Understanding 31 - Taking Over

Vivi awoke the next morning and went down stairs to have breakfast when she noticed her entire family was gone. She looked everywhere, but she couldn't find them nor a note. She checked the home phone voice mail box to see if there was a message from or about them, but there was none.

Vivi was slightly hesitant, but she picked up the phone and called a number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jack, it's me Vivi?"

"Vivi?" There were noises coming from his end of the line. He was scrambling out of bed. "What can I do you for, Vi?"

"I'm probably over reacting or jumping the gun but..."

"But?"

"But my family is gone."

--

At Jason's dance studio, he had summoned Ember, Arthur, and Mystery. Lewis was already there.

"You what?!" yelled Ember.

"I had to!"

"Lewis! That's dangerous! Even if it's your family, you can't be seen comin' back from the beyond! Not only will the media paint a bad picture of you, but camera whores and exorcists will be all over your ass!"

"I know, I know! But that's the thing: they are my family and would never do something as stupid as that! Besides, they were hurting. I had to try and ease their pain even if it's just a tiny bit!"

"Lewis..."

"It's kind of impossible for me to pick a side 'ere," said Jason. "You both make excellent points and I can see where the other is comin' from. What do you think, Artie?"

"Honestly, I'm with both... Ember just a little bit more though..."

"What?!" exclaimed Lewis.

"HA!" said Ember.

"Her point about being seen by someone other than your family is a very good one."

"They were at my grave. Which is in a graveyard. I didn't see anybody else so I knew it was safe."

"But what if someone, like, shows up a few minutes later?"

"I had my façade up."

"How long can you keep it up anyway?"

"A few hours. I only talked to them for half an hour or so. Besides, we all agreed that I'd meet up back home instead of the graveyard and we'll meet up every other day."

"Why every other day?" asked Jason.

"Because I'll need to meet up with you guys and talk to Vivi. Speaking of which..." he looked around. "Where's a clock when you need one?"

"On a phone or wrist," said Ember. "It's only noon."

"I got to open up in an 'our. Scadadal. All o' you. We'll meet back up here the day after tomorrow, so clear your calendars."

--

A knock came at the door and a young blue female answered. "Hey Jack," she said.

"Hey Vivi. You said your family was missing?"

"Yeah... Like I said, I'm probably jumping the gun, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, y'know?"

"I do. Did you hear or see anything?"

"No. I just woke up, saw no one at the dining room table and looked around. I even checked to see if I was left a voice mail, but I still came up empty."

"What do you think happened?" he asked as he looked around.

"Honestly, I have no idea. This has never happened before."

"Did you touch anything other than the phone?"

"The door knobs... I wanted to see if they over slept or were in the garage or something, but again, nothing."

"I'll try and get some help, but I'm going to need pictures and names of everyone. And while we're searching it might be best if you stay somewhere else. Do you have any place like that?"

"I do, actually. I'll call him up and ask him if I can stay for a bit. Thanks for coming by."

"Anytime. It's my job. Would it be alright if I got the address of this person?"

"I'll ask him to see if it's okay to give it out, but if he says yes then I will. Speaking of which, I'm going to call him now, okay?"

"Go ahead."