Continue To Lie - Tpn Fanfic

Chapter 45 - Live Against Your Will

     The soft breeze flows through the wind, making calm sounds as it floats amidst the sky's cold ambience. In pitch of night, shining stars and a grey moon overlook the travelling children beneath it. The sight of tall trees and grass spread out under their leaves grant the little ones relief and a cause for celebration. They've been travelling for well over an hour now from their abandoned shelter to the safety of this forest, not having taken even the shortest of breaks throughout their entire trip.

      "We made it!"

      Alicia cheers, cold breaths escaping her mouth. Her face, along with those of her siblings behind her, is red, and her body freezing. The now-less than 60 of them walk towards a thick tree deeper into the tall forest and pull apart the roots holding it together. They create a large hole, and one by one, each child climbs into it.

      A cute little owl hoots and flaps its wings on the branch directly above the scene.

"Wow, so many memories here!"

      Mark reminiscences. He recalls when Mujika and Sonju took them in for a week and cared for them. She wasn't scary, despite being a demon, and Sonju is what N/N calls a gentle giant! He told her about it during their one-one-one talk that time. She listened intently like she used to.

"I didn't think we'd ever return to this place!"

      Lanni comments playfully to his black-haired friend besides him.

"Emma, bring Chris over here!"

     Anna shouts, and Emma does as told. She held Chris in her arms and carried him the whole way, but he still hasn't woken up. They set him down and cover his shivering body with a blanket. Ray claps his hands, attracting the attention of the whole squad.

"Listen up, everyone. We're going to stay and rest up here tonight until F/N, Yugo, and Lucas return. If they don't come back by tomorrow night, Hayato will take us to Mr. Minerva's shelter."

      The little ones didn't like how Ray mentioned N/N and the others' return as a maybe scenario, but no one said anything about it because no one knows what'll actually happen in the future, do they?

"We'll keep watch outside in turns, let's decide details tomorrow. For now, I want you all to rest."

      And so, they did. Children slept together under the strong roots of trees, but their sleeping spots weren't as soft as the beds they had woken up in this morning. Their backs were hard, and their pillows were backpacks. Paula and Violet kept watch throughout the night, Emma stayed up late watching Chris (although no one told her to), and Ray watched her with worry.

    The ginger girl's head was down. She watched Chris through the opening in her hands that were on her face, but he could tell something else was on her mind. She must be worried, he thinks. Emma has a knack for worrying, but although he doesn't have one normally, he does now.

     Lucas and Yugo said they'd catch up in the morning, but the sun's almost up and they're not back. N/N was supposed to accompany them to keep them safe, but there's no sight of her, either. Is she okay? Are they okay? Were they able to defeat the enemy?

Emma curls up into a ball. She puts her knees together and leans her head in-between them. She hugs her legs tightly, then sliding her hands into her hair. She pulls it, her jumpy antenna falling to her boots.

It's all my fault.

The girl mentally confesses. 

I made the wrong decision. I did. Two people died. We had 60 people, but without them we're at 55. We have limited mobility. We had to escape during the night. Yugo and Lucas are strong, and so is N/N. It'll be okay. They'll be okay. But will they? I thought the best decision was to leave them behind, but was it? How do we escape on our own? Is it possible? Was there a different option? I can't be scared... I'm scared..! I'm so scared!