He hasn’t contacted me for the past three days. Mother Elaine realized the time while making lunch. She cut the carrots and broccoli before sending them to the boiling pot. There has been no day where she could have some downtime in peace except three days ago. Or past midnight.

She took into account that Rake’s verbal conduct had dramatically dropped since Ava’s death, even though he was already an unbearable individual. Ever since the last interaction with Daniel, her desire to head back to the outside world and away from her house has never been greater. That desire irritated her when he attempted to berate her constantly, without intent. Sometimes it was intentional, depending on the time of day and the reason.

Can he shut up for a minute?! Please, for God's sake.

“Hey! Where’s my damn lunch?!”

Just stay quiet. She kept her mind straight, focusing on the pot.

“Woman!”

“Shut Up!” Mother Elaine yelled, staring back at the direction of him. She sneakily held her hand in the grip of the pot. At that moment, she stood her ground. And have thought about her options to end the ferocious relationship. What Daniel had told her that day, she had to admit he was right after he left the house. It took her a day to fully accept the truth, and Ava was the only reason she had held for so long. She could do the traditional way of papers to get the restraining order, but the law, in her opinion, won’t do any long-term favor. While with the less moral option, it would be a risky direction.

While preparing herself, her phone was muffled in the pocket of her pants.

The pot was getting briskly hot. One touch could burn the skin in a few seconds, and the handle should be hot too, as it’s not made of plastic. She wondered while Rake stood up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen with a frisky face.

She gripped harder at the handle while partially glancing back at the pot as if she was still focused on her cooking. Looking back at the entrance to the kitchen, he stepped into the territory and towered over her.

This is the last time you’ll see me. Mother Elaine’s grip on the pot couldn’t come loose. She then swiftly thrust a kick to his abdomen, to his shock. He tumbled back and staggered. With an open flask nearby, she quickly grabbed it with her left and yanked the half boiling pot at him, followed by the cold ice water from the flask.

“AHH!!” He cried, covering his face.

Mother Elaine carelessly tossed the pot to the empty hollow sink, rattling the entire kitchen, and spooking him. That should keep him company for now. It landed on his shirt and pants, missing the face. The ice water was more of a pity.

She stared momentarily, confirming he was okay, before sprinting through the hallway. She already had her shoes on. Opening the door, she jumped from the doorway, rolling on the lawn. The door that led into the garage was locked. Mother Elaine thrust and kicked the door inward with ease. She ran up to the bookshelf, recklessly demolishing it into pieces. Afterward, she leaped with barely enough space in a free fall. Crashing into the halved executive desk, Mother Elaine got up while rubbing her lower back. Christ, I got too carried away.

She performed a last-minute check-around for anything she missed earlier when she was packing her stuff. With nothing else to see after wandering around the room, she yanked a piece of cardboard held by loose screws, revealing a toggle switch that was currently placed downwards with the indication coming from the hand-sized handle. Therefore, she jerked it up.

Running like a cheetah, she dashed up the stairs back to the garage. She clicked at the garage door remote anchored on the wall and hopped into her Lincoln Navigator, turning it on.

Come on…Come on.

As the garage door lifted at almost turtle speed, she looked behind her to where the trunk and some of the rear seat spaces were filled with her items.

Not wasting more time as the timer was about to go off at any moment, she opened the car door and ran right up to the garage. A whiff of her fist trashed the steel like crumbled paper, blowing it out of the metal tracks. Mother Elaine headed back into her SUV and pulled the gear stick to drive with her foot on the gas pedal. Her Lincoln boosted out of the garage, zooming past the yard and the house. She turned her steering wheel to the left early, going over the neighbor’s lawn. Once it was back on the road, she took a breather.

Boom!

Looking towards the side-view mirror, the glass reflected a view of the skinny plume of smoke, reaching as tall as a couple of giraffes if stacked like a tower.

Mother Elaine drove off toward the neighborhood, heading to the gas station at the intersection next to the highway. She checked her phone’s notifications and found two missed calls from Daniel.

Oh, man. I need to call again.

She saw her fuel gauge line lean towards the low bar. Pulling the gas cap switch, she leaped out and lifted the gas nozzle into the tank, flicking the automatic switch.

Tapping through her phone, she clicked on Daniel’s number in the contacts, sending it to the calling screen.

“Please pick up,” she impatiently mumbled.

Click.

“Hello? Mother Elaine?” Daniel’s deep voice replied at the receiver’s end.

“Where are you at right now?”

“I’m at home. I was about to call-”

“Ok, perfect. Stay there. I’m meeting you in around twenty minutes.”

“See you then…”

He ended the call, and the gas nozzle gave a jolt of click. Mother Elaine grabbed it from the tank, returning it to the pump. She still remembered the directions and drove off the lot, merging back to the road leading straight to the highway.

She can’t fathom what had just happened in the past hour. It’s like a dream on the course and right now was only the beginning. A moment of youth returned to her.

Stopping at the intersection, she gave the time to observe her palms, recalling her with a brief frenzy of strength. Could it be that my qi is returning after all this time? How? Or was it…

The light went green, and she sped up to the entrance to the highway while silently glancing at the rear mirror. Goodbye. My time with you is over.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The brief view of her suburb went away as the highway directed in the opposite direction, going north.

4.2

Daniel hung up the phone, leaning back after finishing his first meal. The salmon tasted fresh and soft even after a night’s worth in the fridge. Add it to the rice. For sure, it satisfied his desired stomach.

He was about to call Mother Elaine after finishing his meal. Coincidentally, she called him instead, now coming over to his place. Leaving the thoughts aside, he got up and took the empty Tupperware to the sink, washing it.

Once he was done with the housekeeping business, Daniel went to the living room with the journal in his hand. He flipped the book cover open to the title page, filled with mysterious types of vinyl on the corners of the page. Not too erratic, but it’s definitely hand-drawn with the evidence that the pen scratches were faintly visible on the border.

Onto the first page came with a push:

Warning: Anyone reading this book other than Mother must have gained her consent to further access the contents described from the beginning to the end.

Thanks!

He turned the page, arriving at the multiple depictions of sketches and art. Looks beautiful, at least in his eyes. Unless he had an odd taste in certain art, which could be the reason the warning was highlighted at the turn of the cover. The tint of the markers made it stand out, keeping Daniel’s eyes stuck towards the book. He continued through and remained focused, absorbing the entire content’s worth.

Ring!

She’s here. Daniel left the book on the coffee table on the sixty-seventh page. “Coming!”

He ran to the door and was greeted by Mother Elaine, carrying a few of her luggage.

“Still the same place as ever,” she said.

“Please, come in. Is this all of your stuff?”

Mother Elaine placed her luggage next to the couch. “Yea, I packed up last night while he was asleep,” she muttered.

Phew, thank God. She’s free. Daniel gave her a slight grin, feeling relieved. “Well, I’m delighted. As a matter of calling, I need your help now that you’re here.”

“What kind of help?” Mother Elaine invited herself into the kitchen, opening the fridge. “Also, I’m taking this bottle, if I may?”

Daniel nodded while answering. “My qi. I just had it again this morning.”

Mother Elaine took a gulp of the orange juice, listening to his request. “This morning? In what way?”

“Similar to the crater. But a shorter episode and more painful.”

She finished her orange juice. “Hmm, I also regained a sense of mine this morning.”

“By the way, how did you manage to get out of his reach?” Daniel asked.

“Cold and hot water…”

Daniel silently nodded. Mother Elaine asked why he didn’t call, to which he replied he didn’t know he was supposed to, as he was very busy. It was necessary because of his constant research and contacts that could be correlated to Ava’s death. To which Mother Elaine felt left out and bantered at him for doing that. They both sat down on the couch, and Daniel pulled the papers out from under the book.

“I found these texts through her cellular messages. It seemed the three co-workers ain’t directly involved at all. However, they have bad friends; that’s for sure.”

Mother Elaine lifted the paper close to her, studying every text message that was being shown. Daniel patiently waited for her response as she was too direct towards the paper, excluding any external environments around her. She rubbed her fingers aggressively on the paper while flipping to the back. “These crooked bastards!”

“She never told us. Cyberbullying defines her plague on social media. I don’t know how I missed the signs.”

“It is not your fault. In fact, that’s just Ava. She’s strong-willed but always keeps her internal feelings too deep into her soul. Once it’s exposed, we would be too late.”

“I guess we are too late. But at least we got to the starting point of the roots of this cyberbullying scheme.”

“Scheme?”

Daniel picked back up the book, resuming on the sixty-seventh page. “A scheme. Likely meaning more than one victim.”

“My God…” Mother Elaine muttered, sounding a little angst.

“Not only that. I need to find out the history of this power. I don't even know the potential and dangers it can bring. However, I feel more energetic and lighter, which I noted this morning after the episode was discarded.”

Mother Elaine dropped the papers on the coffee table, analyzing the page he was reading in her journal. “When did you read?”

“Half an hour ago…”

She sat quietly, stunned at Daniel’s quick mental absorption of the material. She wondered to herself if he would gain any useful information not only to help him but also her. While reading, he passed her more papers in the stack. They’re more than the text messages that he found.

The two studied for hours till sunset when Mother Elaine’s stomach growled. By then, Daniel finished past the halfway mark of the journal, stopping at a page hundred fifty-two.

He went into the kitchen, curious about what Mother Elaine wanted. Since it was her first time without having to cook, she came up with the idea of food delivery, which Daniel reluctantly accepted. He went back to the couch, opening his phone.

Mother Elaine leaned closer to get a better view of Daniel scrolling through various menus of restaurants through the browser. She kept herself quiet until one menu popped up, and she pointed at it, prompting him to click it.

“Interesting choice,” he commented.

“Hey, I haven’t got myself loose for ages.”

Daniel ordered the meal, and he took a break from the reading, leaning his head onto the pillow. “So? Anything you gained from the research?”

“Scheme turned operation. The number of individuals leading this massacre is a disgrace. The total number of cyberbullying victims has gone exponentially high.”

Daniel crossed his arms tightly to his chest. “Man, the stakes keep going higher. Speaking of, I'm thinking of going the old-fashioned way of dealing with these evil people.”

“You need their addresses and locations to do that.”

He smiled at her answer, almost wanting to laugh. “Well, you're in for the treat. You already know my past profession.” Daniel stood from the couch, walking up to the storage cabinet next to the wide flat-screen TV. He moved slightly away enough for her to see what was stored inside. The heavy door opened rigidly, revealing the dark-themed hardwood design. Ignoring the spare overcoat, he nudged it over and grabbed the briefcase out. “Full Stock,” he said, tossing it to his spot on the couch.

Mother Elaine’s confused expression was as if she should be amused by a briefcase. Only until Daniel opened it that changed her mind. He fully revealed to her that this was the source. Being the former chief of operations, he had access to all the various high-profile individuals living in the city or had connections. What was strange is how there were no limitations in the city’s ordinance, so he was freed from the restrictions of allowing what files to be in his personal grasp.

“You are one crazy madlad. How in the world are we gonna catch everyone?”

“First off, no, we are not targeting everyone. Only a few are enough, as they hold the largest role. Second, we should start training tomorrow and learn how to get this qi situation prolonged. Also, find out the origins of this power. Your journal. I know you are curious about it as well.”

Mother Elaine stood up with her ears tingling, causing her to turn to the door.

“What is it?”

“Sounds like the footsteps of the delivery,” she replied, tiptoeing to the door.

Daniel then heard it too, followed by the bell ring.

Ding!

Mother Elaine yanked the door open and was greeted by the delivery guy.

“Hello, this is for Dan?”

Mother Elaine nodded, taking the bags full of tasty cuisine. Daniel walked up to the door with his hand in the back pocket, pulling out his wallet. “Here! Take this as a tip.”

“You didn’t have to, sir.”

“You better. I might call you again the next round.”

The delivery man bowed before departing the walkway, and Mother Elaine closed the door.

“Well, it’s time to eat. Shall we?” Daniel said, pulling up the chair and turning on the lights in the dining room.