Notes from the Abyss

I let go of the tree branch and hit the ground running. I knew he was out there too, following my every move in hopes that he'd outsmart me. That'll be the day. I take a sudden left and deviate from my path to go deeper into the forest, I knew exactly where I needed to go, but I wanted to be as hard to track as humanly possible. I sprint as fast as my body would allow, until I make my way to a rocky cliff that overlooked the ocean. The cogs in my brain start turning and I smile triumphantly, tearing a piece of my shirt off to rub it in a patch of dirt and carefully place it along a nearby bush. I knew what I had to do, and I hoped with all of my heart it would work. I pick up a large rock and let out a piercing scream before tossing the rock over the cliff and into the ocean below. I know he would have heard it, my scream echoed throughout the forest; disturbing the wildlife that inhabited it. I climb a nearby tree once again and wait for him to arrive, silently begging for him to assume me dead and leave. He'd never find those scrolls without me. I look out into the distance. The dark ocean seems to stretch for miles and I begin to feel rather homesick. It was hard not to miss home, when I travelled so far and so often for jobs like this one. And with nary a moment to my own thoughts I found myself often craving a normal teenage life. I wondered what my friends were doing right at this moment, were they staring up at the same moon I was? Probably not, it was more likely that they were staring at the inside of a toilet bowl after a long night of drinking and partying. You know, normal people things. I'm interrupted from my thoughts when suddenly I hear a twig snap followed by footsteps. I crane my neck in attempt to see whilst still trying to keep myself hidden. He steps into my vision then, an unreadable expression on his face as he surveys the area. f*****g Connor. He had been tailing me for the whole week now, attempting to finally cash in on my finds. But as usual, he was unsuccessful. But from up here, he didn't seem like the same Connor that made me want to pull my hair out on a daily basis. No. From here, he looked almost peaceful. A tiny little worm, slithering around on the ground beneath me. I smirk as he crosses my field of view, his eyes fixed on the bush I had placed my torn piece of t-shirt in. So he's found it. Balls in your court now genius. I watch from above as the cogs in his head slowly turn, his dark brows furrowed in confusion. He would never believe that I had just plunged myself into the ocean below, so I hoped that by screaming he would think I had been attacked by something, or someone. Funnily enough, he's not the only bootleg treasure hunter on my tail 24/7. Any hunter within a 1000 mile radius of a telephone knows who I am, and they know that if they want the cash in on finder's fees, I'm the one to beat. It's a shame they're all halfwits, or they'd be rolling in dough. He pauses, gazing off the cliff into the ocean. I hear him mutter something, but I'm too far away to make out what he's saying. Before I know it, he turns around and walks away slowly. Looking defeated. YES! Suck it, Connor. Outsmarted once again! I wait for several minutes, listening out for signs of human movement and when I'm satisfied he's gone I climb down. Taking care to be quiet just incase. Time for business, Vee. I start the trek to the hidden bunker, speeding up to a jog as a feeling of triumph fills my heart. No matter who or what was thrown at me, I would always come out on top. Can't thank anyone but my father for that. He raised me well. I make it to the location of the bunker and go to find the door, but suddenly I'm grabbed from behind. A hand comes up to muffle my grunt of surprise, before I hear a voice in my ear. "Ah, Vee. There you are. I was looking for you." He says. I groan, unable to respond intelligibly. He chuckles. "So you're speechless once again. What's wrong darlin'? Cat got your tongue? You should've known I wouldn't fall for the same trick twice." Of course, I mean, when you're constantly being chased by so many different people it's only natural to forget which tactics you've already used on who. I roll my eyes and escape his grasp. Reversing it so he was now the one restrained, pinned up against a tree with a dagger threatening to cut through his throat. He falters for a bit before a smug smirk settles on his face. Jackass. I lock eyes with him, anger radiating from my entire body. "Did you ever stop to think that before I'd be able to respond, you'd probably have to remove your ugly sausage fingers from over my mouth?" I question with all the malice I could possibly draw forth. He chuckles once again and winks at me, his dark eyes scanning my entire body. Yuck. Eyes to yourself, worm. "Oh don't be so hateful. I know you like the chase, otherwise you'd be watching that pretty little back of yours more often." What a creep. If I didn't know the games he liked to play, I probably would've bought into it. If there's anything my Father taught me, it's never to let any man make me uncomfortable. Let alone one with half a braincell. "Then clearly you don't know me nearly as well as you think you do. I'm over this, we'll catch up later when I've recovered these scriptures yeah?" I say before pulling out my stun gun with my free hand and shooting a sleep dart into his thigh. He smiles, his eyes never leaving mine even as they're beginning to grow heavy. "You're a lot prettier with my eyes closed." Was the last thing he said before losing consciousness. I considered dragging him a kilometer back the other way so I could personally toss him off the cliff for talking to me like that, but I knew it would be a waste of my time. I take a length of rope out of my backpack and tie his hands to the tree behind him. That should buy me more than enough time to locate the scriptures and radio in for a heli. I grin and stomp on the ground in front of me until I hear the hollow thud of the hidden door. I brush the dirt and leaves away before I quickly find the lock, and swing it open before jumping straight in. I was right, about having more than enough time. By the time I had found the barrel of ancient scriptures, battled with decades worth of spiders and other creepy crawlies, and made my way back to the cliff to call for the helicopter; Connor was still trying to wrestle his way out of his binds. He'll make it eventually, I'm sure. Not my problem if he doesn't. Mama didn't raise me to have no backbone after all. The heli arrives, and I'm met with the smiling faces of my Mom and Father. They help me up and get me seated. I stretch out in the chair, the adrenaline rush of the hunt from only moments before had left my body by now; leaving behind nothing but aching muscles and an intense craving for camembert cheese. I look to my Mom who tries to mouth something at me and it takes me a while to realize I haven't got my aviation headset on. My Father smirks as I pull it on. "So, fun trip then?" He asks. "You look like you've barely broken a sweat, couldn't have been working very hard!" Mom laughs at this but I'm not amused. If he thinks he could do it any faster I'd love to see him and his ancient bones give it a try. "Sorry, had to wait around for a while because you know - people love to try and kidnap me and steal my loot!" I shoot him an angry glare. Mom stops laughing then, a look of guilt crossing her features. Dad just snickers in amusement. "Key word there is TRY, Nessie. I raised you to be a badass, you're never in danger because you are the most capable treasure hunter this world has ever known. Youngest too! If we didn't think you could handle it, we wouldn't send you out into the field. If you'd like we could put you back on research with your mother!" "Shut up." I state plainly, cringing at the use of my most hated nickname. Nessie, what a joke. They already named me after a gassy planet, and then decided that wasn't enough and also wanted my nickname to be the namesake of some mythical water snake.. thing. I stare out the window, the view from here is stunning. Especially now that the sun has started to rise. I watch and we fly over the mountains, peering behind us as I say a silent goodbye to Beluga Bay below. Along with that, I say a silent f**k you, and hope that Connor is still tied to a tree. I look up at the clouds as they shift a few feet above us, the wind breaks them apart but they don't seem to mind. I close my eyes to pass the time, wondering what it would be like to return home. To return to Lucas. It felt like I hadn't seen him in years, even though it had only been about a week or so. I knew that my time away was taking a toll on our relationship, but he knew what he was getting in to when he asked me to be his girlfriend. Not to mention what he knew would be coming back to him each time I finished a job. I wondered if he would be as excited as I had been all week. It was a struggle to get him out of my head at times, especially when I was on field - waiting for my stalkers to lose my trail. I also wondered what it would be like to return to High-school. It was my last year and I'd barely been there but I also just didn't need to. My future had been laid out from the day my parents had me, it was like they had already decided what path my life was going to take before I even said my first word. It frustrated me more often than not, but I knew I was going to carry the burden of being my father's legacy from a very young age. I guess I just learned to deal with it. In the beginning, I loved it. I had been on my first successful hunt at the age of 16, and although it was an easy one - I still remember the pride in my Father's eyes. Honestly that was one of the only things keeping me in this occupation and out of university. That and my godawful grades, that didn't help either. I may have only just crossed the threshold for passing high-school, but I knew that wouldn't be anywhere near enough to get me into college. I wondered how I would be received by my friends. I knew they were missing me as I was them. I mean come on, I'm the most fun person I know. But the person I missed most - second only to Lucas - was Maddy. She had been my best friend for years now, and although we came from complete opposite sides of society, I had never met someone more like me to this day. I wondered what she was doing right now. I open my eyes, and find that we aren't far off WIC Headquarters. Excitement builds in my heart as I think about all of the new things I have to tell my boyfriend and best friend. About the scrolls, about Connor - I decide then and there that I'm going to visit them both as soon as possible. We touch down on the helipad around 1:00 PM and I can't get out of there fast enough. I say my goodbyes to my Mom and Dad after helping then bring the barrel off of the helicopter and rush to the top level carpark to collect my car which had been waiting patiently for my return. I'm not too worried about my paycheck, I'm sure my parents will sort it out for me eventually. I find the keys under the wheel guard and unlock it, getting in and breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh Juno, I missed you." I say to my car, hugging the steering wheel as though I'm greeting an old friend. I start her up, happy that she sounds the same as when I had left her. I had worries that after so little use she'd probably be a little slogged, but I should've known better before assuming something like that about my faithful little mini cooper. I begin the drive down through the carpark levels. I can't even complain about having to drive through all 23 floors of this building, because with each passing floor is less distance I have to cover before I see Lucas and Maddy again. I make my way through the city, and even my road rage is kept at bay. Not even the most incompetent of drivers could dampen my mood today. I put on some music and begin the half hour drive to my home town. --- I finally make it to Lucas's and silently curse at myself for not checking if he was home, I pull up outside and freshen myself up. God I didn't even think to shower before I got here. Gross. I spray myself with my emergency perfume and re-tie my hair. I grab my things and exit my car, locking it before making my way to the front door of his suburban home. I knock on the door and wait patiently. Three minutes and four more knocks later, and no one comes to answer it. That's when I turn my head to notice the car in the driveway. Is that.. Maddy's car? Something feels wrong, but I keep my emotions in check. Maybe my parents stupidly told them about my early arrival and they knew I'd go to Lucas's place first? Whatever it was, I wasn't going to sit there and deliberate it with myself. I have a tendency to overreact, and my new years resolution from three years ago was to work on that.. I try the door and see if it's unlocked. And it opens. Classic Lu. He probably just didn't hear me, it's not often you find Lucas Jacobs without headphones in after all. I enter the house and stand in the entryway, taking in the comforting familiarity of the home I had been in many times. I take a deep breath, and the same smell of Lavender enters my nose. The smell hadn't changed in over two years. His Mom was a creature of habit, when she found something that worked she never changed it unless she absolutely had to. I step into the lounge and nobody's in there. Lucas's parents would be out because they volunteer on Sunday's at the local homeless shelter. It was one of many reasons I admired them so much. I go to turn around when I notice a white top on the ground next to the leather loveseat. My heart sinks. That's not my boyfriend's. Unless he's become partial to wearing corset tops. He better hope that's the case. I ignore it once again, continuing to push down any feelings or assumptions my brain was creating. I wanted to believe it was his sister's, but I'd like to think she's still way too young to be wearing things like that. She's only 16 after all. He wasn't cheating. There's no way. It had only been a week, and we were talking about getting married when we were last together. We knew it was a stretch, because we're both so young but you don't talk about marriage with someone and cheat on them within the same week.. right? I walk down the hallway slowly. I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out what was really going on. Or if I'd be able to handle the truth. I'm in front of his door now, hand on the doorknob. Was I seriously shaking right now? Only a few hours ago I had been grabbed from behind by some ugly sweaty loser with sausage fingers, and I felt nothing but rage and a little bit of pity. But even with that thought in mind, I still couldn't stop my hand from trembling. Fuck it. I swing the door open to find Lucas sat on the foot of his bed, alone, and very, very surprised to see me. He stands up suddenly, stammering a hello in my direction but not meeting my gaze. Okay, weird. I looked around the room for signs of someone else being here, but there was nothing. I knew I was overreacting. I grin and rush up to him, wrapping my arms around him and sighing in content. "I'm back! I'm so sorry I was gone for so long!" I pause my explanation to shower him with kisses and run my hands through his tousled blonde locks. "There was just so much to do, and Connor was there, and I was being tailed the whole time and-" I'm interrupted by the sound of his ensuite door opening. I swing my head to the side and out walks... Maddy. My jaw hits the floor and the smile drops off of her face. I let go of Lucas as quickly as I had embraced him. I look between the two of them, both wore matching expressions. Surprise? Guilt? I wasn't sure because an indescribable rage had started to build itself up in my chest. No one says anything for a while, the silence in the air as sharp as the daggers I had used to defend myself many times before. A dagger wasn't going to help me now. "Vee, I can explain.." They both say at the same time. It's then that I begin to notice the things that are out of place. Her shoes and a bag that definitely wasn't Lucas's are in the corner of the room. His bed is made which was a rare occurrence in and of itself. The toothbrush I could see in Maddy's hand that definitely hadn't been there whenever I stayed, and was that.. my shampoo that I could smell? After both of their earlier statements of being able to explain what it was that I was seeing, neither of them made any further attempts to say anything more. Suddenly, the shock was gone and had been replaced by a cocktail of pain and resentment. Tears well up in my eyes and they both step towards me to comfort me at the same time. I put up a hand. "Neither of you come near me." I say, trying my hardest to stop my voice from wavering. Lucas continues walking towards me until he's right in front of me, his own green eyes beginning to well up. "Vee, I'm so sor-" he starts, but I cut him off before he can even get the sentence out. I shove him away as hard as I can. "I said Don't come the f**k near me!" I yell, the sentence leaving my mouth in a way that I hope would hurt them as much as I was hurting right now. Maddy bursts into tears, and I shoot her the most venomous look I have in my repertoire. "Why the f**k are you crying?" I ask her incredulously. "I promise we didn't mean for this to happen! I.. I.." She goes quiet, tears pooling in her crystal blue eyes and streaming down her face. She was truly gorgeous, I could see why Lucas would choose her as my replacement. "Don't. Don't f*****g do that. You were happy as could be when your dumb ass walked through that bathroom door. Do NOT f*****g pretend like you're heartbroken now!" She looks away then. The 'poor me' act wasn't going to work. Not today, not ever. They're both silent for a while, looking first at each other and then at me. I think in some twisted way they had hoped I would be fine with it. But I wasn't. I make up my mind then and there to leave before things get out of hand. My brain was cloudy, and I couldn't think straight. I needed to get out of there. "I'm leaving. Once I pass through that front door, I don't want to hear from either of you ever again. It goes without saying that my relationships with you both are over. Oh, and Lucas?" He looks at me, pained. "Get an STI test, pretty boy. You're not the first she's infected and you won't be the last." His eyes widen, and she gasps in shock. It was a lie, but I felt like it was justified. I turn around to leave. "Vee, please. I love-" I shake my head and laugh as I continue my walk out. "Shut the f**k up." I say to no one in particular before leaving the room. It's a struggle for me to drag myself out of there. I had been so used to dealing with my obstacles using violence or outsmarting them, but I couldn't do that here. Tears begin to escape my eyes but I rub them away. I'm not going to let them see me cry. I make my way back to my car, briefly considering keying Maddy's before I leave but I ultimately decide I'm above that. I have the moral high ground here, I refuse to sink to their level. I start the car up and speed off, emotions bubbling up through my chest. A few sobs push their way past, but I can't let it out yet. Not yet. Damn it Vee, not yet! Fuck. I pull over as my vision begins to blur, and earth shattering sobs begin wreaking havoc on my body I couldn't even control them. It felt like my body wasn't even mine. How could they do this to me? The two most important people in my life, had so effortlessly ruined it in just a week. I didn't even know if it was just a week, mind you. This could have been happening for months. For all I knew, she had been in his room using MY shampoo every time I went on a hunt. The thought makes me sick to my stomach, and now I have an intense urge to vomit. I can't drive like this, I'll either kill myself or some innocent driver on accident. I pick up my phone with shaky hands and call my Mom. From there, everything was a blur. It felt like I was dreaming. She came to get me after what felt like hours. I was later told it had only been half an hour. She came straight to me as soon as the call ended, despite being confused as to what actually happened because it was hard for me to explain through my sobs. But she knew something was wrong the second she heard my voice. She took me home, leaving my car on the side of the road and later went with my Dad to go and collect it. I'm in bed now, the smell of my dinner had spread through my room and it made my stomach churn. Mom had made my favorite, chicken carbonara, in an attempt to cheer me up but the only thing on my mind right now was Lucas and Maddy. I knew mine and Lucas's relationship wasn't perfect by any stretch of the word. But we were in love, or at least I thought we were. As much as I tried to blame them, I couldn't. He and Maddy were both in the wrong, but something in me just couldn't hate them. Doesn't mean I was going to talk to them or anything though. They had made their decision - that was very clear to me. My phone goes off suddenly. I roll my eyes and turn around. Lucas had been trying to call me nonstop for the past hour and I had no interest in answering him. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. I decline the call once again. I sit up, pulling my fluffy bed spread up above my shoulders and sigh. This was not how I envisioned my return. I hear a knock at my door, and stay silent hoping that they'll leave me alone. Both Mom and Dad knew what was going on already so I didn't think think there was much else, if anything at all that I had to talk about with them. The door opens anyway, and my Mom steps in. Pity and worry are the only things on her face as she crosses my room to sit on the foot of my bed. I say nothing and stare at her. "Lucas just came to the door." She said tentatively. I shrug in answer. "Don't worry though. Dad shut the door in his face quicker than he could say 'hello'." I smile at that. My parents will drop me off via helicopter in the middle of nowhere and leave me to fend for myself, but will do everything in their power to protect me from a boy who hurt my feelings. I guess as strange as my life can be, at the end of the day I'm still a teenager with teenager problems. Images of Lucas and Maddy invade my head suddenly, and I can feel my eyes start to well up. Mom places a hand on my blanketed leg. "That wasn't the only reason I came up to see you either, Venus." She starts. "I know with todays.. events, you probably wouldn't even be considering this but your Father and I have been speaking about it all night..." "Mom, tell me." "There's been a huge lead on another hunt. A notebook." I nod at her expectantly, motioning for her to go on. "We've spoken to WIC and they think that you're the best for the job. But before you say yes-" "Yes!! Yes of course!" I say without a second thought. I needed to get away from here, I needed to- "No, Vee. Listen to me first. Before you say yes.." She gives me a pointed look. "WIC has a new hire. They’re wanting to put together a team, this isn’t like the other hunts.” I nod slowly, wondering why any of this was relevant. “They’ve hired Connor and Celia to join you.” Oh for f***s SAKES. I purse my lips at this. Why would they even want him? He was a half-wit who had been trying to join our ranks since even before I had started field work. And who the f**k was Celia? She laughs at my incredulous expression. She knows how I feel about Connor. “Listen I know it’s not ideal, but it’s a way to move on. We figured you’d probably want to avoid going to school while this whole.. situation settles down. But really this is the only other option.” I open my mouth to process but her expression stops me. “Your father already told you that you’d have to choose one or the other. Either you get a job, or you try harder at school. Judging by your grades - you chose having a job. And I know the manager of the local supermarket if you’re interested…” I bite my bottom lip, frustrated. I’m stuck between a rock, and a smaller but more annoying rock. She knew what I was going to say already. “Fine. Yes. Whatever. I’ll work with them. But I’m taking a real gun. Not the stun gun.” I say. She narrows her eyes at me, the wrinkles on her face deepening. “I know what you’re trying to imply here, but actually you’re going to need them anyway. I need to know you’re going to be responsible Venus, we’ve had this conversation!” She was right. We had had this conversation multiple times. But she knew that I would be on my best behaviour regardless. I think it just helped her to be reminded. “Of course. It was just a joke, Ma.” I reassure her, rolling my eyes. She smiles knowingly. “Alright then. You leave in two days.” She says, kissing me on the head and leaving the room. Two days? That wasn’t nearly enough time! I had so much to prepare, and training to do! I wasn’t sure what I was in store for, but if they were pushing it forward this quickly it was probably urgent. Oh well. I’d better get some sleep. I check the time to find that it’s now 12 AM. Time flies when you’re going through a messy breakup I suppose. I sink down into bed and close my eyes. Thinking about what a random notebook could possibly be so important for. Hope it’ll keep me away from here for as long as possible.