The dual of the Fates

Chapter 66 (6)

It needs a single word to put you in action. A word from your little sister and you can feel the urgency it is supposed to convey.

"What is it?" asks Maureen. You lift your empty gaze from the phone and look at your sister.

"Josh." Her eyes widen and you understand each other without a single spoken word. You start moving and Maureen follows you. You two hurry to the car.

"Where?" She asks as you drop the door and start the engine without buckling up.

"Millie."

"Fuck" she moans and puts her hands over her face. "Fuckfuckfuck. He thinks I'm home with you.” You turn the key in the ignition and let the engine roar.

"Buckle up" you just say, your voice still devoid of any emotion. Maureen follows your command and you step on the accelerator the second you hear the lock snap.

You drive the car faster and faster. You are motivated by panicky concern for your family and the people you have grown fond of. But your head is empty. It's like an invisible hand is steering you and letting the car fly over the narrow forest road. You just stare straight ahead and notice only marginally how Maureen is flung back and forth in the front passenger seat and clings to the dashboard and her belt with all her might. But your head is still empty. Only the moment counts and all your self is focused on the next second, then the next and the next, always trying to reach your destination as quickly as possible. The tires are whirling on the road, but you still notice the vibration of your cell phone in your pocket.

"Hand on the steering wheel!" Maureen exclaims in panic as you reach into your pocket and silently hand over the phone to her as you take a tight turn.

"Tell her we'll be there in three minutes" you just state and you know who's calling you. Maureen takes your cell phone with trembling hands and exchanges a few quick words with Millie.

"Yes, Finn and I will be there soon. Where are you?… Very good… stay there, we'll come. Call the police. Right now... Yes... We are coming. ”She hangs up but doesn't dare stop you from driving. The speedometer needle climbs above the 160km/h mark and continues to stiffen when you have a long straight line in front of you. After that only two turns and you are there.

"It's Megan and Emma," Maureen calls over the howling of the engine. But you don't have time for fear or anger now. "Oh, God…"

"What are you doing?" Ask your older sister when you turn off the engine at the last corner to use the momentum of the car to roll over to the parking lot. The green jeep immediately catches your eye. No time for anger. You roll out the car and park it so that the escape route is blocked with the car. This is the first conscious act and it is done knowing that you will not leave Josh out of here. The second is to quickly turn to your big sister while swinging out of the car like a Navy SEAL.

"No matter what happens, you stay here. If he gets too close to you, run to me. If he blocks your way, run to the house. But don't come near him.” Maureen nods and you know that there is nothing that can override your orders for her.

You sprint away, quietly and across the grass so as not to reveal your steps. Then you see the girls... and him... Josh. Megan is lying on the ground next to him, holding her knee, there is no sign of the others. But Emma... you keep getting faster and then you see her. Emma is on the ground... and Josh lifts his foot. But you don't pay attention to him. You only see something red on your girlfriend's face.

Something dark awakens in you. Something is moving in a small corner of you, rattling chains and feeling the blood in the air. It still leaves room for your cool and calculating personality. But you know there is no point in locking it up. Josh continues to raise his foot. He is still twenty meters away. He still hasn't heard you, reveling in his victory and anger. Can you make it? He'll smash her head! Once again you put all your strength in your legs. The world around you turns black and white and through your tunnel vision you only recognize Emma and the boy's foot. The chains are tense, clink and there is a loud roar. Another ten meters.

Your girlfriend's giggle sounds in your ears. Her happy face when you told her that you love her. That shines in her eyes when she looks at you and you touch her. I have betrayed her. I should take care of her and now...

"You fucking..." yells Josh. You take some speed out of your sprint, take a slight curve to improve the angle. In a ballistic track you steer towards your goal. Then you lean to the side, raise your elbow, jam your fist and form a kind of lance made of flesh, bone and momentum. "... whore..." His foot whizzes down on the unprotected head. You won't make it. No!

Your feet dig deep into the grass, dirt whirls up beneath you and flies backward. You have moved so near to the two that you can see neither Emma nor the foot stepping on her head right now. The last thing you feel is the memory of her lips on yours, the feeling of her skin on your hand and the smell of her hair with the shampoo that smells so weird of strawberries.

And then your elbow hits Josh between two ribs. The whole energy of your body and the spurt you put down is concentrated in a small part of your body and transferred into Josh... But it's too late. His boot has already come down. He aimed directly at her head. You can't see her or the boot, but the leather on his feet hits something and you hear air being squeezed out of your girlfriend's lungs in a silent scream. You can hear nothing more than your bodies collide. Only the cracking of bones penetrates you as you pull the slightly larger enemy off the feet. The two of you fly over the tranquil body and land two meters further in the dirt. For Josh, the attack came out of the blue and his brain has yet to adjust to the new situation. But not yours. Out of the corner of your eye, very blurry on the edge of your narrow field of vision, you see Emma lying motionless in the grass and Megan writhing in pain. I was to late, you see. I couldn't save her. I disappointed her. Megan. Both of them. I failed and lost everything. Emma is hurt, Megan will hate me.

The chains burst, are broken and something ancient and brutal is released in you. Something is awoken and takes over you, your soul, your mind and your body. Suddenly the rational part has disappeared and only blind, deadly anger controls you. Why didn't he take it out on me? Why does he have to attack the best people there are? I am his enemy. The only thing that matters is the urge to destroy and for the first time in your life, you like to give in to it. No more control. No patience. No justification. Kill.

Josh is right next to you with his face to the sky. You are on your feet first and when he has to put himself to the side to endure the pain, you take the opportunity to get up. You ram your foot into his side, aiming for his injured flank. A dull scream echoes across the lake. You take a step back, start a second attack. You only have sneakers on and so you notice his jawbone when it hits your toes. You feel pain too, but you don't notice it. Again you duck a step back to take the third kick, but this time Josh rolls to the side. You position yourself for your next charge and Josh takes the opportunity to sway. But you don't give him that chance. You hoist your body in the air, your fist above you, and let yourself fall on him again with all your weight. Your fist rips the air and crashes into his thigh muscle, the largest muscle in the body. With brutal pleasure you can watch how the pain threatens to overwhelm Josh. Tears of anger, shame and pain come into his eyes when he realizes that he won't be able to get you so easily. He can ward off your next attack and distract you to the side during the attack flight. He rolls away and gets up in front of you. But instead of taking the chance like a man, he turns towards the lake to escape. But you don't make it that easy for him. You are blind with anger. Anger at you. You weren't there when Emma and Megan needed you. Millie will never respect you again. Megan will turn away from you for betraying her. And Emma... Emma! Your blood boils in your veins, adrenaline floods your body and your mind screams with anger and disappointment.

You run after Josh, drop right behind him, and kick his legs away from under his feet. Your target is embarrassingly rowing with the arms and can just support itself with the hands, but the side you were aiming for hurts so much that he collapses. He digs his face into the grass and begins to crawl to the beach. You don't know what drives him there, but when he crawls over the place where you met Millie, all the dams break. He rapes the legacy of my love! He beats Emma and Megan. And now he's polluting my memory of Millie! At the shore, Josh rolls back to look at you. The knowledge is written so clearly on his face that only you do not recognize it. He has lost.

"Hey man..." he gasps, but you don't hear him. Your world is red with anger. This bastard breaks everything you've been fighting for for so long. Two hands are reached out imploringly, and in blind anger, you take one of them. You enjoy the brief moment of hope in his eyes that stare at you and don't understand what they see in front of them. Then they twist in shock when he hears the hiss of overstretched muscles and then two quick cracks. Wrist, forearm. Then a pop. Shoulder joint. Then the pain comes. Josh roars loudly and cannot decide to hold his side or broken arm with his heal one. You make the decision for him by kicking him one last time and breaking at least two ribs. Again, your enemy, whom you never wanted to oppose, cries out in agony. Then he just whimpers and tries to crawl away from you. "I'm sorry man. I didn't want that.” Your eyes widen.

"What?" you ask, noticing your rattling breath. "What did you say?"

"I never wanted it to get this far. Please, I..." That is the last thing you hear from him. Josh breaks off when he realizes what's going on in your face. Images flood your mind and now would be its only chance to attack or flee. But like everything else in his life, Josh didn't learn what to do or not in which situation. Whatever made him the person you met, you don't care. Josh never had to be accountable for his actions in his life. The women he knows obey him all. And when he met Maureen, who contradicted him, that must have changed him. And now he's asking you for mercy? Now he has realized that if you don't understand the actions that lead to the inevitable end, you have to bear the consequences. But it's too late. You lost Emma. No matter how she feels, now that you have put her in danger, she will not forgive you. You brought the enemy into your house. You have gambled away the trust of all the girls who have learned to like you. And you weren't there to help your loved ones. Now it doesn't matter anymore. Josh recognizes the **** on your face. In a panic, he tries to crawl away from you, which is not very easy with a broken arm and two ribs.

"I was a good person" you hear yourself say. "Before you." Then you feel your feet get wet as you go into the water to Josh.

"I didn't want to **** her..." he stammered and made his last mistake on this fateful day. With the pictures of Emma in your head, your fist closes around his neck. Your fingers dig deep into his flesh and pull him up. No blood. No blood yet. He has to bleed! Your fist fastens into his face at a murderous pace. You feel the blow up to the elbow. Then another. And another one. You hold Josh by the throat and he's so weak now that he can barely raise his hands. You let him go and he falls to his knees in the shallow water. You lower yourself to its level and strike again. Only once, because then he lands on his back. "No!" He calls and panicked fear speaks from his eyes, while the blood from his nose and a deep cut on the cheek turns the water around you red. Again you grab him by the throat.

"I'm going to finish this now," you mutter more to yourself rather than Josh. He wants to say something, but your fist is tearing his lower lip and you can feel teeth splintering. Something digs deep into your flesh, but you don't stop. This time you aim at his other cheekbones and hear the splintering in your ears. Josh is weak, raises his working hand only halfheartedly. You let him go and he falls backward into the water. It's not deep here... but deep enough. You no longer have to worry about resistance. You sit on his chest, while he tries in a panic to stay afloat. Tears roll down his face. His eyes! Two more blows directly into the right eye socket only allow a whimper. He will never be able to look at Maureen and the others wrong again. His tongue! Three strokes until you feel the soft flesh on your knuckles and crush it on his teeth. He will never speak to them again. "I don't want..." he grunts and water run into his wounds and his panicked mouth.

"You don't want to?" you roar and let your fist run down on him. With every blow you press him under water more and more. You strike faster and faster. "What about my sisters? Did they want? What about Emma? Or Maureen? Did they want that?” Each blow is followed by another, which penetrates the body below you even faster. And at some point, only the splash of water comes to you when you hit a body that has sunk below the surface of the lake. "Now you're dying!" you roar and finish it.

"Finn!" Somewhere out of the bright light of your previous life, a familiar voice echoes to you. The light is so far away, you can barely see it and the darkness surrounds you and Josh. "Finn!" There it is again. You slow down your punches a bit. Then again: "Finn! Stop it!” It's Megan you recognize. And her voice saves you, but not Josh. Panting and swaying, you sit up more upright and turn around. You see Megan coming limping towards you. With trembling hands she grabs you and pulls you away from the body below the water surface. There is another figure. It also runs into the water and replaces the delicate and trembling hands of Megan with strong paws that throw you back. You push yourself up and don't look at the figure that is now bending down into the water. Instead, you turn to your sister, who looks at you with tears in her eyes, dirty clothes and abraded skin. You can never face this person again. You committed the worst crime and put the people who love you at risk. But Megan doesn't seem to care. She engages you and presses you so close that you feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. The contact with her body takes you out of your blood frenzy. It is amazingly simple and you wonder, but when you feel her on your body it is only logical that it is she who brings you back to the ground. Still, you allowed her to get hurt. You slowly turn to her.

"I'm sorry..." you just whisper and can't return the hug.

"Finn... Emma..." She turns you around and you can see the body lying in the grass. Another appearance in blue bends over her. You support Megan with your arm and together you limp towards the calm body of EmmaJackson.

"He killed her," you recognize, and much of your world dies when you let yourself fall next to her body. The grief does not come through to you yet and you seal your fate when you take her hand. It is still warm. Her hair lies wildly over her face and her head is tilted to the side in the grass. The place where Josh put his shoe down is clearly painted on the grass... What?

And there five fingers close weakly around your hand. A cough blows the hair out of her face. You fall over Emma, caress her face, and carefully expose it with your hands. Her eyes only look up to the sky, her pupils are dilated.

"Finn?" she murmurs so quietly that only her lips move a little. Then she grips your hand tighter and looks at you.

"How is that possible? I was to late?” you stammer and look at your girlfriend in despair.

"No you weren't boy" a voice sounds next to you and only now you realize that not only you and Megan are kneeling next to Emma. A policeman and his blue uniform are crouching in the grass next to you, leaning over Emma. "Here," he says casually, pointing to a patch of dirt right next to her head. The grass is flattened and torn open in one place so that brown can be seen underneath. You do not understand. You were to late. You know it. Stunned, you let yourself sink into the grass. All the strength escapes from your body and only the warmth that Emma transmits to you through her hand keeps your mind together. Then Megan wraps her arms around you.

"You did it Finn" she mumbles and kisses your cheek. "You did it."

"Yes, you have boy. Now make room. I have to take care of the girl. Bobby! Come here and get the two off my neck,” the policeman calls.

"Yes sergeant!" A voice sounds behind you and a firm hand lies on yours. Bobby turns out to be a young lanky cop, whose dark body almost disappears in his blue jacket. He leads you back to one of two patrol cars. Megan doesn't leave your side and you two keep looking over at Emma and the other Cop who uses a white kind of towel to rub carefully over her face. "All well you two. Your friend will be fine, don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Meagan asks with tears in her eyes but Bobby nods clearly. "Her face is a bit battered, but it's all just superficial."

"It's all my fault!" you burst out. "I'm responsible for it!"

"No, I!" calls Maureen a little further away and finally approaches you. "It's my fault!" Bobby gets up and looks at the two of you a little perplexed.

"Well, just calm down. Calm down.” Maureen stands by you. At that moment two ambulances turn into the driveway. You always liked these giant squares on wheels with the many flashing lights. They always look so cool on TV. But now that several medics emerges from the inside and hurry to Bobby, it all just looks terribly surreal.

"What happened?" Asks one while the others hurry past you.

“Apparently a fight with a bad outcome. There's where you are most needed.” He points to Emma and the paramedics hurry off. There are a man and a woman and the woman is still examining your hand with a derogatory look. Only now do you notice the strand of blood dripping on the grass below you and the cuts on your ankles.

"May someone tell me what happened?" Bobby asks, leaning on the hood of his car while you're sitting in the grass with Megan. Maureen sits down next to you and in the embrace of your two sisters you feel a little better. Even if you think it will be the last time Megan touches you. You tell the story. It doesn't even occur to you to lie. You tell Bobby about the fuss with Maureen, how you saved her, and how Josh apparently wanted to take ****. You tell of your sisters and Emma. Megan adds the part that happened without you and Maureen and your big sister sheds more light on Josh and his world. Again and again she stresses that she is to blame for everything and you try to blame yourself. Then Megan cuts you off and protects you and even Maureen with the fact that it was Josh who attacked first.

"He deserved to die," you say monotonously and concludes the topic. "He threatened my loved ones."

"That sounds like a confession," Bobby murmurs, scribbling notes on a piece of paper in his hand.

"I do not care. I will never see Emma and my sisters again anyway.”

"What are you saying?" Megan asks confused and moves closer to you. "You saved Emma and me."

"I have put you all in danger", you counter angry with yourself. Megan only looks at you agitated, but can't say anything because Bobby turns to his partner when he calls him.

"Bring the clown over here!" He calls and Bobby waves you over. Megan hangs on your arm, which astonishes the young cop.

"My partner certainly only meant Mister Lynchwood," he says gently, but Megan simply ignores him.

"I'm coming with him," she says, and it is as firm as a natural law.

Together you walk the few meters to the place where there is now an elderly policeman, an emergency medic... and Emma. Your girlfriend has already sat up and when she sees you she seems overjoyed. You let yourself fall into the grass with her.

"She wanted to see you boy," says the older cop, looking sternly at you like the Officer. "Don't do anything stupid, then you can talk to her." You hardly pay attention to the man and you only notice on his wet pants legs that it was probably him who dragged you from Josh.

"Finn," smiles Emma, stretching her trembling arms. She just looks happy to see you but all you can see are the scratches on her face. Especially on her cheek. Blood runs down on it and her lip is also cracked. Something breaks inside when you see her, but before you can say anything, she closes her arms.

"I thought you were..." you murmur and feel her body against yours.

"All went well. Don't worry,” she tries to calm you down. But you don't see it that way.

"Went well?" You look stunned at Emma. Her battered face destroys your masculinity as efficiently as nothing else could. "I did everything wrong! I left you alone!"

"No you didn't," Megan says next to you, leaning against you from the side. The three of you are sitting in the grass and Emma takes your free hand in hers while the medic feels her head. Emma agrees with your sister, which doesn't help you. "I betrayed you. I have put you in danger. I ...“ Emma leans quickly to you and kisses you softly on the mouth, which causes the woman next to her to roll her eyes.

"Shut up girl," she says. "I'm not done here yet." But Emma doesn't care about the admonishing words either, and only being close to you counts. When you separate, she raises her hand and strokes your cheek as gently as she can.

"We'll have a lot of work to do to get you back on track," she says and actually has to smile.

"How can you find that funny?" you reply shocked. "I almost lost you. Just because I was so selfish…” Now Megan hugs you and kisses you on the cheek. Then she can no longer hold, presses you harder and presses her lips onto yours as well. The medic raises an eyebrow and Bobby's jacket rustles slightly as he turns away. Emma is still half-naked and bruises are already forming on her breasts from the fall while the leg of Megan is already swelling.

"I didn't deserve you." You have to swallow hard not to burst into tears. Before one of the girls can reply, the older policeman intervenes.

"Officer, what did the initial survey reveal?"

"He thinks he committed ****," says Bobby, nodding his head in your direction. "The other one is Josh Sislow." Bobby continues what he learned from you and Maureen while you and Megan look at each other. Then your heads snap to the lakeshore. Another group of people has formed there consisting of several paramedics and a few police officers. Josh's wet feet protrude from the ball of people. There is professional hustle and bustle in the group and, unlike with you, there is effort and concentrated talking. Finally, two paramedics rush past you and bring a stretcher. Josh's body is laid out and carried by a police escort.

"Almighty..." Bobby says when he looks at Josh's body. Then he turns to you. "Was that you all alone?" Strangely, he doesn't sound particularly strict, but you would have answered him truthfully anyway. You nod your head and Megan wraps her body around you as if she never wants to leave you. You painfully get up and look at Josh as he is carried past you. The older policeman stands next to you.

"Just look boy, no wrong move." Josh looks terrible. His face can hardly be described as human. His right eye is barely recognizable, large parts of his lower lip are missing and the remains of meat hang from it. Drool and blood run out of his mouth and into his breathing mask. An infusion needle is in his intact arm, while the destroyed one lies uselessly next to him. One of your punches caused a big cut on his cheek. His hair is wet and smeared with blood. His eyes are closed. Otherwise, you can see nothing because several paramedics surround him. Technical terms are spoken and the group will soon disappear from your area. The last thing you see from Josh Sislow is the stretcher that is pushed into the ambulance, which quickly leaves the scene with flashing lights and a siren.

"It was probably one of his tours again," says Bobby to his older partner.

"This will not be discussed in front of the involved Officer!" The older cop roars and Bobby flinches. Then the old man turns to you

"You were lucky boy. We were able to stabilize your friend. He was dead for several minutes. If he gets through, we consider it a fight and not attempted ****.” You just nod and don't care about it. It doesn't matter what happens to you anyway. But Emma and Megan look relieved.

“Show your hand,” says the medic, who takes care of you and Emma with her partner. But you just shake your head and point to your girlfriend.

"What happens to Emma now?"

"She was lucky too," said Officer Bobby. "More than your... other friend. After everything your Sister told me, your tackle saved her life, otherwise, Mister Sislow would have smashed her skull." He pats you on the shoulder and almost makes you tip over. "You are a hero, boy."

Minutes later, you lean over on the lawn and look at the ever-growing puddle of vomit between your feet. It takes several minutes to empty yourself and the regurgitation every few seconds takes your last strength. Next to you, Maureen does the same and it dawns on you that she also has to feel guilty. Without saying anything or standing up, you put a hand on her back and try to hold her hair back more poorly than she looks at you from the side, smiles weakly, and then leans forward to send another wave of vomit to the ground. After all, you can no longer stay on your feet and sink down in the grass. Millie and the rest of the girls came out of the house a few minutes ago and your little sister had to be kept away from you by ****. Officer Bobby employs her and the McKinleys to take care of the rest of the people. You drop on your back next to your older sister and look up at the clear blue sky.

"What did I do?" you ask yourself out loud.

"I'm so sorry Finn," Maureen whimpers next to you. You stretch out your hand weakly and embrace hers.

"It's not your fault," you murmur. "Only mine... only mine." The great shivering begins. The adrenaline is washed out of your body and it reacts with the usual side effects. You hold the mug of tea tightly in your hands that is the only sign of tenderness from the medic and you have never frozen in your life like now. Yet you sweat like on a day in the desert. "It's all just my fault." You shake your head in pure and unfiltered despair. "I should have been more careful." You laugh hoarsely. "I should have anticipated that he will go directly here. I should have made a plan for that." You sigh in the only logical resolution for your mistakes. "The girls will never forgive me." You drop the mug and bury your face in your hands, which smells like blood, sweat and vomit.

"... but I want that!" You hear the sweet and determined voice of Emma and look up at your girlfriend, who pushes the paramedic to the side with harsh gestures. She wobbles towards you with shaky legs, a gray blanket wrapped around her shoulders. You jump up with the last bit of strength and help her to sit on the grass next to you and Maureen. You are feared to touch her bus she stretches out her arms and holds on to you. She leans against your shoulder and looks relaxed.

"I'll drive you home as soon as you want," you sincerely explain, "or I can call your parents or order a taxi."

"No you won't," Emma shakes her head and closes her eyes relaxed. Her lip is adorned with a small plaster and her cheek is also covered by a white square which will remind you of your failure forever. Megan also comes over to you with Millie. Of the four of you, Millie is the one who looks the most confused. She had to watch the whole spectacle from inside until Carrie had lowered the shutters. For them, the sight of Josh was a bit of a shock. The intoxicating sensation of feeling the three girls at your side is clouded by your self-criticism. Megan and Emma are leaning to the left and right of you, and Millie is sitting on your lap. Lost in thought she looks at the bandage around your hand. Apparently you hit Josh so hard that one of his teeth dug into the back of your hand, splintered, and with your next blow, you furrowed his face with the homemade brass knuckle. You have to giggle at the thought but it only lasts for a short time. It wasn't the satisfaction of destroying Josh that drove you. It was the protective instinct for Emma, Megan and Millie. And all the other girls that have become so important to you. And now they all hate me.

"I disappointed you all" you mutter. All the girls can do at this moment is to hug you. Then your body follows the next step lowering stress and you cry bitterly in the arms of your loved ones. You are shaken by seizures for several minutes but never any of the girls let go of you. Again and again, you say how sorry you are that you would do better if you had the chance again that you were to blame for everything and again and again how sorry you are. Most of it makes little sense, but you are still in a firm but loving embrace that only makes you doubt yourself more.

"We'll stay with you Finn," Emma finally says in her gentle voice, which you fear you'll never hear again.

"We belong together" states Millie and Megan beats you on the shoulder as gently as she can.

"But I didn't deserve you," you reply. "I'm just taking advantage of you three and you love me and I can't give it back to you and now I'm putting you in danger and I don't want all of this."

"You're not putting us in danger." Emma rubs against you and groans in relief and satisfaction. "We feel the safest with you."

"But…"

"No. No buts!" Megan interrupts with gentle ****. "You did exactly the right thing and if I just hear again that you think you are not good enough for us, then..." She shrugs. "Then I will never hug you again." Your eyes widen and you actually have to laugh a little. It’s amazing what a good effect this has on your girls.

"We are proud that you are in our lives Finn." Emma kisses you on the cheek again and Millie purrs in your lap.

"But why…"

"We'll sort it out soon, I promise." Now it's Emma who interrupts you. "Now, we're just thinking about ourselves and don't blame us." She looks at you. "That would help me the most."

"And me too," Megan says.

"And me," agrees Millie.

"We need you, Finn. Exactly like you are. With all the strengths and weaknesses. That makes you the person we are in love with,” Emma whispers in your ear.

"And we'll never leave you." Millie hugs you too. Then Megan rises with difficulty and moves, taking care of her sprained knee.

"So," she says cheerfully. "I'll see where I can get some nice **** for us from." With that, she waddles away and you have to keep you from laughing. You watch her and watch her approach Maureen, who is lonely and abandoned on the verge of all the commotion. The paramedics pack their things and Officer Bobby and his supervisor question the rest of the girls, who didn't see much. Rachel and Karen just got up from the basement and missed everything. Now they are standing perplexed in the scenery and look at the blood on the lawn, lost in thought. In the meantime, Megan talks to Maureen and the two finally hug, which actually makes you happier. It's almost a happy ending.

Then Officer Bobby approaches you and clears his throat. Emma stops showering you with feather-light kisses and you two look up to the young black officer.

"Soooo... I assume you are in good hands?" He asks the girls and blushes a little. Emma and Millie look at you and nod without looking at Bobby.

"What happens now?" you ask and you are ready to bear the consequences for your actions. You're still not sure that the girls won't change their minds tomorrow and decide to hate you. But in no case will you run away from your actions like Josh.

“Mister Sislow is in the hospital and stable. You obviously did a lot of damage. He is currently being operated. We check your information and when he wakes up, we will also take the statement from him.

"Will I be arrested?" you ask and are embarrassingly aware that you don't know much about that. Your father would not be very proud of you. But Bobby shakes his head slightly and quickly looks at the older cop.

"You didn't get this from me, but ... Mister Sislow has a longer file here in Seacrest. Miss Maureen over there wasn't the first one he thought he'd own. You have a lot of shows that confirm your story. Not just from today. As I said, Mister Sislow has a file. I can't say more about it.” Then he looks deep into your eyes and when you don't avoid his stare, he seems satisfied. “He also got down to my daughter. It frightened him that I was carrying a gun.” He grins. "You should think about it too." Then he thinks again. "Well. That would not go down so easy today... and it would have turned out not as satisfactorily as far as I'm concerned. And you seem to be able to take good care of yourself and your family.” That makes you snort, but Officer Billie takes it seriously. "Honestly. You saved the life of Miss Jackson here. What the Docs say, it could have gone bad for her."

"It can never if he's with me," says Emma proudly and kisses you on the cheek, which makes you sob again. A pitying look from Billie doesn't really help, but it does make you sympathize with this cop.

"We have your numbers and addresses. As far as I know, will you stay here for a while?” You shake your head but are overruled by Emma and Millie.

"Yes," says Millie. "We have two more birthdays to celebrate." Billie nods and salutes playfully.

"Well, have fun." He goes on again and joins his partner, who exchanges a few words with him and then waves to the paramedic. Megan comes back to you, holding several packs of tablets. She hands half of it to Emma and the other to herself.

"Take those things as it says on the package insert," she says and then looks at you and your battered hand. Then she giggles. "The lady didn't like you. She said you should swallow a few aspirins, take a shower, and change the bandage after two days."

"She definitely thinks you're a brutal fool who only speaks the language of ****," giggles Emma, and you too have to grin a little.

"But you're our fool," laughs Millie, leaning her back against your chest. Behind Megan, you can see Maureen, who has followed her sister and is now a little uncertain in front of your group. You wave her to you and together you sit in the grass, bloody, wet and sweaty. But when you wrap your arm around Maureen and Megan leans against you like Millie, the world looks a little better. Maybe you haven't lost as much as you thought.

"What do we do now?" Maureen asks hesitantly. You look at each other. That's a good question.

• Duel of fates. I rooted for Anakin. Don't agree with me? Tell me at: https://www.patreon.com/writingshark