Still

On the final leg of our return trip we were stopped by a familiar face. She was just leaving the building. Her eyes were so vibrant. Her subtle curvature and beautiful face made me weak. My sister fell just as hard. Dad embraced her but she wiggled free and gave him a disgusted look. “Ew. Who even are you?” I grit my teeth and took a breath in. 1, 2, 3, 4… Rain spoke for us. “You remember Dirt, and my dad. Don’t you? Still nodded slowly. “Where’s mom? She always made the best stew.” Rain turned to me. “yea, where is mom? Safe at home?” I swallowed hard. “She got sick, and Dirt took care of her.” Dad interjected. “She isn’t in pain anymore.” There was silence. Still was dressed in dusty denim pants and a rotting tee shirt. No suit.

“I’d love to chat, but we have work to do.” I spoke up finally. Rain nodded. “you should go home. You look exhausted.” She offered to Still. Still tilted her head curiously and the three of us in unison said “you should go home.” In a moment that gave me incredible chills. We began marching up the buildings front path head on. Still vanished behind us, wherever she decided to go. With the family together at last, and everyone on the same page, it was finally time to face the elites.
But something didn’t feel right. We were unarmed. The moment wasn’t right. I sat with the thought, pondered my intuition. And truly listened to myself.

No. The moment wasn’t right. Not yet.
I said so to my family. Dad agreed that arming ourselves and resting would be good but before he could follow through with the thought he turned cold. His face hardened. Rain’s too. I watched as the two seemed to slip away from their bodies and the empty, soulless forms leapt at me. I jumped back and instinctively drew my blade. It plunged down to the handle into dad’s chest. Not again. Never again! I held his weight as he fell into me. I pulled his arm over my shoulders and began trying to drag him in a hurry to the back of the building. PLEASE let the hils be there. Rain continued taking lunges at me, trying to grab me. I could only try to outmaneuver her. And I was almost successful. I reached the side of the building where a hil spotted me and walked over to offer aid. But Rain ran up and stabbed the intervening hil. Dad groaned heavily and was losing too much blood. Rain finally came-to. Dad pulled us both close and kissed each of us on the head before turning an smiling. “moms here. I have to go. Please, take care of each other. Don’t ever stop choosing to live.” He wheezed his final breaths and let out a chilling death rattle.
Rain finally came to understand how devastating being an armadillo was and I understood that my impatience, my panic, had caused so much of my own suffering. “Dad…I’m so- so sorry.” I clung tight to him and wept until I was gasping. Rain held me and I soaked her shirt in tears. She grabbed my cheeks. “Dirt, what happened to mom?” I wiped my face and explained the events of that night. The raid, the box, moving, her poisoning. I spared her the details between her death and her burial.
She shook and became red in the face and screamed. “YOU B******S!” At the building next to us.
“Lets finish this.” I stated abruptly.