It's silent for a few minutes before the machine coughs and the truck is start moving.
"Gustavo?" Penelope whispers. Gustavo coughs. He sighs and leans back, closing his eyes.
"I'm sorry." She whispers.
"It's okay, it's not your fault." He laughs. "I gotta admit, they have tenacity."
Penelope doesn't say anything. She looks down onto her handcuffed hands.
"Come here." He suddenly says.
Penelope smiles weakly and she drags herself toward Gustavo. He laughs when she accidentally almost trips over. "It's okay. Just a little bit closer." He encourages her.
Once she's sat on Gustavo's lap, he lifts his arms so she could sit comfortably inside his cuddle. At the same time, she lifts her arms over his head, and rest them on his shoulders. She rests her head on his chest.
"I'm sorry I drag you into this. I'm sorry I make you worried." She sighs.
He kisses her forehead and lays his head upon hers. She takes a deep breath and laughs. "At least we're together now."
"You saved me, Penny."
"What do you mean?"
"If you hadn't protected me, I'm not sure I would still be alive."
"But it was nothing. I am nothing. I only, you know."
He laughs, and he kisses the side of her head. "You're not nothing. Penny, you've been "something" from the first day we met. And, you give me hopes, you know, hopes that things will be better eventually, and that I should open up. You bring, a life to me."
She giggles. "I know this will be exactly the time to say cliché, cheesy pick-up lines."
"That's not pick-up lines!" He says, offended. He laughs and shakes his head. "I mean it, Penny. I really do."
Penelope smiles and she lays her head onto his chest, and falls asleep.
***
The door truck is forcedly open, awakening Penelope and Gustavo from their deep sleep.
"Aw. Look at these love birds, holding onto each other, thinking they could escape." Damien, without his lab coat now, cynically says. "Now get out of there before my men literally drag you out!"
Gustavo lets go of his hug from Penelope. With a rough help, they climb off the truck. One of the men gently helps Penelope. And as a sign of politeness, she gives him a simpathic smile, as if she's saying thank you.
Penelope realizes they have arrived in the same laboratory. The men take Penelope and Gustavo inside, into one of the rooms at the back of the building.
The lamp at the center of the ceiling brightly shines the room with its white light. There's a desk with a huge, bearded man, smirking as one of his hands plays with the steak next to him. Behind him, there are several cells and the men throw Penelope and Gustavo into the cell at the left.
"Thank you, boys." The bearded man says with a hoarse, deep voice. He locks the cell as the men leave them behind.
"You're in my kingdom now. I have a gun, and even the two of you can't fight me. Believe me, escaping is futile." The man laughs. He takes a bite of steak and sits down. He puts the key right next to him, on the desk.
He sits down and the anthem of Mario Bros starts ringing through the room. Penelope sighs and she sits at the back of the room. Gustavo follows her and sits exactly next to her. Penelope looks at him and smiles apologetically. He kisses her forehead and lets her rest her head on his shoulder, again.
YOU ARE READING
Pinocchio
Fantasy"She's just a piece of wood" "He's just an ordinary woodcarver" And then, they met
