Bursts out of a tomb Im back baby call me a litch cause Im dragging this story out of its grave YHEAAAAAAA!
Hello everyone, Im still alive, and so are my stories I know I have been gone for way to long life has had its fun with me I have a job that has been increesingly more taxing a job I am now loosing. Hopefully my new adventure leaves me more energy to write but that is no excuse, im sorry. For all that are still here thank you, and I hope this will be worth the waith.
And thank all of you who left comments I will be better about the uploading going forward.
I lost count how many times I tried to rewrite this chapter and all its angles but maybe I was looking at things to difficult so lets start it at the scariest time of the week
Monday.
Sara jumped out of bed when she smelled the aroma of sausages and waffles from the Kitchen. She had to remind herself that the room was hers now and not just a guest room, It was a far cry from the size from the room she had lived in under Vlad's so-called guardian ship. But it was warm and comfortable which was more than she could say about the abandoned Buildings and Mausoleums that had been her usual shelters during her wandering. She raced to the little closet and pulled out a random set of clothing,
Sara's old clothes had been busted beyond salvaging during the war. She now wore a mismatched pair of socks, a baseball cap too dirty to see the logo, and a faded pink rock shirt over a pair of way to baggy jeans. She hardly noticed how off it all looked as she looked in the mirror. Her hair had become unruly long before Sara had become part Onryo, but now and including the 6 months of battle, it had really gotten out of control. She tried running her fingers through the matted mess and hissed as her fingers were caught in a knot. Spotting a pair of scissors Sara took a hold oh her mane pleased the scissors at a place that would leave her with shoulder-length hair and, "snap, clunk" the scissors broke in two. "Hu magic hair might be harder to deal with than I thought it would."
The picture on the wall caught Sara's eye. It depicted a forest town with a palace towering above the trees. Judging from the architecture, Sara guessed it had to be Japanese. She floated up to take a closer look. "Is this where Grandma Emiko is from?" she wondered out loud.
Erma rarely talked, but she would answer some of Danny and Sara's questions that required more than a yes or no. Sara knew her grandmother was Japanese and came from a village of yokai and yurei. She also knew that her family was powerfull enough that the ghosts from the Ghost Zone who shared Erma's Japanese roots addressed her as "Sama."
What puzzled Sara was why, among all the pictures of friends and family in the Williams household, this particular picture was relegated to the guest room.
Shaking her head, she phased through the floor and headed towards the Kitchen, where Erma was busy cooking breakfast; she made eggs and bacon fly from their packages on the countertop and into her pan carried by invisible hands while a strand of her raven hair whisked the batter for waffles. It was still a new sensation to think of Erma as her mother, a concept like a dream, beautiful and precious but far away from her. The warm smile that appeared on Erma's face as she saw Sara made it crystal clear, that this was home.
A few minutes later, Emiko and Samuell entered the Kitchen; both kissed Erma on her cheek and ruffled Sara's hair in good morning. Hesitantly, Sara tried to call Emiko grandma in Japanese; she had picked up a few words in the language from some ghost she had met in the zone. It did not come out all that well, but the soft smile playing on the spirit's lips was an encouragement that the message had been received. Questions slowly bubbled to the surface of Sara's mind. She wanted to hear about her new family, but while she had enough time to make introductions yesterday, the events at the mayor's mansion had cut the reunion short.
"Granpa?" Sara asked "Do Uncle Michael and Uncle Freddy live far away?"
"Actually, Michael and his family are moving to town, as is my mother. Freddy lives further away, but I suspect he might drop by soon."
Erma stiffened at the realization what this meant, her head slowly turned around like an owl till her father could see her terrefied eyes The girl's terrified eyes begged her father to tell her he was making a joke. Her father just chuckled at the girl that would ride great whites and visited lonely ghosts being terrified of her younger cousin, "Yes, Erma, this means Emily will be enrolling at your school. And I would guess she will be looking to join your group."
Erma hung her head, knowing that she would not be able to dissuade her cousin. Nor would she be able to run away forever, knowing Emily she could hide in the ghost zone itself and the girl would still find her somehow. probably after accidentally causing the most ancient specters of the infinite realms to have nightmares for centuries to come.
Sara perked up, "So, is Emily always that excited?" Samuel nodded as Erma served the family their food.
"Have you been taking cooking lessons while you were away?" Samuel asked as he dug into his sausages. "This is great, sweetheart."
Erma nodded - she had taken a few pointers from the lunch lady. Apparently, the experiences of a cook who needed to deal with the limited budget of a high school were pretty valuable if you only had war rations and whatever else you could forage together. After all that, having an actual kitchen with real ingredients, even if those were a bit short due to six months of the vortex, made her feel like a star chef.
Sara laughed as she swallowed a mouth full of sweet waffles. Remembering the nights at the different headquarters and what they had tried to make palatable, and how Erma had been the only one to have any success in the endeavor.
"She had to. Dad and I are terrible in the Kitchen. I remember when we tried to make potato stew during the war and accidentally made a high-grade explosive. Did not help the hunger, but it did help against those skeletons attacking the base."
Erma shook her head as she ate her eggs. She was going to give Sara cooking lessons, if not for the good of the girl, then for the good of the neighborhood. She feared Danny might be a lost cause for anything more than a pizza, salmon wraps, or maybe a salad.
Sara looked at an apple in the fruit bowl. She lifted her hand, and the fruit wobbled and floated towards her before splashing into applesauce just in front of her. Sara wiped the sticky pulp from her face, scowling. "How does mom make it look so easy? I have been trying since I woke up but can't get it right."
Emiko handed her a handkerchief, "Just keep practicing. You only had this power for two days, one of which was spent unconscious. Your mom and I have had these powers our whole lives."
Emiko said encouragingly before placing her hand on Sara's shoulder. "Be careful with larger objects, and don't lift people just yet. So, What are you girls going to do today?"
Erma waved her hand and made a purse float towards her.
"Shopping?" Sara asked, a hint of apprehension in her voice. Erma rolled her eyes at her daughter, motioning to the empty table. "Mom, I don't need much, I have a bed."
Erma crossed her arms and frowned, looking the so called outfit Sara had put on over and shaking her head.
"Okay, okay, point taken, but nothing crazy, okay, can I… can I have a few comics? I would like to learn how to read." Sara said, rubbing the back of her head. It was stupid, she thought immediately.
The man of the house is an author, and you say you can't read. Erma, however, looked at Sara with a prideful smile as she pulled out a membership card for a bookstore. The pale woman moved as if she shivered, which earned a giggle out of Sara. "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine with Horror."
Sara gave her grandparents quick hugs before following her mom outside.
"I had expected you to worry more, dear," Emiko said.
"What and be like your dad? Besides," the man said, looking at his wife with a sad smile on his face - although he was okay with the fate of mortality. That did not lessen the sting he had whenever the topic of leaving his girls behind forever came up. Emiko would be fine. He knew that she had friends and family among the eternal. But most of Erma's friends were just as mortal as he was. "If she has found someone that can be with her forever, then that is a great thing," he said, seeing Erma and Sara shoot skyward.
(I had a line I broke it)
As she flew across the sky, Erma felt a strange mixture of being in a place she knew by heart and being in a new place all at once. Amity Park's streets had mixed with Briar Woods in some parts, and in others, a new neighborhood had sprung up. She held Sara back as she looked down at a particular street, looked down at her daughter, and shook her head.
"Bad neighborhood?" Sara asked.
Erma nodded, hoping Sara could sense the malevolent energy rising from the almost slum-like street. Witch Quarter is not its official name, but nobody remembered it as anything else. Usually, Erma was the first one to venture into haunted places. But Witch Quarter was a different beast; the creatures that hid in its shadowy buildings were not just loners or dark dwellers. They had evil in their hearts. Erma had gone in only once or twice and knew that she had only been able to do so safely because of how powerful she was and maybe because she was of the Yurimoto clan; even in the States, few would chance to provoke her grandfather. Had she been a human girl, she imagined she would not have made it through in one peace.
Luckily, Sara nodded; she knew better than to ignore her mom's advice. Sara remembered the last time she had taken on an opponent above her weight class during the war. Subconsciously, she trailed the scar on her lower arm as she saw the flash of claws in her mind's eye. No, her days of thinking she was the biggest wolf in the woods were over. Erma pointed at a dark shape further downtown; the lumbering building's dark windows looked to be broken. Its walls were smeared with graffiti. The large parking lot was vacant, safe for some rusted cars that would never drive again.
"That's the mall we are going to? Are you sure you don't want to go to the Amity shopping center?"
Erma shook her head, looking at Sara with a mischievous grin that Sara recognized. Her mother was up to something, which could either mean that they were going somewhere very cool or dangerous. Honestly, if she had to make a bet, it was probably on the border between the two. Sara got a smirk of her own.
"Dad and his friends don't know we are going to a supernatural mall, do they?"
Erma put a finger to her lips. The Dark Mall is the place to go for any and all mystical things. It was probably the only place she could take Sara and be her mom in public without things getting messy for them. It pulled at her heart. Growing up, Erma had enjoyed the freedom of being both the human and the ghost. The mere thought that Sara would have to hide who she was and could not even call her and Danny mom and dad in public broke her hearth. As soon as they saw Danny and Jazz walk onto the parking lot. Sara shot down from the sky to tackle Danny in a hug with a loud call of "Dad!" earning a laughing yelp from the young man. Erma touched down next to her friends, and Amy welcomed her with a grin."Ready to shop till we drop?" Amy asked her best friend.
"Hold on, Amy, let those of us who need to change change, okay?" Sidney said, pointing between herself, Sara and Danny.
"Say less," Sara said as the silver rings of her transformation manifested. Danny stiffened as he saw the changes Erma's DNA had caused. Sara's skin now matched her mother's, a stark white like snow. Her eyes would have been terrifying for anyone who did not know her; inky black had stolen away the white of her eyes, mis matched irises peered out of the darkness one a moonlight silver the other a toxic green. Her hair had reversed colours: silvery white with raven tips and while her outfit was the same, the logo had changed from an overlapping SP over to an unknown logo.
"What do you guys think, hum?"
A teary-eyed Erma hugged the girl, earning a good hearty chuckle from Amy, "God, Erma is such a mom."
Sam turned to Sidney. "Are you telling me you are a hybrid as well?"
"In a way, just a different kind than our friends," Sidney said as her features shifted, her face elongated to have a muzzle, her ears growing bigger, and a pink rat tail now waving behind her.
"Tada meet the real me," Sidney quipped, smiling at the other's gaping faces. "My mother was human, and my father is a rat-person; kindly leave any cheese-related questions at the door," Sidney said.
Jazz looked sheepish, "That was something else. Is this really your natural form? I am more used to scientifically created hybrids than the natural ones; mind me interviewing you later on? I'm doing research on mental states of hybrids for my thesis."
Sydney raised an eyebrow. "No offence, but I barely know you. The only reason I showed you this shape is because you are connected to Erma."
Connor nodded. "We trust you to watch our backs for now. Anything further needs to be earned."
"Fair enough for me," Sam said, turning towards the mall. "Soooo, what's this place?" She whistled in approvement. "Cause I dig the vibe."
Conner smirked. "Only the coolest shopping mall you will find on this side of the sea. Mundane to mythical, whatever you need. Just watch out in the pawnshop. Terry came a little too close to selling his soul once."
"I was young and stupid," Terry said.
"Bro, that was last summer," Amy said, shaking her head.
"What did he try to get for it?" Tucker asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Homework Golem," Terry said. "So now I'm stuck selling my soul to the education system instead."
Sara winced as she looked over to her parents, making a face. "Do I have to go to school? Can't I just be a full-time superhero?"
"The gremlin makes a good point," Danny said, earning a sharp Jabb in his ribs from Erma's hair. While she looked sternly at Sara, the two of them quickened their pace towards the mall with a crisp "Yes maám." Leaving Sam and Erma to smirk.
The inside of the mall was as odd as it was familiar. Most of the shops were things you find in common shopping centers. Though the inventory was far from normal, the first clothing store they walked into had a sale on hoodies and armour for 30% off. Sara gladly took a look at both and picked out a few mundane pieces with a few bits of armour mixed in, but more interesting than the clothing were the other people buying them.
She recognized a few types of mythical beings. Mainly ratfolk and a few ghosts (she did not know how ghosts changed their clothing, but she was very curious). Others were unknown or looked so human that she could only guess what they were. She guessed the palest people were vampires, but she had also spent a night invisible in a programmer's office, so she guessed one of those might just be an IT guy looking for an infinite cup of coffee.
The food court had some rather odd dishes on the menu, with the mandrake salad making Sam question the boundaries of her vegetarianism. Danny, however, had a different problem, as the apple pie he had ordered grew a face and attacked him.
"Should we have warned him about the pie?" Connor asked as he stuffed the hot dog in his bun, earning muffled screams from the sausage before dousing it in a glowing hot sauce.
"Man killed the ghost king two days ago. I'm sure he can handle a haunted dessert," Tyrone said, smirking as Danny and Tucker took on the spectral pie with their forks.
Sara pulled on Jazz's sleeve, "Does this count as self-defence or playing with your food?"
"I think this is a bit of both, sweetie." The young woman told her nicely as they watched the spectacle and the different ways the spooketiers were catching their food. Amy and Erma sat down with them, placing a plate of Onigiri between them. Jazz looked at the riceballs hesitantly, wondering what kind of hazard these were.
"The dreaded roulette plate. You never know what you end up having." Amy said as she raised her Onigiri. "Now for ruin." She took a bite before flying skyward. "Hu pork with pixie dust seasoning, not bad."
Jazz hesitantly took a bite of her own, making a face like she had bitten into a lemon. Her body went translucent green. "What was that?"
"Slime beans," Amy said as she tried to stay upright in the air but failed miserably, a smirk still plastered on her face. "Green looks good on you,"
Erma took one of the two remaining balls and popped it in her mouth, then grabbed her chest slowly but steadily. Her pail skin started taking a warmer colour, just a shade paler than her father's skin colour, and the black in her eyes retreated to white, and her silvery eyes turned a warm brown.
"Oh my god," Sylvia gasped. Did that thing just turn Erma, human? What filling even was that?!" she asked, looking the menu over. Phoenix Ash Fried Chicken? Did this rice ball just resurrect you?"
Erma shivered, looking around hurriedly, her wide eyes shooting around the room till Sara hugged her mother. "How long does this stuff last? Is mom gonna be okay?" At that time, Amy let out a yelp as she dropped down from the air, being caught by Terry just in time. "Thanks, and don't worry, Sara. Erma will be the dark, tall, and gruesome we all love in a few minutes."
"Then why is she freaking out like this?" Sara asked as Erma's embrace became tighter. And Danny walked over, rubbing her back. Conner ran towards the food.
Sydney shook her head. "If I had to guess, I think she lost her ghost powers in this shape, including her sharper and extra senses. She probably feels disorientated."
Conner ran back with a green liquid, which Erma downed quickly, returning to her normal self. She smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head apologetically. Her mother once more herself. Sara grabbed the last Onigiri and stuffed it with a shot of heat through her body as the spicy meat touched her tongue. As she breathed out to get relief, a jet of flames shot out of her mouth in a variety of colours while black smoke shot from her ears.
As it died away and the whole group had finished, they looked at each other in silence. Then Jazz's mouth quirked upwards before she burst out laughing; soon joined by the others. The smiles still lingered as they went back to the stores.
Erma seemed especially giddy as she walked towards a bookstore called. "Home of Tome, where knowledge is hidden." As soon as they entered the pail man behind the counter looked up. "Erma darling, welcome." He looked Danny, Tucker, sam and Sara over. "Who are these new friends?"
Erma nodded as she tilted her head; the pale man ducked under his desk and pulled out a dark brown book with a skittering bloodshot eye in the middle of the cover. "Here you go, dear, the basic book of spells you ordered."
The man raised a brow. "I do wonder. You are far beyond these little cantrips. Who is the aspiring mage you bought this for?" The man's red eyes scanned the group till they rested on Sara, who hid behind Danny's legs. "Aaah, where has this little halfa come from?"
The man's gaze rose upwards to meet Danny's. "Ah, the local legend, you are quite the talk of the shadows. If you are the girl's father, Erma is right to start her training young. Of all enemies, power unchecked is maybe the deadliest."
The man shook his head. "Ah, where are my manners? Nostruss is my name; it's an honour to meet the vanquisher of Pariha Dark." Nostruss said as he took a bow. "Now then, feel free to explore my collection at your leisure. I'm here if you need anything."
Danny asked, "Do you have anything on the ghost zone?" Nostrus snapped his fingers, and a toxic green glow came over a handful of books and scrolls. "Well, that would make finding sources a lot easier." Danny walked down the rows, scanning the backs of the books. Eventually, looking at a copy of "The Ethics of the Grave." By Hein the slender. Danny reached out a hand only to collide with someone else's. "Oh, sorry, wait, what are you doing here?!"
Danny asked as he saw Valerie hastily pull back her hand and take a step back. A whirlwind of emotion played over her face.
"Yo Val, I found a copy of…..Phantom!"
Star walked over and hugged Danny. "You are okay. I mean, I knew you were, but it's good to see you actually being okay. How are Erma and Dani?"
"They are fine. Well, Dani has changed a bit. She changed her name. Call her Sara next time you meet." Danny said hesitantly as he peered past Star to Valerie. Star looked from one to the other. "Oh, uhm, this is a bit awkward." She said."valerie is my first attempt. Remember saving my friends?"
Danny did not answer as he stepped between the two. He did not glare at Valerie. He did his best to come over serious but not threatening. "Valerie, You don't trust me, do you?"
"No, I have learned a few things about ghosts, things that have made me question my views on you and ghosts as a whole." Something in her face hardened. "It does not change the fact that my life was messed up because of what happened at the lab. If you, any ghost or any creature that this new town has, becomes dangerous." Her hand went to her side as if she reached for her ecto gun. "I will put you down, deal."
Danny nodded. "I have done some research myself, and I think I should be more active in helping ghosts. It might prevent the wrong ghost from getting hunted. I'm always going to protect Amity, but if you hurt anyone under my protection, I will do what I need to do. Can you live with that?"
valerie nodded and reached out her hand, danny took it he could feel her shiver in his grasp. "Cold hands sorry."
"Cold as the graves, Let me guess, single?" Valerie asked trying to keep it friendly he looked back over his shoulder. Which made Valerie raise an eyebrow and Star grin as a pale figure waved at them which made the corners of the young heroes' mouths turn up. Valerie let go of his hand and nodded. "Well see you around then, at least if this one keeps her word and takes me to that Jamboree thing."
"As long as you keep your promise to stop shooting every ghost you see." Star giggled before the two took off. Valerie leaned closer to Star, "I take that was Erma?" she asked to which Star nodded as she plucked a book off the shelves. "The Way of the Infinite Realms, by Maarten Pipe." and started reading through it. "Aaaaaand you are shipping them, aren't you?" Valerie asked mischievously.
"Like a postman," Star replied till she came to a sudden stop as she held a shaking hand over the page. Valerie glanced over her friend's shoulder. "Rules of succession, conquests." Both girls gulped as they looked back down the aisle, where a little girl ran over to Danny and Erma, waving a book over her head enthusiastically.
That's what told Vallerie the secret, the kind smile. The way he talked to them. "Danny?" she whispered, looking at Star's still horrified face; both of them felt a growing dread settle in their stomach, but Star managed to shake her head free of them and put the book back.
"I need you to visit my parents, remember that ouija board we bought as kids and never dared to use it?"
"Yeah?" Vallerie nodded, "Why?"
"Because if this goes south, and Murphy's law says it will. Then we need people in town to be ready, so Operation Scare Straight will need to be put on overdrive." A strained grin slowly worked back on Star's face. "So…this is gonna be my first haunting. Wanna help me plan it? You know, get some payback for kicking you to the curve."
"Let's do this."
( hide yo kids hide yo lines)
Danny was never a gym rat, but he had to keep himself from splitting himself into duplicates to try different power-based training equipment that filled the large hall. He stopped by a place with black iron torches spitting blue fire.
A large green man with a pearly white tusk walked over to his red tank top and said, "Crump da limits" O the name Gork was scribbled on a nametag. "Hello, my lad, got ya self some ice powers?"
"I do. Is this for ice training?"
"Aye, that it is. The goal is to douse the fire with your powers." A blue circle appeared in the hand of the orc. A blue aura surrounded the first lantern, and the blue fire flickered and shrunk. Before the aura disappeared. Danny aimed, feeling the Frost creep from his core towards his hand, where it shot out in a pail blue ray that hit a flame in its heart. The fire blazed, pushing back against Danny's powers, forcing him to put more force behind it, and then it shrunk back more and more till Frost coated the torch.
Gork nodded. "Looks like you need the stuff for a heavy hitters training."
"I need to get stronger than Pariah was," Danny said, sure the ghost king was dead but that had been a group effort. He needed to be able to face such opponents alone if Erma and Sara were unable to help him.
"That is one heck of a goal, lad, but I might be able to help you there." He looked at the others and nodded. "If ya can help me out as well, that lass, she is yours, right?" he nodded at Sara, which made Danny frown; he was ready to lay down the law as a dad for the first time but saw a smaller green face peer out from after a reck of dumbbells.
"My brother and his wife they did not make it through the vortex, and I am hardly the right person for a lass to spend all her free time around. Ya think your girl would play with her for a bit?"
Danny waved Sara over and pointed at the orc walked over giving a nodd in greeting wich the Orc girl returned with a shy smile. "Hello My name is Sara, wanna play?"
The girl nodded eagerly. "My name is Zyron, do you have powers?" She askked bouncing on her feet.
"I have a few, wish I was better at telechineses tough, my mom can hurl buildings around I cant even lift an apple without making a mess." as if to demonstrate sara lifted a empty water bottle and moved it towards a trash can only for it to shoot away and burrying itself in a metal beam.
"OhOh!" Zyron hollered now actually jumping, as if Sara haddend turned litter into a balistic missile "I get my bow and some arrows, we can try the range!"
A few minutes later the orc girl carried over a bow and two quivers of arrows to a secluded place that seemed to be built for marksmanship training.
"Alright, Sara, try this." The orc girl pulled back her arrow and let go; the projectile lit on fire mid-flight and hit a dummy through the head with an audible thud. Sara nodded and held out her shaking hand. An arrow slowly rose, trembling slightly, and then Sara tossed it forward. Sadly, the arrow did not fly straight. Instead, it spun like the blades of a helicopter as it zoomed forward, hitting the same dummy but in the base of the neck and went halfway through as it shattered. The dummy's flaming head listed backward, now hanging from a tearing piece of rubber.
"Well Zyron I guess you win the first round," Sara said rubbing the back of her head. The orc laughed out loud. "Dont know, I'm pretty sure he won't be fighting anyone after a hit like that." She took another arrow. "You have difficulty aiming using your telepathy?"
Sara nodded
"Try aiming first, then lift the arrow, and then shoot," Zyron said as she mimicked her advice and hit another dummy in its knee. Seconds later, another arrow landed beneath the feet of the same dummy.
"Missed,"
"But it was a straight shot. Keep at it."
Erma and Danny looked at the two; it seemed that Sara was starting a journey of her own as well.
( line funds are running low)
Vlad took place next to the ghost of a young girl he had seen in passing many times she glared at him.
"Plasmius," Star hissed venomously. "What do you want?" The Halfa hung his head.
"I have come to ask for help."
"Help?" She pointed down the hillside at hordes of people walking the cemetery. "You want help? After all of them suffered because of you!" She counted on her fingers every name and the exact age of the people who had died during the vortex. Every soul that never had a proper funeral because of the monsters roaming the streets he was elected to keep safe. Friends and families that were only now able to pay their respect to people they lost over 6 months ago, some only over empty graves.
Vlad looked up and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off.
"Save me your excuses, Danny told me what happened. You might have not caused it this time." The girl's glare told Vlad that Star had learned plenty of times the town had suffered at Vlad's hand since she had become a ghost. "But you were one of 4 people, all others of which were children, mind you, who had the power to stop Dark."
She balled her fist, the rule against violence in graveyards bearly enough to hold her back from smacking the man across the face. "And you ran, you ran away from them and didn't even come home to help defend it. Mayor, my ghost tail, you're barely a man, much less a leader."
The figures of Life and Death watched them with sad silence as they talked. When Star saw them, she left Vlad to his demons and walked over, looking down as she approached and spoke to Life. "I'm so sorry, you gave me this…all of this, and I spent it being cruel. Please, can I still change?"
"My dear child," Life whispered as she kissed Star's hands. "I believe you already have, and don't worry, you are in good hands." Bony hands softly touched her shoulders. "Every creation that passes from my realm.", Life said
"Will never be forgotten in mine," Death's melodious voice whispered.
They fell silent only the sound of the churchbell rang across the tombstones, and Vlad felt the coldest he had ever been as his core burned with the venom he had allowed to seep into his veins for decades. Loneliness and the new toxin in the cocktail regret. He took out the restored picture and watched the people down the hill remember their lost loves. He wondered what he would have told Danny if his parents or sister had not survived and what he would have told Maddy had her son died an unsung hero's death. What he would have told himself to feel better this time.