Gen Two- Chapter Thirty One

Those two solemn words mom spoke lingered painfully in the air. Her eyes darted this way and that, but never got higher than the floor. She waited for someone to say something, for someone to react, but I think the rest of us, at least I was, were waiting for her to keep going. To say it was just a joke. To reveal it actually wasn't that serious. When the silence dragged on until it grew suffocating, I looked to dad. There was no doubt by the stunned expression he wore that mom hadn't chosen to speak to him about this beforehand.

     "Lung cancer?"

Wisp was the brave one to break the tension. Even his soft voice boomed like thunder as the horror was that immense.

     "But..but that's something that only people who smoke and stuff get!" Cerise piped up, her words dripped with denial.

     "It's more common for them, but that's not necessarily true," mom countered gently, "All the horrible bouts of pneumonia I've had are what's done it. My lungs have been weakened so much, it was the right environment for the mutations to thrive.

Gen Two- Chapter Thirty

My whole body froze in an instant. The most movement I could get was out of my fingers, and even twitching them had them feeling like they creaked and popped. What I saw almost made me feel nauseated as everything came at me in both slow motion and quickened speed. I didn't dare turn my head or blink, for I had had this dream many times. It wouldn't be long before my alarm went off. That's how it always worked. My mind would give me the sweetest but briefest moment of relief, and reality would snatch it away just like that.

     "Oh, my baby girl..."

His voice gushed softly, but his words echoed with a boom in my ears. That was his voice. The one I'd almost forgotten. I latched onto the sound with fervor. Dad rarely spoke in my dreams, and if he did the words were practically inaudible. I would try and strain to hear, I would try and get closer, and that's when it would all end.

Gen Two- Chapter Twenty Nine

Upon pulling the rolling chair closer to mom's bed, I gave her an exasperated but amused glance as I sat down in it. I thought she would be ecstatic with the news I presented her. She had instead frowned and let out a 'What?' that held an extreme mixture of shock, worry, and disapproval.

     "Please do remember that you told me to do something. 'Anything', you said. Anything," I pointed out with a grin, "Well, I picked my 'anything', so don't try to tell me now to chose a different something."

     "I know what I said, and of course I won't stop you if it's what you really want. But, a police officer? Coal, that's so dangerous."

     "I know." I accepted with a nod.

     "Berrybrook is a relatively calm place where there's not much going on, but there still have been murders. There is still crime scattered here and there, and it was just seven months ago where an officer in the department you'd most likely end up in got brutally stabbed and dropped out a window. You can't blame me for being hesitant about this."

     "No, I know," I repeated, much more solemnly this time, "I definitely don't blame you, and I certainly understand. Truth be told, I have become more nervous about it as the excitement has been wearing off and the reality of what being a cop entails sinks in. However, I'm determined to go for it no matter what. This is what I want."

Gen Two- Chapter Twenty Eight

I sighed when I felt a light breeze ruffle the air. A few of the many fall leaves scattered on the ground moved ever so slightly, and the branches on the trees rustled almost inaudibly. The wind was wholly insignificant, but it was going to make Azure do what he had been doing nonstop during the game of horseshoes he was playing with Midas. Putting it simply, Azure was sucking big time. He had always been horrible at horseshoes, but his throws were all over the place today. Thus, Azure had come to the bright conclusion that it was the wind messing him up. At even the slightest trickle of air running past him, he would stop, wait until there was no breeze, prep his throw for way longer than necessary, and finally make his toss unless another gentle huff of air caused him to repeat the process.

Gen Two- Chapter Twenty Seven

Thanks to the furry thing darting around my feet, I was doing a truly bizarre dance. My new, most favorite companion in the world practically refused to leave my side, so my senses were on constant high alert. I really didn't need to step on my dog and break the poor thing in half.

     "Alright, Doodle, stop."

I had to do something though. Every step I took was halted because Doodle kept placing himself under my foot. My original plan had me getting a slightly bigger dog, but one look into Doodle's eyes had had me falling in love. They were a stunningly captivating blue. He was a two-year-old schnoodle, which was a cross between a schnauzer and a poodle, with the slightest bit of mutt mixed in. His name when I got him had been Snickerdoodle. I figured the previous owner had wanted to rhyme Snickerdoodle with schnoodle, but I didn't feel as if that name really fit him. That's why I shortened it to Doodle, and he had thankfully had no problem with it. Doodle had also thankfully been well trained from the get-go. He stopped darting about the instant I gave the command.

     "Good boy." I praised, kneeling down to give him a good pet.

Gen Two- Chapter Twenty Six

Tangerine reached for the bear as I danced it closer. She then proceeded to attempt to give me a frown when I abruptly yanked it back, but she was giggling too much to pretend she was annoyed. We had been going through this kind of motion a dozen times during the story I had been telling anyway. It had turned into a game she was loving.

     "But when the shadows appeared in front of him, Mr. Bear leapt back into the light. He decides to go right to continue his escape from the evil Dragon overlord." I described dramatically.

     "No!" Tangerine exclaimed loudly, still with a massive grin on her face.

     "No? Alright, he decides to go left," I changed the tale even though I knew my niece could hardly understand a word I was saying and was just shouting out words she did know like always, "The left route appeared to be full of shadows as well, but, behold, the trees begin to clear and the sun breaks through the branches more powerfully than ever. Seeing a clearing ahead, Mr. Bear takes another leap forward to reach sanctuary under the beautiful open sky."

I tauntingly stretched the bear towards Tangerine again. She almost clawed it out of my grip that time around. It was my plan to not let her have it until the story was done, and there was still some story left to tell. That was the plan- until my phone started to ring.

     "The Dragon overlord couldn't reach Mr. Bear in the sun, and so Mr. Bear was free. He traveled and traveled before one day finding a city on top of a cliff that lived under the light of an eternal sun. He met a lovely lady bear, and the two married and lived happily ever after." I quickly wrapped the tale up.

Gen Two- Chapter Twenty Five

Stretching out my legs in front of me, I tried not to move much otherwise. A hearty lunch stuffed my stomach fuller than it should have been. It was Tuesday- one of my days off. Normally that meant I watched Riny for longer than normal, I went to see a movie by myself, or I visited mom as everyone else was either at school or work. I can't express how thrilled I was to hear Malachite was on vacation and that he was down for entertaining me at his place. I didn't require that much to keep me satisfied anyway. Simply being somewhere different was good enough for me. Heck, I think Malachite had forgotten I was there. It was that or he either didn't care in the slightest that I could see all the stupid faces he was unknowingly making as he got involved in the television show he was watching.