Sitting in Lisa's room, Lucy brought Lincoln a can of Vienna sausage. One of their favorites.
Cracking it open, Lincoln stared at the small pink cylinders.
"I stayed here when they left. Hid actually. Dad kept trying to ring me out, saying that if they didn't get going now, they'd probably die. I'd probably die-"
A tear emerged from the Goth's eye. Slowly moving down her pale cheek.
"They wanted to leave you behind, they thought you were dead. I can't blame them though, they almost convinced me you were. Everyone was bawling. The loss of three kids in a matter of seconds" She mumbled
"What do you mean three? I only saw Leni"
"Lynn was in the backyard. I don't suggest going and taking a look. It even made me throw up in my mouth a little"
She laid her head on her brother's shoulder, as he took out a sausage. He popped it into his mouth and loved every second the mushy meat was in there for.
He pulled another out and handed it to Lucy. Who ate it quickly
Time seemed to pass quickly. Soon, the moon shined dimly through the night, the haze covered most of it. His little sister was asleep. The empty can to his side. His mouth still has the taste of the liquid.
He looked down at his stomach. The splinter of wood was still there. Lucy didn't know what to do, or how to help. She suggested leaving it in until they can find someone who at least knew how to sew it up
It didn't hurt surprisingly. Neither did his arm. He was able to move it a little bit without any trouble. It was weird. When Lynn broke her arm it took a couple of weeks before it even stopped hurting. Let alone being able to move it.
Lincoln laughed, before taking his good hand, and gripping the wood lodged in his stomach
"Ow" He groaned
"It's okay, it's okay. Just pull it out. One, two, thre-"
He pulled, and he's never felt anything more painful in his life
He gasped, no other sound escaping his lips. The splinter was out, but the wound was open.
Things were going dark. His vision was fading. Laying his head back, Lincoln closed his eyes and passed out. His head laying on Lucy's
Next morning:
Lucy awoke. She rubbed her eyes and felt weight on her own head.
Lincoln must have fallen asleep on her. She smiled, and carefully moved his own head, off of hers. She stood up, her back cracking a little as she stretched. The 9-year-old looked at her brother. He was still sleeping, peacefully. His shirt had a hole in it where the wood had been
Her smile vanished the moment she realized he took it out. She dropped to him in an instant to inspect the damage.
Lifting up his shirt, there was nothing wrong. Literally, nothing wrong. The skin looked tender, and it did look like it was newly healed, but there was nothing other than that.
"What?" She said, the sounds escaping her mouth. She didn't know what to think, the blood on his shirt was still someone sticky but his wound was just gone
His arm looked a lot better too, the swelling had gone down quite a bit, and it looked usable, other than a bit of redness in the middle
She looked up at her brother's face, he was groaning. His eyes began to open
Lucy let go of the shirt and stood up
"Lincoln, your stomach"
Remembering the pain, and the piece of wood itself, he looked down, hoping not to find an open mess of blood
As Lucy had discovered before, the wound was gone. Lincoln smiled and looked up at her, holding his hand up for her to help him up
She took it and pulled. He was heavier than he was last year, a growth spurt added a couple of inches to him
"Where do we go?" He said
"I don't know. I think Lisa was talking about heading towards Brazil"
"Well, let's meet them there" He smiled brighter
Lucy got goosebumps and smiled with him. He took her hand and walked outside of the house.
That was five years ago. Lincoln and Lucy grew a bit and trekked across the country. Armed with some handmade weaponry both had made in order to protect themselves. Simple things, like a spike through a baseball bat. Only to find out that what's left of the US government closed off the Mexican-American border completely. Anyone trying to cross got shot. Didn't matter who they were, or which side they're going to.
Lincoln remembers the fear in the 10-year-olds eyes as a bullet ripped through her shoulder. The way she cried on the ground scarred him for life
Did Lisa and the family get by this somehow? Or did they get mowed down like he and his sister almost did.
That was also the night they found out that Lucy healed the same as Lincoln.
They've built a name for themselves across the country, being known for more than just healing. Something triggered inside them, something incredible. Lincoln talked about it with Lucy, about how much it felt like a video game.
Both of them could heal. And both of them showed better hearing and better vision at night. Both of them showed immune to radiation, no matter how much they went through. Though, Lincoln developed two additional "powers" as they called them. Lucy did as well. Lincoln seemed to never miss a target with a bow and arrow, ever. No matter how small or far away the target was, he struck it. And as soon as he got his hands on a rifle, he found out it carried over to any ranged weapon he held. Adrenaline also did a lot more than it ever did for him. Speed increased slightly, but not too much. He could still be outrun by people like Usain Bolt. But his strength, however, was something special
Lucy developed incredible reflexes and had a sense of where things were. Which turned out to be very helpful when scavenging for weapons and clothes.
Now 18 and 15, Lincoln and Lucy are known all across what was once the United States. Though, they didn't go by their normal names. An edgy thirteen-year-old Lincoln and an even edgier 11-year-old Lucy decided to call themselves different
"Yo, Jack and Jill! Wake up!" A voice shouted.
Lincoln and Lucy lay in a horse-drawn cart. Both their eyes shot up
Lucy was the first one up though, she always is
Her Goth apparel had been updated. After raiding a few hot topics (Cause seriously, who would search these during an apocalypse?) she donned new clothes. A black long-sleeve T-shirt with stripes running up and down it, similar to her old attire. A black and white Too too, black and white striped stockings, and some plain black shoes. Though, something different was the bright red rose attached to the top of her headband.
"We're almost at your stop. I myself can't go across the crater zone, but I've heard about you lot. You twins think you'll be alright?" He shouted
Lucy appeared next to the man, visibly stirring him
"Yes" She said
His face went pale. Her voice had that effect on people
She moved back to Lincoln, who was beginning to set himself up. His revolver on his hip was one of the first things you noticed about him. A Rose engraved onto it, found a couple of years into their quest. "The Rose twins" he joked. He didn't know that's what they would be called countrywide. Found by the boy's white hair and the girls ice cold voice.
His leather jacket offered some seasonal protection, as well as some style, with a large red rose on the back. While his backpack carried everything the "twins" needed. Ammo, food, water, and alcohol.
"What's up Jill?" He said
"I need a new bra already. I've needed one for a while"
"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but we haven't been near a city or anywhere relatively near anywhere that has your size."
"Also my uterus is in pain"
Lincoln sighed, and looked out at the buildings around them. The crumbling rock and dust flying made him anxious
"We'll get you your items when we loot another mall or something. Who goes raiding for a bra?" Lincoln says
Lucy nodded and sat down next to her brother. They've both grown so much since the first day. She would love to see the rest of her family, but if she can only have Lincoln, she'd die happy.
The horses neighed and came to a stop.
"Looks like we're here folks! I take ammo or booze as payment" He laughed
Lincoln pulled out a mason jar of Kvass from his bag and handed it to the man
"Pleasure doing business with you Jack"
"You too man"
Lincoln hopped off and helped his sister off as well. The horse and the man sped off and left the siblings at the beginning of the Crater Zone. The zone where the large amounts of non-nuclear bombs went off
In the middle of Richmond, Virginia. He took his sister's hand, something Lincoln has found comforting, in this world devoid of friendliness. And walked
It wasn't very hard to spot the craters, they were everywhere. Sprinkling the ground.
"Remember. No Russian"
Lincoln smiled at her as he made the joke. She laughed, and proceeded down the cracking rode, hand in hand with her brother