We were walking through the town, "Think the meat from Grace Field Farm is still on the run?" We heard demons talk, "That happened almost a year ago, they're probably all dead by now." Its friend replies.
There was a jingle of a bell as we enter the temple, five demons walked in, "Welcome back!" The kids come out, "Thanks, sorry we're late." I take my mask off and flick my long black hair out from the robes, "How did it go Nat?" Thoma asks, "Ta-Daaa!" Don lifts the basket off his back, "Sorry, we couldn't get much food today either." Emma says as the kids peer into the almost empty baskets, "It's okay!" "We'll be fine!" They nod, Jemima's stomach rumbled, then Mark's, I couldn't hold it in, I snickered then burst out laughing, everyone else laughing soon after, we heard small footsteps, "Welcome back!" Dominic and Christie were at the entrance, I smile, "Thanks." Emma smiles, Dominic ran into my chest and I hugged him tightly.
Anna was preparing dinner that night, stew with the remaining vegetables and ingredients we had, we passed bowls around until everyone had some, clasping out hands, "Thank you for the food." We bow our heads, we all ate in silence, finishing our meal in front of the large stone statue. "This is for tomorrow and this is for the day after." Anna prepares to ration our food, "What should we do?" Yvette asks, "Tomorrow for sure! I'll get lots of food!" Emma promises, "Don't work too hard. All we have to do is share." Christie held his sheets, "We can get creative with how to make soup!" Mark nods, "I love soup!" Rossi runs in, "But..." Emma says quietly, "It's okay Emma. We're all going to be fine, Anna smiles, I walk next to her, "She's right, we have each other. I'm sure we can figure something out." I put my hand on her shoulder as the two of us look at the kids preparing for the night.
"Now ending transmission." The radio clicks off, "Good. Looks like everything was pretty normal at the House today." Gilda nods, "What should we do now?" Nat asks, "We can't keep running forever." Don looks down, "We're able to hide from the pursuers here, we get reception so we can check on the Houses but..." I bring my legs up higher, "Ever since the attack on the shelter we've been unable to do anything." Ray threads his fingers with mine, "It would have been possible at the shelter, but we can't bring Phil and the others here. We have our hands full too." Gilda rests her chin on her knees, "Could we really make it to this place?" We look at the red dot, miles away from where we were, "It's so far away..." Anna sighs.
"I'm starting to hate myself, I thought I knew, I was even prepared. What waits outside is a world of demons. Living outside means we'll be surrounded by enemies that we all have to survive. That we have to obtain housing and food, on our own from now on. I knew, I knew and made the decision to bring them out. I have to protect everyone. But I'm making them endure so much and we're barely surviving each day. I can't let them live like this. And I still have to go save Phil and the others as soon as possible. I can't do anything. I'm just so... so..." I saw my hair fall to the ground, "Beautiful. Every day I see you, I fall in love with you more Nat. You're strong, you're fearless, you're a hunter. I'm alive right now because I escaped with you, same for the others. No one blames you. So you shouldn't blame yourself either. You chose to do the right thing and so did we. Let's think about what to do going forward." I felt a pair of lips at the back of my neck as I see more of my hair fall to the ground, "I love your hair, it's so soft and so long." Ray runs his fingers through it as he cuts another section off, "It's getting so long, it's already down to my waist," I pick a lock between my fingers, "It's moments like these I cherish more than anything. When it's just you and me." I close my eyes, feeling the black hair tickle my skin as it falls down, "I love you, I promise we'll get out of here someday, we'll get to the human world, fulfil our dream." I felt his breath tickling my neck as his hands rest around my waist, his right hand slowly creeping up, the moonlight being our only light, I grab two strands of hair from the front, near my face and start to braid them, tieing them off and flipping it over my head to create almost a braided crown, we were getting older, it was becoming more and more obvious, our faces were getting slimmer and longer, our bodies growing taller and losing the 'baby fat'. Ray and Don were shooting up, their voices getting slightly deeper each day and their shoulders getting broader, the boys being more protective than ever. Gilda, Emma and I were getting older too, our chests slowly getting larger and us too growing in other places. We were fourteen, going on fifteen soon, "I love you too Ray." I lean my head back slightly onto his shoulder and he rests his head into my neck, "Shall we head back to the beds?" I ask softly, "I just want to stay like this, just you and me." I felt him kiss my neck, "You always smell so sweet." I shuddered lightly, "Ray..." I breathe out.
