Shudders

Chapter 51 - The Return

    The sky was starting to turn dark and the air colder as the ground was slowly covered in white.

    The snow packed onto any surface it could land on and tickled the exposed skin of (Y/N)'s face. She looked down at her boots, starting to get covered by the flakes. With a sigh, she placed her head in her hands, not looking forward to what's to come in an hour...

     She sat at a bench in a small park area with her belongings on the ground next to her and a wolf that rested its head in her lap. Spike lifted his head and licked at her face, gaining the attention of the girl who was lost in thought. She looked down at him and mustered a small smile, giving him small head pats. "I'm alright, bud..."

    Was she trying to convince the wolf or herself...?

    It's been a couple of hours since the little fishing trip. After they've had lunch, Miri was called in by one of his scavenger partners. It didn't seem serious but (Y/N) immediately thought of her demons. What if they got impatient and came back? Luckily, there was no repeat of last time but it didn't help her growing nerves. Fate continued to suggest plans on how to get rid of Ki, Akai, and I9 altogether.

    The most... interesting plan... was to fake (Y/N)'s death.

    Basically, they create a fake dummy to look like her and make it seem like she drowned in the lake. Fate went into detail with this, including fake blood, a demon costume, and the innards of a cow.

    No matter how good or how bad or... how gruesome the plan was, (Y/N) said no to each one. She was set on the mindset that staying on the island for any longer would put the Outsiders at risk. She wouldn't be able to sleep at night if even one person got hurt... all because of her...

     (Y/N) looked up when she heard footsteps approaching her. The falling snow covered the view of the figure but when they started getting closer, she recognized the locs and sat up. Spike turned towards its master and made a small gruff sound before settling back onto (Y/N)'s lap.

"It's freezing out here." He muttered, taking a seat next to her.

"I know... I just needed to clear my head for a bit."

"Is it clear now?"

    She slowly shook her head after a second. "No..."

    Her eyes drifted up to see people in the distance. It was a mother and two girls enjoying the falling snow together. (Y/N) felt melancholic watching the small family, finding it familiar.

"You're still set on leaving, huh?"

     She pulled her attention away from the family and met Miri's brown eyes. She nodded and leaned back against the bench. "I have to. There's no other choice."

     The scavenger rolled his eyes. "There's a million choices. You just don't want to pick one." He sighed. "Just know that you're always welcomed back here. But if we ever stumble across each other again, my crew and I won't hesitate to put a couple of bullets in them." He warned, referring to the two demons he's grown a huge disliking to.

    She made a small smile and nodded. It made her feel a bit better knowing that she has a place to come back to if she never makes it back to the Zones. Like a second home. "Thank you, Miri."

    It became time for them to head towards the gate and the walk there was suffocating. She felt the stares of the few people who were out at night, the whole island knew about her and her situation. She can tell that some took pity on her while others didn't like the idea of a ground dweller amongst them. Either way, she wished they would focus their attention somewhere else. As the gate came into view, (Y/N) could spot a couple of guards on top of the gate with scopes connected to guns. They all seemed to be looking in the same direction. Miri stopped her and went on ahead to go speak with a scavenger who waited for him. Despite him leaving her, Spike stayed by her side, taking a seat in the snow covered ground and scratching his ear. She looked down at him with a smile and crouched next to him, petting his head that he happily accepted. "I'm gonna miss you, boy. You're too adorable to leave behind."