The List 96-100

A Story by Meaghan M

In The Storm, Safety First, Puzzle, Solitude, Relaxation

#96 In the Storm

Brom turned to his daughter and sighed heavily in relief.

"Is it over?" he asked.

Eiyana did not give an exact answer, but rather tried her hand at a normal smile. Her father laughed.

"We'll have to work on that."

He spread his arms and beckoned Eiyana to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head under his chin. He held his daughter tight and sighed.

"It's good to have you back at last."

Her entire body tensed up.

"Eiyana, you okay?"

He heard her mumbling under her breath, but could not make out any words.

"Eiyana?"

Her inaudible mumbling continued for another moment or two until she finally spoke loud enough for him to hear the words 'Please forgive me'. He did not have enough time to react before Eiyana pulled back and he felt the blade enter his chest.

It was difficult to tell who was shaking more, Brom or Eiyana. His knees quickly have way and Eiyana helped him to the ground. He could not say anything. She struggled to suppress to urge to cry, scream, and vomit all at once.

"I had to." she said through gritted teeth. "It's not over. It'll never be over."

Blood began streaming out from the sides of his mouth as his skin lost shade after shade.

"I can't be the daughter you deserve. And it'll never stop. I can't help it. It's what I was bred to be. As long as I live, I'll be what he made me. You'd never be safe. You're a stubborn a*s, you wouldn't go even if I threatened you. This is the only way I could protect you."

Brom gripped his daughter's hand tightly as a new wave of pain crashed over him.

"I'll see you when you get home then." he managed to say.

She was not aware of it, but tears streamed down her cheeks. She pressed his cold, pale hand against her lips.

"I will see you again," she paused, "da."

It started to rain lightly, but Eiyana stayed until her father drew his last breath. Now it was over. She had finally become completely numb. Now she could truly be exactly what Lot had made her to be. Now she would be the greatest.

She got to her feet, leaving her father's body on the wet ground. She walked over to the two boys hiding behind a stack of boxes who had been watching the whole time. They shrank back in fear. She tossed them each a few coins.

"Burn the body for me, and you'll never see me again."

The boys nodded, mostly out of fear rather than compliance.

Wiping the blood off her blade, Eiyana placed it back in its sheath and walked off down the road.

They sky darkened and the rain got heavier.

#97 Safety First

"Tikki!"

Tikki quickly turned to see Mendin running toward her.

"Mendin!" she yelled back, a little confused.

When she reached Tikki, her skin was a brighter shade of red than it should have been. She didn't look that out of breath.

"I need a favor."

"Okay." Tikki said.

"I need you to cover my hunting party today."

"Why?"

"Umm," Mendin looked nervous. "Come with me please."

Mendin took Tikki's hand and pulled her away from everyone. Mendin stopped suddenly, causing Tikki to stumble into the side of the house they stood next to. She grunted, rubbing her shoulder.

"So, here's the thing..." Mendin started.

Tikki stared at her as she tried to find the right words to say. Tikki waited. And the longer she waited, the more clear it became. She knew exactly why Mendin needed her to cover the hunting party.

"Oh Mendin, you're not."

Mendin cleared her throat and looked away. Tikki stomped.

"You're pregnant." she scolded.

"Let me explain-"

"You just had a baby seven months ago. How can you be pregnant again?"

Tikki resorted to flailing her arms about a great deal while she spoke.

"Well... you know..."

Mendin gave a guilty smile, which only infuriated Tikki more.

"Who's the father?"

"An Indent."

Tikki's eyes widened.

"You slept with an Indent while we were negotiating Dunbar's release!?"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it."

"You couldn't-" Tikki stopped herself. "Why didn't you use one of those mixtures you made before you, "she made a gesture with her hands.

"I forgot."

Tikki hit her own forward with her palm and closed her eyes. She stayed like that for a moment. She looked at Mendin again, continuing to talk with her hands.

"I'm not telling Regan for you again."

"Ah, Tikki, you have to be there with me. She'll have my head."

"Nope."

"I need some sort of protection. You can't send me to face her alone."

"You should have thought of that before you went and got yourself," she gestured once more.

"I hate you!"

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

#98 Puzzle

"Think!"

"I am thinking!"

"Well, think faster!"

"This is not as easy as you may believe."

"I thought you said you could hack into any system."

"That was before you asked me to hack into the army's extra top secret files."

Louie stepped away from the computer, leaving Troy to his encrypting and encoding. Red stood by the slightly opened door, looking more nervous than the two of them.

"Come on Troy." he whispered.

"Patience is a virtue."

Red heard voices on the first floor. They headed for the staircase at the end of the hall. He pulled his head back into the room.

"Not right now it isn't."

"Maybe if I knew exactly what I was looking for-" Troy started, but was quickly interrupted by Louie.

"Anything to do with Katlyn Morlock."

"Oh, well that narrows it down." he said, sarcastically.

Louie slapped him across the back of his head. Despite how much he wanted to yell at his former lieutenant, Troy continued to dig through file after file. Red heard footsteps at the end of the hall.

"We don't have time for this." he said, walking over to Louie and Troy. "We have to go. Now."

"Got it." Troy whispered in triumph. "I am God."

"Come on, God."

The three went out the back door.

Back at Louie and Red's apartment, Troy plugged his flash drive into his laptop.

"So?"

"Remember when you said patience wasn't a virtue before?" Troy asked, keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Yeah."

"It is now."

Red backed up and plopped down on the couch.

"That's interesting."

"What?" Louie snapped.

"Well, she'd got a file. I can't get into it yet, but it's an active file."

Red and Louie merely stared at him for a moment.

"I'm not following." Louie said.

"Yeah, I don't get it."

Troy turned around in his chair to face them.

"Why would her file still be active if she died over two years ago?"

#99 Solitude

Kenny did not move from his spot on the floor when he heard the front door open. His eyes stayed on the floor. Regan stopped a few feet away and crossed her arms.

"They charged her with an Unforgiveable. She's gone." she said softly.

Kenny did not move. Too tired and upset to yell at him, Regan turned around and went back home to be with Damien. Kenny could not feel his legs. He was not even sure if he was still breathing properly. His ears were filled with a tremendous whooshing noise. He was not aware of any feeling in his body except the pounding of his heart inside his chest.

As day turned into night, the whooshing noise slowly went away and he started to regain control over his muscles. When his legs started to cramp from sitting too long, he finally got up from his stop on the floor. He took a few steps toward the door before stopping. He felt a slight pang in his lower stomach. His breathing sped up and he ran from his house.

"Regan! Regan!"

He had only been banging on her door for a moment before she opened it. Damien stood behind her. As soon as she saw that they had been crying, he let out a scream that suggested fury more than anything. He ran from her house and headed toward the edge of the village. Half way there, Pyro landed in front of him. He skidded to a stop.

With every ounce of his being, Kenny wanted to shoot something. Not only shoot something, but kill something. Anything. Pyro tried to speak with him, but he blocked him out. He ran around the dragon and went to the edge of the village where the Elders had given their judgment just hours ago.

He stood there for a minute, trying to slow down his breathing. He tried to keep himself as angry as possible. He did not want to feel anything else.

She was gone. His sister was banished. They had charged her with an Unforgiveable and found her guilty. They exiled her to the end of her days. She would not even be able to be with her family in the afterlife.

He had lost his sister. She was gone and she would never be able to come back to him. Sure, he still had Damien, but Tikki was gone.

His body began shaking as he looked down the path she had walked down when they made her leave. He had not come. His sister was gone forever and he had not been there. He could not stand it. He wanted his sister back.

He should have told them. At least then he would not have to do this on his own. He would not be alone. He would have his sister.

His skin felt like it would explode. His stomach did back flips. There was a tremendous pressure on his lungs.

"Tikki!'

His knees gave out and he fell to the ground.

"Tik!"

#100 Relaxation

Tikki squeezed Damien's hand tighter, screaming her head off as another contraction came on. Damien yelled along with her as he felt his hand being crushed. She only loosened her grip when the contraction passed.

"You're doing great Tikki." Regan told her.

The door burst open and Kenny rushed in.

"Don't worry, I'm here." he said, out of breath.

"Get over here." Tikki demanded.

Kenny immediately knew why Damien looked as though he was the one in labor as soon as Tikki gripped his hand. He kept the yelp of pain inside though.

"Okay Tikki, you have to push now." Regan instructed.

Tikki shook her head and repeated 'no' over and over again. If it was humanly possible, the two boys felt her squeeze their hands even tighter. Kenny's knees buckled slightly from the pain.

"Tikki, you have to relax. It's going to be okay." Damien said.

"Relax!? This is the furthest thing from relaxation humanly possible." she shouted.

"Come on Tikki, push." Regan said.

"No..." Tikki cried, and squeezed again.

"Push!" Kenny yelled, mostly out of pain.

Shutting her eyes tight, Tikki did as she was told. Both Damien and Kenny screamed along with Tikki as Regan and Elder Glaston coached her.

"One more big one. Come on Tikki."

"Come on, Tik, don't panic. One last one and it's all over." Kenny said.

Tikki shut her eyes and pushed again. The next thing she registered was the sound of a baby crying.

"It's a boy."

Tikki loosened her grip on her brother's and cousin's hands until she finally let go to hold her son.

"Hello little man." she sobbed.