That's What Started It All

Chapter 2

When we entered the township, everything went silent. My parents ran up to Josh and me. My mom cried out when she saw Mary in my arms. My dad was silent and turned a ghostly shade of pale.

My dad moved to take her from me, but I turned the other way to where he could not take her. Josh looked at me and said to me.

"Honey, give her to your dad. He wants to hold her just as much as you did."

I looked at him and slowly gave my sister's body to my father. My mother was crying, and my dad was shaking his head in disbelieve. Josh put his arms around me and began to sing to me again even though it sounded different then earlier.

I turned and buried my head in his chest so he could not hear me sob. The next thing I knew we were in my house, or dwelling, and Josh and I were sitting on the couch and my mother and father said in unison both of their voices trembling.

"How did it happen?" Josh looked at me before he answered them and asked me if he should tell them or if I wanted to. The manifestation on my face was enough an answer. He slowly began the story of how it happened.

After he had told everything, he put one arm around my shoulders and held my hand with the other. My mom suddenly burst into tears. In addition, she ran out of the chamber. My dad looked at us running his hand through his hair as he often did whenever he was sad about something. He looked at me and then at Josh.

 "Josh, thank you for saving my daughter and trying to resuscitate the other. I know you and May did your best to resuscitate Mary. In addition, I thank you both sincerely. May, I know how hard it was for you to watch your sister die. Nevertheless, everything is going to be all right. I think your boyfriend is going to see that." 

 He said smiling about that last part. Josh expressed amusement with a laugh by rolling his eyes and smiled at me. I looked at him and even grinned a little. He looked at me and said with a manifestation that left no doubt in my mind that he was laying to my dad or me.

"I will do my best to love and take care of her sir. I cannot put into words how much she means to me. I love her."

I looked up at him, said what I was thinking, and met ever word I said just as much as he did.

"I love you too, Josh." My dad just walked over to us, hugged us both, and said that he knew that we loved each other. That is we chose the other to be our partner. He then walked off to go find my mother. Josh pressed his lips to my temple and smiled. I smiled back and asked him a question, as I was not sure of our next move at this point.

"What are we going to do now? We both know someone is controlling these monsters, but that's all we know as of right now."

He looked at me and replied. "I guess we go out and try to find out as much as we can about these hazardous encounters and then go from there, baby. It's a guessing game from now on out." I agreed with him and asked when we leave. "Not today, that's for sure. You need to rest and recover, and I need to buy supplies and update our weapons if I can. So tomorrow at the earliest if that's ok with you of course."

I responded that it was brilliant with me as long we left before Mary's funeral because I knew that there was no way that I could go and it not kill me. Josh said in his comforting voice once more.

"I know it would, honey. It would kill anyone. I hadn't planned going unless you asked me if we could stay until it was over, to be honest with you."

I smiled up at him because I should have known he was thinking about what that would do to me. Just then, my mom walked in the chamber and apologized for running out earlier.