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Skan stood, staring at the gravestones marked "Silvara and Tad Erreden", tears welling up in his eyes. They were both Skan's age, only nineteen. Still teenagers. And dead.
They had found happiness with each other, an emotion Skan could never have hoped to comprehend. He never was, and thought he never would be, in love. He had girlfriends that changed nearly every month. And only now did he wish it could be otherwise. Tad was truly happy with Silvara.
Skan did not believe in a Heaven or Hell. And only now did he wish he could. This way, he would know that both of them truly are happy together, for all eternity. Not dead, forever. It was too much.
In a way, Skan blamed himself for this. How much WAS his life worth? One hundred million dollars? Was his life worth that of both his brother and sister-in-law? No. The tears in Skan's eyes threatened to start pouring, so Skan took off his sunglasses absently and rubbed at his eyes. Why didn't they just pay the fine? Skan was sure that all of his money, plus the price of his house and Omnigear, would be enough to equal the ransom price. Why did they have to come save him?
Skan closed his eyes, breathing slowly. He had suffered severe internal wounds and was only now recovering.
Skan kapt Tad's old gun, the C-14. Not because it was a good gun, but because it was his only existing link to his dead brother. Whenever he would use it, Skan hoped he would remember Tad.
Tad was emotionally scarred for life, that much Skan knew. From the age of eight to fourteen, Tad was an actual slave to the elves. That was more than anybody could handle, it was too much trauma. Nobody could blame him for hating elves, but everybody did anyway. Tad's history led to a bloodthirsty and triggerhappy attitude. But nobody understood him. Skan's tears began to flow unhindered. He did nothing to stop them.
Skan could not bear to have the bodies of Tad and Silvara buried in a normal graveyard. Neither one is just a face in the crowd, just another dead person. Both of them were buried in Skan's back yard, dressed in their finest clothes. Several came to the funeral Skan held, but only because of Skan. Very, very few came due to a friendship with Tad.
Erected to the two graves were two more tombstones, but neither one with a body buried underneath. One of them did not have a name, and no years to tell how old the person was. It was the child of Tad's and Silvara's, that died before even being named or born. The other was of Skan and Tad's real Dad, not the man named Vree Erreden, who married Skan's mother. The man who left but never came back, before Skan and Tad were even born. Dead, or maybe he abandoned his family. Skan knew that they were homeless, so either one was very possible. However, the man (Erich, his name is. Skan doesn't know his last name) was assumed dead by Skan and his family, and buried hear, with his son, daugher-in-law, and grandchild.
"Skan!" yelled a voice from inside Skan's house. "It died down again!"
Skan turned around. Alex was still inside the house, not outside. Good. Skan didn't want the boy to see him cry. "Just a second!" Skan called out. He looked over his shoulder at the four graves for a moment longer, then strode into the large house.