Chapter 33: Coming Home
Two days later, Jewels and Pearls and their parents boarded a train heading to their new region. The two families were to share a private carriage together. They were headed to the Phoenix Region, the nearest large region to the Capital Region. Their employers sponsored their relocation. Jewels’ parents worked for the Leaw Food Company, and Pearls’ mother worked for Efos Furniture Company.
Transportation, new accommodation, and relocation costs were fully sponsored by the Government as compensation for the trauma their families suffered because of the kidnapping and molestation of their children.
‘Wow, this time our carriage has windows!’ exclaimed Jewels.
‘Marvellous, we can gaze at the wastelands for hours,’ said Pearls sarcastically.
‘Haha, silly girls, this is your first ever train ride,’ said Jewels’ dad.
‘Oh yes, you are right. I must have been thinking of the RollerSphere,’ replied Jewels as she put her hands over her mouth.
‘How about the both of you tuck into some food? You must be hungry,’ said Pearls’ mother.
Pearls’ mother whispered into Jewels’ mother’s ear. They both walked to the opposite end of the carriage.
‘She’s so different. I can barely recognise her anymore,’ said Pearl’s mother to Jewel’s mother.
‘Jewel’s isn’t right either,’ replied Jewels’ mother. ‘It’s the shock of what happened. I’m sure we will get our girls back soon.’
‘I can’t stop thinking about what that weirdo at the Enforcer Department said,’ said Pearls’ mother.
‘Stop it. Of course, they are our children. Just look at them,’ said Jewels’ mother in an annoyed tone.
‘Jewels had an accident when she was two. It left a scar on her forearm. Check if the scar is still there,’ insisted Pearls’ mother.
‘Of course. It is,’ replied Jewels’ mother.
‘Have you checked since she came back?’ asked Pearls’ mother.
‘No, I haven’t,’ replied Jewels’ mother.
‘Please humour me, and I will say no more,’ requested Pearls’ mother.
Jewels’ mother walked over to the girls. ‘Hey Jewels, how are you feeling? Do those awful bruises still hurt?’ asked Jewels’ mother.
‘Yeah, they do, but they are healing. The emotional pain still lingers. That is why I yearn for a fresh start,’ said Jewels as she began to fake sob.
Her mother pulled Jewels’ sleeve up. There was no scar. She let her sleeve drop back down.
‘I’ll just let you continue eating,’ she said in a slight stutter as she moved away from the girls.
Jewels’ mother walked back over to Pearls’ mother. ‘It’s not them. You were right,’ she said as her face expressed both shock and horror.
The fathers walked over to them. ‘What’s happened?’ asked Jewels’ father.
The girls noticed the intense conversation between the adults.
‘Maybe we overestimated our acting skills,’ said Jewels to Pearls.
‘To fall down in the final act is such a disappointment,’ replied Pearls.
Jewels’ father marched over to the girls. ‘Who the hell are you? Where the hell are Jewels and Pearls?’ he demanded.
‘I’m Yassme,’ replied Jewels.
‘I’m Yassmay,’ replied Pearls.
Jewels’ father grabbed Yassme. ‘Where are our children?’ he demanded as he shook her hard.
Yassmay grabbed a knife from the table. She thrusted it into Jewels’ father’s cheek. Jewels’ father screamed as he slammed Yassme hard against the carriage wall, dropping her to the ground.
‘Don’t hurt them. They are still only children,’ shouted Jewels’ mother.
Yassmay continued to stab Jewels’ father. Pearls’ father ran over to attempt to disarm her. Yassmay slashed his hand. He dropped back. Yassme got to her feet. Both girls heard footsteps approaching the carriage. They dropped to the floor and began screaming.
Two train security guards entered the carriage.
‘They’re trying to kill us,’ cried out Yassmay as tears gushed from her eyes.
The security guards stunned the two men with their stun guns. The two women shouted and screamed at them to stop. The security guards proceeded to stun both of them as well. All four parents lied unconscious on the carriage floor.
‘Are you okay, now?’ asked one of the security guards. The two girls hugged each other as they continued crying.
The train stopped at the next station. Enforcers arrested all four parents. An enforcer approached the two girls. ‘Is there anyone we can contact for you?’ he asked them.
‘Yeah, Pardi Carvaress,’ replied Yassmay.
‘Umm, that might not be possible,’ replied the enforcer.
‘Of course, it’s possible,’ replied a Carvaress scientist as he approached the girls and enforcer.
‘Do you know him?’ the enforcer asked the girls. They both shook their heads. ‘I suggest you back off, sir,’ said the enforcer to the scientist.
‘Wait, let me call Pardi Carvaress,’ said the scientist. A few seconds later, he handed the phone to the enforcer. After a few more seconds, he handed the phone to Yassmay.
‘Hey sweetie, I heard there was an incident on the train. Are you okay?’ asked Pardi.
‘No, way better than okay. What a cool plot change right at the end! I did not see it coming,’ Yassmay said with enthusiasm.
‘How about your sister?’ asked Pardi.
Yassme grabbed the phone. ‘I’m great. I have a big bruise on the back of my shoulder from a stunt I performed in that action scene,’ Yassme said proudly.
‘That’s great. I’m so proud of both of you. How would you like a special treat?’ said Pardi.
‘We love special treats,’ they both replied.
‘The nice scientist is going to fly you home in a special flying machine, I call it a helicopter,’ said Pardi.
‘Ohh goody,’ they said together.
‘You’ll both be back before lunch tomorrow,’ said Pardi proudly.
‘Wow, suddenly this flying machine sounds so much less impressive,’ said Yassme.
‘Sure, it doesn’t travel at the speed of light, but it flies. You can look down on the whole world. It’ll blow your socks off, trust me,’ said Pardi.
The two girls looked at each other and smiled.
The next day, about half an hour before lunchtime, Pardi was on the rooftop waiting for the helicopter carrying the girls to arrive. It was almost an hour late.
Finally, it came into view. It was flying erratically across the sky towards the building’s landing pad. It landed hard on the top of the building, almost sliding off the edge. One of the landing skids was badly damaged from the impact.
The door swung open. The twins climbed out. ‘We learnt to fly,’ they said as they ran around flapping their arms.
‘That’s a priceless prototype you just wrecked,’ said Pardi angrily.
The scientist staggered out of the helicopter before collapsing on the ground as he spewed vomit.
‘Sorry, daddy, we just needed to unwind. The acting roles were a little stressful,’ said Yassme as she gave him her notorious doe-eyed look.
‘Okay, let’s head to the apartment. You must be hungry,’ said Pardi as he sighed.
‘Ohh, can we have jumbo pizza?’ asked Yassmay.
‘Sure, despite what just happened, I am incredibly proud of both of you,’ said Pardi as he hugged the twins.
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