Fission | Ground Zero

P R O L O G U E

Within seconds of her feet hitting the ground, soles against the hot sidewalk, and scraping down the tread on her shoes, Lily was bounding across the pavement, and then over two of the neighbor's walkway paths before sprinting through her own front yard and nearly crashing into the door. Her hands fumbled with the knob, and her body was through the doorway before the yellow bus that had dropped her off could round the corner of the stop sign it had unloaded from, brakes squealing as the contraption drives away down the street.

She doesn't even hear the sound of her mother calling polite welcomes from the kitchen, despite the echo on the wooden floors. With no hesitation, she drops her backpack on the ground and rips off her shoes, placing them near the front door and bounding up the first section of stairs to the second floor.

"Ililah Mae!"

Her shoulders tense upward toward her ears, muscles tight as she stops just on the turn to finish climbing the stairwell. Her feet, using the feeling beneath her socks to search out for safe points to step back, began leading her backward down the stairs once again. She pauses, this time, on the first-to-last step, leaning gently over the oak-wooden banister. "Yes, mom?"

Janice could always tell which of her kids was inside first– thanks to the video doorbell propped next to the mailbox below the porch light.

Her siblings, twin brother and sister, and only younger by a little over a year, then step inside. To Lily, they would never understand why she was in such a hurry to get home on Fridays– nor would they be particularly interested in what kept her busy all throughout the weekend. Her mother, on the other hand, had always requested her to check in once in a while– to take a break from the game and focus on important matters. 'A 16-year-old with no diploma in sight is a 16-year-old with no future in sight,' was the usual reminder whenever she was a few hours too deep.

Footsteps rounded the corner and down the hallway, before their mother, Janice, appeared before the three of them with a big smile on her face. Her blonde curls, matching all 3 of her children's naturally strawberry-tinted hair, were put in a messy bun and sticking out with frizz. A dried cream smudge littered her cheek, to which Lily gestured before her mother, a look of realization on her face, swiped the product away, and promptly stuck the finger in her mouth.

"Mmm.. buttercream." She hummed, savoring the taste for a moment before addressing the kids. "I can definitely tell it's the weekend." Her voice holds back a chuckle, and her hand reaches up to mess with Mason's head before pressing a kiss to Michaela's forehead. The twins beamed, dropping their backpacks next to the closet beside the front door. Janice leaned against the wall, pulling her cardigan closer to herself.

Lily, on the other hand, was growing impatient. Her fingers tapped the rail and her feet teetered from one step to the other. By now the others had probably booted up their computers– they were waiting on her, and that expectation sent her into a small anxious fit.

"D&D again tonight?" Her mother asks, tucking a loose strand behind her ear before returning her hands to her cardigan.

She nods, a smile growing on her face at the thought. "I get to be the dungeon master tonight." Her grin widens, excitement growing in her stomach.

Janice lets out the held giggle, "The what?"

Ililah sighs and sets herself down on the stairs– this could take a while. Usually when her mother asked questions, it meant more questions to follow. "Well, you know how D&D is a story game, right? There's one person who writes a story for the party to play out– anyway, the person who writes the story is called the dungeon master."

Face in awe now, her mother nods, "Alright! Sounds like fun! Do you know how long the game will take tonight?"

Ililah shakes her head, "I have a long game planned for us. I should be able to pause for dinner though."