Edge of Thorns 4 - Pt 25

Part 25
I don't have time for this...

As much as he wanted to figure out who that woman was, an excited, triumphant cry from Scott as he got the door open was much more enticing, and with barely another glance back at Gabriel and Moloch in the street, he hurriedly followed his coworker inside. As soon as they were in the shop, Scott immediately locked the door behind them, the deadbolt too, for good measure.

"Thank God," the reporter sighed with relief, but Nathan shook his head.

"Let's not just yet; we should get back up to the apartment, check on everyone else."

The writer didn't need to elaborate, Scott's elation at getting indoors quickly fading. Neither of them wanted to think that they weren't safe inside, but worse was thinking about Avery and Lidia still asleep upstairs, completely unaware of the danger if it could somehow get in. They said nothing else as they both rushed for the stairs, dashing to the apartment above.

Alton had left his apartment door unlocked, so they didn't have to search for the right key again, but neither of them really expected what they found when the burst inside. Avery was awake and sitting up on the couch, looking bewildered as he stared out the bay window, the sounds of the fighting indistinct but still very loud. Sitting in his lap, curled as close to him as possible, was Lidia, the poor little girl whimpering and crying. When Nathan and Scott hurried inside the apartment, she barely moved, but the teen turned towards them, even more confused. "What the hell...?"

Scott grimaced. "It's a long story..."

"We can explain later," Nathan cut in, rushing over to check on Lidia, to make sure she was alright. When he touched her shoulder she jerked towards him, big eyes full of tears before she reached out to cling to him instead. Once he'd picked her up, she quickly began to sign, her little hands flying. "Where did you go? Why did you leave?"

He couldn't sign while carrying her, so he moved to one of the armchairs and sat down with her in his lap. "We saw something outside," he explained, speaking out loud along with his hands so Avery could hear. "We thought we saw trouble and went to investigate."

"Why?" Lidia demanded again, her lip trembling while she fought back more tears. "If there was trouble, why did you go to it?"

Nathan swallowed the knot in his throat, but continued. "We wanted to make sure everyone stayed safe. That no one could get in."

At first, she seemed to accept this answer, but then her tiny brows knotted and she signed, "Where's my daddy?"

The writer froze, and he swore his heart had stopped. He'd completely forgotten: Alton had made Lidia his daughter in this reset. Nathan felt the blood drain from his hands and face. He knew she would only ask again, so slowly, he began to answer her. "Your daddy," he signed, struggling to say the words too... but he couldn't finish. He glanced worriedly towards the window, then lowered his head. How was he supposed to tell her that her daddy had turned into a monster?

"Who are all you people?" Avery asked, looking to Scott for an answer. "Where am I, how did I get here, and what in the world is going on? Not that I don't appreciate a warm place to sleep, but I get this funny feeling that here is not much safer than my camp."

Scott rubbed his neck and frowned. "This wasn't exactly a planned thing." He then straightened and cleared his throat, taking on an air of authority Nathan had only ever seen him use while working. "I'm Scott Dasari with The Citizen, and that's my co-worker, Nathan Keene. We were investigating rumors of the homeless living in the drainage system of Virtue and found you nearly frozen, so we brought you here to warm up. We thought about the hospital... but complications in the weather made this a more viable option."

Nathan hadn't been sure what he was doing at first, but quickly realized he'd gone into work mode to take control of things. He caught his stumble over explaining why they hadn't taken him to the hospital (which, granted, they didn't have a very good explanation for that didn't involve stating that an angel of death worked there), but smiled gratefully before he continued with the story. "You're in the apartment of the owner of Sterling & Son, the bookshop," Nathan told him. "Alton Sterling is a friend of ours and was glad to take you in for the night, but we all got stuck here because of the snow." He nodded to the child in his lap. "This is his daughter, Lidia. She's deaf."

"I wondered," Avery mumbled, then shook his head. "That's why she wouldn't tell me what was wrong; she couldn't hear my question."

"Did she wake you?"

The teen nodded. "Not a few seconds ago, right before I heard the noise outside and a door slamming downstairs. I'm guessing that was you?"

The other two men nodded, then Scott elaborated. "We were told to get back inside for our safety when a fight broke out..." He stopped short, eyes darting over to Nathan, his expression flashing with panic. Once again, Avery seemed confused.

"A fight broke out," he prompted when they remained silent. He looked towards the window, the noise dying down, then back at them. "That doesn't sound like your typical street brawl, and I've seen and heard my share. What's really going on?"

He doesn't remember what happened to him with Avaritia because in this reset, it never happened. It sounds like the fight is almost over (I hope), but do I want to risk dragging him into this again? Should I make something up, so he doesn't have to get involved again, or should I risk looking completely insane to tell him the truth?