Antha1: Meh.
I am a burglar: You're still in that neighborhood?
Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, in times like these, you gotta set aside your hatred for the greater good.
When the Andersen's landed on the street near their house, they saw a massive firefight ensuing between the ferals and the people who had arrived to quell them. Thus far, the ferals were being held at bay.
"I think we should stay away from that," Bill said, voicing the thoughts of all three of them. Remembering why they came there in the first place, the three raced to their house, hoping that Ghoul was still alright. They did their best to avoid the fighting occurring only a few feet away.
Reaching the house, Riley pushed the door open and the three barged in, Riley shouting, "Ghoul? Are you in here?!"
The three didn't have far to look. The room was a mess, tables and couches having been overturned, pieces of glass and furniture scattered across the floor. However, what stuck out most to the family was the bodies of several ferals, sprawled across the ground. The three were stunned that Ghoul had managed to take them on by herself.
The three were distracted from the scene when they heard a crashing sound coming from upstairs, along with the sounds of snarling and the gnashing of teeth. Riley recognized it as the sound of another feral, and she had a good idea who it was fighting against.
"Ghoul!" She called out, hoping that her friend was holding her own.
"Help me!" Ghoul's voice called out from upstairs, signalling for the three to intervene. The family rushed to the stairway, careful to avoid the broken glass on the floor, and made their way up the stairs. As they ran upstairs, they could hear the struggle become more intense and brutal.
Finally arriving at the top of the staircase, they could see Ghoul and her assailant. The two were locked together, each trying to strike a fatal blow to the other. Both were covered in cuts and bruises, but the feral was beginning to gain the upper hand. Ghoul was fighting back, but it was clear that her fighting with the other ferals had worn her out.
Jill reacted before the others did. She fired one shot at the ground near the two, diverting the feral's attention from Ghoul, and towards the three new arrivals.
"Get away from her," Jill ordered the creature, the gun trailed on it. Immediately, the feral let go of Ghoul. Released from the creature's hold, Ghoul collapsed on the ground, utterly worn out.
The feral now turned to Jill, its back hunched over, the creature readying itself to strike. Before it could do so, Jill fired one shot at the creature. Immediately, the feral crumpled onto the floor, dead.
With the feral dead, Riley rushed over to tend to Ghoul. "Are you alright?" She asked, leaning in to inspect Ghoul's wounds.
"I'm fine," Ghoul said, struggling to get to her feet. However, that was evidently not the case, as she groaned and collapsed back onto the ground, biting her lower lip.
"You're hurt," Jill said to her. "I don't think you can keep on fighting."
"No, I can still fight," Ghoul reassured the group, despite the pain etched across her face. She once again made an attempt to stand, but had to be helped to her feet by Riley.
Bill looked downstairs. "Was that the last feral?" He asked Ghoul.
"I think so," Ghoul said, nodding slowly. "They really put up a fight."
"I think you should rest," Jill suggested to her. "We'll handle things from here. Once this street is cleared out, we'll call for the others to arrive."
Ghoul furrowed her eyebrows at Jill, looking like she wanted to argue. However, eventually her features softened, and she closed her eyes, silently obeying.
As it turned out, Ghoul had been wrong about the house being clear. Shortly after she had been laid to rest in Riley's room, Bill, Jill and Riley had investigated the rest of the house and discovered a few other ferals hiding within the basement. Fortunately, they were easy to dispose of.
Once those ferals had been taken care of, Bill had gone outside to help in taking out the remaining ferals that were scattered across the street, leaving Riley and Jill to guard the house. While Riley was inside the living room, Jill accompanied Ghoul as she lay in bed.
Alone together, the two women remained silent for some time. All they did was listen to the gunfire and the screeching coming from just outside the house. Slowly, but surely, the fighting appeared to be dying down, and they could tell the immediate swarm of ferals were soon to be eradicated.
Unexpectedly, Jill heard Ghoul whisper, "I'm sorry."
The brunette turned to face Ghoul, her eyes wide. "What did you say?' She asked, for confirmation.
"I'm sorry that I tried to act like Riley's mother," Ghoul whispered to Jill. "You're her mother, not me. I should've accepted that. I was being too controlling."
Jill stared at Ghoul, stunned. "B-But, Ghoul," She whispered. "I was the one who was wrong. You were right about me; I should've been more careful with Riley. If it hadn't been for you, she would be dead now."
"Can't argue with that," Ghoul mumbled, an almost comical tone in her voice. For a moment, she almost seemed to smile.
Then, Ghoul's smile disappeared, and she whispered, "Jill, there's something I should tell you."
"What is it?" Jill asked.
Ghoul took a deep sigh. "When I became an Other, my memory was a blur," She said slowly. "I could only remember fragments of my past, my childhood. Even when I started to heal, my memory didn't. Until now."
Jill remained silent, waiting for Ghoul to continue.
"When I was child, I was raised by my mother," Ghoul whispered. "I didn't know what happened to my dad. Either he died when I was young, or ran off, I'm still not sure. All I know is that my mother had me while she was still young, at a time when she wasn't best to be a. . . parent."
"Uh-huh," Was all Jill said. She herself remembered her own mother very clearly. Most of the memories of her parents had been happy. However, she got the feeling that wasn't the case with Ghoul.
"My mother was a junkie," Ghoul said, speaking as if she were still trying to recollect her memories. "As a child, I would often see her with these. . . drinks. It wasn't until I was an adult that I actually understand what they were. But as a child, my mother would do. . . things. She would spend whole days passed out, not making breakfast. I learned from a young age to do that myself. Other times, my mother would just. . . vanish, and I would wonder where she'd gone off to. Every time, though, she'd come back, and I never questioned it. To this day, I still don't know the answer."
"What was she like. . . to you?" Jill asked, turning away from Ghoul to stare at the wall.
". . . I don't think she liked me," Ghoul said bluntly. "Even though we lived together, she often avoided me. She would also get angry, very easily. Half of the time, she was shouting and yelling, either at me, or our neighbors. On occasion, she'd break something, like a plate, or a chair, and then she'd have to scrape together what money she had to pay for it."
Jill was silent, letting Ghoul speak.
"When I was outside, I could hear the neighbors talking," Ghoul said. "About my mother. About me. I didn't know what they were saying exactly, but I don't think it was good. The other children avoided me, too."
Jill nodded slowly, unsure of what to say.
"When I was old enough, I just. . . left," Ghoul continued. "I wanted to be out of that life. I wanted to be as far removed from my mother as possible. We didn't even exchange goodbyes. Personally, I think she was just as relieved to have me gone."
". . . Do you know what happened to your mother?" Jill asked.
Ghoul closed her eyes and shook her head. "I told you; I wanted to be as removed from hr as possible," She said. "The only thing I wanted to remember was how horrible of a parent she was, so that I could hope to be a better one."
The moment Ghoul finished speaking, Jill felt as if she understood her so much more. "I'm. . . sorry," She whispered.
"Someone has to be," Ghoul muttered.
Standing up and facing Ghoul, Jill said, "Ghoul, I know that must be a painful memory. And memories stay with us forever."
Ghoul nodded.
"But eventually, everything will become a memory," Jill continued. "And while there will be painful memories for all of us, there will be some happy ones, too. And I'm sure you've ha plenty of happy memories with Noose and Riley."
Ghoul nodded once more, and this time, she smiled. "That's true," She said.
"And I just want you to know: you are a better parent than her," Jill said, and she walked over to Ghoul and hugged her. The noirette's eyes widened in shock, but eventually, she returned the hug.
Suddenly, Riley burst into the room. "Mom! Ghoul!" She shouted, causing the two women to turn to her.
"What is it, Riley?" Jill asked.
W"The ferals on the street have been beaten back," Riley said. "And Bill told me that the rest of the group are on their way here. We're one step closer to stopping this whole thing."
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