CHAPTER SEVEN || VII || AURELIA

Aurelia

VII.

***

Ziggy was cuddled up next to me when the shots started. I jumped up and peeked through the blinds, scaring him from his slumber. My apartment was downtown, smack in the middle of the busiest streets in Venice City and its subway. People were screaming, running, and shoving through each other like madmen. I shut my blinds and then ran over to lock up my door, including the chain, which I never did.

"What the fuck is going on?!" I whispered worriedly. I tugged my sweats over my hips and looked at Ziggy. He shrugged his shoulders and sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. Another pop rang out followed by more screams. He looked up at the window and then hoisted himself off the bed, wearily inching forward to take a peek outside.

"What the fuck?" He whispered.

"What do we do?" I whimpered and grabbed his arm, "Where do we go?"

"Nowhere," he said and sat on the floor. "The doors are locked and no one knows we're in here. If anything, we're the safest here." I sat down next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. Cries were overlapping one another outside of my apartment and ringing throughout the streets but the shots had stopped. We stayed quiet until the cries stopped. Ziggy slowly got up and made his way over to the window, pulling the curtains back slowly. “It’s quiet.” He whispered, “It looks like it’s over.” I wobbled over to join him and scanned outside of my window. Bodies were everywhere while others were carrying their friends and family members away from the street.

"Damn..." I whispered. "Turn on the TV." I pointed at the remote on the dresser next to him.

"I doubt they'll have anything to say yet," Ziggy grabbed it and then turned on SILN, Saklas Islands Local News, the shootings had already made the local news. "Holy shit." He covered his mouth in disbelief. The news anchor spoke professionally into the camera, "—the breaking news out of South Beach and what, at least at this moment, looks to be a city under terror attack. The reports have been coming in rapidly and we expect many details will change but what we've pieced together so far is that there have been two mass shootings, one at Blue Ocean Nightclub and one at Patchy's Bar&Deli, and a riot that broke out at downtown Venice City Police Department."

"Well, shit…" Ziggy stood and snatched his phone off the nightstand, "I gotta call McCray."

I scoffed, "For what, Ziggy? Don't tell me you're gonna try and see what's going on." He looked at me then raised a finger to his lips and put the phone to his ear.

"McCray, what's up man? Have you seen the news?" He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, "turn on SILN, man." He was silent for a moment, "Yeah bro, they're saying we're under terror attack." He went silent again. I sat down on my bed and watched the television. "Well, I just watched some shit go down outside Aurelia's, seemed riot-like." He continued and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door. This man is gonna get in trouble and I know it. A breaking news animation flooded the screen and the news anchor spoke again, "This just in, it is being reported that two police officers have lost their lives during the riot in downtown Venice City. Authorities have yet to release their names to the public due to the privacy of their families." A mugshot of an older white male with orange hair popped up, "The shooter has been identified as Richard Winar, age 53, an escapee from Ridgemaple Institution for the Mentally Ill, who was admitted in 1978. It is unknown if there are any other shooters involved."

Ziggy came out of the bathroom and he wasn't on the phone anymore, "I've gotta head to McCray's."

"What?" I stammered, "A-are you crazy? You can't go out there right now Ziggy!" I protested, standing up in front of him.

"Auri, don't make this hard for me." Ziggy glowered, holding my forearms in his hands, "I don't want you leaving until you feel safe too. I can’t let him go by himself."

"So you’re gonna leave me by myself?" I cut him off and snatched my arms from him, plopping on my bed, "Just stay here Ziggy. I don't get why you go investigating shit. You're not a cop!" I groaned.

"Either way the whole Council’s going so I have to go." Ziggy pleaded and approached me, stroking my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Promise me, you'll come back to my house…" I looked up at him, "Like right after." He nodded and kissed the top of my head. Time seemed to freeze. All I could hear was his heartbeat and the faint sound of the news anchor. "...Authorities claim that the shootings could be linked to a "fan club" possibly dedicated to 'impressing the "South Beach Psycho".' So far, officials have identified 23 dead and many more injured in the heinous riot that shook downtown Venice City this evening…" His heartbeat grew louder in my ears as I zoned into the television. Ziggy's soft voice broke through as soon as he spoke.

"I promise, Auri. I promise." He dropped my hand and turned to grab his shirt from my dresser. He threw it over his shoulders and shrugged it onto himself. "Alright, I'll give you a call when I'm on my way back. Don't leave, please. I don't want you out there." He kissed the top of my head again and he was out of the door.

I sighed heavily and laid back on the bed, my mind racing. Richard Winar… huh. Where have I heard that name before? Winar… Winar…

***

I was perched on the marble counter and staring into a handheld mirror. I pushed my eyelash upwards when she admitted it. Heidi leaned against the fridge, "So, Ziggy and I have been seeing each other." She fumbled with her sleeves, her gaze not even meeting mine. My heart sank to my feet.

"What?" I stared at her. I knew something was off with her, I fuckin' knew. "For how long?" I bit the inside of my cheek, seething at the thought of her touching him. I couldn't say or do much, it wasn't like he was my boyfriend, but Heidi was like my sister. She knew about Zig for years.

"He kept telling me he would have this talk with you but he never did, Auri." Her voice trembled, “I didn't think it'd get this complicated—”.

The doorknob jiggled and she turned her attention to it, halting the conversation. On cue, Ziggy and McCray walked into my apartment. “I'm telling you man, this Winar family has been involved with some heavy shit.” McCray stopped in his tracks and stared at us both, papers drooping from his palms. "Aaaand, that's my cue. I'll call you later, bro." He chuckled and turned on his heel, slapping Ziggy's shoulder. Ziggy looked to me then to her and sighed, pulling up a chair to sit.

"So, when were you gonna tell me you two were fucking?" I snapped as soon as the front door closed and hopped off of the counter. Heidi stood silently with a smirk on her face. He drew in a quick breath. "Cause, the last thing you said to me was that you were only seeing me so… where's this coming from?"

She glared at him and her smug smirk turned into a frown. "You told me you were gonna tell her Ziggy." She retorted, the smugness returning almost instantly. I could smack it clean off of her. I looked at him again, he was stuck in thought, I could tell, and he was having a hard time collecting himself. "Well?" She prodded.

He cleared his throat and ran an open palm over his shaved head. "Can I start by saying that this isn't how I wanted this talk to go?" He began, looking at me and then at Heidi. "I wanted to be able to talk about this like adults, alright? I didn't expect to be fuckin' bombarded, you feel what I'm tryna say?" He hissed and sat back in his chair. Oh, and you’re defensive? You’re a fucking trip, Ezekiel.

"If that's the case, we don't need to be doing this then," She grunted and grabbed her purse. I snorted. What a joke, what did she expect?

He groaned, “C'mon Heidi, where are you goin'?" He stood, quickly might I add, as she stormed to and ripped open my front door.

"OH! And you're gonna chase her now too?" I laughed and slammed my palms on the kitchen island, he snapped his head in my direction. I looked him in his eyes, "Are you kidding me, Ezekiel?" Anger boiled in my chest.

"Aurelia, I swear, this isn't how I wanted this to go." He pleaded and placed his hand on mine. "This was a mistake."

"Give me a fuckin' break, Ziggy, seriously." I snatched my hand away and stormed into my room, slamming the door behind me. I heard him grumble something before my front door opened and then slammed shut. I sobbed uncontrollably.

***

I grabbed my phone and dialed Ziggy’s number. "Hello?" he answered. "Zig, I'm still watching the news and they're saying Richard Winar was the shooter. Didn't you and McCray have something on that Winar family?" I paced back and forth as he mumbled to McCray. "Auri you are a fuckin' gem and I hope you know that. We're on our way back to your house now." I smiled, "Okay, just knock when you get here." I hung up and then searched my room for appropriate clothing to wear.

A sequence of knocks rapped against my door and I yanked it open. They both slipped in quickly. I locked the door back up to the chain. "Okay, now y'all need to fill me in." I turned to them as they both plopped onto the sofa.

"Aurelia, you need to make sure you can keep your mouth shut before I say anything." McCray leaned forward and locked eyes with me.

"Sheesh, I can be trusted, Matthew." I rolled my eyes and looked at Ziggy.

He slapped McCray's shoulder, "Cut it out man, just tell her. Terry was so sure it wasn’t the Winars, it’s a miracle she even called." Ziggy looked at me adoringly.

“Terry would have my nuts if he knew I was telling someone outside of the Council,” McCray sighed heavily and slammed a large folder onto my coffee table. 'WINAR' was stamped in bold letters on the front. Label tags and bookmarks hung out of the sides of the file. "Do you want me to give you the rundown or do you wanna see for yourself?" He scooted up on the sofa.

I scoffed and pointed at the file, "I mean you don't have to, just start from now. Let me read." I sat on one of my oversized chairs and opened the file. The background on the Winars would draw a connection to Richard Winar, who was the shooter from the newscast. As I read through detailed records, reports, and evidence, it just raised more questions. "What the hell does this have to do with the murders? What is all this for?" I stopped, bewildered, and looked up from the file. McCray and Ziggy exchanged glances. "What?" I squinted, my eyebrows furrowing.

"Well… we don't know the full scope of it yet because we’re not sure how everything pieces together. All we know right now is that these Winar folks are doing something that could potentially destroy the city," McCray cleared his throat and scratched an eyebrow, "We’re not sure if Richard was the only shooter or what his motives were." He pointed at the file, "But he definitely had something to do with this. We’re just not sure how."

"So, what now?" I mumbled, flipping through the pages. McCray sat back and crossed his arms, "We go back out and start investigating." He said with a shrug.

"That's it," Ziggy added, looking over at me, "We get to work."