DNA

Chapter Four

Lilium couldn't help crying that night. She hid in her room away from the others. She couldn't believe that Lox killed her mother. She was distressed about this whole cloning situation to begin with. Now she had to deal with the thought of Lox being capable of murder. He did threaten the Veta family as well.
Lilium didn't sleep. Morning came. Kiki burst into her room with a wild hypothesis.
"I think mama and daddy are talking about a baby!" She yelled, hopping onto Lilium's bed.
"What? Why would you think that?" Lilium questioned her sister.
"Daddy told mama that, and I quote, 'when and if the time comes I swear I'll protect us all... including the baby,' end quote."
"A baby? A third baby? I hate babies," Lilium sighed as she got off the bed.
"Why do you hate babies?"
"I never got to be one. I simply hate kids because I didn't get to live the childhood that they had," Lilium explained.
"I'm a kid... do you hate me?" Kiki asked.
"No," Lilium answered.
"Oh. Well then you don't hate all babies."
The girls walked into the living room to confront their parents.
"Mama, daddy, listen up. Lilium and I have the hypothesis that you are having a baby, thus making us big sisters. Is this hypothesis going to be denied or do I have permission to... break down and cry? What is my conclusion going to be? Tell me daddy."
Kiki seemed excited earlier but Lilium slowly realized she was nervous.
Veta sighed and Akira lowered her head again. He took her hand.
"Listen, girls. We have discovered that we will be having a baby-"
Veta was interrupted when Kiki broke down in tears on the floor. Startled, Veta picked her up and tried to comfort her.
"Dad... I'm confused. How are babies made in the human world?" Lilium asked.
Veta froze and looked at Akira who smiled before saying, "she's your daughter, sweetheart. Your child, your explanation."
He put Kiki down and gave Lilium a talk about what is called the "birds and the bees." Lilium's mouth hung slightly open the whole time before she nearly broke down from being so confused. She didn't ask any further questions. She would never ask about this topic again.
"Okay, Kiki, listen. If you allow a new baby into your life, I'll get you a kitten," Veta tried bribing Kiki.
"Depends. Boy or girl? What's the baby's gender?"
"We are figuring that out tonight at seven. We have an appointment. I'm a scientist. I may have been a doctor once but I don't have the equipment."
That night the girls were left alone. Lilium and Kiki watched the television for about half an hour. Lilium heard a rustle in the bushes outside.
"Kiki, mute the T.V."
Kiki followed her orders and the two listened. This time they heard a twig snap. Someone might have been outside. Lilium jumped up and turned the lights off and Kiki turned off the television. They sat in the corner of the room in silence. They heard leaves crunch outside. Was it just the usual fox? Or a raccoon? Or a man?
Lilium decided to be brave and crawled to the kitchen opening. She looked out through the peephole in the door. Sure enough, a black shadowy figure turned the corner to the left. Lilium crouched down and rushed to the dining room. The patio door curtains were closed but she could hear faint breathing. It was coming from behind the door. A stick snapped which confirmed that somebody was standing outside somewhere.
Lilium slowly and quietly pulled a tiny part of the curtain open and saw a man just inches from her face. The only thing between them was a three inch glass pane. Lilium screamed as she heard a gun shot. She saw a bullet go through the wall just inches from her head. She ran to living room and guided Kiki upstairs into her room. She looked around and found a crawl space behind the dresser. They heard glass shatter and footsteps downstairs. The man was inside.
Lilium pushed over the bookcase and the two slid inside the small area, Lilium slamming her head off the wall while doing so. They pulled the bookcase over as much as they could and shut the door as footsteps echoed down the hall from the stairs.
Kiki took out something Lilium hadn't seen before; a cell phone.
It was the Luna HP44 Pro. Classic.
Kiki turned down the brightness and muted all sounds. She made sure the ringer was off before texting their father quickly.

Kiki: Daddy how far are you please answer me

Veta: Ten minutes away. Calm down. What's wrong?

Kiki: Lilium almost died! The gunshot was inches from her face. A man is in the house trying to find us. We are hiding.

The girls strangely heard a phone beep. It was Veta's phone's exact text tone. The next text made them wonder.

Veta: Where?

The girls looked at each other. Lilium took the phone and replied.

"Kiki": But how do we know this is you?

Silence. The guy was right outside the room they were in. He dropped something and footsteps ran back down the steps. They heard closet doors open and slam shut. Then the basement door. Then the footsteps. Then the attic. Now the room they were in.
The man was breathing heavily. Lilium hurriedly gave the phone to Kiki who tried to text their mom.
In the text she wrote out "mom always has her phone" and showed Lilium before deleting it and texting Akira for real.

Kiki: Mama we are going to die there is a man inside the house. We are hiding where are you?

Akira: What? Are you guys okay? Hold on I'll call the cops we are heading home now. See you in five.

The girls hugged each other and waited. The five minutes passed. The man was still in the room. He was moving around things. They heard a thud. He found the crawl space. The bookshelf was being dragged as the girls hid in the far left corner under boxes so they couldn't be seen. The door opened slowly when they heard sirens. The man stopped and ran away. They could hear glass break. The man jumped out the back window.
The girls waited. They heard footsteps come upstairs and Veta's voice called for them in the same room. The girls jumped out from their hiding place and ran to their father. They held onto him for dear life and he hugged them tightly. Akira ran into the room with tears staining her porcelain face. She joined the hug.
"Are you two okay? Did anything happen?" Veta asked.
"I almost got shot. He shot a pistol or something just inches away from my head!" Lilium informed them. Veta pushed back her hair and noticed blood coming from a deep cut on the side of her face. It must of been from earlier when they went into their hiding spot.
"Lilium, we have to stitch that up. I can do it here, come on," Veta said as he picked her up.
The cops searched the whole property and even went into the woods. They found a couple blood spots from the man. It was probably from when he broke all the glass.
The cops left to analyze the DNA samples they collected. Lilium and Kiki explained the rest of the story. Veta refused to leave them alone again. At least not for a little while.
"Well what's the gender of the baby?" Kiki asked finally.
"The baby? Oh. I don't know how you'll feel about this one... it's a boy."
Kiki frowned and looked down at her hands. Lilium smiled slightly.
"But there is also a girl."
The two looked up at their parents.
"Twins?" Lilium asked.
"Yeah! Exciting, huh?" Akira giggled nervously.
"I guess-" Lilium started as Kiki started crying again.
"Two babies? I wanna be the baby!"
The rest of the night consisted of a family movie night and sleepover.
There wasn't total confirmation, but Veta and Lilium both thought of who the man could be. They didn't want to think he'd go that far, but maybe they underestimated the power of the DNA facility. Maybe they underestimated Lox.