ATannie- this is the end chapter 6/9

    >Bella was the first of the returns
    >The long and tedious task went on for many months
    >you spent more time that was really healthy on the road
    >sometimes as much as 5 days on the roads in a row
    >you slept in god awful motels, or sometimes even the back of the car
    >At least with the seats folded and Annie who kept you warm
    >She was always supporting, loving and caring with you
    >She kept herself in good condition, kept control of the girls as well as being with you
    >It was very much work, and she even did a lot of it while driving
    >Helping the ones left at home with this or that
    >How the stove worked, how go get the TV running, which could come out as people and not stay locked up
    >She did this day in, day out
    >Seven days a week
    >She did it week in, week out
    >until one day in late August
    >It had been almost half a year of doing this, day in and day out
    >Another return was just completed
    >You had just arrived at the house
    >Annie drove the GTO the least stretch home
    >It was something with the A/C broken, and she didn’t want you to get cooked in the car
    >The cars slowed to a halt, and you grabbed the bad you had in the old BMW and headed in, popping a beer open
    >It ticked, fizzled and you were soon gulping down on the amber liquid
    >”Yo, Annie want one as well?”

    >”Annie?”
    “She didn’t come in with you”

    >It was Doll
    >She looked a little confused to say the least

    >”b-but her car was right behind me…”

    >You set the beverage aside and go back out to the car
    >She was still in the driver’s seat
    >She wasn’t getting her things together
    >She wasn’t looking for anything
    >She just sat there
    >Hey eyes were empty
    >Just like the open sky
    >her hands were in her lap, laying perfectly still
    >And she was drenched in sweat

    >you tap gently on the window
    >and get absolutely no reaction
    >”Hey… Annie, you got a little warm?”

    >Once again, no answer
    >You grow a little concerned and open the door

    >”You alright?”

    >She sat as motionless as before
    >No sound
    >Her eyes… dead? empty? foggy?

    >”Y-you’re making me worried here sweetie. I’ll get you into bed, you are just tired”

    >Annie was big, strong and heavy
    >But you could still carry her
    >up two sets of stairs and into bed
    >She fell into it with a heavy thump
    >still silent and limp
    >still worried for her, you helped her out of her clothes into something a little more comfortable
    >and then tucked her in, pulled the curtains down, kissed her lightly and left her to rest

    >the mood is awful when you get downstairs
    >most of them had gone away
    >the few that were still around avoided you gaze, mostly staring into the floor and kept silent
    >you reheat some leftovers one of them made and eat a swift, rather uncomfortable dinner
    >no one else is anywhere to be found right now, so you make another place and grab a bottle of water and head up to Annie
    >She is still sleeping though
    >whatever, she needs the rest, she can eat in the morning
    >you head off to a swift shower and then get into bed next to her
    >Annie will be better in the morning
    >She just needs a little rest
    >You repeat this a few times before mumbling “I love you” to deaf ears and falling asleep
    >morning breaks
    >you roll around to see her laying exactly like you left her the evening before
    >another light kiss on her cheek before you get dressed and head downstairs
    >the ground floor is surprisingly empty again, just you and a few of them sitting at the breakfast table
    >and once again, they don't look at you
    >didn't matter much now though, you had to take care about Annie
    >A stack of round, fluffy pancakes, topped with syrup and a bit of butter
    >all gold-brown in color and smelling delicious
    >and the obligatory glass of OJ
    >you walk into the bedroom and sit down right next to her
    >She still isn't moving or showing much signs of.. anything
    >but her chest is still slowly slowly moving up and down
    >You gently caress her cheek to get her to wake up

    >”Annie?”
    >”Honey, I've made you some breakfast for you”

    >still no response
    >you sigh heavily, and resign to running your fingers through her hair
    >It has lost the magic black touch, and was back to a more matte, charcoal colour
    >it was probably because she hasn't been washed in a few days
    >Yeah, that’s why

    >”Annie sweetie… you need some food. I've made you pancakes”

    >and finally some signs of life
    >her eyelids opened up slowly slowly
    >and for just a second, a smile appeared on her face
    >She tried to say something, but it came out as just wheezing

    >”Shh… it’s fine. It’s all fine. You should get some food cutie”
    >Annie makes an agreeing humming sound, and nods her head up and down a little
    >You proceed to cut the pancake up in small pieces, making sure to get a little syrup on it and then putting it in front of Annie’s mouth
    >She opens up just enough to accept the delicious fluffy pancake
    >It takes her quite a while to chew and swallow everything, and she looks… awfully pained doing it
    >She eats one half pancake before wheezing again
    >She fell asleep right in front of you
    >You can’t do much else than return downstairs and leave her to rest
    >There was delveries scheduled for this week, but with her being like this you didn’t want to leave the house

    >In the basement, a small group of geists sat in a circle with a heavy topic between them

    “Someone has to tell him”, Lala said
    “I think we should be really sure before we say it’s… THAT”, Doll argued
    “What else can it be? She froze up, just stopped. Now comes the great sleep and then… it’s downhill”

    >Lala’s words left a cold, awful aura left in the room

    “But…” Amanda tried to make something out of it “It hasn’t been that long, has it?”
    “Last time we know for sure she changed was on late October during the raid. That was 10 months ago”

    >Lala was apparently very read up on the matter

    “I thought the threshold was a year?”
    “For you, yes” Cassie replied “Annie is a lot bigger than you are, and i am very surprised she managed to go even this long”

    >There was a lot of sighing and staring into the floor
    >Everyone knew what had to be done
    >And no one dared speak, take the first step

    “i’ll go”

    >Gnevny spoke up
    >She was Annie’s own CC, an old Makarov taken from someone who tried to mug her once

    “I’ll speak to him”

    >Gnevny jumped off her seat and walked upstairs
    >The remaining geists were very happy she did, because this was something no one wanted to do

    >You sat in the kitchen fiddling with some silly phone game when Gnevny appeared
“Anon”
>”Hey there”
“Do you have a moment?”
>”Yeah, sure”
“Good. Make sure you sit down now, because i have something to tell you”
>”alright…”
“Annie is sick”

>You had an idea where this would end up

>”Yeah, i’m sure she will just need to rest a little”
“No. We don’t really get sick in that regular way, but… she have caught one of the diseases we have”
>”Yeah?”
“Do you know who Icarus was?”
>”I’ve heard the name, but not really”
“It’s from greek mythology. He was the son of an inventor, and was imprisoned. His father, the inventor came to the aid of his son, and built wings, of feathers and wax”
>”I don’t really see where this is going”
“Shush. The father warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, which he did. The wax melted, and Icarus fell to his death after the wings disintegrated. That is called Hubris”
>”Overconfidence?”
“Yes. Icarus wasn’t a god, but he acted like he was. Which leads us to Annie…”
>”...what?”
“Just like the rest of us. Annie looks like a woman, she sounds like a woman, act like one, feels like one… But at the end of the day, she isn’t a woman”
>”Right…”
“This is… like a pre programmed disease. If any of us tries to be something we are not, this happens”
>”And this is what, exactly?”
“It starts with her freezing up, just like you have seen. She will be unable to do anything for a week or so. That is the sleeping phase. Afterwards, she will get a little better, but… it’s a deceptive downhill journey. It will start with joint pain, tiredness. She will start to eat less and less, losing weight and getting weaker. The more she fights against it, the more it will hurt. Problem is, if she changes herself into the rifle, she won’t get out again”

>How do you even reply to that?
    >There was only really one way to answer

    >“How do i help her?”
    “If I am being honest, I have no idea. We got told this when we were… new, but most of us considered it ghost stories. Something told just to scare us, to make us appear only when we had to. I didn't actually know it was true before I heard about Annie”
    >”So you don't know how to help her?”
    “No, but I think I know how to not make it worse. Make sure she is as still as possible. The less she moves, the better. And try keep her fed”
    >”Thanks Gnevny… thank you. Try speak with the others, look if you can find anything that will help her, anything at all”
    “Will do”

    >And with that, Gnevny left the room
    >Which left you alone with your thoughts
    >You had to do something for Annie
    >Anything at all

    >since the computer didn't have an Internet connection you spend an entire day on your phone
    >Searching up and down on various archived forum threads on Hubris
    >And as the sun goes down you come to about the same conclusion as Gnevny did
    >Hubris really was a ghost story
    >Something geists were scared with, to make sure they would never replace real women
    >But then again, which geist would go a year and not one turn into their weapon form?

    >Annie did
    >She had relentlessly worked 7 days a week for almost a year
    >maybe she wasn't told these ghost stories
    >maybe she was, and just thought they were just that, stories
    >or maybe she just didn't have time to think about it
    >But now, whatever it was had Annie downed
    >Your job was getting her back on her feet… tomorrow
    >The light slowly faded outside
    >You washed, and went upstairs
    >Annie was sleeping, her pale skin reflecting the little remaining light her hair didn’t absorb
>She looked gorgeous
>so much so you just stopped and looked at her chest slowly rising and falling with her breath
>She looked calm
>And peaceful
>And for the first time ever… fragile
>A heavy sigh and you gently close to door to what is now her room, and make yourself comfortable in the adjacent room
>Sleep was many, worried and restless hours away

>you awoke eventually
>sometime in the late morning
>not one minute after getting dressed you walk in and check on Annie
>It seemed like she didn't move a muscle
>her face, almost like porcelain, has the same calm expression
>her right arm was folded over the stomach in just the same way
>one again, you go down to the kitchen alone to make some food that wouldn't go bad if it stood for a few hours
>A simple pea soup
>easy to make, easy to eat, and something Annie liked as well
>You didn't want to make her up, so you left the soup on the nightstand, with a cute note encouraging her to eat it
>And then back down
>calls had to be made
>seeing who could be returned when
>and monitoring the several places you asked about Hubris
>not even the Internet was much use to you
>most responses were surprised with this happening at all, and none was helpful beyond what Gnevny told you
>not one bit of advice went further than “let her rest, I guess”

>But that isn't something that would deter you
>You call some of the “colleges” that helped you in the raid
>friends
>Anyone in your phone book that might have a clue
>but nothing
>the clock had ticked past 4 and the sun was once again setting when you went into the kitchen to get a very late lunch
>But you didn't get further than opening the refrigerator door when Doll came in with a serious face

“Go and see Annie. Now. And i didn't see or hear anything”
    >you don't even bother closing the door and skip up to the bedroom
    >First is the sound
    >Annie is crying
    >Even worse, it's wasn't a quiet sob, like something she was trying to hide
    >It was loud

    >Not much to do but open the door and go inside
    >It took you two seconds before realising what has happened
    >The smell

    >”Annie…”

    >Her face is buried in her hands which don't do a very good job muffling her cries

    >”Come here… I'll wash you up”

    >you toss the soiled blanket aside and pick her up in a bridal carry
    >Annie was so ashamed of herself
    >She couldn't even look back up at you, or cling on to you with her arms, as she still covered her face with her hands

    >”Don't worry Annie, it's nothing. Don't worry about it”

    >The only bathroom with a bathtub was down one flight of stairs
    >It was a little heavy to get her downstairs, but it was a burden you would happy carry
    >A glimmer of gold har flashed around by the end of the lower staircase

    >”Doll, you and the other outside or downstairs, right now!”

    >You could sound very authoritative if you had to, not that you did very often
    >But when you raised your voice, it was very clear that there wasn't much things discuss
    >And besides, anything you could do to spare Annie any further embarrassment was worth doing
    >You manage to get the bathroom door open with your foot and gently, gently lower Annie into the bathtub
    >She’s shaking, sobbing, tears still falling down her cheek

    >”Don’t worry sweetie, it’s nothing. It’s nothing to care about. Hey, what about i was you off completely?”

    >The only response you get was sobbing

    >”Annie, i’ll get rid of these clothes and wash you off properly, no problem. Just say “no” if you don’t want it
    >She remained quiet
    >You let out a light sigh of relief and help hr out of her garments
    >Jeans and underwear would need a round in the washing machine, but they were simply tossed in the corner of the shower for the time being

    >”You know what, i was just gonna shower you, but since you’re so pretty i’m going to give you the full sponge bath. How about that?”

    >Once again, you are just answered by mumbling muffled by sobs

    >”Was that a no?”

    >No response
    >You did understand why Annie didn’t want to speak
    >She was a proud creature, and this was deeply embarrassing
    >So, you adjusted the water temperature, and then spent a long, long time washing her off
    >Many many times you gently lift her legs up, take the sponge, and scrub them clean
    >You repeat the same process on her arms, back, chest feet, hands
    >Maybe as much as an hour later Annie is as clean as she will ever be
    >Even her waist-long black hair is cleaned, and taken care of and… conditioned?
    >Whatever the that was
    >And then wrapped up into a soft towel and carried off to bed
    >In another bedroom of course
    >As you were drying her her eyelids started to get a little heavy

    >”Annie dear. Tomorrow i’ll wake up early, and make some food for us. I’ll come up here, feed you and then go away for the day, to see if i can help you, Sounds good?”

    >Tears started welling up in her eyes

    >”Honey, what is it?”

    >It takes her a full minute to formulate one sentence, but it hits the force of an angry man with a baseball bat

    The more you fight it the more it will hurt when I…
    >”Shhh. None of that. None of that”

    >She was very keen on not being a burden to anyone
    >Especially you

    >”Don’t worry Annie. I’ll do everything i can”
    >She fell asleep with you holding her hand
    >Did she hear what you said?
    >Did it matter?

    >Those were the thoughts when you put her clothes and the bedsheets in the washer
    >When you took the mattress out to soak with water and let it dry
    >When you made a solitary meal
    >When you told the rest what they should do

    >What could you do?

    >Not giving up, for starters
    >Next morning, you skip out of bed at 6 AM straight
    >Get dressed, check on Annie, take a shower, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, feed Annie, spend half an hour telling her she isn’t worthless, a burden, something disposable or an anachronism
    >Give instructions to Doll, give Annie a phone, make things VERY CLEAR to Doll
    >All done before 07:15
    >At exactly 21 minutes past 7, the inline 6 cylinder engine of the old, white BMW purrs to life and you treat the big sedan like a rally car in on the dirt road leading from the house
    >You had a list of stops to visit today
    >Two gun shops
    >One gunsmith
    >and one library

    >First up was a “local” gun shop
    >you pull up outside when they open at 8AM and go inside as their first customer
    >The clerk is in his early 20, slightly overweight, spots on his face, greasy hair and a little note on his shirt saying “New at work”

    “Good morning sir, welcome to Johnston firearms and outdoors, how can I help you?”
    >”Hey, I have a bit of an Issue with one of my rifles, you wouldn't know anything about Hubris, would you?”
    “Hubris? Doesn't really sound like… a rifle issue?”
    >”It isn't, no”
    “I could always check the logs…”

    >The man browses through a computer at lightning speed a few times
“I don't think I see anything on that… what rifle is it, may I ask?”
>”A PTRS”
“Ah, alright. H&K girls never really-”
>”No, not PTR. I mean PTRS-41, soviet anti tank rifle”
“Anti tank…?”
>”Yeah”
“Uhm… i don't think we have ever had an anti tank rifle here. I could always… write a note or something, and get my colleges to look at it, and call you back if we find anything?”
>”Very happy if you do. The girl is in quite a bit of pain, and she have troubles moving, so I want to help her as soon as I can”
“I understand. We will call back when we can. A-and one last thing…”
>”Yeah?”
“H-how tall is she?”
>”Taller than I am. And just as strong”

>The clerk doesn't respond, but rather just stare, looking a little silly

>Back out to the old sedan and plot your next stop
>Another not-at-all local gun shop
>The voice from the phone says 216 miles and over 3.5 hours
>And so the drive began
>chewing up the miles was helped a little by 80s rock music on OG cassette tapes
>because at the point you bought it, a car from 1994 seemed like a good idea
>But at the very least it was comfortable and fast

>So, at just about noon you arrive at the second scheduled stop from the 4
>Another gun store
>This one was bigger, more generalised
>Apart from a vast selection of fuddporn, they had jackets, boots, silly caps, some magazines and so on
>But it was worth a try…?

>25 minutes later you are so rather pissed off at the general incompetence of almost all of the staff
>There wasn’t any “proof” of anything you were speaking about
>You get tossed around between different staff, none of them knowing anything, and finally arriving at another fudd in the back of the store saying that geists were made up
    >A complete waste of time, then
    >Next stop is a neighbouring town, another 3 hours of driving away
    >The speed limit is a god awful 35, but it was a windy forest road, so you could happily ignore it and pretend you were actually at the Nürburgring
    >A long left hander, leading into a tighter right turn
    >followed by a straight, and then a left...
    >The little needle climbs towards the redline, before it is lowered again as the engine is given a new gear to work with

    >The mechanical dance goes on for an hour as tires squeal, brakes screech, engine sing and you giggling
    >But the road straightened out and you had to do with flipping on the cruise control
    >And following that Eddie guy’s advice and “ease the seat back” a little

    >Another 90 minutes later you push open the doors to the library
    >The section you are looking for is pitifully short on material
    >First is a large copy of “Know your Vampirwaffen” written by one “Dr. Acula”
    >What kind of name is that anyway?
    >Other books included “Keeping your Springfield happy” by “The Builder” and a positively pristine copy of “Cute guns and why they are actually little girls” by “Dick Fender”
    >Needless to say, neither of these sold very well

    >Not that you had much choice
    >You lend home most of what you find on the topic and get moving towards the last stop
    >The gunsmith
    >This was the one you had the highest hopes for
    >An old man, wise as the pages of history itself
    >many many years of experience
    >Someone who has heard a lot of stories
    >...Probably
    >The place did live up to your expectations
    >Low roof
    >thick air
    >oil stains in places
    >this could finally be the place you have looked for
    >the man who runs the place is as predicted, old
    >hair is graying and thinning
    >but his hands are strong
    >Probably someone who has worked his entire life
    >Maybe even as a soldier

    >And your hopes weren’t misplaced
    >At the mention of Hubris he actually fired up that mind of his and started thinking
    >Maybe he has heard something like this before
    >His assistant started digging into a very big bookshelf
    >There was wondering, trying to remember, looking for books
    >Getting into the store, asking other geists

    >It was actually going really well
    >Until you mentioned it was a soviet gun
    >The man stops all attempts to help you, places a 1911 on the counter and asks you to leave
    >So much for trying

    >The ride home wasn’t that bad
    >The fact you hadn’t eaten anything all day wasn’t too bad
    >you didn’t care much more having spent all day in the car either
    >being told to leave despite trying to help someone close, just because she came from the wrong side of the atlantic ocean,you could live with
    >But the pain of coming up in the room late in the evening, seeing her face light up with anticipation, and be forced to either lie to her or say you didn’t really make any progress…
    >That hurt
    >Time went on
    >you did your best driving around in town and cities nearby looking for a solution to Annie’s disease
    >But there wasn’t anything you could find
    >The internet didn’t give you much
    >The literature was amusing, but didn’t contain any information on the topic
    >Because at the end of the day, no one had a gun they didn’t fire for a year
    >Apart from you
    >You had been so busy that shooting for enjoyment just didn’t happen much
    >And It was never Annie, because she usually stayed at home, being busy
    >When she actually did follow you, one excuse or another, usually ammo price made sure she stayed behind the firing line
    >And now she didn’t even walk for herself
    >Gnevny said she would degenerate at the slowest rate if she moved as little as possible
    >Annie herself detested it of course, not being useful
    >But she was also incredibly scared of the future
    >So she swallowed her pride and will to help, and stayed in bed

    >And soon your search area had expanded so much you had to go up early in the morning with the sun, drive all day and be back at dark
    >Some days Annie wasn’t away at all when you woke up, and was asleep before you came home
    >And while you would deny it to anyone who would ask, spending an entire day behind the wheel, and only see Annie sleeping day after day took its toll on you as well
    >A frustration started building up inside you
    >It came from… helplessness
    >Annie got worse by the day
    >She like being washed at first
    >but these last days she started grimacing when you lifted her
    >you ask, and she said nothing
    >But Annie was in pain
    >Just as Gnevny said
    >Joint pain
    >as long as she remained in bed t was… bearable
    >but as soon as she started moving, or was moved rather, it hurt
    >not that she would say anything
    >She never complained about it
    >Not one word
    >It took a few weeks, but soon you had looked at pretty much every place you could drive to and return home from in a day
    >It had yielded nothing
    >Which left you with little options left
    >The first option was to expand your search area
    >this would mean you could look for more places that might know anything about the Disease
    >It also meant you would have to sleep away from home
    >you didn’t like the idea much
    >but the other option was little more than staying by her side
    >that would mean giving up on trying to cure her
    >A polite way of telling her “You're fucked, and i can't do anything about it”
    >You didn't want that
    >Neither did you want Annie to be alone
    >but in the end, it wasn't a hard choice
    >Or so you thought
    >early that morning you intended to leave, Doll bursts into your room and tells you to follow her to the window
    >You can just catch a glimpse of a pair of taillights disappearing into the woods
    >it was a silver sedan, probably mid 00s Chevrolet
    >you hurriedly tumble downstairs half dressed
    >But the car is long gone
    >But it left something behind

    >Under the windscreen wiper of the GTO, a little note is attached


    >It reads “To friend of Anti tank rifle” on the outside
    >You quickly unfold it and read the contents

    “Firstly, I must apologise for the way I get in contact, but due to certain circumstances this is the only possible way. Secondly, i apologise for threatening you in the shop a few weeks ago-”

    >This might be the geist of the 1911

    “My owner has a big heart but memories from the jungles still haunt him. It's nothing personal. My views, however, differ from his and I'd like to help you and your friend with the problems you are facing. I'm myself not able to do much, but I know someone who is”

    >the letter ended with a name and an address in a city not too far away from here.

    >You walked upstairs and read it to Annie
    >And for just a second, life was back in her eyes
    >A little spark of hope
    >It was a spark in a thunderstorm, but that’s how hope works anyway
    >Out to the car, and set off
    >It was only a two hour drive
    >you’ve been in this city before
    >Not a big one, probably under 10 000 people in it
    >Sadly, it was a complete maze
    >streets changed names, were numbered in different directions
    >After yet another 30 minutes of being lost, you finally find the road you were looking for
    >And then it was just counting the numbers
    >68...66...64...62...60...58 and…
    >56
    >Number 56 was not what you thought
    >no matter how much you looked
    >The street was correct
    >the number matched what the letter said
    >But there was no getting around the fact this was a kindergarten or something like it
    >And the GTO was not exactly an inconspicuous vehicle
    >so you resolve to calling back to the house to get an idea on what the fuck is going on
    >Because somehow going into a kindergarten and demanding to speak to a child named Angela was not a good idea
    >The car crawls to a halt and you wait for three rings before someone picks up the phone

    “Rockatansky’s house”
    >”Doll for fucks sake”
    “o-oh, Anon, i didn’t know you were going to call”
    >”You know what i have said about saying that”
    “y-yeah, sorry. I just find it-”
    >”Yeah, you think it’s hilarious, i know. Anyway, Annie is okay?”
    “Annie is… just like she was. I check in on her quite often, but she usually just sleeps”
    >”Good. Anyway, there’s a bit of a problem
    “A problem?”
    >”Yes. The address is a kindergarten or a preschool or whatever”
    “Oh. Yeah, that is a problem. Shit, i’ll check with the others. Call you back in few”

    >Doll called you back in a few
    >They had hatched a plan, apparently
    >Which left you with waiting in a nearby café for two hours and chugging down an unhealthy amount of coffee and burning up most of your phone battery doing nothing
    >Eventually, the insanely dreary Camry stopped in the parking lot, and you jumped in
    >Doll was driving, that was expected
    >What was unexpected was Gnevny
    >Or her choice of clothes rather
    >You were really unsure on what to say to her
    >So you decided to just keep quiet

    “So… are we driving, or what?”
    >”S-sure, right. yeah…”

    >The shitbox reversed out of the parking lot and set course back

    >Gnevny was certainly not a tall figure, could easily pass for being in her early teens
    >But with just a touch of age inappropriate clothing, she managed to look almost creepy young

    >”So, you’re gonna play infiltrator?”
    “Yes, daddy!”

    >Her voice was lighter, and a lot more childlike this time

    >”Gnevny, never ever do that again”
    “I want Annie back as much as you do. By the way, you two have to pretend you’re a couple now”

    >She was now back at her normal voice, who always sounded like she short several hours of sleep

    >”What exactly is your plan?”
    “How about you two sit silently in the car and look at your phones and let me do literally everything?”
    >”Uhm… Gnevny, you’re not gonna take a child, are you?”
    “Of course i’m not. Just sit here and stay cool. And you-” She points at Doll “Try look a little convincing instead of scared”

    >with that Gnevny jumps out of the Camry and heads into the little playground
    >And disappears

    >Doll mumbles a little, and then shuffles towards you and leans on your shoulder
    >You put a hand behind her and rest it on her not-quite-modest hip
    >It was all a little awkward due to the distance between the seats
    >But Doll didn’t seem to mind much
    >She had taken over Annie’s “mom role” a little since Annie spent all day sleeping
    >It wasn’t that much to do
    >But Doll took the responsibility and did as best she could
    >The poor thing didn’t get as much as a thank you for her efforts though
    >You didn’t know if she did this to play a role or just to seek some comfort
    >But right now, it was okay
    >She just needed some comfort
    >It felt a little weird though
    >But it was not at all weird compared to what happened a minute later
    >Gnevny returned
    >With a girl who probably wasn’t a day over 7 years old

    >Doll flies back up into her own seat, looking very concerned
    >You are probably not doing much better
    >Before entering the car, both girls turn towards the worried looking teacher and shouts something
    >A moment later the doors clunk shut and they settle down in the back seat

    “Anon-” Gnevny started “This is Angela. She has agreed to help you, for a price”
    “Okay, so!” The admittedly cute little girl had a young and gleeful voice, but it had a serious undertone “You said Annie had a boo boo?”

    >”W-what”
    “Not my fault twennyfive aye cee pee is little! wanna have my help ooh not!”

    >She got a little adorable when upset

    >”Right, sorry. Annie has hubris. She was a woman for too long, and… well i didn’t shoot her or anything”
    “okayie! Yoo know it’s vewy impotant to shoot guns too! And not gwown up shoot, i mean boom boom!”

    >Was she making a joke on…

    >”Yeah, i know, Angela. But we have been very busy for this last year, and Annie worked so much to help others, so we just forgot. I’m very sorry about that, and i’d like to have my dear Annie back healthy. Think you can help me?”
    “maybie. She knows it’s not okay to weplace real girls. So nojmally she is just gonna fade away”

    >She really couldn’t pronounce “R” properly

    “But you said she helped”
    >”Yeah, she has helped a lot. Doll can attest to that, for whatever it is worth”
    “Okay. I will help, but only if you… buy me ice cweam”
    >”Angela, if you help Annie get better, i will fill the entire trunk with ice cream and have it to your door. I promise”
    “Okay, i will speak to mommy. Come back on fwaiday, and buy ice cweam for all kids hewe!”
    >”I’ll drive Gnevny here, and she will have an entire trolley filled with it. Sounds good?”
    “Good. What’s youj name?”
    >”I’m Anon”
    “hahaha, youj pawents didn’t like you. But Annie does… Hmm... bai bai, see you fwaiday!”

    >With that, Angela jumps out of the car and back into the building
    >”Uhm…”
    “I got nothing” Doll said “Not a single clue”
    “She’s a Hammer” Gnevny mumbled
    “A hammer?? Her?”
    “Uh huh. As weird as that is”

    >”What’s a Hammer?”
    “Uhm…” Doll hesitates a little
    “I’ll tell you later maybe. Now get us home”

    >Gnevny sounded even more tired than she usually does
    >She was apparently not very keen on playing a little girl, no matter how young she looked
    >She was so keen on getting out of that outfit she just shuffled around and changed in the back seat
    >Not much more happened
    >You drove home back to the DIner
    >Picked up the other car
    >drove home
    >Made some food
    >Had a chat with Annie
    >She did seems happier after that
    >You fed her
    >Sat by her when she fell asleep
    >Waited some time by her and just… was there

    >Just as you stood up from the chair, Gnevny entered the room
    >Dressed in an oversized T-shirt
    >And holding a pillow
    >Her eyes were a little pleading
    >It was pretty obvious what she wanted
    >You just nodded a little, and Gnevny crawled under the blanket next to Annie
    >Her smile was calm and happy
    >but there was that miniscule hint of worry
    >That everyone had
    >You had one last, hopeful sigh before walking out of the room, flicking the light switch and gently closing the door
    >It had been a long day
    >You walked into what was your room now
    >Just dropped face first in the bed and fell asleep immediately