After an hour of modeling, the four of us exited the Palazzo Vecchio with a look of utter astonishment in the center of our amazed eyes. All except for Kristy who had a look of utter boredom in hers.
That building had the best pieces of artwork on planet earth and millions of people hadn't gotten the chance to see it. Why did the best in life always have to be so hard to get to? I wished that everyone had the opportunity to see what we saw. Then, they can have that utter astonishment in their eyes too. In order to attain great experiences, you had to do the work in order to attain it.
"Felix?" Kristy said.
“Yah?”
“Come here, I need your help with something.”
“Sure," I replied as I walked up to her.
“Have you seen this?” She took something out of her purse that made my eyes drop out of their sockets. It was a blueprint.
“H- how- how did you get this?” I stammered.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know!?”
“I mean, I don’t know how it got there," Kristy said, “I put down my purse, saw the Ceres Room, came back, got my purse and realized that none of the stuff in it was even mine. I feel like I’ve been pulled into a new future.”
“And now I have, right?”
“Yeah…” She said, “I’m so sorry…”
“Whatcha got there?” Ruth said, peering over my shoulder suddenly. It made me uncomfortable. “I know when something’s up and you two definitely have something up.”
Unable to stop her, she looked on, “Oh Em Gee, a blueprint! This day is finally getting better because blueprints and I are like this!” She intertwined her middle and index finger on her right hand.
“Let’s see here,” she said while looking at it with a face of concentration. Then, she looked like she had seen a ghost and grabbed her by the collar. “Where did you get this!?”
“In this purse, why?” Kristy stammered.
“This is no blueprint to building something; this is a planning map for a robbery at that,” She pointed at the building behind us “building!”
“Get out of town!” Truman said, popping up behind Kristy. “A robbery!? This day just keeps getting better and better! I wonder what’s in the purse!”
“Truman!” Kristy, Ruth and I said together in hushed voices. “Shhhhhhhhh!”
“Alright, alright! But seriously, what else is in the purse!?”
Kristy reached into the purse. She pulled in and out sticks of dynamite, a blow torch, guns, duffel bags, gas masks, and gas grenades. I had an ambivalent feeling toward the experience between scared out of my wits and excited.
“Let’s go back to the Hotel and talk this out. Okay?” Kristy said.
Everyone agreed.
We went into the bus and found some seats. The trip to the Hotel seemed like forever even though it’s a short time and I found myself continuously pulling out my iPod, checking the time, and putting it back.
I looked out the window. The puppy was out there running as usual, but this time there was a difference in its expression. It was one of urgency, like it needed to tell me something at all costs. I tried to find out what it’s telling me, but I had no luck. The only thing I was getting from it was that I needed to be urgent about something, but what?
“I don’t understand!” I thought. “What am I supposed to be aware of!? Wait, be aware. If you put a simple twist to the words you get BEWARE!”
I gasped at this discovery and Truman looked at me. The puppy nodded at me like it knew my thoughts and threw its head back giving me another hint. “What should I beware of that happened in the past!?” My thoughts were directed to what happened in San Francisco and the puppy nodded again.
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“What happened to me in San Francisco that I need to beware of at all costs!?”
Then the thought struck me: “I need to beware of getting kidnapped again because of seeing the plan for the robbery at The Palazzo Vecchio! So that means the others are in this too!”
The bus stopped. I tried to get up, but the people in the bus outnumbered me from getting out of the bus. I panicked as a result and was one of the last to get out. The others were waiting for me outside and once they saw me, they quickly walked toward the Hotel.
“Guys, I need to tell you something,” I said urgently.
“What?” Kristy asked.
“We’re going to be…”
“Mmmph!” said a noise behind us. Kristy and I both turned around with a look of horror on our faces
“Where’s Truman?” Kristy said.
“And where’s Ruth!?” I added, turning around.
“I didn’t see Ruth on the bus.”
“Then she must have been…”
“O- MMMPH!”
“Kristy!” I yelled, realizing something. “Hope was right! Hope’s mother ISN’T going to save me without her! MMMPH!”
I was being yanked back with a cloth and a hand over my mouth and my hands were pulled together with the other hand over them. The cloth was gross and wet as if it was just used and I nearly puked. I tried to get free by struggling and yelling, but it was no use.
“I’m in it for good now,” I thought. “No, I must keep trying.” I decided to use the only fighting technique I could at that time.
I kicked him in the nuts and then banged my head onto his. He let me go, grunting in pain and I started running yelling.
“The Hotel,” I thought. “If I can just get to the hotel then I’ll be safe.” I heard something was thrown from behind and WHAM! I was knocked unconscious.
“Felix… Feliz… Felix!” Truman was shaking me. “Wake up!”
“Ungh,” I moaned. “Are we on the plane to Italy?”
“No,” he said. “We’re locked in a storage room. Apparently Kristy got her purse mixed up with someone else’s. They were looking for it when I talked about the map and took Ruth when we were about to get on the bus because they thought she had the map with her.”
“More like you yelled about the map.” Ruth said angrily with her tone rising. “And now thanks to you, my make-up smeared and my hair mussed up and if you put all that together, I don’t look good for Italian men and it’s…"
"...All!" Ruth exclaimed.
"...Your!" Ruth yelled.
"...Fault!" She screamed.
“Guys calm down,” Kristy said with her back facing me. “You don’t want them torturing us again.”
She turned around. Her black hair was tangled, she had the worst black eye you could ever imagine, her lip was bleeding, her clothes were wet, and her face was deep red with tears on her blood stained face.
“Kristy, oh no.” I said standing up. “I’m so sorry-”
“Don’t be.” She said, “I should be apologizing in the first place.”
“Kristy don-”
“It’s my fault we’re in this mess. I lied to you about how I got the bag. I heard them talking about it and I heard where the map was. They set the bag down to look at a statue and I took it the first chance I got. I just didn’t want to admit I’d stolen something…even if it was a master plot. I was so curious and let it get the best of me. And now…”
She looked down into eternal misery. “That curiosity is my downfall. And yours too. They’re going to kill us… ALL of us and there’s nothing we can do. When we die I’m going to be held accountable for the deaths of three people and there’s still nothing we can do! NOTHING!! The only thing I’ve brought into this world is death and despair. I don’t even know why I’m named Kristy in the first place! I’m the exact opposite! I’m a disgrace… ”
She burst into sobs and I didn’t know what to say. I tried to think of ways to escape from the ways in San Francisco, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t watch her like this. She reminded me of Hope at the British performers, but I couldn’t freeze time again and wipe her crystal tears off her face and go back. I couldn’t.
I looked back at Kristy and Ruth was by her side comforting her. I looked at Truman and he was looking down into the depths of despair. I did the same. I didn’t know how long we were there waiting, but it was longer than the time on the bus.
Time is a funny thing isn’t it? Sorrow brought more of it and joy brought less. Time could make you feel as if you are falling, falling into the chains of death forever and ever. If life was short then you’d experienced much joy in your life, but if you’d experienced much sorrow then life was long and horrific. Time was the bully who shortaged happiness and extended sorrow. Why did time have to be so mean? Why? Why couldn’t it be nice for a change? It was always getting you stress quicker than love. What’s up with that!?
Our sight was gloomy. A dirty rotten storage room with no carpeting boxes filled the room and three hopeless children awaiting their destruction, and one hopeless child awaiting her eternal doom. No one said a word, for there are no words to be said. We sat there and waited, thinking empty thoughts or ones of doom. I pulled out my iTouch.
“Awa r u ok?” It began, “I'm worried about you.”
I read the next text. “Fee, Plz respond, I had a horrible nightmare about you taking place in Switzerland. I think ur in danger. Please respond if ur ok.”
“Felix, I can't take this anymore! I’m coming over to you.”
“Oh my gosh.” I gasped which directed all the attention to me. “Hope knows where we are and is coming over to save us in Switzerland."
The door opened with a creak of death, a man entered, and I gasped and dropped my iPod. The face, the evil smile, the missing tooth! He is the same man that tried to kidnap us in San Francisco.
He walked into the room with flames in his eyes making no noise as he passed. We looked at him in fear and terror as he went by us and picked up my iPod, turned it on, looked at the messages from Hope, snickers, and snapped it in half making us gasp at his strength. He pointed at me and I was grabbed and was pulled out of the room.
“This is it.” I thought. “I have done what I have done in this life and am not needed anymore. Goodbye….” a tear dropped from my eyes as I looked at the others.
“Goodbye…."