Pandemonium
"Hey geek! Where ya heading?" A deep voice yelled from across the hallway, making the chatter of every single human being in sight, go silent, as if a spell was cast over them, and the only sound that was emitted was the loud and metallic bang of a locker door being slammed shut.
16 year old Willa Connors sighed and leaned back onto her locker door, her eyes closed as her head was back, touching the cool metal surface, the sound of laughter ringing in the halls as a group of kids made their way to her.
"Hey! We're talking to you!" A girl, April Lexington, snarled, her crystal blue eyes shining with amusement as her bleach blonde hair bounced up and down her shoulders as she sauntered towards Willa, her minions close behind her like a pack of wolves, their claws out and ready to pounce.
"What do you want now April?" Willa asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood up tall, towering over April, who was barely 5' 7 while Willa was 5' 11.
"Where's my art project?" She asked impatiently.
"And my english essay?" Damon, April's brother, asked.
Like his sister, Damon had crystal blue eyes, and was eye level with Willa. But his dirty blonde hair gave him a little more height.
"I didn't do it." Willa snapped.
"And why not?" April asked, her voice teasing, testing Willa.
"Because I'm not a slave." Willa retorted as April looked up at her with shock on her face, which she then covered up with a cruel and menacing smile.
"Oh but you are. You see, you are my slave. My dad can and will sue you and your brothers, making sure you have absolutely nothing, but the image of me, burning in your head."
"Well, to bad hon, if you really want to intimidate me, get in line, the devils are already trying."
"Why, you little-"
"Okay...!" A deep voice exclaimed as an arm was slung over Willa's shoulders.
Jem.
"This isn't your fight James." Damon growled.
"Yeah but this is my sister so shoo." Jem snapped, pointing to the front doors.
April just scoffed at Jem and turned on her heel, stomping out the school with her brother and "friends" right behind her, making a switch go off in everyone's mind as they hurriedly made their way out of the building.
"Willa?" Jem asked as his sister watched everyone leave, her gold eyes shining bright with fire.
"I'm fine Jem." She replied, shrugging her brother's arm off her shoulder and snatched her skateboard. "Race you home." She said as she placed the board on the ground and jumped on it, her leg pushing it as she skated out of the building, Jem laughing at her as he followed in pursuit.
They swerved around the group of teenagers and exited the building, Willa doing a railslide on the rail and then a kickflip at the end of the metal bar, sticking the landing on the hard cement floor.
The wind blew through Willa's caramel brown hair as she zoomed across the school parking lot, cars honking at her as she cut them off.
Jem was close behind her and she turned around, waving to her brother and laughing at him as he stuck his tongue out at her, trying to catch up.
Willa sped up and almost missed her destination, completely forgetting where she was going.
She swung the large glass doors open and stopped her skateboard, picking it up and started running, her black high tops softly thumping on the carpet as she ran into one of the rooms, Jem right behind her as he chased her.
Willa was laughing as she saw her other brother, Mason, in the room and ran up to him, tackling him as she jumped on his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck, her face next to his as she laughed.
"Hey! You guys are back." Mason exclaimed, looking at Jem as he walked to one of the chairs, leaning on it and watching his older brother and younger sister.
"Yeah. So hey, Mason, do you wanna start heading out? If we want to snag some cash, we better start headin out."
"Can't you guys just skip a day? I mean, come on, it's Friday!" Willa whined as she got off her brother's back.
"Nope. Sorry sis, we're low on cash and if we plan on living here till Jem is 20, we need to keep going out. Thats just the way things are Willa." Mason said, his voice all deep and serious.
Sometimes it was hard to take Mason seriously, he was always the kid in the group, the prankster out of the three, but you can't expect much from a 20 year old man who saw his parents murdered, his mom's pale face as she struggled for breath. And all of this at the age of 10.
Mason took care of them, he was their parents. And even though Willa doesn't even remember them that much, he's always there to reassure her that they were amazing.
James on the other hand, was more of a geek than a serious person. James was barely 8 when their parents died, it didn't change him one bit. He's still the fun-loving brother who loves pranks and carrying out the family business, business that Willa is sometimes ashamed of.
Gypsies.
Yes, this family of three are gypsies; thieves. Most people ignore their existence, like they were rats, filthy and unwanted. They even had a nickname from the old Chinese lady who ran the market down the street, yang guizi, which means foreign devils.
But Willa didn't want to live this life. She wanted to be a normal girl, the type of girl that has a boyfriend, or even a best friend, not a criminal record for petty crimes. She wanted to throw parties and get grounded from her parents from drinking and sneaking out, but instead, she got the life of a thief, and lives in a shut down movie theater with two older brothers.
She lies to the people who come in to town, merely distracting them from the major crime of identity theft that is being put into action as this young girl with caramel brown hair, gold eyes, who is 5' 11, and has a pale yet thin frame from many days of starving herself to fit the role of a poor girl, the role that strikes most kind-hearted civilians.
"Can I come with you guys?" Willa asked, snapping herself out of her thoughts about her family. If she was gonna live this life, why not just accept it.
Mason sighed at his sister. "I'm sorry kid, Jem and I are heading downtown. To dangerous."
"But—"
"No Willa." Jem stated, his voice strong, a voice he never used with her.
Mason noticed the slight change in his sister's reaction and hit his brother upside the head and walked towards Willa. He grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder like a pillow and walked to where they slept, ignoring her as she beat her fists on his back.
"Mason Logan Connors, put me down this instant!" She yelled as her brother just laughed at her as he softly threw her down onto her mattress and then started to grab her black sweatpants and her oversize sweatshirt that Jem bought her.
Willa swatted her brother's hand and grabbed her clothes.
"Willa, just change into your pajamas, throw your hair in a bun, sneak a blanket out of my space, put in The Breakfast Club into the projector, cuddle up in one of the chairs, eat popcorn that you make in the machine, and just wait for us to get back." Mason said, sitting on his haunches and staring eye level with Willa.
"Mason, we're gypsies, not hobos. I am not making popcorn out of the old and dirt covered popcorn machine." She retorted. "But fine."
Mason smiled and kissed the top of her head. "We'll be back in a few hours. Go out and get some food. You can take some cash but not a lot."
"I know Mase." Jem walked over to the two, a duffle bag over his shoulder and leaned on the wall.
"We'll be back kiddo." He said as Mason stood up.
"Bye." Willa said to her brothers, waving as they smiled at her and took off running, their footsteps becoming quieter as they moved.
***
“'Investigation?' Isabelle laughed. 'Now we're detectives? Maybe we should all have code names.'
'Good idea,' said Jace. 'I shall be Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.'"
Willa smiled to herself as she read that line in her book.
"Oh Jace Lightwood, what would the world do without you and your awesome code names?" She silently asked herself. As she continued to read her book.
Suddenly she heard a loud scratching noise on the wall near her and just shrugged it off. Then she heard Mason's tent collapse and she jumped at the noise, turning around to see what happened.
She saw nothing.
She closed her book and threw her blanket down and walked towards their "room".
"Jem? Mase?You guys here?" She yelled, hoping to hear the two boys, but only felt something run past her bare leg.
She squealed in shock and jumped up, running towards her part of the "room" and grabbed a pillow, throwing it when she saw a small shadow past her, but instead knocking down her tent and the sheet collapsing on a small unidentified figure.
She scooted towards it cautiously and lifted the sheet up slowly with her toe, not wanting to touch whatever was under there.
Suddenly the figure moved underneath the sheets, making Willa scream and scurry back to the wall she was leaning on before, her legs pulled up to her chest as she wielded a hairbrush in her hand.
The figure moved around under the sheet and once it found an exit, it revealed itself, making Willa scream in fright as she threw the hairbrush at it, making it run around the area as she chased it, throwing pillows, an empty wallet, and her Pre-Calculus textbook. She then grabbed a small, glass jar and slammed it over the "thing" and watched it with wide eyes.
It wasn't a rat thats for sure. Unless rats were orange with one huge eye smack middle of their forehead with orange swirls on it. Also, Willa could have sworn rats did not look like an orange Patrick Star.
Willa watched the strange creature as it plopped down and sat comfortably on the carpet floor, staring at its surroundings, totally oblivious to the fact that she was staring at it with her head tilted to the side like a dog.
She was studying, and wondering what it was.
"What are you?" She spoke out loud.
"It" turned and looked at her as she said this, staring at her as if it understood her. Willa's eyes widened and she moved her hand close to the jar and lifted it up. "It" just stared at her.
"Don't move or run away." She commanded. "And if you can understand me, blink twice."
It blinked twice.
"Okay, now, blink once for no and twice for yes." She said, not believing what she was doing. "Are you an alien?"
One blink.
"Okay...Are you a hallucination?"
One blink.
"Can you speak?"
One blink.
"Can you write?"
Two blinks.
"Are you a robot?"
One blink.
"Okay, just going on a guess but are you like a monster or lab experiment?"
Two blinks.
"Do you have a name?"
Two blinks.
"You can write in english yes?"
Two blinks.
"So you can hold a pen and write on paper?"
Two blinks.
"Okay, hang on."
Two blinks.
"You can stop the whole two or one blink for yes or no." Willa said as she stood up and grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil, which she then placed in front of Orange Patrick.
"What's your name?"
Orange Patrick took the pencil in both hands and began ti write on the paper.
Experiment4916-9201735
"Do you have a shorter name?"
No.
"Do you want a shorter name?"
Yes.
"What about...Orange?"
No.
"Star."
No.
"Monster."
Stop picking names that describe me.
"Geez, picky." Willa joked. "Hmm..." Willa looked around and her eyes landed on her book, her face smiling as she remembered the line she had just read.
"What about Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein?"
Yes!
"Seriously?"
Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein nodded, making Willa smile.
"So, what exactly are you?"
I am an experimental project. I was designed to help the disabled kids who can't see or write.
"So, why are you here?"
I ran away.
"Why?"
No more. Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein does not want to live the life of experiments and tubes being shoved into him. No more, no more, no more.
"Yeah, I know the feeling."
You were created in a lab?
"No." Willa said, softly laughing at the comment. "My family is known for being thieves. We steal money."
You can change.
"Ha, doubt it. I have to carry out the 'family business'."
Be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
"Did you just quote Dr. Seuss?"
Yes. Is there a problem?
"No. I used to love him as a child."
No more?
"No more."
"Willa! We're back!" Mason's voice yelled throughout the room, making Willa's eyes widen as she quickly picked Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein up and hurriedly picked up the room as best as she could, then placed Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein on her bed and put a finger to her lips.
"Hey kiddo!" Jem exclaimed as he saw Willa.
"Hey guys. How was it?" She asked.
"We snagged $146." Jem replied nonchalantly.
"Any cards?"
"Two." Mason said, throwing the stack of cash at Willa. "Put it in with the rest. We'll leave tomorrow for more."
Willa nodded and took the money, making her way to the wall and knocking on it twice, five times, then once, soon a secret compartment opened and a safe was revealed. Willa opened it and placed the cash in it, along with the credit cards, fake ID's, necklaces, and other valuables they stole.
"Did you eat?" Jem asked Willa.
"Yeah."
"Well, go to bed, its pretty late." Willa nodded and made her way to her bed and picked up Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein and then slipped under the covers, her little monster on the other side, closest to the wall.
Mason walked over to his little sister and kissed her forehead.
"You look just like her." Was all he said before he stood up and walked away.
***
"Come on Willa! Lets get a move on this!" Mason yelled.
"I'm done Mase! God." Willa snapped as she came out of the Japanese silk screen. "I'll meet you guys out there."
Mason just scoffed at his sister and her laziness, turned around, and met up with his younger brother outside.
Willa quickly snatched her Rasta bag and slipped on her black hightops, bending the backs in the process.
"Okay, come on Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein." She quickly said as she scoped the area, making sure no one was watching as the orange little monster made his way to Willa. He hopped on her hand and she softly placed him in her bag.
"It'll get bumpy but, I can't risk you getting caught in here." She told him.
He nodded.
Willa smiled, closed her bag, and snatched her skateboard off the wall, running towards her brothers.
"Well finally!" Jem exclaimed as he saw Willa approach them.
"Oh hush." She retorted.
"Ready?" Mason asked.
"Lets go be gypsies."
***
"Hey! Yang guizi!" The Chinese lady yelled. "You better not be stealing my fruit!"
"I'm not Ms. Ping." Willa said, smiling sweetly, even though, she was gonna steal fruit.
"Mmhmm, you and your brothers are yang guizi's you little foreign devils! I catch you stealing my fruit, I call the cops this time!"
"Don't worry, I'm just looking around." Ms. Ping scoffed at Willa and furiously turned around walking back to the counter.
Willa smiled and started to walk around, acting like an angel every time Ms. Ping turned to look at her. She then looked at Jem and he nodded.
Willa ducked down to tie her shoe and opened her bag slightly, taking Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein out. "Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein, do me a small favor."
He nodded.
"You see that far stack of fruit? Yeah well, go knock it down quickly and then run back her as fast as you can."
He nodded and Willa placed him on the ground, watching him run towards the stack and pushing it down with all his might, knocking the bin down.
Ms. Ping started yelling in Chinese and Willa quickly shoved apples, pears, chips, pomegranates, and some bread, picked up Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein, and ran out of the store, Jem right behind her as Ms. Ping yelled after them.
Mason was right outside the store leaning on a pole as he waited for the two to come out. Once he saw them he got up, caught the bag Jem threw him and ran with his siblings to their next spot.
"Did you guys get it?" Mason asked as they slowed down, the store way behind them
"I snatched some grilled chicken strips, lettuce, apples, a melon, starfruit, some chips and some random stuff." Jem reported.
"And I grabbed apples, pears, chops, pomegranates, and bread. Oh, also when Ping was talking to me, I may have taken a twenty out of her pocket." Willa said, handing the twenty to Mason.
"Nice job." Mason exclaimed.
"So where to?" Jem asked.
"Well we can—"
"Um excuse me!" A man said, coming up to the three of them.
"Uh yes?" Willa asked. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties with short, curly brown hair with bangs that flopped down on his forehead, a thin and scrawny frame, and big, thick glasses frames his brown eyes. He wore a checkered button down shirt and khaki pants along with brown shoes.
"Have you seen this?" He asked them, showing a picture. Mason and Jem saw it first and shook their heads, but when Willa saw it, she slightly froze.
Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.
"Uh, no sir. Sorry. But, might I ask, what is it?" Willa said, covering up her shock.
"This is Experiment4916-9201735. He's an experimental lab project that the government paid me to create. He helps blind children go to school by writing for them. He escaped yesterday. He's very dangerous since he is still not used to his surroundings." The man asked.
"And why would the government care for it?"
"They believe that since he has no conscience of his own, he can immediately adapt to the way that the person he helps, attitude. So for example, if a thief stole him, he would live the lifestyle of a thief. Like I said, he's an experiment, I haven't fixed all the bugs yet."
"Got it." Willa said nodding.
"Well hope you find you thing." Jem said quickly as he walked away, the others following him.
What have I done?!? Willa thought as they made their way back home.
***
There were papers scattered amongst the streets, cars on fire, sirens ringing, total chaos. Glass littered the pavement like snow, and there was no sign of life. It was a devoid of human life, the end zone.
Willa walked around, seeing limp and lifeless bodies casually laying on the ground, as if in a pattern, a code.
Two then one. Two then one. Two then one.
Clicking noises made her neck snap and she turned around, seeing a crouched figure typing on an old fashioned typewriter.
Tick-click-clack. Tick-click-clack. Tick-click-clack. Over and over again.
She neared the figure and saw an old man, typing, oblivious to the world around him, muttering words under his breath as eh typed.
"Your fault. The end. Monster. The end. Death. The end." He repeated this words as he typed.
Then, silence. He stopped. Frozen in place.
"This is all your fault!" He suddenly screamed at her, his head snapping in her direction.
Willa's eyes widened as she read the page he typed.
World pandemic. End has come. Experiment4916-9201735 destroys United States. Nuclear waste. Disease spreads. End has come. Death. End. Monster.
Willa dropped the paper and turned around, squeaking as she did from the sight she saw before her.
Bodies. Zombies. Death.
They closed in on her, circling her, trapping her till she had no room to move.
Willa crouched down, her knees up to her chest, her eyes shut closed, her long fingers wrapping around her head as her palms covered her ears, blocking the words they yelled at her.
"Death. End. Willa. Death. End. Willa."
***
Willa woke up screaming, her hair stuck to her neck with sweat, her chest rising up and down rapidly, she couldn't control her breathing.
She fell off her mattress, legs entangled in the sheets, her vision spotted and her limbs like jelly.
She had no strength. None. It was sucked out of her, her body like a motionless slug, her lungs struggling to give her oxygen, that one thing that seemed so stupid yet useful at that very moment.
How could something so easy as breathing, could seem so hard and impossible in a flash?
Most people would jump to conclusion and say that young Willa Conners died of a heart attack or brain malfunction, I wish it was that easy to say, but it wouldn't be the truth.
Willa did not want to die this way. She wanted to die from age. She wanted to die and have people remember her. A family. Friends. A loved one. A life. She did not want to die from a panic attack.
So she fought.
Willa pushed all of the fears she felt, away.
World Pandemic, gone.
End zone, gone.
Zombies, long gone!
She crawled towards her brother's tent and splashed water on him, making Jem jump and hold his metal pipe tightly in one hand, blinking rapidly as he searched for the culprit. Jem's eyes finally landed on Willa and his eyes widened.
"Mason!" He yelled, his voice booming in the room.
Mason jumped up and saw his little sister, sprawled out on the floor as her limbs started to shake uncontrollably.
"Hold her down!" Mason yelled at Jem before he ran to Willa's section and rummaged through her stuff, Jem holding her down.
"Hurry up! She's wheezing!" Jem yelled as Mason ran back to them, a needle in hand.
Mason softly put a hand on his sister's neck and tilted it to the left and injected the needle into her skin, the blue green liquid entering her skin.
Willa's breathing stared to slow down, her vision no longer spotted as she was able to gain control of her body until she lost consciousness.
***
Willa's eyes slowly opened and a bright light stung her eyes, tears threatening to fall. She blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the object in front of her.
"Jesus?" She asked, her voice weak.
"No. But I have been told there is a resemblance." Jem retorted, making Willa groan.
"Ugh. Its you." She said, faking her remorse as she slowly tried to sit up.
"Hey, take it easy dummy. You're still weak." Jem informed Willa as she propped a pillow behind her.
"Oh hush I'm perfectly fine." She snapped. "Where's Mason?"
Jem sighed.
"Jem?"
"He's mad at you."
"Why?"
"What do you think?"
"Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein?"
"What?"
"The monster."
"You named it!" Jem demanded.
"He's really sweet and harmless!"
"Willa! Its dangerous! You took it on a mission. It already could've changed! And it is not a pet! It is an animal. A beast!"
"Oh come on. So know you're telling me you're afraid of orange Patrick Star's?"
"Stop it Willa. You do not understand."
"No! You don't Jem!" Willa screamed at her brother, standing up and flailing her arms around. "This is not just about Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein, this is about our family. Mom and dad. Why don't I have no pictures of them? How is it that two apparent 'normal people' were murdered with cocaine next to their bodies!?"
Jem stared at his sister, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
"That's right. I read the report. Mom and dad weren't normal were they? There's something you and Mason are hiding from me. What is it Jem!?"
"Mom and dad were dealers!" Jem yelled.
"What?"
"Mom and dad were dealers. They did horrible things. They killed innocent people and stole from innocent people. And when you were only four years old, you got kidnapped and they gave you drugs. And now you get these major panic attacks and we have to keep giving you it. So forget about mom and dad. They aren't worth it."
"And you two are?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You two are just like them right? Oh, let's lie to Willa. Let's feed Willa drugs. Let's turn Willa into a thief! Let's just destroy Willa's life! Well no thank you James. So move."
Willa pushed past her brother and immediately felt his cold hand wrap around her arm, pulling her back. She punched him in the nose and ran.
She ran like she had never ran before. Not in the whole Forest Gump type of way, but in the way which she didn't look back. The way in which she had anger and passion running through her as this new information filled her mind.
She knew where Mason would be. He would look for the scientist and hand him Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein. Probably so he could get rid of one problem and then leave her, thinking of her as a disgrace, just like everybody else did.
To say that the scientist and Mason were hard to find however was hard, is a lie. They were yelling at each other in front of the market, Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein in a small container and Mason crouched down.
Two men in suits stood over her brother, one kicked him, another laughed at him.
Willa ran to them, grabbing the man kicking her brother by the arm, pulled him close to her, and punched him in the face, the sound of bone breaking loud and audible as the man screamed in pain, his nose dripping blood as all Willa saw was red.
The man who was laughing pulled out a gun and pointed it to Willa, his eyes testing her."Didn't your parents ever teach you not to disrupt justice?" He asked, his voice thick. Russian.
"No. But they did teach me how to kick." She snapped, kicked the man in the side with her knee bent at a 90 degree angle, her knee cap colliding with his lower left ribs.
The man groaned in pain, moments before Willa then took his arm, elbowed him in the face and snatched his gun. She pointed it towards the scientist.
"What are you gonna do with him?" She asked.
"What? Experiment4916-9201735?" Willa nodded. "Well, lets just say he won't escape again. Now, if you would excuse me."
Willa stepped in front of him.
"Move."
"No. You can't just lock him. He's a living creature."
"And a thief thanks to you."
"But at least I'm not planning to send him to the Russian armies for war."
"What? Experiment4916-9201735 is for disabled kids, not war."
"Really? Then whats up with the Russian agent? And the file in your bag?"
"Confidential business."
"Yeah, and you want me to believe that?"
"Move."
"No."
The scientist then snatched the gun out of Willa's hand and slapped her hard on the cheek. A loud slap noise was emitted and with the force the man used, Willa fell down, her body collapsing on the hard cement floor as the scientist ran away, living Willa on the floor, darkness soon creeping up on her.
***
Monday was agonizing to say the least. Willa had woken up early, not wanting to head to school with Jem. And the weather didn't make matters better.
Its was overcast, thick fog casted over everything like a storm at sea. The sky was grey, and everyone was bundled up in warm coats and knitted scarfs.
Willa's jaw had a huge purple green bruise on it from the slap the scientist had given her. She even had a slight limp from the kick she did with her knee.
Today, Willa didn't skate to school. She was planning on getting there early, leave, then hop on a plane to New York and try to live a new life.
It was 8:19 when she arrived at school, and people already arrived at school, catching up with friends, talking about the newest songs and videos. But most importantly, the incident with the scientist.
Apparently someone video taped the whole thing and posted it online, and everyone saw it.
As Willa walked down the hallway people stopped what they were doing and stared at her as she opened her locker door.
"Hey!" A deep voice exclaimed. Damon.
"Leave." Willa snapped.
"Oh come on."
"Damon. Now. I am not in the mood."
"You never are. Is that why your parents got themselves killed?"
Willa lost it.
She tackled Damon to the ground, hitting him over and over again as she straddled him until two football players yanked her off him.
The look everyone gave Willa was unexplainable.
Fear. They all looked at her with fear. Every one of them. They looked at her like she was a monster.
Monster. A word that makes so much sense to Willa at that very moment. Then it hit her. She's the monster. She's the end. She's death. She's pandemic.
The whole dream she had, was to show her that she was a misunderstood monster that needed to protect herself from her own mind.
And as Willa left the building, only 20 words ran through her head—be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
16 year old Willa Connors sighed and leaned back onto her locker door, her eyes closed as her head was back, touching the cool metal surface, the sound of laughter ringing in the halls as a group of kids made their way to her.
"Hey! We're talking to you!" A girl, April Lexington, snarled, her crystal blue eyes shining with amusement as her bleach blonde hair bounced up and down her shoulders as she sauntered towards Willa, her minions close behind her like a pack of wolves, their claws out and ready to pounce.
"What do you want now April?" Willa asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood up tall, towering over April, who was barely 5' 7 while Willa was 5' 11.
"Where's my art project?" She asked impatiently.
"And my english essay?" Damon, April's brother, asked.
Like his sister, Damon had crystal blue eyes, and was eye level with Willa. But his dirty blonde hair gave him a little more height.
"I didn't do it." Willa snapped.
"And why not?" April asked, her voice teasing, testing Willa.
"Because I'm not a slave." Willa retorted as April looked up at her with shock on her face, which she then covered up with a cruel and menacing smile.
"Oh but you are. You see, you are my slave. My dad can and will sue you and your brothers, making sure you have absolutely nothing, but the image of me, burning in your head."
"Well, to bad hon, if you really want to intimidate me, get in line, the devils are already trying."
"Why, you little-"
"Okay...!" A deep voice exclaimed as an arm was slung over Willa's shoulders.
Jem.
"This isn't your fight James." Damon growled.
"Yeah but this is my sister so shoo." Jem snapped, pointing to the front doors.
April just scoffed at Jem and turned on her heel, stomping out the school with her brother and "friends" right behind her, making a switch go off in everyone's mind as they hurriedly made their way out of the building.
"Willa?" Jem asked as his sister watched everyone leave, her gold eyes shining bright with fire.
"I'm fine Jem." She replied, shrugging her brother's arm off her shoulder and snatched her skateboard. "Race you home." She said as she placed the board on the ground and jumped on it, her leg pushing it as she skated out of the building, Jem laughing at her as he followed in pursuit.
They swerved around the group of teenagers and exited the building, Willa doing a railslide on the rail and then a kickflip at the end of the metal bar, sticking the landing on the hard cement floor.
The wind blew through Willa's caramel brown hair as she zoomed across the school parking lot, cars honking at her as she cut them off.
Jem was close behind her and she turned around, waving to her brother and laughing at him as he stuck his tongue out at her, trying to catch up.
Willa sped up and almost missed her destination, completely forgetting where she was going.
She swung the large glass doors open and stopped her skateboard, picking it up and started running, her black high tops softly thumping on the carpet as she ran into one of the rooms, Jem right behind her as he chased her.
Willa was laughing as she saw her other brother, Mason, in the room and ran up to him, tackling him as she jumped on his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck, her face next to his as she laughed.
"Hey! You guys are back." Mason exclaimed, looking at Jem as he walked to one of the chairs, leaning on it and watching his older brother and younger sister.
"Yeah. So hey, Mason, do you wanna start heading out? If we want to snag some cash, we better start headin out."
"Can't you guys just skip a day? I mean, come on, it's Friday!" Willa whined as she got off her brother's back.
"Nope. Sorry sis, we're low on cash and if we plan on living here till Jem is 20, we need to keep going out. Thats just the way things are Willa." Mason said, his voice all deep and serious.
Sometimes it was hard to take Mason seriously, he was always the kid in the group, the prankster out of the three, but you can't expect much from a 20 year old man who saw his parents murdered, his mom's pale face as she struggled for breath. And all of this at the age of 10.
Mason took care of them, he was their parents. And even though Willa doesn't even remember them that much, he's always there to reassure her that they were amazing.
James on the other hand, was more of a geek than a serious person. James was barely 8 when their parents died, it didn't change him one bit. He's still the fun-loving brother who loves pranks and carrying out the family business, business that Willa is sometimes ashamed of.
Gypsies.
Yes, this family of three are gypsies; thieves. Most people ignore their existence, like they were rats, filthy and unwanted. They even had a nickname from the old Chinese lady who ran the market down the street, yang guizi, which means foreign devils.
But Willa didn't want to live this life. She wanted to be a normal girl, the type of girl that has a boyfriend, or even a best friend, not a criminal record for petty crimes. She wanted to throw parties and get grounded from her parents from drinking and sneaking out, but instead, she got the life of a thief, and lives in a shut down movie theater with two older brothers.
She lies to the people who come in to town, merely distracting them from the major crime of identity theft that is being put into action as this young girl with caramel brown hair, gold eyes, who is 5' 11, and has a pale yet thin frame from many days of starving herself to fit the role of a poor girl, the role that strikes most kind-hearted civilians.
"Can I come with you guys?" Willa asked, snapping herself out of her thoughts about her family. If she was gonna live this life, why not just accept it.
Mason sighed at his sister. "I'm sorry kid, Jem and I are heading downtown. To dangerous."
"But—"
"No Willa." Jem stated, his voice strong, a voice he never used with her.
Mason noticed the slight change in his sister's reaction and hit his brother upside the head and walked towards Willa. He grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder like a pillow and walked to where they slept, ignoring her as she beat her fists on his back.
"Mason Logan Connors, put me down this instant!" She yelled as her brother just laughed at her as he softly threw her down onto her mattress and then started to grab her black sweatpants and her oversize sweatshirt that Jem bought her.
Willa swatted her brother's hand and grabbed her clothes.
"Willa, just change into your pajamas, throw your hair in a bun, sneak a blanket out of my space, put in The Breakfast Club into the projector, cuddle up in one of the chairs, eat popcorn that you make in the machine, and just wait for us to get back." Mason said, sitting on his haunches and staring eye level with Willa.
"Mason, we're gypsies, not hobos. I am not making popcorn out of the old and dirt covered popcorn machine." She retorted. "But fine."
Mason smiled and kissed the top of her head. "We'll be back in a few hours. Go out and get some food. You can take some cash but not a lot."
"I know Mase." Jem walked over to the two, a duffle bag over his shoulder and leaned on the wall.
"We'll be back kiddo." He said as Mason stood up.
"Bye." Willa said to her brothers, waving as they smiled at her and took off running, their footsteps becoming quieter as they moved.
***
“'Investigation?' Isabelle laughed. 'Now we're detectives? Maybe we should all have code names.'
'Good idea,' said Jace. 'I shall be Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.'"
Willa smiled to herself as she read that line in her book.
"Oh Jace Lightwood, what would the world do without you and your awesome code names?" She silently asked herself. As she continued to read her book.
Suddenly she heard a loud scratching noise on the wall near her and just shrugged it off. Then she heard Mason's tent collapse and she jumped at the noise, turning around to see what happened.
She saw nothing.
She closed her book and threw her blanket down and walked towards their "room".
"Jem? Mase?You guys here?" She yelled, hoping to hear the two boys, but only felt something run past her bare leg.
She squealed in shock and jumped up, running towards her part of the "room" and grabbed a pillow, throwing it when she saw a small shadow past her, but instead knocking down her tent and the sheet collapsing on a small unidentified figure.
She scooted towards it cautiously and lifted the sheet up slowly with her toe, not wanting to touch whatever was under there.
Suddenly the figure moved underneath the sheets, making Willa scream and scurry back to the wall she was leaning on before, her legs pulled up to her chest as she wielded a hairbrush in her hand.
The figure moved around under the sheet and once it found an exit, it revealed itself, making Willa scream in fright as she threw the hairbrush at it, making it run around the area as she chased it, throwing pillows, an empty wallet, and her Pre-Calculus textbook. She then grabbed a small, glass jar and slammed it over the "thing" and watched it with wide eyes.
It wasn't a rat thats for sure. Unless rats were orange with one huge eye smack middle of their forehead with orange swirls on it. Also, Willa could have sworn rats did not look like an orange Patrick Star.
Willa watched the strange creature as it plopped down and sat comfortably on the carpet floor, staring at its surroundings, totally oblivious to the fact that she was staring at it with her head tilted to the side like a dog.
She was studying, and wondering what it was.
"What are you?" She spoke out loud.
"It" turned and looked at her as she said this, staring at her as if it understood her. Willa's eyes widened and she moved her hand close to the jar and lifted it up. "It" just stared at her.
"Don't move or run away." She commanded. "And if you can understand me, blink twice."
It blinked twice.
"Okay, now, blink once for no and twice for yes." She said, not believing what she was doing. "Are you an alien?"
One blink.
"Okay...Are you a hallucination?"
One blink.
"Can you speak?"
One blink.
"Can you write?"
Two blinks.
"Are you a robot?"
One blink.
"Okay, just going on a guess but are you like a monster or lab experiment?"
Two blinks.
"Do you have a name?"
Two blinks.
"You can write in english yes?"
Two blinks.
"So you can hold a pen and write on paper?"
Two blinks.
"Okay, hang on."
Two blinks.
"You can stop the whole two or one blink for yes or no." Willa said as she stood up and grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil, which she then placed in front of Orange Patrick.
"What's your name?"
Orange Patrick took the pencil in both hands and began ti write on the paper.
Experiment4916-9201735
"Do you have a shorter name?"
No.
"Do you want a shorter name?"
Yes.
"What about...Orange?"
No.
"Star."
No.
"Monster."
Stop picking names that describe me.
"Geez, picky." Willa joked. "Hmm..." Willa looked around and her eyes landed on her book, her face smiling as she remembered the line she had just read.
"What about Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein?"
Yes!
"Seriously?"
Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein nodded, making Willa smile.
"So, what exactly are you?"
I am an experimental project. I was designed to help the disabled kids who can't see or write.
"So, why are you here?"
I ran away.
"Why?"
No more. Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein does not want to live the life of experiments and tubes being shoved into him. No more, no more, no more.
"Yeah, I know the feeling."
You were created in a lab?
"No." Willa said, softly laughing at the comment. "My family is known for being thieves. We steal money."
You can change.
"Ha, doubt it. I have to carry out the 'family business'."
Be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
"Did you just quote Dr. Seuss?"
Yes. Is there a problem?
"No. I used to love him as a child."
No more?
"No more."
"Willa! We're back!" Mason's voice yelled throughout the room, making Willa's eyes widen as she quickly picked Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein up and hurriedly picked up the room as best as she could, then placed Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein on her bed and put a finger to her lips.
"Hey kiddo!" Jem exclaimed as he saw Willa.
"Hey guys. How was it?" She asked.
"We snagged $146." Jem replied nonchalantly.
"Any cards?"
"Two." Mason said, throwing the stack of cash at Willa. "Put it in with the rest. We'll leave tomorrow for more."
Willa nodded and took the money, making her way to the wall and knocking on it twice, five times, then once, soon a secret compartment opened and a safe was revealed. Willa opened it and placed the cash in it, along with the credit cards, fake ID's, necklaces, and other valuables they stole.
"Did you eat?" Jem asked Willa.
"Yeah."
"Well, go to bed, its pretty late." Willa nodded and made her way to her bed and picked up Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein and then slipped under the covers, her little monster on the other side, closest to the wall.
Mason walked over to his little sister and kissed her forehead.
"You look just like her." Was all he said before he stood up and walked away.
***
"Come on Willa! Lets get a move on this!" Mason yelled.
"I'm done Mase! God." Willa snapped as she came out of the Japanese silk screen. "I'll meet you guys out there."
Mason just scoffed at his sister and her laziness, turned around, and met up with his younger brother outside.
Willa quickly snatched her Rasta bag and slipped on her black hightops, bending the backs in the process.
"Okay, come on Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein." She quickly said as she scoped the area, making sure no one was watching as the orange little monster made his way to Willa. He hopped on her hand and she softly placed him in her bag.
"It'll get bumpy but, I can't risk you getting caught in here." She told him.
He nodded.
Willa smiled, closed her bag, and snatched her skateboard off the wall, running towards her brothers.
"Well finally!" Jem exclaimed as he saw Willa approach them.
"Oh hush." She retorted.
"Ready?" Mason asked.
"Lets go be gypsies."
***
"Hey! Yang guizi!" The Chinese lady yelled. "You better not be stealing my fruit!"
"I'm not Ms. Ping." Willa said, smiling sweetly, even though, she was gonna steal fruit.
"Mmhmm, you and your brothers are yang guizi's you little foreign devils! I catch you stealing my fruit, I call the cops this time!"
"Don't worry, I'm just looking around." Ms. Ping scoffed at Willa and furiously turned around walking back to the counter.
Willa smiled and started to walk around, acting like an angel every time Ms. Ping turned to look at her. She then looked at Jem and he nodded.
Willa ducked down to tie her shoe and opened her bag slightly, taking Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein out. "Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein, do me a small favor."
He nodded.
"You see that far stack of fruit? Yeah well, go knock it down quickly and then run back her as fast as you can."
He nodded and Willa placed him on the ground, watching him run towards the stack and pushing it down with all his might, knocking the bin down.
Ms. Ping started yelling in Chinese and Willa quickly shoved apples, pears, chips, pomegranates, and some bread, picked up Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein, and ran out of the store, Jem right behind her as Ms. Ping yelled after them.
Mason was right outside the store leaning on a pole as he waited for the two to come out. Once he saw them he got up, caught the bag Jem threw him and ran with his siblings to their next spot.
"Did you guys get it?" Mason asked as they slowed down, the store way behind them
"I snatched some grilled chicken strips, lettuce, apples, a melon, starfruit, some chips and some random stuff." Jem reported.
"And I grabbed apples, pears, chops, pomegranates, and bread. Oh, also when Ping was talking to me, I may have taken a twenty out of her pocket." Willa said, handing the twenty to Mason.
"Nice job." Mason exclaimed.
"So where to?" Jem asked.
"Well we can—"
"Um excuse me!" A man said, coming up to the three of them.
"Uh yes?" Willa asked. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties with short, curly brown hair with bangs that flopped down on his forehead, a thin and scrawny frame, and big, thick glasses frames his brown eyes. He wore a checkered button down shirt and khaki pants along with brown shoes.
"Have you seen this?" He asked them, showing a picture. Mason and Jem saw it first and shook their heads, but when Willa saw it, she slightly froze.
Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.
"Uh, no sir. Sorry. But, might I ask, what is it?" Willa said, covering up her shock.
"This is Experiment4916-9201735. He's an experimental lab project that the government paid me to create. He helps blind children go to school by writing for them. He escaped yesterday. He's very dangerous since he is still not used to his surroundings." The man asked.
"And why would the government care for it?"
"They believe that since he has no conscience of his own, he can immediately adapt to the way that the person he helps, attitude. So for example, if a thief stole him, he would live the lifestyle of a thief. Like I said, he's an experiment, I haven't fixed all the bugs yet."
"Got it." Willa said nodding.
"Well hope you find you thing." Jem said quickly as he walked away, the others following him.
What have I done?!? Willa thought as they made their way back home.
***
There were papers scattered amongst the streets, cars on fire, sirens ringing, total chaos. Glass littered the pavement like snow, and there was no sign of life. It was a devoid of human life, the end zone.
Willa walked around, seeing limp and lifeless bodies casually laying on the ground, as if in a pattern, a code.
Two then one. Two then one. Two then one.
Clicking noises made her neck snap and she turned around, seeing a crouched figure typing on an old fashioned typewriter.
Tick-click-clack. Tick-click-clack. Tick-click-clack. Over and over again.
She neared the figure and saw an old man, typing, oblivious to the world around him, muttering words under his breath as eh typed.
"Your fault. The end. Monster. The end. Death. The end." He repeated this words as he typed.
Then, silence. He stopped. Frozen in place.
"This is all your fault!" He suddenly screamed at her, his head snapping in her direction.
Willa's eyes widened as she read the page he typed.
World pandemic. End has come. Experiment4916-9201735 destroys United States. Nuclear waste. Disease spreads. End has come. Death. End. Monster.
Willa dropped the paper and turned around, squeaking as she did from the sight she saw before her.
Bodies. Zombies. Death.
They closed in on her, circling her, trapping her till she had no room to move.
Willa crouched down, her knees up to her chest, her eyes shut closed, her long fingers wrapping around her head as her palms covered her ears, blocking the words they yelled at her.
"Death. End. Willa. Death. End. Willa."
***
Willa woke up screaming, her hair stuck to her neck with sweat, her chest rising up and down rapidly, she couldn't control her breathing.
She fell off her mattress, legs entangled in the sheets, her vision spotted and her limbs like jelly.
She had no strength. None. It was sucked out of her, her body like a motionless slug, her lungs struggling to give her oxygen, that one thing that seemed so stupid yet useful at that very moment.
How could something so easy as breathing, could seem so hard and impossible in a flash?
Most people would jump to conclusion and say that young Willa Conners died of a heart attack or brain malfunction, I wish it was that easy to say, but it wouldn't be the truth.
Willa did not want to die this way. She wanted to die from age. She wanted to die and have people remember her. A family. Friends. A loved one. A life. She did not want to die from a panic attack.
So she fought.
Willa pushed all of the fears she felt, away.
World Pandemic, gone.
End zone, gone.
Zombies, long gone!
She crawled towards her brother's tent and splashed water on him, making Jem jump and hold his metal pipe tightly in one hand, blinking rapidly as he searched for the culprit. Jem's eyes finally landed on Willa and his eyes widened.
"Mason!" He yelled, his voice booming in the room.
Mason jumped up and saw his little sister, sprawled out on the floor as her limbs started to shake uncontrollably.
"Hold her down!" Mason yelled at Jem before he ran to Willa's section and rummaged through her stuff, Jem holding her down.
"Hurry up! She's wheezing!" Jem yelled as Mason ran back to them, a needle in hand.
Mason softly put a hand on his sister's neck and tilted it to the left and injected the needle into her skin, the blue green liquid entering her skin.
Willa's breathing stared to slow down, her vision no longer spotted as she was able to gain control of her body until she lost consciousness.
***
Willa's eyes slowly opened and a bright light stung her eyes, tears threatening to fall. She blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the object in front of her.
"Jesus?" She asked, her voice weak.
"No. But I have been told there is a resemblance." Jem retorted, making Willa groan.
"Ugh. Its you." She said, faking her remorse as she slowly tried to sit up.
"Hey, take it easy dummy. You're still weak." Jem informed Willa as she propped a pillow behind her.
"Oh hush I'm perfectly fine." She snapped. "Where's Mason?"
Jem sighed.
"Jem?"
"He's mad at you."
"Why?"
"What do you think?"
"Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein?"
"What?"
"The monster."
"You named it!" Jem demanded.
"He's really sweet and harmless!"
"Willa! Its dangerous! You took it on a mission. It already could've changed! And it is not a pet! It is an animal. A beast!"
"Oh come on. So know you're telling me you're afraid of orange Patrick Star's?"
"Stop it Willa. You do not understand."
"No! You don't Jem!" Willa screamed at her brother, standing up and flailing her arms around. "This is not just about Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein, this is about our family. Mom and dad. Why don't I have no pictures of them? How is it that two apparent 'normal people' were murdered with cocaine next to their bodies!?"
Jem stared at his sister, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
"That's right. I read the report. Mom and dad weren't normal were they? There's something you and Mason are hiding from me. What is it Jem!?"
"Mom and dad were dealers!" Jem yelled.
"What?"
"Mom and dad were dealers. They did horrible things. They killed innocent people and stole from innocent people. And when you were only four years old, you got kidnapped and they gave you drugs. And now you get these major panic attacks and we have to keep giving you it. So forget about mom and dad. They aren't worth it."
"And you two are?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You two are just like them right? Oh, let's lie to Willa. Let's feed Willa drugs. Let's turn Willa into a thief! Let's just destroy Willa's life! Well no thank you James. So move."
Willa pushed past her brother and immediately felt his cold hand wrap around her arm, pulling her back. She punched him in the nose and ran.
She ran like she had never ran before. Not in the whole Forest Gump type of way, but in the way which she didn't look back. The way in which she had anger and passion running through her as this new information filled her mind.
She knew where Mason would be. He would look for the scientist and hand him Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein. Probably so he could get rid of one problem and then leave her, thinking of her as a disgrace, just like everybody else did.
To say that the scientist and Mason were hard to find however was hard, is a lie. They were yelling at each other in front of the market, Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein in a small container and Mason crouched down.
Two men in suits stood over her brother, one kicked him, another laughed at him.
Willa ran to them, grabbing the man kicking her brother by the arm, pulled him close to her, and punched him in the face, the sound of bone breaking loud and audible as the man screamed in pain, his nose dripping blood as all Willa saw was red.
The man who was laughing pulled out a gun and pointed it to Willa, his eyes testing her."Didn't your parents ever teach you not to disrupt justice?" He asked, his voice thick. Russian.
"No. But they did teach me how to kick." She snapped, kicked the man in the side with her knee bent at a 90 degree angle, her knee cap colliding with his lower left ribs.
The man groaned in pain, moments before Willa then took his arm, elbowed him in the face and snatched his gun. She pointed it towards the scientist.
"What are you gonna do with him?" She asked.
"What? Experiment4916-9201735?" Willa nodded. "Well, lets just say he won't escape again. Now, if you would excuse me."
Willa stepped in front of him.
"Move."
"No. You can't just lock him. He's a living creature."
"And a thief thanks to you."
"But at least I'm not planning to send him to the Russian armies for war."
"What? Experiment4916-9201735 is for disabled kids, not war."
"Really? Then whats up with the Russian agent? And the file in your bag?"
"Confidential business."
"Yeah, and you want me to believe that?"
"Move."
"No."
The scientist then snatched the gun out of Willa's hand and slapped her hard on the cheek. A loud slap noise was emitted and with the force the man used, Willa fell down, her body collapsing on the hard cement floor as the scientist ran away, living Willa on the floor, darkness soon creeping up on her.
***
Monday was agonizing to say the least. Willa had woken up early, not wanting to head to school with Jem. And the weather didn't make matters better.
Its was overcast, thick fog casted over everything like a storm at sea. The sky was grey, and everyone was bundled up in warm coats and knitted scarfs.
Willa's jaw had a huge purple green bruise on it from the slap the scientist had given her. She even had a slight limp from the kick she did with her knee.
Today, Willa didn't skate to school. She was planning on getting there early, leave, then hop on a plane to New York and try to live a new life.
It was 8:19 when she arrived at school, and people already arrived at school, catching up with friends, talking about the newest songs and videos. But most importantly, the incident with the scientist.
Apparently someone video taped the whole thing and posted it online, and everyone saw it.
As Willa walked down the hallway people stopped what they were doing and stared at her as she opened her locker door.
"Hey!" A deep voice exclaimed. Damon.
"Leave." Willa snapped.
"Oh come on."
"Damon. Now. I am not in the mood."
"You never are. Is that why your parents got themselves killed?"
Willa lost it.
She tackled Damon to the ground, hitting him over and over again as she straddled him until two football players yanked her off him.
The look everyone gave Willa was unexplainable.
Fear. They all looked at her with fear. Every one of them. They looked at her like she was a monster.
Monster. A word that makes so much sense to Willa at that very moment. Then it hit her. She's the monster. She's the end. She's death. She's pandemic.
The whole dream she had, was to show her that she was a misunderstood monster that needed to protect herself from her own mind.
And as Willa left the building, only 20 words ran through her head—be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.