Our Time Bomb

Chapter Forty-four ~ Answers

Luna's pov

The city lights filter through the trees and greet my vision which is accustomed to the moonlit forest. I look up briefly at the sky which can be seen clearly through the foliage. It's like a pool of vast darkness that encases the land in its clutches. 

All at once, we're out of the trees, we're right in the back of an alley. Trash and overgrown weeds line the cracks of the buildings between the street and the old crumbling walls. This is such a contrast to the rest of the cities and villages near here. Everything is so neat and tidy and cheery in atmosphere (relatively) 

Mother and Red quit their sneaking stance and put on a normal walk. "Where do you want to go?" Red asks us and mother. 

She shrugs, "Let's go to Udain's cafe, I know the owner. It should take us only a few minutes to get there."

"Sure." Red says while glancing back to my brother and I. 

Chris looks like he's deep in thought, yet a bit on edge. I understand completely. 

"So this how you do it huh? It's just this easy?" I initiate conversation with mother and Red. 

"What?" Red replies, "You talking about sneaking about and changing identities as a Shadow Nation?"

I nod, "Yeah that."

"Easy for me," he says, "Perhaps not quite so much for your mum anymore. You know that right, don't you Erika? anyone could recognize you at any time."

 "I'm not worried. I know what I'm doing." She tugs at her hood which falls halfway down her face. All I can see are her lips which are turned up in one corner. I realize how bad-ass she looks. It pricks a little admiration in my heart. The way her confidence is conveyed in her postured walk. I think she feels more confident when she's like this; her identity is hidden from the public. She likes being a shadow.

We turn left in the alley and all of a sudden we are in the outskirts of the marketplace. Night shoppers mill about under the yellow buttery night lights of the market. 

Erika's pov 

I keep the corner of my eye lingering on my twins who are right behind me. No one would ever know, but I'm very observant. While your average person is walking aimlessly with a personal agenda in their mind in public, the scenery around them is a blur with nothing in particular standing out to them. For me, I observe everyone and everything around me. If something looks suspicious, I keep my eye on it. You can sometimes tell from looking at a person right away what kind of personality they are. At the moment, no one is catching my attention. They are all caught up in their own little worlds. No one cares about four people with hoods over their faces. 

In a few moments, the lull of the voices around us get more mixed and loud because the concentration of people around us is more so. Up ahead down the wide street I see the cafe. I feel Red right next to me, putting no more than an inch in between us. I feel that his first instinct is to protect me if anything should happen. I throw a little more swing in my walk to subconsciously let him know that I can quite well handle own safety. I don't think he gets my communication, not like it's a big deal. Instead, he whispers something in my ear, "when we get there, it's the whole truth that you're telling to me and the twins, got that?"

I pause momentarily, squinting slightly at his unreadable face, "Yes... I know, not like I've got anything to lie about anyway."

He raises a brow, "You're always lying about something, wouldn't trust that promise for a second."

I tilt my head in a no-nonsense manner, "Red, I will tell the truth, okay? You guys deserve it. We're gonna work this mess out and make everything okay again."

His dark eyes search mine, perhaps he's finally accepting my plight. "Alright then."

I glance up at the faded sign of the old cafe. It's one of the oldest businesses around here. The wooden steps sound hollow underneath my heeled boots. I love that sound. 

Red holds open the door for Chris, Luna, and I. 

Warm welcoming smells overwhelm my senses for just a moment. It smells like how I wish my home would smell. I didn't really cook that often, I just made simple meals when I lived with Jefferson if we didn't go out to eat. Why does every other thing I see remind me of that man? I have tried without ceasing to get him out of my head, but it never works. Some reminder of him always finds a way into my head to torment me. 

I keep my face concealed under my hood as we find a table in the cafe and sit down. 

I tune my thoughts to why we're here. Guess I've got a heck of a lot of explaining to do, don't I?

Now we're sitting across from one another, Luna is beside me, Chris next to Red. The look on Red's face is a little grim and perhaps uncomfortable. He's next to his newly introduced son after all, and across from his daughter. Not to forget about me. This is very different a situation of social circumstances than we are used to being involved in with one another. For years and years, we've actually been decent friends, nothing more. Look at us now...

"So..." I begin the conversation, "I suppose that we are all a little in shock at the moment. This is a time none of us thought would happen. Am I right?"

The twins nod. Red looks at me, am I sensing a hint of bitterness in his eyes?

I avoid eye contact with him and continue,  "Well I suppose you want to know why things are the way they are."

Chris places a finger on his temple, "Do tell."

I notice briefly that Luna is fiddling with something in her lap. She is restless, I can see the wheels turning in her active mind.

"Alright, I suppose it all started with Red and I. We were what..."

"fifteen." he reminds me.

"Yeah, fifteen. I don't really remember what happened clearly, but guess you could say that we were young and made foolish decisions."

Red looks down at his fingernails when I talk about it.

"Anyway, after I gave birth to you guys, Red and I kind of drifted apart."

He interrupts me, "Umm, you left to find a place in the village to stay in, then a few years later, you became Heira Commander... And when I asked to see the kids, you refused and we both put the matter behind us. That's how it was, and nothing more."

I sigh, "Yeah I suppose that's right."

"Why'd you keep us separated from our father and lie about it?" Chris asks.

I try and think of an answer that will sound good, "I didn't want you to know about your roots. I knew that a lot of people raised in Shadow Nation basically have their future defined for them. I wanted to raise you two away from that so you could have a chance at any future or career you wanted."

"By hiding us away and faking everything?" Luna scowls, "you see why I was mad?"

I put a hand to my collarbone in remembrance of where her dagger pricked me. I felt more of her anger than the actual pain of the blade puncturing my skin. "I had my reasons for hiding you... It would be safer. I was afraid something would happen to you."

"they would have been safer if they had a father to protect them as well you know." Red retaliates.

"You don't know my reasons!" I snap back, "did it ever occur to you that being in the shoes that they are in isn't safe? As possible heirs to leading Shadow Nation, what do you think would happen to them? I am no idiot, though you might assume so because you cannot see past your selfishly limited point of view that has been riled up by your own mistakes that you've blamed on me... So my dear Red, won't you shut up and let me continue?"

His lips part but no sound can be heard. I just stare hard at his face as though to further shove him down under the rock of speechlessness.

Once I am certain that he isn't going to interrupt me again, I breathe in deeply and continue,  "So perhaps what I did seems illogical to you in this moment, but it was meant to work out in the end. Since Christopher and Luna are related to me, they automatically are a target for those who oppose me. For all I know, they could've been murdered years ago..."