Red Flowers

Chapter 4

Aster wasn't much of a thrill-seeker. And this was entirely evident in the way she clung to Raphael for dear life as he jumped and flipped from rooftop to rooftop. Though she couldn't see anything, it felt like her world was spinning and a heavy case of motion sickness set itself in the back of her throat. That in itself was enough to keep her from screaming with each drop within the air. Then the final drop came and Raphael let them drop all the way to the ground. She let out an instinctual squall of sorts just before his feet hit the ground. Raphael grunted at the impact.

Without giving her any time to steady herself, he put Aster down on her own shaky knees while he lifted up a man-hole cover nearby. They were in a dark alleyway that no one ever went through.

Thinking it was safe to do so, Aster started to undo the strings of her hood, but Raphael stopped her.

"Keep it on. We've still got some ground to cover," he half-whispered. Aster removed her hands and instead crossed them over her chest. It was cold. He'd been right about that. She hugged her arms around herself tighter, her heart continuing to thunder in her chest despite being safely on the ground. Suddenly, Raphael was in front of her once more, "I'm grabbin' you again." Aster hadn't had time to respond before he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She huffed almost indignantly at all this man-handling, but her deep-rooted anxiety kept her from protesting. As Raphael climbed downwards on the ladder inside the man-hole, she became keenly aware of her missing phone and quickly remembered that it was still lying in the gravel on top of her apartment building. She began to sweat despite the temperature, her heart dropping to her stomach. She wouldn't be able to call for help if this went sideways. Heck, it was already sideways. She was blindfolded. She had no idea where she was or where this mutant creature was taking her. Raphael said they just wanted to talk to her, but she couldn't be sure what their intentions for her were when they arrived . Aster knew she couldn't run. He would catch her easily. The reality of her situation was setting in. There was no way out for her.

Raphael made it to the last rung of the ladder and stepped down to the floor of the sewer. He began walking down one of the tunnels when he felt the girl on his shoulder begin to shake strangely. He kept walking until he heard her hiccup against him. She's fucking crying! Not sure what to do, he awkwardly asked, "Hey uh...what's wrong?" He cringed internally at himself.

Aster started sobbing uncontrollably, slightly muffled by her hoodie. Because he didn't know what else to do, Raphael quickly stopped and put her down. He hesitated, but he undid her and pulled it away from her face hoodie too. She stood facing him but seemed to curl into herself more with each sob. He didn't really know where to go from here. Raphael wasn't exactly the comforting type. So he just repeated himself.

"What's wrong?" Aster tried to pull herself together, but, so overwhelmed with the tidal waves of emotions, she could only choke out a desperate plea.

"Please don't kill me," she sobbed out. The echo in the tunnels was already intense, but with how loud she was being, Raphael was sure that her voice was carrying half a mile in all directions. Aster hadn't allowed herself the opportunity to cry since that night in the diner, hadn't allowed herself to confront her own inner turmoil and the trauma at what had happened. The fear she felt every day, constantly looking over her shoulder, afraid that man would come back to hurt her more. It just so happened that this new very strange and stressful situation had pushed her over the edge to near hysteria.

"Shh shhh," Raphael tried, but to no avail. He dragged his hand over his face and sighed, "This is why I said Mikey or Donnie should've come...We're not gonna kill you!" he whisper-yelled. He was partially crouching in an attempt to get her attention, and his hands were hovering in the air awkwardly.