Stonebrook High School

Chapter 69

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~*Ω*~

The night was spent between the three sisters reminiscing and sharing what each had missed in the other's life. Jesse and his dad listened in earnest.

"You know, your mother and I once planned a prank on Isa back in primary," Aunt Carrie snickered to Jesse. "We filled her lunch box with food shaped as bugs - it was all normal lunch but just looked different! She screamed so loudly and dropped her lid."

Isa covered her face in embarrassment and groaned. "That was a terrible prank! I was scared out of my wits!"

"Didn't you get revenge, though, Isa?" Christian interrupted. "Belle told me once that you pushed her into the water and threw kelp onto her to scare her into thinking it was eels or something."

Belle's face contorted as she recalled the memory. "I despise eels. They're just so... slimy and long and scary!"

"Caroline, how did you get away unscathed?"

"I'm still angry about that!" Carrie said out loud to Isa, making the older sister laugh. "She paid me twenty dollars and offered to do my chores," the elder chuckled. "Basically, I scared her so much that she bribed me. This bee isn't getting stung anytime soon."

"No bad jokes!"

Jesse laughed wholeheartedly. There were so many things he hadn't known about his family before and now that he was here with all of the adults, it seemed there was always some sort of story to tell. Life really was getting better.

Isa's pocket radio beeped and she excused herself for a bit. A few seconds later, she came back, nodding to Jesse. "She wants to talk to you."

Belle and Chris looked up to Isa and held each others' hands. The mother stared into Isa's eyes and said, "Sis, can we please come?"

"I'm not against that," the Director said. "It's whether the doctors say you can visit her face-to-face."

"We'll wait in the lobby for as long as it takes!"

Isa sighed, a small smile on her lips. "Sure. There's nothing wrong with that. Carrie, will you be joining them?"

The mentioned shook her head. "I've got reconstruction to do in the lower areas. I'll catch up, though. Don't worry."

"Love you, Aunt Carrie," Jesse said, waving to her. She waved back and left, closing the door behind her.

Isa thought about something, tapping her finger on her chin. "We should take a detour. Reconstruction will block off many roads tonight. I do have to warn you three that the sight outside is very graphic, the path I'm taking. So please, close your eyes once we get in the car."

"Graphic? Isa, what do you mean?" Chris stood up and helped his wife. "What is out there, dead people on the streets?"

"Well... yes. At least ten. But that's not all. The Witherstorm took apart everything relentlessly. In one of its paths, there was an animal shelter."

Belle's face contorted once she realized where Isa was getting to. "Oh no... that's... so horrible!"

Isa nodded. "Yes, it is. We haven't been able to clean and identify every area yet, so it may also smell very poorly. I'm sorry about this."

"No, it's okay," Jesse said. "We'll just... close our eyes. And not breathe." He pinched his nose as he thought about it.

The Director sighed. "Let's get moving."

~*Ω*~

He made the mistake of being too curious. Jesse carefully opened his eyes, still pinching his nose, trying not to gasp as he scanned the outside.

Dead animals were everywhere. It was like a war had happened and these bodies were what stayed behind, unable to transcend to heaven. They were a physical scar from the Witherstorm's wrath upon the earth and he felt like throwing up.

Now that he had seen them, he could smell them wafting through his fingers and gagged. Decomposing bodies was not something he wanted to smell and out of desperation, he exhaled and held his breath. It wasn't until Isa drove past the entire area that he decided to let go and take in air again, finding a new appreciation for clean, smell-free air.

"You looked, didn't you?" Isa and Belle said, somehow in sync with each other. He shied away in his chair and tried to pass it off. "No, I just... farted."

His dad couldn't help but hold in a snicker, causing Belle to give him a look of disappointment. Isa sighed and glanced at the boy next to her. "No need to lie, Jesse. We won't punish you for looking. But... it's a terrible sight to see, isn't it?"

He looked down at his hands and nodded half-heartedly. "Yeah. It is. I didn't really think about animals getting caught. They're so helpless... I can't imagine what their last moments were like."

"We need strength, dear Jesse." The Director didn't turn to look but was able to focus her voice to him. "We need someone to be able to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. You and your sister were particularly brave, but I wonder if you two can continue to do so? As you can see, so many need your help, animals and humans alike. As Director, I'm burdened with my own duties and cannot help others with the freedom I used to have. I need to know if you and Jess can harness your empathy and use it to do what I cannot."

"Isa, that's a lot to put upon my children," Jesse's mom commented in disagreement. "He's also just a boy. Let him live his life."

"But he's also not innocent and weak, Belle," Isa calmly responded. "He's grown a lot since you last saw him. What has it been, a month? He's not going to be the same. He can make his own decisions as well. So, what do you say, Jesse?"

He looked back and forth between his parents and Isa, blinking in surprise at the question. Did this mean he had some sort of job if he accepted this? What was going on?

Isa was right, however. He wasn't the same. These past few weeks were traumatizing, tiring, and absolutely life-changing. He had his memories wiped, for gosh's sake! Of course he wasn't going to be the Jesse he thought he was anymore. With the sight of the dead bodies strewn about engraved in his mind, he shuddered. He didn't want anything else to end like that. For himself, for his friends, for the world... No one would remember their last moments as hopeless. He nodded his head.

"I'll do it, Aunt Isa. I'll help anybody and anything I can. I'll even have Jess do it so she can find something to do as she recovers." His face turned stern and his parents were astonished at his grit and determination. "I accept."

Isa smiled, turning the car. "Alright. Your training starts tomorrow morning."