Red Rain

Chapter 9 - The Enemy Within

Well. Well, well, well. I didn't expect that at all. Way to throw me for a loop, Steve.

I go light-headed for a moment, I'm so surprised. The next thing I know, I'm looking up at the sky, and my head is resting on some warm, solid surface. I turn to my left and find my face half-buried in Fionna's stomach - the surface supporting my head turns out to be her lap. As comfy as her lap is, I rise up as fast as I can, ignoring the resulting painful head rush.

"What happened?" I whisper to her. "I think I might have blacked out for a second."

"I'll say," says Fionna. "How else would I explain the fact that you just now dropped a rare Alex Snow F-bomb?"

"How do you know I...?" I begin, before the thought pops into my head and Fionna and I invoke the name of my twin together.

I turn to Steve, Freddie, and Penny, who are bunched together next to Fionna. "Well, apparently I might have already said this, but Steve...What. The. Fuck?"

"I'm not saying you're the Aqua Killer," Steve says, backpedaling. "I mean, sure, you're a great water elemental, but not that great. And you don't have any demon powers, right? Even though your brother is a demon."

"No, I don't have demon powers!" I yell with more force than is necessary.

"We're not saying you do," Freddie says, holding up his hands. "Steve, I told you this was a stupid idea. I mean, lots of people have gray eyes."

"Not really," Steve says.

"But who says the ones we saw were Alex's? Or his brother's?"

The thought of Steve accusing Gabe next enters my head and sets my blood boiling. "If you start telling lies about my brother, I swear I'll take your head and-"

Steve turns to me, frowning deeply and holding his hand up to partially cover the scar around his neck.

"Yeah, that was uncalled for. I'm sorry."

Steve waves my apology aside. "I know it couldn't have been you or your brother, Snow," he says. "You guys aren't killers. You don't have it in you."

"Should I be offended or praised by that statement?" I ask Fionna.

"Don't ask me."

Steve pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolds it. "Here, look at this," he says, giving Fionna and me the paper. "First opportunity I could after I died, I re-drew the Aqua Killer's eyes from memory. It helped me figure out where I'd seen eyes like those before."

Fionna and I glance down at the drawing. Steve wasn't kidding - these eyes really do look kinda familiar. They're practically the exact shape and color of my eyes - and Gabe's.

"So, if it's not you, or Gabe..." Fionna mutters. "Maybe a cousin? Which side of the family did you guys get your eyes from?"

"Not my mom's, I don't think," I say. "She's got hazel eyes. So do most of her relatives."

"Then your dad? What about him?"

I stay silent. My mind has already gone there, and with my severely limited knowledge about this half of my family, I have no idea what to think.

Gabe and I have grown up our entire lives without ever knowing who our actual, biological father is. Obviously we have one somewhere, but we've never actually met him. According to Mom, she'd actually been engaged to a man named Ross Whelan, an angel, but for whatever reason, they couldn't have children together. So Mom, desperate to get around this problem, convinced Ross that they should try artificial insemination. It worked, and Mom got pregnant with Gabe and me.