Hey guys! This is probably one of my favorite stories to write. Go check out my other story too though, it's in my profile. Anyways, I've been thinking of different endings that would satisfy a lot of ideas I've been thinking of in general. The ending won't come for another week or so, but there will be multiple so you guys can choose one that you accept as the true ending. Also, this one is a long one. Twice as long, as usual, actually. It has a lot of stuff in this chapter But, have fun, your package will be here on Thursday, thank you for choosing Amazon. Also, comment what you want, I enjoy reading them!
"Jesus Christ, what? We were literally in the Gulf of Mexico a little while ago"
Lincoln looked upset. This wasn't the expression Lucy was looking for. She was hoping for
"Wow Lucy, you're the best!"
"W-well, we aren't exactly in Haiti yet. We're closing in on Cuba where we can refill on gas by siphoning cars like you taught me and then head to Haiti, where we can cut through a lot of lands and just go right to Venezuela, and then make it to Brazil. It would save some time, and we would finally be on land!"
Lincoln groaned. Their plants got changed on a whim, but she was right. It would be quicker, and maybe they can see what types of people live there. Maybe they can make some new converts for the Church of the Rose. More followers means more supplies. And they were about to make it there anyway, they couldn't turn around way. He sighed, smiled, and patted his sister on her head.
"Good job Little Luce"
Lucy was squealing inside. This is what she wanted, appraisal. She loved the feeling of helping the person that helped her. Lucy smiled and continued on. Soon, they both felt a bump as the tires finally reconnected with land. Crawling onto the bone and trash-filled beach, Lincoln felt a sigh of relief being back on land and got out to get a feel of the new land, his sister followed as well.
The beach was accompanied by a large cityscape. Though many of the hotels have been cracked, some of them even toppled over into the sand below. Cuba was one of the least nuked places, but its small vicinity meant the radiation was still large. Lucy and Lincoln could see what it's done to the plants they did see. They looked huge, covered in a blueish hue that Lincoln could only assume was the oxygen they out off. Smelling the air, it did smell a lot fresher than any of the places he'd been to in the US. Island biology was weird already. He remembers watching videos about shrinking mammoths on one island, and a human cousin that died out cause of a Volcano on another. He was honestly afraid what radiation would turn it into.
The colors on the plants vary. Some yellow, some violet. All of them developed harder defensive procedures. Most of the small flowers had small spines, think of cactus pricks but hundreds on a much smaller surface area, while some of the taller and bigger bundles of plants developed wooden outer shells. Poking one, Lincoln noticed the wood peeled off and revealed a glossy honey-like substance. Sticking it in his mouth, it tasted surprisingly good. Maybe he'll take one of these seeds with him to grow in Brazil. Lucy, on the other hand, was touching the flowers. They pierced the skin shockingly easily, with a little brush against them leaving an open gash. Small, but enough to see meat.
She winced and pulled her hand back. It'll heal in a couple of hours, and it isn't the worst thing she's felt. That would have to go to the 4 bullets that pierced her stomach when she first turned 14. Luckily they went clean through, and it healed in a couple of days. She looked back at her brother, who was picking seeds through the sticky sweets in the bark.
"Watch out for these plants, they'll slice your leg open while you're walking!" She said, holding up her hand. The bleeding had already stopped.
"Jesus" Lincoln sighed.
He walked back to the car and climbed in. He called his sister over, who appeared within the blink of an eye
"You haven't done that in a while," He said, smiling. Lucy nodded and climbed back into her seat. They were on their last little bit of gas and needed some more. Hopefully, they can find a town that wasn't wiped off the map soon. Lincoln pressed on the gas and tried carefully to avoid the flowers. As soon as he made it to the main road, he was careful to look for any on it. Lucy liked looking out into the city. She loved watching the time lapses of countries being morphed into first world in such a small amount of time. And her sister did it. It also means though, her sister destroyed most of the world by technicality. The sun was shining bright, and the sounds of cawing from all around them let them know that the birds still sang their song no matter what.
After about 25 minutes of driving, they arrived at what seemed to be a small colony. People in makeshift houses were staring as the car drove on the crumbling cement. Lincoln stopped in the middle of the road, he was sure no one here had a working car.
Knocking on the door of one of the larger houses, a man opened with a surprised look on his face. He was older, his mustache was whitening, and so was his hair. He was skinnier than Lincoln, which could have been dangerous at his age.
"Un Chico de pelo blanco!" He said and looked on in amazement.
"¿Habla usted Inglés?" Lincoln said. He had been making sure he had at least some other form of communication, just in case he met someone who didn't speak English.
The man shook his head, and walked further back into his house, beckoning them to come inside.
He pointed to a woman, sitting in a wheelchair. She looked a little older than the man, her wrinkles on her face really began to set in. She looked at the white-haired boy and laughed
"It's been a while since I've seen a tourist"
Lincoln and Lucy both smiled. Her accent was thick, but she spoke well enough for Lincoln to understand.
"Ma'am, I was wondering if you knew of anywhere that had any gasoline?" She nodded and stretched her arms over and over again in a circle
"Any car here. None of us can use them. All have some sort of problem. It's not like I can drive anyway!" She let out a small cackle, and Lincoln smiled as well. Maybe Luan is still acting like this.
"Though, you cannot win the trust of these people so easily. The garden up the road, bandits are guarding it. Get rid of them, and you can have as much gasoline from anywhere near here.
Lincoln nodded. A few bandits wouldn't be so bad. It's also a good chance to spread the word of the Rose Twins to any person he saw walking down the street.
"Jill" He pulled Lucy to the side and held her shoulders. "I need you to stay here and tell the townspeople about us. They have a cathedral, we can start bringing our cult here too!"
Lucy's heart dropped. She nodded, but inside she wanted to cry. He couldn't leave, what if he got hurt? What if the people of the town turned on her and she ended up getting killed or raped?
Her hand was shaking, and she was beginning to sweat by the time Lincoln got to the door.
She didn't want him to leave, she didn't want to be left alone in the dark vents again, listening to gunshots, to dogs barking and people getting raped right outside their house. She didn't want to go through any of that again. She can't, she couldn't, and she won't.
The old woman noticed her hand shaking, and wheeled over to her. She tugged on her sleeve, which brought of her trance of self-depreciation and worries
"Why do you strain my dear?"
"Excuse me?"
"Why do you worry?"
Lucy knew immediately why
"I don't want to be left alone again"
The old woman nodded and smiled
"He isn't leaving you alone. He's just going out for a little bit. How much do you trust him?" She said, wheeling herself back over to her corner, and patting a seat for Lucy to sit down. She answered while walking
"With all my heart," She said, cupping both hands over her chest. Her heart twirled with the thought of him, and she blushed.
"Then he knows to make it back home."
Lucy put her head down and thought about it for a moment. She trusted him with all her heart, she loved her brother. She needed to be beside him at all times. She needed his smile, his laugh, even the way he slightly kept his mouth open when he ate to get a reaction out of her. She needed everything about him. She needed him
Lucy looked at the woman and changed the subject
"Have you ever heard about the church of the rose?"
"I have not, no. Why?" The woman said, adjusting herself.
"It's a religion that sprouted up in the United States. It revolves around me and that white-haired boy. We're the reincarnated gods of destruction"
Lucy hated lying to the woman. She knew they weren't gods, but the ends justify the means.
The woman coughed, and her eyes widened
"Oh my!"
Lucy smiled. She'd gotten used to this reaction. Usually, it was Lincoln telling it though…
Next, she's going to ask for proof.
"Well, are there any miracles you can perform?" She said, trying to catch her breath
Lucy took out a small razor from her pocket, and cut into her arm. It stung, but she was used to it. If she really focuses, it'll heal within seconds. When she watched Lincoln do it for the first time, she learned to do it just enough to get blood. People believe it easier
The woman cringed, but Lucy didn't care. She closed her eyes and focused on the wound. She heard the clock tick 15 times, and when she opened her eyes, the wound was gone.
The woman was white-faced.
Lucy spoke again
"We won't harm you. We don't want to harm anyone. We're fixing the world through destruction" She said.
The woman yelled for her husband in Spanish
"¡Mi amor! ¡El niño y la niña son dioses! ¡Están aquí para ayudar! Oh mi amor mi amor ¡Difundir la noticia! ¡Hay dioses en nuestro pueblo!"
The man heard her from upstairs and sprinted downstairs. After watching another painful demonstration that left another scar on her arm, the husband ran to the church and rang the bell, calling the townspeople to heed.
Lucy was brought to the center of the church, as the woman tried to make sure she was comfortable. Lucy declined any food or water, her brother made those decisions, not her. The old man spoke to the people there, somewhere around 40 citizens stared as he told them of the miracle she performed right in front of them, and how the other god was going to cleanse their land of the filth of bandits. The town's people were suspicious of the girl and asked her questions. About her heritage, how she got here, and how do they know she isn't just another bandit?
She lied her way through most of it and managed to convince most of them. The stragglers said they'd only believe her if her brother brought back proof he killed the bandits.
Hopefully, he'll do so. He usually does. A gun, a personal item. Hell, even the body sometimes.
But, there she was. One of the Rose twins, successfully bringing her religion to a new land. People began to pray to her, begging for forgiveness. Lucy felt awkward about this, as she couldn't exactly answer them.
Meanwhile, at the Garden
Lincoln stared at the small tribe of bandits smashing plants under their feet and laughing. He hated people who acted like that.
The Garden was right in front of him. The large metal gates protected the plants inside from animals. Well, every animal except for Humans
Looking through the plants, radiation must've done a lot. The grapes were easily twice the size, the watermelons looked like several merged to make an ocean melon. The pineapples were smooth, and so on. It all looked incredibly weird to see
He rattled on the gate and watched as someone walked over and opened it. The man had a skull bandana over his mouth and was wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans. The same as his 14 other friends over there.
"Que?"
"Hablo ingles?" Lincoln said, hoping at least one of them did.
"Yeah, what you want?" He said, obviously irritated
"Well," Lincoln smiled, "I would like for you to get off the property."
The man laughed and yelled back at his friends, who further mocked him
Lincoln sighed, and pulled out his magnum, and shot the man dead in the back of the head. He fell over twitching. Lincoln picked up his body and walked towards the rest of the men, who began freaking out and loading the rest of their weapons.
"I asked you all nicely. Now either die or repent for your sins" Lincoln said
One of them had loaded his gun and began to shoot at the boy. The body in front of him stopped most of the bullets. Most of them. He ran and threw the body, which knocked down 2 of the men. The remaining 5 bullets immediately went into 5 other men's skulls. He had time to reload, but adrenaline was beginning to take over.
One of the men ran at him with the knife, screaming at the top of his lungs. Lincoln grabbed the hilt as the man swung, and yanked it out of his hand. He then used it on the remaining men. 3 of the men decided to repent in the end. Knife man, and the two who got hit by the body. They were sitting on the dirt beside their fallen comrades, all of them were crying. Lincoln skimmed the knife over his hand and held it out. Within seconds, the man screamed as the muscle fiber and skin reformed right in front of them. Lincoln kicked over knife man, who began praying in Spanish
"You see, there are gods," He said, turning his head to the other men
"I'm one of them. We're called the Rose Twins. We're here, to kill any bandit who does not repent for their sins and actions. Those who refuse, die. Got it"
The men were shaking and didn't answer
He grabbed knife man's arm and held it up. With a quick slice and help of adrenaline, he sliced the man's hand clean off. He yelled out in pain and curled up into a ball over it
"Got it?" Lincoln yelled. The men shook their heads as a yes
"Good, now get the hell out of here"
The men picked up their comrade and hauled him outside of the gate. All while praying to the "Blanco pero nino"'
Lincoln sighed, and looked at the hand. He needed something to bring back, and it would do.
Time Skip
Lucy was still in the cathedral, getting more anxious within the second. Her mind was spinning, she wanted to scream. This is the longest she'd ever been without Lincoln. Then, all of a sudden, the door opened. And a bloody hand flew into the room. Followed by a white-haired boy. The people stared at the hand. He'd actually done it.
People got up immediately and began thanking the both of them, saying that if they ever needed help, they could always come to the village, which just gained its name according to the old woman, as she was the elected mayor.
"Puerto Rosa"
