Mysteries of Oakwood

"Sir, please get back in your car, this street is closed off. All civilians in this area are being detained."

A policeman approached Robert, holding out his hand to stop him in his tracks.

"Closed off? What the hell is going on for you to close off the entire road? My house is back this way."

"Yes, I understand, we had hundreds of people try driving back into the Oakwood neighborhood, but as of now, people in that place are being detained and asked questions."

Robert crossed his arms and drooped his head low, sighing.

"At least tell me what's going on, I live there for Christ's sake, and pay hard-earned money for that house!"

"Alright, alright. Let's not make a fuss about this." The policeman looked at us in the car, noticing we were a whole family, which made him hesitant to say anything at first. "I'm gonna be honest with you, we aren't too sure of what's happening either, but reports say that a virus has leaked out into the neighborhood, infecting other people, but I personally believe that's a load of horseshit."

My dad widened his eyes before taking a few steps closer, standing next to the officer as they faced away from us.

What the heck were they talking about?

"Virus? In Oakwood? Yeah, that's a load of bullshit. Let me guess, the government is involved with this entire situation, aren't they?"

"Even I'm not so sure myself, but it's logical to assume." Said the officer.

"They could've at least made up something more believable. Hmph, virus my ass. So, tell me, what happened to the people in Oakwood, were they evacuated?"

"Yeah. Two days ago we managed to evacuate everyone for their safety. They're being asked questions from the higher-ups."

"Damn. We spent two whole days in the hospital with my little girl, I didn't know this shitshow was going on."

"Who's your little girl?" Asked the officer.

"Oh. Her name is Emmeline Farewood, she's Ms. Hotshot right now all over the news."

"Really? Emmeline Farewood? The girl who supposedly rose from the dead? Holy hell… you must be Robert Farewood then?!"

"In the flesh."

"Well, aren't I lucky? Nice to meet you, sir. My wife's religious, she believes your daughter was brought back to life from the man upstairs himself."

"Ah, yeah, well I believe the same. She was deceased for two hours before rising from the dead. God must've didn't want her at the time, at least that's how I look at it."

The officer leaned back, chuckling.

"Hahaha! Yeah, as they all say; God works in mysterious ways."

"You're damn right he does."

"Daddy is making friends with that cop!" Matilda was watching the entire thing outside the driver's window, nosey as ever.

But so was I.

"Looks like it. I wonder what's going on?" I said under my breath, huffing a sigh before leaning back into my seat. "Man, I just wanna go home and eat a Bellenburger! What a tease!"

I kicked my legs like a toddler underneath my mother's seat before slanting my head onto the window.

"We need to go home to make sure Betsy also has enough food in her bowl! We've been gone for two days, and Jeremy has been taking care of her."

"H-Huh? Jeremy? He's in our house as we speak?!" I frantically asked Matilda.

"Yeah. Daddy told Jeremy to watch over Betsy when we took you to the hospital since doggies aren't allowed."

"Eep!" I squealed, realizing my very own crush was inside my house. Oh god, oh god, oh my god, I'm gonna have a panic attack.

What if he sees my junky room?! I left it in a mess before falling unconscious. Damn you, Absceline! Real or not, I'm gonna curse you till the day I die!!

Well… on the bright side, Jeremy was very kind and gentle. He was also good with animals, so I'm sure Betsy is safe.

Maybe I should tell Matilda to ease her little heart.

"Matilda, no need to worry about Betsy. Jeremy is very kind and gentle with animals, he wouldn't let anything happen to her, okay? Try not to worry so much."

"Okay, I'll try."

Matilda sat down in her seat as she hugged her stuffed animal, calming herself down.

Well, that was easier than I thought.

Guess that's kids for you. They're easy to persuade.

"What's taking so long? Robert has just been yapping the entire time."

My mom looked frustrated. I couldn't blame her, I was getting pretty annoyed as well.

I hope Mom and Dad put my burger in the refrigerator because, after two days of being left out, I know it's no longer good."

* * *

"Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Things around Bellensworth City have been getting out of control as of late, we need to get down to the bottom of this." Said Robert, nodding his head.

"You're goddamn right, Mr. Farewood, my kids have been up all night talking about some weird boogeyman in their closet, and some ghost who apparently visits them every night."

Robert scrunched his brows, perplexed. "Weird Boogeyman, huh? How funny. My little girl, Matilda, is saying the exact same thing."

"Kids and their imagination is big, but mine is going a bit too far. She's saying that the boogeyman is making her do things she normally wouldn't."

Robert widened his eyes, hearing the officer speak of the same situation he was in. He didn't wanna say anything else, but leave it at that.

"I hope everything gets situated, Officer Wright. It's been nice talking to you, take care."

Robert turned around and walked back to the car.

"You too, Mr. Farewood!" The officer tilted his cap, nodding his head.

Dad didn't take long to reach the car before opening the door and stepping inside.

He shut it close, huffing a sigh.

My mom looked at him with a puzzled glare, awaiting any information that might be useful.

"So, what's going on? Why can't we go home?" Asked Susan.

"Apparently… some Virus broke out into the neighborhood, preventing anyone from entering."

"V-Virus?! Are you serious, Robert?!"

"Of course not, love. I know that's a load of horseshit. The entire government is involved with this situation, so it has to be something else going on."

"Daddy, what about Betsy, is she gonna be okay?" Matilda leaned over Robert's shoulder, staring him in the face before she was patted on the head.

"She'll be fine, sweetie. Everyone will."

"I'm assuming everyone evacuated?" I asked.

"Yeah. Two days ago, right when we took you to the hospital."

"Really?! Oh, thank god…" I placed my hand against my chest, releasing a sigh of relief.

Jeremy didn't get to go into my room and see my stuff.

I was safe!

If he peeked through my journals, then he would've found out what I was writing about him.

But then again… maybe I'm being too untrustworthy. We've known Jeremy for well over ten years now. Me and him are childhood friends, and we went to the same schools as each other while growing up.

I need to stop being so anxious about everything. God! It gives my body chills.

"So, what's the next move, Robert? What shall we do?" Asked Susan.

"I don't know, how about we ask Female Jesus back there."

"Huh, female Jesus? Do you mean, me?!" I asked, pointing to myself.

"Well, who else died and rose from the grave in this car? Because it sure the hell wasn't me."

"Why're you making me decide, aren't you the parent?" I asked with a puzzled look.

"Because, I'm gonna dedicate this day to you only, Emmeline. Think of today as your birthday."

"As my birthday? Well… if you say so."

Honestly, I didn't know the first thing to say. I went quiet, making the entire car feel awkward.

I had to say something quick.

I don't like the quiet, especially when the attention is turned on me

"Uhm… I guess we can stop by Wonderland for a bit."

"Wonderland?" My dad hastily looked at me in shock, and so did my mom.

Yeah… I made a bad decision.

Wonderland was… expensive to say the least.

Overly expensive.

But now we had no choice but to go there, considering Matilda was in the car, and she heard me.

"Wonderland! Wonderland! Wonderland! I wanna go, I wanna go! Let's go to Wonderland, Mommy and Daddy!"

Yikes. Sorry, Mom and Dad, it was just the first thing to pop up in my head.

"…Well, I guess Wonderland wouldn't hurt anybody." Said Mom.

"Except our wallets…" Muttered Dad. "Fine, let's go to Wonderland. It's not that far away from here, and it's still daylight outside. We can have a bit of fun."

"Ahahaha…" I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head.

Robert put the car in reverse, making a U-turn, and driving into the left lane, saying, "After this, we'll find a place to sleep tonight. Maybe in a hotel or something."

"Oh, maybe I should call my sister. We can sleep at her house tonight, she wouldn't mind." Said Mom.

"Oh, please do. I rather not spend any more money after we leave Wonderland. I'm gonna be broke."

"Daddy, look! Helicopters!"

Matilda caught the attention of everyone in the car, alerting our gazes to the sky.

The thrum of helicopters flew above us. Not just one, not just two, but dozens of them.

It was an entire fleet!

"What the heck is going on back home…?" I whispered to myself.