Epics of Noche 3, Limbo

EON CH 39

MOMMY ISSUES

1774, NOVEMBER 28th, MONDAY7:35 pm.

Noche threw up both hands in frustration and kicked the door. A few of the group watched with disinterest as the blonde stormed in place.

"Come on sweetie, mama thinks you need to take a break," Shaylin said.

"I don't need a break," Noche said. "I need to get out of here."

For a moment she stared at the door; her shoulders slumped.

"I heard you all talking about Jack... How could he have died like that? How were we all defeated so easily?" She muttered. "When he saved me, I screamed. I screamed harder than I ever had before. Yet my screams fell silent. I couldn't even make a noise."

The blonde turned towards her friends.

"I don't even remember what the last thing I said to him was... He's dead because of me."

Noche's fist tightened until her knuckles turned white. She had to look away from the group; to resist the water forming in her eyes. The pain and sorrow were pushed down and she forced herself to remain in control. All the while, the lighthouse above her shone brighter and brighter.

"I still have to save Spark. I still have to warn Medusa about the ten-thousand soldiers. I still have to kill Edward," Noche said. "I'm so close to messing this all up – I'm walking on the razor's edge. I can't allow myself to fail. Not again. Never again."

She turned towards the door, grabbed the handle, and turned with all her strength. It did not budge.

"And the only thing between me and victory, is this stupid, fucking door!"

Noche kicked it with all her might – it caused the lighthouse to shake, but the door remained closed.

"Language."

"Shaylin! Stop! You're not my mom," Noche snapped. "Edward killed her, remember? If you want to control how someone talks so bad, then go have kids of your own."

Shaylin paused; a slight grimace crossed her face.

"What," Noche glared.

"I... I can't."

"What?"

"I'm infertile."

For a moment, Noche didn't register what Shaylin had said. Then her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Shaylin, no. I didn't mean—"

"—It's ok," she chuckled. "You wouldn't have known... It happened when I became crippled from that landslide."

Noche frowned as the ginger continued.

"I lost my arm, my eye, became paraplegic... But worse of all, I lost the ability to have children," Shaylin sighed. "Honestly, I think that's part of the reason I sleep around so much. That slight hope that maybe the doctors will be proven wrong."

There was a shimmer in her green eyes.

"There was one time where that almost happened. I got so excited that I came up with a name and found out the exact date they'd be born," she paused. "Only to find out it was a false pregnancy... For a long time, I felt like I had killed my kid because my body was broken."

She wiped the tears away before they fell, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"I can rebuild an arm, I can rebuild an eye, but I couldn't rebuild the one thing I wanted most," she said. "My robots are the closest thing I'll ever have to kids of my own."

The room went silent for a moment. Shaylin clapped her hands and drew everyone's attention.

"OK! Ok. Sorry for being such a glum bum," the ginger said. "I'm alright now. I've accepted that it is what it is. I choose to be happy regardless."

Raven approached with knives taped to his shoulder. Everyone turned to him and stared in silence. The blonde glared at him for a few seconds before she spoke.

"Raven... What the hell?" Noche asked.

"What?"

"Why are knives duct taped to your shoulders?"

"Oh, do you mean my shoulder blades?"

Shaylin snorted, Noche's eye twitched, and Mary groaned.

"When I figure out how to escape, I hope you get left behind," the blonde muttered.

She turned to the lighthouse, frowned, and grabbed the door. As she did so the lighthouse beam intensified. Noche paused as a sensation washed over her. It was sorrow – the feeling of sorrow. With a gasp she retracted her hand.

"That's it," she whispered. "I think I know how to open this door."