Lori and Natasha: Together forever

by Seanrudin

Natasha, a girl from Middleton near Harrisburg, is new to Royal Woods. After realizing that Natasha is teased about her weight, Lori decides to befriend Natasha. But soon, both are behind a Secret, wich Natasha's father found in the Royal Woods Nuclear Power Plant. They start looking for the truth. Idea by Crafordbrian17.

6. Full Metal Jacket

Chapter six: Full Metal Jacket

His bosses should have believed him. But now he's on the roof. They told him to see it with his own eyes and tell them. Anatoly Sitnikov, an engineer at the Vladimir I Lenin Nuclear Power Plant, is now on the roof of reactor block four. He slowly walks to the hole in the roof. Pitch black smoke rises. He looks into the hole in the middle of the open nuclear reactor. The air glows blue. The skin on his face turns red, like sunburn. He turns and slowly walks to the door where a Soviet soldier is waiting. It is April 26, 1986. The day of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Natasha is lying on the sofa in the Louds' house. It's 11:00 p.m. On the table in front of the sofa is a handful of pretzel sticks and two chocolate muffins. She just eats them up. Her MacBook Air is on the table. She watches the HBO series Chernobyl. Episode one, entitled 1:23:45. The time of the disaster.

"You should have been believed Sitnikov." Said Natasha.

Natasha kept looking. Then she heard a voice behind her.

"What's wrong with his face?"

It was Lana. Next to her was Lola. Natasha paused the series and sat up.

"Why are you here? Why are you even awake?" asked Natasha.

"Lola couldn't sleep. Then she told me about men with tattoos." said Lana.

"And now neither of us can sleep." said Lola.

Natasha desperately put her hands on her face. Now it was an eerie silence.

"And I heard Lori screaming in the bathroom today, something about your father." said Lana.

"My father, he is not well. It is difficult." said Natasha.

"And the men with the tattoos?" asked Lana.

"They admire my father. They're kind of allies."

"How does that work with this radiation?" asked Lola.

"Do you have a pizza in the fridge?" asked Natasha.

"Yes, why?" asked Lana.

"I'll show you."

The three went into the kitchen. Natasha took the pizza out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. The three sat down at the kitchen table.

"Well. Everything is made up of basic building blocks, which we call atoms. And there are very small atoms, and there are very large ones." said Natasha.

The twins nodded.

"Some atoms are so big and heavy that they decay. And then they radiate. There are three types of radiation. Alpha radiation is the most harmful, but you can protect yourself against it with a piece of paper. Beta radiation is not as harmful, But you need 15 sheets of paper to protect yourself. Then there's gamma radiation. It's not as harmful as beta radiation, but it gets through everything. You need lead walls several inches thick just to mitigate it."

"And what happens if I get irradiated?" asked Lola. Natasha takes a deep breath.

"You saw my father. When you're exposed to intense radiation, an unstoppable, cruel process of deterioration begins. After an initial dizzy spell, sensitive tissues, like the tongue, begin to swell. The skin turns black and peels off. The body's cells slowly die off, including the DNA changes, in a grotesque way, so that in the days of radiation, not only life is taken step by step, but usually also the individual appearance."

Everyone was silent. Then Lola spoke.

"Will your father be better?"

"Yes. He will be fine."

"Will it emit radiation?" asked Lana. The microwave rang.

"Just in time." said Natasha

Natasha takes the pizza out of the microwave and puts it on a plate. She takes a pizza cutter and sits at the table.

"Elements, or isotopes, which are unstable, also called radioactive, have a so-called half-life. Let's assume this pizza consists entirely of the isotope cesium 137. Cesium 137 has a half-life of thirty years. That means all thirty years the amount of cesium has fallen by half." said Natasha, and cut the pizza in half.

She put one half aside and pointed to the piece on the plate.

"Now the amount has dropped by half. After another thirty years there is only half the cesium here again." Natasha cut half the pizza in half and placed one quarter next to the other half.

"And it goes on and on. My father was exposed to nitrogen 16. Nitrogen 16 has a half-life of 7 seconds. Seven seconds and there's only half of all nitrogen 16 around."

The twins looked at Natasha.

"I think I understand." said Lola.

"I also." said Lana.

"What shall we do with the pizza?" asked Lola.

"We eat the pizza." said Natasha.

Natasha cut the quarter in half, and gave one slice to Lola and Lana, and she took rest of the pizza herself. They finished eating.

"You have to go to bed. Tomorrow is school." said Natasha.

"I don't know if we can sleep. Those tattooed men." said Lana. Lola nodded. The two were obviously scared.

"Can we both sleep in the living room with you?" asked Lola.

Natasha lay down on the sofa, and the twins climbed on top of her. The two enjoyed Natasha's body warmth. The screensaver was running on Natasha's MacBook Air. The three watched the slow movements on the screen and fell asleep. In the middle of the night Natasha got up. Lola and Lana fell to the ground.

"Ouch." said both.

Natasha didn't answer.

"Lola, she sleepwalks." said Lana.

Natasha slowly walked to the table. Lola and Lana followed her. Natasha tried to push a button. At the same time she whispered something.

"Shut down. Shut down."

Natasha. What are you doing?" whispered Lola.

"I... have to... shut down the... reactor. I have... to save... my father." said Natasha in her sleep.

Natasha turned and went back to the sofa. She lay down again and went back to sleep.

The twins look at each other worried.

"I feel very sorry for her." said Lana.

"She loves her father very much." said Lola.

The twins lie down on Natascha. They hug her and want to show her that they love her too. "You're kind of a sister to us." said Lola.

The two fell asleep again. Lori woke up. Her alarm clock rang. She turned it off and went into the bathroom. She went to the toilet and washed her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked tired and her hair was tousled. She hadn't slept well. The whole time she saw Mike lying in that hospital bed with black dead skin. She couldn't get this sight out of her head. She put her hands under the faucet and washed her face. She left the bathroom and changed. After that she checked on Lily. In

the hallway, Luan and Lincoln were waiting in front of the bathroom. Lori went down into the living room. The sight of the twins sleeping on top of Natasha surprised Lori. She went back upstairs. Lori looked in Lily's and Lisa's room.

"Good morning Lily. Time to get up." said Lori soft.

She picked Lily up. Lily kissed Lori on the cheek.

"Always. Always you do this." Lori said happily.

Lily giggled. She put Lily on the changing table and put a new diaper on her. Then Lori dressed her in white pants and a purple t-shirt. She laid Lily on the floor. Lori went back into the living room. Natasha and the twins were awake.

"Good morning Natasha. How did you sleep with the twins on you." asked Lori. "Kind of good." said Natasha.

"It was very pleasant." said Lola.

"And what did you talk about?" Lori asked with a grin.

"What do you think?" asked Lana.

"Oh please. As soon as someone is at our house, you two can't stop talking." said Lori. "They both asked me how radiation is produced." said Natasha.

"Physics class in the middle of the night?" asked Lori.

"Yes. Exactly. Just physics class." said Lola.

"So you two. Get ready for school." said Lori.

The twins went upstairs.

"Natasha, what really happened?" asked Lori.

"Well, the twins are worried I won't be able to sleep because of my father."

"The twins like you."

"I feel like a sister to them both. I get along well with them. That applies to you too, Lori."

"I also see you as a kind of sister."

Natasha smiles wordlessly at Lori and hugs her.

"Thank you." said Natasha.

"No problem." said Lori.

"I have to change now."

"That would be good. We have to leave soon."

Natasha goes into the bathroom and changes her clothes. She puts on a gray sweater and dark blue jeans. Rita and Lynn senior have already gone to work. The kids got in, and Natasha gets the honor of sitting in the passenger seat. Mike's VW Golf is still in the driveway. Natasha tries to get in, but Vanzilla's right front door is tight and Natasha has some problems. Lori shoves Natasha in on the right shoulder. Lori walks around Vanzilla and climbs into the driver's seat.

"Thanks." said Natasha.

Lori nodded to her. They drove off. When the younger siblings aren't listening, Lori asked something that had been bothering her for a while.

"How are you Natasha? I mean, because of the substance Jack injected you with." Lori asked softly. "It was horrible. Pure horror. I think we should take Clarkson's advice." said Natasha.

"What suggestion?"

"Get guns." said Natasha.

"Why? Why guns?" Lori asked softly.

"Deterrence. So that people like Jack don't get any stupid ideas."

They reached elementary school. Lincoln, Lucy, Lola and Lana got out. "I'll pick you up at noon." said Lori.

They went to kindergarten. Lisa and Lily got out. Lori said the same to them. Lori continued on to high school. Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn and Natasha drop out of Vanzilla at high school. Some students start clapping and some cheer.

"Our savior." someone said.

"You your father is great." shouted another. Natasha became embarrassed.

"Are we being cheered for your father?" Leni asked.

Lori looks at her phone. Lori just Googled Royal Woods and the search suggestions came up: Royal Woods Nuclear Power Plant, Royal Woods Nuclear Power Plant Worker, the Royal Woods Rescuer, Royal Woods Nuclear Power Plant Worker Interview. Lori kept looking. Then she saw the headline on the front page of the Royal Woods newspaper, Worker Heroically Saves Town. Below the headline was a photo of Mike and Natasha in front of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. Lori shows the photo to Natasha, and Natasha's cheeks turned very red.

"They broadcast a TV interview with your father nationally." said Lori.

"Now I miss the time when I was unpopular." said Natasha.

"Why?" Leni asked.

"Because now I'm being hailed for something I didn't even do." said Natasha worried.

"Why are they celebrating you?" Luan asked.

"I don't know, but I'm not comfortable with it." said Natasha, taking Lori's hand.

"Don't worry Natasha. We'll protect you." said Leni.

The six went into high school. Everywhere people shouted congratulations and greetings to Natasha. Natasha had rarely felt so uncomfortable. Lori and Natasha go into the classroom. The teacher is standing in front of the blackboard and next to him is a balding man with a badge around his neck. A D.E.A. badge. Natasha pulled back her chair and tried to sit down. It was too tight. She pulled the chair back a little further and sat down.

"Well, I'm sure you had an interesting weekend with that incident at the nuclear power plant. But there was an incident at our school last week as well." said the teacher, pointing to the man next to him.

"Exactly. I'm Agent Schrader from the Drug Enforcement Administration. To be honest, I hate being here. I love kids, but when I have to go to school, I hate it. Especially today." said Schrader.

"One of the students in this school took this stuff and overdosed." said Schrader, pulling out a plastic bag filled with blue crystals.

"I'm not kidding. The stuff is very pure and can kill you quickly. If you know anything, you can give us an anonymous tip. This is really important. Because the stuff is extremely dangerous. A pill can kill."

Becky raised her hand.

"Yes, the tall girl with the red hair." said Schrader.

"What is that exactly?" Becky asked.

"This is crystal meth. It's also called Blue Sky on the street. It's 99.1 percent chemically pure. That's what makes it so dangerous. I have to go to one of the other classes now. Stay away from drugs." said Schrader, and left the classroom.

"Yeah, I can't put it any better. I'm sure you heard what happened on Saturday. Natasha, is your father feeling better?" asked the teacher.

"He has... it's difficult." said Natasha.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I wanted to show the class yesterday's interview, but I don't want to burden you with it." said the teacher.

Natasha looked at the teacher.

"Are you okay Natasha?" asked the teacher.

"Yes. Feel free to show the interview to the class." said Natasha softly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Do it."

"Natasha, I don't know, but I don't think it's good for you." Lori said quietly and worried.

Natasha was silent. The teacher turned on a projector and turned on the interview. Katherine Mulligan was in Mike's hospital room wearing gloves and a mask.

"This is Katharine Mulligan with a special report. An interview with the man who saved Royal Woods." said Katherine.

The camera filmed Mike. The dead skin was peeling off more.

"I told you, I didn't save the city alone. There were many people who did this." said Mike weakly.

Natasha looked at the screen.

"But you prevented a catastrophe. Like that of Chernobyl."

"You're comparing Royal Woods one and two to Chernobyl? There's... I'm too tired to explain. Ask my daughter. She knows about RBMK reactors."

"Your daughter?" Katherine asked.

"Yes. Natasha." said Mike and started to smile.

"A highly intelligent girl. Ever since I've been lying in this room thinking and dreaming about her."

"Do you want to tell her something?" Katherine asked.

Mike slowly turned his head and looked into the camera.

"I love you Natasha." said mike.

He looked into the camera as if he could see Natasha. Natasha got up and left the classroom. "Lori, can you please check on Natasha?" said the teacher.

Lori went out. Natasha stood in the corridor. Her whole body was shaking.

"Natasha? What's going on?" Lori asked quietly.

"I don't want him to die." said Natasha softly.

Then she screamed.

"I don't want him to die!"

Lori steps closer.

"I should have walked into that radioactive fume. I should have been in the hospital. But not my father."

"Don't say that." said Lori and hugged Natasha.

Lori hugs Natasha. She feels soft, like a cat. Lori liked to hug her. She was careful not to touch Natasha's gunshot wound.

"Let's go back inside." said Lori.

"No. They must think I'm a whiny nerd." said Natasha.

"Are you crazy? You're the coolest girl in school now."

"I hope so."

The two went back to class.

Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn and Natasha went to Vanzilla. A boy with light brown hair came up to them. He was seventeen, wearing a brown leather jacket and gray jeans.

"Hey, you Girls. I'm supposed to tell you that my uncle is impressed with you." he said.

"Who is your uncle?" asked Luna.

"Yes, and what's your name anyway?" asked Lori.

"My name is Todd. And you know Uncle Jack." said Todd.

Lori pulls Todd away by the arm.

"Listen, never talk about Jack in front of my sisters." said Lori.

"Sure. Sorry." said Todd.

Lori went back to the others.

"You know where to find him." said Todd.

The six got in and Lori drove to the daycare and picked up Lisa and Lily. At elementary school, she picked up Lincoln, Lucy, Loly, and Lana. A song was playing on the radio. Natasha knew it.

"This is my baby blue. My father used to sing this song to me as a lullaby." said Natasha, and turned up the radio louder.

Natasha sang along quietly.

"Guess I got what I deserved

Kept you waiting there too long, my love All that time, without a word

Did you really think that I'd forget

And regret

The special love I have for you

My baby blue

All those days became so long

Did you really think I'd do you wrong? Dixie, when I let you go

Thought you'd realize I would know

I would show

The special love I have for..."

"Lori Brake!" screamed Natasha.

Lori was like in a kind of trance. She braked quickly and Vanzilla nearly crashed into a Black Seat Leon Cupra. A woman got out angry. Lori got out. The woman cursed in a French accent.

"Can't they be careful, you snail should be banned from the streets." said the woman.

"Excuse me, I didn't see you." said Lori.

"Lori?" said the woman, and suddenly smiled.

"Mrs. Chevalier?"

"Yes. Exactly. Excuse my behavior, but when driving I curse easily. Is Natasha with you?" Before Lori could reply, an old dark green Ford Fiesta pulled up next to them.

"What the hell is going on here?" said a man.

It was Frank Rivera. Natasha got out.

"Chevalier? Rivera? What are you doing here?" asked Natasha.

"That's why I was going to look for you. Because of your father." said Chevalier.

"What about my father?" asked Natasha.

"We were with him today. He's past the worst." Rivera said.

"That's right. He's doing much better. Well, relatively, but better." said Chevalier.

Natasha hugged Chevalier and Rivera at the same time. Lori noticed that Chevalier is quite small. Lori estimated that Chevalier is only 1 meter 55 centimeters tall because she is quite small. Natasha let go of the two of them.

"I suggest we eat something." Rivera said.

"Good idea Frank. I cordially invite you." Chevalier said.

"Sure, but we are twelve people, fourteen with you two." Lori said.

"Fifteen. My daughter is in the car." Chevalier said.

Lori looked over at the black Seat Leon, and saw a little girl in the back seat who had exactly the same black hair as Chevalier.

Lori considered. She went to Vanzilla and opened the door.

"Do you want to eat in a restaurant?" Lori asked.

Everyone said yes. Lori went back to Chevalier.

"Agreed. Where to?" asked Lori.

"I don't care, the main thing is that I can smoke there." Rivera said.

"Do you know something that corresponds to Frank's wish?" Chevalier asked. They considered.

"What do you think of the canteen of the nuclear power plant?" asked Chevalier.

"In order." said Lori.

Since the incident at the nuclear power plant, she has lost her fear of radioactivity. Lori and Natasha got into Vanzilla and followed Rivera and Chevalier. Lori turned onto Radium Street and headed toward the Nuclear Power Plant.

"Why are we going to the nuclear power plant?" asked Lana.

"We eat there." said Natasha.

Lori parked Vanzilla in the lot. The Louds got out. Natasha looks at the cooling towers and notices that there is no steam escaping from cooling tower one. Leni also saw that.

"Why don't clouds come out there?" Leni asked.

"Because the reactor core is shut down." said Chevalier, walking towards them with her daughter by the hand. Chevalier's daughter wore a black skirt and black sweater.

"The what?" Leni asked. "The cooking pot." said Lisa.

"I don't understand. Who eats spaghetti so big that they need such a big saucepan?" Leni asked confused.

"Please tell me she's not serious." said Chevalier.

The Louds, Natasha, Rivera and Chevalier with their daughter went into the main building of the nuclear power plant. The security guard saw them.

"Oh shit. More scientists?" the guard asked jokingly.

"No. Guests." Rivera said.

"Good. Step through." said the guard.

The group passed through the X-ray machine, and went to the canteen. There were a lot more people there than last time. They got the food. Lola, Leni and Isabella have a portion of spaghetti. Lori and Natasha both have chopped chicken with rice and curry sauce. Rivera, Chevalier, Lynn and Lana have goulash. They sat down at the table and began to eat. Rivera stood up and got an ashtray. Now Chevalier and Rivera took out their cigarettes and smoked. Chevalier took some files out of her bag and showed them to Rivera.

"Why would you want to buy that shit from General Electric. ASEA Brown Boveri generators are much more efficient." said Chevalier.

"You're right. But we should keep the systems of blocks one and two as identical as possible." Rivera said.

"What is your name?" asked Lola, who was sitting next to Chevalier's daughter.

"Don't bother. She can't speak English. Isabelle, dis ton nom à la fille." said Chevalier.

"Je m'appelle Isabelle. Comment t'appelles-tu?" said Chevalier's daughter.

"Isabelle?" asked Lola.

"Quite right." said Chevalier.

"J'aime bien ta robe." said Isabelle.

"She likes your dress."

"Oh thanks. I like your clothes too." said Lola.

"Elle pense que tes vêtements sont super aussi." said Chevalier.

"What do you think Celeste? Should we order four generators at once, and retrofit them on block two?" asked Rivera.

"Would be good. Then we could increase the power output." said Chevalier.

"Maman, j'ai oublié les stylos et le papier dans la voiture." said Isabelle.

"Vraiment Isabelle? C'est bon, je vais chercher tes affaires. Excuse me, Isabelle left her drawing things in the car." said Chevalier, and left.

Rivera finished eating.

"Nice to meet you. I have to go now. I have an appointment with a guy from the insurance company." said Rivera and left.

When Rivera was out of sight, the siblings whispered among themselves.

"Did you notice Lori?" asked Luna.

"No, what?" asked Lori.

"Chevalier and Rivera. They have a crush on each other." said Leni.

"Thats not possible. Chevalier is married." said Lori.

"No. Not more." said Natasha.

"Where do you want to get that from?" asked Lori.

"The whole power plant knows this story. Chevalier comes from Fessenheim in France. Her husband worked for SNCF, the French state railway, as a track-layer. Four years ago he was killed in an accident in which a passenger train ran into a construction train. And two years ago she moved to Royal Woods." said Natasha.

"The poor Chevalier." said Lynn.

"Yes, that's bad. My father told me that's why she takes great care of her daughter." said Natasha.

"And then she takes her daughter to a nuclear power plant?" Luan asked.

"Chevalier worked at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant, which was considered to be very prone to failure. Royal Woods one and two, on the other hand, are extremely safe." said Natasha.

"Tu parles de Fessenheim? J'en viens." said Isabelle.

Chevalier came back with paper and pencils. She gave it to Isabelle and she began to draw. She kept looking at Lola. When Isabelle was done, she gave Lola a portrait drawing of her.

"To me?" asked Lola.

"Tu l'es. Je pense que tu es super pour les portraits." said Isabelle.

"She says you're great for portraits." said Chevalier.

"We have to go. Thank you for the invitation, Ms. Chevalier." said Lori.

"You're welcome. Isabelle, dis au revoir." said Chevalier.

"Au Revoir." said Isabel.

"Mrs. Chevalier, I think you work well with Mr. Rivera." said Luna.

"Oh thank you." said Chevalier, and her cheeks flushed.

Upon exiting the canteen, Luna walked alongside Lori.

"That confirmed it." said Luna.

The Louds and Natasha go to the parking lot and get in Vanzilla.

"Where do we go now?" asked Lincoln.

"Home." said Lori.

Lori started the engine and drove off.

"Do you think Chevalier and Rivera will confess their love to each other?" Lola wondered.

"You saw how they behaved. They don't dare. That's about the same as when I wanted to give Sam the letter." said Luna.

"The two should be helped a little." said Lori.

"Different topic. What are we doing this afternoon?" asked Natasha.

"Good question." said Lori.

The Louds and Natasha drove home. When they arrive, they go into Lori and Leni's room.

"So siblings meeting. I had an idea today. Lisa, could you make a serum that could cure Natasha's father?" asked Lori.

"Lori, I want to be completely honest. No." said Lisa.

"Why not?" asked Lincoln.

"Well, because Natasha's father suffers from radiation sickness. And it's not a normal illness. His body cells have been destroyed on a molecular level. He has been ionized. He's going to have a weakened immune system for the rest of his life." said Lisa.

"And what if you do something to support his immune system?" asked Lucy.

"That would work. And his chances of survival would increase greatly too. I'll start with that." said Lisa.

"And how long would it take for him to recover?" asked Luna.

"My father will never be healthy again. We're talking about acute radiation sickness here. It can't be cured. My father has to be vaccinated frequently, has to be very careful and isn't allowed to have any more children." said Natasha.

"Why can't he have any more children?" asked Lincoln.

"Ionizing radiation attacks and alters DNA. If my father had another child, there is a very good chance that it will be disabled or have serious illnesses." said Natasha.

"And when can he leave the hospital?" asked Lincoln.

"I think in a month at the earliest." said Natasha.

Lisa goes to her room. She takes out some chemicals and starts researching. She pours a transparent liquid into a glass cooking container, and puts a cork on it with a hose. She always whispers something to herself.

"Stay nice at 86.5 degrees Celsius. I can dump this load in the hazardous waste."

She watches as some of the liquid evaporates and goes through the tube into another vessel, where it condenses. Lisa takes out a jar of distilled water and begins pouring it into the second jar. Now Lisa goes to the cupboard and takes red phosphorus. She takes a small spoonful of the red powder and pours it into the second jar. Lisa waits and is satisfied with the reaction. Now comes a tricky part. She pulls out a viscous orange substance in a canister labeled Caution, Poisonous. Next to the inscription is a warning symbol showing a pond, a dead tree and a dead fish. Lisa turns on the ventilation, makes sure nobody else is in the room, opens the window and closes the door, and puts on a gas mask. She fills the substance into the vessel and the reaction begins. She turns on a heating unit to 57.2 degrees Celsius. A yellow smoke starts to appear and Lisa takes a few steps back. Now she is waiting. Two hours long. Then the reaction stops. She goes back to the jars and takes a third. She places a funnel with a toxin filter on the jar, and re-tears it. Then she takes the filter and puts it in a plastic bag labeled hazardous waste. She takes another liquid from the cupboard and fills it into the jar. Now she observes for twenty minutes how the liquid in the vessel changes color from red to violet. Lisa now lets the liquid cool down and takes one last substance out of the cupboard. The jar says cherry flavor. Lisa fills it in the substance and takes off the gas mask. She stuffs a cork in the jar and leaves her room. She goes to Lori and Natasha who are in Lori and Leni's room.

"So. I'm done. That would be the serum. I added some cherry flavoring for your dad to like." said Lisa.

"If that works then I don't know either, anyway I owe you a favor." said Natasha.

"You don't owe me any favors." said Lisa.

"I hope Mike doesn't get any side effects." said Lori.

"The worst that can happen is that if the filter didn't work properly, Natasha's father would get high." said Lisa.

"High?" asked Natasha.

"He will grin and only talk weird things. But that is very unlikely. Because I use very good filters." said Lisa.

Natasha went to the kitchen and prepares sandwiches for herself. She made two and packed three donuts. Lincoln approached her.

"What are you doing?" asked Lincoln.

"Oh. Hi Lincoln. I'll fix myself something to eat."

"I see."

"Can you really eat that much?"

"Listen. I know how much I can eat."

Lincoln looks at Natasha in confusion.

"Are you all right?" asked Lincoln.

"Yes. Please excuse me for saying that in that tone." said Natasha.

Lori, Lincoln, Lisa and Natasha walk over to Vanzilla and get in.

The four reach the hospital. They go to Mike's room, put on gloves and masks, and realize he's not there anymore.

"Where is my father?" asked Natasha.

A doctor comes into the room.

"What are you doing here. The room needs cleaning." said the doctor.

"Excuse me, but where can we find Mike Stevenson?" asked Lori.

"Oh, Mr Stevenson. He's in room 186." said the doctor.

"Thanks." said Natasha.

They went to room 186 and found Mike lying in the hospital bed. He was awake.

"Hi dad. How are you?" asked Natasha.

"Oh, better. The doctors gave me morphine for the pain. I'll put it that way, that's good stuff." said Mike.

"Here, Lisa has prepared something for you." said Natasha.

Lisa climbs onto Mike's bed with the jar.

"Exactly. This serum will support your immune system. I mixed it myself. Drink it all." said Lisa proudly. Lisa gave the jar to Mike.

"I hope it works, Lisa." said mike.

He took the cork off the jar and sniffed it.

"Well, my last will, 3.6 per mil." said Mike, and emptied the jar in one gulp.

Mike handed the jar back to Lisa.

"Good. I'll mix up another dose at home." said Lisa.

"I need to drink more of this?" Mike asked.

"Only weekly." said Lisa.

"It will help you dad." said Natasha.

"All right. I'll do it for you, Natasha." said Mike.

"So Dad. Catherine Mulligan was here yesterday?" Natasha asked, pretending not to know.

"Yes. And I'm telling you, she doesn't even know what the difference is between our nuclear power plant and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. I'm still wondering how she came to conduct an interview with me. And watch out. She's following you. She told me she wanted to interview you." said Mike.

"Oh. Please don't." said Natasha in agony.

"Why? I'd like to be on TV." said Lincoln.

"I see what you mean, Lincoln. But I don't want so much attention."

"Then we will make sure that you come home undetected."

Dad, we have to go again." said Natasha.

"All right. Come back soon." said Mike.

Lori, Lincoln, Lisa and Natasha left the room. Lisa and Lincoln walk a few feet in front of Natasha.

"Why are we going already?" asked Lori.

"First. We need to get firearms. Second, I promised Lana to explain how a computer works." whispered Natasha.

"You really want to get guns?"

"Yes. We'll get you one. Luna and Leni too. I have the feeling that people like Jack only know the language of deterrence." whispered Natasha.

"I would never put a gun in Leni's hands." whispered Lori.

"That's true. But Leni should also be able to defend herself."

The four get into Vanzilla and drive to the Louds' house. Lori pulls up in front of the house and Lisa and Lincoln get out.

"Lincoln, Leni and Luna should come to us in Vanzilla." said Lori.

Lincoln nodded. Five minutes later, Leni and Luna come out of the house and get into Vanzilla. Lori pulled the gun dealer's business card from her pocket. She drove off. Eventually they reached the edge of the forest, where there is a house. Lori parks and they get out.

"What are we doing here?" asked Luna.

"Buy guns." said Natasha.

Lori goes to the front door and rings the bell. Nobody opened. Lori looked at the business card. It was the right address. Then she sees something she hadn't seen before. The business card says: If nobody opens the door, i'm in the Garden.

I'm in the back garden.

"Come with me." said Lori, and goes into the garden.

Targets, metal plates and watermelons were set up behind the house as a target. There was also an old lawnmower there.

"What are you doing here?" said a voice.

Lori, Leni, Luna and Natasha looked around. On the porch of the house was a man, about 75 years old, on a rocking chair, stroking a gray and white cat. He wore thin glasses, a cap, blue jeans and a red t-shirt.

"Are you Hickhok?" asked Lori.

"Yes. Yes, that's me. What are you here for?" asked Hickhok.

"We want to buy something." said Natasha.

"What exactly do you want to buy?" asked Hickhok.

"Firearms." said Natasha.

Hickok picks up the cat and puts it on the floor. Hickhok stands up.

"Four girls want to buy guns? What for?" asked Hickhok.

"Deterrence." said Natasha.

"What do you want? Pistols? Semi-automatic? Full-automatic? Old guns?" asked Hickhok.

"Pistols and Semi-Automatic Rifles." said Natasha.

"Wait a minute." said Hickhok, and went into the house.

The cat followed him. Hickhok came out with two suitcases and a rifle. He went back inside, and came out with a modern rifle, and an old one that had a grip and a wooden case. He opened a suitcase and took out a gun. Natasha recognized the gun. It was the same model that Jack had.

"This is a Glock 17. Very handy and easy to hide." said Hickhok.

Hickhok opened a second case, and took out ear defenders, magazines, and ammunition. He gave everyone a hearing protector. Then he loaded the magazine and put it in the gun.

"So, that watermelon said something offensive earlier." said Hickhok, and shot the watermelon. The watermelon was shredded.

"Let's shoot the metal plate." said Hickhok, and shot one of the metal plates. It sounded like someone hitting a gong.

Hickok put the Glock 17 aside and picked up a rifle.

"This is a SIG 550, the version of the assault rifle 90 used by the Swiss military. It's very accurate. You can hit targets with it at 300 meters. It has three ways it fires. Single fire, triple shot, and full auto, like a machine gun." said Hickhok, and loaded the assault rifle 90.

He aimed at a target and fired a single shot. Then he sets it to fully automatic. It really fired like a machine gun.

"May I?" asked Natasha.

"Of course."

He loaded the assault rifle 90 and handed it to Natasha. She fired single fire. When the magazine was empty, Natasha turned to Hickhok.

"I buy it." said Natasha.

"I am glad." said Hickhok, taking the Old Rifle.

"It's a K31 rifle. It's also a Swiss rifle, and it's also very accurate. After you've fired, you have to slide that lever back and forth."

"I don't know. Guns kill." said Luna.

"I understand your point of view. But like I always say. Guns aren't evil, guns aren't friendly. They're just guns." said Hickhok, loading the K31.

He shot and you could see that the recoil was very strong. He pulled the lever back and forward again. The shell flew out. Hickhok lap again.

"May I shoot?" Leni asked.

"Leni, you shouldn't handle a weapon." said Lori.

"Natasha was allowed too." said Leni, and had the K31 in her hand.

"So girl. This gun has a lot of recoil. They even say it can break your collarbone. You have to hold it like that. And pull the lever back and forth." said Hickhok, and showed Leni how to hold the rifle correctly.

Leni pulled the lever back and forth again. She aims at one of the targets. And then she shoots. Leni was warned by the recoil. But it was so strong that Leni was thrown two meters backwards and lay on the ground next to the K31.

"Leni! Oh my God is everything alright?" said Lori worried.

"I think a ghost hit me." said Leni.

Lori lifted Leni up.

"Look. She hit the mark." said Hickhok, pointing at the target.

Leni hit it perfectly. Then Lori took the gun. She pulled the lever back and forward again. She aimed at the target and fired. Lori noticed that the recoil was strong. She liked it.

"I am impressed." said Lori.

Lori looked at the gun.

"Yes, I'll buy it."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll take care of the maintenance of the guns for you free of charge." said Hickhok.

"And what about you Luna?" asked Natasha.

"I don't want a gun." said Luna.

Natasha turns to Hickhok.

"How much does it cost?" Natasha asked.

"2750. That's a good price." said Hickhok.

Natasha pulled out her wallet and took out some bills.

"Here. That's 2800." said Natasha.

Hickhok took the money and gave Natasha a 50 bill.

"Put the guns in those transport bags. Nice doing business with you guys."

"Thank you. Goodbye." said Natasha.

Lori and Natasha took the transport bags and put their guns in them. They took her and went to Vanzilla.

"Where did you get so much money?" asked Luna.

"I used the emergency supply at our house." said Natasha.

They put the guns in the trunk and got into Vanzilla. Leni sat in the passenger seat, Luna and Natasha sat in the middle. Natasha pulled out her sandwiches and started eating.

"Tell me, how much do you want to eat?" asked Luna.

"I don't know. I'm not hungry, but somehow I feel like eating." said Natasha.

"You know that's not healthy?"

"Let it be my worry." said Natasha.

"Don't you want to live long? When you have a husband and children, you want to be healthy and see them grow up." said Lori.

"I... I don't want to talk about it." said Natasha.

"Something's wrong with you Natasha." said Leni.

Natasha turns to the window. Lori, Leni and Luna hear her sobbing softly. "What's wrong with you?" asked Luna.

"Nothing at all." said Natasha.

"I don't think you were telling us the truth." said Lori.

Natasha got kind of angry.

"Luna, you're talking about family. Everyone's kind of in a relationship, Lori with Bobby, Luna with Sam. And what about the fucking Natasha? The fat fucking Natasha who has no mother and is pretty ready? I'll tell you, nothing! I eat these fucking sandwiches 'cause I'm fucking sick of everything! And since elementary school I've only gotten one card on Valentine's Day and guess what it said? Fuck you whale! I'm sick of that shit."

"Oh shit." Lori said quietly.

"Oh my God." said Leni.

"Oh man." said Luna.

"Exactly. It's a fucking situation. And believe me, it's not going to change. If my mother hadn't disappeared, my father should have had another daughter, guaranteed to be better than me." said Natasha, and couldn't hide her sadness anymore.

"Please don't say that. You're great." said Leni.

"Natasha, I don't know how you feel, but someday you'll fall in love. And I don't know a cooler girl than you." said Lori.

"Exactly. The right one will come." said Luna.

"You're like Lisa. And I think Lisa's pretty cool." said Leni.

"Thanks girls." said Natasha quietly.

"Why do you think Natasha is like Lisa?" asked Lori.

"Because she also knows a lot. However, I don't understand a lot of what she says." said Leni.

They reach the Louds' house. In front of the house is Lisa, a police officer, Katherine Mulligan and a cameraman.

"It's the worst combination I've ever seen." said Lori.

Lori rolls down Vanzilla's window and slowly drives past the house. She hears Lisa screaming in anger.

"500 fine? For missing exhaust air filtration systems? Because of a law that went into effect yesterday? You're kidding me!"

Lori drove on.

"We'll park across the street and sneak through the back yard." said Lori.

Lori parks Vanilla two hundred meters from the house. The four get out and Lori and Natasha get their guns from the trunk. They take the bags that have the guns in them and Lori locks Vanzilla. They are walking through someone else's garden. They then climb over a fence, and crouch to the Louds' house. In the first garden is a small pond. In the second garden there is a model railway. In the third is a pool. And then they are in the garden of the house behind from the Louds' house. They go to the kitchen window.

"Is the door open?" asked Natasha.

"Yes, but I think it would make too much noise." said Lori.

Lori and Luna climb through the window.

"Here, take the guns." said Natasha.

Leni and Natasha gave the guns to Luna and Lori through the window.

"Get in." Said Lori.

Natasha climbs through the window and gets stuck.

"I knew it. We should have taken the door. I'll tell you, I don't climb through windows anymore." said Natasha angrily.

Leni pushes Natasha through the window with her back. Lori pulls Natasha by her arms. Natasha slides through. Natasha pulls Leni through the window. She turns to Luna.

"Luna, find a place where we can hide the firearms." said Natasha.

"I'll do it." said Luna.

Luna went up the stairs and into Lori and Leni's room. She looks around. Her parents or siblings could find the guns under the bed. Luna sees the closet. She opens it and puts some clothes aside. Then she puts the guns in and the clothes in front of the guns. Lana runs into the kitchen.

"Natasha. Can you please explain to me how a computer works?"

"Oh man. I forgot the parts." said Natasha.

"What parts do you mean?" asked Lori.

"The parts for a computer. Now I have to go home and get these." said Natasha. Lana looks sad.

"Lana, I'll go get the parts." said Natasha.

Lana suddenly becomes happy.

"Oh, thank you Natasha." Lana said happily.

"Natasha, you know Mulligan's still out there?" said Lori.

"Yes. And I promised Lana." said Natasha.

Natasha goes to the front door and opens it. Mulligan, who is talking to Lisa, notices her immediately and approaches her. The cameraman follows her and starts filming Muligan and Natasha.

"Good. Let's start, Jim." said Katherine. The cameraman pressed the record button.

"This is Katherine Mulligan with a special report. Next to me is Mike Stevenson's daughter, Natasha. Natasha, are you proud of your father?"

"Yes. And what do you want?" asked Natasha.

"Well, your father told us that you can explain the difference between the Royal Woods nuclear power plant and the Chernoby nuclear power plant."

"Well, one big difference is that the Chernobyl reactor is more manual, and automatic is secondary. That's why you shouldn't be operating an RBMK, Mulligan."

"Okay, and what's the difference?"

"Oh you know. The moderator and the pressure tubes."

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I know." said Katherine.

"And you know, the positive void coefficient and the positive heat coefficient are also typical for RBMKs. Also, the positive coolant loss coefficient is a deficit of the RBMKs." said Natasha calmly.

"This is true." said Lisa.

Katherine looks confused.

"And are these advantages?" asked Katherine.

Natasha and Lisa start laughing.

"Did she really just ask if that was an advantage?" said Natasha, and laughed.

"Yes. It's obvious that these are all disadvantages." said Lisa.

"Honestly, Mulligan, you don't know anything about reactors." said Natasha, and left. Lisa lies down on the grass laughing.

"Positive coolant loss coefficient, that immediately sounds like a disadvantage."

Natasha reaches her home. She takes out the key and enters her home. She goes to her room. She goes to her closet. She pulls out a pair of boxes. One is blue and it says Intel Core I5 12th generation. She pulls out a larger box. The box says RTX 3050. She takes a motherboard and puts it in a cardboard box. She takes a power supply, a USB Stick, a Solid State Drive, a case, a fan and some RAM. She puts it in a bag and leaves the house again. She locks the door and goes back to the Louds. Mulligan and the cameraman are gone. She goes into the Louds' house and puts the bag in the living room.

"Lana! I'm back!" said Natasha.

Lana came running down the stairs.

"What do you have with you? An old computer to take apart?" Lana asked excitedly.

"Better. We both build a computer together. But first, please touch a metal part of the heater."

"Why?" Lana asked confused.

"We have to ground us so that we don't destroy the component."

The two of them touched a metal part of the heater. Lana was obviously pleased. She jumps back and forth. Natasha and Lana sit down on the floor. Natasha takes the pieces out of her bag and shows them to Lana. She takes the motherboard first.

"Well, this is the main circuit board. All parts are mounted on this." said Natasha.

"Cool."

Natasha takes out the blue box and opens it. A small, metallic, square component was inside. Natasha took it.

"This is the processor. It is the brain of our computer."

Lana nodded. Natasha opens a bracket on the motherboard and inserts the processor. Natsha takes out a container containing what looks like gray glue and smears it onto the processor. Then she takes out the fan.

"The fan cools the processor to make it run faster." said Natasha, and mounted the fan.

"That's incredible." said Lana.

Natasha picks up the motherboard and mounts it in the case.

Then Natasha pulls out the box on which the RTX 3050 is standing, and pulls out something long with a big cooler.

"This is the graphics card. Everything we see on the monitor comes out of the graphics card here. Here, take it." said Natasha, and gave Lana the graphics card.

"What do I do with it?" asked Lana.

"You have to plug them into this interface." Natasha said, pointing to a long interface. Lana put the graphics card in and pinned it. She looked at Natasha.

"You installed it like an expert. Well done Lana." said Natasha.

Lana was obviously proud of herself. Natasha started plugging the RAM into the board. Then she installs the SSD and connects it to the motherboard. She stands the computer upright and closes the case. She connects the computer to the TV and the electricity. She hooks up a mouse and keyboard, and takes a USB stick out of her bag. She plugs the USB stick into the computer. Natasha sits on the couch.

"Sit next to me." said Natasha.

Lana sat down next to Natasha and watched what she was doing. The tv showed a black background with green writing.

"What are you doing now?" asked Lana.

"I am on the BIOS and I will now boot Windows 11. Then the computer is ready." said Natasha.

Lana watched as Natasha navigated her way through the BIOS, and then began to boot into Windows. Lana and Natasha waited half an hour. Then they were done.

"Lana, you have now built a working computer." said Natasha.

"Oh that's great. Thank you Thank you Natasha." said Lana, hugging Natasha.

Natasha looks at her phone. It was 8:41 p.m.

"Lana, it's late." said Natasha.

"Oh please. I want to be here a little longer." said Lana disappointed.

"We'll make a compromise. I'll download some games overnight and will test the computer tomorrow. Ok?"

Lana considered.

"All right. I'll go to bed now and we'll test it tomorrow." said Lana.

"Exactly. Good night Lana."

"Good night Natasha." said Lana, hugging Natasha.

Lana ran up the stairs. Natasha downloaded some games and some benchmark programs and went to the bathroom. She changed into a pair of graphite gray sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. She finds that she can't easily put on her sweatpants and t-shirt anymore. She must have gained some weight. She thought about it for a moment and left the bathroom. Natasha went back into the living room. She turned off the light and the TV and lay down on the sofa. She put her MacBook Air on the table in front of the sofa, and turned on the Chernobyl series. The episode was titled, Please Remain Calm.