Lenny, in the other room, tearing through everything he could find hoping to find something to help Elizabeth's wounds. He ignored the pain that Anna had inflicted to him in the fight. There was blood running down his calf from her final thrust, her mark on him. Lenny pushed past his own problems, which were so little compared to his sister. Elizabeth was everything.
Bam
The unmistakable sound of death filled Lenny's ears. One after another, the sound shook the cottage, and shook Lenny to the core. Rushing out to where his sister was, he heard the attacker.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT! YOU STUPID GOD DAMN BITCH! YOUR BROTHER..GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!"
The voice sounded familiar, so familiar. For a split second, Lenny's mind was split. Rush out, kill him. Kill whoever shot in here. Though, that side of Lenny's mind was overcome by the side telling him to tend to Elizabeth. Turning around to his sister, he saw that she was hit. Lenny looked at her, fear, a feeling he didn't feel much, took over his body. She was dying.
His sister was dying.
Elizabeth was laying on the table, waiting for her brother to come back when she heard the gunshots, and felt the sting. Dying....dying was an interesting feeling. The pain seemed to drift in and out, and while she was conscious of all the sounds, all the sights, it seemed so distant to her now. Like she was in a better place. Not yet though. Right now she was still in hell.
Three bullets had hit her. Two in her side, and one in her left arm. Elizabeth wasn't stupid, she knew that this was it for her. Looking up at her brother, she opened her mouth to speak, though all that came out was blood. She closed her mouth and smiled up at him. Her twin. Her other half.
Lenny leaned over his sister, moving his hands over her wounds, trying his best to apply pressure. So much blood. There was so much blood.
"Come in Liz...you're going to make it. You're going to make it."
Elizabeth's eyes shifted up to look at her brother. The pain was back now. She gritted her teeth, and choked out, "It's...ok Lenny...you were...right..."
"No! Come on Liz! Hang in there! Please, please god no Liz..."
Lenny would fight anyone for his sister. He would take on anyone with his bare fists if it meant that his sister would get off this island and go home. He would fight death right here and now if he had to.
"Take me god...please...not her....not her..."
Lenny had gauze out now, and was pressing it into her wounds, in his last ditch effort to stop her bleeding.
Elizabeth, feeling her brothers touch, smiled and said, "Let go Len....let...go...."
----------------------------------
Lenny was sitting on the plastic bleachers. The smell of chlorine filled his senses as he felt squished by the people all around him. The natatorium was packed, for this was one of the most anticipated swim meets of the season. Lenny looked at the rather large man at his left, who held a box of popcorn and wore a Southridge T-shirt.
To his right was a family, and all around were Southridge and swimming fans alike.
Lenny squinted his eyes, struggling to see his sister. She was down by the pool, getting ready for her heat. He really didn't know much about swimming, but their parents weren't here, so Lenny made it his goal to come for his sister. He had to support her. She was all he had.
Elizabeth was getting ready, and while her team was laughing at talking, she did her best to fit in with the group. She smiled and let out a chuckle when someone made a joke, but she felt out of place. She loved swimming, but she didn't feel apart of the team. She wanted to, she wanted to so much, but she just couldn't.
The first heat of the race started, which Elizabeth wasn't racing in. Apparently the large man on the left of Lenny knew someone in the race because when it was over, he threw his arms up, causing popcorn to spill on Lenny. Lenny looked at the man and said, "Hey! Watch it!" The man gave Lenny a look of
who are you to talk to me and continued to watch the swim meet.
The next heat had Elizabeth swimming. It was the breast stroke, and Elizabeth scanned the audience looking for her brother. It was too crowded though, and she couldn't spot Lenny. Though, she knew he was out there.
She knew.
Elizabeth felt the butterflies in her stomach. She always got nervous before she swam. She didn't want to let down her team. Getting on the board, she positioned herself to jump into the water to start racing. She waited
waited
always waiting.
Bang!
Elizabeth pushed herself into the water, her mind was blank, every part of her focused on the task at hand. She swam. She swam as hard and as fast as she could push herself too. She didn't dare take a peak to see what place she was in, she only kept swimming.
Just keeping swimming. Just keep swimming.
Elizabeth would have smiled under different circumstances, but as the thought registered in her mind she did just what the little memory loss fish told her. She kept swimming.
It felt like she had been swimming forever, but the heat was over. Elizabeth, not sure what place she was in, bent down, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Looking around, she saw her teammates, some who just got done swimming, and others preparing for the next heat.
"Hey Elizabeth."
Elizabeth turned around to see Khrysta Lawrence standing before her. She was wet, as she had raced earlier, and she still had another coming up.
"Good job."
Elizabeth smiled and said, "Thanks, you too."
Elizabeth didn't care how she did, just the fact that Khrysta told her good job, it meant the world to her. Quick! Don't let the conversation die. Not yet.
"Are you going to prom?"
"I don't know."
"Yeah, me either."
Elizabeth was going to say something else, but the announcers were announcing the last heats scores. Elizabeth turned and looked at the crowd. It was packed.
"
..and 1st place Elizabeth Priestly!"
Elizabeth wanted to scream. She threw her arms up and jumped in the air, shouting. She had won first place in her heat! Smiling, she scanned the audience, looking for her brother, all while taking in the "good jobs" from her teammates.
When he heard his sisters name, Lenny Priestly jumped in the air, just like the man next to him had, and when he threw his arms up to clap, his arm accidentally hit the large man in his cheek.
"Hey! You stupid kid! Watch where your moving!"
Lenny gave the man the same look he had given him earlier, and sat down.
Two more heats later, and the man was up once again, spilling popcorn on Lenny.
"Seriously, do you mind?"
The man looked at Lenny and said, "Yeah, I minded when you hit me in the face."
Lenny dropped it, and sat back down, focusing on the rest of the meet.
Elizabeth was in the locker room, when the coach came in. "Good job today Liz." Elizabeth smiled and said, "Thanks coach." Some of the other girls came in the locker room, putting stuff up and getting stuff. Elizabeth closed her locker, and when she went back out towards the pool, she heard the announcer beginning to state the final scores.
The entire area seemed to fall silent, as fans of both teams, and all of her teammates and opposition huddled, hanging on every word of the announcer, waiting to see which team came out on top.
"
and tonight's winner
the champions
"
"Southridge!"
The crowd went wild. Elizabeth screamed, and one of her teammates hugged her, and Elizabeth hugged her back.
Lenny jumped into the air along with the crowd, and the large man to his left looked at him, and without saying a word Lenny and the man threw their arms around each other, cheering together. That night, Southridge was united. There was no bloodshed, no killing, everyone was happy. Everyone was cheering. Everyone was united.
----------------------------------
So much blood.
Lenny was now covered in his sister's blood, as he kept pressing gauze into her wounds, trying to stop the bleeding. Elizabeth kept coughing up blood. The pain was back, and she wanted to scream, but Elizabeth held it in. She bit her tongue and forced a smile for Lenny. She didn't want him to know what she was going through. She would do anything for him, just like he would do anything for her.
"Ha, don't you wish I was more like that doctor House guy Liz? I'd have you all better now." Lenny smiled at her, trying to make he feel like he knew what he was doing. He didn't. He was lost, confused, scared.
How would he live without his sister? How could he go on without someone to fight for? Without someone to kill for?
The pain was fading once again, and Elizabeth felt like she was in the water once more. The place she loved to be.
"Just
keep
swimming Lenny
."
----------------------------------
They were 9 years old.
The twins sat on the hill in their neighborhood, listening to the boom box they had snuck out with them. It was midnight, or close to it, and the sky was beautiful. The stars twinkled and shine, and that night, Elizabeth and Lenny felt like it was just for them. They felt like the sky got dark and dawned the stars for them. It was a summer night, but the air was cool. If their parents caught them, they'd be killed, but what did it matter. They were 9.
Laying on their backs, the boom box was on a radio station, and the twins looked up at the night sky.
Alphaville's "Forever Young" came on the radio.
Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?
"Lenny?"
"Yes Liz?"
"What would we do if mom and dad caught us out here?"
"There's nothing we could do. I guess take the punishment?"
"I'm scared Lenny."
Elizabeth loved the night sky, it was so beautiful, but she was scared of getting caught. Scared of disappointing her parents.
"I won't let anything happen to you Elizabeth."
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Elizabeth smiled.
"Thank you Len."
The moon was out tonight, though it wasn't full. Elizabeth and her twin lied together in silence. They were both taking in the sheer magnitude of the sky.
"How big do you think the sky is Lenny?"
"It goes on forever and ever Liz."
"Really?"
"Yes. The stars are a magical thing Liz."
So many adventures couldn't happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
We let them come true
Elizabeth was intrigued. "How so?"
Lenny thought about it for a moment, before saying, "The stars never die. They are always up there, never changing. We
we get older, we get sick, but the stars
the stars will always be there to guide us."
"That's beautiful."
Lenny smiled and said, "That's how I get all the girls."
Elizabeth laughed and pushed her brother and said, "Ewww."
Lenny loved nights like this. Looking up to the sky, he found a cluster of stars, very distinct. He thought together they looked like an eye. A giant eye, always watching over them.
"See those stars up there Liz? The ones that look like an eye?"
Elizabeth strained, looking all over, until she saw them.
"Yeah."
"No matter what Liz, no matter what happens, when you feel down or alone, look at those stars and know we will always be together. We can never be separated."
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
"So you'll always protect me?"
"Always."
"Thank you Lenny. Thank you."
----------------------------------
The pain was all gone, and Elizabeth looked up at her brother, and genuinely smiled at him. She saw a tear in his eye. Elizabeth knew at that moment, at her death, that her brother wasn't a monster. He was Lenny Priestly. Her hero.
"Thank you
."
Elizabeth closed her eyes, and she felt like she was in a pool again. Images swam around, and she looked around. She was in a pool! Elizabeth looked around her, wading in the cold pool, and she saw Khrysta Lawrence swimming alongside of her.
"Come on Liz. It's time."
Elizabeth nodded, and when Khrysta took off, Elizabeth started swimming after her.
Just keep swimming.
Elizabeth let the water take over her body, and then there was nothing.
Just keep swimming.
Lenny Priestly fell to his knees and brought his bloody hands up to face. He started to cry, and he let the tears stream down his face.
"No! No! No! No!"
Lenny didn't want to look at her. She was dead. Elizabeth was dead. His twin, his sister. His flesh and blood. Lenny continued to cry, and when he couldn't cry anymore, he stood up. He wouldn't let anyone touch his sister, not even dead. He would keep whatever part of his promise he could salvage. Going into the bedroom, Lenny saw a body on the bed, and rolled it off. Taking off the bed sheets, he returned to the main part of the cottage, and slowly wrapped the sheet around his sister.
"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise Liz
"
Lenny went through his med pack and took out the lighter. With shaky hands, he managed to produce a small flame, which he pressed against the sheet. After several tries, the sheet finally caught on fire, and Lenny stepped back and watched as slowly it started to burn. He watched as his sister burnt, and the tears rolled down his face. He stood there, silently crying, until the flame died, and with that he gathered up his things and walked outside into the night.
Lenny stopped by Anna's body and kicked her, then transferred the items from her pack into his. When he was done, he stood up, and looked back one last time at the cottage.
"I'll get them Elizabeth."
Lenny had no one anymore. He was truly alone.
"I'll get them all."
Lenny would kill everyone. No one deserved to live anymore. No one. Lenny Priestly would die on this island. He needed to die on this island. Though, he was going to make sure he brought everybody he could down with them.
"I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"
Lenny looked up at the night sky.
The stars shined just as bright as when he was 9. He looked, and he could have sworn he saw the eye formation. "Liz
are you up there?"
When there was no answer, no sign from the heavens, Lenny snapped back to reality. He looked into the jungle, and all he could imagine was death.
"Sorry."
Lenny Priestly started walking.
GIRL NUMBER 21, ELIZABETH PRIESTLY -- DEAD
29 PLAYERS REMAINING
((Lenny Priestly continued in
All Down Hill From Here))