Glad I was able to get this chapter up sooner than usual, but I'm sorry if it doesn't seem like much. It's more of a filler, if you will; I'm just setting up elements for what will hopefully be a few awesome concluding chapters. Once again, a big thanks to everyone who's reviewed and stuck with this story. At this point, I won't be implementing any suggestions I've received, but all the same, your support means everything!
Chapter 28: Reflection
Warmth exuded from each house he passed, each one bringing a new assortment of aromas that engulfed his senses and gave him a renewed feeling of comfort, something he had been without for a considerable amount of time. On the other end of that, another feeling that was returning to him was hunger, and in a vast amount. The scents pleased him in one way, but mocked him in another. It was an intriguing feeling.
But Lightning didn't want to dwell on it. The only thing he could afford or had the energy to focus on was finding a place to rest. He passed several homes with dog houses in the backyard, but they were all already occupied. Some of them had dogs sitting just inside, enjoying a bone or another post-dinner delicacy. They weren't all the most sociable of canines, many of them placing themselves between him and their doghouse. He knew they were only being cautious, but he decided against asking them for directions or virtually anything else. There were some less territorial ones who greeted him in passing. A few of them even directed him to where he could find somewhere to spend the night. Most of the suggestions involved nooks behind dumpsters or spaces in alleyways. They weren't Lightning's idea of ideal housing arrangements, but they would have to do.
Before he set out to the first of the recommended locations, he checked at one more house, one that sat on the corner of the street he had been walking along. It was a simple, two-story brick house with the most delectable smells he had come across flowing from its open windows. His hunger struck again with more urgency than before. He now wished he had asked one of the more friendlier dogs he came across for something they could spare for him, in the name of assisting a fellow canine. There had to be something around the house he could scavenge. He roamed around the house and when his eyes fell on the back door, he felt a strange feeling come over him, very distinct from his hunger. It wasn't a discomforting feeling. In fact, it felt very reassuring. As though all problems in his life had suddenly vanished. The last time he had felt this feeling was… When was it? It had a dream-like quality about it, the type of dream that was almost idealistic, usually occurring after a nightmare.
Lightning's senses immediately perked up. A dream. "Dad?" He looked in various directions and listened for his father's voice. But, like before, he heard nothing, and the feeling had faded away.
He sighed and looked down, feeling like he had missed an opportunity. Maybe it wasn't even his father. Maybe it had been just another fluxuation in his powers. Whatever it was, it hadn't satisfied his hunger. He began trotting towards the back door to beg for any spare scraps the family had. It would work out if he could make himself appear adorable or hungry enough. The sympathy aspect wouldn't hurt at least.
As he came to the door, his mind drifted to how he had thought of the idea, but he couldn't recall his thought process leading up to it. The concept seemed to just appear in his mind from something. He couldn't place what…
The back door suddenly opened and a woman stepped halfway out, still facing whoever she was speaking to with a small bucket of food detritus in her hand. Lightning couldn't fully see its contents, but they were the best aroma he had smelled all day. The woman, tall with light brown hair and in her mid thirties, concluded her conversation and took another step fully on the back stoop. Before she took another, she looked down and spotted the dog in front of her. "Oh," she said in mild surprise. "Hey, little guy."
She prepared to walk forward in a motion that could have been an attempt to shoo him away. Without thinking, Lightning drooped both of his ears, tilted his head to the side, looked up at her only with his eyes and whimpered softly. The woman's expression instantly melted into warm, sympathetic generosity, accompanied by a long "Aww." She reached into the bucket and pulled out a sizable piece of beef fat. "Here you go, buddy," she chirped in a strong English accent, tossing the scrap to him.
The savory meat cascaded through his mouth with flavor when he caught it in midair. He wagged his tail in approval. The woman chuckled and walked past him towards the garbage bins lined up against the house. Lightning walked alongside her, too distracted by the food he was receiving to think about how he was doing it. The woman reached the bins but rooted out one more scrap and tossed it to him with another tender smile. He jumped with his front paws and caught it expertly. He missed these delicacies so much and came to remember how long he had been without them. He looked on with disappointment as the woman emptied the bucket's remaining contents into the bin, but maybe he test his newfound skill at more than one house.
"Mummy?" a young voice called from inside.
"I'm out here, sweetie," the woman replied, closing the lid on the bin.
A boy with brown hair who couldn't have been more than ten years old emerged onto the back step. His eyes found his mother first, then fell on Lightning and lit up with excitement. "A doggy!"
He quickly walked up to Lightning. "Wait, sweetie," his mother said warningly.
But Lightning wagged his tail in welcoming the new and eager face. There was something about the boy that came off simply as loving and pure. He came up to him and extended his hand, which Lightning licked to show his approval. The boy scratched Lightning behind the ear with one hand and stroked his dirtied fur with the other. "Wow, look at you!" he said admiringly, eyes glowing. "When did you get him, mummy?"
The woman's eyes became hesitant, already knowing where her son was going with this. "Well… I didn't actually 'get' him. I just found him begging out here," she explained. "He probably belongs to one of the neighbors. Look." She gestured to Lightning's neck. "He has a collar and tag."
The boy noticed it as well and replaced eagerness on his face with disappointment. Though when he studied the tag, his expression reverted. "It says he's from 'Silverlake.' There's no place like that around here, is there?"
The woman sighed as though she was fighting a losing war, somewhere she had been with this child before. "That doesn't mean he might belong to someone."
"Oh but mummy!" the boy argued, looking up at her with a pleading expression. "He was begging out here. He must be hungry! We have to look after him at least for now!"
Lightning looked up at her as well, sensing that this boy either had a way of persuading people or rarely asked for anything. Either way, he could tell that she too was sympathetic to his plight. After several moments of deliberation, she finally said, "Oh all right, David. We'll take him in until we can find out who he belongs to." David could barely contain his excitement and grinned broadly at Lightning. Lightning couldn't help but also rejoice inside. He had found his shelter for the night and even someone to spend it with. "But," his mother firmly added, folding her arms. "in that time, you will be responsible for him."
"I will, mummy," David promised, crossing his heart with two fingers. "I'll look after him. I've been taking care of Rhino, haven't I?"
She nodded once in agreement, "You have. But a dog is going to be different. First of all," she gave Lightning a once-over. "he'll need to be cleaned up. He's not sleeping anywhere in the house like this."
"Okay," he responded, not really paying much attention to her anymore. He guided Lightning towards the door. "Come on, boy. You're staying with us. We'll have lots of fun, won't we?"
Lightning barked happily and followed David inside. He felt renewed somehow, as though he were entering a place where nothing could hurt him. A home. A family. He had felt this way before but… he futilely shook away the memories ingrained in his mind. He knew he couldn't let go of Emily, but he had left for her protection. This was for the best, and something about this place, this home, felt right.
Waking up was difficult to take. Emily never liked it when she came to realize that she was fully awake and always tried to salvage the dissipating sense of weightless dreaming before being thrust into the less idealistic world. That morning was no exception.
Emily sighed and gave up on falling back asleep, allowing her mind to face the realities of the real world. Lightning's absence was the first and most prominent among them, and caused a dull ache within her. She tried to drive it away, but of course there were few other thoughts of hers that didn't pertain to what Calico had done to her life. She harkened back to the summer days in Silverlake, when she would wake up, realize that she could sleep however late she wanted to and blissfully snuggle up in the covers with Lightning, letting her mind wander as though she were still dreaming. Lying on a cold, hard and rather uneven bed of stone with only her backpack as a pillow was not in any respects an adequate substitute.
She eventually concluded that there was no use in even lying down anymore and opened her eyes slowly, giving them time to adjust to the light shining into their cave. Relieved to see that it was already well into the morning, she lifted her head and looked around to see all her supplies still present and her mother still sleeping on her side right behind her. Emily moved her mother's arm, which had been draped protectively over her, carefully so as not to wake her, quietly stood up and tiptoed to the cave entrance. She was greeted by a cool breeze as she stepped into the morning sunlight and low-hanging mist. Emily shivered slightly and hugged her elbows, surveying the nearby area. The rustle of the long grass waving in the wind and the chirping of several different types of birds composed the tranquil ambience of the environment. It was so calm and soothing in spite of her current circumstances. As remarkable as she found it, she felt that she couldn't truly enjoy it without Lightning by her side. Her inner turmoil was far too distracting. Still, she had to try for some level of relaxation.
She began to walk along the stone path, wrapped in her thoughts, her concerns for Lightning, her father and grandfather, and her worries for the future. Her best efforts to dismiss them for the time being only kept them at bay. Her natural tendency was to leave them to Penny now that she was with her, but she couldn't deny that she herself would have to play some part herself. When she looked up from her feet, she saw that she had walked to where the edge of the valley overlooked central London. The city was already awake with its usual bustle, and there she stood, observing it in a naturally peaceful setting. She was able to find some consolation in that.
It occurred to her that it would probably be best to be at her mother's side when she woke up, given the circumstances. But when she turned back towards the camp, she saw Penny already walking to her. Always sensing when I'm not around… "Morning," Penny greeted warmly, coming to Emily's side and also taking in the view.
"Hey," Emily responded, turning back around.
"Sleep okay?" Penny asked after a few seconds.
The answer seemed obvious, but then again, Emily had grown accustomed to poor sleeping conditions, and maybe Lightning's absence or Penny's presence would make a difference. Additionally, a mother just needed to know this sort of thing. Emily shrugged, "I guess."
Penny nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was a step up from what Calico gave us."
Emily saw her mother wince after mentioning Calico. Yes, she was trying to dodge the subject while she knew perfectly well that they were going to have to go back there at some point. This annoyed Emily profusely. She can send me and Lightning out to fend for ourselves against Calico, but she still can't even talk about it when I'm around? What, you don't think I'm strong anymore? Now all of a sudden I'm Mommy's Little Girl? Do you even know what you're doing with me? Emily was incredibly tempted to voice even one of her thoughts just to cut down on the raging inside her head, but she kept her mouth shut and didn't even risk an irritated glance. Penny folded her arms and kept looking out over the city. "It's a nice view, isn't it?" she commented almost hastily.
Emily sighed quietly, feeling her frustration swell. It wasn't that she had awoken in a sour mood, but for once her mother's efforts at conversation weren't helping to reassure her. She didn't feel like beating around the bush. If she was old enough to survive out here with Calico chasing her, she was old enough to understand the full extent of their next move. She wanted to be done with this. She wanted to go home. Before Penny could speak again, Emily exhaled intentionally audibly. "What now?" she asked, looking at Penny.
Penny sighed as well and met her eyes. She glanced down once and said, "We'll figure something out."
Emily felt a little contented. We'll figure something out. So she was still part of this after all. But the answer wasn't completely satisfying. "Do you have a plan?"
Penny began to nod, then tilted her head briefly in reconsideration. "I have an idea at least. It's not much," she admitted. "but it's a start."
Back to honesty again. That is something. Emily only wished she could see it all as clearly as her mother could. "Does it involve Lightning?"
Penny smiled sadly, put her arm around Emily and pulled her close. "I hope it does," she responded softly. "I'm really not sure anymore, sweetheart. I thought I knew how to handle this, but I risked too much last time and now…" Penny looked away for a few moments before looking back at Emily, who placed her arm around her waist and leaned into her which served as reassurement for both of them. "I'm just hoping right now."
Having endured it for the past four weeks, Emily knew the feeling, and almost felt a hint of retribution at now having Penny in a similar position. At the same time, she also felt more compelled to forgive her. Emily had told herself before that she would never forgive either of her parents for abandoning her, but over the course of the past week, her grudge grew smaller and now all she wanted was to get her family back. If part of Penny's plan was to wear Emily down enough to the point where she didn't even care about what happened before, it had worked, especially since Penny was being honest with her now. "What's our next move?" Emily asked in a tired tone.
"We'll need to make sure none of Calico's armed patrols are around when we head back to the base," she responded promptly.
Emily was afraid of that. She knew it was coming, but still hoped against hope that they would do something different. Penny always had something in mind. While Adam was generally the one to take chances and see what happened, Penny preferred to think ahead and prepare for any situation. "But first," Penny added. "We get some breakfast. Shouldn't be too far to the next town."
That was more like it. The motherly instinct was still in her. They both turned around and began walking back to the camp, keeping their arms around one another. Even in spite of her previous actions and everything Emily had thought about her, Penny still provided a comforting and secure presence, something she had come to depend on and became so terrified without when Lightning left. But even then, there was still the ever-looming uncertainty. With Lightning missing and Calico's power growing out of sight of all governments, nothing was guaranteed. Penny was right. Hope was the best they could do.
"I hope Lightning catches up," Emily said, almost to herself.
Penny tightened her grip around her daughter's shoulders. "I have a feeling he will." Emily only grunted in response. "A feeling" wasn't much. While her mother's uncertainty helped Emily relate to her, it also reinforced her own skepticism on Penny's ability to pull through, in addition to the fact that Lightning's troubles were entirely her fault. She knew this, of course, and was only trying to keep her safe, but Emily wanted some assurance that her mother's plan would prevail. "After all," she continued, as though responding to the thought. "I was separated from you without knowing where you were, and look how far you came."
She didn't allow Penny to see it, but Emily allowed herself a slight grin. Her mother always seemed to know just what to say to her.
