Lost Will of the Dead [Book One] (On Hold)

III : Madeleine

Madeleine woke up with her head screaming. She stood up and hissed. Nausea hit her and the world spun before her eyes. Her back came to rest on the mansion wall as the balcony's shadow hugged her from above.

She closed her eyes and steadied her breaths. She tried to recall the last minute events before she passed out. With a gasp she remembered the approaching steps, the light and buzzing, and her slim frame slamming onto concrete.

She froze and observed her surroundings with predatory focus. She tried to listen for any noise--bustling footsteps or hushed commands--that might indicate someone was nearby or coming her way. There was nothing but the coming and going of the chorus of the crickets.

She was confused. Where were the guards?

She gently pulled back her left sleeve and checked her watch underneath. She gawked at it not believing her eyes. She blinked once. Twice. But, nothing changed.

The watch told her it was one fifty-five in the early hours of the morning.

She blacked out for two hours--give or take. But, if she was gone that long how come the guards hadn't noticed her? No one could hide that long especially in plain sight like what she did. Racking her brain for answers, she came up with none. Instead, her head throbbed wildly like they were being poked with pincers.

I just might find my answers soon enough.

She decided to let the issue go and thought of it as a mighty stroke of luck--somewhat like a compensation for the broken ledge.

Two hours were already wasted, she couldn't afford to waste any more. Her back was still terrorized with pulsations of agony but nothing unbearable. Her head throbbed in pain--probably an after effect of the impact--but nothing she couldn't handle.

So, she decided to get to work.

She unzipped her fanny pack and took out a brown shaggy beard. She wore it just beneath her nose, the fibers tickled her nasal cavity.

Two days ago, she did a little shopping at Lake City Quality Mall and bought herself lengthy pieces of red and gold fabric and a wig.

She stitched the red fabric on one side of her black cloak and laced it with gold. The remaining red and gold fabric was attached on the other side of her black suit. She then cut up the wig and fashioned it to make it look like a thick shaggy beard.

On the night of the same day, she wore her little disguise of a beard and quickly took the opportunity the moment she heard an opening on the force. She registered herself as a new guard named, Shawn Newton.

Everything might seem to be too much prepping. But Madeleine was almost absolutely certain one way or another, that if she ever tried to go to the front lawn from the back, she was bound to run into some guards. She still had to go to the pet center as planned--where security was weakest.

She took off her cloak and laid it crumpled on the ground beside her. She unstrapped her fanny pack and put it just beside the cloak. One by one she began unbuttoning her suit from the bottom up.

Flipping her suit over, it revealed the ruby red fabric underneath laced with gold by the shoulder blades, the ends of the sleeves, and the waistline. She wore it confidently. She picked up her cloak crumpled on the ground and wore it on the red side.