“I… I can't talk to her”.
“You're being childish. It seems as though she is the only adult amongst you. Not that it needs to be explained, but she only snapped back because you pushed her into a corner, it's only natural”.
“So did you”.
“You're her mother, regardless of what or who she is, it's your role to protect her, and instead you've driven her away”.
“Like you did me, mother? You're the last person to lecture anyone, believe me. Besides, you and her don’t have the rosiest relationship either”.
“I'm not her mother, it's you she'll look more towards for support and guidance. I did my very best by you as I knew how to, so don't you dare start that talk”.
Christine laughed.
“Yeah… right. Was that your best? Barely paying me attention? Holding me up to impossible standards?”
“I was a perfectionist, my industry relies on it and I strived towards it to be respected and revered in a world dominated by males, so excuse me if I didn't just want you to be another mollycoddled privileged brat who expects the world to come to her, which you've evidently shaped out to be, all the things I fought so hard to not be, needy, pathetic. You don't even know how your daughter found out about your activities, so blinded were you by your need for affection”.
Fighting the urge not to swear at her mother and put her in her place, Christine didn't dignify her mother with a reply. In some part she was right, right about all of it, she had no idea Rachel knew what she knew and if she had known, would she have called a truth revealing meeting? Furthermore, was not hiding her truths just a reflection of the very person she loathed. Her mother was right, she was pathetic, and she just hated being exposed for who she really was.
Fighting the urge to break down in front of her mother, her eyes averted to her phone notifications, something she had been disregarding in her efforts to locate her husband. One from SBC, or Sun Broadcasting News in particular caught her attention.
“There was a terror attack on London…”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?” Martha snapped back.
“I'm being serious, look”, Christine replied, rushing over to sit beside her mother. She switched on the Wi-Fi to read the article and read it out loud to her mother.
“I… I don't believe it”, Martha murmured, slouching back into the seat in shock as Christine showed her picture after picture, video after video.
“My God… all those people, it’s like hell on Earth. Heavenly father, please protect those people, including those who have sinned. Protect my family and friends and those who do not live according to the bible”. There would certainly be a great deal of repenters today, you could bet your bottom on that. “Is there anyone you need to reach, mother? I'm going to check up on friends and colleagues”.
“Maybe the hospital, but that can wait. Do what you must”.
“Okay”, Christine replied and dialled in the first number on the long list of London friends and associates.
12:00pm - 5 hours, 15 minutes since outbreak in London
Lori endlessly cycled through videos on the video sharing site, Vyou, captivated by the magnitude of the chaos in London, disregarding her data roaming charges. If this hadn't fucking ruined the holiday spirit, she didn't know what would.
“Chaos London, attacks on London and London MET are trending on Chirper. In fact the top five trends are all dedicated to the events in London. One of them is some girl documenting the whole thing. It's horrific!” Rachel exclaimed.
“I know… I’m just looking at these videos of poor people running from others. Some of the things I have seen so far are making me feel physically sick, but I just can't seem to avert my eyes”, Lori replied.
Edward remained silent as he checked his phone, he had been silent for the past few minutes now, so the two women had almost forgotten he was there with them, at least until he quite abruptly stood up.
“I have a few calls to make, so I think I'll be heading back to my cabin. Thank you for making sure I was okay, girls. I appreciate it tremendously. Rachel, you shouldn't have had to find me in that atrocious state, I was an embarrassment to you and most of all myself. I am thoroughly ashamed. When I heard about your mother, I… just wasn't in a rational state of mind. It's pathetic, shows weakness and resolves nothing. I need to talk to you mother. I can't guarantee anything positive will come of it, but I can’t avoid confronting her forever. I'm a complete mess at the moment, but from this day on, it’s restart”.
“That’s… good to hear, dad”, Rachel replied gazing up at him.
“First thing on the agenda, washing myself off, I'm sticky and disgusting’.
“You can say that again”, Rachel replied, no longer looking his way. She was a little too preoccupied with a video of a man peering out of the window of a double-decker bus and filming using his phone. Lori glanced over, fascinated by the sounds coming from Rachel’s phone.
“I’ll be taking my leave”, Edward announced and made his way out of the cabin, the two women paying him no heed.
The people on the bus appeared panicked and hysterical, as the bus, stuck in traffic found itself surrounded by fleeing people running in the opposite direction.
“You're seeing the chaos as I see it folks, this shit is as real as it gets and unreal at the same time. You couldn't make this shit up!” The man declared for the camera. Suddenly he spotted one particular man being chased by a woman and zoomed in for a
