[Juneberry]

Chapter 1 Snippet

The smell of seafood and eggs led Nuru’s long-limbed body down the steps of their two story home. For a seemingly average, if not boorish, man, Nuru’s looks surely gave away that he was far from the norm. Standing at roughly seven feet tall, the lanky giant was already wearing the mask he’d held so tightly in his slumber, knowing full well that a mouthless mask was quite difficult to eat in. “Morning,” he mumbled, walking into the kitchen. “What’s the occasion?”

“Did you seriously forget? It’s your birthday.”

“I told you I don’t like celebrating it.”

“You should enjoy it. It’s the day the world gave me my cute little brother, after all.”

“No one would believe you if you said that in public. That I’m younger, that is.”

“So what if I’m short!? It’s not my fault you’re a giant! You just refused to stop growing!” Kaylie scowled. “And take that mask off or at least set it like glasses on top of your head. You should at least show your face to me.”

Nuru narrowly rolled his eyes, reluctantly removing the mask and hanging it on the corner of his chair. Heaving a heavy sigh, he took the fork off his table setting and began to use it to cut a slice of the omelet in front of him. “You may see it as the day you got a little brother, but I see it as the day that ruined my life. I mean, my sight… I never asked for this stupid ability with no practical use.”

“You’ve proven it has practical uses. You can save people who’ve been cursed! Without you, there’d be a lot more deaths to mysterious circumstances than there are now. Though it is rather strange how long we’ve been without a case…”

“Take that as a good thing, Kaylie.” Nuru was speaking with his mouth still chewing on a bite of shrimp.

“Unlike your table manners. You’re already twenty-seven for crying out loud. You should know not to talk and chew at the same time.” As she began her tirade, she was cut off by the sound of the home phone, which vibrated slightly in its charging station. It was rare for anyone to have home phones at this point in technological advancement, but it was a preference of the siblings to have a shared phone at home rather than sharing a cell number. That, and it was more likely to get Nuru at home than on his cell.

Kaylie stood up from the table and walked over. After reading the caller ID, she gave a distinctly serious look towards her brother. Nuru let out another heavy sigh, pushing his plate of food ahead of him and returning his mask to his face. “Amy! Hey. You got something for us?” Nuru walked over to his sister and passed her a pen and notebook from a ways down the counter. “Alright, so we have to go there… Can you give me the name of the patient? Yeah, spell it for me… Okay, I think I’ve got it all. We’ll be there as fast as we can.”

Hanging up the phone, Kaylie ripped the page off the notepad. She ran out of the kitchen before she felt a hand on top of her head. “Why are you heading upstairs?”

“We need to dress for the job we want, right? We’re investigators, so we have to look the part!”

“Our client is in the hospital. Do you really have time to worry about that?”

“From what Amelie said it should be fine. As long as he eats.” She pulled free of her brother’s grip, running up the stairs to get to her room, but not before yelling behind her, “Don’t forget to change into your suit! You look like a clown otherwise.”

Reluctantly, Nuru made his way up the steps, often skipping one with his abnormally long legs. When in his room, he disrobed and threw his clothes in a haphazard pile in the corner. He opened his closet and pulled out a black three-piece suit, with a black blazer, black slacks, and a medium grey button up. He loosely tied a red tie around his neck, put on some black loafers and a belt, and finally exited his room, noting Kaylie was still in her own.

“Kaylie, hurry it up! We have to get going now!”

Finally, the woman’s door opened. Kaylie came out wearing a black pencil skirt, white blouse, and a grey blazer that matched Nuru’s shirt. Her shoes and belt were a similar red to his tie. Basically, outside Nuru’s peculiar mask, the siblings matched in attire. “Let’s get to the car. I’ll drive.”

“You can’t even reach the gas pedal,” Nuru retorted.

He placed his butt atop the polished maple stairwell and rode the rail to the bottom steps. Kaylie grumbled something about him being a show off before walking down the steps like a normal person, albeit her cheeks were puffed like a chipmunk’s. “Do you always have to go down the stairs like that when you wear a suit? You’re going to ruin it that way.”

“It’s less convenient to walk in these stiff trousers.” Nuru shrugged his shoulders, rolling them into a stretch before walking towards the front door and opening it for his sister. “After you. I’ll lock up.”

In the driveway of the house were two cars and a van. One car, a blue SUV, the other, a silver sedan. Neither sibling walked to one of the cars, although they were likely far more convenient and inconspicuous. After all, the van was far from hard to notice. Though black was its primary color, it had two thick, red lines encompassing the sides and trunk of the vehicle. On the driver’s side door, a large circle cut through the red tape, with yellow graffiti saying ‘Caldwel Occultists’ fancily written. Nuru opened the door to get behind the wheel, only to find his legs tightly trapped in the footspace.

“I can’t reach the pedals, but you can barely move your legs.”

“You tried to take it out for a joy ride didn’t you? It’s clear the chair’s been moved up.”

Kaylie laughed, Nuru grumbled. A low rumble echoed from from his Adam’s apple, sounding akin to a feral cat growling at prey. With a few adjustments to his seat being made, he turned the keys and revved the engine. With a quick push of his ankle, he gave the gas some pressure and backed out of their property. He backed into the open road, thanking the sky there was no traffic on their small street.