I haven't seen that show in forever and I think I need to start rewatching the series. Again.
It doesn't help that I've seen the series a good 4 or 5 times now. I've seen the film too many times to count. So, I think I qualify as a fan now, right?
So moving on, here's chapter 19 of DYRM and officially the longest of them all!
I'm not too sure if I like this chapter, though it does go back a bit and we see what Maggie and Mr Erickson thought of the Danny and co's disappearance. I left it on a cliffhanger. Again. I have issues with cliffhangers.
It looks like another fight scene will be due :D
My issue is, I'm not too keen on the idea of writing stories, but to write in this kind of genre, you need all the action. I'm sure once I get into it all, I'll be okay. Oh well. There's no use in complaining, right? Though I do feel that there is a distinct lack of fighting. I need to put more into it, but I don't want to over load it with fighting.
So here it is.
Chapter 19
Mr Erickson sat at his table, in the school, looking at the Junior students before him. There were three seats left in the classroom. Danny, Hayley and Jesse’s seats.
The classroom was alight with chatter about their returned classmate. Though low on the social food chain, he was, he did seem to gather a lot of attention from the other students.
“What do you think? Will we find Hayley and Jesse now, too?” Georgie asked. She was on the higher end of the social food chain. Her father being the president of the city. Georgie felt for their loss, being in the room with them when it all happened. When Hayley had been taken. Many people had interviewed her about the incident, hoping to get some information from her. There wasn’t much to say for her. It had all been over before she even realised what was happening.
It was homeroom and Mr Erickson had already given out the school announcements. All students fell into a chatter about one thing in particular. Them.
“I’m not too sure. What about Danny Istari? He disappeared with them. What do you think’s happened to him?” Simon asked, he was secretly a huge fan of Danny Istari, having a passion for comic books, meaning he was practically living in something he’d only ever dreamed of happening.
“I’ve never understood why the man who kidnapped them took those losers with them, if all he wanted was Danny Istari?” Georgie asked. The other members of the group, the elitists, just watched as the two had the conversation. None of them were particularly bothered if any of them came back. They cared if they were okay, saying they didn’t care for their health would be wrong, but for it to dominate the popular crowd conversation was practically a crime punishable by school law.
“Well, Hayley and Jesse did seem to be wherever Danny Istari was, so maybe they were friends?” Simon asked silently.
“Nah, I’d highly doubt that. They’re never seen without each other, so that would mean Danny would be his friend too, and their never together. It’s like those three are attached at the hips or something.” Georgie dampened his theory quite quickly, she, herself, having a known crush for Danny Istari, along with many other females and few males of Ovid, knew that he wouldn’t let himself be clamped back by those three ‘losers’.
Mr Erickson noted this observation with little interest. He enjoyed listening to the conversations of the kids. It made him feel like, he was learning something from them, but also teaching them. Not that the students he taught ever felt such a passion over the work he put in to give to them.
They were all at that naïve age where they believed that everything was handed to them on a plate. That their parents will always have money to give them. That they’ll never have a career, never need to earn money. That they can have sex with as many people as they want and not face the consequences.
Though, there were other reasons he’d been distracted this morning. He’d received a worried phone call from Maggie Smith at home before leaving for the school. Danny had gone missing, again. She did not know where he was. He hadn’t left a note and had a pretty bad dream by the sounds of it during the night.
He still hadn’t heard from her.
The thing that worried Mr Erickson the most was the fact that he could have been kidnapped again and all the hope that had been building up could have disappeared. That the family would once again have to go on a hunt to find their son again.
Mr Erickson, personally, did not want to see that happen.
He remembered a time, a few months ago, when Hayley and Jesse’s parents had given up on seeing their children again. They shared a memorial service to them. No one knew how to react. It was a sign to them that they’d stopped hoping. That they knew that their children were never going to come back.
It was a sad time to remember.
The reason he remembered it above all else was the fact that Maggie Smith and her husband never gave up. When Julie, Harold, Donna and Ben offered them if they wanted to join in too, and accept that their children just weren’t coming back. Maggie and Jim defiantly told them that they would never give up hope. They knew that their son was still alive. Unless a body showed up between now and the time of the memorial their offer was declined.
To say they’d been surprised would be an understatement. They’d left without another word. They hadn’t spoken since. He’d heard that Julie and Harold had paid the Smiths a visit, but nothing much had come from it.
Hope still seemed to linger in the air. Hope was bubbling in the hearts of many throughout many of the residents of Ovid. Everyone hoped for the best. That everyone would be okay.
“Maggie, calm down.” Jim ordered in a soft voice.
“How can I calm down when I don’t know where he is? I just want him back, Jim. I want to know he’s okay. I can’t lose him again.” Maggie cried, fidgeting nervously on the couch in the living room. From here, she could easily see who was walking through the door. The thought that he could walk through the door any second gave her a little hope. Not much. The wait for agonizing. She knew that Jamie was out there looking for him, but she’d heard nothing from Jamie, which just seemed to worry her even more.
What if Jamie’s gone now too? I don’t know if I can handle loosing both of my children she thought, staring at the door intensely.
“I know. We both want him back safe. You just need to give him some space. He’s confused. Anyone with a mind can tell that. Maybe he just needed some fresh air?”
“He could have told us if he was going out for a walk. One of us could have gone with him.”
“Maybe that’s the reason why he wanted to go. Maybe we’re suffocating him. Maybe he just needs some space.”
“But, what about us, Jim? We need to know where he is. He needs to understand that we haven’t seen him for nearly a year. He can’t just up and walk out like he used to.”
“Maggie, please, just think of it from his point of view. Since he’s come back here, he’s had nothing but people being rammed down his throat. You’ve pushed him so fast on the normalcy bandwagon that I don’t think, mentally, he’s keeping up with it all. You’re taking it too fast.” Jim was trying to be the voice of reason in this. Maggie knew deep down he was right. She just desperately wanted to cling to him and never let him go, afraid something might happen to him again. She could not deal with the pain of losing him again.
She remembered the day she found out he’d gone quite clearly.
Maggie sat on the couch in the living room comfortably watching TV. There was nothing in particular on the TV, her eyes just roaming the screen as new pictures flashed to life. She had a day off of work. She worked for a law firm in the middle of Ovid, and she’d been offered a day off, she eagerly took it, knowing that Jamie was at a friends house, and Danny had just recently left on a school field trip for a few weeks.
It was relaxing having a day off with nothing to worry about. She’d woken up when she felt like, made breakfast when she’d felt like. And was now sitting down doing nothing,
She’d hoped her and Danny had parted ways on better terms. They’d argued again about his tardiness and the fact that he’s missing all these family moments. He never said where he went, and she wasn’t too keen on the idea, not liking the image of her young boy sitting around with gangs and getting drunk, or whatever kids of this time did.
She’d told him she was tired of not seeing him, tired of the lies and just wanted to know the truth.
He’d told her that he was with a friend. They were fine. They weren’t doing any harm.
She’d believed him until he’d started coming home with cuts and bruises covering his body. Then she’d started getting irritated at the obvious lies that he was telling her. She’d questioned if he was getting bullied out on the streets, no. Was one of his friends doing it? No. One of his friends parents? No. She’d gotten really frustrated with him.
It progressed to her general over-protectiveness and how she never left him alone. How irritated he got at having her on his back all the time. That he was a normal teenager and needed his space. Then he started leaving the house early in the mornings and not coming back until after school. She’s started calling Mr Erickson regularly to check to see if Danny had turned up to school.
She’d told him, if he wasn’t going to tell her the truth, and if he was going to keep running away from her instead of facing her, it was probably better if he didn’t come back at all.
She’d been angry with herself instantly after saying it. She’d told him she was sorry. He just walked away.
Then came the phone call.
“Hello?” She asked, putting the receiver by her ear.
“Mrs Smith? I need to speak with you about something.” It was obviously Mr Erickson. Maggie had spoken with him enough to know who the voice belonged to.
“What’s Danny done this time?” She’d asked exasperatedly.
“It’s not exactly something he’s done, Mrs Smith.” He’d said in a professional manner. “It’s what’s happened.”
“Why? What’s happened? Is he okay?” Maggie asked quickly.
“We’re not exactly sure what’s happened yet, Mrs Smith. We’re getting to the bottom of it.”
“Why? Where’s Danny? Put him on the phone.” Maggie demanded.
“I would like to Mrs Smith, but Danny’s gone.”
“Gone? How?” Dread filled her to her entire core. Her Danny couldn’t have died, right?
“He’s disappeared. Kidnapped we believe. There are signs of a struggle.” It was these final words that struck her and she lost it. She sobbed like a baby.
“Do you have any idea who did it?” Or what? She added mentally, remembering the frequent magical beings that invaded her city.
“It looks like a magician, we’re not exactly sure. Danny Istari was seen fighting a magician and all four of them have just disappeared.”
“All four?” Maggie asked curiously.
“Danny, Danny Istari, Hayley and Jesse have all gone.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Maggie asked, crying slightly.
“No, we’re brining the rest of the class home now. We don’t want to risk any more kids being taken.”
Maggie had hung up after that. If it weren’t for the fact that Mr Erickson had said ‘struggle’ she would have believed that Danny had ran away from her. Taking her threat all too seriously.
“Oh, Danny, come back!” She cried.
At first, Maggie had piled all the blame on Danny Istari. Claiming him to be the reason her son was missing. Deep down she knew that wasn’t the case. Her Danny had gone missing. It was unbearable knowing that they’d both left each other on such a bad note. She’d wondered over and over again, what would her guilt be like if she had left him on such a happy note?
She’d wondered how she could call herself a mother if she’d let something so bad happen to her kid. How she was not their to protect him when he needed her most.
She’d hoped with all her being that he would be home in a few days, but as days turned to months, her hope died, and life in Ovid just seemed to get over the fact that the children were missing, and they’d accepted that they were probably never coming back. Jesse and Hayley’s parents believed that they were never coming back.
Soon after this, most of the police force stopped looking. There was nothing to be found. One Inspector Malcolm did regular checks for new evidence. But now that the police force had thrown in the towel, there wasn’t much he could do.
Maggie still refused he’d died. She didn’t want to know what was happening to him. The police had presented her with torture theories. Rape theories. Theories of slavery. Theories that they’d been sold off and were working in some foreign country, working for rich people, getting beaten by their ‘masters’ on a regular basis.
She’d listen to every theory besides the theory that they’d been killed. Jim had stood by her side through it all. Jamie was there. They were still a family. Maggie could not lose sight of this. But things were hard. There was a hole in their world. A permanent scar.
The scar would never leave until her baby would come back.
And then he did. Just not as she’d pictured. He’d looked older. His eyes a duller shade than the bright, childlike gleam they’d always had. He’d looked ragged and confused.
The fact that he’d lost his memories both relieved and scared Maggie.
One of the good thing was that he didn’t remember anything about his time away. What had happened to him, because judging from all the cuts, scars and bruises that littered his body, it was probably best that he didn’t remember.
And the fight. She was glad that he didn’t remember the fight that had happened between them.
The second she’d heard that he’d returned. She’d promised herself that she’d never let Danny get in harms way again. She would protect him no matter what the cost.
“What do you know about the tome, Jamie?” I asked hesitantly, looking at her face.
“Not much, you wouldn’t speak much of it.” She replied. “You only said that it was one of the most powerful objects known to the magician’s world and you had to protect it no matter what the cost. You couldn’t let them get their hands on it-”
“Sh!” I said as soon as it looked like she was going to continue.
“What’s wrong?” She whispered in my ear.
“There’s someone here. And it’s not a normal person. I can feel it.”
I hope you all enjoyed it.
Night!
I'm looking forward to my FMA now :D
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