Young Writers Society

~1102

So do you think it’s a bad idea? Kerra asked, after explaining to Everen about Destiny Dupree-Hollins.

No, Everen responded, if you’re serious about looking for your mother’s killer. But Kerra, this person could be dangerous. You have to be careful! If you really think she might have done it, maybe she wouldn’t think twice about killing you too.

I’ll bring back up. Don’t worry.

I’m going to worry anyway. Everen sent a sigh. Anyway, about the aliens I was telling you about? Do you have any ideas of a name I can give them? I’m stumped.

How does “the aliens that communicate with emotions” sound? Kerra suggested.

A bit lengthy. Tell you what, you think about it for a while and let me know if you come up with anything snappy.

Sounds good! Kerra sent, and then shut off the connection. She had some people to meet.

--

“So… are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Drigg asked as they got onto the horizontal transport shuttle. He leaned against the pole Kerra had grabbed in the center of the shuttle.

“No,” Kerra said. Part of her wished she could, but she hadn’t even told Drigg that her mom had died yet, and she didn’t need to do that yet. All she needed was someone who could watch her back and keep her from getting hurt. Drigg wasn’t really the bodyguard type, but the gang members might know Destiny, so she couldn’t risk asking them for help. Drigg was her best option.

“Oh so it’s a surprise?” Drigg asked, and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She groaned. “No, not like that. I’m just going to talk to some people and it might be a little bit dangerous, and I just need your help. I’m going to knock on a door, and you’re going to stand far enough so you can’t hear what I’m saying, but close enough that you can see me and get to me if something goes wrong. Okay?”

The smile slid off of Drigg’s face. “Oh. I was hoping… well, never mind. Are you caught up in something bad, Kerra?”

“Oh you know me,” she said, trying to laugh it off. “Always the rebel.”

Drigg squinted at her, opening his mouth as if to speak. But he seemed to change his mind because he closed it again and shook his head. “Whatever you say, Kerra. I’m just happy I can help keep you safe.”

And with that, the shuttle pulled up to their stop and they jumped off. Kerra pulled up Destiny’s parents’ address on her tablet and led Drigg to an elevator. They took it down three levels and walked across four walkways. Thankfully, every apartment in this area had an “outdoor” entrance, so Drigg could stand a good amount of space away from Kerra and still see her.

Standing in front of the door she needed, she glanced back at him. He grinned and gave her two thumbs up. She took a deep breath, and then knocked.

A dog barked inside, but no one came to the door. She waited patiently, and then knocked again. She heard rustling and what sounded like feet hitting the floor. Soon, the door cracked open and some very tired eyes peered out of the darkness inside the house.

“Can I help you?” came a gravelly voice.

“I’m sorry, am I disturbing you?” Kerra asked, her voice faltering.

“Yes,” the voice said, and then went to shut the door.

“Wait!” Kerra shouted, panicking.

There was a moan, and then the door cracked back open. “What.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’m looking for a Mr. or Mrs. Dupree-Hollins?”

“Yeah, I’m Mr. Dupree. My wife isn’t here right now. She works during the day like a sane person.”

“Sorry, I just thought—”

The door opened a little wider and Mr. Dupree banged his hand against his head. “No, I’m sorry. I’m not calling you insane, I’m calling myself insane. I work at night, so this is really cutting into my sleep time. So if you could just tell me what you need to, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry. Um, I’m trying to find your daughter Destiny? I’m with the government, and unfortunately, our records have been corrupted. Do you know where she lives?” Kerra knew that if she could sweat, she’d probably be covered in it right now. She hated lying like this.

Mr. Dupree narrowed his eyes. “What do you want with her?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s classified government business.”

He made a noise in the back of his throat. Disgust? Distrust? Dismissiveness? Kerra didn’t know. “Well whatever. That thing’s no daughter of mine anymore. Yeah, I got her address. My wife keeps it around for sending a gift for the holidays.” He twisted and grabbed a tablet from a table near the door. He swiped around on it for a few seconds and then said, “Here, I’ll send it to you.” He held the tablet out and Kerra did the same. He made a swiping motion from the bottom of his tablet toward Kerra’s and suddenly an address popped up on her screen.

“Thank you very much, sir,” she said. “Sorry again for disturbing you. Have a nice day.” Inside she was thinking, and thank you very much for not asking to see any badge or anything.

The man grumbled something that could have been a “no problem,” and then closed the door.

Kerra started walking back to Drigg as she looked at the address. It was on the opposite side of Abyssia, but nowhere in the city was ever ‘too far’. “One more stop,” she said when she reached Drigg. “Let’s go.”

Fifteen minutes later, she found herself standing in front of what was supposed to be Destiny Dupree-Hollins’s door. Unfortunately, like Kerra’s home, the entrance to Destiny’s apartment was on the inside of a pillar, so Drigg could only stand a few feet away. “Try not to listen in,” Kerra had told him. “It’s private business.”

He’d put in some earbuds and said, a little louder than usual, “Don’t worry about me: I definitely can’t hear you now!” He leaned against the wall, as far away from Kerra as he could get and tried to look nonchalant. His head bobbed a bit to whatever music he was listening to.

Kerra settled her nerves and knocked.

All was quiet, and Kerra was about to raise her hand to knock again when the door slid open.

Dark eyes blinked out at her. “Hey Kerra, what’re you doing here?”

“No Name?”