For a moment, Lisa couldn’t move. She couldn’t process any of what had happened. She had never shifted so fast before. Her whole body still ached from the effort. Pain throbbed through her shoulder. The bullet had hit her. But she had managed to stop it in time. Lisa had no idea why her first thought had been to change the top layer of her skin to metal. But it had done the trick. If she had waited another second or so, it would probably have been too late.
She hadn’t seen the man shoot her. But she had seen the expression on Sally’s terrified face and known. These people didn’t need her alive if they were just after the sisters. Lisa’s hands shook violently as she let go of the knife. How had she done that? It was as if her hands had moved without her knowing. Sally had been screaming and crying. Lisa’s body had reacted to her cries before her mind could process what was happening. Now a man lay dead because of Lisa.
“Hurry up!” Jorden’s voice pulled Lisa back to reality. Right, they needed to get out of there. “Lisa, can you walk?” Jorden asked. She nodded. Riley was rushing over to them now. Her small face had lost all color. The child looked like a frail little ghost, running toward her. But Riley was alright. Sally was alright. That was all that mattered to Lisa. She lifted the petrified Sally into her arms and grabbed hold of Riley with her free hand. The little group took off running toward the car. Behind her, Lisa could hear footsteps and people yelling. Sally hid her face in Lisa’s shoulder.
Her small nails dug into Lisa’s skin as if she thought Lisa might slip away from her. Lisa pressed her face to Sally’s cheek. Sally was alive. Sally was alright. Riley was alright. Jorden was alright. She hadn’t lost anyone.
She could feel the warmth of Sally’s skin and she could hear her heavy breathing. Sally was alive and well. When the man had shoved her to the ground, Sally’s body had gone limp, and for a split-second Lisa had feared the worst. But her girls were okay. Lisa practically flung the sisters into the back seat of the car before climbing into the car herself.
The next thing she knew, they were flying down the road, leaving the house far behind. For a moment, Lisa was able to spot the lady from Sally’s comic, as she rounded the corner. Their eyes briefly met. Then she vanished along with the peace and security the house had been able to bring Lisa. At first, nobody spoke. Jorden drove furiously while the sisters gasped for breath. Lisa looked down at her hands. They were coated with crimson blood. Some of the blood was hers. Some of the blood was from the man she had stabbed. What had she done? Had she really needed to kill him? She needed to protect the girls. That was her first priority. She couldn’t let them down. In fact, she would rather die and kill than see them hurt. Lisa had done what she had to do. But she didn’t need to feel good about it.
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Guilt and pain pulsed through her as she fought back tears. She had worked her whole life to help people. She was a doctor. Her job was to help people live. Now she was a doctor and a murderer. Not a murderer, Lisa told herself. She had to do it. She just needed to turn her brain off and stop thinking about the fearful face of the man whose life she had ended.
“Lisa, are you alright?” Jorden asked.
“Yes. I-I just feel a little shaky. How about you? Are you okay?” Jorden nodded. “Riley, Sally, are you girls okay?” There was a pause.
“Y-yes,” Riley gasped out. “How did you do that, Lisa?”
“I shifted.”
“Right… I keep forgetting Formas can do that. Are you sure you’re okay, Lisa?” Riley asked again. Lisa gave her a weak smile.
“Yes, I’m alright. Don’t worry about me. How about Sally?”
“I-I think she’s okay. What are we going to do now? We have nowhere to go!” Riley burst out.
“We’ll figure something out,” Jorden said firmly.
“But everywhere we go, there are people who want to hurt us!” Riley was sobbing now. “The lady wants to hurt Sally! The humans want to hurt Lisa! And the Formas want to hurt me! We have no one!”
“We have each other. That’s more than some people have,” Lisa whispered. She took hold of Riley’s hand once more. She had come so close to losing the people that she loved most. “For now, I think we just need to focus on sticking close together.”
“I love you, Lisa!”
“I love you too. We’ll be alright… somehow.” Lisa glanced over at Jorden. His eyes were firmly placed on the road. They couldn’t just drive forever and ever. But worrying about their next step didn’t help anyone. At least they had a car. That was good. It would provide decent shelter and protection in addition to transportation.
“I’m sorry I got you into--“ Lisa began.
“Don’t apologize,” Jorden cut her off. “I’ve always wanted to help the humans. But sitting and writing all day isn’t the most exciting way to help them. You three aren’t a burden to me,” he said. Lisa fell silent. He had just been forced out of his house thanks to her. Maybe she should have thought twice before bringing the sisters here. But they hadn’t had anywhere else to go. Oh well, this was how things had turned out.
“Okay,” was all she said.
“Don’t feel bad, Lisa,” Jorden said suddenly. “You were defending Sally. That man was a threat. It’s simple as that,” he said. How did Jorden do that? Could he read minds or something?
“Okay,” she said again.
“He’s right, Lisa!” Riley piped up. “Don’t you dare feel guilty!” Lisa couldn’t help but chuckle softly at that.
“Okay, I’ll try not to… I’ll try.”