CHAPTER SIXTEEN ;
" sober up "
" won't you help me sober up?
growing up, it made me numb
and i want to feel something again "
✧ SOBER UP
ajr!
Laurie LaRue Lang is on a mission.
The eighteen year old crawls through the terribly grim darkness. Her hands shake and twitch with pain. A stream of blood drips slowly out of her nose. Her shirt sleeves are spotted with dried dark crimson. Silence surrounds her at all sides, and she can only hope she's going in the right direction, having taken the lead, having taken on the weight of the unknown.
An example for the generation,
a hero for all humankind.
"Alright, I think we're in. Does anybody copy?" Laurie's voice is low and focused, "I repeat: does anybody copy?"
"We copy, Lang Two."
Something behind her clicks and then a flashlight is illuminating the space all around her, revealing the three faces of the Lang Gang; Scott, Cassie, Laurie. A trio. A troop. A cult, if you will.
Tunnels surround the little family in every direction, darkness every which way they look, and in a place like this, they only have each other.
"Aw, this place is a maze." Scott turns seriously to look at his two daughters, "Where's that map?"
A ten year old Cassie quickly brings forth the holy map.
"We're definitely close." Scott scours the chicken scratch markings, "Are you girls ready?"
Cassie looks sharply to Laurie who sets her chin and confidently salutes.
Saluting back, the little sister turns and gives an intense scowl, "We're ready, Daddy."
"Are you both sure?" Scott looks quickly between the two of them, eyebrows high, "Once we're inside, you show any hesitation or fear, we're done."
"I eat fear for breakfast!" Cassie declares seriously, nostrils flaring, eyes blazing.
His own eyes wide, Scott looks back at Laurie for confirmation.
The eighteen year old shrugs nonchalantly, "It's true, I saw it. And it's surprisingly nutritious."
Cassie beams at her big sister playing along.
"Wow. That is super cool." Scott stays watching them with wide intrigued eyes before he waves them onward, "Come on."
The three continue crawling through the grim tunnels before Scott gasps and points at the newest creature that they've encountered on their journey.
A cardboard cutout ant. How exotic.
"Look! It's Anton. He'll show us the way!" Scott says in excitement, "Anton, which way do we go?"
Aaaaand nothing happens.
An awkward silence follows, and their little cardboard ant refuses to move.
Scott and Laurie share a look, subtly cringing at each other.
Laurie huffs and rolls her eyes, pointedly yelling, "Yo Anton, which way do we go?"
YOU ARE READING
STINGER ▹ lang
Fanfiction; a stingless bee. In a big world full of aliens, superheroes, and worldwide disasters, Laurie Lang is just a little person. With a brain that matches her father's but the motivation the size of a walnut, Laurie spends her days tending to her pl...
