2.25 Níðreising

   
     He often found himself triggered by smell. It was something about it that just never went away. That's why he liked Meave. She smelled different; like oil and gunpowder, that scent just was impossible to get rid of. Or maybe it was just in his head. Meave was in there. The others were in there, but it didn't even cross his mind. His son was going to die, and he was to terrified to do anything. He was so terrified, that he didn't even feel scared.
      Dad... something tugged at his shirt, but it was probably the wind. It wasn't the first time he'd imagined things that weren't there.... dad.... dad... open your eyes...

     Dad... it was still tugging at his shirt. Maybe if he kept his eyes closed a bit longer, he'd wake up and find it to be a dream. That happened sometimes, even if he felt the chill in the air and the sound of the nearby river: Dad, get a grip on yourself! Maybe it was just a dream. After all, why would anyone want to gun them down? They weren't anyone important, and Efraim was just an innocent little boy.

     Effie let go of his fathers hand, he wasn't responding to his voice. A lot of sims froze when in danger but that wasn't anything Effie had ever heard of. He had decided to panick later, that guy was going to kill dad. And if mum was alright there was no way he'd be standing there to begin with. He could hear his own heartbeat, pushing against the wish to make a run for it. Because he wanted to run! But he just couldn't. What had happened to the others?
     Joe didn't have any of the problems his son had. He wasn't really sure where he was: Dad! Look dad, LOOK!!

     Even outside shots are loud, no matter if a silencer was used. Because Effie had seen the weapon, but he'd admit he had no idea how the guy look. Someone had to call the police now right, someone had to have heard it. Or maybe it wasn't that loud at all, maybe it just seemed like it to Efraims heightened senses. But the sound that came from Mahdis appearing out of nowwhere was something he'd never hear her make before. How could he just shoot her? She was stubborn and liked biting, but completely harmless.

     It was a unicorn, she ate grass and hay. How could he just shoot her? What was even the point? Efraim had more than enough to do from keeping dad running up to her. They should probably have run away, but they couldn't let her die for them either. Could they? Shaking the thoughts off Efraim did his best to keep dad keeping away. Dad was strong, and Effie really wasn't a grownup even if he wanted think he was. Where had she even come from? There was just a flash of light, and there she was.

     He heard his dad whispering her name, but for now he were to busy wondering what was going on. What was she doing? Why wasn't she falling? Ofcourse the shots that were meant for the two of them wouldn't be enough to instantly kill an animal of that size, unless you had a lucky shot.

     Dad rambled about something Effie couldn't decipher but atleast he didn't have to hold him back anymore. They were both to slow of mind looking at whatever was going on at the moment. He'd never see her do anything but getting a few twigs growing up from under her hoofs. Other than that she usually did horse- stuff. Like kicking, biting, eating and running. Still Efraim couldn't shake the feeling that this really was something he didn't want to see. Unfortunately he could still hear the sounds and the screams coming from the man, and ended up looking.

     As the skin started peeling of the mans body, Efraim wished he hadn't looked. So he looked away again, so not to see the rest of it. By the time the mans grunty screams stopped, Mahdis started toppling over and eventually couldn't keep herself up anymore. Sick to his stomach, he let dad go and sit with the unicorn. He knew nothing about unicorn- anatomy or weapons, but somethings one just doesn't need to have seen before to recognize. Mahdis dark eyes were getting foggy; she was dying.
     Dad, as sad as it was they still had more pressing matters: Dad, we need to help the others... He couldn't do it alone, and if they acted quickly they could call a vet and save Mahdis to, right?

     Kneeling down without beeing able to fully avoid the blood, Efraim tried getting contact with his dad again. Petting her and tugging at Joe at the same time he still didn't give up: dad please... Dad was going back to the loonie- bin, and Mahdis was dying. The others needed him, and he had no idea what to do. Feeling tears press themself out he did his best to blink them away. Big boys didn't cry. Atleast not now! Instead he stroked Mahdis again and again, slowly feeling her breath getting weaker and more shallow: please dad, we have to do something...

      The sour smell from the river got replaced by wet grass and cold dirt. That just felt plain out wrong, and Efraim was pretty sure someone twisted his brain around for the fun of it. Barely noticing Mahdis falling over heaving for her last breath, Effie rubbed his temples as his trousers got soaked through by the wet ground. He had such a headache it was hard to see clear, but he though Mahdis scared neighs stopped when dad patted her ears.    
      What had just happened? It didn't matter, Effie was going to take care of everything. As soon as he could see clearly that was, and his head hurt a bit less.

     Efraims sight came back just in time to see Mahdis chest move slower before finally stopping. And then she was gone in a flash of light, leaving him at some unknown place with a massive headache and a crazy dad. Atleast he sat in one spot babbling to himself so there wasn't an immideate danger of anything happening.   
     Swallowing another set of tears, Effie pushed away all thoughts and worries. Focusing on the only task at hand. Mahdis was already gone, he had to figure out what to do with the rest. Thinking would have been so much easier without a headache! Think!!! His phone! He had a phone! Why hadn't he thought about that earlier? He was such an idiot! Uncle Marco was terrified that scary men and women would contact them on the simsweb, so they were a big no- no. But mum and aunt Oriana had let him have one just in case. And he knew just who to phone.

     With trembling hands, he dialed an all familiar number, a man answering at the other end. Effie presented himself with full name: There's a man that had a gun at my house.... no he's dead. If he killed himself? What was he going to tell the policeofficer, that a man had died by unicorn? They'd never believe him: I'm not sure, my dad wouldn't let me look. No, no dad hasn't shot anyone. He's here with me, we ran away. No, dad doesn't have a gun.... No he's crazy so you can't talk to him.
 

     Taking a deep breath Effie tried not getting upset at the man at the other end: What?! No, he's here with me! I already told you he hasn't shot anyone, he's not crazy like that!!! It's a real diagnose, but he's harmless!! He's just mumbling and staring into the air... For the love of... what was wrong with these cops: No don't put me over to loonie- ward!! There's been a shooting at my house!!! His voice kept changing between falsetto and basse as he got increasingly agitated: No it's not dad or me! Don't tell me to calm down, you're not listening to me!!! He was screaming at the stupid grown- up now, usually he wouldn't scream but he was worried damnit! And stressed out!

     Taking a deep breath, to get his voice under controle, he also did his best making the stupid grown- up understanding what he meant. His hands were shaking so badly from the adrenaline that he nearly lost hold of the phone: There's a dead man outside my house! He wanted to shoot me and my dad, but we got away! I don't know what killed him, but it wasn't dad! You're supposed to send police there to investigate! There's supposed to be several adults inside, but the place was dead quiet. He wasn't troubled by the poor choice of word.

     And it was to quiet, my aunt talks all the time! There's supposed to be five there, my mum, aunt and three friends of them. I've never seen the guy that attacked us before. No, I don't know if there's more, how many it is or if any are armed. I'm not tall enough to look into the windows.. How old I am? Old enough to recognize when something's wrong!!! His voice kept changing between deep and falsetto, carrying far into the distance. He wanted to sit down and cry next to dad by now, why didn't he listen: It's not a prank! Does it sound like I'm joking?!!! He shouted into the phone to the rude police officer: If uncle Marco hadn't been missing, you'd be over there in a second!

     Yes, I live at Marco's house! Finally! The stupid idiot on the other end gave him all this trouble, and all he needed was a namedrop? How unfair for other sims that ended in situations like this: Yes, the missing policeofficer! There's already a unit sent out there? That's great! Eeehhh.... I don't think the guy needs an ambulance no, he's pretty dead, ..... Yes, I'm sure he's dead, it's very easy to see, he's extremely dead. Probably deader than anything anyone has seen before... Thank you.... No, I'm not going to stay on the phone, I need to take care of dad. I'm not sure were we are...
    Efraim just hung up on the man at the other end. The police was already on it's way. That was great, not that he was any more relaxed at that. He hadn't even needed to give the adresse.

     Finally hearing an all familiar snort, Effie turned around. So that's why Mahdis had taken them to this place.

     Skuld wondered why they kept hiding, she didn't see the point of it anyway. Something exciting was happening with the adults and she had to stay on the floor like she was an ordinary sim? She even heard the bitchfairies sugarly sweet voice giggling happily between some screams and lots of odd noises. Kind of reminded her of sounds she'd heard in those gory movies they sometimes snuck around to see.

     She just got up, why shouldn't she? She wasn't a coward like the rest of them. And why was ugly Sunniva clawing herself to the floor anyway? She was a grown- up, they weren't supposed to be afraid of anything. Walking towards the door, the so- called grown up was so scared she didn't even notice. From the other side of the door, Skuld heard Rikards deep voice growling something, proving that he was in werewolf form. Ofcourse Skuld knew he was a werewolf, she was smart, unlike the rest of them.

     Wolf was delightfully quiet, not to mention clean. But so was "what's his name". The only thing about him was how he kept moving his hands whilst twinkly little stars flew around them. Oh, so he was supposed to be a witch, right. Now she got it! Whatever. Witches weren't real supernaturals anyway so.... Little twinklestars wasn't very impressive, but atleast it was twinklepink. Skuld liked pink, it was the best colour ever and she looked so good in it. Dad said all princesses wore pink, even if they weren't as pretty as her.

     Oh okay... it was a bit cool seeing babyface- witchboy shooting fire from his hands... Not that Skuld would ever admit it. Witches were so lame, supernaturals were lame in general. The only one that was good for anything was her. The once clean and pretty livingroom was covered with corpses, but a few still tried to cling on to life. Like most kids she didn't even wonder why there were fighting there to begin with. She completely agreed that supernaturals needed to die. So why not try right? Though by the looks of things the resitance must have been tougher than anticipated.

     Taking the opportunity to look at one of them as life finally passed away from her, a guttural sound leaving the throat as the last ounce of air left. In not to long the corpse would start to get redish- violet spots, the bodytemperature sink. And when the decomposition started, the temperature would rise again. Skuld knew quite a bit about the prosess after death. It was a fascinating subject, even if many found it a bit morbid. Though, how quickly it would start wasn't easy to know. Maybe death- by- supernatural whatnots worked differently.
     She wouldn't excately call it a thrill, seeing life leaving the woman, but it gave an odd sensation. Almost leaving her feeling powerful at the sight.

     The sound of a heavy thud, as the father of all nerds dropped his lifeless victim to the ground, made Skulds gaze wonder upwards again. It seemed like the fight was over. Smelling of sulfur, burnt flesh and death the livingroom stood as a little novelty over a good fight. But it was all over now. What a bummer; Skuld felt a bit sorry for herself, she usually did when she missed out on the good stuff.
     Heaving for breath, Rikards face and clothes was covered in gore, as he said: You take care of the rest Wolf?

     Already clean, not even a droplet of blood or sweat of his face Wolf nodded gracefully. Whatever he had been doing to take the life of the lumps of flesh that scattered the floor around him, was not affecting his cleanliness. And then the genie simply clapped his hands... 

     Wow... Skuld was supposed to keep her mouth shut so the grown- ups wouldn't notice her. But witchesblasts and whatnots; getting an entire house and all the sims in it completely clean just by clapping his hands was to good to be true: I wish I could do that. Like, how awesome wouldn't it be when she had to clean her room.
     Five sets of heads whipped towards her. Not that it scared her ofcourse. Why should it? Sims loved having her around.

     That annoying old fairy came closer looking down at her: Well, if it isn't little blondie again. Weren't you told to stay away? Whatever threats she implied just sounded stupid to Skuld. She simply sounded to cute.
     Well, Sunniva didn't stop me. That wasn't really Skulds fault now was it?

     Merete! Rikard barked out at bitchfairy: Leave the kid alone. It doesn't matter what she says, no one will believe her anyway. He proceeded to transform into human form. His werewolf hair fell straight off onto the floor...gross.... "Just a kid"? Skuld didn't like Rikard at all. Or Merete for that matter, but that was obvious, she was a waste of life.
     Even Wolf, the stupid blue genie chipped in: Listen to Rikard, Merete. What is a little blonde girl with pigtails supposed to do? 
     The stupid witch "what's his name" talked to. He had a voice that sounded like he'd been drinking to much: Just another silly little girl with tall tales.... Having that voice with that babyface was just stupid.

     Skuld was not silly, she wasn't silly at all: What's your name? She hissed out without any emotions. Grinning unpleasently the witch answered: Shing. 
     Shing, she repeated: That's a stupid name for a witch.
     He just laughed, she didn't like him either. She really didn't like beeing laughed at.

     And just when she didn't think anything could get worse, even the idiot vampire started talking. Skuld didn't like vampires either, especially the nerdy ones: You know, Skuld was one of the norns, representing the future and a valkyrie. A little kid like you probably doesn't know what that is though...Albert, his name was Albert.

     Ofcourse I know, Skuld arrogantly interrupted the vampires unending tirade of nerdiness: I'm very smart... Valkyries decided who fell on the battlefield, and took their souls to Valhall. She touched her hair, not wanting to admit that the supernaturals were starting to make her a bit nervous. She didn't like beeing nervous.
     Well, she didn't decide in this matter, Merete laughed, and he started laughing with her.
Skuld didn't like him either. Merete. Rikard. Wolf. Shing. Albert. She really, really didn't like any of them.

     Oriana couldn't hear a lot anymore, the sounds were so dim and slow. Why did it take so long. She couldn't move either, but she had seen Vera run outside whilst covering her face. Fire, it had always been her brother that loved fire, not her. But when she thought about it, things had accidentally tended to burn down around her mother to. Maybe it ran in the family.
     She knew him, didn't she? That man the two new sims had dragged in with them? The one that was crying.

      What the hell is taking you so long? We need to get away!! She knew that man didn't she? The one that had come together with the new woman, the one that had dragged the last guy in with him? Adam, that was his name.      She did something!! She did something to Vera!! A woman said.
    Oriana didn't care that Jonny fell over, it probably made a sound, but she didn't care about that either. It was all good now, she felt so at peace and careless. Whatever happened, didn't bother her.

     More sims arrived, but who they were... she didn't know them did she? Or maybe she did? One of them yelled something several times, but the ones that had gotten there first didn't listen. Then Adam shot the one that surrendered in the back for some reason.

     PUT IT DOWN! PUT IT DOWN!!! I'LL COUNT TO ONE!!!  Why did they yell so loudly all the time? It was pretty much the only thing she could hear that wasn't dimmed down.      ONE! Another blast and Adam fell back. It didn't matter to her anyway.

    
     Linn and Lori had gone in, not taken the chance of waiting for backup. If Marco hadn't phoned him, they would have waited. But he couldn't. He was as much a part of this as his partner was, and it had happened because of their choices. Dominic would have liked to say that he was taken by surprise that something actually was wrong at the house. But he'd been a cop long enough to understand that gut- feeling often were right. He just hoped it wasn't as bad as it could be.

     Dominic had no idea what was going on inside, but as he bent down to prevent beeing detected through the windows the original idea had been for him to enter through the backdoor and then scoure the house. Ambulance was already on it's way, so was the cavalry.
    But he knew that woman sitting there, shakingly touching her face, whimpering in pain as she did.
    Police, stay where  you are. Let me see your hands! He didn't shout, not wanting to warn potential others that they were there.

     Dominic saw her dropping the gun, tossing it towards him as he quickly bent to pick it up, not letting her out of his sight. He could even hear her crying, which had to make the pain worse. What had happened to her face? It looked like it was burned.
     It felt like forever before he recognized the now damaged face: she was a friend of the family wasn't she? But she wasn't an innocent victim, he recognized the guilty when he saw them. What was her name again?

     Vera, he remembered and she even reacted. He remembered now, she lived with another of his co- workers, and she constantly kept hitting on Marco, who just wasn't interested. Vera, she was one of Marcos sisters best friends. He rememberd now.
     She actually smiled, a twisted grin in all the pain: I can't believe this.... she whimpered out: I can't believe this. None of them jumped as they heard some shooting from the inside, then Linn shouting out something.

     Finally straightening up, she didn't take the chance of looking at him: It's tough playing with the big ones.....
     Some sims just weren't cut out for this life, she and Adam was supposed to make sure there were no loose ends when they took over business: I'm unarmed, she said. Then she jumped the fence and made a run for it, well aware that he couldn't just shoot someone that was unarmed.

     Dominic set after her, it didn't matter if she'd finished the job, or if she'd completely failed. She was a traitor, and he just couldn't let her get away. He might be as corrupt as they come, but he liked to think he was the right kind of corrupt, and misused his authority in the right way. But this was personal, this wasn't misuse of anything. It was the right thing to do. Maybe he should have thought about his partner inside the house, but they knew how to handle things.

     The chase ended quickly as he caught up to her at the beach. Vera looked like someone that was exhausted, and there weren't enough adrenalin to keep her going for longer. The burn had to be incrediby painful to, and he suspected it was other places on her body. Not that he understood how it could be possible without destroying the clothes. But if Marcos sister was anything like him, it wasn't good to know what she was capable of.

     Water, he liked water. It was the perfect element. Vera had one of those irritating little voices that made him want to slap her: I surrender. She said, her body hunched over with exhaustion: I surrender. She threw her arms up as to convince more.
      Dominic heard her, but he knew there was only one thing to do. Marco would have done if for him. As he buttoned up his shirt, Vera looked up at him and said: Really? I didn't think you were that type, then she laughed a tired little laughter that never really got there.

     I can assure you, he said: Whatever you believe I am going to do to you, you are wrong. Then he grabbed her, pulling her out into the water after him as she did her best trying to get away from his grasp.

-------------------------------------------------------------
poses: traelia, AG, VKG, sea, clarisse, k2m1too, simsimi, imho etc etc.......

As much I don't strive to keep things realistic in the sims, I had to let Albert loose his nerdglasses in the fight. Not to let anyone see his face (it's not worth looking at), but because those monsterglasses HAD to have fallen off

Give it a rest Albert, you're not scary or tough no matter how hard you try. You're a nerdy vampire that loves the heat. And with those glasses, we all know your blind as a bat right now.
I have no idea why the moondial thingy shows the wrong moon- cycle. I've checked several times. Maybe it's just an illusion or something. And lets pretend no one noticed the police also using surpressors on their weapons. I had someone without, but lost them somehow. (And to lazy to find new)
Sum up in next chapter! (and a long AN for those "what" questions. Kind of need that every generation, but atleast this time I have a good reason)

thanks for reading

2.24 Kitty, kitty bang bang

                                                   warning violence/ gore/ language

    
     Even in the dark, Joe saw the small body on the swing, going back and forth, higher and higher to the point were the boy guaranteed believed that he could swing all the way around. Or maybe he'd gotten so big that he'd stopped believing things like that. No longer listening to that little warning in the stomach when he thought he was about to go all the way around.
     Waving at Rikard in his car, he watched as his big brother drove away, the rest of the kids were still allowed to stay at his house ofcourse.

     Sitting on the swing, Joe felt a bit of memories pressing up on him. Nothing much really, just little things like the scent of the catpoop from the nearby sandbox, mixed with the sour smell from the river. It had cleaned up well since he was a child. To think he once had been so short, that his feet hadn't reached the ground when sitting on these very swings. Now he was worried that the entire thing would crumble under his weight.
     Effie eventually stopped the swinging, the creaking noise from the nuts and bolt coming to an end. They didn't say anything, just kept staring into the darkness.
     I'm sorry. The tiny voice jumped into falsetto as he talked. If he was anything like his dad, the boy felt bad so he appologized even if he didn't know what for.
     So Joe gave a real manlyman answer: Don't worry about it. Even if he had no idea what Effie should be worried about. It's difficult beeing men at times.

     Do you want to talk about it?      His son still looked into the distance: No. Dad probably wouldn't believe him anyway. Grown ups were stupid. And even if he didn't like to think about it, uncle Rikard hadn't actually been mean or even raised his voice. He'd just asked him what had happened.
     Hey.... Joe didn't know what to say or to at the moment: do you want to go and get a late night meal? Live a bit on the wild side? We can have hot dogs... or pizza, your decision. Then we'll go home, okay? What else could he do? Maybe doing something else made the boy feel better. That, and he didn't really want to go back just yet. Joe didn't like it when everyone was arguing. Wasn't he a bit old for that?

     Jumping off the swing, Effie shared his idea of a good time: I want hot dogs and pizza, and soda and icecream for dessert. The stupid grown- ups were long since forgiven. Mawing down all that food was no problem either, he was having a growth spurt!
     Great. Joe was hungry to, he'd just tell his wife when they got back since Oriana had confiscated his phone. Could she even do that?

     Fire is loud, incredibly loud. Roaring with a force that is unknown to sims unless they've been in the midst of it. A contrast to anything warm was cold, but even Bashirs freezing voice had problems beeing heard over it: What the fuck?!! There were few sims in simnation that had the honour of seeing him this upset: Marco!
     Marco was to busy watching the life disappear from that old bitch, to bother with little things like heat. Even if it felt like his skin was about to boil, and he kept coughing from all the smoke, every breath felt like his insides were burning. He still loved fire. But it was difficult killing someone with a knife, took a lot longer than he'd anticipated.

     A pair of skeletal fingers grabbes his arm, pulled him throught the fire away from her. For some strange reason, he didn't feel injured, but that could be the adrenaline. It was really hot here and there, but other than that he felt fine: What the hell are you doing! We need to get out! He'd never heard Bashir like that before, never.
     But.... He pointed to the old woman as the inferno kept raging.

     NO "BUT"!!! He kept pulling him away.
    What about....
    Are you out of your mind?! He heard Bashir was still yelling and coughing at him: Everyone's ran out! Someone torched the place! We need to get the fuck out!!! How the hell did this place even burn this fast? Over the inferno he finally heard the shriekes of an old woman. It felt good, really good, especially because it meant she burned to death, not chocking on the fire.
     Finally he woke up. Shit, he'd torched the place: Damn! Your face! Turned out Bashir didn't handle the heat as well as he did.

     How the fuck was this considered "just outside Riverwiev"? It was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but fields and hillbillies! Marco needed to find a phone, and a car to get his insane brother- in law to the hospital. In the lack of any cars (or tractors) driving by, they went as fast as they could to the nearest farm, well aware of the fact that they might end up in more shit. But the dangers from inhaling fumes were to great not to anything about.

     Luckily it was some poor sod that opened the door. He punched the guy when he refused giving him the phone and carkeys. Who the hell claimed the rural areas was full of nice sims?

     BonjourHello I mean.... Dominic hadn't seen the number before, but it sure wasn't local, and on his privatephone at that.
     Linn took a short look at him, before giving the fridge all of her attention. Weren't there any donuts left: Who keeps snagging all the donuts. By the satisfied grin on Loris face it was obvious who was the donut thief: How can you devour crates of donuts each day, and not gain a pound?! Linn kept complaining: There's just like.... vegetables and drinks left here. Who ate vegetables anyway? Might as well go outside and start munching on the nearest lawn.
     Not that she usually cared who her co- workers were talking to, but atleast the one on Dominics phone was male. And the voice sounded irritated and loud after the french answer. Probably his son or something, she thought as she kept raiding the fridge. Oh! Icecream!

     Icecream was a lot better than donuts: I'm going to pretend I don't see a name on this... Linn looked around herself as she claimed the treasure.No point in it ofcourse, the rest were out patrolling. It was kind of the point of beeing a cop really.

    Oui, Dominic nodded at the phone repeating himself. Why was he nodding, it wasn't like anyone on the other side of the phone could see it: Oui bien sûr. He kept nodding for some reason, talking to them before he'd even hung up.

     It's Marco. Dominic was still on the phone whilst simultaneously talking to them, and listening to whoever was on the other end.

     That's not funny frenchie! Lori barked from behind the computer.
     Time to realise the facts: He's dead lobsterboy, best you realise it. It wasn't like Linn was happy about it. It was always hard loosing one of their own.
     Ignoring them, he continued: He can't get a hold of his sister so he wants us to take a look.
     Lori rolled her eyes at him: That's just tasteless.

     Putting the phone on speakers, he held it out for them to hear. That was Marcos voice alright, and a lot of inventive profanities that few other sims knew. Linn dropped the bucket of icecream, it fell to the floor with a dissapointing thud, keeping the frozen contents intact.

     ....Holy shit... There wasn't really a lot of other things to be said.

     Even if the others seemed to be able to controle their joy, Oriana was happy seeing Vera again. If Anya and Milo had shown up it would have been just like the good old times. Except that her brother was missing, and Joe wasn't back yet. Atleast Vera would be on her side, which was probably why the rest seemed so cranky. The adult had discussed the matter with Jonny ofcourse, but for some reason they meant she'd "misunderstood" something. Why didn't they want to listen to her, and why didn't they believe her? Why were they beeing so stubborn? She wasn't stubborn at all ofcourse.

     How are the kids? Oriana asked, vividly remember how tired she'd been the last time they met.
     Smiling at her, she answered: Growing up fast. And Arnie finally started working a bit less to. She seemed so calm and unworried: Which means I can go outside the house a bit again. So, where are your kids? 
     At Rikards. Vera knew who he was ofcourse. They had gone to school together, but he was a bit older than them.

     He still married to Sunniva? Vera asked, which Oriana ofcouse confirmed. Even if she'd grown up, none of them understood what he saw in her. He could get someone way better, even if he was ugly as sin. That could easily be forgotten when he was such a large chunck of beef; kind of ugly- hot. Not that Oriana noticed.....
     Her and Vera hadn't had a lot of contact as adults, but that's the strange thing about good friends; when you meet again, it feels like you've never been apart to begin with: Why don't you sit down Vera, Oriana said walking into the kitchen, whilst talking over her shoulder: I'll fetch you something to eat. With a cop- boyfriend and twins, I bet you never get to eat without anyone talking to you. Are you two ever getting married? Great, now I'm starting to sound like someones nosy aunt....
     She heard Vera laughing in the background.

     Only Orianas mother could have decided on such a silly kitchenplanning. Vera followed, waiting at the entrance to the room: How are things going? She asked again.
     Weighing a bit for and against it, as the others still chattered in the livingroom: Not good at all. I have no idea where Marco is, or if he's even alive. The others, she didn't lower her voice wanting them to hear what she had to say: Thinks I should forget about it. And you know what? I ran into someone I know, that claimed my brother... my brother was a dirty cop and in league with the criminals because we needed simoleons. Which we don't.
     Oh? Vera sounded surprised, but kept typing on her phone without looking up: Who was it? Someone I know? 
     Yeah, Jonny- turd of all sims.
 

     Typing a bit more, Vera gave her a short awkward smile and explained: Sorry, it's Arnie nagging.... would think a grown man knew what to do with his own children right? 
     Oriana nodded, men were stupid. And so was family.
     Vera continued: So Jonny- turd is a criminal, is that what you're saying? 
     Oriana had always knows he was a douche, but still.... she nodded anyway.
     And he claims Marco is a dirty cop, but it's not true?
     She nodded again.
     Damn! That grin on Veras face was impossible to recognize to Oriana.
     I know right? Even if Oriana had been good at keeping her source a secret, she decided to share it. Maybe that would get the others of her back! Why hadn't she though about that before?

     Still with her nose down in the phone, Oriana made sure to talk loud enough for the rest to hear: And I have gotten help from someone else to.... Finally Vera looked at her: Is that so? Anyone else I know?
     Biting her mouth together, trying to keep an acid smile away when Meave pretended not listening: I don't think so. His name's Adam. He's been helping me pretty much from the start. Kind of wonder where he finds all that information though....
     Really? Adam you say....
     Yeah. He has one of those stuffed bodytypes you know. Kind of like a sausage right before the skin cracks. Olive eyes, tanned skin, poopbrown hair and massive cheekbones.... kind of looks like he's smiling all the time.... a bit creepy really....
      Vera just shook her head calmy: Doesn't ring a bell.... Then she went on the phone again.

     Finally following her into the livingroom with the rest of them, Oriana sat down, and said: Why don't you sit down Vera?
     She pulled her phone out again, and looked at it: I can't right now?
    It's not the best place for pie, I know but.... We can just sit in the kitchen! Oriana kind of liked eating in the livingroom at times. Made her feel naught for some reason: Or we can just pull the table closer to your seat!
    You can take my seat? Rye was already standing up. To think a punk- rocker was such a gentleman when the paparazzo didn't see him?
    No need to, but thanks for the offer. I won't stay long.

     Wait! So that means you won't have the pie? Time to focus on what was important! Who didn't want pie? Well, I'm not letting good pie go to waste! Standing up again, Oriana grabbed the plate as Vera made a small grimase and appologized. Not that Oriana actually minded, it meant there would be more for her: I'll just put this back in the fridge then. She might as well do it anyway, as she'd forgotten brewing coffe anyway. Having guests was tough work.

     Why did she always forget something? Ah well, atleast the others were talking about something else than how stupid and crazy she was for still wanting to find her brother.
     Her ears rang, she couldn't really hear any thing other than the ringing for a small ammount of time. Looking at the others, Oriana didn't seem to be the only one with ear problems. The sounds slowly came back though, probably because she was farther away.

Then it's that strange sensation when you see something that you'd never expect. What was Vera having in her hand? It was shiny, and it looked unfamiliar, but still familiar in some way. The others were acting strange to.

     Walking closer, Oriana slow mind still didn't work properly. Why wasn't Meave moving? Why was Rye and Christine running off?

    Then there was this odd noise, it didn't sound like the other. But she saw Vera pressing on something in that thing in her hand, then Rye fell over like a well used rag.

     Oh shit, that was a gun! Why did she have a weapon, and why had she been using it on the others? She hadn't even noticed the unknown sims pouring into her home before now. That woman just walked up an shot Rye again, then a man walked up to Chrisine and shot her. Even if she surrendered.

     She didn't notice Rye still moving his fingers, trying to cling on to life. But she saw Vera coming closer, pointing that thing at her.
     It's nothing personal Ori. I'm really sorry.

     It didn't hurt, but an area of her chest got wet and cold. The only thing she noticed was several pair of feet around her. But Veras cute voice was easy to recognize, even if Oriana could have sworn it didn't sound like it once had. It might as well have belonged to a stranger.
     No, the strangers voice that sounded so much like Veras: I don't need any help. You go upstairs, you downstairs and Gregory take the outside. We're alone, but let's be on the safe side. I'll finish up here. We'll leave as soon as the check is done.

     Hearing the others feet walking away, Oriana was still sitting on her knees. Her chest kept getting wetter. It had to blood, or maybe she was just sweating.
     Did I miss or something? Veras stranger voice said. Then that clicking sound was there again.
     For some reason Oriana felt something strange inside her brain. She often did, but not this way: it felt like something tried getting out. Maybe it's how it felt like to die. It didn't seem so bad really, dying that was. It didn't hurt, nor was it scary. It was just a bit cold and wet at the moment: Vera wait. Why did she say that?

    Vera sighed before answering: Please don't make this harder than it is. This is just business.
     Come a bit closer.... Oriana had to say it a few more times before her once friend heard her: I need... I have.... She had what? Dying felt kind of strange, like something dragged her entire soul out of her very beeing. Wonder if it had felt like this for the others. Though she was pretty sure she saw Death in the background waiting for her. Or maybe it was her imagination.

     Sliding over, finally resting on the floor Vera kneeled down. Was this really how it felt to die?

     Grabbing Veras leg she could hear her screams, but for now Oriana didn't care. She did feel a bit lighter though.

     This place was so boring.... Like most kids, Odin liked babies but they weren't that interesting. And Sunniva was pretty and all, but she talked to them like they were babies to. Which he wasn't! In addition old fairylady didn't like Skuld either, but no one liked her anyway. Not that it was okay beeing mean to her because of that, she was his sister after all.
     Wisely they had retreated to some massive orange bedroom, and as a result was still bored. But it was still better than having old fairylady staring at Skuld. Odin was so bored he'd even started biting his own nails! They didn't taste very good.

     Lucky was bored to, but they were still trying to be on their best behaviour. Oriana was going to have their hides when she heard about Effie attacking old fairylady! Or Meave would have old fairyladies hide, if she heard what happened to Skuld. Probably both! They were so grounded!
     It's not fair! Why did Effie get away! Lucky wanted to go home to. Maybe mum finally had gotten a hold of dad, and he was on his way home. And she was sitting in this boring house, with nothing to play with other than babytoys: I'm bored!

Jarl promptly jumped down from his seat, and poked Lucky until she jumped up from the sofa he grabbed his chance. Lucky had soft hair, so he put his hands into her ponytail and started ruffling it: Is this better?
     Stop it!!! Lucky was annoyed, boys were so stupid! Ofcourse Jarl stopped doing it, he was a nice boy: But you weren't bored any more were you? She hadn't actually wanted him to stop, because it was better beeing annoyed than beeing bored.
      Maybe we can tell some ghoststories? Odin said 
     Ghost stories are lame... Jarl said; atleast when their supernaturals in the livingroom...

     Nodding, Odin could see that: Yeah, it's probably a bit pointless going; he made his voice pretend- scary: and then the werewolf stalked them home... and sat in the chair and had some coffe whilst talking about what he watched on the news today.... Because that was what they were doing in the livingroom. Three supernaturals, and "what's his name" talking about the weather, tvshows and their jobs.

     The other kids laughed at his pretend-scary story. How could any sim have a problem with supernaturals anyway? Probably afraid they would bore them to pieces!
     Do you think we'll be that lame when we grow up? Lucky asked.
     Nah, Odin quickly parried: We're never growing up! He really didn't want to grow up, it would be great to stay a kid forever and ever! And why was Skuld still so quiet anyway? It wasn't like her to be so quiet just because some old sim yelled at her.

      I think they bored Skuld to death already, he lauged. But she didn't have any unfriendly comments back at him, she just kept looking dreamily into the air like she was thinking about something. Until she finally said: I would love to live forever....
     Yeah! Lucky smiled; That would be so awesome! Imagine what toys they will have in the future! They started discussing what toys the future would hold for them. 
     But Skuld didn't want to live forever as a kid, she wanted to grow up and then never age or die. She had to figure out how to do that! She knew that she fairylady could have lied just to get a closer look at her, but why would she? The thought that someone might not actually think about what was best for Skuld, was a thought impossible. Why would someone not give her everything she wanted?

     They never got the opportunity to stay interested, as Sunniva came through the door with the baby. She looked pale and had a strange facialexpression none of the kids recognized. She did her best to pretend everything was normal though, even as her voice was highstrung and the smile plastered on. Did she think they were idiots?
     Hi kids? Are you having fun? No they weren't, this place was lame. Yet they politely answered "yes ma'am".

     Rikard say that we're going to play a little game now. It's called the "quiet game" and the rules are that we all have to be as quiet as possible, for as long as possible.      Yeah, dad usually plays that with us to, when he thinks we make to much noise. Odin quickly answered without thinking. But it was true, dad had played it with them a lot of times, and thought they didn't get why. They humoured him the best they could. There were many responsibilities when having parents.

     After a strange look, she said: It's not the same thing. It's very, very, very important that you are quiet in this quiet game. And that you stay down on the floor whilst doing so. 
     Okay, that was strange but they had done odder stuff than that: And, she continued; if you hear anything strange or any loud noises, it's very important that you still don't make a sound. She was starting to look a bit panicked.  And turn off your cellphones, so that no one accidentially phone you.... Really lady? What cellphones? The only one that had one was Effie, and only Oriana and Meave knew he had one. Like dad would let any of them touch such scary things!
     What was going on? They still did as they were told since she looked so panicked. Odin had never missed his dad more in his life. He'd make anything better a long time ago, and he was big and strong to!

     It was just something about springweather that never wanted to make up it's mind. It was warm, but still cold. Other than that it was a quiet night, they were after all lucky enough to live pretty far away from the downtown area.  
 So, you see Effie, when Rikard asks you a question, you can just answer it. He doesn't automatically believe the grown- ups. He's a pretty nice guy even if he looks a bit....
     Hairy? Effie thought his dad was hairy to, but not as hairy as uncle Rikard. He was worried he'd be that hairy when he grew old to.
     Well, yeah he's hairy to! But I meant that he might look and sound a bit strick, but he isn't. Actually he meant that his brother looked angry, but it wasn't the best choice of words to a kid.

     What happened anyway? He'd also tried getting it out of the boy, but ofcourse he didn't answer. Must really blow beeing the oldest kid in the house. He'd gotten that it was something about Skuld, and that fairy, and Effie had tried to protect the girl. Which was odd, because she was one tough nut to crack. But atleast his little boy had protective instincts... hopefully he wouldn't turn into some miniature Marco.

     Effie was a lot smarter than his dad to, as he changed the subject quickly: Why didn't we take a cab anyway? 
     I couldn't get one!! It wasn't always easy hailing a free cab in this city. Though when he thought about it; who would want to pick up a crazy man walking around with a kid way after bedtime.... It was strange no one had called the police on them.
     Effie didn't look to awesome either, actually he looked far from awesome.

     Do you want to go in through the backdoor? I'm sure jarl and Odin won't mind you sleeping in their beds for once. Joe was a pretty smart guy sometimes, and this was one of them. He didn't want to go in through the frontdoor either. To much arguing.
     Looking up at him, a worried look almost disappeared: Could I? I don't want to be yelled at by mum...
     She won't yell at you Effie.... Yes she would, she'd yell at both of them.

     It's so quiet..... he said as they rounded the corner of the house. It was strange not hearing anything from the inside. But the house was pretty well insulated.

What was that? Was that a gun? Why was there a gun in his face? Joe didn't notice that he dragged Effie behind him, and for once he wasn't protesting against beeing pushed by an adult. What was he supposed to do? Why was there a weapon here? Was that guy a cop? He didn't look like a cop, maybe it was an undercover one? They could look pretty bad most of the time, but why would one of    Marcos co- workers pull a weapon at him and a kid?
     I.... I'm unarmed..... Joe stuttered. Wondered if sims understood how it felt having a gun in their face?

     The pistol-pointer took the time to pull an amused face, and even answered: Good to know. 
Was there an escaperoute for Effie here? Joe took a quick peek around, to the gunmans obvious amusement. Then he moved slowly backwards with Effie behind his body. Maybe he should jump the guy? On the other hand running away seemed more tempting, even if it most likely meant he'd get shot in the back. What would be better for Effie? Was there more of them around? Why was he so damned crazy he couldn't even think straight?!

     It always seemed like these things took forever, and that Joe had pondered in things for ages, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.
     They were going to die. His little Effie was going to die and there was fine little he could do about it, other than pleading. But the guy didn't seem like a very friendly type.
     Let the boy go.... Joe knew it was pointless, but he had to give it a try, unknowingly to himself backing away from the gunman. Not that it helped, since he just followed.
     I won't harm the kid. The man lied, but atleast he had the decency not to scare the boy more than he already had.

     Joe just closed his eyes, hoping that madness came before death. But that one time he could have needed it, crazy- Joe was hiding to. Damned crazy- Joe..... 
     His son was going to die and it was fine little he could do about it.  Even Efraim tugging at his shirt, trying to get his attention didn't make a difference.
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'Claps hands' Marco is safe! Never thought anything else did you? He's the heir after all. I thought about having more from that place him and Bashir gets to, but figured not to. It's getting to long already.
And that's googletranslate french, so it's probably not accurate.

Thanks for reading