The Conductor {Black Lightning}{Wattys2018}

Ch. 29: The Root Problem

"So how are you and Anissa doing?" Mom asked during the drive to Garfield the next morning.

"Erm..we didn't talk much last night," said Eugene, grateful that she was obligated to look at the road while driving so she didn't have to see Mom's face droop into a disappointed frown.

"Oh, come on, the point of me diffusing the tension last night wasn't for you to go home and bottle everything up!" As Eugene checked the side mirrors, Mom shook her head. "You know what I say about arguments, Yoojin."

"Yeah, I know, never go to sleep angry 'cause it'll ruin your night." Mom's philosophy would have been great if Eugene slept more than a few hours each night.

"What's going on with you two anyway? Why was she calling you a fake?"

"I, erm - I guess I wasn't completely honest with her about something from the beginning and now she thinks I was leading her on." Eugene's mouth went dry as she tried to explain everything. She didn't have the heart to lie to Mom that day. Technically she wasn't lying.

"About what?"

"Well, we got on the topic of her going to protests and she asked why I didn't want her to go all of the sudden when I had been supportive before. And then I said I never really thought her protesting was a good idea. But then even if I had said something, she still would have gone to protest, but..." Eugene sighed. "I mean, I get why she's angry. I get it, but..."

"You can't be a people-pleaser, Yoojin," said Mom. "It doesn't look good and also, two conflicting opinions can coexist in the same space without butting heads."

"Yeah, let live and let live."

"Exactly. You can disagree on stuff. Also, if you hid this, she's probably thinking, 'Well, what else are you hiding?' I mean, I'm not saying that you're hiding anything bad or suspicious, but it does look bad."

"Like I said, I get why she's angry." Eugene blinked rapidly in an effort not to cry. "It just sucks, that's all."

"Yeah, I know it does. But you'll figure it out!"

***

White walls and blinding fluorescent lights surrounded Eugene as she walked through the hospital. A slight discomfort settled in her stomach; in the back of her mind, she wasn't walking. She was in the stretcher again and the glare was so bad all she felt was hot, suffocating electricity and the sirens from the ambulance still rang in her ears. 

But she couldn't think about that. This hospital visit wasn't like the other ones. This one was supposed to be happy, not terrifying.

As she reached the room she intended to visit, she poked her head in to make sure it was the right room. The person inside greeted her with a grin.

"Eugene! It's so good to see you!"

"Hi, Sam! How are you holding up?"

"Stressed, but thankful," said Sam, running their fingers through the thumb-length, gray curls clinging to their head. "Very thankful. The shooter on Sunday could've gotten my chest instead of my shoulder."

Eugene instinctively brushed her fingers over her previously injured shoulder. She had to be thankful too. Unlike Sam, she had ambrosia to speed up her healing. Unlike Sam, she had someone to help her pay her medical bills - even if he was a ruthless drug lord.

"Yeah."

Sam forced a tight-lipped smile. "And I've never been so religious before and I work at a church! It's pitiful honestly. 

Eugene nodded understandingly. Everyone turned to God when they were at their lowest point. But Eugene didn't; if she reached out every time she reached a low, she'd be praying all the time and just going lower and lower. And God had better things - better people - to worry about. 

"It's okay," she told Sam. "God probably wants to hear about your problems. I bet They're lonely."

"Hmm." Sam stroked their chin. "That's true. Well - They didn't leave me alone when I needed Them, so I won't leave Them alone." Sam smiled down at their cross necklace. "Okay, God? You're not alone."

A lump formed in Eugene's throat. If only she could follow her own advice.

***

"Give me the money!"

"No!" Sam yelled. "I can't!"

Time had flipped. Eugene had just visited Sam in the hospital from a gunshot wound and now she was here in the church pointing a gun at Sam. Something was wrong.

But none of that mattered now. Because Sam was the church's financial manager and under their desk was a safe filled with the money that was supposed to go to the One Hundred as protection money.

"Give it to me!"

"I don't have it!" said Sam, throwing their arms in front of them defensively. "We haven't collected tithe yet!"

Eugene shocked them, slapping her hand over their mouth to stop them from crying out for help. She jumped out of surprise and jerked her hand away as they bit down on her palm.

"HELP! HELP!"

Eugene paralyzed Sam completely as a few members including Mr. Pierce ran into the room. Eugene blew out the lights before flipping him onto the ground and running into the gathering space.

"Give me your money!" she yelled. "Give it to me now or I'll kill all of you!"

Suddenly the room went dark and a magnetic forcefield surrounded the members. Mr. Pierce. He had gone down much too easily in the room before. She should've known.

She effortlessly made the force field disappear and fired a bullet into the air. Why did he do it? He knew she could control electricity. This was all too easy.

"Are you people dumb?!" she yelled. "This is what will happen if you don't give me your fucking money?!"

"You won't be getting our money!"

Eugene grunted as someone barreled into her. As they scuffled on the ground, a gunshot rang in the air and Eugene suddenly recognized the pair of eyes staring down at her defiantly and then lifelessly.

Anissa.

She had shot Anissa and this time Anissa hadn't been bulletproof. No no no. Anissa was bulletproof. She was supposed to be bulletproof.

"No, no, I got you," Eugene muttered, pressing down on the bleeding wound But it was too late. Anissa was gone. No heartbeat, no movement. She was gone.

But that didn't make sense. People didn't die that fast from chest wounds. They couldn't. And Anissa was supposed to bulletproof. Why wasn't she bulletproof?

"I got you. Come on, you gotta get up. I already can't walk, so if you can't get up, we're - we're gonna have a big problem. You gotta get up. You gotta--" Eugene's voice cracked. "You gotta get up."

After moments of no response, the tears finally spilled over and blurred her vision until she wasn't staring at Anissa, but instead staring at the ceiling of Gambi's apartment.

She had to stop having these weird-ass dreams.