Chapter Six (#6); A Is For Absolutely Absent
832 Words
THE NEXT DAY, MR. DAKOTA WAS ABSENT. Citrus figured he was out filling Diamond Kurt responsibilities. It had happened many times before. But this time, it felt eerie. As if Mr. Dakota should be there, but he wasn’t. When Citrus returned to Kurt’s for her agent business, Mr. Dakota (Well, Diamond Kurt since we’re talking agent form) was still absent. The place seemed a lot more cheerful now, but to Citrus, it seemed that everyone was lacking a slight sense of responsibility. During her Training sessions with the older Gems (sometimes a Gemstone; that she beat easily with her full potential), Citrus asked Gemstone Sophia a question.
“Where’s Diamond Kurt?” Gemstone Sophia snorted.
“You missing that old hunk of junk?”
“Ah…”
“Get back to training,” Gemstone Sophia responded, laughing. So Citrus decided to ask Diamond Kurt’s daughter herself.
“He didn’t return home last night,” Gem Selena admitted, “but I’m sure he’s on a trip. He springs those every so often. Gone for a day or two.” But a full week later, and Diamond Kurt still hadn’t shown up. Not at school, not at Kurt’s. He was nowhere to be found. The Diamondbacks started getting tense. What had happened to Diamond Kurt? Gem Selena reported everyday whether he had been home or not. The answer always seemed to be ‘no.’
Topaz, who had a wild imagination, suggested, “Maybe he got kidn*pped by TIC.”
“TIC?” Citrus had asked.
“My new nickname for The Insanely Criminal!” Topaz exclaimed. He gave Citrus a smile so bright, Citrus would have shielded her eyes. If she hadn’t been staring into Topaz’s yellow-orange eyes.
“Think they realize their initials are TIC?” Pearl asked, coming up behind them. But Citrus had snapped out of focus.
What if Diamond Kurt has been kidn*pped? What will that mean for us? Citrus thought. It wasn’t until Pearl waved her hand furiously in front of Citrus’ face that Citrus snapped back into focus.
“Did you hear me? I said that we should be our own g**g. One who’s initials are ROUGH!” Pearl exclaimed. Topaz grinned at her.
“Yeah, okay,” Citrus responded, again traveling to her own half-dimension.
“Citrus?”
“Yeah, okay,” Citrus repeated.
“CITRUS!” Gem Selena yelled. Citrus shook her head and forced herself to pay attention, taking her mind off of TIC torturing Diamond Kurt.
“What’s up?”
“Do you really think he could have been captured?” Citrus then realized that Gem Selena must have been the most concerned about Diamond Kurt. He was her dad after all. Gem Selena had mentioned that she still stayed in her house, watching and waiting for her dad to come home. A wish that might never come true. Citrus hesitated before answering.
“Yes… But I think he’s still alive… I think,” Citrus replied, trying to soften up the words a bit. But there was no way to. Tears were brought to Gem Selena’s eyes and she turned, wiping them on her skirt before turning back to Citrus.
“‘I think…’ Yeah that helps.” Gem Selena turned away, sniffing against her will. Citrus knew she probably didn’t mean it to be rude, but Citrus couldn’t help feeling that way. Her eyes stung, just like when she knew she’d done something wrong.
“Are you okay Citrus?” Pearl asked. Citrus’ eye twitched but she turned to Pearl and Topaz who were eyeing her nervously.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” Citrus responded, reaching into her tool belt. Though she was only supposed to wear it for a week (which had passed), Citrus had taken to wearing her belt everyday. Inside was a note. Citrus pulled it out and read it aloud to her friends.
Hello.
We have your leader. He is currently in our t*****e chamber, being interrogated by our son, Garnet. The old man won't answer a single question of ours. The only way we'll let him go is if you give your newest agent to us. The codebreaker one. The strong one. Citrine, I think her name was? Anyways, it's only a fair trade. Your leader for the new one. Think fast. You have until... say, Thursday at noon. Meet us at Casper Cove.
Signed significantly unsincerely,
Rhodonite & Obsidian
“Why do they want you?” Pearl asked, her eyes filled with fear. Citrus took one look at her friend, and she was suddenly scared for her life too. She looked at Topaz, who was staring blankly. Citrus stuffed the note back in her tool belt and grabbed her Invisibility Slime. She took it out of its container, holding it in one hand while stuffing the container back in her tool belt with the other hand.
“Citrus? Where are you?” Topaz asked, looking for Citrus. But Citrus had already run away, tears stinging her eyes.
- Writer
