It took a whole week of convincing, but the day Jesse was meant to leave, the group of four heard clattering down the stairs from the second story. They watched as a single suitcase and a duffel bag were thrown sassily into the hallway, Jesse smirking as the youngest of three slid down the steps on her second suitcase with a sour expression. She collected her bags and marched to her eldest sister.

         "On one condition." She raised a finger. "No make-overs. I refuse to look like some city himbo like you."

     Jesse had heard the insult far too many times to care. She knew Marissa didn't mean it anyway.

         "Deal-" she paused, "but can I at least buy you some cute clothes? It's been forever since we went shopping!"

     With a begrudging sigh, Marissa nodded halfheartedly, refusing to let the excitement of a shopping trip show in front of her gagging brother.

         "You'll call us once a week?" Lilian questioned with a worried tone. She knew very well her youngest could take care of herself, but the comforts of home suddenly seemed far safer than letting her baby girl go to a big place like Mission City.

         "I'll call once a day." Marissa assured with a smile. "Don't let dad get that stupid TV working again, okay?"

         "So, it is you." Shane huffed, folding his arms. "I wondered why my News Channels weren't working."

         "You listen to the News on the radio nearly 24/7!" His youngest argued. "Seeing pictures ain't going to make your daily dose of depression any better."

     The group hugged each other tightly, though Marissa insisted she was going to be back after the month of what she called "the vacation to hell". Jesse continued with her spiel of 'it grows on you' and something about 'maybe it will become a stay-cation', but Marissa was having none of it as she piled her three totes into the back of the once shining rental car (dirt roads were not made for shiny new vehicles).

         "If I call saying I'm moving to Mission City, assume I was kidnapped and being held at gunpoint." Marissa coughed as dust from the back hatch rose from closing it.

         "Ah, we both know they wouldn't keep you for more than a few hours." Jesse snickered.

         "A few hours and they'd be dead!" Lucas insisted, earning a smirk from his little sister. It didn't bode well as she pat him on the back.

         "Speaking of being dead, remember that little present you left in my room?" The man gulped. He thought one of his parents cleaned it up before Marissa could notice it. She hadn't said a word. "Yeah, might want to check under your JEEP's hood."

     The 25-year-old nearly shrieked as he bolted for the manual. Coughing dust from the manure she had planted under the hood; a plume rose up like deadly spores. He hollered profanities at her as she hummed her amusement, earning a stern look from her father, but the woman only shrugged.

         "Don't get even," she started one of his favorite lines, "get ahead." 

     The galaxy haired man chuckled, knowing he was usually the one to spur his children on when they were younger. His wife frowned at the profanities her son had developed from working at the mechanic's shop. When he didn't show signs of stopping, even after a polite interjection for him to be quiet, she leaned on Shane to lift her left foot, threatening to take off her shoe. The familiar movement forced Lucas to shut up quickly, and he muttered something about having to clean his engine anyway. 

         The aged woman nodded her approval.

     Many tears were shed by the motherly figure, who found it difficult to let her youngest go. Even if it were only for a month, she felt it would be the last time she saw her for years to come. She tried to convince herself it was for the woman's future, but it was her baby, the last she had. Marissa wasn't a miracle child by no means, but progeny is progeny, and it was hard to let go. Years of homeschooling and flus, colds and twisted ankles, happy cries and sad ones made it difficult to just watch her move away, even for a little while.

         "You'll call-"

         "Every day." Marissa nodded as she let her mom go from the crushing hug. "I know dad still doesn't understand the Wi-Fi, and that computer is ancient, so no I will not be checking for emails. Technology is great but I like hearing your voices."

         "You best be taking care of your sister." Shane ordered his oldest, who shrugged as she shoved the fifth suitcase in the back seat. She was the over-packer of the family; always had been.

         "Yeah-yeah, I'm pretty sure she can take care of herself." Jesse admitted, earning a glare from the youngest. "But don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't accidentally turn into a street corner pimp or brothel bar keeper."

         "Don't joke about that," Lilian stated crossly, "and you better get going, or you'll miss your flight!"

         "First class, baby!" Jesse grinned; fingers pointed upward like a gun towards the sky. "Get in Tater Tot, I'm driving."

         "No way! You drive like a city slicker." Marissa argued, but Jesse ultimately won.

     Lucas hugged his sisters before they left, swearing he'd get Marissa back for dumping horse poop on his car's motor. She merely blew him an air kiss as she got in the passenger side, waving out the car window as her older sister drove off, kicking dust and blinding their view of the farmhouse and three shrinking figures. 

     Sitting correctly in her seat, Marissa cringed as the speedometer rose to 55 MPH on the 30 MPH farm road. 

         "You think this is bad?" Jesse laughed, but Marissa insisted she not tell her how horrible traffic in Mission City could be. 

     Two plane rides later, and an 8 hour lay-over, the two sisters reached the bustling city. The eldest was confused when the clerk at the previous airport informed her that the plane was rescheduled due to technical difficulties, but it didn't matter much when she still had two days of vacation left. Jesse knew she'd need the time to recoup from her "Farmville excursion", as she put it. Marissa didn't care either way, she just wanted her month of city slicker hell to be over. 

     She really only came to stop Jesse from griping about 'not knocking it until she tried it'. The woman saw enough on the TV when her father was first obsessed with it. Shootings and riots because of the smallest inconveniences like a lack of flour or some other grocery item. 

     Didn't people know they could make flour themselves?

Other than her own sanity, and her sister's happiness, she didn't come for anything else. Maybe some nice shorts and a new shirt when they went shopping.

     Looking around the airport, she couldn't remember the name of it, only that it sounded profane when said five times fast; or something like that. When her sister finally started moving after staring at her phone, Marissa sighed, noticing she didn't grab any of her bags from the Baggage Claim area. She likely hired someone to do it for her. 

         "So, where to next?" The bored tone waved over her older sister's ear. The heels she was sporting couldn't be comfortable, their clicking matching the plastic sound of the wheels on Marissa's two suitcases.

         "The parking lot," she informed, staring at her phone again, "to find our cab. I booked one yesterday, so he should be arriving punctually."

     When they stepped outside, Marissa noticed a stack of bags by a cab and recognized it as her sister's. The cab driver tipped his cap at the two. Marissa wasn't too impressed with his crooked smile and unkept beard, but Jesse was apparently pleased as she smiled sweetly. They chatted while the youngest of three tossed the plethora of bags into the back of the cab. From the weight of Jesse's alone, she swore the obnoxious yellow car lowered a full ten inches.

        "Jesse, stop flirting," Marissa called to her sister, who huffed, annoyed.

         "I'm not flirting. For your information I cut Mr. Halt's wife's hair, and she pays in cab fare."

     If there was one thing that never left Jesse after she moved to the city, it was her kind heart. 

         "I'm Marissa." The girl shoved a hand toward Mr. Halt, who took it kindly. His hands were calloused, but it looked more like he earned them from fist fights than actual hard work.

         "Halt, Jason Halt." He greeted with his crooked smile. "Pleased to meet the sister my wife tells me so much about."

         "Whatever she heard, it's a lie." Marissa smirked, eyeing her sister's frown. "I'm just here for a while. Then I go back home."

         "She guessed as much when your sister told her of this diabolical plan."

     Jesse shushed him playfully, and the man giggled like a child with a fun little secret. It only made Marissa's suspicion rise, but from the expression on her sister's face, that was the point.

         "So, you have a new apartment already, then?" Mr. Halt asked his passenger, who appeared confused in the back seat as they rolled away from the airport.

         "Why would I need a new apartment?"

     The cab driver frowned deeply.

         "Large scale terrorist attack, I'm surprised you didn't hear it. It's all over the news and in the paper. Ton of buildings crashed into; lives lost-"

     The sisters looked to each other with frowns. If the situation was a bit more lighthearted, Jesse would have blamed Marissa for not knowing since she refused to let anyone turn on the News while the whole family was together. Except when their dad was working in the garden or the field (he couldn't work without something to listen to, or so he claims) but that was the local news. 

         "How much was lost?" She decided to question.

         "From your place, nearly everything." Mr. Halt sighed. "Me and a couple friends tried to salvage what we could when they allowed civilians in for a while. We found some pictures and other things. Glad you kept your files and stuff in a metal container. All that lived."

     Jesse sighed in relief, knowing that had her birth certificate and other such important items.

         "Can you take us to the sight?" She asked politely.

     Jason argued with her for a minute or two, but he ultimately caved and turned his left turn signal on. Apparently, they weren't allowing civilians in anymore, and had a large perimeter taped off and guarded. Jesse didn't care as the man parked and stomped towards the yellow tape, two beefy looking guards pointing their batons at her and warning the woman not to come closer. She just ignored them, more concerned with her ringing phone. When the man on the other line answered, she let him have it.

         "So, the entire building falls like Adam and Eve, and you just ignore the fact that I lived there too?" The two military men blinked at her outburst, looking to the shorter woman who had followed her sister once she realized what she was doing. She didn't follow to stop her, but to explain to the two very confused men.

         "I explained to you before I left, Kristopher, I was going on vacation and gave you my parent's number!" A short pause, and an unimpressed expression made everyone in the quiet road stiffen. "Inconvenient? I'm told by my cab driver this happened a few days ago, five to be exact, and you claim it was too inconvenient to call me. You know what- I'm going to call every single person who lived in that building and find out for myself if you've taken care of them. If I find you have neglected those tenants, I'm suing you. If I find out I'm the only one you haven't called, I'm suing you!"

     She hung up heatedly, glaring at the two guards who did nothing to deserve a new hole in their head caused by her laser beam eyes. 

         "Is everyone who lives here sue-happy?" Marissa whispered to one of the guards, who shrugged, but nodded at the same time, so she guessed it depended on the person. "Thanks for your understanding you two." They nodded to her as she left them to join her fuming sister. "I hope you have a backup plan."

         "That jerk-wad is just fortunate I have another client who owes me a favor." She huffed, turning on her heel and charging back to the cab, its driver reading the newspaper as if he wasn't listening from the open window.

         "You sound like you run a drug cartel." Marissa snickered.

         "I sell addictive hair dyes on the side." She joked with a wink, and the shorter sister rolled her eyes with a small smile.

     Passing a light pole, Marissa caught a sharp reflection to the eye, making her squint. She stopped, unnoticed by her sister, to find the source of said painful beam. It was a habit when one lived on a farm for so long with dogs that could get nails or glass stuck in their feet. She knew it was probably just a broken bottle, or a piece of ruined bumper, but she couldn't help but investigate, nonetheless. 

     Glancing to her retreating sister, Marissa dashed toward the dented pole, its clear cover shattered from who knows what. She guessed she was just going to find the shattered pieces, coming closer only to find a strangely attractive piece of metal. She looked toward the two guards, who weren't paying attention anymore, at least, not to her anyway. She felt like grabbing this piece of metal was illegal somehow. Shrugging the feeling off, Marissa picked up what she decided to dub her "souvenir". 

         "I'll leave without you!" Jesse threatened playfully, Marissa jumping up and dashing towards the cab. 

     She heard Mr. Halt joke about her being a crow finding something shiny, making the older of the two giggle. Marissa was tempted to say that she did, but the metal piece in her baggy cargo shorts pocket suddenly felt like a huge and heavy secret. 

         'I was never much for souvenirs,' she admitted to herself, 'but it's not every day you get to keep something from a terrorist attack.'