Red Spider Lilies [TPN]

Chapter 14

"The guillotine is The Minister's favorite toy to show off." Ray says.

I tense up as we start walking away from the scene, the rest of the crowd following. Execution is something that has become a public event as of late. The victim today was Mr. Lucas, Yuugo's friend from childhood.

"Did you know that it's illegal to give funerals to the executed?" I say. "Yuugo won't be able to do anything for his friend."

"Horrendous, isn't it?" Ray comments.

The walk home is silent. The whole time I'm wondering how Yuugo is. Obviously he isn't okay, his friend was wrongly executed after all. But I'm wondering if he would want to be alone or with someone right now. This whole situation makes you think: what if the person up there was someone else?

Like mom, Yuugo himself, or god forbid Ray.

I lean my head on Ray's shoulder and intertwine my fingers with his, and I say softly. "You have to stay out of trouble. 'Cause I don't think I could lose you."

He chuckles quietly. "Then you'd have to stay outta trouble with me. You're even more troublesome than I."

"You know I'm serious, right?" I whisper. "We have to be more careful these days, it isn't safe."

He doesn't say anything until we make it home and are indoors. It feels weird being the one saying this.

"Emma, you don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm not gonna die." Ray makes his way down the hallway and I follow, 3 feet behind. "I'm too busy to die."

Ray chuckles and opens his door. As he tried to enter I grab his sleeve and sounding more desperate than I am comfortable admitting, I quickly tell him.

"Why are you laughing? Do you think I'm joking?" I begin to raise my voice. "Ray, if you die for some stupid reason like execution, I don't know if I'll be able to survive."

Why are my knees shaking? Why am I sweating so profusely? Why am I saying this? Me of all people.

Ray frowns and slaps my head. Ow.

"Lower you're voice, you're being too loud." He sighs, looking so tired. "And why are saying things like that? That isn't something the Emma I know would say. You would grab my face and scream 'Don't die!' Until my ears fell off."

I purse my lips and look at the ground. I haven't felt this shaken in years, so scared. Since when did he talk to me this sternly?

This isn't the time to think about his tone but what he said. With all my grit I nod and try to stop shaking, and try to give him a smile.

"Promise you won't die." I let go of his sleeve. "'Kay?"

—-

"Good as new!" I jump and kick around, turning to him with a big old grin. "Ray, have you considered becoming a doctor?" I joke.

Ray chuckles and pats my head. "I actually have, in the end it's not for me."

I giggle and twirl. "I've never felt this ready to get into action. And this time, when I see the other guy, I have something to return the 'gift'." I whip out the gun, aiming at the ceiling. Ray is not fond of me having a gun at hand.

"You are not allowed to touch that! More importantly, how did you even get it?! It was in my inside pocket!" He fumbles to grab it from me.

The fight doesn't last long as he has the advantage of height on his side, which I say is unfair.

"You're a literal bean pole and you holding it over my head is mockery, ass!"

Ray laughs and tucks it into his inside pocket. "Big words for someone the average height of an 8th grader."

I groan and roll my eyes and decide to change the subject, because if I don't he's just gonna keep making fun of me.

"Moving on, what's the plan to get to the border." I raise an eyebrow. "You are the brain so I'm assuming you've thought of something."

"Ah, yes." He clears his throat and leans against the counter. "Well, ideally, we would pass right through the country and go to the neighboring country and ask for asylum to the officials. But I've been looking around while you slept and found this map."

Ray hands it to me. "Why didn't you tell me you found this first thing?"

"You were all excited about getting off the bench, didn't want to take the spotlight away." He takes back the map and sets it out on the counter. "Anyway, you do know what's up with this map?"

"Of course, it's a soldiers map."

"Yes, it has markings of where they have gone and notations on the sidelines, telling us what and who they've found. They markings also shows a pattern of where they're heading, northwest, which coincidentally is where we're trying to go."

I stare at the map and examine it. The little old refugee camp were trying to go to is going to be swarmed by soldiers by mid November.

"Should we go around it?" I grimace. "Though it would take months to walk, even worse it'll be snowing by the time we get to the camp."

"Well it's either that or we take our chances walking the normal path, which would not intertwine with the snowing months." He smiles and tucks away the map. "You decide, muscle."

—-

"You think Norman will be along this path?" I say. "Maybe we can team up with him."

"Emma, you know the size of the military. You really think he's going to be apart of the search groups?"

"He was in our city searching around. So I was assuming he would be."

"... Okay maybe we will come across him, but..." he pauses briefly. "Never mind. Change of subject: what do you wanna do once we get over the border?"

What was he going to say? "Maybe finish schooling, try and find our family, also Yuugo cause technically he's my guardian." Was he going to tell me to be cautious of Norman? "And you?"

"Well, I'm gonna try to get settled since I can't be sent to an orphanage. Get a small place, a job, maybe a cat once I get steady."

"Sounds nice. College too?"

"Yeah, maybe in a few years. And you already told me what you would like to do in college, are you still going to go if you meet with Yuugo?"

"Maybe, I'll wait a few years just so we can have to time to get settled."

I tilt my head back and watch a flock of birds fly over me. What was he going to say about Norman? Didn't exactly sound good.