Disclaimer:I own nothing involved with this story.
Okay, I think that from here on in, my story rating is changing from T to M. Also, I'm sorry for the delay in my updating but I had school all week, so I hope you can forgive me.
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June 22,1970, 3:54am
Miranda wandered amongst the bodies scattering the living room.
They were different from the ones who'd been there when Daddy had taken his temper out on her.
Her head still hurt and she was still walking with a limp, but everything else had healed up mostly.
Today, thankfully, Daddy was working all day and night, so she had time to clean up.
Mommy had held another party, and had invited several people who'd come, brought needles, and they'd all drank, injected themselves with the needles, then they'd all passed out.
She walked over to the window, bent down and pulled one of the needles from a mans arm. He didn't flinch as she pulled it out.
She sighed as she examined the needle, turning it over in her fingers, then she threw it into the overflowing garbage bag.
She continued to do this for all of the people, removing the needles from their arms, throwing them away, and in some cases, she had to wipe the crusted vomit off of their faces.
As she finished tending to the grown ups, the little boy walked into the room, stumbling as he walked to her.
"Sissy,"he groaned as he reached her,"Sissy, I don't feel good."
She bent down and looked into his eyes.
They were brighter than usual, sweat was sliding down his forehead, his whole body was trembling, and he was deathly pale.
She reached a hand up, and felt his forehead. It was burning hot.
She yanked her hand away, and looked sadly into his eyes.
She sighed as she pulled him into her arms and soothed him as he began to cry,"Sissy, it hurts, it hurts!"
"I know...I know..."she whispered, rocking him, wondering what to do.
She chewed her lip, and thought back to the times she'd been sick, trying to remember what Mommy had done for her then.
Finally she stood, heading down the dark hallway and turning to go into the mold coated bathroom.
She set him on the edge of the bathtub as she opened the medicine cabinet, searching for aspirin.
The medicine was all gone, only a few empty bottles were left in the cabinet.
She sighed, looking back at him.
She turned around, picked him up, and left the mold encrusted bathroom.
She headed farther down the hall, into Mommy and Daddy's old bedroom, where she set him on the floor, and went over to the dresser.
Miranda opened the topmost drawer, digging around in all of the old, unpaid bills, searching, until finally she pulled a brown pill bottle from the mess of papers.
She brought the bottle out, and held it up, examining the label, which read, Codeine.
She tried to read the warning label, but her vision began to blur, and she couldn't read it.
It would have to do, she popped the cap open, and looked in the bottle, only three pills were left.
She looked back at the label, until she found the expiration date, July 13, 1965.
"What year is it?"she thought to herself, trying to mentally count the number of years it had been since she knew what year it was.
"Sixty-eight, Sixty-nine...right it's sixty-nine..."she thought,"Well that's not that far off from sixty-five..."
She went over to where the little boy sat, rocking back and forth, sweating so much his T-shirt was soaked.
"C'mon, you need to rest,"she said, walking back into the dingy hall, crossing it and going into the room across from Mommy and Daddy's.
The room was small, cramped, and had no windows.
The room reeked of sweat and unwashed humans, the floor was covered in filthy blankets and old, half destroyed pillows.
The only source of light in the entire room was the single bulb that hung by a wire from the ceiling, casting yellow light starkly across the filthy walls.
She gently set him down as she began to shift the blankets around, moving them so they formed something like a nest.
She picked up the best pillow they had, and put in in the nest.
She then scooped the little boy up, stripping him of his shirt, then she sat him in the center of the makeshift nest.
He sat completely still, half naked, the weak light glinting off of his bruised, sweat coated chest, the light seeming to glare harshly off of his listless, glazed, over bright eyes.
He blinked, looking at her, his filthy, blood matted hair sticking to his forehead,"Sissy, I just wanna sleep...can I sleep?"
She looked at him, tears filling her eyes, her heart ripping in a thousand directions, completely shattering.
She shook her head,"Not yet,"she barely managed to choke,"You need to take this stuff first."
She held up the brown bottle, standing, and turning towards the door.
The little boy watched her leave, his chest barely moving, wanting nothing more than to sleep.
He waited, wishing against all hope that someone could come and take him and Sarina and big Sissy away, so they could all be happy.
He sighed, his body beginning to tremble, unable to support his weight.
He collapsed forward, shutting his eyes as the room began to swim.
Then he heard his big Sissy come back,"Robby!"he heard her cry, as she raced to his side.
She rolled him over, placing her hand on his chest, making sure he was still breathing.
Robby forced his eyes open, looking at her.
"Robby, hey buddy, hey you need to take this,"she whispered soothingly, holding out one of the pills.
He shook his head, clamping his mouth shut.
"C'mon, Robby, you have to take this or else you won't get better,"she said tearfully, trying to pry his jaws apart.
Robby sighed, looking sadly at her and nodding, he opened his mouth and swallowed the pill, following it with a glass of lukewarm water, letting it dribble down his chin.
He layed back,"Can I go to sleep now?"he asked weakly, his eyes pleading with her.
"Yes, you go to sleep now,"she whispered, helping him lay down.
He nodded solemnly, closing his eyes, and drifting off immediately.
She sighed as she closed her eyes, trying not to start sobbing.
She heard a rustling sound by the door, her head jerked up.
"Oh Sarina, it's just you,"she said, holding her arms out to the smaller girl.
"Sissy,"she whispered, her face flushed, sweat pouring down her face,"Sissy I don't feel good..."
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June 24, 1970, 4:59am
Miranda sat with her knees pulled to her chest, fighting the urge to sleep.
She'd been too busy taking care of Sarina and Robby to sleep.
Sarina had gotten sick shortly after Robby, they were both now lying in a half conscious daze.
They'd both had fevers that had almost burned her hand when she'd touched them, they had both been sweating and crying out in their sleep.
Sarina seemed to be getting better, but Robby still had a high fever, was still sweating, plus he'd started to crack up.
He kept calling out in his sleep,"Lucas...Lucas...help...help...no...no...no...stay away from her...Lucas help me..."
When Miranda had first heard him call out for Lucas, she was terrified, surely he remembered what had happened to Lucas, he had to.
She didn't know what to do, they'd run out of medicine, Robby wasn't getting better, only worse, and Sarina wasn't doing much better.
Her head shot up as she heard Robby whimper.
She was by his side in an instant, stroking his hair, whispering soothing words and sounds.
He was thrashing wildly, holding his head and his whimpers were getting louder.
"Shh...shh...it's okay,"she soothed, trying to get him to hold still.
As she tried to restrain him, she saw a splash of red on his back.
She flipped him over, and looked at the sea of red covering his back.
Angry red splotches stared at her from every space on his back, she gently prodded the red splotches, and was terrified when Robby screamed.
Robby's screams ripped through her heart like a knife, Robby was in excruciating pain.
She tried to soothe him, but every time she touched him, he screamed hysterically.
She began to panic, trying to understand what was wrong, when she saw a flurry of movement a few feet away.
Sarina was whimpering, and thrashing wildly, holding her head.
Miranda felt fear grip her as she slowly reached over and lifted Sarina's shirt and saw the same angry red splashes on her back, neck, and legs.
Sarina began to scream just like Robby as Miranda gently touched the red areas.
Miranda gasped, yanking her hand back, terrified and furious that she'd hurt her baby sister and brother.
She looked in dismay from Sarina to Robby, screaming at herself to try and think of something to do.
Tears of anger and frustration filled her eyes as she realized how powerless she was to help her family when they needed her.
She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her knees, her body shaking from rage at herself, and the grief she felt knowing that everything that was happening was her fault.
As she sat there, an idea came to her from the pit of despair and fires of rage, the hospital.
Her head shot up, remembering back to the time Mommy had told her about the hospital, about how the people there would help anyone, no matter what, because it was their job.
She sniffed, crawling over to where Robby lay, curled into a fetal position and whimpering, she gently scooped him up, trying to avoid hitting his back.
She crept up to Sarina, and scooped her up as well, wincing as Sarina screamed.
She stood shakily, walking slowly out into the hall, careful not to jostle the two little ones.
She hurried down the hall as fast as she could, praying he wasn't there, but she had no hope.
"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!?!?!"he shouted, waving around his bottle, swaying as he tried to stay standing.
She swallowed hard, realizing that she'd have to run,"N...nothing..."she stammered, edging her way over towards the the front door.
"YOU STUPID LITTLE LIAR!!"he shrieked, his bloodshot eyes widening maddeningly, as he staggered towards her, raising his hand.
She knew what was coming, she darted away from his fist as fast as she could, bolting out of the door, as he staggered after her screaming curses and trying to grab her.
She raced at top speed out the front door, her heart racing as she heard him grunting behind her.
She raced across the overgrown lawn and onto the cracked pavement, feeling it digging painfully into her bare feet.
"GET BACK HERE YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BITCH!!"he screamed, throwing his empty bottle at her.
It smashed into her legs, shattering and slicing her legs to shreds, but she kept running as fast as her bruised, exhausted, and shredded legs could carry her.
It was pitch black outside as she tried to remember where the hospital was, ignoring the burning in her arms and legs and trying to ignore the searing hot bodies in her arms.
She tore past street after street, looking everywhere for a hospital, until finally she saw a bright, luminous beacon of a sign that glared 'HOSPITAL' for everyone to see.
"Finally..."she thought desperately, swallowing hard, trying to overlook the burning sensation in her lungs and the scorching pain in her bloody legs.
She raced through the doors into the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital, managing to startle the lady behind the desk in the process.
"What the bloody Hell!!"shrieked the lady behind the desk, jumping up and racing to meet them.
"Please...please...help my brother and sister...they're real sick...please..."choked Miranda, half sobbing and almost incapable of breathing, her bloody legs splashing gore all over the clean, polished tiled floor.
"Oh my God!!"the woman shouted, brushing her hair behind her ears, reaching out and feeling Robby and Sarina's heads, then she looked at the red splotches on their backs, and gasped.
She jumped up and raced to a red box on the wall, pressed the button and screamed,"We need a medical team to the North entrance immediately, we have a possible disease outbreak!! Get the Bio-hazard team down here immediately!!"
"WHAT!!"though Miranda frantically,"They can't be that sick!! They can't be..."
Then, the next thing she knew, there were hundreds of people all over everywhere, some of them wearing strange orange suits and helmets, holding strange devices, running them over her and her family, others weren't wearing suits but were trying to take Sarina and Robby out of her arms and trying to load them onto strange looking beds with wheels.
The noise was horrible, screams of the hysterical nurse from the front desk, the shouts of the men in the strange suits, the whine of the strange instruments in their hands, the shouts of the other people, trying to be heard, then, there was flashes of red and blue lights everywhere, and the screech of sirens and the noise started to grow.
Miranda was terrified and disoriented, hugging Robby and Sarina closer, trying to prevent the strange people from stealing them away.
Then, she felt a hand on her arm and another hand trying to grab onto Robby's arm, she freaked out, snarling and biting the hand, clawing at anything within reach, shrieking like a caged animal.
The people all abruptly stopped their noise, backing away from her.
They all stood silently, wary of the psychotic little girl, all afraid to get close, until finally, one man bravely stepped forward,"Hey there, little one, you need to listen to me,"he said slowly, taking a few hesitant steps forward, holding his empty hands out in front of him,"Hey, we just wanna take a look at your brother and sister, we can make them better."
"Stay away,"snarled Miranda, backing away, clutching the two dazed children closer,"I won't let you hurt them."
"No, no, no one's going to hurt them, I promise, we're going to help them,"he said, advancing closer,"We just want to make sure they're safe, I know you just wanna help them, and you did the right thing bringing them here, but I need you to give them to me so I can help them."
She glared at him, backing away a little more as he carefully stepped forward, bending down to look into her eyes, holding his arms out, ready to accept the children.
She looked at him distrustfully, backing up a little more.
"Shh...shh...it's okay...if you let me take them I'll take good care of them...I promise..."he whispered, inching forward, holding his arms out.
She looked at him for a long moment, then, she slowly, slowly handed Robby and Sarina over to him,"Remember, you promised..."she hissed, right as the doctor accepted the two young children.
He nodded as he stood slowly,"Alright,"he said with an authoritative tone,"now no one make any sudden moves, you two, you take care of the older one, and you four help me take care of the boy, you other four, you help Dr.Hahn to take care of the little girl. Understand?"
All the doctors in question nodded, walking slowly forward to accept their charges.
"Okay,"he said as they were all handed off and all calmed down,"Now let's try to get these kids checked out, and Dr.Cameron, get social services on the phone."
The woman in question nodded and hurried away, down a nearby corridor.
Miranda stood alone as everyone snapped into action, her legs still bleeding, tears forming in her eyes as the doctors quickly hurried her family away.
She was completely ignored until she felt a soft touch on her arm.
She jumped, looking at the young woman who was squatting down next to her, smiling sadly at her.
"Hi there,"said the woman gently,"What's your name?"
"M..Miranda..."stammered Miranda, chewing her lip.
"Well Miranda, why don't we see about getting your legs cleaned up and getting you some food,"said the woman, standing up and offering her hand to Miranda,"And maybe some new clothes?"
"Umm...okay,"said Miranda quietly, accepting the gentle hand.
"Okay then, well let's get you cleaned up and checked out before anything else,"said the young doctor, smiling.
Miranda nodded nervously as the young doctor led her away, glancing back once at her brother and sister.
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June 24, 1970, 5:32am
"Miranda...Miranda...wake up honey...Miranda..."the soft voice called out, breaking through the horrific, blood soaked nightmares.
"What's going on?!"cried Miranda, alarmed, as she jerked awake.
"Miranda, I'm so sorry,"said the young woman doctor tearfully, stroking Miranda's newly washed hair.
"What?! What's happened, are Robby and Sarina okay!?!?"demanded Miranda at once, shoving the womans comforting hands away.
"Miranda, I'm so sorry, but...Rkdof vbaklfhue kjded esl mealskfi,"said the woman gently, reaching out to Miranda.
"What?"asked Miranda, confused, not understanding what the woman had said,"I though I heard you say something about Robby and Sarina. Are they okay?"
"Miranda...I'm so sorry, both Robby and Sarina are dead. They died from a strain of the..."the womans voice faded into oblivion.
"NO!!"screamed Miranda's mind, unable to comprehend,"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!"
"NO!!"screamed Miranda hysterically, leaping away from the woman,"NO, NO, NO THEY'RE OKAY!!!! THEY HAVE TO BE!!!!"
She began to scream hysterically, everything around her spinning, pain worse than anything she'd ever felt ripping, shredding, and rampaging through her whole body.
She fell to her knees, screams of pure agony ripping from her throat, she felt as if her whole world had just opened up underneath her, and that she'd fallen into the black abyss.
"Miranda!!"shouted the young doctors voice, from somewhere above, from the depths of reality, following her into the empty, cold alone, blackness.
Miranda vaguely felt the doctor grab her arm and shake her,"Miranda!!! MIRANDA!! Get ahold of yourself!! Miranda, calm down!!!"she shouted uselessly, Miranda couldn't register anything anymore.
"NO!! NO!! NO, NO, NO, THEY HAVE TO BE OKAY!! YOU PROMISED!!! YOU PROMISED!!!"she screeched, falling onto the floor, grabbing handfuls of hair and ripping them out of her skull.
She writhed around on the floor, screams echoing out of her tormented body.
"Miranda!!"shouted the young doctor, shaking her, even knowing her actions were futile.
Miranda kept screaming, shoving the woman away, forcing herself to her feet, broken sobs and psycho screams echoing from her frail body.
"Get her!!Don't let her leave the hospital!! And for God's sake, someone sedate her!!!"shouted the woman, advancing on Miranda.
Miranda jerked her head from left to right, watching as all the people were advancing on her.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"screamed Miranda hysterically, backing away from them.
"Miranda, we just want to help you..."said the same young doctor who had earlier taken Robby and Sarina, promising to make them better.
"Liar...he's lying...he killed them...Robby and Sarina...and Lucas...he did it..."whispered Miranda's mind to her.
"LIAR!!!"screamed Miranda, backing away even more, edging even closer towards the front door of hospital,"LIAR, LIAR, LIAR!!!!! YOU KILLED THEM!!! YOU KILLED ALL OF THEM!!! ROBBY AND SARINA AND LUCAS!!!!!YOU KILLED THEM!!!!!"
"Miranda, what happened to Robby and Sarina was tragic, but there was nothing we could have done, they were already dying!!!"he shouted back, taking a step closer to her.
"LIAR!!!"screamed Miranda, turning and bolting straight out the front door, turning, and racing down the street as fast as she could.
She ran as fast as she could, desperate to escape the murdering bastards who'd killed her sweet baby brother, and her innocent little sister and her brave older brother Lucas, but she also ran to escape the horrible, piercing, inescapable pain that she felt, knowing it was her fault that they'd died.
She raced past the eerie early morning streets, past the filthy homeless people, past the disgusting, filth filled alleys, the revolting hookers who stood on the corner, past the garbage filled, narrow roads, and slum streets, ignoring the putrid green sludge that was coating her feet, she ran and ran until she could run no more.
When she finally stopped, she ducked into a scummy, sludge coated, dark alley, where garbage was littered everywhere and the only light came from a single, lone bulb that hung desolately from an outlet which hung over a door, which held a sign that said,'KEEP OUT'.
She took in the sight with pain filled eyes, her whole body was completely numb, the pain was still ripping at her, then, she heard a voice,"Hey girlie, whaz yur problem?"
She didn't even flinch at the sound of the harsh voice,"My baby brother and sister were just killed."she answered hollowly, looking towards the voice.
"Wull jeeez, tha' sucks!!"answered a young man, staggering into the faint light cast by the bulb,"Who 'er the bitches who'z dids it?"
Miranda looked him up and down, his hair was all over the place, he was holding onto the wall for support, he wasn't wearing any shoes, he had a bloody nose, and his clothes were torn in several places, his arms were covered in angry red pinpricks and hundreds of scratches, some of which were still bleeding.
"The doctors at the hospital, they killed them,"she said blankly.
He swore viciously, then he said,"Wull I'm sorry 'bout that, hopez you do a'ight,"then he turned and started to stagger away.
Miranda sank to her knees as he started to stagger off, a feeling of total isolation and hopelessness overtaking her, her eyes began to fill with tears, and her body began to shake with suppressed sobs.
Finally, she broke down, buried her face in her hands and began to sob hysterically.
From where he was, the young man swore, and turned around, and staggered back over to Miranda,"Here,"he said gruffly, shoving something into her face.
"What is that?"she asked, looking at the thing.
"I'z liquid angel dust,"he smirked, holding the needle out to her.
"Why would you give me that?"she asked, wiping her tears, looking distrustfully at the glass needle.
"Cuz yur in pain, and this stuff takes the pain away, always,"he replied dazedly,"Now you wan' it or not?"
She blinked,"Really?"she asked, reaching tentatively for the needle.
"Yup,"he replied smugly,"Now tha's th' only one you get for free, you wan' more, you gotta pay."
"How do you use it?"she asked, sniffing, looking at the needle, remembering back to how Mommy always managed to feel better after using these.
"Sheesh, you don' know nuthin',"he snorted, reaching forward, grabbing her arm, and ripping a strip from the new shirt the nurse had given her at the hospital.
He carefully tied the strip tight around her upper arm, and took the needle from her, and waited until her veins popped up from her flesh, he ripped the cap off of the needle, and he inserted it into her vein with precision, and injected all of the needles contents into her veins.
For a full three seconds, nothing happened, then, a feeling of pure bliss, and happiness, as well as a warm, plushy feeling flooded her entire body.
She inhaled sharply as the incredible lightness and joy overtook her entire body,"Told ya',"smirked the boy, standing, and turning away, already staggering back the way he'd come.
Miranda felt happier and more free than she'd ever felt before, but then, she felt a warm fog overtake her mind, and her whole world became hazy, and she felt herself slipping towards a warm unconsciousness.
The last thing she remembered thinking was,"Wow...he was right...this stuff really works...it doesn't hurt anymore...I wonder if there's more..."
Then, her world went black, and she knew no more.
Thus, began the life long love affair between ten year old Miranda Garnell and liquid cocaine.