Cherish Red ✔️

Chapter Six

 ~ The North Star ~

"Of course!" Red exclaimed. She sighed. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Just go and do it," Mr. Henderson scoffed. He sipped his coffee as Red headed to the living room. "No sense waiting."

Red took a step into the room and gasped. It was beautiful. Sure, it might've looked like the average home, but it was so much better than that lab. Wooden walls with plastic vines, and pots full of plant-life were scattered across more tables and shelves. But alas, she got to the box with they keyhole and opened it.

She screamed.

"This is not a test, this is your emergency broadcast system stating that World War Three has officially begun. If you want to avoid this world-ending war, please proceed to the nearest bunker in your country. May God bless you if you are unable to get to the destination in this rebirth of countries."

"Wait a minute, what's war-"

"Red, we need to get out of here, NOW!"

Red whimpered: the box though! Why did Dad have a body in the box? Was the body the girl in the picture? What's war? Why is should there a third one? Red wanted answers, and she was going to get them.

"Come on! We don't have time!" Mr. Henderson yelled. "If we don't, we will die! Do you want to die, Red? I think not!"

"B-but-"

"Please; maybe after this ends, we can come back!" Henderson said with false hope. His eyes flashed to the porch door.

Red was banging on the door, trying to get out. Mr. Henderson bit his tongue and dashed towards her, quickly turning the knob and picking her up like a baby. She flinched, but he glared at her and ran. Red was losing track of what was happening: gunshots were being fired, loud explosions rang in her ears, and violent sounding shouts were heard. She was cursing under her breath, and sweating buckets. Her eyes constantly darted around. Red didn't know what this feeling was. It wasn't anger - she didn't feel like lashing out at anyone except for her "dad" who killed four people she knew. It wasn't sadness either - but yet she felt bloody tears streaming down her cheeks.

She did remember someone saying fear before. She figured this is was what fear feels like: not knowing what was going to happen next and wanting to isolate yourself from the danger. This "war" had triggered her fight or flight response, and for once... she was going with flight.

"Red, are you still there with me?" Mr. Henderson said, added with a quiet curse. "We'll make it: I know we will, goddammit!"

"Stop right there!"

Mr. Henderson and Red stopped in their tracks. A muscular man wearing cheap converse and a ripped t-shirt blocked their path. With a sweaty face he said "You can't get into the bunker. There are people with guns! They're just waiting there to shoot people down! Believe me, plea-"

BANG!

The man's body toppled into the dirt. Red felt chills all over her body. Another kill. And the murderer was standing right in front of them, aiming a rifle at their heads. Mr. Henderson inhaled.

"Sir, please. Lift the weapon."

"Why? You two are going to die anyway! Just look at you, old man. What are you? Sixty?"

"I am fifty-six, thank you. Now please lift your weapon and go elsewhere. I have... a child to bring with me."

"No. No, no, no. Just because you're a father doesn't mean you get a free pass."

"H-huh?" Red mumbled. She shivered and whispered "Mista, please. I'm not what you expect. I can be useful to-"

"You're a fucking kid. What could you do?"

Red closed her eyes.

"Shoot me."

"Why?" Mr. Henderson and the man said. Henderson in surprise, and the man in confusion.

"Just do it! I'll be okay-"

BANG!

Mr. Henderson dropped her, but it still hit Red in the chest anyway. He panicked: he couldn't let anyone know that he'd been experimenting on her. Mr. Henderson picked her up again and ran as fast as he possibly could away from the scene. The man chased them, but luckily he lost track of where Red and Henderson were. Red choked, and observed the tall oak trees that surrounded them.

"Um, Dad? I could've-"

"What were you thinking?"

"I thought... I thought if I knocked that guy out we could get to the bunker place and-"

"N-no. Never again. If you do that, it'll only makes things worse for ME."

"Dad-"

"This is not the time to call me that. Get on my back and I'll take you there myself-"

"Agh!"

Mr. Henderson stepped back as Red shrivelled into the eye monster again. He sighed and let her slide into his hands. Red in this form could change size at will, and did so to become the size of Mr. Henderson's hand.

"Oh no," He said. "Do you have any way to communicate or something? Because if you don't, this could be problematic if we run into another idiot."

It went quiet. It was almost peaceful: the towering tall trees blocked all of reality and turned it into a fantasy with fireflies that buzzed around them. The moonlight shimmered over them, acting like a spotlight that was on Henderson and Red. The stars arranged themselves into The Big Dipper. Henderson paused, and gazed at the stars for a bit. Red joined him, slithering up his arm to his shoulder.

After a while, he finally said "Red, do you see that?"

Red's eyes all blinked in replacement of a nod.

"The Big Dipper: we have to follow the North Star."

Red looked at him with a confused expression.

"We have to follow the North Star to the bunker. That's where salvation for us lies. The North Star will lead us to a place where we won't be shot or discriminated every day. It'll be like Heaven. Do you know what that is?"

Red tried to shrug.

"It's a place you go after you die that supposedly is paradise for fighters and warriors. Even for the normal people. But this Heaven is one on Earth. Well... I hope it is..."

Red whimpered: if it's truly Heaven on Earth, why did he have such a sorrowful look on his face? She curled up on his shoulder as if it were a bed. Mr. Henderson couldn't help it. He had to smile a little bit, he hadn't seen the stars or a constellation for years. But he knew he had to keep on going. So he gave a nod of his head to the moon and walked in the direction of the Northern Star.

Even if his experiment was truly a monster to be feared, Mr. Henderson did know that she would be his only companion to escapism.