Death Is Unpredictable

Nina and the rest were sitting down at the dining table, all trying to get Alison to spill where Melody was. Ash couldn’t even get it out of her.

“Alison, for the last frickin’ time: Where. Is. Melody.”, Kevin growls.

“Not sayin’.”

That had been the same answer for over three hours. “Ash.”

“Nothing,” Ash grumbles, rolling his eyes.

“Can I go home now?”

“We’re not gonna get anything out of her.”, Nina sighs. Nina had been trying to track Melody, or figure out what Alison wasn’t telling them, but nothing had seemed to happen. Not the tiniest image. Everyone was relying on Nina and Ash. But mainly Alison, as she seemed to know the most about Melody’s future, giving them odd riddles.

“Wait, I know one thing I can say that’ll help you find Melody.”, Alison says, smirking. “Dylan, listen close. You’re part of this little game.”, Alison adds, eyeing Dylan suspiciously. He gives her an odd look a moment, shrugging and listening as Alison began speaking. “Sporty girl, in a sporty world. Where was Melody’s dream, in the psychics eye? Vines in meadows, flowers in swamps. Your twins’ brother knows how to shop.”

“What. The. Heck,” they all say together.

“You all are called ‘Riddles’ for a reason. There’s your first riddle to solve.”, Alison says, rolling her eyes. “Now, take me home.”

“Just answer the riddle for us.”, Kevin says through his teeth.

“Nope. That’s cheating.”

“What kind of game are you playing?!”, Dylan growls.

“The game in my vision.”

“What vision?!”

“The vision that predicted this. And I know who kidnapped her. And I know where she is. So, if you’re not going to play right, then you’ll never find her.”

“Who gave you that riddle?”, Kevin growls.

“Umm …”, Alison says, smirking. “The one who kidnapped her.”

“Who.”

“No, no! That’s part of the game, too.”

“This is some sick game of yours, Alison.”, Dylan growls.

“Not my game. I’m just following the rules.”

“Then tell us the rules.”, Kevin growls.

“You have to figure out the riddles. They get harder. And I’ve already given you part of the final riddle, which will lead you to not only Melody, but the one who kidnapped her. But I’d hurry. Time is of the importance. Melody’s, that is.”, Alison says, frowning. “She could die.”

“Tell us where she frickin’ is!!!!”, Dylan explodes in rage.

“Can’t.”

“You mean you won’t!!”

“No, I seriously can’t.”

“Alison, stop messing around with our heads.”, Kevin says, calmer.

“That’s one of the things I like about this game! I can mess with your heads and help y’all get Melody!!”

“Oh, boy,” Jolie grumbles.

“You all are wasting time you know. Melody doesn’t have forever. And, trust me, she’s not enjoying it.”

“C’mon, I’m taking you home. But, umm, Jeremy, could you write down that riddle?”, Kevin says, looking at Alison to repeat it.

“Here,” Alison says, handing it to him. “I may be the little messenger in this game, but doesn’t mean I’m hoping for you all to loose.”

“Thanks,” Kevin grumbles. “Lets go.”

♠ ♣ ♠

Nina wasn’t the only one who hated this game. She was the main one, with being psychic, to be able to solve the riddle.

“Because oracles are psychic, and often spoke in riddles, that’s why they want to hear your ideas first.”, Ash explains nervously. Nina had always liked Ash, and wanted to be more than friends, but he only saw her as a friend. Nina sighs, looking down at the slip of paper Alison had left them.

“’Sporty girl, sporty world.’”, Nina repeats. “That’s most likely earth. Heaven and hell aren’t very into sports. Unless war is a sport?”

“No!”, Dylan says quickly.

“Alright, then it’s most likely earth.”, Nina says, studying the note again. “’Where was Melody’s dream, in the psychics eye?’ That’s confusing. Dylan, where did Melody ever dream to go?”

“She always wanted to go to Paris.”, Dylan says quickly.

“Did she ever go there?”

Dylan chuckled, shaking his head. “Nope. She died, remember?”

“Well, did she ever dream about something, and tell you?”

“Melody never really had dreams. Rarely. But she once had a dream, where she was in a blinding light and glittering cities. Then a week later she got sick at the soccer game.”, Dylan says, looking around.

“That’s exactly how she saw here.”, Ash says excitedly.

“But that wouldn’t make sense, Ash. It may mean, a psychic saw her kidnapper.”

“Or, Melody saw her kidnapper before he kidnapped her. Then she saw what was going to happen.”

“Ugh, this is confusing!”, Nina says, rubbing her temples.

“Don’t worry, Nina. We’ll figure it out.”, Ash says, smiling at her.

“What if we don’t, Ash? Alison said Melody’s life is at stake.”

“Just keep thinking. I know we can figure this out.”

“Well, Alison once told me something about someone.”, Max says shyly.

“What did she say?”, Nina asks excitedly.

“She kept talking about Josh, actually. Telling me how Kevin and him weren’t so different when it came down to it. Then she mentioned a ‘Sebastian.’”, Max says, shrugging. “Whoever the heck that is.”

“That’s the Thunders leader,” Kevin grumbles.

“And Elijah’s brother.”

“Well, that might be helpful.”, Nina says, focusing. “But I think ‘Where was Melody’s dream, in the psychics eye?’ is that a psychic saw Melody somewhere.”

“Here’s a psychic. Lets get to earth. I’ve got a good feeling.”, Connor says, smirking.

“Okay,” Nina says, shrugging as they all float down to earth. Nina immediately got a vision. “’Bonjour à tous, et bienvenue à Paris, France.’”, Nina says, shaking her head. “Paris! Melody was on a plane to Paris, France!!”, Nina says, shaking Ash. She quickly lets him go, blushing. “Sorry. I was just caught up in the vision.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ash says, blushing.

“What did you see?”, Kevin asks firmly.

“Melody was asleep, but she was on a plane to Paris, France. And her head was on someone’s lap. It was definitely male.”, Nina says, frowning. “It was a nice plane ride, too. Melody didn’t wake up the entire time. And she obviously didn’t go willingly. And her necklace … it was covered up with an emerald!!”

“An emerald?”, Kevin thinks out loud. “Josh.”

“Possibly. But he was too blurry to tell.”

“Good job, guys!”, Alison says, popping up to clap.

“Where’d you come from?”, Kevin asks, looking around.

“My house is right there, idiot.”, Alison says, pointing toward the red-bricked house. “But, you’ve still got a long way to go. And the clock is ticking.”

“How much time do we have?”

“I … don’t know. All honesty! He knows about me! He may be working faster, or slower …”, Alison says, holding her hands up defensively.

“You’re coming with us.”

“I can’t tell you whether you’re right or wrong, guys! Gosh!”, Alison says, glaring as she’s being pulled back up to the clouds.

“Should we tell Thunder?”, Eric asks, raising an eyebrow.

Ash was the only one to notice Alison rolling her eyes. “No, don’t,” Ash says quickly.

“Smart,” Alison says, smirking.

“Are you saying someone from Thunder took Melody?”, Kevin growls.

“Nope,” Alison says. “I’m not saying anything.”

“Well, we figured out where to go first.”, Jeremy says, frowning. “But is that where Melody is?”

“No, that was too obvious, too easy.”, Nina says, frowning, glancing at Alison, who was just sitting down with her iPod.

“Don’t look at me. I’m just a pawn in this game of his. He may decide to get rid of me any minute now.”, Alison says, looking down. “But he doesn’t want you all finding Melody. He could move her any minute.”

“So you’re disposable?”, Max says.

“Yeah. He knows that I’m able to deliver messages without sending any clues as to who it is. And he knows that I already know about it.”

Ash, Nina, and Kevin all huddle around each other. “Who does Alison know about?”, Nina asks immediately.

“Elijah, Sebastian, Kevin, Josh, and Dylan. Other than Melody herself.”, Ash says quickly.

“But she also saw you and me.”, Nina adds.

“And Max,” Kevin says, rolling his eyes.

“Lets listen more closely,” Nina suggests.

“So how’s Sophie?”, Max asks, sitting down next to Alison.

“Same old, same old. Annoyingly angelic princess.”, Alison says, laughing with Max. “How’ve you been?”

“Same old, same old,” and they both started laughing again. “Other than the whole Melody thing, we’ve been pretty boring.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Alison laughs.

“Hey!”

“You know it’s true!”

“Yeah, I do,” Max laughs with her. “But, who is this guy?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m a little confused about him myself, honestly. There’s only two people who I know did it. And one’s more likely than the other.”

“Well, who’re the possibilities?”

“Maaaaaaaaaaax,” Alison whines, pushing his shoulder. “I can’t tell you!”

“But I wanna know!”

“No!”

“Plleeeaaaassssseeeeee.”

“No!”, Alison says, shaking her head. “I’m not telling.”

“Is it Sebastian?”

“Maybe! Gosh, Max! You’re more annoying than Sophie right now!”, Alison grumbles.

“Sebastian did it!”, Max yells.

“Son of Hades, shut the frickin’ up!”, Alison growls, clapping a hand on his mouth.

“So, Sebastian did it?”, Kevin asks excitedly.

“NO!”, Alison yells angrily, standing up. “And can you all shut up with that! In all honesty, whoever did it isn’t completely bad. He seriously doesn’t wanna hurt Melody.”

“Then her life isn’t on the line?”

“Well, umm …”

“Alison,” Kevin growls.

“Nothing! Gosh! Look, I’m disposable! And he can kill me!”, Alison says, shaking slightly.

“So are these clues just nonsense?!”

“No!! Don’t rip it!!”, Alison says, grabbing it straight out of Connor’s hands. “They’re seriously the keys to finding Melody.”

“So these are legit?”

“He told me to personally deliver them. He knows how to contact me.”, Alison says quietly.

“Okay, then what else did he tell you?”, Ash asks, glaring at her. “You’re hiding keys, Alison.”

“I can’t say! Gosh! Leave me alone!”, Alison says holding her hands up and stepping back. It was like watching guards or shields come down. “I don’t want to be in the center of this mess, please. I’ve got my own problems.”

“I know you do. Probably more than Max does.”, Ash says, shrugging.

“Then don’t hate me as I say this: I can’t tell you who kidnapped Melody. You all have to figure that out by yourselves. Or you could …”

“What?”, Kevin and Dylan ask automatically.

“Sign her off,” Alison says quietly.

“What?! To who?!”, Kevin growls, towering over her.

“Umm, I can’t say who exactly.”

“Why, then?”

“Because, it could save her life,” she squeaks.

“Guys, forget it! Lets get back to work, we’re here in France.”, Nina says, stepping between the two. Kevin continues glaring at Alison, even as she quickly sits down.

“Go down,” Alison says quietly. “Go down! Gosh! I’m helping!”, Alison yells. Everyone just stares at her, and she rolls her eyes. She grabs Nina and Ash’s hands, and jumps straight through the ground. “Follow if you wanna find Melody!”

They all followed after her, as Nina had a vision. “C’mon, Nina!”, Alison says, dragging Nina and Ash behind her. Alison whistles, soon joined by the dogs. “Smell. Memorize it, now go,” Alison says, running to keep up with the dogs, as they all followed behind her.

“Melody was carried this way?”, Nina guesses, as Alison nods. “He brought her here?”

Alison nods again sadly. “You all have to answer the rest of the riddle for me to lead you any farther.”

Nina nods, studying the piece of paper. “’Vines in meadows, flowers in swamps.’”, Nina reads, looking around.

“Oh, sorry! That’s part of the final riddle!”, Alison says, reaching to grab it. But Kevin grabs it first, glaring at her. Alison steps back quickly, holding her hands up defensively. “That’s not gonna help you right now. All that’ll do is confuse you.”