Peter Custer

The next morning, I wake up, the side of my back still hurting from when one of the outlaws dragged me across the dirt of the not-community garden.  I go to the kitchen and find an ice pack in the freezer, and make myself some coffee. Then I go back to bed and lie down on the ice pack, drinking a bit of morning coffee. It tastes horrible, or that's what my niece says, but I've grown very used to it. 

Still. The morning's business awaits. I check my text messages: there is one from the chief of police, Sergeant Fish. Did they get away, Pete? it says. The timestamp reads 10:02, last night. I pick up my phone and text back Yes, a bit sadly. I would love to have locked up Samuel Brown, Vivian Roberts, and Inanna Skye, never to have to see them again, but unfortunately, things are what they are, and they've escaped.
And.
I didn't say I would love to lock up the fourth outlaw, did I? Well, no, I didn't, because that's because after I searched her house, I'd like to have her dead.
After I searched the house of that despicable person, Solasta Duvail, for the item she stole from me several years ago.
Rubbing my side, I try to content myself with thinking that we, the guards of the Golden Palace, have now teamed up with the Police of Museia, and that the outlaws cannot evade both of us. Never in a million years. 

Someone knocks on the door of my apartment. I get out of bed, stuff the ice pack into the side of my pajamas, and throw on a bathrobe, for the sake of looking presentable.
"Who's there?" I ask.
"Sahara," says a voice outside.
"The guard?" I clarify.
"Yes." I let Sahara in; she sits on my couch, and I sit on the armchair nearby.
"Why are you here?" I ask her.
"Sergeant Fish says that he wants a description of why the outlaws are outlaws, and that in your contract with the police officers, you didn't say why," she says. Sahara, as well as being a guard, is our liaison with the police, because she knows the officers very well.
"Sahara..." I sigh as I lean back into the cushions. "No one knows. It's secret."
"All right," says Sahara, "but then they might stop working with us."
"Okay then," I say, sighing again. "Then they will." Yes, the reason why the outlaws are outlaws is secret, but that no one knows is a lie: I do. And I know it all too well.

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@Palm: I was thinking that maybe Sahara could be related to a member of the police force, if you'd like, but if you would prefer her not to be related to an officer, then that's fine as well. 

SB'S POV

As we ran into the darkness, I noticed that my hand was starting to burn from the pain of the wound.

"Guys... I need medicine and some bandages, now. It's burning, and that's not good." I said, as Vivi's eyes widened.

"Oh, man! Ok, Solasta, get some anitbiotic stuff, Inanna, get some cloth. SB..." She said, croutching next to where I was sitting.

"You're gonna be fine." She whispered in my ear.

"Vivi... the curse..." I softly replied.

"Wait... what did he just say???" Inanna said, looking perplexed.

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Thank you, everyone, for keeping this RP alive! I really appreciate it! You all did a GREAT job!

Solasta

I wondered where to find some antibiotic stuff--probably an all-night pharmacy or something like that. I walk down the street, until I finally see the words Palace Avenue Pharmacy. I walk into Palace Avenue Pharmacy and find a tube of antibiotic cream. It's not until I'm trying to buy it that I realize there is a police officer behind the counter. Probably off-duty, and casually joking with the person ringing up customers' orders, but still...
My shoulders tense as the officer's radio begins to squawk.
"Listen, we need everyone in the sideyard of the Golden Palace," says the radio. "Lindsay, I'm talking to you."  The officer proceeds to pick up the radio and press a button so that she can speak into it.
"I'm on break," she says.
"Lindsay, I'm talking to you," the radio repeats. "Some outlaws stole the cursed box."
"What box?" Lindsay asks. "What box is so important to you?"
"Lindsay, I'm not being dramatic. The literal cursed box."
"Oh dear. I'll be there in five." She puts her radio back on her belt and says goodbye to the person she's talking to, then leaves the store. 
I buy the cream, and then find myself sprinting back to where we left SB and Vivi. If the box we stole is cursed, I bet that SB's ailment is due to the curse. And I can only hope that the curse, whatever it is, has a cure. 

Sahara

I close door of General Custers apartment. As soon as I'm out of his hearing range, I let out a big sigh. If the General doesn't find a way to catch them-and then prove that they're outlaws, our relationship with the police could be lost forever. What am I going to tell Dune? If we loose our relationship with the police-I'll lose my relationship with Dune. I push all these thoughts out of my mind and start my rounds of the city-maybe work will help me think.

Inanna Skye

"Bandges. Right. Going now."

I run off into the dark streets, blending with the shadows. As I get further away from my friends, I freeze accationaly, as guards walk by, talking into walkie talkies. I catch my name in there, as well as SB, Vivi and others. We seemed to be the talk of the town at the mo'. I smirk, and then slip into a fabric store, thinking it would be my best bet. It would be closing soon, so it would be empty. 

"can I help you?" a grumpy looking older lady scowls at me. "we are closing in ten minutes."

"oh, I won't even be in here five," I assure her cherrily. her scowl deepens. 

"Mm," she said.

"and yes, you can help me. I need the thickest, sturdiest most absorbent material there is."

Without a word, the lady disappears into the shelves of fabric, returning with a roll of flower pattern fabric. she raised her eyebrows at me. "how much?"

I consider. I was sure that SB wouldn't be estatic about his had wrapped in flowers, but I didn't much care. "I'll take the whole roll."

She hands me the material and I quickly pay, and slip out the door, hurrying through the shadows back to my friends. 

Solasta

SB is sitting in the street with Vivi standing over him. Inanna arrives carrying a roll of flowery fabric.
"Magnolia blossoms, seriously, Inanna?" SB says, seeming like he's trying to act like he's mostly fine.
"It was the most absorbent stuff they have," Inanna tells SB.
"Listen," I say. "Apparently the box is cursed." I tell them about Lindsay the officer, her radio, and what she was saying to it.
"I know," says SB. "Don't touch my hand or the box."
"How am I supposed to not touch the box?" Inanna asks.
"Forceps. Whatever," says Vivi. "Listen, we should probably but a bandage on it."
"How are we supposed to bandage him without touching his hand?" Inanna questions.
"Here, lay the fabric on the ground," I say to Inanna. I open the tube of antibiotic stuff and squirt some onto SB's hand, then empty the tube onto the fabric. Inanna then proceeds to tie the cloth around the hand. There's so much cloth that it looks like SB stuck his hand in a vase or something like that, but the antibiotic stuff makes it stick.
"Solasta, if you were at a pharmacy, go back there and get some forceps," says Vivi. "And Inanna, go find a sturdy box."
"What about you?" says Inanna as I salute Vivi.
"I'm guarding SB," says Vivi.

I go back to the pharmacy, check for Lindsay (she's not there) and then buy a pair of forceps and take them back to the alley. Inanna has already come, and she's put the cursed box into a big cardboard one with string looped around it. Vivi takes the forceps and uses them to grab the loop.
"All right," says SB. "I think we can go home and hopefully the wound will clear up."
"Hopefully," Vivi echoes, and her voice stays with me all the way home. 

VIVI'S POV

As the 4 of us walked to our home-- basically an old abandoned warehouse we'd turned into a base/home-- I noticed that SB was looking a little... different.

I walked closer to him, and put my hand on his shoulder, and he looked at me. I gasped, as I stared at his eyes. The white part looked like it had a yellowish tinge to it, and his dark brown colored eyes were looking like they were turning to a dark teal!

"Vivi... it's happening faster than it ever has. If we don't find the cure..." He said, as we kept walking.

"We will. As long as the cursed box isn't opened, you'll be fine." I said, as we reached home.

As Inanna opened the door, we noticed that there was someone else... SEVERAL of them.

Solasta

There are people in our home.
Well, our abandoned warehouse.
But, same thing.
One of them is older, scanning the room, and there are a few other younger people. All of them are wearing guards' uniforms.
"Guards, keep looking," says the older person. "I'm sure she's hidden it somewhere."
"They clearly have quarters of the room marked," says one of the guards, chirpy-voiced for some reason. "Which one stole it?"
"Solasta," says the older person. This is when the older person turns and I see that he's Peter Custer.
Oh no.
This is why the guards are at our house.
I got us in trouble.
SB and Vivi might evict me.
I have no house other than this.
Oh very dear.
"I'm sorry," I whisper quietly.
"Sol, you're too quiet," says Inanna. Too loudly, of course.
The guards turn around.
"They've returned!" chirps one of them.
"I found it!" says one guard's voice. Sahara. She holds up the package wrapped in cloth. Why did I not disguise it?
"All right, we'll go then," says Peter Custer. The guards do leave, but Custer sneers at me as he goes.
"Solasta, do you have it anymore?" he asks, waving the package as if to taunt me. I try to move and grab it, but I'm frozen with anger. Inanna and Vivi are shooing the guards out, and SB is in no condition to harm anyone.
The guards leave us alone.
"Sol, what was that about?" Inanna asks.
"Look," I say, my hands shaking. "I stole something from Peter Custer once, and now he has it back."
"Solasta Ottilie Duvail!" Vivi slaps my hand with surprising force. "We're supposed to do what's right. This is our first, and only, time stealing something."
"I know," I say. I look over at SB. His eyes are turning funny, a thing I recognize all too well. "But, Vivi, we really, really need it." 

Peter Custer

Now I have the item. Victory is mine!!! I scream in my head as, carrying the box, I practically dance back to my apartment. This was entrusted to the Head Guard years ago, it took a nine-month stay with Solasta Duvail, and now it is back with meeee!! I very much need to keep it, and I vow that I will not let it out of my sight. I kiss the box to seal the vow.
Kiss the box? I haven't kissed anything in maybe thirty years, ever since I gave up on having girlfriends. The box doesn't mind, though.
The door catches my toe as it closes, bringing me straight back down to earth. Peter, you're being so screeching ridiculous. I am going to have to let the box out of my sight to put it in a bank vault, because, for goodness's sake, I cannot let them steal it.
Now that they have the cursed box, they cannot touch this one.
I saw the eyes of that young man. No ailment, and I went to medical school because I thought I'd be a doctor so I know this, produces that effect. Once we catch them, that's instant proof they have the cursed box.
And you need both boxes to reap the reward, but that is not happening. Never in my life, I reflect, as I kiss the box once again before sliding into bed. 

SB'S POV

I couldn't believe it. Peter Custer-- the SAME guy who tried to lock us up that day-- STOLE A BOX. THAT SOLASTA STOLE.

"Solasta Ottilie Duvail!" Vivi exclaimed, slapping Solasta's hand. "We're supposed to do what's right! This is our first, and only, time stealing something!"

"I know. But, Vivi, we really, really need it." Solasta replied.

"Why? And--Oh, man, SB's eyes don't look good! Why are they yellow and teal?!" Inanna exclaimed, as she looked at my eyes.

I covered the side of my face with my good hand to hide my eyes, and I noticed that when I pulled it up, the tips of my fingers were turning RED. I looked away from the group, as I heard Solasta... crying.

"I'm sorry! We--we need it. That's why I did it. Please don't evict me!" She sobbed, as I uncovered my face.

"Hey, it's ok. We're not gonna evict you. You're our friend, and last I checked, friends don't evict friends, no matter what." I said, as I put my hand on her shoulder.

I've been readin' this, and it's SUPER cool!

PLEASE DON'T LET THIS DIE!!

Please, and thank you, :)

Solasta

I am relieved.
"Well, why do we need the box?" Vivi asks, in the same tone that my old teacher used when she asked me why I had problems with sleeping on a nasty rubber mat during naptime.
"Um," I say, my breath still sharp and gaspy. SB gives Vivi a look that, in words, would be You're not helping.
"A long time ago," I say. "Back when I was a kid. When I was eleven. My parents were still alive. They were kind of like us. Doing what needed to be done. A man asked them to steal the cursed box from the palace. And they were afflicted by the curse." My gaspiness has stolen my ability to use complete sentences. I take several deep breaths and then continue.
"They were getting sicker and sicker every day. I understood what was happening and I read up on every bit of lore surrounding the box. I found out that there's a box entrusted to the Guards of Museia that works as the antidote to the curse. The cursed box also opens the guards' box. After the night when I read that book, the day after that, I went to school, fully planning to steal the box from Peter Custer when I got home. When I got home, both my parents were dead. I would have been too late."
Vivi looks at SB, and Inanna takes a deep breath. Suddenly, I realize that SB's hand is still on my shoulder.
Oh no.
Quickly, I shrug the hand away. Unfortunately, the shrug is bigger than it should be--all of the others realize what happened.
"OK," says Vivi. "We need that box that Peter Custer has. He should be going to sleep. One, maybe two of us now have the curse on us, and this cursed box hasn't contained any of what the legends say it does. So we're going now."
"Do we even know where Custer lives?" Inanna asks.
"I do," I say. 

Thirty minutes later, we are walking down Avenue Street, which is probably the worst name for a street in the history of the universe. Most of SB's skin is red, and every time we reach a window, I'm glancing into it like the vainest person in the world. So far, no change in my eyes, though.
So far.
654 Avenue Street is Peter Custer's apartment building. The door is closed, but a snoozing doorman sits on a stool beside it. Most places with doormen don't lock their doors. Optimistically, I walk up to the door and open it. It swings open slowly.
"Awesome," Vivi mutters as she walks inside. In the lobby are mailboxes. Each one has an apartment number and a last name on it. Eventually we find 654-B2, CUSTER.
"Apartment B2," says Inanna quietly. We walk up the stairs to the second floor, and find apartment 2. I remember it well from when I was here: no personal touches on the door, compared with apartment B1, which has a door knocker shaped like a cat, and apartment B3, which has a houseplant outside the door.
I whisper, "We are here."  

VIVI'S POV

"Ok, guys, we need to find this box so we can cure SB and possibly Solasta, and then get outta here." I whispered, as we quietly entered Custer's apartment.

We silently searched the apartment, with no box in sight. I heard a noise from the bedroom, and SB peeked in, and when he turned around, I saw a look of terror in his teal and yellow eyes.

"He's in there." He mouthed, as my eyes widened in surprise.

"Ok, let's hurry up and get outta here." I said.

Peter Custer

I'm having a very strange dream.
An eleven-year-old girl is tiptoeing through my apartment, holding a pair of blue flowered sneakers in one hand and wearing stripy socks and a school uniform. Her hair is braided into two braids, one behind each ear. She walks up to my bedside table, which for some reason has a Venus flytrap on it, and picks up a box that materializes. She is unable to carry the shoes and the box and drops her left sneaker. The noise causes me to wake up. 
I sit up in bed and turn on the light. This is when I realize something: Only part of me was dreaming. The rest of me is seeing what is real. 
There is a person who is carrying a box and a right shoe standing near the foot of my bed. Only, the person is wearing a long green top and leggings, and is about fifteen years older. Her sneakers are plain navy now, and her hair is loose.
The person turns her head to look at me, an expression of horror on her face. This is when I register that she has the same face as the girl in my dream--and that both of them are Solasta Duvail, past and present. 
Before I pose to myself the question of why I know what she looked like when she was eleven, Solasta grabs her shoe and a hand sneaks out from behind the doorway and beckons to her. 
The outlaws are in my apartment. 
Solasta runs towards the doorway, into the living room, holding the plant and both shoes. I stand up and get out of bed, creaking slightly, and then run into the living room. Solasta is standing in front of my couch, Samuel Brown appears to be looking under the couch, Vivi Roberts is at the door, and Inanna Skye is standing by the balcony window. All four of them look terrified. 
I, however, am not. I literally have my entire "most wanted" list in my house. All I have to do is close the door and block the exits. 
"You may have the item," I say, "but you can't get out." 
"Um, I think we can," says Inanna, jutting out her hip. "In case you haven't noticed." She opens the balcony door. 
"No you cannot," I say forcefully. 
"Listen," says Samuel Brown. His skin is red--the curse, obviously. "If I so much as put an eyelash on you, you'll become afflicted by the curse." 
"But the cure resides in my house," I say. 
"Not for long." This is Solasta, who slides out the balcony door. She looks at me as she leaves, and I see that her eyes are now yellow and teal. 
"You're wrong!" I yell. Then Vivi grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me into the bathroom. She locks the door. I grab the toilet brush and she pulls out some sort of retractable staff thing. We fight briefly, but Vivi manages to break the toilet brush. Of course I don't keep any of my weapons in the bathroom. Vivi ties me to the toilet (how embarrassing!) with dental floss, but runs out of the stuff when trying to restrain my hands.
"This might not keep you forever," she says, "but it'll buy us some time."