Fire in the Firehouse 17

A week has now passed since Marie's violent, gory and shocking death. The four men that bore witness to it have tried hard to move themselves away from those memories. It's not been easy for any of them. Though half of those that saw her demise were closer than the others, it was no less painful to see. Sleepless nights and nightmares kept flooding their minds. Stuff like that happens in movies and on TV. But this had become their reality and they each had to deal with it.

Cory and Mitch tightened their bond as they spent the most time together. Colby isolated himself and Nick reluctantly headed home. It wasn't his choice per se, however with his new home business he opted to head home to try to work through his issues and what he saw that way. He reassured the men that if need be, he'd be right back to their home.

The ride home was difficult. The ride seemed longer than normal for Nick. His mind was bogged down with thoughts of the last several days as well as the last few months. The daily stress was replaced with an emptiness. Nick was alone again. Two women he once loved were gone. One too soon, the other, sad to say not soon enough. It was true he loathed Marie, but he had once loved her and it wasn't easy to accept right off the bat she was gone. He realized the adage, 'you don't know what ya got til its gone.' Never in any other period in his life did it make more sense than now. But he had more to gain being without Marie, yet the loneliness hurt most.

He played all sorts of music, trying to establish a groove. Nothing appealed to him. At one point the man who'd been so strong couldn't take anymore, pulled over and broke down. "Damn you Marie. I did love you at one time. I don't want to face growing old alone. But what good would it do for you to be alive? You cared more about destroying me in your final days than anything. Then again, it seems this was your plan all along." He slowly came out of his funk, the emptiness remained though. That hole would take a while to fill.

The ride home was filled with plenty of memories and reflections. He had moments where he seemed fine and others where the tears flowed. The time on the road stood still for him. He really wanted to be with his kids, soon though. For now he needed to get home and heal. That and he needed to organize Marie's affairs. The divorce wouldn't happen, the laws stated he would get all things willed to him. Marie in here craziness never changed her will.

The roughest part for Nick was seeing how Marie died. It made him sick to his stomach. He kept seeing her squirm and flinch, screaming in extreme pain begging for her life. Her very life squeezed out of her body. The blood oozing from her visible orifices. Pain was washed over her face, terror awash across her face. Nick had never seen death this violent. The woman that seemed so powerful was reduced to a more power being's meal. Ironic, there's always a bigger, more dominating being. 

Back in the Bay Area, Colby was really taking it hard. He kept trying to replay the scene in his mind to see if there was something he'd missed. Occasionally he thought if he'd done this or that, things might not have come to be the way they had. He sat in a spare room, no TV, no phone, no light, sans the small rays that managed to bypass the dark, heavy drapes. He went through a wide range of emotions. At times he'd cry over seeing Marie-his former step Mom die the way she had. Other times he'd scream at himself. Nights he'd toss and turn and wasn't able to sleep. The nightmares and gruesome images haunted him. Cory and Mitch were going to take him to the hospital and have him sedated if things didn't improve by this coming evening. They were at a loss to help him and were deeply worried for him and his well being. They listened in, making sure he'd not harm himself. Though they were cautious Colby didn't detect their presence, in fear of how he might react. He was rather unstable emotionally at this point.

Colby spoke to himself, trying to make sense of things. "I don't get it. How could this happen? Is karma that vicious? Was Marie that bad?" He paused, allowing his own words to sink in. "What am I saying? She was out to destroy Dad and me from the time she first entered our lives. I just can't understand this. Why am I taking it so hard? She was never any good to me." He stopped speaking, fearful Cory and Mitch might be listening in. Once satisfied he heard nothing outside his door, he casually, and somewhat brokenheartedly spoke again. "I guess maybe because she's the only Mom I've ever known. I think hating her while alive gave me some solace. She was a living being worth despising, a target for my years of pent up feelings; good, bad or indifferent. Now I'm left with my own guilt. But why this guilt? I did nothing wrong. I was a damn good son. Especially under the circumstances. She never loved me or Dad, the bitch. She loved his money. So, why am I so upset?" Colby was driving himself crazy. He got up, looked out his door, saw neither man and headed to his office to retrieve his laptop. He wanted to touch bases with Cole. Sure, calling him would be easier, but he wasn't sure he wanted to walk down that path and talk about it all he was feeling to another person.

Cory was off reading, trying to distract his mind. It wasn't easy, his mind kept repeating the images. It seemed the harder he tried, the more it came back to him. It wasn't effecting him as deeply not being so connected to Marie, but just the same he couldn't shake what he saw. Her death bothered him because of what he saw. It was grisly, there was no disputing that fact. There was a secret part of him that felt karma bit her in the ass, literally.

Mitch was off making dinner. He was busting his ass to make all the things his lover enjoyed and to push the images of Marie's suffering from his mind. He and Cory both knew they needed to keep the foods available and keep Colby eating. Mitch was worried and had used his powers more times than he'd ever had, but for good cause. Overall, the initial scan of his beloved seemed positive. He just knew it wise to give the other his space. Be there, but not overbearing.

Colby got his laptop and signed on. He began an email to Cole. He was hopeful sharing this would help his healing. And since Cole knew Marie, he knew his life long friend would share his feelings and understand him better. Plus he knew it'd feel good and do his soul some good to get things off his chest.

Drake, 

How are you? Things have been crazy here. I'm not sure if it made the news or not, but Marie is dead. She was killed a few days ago by a Great White shark. The four of us guys were on a fishing trip and Marie showed up out of nowhere, it was crazy and yet vintage Marie for the person she truly became in the last few months. Hell, she even had a grenade with her. It was crazy. In a way she sealed her own fate doing what she did. Problem is, makes it no less difficult to work through. I want to open up, but I can't. Its nothing against my brother and Mitch. I have nothing to say really. Its all emotions I can't express. I dunno. I'm rambling.

I know Marie was an evil and deceitful and manipulative woman-Lord knows she was no lady. But she's all I had as a Mom. And I mean up until I was a certain age, I knew no better. This is crazy. She tried to destroy me, Dad, Mitch, hell even you two, and even fixed it where we never knew about Cory. But this is ludicrous. Why am I feeling such a loss? 

Colby continued on, pouring out his heart and soul, not realizing his subconscious was betraying him, but not in a bad way. This was a man that before Cory was his only brother. Mitch and Cory separately walked by to see how Colby was doing. They heard him whittling away at his keys and both concluded he was writing Drake. And that made them both feel good. They knew he was making progress.

The light haired man sat in his room surfing the Internet for a while after sending his letter. A little while had passed and he heard the sound alerting him to a new email. He was hopeful it was from his friend. "Spam. All I ever fucking get is more Spam. What the hell?" He was quick to delete the unwanted email, let down it wasn't what he was hoping for.

Cory came to the door, knocked and spoke, "Hey, bro. Dinner's ready. You hungry?" There was a pause for a few moments. Colby heard his brother, but wanted to ignore him hoping he'd go away. Cory knocked again. "C'mon out bro and eat. You need to eat if nuttin else." Colby signed off. He knew he'd never hear the end of it if he didn't show his face. 

He slowly made his way out. He knew he was setting himself up by showing his face. The questions would start. He braced himself. Mitch surprised him and just smiled. Cory did the same. This frustrated him. He waited a few moments and said nothing. This was irking him. He wanted the attention and they knew it, revers psychology sucked. He began slamming things like his fork and can of soda. He was craving attention, childish as it seemed.

Mitch decided to treat him like the kid he was acting like. "Is there something wrong Colby?" He played up to his actions, but not enough to give him what he was looking for. He knew exactly what was going on, but he chose to take a lesser traveled path and try to defuse the situation rather than add to it.