Resilience Run

Chapter 11

I had learned my lesson at this point in our travels; always keep an eye on your back, and don't let anyone or anything sneak up on you. The paranoia was annoying, but it was gonna keep us alive, so I kept it up as we walked through the woods.

"You know, I could keep an eye out for you," said Felice after some time of the four of us walking through the woods, "So you don't have to be so on edge all the time."

"Not to mention the rest of us are here," said Rhys, "Paranoia and keeping on edge in these parts is usually a good idea when you're traveling alone, but in a group like ours, there's really no reason to worry."

"I don't want to take that risk," I said, "Especially since we have kids with us."

"We're going to be fine," said Rhys, "You're worrying a little too much, Riley."

"I don't think there's such thing as that around here." I said, "Especially after everything we've been through."

"Fair enough, but I think we have enough eyes looking around," said Rhys, "Try to take some breaths."

"I agree, at least a little bit," said Felice, "Moor-acu, we're going to be okay."

"I'll try," I said, "But no promises."

I at least tried to act like I was calming myself down, but my mind was still going fast, wondering what was going down around me, not just with Rhys and the kids, but also with the Empire.

"Worrying about what that mad emperor will do is just going to make your mental state worse, moor-acu," said Felice, "There's nothing you can do about that."

"I'm kind of surprised you aren't as worried as I am," I said, "After all, we're talking about the same man who killed you, right? Why don't you seem scared of him?"

"I was never scared of Easton," said Felice, "He was never a man to be feared, at least for me. I just pretended to show him respect when we were in public together. Behind the scenes, he submitted to me."

"He did?!" I said.

"Most of the time." Felice said, "For what it's worth, his love, if you could call it that, was genuine. I believe, in his own sick way, he cared about me, until..."

Felice stopped in her words and vanished. I was used to it at this point; when Felice got stressed or started panicking when she wasn't controlling me, she would vanish so she could get a hold of herself. I reassured her, and let her know silently that when she was ready to come back, we were ready for her.

"It seems like she keeps freezing up whenever she mentions her relationship," said Rhys, "I hope she's okay."

"It used to be worse," I said, "She wouldn't let me talk to her about anything at all concerning her past. At first, I thought it was just that she didn't remember anything, but now I'm thinking it might have been really, really bad for her."

"Murder is probably something really traumatic." Rhys said.

"That's the kind of sarcasm I would've expected from Katie." I said.

"Well we have to overcompensate now that she's gone." said Rhys. She smiled, but the smile quickly faded.

"Do you still miss her?" Rhys asked.

"Of course I do," I said, "I wish she were here, she'd be living for us going on the lamb like this."

"On the what now?" Rhys asked, "What does that even mean?"

I laughed. Rhys laughed too.

"Who's Katie?" Baugh asked, knocking both of us out of our moment of humor.