Resilience Run

Chapter 9

It had only been a couple of days, but the party had gone from two to four so quickly, and now both boys that had joined started calling me "mom," which was unexpected, but quite welcome. Baugh was so excited when we packed up to go, it was all it took to keep him from jumping through the roof and keeping him still, especially when we got to a store so we could get him some supplies, like a tent, a bag, and some better clothes, which we were lucky the store had for us to give to him.

"You mean all of this is mine now?!" Baugh said as he got dressed and looked at his bag.

"All yours," I said, "Just try to keep it all safe, okay?"

"I will, Mom! Thank you!" said Baugh, sparking another pang of warmth in my heart, the feeling of a proud parent that reminded me of my mom's smile, or my dad's laugh. As Baugh pulled on his pants, I took a moment to touch my dad's jacket that was still in my own bag. Then, when I was pulling it out, something else fell out of the bag as well, something I had completely forgotten about.

"Katie's bracelet..." I said, taking out and examining the object. Katie, our dear friend, who had been violently killed by one of the Runners. We had believed she would survive, but fate had other plans for us, and she didn't make it. The only things we had left of hers were the bracelet in my hand, and the bag around my shoulder, which she had stolen from one of the Runners.

"She must have put it in there before..." Rhys said, choking up before she could finish her sentence and turning away. I didn't blame her in the slightest. Every time I thought of Katie, I tried to think of her at her best, when she was wise-cracking, or smiling, or keeping us going, but my mind kept going to the horrible injuries she suffered, like her arm being cut off or her entire body being burned away, the injury that ultimately killed her.

"Who's Katie?" Baugh asked, "Is she another friend?"

"She most certainly was," said Rhys, "But she's no longer with us."

"Oh." said Baugh, "Well, when will you get to see her again?"

"Maybe one day." I said, "Maybe."

"Definitely." Rhys said. Felice nodded as well.

"Oh, hello!" said Baugh, "Are you another new friend?"

It took us all a moment to realize that Baugh was talking to Felice, who had revealed herself, probably without really thinking about it. There was silence for a moment before I piped up.

"Yes." I said.

"Okay!" said Baugh, "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to officially meet you as well Baugh," said Felice, "My name is Felice."

"Okay, Felice!" said Baugh. He then looked back down at his bag and started fiddling with it again, the conversation apparently over.

"Well, that went easier than I thought it would be." Felice said to just me.

"Baugh doesn't seem like the kind of kid to dwell on things," I said, "He just goes with the flow. Look at how well he bounced back when he came with us."

"Maybe they can sense you're the person they're supposed to be with," said Felice, "Fate does have a habit of working in mysterious ways."

"I'm not much of a believer in fate," I said as I packed some drinks and potions into my bag, "After all, fate forced me to end up here, where I have to fight for my life every single day."

"Where you also have the chance to save us all, and took it," said Felice, "The Run has been put to an end thanks to you, and it's only a matter of time before the Runners finish what they started all those years ago and stop the Emperor and his hideous plans."