The Red - Handed Boy

Chapter 7 (Part 1): The Girl on the Hill

[Blaze Hill Arc]

I have to keep going, Indie thought. He was filled with exhaustion after carrying Ashley's body with him and not eating for six days.
The police were trying to find him, it's been six days, but they still weren't slowing down.
He couldn't go anywhere for fear of being turned in, he didn't have anybody he could trust. No relatives, no friends, no mom, no dad.
All he could do is get to the place he's been searching for, and then figure out what to do then.
Indie kept moving, he had to, he felt like if he stopped he would collapse of hunger. Indie didn't like it, but he thought to himself, if i find another baby, I'd eat it with no hesitation.
He kept moving, he felt it, he was almost there.
And then suddenly, Indie heard sirens.
Indie was by a field, he was on the outskirts of the town, he looked behind him, and saw police cars coming. Indie's eyes widened, he started to run. His adrenaline giving him speed.
I can't be caught now, he thought, I have to keep moving. I have to finish what I started.
He ran, carrying Ashley and the seeds. He went through the field, he was already exiting the field when the police left the cars and started running. He kept running and running, he heard the sounds of the police officers fading.
He ran until he couldn't anymore, his adrenaline ran out. He was panting, he looked up, and he saw it, the place he was looking for,
Blaze Hill.
And at the top of the hill, he saw a little girl.
She was sitting at the top, she had a look of a mysterious calm.
Indie slowly walked up the hill towards her.
"Hello." He said coldly.
She turned to look at him. She looked at him with an expression of kindness and wonder.
"Hey, do you think we can ever atone for what we've done?"
Indie started at the girl blankly.
"What?" He asked.
"Do you believe humanity can atone for its mistakes?"
She asked as she stood up.
"I think so. I think that no matter what, no matter how much negativity we spread, we will be able to overcome it at the end, we'll be able to atone."
Indie analyzed the girl, she looked seven or eight.
"Why would we have to atone for doing the right thing? In order to eradicate the sins that plague this world, someone has to take action. Some people deserve to die. If anything, their death is the atonement."
The girl looked into Indie's eyes. Under the emotionless facade, she could see his true nature, his eyes were filled with sadness and longing, he was broken.
"Who hurt you?"
She asked, her eyes filled with sympathy.
Indie thought to himself.
"Everyone."
He responded.
Indie looked at the little girl again. She talked decades ahead of her age.
The girl looked up at the sky.
"I can tell... that you've been though a lot. You must be living in such agony. I have so many thoughts and feelings running through me, yet all I can say is, I'm sorry."
For the first time since they met, she noticed the trash bag Indie was carrying.
"There's a human in that bag isn't it?"
She asked solemnly.
"Yes. Her name is Ashley. I used to love her."
The little girl looked at the trash bag with a silent lamentation.
"Why did you bring her here?"
Indie looked up at the sky.
"I've been on this hill before. With two people that I used to know, we would go to this hill in the evening, just to see the sunset. When the sun was about to go down, on this hill, it looked like the entire sky was ablaze. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, second to only Ashley's beauty. But now, this is one of the only two beautiful things left in this world. This hill, and revenge."
"What happened to your two friends?"
The little girl asked.
Indie flinched,
"They aren't friends. They were never friends. They were demons hiding inside a human body."
Then, Indie heard footsteps towards them, the police.
The little girl heard them too.
"Run," she said "go down the hill and turn right, sooner or later you should see houses. Keep going until you reach the fourth house. In the backyard, that's a shovel, once you get it, return here before sunset."
Indie started to go, but stopped and turned to the girl.
"Thank you."
He said before running.
Seconds later the police came,
"Young girl? Did you see a teenager carrying a trash bag around here?"
One of the officers asked.
She nodded.
"He heard you coming and ran down the hill to the left."
The police officers started heading downhill.
"Did you speak with him? Where's your parents?"
The same police officer asked.
"There's no time..."
He mumbled to himself.
"Come with us, we promise we'll return to your home after we handle this."
They went downhill.
"Half of your go left, the others go right! We'll find this boy and bring him to justice!"
No! They're going right, the girl thought, please be safe! You looked so... overwhelmingly sad. What kind of life leads a child to kill another child? How much has to happen to you to cause you to dedicate yourself to vengeance? Please, please, please, let him meet someone who can wake him up from this nightmare. Please, let him atone. No one deserves this, especially not someone so young. God, if you do exist, would you turn your back on him?