//------------------------------// // Arc XXVIII Episode IX: Sales Drop // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// Sandbar skid to a stop on his heels as he approached the store where he heard the scream. His mind was already racing as he thought hard about the potential outcomes of a situation like this. ‘Dammit…where’s mom at? I could’ve sworn I heard Skeedaddle’s voice from over here. I don’t see any sign of him or sis either…’ Sonata arrived and stopped next to him. “Hang on…are you sure you know who it is, Sandbar?” “I think my sister and her friend are both in danger,” he explained as he took a look around the shop, and that’s when he noticed a distinct lack of a cashier at the register. “Yeah…this is gettin’ more suspicious by the second, yo. Why ain’t nobody here?” “...good point,” Sonata replied, “It’s kinda weird for a shop to not have anyone watching over it. Think they’re on break?” “Maybe, but I’m not sure. Let’s be careful here, yo.” Sandbar casually approached the register and slapped the bell on the counter to let the shopkeeper know that a customer had arrived. “Ay! Anyone around here, yo? Hellooooo?” Ding-ding-ding! Inside the employee backroom… The shopkeeper woman had successfully bound both kids with rope and covered their mouths with tape so that they were unable to scream. But as soon as she heard the bell on the desk, she scowled and balled her fist. “Perf--shit…of course someone had to come around right about now…I’ll deal with you two later,” she muttered while glaring at the kids as she quickly left the room. “Mm--mmm-mmm!” Skeedaddle started to panic with his eyes forming tears. His asthma was starting to act up, making it difficult for him to breathe due to the fact that his mouth was covered, resulting in a massive strain on his airways. It wasn’t long before he started to cry, bawling as he resigned himself to his fate. “Mmph!” Coral would’ve tried to console him, but she was unable to speak. All she could focus on was retrieving her watch that the woman had left on one of the shelves nearby. ‘Poor guy…don’t worry, I got this. Okay. I have to be quick and careful. I can’t really move, so I need to start inchworming my way over there so I can knock it down off of the shelf. Yeah. Should be easy enough, right?’ With her mind made up, Coral started to wiggle upon the floor, flopping like a fish out of water for a moment until she flipped herself over onto her stomach. Then, she started to wiggle further and inch her way towards the shelf as Skeedaddle’s sobs quieted down… In the shop… The woman walked out of the door and approached the counter with a casual smile on her face. “Sorry about that. May I help you?” “Yeah,” Sandbar spoke in an equally casual tone as to not show his hand too early, “We were just walkin’ around and we thought we heard a scream from this way. Ain’t that right, Sonata?” “Yeah,” Sonata added with a nod, “We were just curious as to what that noise was is all.” “Ah. That must’ve just been some kid,” the shopkeeper tried to play it off. “You know how they are when it comes to this time of year…” But Sandbar wasn’t quite buying it. In the back of his mind, he could almost sense that something was wrong. Call it brotherly instinct, call it intuition, but the woman’s words didn’t exactly ring as soundly believable. “...Uh-huh,” he replied slowly, “Mind if we take a look around just to be safe?” He asked just to see what sort of reaction she’d have to such a question. For the quickest of split-seconds, the woman’s expression turned to a scowl before she forced a smile on her face. “...okay then. I have no problem with that at all.” Sandbar turned around and walked away from her by a few paces with Sonata next to him. “...yeah, somethin’s up, yo,” Sandbar whispered to her. “There’s somethin’ she ain’t tellin’ us.” “Are you sure? Well, I guess it can’t hurt to be careful,” Sonata replied. While hesitant at first, she had to admit that something did indeed feel ‘off’ about the woman’s response. “..she did seem kinda weirdly cryptic. I dunno--maybe I’m just looking too deep into it, but…” While they were talking and had the full attention and unwavering gaze of the shopkeeper, a seemingly invisible force pushed the door open to the employee room and gently closed it behind itself. “...Hm?” the woman watched as the door closed shut with a confused tilt of her head. ‘...Was that wind? From indoors? Strange.’ Well, it was certainly something from indoors, but it wasn’t the wind at all. In fact, it was someone who was more than used to going unnoticed. To the point where being invisible was one of her trademark qualities. Inside of the backroom, Wallflower deactivated her newfound power of invisibility and flexed her hand. “Wow…” she muttered, “I can’t believe that worked.” Both Skeedaddle and Coral looked up at her with relieved smiles as they squirmed. “Shhh…” Wallflower hesitantly looked behind herself and knelt down in order to remove the restraints from their bodies. “Let’s try and stay quiet, alright? I’m here to help.” Once she removed the tape and rope from their bodies, both kids ran up to her and gave her a hug. “Thank you so much,” Skeedaddle huffed a quiet, shaky remark of thanks as he held onto her, “I-I thought we were goners.” “You can say that again,” Coral replied with a sigh, “I can’t believe I managed to let her get my watch off of me. Thanks, Wallflower.” “Don’t worry. I’ve got your backs. But mind telling me exactly what happened?”