Rising Storm

Mindful

When the pair reached the dugout, they stood outside the entrance, talking quietly as the sun began to set.

"My grandmother said that she knew you in person," Stormi said.

"Oh really?" Arrow asked with a small smirk. "I'm going to say that you are little Ellie's granddaughter."

Stormi stared at him in shock. "How did you know?" She exclaimed in shock.

Arrow snickered. "You have her nose," He teased, flicking her nose, making her sneeze. "I'm kidding. My best friend is her brother. He told me."

Stormi face palmed herself. "I forgot about that..." She growled.

Arrow laughed, shaking his head. "Ellie is the last of the O'Keefe family still alive. Sean died in a car crash when he was thirty. He was drunk. Pat died of cancer at ninety-one."

"What about their kids?" She asked.

Arrow shrugged. "T only told me about the siblings, since I knew all of them really well. All I know is that Pat had two daughters: Daniel and Sophie, and Sean was single with no kids. He was always a wild child, but I guess, so was Pat."

Stormi nodded. "And Ellie had one boy: Troy."

Arrow nodded. "Your grandpa, and the father of your dad."

Stormi nodded. "Yeah. But I only got to meet grandpa Troy once before he died. And I was fairly little. He got sick young."

Arrow nodded. "Your grandma fell apart after her boy died," Arrow mumbled. "Its not fun to outlive your kids." Stormi nodded silently. The two stood in silence for a while after that. "She was put in that home shortly after because her mental state deteriorated."

Stormi stood in silence. "I know... I talked to her there... And the sadness on her face when I left killed me."

"She was a very sweet lady," Arrow explained. "A gorgeous and kind child too. You know, you look a lot like her." He brushed Stormi's hair out of her face, and instantly her cheeks turned pink.

When he pulled his hand back, Stormi looked at the ground. "Grandpa Troy had Mark. And Mark had me and Skye," She said, finishing off the family tree to distract herself from the surge of butterflies that rioted in her stomach.

Arrow snickered. "You good? You're a tad bit red," He said, his voice ornery and teasing.

She nodded quickly. "I think I should get to bed..." She said quietly. 

Arrow nodded his head. "You need to be well rested, I agree."

"Bye, Arrow...." She said quietly before crawling back into the dugout. He didn't follow her inside, and she was grateful for that. Yet, a pang of sadness also hit her.

That night when she fell asleep, she didn't have a single dream, despite everything that happened that day. Out of nowhere, her eyes shot open. The space was dark, the only light source coming from the dying fire in the corner. She stood up, confused. That's when a loud bang shook the walls. She jumped out of bed, her heartbeat racing. All was silent for a long while until another bang shook the walls. Dirt crumbled around her as the walls shook. Silently, she crept out of the hole.

Once outside, she looked around the space. That's when her eyes landed on him. She gasped, hiding in some bushes beside the hole to her home. William was muttering to himself, Stormi's father's voice rumbling as he talked nonsense to himself. He spoke quiet enough so that Stormi couldn't make out what he was saying. He spun around, his eyes seeming to lock with Stormi's, though instead of her father's calm and loving blue eyes, they were blood red and glowing. They illuminated his face that was rotting away. By now, his teeth were exposed, and nothing happened to create new flesh as it did the day he chased her into the forest. The rot was traveling up his face.