Lincoln's eyes slowly fluttered open, his sight still blurry, he blinked a few times before checking the time on his phone which read 8:00 A.M. After laying there for a few more minutes, Lincoln swung his legs out of bed and began to get ready for the hellish day he knew was in front of him. Shutting the door behind him, Lincoln peaked inside Lily and Lisa's room to see if either were awake yet. Seeing that they were both still asleep, he decided next to check on Lucy and her new roommate but before he could, the bedroom door opened and nearly swung into his face. "Oh, sorry Linc." Jordan stepped out, her hair looking a mess. "You look like shit," Lincoln said, leaning against the wall. "I just woke up. You look like shit every day and have no excuse for it." Jordan quipped back as she moved past him to head to the bathroom. Lucy walked out soon after, yawning and brushing her hair down over her face. "Hello, Lincoln."
"Hey, Luce. How'd it go?" Lincoln asked while gazing back at Jordan who had just shut the bathroom door. "It went fine, I guess. A hell of a lot more tolerable than Lynn ever was."
"Well, that's not exactly hard to beat. Still, I'm glad it's tolerable for you. I guess I'd better check on Luna, and see if she's ready to go." Lincoln made his way to Luna and Luan's room and knocked on the door which Luna quickly answered. "Keep it down, Luan's still sleeping."
"Good morning to you too, sis. Were you just waiting for me behind that door like a creep?" Lincoln asked, stepping back to let Luna out of her room. "I had trouble sleeping. Did you talk to Lisa yet about if she's in?"
"Yeah, she's agreed to do it, at least for now. Anyways, we need to get going. I'll be waiting outside for you and the others." Lincoln turned on his heel and began to head toward the stairs, not wanting to talk to Luna longer than he had to.
Lincoln breathed into his hands as he waited for his sisters and Jordan, the icy air chilling his bones. "Come on you slow bastards..." Lincoln muttered to himself, sighing in relief when the front door finally opened and Lucy, Luna, and Jordan stepped out. "Took you long enough. We need to catch the bus in 15 minutes."
"You still haven't told any of us where we're going." Jordan walked over to him, pulling out a pair of gloves from her coat pocket which he took. "Yeah, there's a reason for that. You'll understand when we get th-" Lincoln was suddenly interrupted when a voice in the distance shouted his name. "...Clyde?" Lincoln moved past his sisters, putting his hand on Clyde's shoulder while he tried to catch his breath. "I'm... Coming with you... If the option is... Still there..." Lincoln was immediately torn. On one hand, he was glad to have the extra person on his side but on the other... Clyde was throwing away possibly his only chance to go back to the life he used to live. Was it fair for Lincoln to allow his best friend to do this? "I mean... of course, the option is still there but are you sure this is what you want, Clyde? there's no going back after this." Clyde stood back up to his full height once he had caught his breath and looked Lincoln in the eyes. "I am. I gave it a lot of thought and the fact is that... The Casagrande family if they find out what you're doing or find out about Sergio then they won't just get you, Lincoln. They'll get you, your family, your girlfriend, and your friends which... includes me. We stand a better chance against them together." The two best friends continued to stare into each other's eyes, Lincoln could sense the determination that Clyde now had. Talking him out of this would be pointless. "Okay, Clyde. I won't stop you." Lincoln gave his friend a smile before turning on his heel. "Alright, we've wasted enough time. We need to get to the bus station."
The group was now riding on the bus, having just made it in time. Lincoln could tell that the eyes of the others were on him since he was still keeping the location of where they were going a secret but he kept glancing over at Lucy and Luna, knowing by their looks that they had a pretty good idea by now where he was taking them. Lucy had a look of disbelief, shaking her head at Lincoln that he would bring his sisters with him while Luna was glaring daggers at him. She leaned over to whisper to him. "If you're taking us where I think you are-"
"I am." Lincoln interrupted her. The moment he confirmed her suspicions, Luna got to her feet despite the bus still moving. "I'm getting off. You have no right to-"
"We're already here. You agreed to learn how to shoot, there's no getting out of this now." Lincoln also stood up and looked out the window as the building came into view. "Sunset Canyon Retirement Home?" Jordan looked at Lincoln with a questioning gaze. "You took us here? what, are we going to be learning how to shoot pensioners?" The bus slowed to a stop and the six quickly got out, staring up at the building. "I'm going home," Luna said as she turned around and began walking. "Really? you're going to walk all the way home? You won't get home until tomorrow. Lincoln tried to reason with his sister, following her as she walked. "I don't care. You know how everyone in the family feels about that old creep after the things he's done!" Luna clenched her fists as she stared down at her brother. "I'm with Luna on this one," Lucy spoke up next, also giving her brother a look of dissatisfaction. " Why not just take us to a shooting range? why him?"
"Because he actually knows how to kill people which as you know we very may well have to do. I know you guys wouldn't be happy about this which is why I kept it secret but use your heads! Pop-Pop can teach us everything we need to know and once he has we never have to interact with the psycho ever again!" Lincoln was clearly failing to convince them since they were both looking at him with anger in their eyes. "No, Lincoln. We're not going in there, period. We can learn at a shooting range, not from a psychopathic monster."
"Now, now. You should show your old Pop-Pop a little respect." The group whipped their heads around as they saw coming out of the forest, none other than Albert Loud. "Lincoln, my boy! Luna, Lucy. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Lucy took a few steps away from him while Luna was seeing red at the sight of her Grandfather. "We're leaving. Move the fuck out of the way." She spat and tried to move past him but was stopped as he stepped into her path. "You didn't come all this way just to leave, surely. Tell me, my boy, what brings you all here?" Albert eyed his grandson, waiting for an answer. "We... need to learn how to shoot. I know you advised me not to start a war with the Casagrandes but let's say some things happened and now... Now there's no other choice. You know how to shoot and how to... dispose of people so I came to you." Albert looked at the group one by one, his eyes momentarily stopping on Clyde for a second longer before looking back at Lincoln. "So. You've foolishly started something with the Casagrandes and now wish to defend yourself. Very well, my boy."
"Well, you can count me and Lucy out." Luna raised her voice and stepped in between Lincoln and Albert. "We want nothing to do with you, murderer." Albert let out a chuckle and smiled. "Luna, my dear. I know you will always hold contempt for me after I dispatched your master but whether you like it or not, you're going to need me to survive the mess you now find yourselves in. Try to leave if you wish, but I will not let you. I want you and your siblings to live, my dear! I can't just let you go knowing that without proper survival training, you're sure to die." Albert took a step toward Luna and put his arm around her shoulders. "Now all of you, come with me!" Luna tried to break free from her Grandfather but his grip was a vice, one that held her close to him with no way of escape.
To Be Continued