The City of Wanderers - No Peaceful North Part One

Chapter Six

"MARRIED?! SINCE WHEN?!" Riya loudly exclaimed as everyone looked at them. One of the few times Riya's kids, Daya and Anna, were quiet too.
"Only in the eyes of the law so we could get a mortgage easier." Wes told her as Aditya elaborated "We wanted to have a proper ceremony after but, y'know, the end of the world happened."
"That is really tragic. If you wanted, I could help with organizing a ceremony sometime." Riya offered before quietly added "Now I'm no longer the only one married to a white man."
"That would be nice but we have to return this one to his family first." Aditya responded to his sister as she asked "And whereabouts are they? Close by?"
"Fort Saint John, it's in the far northeast of the province." Knox answered for them.
"OH! I know where that is! A lot of people here seem to be from there. They all say it's terrible and they'd never go back. Guess this is where they move to when they can afford to do so." Riya started rambling. She did that a lot, Wes always thought she was like a girl version of Aditya, which made sense since they were siblings. Aditya had two other sisters but they weren't like him. Wes didn't mind though, he liked listening to their ramblings about things they're passionate about. Though what Riya said was true to Wes, he left and never had any desire to go back.
"Wes is from there as well." Aditya mentioned to Riya as she questioned "I've known him for how long and only learned this now?"
Wes told her "I'd rather admit I'm from Surrey than that place."
The two just stared at Wes as Riya asked again "Is Surrey really that bad?"
"Only sometimes." Aditya answered as Knox got Wes' attention. He whispered to Wes "Can I talk to you alone again?"
Wes nodded as he left the island in the kitchen while Aditya and Riya continued talking.
Knox lead him outside and closed the sliding door once Wes was out. Once out of sight of the glass, Knox began explaining "Alright, the lingering sense of 'I am in danger' has only gotten worse since we left and I am sure it's because I'm somewhere new. But I can't shake the feeling that we're being followed."
Wes also kinda felt that way, though he passed it off as just anxiety being anxiety. He asked "If you know, by who?"
"Noah, the now last remaining child of Randy. Niamh's crew definitely alerted him by now and he'd be after us." Knox answered, his voice was starting to shake. He then said "No, that's ridiculous actually. There's no way they know where we are. Only Niamh knew where I was and she's dead."
Wes could easily tell that Knox was not okay. Nobody should go through what he was going through, especially at his age. He wanted to do something to help but wasn't sure if Knox was okay with physical contact and was worried he'd say the wrong thing since he wasn't all there either.
Knox then started ranting "It's just so unfair! I didn't attack the fucking city! I just happened to be related to the person accused of it and apparently that means I must die too!"
He fell to his knees and started sobbing. Wes also knelt down as Knox continued "Randy killed my dad. Niamh killed my mom and if it weren't for you she would've killed me too."
Wes gently placed his hand on Knox's shoulder. Upon contact, Knox rather tightly wrapped his arms around Wes. Feeling a bit awkward as he wasn't expecting that, Wes gently hugged Knox back. After around a minute Knox spoke again "I haven't known you guys for long but I'm gonna miss you two when we get there."
The two let go of each other as Knox wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. Wes told him "You're right, what's happening to you is unfair. You're a young teen going through things no kid should have to deal with. I'm truly sorry."
"And I got you two all caught up in it now. If anyone who works for Randy sees you two with me you'll also be killed." Knox responded as he looked away from Wes.
"That's not anyone's fault but his." Wes told Knox again. Though he hoped to not run into any of them on the journey.
"I know, I'm sorry I am just a mess right now." Knox apologized to Wes, who assured him with "It's fine, you have good reason to be."
Knox ranted again "I haven't had any decent sleep in days and barely anything to eat since I've been on the run. Haven't had much opportunity to since I was being actively pursued. You have no idea how relieved I was when Aditya let me stay at your place."
Wes didn't know what else to say. He hoped Aditya fed him, he most likely did as that's what he always did whenever they had guests. Was what he did with Wes when they first met too.
"Anyways, I gotta say this because it's been on my mind since this morning." Knox changed the subject as he said "You two remind me of characters from a YouTube channel I watch. I doubt you know it but you two have a similar dynamic."
Wes wasn't sure what to think about that. But bringing it up seemed to be cheering Knox up so he went with it. He asked "How so?"
"One is like you, kinda mysterious and doesn't say a lot but still has a caring attitude, despite being a serial killer. The other is optimistic about everything and is very kind to others, even if people are mean to him sometimes." Knox elaborated before adding "They're not actually a couple in the series but I like to think they are. I wrote a story where they got married and stuff."
Wes was familiar with that kind of stuff, he used to work in a school full of kids around Knox's age. It made them happy so Wes saw no problem with it, unlike several of his colleagues.
In attempt to encourage Knox to continue talking about what he liked, Wes asked him again "Is this like a video game series someone did or is it a fully produced show?"
Knox answered "It's just videos of someone trying to commit various crimes in a game using his characters. I could show you if you want."
Wes said "Sure, show me."
Knox pulled out his phone and started showing Wes some videos. He wasn't sure what to think about them. On one hand, he didn't understand why people were entertained by watching someone else play a game and how someone could make a living doing it. On the other, it was harmless entertainment that clearly wasn't made for people like Wes, and that was okay.
Eventually, Aditya opened the glass sliding door and looked for them. Upon seeing them sitting on the porch, he told them "Ah, there you two are. Riya is making dinner if you wanted some."
"We good out here for now." Knox replied as Aditya gave them the thumb's up and went back inside.
Once the video was done, Knox turned his phone off and said "Yeah, that's what I've been hyper-fixated on for the past three years."
"I hope he's not a criminal off-camera." Was Wes' only input, to which Knox replied with "Wouldn't surprise me if he was."
He then admitted to Wes "Y'know, you and Aditya are the first adults, besides my parents and sister, to know this something about me and respect it. I appreciate that."
Wes assumed he knew what Knox was referring to. Again, he used to work in a school so he was used to it. Though just in case, Wes asked him "That being?"
"Aditya didn't tell you? It's that I'm trans. I'm a boy, despite not looking like one at all." Knox answered as he then added "You can use he or they pronouns when referring to me. Just never 'she'."
Wes was correct with his assumption and kinda felt bad for thinking he was a girl at first. Though back then he didn't know.
"Right, forgive me for I am not good at picking up on things like that." Wes said to him as Knox responded with "You picked up on your partner referring to me that way pretty quick."
Knox then stood back up and said "Whatever though, we should probably go back inside."
Wes also stood back up, but not as gracefully as Knox as he was starting to get old. The two went back inside and silently agreed to not speak about what happened with anyone but each other. Wes didn't need Aditya knowing.