The two young girls have arrived in front of the police station. Their bodies were shivering with the cold of a winter night, even with all of their clothes. They walked inside. Just what you'd expect. Large room, chairs, people in officers, couple cups of coffee here and there, and definitely warmer than outside space.
"Stay right here. Soon someone will be here to talk with you." Officer Owens said, as he walked away. Where he went, the girls didn't know.
"Y'know, I always knew that I would end up here someday, but I thought it would be for stealing the Declaration of Independence or something, not because of a house fire on Christmas Eve." Lana mused once the police officer was out of earshot.
"You really made such a low level joke in the situation we currently are in?" Lisa asked, a bit annoyed. "We've lost all of our property, we aren't aware of what is of our family members, and you still make horrible references to Nicolas Cage?"
"Who said I was joking?" Lana asked, genuinely confused. "And what reference?"
"You really...you're unbelievable, elder sibling. In a way I cannot express in words you'd comprehend."
"Maybe not now, but when I become an adult and start drinking…"
"...I refuse to speak to you until you seem to properly understand the gravity of this situation."
Lana huffed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I do, I was just saying what was on my mind. In all seriousness though… I don't know how things are gonna be now. I hope the rest of the family is okay."
"I share such hopes, which unfortunately do not match my beliefs." Lisa explained. "I hate to imagine this, but analyzing the incendiary conditions of our household, unless someone was outside the house, the chances of escaping with life from it are minimal."
"I know, life's not fair and often it likes to screw you out of any shred of happiness you might have at the time, but we don't know for sure. We did see some people getting taken to the back of an ambulance, so maybe some of them are still alive in a hospital." Lana took off her cap and sighed, then gave Lisa a pleading, hopeful glance. "Maybe they could help us figure out what'll happen next."
"If you think of it, you can already predict what will happen, Lana. It is all a matter of how much you want to see reality, and how much you can tolerate it."
"Still, we should at least try to hold onto what little hope there might be. Even if it's… really difficult, given what just happened."
"Pandora's box logic, I see." Lisa commented.
"Yeah, that. There was still some hope in that box, and according to that story that's why life doesn't seem too crappy in the long run."
"It's the main moral of its tale. According to the myth, the evils the Gods of Olympus once locked inside such box, were freed by Pandora towards the world of mortals, but deep inside hope rested, and freed as well, so we had a chance to fight the evils."
"Pretty much. So, if we can have an excuse to have hope and faith that at least one other person survived, why not take that chance for now?"
"Just because hope it's the last one to die, doesn't mean it is immortal."
"I know that, but it's still the one thing that can keep us going. Hope that things will turn out okay, even if it doesn't seem that way. And besides…" Lana reached out in an attempt to give Lisa a hug. "We've still got each other, don't we?"
"I...assume so." Lisa said, retributing the act. It helped them warm up a little bit, but not much more. They quickly broke off the hug and continued to sit there waiting.
After a few minutes, a different officer came to talk to the two. His moustache and beard made him look a bit intimidating. "Girls, we will take some time to get results on your case. So we're gonna take you to a place where you can sleep, and tomorrow we'll explain what we can find."
"Where are you gonna take us?" Lana questioned, putting her cap back on.
"It's a sort of prison cell, adapted for people that have to stay at night. Small room, a bunk bed, a bathroom… you'll have some privacy, but it's no hotel."
"So you're locking two minors in a cell who have just been victims of a tragedy?" Lisa questioned.
"Look smarty pants, this is a police department, not a hotel. Is either that or the ground out here. Your choice." He said, annoyed.
"C'mon Lisa, this is all we have for now." Lana told her sister. She then turned and tapped the officer's soldier, shuffling her feet and a bit unsure. "Uhh… so how much privacy is there, anyway?"
"You have four walls, and a door separating your beds from the bathroom." He said. "Now please, follow me."
"Alright, works for me." She followed the officer and her younger sister as he led them to the aforementioned cell. She hoped the walls weren't too thin, though that was the very least of her worries.
When they arrived at the door which the officer opened, and the two walked in, he immediately closed it, making a loud noise, making the two girls jump a bit. Despite the privacy thing being true, they had four walls, and a door that probably led to a bathroom, he never mentioned how tight the space was. You had the length of the door, and the bed on the side, covering the whole rightwall, and barely touching the door frame.
"This bedroom must not even reach 5 squared meters." Lisa said.
"I dunno, Lis, I think it's kinda cozy. Should be enough for tonight, right?" Lana responded, immediately flopping onto her bed. It was definitely harder than the one she was so used to sleeping in her own bedroom, in her own home… it was more like the carpet that she sometimes decided to sleep on instead during sleepovers.
"Your positivity impresses me sibling… just like your reflexes to pick the bottom bed…" Lisa said.
"The bottom bunk is always the best."
"I'd assume so...but I never had the chance to experiment and conclude such thing."
"That's how it's been whenever I went to Michelle's house for a sleepover. She's got a bunk bed even though she's an only child, and I always got the bottom bunk."
"I assume the top one is mine then." Lisa concluded as she began climbing the stairs.
"So, what are we doing now?"
"Other than complaining about the small vertical height I posses, I'm not sure if there's anything we should be doing other than attempting to get some sleep."
"Uhh alright, I guess I'll head off too, after a trip to the little girl's room. I'll be back." Lana hopped out of the bed and opened a small door in the wall that led to the bathroom, closing it behind her.
"Just to let you know, researchers have pointed out that 70 percent of American prisons and police station don't keep their hygiene equipment in cells properly repaired."
"I don't need any hygiene equipment, Lisa." She called out from the other side.
"What I meant to say there's a high chance that the toilet doesn't work." Lisa explained.
"I don't need that either, Lisa. I'll be fine."
"Then what exactly are you going to do there? Urinate on the floor?"
Lana went silent for a few seconds. "No."
"Did you already urinate on the floor?"
"Nobody peed on the floor, Lisa. I dunno why you keep thinking about piss on the floor."
"Because it's a better distraction than thinking of the odds of our family's survival, regardless of how disgusting it may sound."
"Ugh… great, now I can't do what I came here to do after all." Lana opened the door and went back to her bed, pulling the flimsy covers over her clothes. "Goodnight, Lisa." She grumbled.
"Okay, goodnight." Lisa said, pulling the covers over her. "Just in case you need to wake me up, try not to surprise me, so I don't bump my head in the ceiling."
"If you want, we can switch beds." Lana offered.
"Not necessary. I just want to not be bruscally awoken, if that's possible. Otherwise, I am able to remain here."
"Well, I dunno how they wake people up here, but I do know you don't exactly like it here, so… might as well get as comfortable as possible, right?"
"Correct. Well, I'll attempt to sleep, that will cause this night to proceed faster."
"Alright, I should get some sleep too. If you wanna switch later, you can. G'night." The ball-capped girl turned over to her side and shifted her weight to sleep on her stomach and her hat fell off her head. She was too worn out to fix it.
Lisa just remained with her back on the mattress, with her glasses on her face, as she had no place to keep it laid out safely. And soon, the two girls began snoring under the dark, cold night in which their eyes have witnessed a tragedy.
The next day, the two girls were woken up by a heavy knocking on the door, which caused Lisa to bump her head on the ceiling, and Lana quickly got up from the ground she was laying on for some mysterious reason.
"You two, wake up." Was all they heard before silence came outside. They went towards the door, trying to open it, but it was locked.
"We require it to be open from the other side!" Lisa exclaimed. "And fast, if possible. This room is starting to create a claustrophobic feeling for me higher than inside our male sibling's former bedroom."
They heard a click and the door was pushed open. The police officer said nothing and instead gestured them to follow him, which they did. They were soon back in the front room where they were the night before.
"Uh, Officer, what exactly is going to happen to us now-"
"Sit down and wait here. Soon someone will come to you." He said, as he began to walk away.
"Roughness and apparently primal ignorance. Such qualities to serve for the security of civilians." Lisa ironically said.
"Ehh, he probably gets it from dealing with criminals all the time. I can only imagine all the stuff he probably has to put up with everyday."
"I guess you do have a point." Lisa said, sighing. "I hope they have more information than yesterday. It would help to know more about the cause of the accident, and our family's conditions."
"Same here. Maybe if they're okay, we can see them again soon. Maybe even today."
"That's the plan." A third voice said. They turned around to see another cop. Seeing different people taking to them almost brought the feeling nobody wanted to be on their case. This time though the guy seemed quite gentle. "We'll be heading to the hospital to gather information on your family, and later transfer you to a proper habitation, so you won't have to stay here."
For the first time since the incident, Lana gave a genuine smile. It was faint and could easily go unnoticed, but it was there. "Hear that? Maybe they'll be okay." She said to her sister with a tinge of hope.
"We have no information on them. Just because we'll go to the hospital it doesn't mean… look Lana, I don't want to bring your hopes down, but there's a chance you'll be disappointed when we get there."
"Shall we go, girls? We don't have all day." The cop interrupted.
And just like that, the smile faded away. "Yeah, but it's not cert- alright, let's go." She didn't want to burn any daylight that they didn't need to, when it could be spent getting answers. As they walked to the car and hopped in, she continued her conversation. "Yeah, but it's not certain. Like I said yesterday, we should still have some hope if we can." It was mostly her trying to assure Lisa, though also to assure herself even if she wasn't entirely sure.
"Your positivism is appreciated." Lisa said, and after she mumbled, "I really wish you are right. 'Cause otherwise you'll be devastated."
The ride couldn't have been longer than half an hour, but with the stress that ate at them from the inside it felt like eons had passed before they finally arrived at the Royal Woods Hospital. It was obvious that the building had been around for many years, as shown by the worn-out and weathered look it gave off. It had to be at least a hundred years old. Okay, maybe not that old, but definitely it was there for a while.
"Awkward…" Lisa said, as they walked in. "This place seems… a bit unprepared and unequipped with the latest technological advances of medical care…"
"That's Royal Woods for ya." Lana said, following by Lisa's side. "I hope they've at least got enough to take care of… the others."
"You're starting to have a little too much hope on my standards…" Lisa muttered under her breath. She then turned to the officer with them. "So, where does our family remain?"
"I don't know. I'm going to ask. You two, just wait here." He said, as he made his way to the main counter.
"I have a feeling people believe our only usage is waiting." Lisa complained.
"It sucks, I know." Lana sighed, getting a bit impatient as well but still trying to stay positive.
"If only I had access to my equipment, perhaps the fire wouldn't have spread in such a way. Perhaps we wouldn't be worrying about our family in the first place if we haven't left to snow slide." They saw the cop besides a nurse, probably an assistant, which signed them to follow them.
"Hey, we still don't know what caused the fire and it was just a coincidence that we were outside when it happened." Lana said, as The two stood up and began following the lady, who walked quickly through the corridors of the hospital. "And even if we were home, we probably wouldn't have been able to do much. If anything, we'd probably be in here already, in those stiff beds."
"I presume such assumptions are plausible. Without certainty of events, we cannot precise the outcomes on different occurrences."
"And here we are, the emergency room." The assistant announced. They found themselves in a sterile white room with dimmed lighting, filled with numerous patients. Some seemed to face the same plight that the two girls' family members did, others didn't have it as bad, and of course some had it worse.
"The cop told me the details. I must give you my sorry. I've never seen this number of victims to a fire in only one family." The nurse said.
"Our family's extension is way over average, causing such situations like this to be possible." Lisa asked. "Uh, where specifically are they?"
"We couldn't fit them all in one room due to the sheer size of patients, unfortunately, so they've been split into two rooms. Luckily, the rooms are right next to each other." The nurse led them towards the rooms. "Alright, you two make the most of your time now. I need to tend to the other patients for now, but I'll be back soon." With that, the nurse left them on their own.
"Wait, Miss, one question." Lisa said, making the nurse turn back. "What is… what are their conditions, and most importantly, their time to recover?"
"Oh, well, obviously each and everyone of them have different injuries and expected healing time that can vary, and some...we aren't sure how well they'll behave to treatment, but we're working hard so that all eight are able to walk out of here by the middle of next ye-"
"Wait, eight?!" Lisa exclaimed. "What do you mean, eight?! There's supposed to be nine in there!"
"Yeah, what happened with the other three?!" Lana feared the worst, for the first time since yesterday.
"Hm?" The nurse said, grabbing a clipboard hanging besides one of the doors.
"There is supposed to be 13 of us in total, including my older sister and I." Lisa said. "And since we're the only ones outside the house, as long as we're aware, there should be eleven of us."
"Look, the list here says all patients. Let's see...Lynn, Lori, Leni, Luan, Lynn Jr, Lincoln, Lucy, and Lily. Those were all the patients we received here for treatment."
"That means that our mother, Luna and Lola are not here, but…" Lisa took a small pause. "Nurse, if they are not here, does that mean that…"
"If there were supposed to be three other people, then unfortunately, what you are implying may be the case." She was often considered by her colleagues to be quite blunt, even when she didn't try to be. It was no different with patients.
"S-so…" At this point, the tomboy could no longer keep up her hopeful demeanor. She had tried to reassure herself and her sister that things would be okay, but now with three people already gone, one of those being her twin… she couldn't keep it up. Her lip trembled as she uttered what she never thought she would have to say, not for a long time anyway. "Th-three of us are already g-gone." She stuttered.
"I assumed there would be casualties…" Lisa said to herself. "Lana, uh...I'm not sure what to say to you…"
"B-but already, and they outright admitted to forgetting some of us. Th-they didn't even bring them here. I know there's a lot of us, but how do you just forget to bring a person?"
"I have a theory. It's not that they weren't brought here...but rather to another sector of the hospital...The area where they prepare corpses for a funeral."
Lana tried to blink away the tears a bit to clear her watery vision, with little success, to glare at Lisa. Then again, it just wasn't worth it. She knew how she was, and she also knew she was right. There was no way they wouldn't be dead if they weren't in the rooms in front of them. Instead, she just looked away and said nothing.
"And that's assuming their bodies did actually return, and didn't...didn't combust completely, turning their bodies to ashes...carbonating their flesh...leaving no track of them…"
"Please stop…" Lana pleaded quietly under her breath. She tried to shake away the image of the three that were missing, in that situation, but to no avail.
"Oh my...I-I apologize, elder sibling...I-I didn't meant to...make this feel worse…" Lisa said, looking at her older sister, the one that, alongside Lynn of course, never broke, and was always strong, almost breaking in tears. And it was not like Lisa was not sad with the news, but rather that she was already preparing for losses. And as inexperienced and awkward she felt her next action was, she opened her arms and wrapped them around her sister.
Lana was caught off-guard by the action, though she did appreciate it. It helped calm her nerves a bit, enough for her to wipe her tears away with the back of her hand as best as she could. Some still watered in her eyes, but the majority were gone. After a moment, she returned the hug.
After a few moments, they noticed they've been left alone in the room. The nurse somehow went away without them noticing. They counted four beds in the room, the other four were probably on the one besides it. "So...should we...see how our other family members are doing?"
She nodded and went towards one of the beds. In it was Lynn Sr., bandaged up and with many wires hooked up. An oxygen mask was attached as well. The vitals next to him were active, but slow. His skin...it was ugly. Apart from the upper side of his head, is was all red, rough, like raw meat, with nerves, bubbles clearly visible.
"Oh my…" Lisa said. "This is beyond what I have expected… almost complete disfiguration… critical condition."
Lana gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. "D-dad…?" She croaked. She desperately wished he would reply, but at this point knew that wasn't going to happen. Not now.
"I...I simply have nothing to express here… I mean, he can live, but this damage...this is beyond anything I've ever seen."
"He… I don't even know what to say either. W-what are the others like?"
"Do you really wish to know, elder sibling?" Lisa asked. "Because, this vision… I can only imagine the conditions of the others...and I can guarantee you, it won't be any better."
"Shouldn't we still check on them, though? At least know who's in here and how they're doing?"
"Perhaps...but I doubt any of their situations will be any better…"
And soon the two got away from their father's bed, and into the one besides it. The body was unrecognizable. Lack of hair, practically no skin covering the body, leaving a pulsing inner layer of flesh exposed. Oxygen max, and arms completely covered by bandages.
"Any idea who this is Lis?" Lana asked. "Cause I can't tell."
"I-I can…" Lisa said. "Based in its body dimension...t-this is Lily…"
"O-oh…" To think that their baby sister, the most innocent of the bunch, could possibly be subjected to this level of pain, suffering and disfigurement… Not many people are 100 percent prepared for a situation like this to arise, but they definitely were not.
Lana wondered if this was all just some horrible, ongoing nightmare and that she would just wake up. That she could just wake up in her own cozy room, with her twin sleeping peacefully on the other side along with everyone else in the house. To test that, she pinched her arm, even digging her short yet sharp nails into the skin. Much to her dismay, she remained exactly where she was and in addition to that now had to deal with the stinging pain in her arm.
"Sibling…" Lisa said. "Would you excuse me for a minute? I require a trip to use the bathroom."
And with that, the nerd walked away from the bed and went into the door by the side of the room. Lana found that a little… unexpected to say the least. Her older sister instincts made her approach the door which was now close and probably locked. "Uh, Lis… what a-are you doing-"
"BLAURGH!" She heard from the other side. And that noise repeated still a couple more times, before it gave space to heavy breathing from the 10 year old girl. Even if she didn't have breakfast that day, the urge she got from seeing her only younger sister in such a state was too much to hold back.
"Lis… I know it's stupid of me to ask, but are you okay in there?"
"No…Ugh...BLAURR." Came from inside.
"A-alright, just let it out. You'll feel better afterwards." She stood there waiting by the door. It was taking quite a lot to hold her own feeling of bile going up her throat down, both from the sudden revelation of their three missing family members and what she saw earlier. One of those times where having a cast-iron stomach really came in handy.
A few minutes later, Lisa came out, looking like she was sick… which wasn't completely untrue. But she seemed relieved, even if the state of her body didn't agree with that. "I...I feel a bit better now."
"Alright, good. Do you want to go back, without seeing how they look?" Lisa seemed a bit disoriented, so Lana placed an arm over Lisa's arms and held her up.
"I'd honestly rather not… while our family is of my concern, seeing them in such a state is depressing, disturbing, disorienting and disgusting. I'd choose to see them once they're better."
"I understand. So, what do we do now? You wanna sit down somewhere 'til you feel a little better?"
"T-that's a good idea… l-let's return outside."
When they walked out of the room, Lana trying to make sure Lisa wouldn't fall down or something by helping her walk back outside, they stumbled across that same officer that has brought them there earlier.
"Girls, I see the visit was...not the best, it seems."
"You have no idea…" Lisa annoyingly said under her breath.
"Maybe is the best we return after your family has healed a bit. For now, I am responsible for taking you home."
"Home as in the police department?" Lana asked.
"No. We don't have a way to maintain you there, so you'll be taken care of by other family members."
"Other family members?" Both girls said. "But...we don't have any others." Lisa reminded. "Our grandfather has passed away a few years back, and the same happened to our Aunt by a rare disease...I don't think we have other family members alive."
"You do. Distant relatives. The closest of them actually live in a town besides Royal Woods, quote close to here. The Marltons, a couple and their two kids. They'll take care of you while your parents are in no condition for so."
"Have you ever heard of them?" Lana whispered to Lisa.
"I've no memories of such a name in our family tree." She said back.
"Well, according to the records we've been going through, they are in fact your relatives. It shouldn't be too long of a ride to their house. It's even easier since we don't have to move any props."
"You're saying that the fact all of our properties were consumed by fire is a good thing?" Lisa asked.
"Well, err, no, it's just easier to complete the move is all." The officer rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Let's just get going. Things will get better, I promise."
And with that, even a bit annoyed by that statement, the two girls followed the cop to his car. Weak, a bit sick, hungry and sad, Lana and Lisa Loud were now heading for a mysterious place that they would call home for some time they weren't sure how long. It was a long road ahead for their family to heal. All they wanted was there to be a shortcut. They both knew that there likely wasn't going to be one anytime soon. Not with the way things were looking as of now.
