The day when Mama Sully pushed out three babies out of her womb was also the first time she shouted expletive body horror in her own native language and had almost gone through with the plan when the unlikely doctor when got too close to one of the babies, still dyed in blood, wrinkly and looking like it had most of its fat being sucked out.
Thankfully, the doctor had no idea what Mama Sully said so avoided the shadowed trauma of the threat of having his beloved tool cut off from his body, cooked medium fried, stuffed in a gift box and returned to him on his day of birth.
It was also thanks to a nurse that was quick to pull the doctor away when Mama Sully reached out on his lower half of his body with a murderous look in her eyes.
"This one's not moving!"
One of the nurses cried, holding one still baby up. The other two were crying out loud with tears in their faces. Despite the doctor trying to make the baby breath, the chances of the baby reviving were getting slimmer by the minute.
"Give him to me"
The steady voice of Mama Sully reached their ears. Feeling as if the mother was going to say her goodbyes to the baby, they handed her the infant and went out to inform the anxious father of the despairing news.
~oOo~
Papa Sully felt his entire world crack, though he was thankful his wife and children were safe, the fact that this little one would never get to experience life, made him want to bash something.
Fearing and steadying himself to give his wife all the comfort she needed.
What he didn't expect was to see his wife holding three crying babies with deadpanned expression on her face. She was not impressed on how late he was in entering. "What are you doing standing there moron? Help me with these kids, my arms are falling off and I just pushed them out of my stomach. The least you can do is hold them after all the carrying I did for them for 9 months straight"
Said new father immediately sprang into action and held two babies in his arms right before his wife conked herself to the darkness of unconsciousness. He stared down at the child in her arms that was said to have little chances of living, the slow and steady breaths signify his child was alive.
Barely keeping the grin from splitting up, he carefully and quietly went out to inform the doctor of the good news.
Many called the child a miracle.
The Sully family merely called him "Jake"
~oOo~
Having three kids was...an "experience"
Mama Sully had no idea why she quoted that but she had an idea as to why she did.
"Incoming!" Papa Sully shouted as he ducked when flying green food flew over his head. Two screaming children, one boy and girl, waving their arms frantically while shaking their heads, their faces turning red from the excessive crying.
"Damn, when did war enter this household?" Mama Sully mumbled loud enough for Papa Sully to hear and he glanced at her with a raised brow.
Charging blindly, Mama Sully grabbed the honey from the cupboards before dipping one dip on each bowl before spoon-feeding the crying children. They immediately shut their mouths as they tasted the new flavor.
Both parents sighed as they stared at the two children with small frowns on their faces. A small whimper from another corner made both parents look to Tom with his plate empty and despite the morsels littering in his baby dinning chair, it was relatively clean compared to his siblings.
"That's it, your my favorite" Mama Sully declared and while Papa Sully didn't want to pick any favorites, he more likely leaned onto Tom in hectic situation like this.
Emersyn and Jake looked at Tom with blank stares and Tom suddenly burst out crying.
Thus the siblings grew to kindergarten.
~oOo~
Kindergarten was when children were slowly introduced to the real life through stories and fairytale that ended with real life lessons.
Although the Sully Siblings exposure came in the form of a lab dissecting session.
At six years old, the siblings were allowed to follow their father to work while their mother when out on an excavation trip, they quickly ran around the lab only to be reprimanded by their father's coworkers though they were given treats in the end.
It was around this time that Tom wandered off from his siblings while they were staring at the specimens their father was showcasing. He ended up watching a group of frogs struggling in the water with some of them no longer moving.
Now death is a weird concept for children, they respond in very different ways. It could either be crying for no reason or just staring at death blankly with no understanding on what's happening.
For Tom it was the former of the two. His cries echoed in the lab which alerted Jake and Emersyn to his location, having noticed their brother missing mere moments before he cried.
They found him crying while pointing at the pail that was too deep for his hands to reach in and catch one. Jake didn't hesitate and dove headfirst to the pail with his legs sticking out. "Jake!" Papa Sully shouted as he hoisted his son up feet first.
The result was a half wet Jake with a frog in his hands. While Papa Sully was explaining to his superiors with Tom shouting at the scientists of "Animal Cruelty" Jake decided to name their new pet frog Wart.
~oOo~
Wart was a blessing in the Sully household, keeping the children occupied which the parents could never be thankful for enough.
They made an aquarium in the kids' room for Wart with led lights for them to see him hopping and swimming around.
Change happened when Emersyn noticed something white under some plastic underwater plants and called for her parents.
"Mom, dad! There's a weird mucus thingy in Wart's room!"
Papa Sully went in to access the situation before blinking in shock before turning to his wife and child who had confused looks on their faces.
It was then they found out that Wart was a girl and she was pregnant.
"We're uncles!"
"I'm an Aunt!"
The parents chuckled at their kids' enthusiasm before all three heads turn their attention to them.
"Is that how babies are born?"
They haven't even reached THAT stage yet!
~oOo~
Unfortunately, they couldn't keep Wart or her thousand babies in their mini aquarium so they opted to free her in a nearby park that had a medium sized lake.
Tom and Emersyn were openly crying while Jake was fighting to hard not to let tears fall as Mama and Papa Sully sent the frog and tadpoles down to the lake.
"We'll come visit Wart!"
"We can't call him-her Wart anymore, that's a boy's name."
"Well what are we gonna call her? Wartia?"
"Your name giving has gotten worse"
"Shut up sis!"
"Both of you stop it!"
Jake and Emersyn looked away at each other and pouted.
"Don't worry, you'll see each other again. We'll visit every weekend"
Papa Sully promised.
That promise was never fulfilled when they suddenly had to move deeper into the city.
~oOo~
Puberty stage was...awkward.
Tom and Jake were fit, due to the expertise training they received from Mama Sully, but Tom looked more lanky while Jake wore braces, courtesy of his face being punched back in middle school.
Despite them looking the same, their characteristics always clash against each other. Tom was quiet while Jake was the opposite. Jake loved sports while Ton preferred the quiet library.
Jake stood put from the crowd while Tom was more on the sidelines, supporting his brother. Yes, those two were totally different and yet many wondered how they always mix match the other.
But there was one thing they both lack the skills in which they turn to their sister for -
Talking to girls.
Not that Emersyn has a problem with her brothers talking to girls it's more on who the girls they wanted to talk to. Which is why she is with her brother Jake, hiding behind a corner. Staring at a girl who looked pampered enough to look like a dressed up Barbie doll.
"What do you think?" Jake asked, glancing up at his sister. If there is anyone who can understand a girl, it's another girl.
"You want the honest truth or the blunt truth?"
"Isn't it the same thing?"
"She's gonna play you till she had her fill then she'll dump you in the most humiliating way without remorse like a harpy and a succubus combined bitch"
Jake stared at his sister and wanted to question her but then remembered the way Tom's first crush dumped him without remorse because she was more into her science gimmicks than romance. Tom, being the sensitive boy he is, cried till they reached home and all three Sully's, excluding a crying Tom, had to stop and enraged Mama Sully from barging into a random house and start bashing everything inside out for making her baby boy cry.
As always his sister's on point.
"Why can't you ever find a man for yourself?"
Jake asked out of nowhere. Emersyn stared at him and pondered herself. She remembered the times she was asked out and all of them ended her kicking her dates' assess for being jerks or merely going after her for her looks and money.
"If the guy can infuriate me like I infuriate them then I think I might just find my match" Emersyn answered and Jake gave her a sympathetic look "Sounds more like your leaning more on a toxic relationship. You know if have kinks like this, I can-"
If there was a sound of a guy squealing like a girl, everyone ignored it. When Jake walked back in class with a limp, everyone ignored it but still felt a chill crawl up. "What happened to you?" Tom asked as Jake sat down with a blank look on his face.
"Nothing, just poked a sleeping tiger"
~oOo~
Emersyn was never fond of chemistry. One of the reasons is whenever there's a lab work, all the chemical equations flew from one ear and out to the other ear. Also, everyone she reads science stuff, the letters seem to dance around her head.
This could result into two results: either she ends the work failed (which is a miracle) or ends up destroying the entire lab via bombing it and the end result would be something unexpected (that was the only plus she had because their professors always end up studying her accidental "works".
Just like this one.
Tom has just finished answering an equation when there was a loud explosion. Everyone's gazes snapped to the door as the door handle rocked. One student's curiosity got to her and slowly opened the door. She merely opened it a centimeter before foams of green entered the room in waves and that was the last thing Tom saw before he was engulfed by it.
Thankfully the green foam wasn't toxic so there's no danger to human life. Unfortunately, it instantly freezes after a short period of being stationary.
Tom glared down at Emersyn as she and Jake slowly chipped each green foam turned rock like surrounding his body.
"On the bright side, you didn't fall into a coma like those students that got entirely covered" Jake said with a grin. Oh how Tom wanted to lecture Emersyn right now but with his mouth covered, he can only make muffled noises.
"Should we let his mouth stay covered for awhile?" Emersyn suddenly asked. Tom let out more loud noises as the statue vibrated.
"And risk getting more lectures?"
"We're already getting one so having some more freedom should be fair right?"
They both stared at each other before nodding. Tom let out a long, stressful sigh. Did the genes somehow went wrong with his brother and sister?
~oOo~
How Jake came to wear a girl's dress was actually a funny situation. Emerysn had been trucked into auditioning for an opera singer in a play. She of course became a substitute for another which she didn't mind though she had a bone to pick with the one who tricked her into this mess.
Jake Sully, her brother.
Jake had wanted payback for the prank she did when he almost confessed to a girl (which he ended up being grateful that he didn't go through with it but he was still bitter of the humiliating way Emmy had done)
Tom became the referee of their fist fight and a small crowd had gathered to watch the even unfold. As much as Tom disliked seeing his brother and sister fight like this, he had no choice but to comply otherwise he might just stir up some more commotion.
The fight ended in a bet in which Jake had to dress up as a girl if Emmy won and Emmy had to wear an actual ballgown dress with heels if Jake won.
Emersyn hated ballgowns because of how blooming they are, it's hard to know if you knock someone over just because of a dress.
The fight began with Jake on the defensive and Emmy on the offensive then it switched before it became a full out brawl before it ended with Jake lying on the group with a groan and Emmy with a broken hand.
Jake sighed and prepared himself mentally to wear the most lavishing dress there is when someone from the acting department came running to where they are, specifically at Emmy.
"Sully, there you are!" He cried out, ignoring the looks Emmy's brothers were giving him. "Something terrible has happened, our main opera singer got into an accident."
"Please don't tell me it's one of those cliché things like me being chosen to substitute her and become the female lead"
"Well I'm not sure about you being the female lead but yes on the former. You are her substitute"
"I wasn't given any notice!" Emersyn cried out "Didn't you receive my calls and texts?"
Emersyn hastily pulled out her phone and sure enough, 5 messages were seen and Emersyn winced when she noticed the mute mark on her phone.
Emersyn felt herself fall into despair. Her hand was broken (no thanks to Jake) and she might just ruin a play she didn't even want to take part of (no thanks to Jake).
She turned to Jake with an evil glint and Jake suddenly felt like he had gone through the punishment only to start again with torture.
The performance of the play was great which made many satisfied people and many of the boys complimented on the opera singer, most especially the face and the voice.
"Has anyone ever noticed her before?"
"Probably not. If that's the case, she might just be Cinderella"
"Her voice was lovely even in song"
"Has anyone noticed it kinda sounded a bit manly to you?"
"Really, it sounded girly to me"
Hearing these words made Jake's mood sour even more and for Tom to wish the ground had swallowed him up. "×I know, who knew you had it in you to dress up so beautifully Jake, and your voice was divine Tom. You sure you don't want to take Singing Lessons?"
"I. Am. Sure"
Tom answered with gritted teeth.
Truly, this was a day the brothers wished to forget and for their sister to remember.
~oOo~
By the time they were adults, they found their passion. Jake headed off to join the military while Tom was more into the science stuff. Emersyn decided to follow her mother's footsteps and met the clan to become the next of the line of hunters.
True, their work kept them away from each other but they always made sure to see each other once a month to catch up. Everything should've been just that and everyone would have a happy ending.
But that was not so.
On the day they decided to schedule another reunion with their parents, Jake couldn't attend because he was also one of the boys drafted for the front lines. Naturally, the family sent him well wishes and decided to surprise him when he comes home.
They didn't expect him to surprise them and in the worst and nightmarish way.
Emersyn and Tom were in their own separate bedrooms with Emersyn already asleep and Tom still reading another science book. He had been interested in the possible lifeforms outside the planet Earth.
Specifically, a Planet called Pandora.
He had just finished reading and had gone to bed and was half asleep when the sudden sharp pain in his legs made him cry out and tumble down from his bed. There was a faint cry that sounded a lot like his sister as he tried to crawl towards the door.
The last thing he saw was the door swinging open with his mother's foot raised to a kick.
~oOo~
Jake was pretty sure he was somewhere...not sure where but somewhere because colors seem to flash in his vision with countless streams of memories from his childhood.
Faces of his brother brother sister flashed coupled with screams and words with a language he really didn't have a shit clue to what it meant reached his ears and he was pretty sure he was going to have hearing injuries when he finally dies.
His vision cleared and the first thing he saw was the clear white ceilings of a hospital. He was connected to many wires and had a breathing mask on. Finding out he could barely keep his eyes open, he scanned the area for...anything that was familiar.
The first person he saw was beside his bed, specifically on each side. The haggard appearance of his siblings made him wonder how long he was out.
"You're awake" The relieved face of his mother appeared in his eyes when he turned to the doorway. She was holding a tray of food, good enough for three people to eat.
"Wha-" Jake paused when he found out he couldn't utter a sound yet, not when a breathing tube was attached.
"You...you got a serious injury after a battle in Venezuela. You were half dead when they sent you in. We weren't even sure you would make it but I know my Jake wouldn't just give up yet" Mama Sully didn't need any words or gestures for her to know that her son acknowledged her.
Just then, Emersyn let out a groan as she slowly started to wake up. The first thing she saw was a hazy figure before it sharped to see that it was Jake but there was a difference to the ways he was seeing.
He was awake.
"Tom! Get up! Get up!"
Tom jumped up and promptly fell backwards in shock, mostly because of Emersyn's unnecessary screaming. "JAKE! You moron! I thought you kicked the bucket when we arrived here. You looked like a corpse!" A smack to the head by Mama Sully made Emersyn send him an apologetic look before Tom placed a gentle touch on his brother's shoulder.
"We're glad you're awake"
Jake smiled despite the phantom pain. Maybe things will get better from here on out.
~oOo~
Things took a turn for the worse in the Sully household.
First it was Jake's half paralyzed state, confining him to a wheelchair. It took months for Jake to get used to being in a wheelchair. Every time Jake would immediately do things only a person with working legs would do, he would fall down and it would take minutes for him to come to realize his legs won't work anymore.
Emersyn and Tom decided it was better to act as normal as possible but would often times wince and act to help whenever their brother had a hard time doing something without the need to use his legs. Which only seems to irritate Jake all the more and would more often than not, shut himself in his room.
Emersyn and Tom looked at each other worriedly before they busied themselves with other things to keep their minds at constant work. Tom and Emersyn immediately left their respective careers for work which could bring enough money for Jake's surgery.
When Mama Sully began coughing out for no reason, despite her being always healthy. They immediately sent her to do a check up only to receive the worst news possible.
Emphysema.
Pollution, one of humanity's greatest achievements in destroying the planet and sentencing themselves for death in the long run. Though there are other diseases in which can be harmful to human life, but this-
"DAMN!" Emersyn shouted as she punched the wall beside her. Despite emphysema becoming a common disease in an era where technology and modernization eclipsed the land, there was still no known cure for something like this.
Papa Sully collapsed on a chair after Tom had pushed it right under the poor man. Mama Sully looked like she wanted punch the area where her lungs are situated to possible get the disease out of her but she knew it would only proved to be futile.
Jake looked dazed and didn't even noticed he was being pushed out by Tom till they arrived home. Mama Sully instinctively decided to make a light meal when she was grasped by the arm "I'm not stopping you, I just want to help" Papa Sully said with a light smile. Mama Sully reluctantly decided to let him help while the kids waited in the living room.
"Transfer it..." Jake mumbled. Emersyn and Tom looked at Jake in confusion before Jake spoke up again "Transfer all the money you earned for mom's checkups"
Emersyn stood up as Tom looked at Jake seriously "Are you sure about this?" Jake narrowed his eyes at his two siblings. "Our mom is dying and here you're worried for a guy who's not dying?"
Emersyn winced at the blunt words and couldn't help but curse at the universe for what has happened. They were so close. Only a few more credits and they would have enough to pay for Jake's surgery. Only for this to go down the drain.
Still, they followed their brother's wishes and sent everything to the hospital for mom's comfort stay on her home and hired a private doctor to take care of her 24/7.
~oOo~
Mama Sully gradually felt her breathing shorten and her coughing and wheezing increase. She had been confined to bedrest in her home (She hated being stuck in the hospital). She could tell her condition was taking a toll on her family.
Her husband stopped smiling and her kids barely talk to each other anymore, too caught up on their work to earn more money for her expenses.
It pained her to see them like this but she had no way of knowing what to do until she had an idea one night when she stared up at the sky but the stars were absent.
"We're going back to the tribe"
The Sully's looked at Mama Sully in confusion as she stared at them seriously "But mom you need to stay here for your-" She glared at them and repeated her words to which they consented.
They packed their bags before heading out to head back to their mother's tribe.
~oOo~
Truth be told, their mother's tribe lived in a relatively small forest, basically the only forest in the entire planet. They were received with welcomed arms though Papa Sully had to slowly shrink away when Mama Sully's grandparents eyed him with disdain.
Probably wondering why only now they had to greet their little boys.
Emersyn immediately conversed with a group of hunters who were planning to hunt along the southern border of the forest. Tom merely wanted to explore the fauna surrounding the forest, having only seem them through the screen or a holographic image.
Mama Sully looked at her kids with a smile but then noticed Jake staring at the kids who were running around playing. Her heart ached for her son but she could not do much with their financial situation and her illness gradually increasing.
Papa Sully noticed her clutching her chest and decided to direct her to the beds one of the tribesmen prepared.
~oOo~
That night, Mama Sully woke her kids up and asked them to meet her outside. They found their parent lying down on a grassy field. The soon sat down before Papa Sully gestured for them to look up.
Jake was in awe to see stars (despite how little they could visibly see them) "Nice isn't it?" Mama Sully said "Long before all this tech stuff happened, our world was filled with so many stars and so many living things"
"Honey, there are still many living things"
"You call those holo tech destroying the planet living things?"
Papa Sully had no comment on that "Well this is beautiful" Tom commented. He slowly lay down beside his mother while Jake lowered himself off his wheelchair beside his father.
Emersyn picked a spot close to Tom and the family stared up at the stars all night before they fell asleep.
~oOo~
Mama Sully had a strange dream. She woke up to a world full of glowing lights. Well lights that aren't from lamps of flash lights but from the forest.
The dream forest looked beautiful and Mama Sully wondered of she had gone into some kind of "seeing heaven before death" experience when she felt something pulse from behind her.
She turned to stare at a beautiful tree with pink vine like threads hanging. "Wow what a beautiful...is that even a tree? I'mpretty sure trees don't look like that. There aren't even any leaves."
All of a sudden, the tree pulsed and bioluminescent lights pulsate outwards. Mama Sully's eyes widen she heard a voice. Well, she was sure the voice wasn't talking because there was no one here with her. It was mostly reverberated in her head.
"Oh...you're a sentient tree!"
This dream's way more imaginative than I thought. It's almost like I'mimagine whole new planet.
"What's your name?"
A pulse.
"Ei...Ey...wah. How about I just call you Ei instead. Less tongue twisting for me."
There was another pulse in response. "Oh...I'm fine its just, I'm worried for my family. All life must come to pass at some point but I never thought mine would come early. I'm prepared to leave but I don't think I would want to unless-"
There was no feeling of wind when Mama Sully saw the vines swaying towards her almost as if beckoning her to touch them. Tentatively, she held out a hand and her pointer finger touched the vine, she didn't see anything but she could hear.
Laughter. Familiar laughter of her children although they sounded a bit old and aged, she could distinguish her children's laughter as well as new ones. Mama Sully didn't know why but tears was starting to fall across her face. She didn't know the heavy weight she had had been lifted as she stopped holding the vine.
"Thank you" She smiled right as soon as bright colors filled her vision.
By morning, Mama Sully smiled under the embrace of her family as tears and songs of mourning from the tribe echoed in the forest though it was drowned by the loud noises of trains and technology surrounding the forest.
~oOo~
Papa Sully didn't cry and neither did the kids, all Sullys had a blank stare in the funeral. Well, cremation seems to be the common funeral rites. They had wanted to bury her along with her tribesman but even that was taken away.
There were no family members from Papa Sully that attended. And they doubted the tribesman would be welcomed in the modern world. Jake clenched his fists in anger and Tom bit his lip, drawing blood which he hastily wiped. Emersyn stared at the fire with no emotion to show, only when ashes were left a single tear fell.
~oOo~
The house had never been so silent. It was so suffocating that the family decided to stay in a hotel, a bit far away from the house that was once a home.
Life goes on, Emersyn went to find other jobs to raise pay and Tom had literally stopped pursuing his dream career of going off to Pandora to help but proved futile when taxes rose and it was becoming hard getting to stay in the house until they were kicked out.
They managed to rent an apartment, Jake managed to get a job with a decent pay without the use of his legs during this time, all three finding solace in working. Papa Sully was never the same and would more often stay away and come back late in the night, lost and confused.
It worried the triplets but what else can they do? Their father never raised a hand against them nor did he even shout at them. He was just simply...existing and they were doing everything they can to make sure he was comfortable.
Tom sighed and rubbed a hand between his eyes, feeling a headache coming along, lethargy hitting him like a mountain. "You doin' okay?" Jake's voice entered his ears and he turned to see Jake wheeling himself in the kitchen to get himself a hot coffee while Emersyn tucked their father to bed.
"It's getting hard Jake. I hope the worse has passed" Tom said softly. Jake sighed as he swirled the spoon in the mug, watching the liquid turn from clear to black from the coffee. "Worse doesn't just pass, they come and go in life. Trust me on this" Tom huffed "Then I hope we have the guts to pass through the worse of everything that throws at us" He paused for a moment before his eyes seem to be lost somewhere in the memories.
"I just want our family to be together"
"Well, we are together and it will stay that way" Jake said with as much conviction as he can with confidence. "Yes but for how long?" was the unanswered question that lingered in Tom's mind.
~oOo~
No.
No.
No!
The triplets raced through the fire of what was once lush trees, remaining trees left on the planet. They had heard through the news that the last remaining forest on the planet is being burnt to the ground. It was also the location of Mama Sully's tribe and their connection to her.
They took the quickest train to the borders to the forests' edge only to see nothing but blackened ashes and the heat of the flames. Ignoring all protocols, they bypassed through security and raced through. The heat of the flames and the ground as well as the smell of burnt wood made them gagged and cough. They made it to the location of where the tribe people where but...
Tom didn't know but he suddenly lost the strength of his legs and collapsed to the ground while Emersyn stood stock still at the sight while Jake sprang up from his wheelchair only to topple down. He pounded the ground and shouted out in anger.
The triplets stared at the destruction before Emersyn forced herself to move to one of the bodies and tried to rouse them up only to stop when her hands were immediately coated with blood.
Something rang in her ears and she could almost hear the screams of the tribe ringing through her ears. "They're coming! We have to get out of her now!" Jake's voice snapped her to where he was only to see him hoisting himself up to his wheelchair. Her eyes pinned to the flashing lights up ahead and felt a rage she never felt grew inside as she took a step forward.
A hand grasped her arm, stopping her from moving further. She turned to snap at the one who stopped her when she saw Tom staring at her with a sad look, shaking his head "No Emmy, not now. Not when we are outnumbered, I don't want to lose you too" He said.
That was enough for Emersyn back down. But it wasn't enough, not until that same substance that was on the tribesmen be on the ones that destroyed their connection with their mother.
~oOo~
That night, the siblings came home to see-
No one.
Jake found it odd, normally their father would still be here during this time. He wheeled himself to the room where his father was staying only to find a letter addressed to them and black sand that looked almost identical to ashes.
They never saw him again.
~oOo~
The destruction of the forest was broadcasted live with many protesting against the destruction only for it to be swallowed by the majority of the government as they planned to expand new buildings on that site.
Emersyn clenched her fists as she stared at the screen in anger. Tom looked pained while Jake had a look of indifference but by the stiff posture and the aura that was radiating off of him, the two knew he wasn't indifferent to the situation.
That night, Tom heard a noise coming from his sister's room but didn't think much if it until the early morning when he was preparing breakfast and Jake was still fast asleep, having slept late after finding it hard to close his eyes.
The sound of the front door opening made him pause and peer through the door only to drop the spatula he was holding as he ram towards the figure standing in the front door.
"Emmy!"
That shout woke Jake up as he rolled down his bed. He grunted as he hoisted himself up and wheeled out of his room to the source of the sound only to pause at the scene in front of him.
His sister stood in the door way with her head down and Tom grasping her by the shoulders. What Jake was really looking at were her hands.
Blood clung to Emersyn's hands like a second skin and there was a glint in her eyes that Jake can relate when it was one's first time in taking a human life.
"Emmy, who...what...why?" Tom couldn't formulate any words as he stared at Emersyn. She glanced down at her hands in wonder "I don't know...I...I was so angry and they...it didn't go away" Emersyn mumbled as she glared at her hands, clenching them.
Tom stopped saying anything and gently led her to the sink to wash her hands. "Promise me you won't do something like this ever again"
Emersyn never promised back.
~oOo~
Emersyn's frequent night hours got so bad to the point she would stay away from the house more than 2 days and it was already starting to worry Jake a little.
"You have to stop this! If they find out, they'll be after your head!" Tom shouted across the room. Jake removed the air pods in his ears as he listened in on the loud conversation "I am careful! And those bastards deserve what's coming to them. Tom we've been sheltered all our lives and I just realized now how fucked up the Earth is."
She shouted "I know! But going about this way will only bring trouble. We lost too much, I lost too much! The last thing I want is to lose you too or worse, see your corpse with my own eyes"
There was silence after that before Emersyn said in a clear, low voice "Then consider me dead" Jake heard stomping feet and he scrambled to wheel himself out to see Emersyn's retreating form.
"Emersyn come back!" Tom cried out as he followed her. Both brothers raced after her but she disappeared into the alleys and left only a picture which housed the entire Sully family all smiles.
~oOo~
They didn't see Emersyn Sully for a month but they knew she was around, if the money in a box that comes every night has something to say. It got to the point that it was enough for either Jake or Tom to fulfill their dreams but Jake refused and said that Tom needed it more him to reach Pandora.
Jake had already gotten used to his legs and knew the prices of it getting treated us too much and the fact his sister is sending money with her life on the line made it feel like he was being selfish by using it on himself.
Tom continued to study and got the papers needed to head off to Pandora. Jake was happy for him and he knew his sister would be too.
Tom was scheduled to go three days from now and he felt like celebrating in a local bar with his co-workers. He had invited Jake over but the man had other plans and didn't push it further. It was almost late at night when Tom decided it was time to head home.
He had just passed the third alley before the sight of home when a gruff hand shot out of the shadows and pulled him in. A hand muffled his screams and something glinted in the light. He could deduce it might have been a blade and struggled before he felt the pointed tip pierce his shoulder. A muffled scream came out of his throat.
"You have something I want..."
Tom's first thought would be money but then the man carelessly tossed his wallet away and Tom knew he was going for the paper in his pocket. No! This was all his hard work, he couldn't...but his life was on the line and the last thing he wanted was for Jake and Emersyn to know their brother's death.
A sudden shot made him close his eyes, wincing as if something hit him but...
The slumping body fell to the ground and Tom scrambled back to the light as passerby people screamed and called the cops while Tom clutched the white paper in his hands as well as his own wallet.
When the police arrived and questioned him, he gave them all that he knew and even showed them the paper he had acquired for Pandora. He stared at the body being wheeled out for cremation as people walked by, already used to seeing this like this. His eyes stared at the hole on the mugger's head and stared at the buildings.
Emmy...
~oOo~
Emersyn hissed as she supported a bullet wound. She had been on the run with assassins behind her back and was about to turn and disappeared when her eyes caught someone being mugged.
Despite her mind saying no, her empathy won her over and made a well placed shot in the head but not getting nicked in the arm.
Although it was a graze, the wound was deep enough that Emersyn was sure it was gonna need stitches.
She managed to escape to her hideout and made the painstaking time to stitch her wounds with a rag cloth in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue.
She managed to drag herself to bed and fall asleep. She wondered how her brothers were doing. She had seen glimpses of them in the streets but she never lingered, fearing if she did she might call out to them and blow her cover.
She had no idea that question would be answered by a phone call from Tom.