f u e g o !

It didn’t take Blake long to figure out who was speaking. Context, plus a family resemblance in her voice made it a dead giveaway. She wheeled around, grinning like a mad woman. “She’ll be here any minute, so we have to work quickly. You need to tell me every stupid thing she did before coming here.”

“Every stupid thing she’s done? It’s a long list and I wouldn’t know where to start“, she grinned. Gammy had seen some of Jade’s friends pictures in the e-mails she was allowed to send, the brunette’s smile was unique and hard to forget. “You’re Blake, right? I’ve seen pictures of your kids, lovely kids. I can tell you that she had a Barbie phase, hardcore fan. She used to reenact some scenes of the movies”. 

Family week was something that Thomas had always looked forward too, not because his family would come but because he got to see people reconnect with their family and friends. This time it was different though because TRP was trying to show something that wasn’t true. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard someone talking. “Uh Jade… yes, she has to be around here somewhere.” He said as he looked around at the crowd trying to spot the girl. 

“Oh, hello! And who are you supposed to be?“, Gammy couldn’t help the smile on her face at the sight of the man. “Do you have powers too? Are you one of her teachers?”, maybe there could be a way for her to stay here longer, she was alone at the house and he was something to look at. “Just stay by my side and she’ll find us eventually, she has a radar for good looking people and you have a beard, so that gives you brownie points”. 

Well that didn’t go at all well. Mother had said her older sister had a “condition” that couldn’t be cured but man was it like that all the time? If so, Dahlia was going to have a hard time sticking around or being able to understand what was going on in their screwed up family. Dahlia Moore had agreed to stay in a place called Woods Cafe until Kathy and Rosalie spoke. Apparently the surprise mother had planned hadn’t been a good idea. Whatever, screw her, Dahlia thought and realized the employee was waiting on her order still. “Shit, uh sorry. I’ll just take your least favorite drink in this place.” The girl handed her a twenty dollar bill and waved her off saying, “Just keep the change. Really.” Dahlia walked towards the other side and waited for her drink. “God, is it always like this here?” The woman mumbled out loud while running her hand through her hair with a tired look on her face and then frowned a little seeing the lights flicker.

*Recommend reading this first

“Depressing? No, you actually caught us in a bad day. It’s usually sunny and we’re always smiling and singing songs, and there’s something in the water that makes us piss rainbows. Disney has nothing on us“, Jade took a sip of her drink and shrugged with a forced smile. “To be honest, the feeling never goes away. But at least things were a bit cleaner before the shit storm hit, so welcome to paradise, I guess. Are you new here or visiting family? Please tell me you were bribed or something, because I can’t think of someone in their right mind agreeing to visit”. 

It took some clever convincing and a lot of good behaviour for the prison to let Mick come see his brother Wentworth. Tho they weren’t biological they had been raised together, they were brothers as far as they were concerned. Michelangelo hadn’t seen the outside world in almost a decade maybe more so this freedom, no matter how small it is made him giddy “Hi, hey yo, yeah do you know where the nearest pub is?”

“You mean the only bar in this place?“. Jade had no idea how someone could be happy in this place, even if they were just here for family week. “It’s that way”, she pointed towards the building, “I shouldn’t be in there, but maybe they’ll let it slide if I promise to behave. Why are you all smiles? Have you seen the state of this place?”. 

Arthur dusted off his pants as he stood up. It hadn’t been much, fixing up that bench, but he was a simple man who knew the value in simple things. With the bench fixed, even if most of the street was still covered in debris, there was at least a place to sit. “Well thanks for lending me that,” he said to the person who had given him the screwdriver. “Isn’t that better?”

“You know this place has people to do that kind of work“, Jade commented as he fixed the bench, but did nothing to stop the man, it was a good sight to see after everything that had happened. “It does change things a little bit”, she smiled as she looked at the rest of the street, “are you here for a brother or sister?”

Family week. He supposed that was something to be grateful for. But he didn’t feel as excited to see his family as he was the last time they had come to visit. The entire campgrounds was in ruins…Michael didn’t want Hannah or his mom to see what their beautiful town has become. Especially Hannah, he didn’t want her knowing the terrors of what had went on. And he certainly didn’t want his mom to get nervous. But he had to stay positive. He had to keep moving forward. Because if he stopped to think of the horrors…he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to start moving again. He exhaled but shakily. Then he went to see if there was anything he can do to clean the town up, make it look pretty again, start making it feel like home again. “What I don’t understand is…I thought the rising power didn’t want there to be a home anymore. Why have a family week event, when their whole cause was to get out? It doesn’t make any sense.” He pondered quietly to himself, not realizing he was speaking aloud. 

Family week was an event that Jade had stopped caring about a long time ago. Sure, the first ones made her excited, thinking that her grandmother would be able to visit, but she was old and sometimes her health wasn’t the best. Sometimes she even wished her Mother would arrive but that woman had left her life long time ago, and miracles didn’t happen in real life, not for people like Jade. Maybe this family week would be eye opening for the others’ families, they would see how Grimstone wasn’t safe anymore and would save whoever wanted to leave, how could the government expect them to have a normal life after an attack? After everything was in shambles? “Maybe they’ll take our families hostage and make us do things, if we refuse, their lives are on the line”, she muttered with a shrug, sure the idea was dark but she couldn’t be optimistic at this point. 

“Yeah, @miles--hall and I swap and share clothes all the time. Because that’s what amazing roommates do and that’s how close our friendship is... The only person I would share clothes with is @blakenieves“.

Jade at a point. Even though TRP had taken over, would the government really sit back and watch? She wondered if she could talk to her brother about it. If he’d talk to her. She wasn’t sure at this point. “I’m definitely hoping for the latter.” Kristen let out a slow sigh as she ran her hand through her hair. “Maybe they’ll give up? They’ll leave and then leave us be.” She knew that probably wouldn’t happen but she could only hope. “So, when we leave, what is your plan?” She asked, curiously.

“Yeah, I hope for the latter too. I don’t want this shit going with us to the real world or whatever we’re going to call it from now on“. She didn’t care who won, she just wanted to be back home, with no target behind her back for being different. “I have some people to see, maybe I’ll get a job at cirque du soleil”, she joked, not really feeling in the mood but a normal life wasn’t really for them. “Are you going back to Hollywood?”

“You think something worse is going to come?” Kristen asked, raising an eyebrow at Jade. If something else did happen, Kristen wasn’t really worried about it. In fact, she felt so high on life that she’d say bring it on. Nothing was going to stop her from going after her dreams. “If something did happen, then what do you think it would be?”

“I don’t know, I’m just saying I doubt the government will watch with their arms crossed“, or maybe they would accept defeat and let them all leave. “I don’t know, maybe there’s something in the water. Or one of the many secret experiments finally worked. Then again, my references come from movies and tv shows, maybe we’ll all leave and have a wonderful life with rainbows and singing birds”.

Kristen closed her eyes and smiled, reveling in the destruction and bloodshed that she had helped create. She would soon leave this town, she could almost taste it. She would be back in Hollywood, back to making movies and being the actress that everyone wanted. She wasn’t sure where her and Miles would end up, if he’d want to still be with her or not, but she hoped he did. 

She leaned against the nearest tree, unable to wipe the smile off of her face. “Isn’t it beautiful?” She asked the person walking up next to her. Kristen sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That’s the smell of victory, right there. We’ll get to go home soon and no one will be able to stop us.” A wider grin spread on her lips. “Maybe we’ll be able to leave tomorrow?” She clapped her hands together in excitement. “Isn’t it just wonderful?” Kristen couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this ridiculously giddy. 

“It’s something alright“. Jade was happy that they could go home but what had been the price? Violence didn’t bring good things in the end, it was one of the worst means to an end. “Is it sweet?”, she scrunched her nose and looked around, everything smelled dead, she didn’t like it. “Yeah, let’s just go and pack whatever we can and  bust out of here before something worse comes”, because she refused to believe the government didn’t have a secret plan to wipe them all, the word Chernobyl came to mind. “Wonderful isn’t really the word I would use, but hey if it makes you happy then who am I to judge”. 

Blake: I try but it's hard with Scottie or Jay or Rhea or...god, that's so many fucking people

Blake: Remind me why you hate him?

Blake: You know you love me :P

Jade: I can count mine with my hand; Landon, you, Ian, John (sometimes), Danielle, Jackson, Christian and.. the twins.

Jade: Okay, maybe two hands.

Jade: HE L E F T and now he wants to be a dad? Parents shouldn't just up and leave, they have to help with kids, they helped make them!

He recognized the voice of the woman behind him, something in the back of his mind telling him that he knew her and that they were…friends? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The mission. The mission. He was here for the mission. Tear down Grimstone. He didn’t need friends until all of that was done. “You’ll find a place. You all will. But it isn’t here.” When he had finally turned, again, her face was blurred, much like everyone else around him, but the more the woman spoke the angrier he got. “How many time have I told you not to call me Elsa!” The frost was slithering up his arms quickly now, jutting out into icy spines. He watched the flames spark into life, and he knew it should worry him but it didn’t. Instead he just kept pressing forwards, walking towards the obstacle in his path, robotically aiming his fists in her direction.

Jade couldn’t help but roll her eyes, it isn’t here. Was there even a place for them? They didn’t belong outside and they didn’t belong inside. “Oh, and are you and your boss going to find us a place? What about our things? Landlords at least give people some time to get out”, she knew she shouldn’t be joking and teasing, but a part of her couldn’t get past the fact that this was Landon, and it felt weird to have an actual serious conversation with him. “So you’re not a complete robot, good to know”, she cocked her head to the side, letting the flames move up her arms. She bit the inside of her cheek as she noticed the spike, an uneasy feeling on her stomach. “You better not mess the face”, she cracked her knuckles, ready for his first blow. 

Blake: I have too many imbeciles in my life

Blake: Why're you choking him tho?

Blake: Yeah. We do. And we'll do the therapy or whatever after it's done

Jade: Do what I do, just don't open up to people, less expectations, less heartbreaks.

Jade: Because I hate him? duh.

Blake: It's working and yeah we're ok

Blake: Which imbecile? Jay?

Blake: He's ok too thanks for asking :P

Blake: I know you're ok but like...are you ok?

Jade: Good, keep those two safe.

Jade: UGH. do we /have/ to name him? I like imbecile more.

Jade: He can choke after all of this is over, oh, I can choke him!

Jade: I have no idea if this works or if this is tapped too, still giving it a shot.

Jade: Are you and the two big heads alright?

Jade: I swear if you're with that imbecile and he's hurting you, I'm breaking my 'no murder' rule and burning him alive.