68. Chapter 67
A month later.
A young long red-haired woman sat looking over what appeared to be a map of a school, while a grey-haired woman sat in her armchair knitting as she said, “We must make the Earp’s pay. They took my firstborn, it’s only fitting that we take theirs. Let’s go over the plan before heading off to bed.”
“What are you going to do with them? I bet they would taste so good to eat.” The red-haired woman said while placing the map on the table before her, in amongst severed human body parts and pools of blood. “I think it would be nice to play with them for a while, that way we can fatten them up before eating them. Now let’s discuss the plan.” Placing her knitting on the table beside her chair, the gray hair woman turned to face the younger one.
The next day at the School.
It’s such a fine day that the teachers let the students play out on the equipment during recess and lunch, much to the delight of both Alice and Nicolas, who has been busting to get out there on the swings. The play equipment was located near the School’s fence that ran alongside the road, which meant that parents could stand beside the fence and talk to their children. Today there were no parents, only a young woman with red hair that fell below her shoulders and wearing a scarf around her mouth, bloodied blue jeans, and a brown jacket. Alice and Nicolas were the only students playing on the swings, this lunchtime, all the other students were off either playing in the sandpit or chasing other students around the grass area.
“Hi, are you having a good time? I remember how much I love to play on the swings.” The red-haired woman yelled out to Alice and Nicolas.
“Yeah, we love them,” Alice replied.
“Would you be able to help me? I’m new to the area and looking for the Sheriff’s office.” The woman said hoping that the children would come closer to the fence.
“My Mummy’s the Sheriff. We can show you, it’s not that far from here.” Nicolas and Alice climb off the swings and head over towards the fence, without thinking about how they were not to talk with strangers.
“Oh, that would be so great. Are you sure you won’t be in trouble if you come with me?” The woman said, looking over towards where the teachers were, noticing that where they were standing, the teachers wouldn’t be able to see them.
“Na, we’ll be back before they know we’re gone,” Alice replies. The woman lifts Alice and Nicolas over the fence, but instead of taking their hands in hers, she kneels and snarls at them, “We’re not going to see your Mummy. Your Mummy’s are going to be so sad that they messed with my family.” Before leaving the school grounds, the woman dropped over the fence a note attached to a balloon that had a weight to hold it down. That way the teachers could find it and report the Earp children as being missing.
Alice and Nicolas try to wiggle their way out of the woman’s hold but was unsuccessful. The woman had become taller and stronger and when she headed off into the woods, her feet had grown larger so that she was faster when she ran. With a wave of her hand over the children’s faces, the woman was able to lure them to fall into a deep sleep, allowing her to pass through the forest with ease until she reached her destination, the Tate farm.
Purgatory Sheriff’s Office.Nicole stands alone in the bullpen, sipping on a hot cup of coffee in between yawns. It’s not like Nicole has been working hard, it’s just that now that Waverly has reached 5 months into her pregnancy, the brunette has become more concerned about the pups as they are moving more than her pups. Nicole lays in bed at night rubbing soothing circles on her wife’s belly, in the hope that it will lure the pups to sleep, allowing their Ma and Mummy to try and get a decent night’s sleep. Most nights it works, but for the past three nights, it hasn’t, resulting in Waverly tossing and turning, which means Nicole doesn’t get much sleep.
Knowing that all the other deputies are out on duty, Nicole is the one that answers the station’s phone, “This is the Purgatory Primary School, we have to report an abduction of two of our infant students.” Came the voice on the end of the phone.
“This is Sheriff Earp-Haught. How old are the students and what are their names?” Nicole picks up her pen and grabs the report sheet to write the details down onto.
“Sorry, Sheriff it’s Alice Holiday and Nicolas Earp-Haught that have been taken. It happened 10 minutes ago.” The phone dropped out of Nicole’s hand and fell onto the floor, Nicole stood still, unable to move from her spot at the counter. Her Alpha sent a message through to its mate, Waverly.
Waverly was helping Jeremy when she felt Nicole’s Alpha pain, ‘Baby, our baby’s been taken.’ Dropping everything that was in her hands, Waverly rushes out of the BBD office ad finds a shocked Nicole trembling behind the counter. Moving to beside her mate, Waverly takes Nicole’s hand in hers and says, “Tell me, Baby.”
“The school…. on phone…. Nicolas and Alice…. gone….” was all that Nicole could say before collapsing on the floor and sobbing. Waverly could hear a distant voice saying, “Hello, are you there Sheriff?” Picking up the phone with trembling hands, Waverly answers, “What has happened?” For the next couple of minutes, all Waverly could do was listen to the voice on the other end of the line, she promised that she and the Sheriff will be there quickly.
Lowering herself to beside her wife, Waverly takes Nicole’s head in her hands and pulls it into her chest, where they held onto each other and cried. Not long after Waverly heard the front door to the Station being opened with such force, that Waverly and Nicole thought that they were being invaded, instead it was a frantic Wynonna.
Without looking Waverly could sense her sister kneeling beside her, “Babygirl …. (sobs) our babies ….” Wynonna collapses next to the pair on the floor in tears. Seeking comfort from her sibling, Wynonna grabs hold of the brunette and buries her head in her sister’s shoulder. Howling as the news started to seep into Nicole’s brain, she allowed herself to give in to her anguish before pulling Waverly and Wynonna into her side. Placing a kiss to the side of her wife’s head, Nicole raised herself off the floor and turned to the Earp sisters seated on the floor. “Baby and Wyn, we had better go to the School and find out exactly what happened. I’ll call Doc and have him meet us at the School, Waverly can you get Dolls to head over to get started on gathering evidence?”
Looking at her in control wife, Waverly wipes away the tears from her face as she stands, pulling Wynonna up with her. Giving Nicole one last embrace Waverly heads over to the BBD office to alert Dolls to the situation. Upon hearing that the two Earp pups had been abducted, Dolls rushes around the office grabbing all the equipment he is going to need. With a tender look in his eyes, Dolls moves towards Jeremy and whispers, “I love you. Please make sure that Jessica gets home safe.” And with that Dolls was out the door and jumping into his SUV and speeding towards the School. Meanwhile, Nicole had been able to get hold of Doc and he was making his way towards the Station to collect Wynonna, before rushing them towards the School. Before leaving the Station herself, Nicole radioed through to Emily and asked her to head to the School, so that she could gather evidence to go with the Police report. With Waverly’s hand in hers, Nicole leads them towards Waverly’s car and raced through the streets of Purgatory, with the Police Siren flashing.
Arriving outside of the School, Nicole just had enough time to bring the car to a halt, before hitting the fence. Waverly didn’t wait for Nicole to cut the ignition before she raced from the car and inside the School, with Nicole close behind. Reaching the foyer, they were greeted by the Principal, who quickly directed them towards a couch in his office, which is where they found Henry and Alberto sitting and crying into their hands. Seated next to the boys was the counsellor, who was trying to console the young boys.
Waverly rushed over and hugged both boys in her arms, as Nicole embraced her wife from behind, taking in all three of them into her arms. As she held them, Nicole released a scent that she knew would provide her wife and pup with a sense of safety and calmness. It was not long until Wynonna and Doc crashed through the doorway, falling on their knees before Henry and Alberto, Wynonna sobbed as she grabbed hold of her son and nephew. Doc followed his wife’s lead until Henry started to push them back, “I need to breathe.”
The Principal asked for the counsellor to take the boys over to the Canteen so that they could get a drink, but mainly so that he could talk with their parents.
“Now, that we can talk freely. Firstly, I want to say that I am so sorry about all of this. Secondly, I have spoken with the teachers on duty, and they said that they didn’t see the woman, but Alberto did. And when he alerted them to the fact that a woman with red hair had grabbed his brother and cousin, the teachers were able to see her just before she ran off towards the woods. The teachers told me that the woman’s body changed as she moved, transforming into a larger hairy being, that had the ability to run extremely fast.” The Principal sat in his chair, while he ran his hands down his blue trouser legs.
“The Deputy and Marshall have already roped off the area and looking for any clues. There was a note left next to the fence, but we have not touched it.” With a sense of sadness in his voice, the Principal stands and shows Nicole, Waverly, Wynonna, and Doc out to the crime scene, where they find Dolls and Emily already searching for evidence. Doc and Nicole lift the Police tape that was surrounding the scene and walk over to Dolls and Emily.
“The Principal said that there was a note,” Nicole asks with a crackling to her voice. Dolls nods and hands over a plastic bag that contains a piece of paper, which read ‘This is payback EARPS. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Nicole shows the note to Doc, who crunches it in his fist. “Be careful with that, we’re going to need it to see if there are any fingerprints on it.” Dolls remind Doc that he is handling evidence as Doc hands it back to Dolls.
Nicole stood and watched the Earp sisters; Wynonna had her head pressed against Waverly’s chest as the older sister grabbed hold of Waverly’s top. Wynonna was wearing a t-shirt under her leather jacket, while Waverly was wearing Nicole’s old Police hoodie, which allowed her more room with her baby belly. Waverly was being strong for her sister, but Nicole could see right through her wife’s disguise, secretly the smaller brunette was crumbling on the inside. This site just made the Alpha inside of Nicole, want to wrap her arms around her Omega and tell her that it would be alright, they will find their son and niece safe and sound. But reality hit the Sheriff as she heard Dolls and Doc discuss the certainty of finding the pup’s within the next hour was unlikely, especially with a snowstorm quickly approaching the town. Doc reckoned that the storm would be upon them within the hour and reducing the visibility of finding the tracks left by the abductor.
Knowing that the Earp sisters were going to need some sort of update on the disappearance of their babies, Nicole asked, “Dolls, can I have the note to show (Nicole pointed in the direction of Waverly and Wynonna)?”
“Sure, just don’t let Wynonna tear it up.” Dolls replied with a sad look as he hands over the bag with the note inside. Nicole’s steps seemed to last for hours with each footprint placed into the light layer of snow. Waverly saw her wife approaching and started to stiffen her body, to brace herself for whatever Nicole had to say. Wynonna noticed the bag in Nicole’s hand as the redhead came closer to them behind the Police tape.
“What is it Red? Don’t sugar-coat it. Give to me straight.” Wynonna straightened herself and waited for Nicole’s response, instead she held out to the older Earp the note. Taking the note into her hand, both Waverly and Wynonna read it, Waverly looked confused at first but then she realised that whoever it was, they were seeking revenge for someone they had killed. The only person that Waverly could think of was Herman Tate, and she had nothing to do with his death, it was Wynonna who had pulled the trigger.
“My baby boy was taken because you killed Herman Tate. Wynonna, my baby’s out there with ….” Grabbing her belly, Waverly’s sobs overtook her and forcing her to fall into a heap on the snowy ground, at the feet of her sister. Nicole rushed to her wife’s side and held her tight, wanting to express that she was there to keep her safe and that she was loved. “I’m so sorry Babygirl. My baby girl Alice is out there too ….” Wynonna allows her tears to fall down her cheeks, looking down at her sister and wife on the snowy ground just before she headed over to Doc.
“Wyn, I’m going to go and find this woman’s tracks before this snowstorm wipes them from view. Love, how are you holding up? From what I can see, it looks like Miss Waverly is not doing so well.” Doc places his cowboy hat on top of his head, tapping the front with his fingers. Wynonna answers him with an embrace that lets him know that she was only just holding on. “Find our girl. Doc. …I can’t lose her.” With tears on her cheek and a croak in her voice, Wynonna kissed Doc before he left and headed towards the tree line. Dolls and Emily were beginning to come to the end of collecting all the evidence from the scene, the only thing left to do was to talk with Alberto, as he was the only one to see the woman. Dolls were hoping that the young boy pup would be able to identify the abductor. First Dolls would have to get Nicole and Waverly’s permission for him to interview the boy.
Seeing that Waverly was frantic and out of her mind with worry and anxiousness, which is not unexpected when you consider that when Nicolas and Alberto had only been a couple of hours old, they had been taken by Jolene and handed over to Bobo. Dolls thought that it would be best to discuss talking with Alberto, Nicole and Waverly at another time. Now the two parents, whom Dolls loved as his sisters, needed some extra tender loving care, and especially for Waverly, a visit from a medical professional would be beneficial for her health and that of the pup’s she was carrying. Dolls called Waverly’s Physician to come and see her patient, while he talked with Emily.
Emily could see how broken her boss and friends were and knew that if she was in their position, she would like to not go back to her home, but to stay with family, that could help with their pup’s, while they dealt with the situation. Pulling out her phone, Emily made a call to Louise, “Baby, I know this is last minute, but Nicolas and Alice have been abducted from the School. Would it be alright if ...” Louise interrupted her wife by saying that she should tell Waverly and Nicole to bring their family back to their house for the night?
Approaching Nicole and Waverly, who by now were standing holding onto each other, or should it be said that it was Nicole holding up Waverly, Emily explained how she had spoken to Louise and they wanted the Earp-Haught’s to spend the night with them because they wanted to help them get through this. Nicole just nodded and mouthed, ‘Thank you.’ Nicole was the first to see Waverly’s Physician approach them, who suggested that Nicole should get them out of the cold and inside so that she could examine her patient. With some effort from Nicole assisting her, Waverly was able to move towards the building and into the Principal’s office. After checking the pup’s, the Physician checked Waverly and recommended that she be given a sedative, one that would not harm the pup’s, but help in calming Waverly, just enough for the brunette to get some sleep. Just Nicole’s help to hold the frantic woman for just long enough to give her an injection, it was over before Waverly knew what was happening. The Physician left Nicole with the instructions, ‘Not to let her get too worked up and if she does, Waverly was to take a tablet. She is to rest, too much stress is not good for these little ones.’
Not one to disobey a Doctor’s orders, Nicole checked with Dolls and Wynonna one last time, which she said that she and Waverly would take Henry back to Emily’s place till Wynonna could collect him. Then Nicole asked Dolls to help with lifting Waverly gently into the car, and then Nicole helped Alberto and Henry to buckle up before she headed off to the Preschool and Day Care to collect their other children. Upon reaching Emily and Louise’ house, for the first time since leaving the station, Nicole was able to let herself go, once all of the pups were out of the car and inside the house, and Waverly was placed on the makeshift bed in Louise’s office and allowed to sleep, as the sedative was working. Louise handed Nicole a cup of coffee within 30 minutes of arriving, and she still hadn’t touched it three hours later, Nicole just sat in the lounge chair, staring into space with the sullenest look on her face.
Meanwhile.Nicolas begins to wake up from what felt like a heavy sleep, looking around he takes in his surroundings and discovers that where he’s woken up is not his room. For the past four weeks, Nicolas’ mum and Uncle’s and Aunt Emily had been training him and his siblings, cousins, and friends in how to protect themselves from any kind of danger. The first was to check that they were alright, then to assess the environment, is there an exit, if not is there something that they could hide behind for extra protect, something that could be used to put space between them and their attacker. Nicolas feels at first that his hands and feet are bound, then he looks and finds that a thick rope has been wrapped around his ankles and then tied in a bow knot. Nicolas tries to move his arms but finds that his hands have been tied behind his back, he assumed that it was with a similar rope, that was being used to tie his feet.
A groan emerged into the vast silence of the room, concerned that it might have been the woman to come and harm him, Nicolas gingerly turns his head expecting to see the redhead woman or creature standing behind him. As his heart beating rapidly within Nicolas’ chest and his breathing beginning to match his heart rate, the little redheaded boy slowly turns his head towards the noise. Instead of seeing the woman, Nicolas is confronted with his cousin Alice in a similar position but with a cut to her head.
Nicolas whispers in case the woman was close by, “Alice, it’s going to be alright. Remember what my Mummy and your Daddy told us; we need to”
“Assess the situation. Right, and the situation is balls.” Alice replies as she interrupts her cousin.
The room that they found themselves in was dark and damp, with no outside light coming into the room. “Nick, it stinks worse than when you walk past the butcher’s garbage bins in here.” There was some light, but it came from an old floor lamp with a yellowish blood spatted lamp shade resting on top. Beneath the lamp was an old flea-infested looking floral lounge chair, with a side table next to it.
“Remember when the School took us to visit the Butcher’s and we got to see where they hung the meat. This looks just like that but smells way worse.” Alice says with a scrunched-up face. Nicolas agrees by nodding his head.
Just then a door in the roof of the room opened and peering down at the two Earp cousins was a grey-haired woman wearing a scarf over her mouth. It was not her look that scared the two cousins, but the crackling noise that she made just before she lowered herself down the ladder. Nicolas and Alice were now sitting up and moving as far away from the woman as they could, only to be stopped by the wall behind them. With their backs against the wall, the two braced themselves for what was to come.