Out There

An old acquaintance

Their hoods dropped, and they walked closer.
It was Lea, and Kena
My old friends. We used to have fun times together. Kasey and I used to hang out with them all the time.
They were twins, roughly 21. Lea had bright blond hair and Kena had light brown hair which both fell down to their middle back. Their eyes shone in the night. A soft light green with a touch of ginger.
They were tricksters, always getting into trouble.
Our parents didn't approve of them and Kasey and I later understood why.
Since they had come of age and reported to the high council, they both came out as members.
The council adored their creativity and skill and they were recently promoted to explorer leaders. They go out and explore Nebraska with different groups every year. Usually staying out for months at a time.
The high council doesn't know, but there was a rumour that the girls left their group, assigning one of the explorers the job as group leader.
Nobody knows where they went but somehow they found their group again after a month of their abandonment.
They led them back and everything's been normal from them on. Except for the fact that the boy who started the rumour had gone missing a week after they had returned.
All fingers were pointed at the sisters but the high council still offers their trust diligently.
"What are you doing up here?" Kena asked, she smiled and sat next to me.
I smiled trying to dig out all the worry left in me and responded, "I'm waiting for Kasey of course, you know the drill, and we've been without food for two days".
"Kasey?" Lea said in a surprised tone. "I thought she came earlier then this".
"Yeah, how come she's not here yet?"
I couldn't hold it in any more. Worry and sadness swept over my me.

I didn't know.

"Why do you care?" I exclaimed, my worried face flushed out, and they saw.
"Kasey was supposed to be here a long time ago wasn't she?" Kena got comfortable and smiled, "I'm sure she's fine."
I was tempted to roll my eyes but stopped myself.
I pulled myself together and nodded. "Yeah of course, I know that." I sighed and crossed my legs, "she can take care of herself."
The sisters nodded and I added.
"Wait, why are you here? You never leave the council?" I asked curious.
The girls smiled and Lea said "oh it's nothing, it's just one of the guards were sick so we took their place."
"Up on a roof?" I asked.
They looked at each other, Lea scratching her head. "Ok fine, we're not on guard duty it's just, well the council asked all the guards to find the no-shows so we thought we'd warn you and Kasey" said Lea. "Thats all, really."
I didn't trust them, they were my friends and we hung out all the time in the past but something about this encounter specifically was, fishy.
"Ok," I said "so there really is nothing else?"
"Nope" Kena commented, "Nothing, promise" Lea cried.
I got up, and their body's flung up with me, like a shadow. I smiled to them and slowly backed away towards the end of the rooftop.
"Where are you going?" They noticed.
"I really have to get back to my family now, like I said we've been without food for two days."
What were they trying to do? They never left the council building unless they were leading a group. This wasn't right.

"Ok never mind, let's be straight forward with this. I know you know where Kasey is!"
My instincts kicked in and I exploded like I never had before. Kasey was my best friend. I didn't want anything bad to happen to her.
They went to speak but I cut them off.
"And warning is about the no show policy? We know the risks, we decided to stay home on our council days."
This time I let them talk.
"We don't know where Kasey is, alright. I know we've lied to you but you need to trust us now." Kena sounded serious, but I didn't let that come in the way. They were lying to me.
"Why should I trust you now? What's so special about now?" I exclaimed.
"The council, they're becoming more strict. They're going to search all the homes tomorrow. They want a peaceful village, all no shows have to go."
"We can take care of ourselves. Kasey and I can hide away, on the rooftops or the forest. We're not stupid we can handle ourselves." I sighed and waited. It seemed like an eternity before they spoke up.
Their next words were so fake that I could barely stand still anymore. I was tempted to bolt and jump across every roof all the way back to my family.
But they knew where Kasey was, I knew they did.
"We just want to help you." Kena coughed and Lea seemed to hold her breath. How stupid did they think I was?
I turned my back to them, trying to hide my anger. Most people would think that they were trying to be sympathetic but I saw right though their tricks. I used to live through them.
How could they fake their way through life. How is abandonment okay? How are lies okay?
It had been a short time. I kept my back facing them for only a few seconds. Just as I decided to turn back, I froze in motion when I heard a familiar voice.
"WATCH OUT!"

Kasey.

I tried to turn back but only made it half way.
A strong hand pushed me off the edge of the building and it was too late to respond.
I fell for a short time before quickly getting a hold of myself.
I slammed into a brick wall hard, clutching the stones with my shaken hands.
I was wrong, they hadn't known where Kasey was.

I struggled to hold on and looked up.
Kasey was there. She was there the whole time. That was just like her, always appearing at the perfect moment.
She kicked and fought nearly knocking Kena off the side of the building. Kasey was great at many things and fighting was one of them. She had a soft heart and once stopped three men from hurting a wild kitten.
She kept fighting and fighting always predicting their next move.
The girls finally gave up, not wanting to leave with any scratches or injuries that the high council might question.
They quickly climbed down the opposite wall from me, not looking back.
Kasey watched as they scattered off.
My hands were scratched and shook and I couldn't hold on for much longer so I hurried down to the ground. Kasey followed and we met at the bottom of the alley.
"Kasey" I said with temperament. "I was worried for you!!" I started walking to her but froze at a sudden jolt of pain in my leg. I looked down and saw a huge cut bleeding down the side of my left leg, stopping just below my knee.
Kasey just smiled and walked up to me with her arms out. I hugged her and laughed.
We pushed apart and Kasey went to retrieve my make do bag of bread.
I smiled.
Tomorrow we'd have to steal us some real backpacks.