Our Time Bomb

Chapter Forty-three ~ "Loving Family"

Luna's pov

Hot tears make my cold numb cheeks tingle. I grip another dagger from my belt and hold it before me, as though it'll protect me or something.

Mother sighs and leans her weight against a tree again,  "I don't wanna fight you Luna."

Breathlessly I approach her, the knife in my hand trembles. She doesn't move an inch, she just watches me. It makes me more angry. Does she think I'm inferior? Like I don't know what I'm doing?

"Stop." she says, "Luna this isn't you, let's just talk about it. I know your life is chaos right now and it's probably my fault..."

I clench my teeth together, "Hell right you are, this is all your fault."

She sucks in a breath apprehensively, "Just put down the knife, please."

I roll my eyes angrily, "you of all people are telling me this?"

I hold the knife to her throat. It pierces through her skin. She cringes but just stares a hole through me, "Look at you, you say you hate me but you're becoming me. All that anger that's built up inside your system, it reminds me of myself. Don't be like me, please."

Her words are like a stab to my own heart, she doesn't even need a weapon to fight back.

Suddenly my nerves spike at the sound of a voice behind me. "What's going on Luna?"

I'm not familiar with this voice, but I turn around realizing as I do so that it's Red. Father... No it feels ridiculous thinking of him that way. Stop.

I draw away from mother who is silent.

"I uh..." I sink my teeth into the inside of my cheek till I can't stand the pain any longer.

"what's with the knife?" he motions to what's in my clenched fist.

Mother steps forward in my defense,  "She's angry Red, can you blame her?"

His brow creases with concern, "You're right, I can't blame you, can I... But I think the four of us should just sit down and talk."

He steps in between mother and I, he touches her collar bone where I pricked her with my knife. He leans in and whispers something in her ear.

The sight of my parents so close together causes a weird wave of stinging emotion within me. Is it wrong for you to want your parents together?

Mother nods to Red and transfers her gaze to me. She doesn't look angry at all.

"okay..." Red says, "Let's go to the village and find a tavern or something."

"Not a tavern!" mother corrects him sharply.

"alright, alright." He rolls his eyes, "A cafe, whatever Erika."

The way he rolls his eyes makes him and Chris look so freaking similar. It almost scares me. Chris shuffles up beside me and we make eye contact. His eyes are glossy from the night air but they communicate to me a bewildered feeling. "is this happening?" he whispers.

Mother and Red look at us, "Let's go."

We nod and follow them. Naturally, the two of them take the lead and Chris and I fall behind. "Wait so what happened?" my brother looks me up and down. My knife is back in its halter, but his eye lingers on it for a moment, indicating his train of thought.

I shrug, "I don't even know Chris, I'm so overwhelmed. I'm angry, yet I am curious and excited at the same time. What do I do?"

He nods and a tiny flash of mischief makes a quirky expression on his face, "I think they've got more to worry about than we do."

"what's that face for?" I ask, careful to be inaudible in the ears of our... Parents. Every time the temptation to call them that as a pair arises, I get unforgiving goosebumps.

Chris shakes his head, "nothing."

I roll my eyes, just another weird Chris moment. As I'm looking into his warm face, I'm realizing that he's changed so much lately. It's almost like we've switched personalities slightly. I'm the one who's losing my temper, especially regarding mother. He seems a little more easygoing or something.

A different sort of thought comes to me. My brother and I are sneaking through a forest behind two Shadow Nation who have been doing this for years. Their feet are silent as they step nimbly over the forest floor. Chris and I aren't so used to traveling through the forest with the intention of being unseen or unheard. Our mother is like a shadow belonging to a seemingly non existent being that blends into the night.

"Why are we so quiet?" I whisper to mother a couple minutes later.

She delays one of her strides so I can fall into pace beside her. "We're in a section of the forest that is highly patrolled by Gyardicans. They could be anywhere."

I swallow, for the first time ever, I sense a twinge of fear in my heart when she mentions a Gyardican. To me, they've been nothing short of heroes. They were those big strong handsome men who devoted their lives to keeping us safe. Why does a taste of someone else's perspective twist my own point of view? Perhaps I'm closed minded.

I respond to mother after a moment, "Oh... How do you keep them from detecting you?"

I notice how keen and sharp her eyes are as they dart around constantly, scanning her surroundings.  "Years of practice my dear, I know if they are nearby. They aren't particularly skilled in the way of stealth."

Chris smirks from directly behind us. "You're talking about your husband you know? I recall him sneaking up on you in the kitchen and scaring the crap out of you. I'd say he's pretty stealthy."

"That's completely different Christopher." she whispers under her breath. She doesn't look too happy with the subject of Jefferson brought up.

Red turns his head to observe mother's reaction, though he changes the topic, "Shh... We need to move faster."

The three of us nod.

I watch him with a strange feeling chilling my gut. The way his body swiftly moves to its own rhythm. I can tell he is muscular through his loose fitting shirt with a cape covering most of it. So I'm related to this guy am I? Should I be in shock right now? I think perhaps I should.

Suddenly I hear noises of horses and vehicles and voices all humming into a sort of lull. We must be near the village.
How are we so close? Well I suppose we were traveling through the forest at a rather quick pace. And perhaps the compound isn't really as far from "civilization" as we're led to believe.

The trees that have been closed in all around us break out and I see lights.

"Down." mother orders in a harsh whisper to Chris and I. We follow as she and Red continue quickly in a bent form of sneaking through the sparsely growing trees.

Bit by bit, the lights get brighter and brighter as they filter through the trees.
Mother and Red throw their hoods over their heads. Chris and I do the same.