Chapter 66: Diamondback
Chelsea undid her lace from her boot. These laces were torn to bits as the outer layer had gradually been shredded and started to expose the laces. She had them for so long since she left the army, been through thick and thin. Only finally to be done by all the wear and tear from every battle she's been in. "When are you going to get rid of those things?" Sunny asked as she walked towards her "When my toes finally go through them" Chelsea remarked as she retied them.
Sunny looked on as Chelsea tied the shredded laces "Besides, they're better than whatever you're wearing" Chelsea points points to Sunny's sneakers "Least they're comfortable" Sunny kicked dirt her way "You seen Geraldine around?" she asked "She said that she was going into town for a bit to get a few things".
Sunny sat down next to Chelsea and tried to relax.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Chelsea asked "I don't know, like what I'm going once I get my sister back" Sunny kept on pondering her next move "Maybe you should throw her a party" suggested Chelsea "Yeah I think she's going to want to rest after she's been held hostage, last thing I want is her getting drunk" Sunny quickly shot the idea down "Maybe you should bring her into the fold, I think she'd bring some skill working with us" Chelsea gives Sunny her idea.
"No" she strictly objects "She's a cop to the bone, I don't think she would turn me in but she likely would kick my ass if I asked her that". Chelsea finished tying her boot "What was Liberty City like?" Sunny wondered "I heard it's always busy". Chelsea stopped tightening her laces for a moment "Yeah it is...always busy, loud, the city that really keeps you up" she sighed "You lived there when you got here" Chelsea tied her lace "I'm pretty sure you mentioned it a while back".
Chelsea all together didn't seem to want to answer that question "Er I lived there for a while okay, it's just a noisy city".
"Did you at least see the Statue of Happiness?" Sunny wondered "Ugh god no, it just looked stupid; it was a waste of time; if you were a tourist I mean".
Chelsea finished tying her boot "Who'd you run with? Before meeting us, I mean" Sunny asks "Why do you fucking care?" Chelsea suddenly snapped at her, Sunny looked back with how defensive she was over that subject "I'm just curious, that's all" Sunny was staring at her as Chelsea went back to her normal self.
"Er sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that" Chelsea apologized as she rubbed the back of her head in uneasy "Did I say something to you?" Sunny wondered "It's-It's n-nothing!" Chelsea kept whatever secret she had under lock and key "O-Okay, awkward" Sunny quickly dropped the subject.
Her phone started to ring and the one person who disgusted her called her phone. She pressed the speaker.
"What do you want this time?" Sunny annoyingly asked "Now is that any way to talk to your better? " Wolfe mocks "I have a job that needs to be done, there's a prick that's hiding in a small cabin on the edges of Mount Chiliad. Guy's name is Walter Scagnetti, he's a private eye from Vespucci. The prick says he's got some info on one of our operations, he's planning to rat us out in order to save himself and wind up in Witness Protection. Give rid of the scumbag before he talks".
Sunny irritably sighed "I'm sure you won't mind a hike to get this fuck" Wolfe says before hanging up "Fucking asshole" Sunny cursed.
"You know your way around a hill or two?" Sunny looked at Chelsea "You kidding? I know like that fucking place like the back of my hand".
...
The two hiked as the sun was still out. Sunny decided not to bring Geraldine along since it was going to be easy enough assignment. She left a note on the fridge to tell her that they would take care of everything and that she should take some time for herself.
Sunny walked up the trail. Her feet were killing by now. She breathed in and out in careful paces. "See, this is what happens when you wear sneakers instead of boots" Chelsea playfully mocks "Fuck you and fuck those tacky ass army boots of yours" Sunny huffed as she cursed at her companion.
The sound of birds of whatever type were chirping all around. Since Chelsea took them on that trip for R & R she's still amazed the sight and sounds of birds and other animals. She was a city girl through and through.
"Are we almost there?" Sunny wondered "Can't really take anymore of this of walking around".
"I think we should be there" Chelsea guessed "So...still a little sore about when I mentioned Liberty City?" Sunny curiously asked again "Seriously?" Chelsea stopped and looked at her "I said the subject is dropped, okay?" Chelsea repeated herself "Please tell me you didn't piss off a bunch of Russian gangsters or something?".
"Shh!" Chelsea shushes "Don't shush me! I hate that!" Sunny mouthed off "I'm talk-!" Chelsea suddenly put her hand over Sunny's mouth.
Chelsea points to the cabins position.
"Alright, so how do you want this to happen?" Chelsea pondered "Well we take him by surprise, we come up from the sides and we take him out; easy as fuck" Sunny quickly summarized.
The two snuck their way to the cabin. The Forestry gave some cover but their clothing made them standout. With any luck and with all the quiet that surrounds them they may get the upper hand.
When the two finally made it to the outskirts of the cabin they split off; Chelsea to the left; Sunny to the right.
Sunny heard some music through the wall, sounded like prohibition era jazz. She crept carefully until something stung her left hand "Ow!". Suddenly a blast through the wall nearly taking off Sunny's head "Fuck!" she cursed.
"Great! Now he knows we're here!" Chelsea dodges a blast.
"I know that fucking cop sent you! I'm going to kill you then I'm going to expose him!" Scagnetti yelled out "Well I'm going to kill you first you then deal with that fucking pig asshole!" Sunny shoots back.
Chelsea ran next to Sunny "You just had to give away our position!" she looked for a quick solution "Well sorry but something jabbed my hand!" Sunny shouts back. Chelsea got a peak and hatched a quick idea. "Keep him distracted" Chelsea snuck off to put her plan in play. Sunny slowly raised her head a bit to see if she could see Scagnetti. A sudden burst of rifle fire causes her to quickly duck back down. Sunny positioned her .45 at the edge of the rock and started shooting.
Her goal was not to hit him but to buy Chelsea some time for her plan to work; whatever it is.
A sudden idea popped into her head. Sunny sprinted to the front of the house as fast as she could. Rifle fire hits the dirt and stops her.
"Stop right there!" Scagnetti warns as he steps out of his cabin pointing his rifle at Sunny's head "Drop that fucking gun and put your hands in the air!" he orders. Sunny simply complies and tosses her gun on the ground "Where's that other bitch?" Scagnetti asked about Chelsea "I-I don't know! She bailed out on me!" Sunny breathed in as she tried not to make any sudden movements "I know that fucking cop sent you" Scagnetti stared down Sunny through his rifle "Look I know you hate that fucking pig but I got more to lose than anyone in this shit show" a small bead of sweat rolls down Sunny's head.
"Well too fucking bad for you missy" Scagnetti ready's to shoot.
Bang!
A single shot went through the floor straight through the floorboard and through his crotch.
"Aah! Owwww!" he hollers in pain as he covers his bloodied crotch. Chelsea crawls from an opening on the side of the cabin.
"Fuck" she dusted herself off. Chelsea walked over towards Sunny "You alright?" she asked "Yeah," Sunny wiped her sweat off her brow "you took your time" Sunny complained as she picked up her gun "Well sorry, I was busy waiting for you to distract him". Sunny cocked the hammer of her gun "Let's finish this".
The two walked towards their prey "Fuck you! You fucking bitches!" Scagnetti screamed "Oh shut up" Sunny shot three into his chest with Chelsea following with five shots.
"Well that could have gone better" Chelsea remarked "Shut up, a stupid wasp or whatever stung me" Sunny shook her hand "Well what's done is done, let's get the fuck out of here" Sunny says as she holsters her gun.
As they walked away Sunny looked at where she was stung. She looked at the two puncture marks. She knew it wasn't a wasp or a bee. She knew it was something way worse. She was going to try not to panic and remain as calm but in these circumstances; who wouldn't panic?
They're half way in the forest. Sunny's vision started to get blurry and her body temperature started to increase.
"Chelsea...? Can we...?" she tried to stop "No" Chelsea bluntly says "I'm not going to talk about Liberty City, okay? That peculiar subject is dropped". Sunny's breathing started to get ragged "No...I need to sit down for a moment...I don't feel good...right now...".
Chelsea chuckles "You know I think nature isn't your strong suit". As she turned around she noticed that Sunny was deathly pale "I don't...I don't...I-I-I-I..." Sunny struggled to talk and wobbled. She loses her balance and starts to fall.
"Sunny!" Chelsea rushed and caught Sunny before she hit the ground. "Sunny! Sunny!" Chelsea kept calling her name "Are you okay?". Chelsea felt her forehead and noticed that it was hot It couldn't have been the walk, unless... Chelsea lifted her left hand up and noticed the two puncture marks "What the hell? This isn't a sting" Chelsea says and starts to realize what bit her. "Sunny? Sunny come on, wake up!" Chelsea pleaded. Weak Sunny slowly opens her eyes "Listen; what stung you?". She painfully swallowed "S-S-Snake..." Sunny finally admitted "What kind? Come on! You gotta tell me!" Chelsea pleads "Had...d-d-d-d-diamond...on...the back..." she confesses.
Chelsea was mortified when she heard diamondback.
"A d-diamondback?! A diamondback rattle snake?!" Chelsea was aghast. Sunny started to shake as her temperature started to rise "Fuck we're far from the car too" Chelsea kept thinking until she remembered something "Sunny listen to me, there's a ranger's station that hasn't been used for a while not far from here" Chelsea tells her "Listen you're not going to stand or walk, alright? The venom's going to go through your body faster if you do that", Sunny dazingly looked at Chelsea "I'm going to have to carry you there".
With her her strength Chelsea lifted Sunny off the ground "Come on, lean into me" she orders. Despite being disoriented Sunny leaned into Chelsea.
For an hour and fifty minutes Chelsea carried Sunny. The air started to cool down which meant it was going to get dark soon. "You know...for someone who exercise's a lot, you sure are as light as a feather". If Sunny was a lot heavier Chelsea would likely be huffing and puffing.
Sunny started to tremble as if her body was slowly started to be lit on fire.
Chelsea see's the cabin "Alright there it is, just a bit more". She hurried to get to it before it was to late.
Chelsea gently put Sunny on the ground as she picked the lock of the door as fast as possible "Come on-come on-come on!" she tried to keep calm as the lock was finally undone. She quickly picked up Sunny and entered. Chelsea laid Sunny on a nearby cot. The first thing she did was wrap Sunny's hand.
She quickly searched for antivenom. Chelsea starts to hyperventilate as her fear was starting to show "Come on-come on-come on! Where is it?!" she kept trying to find until she found the right bottles. She quickly found a few syringes to inject the antivenom. "Okay" Chelsea grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some cotton balls.
Chelsea dipped a cotton ball in alcohol. She gently rubbed it on Sunny's forearm. With ease she gently inserted the syringe with the antivenom into Sunny's vein. "Ah...!" Sunny painfully groaned "It's going to be okay I promise" Chelsea swore to her leader. "Ohhh...! Oh..." Sunny whimpered. She violently trembled and sweated.
Thirty minutes into the venom induced ordeal sweat was pouring profusely from Sunny's body. Chelsea felt her forehead "Oh jeez, you're burning up...!"; Chelsea tried not to panic. She quickly grabbed a towel and wet it, gently placing it on Sunny's forehead. Chelsea starts to think on what happens if Sunny doesn't make it. It starts to dawn on her that she might lose her friend. The only person who she really could call her best friend. She starts to bite her fingernails with her heart racing at a fast pace.
Sunny starts to sweat more profusely now. Chelsea felt her forehead again and like before it was hot. "Gotta think-gotta think-gotta think" Chelsea keeps telling herself. Suddenly she got something of an idea "Okay I hope you don't chase me around with a knife after this".
Chelsea starts to undress Sunny carefully. Everything from her shirt, pants, socks, underwear and bra came off. Chelsea neatly folded her clothes and quickly put the blanket back on. Sunny slept quietly but Chelsea just watched vigilantly.
She just stares at her as she rested. Chelsea sat in a nearby chair pondering her thoughts. The way she was defensive about giving any type of information made her feel bad. Chelsea got up and slowly walked to the bed.
"Listen...I'm s-sorry for snapping at you earlier...it's nothing against you but I really don't like talking about that...It's I d-don't how to put this; complicated" Chelsea explained "I wish I could tell you everything but that's my thing to deal with..." her fist started to tremble "I want to be the one to make him pay..." she swore the revenge that she promised long ago.
"Mmmm..." Sunny started to toss and turn violently "Na-egeseo tteol-eojyeo...! (Stay away from me...!)" she warns "Meolli...(Stay away)" she starts to cry "Neol jug-ilgeoya! (I'll kill you!)" Sunny suddenly hissed. Sunny curls up into a ball and starts to weep as if the never ending pain was taking hold "Linda...! Linda...!" she cried out for her sister. Chelsea felt her forehead again and this time it was more hotter.
Desperate Chelsea went to look for more towels but couldn't find any "Shit! Goddammit!" she cursed. Chelsea had a quick idea, it was more or less considered an unconventional idea. Chelsea looked at Sunny as her nightmare was taking hold of her. She inhaled and slowly exhaled "I hope you don't ever find out about this".
Chelsea starts to undress herself "Oh god, hopefully things don't get weird" she tells herself as she slides her panties off. She carefully slid into bed and wrapped her arms around Sunny "It's okay...just relax". Chelsea felt Sunny tremble as she embraced her. Chelsea looked at the pain that was on Sunny's face. It looked like she was going through a horrifying set of nightmares. It wasn't the first time she heard Sunny going through an episode of nightmares. Chelsea can't recall the many times she heard cry or beg in her sleep. Just then Sunny's body starts to jolt. Her body starts to thrash.
"Sunny! Sunny! Please stop! Come on! Hang in there!" Chelsea pleads.
Chelsea removed her dog tags and put them around Sunny's neck "Just-Just wear these, they'll help you".
Sunny suddenly stopped moving "Sunny...?" Chelsea lightly shook her "Sunny please don't..." Chelsea's eyes started to tear up "Not again...". Sunny let's out a gasp of air as if she rose up from the surface from a deep swim. Her breathing went back to it's normal state. Chelsea ran her hand through her sweaty and messy hair. Sunny gently wrapped her arms around Chelsea's body. "Oh Jesus" Chelsea breathed a sigh a of relief as Sunny rested peacefully. Her legs were starting to kick, which meant that her nightmares were likely taking over her mind.
Chelsea knew it was going to be a long night.
The jaunty tune plays as the crowd starts to cheer.
"It's the Rhee's!" the narrator announces as the crowd starts to clap loudly "Starring Young Shin! Linda! And, Sunny!" the narrator called out their names as the three bow happily as they take their place on the stage.
"In tonight's episode, Sunny comes to the crossroads of her life".
The stage lights up and the actress's are in place.
"Sun Hi, what's this that I'm you're running around with some girl on the pier?" Young Shin sipped her tea "Uh what girl?" Sunny blushed "That curly haired girl that I saw you looking at while we were shopping for school supplies a few days ago" Linda prods with a jokingly smile "Shut up, she's a friend!" Sunny nervously smiled "Sun Hi, watch your language" Young Shin reprimanded.
"Ohh!" the crowd amazed by the scandalous moment.
"Dear, who is this girl to you?" Young Shin asked "S-She's..." Sunny tried not be shy about liking another girl "She's a friend" the crowd laughed a bit "Just a friend?" Young Shin tilted her head "Y-Yeah just a friend" Sunny twiddled her thumbs "Okay. just a friend" Young Shin declared "Yeah; Roberta is just a friend" Sunny unknowingly blurted her loves name "Roberta?" Young Shin looked at her daughter. Sunny was speechless that she blurted out her name. "Wait, Roberta? As in Roberta Fuentes from Vespucci?" Linda tried not to laugh.
Sunny sat there speechless "D-Do you have a girl crush on her?" Linda was ready to burst out laughing "Uh" Sunny struggled to come with words "Dear; who is this girl to you?" her mother once again wondered "Caramel toffee anyone?" Sunny tried to distract them with a candy that she brings out from her pocket. The crowd laugh their asses off with that distraction.
Young Shin gives her a stare.
"Okay, I have a secret to confess" Sunny tried not to act nervous "Uh so have you ever liked someone more than a friend? And you can't stop thinking about them?" she summed up her feelings "What are you saying...?".
Her heart explodes "I'M GAY! I'M A LESBIAN!" Sunny shouts with pride and passion.
The crowd goes wild as they cheer the confession with a loud and full of pride applaud, the heroine of the series revealing who she truly is in and out.
"There I said it! I'm gay! Gay! Gay! Gay!" Sunny shouted it from the top of her lungs. Her chest heaves in and out from over the excitement. Young Shin looked at her seemingly unfazed. "I knew it!" Linda squealed with glee. Her mother continued to look at her with the same look.
"Okay" Young Shin simply says "I don't care what you say!" Sunny was ready to take a stand "You have a gay daughter! So get used-wait what? Okay?" she stopped mid sentence when she heard that "Y-You mean...you don't care that I'm gay?". Young Shin smiled "Why would I care? Are you happy?" she asked "Er I-yes!" Sunny happily exclaimed "Then that's all that matters, if you're happy then I'm happy and that's what really counts" Young Shin came over to her daughter "So you're not mad?" Sunny looked up at her mother "No, I could never be mad at you" her mother put her hands on her daughter's shoulders "I love you, I'm always going to love you".
Tears welled up in her eyes, Sunny hugged her mother ever so lovingly. Linda gets up and joins in the hug.
"Aww!" the crowds shows their affection as some start crying themselves.
All three eventually break their hug. Sunny wipes her eyes. "So when I do meet this mystery girl that your in love with?" Young Shin wiped her own eyes "I don't know, I guess Friday night is fine" Sunny gave the date "Okay, we'll just order pizza instead of making something" Young Shin says with a smile "Sure! That sounds great!".
"So are there any other secrets I should know about?" her mother asked "Well one of Linda's friends dropped some weird looking candy for her" Sunny reached into her pocket "Candy? What kind of candy?" Young Shin asked as Sunny pulled out a packet of multicolored tablets "Uh Sunny, I don't think mom wants to see any of that!" Linda tried to pull the packet away, however Young Shin grabs the packet before she does.
Young Shin examined them "These are birth control pills; why is your friend giving you these?" Young Shin looked sternly at her oldest daughter "Uh well see this is a-er um" Linda was now in the hot seat "Is that for babies?" Sunny naively asked "Why is your friend giving you birth control pills?" Young Shin once again asked.
"Caramel toffee anyone?" Linda nervously chuckled. The crowd laughs themselves into a frenzy.
The laughs continue and soon start to sound more distorted as it also starts to become twisted. Everything on stage starts to spin in a violent fashion. Everything else on stage starts to shift and morph. It all stops. Everything that was once a part of the stage is now decrepit and broken apart. Sunny snapped out of whatever trance kept her in the play.
She looked around at the empty setting and saw nothing but empty seats "What the hell is all this? How did I get here?" everything was confusing. All she could remember was the snake biting her and everything going black. Sunny wondered if she died and if she's in hell for every bad thing she did in her life. Out of nowhere she see's a figure walk through the doorway of the stage "Hey!" she called "What is this place? Where the hell am I?". Sunny ran towards the door.
She followed the figure "Hey! I'm talking to you!". This figure looked familiar to her. She keeps running down the hallway which seems to get longer and longer the more she follows.
Eventually the figure reaches the of the hallway. The exit door beams the bright red four letter word 'EXIT'. Sunny eventually catches up "Nowhere to hide, who the fuck are you?". The figure started to manifest itself into a person that she can't seem to recognize. The figure opens the exit door as a bright white light blast her with full force. She couldn't see. That light was so powerful. Everything gets engulfed in white light.
The light finally subsides.
Sunny moved her hands away. Her eyes widen to see the kitchen of her childhood home "Oh my god...!" every detail of it was the same. She heard someone humming an old tune from a show that she hadn't seen since she was little. Sunny walked a little further and couldn't believe who she was staring at.
There she was; her younger self; approximately six years of age. She sits at the kitchen table with a coloring book humming a tune from a show called The Adventures Ghost Girl (even if it was educational television). Her hair was typical style of all Asian kids. "Ghost Girl! She's fighting crime and fighting ghost baddies!" she cutely sings. Sunny looked straight at her younger self. It was so odd seeing herself at a young age.
"Please" she then hears a familiar voice pleading "No...that can't be...".
Young Shin comes into the kitchen with the phone in her hand. Sunny gasped as it's the first time that she would see her mother in many years. "Look, please, just give me some time to come up with the money...just give me a bit of time; that's all I'm asking" she was desperate to hold off the shark when she started gambling "Please just-" the line suddenly hung up "Oh god" she quietly sighed.
Young Shin turned and Sunny wraps her arms around her mother's waist "Mommy," she says into her mothers shirt "I'm really hungry" she looked up with her cute eyes "Uh okay, I'll make you a peanut butter and honey sandwich sweetheart" Young Shin puts Sunny on the countertop.
As Young Shin pours honey onto the peanut butter Sunny asks her something that lots of kids don't ask their parents "Mommy, what's a debt?".
Her mother stopped for a brief moment "Er it's when you owe something to someone like money or whatever it is you owe to that person" she explained as she started to spread peanut butter on the other slice of bread "Why do you want to know?" Young Shin finishes the spreading of honey on the other slice of bread "You said you said something about money on the phone".
"Oh it-it's nothing to worry Sun Hi!" Young Shin gives a nervous smile "It was just a business call that's all". She hands her daughter her sandwich. Sunny takes bite out of it "Mm! It's so good!" she jumps off the countertop and runs to the Livingroom "Don't make a mess dear" Young Shin still had the nervous smile but that fades into a worried look. Because deep down inside, she knew it wouldn't be the last call that she would get.
Sunny looks on as the memory fades away. She couldn't even remember this memory. Thinking about it now she never knew how deep her mother got into gambling. And back then she didn't understand the gravity of the situation her mother was in. Another memory starts to creep up as everything starts to get bright.
She's in their bathroom with Linda as she applies a band aid to her knee.
Sunny whimpered as she rubbed snot away from coming into her mouth. "All better" Linda says as she wiped Sunny's face "It's okay just relax, let's clean you up and everything will be alright".
Sunny wiped her eyes "I-I'm telling mommy" she started sniffling "No no no no! Sunny come on; geugeos-eun sagoyeossda (it was an accident)" Linda tells her "Look I don't want mom yelling at me or grounding me, I'll give you two dollars" she proposes "W-What?" Sunny wiped her tears "Remember my friend Cindy Zao from school? I'm supposed to go the pier with her this Saturday, please I really need to go the pier this weekend!".
"F-F-Five dollars" she sniffles "What? No! I'm not giving you five dollars!" Linda quickly went back on her deal "Sonyeodeul!(Girls!)" their mother called out "Where are you?". Linda looked at her sister with pleading eyes "Sunny please...! Please...please...!" Linda whispered to her as their mother came up the stairs "There you two are" Young Shin finds them "Sun Hi what happened?".
"I-I fell!" Sunny started the water works again "Oh! Sweetheart!" Young Shin saw the band aids on her daughters knees. Young Shin hugs her and then looked at Linda "How did this happen? You were supposed to watch your sister!" she scolds her older daughter "I-I-It wasn't my fault, honest" Linda pleads her case "I saw a squirrel and I chased it!" Sunny lied much to Linda's relief "And then I fell!" Sunny cried more "Oh, it's okay!" Young Shin "She was running too fast, I told her not to run after that squirrel".
"Let's go downstairs, I'll make you a sundae; with chocolate; and a cherry. That will make you feel better" Young Shin lifted Sunny and carried her away to the kitchen. Linda let out a sigh of relief, the only thing that she had to do was ask one of her friends to lone her five dollars. If they ask then she'll say it's a complicated thing at home.
Sunny remembered how her and Linda were close. They were always sharing secrets and having fun but that all changed years later when she screwed everything up and ruined their lives in that one night. She destroyed everything that they held precious with those gunshots in one fell swoop. It wasn't the average Korean family drama; it was something different; it was more complex. Bright lights engulf her and transports her to another memory.
Sunny see's herself staring at her arm as it's sore and red from the the Five Stars tattooed onto her skin. She remembered this vividly.
Sunny gently with lukewarm water wiped her new and first tattoo from the gang. It was going to itch like hell for a while but it was worth it. Linda suddenly walked in and saw was what was on Sunny's arm "What the hell?!" Linda rushed and grabbed her sister's arm "Ow! Hey! Careful!" Sunny yanked her arm away "Have you lost your mind?" Linda scolds her. Sunny just rolled eyes "Look, everything I'm doing is for a good cause okay" she tried to justify her gang affiliation.
"Good cause?!" Linda fumed, she pins her sister against the bathroom wall "Argh! Let go goddamn it!" Sunny struggled "There's nothing good about this Sunny!". With some force Sunny pushes Linda back "You think me or mom enjoy seeing you doing this crap!? Their is nothing fun about this!".
Sunny looked back at her and scoffs it off "You think this is a joke? It's not a joke Sunny! You're going to get yourself hurt or killed! Is that what you want?" Linda huffed "Look I know what I'm doing, I make enough to help her out" Sunny explained "You may not like it but trust me it's going to pay off, understand?" she summarized "I'm doing this for us! I'm doing this so mommy doesn't have to pay that guy!".
Linda stared at her bewildered on her sister is acting.
"Do you hear yourself? You know how crazy you sound? You're going to get yourself hurt and you know it!" Linda argues "Tsk, whatever" Sunny remarks and walks towards the stairs "Where are you going?" Linda follows "Out".
Linda blocks her path "No you're not! You're not going to keep hanging out with those people!". Sunny looked at her sister "Get out of the way" she ordered "No! I'm not telling you again! You're staying home and that's final!". Sunny glared at her "Move out of the way" she demands "No, if you try to it won't end well for you..." Linda warns. Sunny attempts to get past her as she tries to go for the door knob "Don't!" Linda grabs her wrist. "Let go, don't make me do something I'm going to regret" Sunny gives her a warning of her own.
"You're not going to ruin your life".
Sunny proceeds to forcefully to try to move her sister out of the way. "Sunny don't do it!". Sunny starts to struggle and soon drags Linda away as they struggle "I'm not going to let you get killed over this!" Linda tells her sister as they wrestle. With all her strength Sunny shoved Linda with force and falls over the coffee table.
"Ah...ahhh" Linda groaned as Sunny stared at her with a look of shock and probably, she couldn't tell, of being sorry. "..." Sunny opened her mouth as if she wanted to apologize but her mood changed back to being hard. She closes her mouth and walks towards the door and into the world of crime that she calls home. Linda lifted herself up as her sister vanishes into her world of foolishness.
She was a good girl but now, now she's gone off the path and it won't end well for her. All she and her mother can do is hope.
Sunny looked on as she remembered how wild she was. She hurt her own family without caring about whatever consequence came her way. In her mind she thought that she was doing the right thing by joining the gang and getting money to pay off her mother's debt. She was stubborn and naïve. And look where she ended up when those consequences came at her like ton of bricks.
The light flashes white and she's back in her Livingroom. She's there sitting on the couch with an annoyed look on her face as her mother goes through a pamphlet that was given to her by a guidance counselor. However this is a memory that Sunny can't remember. Either she can't remember it or she blocked it out. But it does come back to her; this is a moment; that she never forgave herself for happening.
"Okay" Young Shin finished reading the pamphlet the counselor at the school gave her. Like many times before Young Shin had been contacted by her daughter's school for many reasons that involved her getting into trouble, be it fighting or assaulting a teacher simply because they wanted her to do some homework or burning the vice principal's car. It was always something. This time it was because some girl at lunch thought it would be funny to spread a rumor that she got it on with the captain of the basketball team (which was false let alone she knew boys were icky and they stayed away).
Like a stick of dynamite and like many times before that Sunny snapped. She took a glass bottle of apple juice and cracked it over her head. She then proceeded to slam her head against a table several times before knocking her unconscious. Her would be opponent was left with several stitches in her head and a concussion.
Naturally the principal wanted to expel her for good. And he could have but a guidance counselor stopped him from doing so. The guidance counselor saw Sunny as a child crying out for help and decided to give Young Shin a pamphlet with instructions on how to help her daughter.
And now here they are. Sunny undid a bubblegum wrapper and put a piece in her mouth. She wasn't in a good mood since leaving detention. Let alone she didn't like some counselor trying to prod her.
"How are you feeling?" her mother asked "I'm fine" Sunny simply responded "I don't know why I'm doing this, nothing's wrong with me" she crosses her arms and looked sternly at her mother as she blew a pink bubble. "Sweetheart please, I care a lot about you; I just want to help you" Young Shin pleads with her daughter "The counselor thinks this might help you. Just please give it a try.
"I think that little jerkwad of a punk shrink smokes his own stuff" Sunny sneered "Sun Hi; please..." Young Shin pleaded with concern. Sunny sighed and looked away. "Okay, are you happy?" Young Shin read the line from the pamphlet "I'm happy" Sunny plainly answered "Have you had issues involving where you have gotten angry?". Sunny annoyingly sighed "No, I never gotten angry".
"Have you ever felt the urge to scream your feelings out?" Young Shin asked another question.
"That's it, this is stupid" Sunny got up and spat her gum in a nearby bin "Sun Hi please, sit down; I'm just trying to help you; that's all".
Sunny looked back at her "Help? You think treating me like some mental case is your idea of help?" she scoffs "Sweetheart please, we just care about you".
Her temper flared up. Sunny clenched her fist "Care?! You think those ass wipes care about me?! I couldn't give a flying fuck about what they think!" she takes the pamphlets and shreds them "Sun Hi please! Just calm down!" her mother pleads "I fucking hate all of this! And I hate that fucking school!".
She grabs the remote for the tv and tosses at where her mother is sitting. Young Shin quickly ducked. A loud crash rings through the Livingroom.
Young Shin looked at what broke. She gasped at what was broken. A priceless vase. A family antique. This peculiar antique was handed down to their ancestor's during the Joseon Dynasty which later passed to another ancestor during the height of the Great Korean Empire which then was kept hidden by Young Shin's great uncle during the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 until the surrender in 1945. Her first cousin on her mother's side of the family found it and then saved it when the North invaded the South instigating the Korean War. Her cousin saved it from a group of North Korean soldiers who were looting Seoul, who then fought the same soldiers which in the process earned him praise from the South Korean army who later recruited him. Her cousin fought in some of the hardest battles only to be killed two days before the ceasefire in 1953.
Young Shin's aunt then gave it to her saying to pass it to her children when they are of age. She took it with her when she moved to the United States. And now this priceless heirloom that was passed down through the generations, that survived empires, occupation and a war with it's neighbors in the north, is now a bunch of shattered pieces scattered everywhere. It survived centuries and a war only to be destroyed by an act of teenage rebellion.
Young Shin quivered and looked at her daughter sad, shocked and frightened at what she had done.
"T-T-That belonged to our ancestors..." tears formed in Young Shin's eyes "My aunt...s-she gave that to me...". Sunny looked at the scattered pieces. She was unamused; let alone she wasn't moved to tears. "Whatever" she sneers "I always hated that thing". Her mother's eyes widened when she said those words. Sunny went out the front door and slammed it as hard as she could. The slamming echoed through the house.
Young Shin begins to sob. "Sesang-e...(Oh god...)" she begged tearfully. Her daughter is going downward into a vicious world that's already turned her into one of it's own. No longer sweet or innocent, just malicious towards others.
Somewhere she knows theirs still good in her but even she doesn't think she can put her on the right path.
Sunny looked on in horror and disgust at what she did to her mother. "M-Mommy! I'm sorry! It was an accident! Please don't cry!" she ran over to her mother and tried to hug her but she faded away. It hit her that she didn't know what was going to lie ahead of her in the coming months when everything came crashing down. If she had then she could have prevented it and they would still be a family today. There wasn't any excuse for it. She wasn't a brat but admitted to herself that she was nothing more than a stupid arrogant punk. Smart mouthed and stupid.
The next flash puts her in Park's office Sunny remembered what Park told her before he died from his wounds about her mother confronting and scolding him "Oh my god" Sunny see's her mother storming the office.
"Where is she?" Young Shin marched into Park's office "I don't know" Park answered "I want my daughter back! Give her back now!" she demanded "I told you I don't know where she is!". Young Shin looked at Park with grief "How could you do that to her? She's just a girl! She's not some thug who should be involved in some clan war! She didn't deserve that! She didn't deserve to suffer with that thing on her back!".
"DO YOU THINK I WANTED TO PUT SOMETHING LIKE ON HER?!" Park yelled back. Young Shin gripped her head just thinking what her daughter went through "IF THERE WAS A BETTER WAY TO HAVE HELPED HER THEN GODDAMN IT I WOULD HAVE GIVEN IT TO HER!" he slammed his fist against his desk. Young Shin wiped her tears "Goddamn you..." she cursed him "She's just a girl...".
"Listen to me closely..." Park carefully walked towards her "As long as she has that on her back no one will harm her; not just her; but you and her sister as well" he explains "You're safe and so is she". Young Shin looked up at him "Safe? Sun Hi is my daughter, she's not some assassin for the organization!" she reprimands Park "We would have ran or gone into hiding".
Park looked with bemusement "What good would that do? They would have tracked you down. They would have killed you and your daughters or maybe they would have just killed you and taken your daughters to some other place that they operate in" Park painted the grimmest picture about their consequences if Sunny didn't take the deal "At what price?" she suddenly asked "My daughter is gone and her life is ruined because of my mistakes" Young Shin got up and staggered towards the door "You may have gained some girl to work for you but I lost the most precious thing in my life. You won't know that feeling until it's taken away from you".
Sunny looked on as it fades away. She starts crying immensely and is in emotional pain. "No more please...I don't want to see anymore..." she begs but another white flash starts to form.
In the month that followed Sunny wandered around on her own through the streets. Crying to herself because of a stupid decision that she made. Her hair once pretty was dirty and unkempt. She took shelter wherever she could and like a stray cat fell asleep in some spot where no one could see her. The only thing that kept her company was that thing on her back. She resented it every time she cried herself to sleep.
Then one day "Excuse me young lady?" an officer and his approached her. "What?" Sunny asked, she was disoriented from the sleepless days she endured. "What's your name if I may ask?" he wondered "Sunny Rhee..." Sunny tells as she was too tired to do anything "Sun Hi Rhee?" the officer said her full name "Yeah".
The two looked at each other and the older officer grabbed her "What are you doing...?" Sunny really didn't understand what was going on. Her hands are put behind her back as a pair of cuffs are placed on her wrists "What is this?" she asked "You're under arrest for assault, you have the right to remain silent anything you say will be used against a court of law" he reads her her rights "I-I didn't-I don't know what you're talking about". The officer turned her around to face him "You don't remember assaulting a guy for being a member of another gang?". Sunny was too exhausted and drained to understand everything that was transpiring.
The flash forwards to her during court.
Her sentence was read: six months in juvie. The judge stated to her that she was lucky that it wasn't a year or longer. Her mother looked on trying to hold back tears. Sunny looked back at her with her tears now pouring out "Mommy! Mommy! I'm sorry!" she apologizes and tries to reach her. She managed to reach for her hand and hold it for a few seconds and tries to give her a hug but bailiffs haul her away. Sunny begs and pleads to them to let her go but it falls on deaf ears.
Young Shin finally breaks down and falls to her knees. All she could do was hear her daughter beg to be let go.
Sunny gripped her head as everything was getting to be too much for her.
The flash now puts her in juvenile hall now talking to her mother on the last visit that they would have.
"Eotteohge jinaeseyo? (How are you doing?)" Young Shin asked " Naneun geogie maedallyeoissda(I'm hanging in there)" Sunny warily smiled "Linda didn't come again?" she inquired "No...she's...Lee Yeon is being difficult" her mother shook her head "I see" Sunny knew in her heart that her sister will probably never talk to her as long as she lives. "Everything that happened is my fault" Young Shin sighed "What do you mean?".
"If I didn't get into debt with that man maybe you wouldn't have been involved with that gang" Young Shin explained "Don't blame yourself" Sunny grabbed her hands in reassurance "You just did you thought was right, you kept us alive when you wanted to give up" the daughter and mother looked into each other's eyes "I mean I can't imagine you lasting another year of working for that hag at that sewing shop" Sunny reminded her mother where she started originally "You have nothing to be ashamed of, you just did what you had too to survive".
Sunny looked at the clock on the wall. She sighed with regret "It's almost time to go...". They got up and hug wishing it could last forever. "Promise me one thing, for me please..." Young Shin caressed her daughters face "No matter where you are just come home...". Sunny sniffled "I will...I promise..." she wiped her eyes "No matter what happens I'm always going to love you" Young Shin hugged her one last time before breaking their hug "I love you more" Sunny wiped her eyes.
This would be the last time they would see each other.
Sunny shook her head and sobbed. She didn't need another flash to know what happened afterwards. Because she knows the pain is always going to be there.
A flash sends her back to Park's office, a few weeks or so after she completed her sentence.
She sit in the chair looking blankly at her surroundings. This is where it was began. This is where it was splashed on her back forever cursing her. What could she do? Better yet; where could she go? Sunny had no one. She was on her own. She can't go home. What home could she go back to?
Linda hated her. She'll never forgive what happened. Let alone she won't forget how she broke their mother's heart. She knew Linda would hold on to it for as long as she lived. All Sunny could do was hope that one day they could be together and be sisters again. For better or for worse.
Sunny could have gone to Uncle Kang's and stayed over instead. He was more sympatric and would always welcome her with open arms. But this line of work would likely put him in the crosshairs if something involving blood and disputes could put him in danger, and that's the last thing she to see was another person hurt because of her actions. So a definite no.
She came here instead. "This is where I belong...this is home..." she muttered under breath. Her debt-her family's debt-was going to be paid in full. This is in her mind the only option. She can't run. There was no turning back. This is her new life now.
The door opens. Park walks to his desk and takes his place. He looked at Sunny, Her hair no longer long or pretty but short and tomboyish. She looked totally different from the girl who was crying herself in grief and horror.
"I heard you were here, I didn't think you would come back after what happened" Park glared at her as Sunny didn't meet his gaze "I'm sorry about your mother, she was an amazing woman; she was very strong" he gave her his condolences. Sunny slowly lifted her head and met his gaze. Her eyes were cold and no feeling in them.
He looked at her. She wasn't the same girl from before.
"I know you have nowhere to go, we set up a small safe house for you" he tells her "I know you been in a rough patch, with what we gave you," Park reminded her of what happened "you're protected; so is your sister. No one will harm you" he assured. Sunny didn't seem to care about what he said let alone she knew what she got into "You're going to work for us, this may not be easy for you but some of the people who cross us are not always friendly" Park summarized the job description "Every activity we do, legal or illegal, those need protection and if need be we might expand to other places but that hasn't been decided yet".
Park leaned forward on his desk "Ihae haessnayo? (Do you understand?)" he asked in their language "Ne...(Yes...)" Sunny answered "Dangshineun ihaehamnikka? (Do you understand me?" Park repeated himself "Algessseubnida...(Yes sir...)" Sunny answered one more time this time with a more serious look.
In every dramatic way she sold her soul. There truly was no going back.
Sunny sobbed and sobbed. She knew it when she pulled that trigger. Everything was going to implode and the damage was going to be immense. Theirs one more flash. One last flash is going to occur.
She easily recognizes it as Roberta's kitchen in her old apartment. This was the morning after their first date.
The smell of eggs mixing with tomatoes. The coffee machine brews and it's fresh aroma fill the air.
Sunny sat in her top and underwear as she watched her new love cook for her. Roberta wore her lavender silk robe while she cooked. Sunny looked at her figure and features. Smiling to herself that someone loved her. She never thought that she would be able to love. Let alone someone like Roberta.
It was beautiful. And it was loving. She still wonders if this was a dream. Only way to find out.
Sunny walked up behind Roberta and hugged her waist.
Roberta chuckled. Sunny then gave her a small kiss. Then a more a deeper kiss.
"Heh ha!" Roberta giggled "Sunny stop, come on stop; I'm making breakfast".
Sunny sat back down smiling and knowing that this wasn't a dream. She really did find the one.
Roberta came over and handed her plate of huevos ranchero. She took her place across from Sunny. As Roberta dipped her fork into the beans and tomato Sunny just stared at her plate.
It was rather alien to her. Someone she fell in love with cooked her breakfast. She's never been with anyone before that. It was totally new to her.
"Are you okay?" Roberta asked as she looked at Sunny wondering why she hasn't touched her huevos yet. "Huh? What?" Sunny looked back up at her with a confused look.
"You haven't touched your huevos ranchero yet," Roberta pointed "do you not like huevos rancheros?
"Oh uh sorry" Sunny quickly apologized "I love huevos ranchero, it's just...". Sunny tried not to be awkward "What?" Roberta curiously wondered "No one has ever done this before for me".
"You mean cook breakfast for you?"
"I know it's stupid but I never expect people to l-love me" Sunny dipped her fork into the huevo and tomato "There's nothing new about being loved Sunny, I really do love you" Roberta professed. Sunny blushed as she ate her breakfast.
"Wow, this really is good" Sunny praised as she sipped her coffee "So, please don't talk negatively" Roberta came over and sat on Sunny's lap wrapping her around her lovers neck "Let's enjoy this and love each other" Roberta kisses Sunny.
Sunny kissed back "Well I guess I should consider myself lucky then" she says as she gives another kiss.
Fifteen minutes after eating Roberta loaned Sunny some clothes. Both decided to spend their first day as a couple together.
"So since you have some time off from work, what do you want to do today?" Roberta wondered "Well, we could go to the beach and ride bikes" Sunny suggests "I wouldn't mind biking around the beach, I don't think I ever done that" Roberta says as she takes a hold of Sunny's hand "Or...?" Sunny wobbles her head left to right "Or what?".
"Or we can take our clothes off again and we can go back to bed, make out and make some love..." Sunny tried not to laugh. Roberta snickers and playfully punches her arm "Smart ass".
"I know what you are but what am I?" Sunny stuck her tongue out "Come on we can do that after we come back from bike riding". The two new couple go out into the world hand in hand. Their love is the driving force that Sunny knows will keep her going.
No matter what life threw her way, she knew that Roberta would be by her side.
Sunny wiped her tears as that last flash ended. There it was; her life before it collapsed. Her own upbringing as a girl to a punk gang banging delinquent with a short fuse to ruining her own life just to save her family. Her mother being heartbroken. Sunny selling her soul to pay off that debt and Roberta showing that she was able to love again.
It was all there in spades. In black and white. Every mistake that she made without ever thinking about the consequences; right there.
It took many years for her to admit that she was wrong. Sunny went to the Midwest initially to expand Park's power in that region. Sunny though did it as her own way to punish herself for everything that she put her family through. Living in exile just to torment herself that she deserved to live in shame.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Sunny kept repeating to the darkness that surrounds her.
Just then a bright red light starts to beam to the right of her. It flickered like any sign out there.
'EXIT' it read. Sunny wanted this nightmare to end. She wanted out. If this was where it lead to earth then then she was going to go through it. She wanted out no matter where it takes her, she just wanted to go back to her life.
Suddenly Sunny felt a presence.
"Who's there?" she looked around and saw nothing but darkness "Show yourself!" her echoes through the dark.
The figure from before started to shift more and more into a person that she thought she recognized but Sunny couldn't see because it was shifting too quick "Who are you?!" she shouts as the figure started to approach her "Stay back!" Sunny felt anxious "Not yet..." an unknown voice whispered though her ears "When the time is right...".
The exit door swings open and a heavy gust pushes Sunny out the doorway.
"AHHHH!" Sunny screamed as she fell back down to the world of the living. Another white light blinds her.
Her eyes slowly opened. The sunlight peered through the raggedy curtains. Sunny's vision was slightly blurry. Everything was hazy. She couldn't remember what happened the previous day, all she remembered was that snake biting her. Everything else got woozy and it went dark.
Sunny lifted her left hand up and saw that it was wrapped up.
"What the hell..." she looked at her surroundings.
Some unfamiliar cabin of sorts.
"Oh my god!" she hears a familiar voice. The figure was too blurred to see who it was.
"Sunny! Oh my fucking god! You're okay!" Chelsea wraps her arms around her leaders neck "Fuck I didn't think you would make it!" Chelsea breathed every bit of relief out that was in her lungs. "Oh god...Chelsea what happened?" Sunny groggily wondered "A rattle snake bit you, a diamondback to be exact" Chelsea explained "You passed out while we were walking back, we were too far to get back to the car so I had to bring you to this ranger station".
Sunny rubbed her eyes. She felt something around her neck "What are your dogtags doing around my neck?" "Oh er I put them around you so they would keep you safe". Sunny noticed something that was off.
She peered under the blanket and noticed that she was naked.
"Why am I naked?" Sunny looked over at Chelsea "Oh; about that. See you caught a fever after I gave you the antivenom and er you were sweating a lot, your clothes got soaked so I had...to...take them off...".
"I got to get out of here" Sunny wrapped the blanket around her body. "Whoa sit back down" Chelsea tried to stop her "Get out the way" "Sunny stop, come on, you're not well right now" Chelsea grabbed her blanket.
"Let go I have to-I have to save my sister..." Sunny tried to wrestle her way out. "Come on stop already, you're not in any condition at the moment".
"I said let go!" Sunny finally wrestled her way out and fell towards the doorway naked with only her tattoos covering her "Woo geez!" Chelsea quickly went over to cover her "Get off..." she ordered "No come on! You gotta rest for a bit!". Sunny weakly tried to resist "No, get off...! I have to save my sister..." she started to cry a bit "Okay I understand but seriously, come on" Chelsea gripped Sunny's shoulders "You don't know where she is Sunny, better yet you're butt fucking naked and believe me you'll be an easy target to hit if they see you".
Sunny started to hiccup.
"Something wrong?" Chelsea looked at her. Sunny then unleashed via through her mouth a torrent of vomit. Chelsea is caught in the crossfire as puke lands on her shirt.
"I-I-I'm sorry" Sunny sniffled and apologized "I threw up all over you"
"That's er okay" Chelsea wiped the vomit off her shirt "Look you gotta rest for a bit, it's a long walk back to the car; okay? Just rest for me".
...
Geraldine played with Tiger while waiting for compatriots. She waited for them to return but they didn't return. They were gone most of the day and into the night. Whatever it was must have held them up all night.
Just then Chelsea's Fugitive appeared from the corner.
Chelsea went around the passenger side and helped Sunny up. "I said I'm okay. You don't need to carry me you know" Sunny reminded "I just wanna make sure that's all" Chelsea told her with caution.
Chelsea practically carried Sunny on her back much to her insistence on walking back on her own strength.
"Hey!" Geraldine greeted them "The hell you two been? You were gone all night" she curiously wondered.
"It's a long story okay" Sunny sighed.
Geraldine noticed Sunny's hand being taped up "Girl, what the hell happened to your hand?".
"Look I'll explain it to over coffee okay?" Sunny tells Geraldine "Okay, I'll wait for you two inside". When Geraldine was far enough; Sunny stops Chelsea.
"Here you go" Sunny handed Chelsea back her dogtags "Told you they their lucky" Chelsea clamped them back around her neck. "There's three things I want to give you" Sunny looked at Chelsea "What is it? Is it a reward?" Chelsea became eager "Here's the first reward".
Sunny kicks Chelsea in the shin "Ow!" she hopped in pain "What the bloody fuck was that for?"
"That's for stripping me naked, you weirdo" Sunny scowled "Dirty pervert".
"Hey, you had a fever and you were pouring out sweat; like a lot of it" "Well you could have gotten an ice pack you know" Sunny says with a questioning look "An ice pack in the middle of an abandon fucking ranger station in the middle of nowhere? Yeah good luck with that".
"Here's the second one".
Sunny smacks Chelsea "Ah! What the fuck was that one for?".
"For getting in bed naked with me, I recognize those chalky tits of yours" Sunny let out a disgusted shiver "Hey their not chalky! Besides their B's! Kinda like yours!" Chelsea points out "Besides you're alive aren't you?".
"And here's the last one".
"I swear if you hit me or something then I'm going to kick your ass" Chelsea warned.
Sunny suddenly out of nowhere planted a kiss on Chelsea's cheek. Chelsea red with embarrassment and confusion along with being shaken looked at Sunny who funny enough saw that her cheeks had embarrassingly turned red themselves.
"W-W-W-What was that f-for...?" Chelsea painfully gulped "I-It was just saying thanks for saving my ass" Sunny tried not to lose her composure "D-Does that mean...?" Chelsea tried to ask a peculiar question "N-N-No! We're not-You're not a third wheel or whatever-it's just a kiss on the cheek that's all" Sunny turned her head and walked towards the trailer "Uh o-o-okay! Just a friendly kiss!".
"Don't read into it, just come on".
Chelsea followed suit.
A bit confused. A bit weirded out. Chelsea just couldn't wrap her mind on what happened. It really was one of those day.
Chapter 67 is coming soon. Rate and Review.