Diana

The morning crept up on her, that she screamed at the sight of sunlight. Diana propelled out of bed panting.
“Diana, you ok?”
“Yeah, John, I’m fine,” she called out to her uncle. Sweat trickled down her face. She wiped it away with her forearm as she sat up in bed. “That was… so…”
Something caught her eye.
“Oh, sorry. Morning, Mom.” Diana smiled at the picture sitting on her nightstand. A woman with long dark hair smiling into the camera made Diana choke up. Her mother had given her life for her daughters. “That dream last night… You were in it! And Dad, too.”
“Di! Move it or lose it!”
“Jeez, Uncle John! I know!”
“Well, if you know, then do it!”
Diana rolled her eyes and got up. Her feet were sluggish as she walked into the kitchen. She faintly poured milk and cereal into a bowl as her uncle ran around the room gathering his things for work. “Shouldn’t you be there already? It’s ten to six.”
“Well aware, thank you!”
Diana laughed. “Well I can’t call you in sick.”
“Har, har,” John ran over and kissed Diana on the top of the head. “Love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you, too.” She watched as Uncle John headed for the door. “Hey, wait! Is Aunt Kristy coming home today?”
“Yeah, she has a key!” John yelled down the hall. “Don’t worry about it! Bye!”
“Laters!” Diana heard the door slam and lock. She was alone. As her mornings normally were. Chewing her cereal, she reached for the remote and turned on the television to channel twelve with anticipation. The time was five fifty-four. “He’s not gonna make it.” Right now, there was a commercial for lipstick, being modeled by Claire Baudelaire.
Once she finished her cereal, Diana got up from the table and went to go change for school. She walked into her room and began organizing her outfit for the day.
“Good morning, New York and welcome to the six o’ clock news. Today we have the greatly anticipated New York Times: Bestsellers List 2009. Also, a fire at the New York Firehouse? Irony is definitely the culprit. Of course, the favored subject, MAX. And rising star, Claire Baudelaire. And now, here’s Jessica with the weather.”
“Thanks, John. Today we got sunny…”
“Wow, he actually made it. Way to go Uncle Johnny.” Diana’s approval of her uncle maintaining his job was the last thing on her mind. She was still concerned about last night. Was that real? Or part of the dream? Diana touched her hand to where the man had gripped her. Her back ached from being slammed against the brick. “No… that part must’ve been real… but what about…” She remembered. The dream was her running into a room. Her uncle and aunt were already in the room. That man was in the room. He was wearing holding something. He raised it above his head and that’s when Diana saw what it was. She woke up. “It was the guy from last night…”
“… Thanks, Jessica. In spite of the cold temperature in New York, things were definitely heating up in the firehouse in Manhattan. Supposedly the…”
“Damn that guy, why am I questioning myself?”
“It’s not justice, you know. He can get killed himself for what he is doing. Even if it is helping others, killing isn’t right.”
“Ugh! Damn him!” Diana threw a pillow across the room. It hit the television set.
“And now onto the hot topic, MAX.” Diana quickly paced over to the TV and planted herself in front of it. “Surprisingly, no killings have to be reported from last night. However, there is a reason for this. No crime had been committed in any part of New York last night. Is this the key to cease the murders? Commit no crime, and no one shall be killed? MAX clearly has a plan as to who he needs to kill and why. The only question remains, though. Why, MAX? Why do you only kill on nights when the crime is committed? What are you thinking? Police now are trying to…”
“What are you thinking, MAX? Please… I want to help. I want to understand.” Diana was well aware of her time and knew she had to leave for school now. She grabbed her backpack sitting in the corner of her bedroom and slipped on her boots at the front door. She took one glance inside before she closed the door and locked it. The television was still on.