The Chosen Ones |Sync & Baby|

[Dimples]

There were many types of people in this world. Some individuals were honest, and trustworthy, driven by self-motivated goals made to further better their lives. Some were successful, others lived their lives doing the same thing day by day, stuck on a repetitive schedule with nowhere to grow. Then there were the greedy and selfish. The ones who took pleasure in other’s pain. There were people who were brave, others cowardly. Loners. Outgoing. Family oriented. The list was endless. However, there was always one trait that people lacked. One trait that was gifted to a chosen few from birth.

Innocence.

Still, even those gifted with innocence were not immune to the corruption of the world. There was a war happening in plain sight, but those who did not have their eyes open could not see.

The world had become immoral and the ranks of lucifer had finally breached the hearts of most men. In a desperate attempt to save his beloved children, God devised a plan. Special children would be born with absolute innocence. However, it wasn’t long until Lucifer found out about God’s plan and sent his army of demons to seek out these children. It was soon realized that even a child’s innocence can only be reserved for so long before it’s corrupted as well. So, God began to create his own army, guardians who would seek out these children and guide them until they grew strong enough to fight this evil.

Still, things haven’t gone as planned. Tragedy seemed to follow the chosen ones no matter where they went, and not one has overcome the temptation of sorrow.

At least that’s what they believe.

Eliseabella Delione, though, better known as Elise, was one of these children of innocence. Though, now at the age of seventeen, she was quickly maturing into adulthood. It was unheard of for a chosen to live as long as Elise had without being either corrupted, or killed. Still, the girl had lived under the radar all this time, living among the evil but never seen. And it was all thanks for her foster mother, Lorie, who had adopted her after her single mother died from hemorrhage during childbirth. Lorie was a guardian who had given it all up to be with a human man, Alex. The moment Lorie realized what Elise was, she couldn’t just walk away and do nothing. So, she adopted her, raised her, protecting her with religion, charms, herbs, and everything Lorie could possibly do to keep her from being noticed, knowing that it would only go so far and one day Elise would eventually catch unwanted attention, all the while keeping Elise in the dark about who she was, leaving the darkness of this world unseen.

Until that fateful day that changed everything…

***​

“Bye Elise!” Rose, her best friend since middle school called out to her as she walked to her bus.

“I’ll see you Monday!” Elise called out to her friend before turning the opposite way. It was about a ten-minute walk home from school, so she didn’t ride the bus, and asking her mom for a ride as a senior in high school just wasn’t happening.

Still, the whole day Elise had an eerie feeling, as if someone had been watching her. It was a feeling that made her skin crawl. All she wanted to do was get home. However, the closer she got, the worse that feeling sunk into her bones. When she approached the front of her house, the front door was wide open. Instantly, Elise knew something was wrong, her mom never made a mistake like that. She was always paranoid about locking up, hell, she even checked the windows every night.

Elise approached the door slowly, peeking her head in. “Mom?” Cautiously, she stepped inside, “Dad?” Slowly, she made her way down the hall, checking around every corner until she reached the dining room. At the kitchen table sat her mother and father, sitting side by side with their backs to Elise. Sighing, she began to approach them, “Mom? Dad? Why is the door open?” She questioned.

Silence.

Now a few paces from them, Elise paused, burrowing her brow with concern and confusion. Her heart pounded a heavy thud in her chest, echoing in her ears. “Mom, dad… Are you okay? Say something!” Her voice rose in desperation.

Silence.

A sob caught in her throat. Why wouldn’t they answer her?! Were they just playing some sick joke on her? Well, she didn’t like it very much! Still, her legs wouldn’t move, she was frozen in place, too frightened to approach and find out the truth. “This isn’t funny.” Her voice trembled out.

Drip, drip, drip…

The subtle sound of droplets hitting the wood floor caught her attention. Her eyes trailed lower to find the scarlet puddle of blood under each of their chairs. With all the air left in her lungs, she screamed, falling to her knees as tears streaked her cheeks. How much time had passed before she was able to collect herself, she didn’t know, but soon she scrambled to her hands and knees to grab her bag, pulling out her phone and calling the emergency line, explaining the issue and where they could be found in a sobbing mess. The woman was insistent about staying on the phone with Elise until the police arrived, which, honestly, she was quite grateful for. But, Elise couldn’t be here, in this room. She didn’t want to see her family like this. So she forced herself to her feet and hurried down the hall, pacing in front of the door to wait for the police, answering any questions the operator had for her.

 

[Sync]

People are innocent until they’re not.

For the life of him, Max had no idea why that particular thought was bouncing around in his head today. It wasn’t a particularly sobering thought, nor an overly positive one, but it was in his head and he was having a hard time kicking it out. Of course, it was equally possible that part of him didn’t want to lose that particular thought. He knew, deep down in a dark place that only he knew about, he deserved that thought. It was something that would haunt him for a long time to come.

He was a child of God, he knew that – but he didn’t go to church. He was a child of God, but he didn’t pray. He led a solitary life, but it wasn’t because of any need to worship. It was who he was – what he was – that had pushed him this way.

It was different, in the beginning. He’d joined the Academy right out of High School, graduated near the top of his class, did his dues as a beat cop, then a traffic cop, then a desk sergeant. He turned detective six years ago. Everything was going well, life was moving just the way he wanted it.

That was before he met her.

She’d sparked a sense of duty in him, a very, very strong sense of duty – or maybe that sense had always been there and finding her had awoken it, he didn’t know. But he took her in, welcomed her, looked after her, cared for her, protected her…then lost her, just on five years ago, now. He should have gone, too, but he hadn’t. She was gone, taken from him, and he was left behind with a scarred soul and a lot of questions for a God that would never answer them. He didn’t talk about her. It hurt too much…his one Great Failure. He’d made plenty of mistakes, but she was his only Failure. She was twelve when he’d lost her. She should have grown up…he should have protected her better.

Had he been innocent then, too? Maybe he had been. She had been, that much was certain. And now he was left dunking a cinnamon donut into his lukewarm coffee as he sat at his desk, trying to work out how he’d fill the last few hours of his empty shift. Maybe he’d go to the firing range, or maybe-

“Max.”

Max blinked, turned his head to look at the speaker with vacant eyes.

“Max!”

The speaker called out to him, and his eyes gained focus. Annabelle Meyers, his partner, was standing next to his desk, leaning on the partition wall, working hard to get his attention. She finally got it.

“What, Anna?” His voice cracked out in reply, a low-tenor pitch that might have sounded smooth and melodical if it wasn’t for a diet of coffee and donuts. He cleared his throat quietly and tried again. “What’ve ya got, Anna?” Max was the senior of the pair.

Annabelle was a handsome woman. In her late thirties, she had short blonde hair, a slightly-rounded face, pale grey eyes, full lips below a small ski-jump nose, and a slender but curvy figure with big breasts that always got attention before her voice did. She didn’t mind it. It was helpful for distracting folks when she was asking questions, sometimes. She liked Max, but worried for the man – in a friendly way, nothing more. She was married and had a two young kids and a damned good sex life. She tapped a card on the partition wall.

“Double-murder,” she told him matter-of-factly. “Girl got home from school, found both her parents killed. A patrol car is already on the way, should be there in a couple of minutes. Girl’s a mess, operator tells me. Really shaking. Operator’s staying on the line to try and calm the girl down, find out a bit more for us as we roll.”

“Great,” Max groaned. He grabbed his mug, took a long swallow of near-cold coffee, grimaced, set the mug down on a well-marked coffee ring. “Just what I needed to finish off my day. It must be Tuesday.”

“Friday, in fact,” Anna chided him lightly. “It just feels like a Tuesday. Come on, get your lazy ass outta that chair. We got work to do.”

Detective Maximillian Veitch sighed and nodded. He wasn’t an unattractive man himself – in fact, he was somewhat pleasing on the eye, for a man of his years. He was in his early forties, now, but his hair added ten years to his appearance. He’d lucked out, greyed early, and was sporting a two-day growth that was mostly-white. Blue-grey eyes looked out from under a low brow, the receding hairline offering plenty of forehead to look at. Salt-and-pepper hair was on top, the back and sides were pretty much colour-free, now. He was tall, too, standing at six-feet three inches and being generally lean and toned – he wasn’t buff or ripped, but there was an undeniable strength to him. He opened his desk drawer, got out his handgun, checked it, slipped it into a holster on his right hip. Then he stood up, almost towering over Anna in the process.

“Okay, I’m coming.”

Anna grinned. Max might be dry of humour and short of personality, but he was sharp and didn’t back down. She liked working with him. A few minutes later they were in an unmarked car and on the road. Anna was driving, leaving Max on the police radio.

“Anything more, Dispatch?” Max wanted to know.

“Deceased are Alex and Lorie Delione,” the operator relayed. “Both in their mid-forties, both fairly average folk. Been married…twenty years, almost. Kid’s adopted, Elise.”

“Mob hit?”

“Don’t think so. Sounds targeted, but the girl can’t give me much. She’s still pretty messed up. Patrol is onsite, setting up the crime scene for you. Forensics are on the way, should arrive about ten minutes behind you.”

“Thanks, dispatch. We’ll be onsite in five. Check us in. Out.” He hung the handset up and looked over at Anna. “This should be fun,” he offered drily. “A mob-free execution.”

Anna grinned at him without taking her eyes off the road. “You’d hate it if it was lame.”

“Probably true,” Max grudgingly admitted. The car turned a corner and they both immediately spotted the two patrol cars parked outside a house, blocking part of the street, lights flashing to indicate to others to keep clear. They pulled up behind one of the squad cars.

“Ladies first,” Max offered politely, and he was two seconds behind Anna in getting out of the car. He adjusted his dark-grey suit around him, his white open-necked shirt standing out from behind the suit jacket. Anna wore a dark-blue suit next to him. The pair flashed badges to the police officers by the front gate and walked into the yard. They spoke briefly with one of the uniformed by the door, let them know that forensics were on the way. Then they stepped inside, uncertain what they were going to find but ready for it regardless.

What a way to end a Friday.

 

[Dimples]

The police arrived quickly, well, at least it seemed that way. The woman on the phone did her job well in distracting Elise and calming her down a bit, allowing the time to pass quickly. When she saw the patrol cars park, the girl was quick to open the door and let them in, finally hanging up the phone as she began to explain in a rambling jumbled mess of what had happened when she got home, then telling them where they could find her parents, explaining that she hadn’t actually got close enough to confirm anything, only the sight of blood and that they weren’t responding.

Only after the officers had inspected the house, making sure there were no lingering intruders did Elise reenter, lingering in the hall by the door as the officers confirmed the death of Lorie and Alex. Everything was moving so fast around her. Nothing made sense anymore. This had to be a dream, a horrible nightmare. How could this happen? It didn’t make sense. Her parents were kind to everyone. Why would someone want to kill them?

What was she going to do now?

Some time had passed, and with that time, Elise’s reactions dulled, emotions temporarily numbing. She had called the police less than an hour ago, and within that time, everything she knew of was bound to change forever. The girl couldn’t even cry anymore. She had cried enough tears in the last hour for all the seventeen years she has lived. Right now she just felt hollow as she made her way into her room, she sat upon her bed, eyes drifting thoughtlessly to the floor with an empty stare.

“Elise, may I have a moment?” One of the officers from earlier questioned as she approached with a woman and man. However, Elise only continued to stare at the ground. “Miss Eliseabella?”

Quickly, her head snapped up to meet his gaze in surprise, glancing between the three.

“The detectives would like to ask a few questions. I know you’ve answered so many already, but please just try to bear with us a little longer.” When Elise gave a silent nod, he added, “Please let me know if I can help in any way.” He turned to the detectives. “I leave her to you.” Then returned to his business in the other room.

Her eyes looked up at the two detectives standing before her, silently scanning the woman first before turning to the taller man. The moment she looked into the man’s eyes; she felt a warm, comforting security from them. It reminded her of the feeling she always got when she looked into her mother’s eyes. It made her want to cry again, however, she only stared at them with a tired expression, her voice coming out soft as she spoke. “I told the police everything that happened already… I came home, the front door was open, and when I got inside, they were sitting at the table like that. I tried to talk to ask why they left the front door open, since it was out of character, and when they didn’t respond, It freaked me out so I tried calling out to them again, that’s when I noticed the pool of blood on the ground. I freaked and called the police…” She paused, bringing her hand to her chest as her other hand rubbed her arm. “I didn’t actually get close enough to them, I only saw their back as they sat at the table and the blood dripping on the ground… I didn’t see anyone in the house or anyone leave it either. As far as I could tell, no one was here when I got here.

 

[Sync]

The house was so…normal, Max thought as he and Anna walked through the front door. Well…almost normal. The two corpses ruined any chance of total normality. As soon as they entered the house, one of the uniformed officers approached them and guided the two detectives to the crime scene – the girl wasn’t there, at least, she’d been taken to another room to calm down a little. A female uniformed was with the girl now. Max took a pen out of his pocket as he knelt down next to the mother, used the pen to tilt the woman’s head back slightly.

“Clean cut,” he observed professionally. “Throat slit, deep and long to get the airway and all major blood vessels. Blood doesn’t look like it’s finished oozing, though, so I don’t think it happened too long ago. A couple of hours would be my guess, but forensics would give us a better idea.”

“I’m guessing the husband was done much the same way,” Anna noted. “Doesn’t look like they got off much of a struggle. Either they weren’t killed here, or they were and held still while it happened.” She paused to look around. “No blood spatter or drops to indicate movement. I’d guess we’re looking at the primary scene here.”

“Yeah…” Max agreed slowly. He was a little lost in thought. The cuts were too clean. No human knife did this. Forensics would probably not notice the different, but his eyes could. Was it…? But why here, why these two? This was no simple double-murder, there was something else. He just had to work out what. Then…did he care that much any more? “There’s not a lot of spray on the walls, though. Maybe they were sedated first before being killed? That might explain the lack of struggle and spatter.”

“And noise,” the uniform offered. “Neighbours so far haven’t mentioned anything out of the ordinary. So far as they’ve told us, it was just another quiet day until we arrived.”

“Hmmm…” Max hummed non-committally. Something definitely didn’t add up, here, and he wasn’t sure he liked – or really wanted to know – where it was heading.

“What are you thinking, Max?” Anna asked curiously.

“I’m thinking…that we go talk to the girl,” Max replied slowly. “Likely she knows nothing about it, but we’ll talk to her anyway. Then we shut the scene down and wait for forensics to arrive and do their work.”

“Easy enough plan,” Anna agreed readily.

“I’ll take you to her,” the uniform offered. “She’s in her bedroom, now.” Max gestured ahead and the uniform led them through the house, Anna first.

Uniform introduced them and then left them alone with the girl. Max was content to stay back and let Anna do the talking, but the girl opened her mouth first – and, as he looked at her, Max was struck by the feeling of complete innocence from her. There was something about her, a purity, that he’d only felt once bef- His thoughts stopped in their tracks for a second. No…surely not. She couldn’t be…she was so old.

“That’s okay, Elise,” Anna replied soothingly. “We believe you. I’m Detective Meyers, and this dour-looking man behind me is Detective Veitch.” Max smiled grimly at the girl and nodded his head. He was still trying to confirm whether his instinct about the girl was right.

“Elise,” Anna went on slowly and carefully. “As much as it might hurt, we need to ask – did your parents say anything that might be unusual in the last few days? Did they behave any differently?”

“Did you see or hear about anyone unusual around the neighbourhood in the last week or so?” Max added from the safety of the doorway. There was almost a terrible clarity and purpose in his question that Anna might not pick up on – but, if his instinct was correct, the girl might.

 

[Dimples]

That’s okay, Elise… We believe you.

After hearing Anna reassure her, Elise visibly relaxed a bit, her tensed posture slumping a bit as she rested her hands in her lap, sending a nod of acknowledgment when the woman introduced herself and the man next to her. Then, the woman continued, asking if her parents said anything unusual or acted strange lately. She took a moment to think it over. Her parents had always been... odd. So, it was hard to tell if something was actually off. They had always acted weird and out of the norm from other people. They were overly protective of Elise. Not in a way that most would think. It wasn’t teenage boys or partying that they tried to protect her from, though, Elise had no interest in either of those to begin with, it was superstition and bad luck that was always on their mind.

For as long as she could remember, her mother would make charms and force her to carry them around wherever she went. They had always dabbed water at every doorways and window every morning and evening so nothing bad could enter. These were just some examples of what they did. Over time, Elise paid it no mind. She had accepted that, that was just how her parents were. But, had they been acting even more strange lately? Just as Elise shook her head and parted her lips to say no, the man added more to the question.

Did you see or hear about anyone unusual around the neighborhood in the last week or so?

Her eyes turned to meet his gaze, “Anyone unusual?” Slowly, she averted her gaze to stare off absentmindedly at the floor as she pondered his question. “I don’t—” She stopped in mid-sentence, growing silent in thought before looking up to him and speaking again. “Well, maybe. I’m not really sure if you can think much of it since my parents were well, a bit odd. But, I overheard them one night talking about how someone was found and something was going to finally come.” She paused, shaking her head slightly turning to look between the two. “They had always been very superstitious and talking nonsense my whole life. I just thought that was another one of their crazy fits of paranoia.”

 

[Sync]

Anna had flicked a glance back to Max when he’d added his question, but that was it. She kept her attention focused on the girl. It was a fair question, she knew, and she might have gotten to it herself later if Max hadn’t asked straight-up. She trusted his instincts.

Max knew, in that quick glance from Anna, that his partner hadn’t caught the undertone he’d put there. From the girl’s hesitation, he suspected she had. He watched the answer play over her features when she lifted her gaze to them. The girl’s words, when she spoke, started to draw something for him, the beginnings of a picture Anna would never be able to comprehend. He needed more, but it was a start. She might be another of them. She just might. He’d have to spend more time with her to be certain, and that could be tricky. Maybe.

Anna, not knowing what the reply meant to Max, nodded at Elise’s answer.

“I’m sure it’s difficult for you, and we don’t want to pressure you, Elise,” she added quietly, her voice hopefully taking on a soothing tone. She walked over to the bed, sat on the corner of it near the girl. “Anything you can tell us will help. Any detail could be important, no matter how small you might think it is.”

Max nodded in agreement. He had to give Elise a few moments to gather her thoughts, and he also had to know if his instinct about her was right. Just…how to do it? If he was right, then the girl didn’t have a lot of time.

“Elise…” Anna continued, completely unaware of Max’s thoughts, “When you overheard your parents, can you remember what they said? Anything about the person that had been found, anything about what might have been coming for them?”

 

[Dimples]

Elise may have been young, but she wasn’t stupid. The girl knew the detectives were probing her, and it was as if the question Detective Veitch had asked was oddly specific, as if he was testing her. The question didn’t seem like he was staking the blame on her, so what was he trying to test her on? She didn’t understand. She didn’t understand any of it. Why had her parents been murdered? Who could’ve done this? What would happen to her now that she had no parental guardian? And, why were these detectives asking her so many questions when she just wanted to be left alone?

When Detective Meyers only nodded to her answer, Elise looked between the two, confused. What did that mean? Why did she just nod? Elise just wanted to scream, demand the two for answers. Instead, the girl dipped her head and stared at her hands that laid in her lap. She knew they were only doing their job, and she knew if she didn’t answer these questions, the killer may never be found…

I’m sure it’s difficult for you, and we don’t want to pressure you, Elise…

Detective Meyers spoke as she came to sit next to her, her soft voice calming her nerves a bit. Slowly, Elise peeked up at her as she continued, telling her that anything she could tell her would help.

When you overheard your parents, can you remember what they said? Anything about the person that had been found, anything about what might have been coming for them?

Elise looked up at the woman, then the man, then back at the woman as she reluctantly shook her head. “Well, I don’t know if this will help, like I said, my parents were a bit crazy, but…” Elise paused, as if worried if she told them they would think she was crazy as well. Finally, she spoke. “They kept talking about a demon and how it would be coming after… her.” She looked up at Max “I didn’t think they were actually being targeted.” Her gaze turned to Anna, a frantic look on her expression. “What is going to happen to me now? Am I going to have to go back into foster care?”

 

[Sync]

It was fortunate that Anna couldn’t see his reaction when the girl replied. Max wasn’t able to completely mask his response – it was subtle, very slight, but a hardened scowl was still a hardened scowl. The girl spoke the words like she didn’t quite believe them, like she thought her parents were nothing but the odd and slightly-crazy people she thought they were, but Max knew better. Max had seen otherwise. He kept his voice to himself for the moment, lest he give away things that he shouldn’t give away.

Anna, meanwhile, was nodding. She didn’t for a moment believe in things like demons, but she was quite willing to accept that the now-dead parents might have been a little off-kilter. There had been nothing to suggest that Alex and Lorie were anything but the straight-laced, quiet couple they’d appeared to be. It was Anna who replied first, not immediately addressing the return question.

“I’m sure that they didn’t mean demons exactly,” she offered quietly. “They might have used the word as a euphemism, as their way of describing what they thought might have been an actual threat but they didn’t want to give it a name that might scare you.” Behind her, unseen by the female detective, Max was pursing his lips thinly in disagreement.

Quietly, he stepped forward. He’d heard and seen enough to know that his suspicion about the girl was certainly worth investigating further. He had to know for sure. If his gut was right…she was in serious danger, and he had a chance to atone for his years-ago failure. He spoke quietly.

“I’ll work out something to let me keep an eye on you, Elise,” he told the girl smoothly, a hint of terrible purpose creeping into his voice. “Foster care is not for you, not now. There’s more to you than you know.” Anna looked up at him, a quizzical frown forming on her face, her mouth opening to protest her partner’s words, and Max looked down at her and lightly touched the side of his partner’s face and spoke in barely a whisper at her.

“Forget.”

Almost immediately the frown disappeared from Anna’s features as she returned to looking at the girl next to her.

“I don’t know about foster care, Elise,” Anna replied, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that Max had even spoken, her voice holding the same gentle tone it had before Max had spoken.

“For now, a safe house, I think,” Max agreed. “You’ll need to be protected, at least in the short term. If you have relatives nearby, we can contact them, see if they can look after you.” His eyes almost bore into Elise as he added to Anna’s words; he didn’t for one second believe that the girl had relatives that could help.

It was fortunate that Anna didn’t look up at him; he didn’t like having to influence his partner like that.