Chapter 3: The Letter

Mia and Chris begin to gather information about what's going on.

 

“Do you want to see if the papers are still down there?”  Chris asked.

        “Yes!”  I replied excitedly.  We ran down the stairs and started to look around.  Jennifer and I started looking in the kitchen and Chris looked in the living room.

        After a few minutes, Jennifer froze with a file of papers in her hands, still clutching the handle of the drawer she had pulled it from.

        “You might want to see this,” she quietly whispered.  Chris and I ran over to her and he grabbed the files.  Inside was a stack of papers, some handwritten and some looked official.  Chris took out a handwritten letter and held it between us.

Conway Family

        If you want to keep your family together then you better run, because your life depends on it.  We will track you down and make your life pure torture.  We will destroy your will to live, but keep you alive.  There is nothing you can do to make us stop, we will continue even if it means that people will die.  You can run, but you can’t hide.

A wax blob was at the bottom where a signature would be.  I stood wide eyed and frozen to the spot.  The file was filled with similar letters along with letters to our family about what we should do.

        “What’s going on?”  I said in a shaky voice.  Jennifer looked at us, unsure how to react to the letter.

        “I don’t know,”  Chris sounded as nervous as I did.  He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held me close.

        Jennifer had gone home and we had dinner of random leftovers that were in the house. My mom and dad returned later that night.  Chris and I were watching a movie in the living room when they walked in.  My brother immediately stood up, walked over to get the file off the table, and met them in the hallway.

        “What is this all about!” he said waving the folder.  Chris’ reaction reminded me of a lion pouncing on unsuspecting pray.  Chris and I were waiting for the pray to walk in, oblivious to what was coming to them.

        My parents stood there with a weary look on their face.

        “It’s nothing, you two should go to bed,”  my dad said in a tired, but strong voice.  We slowly walked up the stairs, leaving mom and dad in the hallway.

        “I don’t believe them, something isn’t right.  If they won’t tell us, then we’ll figure it out.”  Chris said once we got to his door.

        “Yeah, maybe we will,”  I said as I walked to my room.  I could hear my parents talking quietly downstairs, but I could not make out the words.

        I laid in bed for a while, but sleep would not come.  My mind was caught up in the events of this afternoon.  I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew it was morning.

        I started walking slowly down the hallway, until I came to my brothers door.  Inside I heard the sound of fingers on a keyboard.

        “Chris?”  I asked quietly.

        “Yeah.”  I walked in to find him at his computer, just like I suspected.

        “I’ve been trying to find more information about these letters and Mr. Gregund.  Almost everything I find is blocked, so I’m not getting very far.  But I did find this one site,”  he said clicking on a link.  A page popped up and filled the screen.

The Wax Markings

The Wax Markings, also known as The Black Eagle, is a strong mafia that has been active for many years.  They have been terrorizing people since 1867, a few years after the end of the Civil War.  They began targeting African Americans, then immigrants, and now families.  The Black Eagle will send letters of hate to their targets, attempting to lure them into a trap.  Their trademark is a wax blob at the end of their letters.  The group will try to send letters to the government in order to raise fear.  This group has also been known for tracking people down once they try to escape the threats.  If the group accomplishes the task of taking a victim, they move up in rank. It is still uncertain about what happens to the victim, but some information has been collected. The victim is usually tortured in whatever way pleases the members. This could contain anything from abuse to having to watch their loved ones be killed. This group believes in no mercy, and would rather kill the victim than to do so. The Black Eagle has members nation wide, as well as some in other countries.  The group is still growing.  Government officials have tried to track the members, but the group makes sure to leave no trace behind.

        For more information click here.

        I quickly looked away from the screen, as I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I tried to calm down, but I could still feel my legs shaking like jello. What was going on and why did this have to do with us?  Chris looked up at me from his chair, his face was a mixture of confusion and worry.

        There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before one of us spoke.

        “We need to talk to mom and dad, now,” Chris said.  We walked downstairs looking for our parents.  On the kitchen table there was a note.

Had to go to work to fix problem, be back soon.  Mom+Dad

        “Work?  Mom and dad never have to go to work on weekends,” I said.

        “Have you realized that since Mr. Gregund came here, mom and dad are barely home?”

        “Yeah,” I replied.

        I tried to find someway to distract myself while I waited for my parents to return. I still couldn’t get the information from the website out of my head. What if they did catch me? I knew I could never watch them kill someone I loved. My mind kept imagining possibilities, each one ending more gruesome than the last. I could feel my breath catch as I worked myself into a nervous attack. I forced myself to calm down, I didn’t even know if The Black Eagle was really after us.

 

Reviews

[Anna Writes]

i could feel Mia's tension in the end...I wonder what their parents could have done to have the Mafia group after them...do they choose their victims randomly?
there are few errors but that could be fixed..;) good work!

[Daniel]

There are a few grammatical errors but other than that, great read!
Now I'm wondering if they really are being attacked by the Black Eagle group.

Great suspense! =D