Chapter four: High Voltage: Part one
Nuuk was now known to many, hell on earth. John and Robert had been best friends since they were kids and now they were both in the trenches. The two 25 year olds were really in hell now. Again and again they shot in the direction of the enemy. The soldiers were happy when the shelling was light. Since the city's invasion began a month ago, the two had seen many friends die. And some of their colleagues called Nuuk, Stalingrad. It was raining heavily this morning and it was cold. As always, the two were in the trenches, only about 150 meters from the coast.
"Robert, we're supposed to storm this house." said John.
"So that we have been walking for three days, because of which about twenty people have already died?" asked Robert.
John pointed to a red house about twenty yards away.
"We're close enough. One smoke grenade and we can get in there."
A grenade hit near her. The two huddled together. John took his rifle and fired in the direction the grenade was coming from.
"If we don't go in there, others will go in."
Robert nodded. The two crept through the ditch and john threw a smoke grenade at the house. Smoke spread and the two of them walked towards the house undetected. John looked around. Mortar shells fell everywhere and almost every house burned. Robert opened the door of this house. Everything mattered now. They sneaked into the kitchen of the house. Robert made a hand sign, and John sent word that they should separate. Robert went into the living room, he had his pistol ready. John went up the stairs. When Robert was in the living room, he saw the pictures of the family that lived in this house. Robert looked closely at this picture. Then he heard a rumble from above and he ran up the stairs. Then he saw an extremist soldier holding a bloody shovel and John lying on the ground with a badly injured neck. Robert pulled the pistol and shot the extremist. He fired until his magazine was empty and the extremist lay dead on the ground. He immediately went to John, but he was too late. He started to cry.
"John! Talk to me! I command you! Speak!" he screamed desperately.
He put his friend down. He looked for the name badge hanging from John's neck. Robert took the second and put it in his pocket.
"I'll never forget you." said Robert, and went to the front door.
He threw a smoke grenade, and sneaked back into the trenches. When he was back there, he looked back at the house. He vowed to tell everyone about John's bravery.
Lori was glad she wasn't fighting at Nuuk. The Enterprise hadn't been getting many jobs, so there was plenty of free time for the crew. Among other things, a couple of sailors put up a net on the flight deck and started playing tennis. Sybille liked to play tennis. That evening Sybille wanted to teach Lily how to play tennis. But Sybille had to be careful because she has already thrown two balls into the ocean. Free time on the Enterprise meant no uniforms, civilian clothes were allowed. So was Lily in her civilian uniform on the flight deck. And Sybille had a style of dress that Lucy would have liked. She was wearing a black sweater and black pants.
"You never played tennis?" asked Sybille.
"Yes, often with my sister Lynn. But here I find it a waste of time. We could calibrate the fire control." said Lily.
"Lily, free time is free time."
Lily went to the bow and Sybille to the stern. Sybille took out the ball and threw it up and caught it in her hand.
"Show me what you've got Lily."
Sybille hits the ball to Lily. Lily tossed him back expertly. Sybille hit him back to Lily. It took two minutes until Sybille didn't catch the ball.
"Damn you are good." says Sybille.
The two continued to play until dark. Then they went to Lily's quarters. Lori came too. Since the information Lily had was not relevant to the Enterprise, Decker said he would rather check out the hangar. Sybille sat on the couch in Lily's quarters, and Lori on Lily's bed. Lily was holding some documents. A balance sheet of the Nuuk invasion.
"So, coinciding with our mid-Atlantic battle, the invasion of Nuuk began. Here's the Pentagon's first tally. 37,000 dead, and 20,000 injured. The supply is partially collapsing, and ammunition is also running out. This leads to quite frightening events." said Lily.
"What's happening there?" asked Lori.
"Now that the ammunition is missing, the soldiers kill with knives, tools. Some take stones and beat the enemy to death, some strangle them with their bare hands. Other companies take revenge actions, and kill prisoners of war. And I don't mean only the extremists, both sides." said Lily.
"You were right. A second Stalingrad." Lori said softly.
"Stalingrad?" asked Sybille.
"Stalingrad was a city in the Soviet Union where a brutal battle took place between the Red Army of the Soviet Union and the Wehrmacht of the Nazis. 700,000 soldiers died in this battle. Please continue, Lily." said Lori.
"And the first night was the worst. 8,000 dead on our side. When morning came, the soldiers saw that the sea and the coast had turned red because so much blood had spilled. They don't transport the dead home. They dump the dead in a ditch and pour gasoline on them."
"Why?" asked Sybille, stunned.
"If you were to transport the dead, you would risk further casualties. It is better if they are cremated there. The civilian damage is also big, half the population of Nuuk is dead."
"I heard from Admiral Archer that they want to call off the invasion. But Archer is in the Navy." Lori said.
"The heavy cruiser Erich Honecker, from the Germans, had also started shelling. It's possible that we too will be sent to Nuuk." said Sybille.
"I hope not." said Lori.
It was getting dark quickly over the Atlantic. But in Royal Woods it was still light. The sun was only just setting and turned the sky pink. Every week came a person in the garden from the louds, a person who made a promise. Lana kept the promise she made to her brother 24 years ago. She had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing a denim jacket that had some stains on it. She took a watering can and watered a small tree. She looked at him. He was strong and healthy. She went into the house and greeted her parents.
"Hello mom, hello dad. How are you?" said Lana.
"Hello Lana." said Rita.
"There's my little engineer." said Lynn Sr.
Lynn junior is coming down. Even though she had seen Lana last week, she ran to Lana and hugged her tightly.
"Lana! I missed you." said Lynn.
"You still like to hug." Lana said, hugging Lynn back.
"Come with me, I have something to show you."
Lynn pulled Lana by the hand up the stairs to her room. There was a whiteboard on which Lynn drew the armor of a ship. It was a schematic drawing of the enterprise. Lana was amazed.
"Did you do this?" asked Lana.
"Yes. I proved that the Enterprise is not safe." Lynn said as if she'd made a breakthrough discovery.
"What do you mean? Not safe?" asked Lana unsure?
"Well, the armor belt is 300mm thick, and the Zitadel armor is 130mm thick. A heavy cruiser like Konrad Adenauer, or a battlecruiser like the Gneisenau could seriously damage the Enterprise." said Lynn stressed.
"Yes, and I know a bit about ships. These are German ships. And they will not attack the Enterprise." Lana said in a calm voice.
"But if one is kidnapped."
The voice in Lynn's head speaks again.
"You're right. How many ships have the extremists hijacked? Fifty? Sixty?" said the voice.
Lynn starts hyperventilating. Lana worries about her.
"Lynn? What's wrong with you?" Lana asked worried.
"The Enterprise. What if the Enterprise is hijacked? Lily and Lori aren't allowed to be there." said Lynn, and sat down on her bed.
Lana sat down next to her. She held a hand on her shoulder.
"You think too much." said Lana calmly.
"I can't lose Lily and Lori. The Enterprise is the most valuable ship, and therefore an important target for the enemy."
Lana hugged Lynn. She didn't know what was on her older sister's mind, but she wanted Lynn to feel safe and knows that Lori and Lily are safe too.
When it was late in the evening and Sybille was no longer in Lily's quarters, Lori and Lily were alone.
"I can tell you how I finally got into the Navy." said Lori.
"So, from last week at Home?" Lily asked.
"Exactly. I wasn't sure. I wouldn't see Bobby for a long time. But I had to go into the Navy."
It was a Saturday morning. Lori and Carol were jogging again. Lori couldn't even remember when she was rivalry with Carol. It was like they were always friends and Lori liked that.
"Hey Lori, what's up with Bobby? Are you going to try a long-distance relationship?" asked Carol.
"Of course, there is no other possibility." said Lori.
"I have to admit, I'm jealous of you and Bobby."
"How do you mean that?" Lori asked confused.
"You are very happy with Bobby. If you are together, the world could end and you would still love each other."
Lori's cheeks turned red. She was quite embarrassed.
"Please, Carol. No." Lori said sheepishly.
"I'm just saying what I see. You two are made for each other."
Lori knew carol was right. They kept jogging. They ran along the river. They walked past the nuclear power plant, Carol stopped.
"Is something the matter, Carol?" asked Lori.
"It's only when I see the whole thing that I know it's real. I mean, we grow up, we go into the navy, I go to the nuclear power plant first. Kind of, fascinating." said Carol.
Lori approached Carol. They both looked at the clouds coming out of the cooling towers. Lori put her hand on Carol's shoulder.
"I'm kind of proud of you." said Lori.
"I'm glad to have you as a friend." said Carol.
The two kept walking. When they got to the Louds, everything was business as usual. What confused Lori was that Luna was proposing a ballad in the garage. Lori walked into the living room with Carol. There was Lola watching a princess fashion show on TV. Lori went into her room and Carol followed her.
"Do you know wich instructor you have?" asked Carol.
"Commander Hartmann. I've been told that he's particularly strict." says Lori worried.
"It's the same for me. My instructor is Céleste Chevalier, a French nuclear physicist. She's supposed to be very strict. Now I have to work in block two, and that will be ramped up on my first day." said Carol.
"Is it difficult?" asked Lori.
"It takes 24 hours to start up the reactor according to the instructions."
A voice rang out, lisping cutely. Lisa entered Lori's room.
"Did I just hear Nuclear Reactor?" said Lisa.
"Yes, I will work at the nuclear power plant." said Carol.
"Can you bring me some fuel elements?" asked Lisa.
"I can. I would end up in jail though."
Lisa left the room. She went downstairs and saw that her mother wants to leave the house.
"Where are you going?" asked Lisa.
"To Lynn." said Rita.
She closed the door and got into Vanzilla. She drove towards Psychiatry. When she got there, she went to the fourth floor. There she was warmly welcomed by Mr. Malach and led into a room with a table and a pair of chairs. They sat down.
"Well, I'm glad you're here Miss Loud." said Doctor Malach.
"Well, you called me here, and it's about Lynn. Then I'll be sure to come." Rita said.
"I always have to think about how precisely Lynn described she, how caring you are. Well, I have to explain something about Lynn's condition to you."
Rita prepared for the worst.
"Well, she's reached a phase where we psychologists can't do anything anymore. That's nothing bad. Lynn's psyche is now going into a permanent state."
"Permanent state? Please explain that to me." asked Rita.
"Well, she had been showing very strong symptoms, which are still very strong at this point, but weaker. What I'm saying is that Lynn's condition may change now, for better or for worse, or stay that way. Absolutely, it has we patients who need more help than Lynn and her condition allows us to discharge her from the clinic."
Rita got up, she was very happy, her daughter could go home again. She had been waiting for this for months.
"Lynn can go?" asked Rita.
"Yes, but I have one request. Tell her this news gently. She has a good friend who means a lot to her."
"I understand."
Doctor Malach led Rita to Lynn. Lynn spoke to Eve, and was surprised at her mother's appearance.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Lynn asked confused.
Rita knelt in front of Lynn.
"You can go home, honey." said Rita.
The voice in Lynn's head spoke again.
"She wants to destroy the friendship between you and Eve."
"I do not want to go home." said Lynn.
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Rita.
"You want to destroy the friendship between me and Eve."
Lynn stood by Eve and held her arm.
"Eve is my best friend." Lynn said angrily.
"Lynn, did you. ARSENIC! hear what your mother said?" asked Eve.
Lynn looked at Eve. Then Eve looked at her mother. Eve continued.
"She says you can go home. Take this chance. Your. URANIUM! family can help you better than I can."
"It's okay if I go home?" Lynn asked shyly.
"But of course. We will always be friends."
Lynn hugged Eve, who hugged Lynn too. The hug lasted a long time. When they were done, Lynn and Eve went to Lynn's room and Eve helped Lynn pack. It was sad that the friends had to part, but Eve was happy for Lynn. The two said goodbye to each other very warmly. Then Lynn left. She waved at Eve one last time, and Eve waved back.
Vanzilla made no trouble on the drive. They finally reached the Louds' house. Rita opened the door and when Lynn was in the living room, Loly and Lana ran to her. The twins hugged Lynn.
"You're finally back." Lana said happily.
"We missed you." said Lola.
Leni came out of the kitchen. When she saw Lynn, she walked towards her too. She knelt down next to Lynn and the twins, and stroked Lynn's hair.
"It's nice to have you back." said Leni.
"Now that's enough, let Lynn arrive first." said Rita.
Lynn ran up the stairs and entered her room. Lynn looked at Lori's room.
"Why did Lori put you in psychiatry. She doesn't love you." said the voice in her head.
Lynn clenched her hands into fists. She walked into Lori's room, she yanked open the door, and looked at a startled Lori and Carol. She ran towards Lori and jumped on her. She was extremely angry.
"Lynn, why are you here? Why are you doing this?" Lori said while Lynn was on top of her.
Lynn hit Lori. She was so angry. Lori was so surprised that at first she didn't know what was happening.
"Because you locked me up. Because you think I'm crazy." Lynn yelled at her.
Lori held Lynn's fists. Tears fell from Lynn's eyes.
"It was necessary." said Lori.
"Do you know what is really necessary?" said Lynn aggressively.
Lynn kicked her knee in Lori's stomach. Lori felt extreme pain. Carol was frozen, because she had never seen so much violence. But then she approached them both. Carol pulled Lynn away from Lori. Lynn pulled free and stood there, looking deep into Lori's eyes.
"I hate you. I hate you with all my heart." Lynn said in a tone that made those words Deadly.
Lynn ran away. Lori stood up, one hand over her heart. Lori was mentally hurt, it was so strong that she felt it in her heart. She leaned on the bedside table. Lori moved like she had a real knife in her chest. Carol held Lori so she wouldn't fall over. Lori also had physical pains. Her stomach is hurted extremely and she walked hunched over. Carol didn't know how it felt for Lori, but she wanted to help her. Lynn ran into the garage. She kicked the boxes that were there and knocked them over. Lynn just had a mental meltdown. She felt so much energy in her chest that she thought she would explode. But she wasn't alone in the garage.
"Hey, please don't kick my amps." said Luna.
Lynn turned to Luna.
"Nice to have you here sis. Sit down." said Luna, pointing to a beanbag next to her.
Lynn sat down.
"What's up?" asked Luna.
The voice in Lynn's head spoke again.
"What do you think is going on? You attacked your sister. Your dear sister who always wanted to protect you." said the voice.
"I just attacked Lori." said Lynn softly.
Lynn expected every kind of abuse, accusations and more, but it didn't come to that.
"What was the reason?" Lua asked calmly.
"I was angry with her for putting me in a psychiatric ward." Lynn said angrily.
"Well, she was worried about you. And you're better now. So psychiatry was a good help for you."
"I know, but did she really have to put me in a clinic?"
"You should have seen Lori. She was exhausted."
Lynn's energy was gradually draining. She realized now what she had done. Now Lynn's chest hurt too. Luna realized that something was wrong, that something bad had happened.
"Lynn, what did you say to Lori?" asked Luna.
"I said, I hate her with all my heart." Lynn said, tears forming in her eyes.
"What have you done?" said Luna quietly and stunned.
"Yes, look what you did. You realize how much it hurts you, so how do you think it hurts Lori?" said the voice.
"I have to go." said Lynn and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Luna asked, but Lynn was already out of the garage.
She ran after Lynn. She saw them running down the street. Luna tried to stop her, but the rocker wasn't as quick as Lynn. She didn't see Lynn anymore.
"God damn shit!" screamed Luna.
Luna ran into the house. Then she called all the siblings to her. Lynn senior and Rita ran to the siblings. Lori came too. Carol was standing next to her and Lori's makeup was running down her face. It was obvious that she had been crying.
"Lynn ran away. We have to find her." said Luna.
"Why? She's old enough to take care of herself." said Lana.
"And mentally unstable." said Lisa.
"We must find her before she endangers herself." said Lucy.
"Why did Lynn run away?" asked Rita worried.
"She had fought with Lori and called her very rudely." explained Carol.
"Its my fault." Lori said sadly.
"The question of who is to blame is irrelevant. Lynn is just as unstable as an RBMK-1000 reactor." said Lisa.
"What is an RBMK-1000?" Luan asked.
"The Chernobyl reactor, wrong topic. We have to find Lynn before it ends in disaster." Lisa said.
"We need to form groups. Luan, please call Pop-pop and tell him to come. Lucy, Lana and Lola, you will search the neighborhood. Rita, you will search Vanzilla with Luna and Leni. Lori and Carol, take it Carol's car, I'll wait here with Lily for Pop-pop. Then Pop-pop will search with Luan. Every second counts, go go." said Lynn Sr.
Lucy and the twins walked to the door and put on their shoes. The three of them headed out. Luan answered the phone and dialed Pop-pop's number. Lori and Carol got in the car, and Rita with Luna and Leni in Vanzilla. The coordination of their actions reminded of the skill of the fire brigade. Luan was successful, Pop-pop had answered the call.
"Here is Albert. Who's there?" Pop-pop said on the phone.
"Pop-pop! You have to come here! Lynn's gone." said Luna.
"Lynn? She's in psychiatry."
"No, not anymore. She was discharged from the clinic."
"Is she endangering herself?"
"We don't know. But I had a big fight with Lori."
"Holy Mary help us. I'll be right there."
Pop pop hung up. Rita's group and Lori and Carol had already left. Lynn senior now joined Luan.
"You wait here for pop-pop, ok?" said Lynn Sr.
"Yes." said Luan.
Carol and Lori were on their way to the area between the main train station and the nuclear power plant. Carol put her car on cruise control and the two drove through the streets at a constant speed of 20 km/h. Tears ran down Lori's cheeks.
"What if she hurts herself? What if it's worse?" Lori cried.
"I didn't know how unstable Lynn is." said Carol worried.
"The situation around Lynn is very tense. She is miserable."
The situation seemed very familiar to Lori. She had been looking for Lincoln in that storm with Carol. But now it was sunny, and the sun was already showing itself orange, and colored the sky red. They stopped and asked a young woman.
"Excuse me, have you seen a girl? Brown hair and thirteen years old." asked Lori.
"The description fits almost every girl. I saw ten girls like that today." said the young woman.
Lori thanked her. Carol drove on.
Now they came to the park where Lincoln passed out for the first time. It all started here. Everything that was now out of control began here. Lori's grief was now complemented with hatred. The hate was so strong, not even Lori would have thought anyone could feel such hate. She didn't hate any person though, she hated the whole situation she and her family was in.
Rita was no different. She was with Luna and Leni near the cemetery where Lincoln's grave was.
"There the cemetery. Maybe she is there." said Luna.
"I'm getting out. When she's there I'll call you." said Leni.
"OK, take care." said Rita.
Leni got out and Rita and Luna drove on. Leni now entered the cemetery. She looked around. She saw Lincoln's grave. She went towards it.
"Hello Lincoln. I'm looking for Lynn. Something is wrong with her and we have to find her. You know, I told you once, that I don't understand some things and I don't understand now, what's going on with Lynn. You were always good at explaining things like that to me."
Leni looked around. In the cemetery there was a small meadow, which was full of flowers. There was a sign there that said: "Taking flowers allowed." Leni went and took a red poppy. She went back to Lincoln.
"Please tell me when you've seen Lynn, ok? Here, the flower is for you." said Leni, and put the flower on the grave.
Leni left the cemetery and continued looking for Lynn.
Lucy, Lola and Lana were searching the neighborhood. They called Lynn's name.
"Lynn! Where is she?" said Lana.
Fangs appeared. He landed on Lucy's arm.
"Have you found Lynn?" asked Lucy.
Fangs shook his head.
"It's okay, you did your best." said Lucy.
The three kept walking.
In the house of the Louds, Luan coordinated everything. She was on the phone the whole time, and it seemed to her that she was organizing a war. She had just spoken to Bobby on the phone. She was now on the phone with Clyde.
"So, Lynn has disappeared and is she a danger to herself?" said Clyde on the phone.
"Exactly. We need your help." said Luan.
"I'm on my way." said Clyde and hung up.
Luan looked up another number and called Ronnie Anne.
"Ronnie Anne Santiago. Who's calling?"
"Hi, this is Luan. Lynn has disappeared and we need help."
"I'll start looking right away."
"Thank you Ronnie Anne."
Luan hung up and looked for the next number. In the living room, Lisa connected a black box to the TV using an HDMI cable. She turned on the TV and the box, and a floppy disk icon appeared on the screen with a blinking question mark. Lisa plugged a Thunderbolt SSD into the box and the screen now said, "Control 17.7.5 "Columbus" Booting up. Please wait." Lisa went to her room and got some kind of model airplane that had no wings. It must have been two meters long. She put it in front of the house, and then she went again to her room and got the wings, which had a wingspan of 2.5 meters. The engines and propellers were on the wings. Sirens were installed between the propeller and the engines. She assembled the wings and put fuel in the model. She turned on the model and went into the living room and there was now a lot of camera footage all coming from the plane. She pressed a button and the screen said, "Search mode, please wait." After ten seconds it said: "Ready for operation, please start the engines." Lisa went to the model and dragged it onto the street. She opened a small flap and pressed a small button. Then the engines started, and the faster the propellers got, the louder and scarier the sirens sounded. Then the little plane took off. It got about 100 km/h fast and it took off. Lisa ran to the television. Now it said: "Operation altitude required, please wait." Lynn senior came into the living room.
"What are you doing Lisa?" asked Lynn Sr.
"I'll use my drone to find Lynn." said Lisa.
"You are awesome."
"I know. I'm just a genius."
The door opened. Pop-pop and Myrtle walked in. They looked worried.
"It's good that you're here. Luan! Come and search with Pop-pop." said Lynn Sr.
"It is necessary." said pop pop.
Luan came running. She ran out of the house and got into Pop-pop's car. Pop-pop followed and started the car. They drove away.
"How was Lynn?" asked Myrtle.
"She was unstable. I don't know what's on her mind. She just got out of the psychiatric ward today." said Lynn Sr.
"How can a family have so much unhappiness?"
Nobody could answer this question. And no one would ever get an answer.
Lori and carol were in the park now. And Lori walked towards a place where all the horror began. The meadow, the trees, everything as it was three months ago. The last time she was here, all was right with the world. Now Lori was back. The place where Lincoln lay where Lynn unwittingly rescued him. Lori stood there. Carol stood five meters behind her. Lori stared at the lawn. She felt the hate inside her begin to grow stronger. He got stronger and stronger. He got so strong that even Lori couldn't tell how strong he was. she hated everything. Every month, every week, every day, and herrself. Lori took her phone and threw it against a tree with a lot of force. Lori had never thrown anything with so much force. The phone was destroyed in the process. The screen, battery and case ended up in the lawn. Carol ran to her, and held Lori by both shoulders.
"Take your anger out on me." said Carol.
Lori turned and looked at Carol.
"What? I won't hit you." Lori said confused.
"No, you won't hit me. But insult me. You have to get rid of your anger."
"Carol? What are you saying?"
"If you keep holding back your anger like this, you'll be like Lynn. So insult me, scold me. Don't worry about me. I'll take it." said Carol.
Lori's pressure relief valve is triggered. She yelled at Carol.
"I hate everything! I hate everyone! I want the world to burn! I want to do unspeakable things! I hate myself! I want to put a rope around my neck!" screamed Lori loudly.
Lori took a deep breath. Carol, who just got yelled at, felt like she always did. She knew Lori said things she didn't mean. She stood there looking at Lori.
"I want my little brother back!" screamed Lori, falling to her knees.
Carol sat down on the lawn next to Lori. Lori had no more energy. She was kind of tired, but not like usual, she was mentally tired. Carol put her hand on Lori's back.
"I told you it would help." said Carol quietly.
"What did I just say?" said Lori stunned.
"You said things that contained a lot of negative energy, but these things were not true. And you expressed a very big and important wish."
Lori said nothing. She hadn't thought that she could say such bad things. The two sat there for a few more minutes.
Then Carol sanded up and picked up the pieces of Lori's cell phone.
"Come on. Let's go find your sister. I'll buy you a new cell phone." said Carol.
"You don't have to do that."
"See it as a gift." Carol said, smiling at Lori.
Lori got up. She noticed that her legs were weak. But Lori could still walk. They went to Carol's car. They kept looking.
A few kilometers away, Pop-pop and Luan were also looking for Lynn.
"God damn! Where can she be?" cursed pop pop.
"You were in the Air Force, how did they look for missing people?" asked Luan.
"With a group of helicopters. But I don't have a helicopter pilot's license or a helicopter. And I drive a car that doesn't even date from this millennium!" said pop pop.
"Let's go to this residential area, we haven't been there yet." said Luan, pointing to a map.
Pop-pop steers into a narrow street. But even there their search was unsuccessful.
Ronnie Anne and Clyde were looking near the school. They met Stella, who was also called by Luan.
"I havent found her." said Stella.
"We neither." said Ronnie Anne.
"Stella, did you check at the sports center?" asked Clyde.
"No. Oh god! We have to go there! How could I have forgotten that?"
"Don't worry. We're going there now." said Ronnie Anne.
They ran. Hoping to find Lynn healthy.
At the Louds' house, Lisa was busy examining the drone camera images. But Lisa didn't find Lynn either. Lynn senior was becoming increasingly concerned. As it was getting late, Myrtle put Lily in her cot. She carefully put Lily inside and covered her up.
"Would you like me to sing you a song?" asked Myrtle.
Lily looked at Myrtle.
"I think that means yes."
«Didn't know what time it was, the lights were low
I leaned back on my radio
Some cat was laying down some rock 'n' roll
"Lotta soul," he said
Then the loud sound did seem to fade
Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase
That weren't no DJ, that was hazy cosmic jive»
Myrtle could sing like an angel.
«There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie»
Lily looked at Myrtle. She liked the lyrics.
«I had to phone someone so I picked on you
Hey, that's far out, so you heard him too
Switch on the TV, we may pick him up on channel two
Look out your window, I can see his light
If we can sparkle he may land tonight
Don't tell your poppa or he'll get us locked up in fright»
Lily was getting more and more tired. She snuggled up in her blanket.
«There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie»
Lily's eyes closed now.
«Starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie»
Lily was sleeping now. Myrtle started to quiet down.
«La, la, la, la-la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la-la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la-la, la, la, la»
"Sleep well, little one." said Myrtle, stroking Lily's cheek. She walked out of the room and left the door ajar.
Lucy and the twins entered Franklin Avenue. The light of the sun colored all the houses orange. Lana was very worried about Lynn and she cried. She didn't want anything to happen to Lynn. Lucy held Lana's hand. Lola walked two meters behind them. Lola hated it when things didn't go the way she hoped. Lola was worried too.
"We searched the whole neighborhood. The whole neighborhood." said Lola angrily.
"Lynn wouldn't hide close by. She's sure to be a lot further away." said Lucy.
"Why don't we go further?" Lana asked sadly.
"Because night is falling and we've done all we can do," said Lucy.
They walked onto the property from the Louds. The three entered the house. Lucy is looking for her father. She found him in the bathroom. Lynn senior washed his face. He was tired now. Lucy walked towards him.
"Dad, we haven't found Lynn." said Lucy calmly.
Lynn senior started washing his hands. He washed it faster and faster, and his expression changed from tired to angry.
"Shit!" Lynn Senior cursed and hit the sink.
He walked up to Lucy and knelt in front of her.
"Thanks." he said, smiling at his daughter.
Lynn senior went downstairs. Myrtle looked at the drone footage of Lisa. And again no success.
Lisa now went into the kitchen. She took a chair and pushed it over to the coffee maker. She took a small cup and pressed the espresso button. The strong brewed coffee flowed into the small cup. Lisa took them and went back into the living room. She watches another recording and drank the coffee. New pictures from the camera appeared on the television, and they couldn't see anything on them.
"Oh no." said Lisa softly.
"What is?" asked Lola.
"It's too dark. The camera on the drone can't take any more pictures." said Lisa.
Lola put her hand on her face. She didn't know as much as Lisa, but Lola still knew that was bad.
"I'll order the drone back. Oh no." said Lisa, startled.
"What is wrong?" asked Lynn Sr.
"The drone is out of fuel. I'm going to drop it under control into a field." said Lisa.
The coordinates of the drone were shown on the TV. She flew over a residential area. The arrow that marked the drone moved towards a field. Then the tv displayed a message: "Connection lost." Lisa took a deep breath. She got up, went into the kitchen and made another cup of coffee.
Rita, Luna and Leni drove on. They were now looking at Lynn in the center of Royal woods. They sometimes thought they had found Lynn, but they were mostly girls who looked very similar. Rita worried about Lynn more and more with every passing second.
"Where is she? Where is she?" Rita kept saying.
Luna looked at each girl but Lynn was nowhere.
"I don't know, but could she be at the sports center?" said Luna.
"Good idea! To the sports center!" said Rita.
She drove aggressively through Royal Woods. At the sports center they looked for Lynn. They went to the baseball park and noticed that there was a game going on there. Margo Roberts, a girl with long blond hair wearing baseball gear, was sitting on the bench. She was a good friend of Lynn's. The three approached Margo.
"Hello margo." said Luna.
"Hey. What are you doing here?" Margo asked happily.
"We're looking for Lynn. Have you seen her?" asked Rita.
"Not for weeks. And you can see that in the game results. Five defeats in a row."
"Thanks, Margo." said Leni.
The three ran across the grounds of the center. Nobody. They turned a corner and met a group of children they knew.
"What are you doing here?" asked Stella.
"Find Lynn." said Leni.
"It looks like you didn't find her." said Clyde.
"Unfortunately not. You didn't have any success either." said Rita.
"I'm overwhelmed. Where could she be?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"We should keep looking." Stella said.
"There are large meadows near the nuclear power plant that are best for running. Lynn could be there." said Luna.
"Well, Leni and Luna are going with me again, you three are going to search the area. Clyde, Stella, Ronnie Anne, you have my cell phone number?" asked Rita.
"Yes." said the three.
"Good luck to you." said clyde.
"You also." said Rita.
Clyde, Ronnie Anne and Stella ran and Rita, Luna and Leni went to Vanzilla. Rita started Vanzilla's engine. They drove through Royal Woods again. Radium Street looked even more formidable in the dark. They didn't see the power plant's cooling towers, but the three could see the flashing red lights on the edge of the cooling towers. The Radium Street was long, and in the last stretch there were only signs and them. There were a lot of street lamps for one street. The street was very well lit. Rita parked Vanzilla in the nuclear power plant parking lot. They got out. They ran to the meadows. They turned on the flashlights on their cell phones.
"The grass here is wet." said Luna.
"I notice. Why am I only wearing sandals?" said Leni.
"Concentrate. We're looking for Lynn." said Rita.
They split up. They could only see the light from their cell phones. It was scary on this field at night. There were many bushes along the river. Luna looked into every bush upstream and Leni looked into every bush downstream. Luna heard a rustling in a bush. She was hoping it was Lynn. She looked into the bush. It was a black cat. She meowed at Luna.
"I thought you were my sister." said Luna.
The cat meowed and cuddled Luna's legs.
"You're cute."
Luna petted the cat. she purred. Luna finally felt some joy again after weeks. The cat rolled onto its back and Luna scratched its stomach. But the moment was interrupted. Luna heard a loud scream and a splash. The cat got scared and ran away. Luna ran in the direction the scream came from. Luna stumbled and kept running. Then she heard Leni's voice.
"Luna, please help me." said Leni.
"Leni? Where are you?" asked Luna.
"Here below."
Luna shined her phone into the river. Leni stood in the middle. She shivered from the cold. Luna descended to the river bank.
"Leni! What happened?" asked Luna.
"I was l-looking with my cell phone and then I s-saw a spider and I was scared." said Leni.
"And then you fell into the river?"
Leni nodded silently.
"Come here, I'll pull you out."
Luna stretched out her hand to Leni and pulled her out. They climbed back up to the meadow. Rita came to the two.
"What happened?" asked Rita.
"Leni saw a spider, and in short she fell into the river." said Luna.
Leni sneezed. She was very cold.
"We'll take you home Leni. Before you get a cold." said Rita.
"P-please." said Leni.
They went to Vanzilla. Before they reached the parking lot, they were intercepted by a security guard.
"Stop! What did you do there?" he said loudly.
Rita saw in the dark that the security guard was ready to draw his pistol.
"We are looking for my daughter. She has disappeared." said Rita.
The security guard took his hand away from the gun.
"What happened to her?" asked the security guard, pointing to Leni.
"She had seen a spider and was frightened because she is afraid of spiders. Then she fell into the river." said Luna.
"She's cold. Come with me. We still have a few emergency blankets in the nuclear power plant." said the security guard friendly.
They ran to the parking lot and walked towards the main building of the nuclear power plant. None of the Louds have ever been here. They entered the building. It was light and warm there. The security guard ran through a door, and returned two minutes later with a blanket. He put her down on Leni.
"Thanks." said Leni.
"No thank you. Keep the blanket. It's a gift." said the security guard.
Rita, Leni and Luna went to Vanzilla. Rita started the engine and drove off.
The evening wasn't great for the Louds. For Armin he was very pleasant. Armin was a 32-year-old man. He had dark brown hair and wore a mustache. He was a train driver on the Royal Woods Railway. He drove into the main station with his modern articulated railcar. He pulled the drive lever back. The railcar braked. He drove slowly into the station. On the platform he saw a colleague from the workshop. He stopped and read the doors open. He pulled a key out of the driver's desk and left the railcar. He went to his colleague.
"Hey Frank. How are you?" Armin greeted his colleague.
"Good. I see you're driving the new railcar. How is it driving?"
"Incredible. You push the drive switch and it does exactly what you want. You feel connected to the vehicle."
"That's the way it should be. It's made by Stadler. They're simply good vehicles."
"It occurs to me that at Forest Hill the pantograph briefly detached itself from the line. I think the contact pressure on the high-voltage line is low."
"A few people have already told me that. That's number 86? Yes, 86, I haven't had it in the wo…"
There was a bang that sounded like a gunshot. Frank and Armin looked around.
"What was that? A killing spree?" said frank worried.
Armin looked at the pantograph of his railcar. The pantograph lowered.
"No. That was a short circuit on the high-voltage line." said Armin.
The two ran to the railcar. Then armin saw a girl lying on the platform.
"Shit!" cursed Armin.
He and Frank ran to the girl. Smoke rose from her. Armin put his ear to the girl's chest. The heartbeat was still there. Then he looked at the arms. On the right arm were Lichtenberg figures, and the hand was so burned that the skin was black. It stank of burnt flesh and skin. The smell was just disgusting. He looked at the feet. The right shoe was charred.
"Frank, call the ambulance." shouted Armin.
Frank took out his cell phone. He called the ambulance.
"Wake up. Wake up girl." said Armin stressed.
The girl moved slightly. Her eyes opened for a second, then closed again.
Rita, Luna and Leni drive through the center. Rita was disappointed.
"Where is she? Where is Lynn?." she said.
"Mom, should we file a missing persons report with the police?" asked Luna.
"I think so. Let's do that as soon as we get home." said Rita.
They drove past the train station and saw the ambulance. Rita didn't know why, but she knew it was about Lynn. She stopped and got out. She ran into the train station. She looked around and saw the paramedics. She ran to them, and Luna and Leni followed her. What Rita saw was terrible. Lynn was on the floor, and true unconscious. Burns and Lichtenberg figures were on her right hand and arm. Rita ran to Lynn, but Armin held her back.
"Let me see my daughter!" screamed Rita full of sadness and worry.
"The paramedics will help her!" said Armin.
"What happened?"
"She had touched the high-voltage power line. She had been electrocuted."
Luna and Leni arrived and were shocked by what they saw. The stench of burned skin bit their nostrils, and Luna felt sick. The paramedics began to move Lynn away. Rita, Leni, Luna and Armin followed her. The paramedics then loaded Lynn into the ambulance.
"You are the mother?" the paramedic asked, pointing at Rita.
"Yes." said Rita.
"You can ride in the ambulance." said the paramedic.
"Then who will drive you home?" asked Rita and looked at Luna and Leni.
"I can drive them both home." said Armin.
"Thanks." said Rita, gave Armin the ignition key for Vanzilla, and got into the ambulance.
The ambulance drove away and Luna led Armin to Vanzilla. They got in.
"So where do you live?" asked Armin.
"We're not going home. We're going to the hospital." said Leni.
"Your mother said I should drive you home."
"We're going to the hospital, that's for sure." said Luna.
"Ok, I'm going to the hospital." said Armin and drove off.
Luna pulled out her phone. She dialed Lori's number. Lori answered immediately.
"Luna, did you find Lynn?" Lori asked.
"Yes. Get to the hospital quickly." said Luna.
"What happened?" asked Lori worried.
"Lynn, she was electrocuted."
"Carol! Drive to the hospital immediately!" shouted Lori.
"I'll be right there." Lori said and hung up.
"1500." said Armin.
"What do you mean?" asked Luna.
"Your sister was electrocuted with 1500 volts direct current. Even 100 volts direct current can cause a fatal electric shock." said Armin.
"You mean she was lucky?" Leni asked.
"She grabbed the line with her right hand because the burns were on her right hand and right foot. The current didn't go through her heart. She might survive."
Rita, Lori, Luna, and Leni waited three hours outside the operating room. Then the doctors came out with Lynn on a bed. Lynn was unconscious. They transported her to a room. They followed them.
"The current didn't flow through her heart. No heart problems. We removed the skin from the thighs and transplanted them onto the hand. She will survive. A burn line with a lightning bolt pattern runs from her right hand to her right foot. These burns are less severe, so we will not do skin grafting there." said the doctor.
Rita was relieved. Lori went to Lynn. She looked at her right arm. Her arm was a paradox, the wounds formed by the Lichtenberg figures looked bad and beautiful at the same time. Her arm was covered in a lightning bolt pattern. Lori started crying because she felt guilty.
"Mom, I'll stay here and take care of Lynn." Lori cried.
"Are you sure you can do this?" asked Rita.
"I've already done that with Lincoln, I'll make it."
"All right. Take care of her." said Rita softly.
Leni and Luna approached Lori and Lynn. Leni stroked Lynn's hair.
"Why did you do that, Lynn?" Leni said softly.
"Get well, sis." said Luna and kissed Lynn on the forehead.
Rita, Leni and Luna left the room. Lori was alone with Lynn. Lori took a chair and placed it next to Lynn's bed. She sat down. Lori looked at her sister. Lynn had her eyes closed.
"I'm sorry Lynn. It's my fault. I know you hate me, but please come back. Please, I'm begging you."
Tears started to flow in Lori's eyes. She looked at the Lichtenberg figures on Lynn's body. Lori knew, that Lynn would keep that burn scar for the rest of her life.
"Why did you climb on that train? Why did you touch that high-voltage power line? I swear to you, I will stay with you until you wake up." Lori asked softly.
Lori didn't sleep long and well this night. She was next to Lynn the whole time, hoping that she would wake up. One of Lori's wishes was that Lynn would get well.
End of Part one