The next day everyone was back at the apartment together. Sam had thick casts around his arm and leg, as well as bruises that made him look like a domestic abuse victim that ached every time he moved. Astrid wasn't much better and it had taken a lot of work to convince the hospital staff to let them go and even then it was after they had gotten a more understanding nurse to look the other way while they signed some papers and left quickly to meet back with the others.
Edilio had taken Anna home. She was not very well and they wanted to avoid Emma in case she blamed them for her sister shaking and probably having nightmares for the next six months of her life. Roger was embarrassed by what happened with him during the fight and quiet but at least he hadn't vanished on them.
Dekka and Diana were both quiet as well. In fact they were pure silent and even a day later Diana was shivering and pale with red puffy eyes like she had been crying all night. In fact Dekka looked the most normal, same as always and quiet as always.
But the biggest shock was when Emily came back after getting a ride from Connie. Connie hadn't come in. Sam had stood by the window and watched her but instead she seemed to give up and left while Emily struggled up the stairs on her own. She was greeted with cheers and a surprising hug from Dekka who grinned at her, glad to see she was up and walking again.
"I'm just glad you're alive." Dekka sighed, stretching out.
"So am I. Especially after I saved two kids when a psychotic fox came running after them, oh and your mother, Sam." Emily grinned.
"What?" Sam blinked.
After they were all back they had pushed the mattresses together, changed into comfortable baggy clothes, some night clothes, some just large shirts and settled down with thick blankets covering them either in twos or individuals all to stay warm. Astrid had paused on the way home and brought as much chocolate as she could for them all to eat but most of them were too sick to eat something so sweet.
It was dark and they were all cold despite being wrapped up warm, the chocolate sat on a plate and Astrid occasionally took a piece to let melt in her mouth. She was starting to feel sick but she couldn't bring herself to stop eating. She just needed to do something with her hands and her mouth to stay busy.
One by one they each told the story of what happened to them while they were out fighting. Quinn was the only one without a story to tell since he had spent his time looking for Caine in the streets and happened across non of the mutated animals.
Sam told them how they fought Gaia in the mall, how strong she was and how she disappeared right before killing Astrid and all the other people. He didn't go into detail about his injuries he received while fighting her but they got the basics when they just looked at him. After that Edilio told them about running into the Little Pete version animal. He was careful, watching Astrid in case she reacted badly and while she tensed, she didn't actually react other than that. He explained why Anna was no longer with them and they all understood without much pressure. Afterwards Emily excitedly told them all about fighting the fox with Derek, Jill and Connie. It was one of the first time she really sounded thrilled about something. Of course they had been taken to hospital afterwards but somehow Emily had managed to sneak out with Connie to come back here, though she still winced and looked like her stomach was causing her pain.
And then it was Dekka and Diana's turn to tell their story. Dekka quickly explained what she knew but when she was done every eye turned back onto Diana.
Diana stared at the pile of chocolate and said nothing for a moment. It seemed like she was just going to refuse to tell them anything. But then she lifted her head. Dekka expected to see more tears but her face was stone hard and she almost glared at them.
Old Diana was back.
"Caine... He caused this. He didn't mean to but he did. The animals all came because Little Pete gave him another chance to live only he wasn't supposed to have that chance. So when he figured out we wouldn't be able to beat the hydra he took me into a private room and asked me to kill him. He... He wanted it to be me because he knew he couldn't do it himself and he needed his last moment to be with me alone." Diana explained. "He begged me to so I did. And afterwards he turned into the remains that the animals normally became. End of story."
They all fell silent. Diana looked back down at the food and shook her head like she was sick of it, standing up and heading to her room. She shut the door behind her loudly and the sound echoed throughout room where they all sat. Astrid looked at Sam who stared at the food, not sure what he was thinking. It was hard to believe but at the same time he wasn't really shocked.
"He saved everyone." Sam said finally.
"Twice." Edilio nodded.
"What now?" Astrid whispered after more silence.
Sam looked at them and smiled, suddenly feeling like crying but not for Caine or even Kevin... For them. They had all survived the FAYZ twice now.
"We go back to normal." Sam stood. "Stay one more night. We'll all sleep in here."
No one argued. Instead they all found a spot on the mattresses, curling up on the ground, most of them finding someone to huddle with on the floor. None of them went to sleep very quickly but eventually one by one, they all drifted off and only woke early the next morning by the sound of Diana slamming the door behind her.
*G*O*N*E
Dekka and Emily said goodbye to Sam, Astrid, Edilio, Roger and Quinn the next morning when they brought tickets and waited for the coach to come and pick them up.
The coach drove up to the small building where they were waiting for it. Emily jumped up, grabbing her back and glancing back at the small group as Dekka said a warm goodbye to them. It was weird. They were still just strangers to her but somehow she knew she could trust them if they time came. Especially Dekka. Emily wondered if she would stay friends with them like the had promise on the ride here. She doubted it. At least when it came to Astrid, Sam, Edilio, Roger and Quinn but Emily might consider staying friends with Dekka. She had saved her life, after all. Who knew, only time would tell.
Her phone began to vibrate loudly in her pocket, when she glanced at the screen she saw it was her parents yet again. Emily had sent them a text message that morning to say she was coming home. Ever since then they had tried to repeatedly call her but she ignored every one of their phone calls. They were driving her crazy and when she got home they'd probably start on how she was grounded for having a life... Maybe it was time for Emily to move out.
"Time to go." Emily said to Dekka as their coach began to let people on.
"Come and visit more." Astrid commanded to Dekka. "We need to all meet up, all stay in touch this time for real."
"Promise?" Sam asked.
"Sure." Dekka smiled, rolling her eyes at them.
"Safe trip!" Quinn grinned. "Don't be strangers!"
Dekka smiled at him before she and Emily climbed up onto the coach, finding two seats side by side and staring out the window where they could wave goodbye until they were out of sight.
That afternoon Quinn's mother came to pick him up while Edilio and Roger set out on a walk together. They once again had a long goodbye before everyone was gone and it was just Sam and Astrid again in the apartment.
"Do you think Diana is going to be okay?" Astrid asked as they began to clear up the furniture and put everything back into its place.
"I hope so." Sam mumbled.
He smiled as he found he was already missing all the company of his friends that had just gone home.
"This must be so hard for her." Astrid grumbled, slipping down to sit on the floor.
"Yeah... But she's tough." Sam nodded.
"That's right. I am."
They both jumped and looked up at the doorway where Diana was standing, fully dressed with a cold emotionless face. She was wearing all black and her hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail so that not even a strand fell down in front of her face. Diana walked into the room and over towards the kitchen where she quickly made herself a strong coffee.
"So... You're okay, Diana?" Astrid asked nervously.
"I'm fine." Diana said.
"If you want to talk-" Sam began.
"I don't."
Sam and Astrid stared up at her but Sam chose to leave her alone. She just needed some time to herself. It was like after she had first moved in when Caine had died the first time. She avoided talking, spoke in short sentences, mostly either went for long walks or stayed in her room doing things in private. Eventually time would heal the pain.
"Did you go for a walk?" Astrid forced herself to ask. She knew the routine but she wanted to help some way. She ignored the pointed look Sam gave her.
"Yes."
"Um... Where about?" Astrid tried.
"Around."
Astrid glanced at Sam and gave up. They finished moving the rest of the furniture back into its original place and found a seat, and turned on the television.
The screen was on for only a few seconds before they saw the after effects of all the animals. There was one case where they had been recording a group of friends before one of the friends began screaming just as a bat landed beside of them and then, seconds before one of the friends killed the other, the bat disappeared and the boy was returned to normal. There were other reports where animals had been said to vanish in front of people and strange disasters all over the world had stopped.
"Thank God it's over." Astrid sighed, turning and leaning her head on Sam's shoulder.
"It's not over." Diana sneered. "It's only just begun. For us, it will never be over. There will always be a new phase around the corner..." She stopped and smirked sadly. "A new FAYZ around every corner."
G*O*N*E
Lilly laughed in such a delighted high pitched voice that Astrid couldn't help but join her. Sam grinned as well and leaned over pulling a silly face until the pink faced girl kicked her legs in the air above her and squealed even louder at the two of them. From the kitchen Diana smiled and finished warming the milk. She walked over and picked Lilly up from the ground, settling back on the chair to feed her.
Astrid moved up to sit beside her, still grinning to Lilly who laughed until she began to drink. It was hard not to look at her round chubby cheeked face girl without smiling like an idiot. Barely a few months after finding out the sex of Diana's baby, Sam and Astrid had both brought clothes for her. They did it purely on the fact that it was such a normal thing to happen and they needed to celebrate, especially since before she found out she was pregnant again, Diana had been miserable. Somehow knowing she was carrying Caine's baby, and that the baby was going to actually be normal this time gave some of the light back into her eyes. When the baby was born she was practically the old Diana again.
And then there was the fact that Lilly was such a bright little girl that you couldn't be around her without feeling better. At the moment she was dressed in the yellow summer dress that Astrid had brought her before she was born. It was still a little big on her but not by too much and the yellow cotton shoes fit perfectly.
It had been over a year since Caine had come back into their lives and left just as quickly. They had lost contact with Emily completely now. Astrid had tried to call her a few months after everyone had calmed down but she hadn't answered and didn't return the voice mail. Dekka was said to have spoken to her once or twice but even she stopped trying to stay in contact too often. They had however managed to meet with Quinn, Edilio and Roger on more than one occasion although Roger was less frequent as things between him and Edilio had begun to get rocky. A big surprise was when Anna and Astrid found some time to meet with one another during their days off. Dekka came when she could but they mostly called and emailed her to stay in touch.
"Lilly," Sam sang, kneeling beside the girl when she finished her milk. "Lilly, over here..."
The girls bright blue eyes turned and stared at him with a blank look. Sam grinned and pulled another face until she laughed. Diana smiled and leaned back, holding Lilly carefully on her lap. Astrid grinned and leaned back, watching the girl laugh and wave her hands in the air above her.
"Do you ever think this is going to turn bad on us?" Astrid wondered.
"What do you mean?" Diana blinked.
"Well, Caine wasn't meant to be alive. Him being alive was what defied the laws of the universe which was why all the animals showed up the way they did." Astrid explained. "So technically Lilly wasn't meant to happen either. There won't be any consequences, will there?"
Diana turned and took in a long look at her daughter. Finally she smiled and nodded her head. "I don't think so. She's meant to be, I know it."
Astrid and Sam smiled and caught each others eye. Astrid bit the inside of her lip when Sam grinned at her. It was hard not to be around a baby without thinking of what your own children would look like and Astrid wondered how long before Sam brought up his own desires for kids. She paused and wondered if she even wanted her own children...
There was a knock on the door that had them all startle, clearing Astrid of her thoughts before she remembered Quinn, Edilio and a girl that Quinn seemed to have a keen interest in named Cassandra, were coming to have a day out with Astrid and Sam at the beach. They had asked Diana if she wanted to come with Lilly for her first trip to the seaside but Diana declined, promising to go next time. This time she wanted to finish reading Astrid's book.
It was only the first draft but somehow Astrid had finished it, letting Sam and Diana be the first two people to read it.
Sam had somehow gotten his job back too which was nice for them. His boss seemed to like him and after he swore there would be no more interruptions he was back working at the beach stall. Diana had to quit her own job after she was pregnant. She could hardly keep working for her ass of a boss in her condition and hadn't yet found anything else, not while she was looking after Lilly. To make up for it though, in between of writing the book Astrid had taken a job at a nearby library to keep their income coming in.
"Hey, guys." Astrid beamed, opening the door to them. "We'll just be a second."
Quinn happily waved his new license behind them and Sam snorted. Being the first to get, not just a license, but a car as well was something Quinn was extremely proud of.
"Bye, bye, Lilly." Sam cooed. "Bye, bye!"
"Bye," Diana sang, making Lilly wave after him.
"Call us if you need us." Astrid said, grabbing her already packed bag.
"I know the drill." Diana said, rolling her eyes. She lifted Lilly up and settled her into her new pink playpen, turning to wave them goodbye.
As soon as everyone was gone Diana went into her bedroom and began to search for the laptop and Astrid's hard drive that she had been using a few moments earlier. It took her a while to find that as well as the charger and the mouse. But Diana found it hard to get frustrated, especially when she now lived with a baby that cried through the night.
Diana smiled at the thought of Lilly. Her full name was Lilly June Soren. Lilly was just because it was becoming Diana's favourite flower and sounded perfect for a perfect little girl. June because of Diana's grandmother who passed a few years before the FAYZ and Soren because of her father, of course. She was a perfect little girl. And the best part was that she was a completely normal child as well, no mutant monster aliens inside her, not even born inside of a crazy world with crazy powers! She was normal. And perfect.
Meanwhile, inside the living room Lilly began to cry as she stared out at her favourite new teddy that Anna had brought for her shortly after her birth. It settled on the sofa rather than in the play pen with her. She didn't care about the other toys around her she wanted the pink smiling teddy!
"One second, Lilly!" Diana called.
Lilly shouted louder and finally grew impatient enough. She pointed her chubby hand out to the teddy through the bars. It lifted into the air by an invisible force, gently moved around the air, floating towards her and landed in the play pen with Lilly. She squealed and her body moved towards the teddy as if a second invisible force was pushing her, picking it up and wrapping her arms around it in a tight hug.
Diana came back and smiled down at the girl, hugging her bear. It was great having a perfectly normal child.
46) So... 1=Terrible, 2=Bad, 3=OK, 4=good, 5=excellent. How many stars was my story? Be honest...
