Twisted Saga ReGenesis (Book 3 of 3)

Chapter 12- Mourning

Unable to sit around any longer, Gwen gets to her feet.

"I'm going to check on Brooklyn and Emily. Anyone want to come with?"

Audrey gets to her feet, along with Lilly coming out from the other room.

"I want to go, momma. I want to see them." She says in her innocent tone to get her way. Gwen denies her request politely.

"Not yet, my sweetness; they probably won't want you to see them all beaten up. I'll tell them that you send your love and hugs."

Audrey gets her purse then waits by the door.

"James, you should've gone with the boys to say goodbye to the others. I'm having Josh cremated, so there isn't going to be a funeral for him." Gwen surprises everyone when she locks eyes with James.

"I'll stay here with the kids. I have more important things to handle, sorry." He informs her like the wrath he wishes to unleash on the world continues to swell.

Sara gets to her feet, heading out the door without so much as a single word. Distraught over what Bryan told her when he had her hostage replays in her mind.

"Come on out and play Sara. I know you're circling to stall me." She recalls Bryan on top of her desk and finds her looking up at him with terror in her eyes.

"I love you!"

"I was told to find you, win you over and make you the lynchpin to all of this. If it weren't for you so eager to get married, this wouldn't be happening right now!"

It ricochets in her mind and sends her into a state of depression. She proceeds to the hospital morgue, where she bumps into Lucas and Kyle, waiting for the chance to identify the bodies.

"Sara, what are you doing here?" Kyle wonders when she squeezes between them.

After she wipes her eyes, followed by blowing her nose, Sara has a mental breakdown.

"It's my fault. It's all my fault. Bryan used me to bring the entire family together, and like an idiot, I caused all this to happen."

Lucas scoots on his feet to take Sara by the shoulders.

"You can't allow that bloody bastard to control you. This doesn't fall solely on you. You tried to save them, and our fathers realized the risk." He expresses with tears in his eyes.

There's a knock at the door, and a morgue technician leans in the doorway.

"They're ready for you now. Please follow me." The thin nerd-like man instructs, wearing coke bottle glasses, as he waves them in his direction.

The echoes of their footsteps are the only sounds in the hallway. Sara's occasional sob breaks the sounds of the echoes. They pause by the door leading to the morgue; they're prewarned of what they're about to identify.

"I should warn you, and this is not for the faint at heart. The wounds they suffered are pretty severe." The technician comments, ready to open the door.

There on the autopsy tables lay three bodies. First up is Owen. Lucas covers his mouth, waiting for his nerves to settle.

"That's my father, thank you..." He's barely able to muster from his mouth, trying not to gag.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir. You all have my sincerest condolences." The technician says, at the edge of the table.

"I'll escort him home for his funeral," Lucas mentions searching for the courage to say anything to his father.