The Unfixing

[Feral]

Feral stalked about Banyon Street over the next several days, casing Redencion House. He had never been at the house many days in a row, so he had no idea how the house operated on a daily basis. Two months of being away changed the place a great deal, though the fence and back porch he built still remained. Unwanted, but there they were.

No one seemed to notice Feral hiding in alleyways during the day or in the shadows at night. No one would bother him. Once he had nearly been mugged, but as soon as the bones started to come out from under his skin, he was left alone.

The man exuded wild danger and intimidation. He never left Banyon Street, not even once. He stole from other houses when the people were out, or went without food for days. He had done it before. He could do it again.

At last, his time came. The whole house piled into Anna's van to leave for the weekend. He could see bags and other things being loaded into the back. He could hear exuberant shouts about going away for the weekend.

Good. He was going to be able to take his time.

Night fell. He did not move from his place. He watched the windows in the house to see if anyone was still there. He had to be sure. It was not time to deal with the people. First, he had to deal with the property.

At last convinced that no one was there, Feral stepped across the dark street and strode confidently to where Anna hid her spare key. He discovered it on accident a while back, and kept the secret to himself for a future surprise. The surprise he planned then was not the surprise he had in store for her now, but it didn't matter. He took the key and slid it into the lock for the back door.

The man took off his shoes before entering the house. He would leave no dirt, no footprints. No sign at all except what he was going to do. He ascended the stairs and grabbed the handrail. It hung loose from the wall before he fixed it. The slightest touch would send it to the floor and sliding down the stairs with a loud crash. He pulled. It loosened. He leaned on it, watching the screws make larger holes in the wall, then wiggle about as they loosened further. Then the whole thing hit the floor and slid into the living room. He retrieved it and put it back. The first person to grab it would likely fall, and the rail along with him.

Up the stairs, into the hall bathroom the savage stalked and set his gaze upon the sink. Once upon a time it leaked water from around the back of it, covering the countertop in water before quickly turning into a waterfall that cascaded onto the floor. Feral produced a long, thin bladed bone from between two knuckles and found the spot where he had sealed the faucet. He turned on the water and scraped away at it until water flowed once more from the old spot.

His work done inside, he stepped out onto the back porch, locked the door, and replaced the key. He stood in the light of the moon, glowing faintly from borrowed light when the bones emerged from all over his body, transforming him into a living weapon. Now he truly was Feral. He produced two blades as long as his forearms and hacked apart the back porch. Nothing salvageable remained. Then he turned to the fence and did the same. Not even the posts were spared:he cut them at the ground level to ensure they would not be used again.

He stood back and put on a manic smile as he said to himself, "There, Anna. You did not want these things, and so I have taken them back." With a particularly nasty snarl he added, "HAPPY?!"

As an afterthought, he picked up the scraps of wood and left a welcome home message: DIE MUTIES!

It would not do to have them realize what was going on too quickly. A red herring was required to sew a seed of doubt to mask the truth. He wanted them to realize it slowly, with thought and effort. True terror they did not know. But soon. Last of all, he retrieved his shoes and put them back on.

Now to wait. He would resume his place of hiding, eager to see the look on Anna's face when she arrived home to her precious house she kept for her precious chosen few.

[Anna Fernandez]

The Fourth of July was an amazing experience at the Fernandez house. Fireworks were, of course, forbidden by the government, but Paolo had acquired his usual arsenal and set off an impressive display after night fell. Mama disapproved, but she oohed and ahhed along with everyone else, even if she made sure there were buckets of water standing by in case of emergency.

No matter that Papa would be able to stop any possible conflagration almost before it started. Anna looked over at Jake, who was driving the van, and then back into the van where most of the teens were snoozing against the windows or each other. It had been a very late night, and long drives were good for naps. Only Jim was awake, fervently reading a thick book on astrophysics and drinking a Mountain Dew.

"Almost home," Jake said as they pulled off the freeway onto the streets of Los Santos. "I'm ready to dig into those leftovers Mama packed for us."

"Ohhh," Anna groaned, "Papa outdid himself with the carne asada. I'll cook up some fresh tortillas and we'll just do that for dinner." She rubbed her hand over her round stomach, adjusting her seatbelt for maximum comfort. "Eating McDonalds for lunch just seemed like sacrilege."

As they turned onto Banyon Street, she looked out the window absently. Telling her brothers about the baby had been very anti-climactic because they all already knew. But everyone had been happy, and Mama had shown her some exercises to do to strengthen her body for labor. Thankfully that had taken place behind closed doors.

Being able to talk to her mother about such things had been such a sweet experience. And then soon she would have her twenty week ultrasound and she would know if she was having a boy, or a girl. Everyone had bet on it before the firework show, some coming up with rather inventive names for the child. All in all it had been a great day, and a wonderful relief after the stress of the rally in Los Angeles and -

The van pulled into the driveway abruptly, Jake throwing it into park and setting the brake almost before it stopped moving. He leaped out of the car before Anna was sure what was happening, leaving the door standing wide open. Behind her the kids were stirring, jolted from sleep by the sudden stop, and Anna smiled at them even as something about the house didn't seem quite right.

The picket fence was gone. It still didn't alarm her, only a mild confusion settled on her as she struggled with her seatbelt and got out of the van.

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan and Tess had trailed the van in the red Toyota pick-up truck with Julian in wolf form riding in the bed with his head over the side and his tongue wagging in doggish contentment. But just before Aidan swung into the driveway, the van had pulled up short. Frowning, he rolled to a stop on the edge of the street. That's when he saw the fence, or rather, what was left of it, jagged spars of painted wood sticking up out of the ground like dragons' teeth.

He killed the engine and rushed out of the cab, catching a fiery look from Jake on the way. When he glanced down at the front lawn, he saw why - a venomous, spiteful threat spelled out in the wreckage of the picket fence. Aidan kicked at the M in MUTIES, scattering planks across the dusty ground.

"Anna, keep the kids outside! We need to check the house!"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie had been bumped out of a dream involving an important mission with the Dinosaur Asteroid Defense Brigade, and she picked her head up off of Aimee's shoulder and squinted out the window into the afternoon light. The older kids were coming around and disentangling themselves from seat belts, but she was much nimbler in the close quarters of the van, and she vaulted over Jen's knees and out the door into front yard.

Something churned uncomfortably in her stomach at the sight of the wooden pickets broken off and littering the yard. Jamie moved over toward Anna and tucked her small hand into her foster mother's.

"Why does it say, 'DIE UTIES'?" she asked.

[Tess Abrahams]

Wide-eyed, Tess unsnapped her seatbelt with a muted click and wrenched open the passenger door, sliding out into the heavy afternoon air as Aidan crossed the lawn. What had been a slow, peaceful close to a bustling holiday suddenly up-ended, scattering into a confusing mess like the timber graveyard that was the lawn.

Julian gave a high whine and Tess turned back, running a hand over his shaggy head.

"I don't know, either," she said, a strange mix of unease and exhaustion rattling in her ribcage. "Come on."

As she stepped onto the curb her eyes caught Anna's for a moment and then broke away to sail across the wreckage. Tess's lips drew into a thin, angry line and she drew her phone out of her pocket and hit 1, then the bright SEND button; Jamie's voice filtered through the ringing, innocence in it like a hit.

"Yes, I need to report a disturbance," she tried to keep her voice down, somehow absurdly worried about drawing attention to the obvious display. "On Banyon Street."

[Jacob Foley]

Jake stalked the perimeter of the ruined fence, walking off the tension coiled into his muscles, he gave the trail of fractured wood a fleeting glance. Built upon a foundation of mistrust, the picket fence, picturesque and pristine white, became the perfect representation of his relationship with Apollos: a facade of familial harmony, doomed from the start. The irony in its demise was not lost on him and he was glad of it. He charged up to the unscathed front door and paused for an instant before turning his key in the lock.

"There's no-one inside, Aidan," he said, glancing over his shoulder, "I'm sure of it."

Inside, he gave the flanking rooms a quick once over and pushed through into the kitchen, and to his relief found the back door lacking any evidence of forced entry. First, he eased the door open, then upon seeing the ravaged remnants of the deck below, sent it rattling on its hinges with a furious boot.

"Motherfucker!"

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan was right behind Jake, but he took the opposite route around the stairs through the dining room. The house was still and, for the most part undisturbed, at least until he saw the state of the porch.

"Damn it. I'm going to check upstairs."

Aidan rushed back through the living room and tromped up the stairs two at a time. He didn't notice the banister wobbling precariously as he passed by.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Tess, keep the kids outside." Anna walked past the scattered wood, letting go of Jamie's hand and heading for the front door. She cautiously entered in time to hear Aidan running upstairs, and she headed down the hallway towards Jake.

Her brother was fuming, hands clenched at his side, and she moved just past him to look out the door at the ruins of the deck. Tears sprang to her eyes. "Who would do this?"

Anna put her hand to her mouth, and fumbled behind her for a chair, sitting down abruptly. "Is it Tres Onces?"

[Jacob Foley]

Trembling fingers raked through his hair and Jake started to pace the kitchen, incapable of providing his sister the tender support she so desperately needed, he shook his head and muttered hoarsely:

"I don't know... I don't know."

It was a curse. Whenever things were starting to look good for them, life had a way of dragging them back down to earth, and all of its shit. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Fighting off an encroaching sense of helplessness, Jake made his way to the foot of the stairs, and called out.

"Aidan! Found anything?"

[Aimee Connors]

Aimee blinked in the late afternoon sun, just sort of staring at the ruin of their front yard along with the others. Her hand went to her pocket and she pulled out her phone, already composing a text to Cameron in her mind.

just got home- the house is wrecked! we're ok though. missed you. <3 <3

She walked up to Tess, and looked around. "Where did Jamie go?"

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan pushed open the door to the upstairs bathroom and swore again. That certainly explained the water all over the floor in the hallway. He tracked through the trickling river accumulating on the floor tiles and reached over the cascade flowing around the sink molding and down the edge of the counter like a waterfall to shut off the faucet.

His shoes squelched over a saturated floor rug as he made his way back to the top of the stairs. "There's no one up here," he said. "Remember the bathroom faucet that used to leak all the time?"

Aidan wiped his hands on his jeans, leaving dark wet streaks. "There's water all over the place up here."

"Water? Shit, my stereo!" Ronnie charged past Jake and went flying up the stairs in two prodigious bounds.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie slipped invisibly through the front door behind Ronnie, her heart thumping against the back of her throat. She hadn't felt this violated and frightened since the Tres Onces had ruined their celebration day by attacking the house with guns and bricks and hooting voices, but the things they'd gone after this time didn't make any sense. The picket fence, the back deck, and... the upstairs faucet?

But then a horrible, horrible thought occurred to her. "Apollos!"

Completely forgetting about hiding herself, Jamie ran up the steps after Ronnie. "Aidan! Those are things Apollos worked on! What if he's in trouble?"

She grabbed for the banister to haul herself up the last few steps, but the rail came free of its mounts and pitched her off-balance. With a shriek, Jamie tumbled over the edge of the steps and saw the hardwood floor of the family room rushing up toward her.

The small girl crumpled when she landed, and a vicious CRUNCH! echoed through the house, followed by screams of pain.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Jamie!" Anna leaped to her feet, running down the hall toward the sound before she could even register what had happened. "Oh Dios, oh Dios mío...!"

She fell to her knees on the floor beside her foster daughter, already seeing that Jamie was favoring one arm as she cried. "Oh Jamie, Jamie... it will be okay... don't try to move.."

[Jacob Foley]

"Jesus Christ!"

Jake's mind raced, caught in a loop, replaying the awful moments of Jamie's fall and found himself wondering if there'd been anything he could've done. He was beside her when Anna arrived, afraid to touch the small fractured limb, and sick from the sound it made when it cracked. He barked over his shoulder, struggling to overpower the piercing screams.

"No-one else come inside! It's not safe!"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Tears spilled onto the floor as Jamie tried to make reality come back. Everything was too loud and too solid and too dizzying, and her whole arm felt like it had been jammed through from elbow to wrist with a rod of white-hot steel that flashed and sparked every time she tried to move.

[Aidan Fox]

From his spot at the top of the stairs, Aidan had an aerial view of the whole horrible scene. Jamie's cries pierced him like bullets.

"Anna!" He tossed down one of the towels he'd pulled out of the closet to sop up the water from the floor, but this one was still clean. "Fill that with ice! I'll get something for a splint!"

[Anna Fernandez]

She did as Aidan instructed, and they were quickly bundling Jamie into the van, Jake coming with her and Jamie to the hospital while Aidan and Tess stayed behind with the other kids.

They were standing in the front yard, some of the teens looking a bit bewildered by it all. Julian had hopped out of the truck and was intensely sniffing the entire place, ears pricked forward. But Anna could only look down at Jamie, who was trying to be brave, and pray that they got to the hospital quickly.



It was hours later that they returned to Redencion House, Jamie on pain medication and sporting a bright hot pink cast on her arm. Anna was exhausted, and was thankful that Jake had had the foresight to call ahead to Aidan and then run the van through the drive through at McDonalds. They were armed with bags and bags of steaming burgers and fries as they pulled back into the driveway, Jake pulling up behind the truck that had been moved off the street.

"Come on, Jamie, lets show everyone your cast." Anna smiled, helping her foster daughter out of the van. "Don't forget your milkshake -" she handed it to her and then reached back in to help Jake gather the rest of the food.

[Aidan Fox]

The intervening time had been spent sweeping the entire house - pulling cabinet doors, tugging on shelves, thumping floorboards, searching for anything else that might have been artificially fatigued and turned into a booby trap. When that search came up empty, Aidan delegated clean-up duties. Jen and Aimee sopped up the water from the upstairs hallway and then aimed hairdryers at the cracks they couldn't reach; Jim, Alex, and Scott set about gathering and piling the ruined timber from the back porch, and Ronnie and Tess helped Aidan salvage what they could of the banister. It needed some shoring up, but fortunately there was plenty of loose lumber available.

Aidan looked up from sanding a picket that was serving as a makeshift banister support when the front door swung open. "Hey, there's our war veteran."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie felt a little foggy from the pain medication and the trauma of an emergency room visit, but the chocolate milkshake provided sweet purchase on reality that helped things feel just a little normal. She stiffly stepped up through the front door and gave an awkward wave with the raspberry-pink cast on her right arm.

"Hi," she said in a tired voice. "They had to amputate. But they gave me this awesome robot arm."

The cast chittered like a Star Wars droid and sprouted an assortment of metal fingers, sawblades, and laser beams.

[Tess Abrahams]

Tess turned from where she was crouched on the stairs and set aside the hand-held vacuum she had been using to suck up the wood dust on the carpet beneath the newly-braced top half of the banister. A spike of guilt lanced through her belly at the sight of Jamie's plastered arm, made sharper by the exhausted pallor of the little girl's face and the washed-out shine of her eyes.

"That thing come with tweezers? Ronnie's got a splinter," Tess smiled softly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Even the little pinwheel spinning merrily amidst the robotic artillery couldn't quiet the accusing tint of the cast. She carefully eased past Aidan, trailing a hand across his shoulders absently, and made her way over to relieve Anna of some of the food.

Tess held the bags against her chest with one arm as she crouched in front of Jamie, the other reaching out to gingerly inspect the ER's handiwork. She whistled low. "I bet you'll get about a thousand signatures on this thing - and that's before Vipul finds out."