Summary: The Caregiver, David awakens for his daily task of taking care of Fang. As the day progresses David keeps finding links to a past that's best left forgotten. May 2023, 05:59. The alarm blares *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEE-* I check the time on it. Its 6AM, time to get the day started and get ready for tomorrow. I get out of bed and walk to the closet for some shorts. The day is like any other, wait for her to wake up and notify me on the phone that she is awake. After that I should let my boss Ripley know so he could get her dressed and help her get into the restroom so she could freshen up. Then after that I help her with going about the house, or on rare occasions going outside for the rest of the day, and only then will Ripley come home from his job so he can bathe her and put her to bed. Thats pretty much our daily routine, unless its special like tomorrow where Rip is going to get his new car. After the previous one that got totaled in a freak 'DEEEEEER' incident just outside of Volcedera a few months prior. Heard the dealership had a nice reputation for having an employee smashing new cars to literal bits on television advertisements. I would have to say that would be some great promotion tactic to show how strong the car really is, or people really just like seeing stuff get smashed and ripped to ribbons. Knowing Fang, she won't be awake until 9AM or 11AM I mean I don't blame her she can't really do much after all she is a double amputee at the same side of her body. So, I head out of the guest room and down the stairs and into the kitchen. a short while later I got a gallon of milk and poured myself a small glass of it as I await the microwave too finish my leftover burger from last night. I'm not sure why I chose milk since I drink coffee in the morning, probably something about stories and a glass of milk, but I digress. I check the time on the microwave, 0:06, 0:05, 0:04, I prepare. 3... 2... 1 and at the last possible millisecond I open the microwaves door, success! I have prevented that dammed beeping yet again; I grab my already steaming reward from within and cancel the timer. David 361, Microwave 145, eat that you cancer causing heating appliance. As I sit down at the kitchen table, I realized something where the hell is Ripley? I mean he is usually awake by now; I check the time 6:45AM, he should be awake 15 minutes ago... unless. I hear the front door open, and I see Ripley's large figure step through with not 1, not 2, BUT 3 large boxes of Dunkin Donuts. In all honesty Rip looks scary as all fuck at first (trust me I know) and punches like a gorilla (trust me you don't want to know) but he is a good man under all that age and muscle. "Hell yeah Rip, what did you get?" I said as he walks to the kitchen with the boxes of yeasty sweetness known by all as donuts. "Well David I got a box for L... Fang." he opens it to reveal a baker's dozen of unfrosted donut twists with brown sugar sprinkled on top and glazed donuts, "... And a box for Samantha." he opens it to reveal another baker's dozen of chocolate glazed Bismark donuts and jelly donuts. "... and one you and I can share." he opens the larger box revealing 2 bakers dozens of regular glazed donuts. "Well rip if I did not know any better, I would say you bought out the Dunkin Donuts stores entire donut supply." I jest. Ripley just shrugs and marks the boxes so no one accidentally takes someone else's box of donuts; I however took two off of our box and gladly ate them with the milk and microwaved burger at hand. After finishing my not so balanced breakfast I hear someone come down the stairs, its Samantha, a short, white, and aged ptero who has the personality of a saint, and she is probably the sweetest mother a child could have. "Oh! Good morning you two!" she chirps. "Good morning, Miss Samantha." I reply. "Oh David... you could just call me Sam; you don't have to be so formal mister." "Well... Good morning, Sam." I get up and start preparing my coffee. As the machine starts its business, I see Ripley give Sam a peck on the lips, I then grab the creamer from the fridge and wait for the coffee machine too finish up. After a few minutes I grab the pot of coffee and pour myself a cup of caffeine goodness, then I pour some creamer into it. Then I add a bit of sugar and stir well so all of the contents inside are mixed evenly. I take a sip and it tastes perfect. "Okay guys I'm going back to my room, I'll let you know when she is awake." "Sure thing, and David..." I turn my attention to Rip. "...thank you for staying with us for two years, here." he hands me a... a check of... HOLY SHIT $10,000 I know being a commissioner for so long gets you bank but... "Whoa... thanks Ripley I don't know what else to say..." He then starts getting closer and WHOA... he is hugging me... "Thank you for helping us taking care of our daughter, you do something my son would've done for free, don't give it back David its yours." He lets go and gives me a firm handshake. I smile and nod and I head back to my room. Well, I should say my room was not really a guest room, but the former room of their son named Naser who died in... to be honest I'm not sure how he died. No one really said what happened to him, all I know was that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hell no one even dares tell me the details of how Fang gotten to the way she is now; I mean she is a double amputee with a bad leg and a half-broken beak. All that they could really tell me is that Fang did a stunt that went horribly wrong, hell the kicker is that all of that happened 3 years ago at the same time. That would probably explain why she looks so depressed all the time I mean me, and her family try to cheer her up, but she is always so... sad. Even when she does smile it looks strained at best. Fang is usually reserved and keeps to herself; she does say thank you and no thank you. I could ask Fang about what happened 3 years ago, but I have the feeling a mention of that would ruin the entire week for her. I could try to look up any articles about what happened, but I'll do that later now it's time to play some Hearts of Stone V. -3 hours later- After forming the Oogmanian Kaiser Reich and declaring war on the Bunga Union in a defensive pact for Poland, Fugland, and some of the Boltac states, and watching the reformed Brugish empire declare war on poor Fronk. My phone made a ringing sound, Fang has awoken and its 10AM. I save my game for later and I left the room heading downstairs "Hey Rip Fang is awake." Ripley took his eyes off the newspaper he was reading. "Oh, thank you David." he gets up and heads up the stairs to cater to Fang. Now since I'm not related to Fang, her parents insisted they take care of her more private needs like needing to use the restroom, taking a bath, or getting her dressed. Now I'm no stranger to dealing with disabled people, my mother became quadriplegic when I was 12 years old after a gliding accident in the Rockies. Yes, I helped bathe, dress and clean her after she uses the restroom. Don't get me wrong I would do the same for Fang, but she isn't related to me and that would be awkward, wait speaking of which who will take care of her after her parents aren't around anymore... best not to dwell on that. I look at the newspaper Rip left behind and I decided to take a look at the front page. It reads '3 years of pain, how the actions of the mass shooter of Volcano High affects the future of Volcedera Bluffs.' As interesting as it sounds, I look for the comics page. I accidentally glanced political comics page and see one of a cartoon revolver in front of a high school saying, "I'm not the one, she did it." as he points his thumb to a cauliflower in a wheelchair with a pride flag on the back. I don't know if that was supposed to be a Boomers version of a shitpost or what, but I found the non-political cartoons at least. After reading the latest version of Garfield and his quest for the ark of the lasagna, I see Ripley set the wheelchair at the foot of the steps. I stand up and wait for Fang to be brought down. I hear Ripley walk softly down the stairs trying his very best not to drop the tired pterodactyl in his arms, and there she is. Her feathered wings hang loosely as she is being carried, she is then set down on the wheelchair carefully. Fang adjusts herself to be more comfortable on the wheelchair, she is wearing a green day T-shirt with nothing occupying the right sleeve, a slipper for her left foot, and sweatpants with the right leg being tucked under her right thigh. "Thanks dad..." she says groggily, she must still be tired. Ripley kisses her on the forehead and wheels her to the kitchen table where her a plate containing her breakfast of buttered and powdered French toast, fried bacon, and 3 of those donut twists. I see her grin at the hearty meal before her, she picks up a fork with her only hand and starts chowing down the meal. OH, almost forgot about the ONLY prosthesis she has, her polymer beak. It's the 3rd one she has that complements the front half of her snoot... I mean... beak, is it snoot or beak? I'm not even sure. Anyways it helps her eat food (especially solid) a lot easier, if she did not have it, she could only consume softer foods like bread or milkshakes and she would be considered disfigured in public without it. Samantha walks to Fang holding a glass of orange juice with a straw and giving it to Fang, "Here you go sweetie." she then gives Fang a hug before going into the kitchen. Fang looks happy or at least I hope she is. I sit on the couch turning on the TV and start going through the channels looking for something to watch. After finding the best channel, a show about 4 soldiers going to different planets through a circular portal and fighting ancient Egyptian aliens. Then an ad break starts after 2 minutes talking about pills with mildly concerning side effects, a new BBQ place in town, a Flex Tape commercial, and... oh wait what's this? the TV is silent but there are subtitles running through the screen. "This ad was paid for by the justice for the Volcano High 6 non-profit group." Volcano High... I've been hearing a lot about that school as of late. "Volcano High, a place where it promises a bright future for its students in the year of 2020. A future 6 students will not have, a future where those 6 will never have as their lives were ended abruptly on that fateful day." The screen shows 6 pictures with names on them Nathen, Francis, Hailey, Zack, Naomi, and... the fuck... Naser?!? The picture shows a dark scaled pterodactyl with a small heavily scarred wing, yellow eyes, a fancy jacket, and an orange crest with 2 black lines going through it just like Ripley. If Naser was there, was Fang also there during the... Before I could think on it more Ripley snatched the remote out of my hand and switched the channel before more information can be shown. "Whoa Rip, the hell has gott-" "Not now David, you, me, outside now." He practically dragged me out front and slammed the door shut. "Ripley what's wr-" He stares daggers into me. "How much do you know?" "Rip what in the hell-" "HOW MUCH DAVID!!" he yelled. "Okay, okay, I know about how Naser died and about the shooting at Volcano High." I can hear him breathing heavy. "Anything else?" "Nothing else, but why did you hide the fact your own son died in the shooting?" He looks at me. "Sorry David... it's just that Lu... Fang does not want to talk about her brother OR Volcano High." "Rip, be honest with me... was Fang there when the shooting happened?" He froze in place for a second... what the hell has gotten into him. "Yes... she tried to escape before the shooter got to her, but she fell down the stairs of the school stairwell and ended up like the way she is now." Well at least I got answers, but I have a feeling he is not telling me the whole truth. "Okay, thank you for being honest Ripley." "David..." I look at him. "Please do not bring any of that up to Fang... please?" I consider it for a moment. "Don't worry I won't." The day trudges on with nothing else happening, Ripley left for his work shortly after our confrontation. Fang and I watched TV the rest of the day with Sam bringing snacks and drinks every 2 hours. Sooner or later Ripley came home around 6PM, just in time for dinner. The dinner was spaghetti with meatballs, and it was a pretty good meal. Before I knew it 8PM rolled around, Ripley took Fang upstairs to be bathed. I sit alone watching TV with Sam, it seems the movie the terminator is playing with Arnold Saurusneggar. "So, Sam how is fang doing?" I ask. "Oh, my dear Lucy is doing fine, you should know that because you were with her all of today." "Ah... ok thanks Sam." How has Fang been doing... well she stared into space a lot less today, we mostly watched TV, and we did not talk much either. Wait I do remember her humming a tune it sounded like she knew it by heart if anything. Maybe I should try actually talking to her more than just vibing together doing nothing. eventually Rip finishes bathing Fang and putting her to bed. Me on the other hand played Rock Ring the Master Grugg collection until midnight. Then and only then did I go to bed... I awaken to a soft ringing... oh that's my phone, wait what time is it? I sit up and check the time... its 3:12AM, my phone lights up and vibrates notifying me I received a text. I check my phone to see its from Fang, what is she doing up this late? Fang: hey u up? David: now I am. David: what are you doing up this late??? I see the typing bubble appear and disappear for 3 minutes. Fang: just thinking... Thats it... thinking? There has to be more than that. David: are you sure?? David: that's an awful lot of thinking. There was nothing after a few minutes. Fang: yea... Wait... if I wanted answers to what happened 3 years ago at Volcano High, now would be a good time. David: is it about Naser? I see the bubble appear and disappear for 5 minutes this time. Fang: yes... David: do you miss him? Fang: yes... I can only wonder what she is going through... after 2 years of taking care of Fang and I never held a real conversation with her. David: do you know what I think? Fang: no? David: I think he misses you too. Fang: what... why would he? What... that's a strange question, did she abandon him during the shooting? David: because I think he loved you till the very end, despite what happened. Fang: would he? Well in all honesty... David: of course he would. The bubble of time appears for another few minutes. Fang: thank you David... Fang: I needed to get that off my chest. David: do you want me to check on you? And the bubble is back wasting another few minutes of sleep. Fang: no, I'm fine but thank you. Fang: goodnight. David: good night. As I put my phone away, I collapse back on to my bed. What really happened at Volcano High? Who was the shooter, what was their motive, and what events happened that led to the shooting? And most importantly... will I ever get a straight answer to that. I mean Fang is suffering almost daily because of that shooting, was it a friend that caused it? I feel like the answer is within arm's reach but for the life of me I can't grasp it. Or I can but that would cause a tornado of chaos along the way. And who would notice that stairs don't cause the kind of injuries Fang sustained. Perhaps if I found someone on neutral ground that can tell me what happened, but who would that be? Oh to hell with it, it's 4AM and I need the sleep for tomorrow. After all we are going to that dealership tomorrow, right? As I drift to sleep, I can't stop thinking about Fang, this clearly hurts her in more ways than one... I worry for her.