Children's Games: A Story of Modern Punishment

Chapter 50 - Emilia

~Emilia~

The gun moved from her forehead and her eyes shot back open to see his dark eyes were already locked with hers. Jonny grabbed her hand with unsettling force and pressed the gun to her thumb as a small sound escaped her throat. He pulled the trigger just as she pulled a blade to rest threateningly just under his rib.

A small pinprick erupted from her thumb and the gun beeped. Emilia let out a staggering breath as she looked at the weapon... it was a small device, like a hand-held thermometer that had a small screen that lit up blood red. Jonny stared at it for a few seconds before his eyes lifted back to hers in complete confusion. She breathed again, her heart starting to beat as she slowly put her knife back in her sleeve.

Jonny reached over to inspect her bleeding thumb, but she immediately pulled from his grip and snatched at the device, pulling it down so that she could see the bright screen illuminating her vision in red.

"What the hell is this?" She took a deep breath, ignoring his hold remaining on her hand, wiping the dripping blood with his sleeve. Her words turned to whispers. "Where the hell did you find this?"

Its familiarity was another kick in the gut. She winced as she looked up at Jonny and all the sincerity it claimed to express. He leaned in closer, not so obvious that anyone else could tell that he was keeping it a secret. Only she could hear, the volume so small and delicate as if it didn't hold all the weight in the world.

"Elliot."

The others erupted in a load of chaos, hardly registering in Emilia's ears as she looked upon Jonny's face; always honest, a rock that kept her in tune with reality ever since they'd met. His eyes still looked dark, but it was something that they shared this time. All she could focus on was his hold still on her hand, the blood from her thumb dripping over his unbothered fingers.

"What the fuck was she doing here, working for them?!"

"Is she infected or what?"

"What does it mean? What the bloody hell does red mean!?"

Jonny's face flashed with rage as the panic in their faces finally caught up with him. He turned towards them with fury on his face.

"Oi, shut the fuck up!" he yelled way too loud. "She's not sick."

"But she... is the disease... we've been around her for a month! What the-"

Jonny's tone turned lower, almost a growl. "No. She's not the fuckin' disease, Loic." He stared back down at the device, the red illuminating the doubt on his face.

"Then what the fuck is that device for then, Jonny?" Loic continued. His face was contorted in anger, almost betrayal as he looked at her. No... disgust. He snatched the device from them and pulled it on himself, scanning a green negative. He presented it to everyone, shoving the pretty green light around the room. "She may not be infected... but... she's genetically... sick... fuckin' hell." Before Loic could finish his accusatory statement, he looked at her in such disbelief that any excuse she could think of was pushed from her mind. He was looking at her expectantly, gaping like a fish.

"That doesn't make sense," Nova said slowly, touching a gentle hand to Loic's arm.

"Oh- fuck off. You explain it then!"

"She's not the fuckin' disease. Ok?" Jonny's voice roared back in, now mindful of the time and place. "She's been with us for over a month, you twats. Out there, the disease takes a day to show symptoms, and only a few days after that to kill. This thing's just fuckin' broken."

To Emilia, that wasn't a believable excuse, but to everyone else grasping at straws, it brought a doubtful version of relief to their faces. She soon was unable to meet anyone in the eye as the tension remained high in the air. She hated that the only form of support was Jonny's iron grip on her hand, for which she still couldn't decide whether it was protective or hostile. Even Hendrix turned away, his golden hair whipping around from his passive-aggressive pacing across the room.