "That be me! And who might you be?"

I hesitated to answer but Ben gave me an assuring look. "My name is Elizabeth Umber and this is my friend, Ben."

"Well it's nice to meet you two!" Oliver beamed. We heard someone inside the house say, "Honey? Who are you talking to?"

"Oh just a couple of nice kids, Grace!" Oliver answered.

An old woman stepped into view to check out what's going on and smiled at us. "Oh my! Aren't you two gorgeous!" she said in a cheerful tone. "You kids look famished! Why don't you come inside for lunch?" she asked us.

Ben gave me a look and I smiled. "Uh, sure we'd love to," I obliged. Ben fist pumped the air and Oliver led us inside.

His house was beautifully decorated, courtesy of Grace, I'm guessing. The walls were a perfect shade of beige and the house had a cinnamon fragrance to it. Oliver led us into a kitchen and we sat down at a breakfast table. Grace came up and served us the lunch she had made, which looked mouth-watering. Ben and I thanked her and we all ate. After the first bite I had asked, "Not to worry you or anything, but why are so calm about letting strangers into your home for lunch? We could be criminals for all you know."

Grace gave me a sweet smile and said, "Because we know you mean no harm, no matter how menacing you could look."

"You could say we're that one old couple that has no worries and accepts everyone," Oliver budded in with a chuckle.

"Also, I made too much food...!" Grace added.

Ben spoke up, "Well, I'll be happy to eat all of it, because this is good."

I rolled my eyes playfully and ate. As we sat, Grace and Oliver told us about the town and how they first met. The story was sweet and I could tell Ben thought the same way. (Ben even commented under his breath, "That was beautiful....")

After we were done, Ben said, "I am officially a fat-ass now." Grace giggled and went to go clean our plates. The blonde nudged me and I knew that it was time to get what we came for. "Mr. Ferrell," I started, "we need to ask you some questions."

"Sure no problem! What do you need?" He responded.

I asked him, "Do you remember a woman named Maribel Umber?"

The world seemed to stop and Oliver went quiet. I got worried until he finally said, "Let's go out into the backyard, shall we? Grace has a lovely garden. Isn't that right, Grace?"

She laughed and said, "Oh, stop Oliver! I wouldn't call it lovely. Need to tend to them daisies."

Oliver smiled and led me and Ben outside. As soon as we were out, he quickly closed the door and turned to me. "I thought I recognized your last name!" he whisper yelled.

"So you do know who she is!" I said.

"Of course I do! How can I ever forget? She was a unique woman. Very unique."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask.

He looked around nervously, as if someone could be listening to us, and then said, "Look, she was...strange. By that I mean she could...see things, things I could never understand. She was lovely, gold-hearted, one hell of a woman, I tell ya! But she was always jumpy and nervous. She rambled on about things. Always said she was in danger and that I would be, too. I didn't know what she meant, though I never left her side. But I witnessed something one day that made me change my mind."

"What did you see?" Ben asked. Oliver gulped and said quietly, "She spoke to some...thing.Tall--very, very tall. I was frightened and I finally knew what she had meant all along. That's when I let her go. I couldn't take all of her anxiety and fear."

"You know she had a son, right?" I stated.

His expression dulled and he said, "Yes. And it still makes me feel guilty everyday. I hadn't found out she was pregnant until I left her. But she never came around herself. I could've been that boy's father but I couldn't because I had my own life at the time, my own wife, Grace. I wish I could see the boy but I'm sure I wouldn't even be able to know where to start."

I was quiet and stated, "He probably doesn't want to see you, but his daughter does, and she has."

Oliver looked up at me and his eyes widened, "You're my granddaughter?" I nodded happily and he slowly smiled. Suddenly, he pulled me into a hug and I hugged back. This must mean a lot to him. He held me tight and when he let me go, his eyes were bright.

"My, look at you! I never thought my son could have such a beautiful child! It makes me happy to see that he's got a good life and family."

I nodded and said, "And it's finally good to see the grandfather I've never met. I'm glad you have a good life after all you've gone through for my grandmother."

He gave me a genuine grin and replied, "I wish I knew where she was so I could apologize to her for everything."

Taken aback by that sentence, I asked, "So, you don't know where she is?"

"No, not anywhere specifically, but I have an idea on where she might be," he replied. I was eager for him to tell me.

He explained, "When I had left her, I also had her committed into a mental hospital. Harville, I think it was, but anyways, I visited her often and eventually had to stop for Grace. But when I visited her she talked about going somewhere a lot. 'Think she wanted to go to Iowa. She always talked about a small town there and how she always dreamed of living life there. Unfortunately, I guess I kept her from living there. 'Heard she had escaped, which concerns me greatly, but if anything, I know her like the back of my hand. Though it may have been years since I last saw her, I know she would go to Iowa. That's the only place I could think of to look for her. And hopefully it's a start for you."

"Thank you," I said and he welcomed me. I asked him a few more questions and got the name of the town my grandma wanted to live in, which is Northwood, Iowa. We live in Illinois, so I would only need to pass through the state. After we were done getting information, we stayed for a while and then had to head for home.

"It was lovely to have you by, although I wish you could stay longer," Grace said as we stood out on the front steps.

Smiling, I said, "It was nice of you to let us stay for a while. Ben and I had a great time."

"I wanna stay here forever and eat all the food you can make," Ben remarked and Grace chuckled.

"I'd be happy to make you food anytime, sweetie pie!" Grace cooed and pinched Ben's cheek playfully. He giggled and rubbed his cheek. As we left the house, we waved good-bye to Oliver and Grace. We got back into the car and I started driving. Ben relaxed and started working on his computer. I'm guessing he's checking for Northwood. I relaxed too and kept driving.

I'm relieved to have met my grandfather but I still can't wait to see my grandmother. That is if she's still alive. But I shouldn't think so negatively. I need to stay focused on the positives if I want to find her and get anywhere. I just hope my chances are fair.

...

We were on the road again, heading back home. Ben was still on his computer, searching for my grandma in Northwood. I kept my eyes on the road, driving. Eventually we had to stop for gas and so I found a nearby gas station.

I got down and went to fill up the tank. Ben went to go pay for the gas inside the store. As I was filling up the gas tank, someone approached me. They were wearing a plain, white mask, and black hoodie and pants. They had the hood up and just stood there idly. I tried ignoring the tension but it kept nagging me. Just as I was about to ask them if they needed help, they suddenly pulled out a knife and slashed the car's tires.

I freaked out. "Hey what the hell?! This car isn't even mine!" They didn't seem to listen and made a gesture. Suddenly more guys in the same masks surrounded me and the car. Great, a street gang...! They stood around, staring at me and cocking their heads to the side as if taunting me. I stopped the gas pump and said to the supposed leader. "I don't want any trouble so leave me alone. If you don't leave now then I'll have to call police!" They did nothing so I pulled out my phone to dial 9-1-1. The leader came up to me and smacked it out of my hands, abruptly interrupting me. Luckily it didn't break when it fell.

I frowned and decided to make a run for it. If I can get inside the store, maybe they'll leave me alone. When I geared myself up to run, one of the gang members grabbed me and shoved me back. I stumbled and sneered.

"Fine! I didn't want to do this the hard way but you've left me no choice," I growled. I balled up my fists and turned to the leader. Irritably, I beckoned him to come at me and he twirls the knife around in his hands. He charged at me with the knife ready to stab and I smacked his hand so his blade went flying. He faltered but still kept going. He threw punches and I blocked every one of them. I kicked the side of his head and he fell back. Another masked man came at me and started punching. I dodged the first few hits, then came in to jab him in the gut. I made the hit and he fell to his knees. A third one came, along with another. Frowning, I growled and attacked the first one. I dodged his first punch and grabbed his outstretched arm to pull him in for a knee bud to the stomach. With a hard breath, he gagged and I pushed him away as the other one came after me.

I punched him in his face--which is basically just his mask--and he stumbled back. Holding his mask, he swayed and pieces of it fell to the ground. He looked up at me and I could see through the broken part of the mask. What I saw confused me. What I saw was just...nothing. No skin, no eyes, no hair, nothing. Just an empty hoodie. I was taken aback by this and hadn't realized another one was running at me. He suddenly tackled me into the car and I fell to the ground. In a blur, all of them came up and started kicking me and punching me as I was down. I tried getting up or hitting one of them but they were too quick with their hits. I thought this wouldn't end until I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, get the hell away from her!" I could see Ben through the legs of my attackers and he started jumping on top of one of them.

He punched a couple, enough so I could slip away. Once I got out and took a breather, I watched Ben fight them all. He'd switch from one to another or take two out temporarily. I finally rested enough to barge into the brawl and fight with him. Composed, I jabbed one that was about to attack Ben from behind. He smacked me and I growled. I kicked him back and went onto another. I punched a masked man that came after me then planted an upper-cut on him. He fell back and a buddy of his came up to take his place. Quickly, he threw a punch but I ducked and jabbed him in the throat. He held his neck and fell to his knees, trembling in pain.

As I was going to turn around to fight off another one, I got tackled down to the ground. This masked man pinned me down and reached into his back pocket to pull out a knife. In the rush of adrenaline, I managed to slip my arms out from under him and hold back his arm. We struggled, resisting each other, until his strength faltered as he seemingly glanced at my wrists. My sleeves had fallen down and he could see one of the symbols. He grabbed my wrist tightly and examined the mark. There was a significant change as he seemed to grow angry at this and grabbed my other arm to see the second mark. He gripped my wrists, practically trying to crush them, and grew even more furious. He got up, yanked me up and held me against him. As I squirmed to get out of his grasp, he showed some of his other buddies my marks and they got tense.

I was about to ask why they were getting so uneasy when they all took off their masks to reveal dark faces. They had no eyes or any facial features, just wide, jagged mouths. All of them opened their mouths and the only thing I saw was molten-red inside. They roared and piled onto me. Claws I hadn't seen before scratched into my skin. These weren't normal members of a street gang; there were damned monsters. Monsters that are trying to kill me!

I managed to get out of their dog pile and stumbled to the ground. As I turned around to run, I bumped into someone else. I looked to see the demon child I had supposedly ran over earlier. Creepily, he grinned with his wide smile and screeched. Suddenly, dark hands came around me from behind and pulled me back. The gang of monsters clawed at me again, gradually covering my vision with their dark hands. Through those hands, I could see the demon child smirking with his wide grin. Pointing at me, he screeched loudly again. As if it was an order, the gang of monsters listened to the demon child and completely covered my vision in black. I screamed in panic but couldn't hear myself. There were growls and quick shrieks from the monsters. And I heard one last screech from the demon child before I was completely suffocated by the hands of monsters.