Fugitives

by Jes Drew

  “Like how now that they know that you’ll come after your families, they’re going to use them as bait.”

  Christopher shrugs. “We kind of already expected that.”

  “Well, did you know that no matter what part of the continent they drag your family, they’ll bring them back to their base of operations in three days for a special party to make it seem like your family are their guests and not their prisoners?”

  This gets even his attention. “Are you sure?”

  Holly nods, quite pleased about this great accomplishment. “I’ve been working on getting an invitation.”

  Ata raises an eyebrow. “It’s your family throwing the party. Shouldn’t you be invited?”

  “It’s complicated. You know that.”

  Ata says nothing.

  And Holly leans forward. “I do, however, know where to get invites.”

  “Where?” I demand.

  “Uh, it’s best to keep that undisclosed. But don’t worry; if I can, I’ll get you all invites.”

  “That is, if you can find us again,” Oto mutters.

  Holly smirks. “Oh, I will- I learned from the best.”

  ~~~

  “So, she seems nice,” I say to Oto when Holly leaves to use the restroom.

  “Looks can be deceiving,” he answers. “Especially with her.”

  “You still don’t believe her?”

  “You wouldn’t either if you knew what she did to me.”

  I cross my arms- hard to do with Grandmother sleeping on one side and Mary-Ann sleeping on the other. “What exactly did happen?”

  Oto sighs. “Look, we were friends against her step-father’s wishes. And then, something changed- maybe she changed, maybe I changed, maybe both- anyway, I did something stupid.”

  “You kissed her?”

  Oto nods. “Then she ran home without giving me any idea what she felt about that. Next thing I know, she’s being sent away and I’m given the death penalty.”

  I blink. “Whoa- talk about an over-protective father.”

  Oto laughs dryly and shakes his head. “Rudolf Masters could care less about Holly. He did it because he hates my guts for stepping out of line and blatantly challenging the way of things. Such disruptive examples 'must be punished, after all'.”

  I purse my lips. “But, still, she actually might not have realized what would happen-”

  He shakes his head again. “She knew my dad hated my guts for being her friend, for certain things I said to him when I was a child, and even for who my parents were.” Oto grimaces at the word parents- there’s obviously a whole other story there.

  “So?” I ask.

  “So, either she hates me too, or she is extremely stupid. Why else would she tell her step-dad, or even her mom who obviously told her step-dad, about my kiss? Why else would she refuse to kiss me back and run off on me?”

  “Uh…”

  Holly returns. “Whatcha’ talking about?”

  I jump and synchronize with Oto. “Nothing.”

  Then I force myself to look down at my reading material to disguise my too-honest face, but I can’t force my attention to the story.

  Is there another possibility for Holly’s behavior? What is Holly’s side of the story? And how exactly should I go about asking without tipping something psychotic in either her or Oto?

  Is it weird that I ship Oto with Holly more than myself with him?

  Sighing, I turn the page in my book. Once I read books to get some drama in my lack-luster life. Now if only I could escape into the simplicity of words versus my life...

  ~~~

  Surrounded by Oto and Holly’s drama, I almost forget that I’m on a plane.

  Until it begins its descent.

  Oh, goodness.

  Several people glance at me, and I realize I've started praying aloud too. I blush, but my prayers are answered.

  Breathing a sigh of relief and thank-you, I lean back in my chair. Then I work on wrenching my clenched fists from my seat, before turning to wake up both Grandmother and Mary-Ann. How they slept through that, I have no idea.

  “That was so awesome!” Chase exclaims.

  I turn to glare back at him.

  And Holly gets up. “Well, I better leave before you lock me into a closet or something. I’ll find you when I have the invites.” And like that, she's gone.

  Raising an eyebrow, I turn to Oto. “Are you sure she’s bad?”

  He nods. “The moment you let her into your heart, you'll regret it- trust me.”

  Ata looks like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t.

  Suddenly, Holly hurries back. “I almost forgot,” she says, leaning really close to Oto. Then she grabs her back pack from the compartment above him and hurries off again.

  And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Oto looked just a little disappointed that that's all she did.

  “Are you sure she’s bad?” I ask again.

  If looks could kill…

  ~~~

  I look around the hotel Christopher had rented for us. “Well, it’s better than the last one.”

  “That wasn’t your best work,” Joseph agrees.

  “Well, since this is good enough for your tastes,” Christopher says, frowning at him, “you guys all stay here and get situated. Joseph and I are going to see if we can find the train that the Masters are boarding and buy tickets.”

  I open my mouth to offer to help, but I’m too exhausted- both physically and emotionally. Instead, I go into the girls’ room’s bathroom for a moment of solitude- I haven’t gotten many of those lately.

  Sighing, I lean against the sink. As if to exhaust me more, my mind goes back over the last few days. I’ve lost my parents; fled for my freedom (and possibly my life) several time; been in a car chase; rode both a boat and an airplane- not to mention I faced the Masters. This lifestyle is seriously beginning to weigh down on me.

  Grabbing my comb, I begin to run it through my hair. Come on, Emily, hang in there. Just keep going until you get your parents and the rest back…

  It catches on a snarl. And then what? We’ll all have to keep running from the Masters until either they give up or we run out of money. Or they catch us.

  I toss my comb across the room. This is hopeless!

  Frowning, I stare after it. Wish I didn't do it.

  I go to it, bend down, and pick it up. No, this is not hopeless. If my little escapade on the Island has taught me anything, it’s that nothing’s hopeless. I need to keep trusting God and remember that He’ll give me the strength I need to pull through. And, I know He has a plan for me, which I don’t believe includes gallivanting through Europe for the rest of my days.

  A feeling of peace settles around me and I forget my troubles for a moment.

  But only for a moment.

  ~~~

  “Shoot him and you die.”

  Got to get away. Got to get away from the guns before I hurt someone-

  Suddenly, a gun goes off again. Christopher stumbles backwards.

  No, the Masters will hurt us anyway. There’s no escaping the danger. From outside, from inside-

  “God, forgive him,” I whisper as I pull the trigger.

  I could have killed him. I should have killed him. I’m glad I didn’t kill him. I wish I did. I wish none of this happened.

  Pushing open our balcony door, I step into the cool night air. Have to get away. Have to escape. Danger is right behind me, hunting me down-

  Christopher's blood. All over my hands. I freeze, horrified at everything.

  I am the danger. I have to get away from them before I hurt them. Before-

  “Emily, stop!”

  They’re coming. The Masters are coming. I have to get away.

  Desperation joins my terror and I start climbing the balcony gate-

  Suddenly, something thumps behind me.

  Releasing a scream, I throw myself over the rail-

  Just as hands grab my waist and yank me back, back, back-
>
  I land on top of my attacker and flail helplessly, trying to get away. But my attacker is so strong, holding me down-

  “Emily, stop!”

  That voice. Not a Masters. A Williams.

  Blinking, I feel the scales of sleep fall from my already eyes and I see what really is. Wonder what was happening in real life while I was trapped in a distorted reality. “I-I’m awake.”

  “Are you sure?” Christopher’s voice is mixed with something. Anger? Yes, and something else. Fear?

  Still, Christopher’s grip on me loosens and I turn around to find him underneath me, his golden hair tousled and his shirt unbuttoned all the way down, like he just threw it on.

  My face heats up at the thought of what we must look like, wrestling out here, with him almost half-naked.

  He gently sets me down beside him and sits up. “Emily, what happened?”

  I purse my lips together. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  Raking a hand through his curls, he doesn’t take his eyes off me, like he’s scared I might lose it again. “I don’t know. I was having trouble sleeping so I thought I’d step out onto our balcony. And what do I find on the ladies’ balcony right next to mine?”

  “What?”

  His eyes narrow, like he’s trying to figure out the sincerity of my comment. “I find my friend trying to throw herself off.”

  My heart ices over. We’re what, three stories up? I could’ve died. In my sleep. Helpless and-

  “Emily, tell me honestly.” He leans forward and seems to notice for the first time his state of un-dress-ment. His fingers begin to re-button the shirt but turns his gaze back to me. “Were you trying to-”

  I shake my head. “No, no. I would never do such a thing. Awake.” But apparently none of the good decisions and willpower of being awake affects what happens to me when I go to sleep. No, then I’m prey to my own past and trauma and stress.

  And maybe some other Evil?

  Christopher continues to study me. “You were sleepwalking again?”

  “I- yes.” Sighing, I duck my head. “I’m a danger to myself and others.” I can’t control my actions in high-stess situations or asleep.

  “To yourself, yes. Oh, Emily, what am I going to do with you?”

  I feel one hot tear slide down my face. “Others too. What if next time I jump on Mary-Ann? Or what if-” No, I must not let my mind go down that path. Must not let such thoughts enter my head.

  “Well, now we know to be more vigilant at least,” Christopher says, wrapping his arms around me.

  “But-”

  He tugs me up into his arms effortlessly, honeymoon style. “Nothing else we can do about it now. Not like we can hire a therapist at the present moment.”

  “No…” I try to compute beyond his arms around me. His arms. “Christopher, you’ll open your stitches!”

  Setting his jaw, he shakes his head as he carries me back into my dark room. “If I didn’t open them jumping across balconies, I’ll be fine.”

  My eyes widen. “You- you jumped?”

  “It was the only way I could make it to you in time.”

  I really am a danger to myself and others.

  Christopher lays me back down in my bed.

  And fear takes hold of me again. “What if it happens again?”

  “I’ll lock the balcony door this time,” he answers, picking my sheets off the floor and laying them over me.

  “But what if something else happens?”

  “It won’t,” he assures, leaning over me to tuck my sheets in around me.

  “But-”

  “Ata.”

  “Yes?” comes the quiet answer.

  How long has she been awake?

  “Please keep an ear on Emily,” Christopher says.

  “I will.”

  “There,” Christopher says, turning back to me, his dark form above me in the blackness of the night. “You’ll be fine.”

  “But-”

  He leans over me and my whole body goes slack in shock as he presses his lips to my temple. “Sleep well, ma trésor.”

  Then he pulls back and disappears through the door that leads to the boys’ room.

  And I’m left trembling and tired and terribly, terribly confused.

  Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord that it wasn’t my own insanity...

  Chapter Nine

  “Come on, Mary-Ann!” I call. “Don’t lag behind.” I for one can’t seem to move fast enough to escape last night.

  Mary-Ann shuffles her feet slightly faster, but I still have to drag her through the crowded train station. Chase is holding my other hand, and he’s running ahead. At the rate my cousins are going, I’m going to be split in half.

  Grandmother walks beside us, looking rather like a dignified monarch out for a stroll. Christopher is taking point with Oto and Ata right behind him. Joseph is behind even me, trying to look something up in his laptop while he walks. Together, we manage to reach the train.

  “Come on,” Christopher says. Christopher, who hasn’t said a word about last night since then. “Let’s get in this car.”

  ~~~

  After our tickets have been stubbed and the train has started moving, Christopher stands up.

  “I’m going to check out our surroundings and make sure we’re safe from the Masters here,” he says.

  Joseph stands up too.

  “No,” Christopher says. “You stay here and hack into the train’s security system or something,”

  Joseph sits back down and flips open his laptop. Then he groans. “The Wi-Fi is terrible here. I can’t do anything with it.”

  “Well, what can we do about it?”

  “The dining car should have better Wi-Fi. Eating areas usually do.”

  Christopher nods. “I believe the dining car is the first car to the right, so you and Emily head over there. I’ll go check out the car to our left. The rest of you stay here.”

  Joseph gets up again and gestures for me to follow.

  I do before glancing over to Grandmother and my cousins. Grandmother pats them protectively. With that assurance, I follow Joseph away.

  When I step into the dining car, it’s like I’ve passed into another world. Our car was almost empty except for a few groups of people scattered around, but this car is almost full. It’s an explosion of sights, sounds, and scents. So many people of so many nationality, speaking different languages yet all chewing the same. My stomach rumbles at the smell of all the eggs and pastries and meats around me.

  Yes, focus on my surroundings. No internalizing. That’s my problem. I get too caught up with what’s inside that I lose touch with reality-

  Joseph grabs my arm and I startle.

  “Focus,” he mutters before steering me to a table in the corner. Then he drops down and opens up his laptop.

  I sit down too, and glare at him for spiking my adrenaline. Glare at him because I can’t really glare at myself for allowing that opportunity. “Well?”

  “Much better.”

  “Uh-huh.” I cross my arms and lean back. Then I pull my phone out of my pocket and try to remember what it was Christopher called me last night. Mon something, but not colombe; something else… trésor? Yes, that was it.

  My fingers type in an approximate spelling of the word, and I get a French definition: my treasure.

  “Would you stop staring slack-jawed at your screen and actually keep a watch out?” Joseph asks, ironically without looking up from his screen.

  Closing my mouth, I slide my phone back into my pocket. Did my ears deceive me last night, or did he seriously just call me my treasure?

  Okay, something's up. Something's seriously up.

  “Your head being in the clouds doesn't help either.”

  I stick my tongue out at Joseph before beginning to do as he says. As I scan the room, I notice the opposite door to the one we used open up. Three tall, blonde men step in.

&
nbsp; The Masters. And a henchman bodyguard close behind- the same, I believe, as the one who found Oto and me the other day.

  I duck behind Joseph as they claim a table.

  “We have to go,” I whisper. “They’ll recognize us.”

  Joseph glances up before shrugging and looking back down at his laptop. “No- they’ll recognize you. I’m staying.”

  I bite my lip. Seriously? Why did he even have me keep watch then if he wasn't going to listen to my advice? “Okay; suit yourself.” Keeping my head down, I slide across the wall towards the door to our car. Before opening it, I glance back.

  The Masters are talking amongst themselves, completely ignoring the world around them.

  Sighing in relief, I open the door and rejoin my cousins, Grandmother, Oto, and Ata.

  “The Masters are in the dining car!” I gasp.

  “What?!” everyone cries, but Ata, who merely puts her mending down for a moment.

  “We need to move,” Oto says, standing up.

  Grandmother frowns. “But Christopher-”

  “What about me?”

  I turn to find Christopher stepping back into the car, looking as calm and unfazed as I wish I could be on a normal day.

  He glances over to me. “Where’s Joseph?”

  “He’s still in the dining car working. I had to leave. The Masters are in there-”

  Christopher groans. “I’m going to find a car a little further away from the dining car for you guys.”

  Pursing my lips, I tug at my hair. “But what about our parents? They have to be over there somewhere too.”

  “We’ll look for them after we get the rest of the group more secure.” He gestures to Grandmother and my cousins.

  I nod.

  “You stay here with them, Emily. I shouldn’t be long. Oto, Ata, with me.”

  Ata puts her mending aside and stands up. Oto does too, glancing at me with concern.

  I gesture for him to follow Christopher.

  Frowning, he does, and they disappear through the door opposite the dining car entrance.

  “All right,” I say, turning towards my family. “We’re going to stay low- very, very low.”