[Star-child] - a marvel story -

-Part 2-

             Lights are on - Tom Rosenthal
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Florence walked slowly up the basement stairs, brows furrowed in thought. Too confused to continue eating her dinner she walked up to her room.

She couldn't sleep. No matter how hard she tried. Something else that didn't help was her brothers distant arguing down stairs.

Feeling a headache forming she groaned, and stepped out of her room.

"Can you please stop arguing, you're behaving like a bunch of squawking pelicans,"she yelled, slamming her door immediately after.

Lying back in bed she found it was easier to rest without the constant yelling in the background. But she still could not go to sleep.

Minutes later Stephan and Charlie stepped into her room. Stephan sitting on the side of her bed and Charlie standing awkwardly in the corner.

Stephan leaned over and grabbed a story from her bedside table, Peter Pan was her favourite.

He began reading in his iconic storytelling voice, whilst Charlie acted out all of Peter Pans awesome moves. The flying parts being significantly harder.

Eventually the story was done and Stephan placed the book back where it belonged. He turned to face Florence, a light but sad smile on his face.

He stood up from her bed and started tucking her in, just how she liked. Both boys giving her a kiss on the forehead, whispering their own goodnights.

Finally the girl could get her beauty sleep.

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Turning to face her bedside table Florence realised the time and rushed out of bed, she didn't even bother to change. She ran down to the kitchen expecting her brothers already preparing breakfast.

Instead a familiar voice filled her ears.

"I'm in here, Florence."

Stepping out of the kitchen and into the living room Florence spotted Charlie sitting by himself with a gloomy face.

"What's got you in such a terrible mood," Florence smiled, making it obvious she was joking.

"Ren, this isn't the time to be joking around," he said, sternly, wiping Florence's smile right off.

"Well what is it? Can you tell me?."

"Stephan, he left."

Florence stiffened, strangely sensing sadness radiating off of him. Odd.

"He left for the war," Charlie said, letting a tear slip from his eyes.

"No he didn't."

Charlie looked up at his sister and nodded.

"Yes he did, Ren."

"No. He. DIDNT," her voice growing with anger and denial at every word. "DON'T LIE TO ME, TELL ME HE'S NOT GONE, TELL ME."

"He is gone, Ren," he looked at up at her. "He really is gone," voice breaking slightly.

Florence broke down, hearing her brother was going to war. Putting his life on the line, for what? Family? If he cared about his family then why would he leave.

Her body shaking with every sob, Florence thought at that moment she couldn't move. She wouldn't. No way.

But that thought didn't last long.

"Ren, what did you do?."

Florence looked up with her tear streamed face, she saw her brother staring at his hands in shock.

"Charlie? What is i-," she cautiously asked, but stopped herself.

What she saw shocked her every bone. Charlie was fading. He was turning to dust. It crawled from his fingertips and up his arms. He looked up from his hands, face holding no emotion.

Florence sat up and walked toward her brother, but he stepped back in fear.

"Did you do this?," he asked holding severe eye contact.

Florence shook her head vigorously, "No, no I didn't. I wouldn't."

The dust traveled up to his face crumbling it away as if it were nothing, and soon enough Charlie was nothing.

"No," Florence mumbled. "No, no, no, NO!."

She fell to the floor, crying her heart out. Just the thought of losing another brother was enough to break her young heart. They were too young to go. That's not allowed.

She couldn't allow this.

She thought about going to the police but, she did this. She isn't innocent. She's bad. She can't go to the police they would lock her up.

The only other she thought of was to run. Run far away.

So she ran. Ran out the front door, down the road, out of the neighbourhood .

She ran until she couldn't anymore.

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Florence hid in an alleyway, it started to rain only a few seconds ago. But she didn't care. She didn't care if she got sick, she already felt sick.

She stopped crying when she heard a sound. Looking up from her cradled knees, she saw two people. Men she assumed. One in a wheelchair and the other looking like the devil himself.

"Hello, Florence," strange, why does he have an accent. "We aren't gonna hurt you, we know what happened. We are just here to help you."

"How do you know my name? How can I trust you?," she said.

"Just take my hand, please you'll feel much better," this one had an accent too, but it was weirder.

'Why should I trust them?' She thought.
'They could kill me'.

"Ok," she said, ignoring any intrusive thought she had 'why the heck would you say ok?'.

Florence reluctantly took the devils spawns hand and immediately regretted it.

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