Masked

Chapter Two

        We had called 911 almost immediately. When the first responders had shown up to take Dad's body away, I wanted to stay with him, but Pogo told me that I should go to bed. He said that he had already sent a transmission to Luther on the moon, and that the others would soon hear about Reginald's death. Before I went up to my room, I stopped to ask Mom a question. She had gone to the area Dad had given her to sleep. Mom was a robot and she sat in the same chair every night, in front of a bunch of paintings.

        "Mom?" I asked. "Do you think you could make some clothes for me to wear for the next couple of days? Ones that aren't uniforms. Real clothes, you know?"

        "Of course, Cassie," she replied, smiling at me. "I'll bring you some in the morning."

        Satisfied with her response, I began the trek to my bedroom. I had left the book I was going to read in Dad's bedroom, but decided I could grab it in the morning. Entering my room, I flung myself onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Then, I stuffed my legs under the covers one by one. Looking at the blank whiteness above me, I thought about what it would be like to finally meet the people who I had shared a home with for decades but had never seen.

        I knew Luther. While he was still asleep after his accident, I saw what Dad had done to him. He would be the easiest to recognize as his thirty-year-old self. Diego, I knew little about, only that he was skilled with knives. I used to watch the coverage of them saving people back when I was younger, but I didn't know what he looked like now. Anyone could identify Allison. She was a movie star, and I had seen every film she had acted in, hoping I would be able to get to know her more through her work. Klaus, I would know by his voice. When we were younger, I told him I was a ghost stuck in the academy who couldn't leave. His bedroom was below mine, and I'd talk to him through the floorboards. He never knew I was real but knew my name. Poor Ben wouldn't be coming as he had died many years ago. Finally, there was Vanya. She was the only other girl in the household, and so it would be evident who she was. Plus, she'd probably bring her violin with her. I used to hear her play it for hours. I thought back to my time with Klaus as I fell asleep.

                                                                                                 •~•

        A young girl in a uniform laid on the floor, her right ear pressed upon it. Her blond curls cascaded down her back, falling to the wood. She could hear a boy talking below her, and was questioning whether she should speak to him.

        "All he ever wants is a perfect mission this, perfect mission that. Well good for him. What am I supposed to do? Conversing with ghosts doesn't help when we're fighting robbers," the voice said, bickering with himself.

        "Hello?" The girl asked through the floorboards.

        The boy looked up to the ceiling, wondering where the girl's voice he heard was coming from. He went over to his bed and sat down. He wasn't entirely over his fear of the dead and didn't know if the girl talking to him was as friendly as she seemed. She couldn't be younger than him based upon her voice. He decided to answer.

        "Hi," he responded hesitantly. "Are you a ghost? Cause if you're a ghost, I'm gonna have to ask you to promise not to kill me."

        The girl recognized the boy in the room beneath her's as one of her brothers, Klaus. She wasn't supposed to talk to any of her siblings, but she thought that if he bought the idea that she wasn't alive, then maybe she could make a friend. Taking a deep breath, she began to fabricate her lie.

        "I think I am. I've been trapped in this house for as long as I can remember. I don't recall my life before, but it must not have been great seeing I died at such a young age, but don't worry I just want a friend."