Soon after morning came, the devastating news of Cree's passing spread through the neighborhood like the plague, leaving many in utter shock, for some even disbelief or denial.
There was obviously a memorial service held at the church for the fallen teen ninja, to which many saddened residents of Gallagher County gathered to collectively mourn. In front of the podium was a closed coffin containing Cree's damaged and lifeless body, and surrounding it were assortments of candles, bouquets, and various photos of Cree herself, most noticeably a large portrait of Cree with a beautiful green, ribboned wreath around the image.
There also wasn't really anyone there who didn't atleast have misty eyes.. not even the kids. Most of the teen girls were crying their eyes out and so were a few boys, as well - Chad and Maurice were no exception, even if their tears weren't entirely out loud.. Kuki wept softly as she let her little sister, Mushi, cry into the fabric of her formal clothing, Nigel and Wally simply looked down at their laps in what seemed to be deeply-embedded remorse.. and Delilah.. as you could've guessed, was a flat-out inconsolable wreck. She was the only one not seated in the pews, but propped up next to Cree's coffin, knees tucked and cheek pressed against the wooden box. She was bawling violently, holding a Rainbow Monkey likeness of her late girlfriend close to her.
Hoagie sat between his little brother and Abby, Tommy sniffling weakly as he leaned against Hoagie, ".. H-Hoagie.. you s-said she was gonna b-be alright.. it i-isn't fair.." however, next to Tommy sat Harvey and Rachel. Rachel sat in silence with her hands in her lap, where Harvey glared at the weeping Tommy Gilligan. "Can't believe you suckers are wasting tears on a dumb teenager," he grumbled snidely towards the two siblings, but Tommy paid little attention and began crying even harder. Hoagie turned to Harvey with a rather offended look, "Have you no respect whatsoever, Harvey?? Cree was a great person to me and my brother, teen or not."
"A teen is a teen, and I think it's DUMB for us to cry over one! I'm only here because I was forced to by my sister." Harvey responded before he heard his sister clear her throat, and was met with a VERY firm look on her face. Harvey shrunk back a little and gulped before nervously glancing down at his shoes and twiddling his fingers. Hoagie then heard soft, shaky breathing from his other side, where Abby sat in a semi-fetal position. Her eyes were blood shot as she hugged her trademark hand-me-down red hat tightly to her chest. Hoagie frowned - he hated seeing her this way.. "There, there, Abby.. we'll help you get through this," he quietly promised as he gingerly patted her shoulder.
A few minutes before the service began, Delilah's dad was trying to pull her back into the audience, but that just made her sob even harder - if it were possible - and cling tightly to the coffin. "n-no!! I ain't l-lettin' her go!" she shouted defiantly. "Atleast just sit in the front pew with us, alright honey? I know this is a hard time but please try to stay collected here," Mr. Wilson whispered to his adopted daughter, squeezing her hand in his. This made Delilah calm down just a little.. JUST a little. "O-ok-kay.." she stuttered between hiccups before sitting down next to her parents in the furthest front column. Luckily this happened to be where Maurice was sitting as well, as he gingerly stroked Delilah's hair. She simply nudged him with her cheek as tears continued to pour down from her reddened eyes.
Down the gap between the two columns of seats walked none other than The Steve, wearing formal clothes much like anyone else there. Letting out a soft sigh, he marched up the stairs to the podium before tapping on the microphone attached to it. This, in turn, practically silenced the whole room, except for a few sobs and sniffles here and there.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today we gather to mourn the untimely passing of our dear friend, Cree Amelia Lincoln, and to reminisce on all of our good memories shared with her.. I, myself, saw her as a great friend and a loyal member of the teen ninjas. Cree had a bit of an attitude but an admirable personality, and cared deeply for all of us, many of which were super close to her. So I truly speak for a lot of us when I say.. we may hate each other often, but she will be dearly missed among kids, teens, and adults alike. That being said, a couple of eulogies have been prepared for us today. Thank you." and with that, Steve stepped down, Chad being the next to speak at the podium, as he cleared his throat a little.
"Oh, boy, where do I begin.." Chad took a deep breath, "Cree was one of the best friends I could ever have asked for. Ever since I turned 13, she and a few others here always had my back, no matter the circumstance. Many times, all of us found ourselves either chatting or goofing off after school, having lunch or ice cream at one of our favorite joints, heh - we'd even just stay at Delilah's for sleep overs to celebrate the weekends.. just her, me, Maurice and Delilah, being pals.." tears began welling up in his eyes as he took a shaky breath. ".. sh-she was like the big sister I never had, and her just b-being there.. it especially put a positive impact on us over the past couple of years.. to my other friends, if you're paying attention.. j-just understand that I am here for you guys, and I will make s-sure for all of us that it'll get better in the future. I love you all.." quickly, Chad turned away before breaking down into a weeping mess, Stacey gently guiding him back to their spot, rubbing him on the back. Abby was the next to speak at the podium as she trudged to the front of the audience.
"I.. I don't really know what to say.. Cree w-was the best sister I could ever ask for.. and-" she began fighting back tears as she tearfully looked down at the red hat in her hands.. ".. she was always there for me, always read me stories at bedtime.. I j-just wish.. I-I.. s-s-sorry, this is just t-too much.." Abby instantly averted her gaze and covered her eyes with her hand before rushing out of the room. There was silence in the room once again, until..
"Cree was my best friend s-since the second grade.." Delilah croaked softly, causing the people around her to look in her direction. She let out a heavy, quivering breath as she hugged her Cree plush doll, holding it to her chest. ".. and for the l-longest time, sh-she was my ONLY f-friend.. the rest of the kids m-made fun of m-me because of m-my disabilities.." Delilah's urge to cry grew stronger with each passing moment as Maurice reached over and rubbed her back with a sympathetic gaze. "but Cree always saw through said disabilities, and sh-she always p-protected me and helped me to k-keep my chin up.. even though everyone else s-seemingly hated m-my guts.. a-and n-n-now.. I have n-no one.." and that was all she could muster before collapsing into an inconsolable sobbing wreck all over again. Maurice simply wrapped her in a tight hug, shedding a couple of silent tears himself, while her dad frowned sympathetically and gingerly rubbed her arm.
Father was the next one to give a speech as he walked to the front, the church being completely silent with the exception of Delilah's hysterical sobbing. Looking down at her and back to the audience, he sighed a deep sigh, then began to speak in a quiet tone.
"Let's see.. what is there to say about Cree Lincoln? Well, she was a.. a fighter, to say the least. Matter of fact, she was by far one of the BEST fighters I've had.. she was loyal, quick-thinking.. she never gave up no matter how many failed attempts to reach our goals that we had, and it pains me to see how many souls had been left crushed and hearts she'd left broken because of her passing.. her team mates and mine included. That's all I have to say, really.." with that, Father lowered his head and stepped away from the microphone.
For a few minutes, many people in the audience had begun chatting amongst one another. Tommy gazed up at Hoagie while huddled against his side, "I'm sure gonna m-miss Cree, Hoagie.. I hope she's alright now, wherever she is.."
"I will, too.. but we'll see her again someday, I guess," Hoagie said, dabbing his goggled eyes with a tissue.
Maurice, Chad and Stacey were making an effort to calm Delilah down, mostly helping her take a few breaths, which helped a little but was difficult, since she'd given herself the hiccups. "There, there, Lilly.. it'll be alright, we're right here," Maurice cooed, "tell ya what, Steve told us there's gonna be a little banquet outside, held in Cree's memory. It'll start in around a half-hour, so whaddya say?" Delilah looked at him with her reddened eyes and wet face, and nodded gently, forcing a little smile.
For a little while, Delilah sat amongst the teens after all of them chose their meals buffet-style. A lot of which were foods and/or desserts that reminded her of Cree herself, especially the chocolate-raspberry cookies her mom had made for this current occasion.
After tearfully savoring her meal, Delilah took her dad's hand and followed behind everyone else into the cemetery - it was time for the burial.. they all stood around the six-foot hole in front of Cree's grave. Delilah could only watch through her tears and several others weeping as her best friend was slowly lowered six feet under.. after a few moments, Delilah just couldn't take it any longer and ran off back to the church.
"I feel kinda bad for Delilah, guys.." Hoagie quietly uttered to his team mates. Abby just sighed, "yeah.. my sister's been her main source of happiness, pretty much. I hate to see her this way. Come on.." the five children rushed off in search of the short teen, Abby being the first one to find her - she was propped against the side of the church, crying once again, except this time, it was much different. She wasn't bawling uncontrollably like earlier, she sounded really drained and exhausted. Quiet, hoarse whimpering and hiccups shook her frame as Abby knelt down to hug her. Accepting the embrace, Delilah buried her face into the fabric of her suit, still whimpering as the other four joined in on comforting her. "We'll miss her too, Delilah.." Abby audibly whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. ".. teen or not, we know she meant a lot to you," Hoagie added with the same gentle voice as Abby. Delilah simply nodded a little, her face still in Abby's shoulder.
After service ended, Delilah was taken back home where she immediately holed herself up in her room, laying in bed with her night-light on. But after a few minutes, she got out her laptop. After logging in, she opened her and Cree's private chat room, sighing a quivering sigh before sending a couple messages:
"Hey, Cree-Bear. I just got home a few minutes ago.. I wonder what it's like up in heaven. Miss you so much already. XOXO"
For some reason, sending that text, even though Cree would never respond, gave Delilah a smidgen of comfort, like Cree had never died in the first place..